Assassination Attempt

Time passed, and at five o'clock in the afternoon, Professor Li announced the dismissal. Qin Ze, carrying his messenger bag, looked down at his phone and slowly left the classroom.

"Qin Ze, waiting for you at the usual spot."

"We're already playing, hurry over when you're done,"

His roommates left messages for him in the dormitory chat group.

It's only five o'clock now, there's still time. Playing a few games and then going home wouldn't be too late, and wouldn't interfere with his modeling homework. Thinking of this, Qin Ze happily dashed towards the internet cafe.

Striving for progress requires immense willpower. But to fall, you only need a reason to convince yourself.

At the Xi Yu Internet Cafe, he puffed on cigarettes and dominated the virtual world, fighting until six-thirty when Qin Ze realized the sky outside the window was already dusky.

"Again, again, I don't believe I can lose three times in a row," Li Liang said, biting his cigarette butt and cursing.

Apart from their initial victory in the first game, the four-man team had lost the next two games in a row, making Li Liang, who was very competitive, unusually unwilling and irritable.

Qin Ze looked at the time, remembering that his sister had thrown a tantrum last night, and decisively rejected the game invitation from the internet addict Liu Ziqiang, quitting the game and settling the bill on the computer. "You guys play, I have a lot of work to do today, I'm going back first. Let's do it another day."

If I don't make a Chicken Stew with Mushrooms tonight, will Qin Baobao sever our sibling relationship?

"Damn, can't we just have some fun?" Li Liang rolled his eyes.

Qin Ze patted him on the shoulder and said goodbye, "I'm leaving."

Taking the elevator downstairs, he lit a cigarette at the entrance of the internet cafe. At this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he saw several youths with a gangster-like appearance walking towards him, wearing jeans, black T-shirts, and hair covering their eyes, somewhere between normal people and scene kids.

Qin Ze had always kept a respectful distance from these kinds of people. He gripped his lighter and stepped aside to avoid them. Unexpectedly, the guy with the silver earring in the lead bumped into him provocatively with his shoulder. As a result, he didn't knock Qin Ze down, but instead stumbled himself, fortunately his companion behind him supported him.

"Fucking your mother," the Silver Earring Youth cursed, raising his foot to kick Qin Ze in the abdomen.

Qin Ze quickly retreated a few steps, avoiding his kick. Just as he was about to speak, the youth pressed on relentlessly, shouting, "Hit him."

Several people swarmed forward. In the chaos, Qin Ze didn't know how many kicks he had taken or how many punches he had received. In the past, he would have definitely fallen to the ground, curled up and covered his head, letting them hit him as they pleased. But he was different now, his body was strong, and his ability to withstand blows was on a different level.

Five or six people surrounded him, kicking and punching. Qin Ze also fought back, kicking one guy over, who clutched his stomach, convulsing and retching, unable to stand up for a moment.

Qin Ze gritted his teeth, enduring the rain of blows, kicking and punching back. As he fought... huh, where are they!

A glance around, and they were all lying on the ground.

I'm not the same as I used to be, now I'm a fitness expert who can jump one meter high. How strong are my legs? A surge of pride rose in his heart, and he couldn't help but want to roar.

It was rush hour now, and there were many pedestrians on the road, all watching, some taking photos or recording short videos with their phones.

During the fight, adrenaline was pumping, and he was mentally excited. Now that the heat had cooled down, he felt pain all over, especially in his face and eyes, which were burning with pain.

Damn it, the protagonists in novels block every move and can fight ten people alone. It's all a lie. When you really fight, it's a chaotic swarm, you don't have three heads and six arms, what do you mean block every move?

"Fuck your sister, you bunch of bastards, just wait to go to the police station," Qin Ze spat a mouthful of bloody saliva at the Silver Earring Youth and took out his phone to call the police.

What year is it? There's a price to pay for hitting people.

Perhaps hearing that he was going to call the police, the Silver Earring Youth became anxious, took out a folding knife from his pocket, and slammed into Qin Ze, staggering him. At the same time, he stabbed the folding knife into Qin Ze's abdomen.

His lower abdomen felt slightly cool, not as painful as he had imagined, but Qin Ze only felt a chill climb up his spine, and his heart beat violently.

Shallow medical knowledge told him that pain is caused by the flow of blood and the stretching of muscles, which stimulate the nerves and lead to the sensation of pain. Many times, death is not linked to pain. The absence of severe pain does not mean you are okay.

I've been stabbed!

I might die!

Immense fear enveloped him, adrenaline surged, and the wildness hidden in his DNA was unleashed. Like a dying beast, he retaliated.

He punched the Silver Earring Youth in the face with all his might, breaking his nose.

"Murder! Murder!"

"Call the police!"

"Call 120 first!"

"Quick, take a picture and post it on Weibo."

The surrounding onlookers erupted. Some were panicked, some were anxious and couldn't bear to watch, some were at a loss, and some were gleeful. More and more passersby gathered.

Inside the internet cafe, Li Liang was furiously typing on the keyboard and moving the mouse, fighting to the death in the game.

He heard the commotion downstairs, vaguely hearing "Murder! Murder..."

The sensitive words stimulated his instincts, his heart pounded, and the game became insignificant at that moment. He threw the mouse aside, rushed to the security window, and looked down.

He immediately saw Qin Ze sitting on the ground, his abdomen bloody, with several young men lying beside him, groaning.

Li Liang's pupils constricted instantly, a chill rose, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. He said sharply, "Qin Ze has been stabbed!"

Zhao Baliao and Liu Ziqiang, who rushed up behind him, felt their hearts sink, their heads buzzing, and fear, rage, panic... many emotions surged.

"Call 120..."

"Quick, call the police."

"Hello, Professor Qin... Qin Ze has been stabbed, at, at Xi Yu Internet Cafe not far from the school gate..."

The incandescent light illuminated the small room of over thirty square meters, with whitewashed walls, a sofa, a TV, a single bed, and the faint smell of alcohol cotton and disinfectant floating in the air.

Qin Ze lay pale on the single hospital bed, wearing a blue and white striped hospital gown, with an IV drip in his right hand, cooperating with the police to take notes.

Old Man Qin sat on the sofa, his face gloomy. Not long ago, he was driving home when he received a call from a student saying that his son had been stabbed. Old Man Qin was furious at the time, frantically turned the steering wheel, made a perfect arc, and ignored the reverse driving and running red lights, heading straight to the school. The usually law-abiding Old Man Qin stepped on the accelerator to the end, speeding through the city at the speed of a highway. It only took five minutes to reach the scene and see his son lying in a pool of blood.

At this time, the ambulance also arrived at the scene. There were two hospitals near the university town, only a few kilometers away.

Qin Ze was rushed to the emergency room for rescue. Old Man Qin paced back and forth anxiously outside, grabbing Li Liang, Zhao Baliao, and Liu Ziqiang to ask about the situation. The three guys were also dumbfounded, saying they didn't know, they were playing games in the internet cafe, and when they heard someone shouting murder downstairs, they went over to take a look and found that Qin Ze had been stabbed.

Half an hour later, the white-coated doctor came out of the suture room, and Old Man Qin's heart suddenly rose, fearing that he would say: We have tried our best.

Then his Old Qin family would be finished.

Fortunately, Qin Ze's life was not meant to end. The doctor said that fortunately, the folding knife was a five-centimeter small knife, the wound was not deep, and it did not stab dangerous places such as organs and arteries. There was no danger to life, but there was a little too much blood loss, and he would be fine after a period of recuperation.

Old Man Qin almost cried with joy, thinking that his son had been mediocre and incompetent since he was a child, and mediocre people should live a long life.

He arranged a private room for his son. After the nurse gave Qin Ze a tetanus shot, Old Man Qin also sent Li Liang and the others away, saying thank you classmates, I will treat everyone to dinner another day.

Soon, the police arrived.

"Do you know them?" The police officer taking notes was in his early thirties, asking meticulously.

"I don't recognize them!" Qin Ze's voice was weak, mainly from the pain. The anesthetic had worn off, and his wound was throbbing, making his mouth twitch. Even breathing tugged at the abdominal wound.

The police officer diligently took notes and asked, "How did the conflict start?"

"I'm not sure. They just bumped into me for no reason. I dodged, and then he kicked me and called his friends to join in the beating."

"And then?"

"I defended myself, of course. I couldn't just stand there and get beaten, right? They couldn't beat me, so they all ended up on the ground. I was about to call the police when that son of a... guy pulled out a knife and stabbed me. I thought I was going to die, so I punched him. Oh, officer, how are those guys doing...?"

A dozen minutes later, the statement was complete.

The police officer said, "The assailants have been detained at the police station. The person who stabbed you is in this hospital. You broke his nose, and he's also under investigation. We'll pull the surveillance footage from the internet cafe. Depending on the severity of the injuries, if it constitutes a minor injury or more, we'll prosecute him according to the law."

Old Man sent the police officer away and returned to the hospital room with a dark face.

Qin Ze said, "Dad, where's my sister?"

"I sent her to pick up your mom. She'll stay here tonight to take care of you." Old Man took out a cigarette, then suddenly realized he was in a hospital room and put it back in the cigarette case.

Qin Ze laughed and said, "Dad, if you want to smoke, just smoke. Close the door, open the window, and... by the way, light one for me too."

"What are you smoking for? You're in this state and still thinking about cigarettes." Old Man had a big smoking habit. Hearing his son's encouragement, he closed the door, opened the window, and stood by the window, puffing out smoke.

Old Man took a few puffs, his mind slightly calmed, but he was still terrified. He angrily lectured Qin Ze, "You got lucky this time. Keep your eyes open in the future, and don't go around causing trouble. If you can't beat them, you can run. What's the point of fighting head-on? Fighting is the most irrational thing. If you win, you go to jail; if you lose, you end up in the hospital."

Qin Ze remained silent, thinking, I'm a modern-day Dou E, okay? Who caused trouble?

The rhythm of the father and son's interaction was basically one side lecturing and the other listening.

"About school..."

"I'll help you get a leave of absence. You stay in the hospital for a few days, and when your injuries are better, go home to recuperate. Don't worry about exams or anything. You can take make-up exams next semester."

"Oh, oh."

A father is the guide for his son; Qin Ze had always been afraid of his dad.

Just then, the hospital room door was pushed open, and Qin Baobao and her mother rushed in like a whirlwind.

Old Man's hand trembled, and he almost dropped his cigarette on the ground.