Chapter 343: Chapter 343: Aftereffects
"I know this is hard to accept, but... I just hope..."
Mr. Zhang had made this trip specifically to prevent Wu Sheng from acting impulsively. He wanted to give him a heads-up and urge him not to be rash.
He was still trying to figure out how to phrase his warning when Wu Sheng spoke up.
"Mr. Zhang, I understand what you’re trying to say. Thank you."
A laugh born of pure fury escaped Wu Sheng. Seeing Mr. Zhang’s difficult position, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the anger in his deep-set eyes had vanished, replaced by an icy calm.
"I won’t do anything impulsive, Mr. Zhang. You can rest assured."
As he watched Mr. Zhang leave, a furious rage surged in his eyes, but his lips curled into a scornful smile.
’Ge Ba, so you want to play these games with me!’
’Heh heh, playing these games with me...’
’Have you forgotten I’m the one who taught you all this? And you’re trying to pull this on me...’
Standing a few steps away, Little Tang Mo watched Wu Sheng quietly for a moment before finally stepping forward and taking his hand.
"Uncle, it’s time to go back."
Wu Sheng felt the warmth in his hand. His gaze shifted, and he looked down at Little Tang Mo, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"Okay."
Little Tang Mo snuggled his hand into Wu Sheng’s. "Uncle, what did Uncle Zhang say to you?" he asked curiously.
Wu Sheng shook his head. "It’s nothing. You don’t need to worry about it."
Wu Sheng led Little Tang Mo back to the hospital room. His expression had returned to normal, showing no sign of anything unusual.
"Mommy, have some popcorn! It’s super yummy and sweet!"
Wu Sheng followed behind Little Tang Mo. "Just a few pieces. Don’t eat too much."
Li Hongqin still had to go home and take care of her daughter. Seeing that Wu Sheng and Little Tang Mo had returned, she grabbed a few pieces of popcorn to eat and then left.
After dinner, Wu Sheng and Little Tang Mo took Su Li downstairs for a walk.
Wu Sheng discreetly observed Su Li.
Su Li showed no signs of anything being wrong until they were heading back upstairs. Two children were chasing each other, and a man in his thirties or forties who had been walking ahead of them stepped aside to let them pass, moving closer to Su Li in the process.
Wu Sheng, who was pushing the wheelchair, clearly felt Su Li’s entire body tense up the moment the man drew near.
With his head lowered, he had a perfect view of the fine hairs on the back of Su Li’s neck standing on end.
The man quickly moved away, and only then did Su Li relax.
Wu Sheng stared at the top of Su Li’s head, motionless for a long moment.
"Uncle, what are you doing?" Seeing him frozen, Little Tang Mo took over the wheelchair and pushed Su Li up himself.
A corner of Wu Sheng’s mouth twitched, and he hurried after them.
Back in the room, Little Tang Mo was helping Su Li get out of the wheelchair. Knowing the wound on her leg hadn’t fully healed, Wu Sheng rushed forward.
"Don’t move. I’ll carry you."
The instant Wu Sheng wrapped his arms around Su Li, he clearly felt her stiffen with rejection.
Although Su Li quickly composed herself and relaxed, Wu Sheng had still felt it.
"Did I hurt you?" Wu Sheng asked in a low voice, his eyes downcast.
Su Li nodded hastily. "Yes."
"I’ll be more careful next time." Wu Sheng gently set Su Li down and covered her with the blanket. "Do you want some fruit?"
"Yes," Su Li replied.
"I’ll go wash them." Wu Sheng picked up the fruit and left the room.
Su Li watched Wu Sheng’s retreating back, let out a breath, and finally relaxed her clenched fists.
Su Li was unfortunate, but she was also lucky. Whether in her past life or this one, she was never ultimately violated.
But... the after-effects were inevitable.
In her past life, although Su Li didn’t develop androphobia, she had always been averse to getting close to men.
In this life, things had improved significantly, but then she encountered something like that again.
The same nightmare, but this time it was even more terrifying. Compounded by the shadow of her past life, Su Li belatedly realized that something was wrong with her.
Whenever anyone got close, especially a man, she couldn’t help but tense up.
Physical contact was even worse. Su Li tried to adjust and act as normally as possible, but if she wasn’t mentally prepared, even an accidental touch would make her go rigid.
Su Li did her best to hide it, hoping she could just cover it up.
Unfortunately, Su Li’s hopes were dashed. Despite her best efforts to conceal it, Wu Sheng had noticed her stiff rejection.
After leaving the room with the fruit, Wu Sheng stood alone in the stairwell for a long time. No one knew what he was thinking.
After Su Li had fallen asleep, Wu Sheng went to the doctor’s office.
Su Li’s attending physician happened to be on duty. When Wu Sheng saw her, he paused for a moment before entering the office and closing the door.
"Doctor, I’d like to talk to you."
The doctor nodded. "Good. I wanted to talk to you, too."
Wu Sheng’s jaw tightened as he told the doctor what he had discovered.
The doctor nodded. "That’s an expected reaction. I already thought something was off when I noticed she constantly felt she was dirty and always wanted to bathe or wash her hands."
She sighed and looked Wu Sheng straight in the eye.
"The after-effects I mentioned before have appeared. This is a common psychological consequence after such an incident. They always feel dirty, unclean. I’ve seen girls scrub themselves until their whole body was bleeding."
"Then there’s the aversion to men getting close. They get nervous as soon as a man approaches. If some girls can’t overcome this, they can never get married."
"With incidents like these, the psychological wounds are far more severe than the physical ones."
Wu Sheng closed his eyes and said in a heavy voice, "I understand. I know what I have to do now."
Seeing Wu Sheng’s resolve, a hint of admiration flashed in the doctor’s eyes.
"Good. That’s the right attitude."
The doctor offered some professional advice. "That’s all for now. You can come to me anytime if you need anything."
Wu Sheng nodded. "Thank you, Doctor."
The doctor shook her head, then something seemed to occur to her and she suddenly asked, "I heard they caught the perpetrator. That’s good news. If he gets sentenced, you can tell the patient. It will help with her recovery."
Wu Sheng, who was in the middle of standing up, froze for a moment before lowering his head and murmuring an affirmation.
Back in the hospital room, Wu Sheng looked at Su Li’s brow, which was furrowed even in her sleep, and closed his eyes again.
’Just how terrified must Su Li have been for this to happen to her? If she hadn’t been saved, what would have become of her?’ Wu Sheng couldn’t bear to imagine it.
Recalling the image of Su Li’s hair standing on end as she went rigid, Wu Sheng’s eyes filled with a bloodthirsty light.
’Ge Ba... how could he be innocent?’
’How could I possibly let him off easy?’
"Let’s just see how many more tricks you can pull..."
Only Wu Sheng’s low muttering remained in the quiet hospital room.
What other tricks could Ge Ba pull?
As it turned out, he had plenty.
Early the next morning, Ge Ba was released due to insufficient evidence.
Immediately after his release, Ge Ba was taken to a hospital to have his injuries examined.
Never mind the multiple injuries all over his body; the most serious was that he had two broken ribs.
Despite having two broken ribs, Ge Ba had gone through a full day and night as if nothing was wrong.
Once the medical report on his injuries came out, trouble came for Wu Sheng.
After a brief round of questioning, Wu Sheng was taken away by Mr. Zhang.
Wu Sheng offered no defense, remaining silent the entire time.
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