Startled, Qin Jiao immediately tried to pry Shen Yi’s hands off her, but then she heard the panic in his voice. "Jiao Jiao, I just wanted to hug you. I was scared to death. The only other time I’ve ever felt like this was during the car accident."

Shen Yi was terrified.

When he heard the commotion next door, he’d rushed over right after calling the police. The sight of Feng Dayong grabbing Qin Jiao’s ankle and dragging her backward had made Shen Yi want to kill the man on the spot!

The violent rage he’d kept suppressed for so long had erupted in that instant. If Qin Jiao hadn’t shouted at him to stop, he might have actually beaten the man to death!

"Jiao Jiao, I wish I could kill that Feng Dayong!" Shen Yi said, holding Qin Jiao. His blood ran cold, and a ferocious glint filled his eyes, but his voice sounded like that of a panicked child.

Qin Jiao felt he was acting just like he did in her past life right before one of his episodes. She stopped struggling and patted his hand. "That Feng Dayong deserves to die, but we can’t be the ones to kill him. He’ll face the full force of the law. To be honest, this was my fault for being careless. I knew he wasn’t a good person, but I never imagined he was a violent thug."

"It’s not your fault. As a relative of your family, he’s always been an unstable element."

’Feng Dayong is already willing to kill. There’s no telling what he’ll become in the future. One thing’s for sure, though—he’s not going to suddenly wake up one day and be a completely good person.

After all, a leopard can’t change its spots.’

Shen Yi’s grip loosened slightly. Qin Jiao, reflecting on her own actions, said, "I need to find a place to learn some martial arts. What would I do if something like this happens again?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"I won’t let you face this kind of danger ever again!"

Qin Jiao smiled. "Who can predict the future? Learning some self-defense is a good thing. And once we get settled in North City, it won’t just be me learning. I’ll have Xiao Shi learn, too. It’s always useful for a girl to know some of this in case she runs into trouble. Shen Yi, do you know anyone who teaches?"

’Shen Yi did know a little, though Qin Jiao had no idea where he’d learned it. He’d been too sick and frail in her past life to ever display such skills.

But the way he’d just beaten Feng Dayong... every move had been stable, precise, and vicious.’

Besides, Qin Jiao wanted to change the subject to distract him and pull him out of the state he’d been in.

Sure enough, the icy, violent glint in Shen Yi’s eyes slowly faded. He nodded. "I know a place. It’s perfect for you and your sister. I’ll take you when we have the chance."

"Okay." Qin Jiao had successfully diverted the conversation. She was about to enter her pocket dimension to get her sister so the two of them could go home, but Shen Yi grabbed her wrist. "Wait," he said.

Qin Jiao looked at him curiously. "What is it? We have to get back quickly, or my parents will start to worry."

"Just a few more minutes."

Shen Yi turned and pulled a tube of ointment from the medicine cabinet. He then gently pushed Qin Jiao to sit on the edge of the bed and moved to take off her shoe.

Startled, Qin Jiao jerked her foot back. "Shen Yi, what are you doing?"

"Your ankle is bruised where Feng Dayong grabbed it. Your neck, too. It’s a bit bruised as well."

Shen Yi belatedly remembered that her neck was also bruised. He let go of her foot and first applied a bit of the cool ointment to her neck. The balm didn’t have a strong smell; it seemed to be an herbal ointment and had a rather fresh, clean scent.

But the moment Shen Yi’s fingertips touched her neck, she flinched back. "Alright, alright, just let me borrow the ointment. I’ll put it on when I get home. Seriously, if we don’t head back now, my parents are going to be worried sick. Just look at the time."