Chapter 6

That really stung!

Zhang Yang clutched his injured chest. "This is why he hated exam-oriented education! If you did badly on exams, you had no human rights!"

Yue Bin coaxed and herded the group of friends back to school, then went downstairs to buy water himself. The once-noisy hospital room was left with only Lu Chi. He glanced at the phone on the bedside table, hesitated for a moment, then called his father...

When Qiao Shiyu hurried to the hospital, she happened to run into Yue Bin at the ward entrance as he returned from buying things.

Though he was not as aggressive as Zhang Yang had been toward Lu Chi, with Yue Bin's intelligence and his understanding of Qiao Shiyu, it was not hard for him to connect Lu Chi's beating with Qiao Shiyu's "confession." He frowned at the breathless Qiao Shiyu and said disapprovingly, "Seeing you like this, Lu Chi getting beaten really was connected to you?"

After a pause, Yue Bin added, "What exactly happened? Do you need my help?"

Qiao Shiyu bit her lip. A stubborn look appeared on her lovely face as she replied stiffly, "It's none of your business. This has nothing to do with you!"

"Nothing to do with me?" Yue Bin raised an eyebrow, a half-smile on his face. "Sure, it has nothing to do with me. But how much does it have to do with the person lying in there? Did he really deserve to get beaten?"

Qiao Shiyu was left speechless by Yue Bin's question.

Yue Bin continued, "Do you know that the first thing he worried about after waking up was the medical bill? The second was telling us not to notify his parents, because he was afraid his family would worry. He clearly knew who beat him, but he played dumb in front of us and said he didn't know..."

"He was probably protecting you, wasn't he?"

"Qiao Shiyu!" Gone was the usual easygoing, cheerful boy. With his face set sternly, Yue Bin gave off an intimidatingly serious air. "If you really think your business has nothing to do with anyone else, then handle every one of your own affairs properly. Don't drag other people into them."

"No one deserves to be dragged down by you. And you have no right to carelessly toss out a 'none of your business' after dragging someone else into it!"

"And why do you think those people found Lu Chi so quickly? Not too early or too late, but right during Monday's lunch break. Is it possible they found their lead through that high-profile 'missing person notice' you put up?"

Yue Bin's sharp words ruthlessly exposed the very thing Qiao Shiyu had feared most. Her expression changed abruptly. She bit her lip hard, her eyes reddening as she glared at Yue Bin.

Yue Bin stared back at her sternly.

Lu Chi, inside the ward, did not hear the confrontation between Yue Bin and Qiao Shiyu. Lying on the hospital bed, he had fallen asleep once more.

And in his dreams, the nightmare of exams began again...

When Lu Chi woke up again, it was already dark outside.

Yue Bin and Qiao Shiyu were slouched at opposite ends of the ward's sofa, one doing homework and the other playing Snake. Hearing movement from the hospital bed, they immediately looked up, rose to their feet, and asked, "You're awake? How do you feel?"

Yue Bin casually handed Lu Chi a bottle of water and thoughtfully unscrewed the cap for him. "Have some water first. Are you hungry?"

Lu Chi thanked him quietly and asked, "What time is it?"

Yue Bin checked his watch. "A little after six. Oh, and while you were asleep, the police came again to take a statement. I didn't let them wake you. But Qiao Shiyu told them some things that might help with the case."

Hearing that, Lu Chi subconsciously glanced at Qiao Shiyu.

The school beauty looked at him with red-rimmed eyes and said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I'm the one who dragged you into this. If you hadn't tried to save me, they wouldn't have retaliated against you."

Lu Chi smiled and shook his head, comforting her. "Don't say that. We still don't know what really happened."

His smile was faint, just the slightest curve at the corners of his lips. Yet his gentle temperament, clear eyes, and relaxed features softened the entire outline of his face. Like a spring breeze carrying the scent of fresh grass, it lightly brushed against the softest part of one's heart, making one feel refreshed as well.

Unfortunately, the smile vanished in an instant. The next second, Lu Chi seemed to remember something and frowned. He threw back the blanket covering him and laboriously turned to get out of bed.

"Need to use the bathroom?" Yue Bin raised an eyebrow, stepping forward to support Lu Chi. "I'll go with you."

Lu Chi shook his head and explained, "I need to find somewhere with a computer. I told Miao Miao I'd grade her homework every night. If I don't, she'll worry."

Yue Bin looked at Lu Chi in surprise. He probably had not expected Lu Chi to still remember something so trivial after being hit so hard he had a concussion. But he did not say much, merely smiling. "Zhang Yang and the others said they'd come see you after school. Perfect timing—I told them to bring a laptop. When you're bored, you can surf the internet or play some games."

Around the year 2000, a laptop cost at least twenty thousand yuan. Just hearing about it made Lu Chi's heart pound, let alone using it to play games.

He shook his head at Yue Bin. "Thanks, but there's no need. I can just find an internet café. If it's not too much trouble, could you ask them to bring my backpack?"

"You're not still thinking about studying, are you?" Qiao Shiyu, who had not spoken for a while, looked at Lu Chi as though he were unbelievable. "Don't you have a concussion? Isn't your head dizzy? Don't you feel nauseous and unwell?"

Lu Chi looked unconcerned. "I'll feel uncomfortable lying there anyway. I might as well read some books and memorize vocabulary. It'll distract me."

Yue Bin: "..."

Qiao Shiyu: "..."

That reason was simply too powerful. After the two stared at each other for a while, Yue Bin said, "How about you eat dinner first? The doctor prescribed a lot of medicine. We still have to take it later!"

This time, Lu Chi nodded.

Seeing that, Yue Bin teased with a smile, "You finally nodded. All that head-shaking nearly made me dizzy."

"—You're the one who's been taking drugs!"