Page 12

As soon as Yue Bin finished speaking, the ward door was suddenly pushed open. Zhang Yang and the others filed in with grins on their faces. Behind them came Lu Chi's homeroom teacher, Sun Yiping, along with another middle-aged couple dressed in fine suits and elegant clothes who looked every bit like successful people. The man was carrying several boxes of expensive supplements.

"How did you get here so quickly?" Yue Bin looked surprised.

"We came right after school. Were we supposed to have dinner in the cafeteria first?" Zhang Yang rolled his eyes at Yue Bin, still deeply resentful of someone's "evil deed" of driving him back to school.

Yue Bin could not be bothered with Zhang Yang. He nodded at Sun Yiping and smiled. "Hello, Teacher Sun."

"Hello, student. Thank you for getting Lu Chi to the hospital in time."

As he spoke, Teacher Sun walked over to Lu Chi and looked him over from head to toe. "How are you feeling? The school knows all about what happened to you. Don't worry. Since your parents trusted us enough to send you to school, the school has a duty to protect you. Yanda Affiliated High School will never tolerate this kind of behavior, nor will we allow these outsiders to endanger our students' personal safety. We will definitely handle this matter properly."

As Sun Yiping spoke, his gaze swept over Qiao Shiyu, who was standing to one side. Then he changed the subject. "However, we heard that this matter may also involve another female student. Considering the girl's reputation, the school does not wish for this incident to escalate. We hope you will all cooperate and refrain from discussing it in front of other students, or speculating too much about details unrelated to the case. What exactly happened can only be determined after the police catch the criminals. As for the school, our public statement will be that you encountered the Street Racing Gang and were robbed on the road. You were injured and need to take a few days off..."

In other words, someone did not want Lu Chi to connect the attack with the night he had saved Qiao Shiyu. At the very least, they did not want him revealing it to others.

Hearing this, Yue Bin subconsciously frowned. Zhang Yang and the others exchanged looks, their disapproval plain in their eyes.

Lu Chi smiled faintly, fully understanding the reasoning behind it. "Don't worry, Teacher Sun. I won't say anything carelessly in front of my classmates."

"But if the police come to take my statement, I'll mention it. Other than those people, I can't think of anyone else I might have offended."

Not mentioning Qiao Shiyu to his classmates was to protect the girl's reputation. Mentioning it to the police was also to solve the case as soon as possible and protect his family. After all, Lu Chi was not living alone in Yanjing. He had a fourteen-year-old younger brother and an eight-year-old younger sister. Just as Zhang Yang had reminded him, he could not afford to gamble.

Sun Yiping immediately said, "Of course, of course. Providing the police with as many clues as possible is also for the sake of solving the case sooner!"

Qiao Shiyu could not keep up appearances any longer and immediately cried out, "Dad, how can you do this? You clearly know Lu Chi got those thugs after him because he saved me—"

"Shut up!" Father Qiao glared at Qiao Shiyu and snapped harshly, "Everything you said is subjective speculation. Do you have any evidence? And who do you think I'm doing this for? You still have the nerve to make a fuss with me? Do you want the entire school to know you were abducted by a few little thugs? Do you think the mess you caused isn't big enough? That your father hasn't lost enough face already?"

The middle-aged woman who had come with Father Qiao earnestly advised, "Shiyu, just be good. You have no idea how overwhelmed your father has been these past few days because of you—"

"This is between my father and me. It has nothing to do with you!" Qiao Shiyu coldly cut her off. "And stop putting on an act in front of my dad. Don't think I don't know who sent those little thugs—"

"You child, how can you make such vicious accusations?"

"Enough!" Father Qiao, his face livid, cut off their quarrel. Frowning deeply, he looked at the woman. "Wenhui, why don't you go home first?"

An Wenhui looked at Father Qiao with restrained grievance, took a deep breath, and nodded. "All right. I'll leave first. But Old Qiao, I have to remind you that your daughter really needs some proper discipline!"

Everyone in the ward watched An Wenhui slam the door behind her as she left. Qiao Shiyu sneered. "Who knows what she even came here for? Speaking of manners, I think she's the one with a problem! Then again, no normal person would be so self-righteous about being a mistress!"

Father Qiao turned to look at Qiao Shiyu. She snorted coldly. "Don't look at me. Once those little thugs are caught, you'll know exactly how vicious your confidante really is!"

"Why are you becoming more and more unpleasant when you speak? You learned it all from your mother—" Father Qiao rebuked Qiao Shiyu, but when his gaze swept over the visitors waiting to watch the show, he immediately choked on his words.

Father Qiao took a deep breath and simply turned away, out of sight and out of mind. Looking at Lu Chi, who had remained calm and composed throughout, he stepped forward, clasped Lu Chi's hand, and patted his shoulder. With a grateful expression, he said, "You're Lu Chi, right? I'm Qiao Shiyu's father. Thank you so much for saving my daughter that night. It's a pity that you did a good deed without seeking repayment and didn't leave your name. I've been looking for you these past two days, but I never expected we would meet under these circumstances... I'm so sorry, son!"

Lu Chi smiled and said, "Please don't say that. Anyone who came across something like that would have helped. And don't worry, I won't tell anyone about Qiao Shiyu."

Lu Chi's stance was blunt, carrying the clarity and sharpness unique to a young man, yet it made Father Qiao's earlier pleasantries seem even more hypocritical. Even Father Qiao, who had long been accustomed to navigating the business world smoothly, could not help but smile awkwardly. "That's not what I mean. I believe you're a considerate and thoughtful young man, and you can certainly understand why I'm doing this..."

As Father Qiao spoke, he changed the subject. "By the way, I just consulted your attending physician. The doctor said you suffered a heavy blow to the head and have a mild concussion. It is still unclear whether there will be any lasting effects. But don't worry. You saved Shiyu. Whether or not this was retaliation by those people, I will not let you get beaten for nothing. Stay in the hospital and cooperate with the doctor's treatment. I'll cover all your medical expenses. I'll also make sure you get an explanation for this matter. Besides..."