Page 10

"But who exactly did you offend? Judging by how that group operated, they were definitely repeat offenders, weren't they?"

Lu Chi had only transferred here a little over a week ago. The people he had met and the things he had encountered were limited. Who could he possibly have offended?

A flicker passed through Lu Chi's eyes as the scene from that night in the narrow alley rose before him. He thought of Qiao Shiyu, disheveled and bedraggled, her clothes in disorder, nearly humiliated... For a girl, she definitely would not want anyone to know about that experience, much less bring it up again and again...

After a moment of deliberation, Lu Chi said calmly, "I only came to Yanjing not long ago. I don't know who I might have offended either—"

"Could it have something to do with Qiao Shiyu?" Before he could finish, Yue Bin interrupted him with a frown.

Lu Chi looked at Yue Bin.

Yue Bin raised a brow and said bluntly, "What are you looking at me for? Let me tell you, don't be fooled by how handsome I am. My IQ is actually pretty high, okay? You're a high school student who just transferred here from another province, and you live on campus. The number of times you could leave school in a week is limited. Who could you possibly offend?"

"...Besides, given your current circumstances, you shouldn't have had any connection with Qiao, the school belle. Yet she made such a huge fuss looking for you on the school bulletin board. She didn't know your name or your class, but she still carelessly put up a missing-person notice. Obviously, she was trying to mobilize the masses." Zhang Yang rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes, wearing an expression like Sherlock Holmes possessed him. Picking up where Yue Bin had left off, he said meaningfully, "Before, I thought she'd really fallen in love with you at first sight. But now it seems... the truth may not be so simple!"

After hearing Zhang Yang's analysis, the group of friends all nodded in agreement. One of them spoke up. "If that's really the case, shouldn't we call Qiao, the school belle?"

No matter what, Lu Chi might have been beaten because of Qiao Shiyu!

Prompted by his friend, Yue Bin came around as well and immediately said, "Right! If this really has something to do with her, then we really should get her over here."

"Exactly! What if the police are useless and fail to catch the people who beat Lu Chi? Then the Qiao family should cover Lu Chi's medical expenses—he can't get beaten up for nothing and still have to pay for his own treatment, can he?" Zhang Yang urged Yue Bin to call Qiao Shiyu with a grin. The others repeatedly nodded, all of them eagerly excited to watch the drama unfold.

Lu Chi stared expressionlessly at his classmates, who had already filled in the key plot points without needing him to say a word. His head only hurt more.

While Yue Bin went out to make the call, Zhang Yang sidled up to Lu Chi's bedside with a cheeky grin and tried to persuade him with banter. "Listen, Lu Chi. If you know who beat you, mention it when the police come to take your statement later. It'll help the officers narrow down their investigation and catch the bad guys faster. You'll get your revenge, and your whole family will be safe too, right?"

Lu Chi silently watched the grinning classmate sitting beside his hospital bed.

Zhang Yang chuckled and scratched his forehead with one finger. "Don't look at me like that. I'm doing this for your own good. Look, you and your sister just transferred to Yanjing. You don't know anyone here. If some thugs really have their eye on you, that's no small matter. You got lucky today—you took a blow from a club and weren't seriously hurt. But what if your sister gets targeted tomorrow? They followed you all the way to the entrance of Yanda Affiliated Primary School!"

Lu Chi's heart tightened, and his gaze at Zhang Yang grew colder.

But Zhang Yang only shrugged unconcernedly. "I'm just a busybody worrying over something that has nothing to do with me. I just think you're a pretty good guy. There's no need to drag yourself into this over someone else's family affairs..."

Zhang Yang said a couple more things, then felt he might have overstepped for someone who barely knew Lu Chi. He abruptly stopped and said with a grin, "All right, I'm just saying it. You can just listen. As for what to do, I'm sure you already know what you have in mind—"

"What does he have in mind?" Yue Bin, who had just finished his call outside, pushed the door open and came in. He glanced at Zhang Yang and frowned. "Were you spouting nonsense again?"

Zhang Yang put on an innocent expression, mimed zipping his lips shut, and smiled silently.

The friends standing around the hospital room, enjoying the show, said with giggles, "You know Zhang Yang's the type who's afraid the world isn't chaotic enough. If he ever goes a day without stirring something up, that'd be the real disaster!"

"Who's stirring things up?" Zhang Yang turned to glare at them, protesting with great dissatisfaction. "Stop slandering me. I'm just concerned about our new classmate... and, while I'm at it, a little concerned about Qiao, the school belle."

Yue Bin could not be bothered to deal with a friend who treated causing trouble like a proper career. He said to Lu Chi, "I already called Qiao Shiyu. She said she'll be here soon."

As he spoke, Yue Bin sat down beside the hospital bed and patiently said, "I know you insist on not informing your parents because you're afraid they'll worry, and they can't rush over from out of town anyway. But you can't be hospitalized alone without anyone to take care of you. So I just hired a caregiver for you..."

Yue Bin paused, then changed tack and continued persuading him. "But I still suggest you tell your parents. This case has already been filed. The police will definitely go to the school to investigate, and the teachers will find out then. Social delinquents attacked a student at Yanda Affiliated High School—something this serious will definitely be reported to the parents by the school. Rather than letting your parents hear about it from someone else, you should call them yourself. Tell them you're fine and not to worry..."

Yue Bin placed his strawberry-colored phone on the bedside table and thoughtfully opened the dial pad. "Are you thirsty? I'll go buy you some water."

"Perfect, I'm thirsty too!" Zhang Yang immediately got to his feet and took over. "...Let's find somewhere to eat. I'm starving."

"What are you talking about, eating?" Yue Bin frowned and said to the others, "You should head back to school first. Help me ask for leave while you're there. I'll stay here and look after him this afternoon."

"Why should you?" Led by Zhang Yang, several of the others protested at once. Qiao Shiyu had not even arrived yet! They had not finished watching the show!

"Because I ranked eighth in the entire grade on this month's exam!" Yue Bin looked straight at Zhang Yang. "You're outside the top hundred!"