Chapter 330 - 332: Serious Consequences
An Ning leaped down from the tree. She grinned at Hua Cheng, clearly enjoying the show. "No harm if I tell Jiang Xia what happened today, right?"
Lying on the ground, Hua Cheng said, on the verge of tears, "As long as you get me out of this, I wouldn’t care if you took out an ad in the newspaper."
An Ning gave him an admiring thumbs-up.
"You really know how to think big. Just remember, you’re paying for the ad."
Having said her piece, An Ning completely ignored Hua Cheng’s crestfallen expression. She turned around leisurely and gave a friendly greeting to Hei Niu, who was standing behind her.
"Hi there."
"Hi."
Hei Niu’s eyes were exceptionally bright.
Though her skin was tanned, she looked incredibly healthy. Combined with her bright eyes, Hei Niu wasn’t unattractive at all.
"You—how did you get down?"
Hei Niu pointed to the tall tree. "I could get down, too, but not as well as you. How did you not make a single sound? Have you practiced ’Floating on Water’ or something?"
Growing more excited by the second, Hei Niu completely forgot about Hua Cheng. She cozied up to An Ning, peppering her with questions that jumped from how she climbed the tree, to how she got down, and then from getting down to how she fought.
The two of them hit it off immediately. Hua Cheng, who was still waiting to be rescued, realized he had become completely invisible.
The sudden shift was a bit much for Hua Cheng to handle.
"Hey, hey—what about me—"
"Brother Hua Cheng, why are you still here?"
Hei Niu was the first to look back. She glanced at Hua Cheng and said, "You can go. You’re useless anyway. I don’t think I’ll be needing you after all."
"My dad’s still waiting for me to give him a grandson, you know."
With that, Hei Niu turned her back and resumed her conversation with An Ning. They looked so much like old friends who had just reunited that for a moment, Hua Cheng wondered if the preceding events had all been a hallucination.
But then a gust of wind blew past, and the cold on his stomach from his tattered clothes reminded him that it had all been very real.
An Ning spared a glance for Hua Cheng, who was still lying on the ground. "What’s wrong?" she asked, half-joking. "Can’t bear to leave?"
The comment snapped Hua Cheng out of his daze. He shook his head frantically and pushed himself up with his arms.
"No, no! I’m leaving right now, leaving right now."
Hua Cheng hobbled out of the woods in a clumsy run. An Ning glanced back at Hei Niu and couldn’t hold back a laugh.
"Still keeping up the act, huh?"
"Hehe, Sister Anning!"
Hei Niu’s calling her "Sister Anning" gave away their connection.
An Ning and Hei Niu sat down on the ground and started to chat.
"So what was all that about? How do you know Hua Cheng?"
Hei Niu was from the neighboring village. Since she was a capable hunter, the two had run into each other in the mountains a few times.
Hei Niu was a straightforward person who spoke her mind clearly; she wasn’t at all the type to coo "Brother Hua Cheng" like she had just done.
Now, Hei Niu let out a hearty laugh and started to explain the situation to An Ning.
It turned out that Hua Cheng didn’t dare hit on anyone in An Ning’s village, so he started wandering around aimlessly. That was how he ran into Hei Niu’s younger cousin.
Hei Niu’s cousin was a true local girl—pretty, innocent, and didn’t have much experience with the world.
With his silver tongue and handsome face, Hua Cheng’s arrival immediately made the young girl’s heart flutter.
But alas, how could a city playboy like him ever be tied down?
So, when Hei Niu learned about this, she first gave her cousin a stern talking-to. Then she went straight to the girl’s parents, and her cousin was promptly grounded.
As for Hua Cheng, Hei Niu simply wanted to teach him a lesson: don’t start something you can’t finish.
And that’s what led to the scene today.
After listening to the story, An Ning said with admiration, "Nice move. If I hadn’t shown up, what was your plan?"
"Just wing it, I guess."
Hei Niu leaned in closer and whispered, "To be honest, I was planning to strip him naked and hang him from a tree."
An Ning’s eyes lit up at the suggestion. "I showed up too soon," she said, full of regret.
"Not at all. Just make sure to humiliate him a bit on the way back. That’ll make the memory stick. Plus, you all can bring it up for a laugh whenever you want. I guarantee he’ll never be able to forget it."
"Trust me, it’s way more effective than just hanging him from a tree."
An Ning nodded again in admiration, giving her a thumbs-up. "Savage!"
"I’ll definitely play my part."
The two exchanged a satisfied, conspiratorial smile.
After finalizing their plan, An Ning and Hei Niu parted ways, each heading home. They made plans to go hunting together in the mountains the next day.
An Ning walked quickly and, before long, caught up to the hobbling Hua Cheng.
"Young Master Hua, you’re moving a little slow. Should I go get a car for you?"
"No, no, no! Please, I’m begging you, don’t!"
"Alright, I’ll go get the car."
An Ning completely ignored him and broke into a run, genuinely intending to go back and get a vehicle.
’Even if Hua Cheng only goes for girls who are willing, he never has any intention of a long-term relationship. He ought to know by now that some girls are off-limits.’
’He needs a profound lesson.’
Behind her, Hua Cheng was left in a lurch by the selectively deaf An Ning. He wanted to leave but couldn’t walk fast; he wanted to run, but his leg was in too much pain.
"No, no, no—"
He shouted after her, but An Ning had already disappeared.
The next time Hua Cheng saw An Ning, she was driving back on a three-wheeler.
She executed a perfect drift, kicking up a cloud of dust that plastered itself all over Hua Cheng’s sweaty face. In an instant, the three words "a muddy mess" were perfectly illustrated on his features.
"Get on. I’ll give you a ride back."
An Ning flashed another smile at Hua Cheng, a smile that made his heart shudder.
"Hua Cheng, this isn’t a choice."
Not... a choice.
Understanding her meaning, Hua Cheng climbed into the cargo bed of the three-wheeler with tears welling in his eyes.
Without a word of warning, An Ning slammed on the accelerator, and the three-wheeler shot forward. WHOOSH.
Unsurprisingly, Hua Cheng was thrown backward. His head hit something with a loud THUNK.
"Be careful. Don’t go denting my vehicle."
An Ning’s "concerned" words drifted back to him, giving Hua Cheng a profound new understanding of something Jiang Xia once said.
Don’t mess with An Ning. You’ll have to bear the consequences.
It turned out those consequences were very, very serious.
Hua Cheng was beginning to feel regret.
The rest of the ride only made his regret grow deeper.
He had no idea about An Ning’s driving skills, but her choice of route was truly awful.
Wherever the road was rockiest, that’s where An Ning drove.
Wherever there was a ditch or a pothole, that’s where An Ning went.
In the back, Hua Cheng felt like his internal organs were about to be jounced right out of his body.
But that wasn’t the end of it. Every time An Ning spotted someone, she would stop the three-wheeler to greet them, make small talk, and casually explain the situation with the person in her cargo bed.
Before they even reached the village, the story was already spreading like wildfire: Jiang Xia’s friend, that guy who loves floral shirts, got beaten up by Hei Niu from the next village for hitting on a local girl.
Hua Cheng, sitting in the back, slapped the side of the vehicle, his face a mask of desperation.
"Sister Anning, I really know I was wrong! Can we please stop stopping, please?"
"Nope. I’m a polite person. How could I possibly not say hello?"
An Ning’s tone was self-righteous. Just as they were about to enter the village, she suddenly turned.
"Hey, hey—where are you going? This is the wrong way!"
"It’s not the wrong way. In for a penny, in for a pound. You’ll be seeing Jiang Xia very soon."