His Venomous Former Boss Chased Him And Beat Him Fiercely Chapter 3

Kong Xunwen only felt a sudden voice near his ear, and his gaze immediately followed the sound, then dropped lower.

It was a… no, a group of children.

A quick glance showed five or six of them.

This change, more than any other, made Kong Xunwen feel disoriented.

When he was little, he was the one running and playing in the village. Back then, because his parents had suddenly arrived, there was a natural barrier between them and the original villagers who all knew each other well. They were excluded, and by extension, he wasn’t accepted either.

Despite this, Little Kong was happy entertaining himself. Later, when the children became curious about him and approached, Little Kong was actually a little reluctant.

Now, the village had a new look, and the ones playing at the entrance were new little ones.

And he, just like before, had suddenly appeared in the village, only this time, he was alone.

Kong Xunwen collected his thoughts and smiled at the children in front of him: “Hello.”

“Ni hao.” It was the voice from just now.

Kong Xunwen found the owner of the voice; it was a little girl with a somewhat serious expression and a side ponytail. Unlike city children, her face had the color of sun exposure.

It wasn’t just this little girl, who looked only three or four years old, but also the one, two… four other children beside her.

They looked like five little mud beans.

The little girl was the oldest among them, and she was responding to Kong Xunwen with a grown-up demeanor. Her dark, round eyes scrutinized him curiously, mixed with some wariness, as she shielded her younger siblings behind her.

Kong Xunwen also proactively maintained his distance.

“You are…?” Suddenly, another voice drew closer. Kong Xunwen turned his head and met the speaker’s gaze.

This was an Aunt Yu in her forties or fifties, with fleshy cheeks, a sharp chin, and thin lips. She squinted, muttering, “Why do you look a little familiar?”

Kong Xunwen wasn’t good at remembering people. Although he heard her clearly, she looked completely unfamiliar to him. He could only offer a polite smile: “I used to live in the village.”

The little girl relaxed slightly upon seeing a familiar person, but for some reason, she didn’t move closer to the Aunt Yu. The other children stayed close to her and didn’t approach the woman either.

The Aunt Yu, however, let out a long “Oh,” and Kong Xunwen’s heart tightened. Had she recognized him? But what if he didn’t recognize her? Panic!

Sure enough: “It’s you, isn’t it? The family behind the bamboo forest? Your parents…”

The woman abruptly cut herself off, not finishing the sentence. Her eyes held the pity Kong Xunwen was familiar with, mixed with something else that made him even more uncomfortable.

“Little Kong, you haven’t been back in a long time, have you? I shouldn’t say much about that incident, but your parents are here. How can you not come back during the holidays? It’s gotten to the point where I don’t even recognize you. You don’t remember me either, do you? I’m Aunt Yu, Yu He,” she lectured, finally introducing herself.

Kong Xunwen was already in a bad mood. He nodded with a hint of coldness, ignoring her familiar address, and, for once disregarding politeness: “I have something to do. I’ll be going now.”

Behind him, Yu He’s face instantly soured: “What kind of person is that…”

The little girl and the bewildered children behind her watched the retreating figure, their eyes suddenly brightening. The little girl mumbled to herself: “Brother Kong?”

Another little child nearby, not knowing how to keep her voice down, immediately repeated: “Brother Kong?”

This time, Yu He heard it.

Seeing Yu He raise her hand, Liu Tingfang pursed her lips and quickly tugged her little followers backward, her bright black eyes fixed on Yu He.

Yu He’s tightly drawn lips trembled. The look she gave Liu Tingfang made the girl’s spine stiffen, but she didn’t move away.

Yu He lowered her hand and returned to the reclining chair under the tree.

As the shadow covering her left, Liu Tingfang finally relaxed. Her little followers tugged at her sleeve, and she poked them with a frustrated finger: “Silly eggs!”

The little followers weren’t afraid. They covered their foreheads and grinned foolishly, showing off their missing teeth.

*

Kong Xunwen didn’t know what was happening behind him, but Yu He’s words had affected him.

His parents passed away successively during his senior year of college. First, his mother, diagnosed with late-stage cancer, and then his father, who was in a car accident while dazed from exhaustion.

He was left alone.

In the hospital room back then, his father’s gaze held a painful guilt, and his final words were to take care of himself and instructions for the funeral arrangements.

Both his parents were orphans who met in the orphanage and remained together through school and work. They loved the picturesque village they later found, but they wished to be buried where they first met.

That orphanage was now a desolate field, next to a cemetery. Kong Xunwen buried them there according to their wishes.

He had returned to the village once to handle some affairs, but since then, he had never come back until now.

He visited the cemetery on holidays and festivals.

This wasn’t something that couldn’t be mentioned, but the way Yu He brought it up just now made him uncomfortable. Kong Xunwen always trusted his intuition.

Not letting the matter affect his mood further, Kong Xunwen looked up, searching for the way home in his memory.

The road paved by his village was much wider than an asphalt road.

Walking up this road, a long slope was bordered by terraced fields. In early spring, the fields were already sown with green seedlings, gently swaying in the shallow water. Figures moved in the distance, and Kong Xunwen quickly walked past.

At the top of the terraces was a bamboo forest. Past the bamboo forest was the home Kong Xunwen was familiar with; the houses of the other villagers were clustered on the other side.

Above the wall, covered in green creeping vines, he could see the much taller pomegranate tree. Gray-brown branches sprouted, their tips adorned with tender buds, and the edges of the tiny leaves spread a faint red.

A stone slab extended from the threshold of the courtyard gate. Outside, the ground used to be a trodden dirt path, but few people walked this way over the years, and weeds had grown, almost covering the two loquat trees at the entrance.

Kong Xunwen pulled the key, warm from his body, out of his pocket. It hadn’t been used in three years, but it still looked brand new.

The lock had been replaced just before the accident, but they never had a chance to use the new key.

He stepped forward, inserted the key into the lock, and with a faint click, the door opened.

A creaking sound echoed as the scene inside the door came into view.

Kong Xunwen paused briefly, knowing he would be busy for a long time now.

The small courtyard, once meticulously maintained by his mother, was now overgrown with weeds after three years, looking like an abandoned, unwanted place.

But now that he was back, he naturally had to clean it up properly.

Ignoring the courtyard for the moment, the most important task was to clear a place to live.

The house had four floors. When they packed up, everything had been covered with cloth to protect against dust. As Kong Xunwen lifted the cloths in each room, he gradually recalled his memories of being in this house.

The ground floor entrance led into the main hall, which faced the front yard. The hall and the back yard were separated by a pantry, with glass sliding doors on both sides. This area was previously used for receiving guests, though they rarely had any visitors.

On one side of the hall was the garage, where a tricycle was parked. For the village, this was more convenient. Next to it was an electric bike. Both hadn’t been used for years. Kong Xunwen left them for now, planning to check if they were usable later.

Next to the garage was a corridor leading directly to the backyard. When it rained, water would stream down the eaves tiles. Little Kong loved catching the rainwater and secretly tasting it when his parents weren’t looking.

On the other side of the hall was a guest room, but as mentioned, they rarely had guests, so this room mostly belonged to Kong Xunwen.

In addition, the second floor also had a room for Little Kong, and the entire third floor was dedicated to him.

The guest room was next to the backyard, while the kitchen and bathroom were located near the front yard.

Kong Xunwen focused his cleaning efforts here. He had briefly checked upstairs; the second floor was somewhat messy because of the cleanup after his parents passed, with most things packed away, making it troublesome to reorganize now.

The third floor had never been organized and remained completely empty.

Kong Xunwen spent the entire afternoon cleaning the first floor. He started with the room, carefully lifting the cloth. The items underneath weren’t completely clean and needed to be wiped down.

It wasn’t until the sky darkened that he pulled open the sliding door of the window next to the room, feeling slightly dazed, and took a deep breath of the outside air.

The scent of bamboo filled his nostrils, clearing his mind. He was hungry.

Turning to leave the room, he didn’t forget to close the door. There weren’t many insects yet, but he needed to be careful. He didn’t want to wake up and find “companions” on his pillow.

Although the lights were on in the room, they were dim from disuse. Kong Xunwen scanned the area. It was clean, but he wondered how many things were still functional.

It was already past five o’clock. There was nothing to eat at home, so he had to make a trip to the county town. Since he was going, he might as well buy some appliances too.

Kong Xunwen spent some time inventorying the appliances on the first floor. Fortunately, they were only small items. He noted them down on his phone before heading out.

He went to the garage. He had tested the tricycle while cleaning, and it was still rideable. The county town wasn’t far from the village. If necessary, he could push the tricycle, but he also needed to pick up the things he had shipped earlier. He figured fixing the tricycle while he was there wouldn’t take much effort.

The electric bike was too difficult to ride. He would have to find time later to take it to the county town to see about repairs, or perhaps sell it and buy a new one.

Kong Xunwen turned on the lights in front of the house and set off on the tricycle, slightly awkwardly at first. It had been a long time since he rode a vehicle like this, making him rusty, but he quickly got the hang of it just outside the gate.

As he rode, watching the sky darken, he thought that usually at this time, he would still be at the company. Speaking of which, his superior—his former superior—would be returning from his business trip tomorrow and could then approve his resignation request.

*

Meanwhile,

Qiu Zhijie, finally remembered by Kong Xunwen, raised a hand: “Alright, you can leave now. We return tomorrow, as is customary.”

Then, remembering the new hires, he casually added: “If you don’t know something, ask Kong… Rong Yu.”

Rong Yu nodded in acknowledgment. Seeing the fatigue on the man’s face, she raised her hand, understanding the signal, and quickly waved subtly, motioning for the new hires to follow her out.

Someone hesitated, and Rong Yu glanced at them, then reached out and gave them a push.

The room was finally empty. Qiu Zhijie reopened his computer and clicked on his email. Aside from work emails, there was nothing else, especially not that familiar name.

It seemed he really was taking a good rest.

Thinking this, Qiu Zhijie’s brow relaxed. That was a good thing.

The cursor on the screen subconsciously moved to the familiar name and then clicked into the conversation. The cold, stark dialogue was reflected in his dark eyes, and Qiu Zhijie’s lips twisted slightly.

The cursor hovered over the input box, but his fingertip remained suspended above the keyboard for a long time without descending.

After a long pause, Qiu Zhijie finally opened his phone, frowned, typed something, looked at it for a while, then opened the camera to examine himself, and finally closed it with satisfaction.