Hush

The security door suddenly burst open. The three of them stared at each other, each wearing an expression full of intensity.

The man looked shocked, unable to understand where this kid had suddenly appeared from, and how he had shown up at such a perfect moment.

Xia Muzhu’s eyes lit up with surprise, but quickly shifted to urgency and worry. In her eyes, Xia Yueshan had always been a child who would cry and throw tantrums whenever their parents left. Given how dangerous the situation was now, he shouldn’t have rushed out like this.

As for Xia Yueshan, his face was full of astonishment. Seeing the dirty man’s upper body completely blocked by his sister, he suddenly realized that the two moves Lin Yu had taught him were useless now.

It seemed like he could only rely on himself.

They were all stunned for less than half a second before each of them reacted.

The man covered Xia Muzhu’s mouth with one hand while twisting his body slightly, reaching out with the other to grab Xia Yueshan, trying to control this unexpected brat who had popped up from nowhere.

Xia Muzhu struggled even harder, desperately trying to stop the man from hurting Xia Yueshan.

Meanwhile, Xia Yueshan’s eyes burned with determination. In this split second, he analyzed the dirty man’s stance, focusing on the narrow isosceles acute triangle-shaped gap beneath the man’s backside.

Adjusting his angle slightly, he suddenly launched a flying kick, driving his toe straight into the space between the man’s legs, from the wide calf area straight up to the narrowest point.

“Ah!~”

With that kick,

the man screamed in agony. His legs clamped shut instantly. Forgetting about the woman in his arms, his entire body tensed and he dropped to his knees.

Seizing the opportunity, Xia Muzhu broke free from the man’s grip. She rolled and scrambled away, rushing toward the leather bag on the coffee table that held an electric baton.

“Call the police!” Xia Yueshan shouted loudly at Xia Muzhu.

At this moment, Xia Muzhu was inside the room, quickly heading toward the bag on the coffee table.

The man knelt at the entrance by the shoe-changing area, clutching his groin with both hands, his face contorted in pain. But he didn’t collapse onto the ground in a fetal position. Clearly, Xia Yueshan’s kick hadn’t completely taken away his ability to resist.

Xia Yueshan stood behind the man, positioned right on the threshold—neither fully outside nor inside the room.

After yelling for Xia Muzhu to call the police, Xia Yueshan instinctively wanted to step inside, to get closer to his sister and protect her better.

That thought crossed his mind, and he glanced at the man crouching on the floor.

Seeing the man remain motionless on his knees, Xia Yueshan didn’t let his guard down. He pressed his back against the wall, facing the man, and slowly edged forward into the room, trying to sneak past the man to reunite with his sister inside.

Less than two meters away, Xia Yueshan had almost slipped past the man. Just as a faint smile appeared on his face and he was about to turn and run toward his sister,

the man suddenly sprang to life. He lunged forward violently, reaching out to grab Xia Yueshan.

His rough fingers grazed Xia Yueshan’s fair ankle—

but at the very last moment.

Just as Xia Yueshan was about to lift his foot and break free from the filthy hand, heading to join Xia Muzhu who was already gripping the electric baton tightly, that rough, dirty hand suddenly changed its grip, hooking onto the hem of Xia Yueshan’s pants.

Then, with a sudden yank, the grimy hand grabbed the pant leg and pulled him back.

“Thud!”

Xia Yueshan stumbled, lost his balance, and crashed onto the floor with a muffled thump.

Seizing the moment, the man quickly pounced on Xia Yueshan. One hand grabbed a handful of Xia Yueshan’s hair, pinning his head to the ground, while the other reached into the pocket of his grimy old jacket.

When that dirty hand, with black mud caked under the fingernails, pulled something out of the jacket pocket, a cold gleaming vintage razor appeared in his grasp.

Just as Xia Muzhu was pulling the electric baton and phone from her bag, she heard the muffled noise behind her. Instinctively, she turned around—only to see a scene that stopped her heart.

The man was straddling Xia Yueshan’s back. One hand pressed down hard on Xia Yueshan’s head, while the other held a strange-looking folding knife. The blade’s sharpest edge was pressed tightly against the side of Xia Yueshan’s neck, as if with just one forceful cut, the man could easily slice away Xia Yueshan’s life like harvesting wheat.

“Don’t call the police!”

“If you even think about calling the cops, I’ll kill him!!!”

The man’s face twisted in rage as he shouted.

Seeing this, Xia Muzhu’s legs went weak and she collapsed to her knees, tears streaming uncontrollably from her eyes. She sobbed, trying desperately to calm the man down.

“I won’t call the police, I won’t. Please don’t hurt Xia Yueshan.”

“Do you want money?”

“I have plenty of money.”

“I can give you everything.”

“Please, just don’t hurt Xia Yueshan, okay?”

Xia Muzhu begged through her tears.

But the man ignored her pleas. His face contorted in pain—clearly, Xia Yueshan’s earlier kick had some effect. He kept gasping for breath, and after a long moment, he lifted his head and coldly said to Xia Muzhu:

“Throw away your phone and that thing in your hand!”

“Okay, okay.”

“I’m throwing it, I’m throwing it.”

Xia Muzhu sobbed quietly. Even though she knew the electric baton was her only means of protection, she couldn’t afford any illusions now. Seeing the razor’s sharp blade pressed so close to Xia Yueshan’s neck, her heart dared not hope for anything.

She threw the phone and baton aside. The man’s eyes remained locked on her, filled with madness and hatred. In a cold voice, he ordered:

“Take off your clothes too!”

Before Xia Muzhu could react, Xia Yueshan, pinned beneath the man, suddenly began to struggle fiercely. He cursed loudly:

“Take off your own damn clothes!”

“You beast, why don’t you have your mother come and take them off for you?”

“Shut up!”

The man roared in anger, raising his fist that gripped the vintage razor and slammed it hard onto Xia Yueshan’s head, cursing:

“That bitch of yours can sleep with those scumbags, so why can’t I?!”

“Fuck you!”

“My sister has always been pure!”

“Do you think she’s your mother?”

“Does anyone get to do whatever they want with her?”

Xia Yueshan kept firing back wildly.

“Shut up!”

“You’re not allowed to talk about my mom!”

The man grabbed Xia Yueshan by the hair, yanked his head up, and slammed it hard onto the floor. He shouted angrily:

“Pure?”

“Your sister is nothing but a filthy whore who’s been used by everyone!”

“Do you think I don’t know?”

“That punk with the dyed yellow hair comes to your house every night, and he only leaves around nine or ten o’clock!”

“Do you think I don’t know?”

“Do you think I don’t know what they’re doing?”

The man roared like a madman, his actions growing increasingly brutal. He kept yanking Xia Yueshan’s head up and slamming it down onto the tile floor. After several blows, Xia Yueshan’s nose started bleeding, and his forehead was stained red with blood, as if it was about to gush out any second.

“I’ll take it off!”

Xia Muzhu finally couldn’t hold back her cries. She begged in a broken voice:

“I’ll take it off.”

“Please don’t hit Xia Shan anymore, I beg you.”

After Xia Muzhu spoke, the man finally stopped beating Xia Yueshan. This time, he placed the blade against Xia Yueshan’s neck again, his gaze burning as he looked at the tear-streaked Xia Muzhu and shouted excitedly:

“Hurry up and take it off!”

“Or I’ll kill him!”

Xia Muzhu choked back her sobs, her trembling hands clutching the hem of her pale yellow knitted sweater, slowly lifting it up.

As the sweater came off, her snow-white, slender waist was gradually exposed to the air.

Soon, Xia Muzhu’s soft, pale waist was fully revealed, and above it was a pale yellow, form-fitting bra.

The lifted sweater partially blocked Xia Muzhu’s view—first, she saw Xia Yueshan pinned to the floor, then the man’s greedy, crazed eyes, filthy and desperate like a beggar’s.

Her eyes were filled with pain and despair, but she had no choice but to keep undressing for Xia Yueshan’s safety. Just as the pale yellow sweater was about to completely block her vision, a figure quietly appeared at the open doorway.

He looked cautious and serious, holding up a finger to his lips, signaling silence.

The pale yellow sweater finally obscured Xia Muzhu’s entire view. She pressed her lips tightly together, tears the size of beans streaming from her eyes, running down her cheeks. Fighting to hold back any sound, she bit her lower lip hard.

“Sis!”

“Don’t take it off!”

“You stupid idiot!”

“If you dare lay a finger on my sister today, I swear I’ll go to your house tomorrow and kill your own mother!!!”

Xia Yueshan, pinned on the floor, struggled violently, ignoring the pain as the blade cut into the skin of his neck. He cursed and fought back with all his might.

“Shut up!”

“You little bastard!”

“You’re not allowed to talk about my mom!”

The man’s eyes were bloodshot. He raised the hand holding the knife high above his head, fingers clenched tightly into a fist, ready to slam it down hard on Xia Yueshan’s head.

“Ah!”

A sudden, bone-chilling pain shot through his wrist, and the man let out a wail of agony. Dazed, he twisted his neck at a ninety-degree angle to look up.

His gaze traveled from bottom to top, landing on a face taut with fury, muscles clenched tight, and a pair of black eyes blazing as if ready to spew fire.