Mad Dog

Mad Dog: Chapter 1

 

Nightmare on the screen is an extremely handsome teenager

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Translator: Peri

…

 

11 years ago

Lin Lan.

On a winter night, the wind blew as sharp as a knife on the skin.
There was only the sound of a man's hurried and heavy breathing on the dirty and silent road in Shimada District.

 

The tall figures were all buried by the darkness and only a small body could be vaguely seen, that was constantly struggling from being squeezed between a man’s thick arms

 

“F*ck, don't f*cking move.” The man was sweating in the cold night.
His wolf-like eyes were soaked with sweat.
He looked fierce and anxious and couldn't stop scolding, “Move again, I will kill you!”’

 

Damn, if it wasn't for the 'goods' that needed to be delivered tomorrow and the loan shark’s threat to break off his arm, he wouldn't have done such desperate work.

…

Zhiqi woke up after being jolted by someone.
The little girl's mouth was tightly covered with tape and she couldn't make a single sound.
She could only cry silently, her tears smearing her face and quickly condensing into ice on a winter night.

 

She was cold and frightened.
She didn't understand why she woke up in such a state from a good sleep.
She struggled unconsciously and got viciously yelled at by the man who was holding her.

 

Zhiqi didn't dare move any longer.

 

Although she was young, she was already ten years old and a 'big child' in the fourth grade.
The little girl vaguely understood that she may have been kidnapped.

 

Once she grasped the situation, a deep chill spread all over her from the soles of her feet to the strands of her hair.

 

An unspeakable and indescribable sense of fear hit her heart.
The little girl's hair stood on the end which was no longer caused by the cold air outside.

 

In Zhiqi's memory, she was held by a man for a long, long time.
The bumpy ride almost made her vomit from being tossed around.

 

The man had wanted to transfer Zhiqi out of the city, however, he could only agonize because of the patrol and security checks at various toll gates in the middle of the night.
He had to temporarily hide the girl on a dilapidated truck carrying cabbages.

 

Disregarding her life-or-death situation, the man took his big padded jacket at the back of the truck, wrapped it up into a bundle, and went to sleep in the front seat.

 

Zhiqi was scared to death.
Her teeth rattled behind the sealed tape.
Her big, bright eyes were even brighter after being damped with tears, especially inside the dark trunk of the cabbage truck.

 

She couldn't see anything clearly, there was only the faint smell of a cold, rotten vegetable leaf at the tip of her nose.

 

That was the first time Zhiqi encountered that particular smell.
From then on, she never liked to eat cabbage very much.

 

It was the most terrifying and long night in Zhiqi's memory.
Her hands and feet were tightly bound for a long time, this resulted in her becoming numb, bruised, and paralyzed.

 

In contrast, the gangster who bound her was snoring loudly like thunder and sleeping soundly like a baby.

 

Ten-year-old children can't fathom profound questions as to why they encounter such misfortunes.
They can only be afraid and tremble helplessly.

 

Zhiqi couldn't remember how many times she cried making her face frozen with tears.
Her big eyes were fixed on the roof of the trunk.

 

Unfortunately, she couldn't see anything at first.
Until an unknown amount of time passed.
There was suddenly, a slight rustling sound that came from outside the truck.

 

The truck carrying Chinese cabbage was not sealed with steel, it was only supported by curtains that hung all around it.
Now, the curtains were being lifted gently to the side which made light appear inside the truck from the bright morning.

 

Zhi Qi immediately curled up in fright, her eyes looking terrified.

 

She was afraid that it was the man who was finally going to 'kill' her.
For a moment, she seemed to hear ringing in her ears, ignoring the thunderous snoring which continued.

 

She suddenly saw a person's head emerge from the corner of the opened curtain.

 

That moment was the first time she saw Jiang Qi.
She never thought that the 'unparalleled hero' who saved her from the fire and water1 would be a little boy about her age.

 

But he was.

 

The boy with a pale face with sharp eyebrows despite his young age, saw a little girl tied up in a ball inside the truck.
Yet his expression was calm.

 

“Don't make a sound.”

 

Jiang Qi's voice was very low, almost speaking in an airy tone.  His movements neatly removed the restraints on the girl's hands and feet.  He appeared very skilled in dismantling things frequently.

 

After getting free, the stagnant blood returned to her small hands and feet.
However, the numbness almost made Zhiqi cry out.

 

Fortunately, Jiang Qi seemed to have known that would happen and did not take off the tape on her face.
The boy turned his back on her and said softly, “Climb on my back.”

 

Zhiqi's hands and feet were sore that she almost lost consciousness, but perhaps it was because she was desperate to survive, or maybe because she was too scared that she managed to crawl onto Jiang Qi's back.

 

It was like she was dreaming.

 

He was only a little taller than her, yet he carried her on his back in the cold and deserted early morning in Shimada District.

 

He ran like a mad man just to get as far away from that place as fast as possible.  Leaving that place was leaving those nightmares and pain…

 

…

 

The first time she saw Jiang Qi, he saved her.
Since then, she has only dreamed of Jiang Qi from when he was a boy to a teenager.
His pale face, and black and sharp eyebrows, left her in trance.

 

The boy was running with her on his back.  Zhiqi's blue and purple arms were wrapped around his neck.
Despite being in a dangerous situation, she inexplicably felt at ease.
Until the bumpy road tossed her stronger and Jiang Qi suddenly grew taller and his face looked ruthless and fierce.

 

Zhiqi was stunned for a moment, then subconsciously straightened up and took her hands away only to find her white hands were covered with warm blood…
it was a bright red.
Jiang Qis.

 

“Jiang Qi!”

 

Zhiqi sat up abruptly, sweating all over almost soaking her chestnut hair on her forehead.

 

At the same time, the lights in the bedroom also turned on and the soft warm-colored lights broke the heavy feeling and hard atmosphere in the dark.

 

Her roommate Meng Chunyu only vaguely heard Zhixi's cry and sat up suddenly.
She turned on the bedside lamp, rubbed her eyes, and asked confusedly, “Xiqi, are you having nightmares again?”

 

Zhiqi was still immersed in the endless nightmare and after a long while, she blinked her eyes dully.

 

“…Sorry.” She turned her head and her soft bright voice was now hoarse.
She said slowly, “Chun Yu, you should continue to sleep.”

 

She hasn't recovered from the nightmare yet and Zhiqi's hands and feet were numb.

 

It wasn't until the desk lamp went out and the bedroom was plunged into darkness again that Zhiqi slowly curled up on her knees and wrapped her arms around it – just like a baby seeking a mother’s protection.

 

Zhiqi murmured, “Jiang Qi…”

 

She misses him.

 

Every time she dreamed of Jiang Qi, she wouldn’t be able to sleep and could only stare at the dawn with her eyes open.

 

Meng Chunyu, who was in the next bed, woke up and went to wash up.
She