The Infrastructure’s Guide ☆ 23

They walked in silence. Meng Sheng wished he could express his feelings now that there were just two of them, but it was not an appropriate time. After all, Qiu Juan had only just officially separated from Kong Jia. He needs to give him some time.

Just as he opened his lips to call Qiu Juan's name, another person called it first.

They both turned to find a male with a sullen face standing next to an old tree along the path.

"Kong Jia? What are you doing here?" Qiu Juan frowned.

The male walked straight towards him with a mocking smile on his face, "I severely underestimated you. You secretly asked the chief to break up our relationship so that you could swiftly hook up with another male."

"Don't talk nonsense. I didn't tell the head about your affairs." Qiu Juan was upset.

He hadn't expected Kong Jia to block his path.

Kong Jia's body emitted a sinister breath, making him feel uncomfortable.

When Meng Sheng saw the male approaching, he pulled out his machete and used it as a shield in front of Qiu Juan's body.

"What's the purpose of getting so close? Do you want to get hit?"

"The matter between us has nothing to do with you, an outsider. Let me tell you, Meng Sheng, if you know what's good for you, get out of here." Kong Jia had long been displeased with Meng Sheng and now that he had confronted him head-on, his hatred was boiling over.

Meng Sheng sneered, "I'll be the judge of whether or not it's my concern."

"Huh, you're unwilling to give me face? Are you actually interested in him?"

"I don't think I need to tell you. Who do you think you are?"

Kong Jia laughed in anger, his voice was frivolous, and his eyes were full of provocation. "He has my breath on him. He will be mine for the rest of his life. Do you think you can suppress the breath I left behind? Or do you not care about that at all and just like the broken shoes that others have used?" [TN: I really, really hate it when characters in Chinese novels call women/sub-females broken shoes. On a positive note, I liked it when one MC once stated, that she'd rather be a broken shoe than a public cucumber. I don't recall the name of the novel, but this sentence stuck with me.]

Qiu Juan couldn't believe Kong Jia, the one who initiated this disaster, could ever utter these hurtful words. He felt deeply humiliated and despised himself for being so naive as to allow Kong Jia to leave his breath behind.

"Beast!" Kong Jia's remark had thoroughly enraged Meng Sheng.

For sake of Qiu Juan, he had put up with and ignored the scum male, but he couldn't do it anymore.

Throwing away his weapon, he swung his fist and jumped directly at Kong Jia. He knew that males usually used their breath to subjugate other males, but Qiu Juan was too near them, and he didn't want to hurt him again.

In the silent woodland, the sounds of fists hitting skin were exceptionally loud.

Meng Sheng's unexpected response surprised Kong Jia. He only had time to raise his fist to shield his face. A golden glow flashed in his eyes. When he reacted, Meng Sheng had already dragged him off the path by the scruff of his neck.

Nobody in the clan had ever dared to challenge him to battle. He was both angry and humiliated. These feelings pooled in his heart and emerged as breath he gathered in his fist.

Qiu Juan was startled by the sudden challenge. The two tall males twisted into a ball and crashed down a slope, colliding with stones and tree trunks.

Finally, they both reached the ground at the same time. Their eyes were filled with cold light and killing intent.

Qiu Juan ran down: "Stop it! Don't fight!"

"Go away! I'll show this beast what it means to be broken!" Meng Sheng pushed away Qiu Juan, who stepped forward to pull him away, with his backhand.

Qiu Juan was pushed to the ground.

In this gap, Meng Sheng got hit by Kong Jia's fist. The corner of his lips got ripped open and a coppery taste filled his mouth. He spat on the ground before returning the favor.

They were unrelenting in trading punches. Qiu Juan tried to stop them, but was unsuccessful. Again, they rolled down another hill, this time through prickly bushes, and vanished from Qiu Juan's sight.

He called for them, but received no response. Only muffled groans could be heard. He got up and dashed down the hill after them.

Meng Sheng, meanwhile, had Kong Jia pinned to the ground and hammered his fist into his chest. Since the arrogant male liked to treat Qiu Juan like dirt, Meng Sheng will help him be buried under it.

He chose to punch his torso rather than his face in order to beat him for a longer time before he broke.

"Kong Jia, I really want to fucking break your neck right now, but I won't. You like to pester Qiu Juan, right? You want everything. I'll let you get nothing. Qiu Juan won't be bound to you. And if you say again anything disgusting to Qiu Juan, I'll fucking kill you. Don't think I'm joking. I have no reason to joke about beasts."

Meng Sheng stood up and kicked Kong Jia in the back of the head with a loud bang. Before fainting, the other male managed to glare at him.

Kong Jia was considered a powerful male. Both of them might be equally strong when using breath. But when it came to pure and reckless fistfighting, nobody was Meng Sheng's opponent.

He took a disgusted look at the fainted male and calmly drilled out of the bushes.

Qiu Juan slowed down the slope when he noticed Meng Sheng emerge from the leafage.

Meng Sheng looked a bit scary. His eyes were like those of a ferocious beast ready to pounce at any moment.

When he noticed that there was no sign of Kong Jia climbing up, he had a bad feeling and subconsciously he went to see if Kong Jia was alright.

"Don't go there." Meng Sheng grabbed Qiu Juan's hand.

His tone was harsh and cold. He hadn't yet restrained his anger.

Qiu Juan looked up at the male. He'd never seen such Meng Sheng before.

His eyes were a little red, but his iris was a lot lighter, allowing one to glimpse other hues hidden in there as well as the terror that began to set in.

Meng Sheng was suddenly surrounded by uncomfortable emotions. His voice was cold: "Are you terrified of me, Qiu Juan, seeing me like this? Or are you worried that I'll kill Kong Jia? Wouldn't it be nice if he died? Then no one would ever say anything hurtful to you again. I did it for your good. Are you looking at me this way because you blame me for hurting him?"

"I, I don't... If he really died, you'd be in trouble."

Meng Sheng held Qiu Juan's hand.

"I'm not sure how badly I beat him, but he's alive, and I'm not going to kill him. If you believe me, come with me."

Qiu Juan let Meng Sheng pull him forward while being so silent as if he wasn't breathing.

Back on the mountain road, they resumed their previous silence. Picking back up the thrown-down meat, they almost walked as if nothing had happened. Only after Qiu Juan spotted the male's bloodied knuckles did he break out of this illusion and remembered what had just happened.

"Meng Sheng, is your hand alright?"

Meng Sheng looked down and observed his hand. "Only a few scuffs. This is nothing for a male."

"I…I'm not worried about Kong Jia, I just didn't want to involve you in the matter between me and him. I'm sorry."

Faced with the sudden explanation, Meng Sheng's unhappy mood somewhat improved.

He gave Qiu Juan a gentle gaze before he blurted out almost involuntarily his feelings. "Qiu Juan, you know, I just like you. How can I stand by and watch someone I care about suffer, while doing nothing to protect them?"

Qiu Juan's dark eyes were filled with shock at Meng Sheng's sudden confession and he took two steps back.

Meng Sheng wanted to wait, but the encounter with Kong Jia had made him impulsive, and he couldn't.

He approached Qiu Juan. "Let's be together, alright?"

"No way!" Qiu Juan blurted out without thinking while shaking his head, "No way... how can I..." He hugged his meat as if it were the only thing that was safe and pushed Meng Sheng away before fleeing alone.

Meng Sheng had a lot more to say. He hadn't anticipated Qiu Juan's reaction to be so drastic, or his refusal to be so crisp, without even giving him a chance.

For a long time, he stood alone on the mountain road, unsure of where to go or what to think.

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