Even now, the man’s grip didn’t loosen. In desperation, Gu Heng kept slapping at his wrist, trying to break free.
Sensing the murderous intent in his eyes, fear surged in her chest.
She gathered all her strength and gasped out in broken phrases, “It’s… me, Ah Heng… Ah Zheng, don’t you remember me?”
Hearing the name “Ah Zheng,” the man’s eyes flickered and his grip slowly loosened.
In that instant, Gu Heng collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, sucking in air like her lungs were on fire.
“It’s been years, and you try to kill me the moment we meet. Ah Zheng, you’ve really broken my heart this time.”
She managed to sit up and saw the man holding his head with one hand, muttering to himself: “Ah Heng… Ah Zheng… who are they?”
Gu Heng’s heart sank.
She struggled closer and found a wound at the back of his head, bleeding profusely. Her heart clenched.
That kind of injury… could it have caused memory loss?
Then his earlier attack made sense.
Gu Heng sighed deeply and helped him sit under a tree.
“You really don’t remember me? You moved next door to me when I was three. Until I was twelve, we saw each other every day. You’ve forgotten everything?”
At that moment, the man lifted his head, trying to recognize her. But the harder he looked, the blurrier things became.
Perhaps the injury was too severe—he’d barely managed to wake up.
The next second, his eyes slowly closed and he collapsed—
It happened too fast. Before Gu Heng could react, he had already fallen with a thud.
She felt utterly helpless.
She was injured too. If both of them were conscious, they might have supported each other to reach the zhuangzi.
But now… only she remained awake.
There was no other choice—she couldn’t just leave him.
Dragging her wounded body, Gu Heng searched the foot of the mountain and finally found an abandoned handcart.
With a surge of strength from who-knows-where, she loaded him onto it and dragged him along.
Fortunately, this zhuangzi had once belonged to Fu Yiniang. Though gifted by the magistrate, it was considered her private property. Gu Heng had visited with her as a child and vaguely remembered the way.
Though the snow had stopped, it was still freezing. Gu Heng shivered the whole way.
Two hours later, she finally arrived at the zhuangzi gates.
By then, the sky had brightened.
Some people at the zhuangzi were beginning to stir.
Perhaps it was the relief of finally arriving—Gu Heng’s vision went black and she collapsed again.
An incense stick’s time later, a maid finally discovered them.
Seeing the two of them covered in blood, she was terrified, tears welling in her eyes as she shrieked—
“Help! There are two corpses here!!”
***
When Gu Heng woke up, it was already evening.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw a familiar old woman standing by her bed.
Before she could speak, the woman rushed to her side and grasped her hand, eyes brimming with tears.
“Second Miss, you’ve suffered so much.”
Gu Heng thought for a moment—she had indeed seen this woman in her childhood.
The woman had once lost both her sons and tried to end her life. It was Fu Yiniang who saved her, helped her divorce her drunken, abusive husband, and gave her the will to live.
Since then, this Momo had faithfully served Fu Yiniang.
It had been years since she saw anyone familiar from the past. Gu Heng was touched.
“Momo, it’s been a long time.”
Seeing Gu Heng still recognized her, Zhao Momo burst into tears.
“Second Miss, I heard about Yiniang’s passing. Such a pity—you were so young when you lost her. And now the family pushes you aside, leaving you to live here all alone…”
Gu Heng gave a bitter smile when she heard that.
At that moment, she suddenly remembered something and grabbed the old maid’s sleeve in alarm. She asked anxiously, “Momo, the man who came here with me—where is he now?”
Pausing briefly, Gu Heng said worriedly, “…How is he now? Is he still alive?”
After all, even in her dream, Ah Zheng had helped her. Now that he was so badly injured, she felt obligated to repay that kindness.
Hearing this, Zhao Momo nodded. “He’s still alive. He’s staying in the room right next door—”
Before she could finish, Gu Heng jumped off the bed and rushed out toward the adjacent room.
***
The moment she pushed open the door, Gu Heng felt slightly dazed.
The man was awake, but he looked like a soulless doll, sitting blankly by the bed and staring out the window.
Compared to the lively and spirited boy who once climbed over her courtyard wall to see her, this current version of Ah Zheng looked like a completely different person.
She couldn’t help but feel a pang of heartache.
When he noticed her entering, the man finally looked away from the window and turned his gaze toward her.
Seeing this, Gu Heng stepped in and sat down on a small stool nearby.
“How are you feeling? Are you alright?”
The man blinked blankly, then nodded slowly. “I’m fine. Thank you… for saving me.”
Hearing him speak normally, with coherent language and logic, Gu Heng finally felt relieved.
Judging by his appearance, his injuries indeed seemed like those sustained from falling off a cliff.
Head injuries had always been the most frightening—best-case scenario, memory loss; worse, mental impairment; and in the most severe cases, death.
It seemed Ah Zheng hadn’t lost his mind after all.
“The way you looked last night really frightened me. If something had happened to you, I wouldn’t know how to face Uncle Shen in the future.”
Hearing this, the man looked confused. “Uncle Shen… who is that?”
Gu Heng sighed and gently held his hand.
“It’s alright, Ah Zheng. You hurt your head and lost your memory, that’s all. You’ve forgotten the past, but we grew up together. The things you can’t remember—I still do. I’ll tell you everything, one piece at a time.”
The young girl leaned in slightly, a faint fragrance from her body wrapping around his senses.
For a moment, he felt a strange tickle.
When her warm palm touched his, he felt a little uncomfortable and quietly pulled his hand back.
Gu Heng didn’t mind his small movement and continued.
“Your name is Shen Zhengyu. Uncle Shen is your father. When you were five, he brought you to live next door to my house. You’ve always loved reading, but you knew I liked to play, so you often went along with my nonsense. More than once, you skipped class because I talked you into it, taking me to listen to operas, watch plays, and catch crickets.”
With just a few words from Gu Heng, the man gradually began to accept everything she said.
Maybe it was her gentle voice, warm and comforting, but he could almost picture scenes of two children laughing and playing together.
Though unfamiliar, he still nodded in the end.
“Alright, I’ll go with what you say. I trust you. From now on, I’ll go by Ah Zheng.”
Gu Heng smiled. “Good, Ah Zheng. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you get the best treatment. You’ll regain your memories soon.”
Just then, heavy footsteps sounded outside. Moments later, the door was flung open, and someone stormed in angrily.
Gu Heng turned around and saw a maid in her teens standing at the door.
Though her clothes were plain in style, the fabric wasn’t cheap. Compared to the other maids and grannies on this zhuangzi, she was clearly dressed far more luxuriously.
Before Gu Heng could say anything, the young maid began shouting.
“Who are you people? Why are you staying here?”
Zhao Momo rushed over at the sound, hastily explaining, “Chunhua, this is the second young miss of our household. She came to the zhuangzi to recover. Didn’t the household already send word yesterday? Have you forgotten?”
Chunhua gave a cold snort.
“All I know is, the mistress sent word this morning saying the second young miss fell off a cliff yesterday and likely wouldn’t be coming. Who knows if this woman in front of me is really the young miss? For all we know, she’s just a fake!”
Gu Heng rolled her eyes.
Zhao Momo laughed nervously. “Second Miss, Chunhua only came to the zhuangzi three years ago. She doesn’t know much and has never met you. Please don’t hold it against her.”
From Chunhua’s arrogant expression, Gu Heng could tell she was probably the daughter of some steward in the household. Thinking she had some authority, she acted all high and mighty. Gu Heng didn’t want to waste words with her. She simply pulled out a token from her waist and tossed it at Chunhua’s feet.
With a dull thud, Chunhua looked down and saw it was indeed a token only carried by true members of the household. She gave a snort.
“With how ragged you look, I thought you were some beggar here for scraps.”
Gu Heng was left speechless by her remark.
“Is this how you usually speak? If you were in the main residence, your attitude would get you beaten to death within three days.”
Chunhua flew into a rage and pointed a finger at Gu Heng.
“Don’t think that just because you’re a young miss you can throw your weight around on this zhuangzi. I’m telling you—your situation, I know it well! Your Yiniang is dead, and your father no longer favors you. Saying you’re here to recover is just an excuse—they’ve abandoned you!”
Growing more smug, Chunhua crossed her arms and stood proudly. “I’m the daughter of the head stewardess serving the mistress. You’d best show me some respect from now on, or I’ll make sure you suffer on this zhuangzi!”
She then turned her eyes to Ah Zheng beside her.
The moment she saw his face, she was stunned by his looks—but after taking in his shabby clothes and injuries, her gaze filled with disdain.
She looked back at Gu Heng and clicked her tongue.
“Second Miss, I really don’t know what to say. As a proper young lady from an official’s household, you actually brought a wild man with you to the zhuangzi? Who knows what happened between you two last night, traveling alone like that. Shameless!”
Gu Heng couldn’t take it anymore.
She and Ah Zheng had just reunited and barely said a few words before being interrupted by this maid. And now she was going so far as to slander them both.
Gu Heng stood up and, without hesitation, picked up a cup of cold tea from the table and splashed it straight into Chunhua’s face.
Chunhua screamed the next second.
“AAAHHH!! Gu Heng!! You wretched woman! I’ll kill you!”
She lunged forward to slap Gu Heng, but before she could reach her, Ah Zheng caught her wrist and, with a swift motion, shoved her back.
Chunhua lost her balance and crashed into the table behind her, knocking over all the tea sets and shattering them on the floor.
Then came Ah Zheng’s cold voice.
“Noisy. You’re giving me a headache.”
