Rebirth in 1986: Unforgettable Regrets
Chapter 226: Bitter Consequences

Chapter 226: Chapter 226: Bitter Consequences

Cao Lei really didn’t expect that the rumors about someone going to Xiao Shu Woods in school were true, and it was indeed Zhenzhen.

Before this, Cao Lei took advantage of the night to run through several small woods on the school campus, but he never found what he wanted to see. After several attempts, he lost interest.

Today, all he intended to do was to return to his dormitory for some sleep. However, he had a stomach upset on the way back, and since the dorm was still a distance away, Cao Lei simply hid deep within the woods to relieve himself. After he was done, he vaguely saw someone coming in.

With a thought, Cao Lei hid behind a large tree. To the left front of the tree was a big stone, a popular spot, and just behind the stone was a stretch of grass.

Young couples liked to date here.

The big tree where Cao Lei hid was surrounded by dense bushes. He, a grown man, wouldn’t be noticed hiding within them.

The moonlight was beautiful and bright tonight, and from his spot, Cao Lei had a perfect, uninterrupted view of the steamy encounter.

Cao Lei was just eighteen, full of the vigor and hot blood of youth, and watching the live scene made him wish he could relieve some of the burning desire in his body.

Cao Lei kept hiding there until the two people separated. His eyes gleaming, he quietly followed behind Xu Zhenzhen.

Xu Zhenzhen, fearing discovery, furtively made her way through the woods.

This gave Cao Lei the perfect opportunity. Seizing the moment, he covered Xu Zhenzhen’s mouth and dragged her deeper into the forest.

"Ummph."

Xu Zhenzhen struggled violently.

Cao Lei was a man, and while he might not excel in other areas, he was quite strong. He often got into fights outside of school, and in his eyes, Xu Zhenzhen’s feeble struggles were nothing to pay attention to.

"Don’t shout, or else I will tell all the students in the school about what you and Wu Xinming just did in the woods," Cao Lei menacingly threatened.

Xu Zhenzhen’s eyes widened in shock, not having expected that their just-finished tryst had been witnessed.

Her heart immediately filled with panic, and she failed to notice the change in Cao Lei’s gaze toward her.

"Tsk tsk tsk." Cao Lei held her tightly, and with Xu Zhenzhen trapped and unable to resist, she could only shake her head fiercely, opening her mouth trying to bite Cao Lei.

"Xu Zhenzhen, if you dare to bite me, tomorrow, you’ll become famous," Cao Lei threatened her.

Xu Zhenzhen’s eyes brimmed with tears, and she dared not move an inch. Cao Lei was devoid of any sympathy, and once he was sure she wouldn’t make a sound, he carefully released his hand.

Xu Zhenzhen immediately pleaded, "Please let me go."

"I haven’t really done anything to you, have I?" Cao Lei said with an evil smirk, his gaze lingering on Xu Zhenzhen’s body, recalling the curves he had seen under the moonlight. Just the thought heated his body with desire.

Thinking this, Cao Lei acted on his urges and pinned Xu Zhenzhen down.

"Don’t..." Xu Zhenzhen resisted, wanting to scream for help, but she feared that Cao Lei would make the matter of her and Wu Xinming known to the whole school.

"Do you want me to make your affair known to the whole school?" Cao Lei pressed close to her.

"I don’t want that," Xu Zhenzhen shook her head with teary eyes, praying that Wu Xinming would come to rescue her.

Cao Lei sneered, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "Just once, and I won’t tell anyone about this."

Xu Zhenzhen bit her lip, hesitating for a long while, before finally asking, "Really, just once?"

"Just once."

Cao Lei immediately laughed, affirmatively speaking.

...

Xu Zhenzhen didn’t even know how she got back to the dormitory. As soon as she returned, she frantically washed her body with cold water.

"Is Xu Zhenzhen sick or something? Why is she taking a cold shower?"

"Who knows."

The roommates in the dormitory were woken up by Xu Zhenzhen and murmured a few words, but then ignored her.

Xu Zhenzhen was crying while showering, but dared not cry out loud.

The next day, Xu Zhenzhen took a sick leave for the whole day and lay in bed.

Usually, popularity shows its true colors at times like these. Xu Zhenzhen lay in the dormitory for a day, and no one even bothered to fetch her meal.

For the next several days, Xu Zhenzhen avoided Wu Xinming. It seemed as if she was genuinely studying.

Wu Xinming hinted at Xu Zhenzhen several times to come out, but Xu Zhenzhen dismissed him with the excuse of studying. She was frightened and scared deep down.

Tang Yue had no interest in dealing with Xu Zhenzhen’s problems, and she hadn’t expected that Xu Zhenzhen, whom she said would encounter ghosts if she walked the night roads too often, would so quickly suffer retribution.

Even if she knew, Tang Yue would probably clap in approval. If Xu Zhenzhen had a little more self-respect, how could she have allowed Cao Lei to grasp her weakness?

On the weekend, Xu Zhenzhen didn’t dare to go home and hid at her aunt Liu Li’s place. Liu Li incidentally discovered something was off with Xu Zhenzhen, noticing the marks on her body that seemed to be from kisses and scratches, and inquired about it.

Crying, Xu Zhenzhen recounted the whole incident, sobbingly asking, "Auntie, what should I do?"

"What’s there to do? Which do you prefer, being with Wu Xinming or with Cao Lei?" Instead of comforting Xu Zhenzhen, Liu Li asked her another question.

Xu Zhenzhen, who was already crying heartbrokenly, suddenly froze.

Liu Li said, "Zhenzhen, auntie doesn’t mean to criticize you, but look at the clothes you wear, they’re too plain. You know, both Wu Xinming and Cao Lei’s family backgrounds should be quite good. Why don’t you take this opportunity to gain some benefits?"

"We’ve already taken this loss; we can’t just let it go for nothing, can we?"

Liu Li, speaking as someone with experience, advised Xu Zhenzhen.

After Xu Zhenzhen returned to the school, at first, she felt embarrassed. However, when she saw Tang Yue again, the feeling of inferiority in her heart intensified, and she seemed to agree more with what her aunt had said.

Thus, Xu Zhenzhen started to please Wu Xinming as Liu Li had taught her. Indeed, her meals improved a lot every month, and with a little coquetry, Wu Xinming would buy her some things.

And Cao Lei, naturally unsatisfied with just a simple one-time encounter, found Xu Zhenzhen more cooperative the second time he approached her.

In the following days, Zhang Minmin gradually noticed Xu Zhenzhen often wearing new clothes and couldn’t help asking, "Sister Xiao Yue, didn’t you say the Xu family was quite poor? How come she has new clothes every day recently?"

"I don’t know." Tang Yue shook her head. She really didn’t know; with so much going on in the garment factory and having not returned to Qianjin Village for a long time, she naturally didn’t know the situation at Xu Family.

"Minmin, don’t bother with this, we’ve got the monthly test coming up, and you need to do well," Zhang Tingyu reminded from the side, "Uncle and Auntie said, if you don’t show improvement in this monthly test, don’t even think about acting in commercials."