Chapter 12 The Strangers

The wounds were all over Marilyn’s body. The heat of her cheeks faded away and became a dull and thick swelling instead. The wound on her forehead was very deep. The flesh around it was slightly spilt and the blood fell on her eyebrows, which made her itchy. A bright commercial vehicle was parked at the gate of the housing estate. The inside was spacious and comfortable. The brown ox-hide seats were embroidered a large English letters "L" with exquisite hand stitches. "L" was the first letter of Ethan’s family name "Lan". They arranged Marilyn at the second row. The car galloped at full speed and she had no idea where she was going. "Who are you? Where are you taking me?" Although she had been rescued by these people, she was almost frightened to death now. She could not believe anyone, even the three strong men in black who helped her drag away the danger. "Who are you? I want to get off!" The three men looked at each other, not knowing how to explain their identity. Ethan Lan ordered them to protect this woman in secret. They had thought that they would just follow her and help her to solve the problem secretly. But they didn’t expect that she had been beaten up in such a violent way when they just found her. They had to appear immediately and protect her. Now they became police attendants. The three of them had been taken care of by their own bodyguards. Now that they became Marilyn’s bodyguard and she were pressing them to tell their identity. The three of them shook their heads at the same time. Marilyn kept asking about the status of the three. Judging from her resolute and persistent expression, it seemed that she would open the door and jump out of the car if they didn’t say it. ’It’s really a pain in the butt. She is just like Mr. Lan, they are both troublesome, ’ they thought. "Miss Shu, your wound needs to be treated now. Let’s take you to treat it first," One of the men said. That was the best answer he could think of. Anyway, the wound should be treated. "Thank you. There’s no need to deal with it. I’ll go back myself." Although Marilyn didn’t know where to go and what to do next, she still insisted on not going with them. She just wanted to stay alone, even if she needed to find a hole at the bridge and crouch down. She really didn’t have the strength to deal with the unknown danger again. The answer would not fool Marilyn at all. The three looked at each other and didn’t know how to answer. When she saw that the three people all kept silent, Marilyn thought that they were up to no good. "I want to get off. Open the door. I want to get off!" She struggled to open the door. She tried her best to open the door and prepared to jump out of the car. The man sitting by the door shouted to the other two men, because he couldn’t do anything to Marilyn. "Would you please do me a favor?" The other two stared at him helplessly. "How about I make a call to ask for permission?" One of the men took out his phone and dialed Ethan’s number "Yes, we saw her. But there is a small problem." "Did she have a problem again?" At the other end of the line, Ethan was slightly surprised. ’What a big problem is it? Can’t the three skillful men deal with it?’ "What problem?" he asked. "Well... When we arrived, Miss Shu had conflict with someone. Hmm... Physical conflicts." "Physical conflict? What do you mean? What kind of physical conflicts?" When he heard that Marilyn was having a conflict with someone, Ethan turned serious all of a sudden. "It’s probably... counted as the criminal Injuries. Hmm... Maybe a little serious than that." The man in black thought for a while and carefully answered. "What? Are you serious? Criminal Injuries? I just don’t know... What do you people do? I let you three protect her. How could she get hurt under you three people’s protection? Didn’t I tell you to protect her secretly?" Ethan’s roar came through the phone, and the man in black quickly moved the phone away from his ear. "Yes, it is. But Miss Shu had already got fight with others before we arrived. We didn’t get a chance to protect her..." Hearing this explanation, Ethan quickly calmed himself down. "How’s it going now? Have you treated the wound?" "The problem is... She doesn’t want to go with us. She must know who we are. We become her guards now." The man in black complained in a low voice. "So now we have to ask for instructions. Can we reveal our identity?" "Yes. Of course, everything is put her safety first. Arrange everything for her." "Got it!" The man heard the phone was hung up immediately. "Well, we can let you know who we are." He waved his hand to his companions. Hearing his words, the guard at the door was relieved and immediately explained to Marilyn. "Miss Shu, please calm down and listen to me. You don’t have to get out of the car. Let us explain to you." At the moment, Marilyn’s head was dizzy. She was too tired to struggle. Upon hearing his words, she calmed down and stared at the three of them in turn. The man who called the phone started first. "Let me introduce myself. My name is Charles Zhong. Nice to meet you. And they are James Zhang and Victor Yu. We are friends of Ethan Lan." While on the other side, Marilyn was more confused. She had no idea why these people wanted to see her. "Then, what do you want to see me about?" Charles was completely confused. ’It turns out that Ethan is too impulsive? There is no response from the woman when she heard the name of Ethan. Did she not know him at all?’ James and Victor were stunned for a while. Then they laughed out uncontrollably. To their surprise, Ethan scolded them in a serious way and asked them to protect this woman. However, she didn’t know who Ethan was at all. That was the funniest joke they had heard this year. Now all the three of them thought it was enough to make them laugh at Ethan for a year. Holding back his laughter, Charles put on a serious look and asked, "Miss Shu, to be honest, you really don’t know who Ethan Lan is?" She looked blurry. "Ethan Lan? Who is he? I don’t..." She paused She suddenly remembered what the man said to her, ’This is not the first time we meet. My name is Ethan Lan.’ ’Oh my God! It is him! It is that man!’ As soon as she thought of the man Ethan Lan, her heart skipped a beat. She scratched her hair and plunged her head her arms because she didn’t want to look up. The three guys stared at her in shock. "So that means... you know Ethan?" Victor Yu read the expressions on Marilyn’s face. James grabbed his arm hard and Victor shut up immediately, but looked at Charles with a doubtful expression on his face. Looking at Victor, Charles also shook his head in bewilderment. He thought to himself, ’Ethan, what have you done to that girl? You shouldn’t have left such a bad impression. It seems every time she think of you, she feel very upset. You are really something! And you let us clear up the mess for you.’ So he coughed and said, "Well, Hum... Miss Shu, I think you know Mr. LAN. He sent us to protect you so you can believe us now." Marilyn heaved a deep sigh. It seemed that she had no other choice. The three persons in front of her were not bad guys. At least she was safe for now. "Well, where are we going now?" "We have arranged a doctor to treat your wound in a hostel. After that, you can have a rest there." The Doctor Zhang’s home was not far from the Army Hostel, so it was convenient for the doctor to take good care of Marilyn. Marilyn slowly leaned back in the chair and gradually relaxed her taut body. After a long while, she looked up at the three. "Thank you." She said it seriously, which made the three feel warm inside. The car braked to a halt at the door of the hostel. With one of his hands supporting Marilyn, James helped her get out of the car with the help of Victor. Charles walked ahead. "Has Doctor Zhang arrived?" "He is waiting for you in room 116." The room 116 was not big, but it was clean and tidy. Doctor Zhang told Marilyn to sit on the edge of the bed. Then he took ice pack out of the refrigerator, put it on her face and took alcohol cotton out of the medical kit. "Everything is fine except that part on your forehead. I will deal with it first. If you feel dizzy and sick later and can’t see anything clearly, you’d better go to the hospital for a MRI checkup." While saying that, the doctor pushed aside the hair on Marilyn’s head. The bruise on her forehead became larger, and the skin was black and blue. The blood on the wound had already clotted. There was also some dirt mixed with the broken stones and soil on her skin. "It hurts a little. Be patient." Saying, he pressed the cotton bud with alcohol on the bruise on her forehead. Shuddering, she took a deep breath. The wound on her forehead was so painful that it made her shiver. She straightened her back and bit her lips hard. Doctor Zhang looked at Marilyn with admiration. ’No wonder Ethan like her. Clean, tough, not affected. She is perfect for him, ’ he thought.