Xiao Li felt his breathing quicken, like he was suffocating. The others seemed genuinely scared; no one came forward to help him. If this kept up, his throat would be damaged. 'I'm not going to take this lying down,' he thought. 'Fine, I'll apologize. I can just deal with them later.'
"I... I apologize."
Xiao Li forced the words out, his face flushed and his neck strained.
Sun Jiaming didn't let him go. He dragged him in front of Gu'er to make him apologize, his hand never leaving Xiao Li's neck.
"COUGH, COUGH. My apologies. I shouldn't have cursed at you. COUGH, COUGH."
As Xiao Li spoke, a humiliating glint flashed in his eyes. 'To think I'm apologizing to a couple of villagers today. Who the hell do they think they are? Aren't they afraid of bringing misfortune upon themselves? Just you wait. I'll get every single one of you back for this later.'
"Hmph."
Gu'er snorted coldly, showing her dissatisfaction. 'For now, I'll just have to play along,' she thought.
