48 Hours a Day

Panda Novel

Wei Jiangyang and Chen Huadong trembled n the presence of the folding knife. It would have been fine if they were just being robbed. At most, they would have to give up their possessions, and no one would be harmed but from the way the young man was acting, they could tell that he had other intentions for the girls.

The girls in Xiao Xiao’s dorm, except for Wang Huan, were not bad looking, not to mention, Shen Xixi who was generally acknowledged as the prettiest girl in the public relations department. Xiao Xiao was in the school’s volleyball team and had always maintained a perfect physique. Needless to say, Xu Jin, the legal-loli, was a magnet for perverts.

Normally, neither of them had to worry about their safety in school. But this was the wilderness, the outward-bounds. Even though there were other campers in the area, they were too far from them. Even if they cried for help, there was a good chance no one would be able to get here in time.

The girls were beginning to regret coming out here. They had already done their research and found that there were villages nearby, leading them to presume that it was quite safe. Why were they so unlucky this time?

Wei Jiangyang could feel his forehead growing damp. His girlfriend was behind him – he could not retreat. But being afraid when in such scary situations like this was a normal reaction. As the youth moved towards him, Wei Jiangyang froze, and his throat went dry.

The very next moment, however, something sliced through the darkness.

The youth paused. In front was an arrow with its tip buried deep into the ground, its fletching still quivering. It was a shot at an ungodly speed.

Zhang Heng was standing in front of the tent with his recurve bow. He did not stop after the first shot. Swiftly, he drew the second arrow. Before Wei Jiangyang and the others could cheer for him, the second arrow overshot by ten thousand meters, hitting a small tree far away.

Zhang Heng’s friends were dismayed, thinking to themselves that it was over. They had hoped that the shot would frighten the intruder away. They did not expect Zhang Heng give away the game so quickly.

The young man was also taken aback by the first arrow. The country had strict firearms control, so in the general run of things, bows and crossbows were the most powerful long-range weapons people had access to. He did think there would be a bowman in this group.

But that second shot missed him by at least a few meters.

Was the first one a lucky shot?

The youth subconsciously turned around to see where the last arrow had landed and was immediately alerted because his mates were hiding behind that tree.

“These first two shots are just a warning. If you don’t leave, the third arrow will draw blood,” Zhang Heng said calmly.

The expression on the youth’s face changed. Everyone else was bowled over.

The youth was about 3 – 4 meters away from Wei Jiangyang and Chen Huadong. He was computing in his head if he could grab either one of them as hostages. He had second thoughts, not sure if Zhang Heng would actually do it.

In the end, he chose to put away his knife and raised his hands. “I apologize for interrupting. It looks like my friends and I will have to go elsewhere to make friends.”

He glared at Zhang Heng as he spoke and then slowly backed away until he disappeared between the darkness of the trees.

…

The incident was over, but everyone had lost their appetite. They quickly packed up their things and wanted to leave the place, but there was no taxi in this suburbia. Xiao Xiao was still worried that the strange guy would harass the other campers, so one of them called the police while the others went around to inform other vacationers.

Shen Xixi opened her mouth to say something but decided to keep it to herself.

After the danger was over, the other girls gathered around Zhang Heng.

Xu Jing stuck out her tongue and said, “That’s impressive, fellow student Zhang. I thought you ran away because you were scared. Turns out Iron Man was summoning his armor.”

Chen Huadong joined the conversation. “Big brother, I must say I’m impressed! The second shot was way off course, yet you could still stand there and threaten him so boldly. Respect, respect.”

“Apparently those degenerates are easily frightened. They saw you holding a bow and off they went running for their lives! But, really, thank you for that! I was so scared I almost died,” continued a very relieved Xiao Xiao.

“To thank your hero, I have made the executive decision to betroth the prettiest girl in our dorm to you!” Xu Jing concluded. Suddenly, she received another smack across the head! But after that, Shen Xixi also thanked Zhang Heng.

After informing the others scattered all over the campgrounds, the group gathered again, feeling a lot safer by the numbers.

Zhang Heng put down his bow and opened up his backpack, distributing a bunch of snacks that did not require cooking to everyone.

While taking a bite out of her custard pie, Xu Jing mumbled, “What a day full of action! It’s my first time camping, and it may very well be my last!”

With food filling their stomachs, the group was feeling much better, and they began discussing the precarious situation they were in just a while ago.

It was then that out of the blue, Shen Xixi said, “Zhang Heng, can I talk to you?”

“Mmm.”

The pair stepped away from their friends’ bemused gazes.

Shen Xixi thanked Zhang Heng again for the night, saying, “Did you notice?”

“Notice what?”

“That guy didn’t look like he’s from the villages around here. He’s probably from the city like us.”

“You’re saying that the guy came here tonight just to look for women to assault?”

“No, if he was prepared, he wouldn’t be dressed like that. The shoes on his feet were an Adidas Coconut 500. It’s at least 2000 yuan and above for the authentic one! He would not have willingly worn those here and risked having his sneakers scraped by twigs and branches. Also, when he was talking, he kept scratching at his neck. He must have gotten bitten by a lot of mosquitos! If this was premeditated and he did not even prevent that, that would just too careless. So, chances are, he came here at the last minute.”

“That’s a very detailed observation!” Zhang Heng looked surprised. “Most people would not have noticed so many fine details in that situation!”

“Aren’t you the same?” Shen Xixi answered softly.

“I didn’t notice any of that.” Zhang Heng shook his head. “I don’t know much about shoes. I was busy paying attention to his friends in the woods. I didn’t notice his little movements. If you didn’t mention it, I really would not have known.”

Shen Xixi was taken aback slightly. “Then why have you been keeping an eye on Wang Huan?”

“Because when the guy appeared, her reaction was a little too intense. Everyone was paralyzed by shock and fear but she was very, very frightened. After the guy left, everyone was so relieved, but she seemed even more alarmed instead.”

Shen Xixi smiled bitterly. “That is why I didn’t agree with them calling the police.”

“Even though she put everyone in danger tonight?”

“Wang Huan has her share of problems. Cheng Cheng threatened her, telling her that if she refused to help, he wants her to reimburse him for the lipstick. Her parents were laid off a while ago, and she has a younger brother at home. And just like you said, she didn’t expect this to happen. She only sent our location to Cheng Cheng. All she thought was that he wanted to join us. She never expected the person someone like that to pop out. She was terrified… worried that police would find out.”

“You decide then.” Zhang Heng declined to comment. They were all adults. They have to be responsible for their own actions. Circumstances and her family’s situation may have induced her to behave that way, but it’s no excuse for her wrongdoing! One straightforward justification: society may not be just to you but you can’t go kill people in a kindergarten or set public transportation on fire just like that!

However, Shen Xixi was the target here. Whatever she would decide to do was entirely up to her. Zhang Heng had no opinion on that.

As for Cheng Cheng, he had an idea of what kind of game the guy was playing at, sort of… In light of the declining favorable impression between him and Shen Xixi, he probably wanted to play the hero and save the damsel in distress in this self-directed drama to make up for it. It, however, appeared that this guy had underestimated Shen Xixi’s intelligence.

At the moment, it did not look like they were on the same level.

Shen Xixi let out a breath of relief. “I am not a person who keeps forgiving – Wang Huan promised to move out of our dorms when we get back. We won’t have any social interactions with each other. So, that’s how it’s gonna be. You, on the other hand, will have to be very careful. Cheng Cheng wouldn’t dare break the law, but he has no problem crossing the line. Mm, it’s best if you don’t leave the campus for the time being. I’ll help you figure a way out of this!”