The magnetic voice was between that of a teenager and an adult, slightly hoarse from having just smoked. With the upward lilt at the end, it was quite alluring.
Su Lian's ear tips unexpectedly turned red, and he missed a breath.
Whether it was because his mind had been scared by ghosts, he couldn't take his eyes off Chi Wang. Now he couldn't tell the difference between 17-year-old Chi Wang and 20-something Chi Wang.
He only felt that the mole in that position was very enticing.
A tiny one, just nestled in the shadow of the muscle lines, faintly visible.
He had once kissed that spot, watched it rise and fall, and had also left gasps there, eliciting an even more forceful response.
Thinking about it further would probably be life-threatening.
"What are you thinking about?" Chi Wang stood motionless at the bathroom door, patiently waiting for a reply.
Su Lian came back to his senses and mumbled confusedly, "Why do we have to shower together?"
"To save water. It's not unusual for two guys to shower together anyway." Chi Wang walked over to him stark naked, putting the back of his hand on Su Lian's forehead to feel it. "Do you have a fever? Your face is so red."
The proposal of showering together was too shocking. Su Lian was pinned to the sofa, momentarily forgetting to resist, only his whole body tensed up.
Chi Wang bent slightly, leaning in closer, and asked in a low voice, "You don't seem quite right tonight. Did something happen?"
The breath swept across his face, and Su Lian felt a bit breathless. He unconsciously told the truth, "I don't have a fever. That idiot Gu Anjiu told a story about Room 303."
"No wonder." Chi Wang had heard that campus ghost story before; it was quite eerie and creepy. However, Su Lian's current dazed expression was quite cute.
Usually so cocky and cool, with fists harder than his expressions, it turns out he was really afraid of ghosts.
Seeing him still in a daze, Chi Wang comforted him, "It's all made up nonsense. How can you believe that?"
Su Lian looked up and caught sight of that mole again. Chi Wang was just a hair's breadth away. Whether it was an illusion or not, it felt like the air was slowly being sucked out, gradually becoming thin.
He pushed him away, trying to create some distance. "Don't get so close."
Even with the fan on, it still felt so hot.
"Come on, let's take a shower and go to bed." Chi Wang reached out and pulled him up from the small sofa.
He didn't control his strength well when pulling, and Su Lian stumbled forward, instinctively grabbing onto the other's shoulders to maintain balance.
In the confusion, he fell crookedly onto Chi Wang.
Afraid he might fall, Chi Wang wrapped an arm around his waist. The two swayed for a few moments before finally standing steady.
"What the hell are you doing so suddenly?"
"...I didn't expect you to be so delicate."
So delicate that a casual pull resulted in falling into his arms.
The summer pajamas were very thin. The cotton material clung to his body, transmitting a hot temperature. Su Lian belatedly realized it was Chi Wang's arm, right at the position of his lower back.
This guy was a few centimeters taller than him, slightly lowering his head. Their noses almost touched, their shallow and deep breaths intertwining. The distance was really too close.
...This night was truly maddening.
Chi Wang also felt the atmosphere was a bit off. He turned his face slightly away, coughing awkwardly.
"You should let go of me." Su Lian patted his back, his palm touching the temperature of skin, burning with heat.
Chi Wang slowly loosened his arms, his gaze sweeping over the reddened ear tips. "Still want to shower?"
His voice seemed to have lowered a few degrees.
Su Lian took several deep breaths, the slight redness on his face gradually fading. His tone was stiff, "I don't like showering with others. You go first."
Chi Wang was straight as an arrow, but he himself wasn't.
If they were to get completely naked in the same bathroom, he couldn't imagine the consequences.
Chi Wang raised his hand to smooth Su Lian's messy hair, which was standing up like a frightened cat. "If you don't want to shower, that's fine. Why are you getting angry?"
He took two steps towards the bathroom, then turned back. "I'll leave the door open. If you're scared, just come in."
"I'm not scared of shit... Just take your shower." Su Lian turned and walked to the small balcony. The night breeze was gentle; he probably needed to cool down a bit.
There was no sound from beside him. After a while, the sound of the shower hitting the floor came from inside.
Su Lian leaned against the glass window of the balcony and wiped his face. He didn't expect tonight's visit to Room 404 would bring such a big impact.
Personalities can change, habits can change, but some things indeed cannot change. These details were constantly reminding him of one fact: they were indeed the same person.
With his thoughts in chaos, Su Lian couldn't quite describe how he felt right now.
Happy, yet unhappy. His emotions were very conflicted.
He turned his head to look at the lit bathroom. It really was left slightly ajar, the light and shadow casting a long, thin beam on the floor, as if welcoming entry at any time.
Su Lian clicked his tongue. "...How considerate."
But after all this messy commotion, he no longer had the mind to think about that terrifying ghost story.
Chi Wang showered quickly. In three or four minutes, he came out of the bathroom, toweling his wet hair. This guy was truly provocative, wearing a black bathrobe loosely tied, exposing large areas of skin, as if afraid people wouldn't see.
Su Lian suspected that choosing to come over tonight was a huge mistake.
"I'm done. Your turn." Chi Wang reached for the cigarette pack, but noticing the other's fierce gaze, he withdrew his hand.
Su Lian grunted in response and walked straight into the bathroom. Inside, steam billowed, and a faint citrus scent hung in the air, probably from the shower gel.
As he took off his clothes, he realized he hadn't brought any change of clothes, so he decided to just rinse quickly.
There was a sound at the door, and Su Lian's heart skipped a beat, wondering what this guy was up to now.
A shadow fell on the thick frosted glass, and Chi Wang's voice came through the door: "I'll just stand here. If you're scared, just call me."
"I'm not scared, damn it." Su Lian retorted without conviction, his face wooden as he turned the shower to full blast in defiance.
Even with the water pelting loudly on the floor, he could still easily catch a soft chuckle.
This guy was laughing at his fear of ghosts. Su Lian felt his tough persona crumbling and irritably sprayed his face with the showerhead.
As soon as the shower stopped, the shadow at the door disappeared, timing it to the second, considerate to a fault. Su Lian washed his face again, and after completely calming down, he put his pajamas back on and walked out.
Sitting on the small sofa, stretching out his long legs, his keen nose detected a faint smell of smoke in the air.
"Did you smoke?"
"What are you, a bloodhound? You can smell it even when I smoked on the balcony."
Chi Wang pushed the sliding door wide open, waving his hand to disperse the smell, and laughed helplessly. "Just half a cigarette."
"I told you before, if I see you smoking again, I'll beat you up. I wasn't joking." Su Lian's expression was cold as he casually flexed his wrist, looking quite serious.
Chi Wang smiled and moved a couple of steps to the side. "Come on, it's not that serious. Didn't you want to chat? Let's chat, about anything."
Su Lian laughed angrily. "Don't you know smoking can cause lung cancer?"
Chi Wang rubbed his nose, defending himself in a low voice. "I don't smoke much, just two or three a day."
As a doctor, Su Lian knew this amount wasn't much.
But strangely, when he first met Chi Wang, he had never seen him smoke. Yet at such a young age, he had developed small cell lung cancer with brain metastasis, likely due to excessive smoking and overwork.
Perhaps Chi Wang had gone through something later, a period of considerable depression and despondency, leading to such a result.
This question remained unanswered. Su Lian didn't know, and neither did the current Chi Wang.
They could only wait until that day when it happened for everything to have a reasonable explanation.
Su Lian lowered his gaze, silently pondering.
"Are you tired? Don't you usually sleep at eleven?" Chi Wang's hair was already half-dry from the wind. He casually draped the towel over the back of a chair and patted the upper bunk. "Come on up."
Su Lian looked around at the other three empty beds. He had brought a pillow, but there was no mattress or blanket. An oversight.
"Forget it, you only have one bed. I'll go back to sleep." He picked up his pillow and strode towards the door.
His wrist was caught, and Chi Wang pulled him back. "They're all asleep. Just make do for one night. We've slept together before anyway."
That made sense.
"Alright, then I'll trouble you to squeeze in with me." Su Lian didn't fuss. After all the commotion tonight, he was indeed tired.
He turned back to glance at Chi Wang and reminded him, "Change your clothes before coming up."
The flamboyant bathrobe would probably be gone by morning after a night's sleep.
"You should be grateful you live in the south. If you were in a big bathhouse up north, you'd be doomed," Chi Wang joked as he took off his robe and carelessly threw on a T-shirt and sweatpants.
Su Lian lay flat on the bed, leaning against the wall, and replied with an unchanging expression, "So what? I'm from the south anyway."
"Well, aren't you just amazing," Chi Wang said as he turned off the room light, climbed up the ladder in the dark, and lay on his side on the outer edge.
This bed was even narrower than the rest area in an internet cafe. It was a single bed, only about a meter wide. If it weren't for the railing on the side, they'd probably both roll off in the middle of the night and end up with bruised bottoms.
Even lying on their sides felt cramped, with arms touching arms, barely able to move apart.
Su Lian's back was against the wall, cold behind him and hot in front. He could only try his best to maintain some distance.
In the darkness, Chi Wang's voice came from beside his ear. Because they were so close, he spoke very softly, somehow sounding gentle.
"After all that fuss, you're not scared anymore, right? It might not even be true. It's all just hearsay and made-up stories."
The breath of air tickled Su Lian's ear, but he stubbornly replied, "When did I say I was scared? You're just making things up in your head."
Chi Wang couldn't see Su Lian's expression, but from his tone, he could imagine the cold, irritated look on his face, as if his fur had been ruffled.
He paused for a few seconds, then said, "Su Lian, even if you're afraid of ghosts, there's nothing to be ashamed of. I won't think you're any less cool because of it. Pretending to be strong is exhausting, and there's really no need for it."
He left one sentence unsaid: sometimes, you can rely on others a bit more.
Su Lian didn't respond, feeling as if his heart had been gently pricked.
Back when he had watched horror movies with Chi Wang, the other had said the same thing to him - that there was nothing to be ashamed of, and that he even found it cute.
Later, when that person left and he became alone again, he wrapped himself back in that hard shell he used to have. He sealed himself off in a world isolated from the outside, where no one could enter.
Even when Chi Wang came back and they got to know each other again, because of the unfamiliarity, there was always a hazy distance between them, like looking at flowers through fog.
Without the memories from before, without the familiar personality, without the intimacy of spending days and nights together, everything was brand new.
But the carefree Chi Wang always inadvertently tore open the cracks in that shell, very sincerely, making one feel at ease.
After a long while, Su Lian, muffled under the covers, let out a very soft "Mm."
Chi Wang patted the person wrapped in the blanket and said softly, "Go to sleep. Don't be afraid."
With someone accompanying him and no noisy roommates, Su Lian quickly fell into a deep sleep.
At three in the morning, when Gu Anjiu and Lin Yan crouched and pushed open the door, what they saw in the moonlight was this scene:
The thin bedding was in disarray. At the corner of the white sheet, a slender, fair leg was exposed, and next to it was another leg a shade darker in color, pressed together. The whole scene was quite sensual.
In the middle of the blanket, an arm was lying across, loosely holding the person on the other side in an embrace, very intimate.
Gu Anjiu rubbed his eyes, looking confused: "Fuck, I must still be dreaming."
Lin Yan had the same expression: "Me too. How could Chi Wang possibly bring a girl back?"
The two paused for a moment, then turned around in unison.
Gu Anjiu: "Let's wash our faces to wake up, then call him."
Lin Yan nodded: "Alright."
Before they could move, there was suddenly movement on the bed, and a fluffy head poked out. The hair color was light, the hair messy, the skin very fair.
Looking closely, good heavens, the features were also very familiar.
Gu Anjiu: "...Pinch me."
Lin Yan reached out and, without mercy, gave a very hard pinch.
"Ow. I was wondering where Lian had gone, turns out he ended up in Wang's bed." Gu Anjiu cried out, looking incredulous. "Does he have sleepwalking? How could he run so far from next door?"
Lin Yan: "He's abandoning the dark for the light."
Gu Anjiu: "No, he's secretly pregnant."
It was really quite noisy. Su Lian frowned in irritation, wanting to escape the noise. He buried his head into the neck beside him, found a comfortable position, and nuzzled slightly.
To make matters worse, the arm on the blanket cooperated by moving up, reaching out to gently rub his head in comfort.
Lin Yan & Gu Anjiu: "..."
Were they blind or were they seeing things? How could two straight men be like this? This should be called either "birds of a feather flocking together" or "partners in crime."
"What are you two babbling about over there?" Chi Wang, with his eyes still closed, spoke up impatiently after a moment.
Hearing his voice, Gu Anjiu belatedly remembered why they came, explaining: "Oh, there's trouble at the internet cafe. The leader said if you don't show up in five minutes, they're going to trash the place. If it didn't sound so serious, I wouldn't have disturbed you... and Lian's night of passion in the middle of the night."
This time, it seemed he finally used the right idiom. His Chinese lessons hadn't gone to waste.
"To hell with your 'night of passion'." Chi Wang rubbed his face and slowly sat up. "I'll go over now."
The commotion was too big, and Su Lian was woken up, following suit and sitting up in a daze: "What's wrong?"
"Someone's come to trash the internet cafe. I'm going to check it out. You keep sleeping."
After a brief explanation, Chi Wang lifted the blanket, climbed down the ladder, put on his shoes, and grabbed a jacket.
Su Lian took a moment to react, his brow twitching as he inexplicably thought of the divination result from midnight.
Today's hexagram was extremely inauspicious, suggesting something bad would likely happen. He couldn't let Chi Wang go alone.
"I'll go with you." He sobered up in an instant, flipping out of bed with agility that was completely different from the Su Lian who had been nuzzling necks in a daze just moments ago.
Chi Wang zipped up his jacket and looked back at him: "Weren't you all about healthy living? It's already 3 AM. It's fine, we don't need an extra person."
The uneasiness in Su Lian's heart grew stronger, and he insisted: "I'm coming with you."
"If Lian wants to go, let him come along. Stop wasting time, two minutes of the five have already passed. If we wait any longer, they'll start smashing computers, and that'll be a huge loss," Gu Anjiu said anxiously, grabbing both of them and pulling them out.
Su Lian quickly went back to the dorm to grab a jacket, threw it over his pajamas, and followed them out. However, being forced out in the middle of the night left his head a bit dizzy and heavy.
When they sneaked downstairs, they found that the main door was locked and they couldn't get out at all.
Gu Anjiu, true to his reputation as the king of inside information, led the group to the side door at the end of the corridor. With a lift and a pry, he actually managed to create a gap.
He clapped his hands, extremely proud: "I knew this door wasn't locked tight. Come on, brothers, let's hurry."
The campus at 3 AM was so quiet even the cats were asleep. It was extremely peaceful, with only the sound of wind rustling through the treetops.
The next day was Saturday, so there was no security guard at the school gate, allowing free entry and exit.
The group rushed along the street towards Night Color. Chi Wang finally found a chance to ask: "What exactly is the situation?"
Gu Anjiu licked his lower lip and explained: "The internet cafe manager was so scared he could barely speak clearly. He just said that a big brother brought dozens of followers and blocked the entrance of Night Color, chasing away all the customers and clearing out the place. It sounds like they're planning to cause a big scene. We've just opened, we can't afford this kind of trouble."
Su Lian glanced at his watch and calmly said: "The five minutes passed long ago. They're just looking for a legitimate reason to trash the place, so they don't look completely in the wrong."
Chi Wang put his hands in his pockets and nodded: "Very accurate analysis."
Since they had already started, everyone tacitly slowed down their pace, as if they were just taking a stroll. They might as well have been carrying birdcages.
Lin Yan finished sending a bunch of messages and put away his phone: "They've indeed started smashing things. I've called some other brothers to come too, in case there are too many of them and we're not enough to handle it."
At 3 AM, wandering the streets like a lost soul, Gu Anjiu yawned: "Wang, have you offended anyone recently? Is it necessary for them to come pick a fight in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"
Chi Wang turned his head and exchanged a glance with Su Lian, both saying in unison: "Floral shirt."
Gu Anjiu was completely lost: "Have you two learned some new high-level code behind my back? I don't understand at all."
"This must be the tacit understanding that comes from sharing a bed," Lin Yan didn't miss the chance to add salt to the wound.
Su Lian: "...Can we not mention sharing a bed?"
Gu Anjiu was quickly sidetracked: "Let me interview you, Lian. How did you end up in Wang's bed?"
"To say it was because of a bedtime story would be really embarrassing," Su Lian coldly deflected, "It was because your snoring was too loud. I couldn't sleep, so I had to go next door to stay."
Gu Anjiu spoke slowly, getting straight to the point: "Oh, I thought it was because of room 303..."
Su Lian quickly refuted, extinguishing this ridiculous guess: "Shut up, how could that be possible."
Still so stubborn, Chi Wang couldn't help but laugh: "Not being able to participate in your bedtime talks is my misfortune."
"To be honest, Lian-bro, those legs of yours, so slender and white, I really thought you were a girl," Gu Anjiu pondered for a moment, using his hands to gesture a narrow distance. "But, that bed is so small, how could two guys nearly six feet tall fit? Was the dorm fan's cooling effect too good?"
Su Lian: "...It's none of your business how we sleep."
Caught red-handed staying over, he was annoyed to death. Now it felt like he was nailed to a cross, repeatedly flogged.
Somehow, ever since coming back through time, if it wasn't a scene of social death, he was on the way to social death.
Probably used up all his luck, things had gone awry.
By the time the group arrived at Night Color, the scene had already entered an intense, white-hot battle phase, with agonized screams rising and falling throughout the room.
Half of the brand new computers had been smashed, along with keyboards and mice scattered all over the floor, all in ruins. Many of Chi Wang's underlings had also arrived, tangling with the other side in various wrestling moves. Both sides had varying degrees of injuries, it was quite brutal.
Gu Anjiu, who hadn't experienced a group brawl in a long time, was stunned: "They're smashing things way too hard, aren't they?"
Su Lian frowned and quickly walked over to ask the internet cafe manager: "Have you called the police?"
"Just did, the police are on their way," the manager answered in a small voice, trembling and refusing to come out from under the front desk, curled up like a quail.
"Keep your phone accessible, preserve the surveillance footage, and hand it all over to them later," Su Lian instructed in detail, then turned back to exchange a look with Chi Wang.
Standing in the center of the hall was a burly man, with a sturdy build, looking to be over 6'3" tall. The one giving orders beside him was indeed the floral shirt guy they had encountered at the food stall a few hours ago.
Earlier that person had threatened them to wait and see, with an arrogant attitude. So this was what he meant, having someone backing him up.
Now Chi Wang understood why Su Lian was so angry when he heard about the video being spread.
It was just leading a workout, but it caused such a messy aftermath. It felt quite surreal.
As their gazes met, the floral shirt guy spoke first: "Boss, those two are the pretty boys who beat us up!"
With that shout, as if blowing a rally whistle, a group of people rushed towards Chi Wang and Su Lian in a swarm.
Chi Wang estimated the numbers and advised in a low voice: "They outnumber us, be careful not to get hurt."
Su Lian nodded, raised his hand to take off his jacket and tossed it aside, revealing the light blue pajamas underneath.
In stark contrast to the gaudy attire of the thugs around them, how to put it, he looked like an uninvolved bystander who came out for a stroll and was forced into a conflict with bullies, completely out of place.
The opposite side was confused by this homely outfit, hesitating for a moment, clearly underestimating him.
However, while this pajama-clad youth looked lazy, his movements were clean and swift. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he slipped sideways into the crowd, swept out with a long leg, and took down more than half of them.
"Lian-bro is awesome!" Gu Anjiu, seeing Su Lian fight for the first time, couldn't help but want to do a cheerleading routine on the spot to encourage him. "I now realize that not getting beaten to death when we first met was truly due to his good looks and kind heart."
Lin Yan grabbed a fist that was coming to punch him and pushed the attacker away: "Don't just stand there, go help."
The two joined the fight, bringing a group of underlings to grapple with the opponents, and the scene descended into chaos once again.
Su Lian and Chi Wang moved back and forth in the melee, their dialogue very concise, basically never using three words when two would do. Few words, hard fists, coordinating with remarkable tacit understanding.
"Behind you."
"Come here."
"Two on the left."
"Watch out for the stick."
With several crisp bone-cracking sounds, Su Lian executed a flying kick, sending a thug flying directly onto the boss in the center.
The boss's expression turned displeased as he tossed that person aside. Seeming irritated, he took off his watch and personally joined the fray.
Years of experience in the underworld weren't for nothing. His moves were fast, vicious, and accurate. One punch landed on Su Lian's shoulder, causing him to groan in pain and dodge to the side.
Chi Wang, having finished dealing with the small fry in his hands, turned to join in. He raised his long leg and kicked out, landing a solid hit on the opponent.
They exchanged blows back and forth, give and take.
After dozens of rounds of combat, the boss's stamina gradually declined, and he began to lose ground.
Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, the floral shirt guy sneakily pulled out a sharp knife from his trouser pocket and silently approached, stabbing towards Su Lian's back.
Just as the knife tip was about to touch his back, Su Lian felt himself suddenly yanked away. The force shifted, and another figure quickly blocked in front of him.
The next second, the sharp blade sliced across an arm, tearing the jacket sleeve in half. Instantly, blood beads seeped out along the wound.
Chi Wang cursed, pressed on the wound, and dodged to the side, pulling Su Lian along with him.
Blood had also splattered onto Su Lian's hand. He broke free, raised his leg and kicked hard. The floral shirt guy, along with the knife, crashed into a nearby monitor, howling in pain.
"The police are here, stop fighting!" the internet cafe manager shouted from the doorway.
At the same time, a group of police officers filed in, shouting loudly: "Nobody move, stay where you are! Everyone's coming to the police station!"
With some injured and others knocked down, it was easy to control the situation.
The battle gradually ceased. The group that had entered so arrogantly earlier now looked like frost-beaten eggplants, completely wilted.
Su Lian raised his hand to pull Chi Wang's arm closer. The blood had already dyed the black T-shirt a deep red and was still gradually spreading outward.
His fingers pinched the arm, examining the wound left and right. His brows furrowed tightly as he spoke with a heavy tone: "Does it hurt? Why did you block for me?"
"If I hadn't blocked, wouldn't you be the one injured now?" Chi Wang lowered his eyes to check the wound, it wasn't too serious. "It's just a small injury, no big deal."
Su Lian didn't say a word, just stared intently at the wound, examining it.
Gu Anjiu hurried over with a first aid kit, panting as he said: "Didn't expect it would actually come in handy. Let's bandage it up a bit first, then go to the hospital later."
"No need for the hospital, it's really fine. Look at how worried you all are," Chi Wang tore off his long sleeve, exposing the cut on his arm.
Su Lian pressed down on his hand, slightly lowering his gaze as he quickly opened the first aid kit: "I'll take care of it."
Disinfecting, applying medicine, wrapping the bandage - his movements were skilled.
Chi Wang smiled and said: "Looking at your technique, it's like you've practiced it eight hundred times."
"The wound isn't shallow, you should still go to the hospital for a check," Su Lian carefully wrapped up the wound, tying a beautiful Su-style butterfly knot in the process.
"Pretty cool, this is a hero's medal," This guy, even while injured, still swung his arm around, not forgetting to show off a bit.
-
Inside the police station, the bosses from both sides sat across a table, with their underlings lined up neatly behind them, creating quite an imposing scene.
The police officer sat in the center and began questioning: "Who wants to speak first? What happened?"
The opposing boss spoke up first: "My guy's girlfriend wanted to take a photo with them. These two not only refused but also verbally insulted the girl. Then they beat him up in front of his girlfriend. We all run in the same circles, of course I had to help them get even."
Su Lian: "..."
This year's Oscar for Best Original Screenplay would be rigged if it didn't go to you.
"Wait a minute, your information is incorrect," Chi Wang spoke lazily, without a trace of the fierceness from the fight earlier.
The burly man looked up, his aura intimidating: "What's incorrect?"
Chi Wang's fingertip tapped on the table, his gaze sweeping almost imperceptibly over the floral shirt guy: "You can't just listen to his one-sided story. The staff at the food stall can all testify that we merely politely refused to take a photo. They smashed a glass bottle on our table and wanted to beat us up. Weren't we just defending ourselves?"
The boss looked at the floral shirt guy, his expression slightly changing: "Is that how it was? Did you lie to me?"
"I was just standing from a subjective perspective and exaggerated a little bit," Hearing that witnesses would be called, the floral shirt guy immediately became somewhat cowardly. "Maybe, slightly, embellished things a tiny bit."
This was far more than a tiny bit. Everyone fell silent, and the boss felt that coming to pick a fight in the middle of the night was quite idiotic.
"There's also video footage. The internet cafe will prepare a list of damages that need compensation."
The police officer, exhausted from the late-night shift, rushed to conclude the matter: "Stop getting into fights so easily. We're living in a harmonious society; we should be united and loving. Those of you who initiated the trouble will be detained for ten days and then pay a fine."
Chi Wang behaved very obediently, not forgetting to add a jab: "I haven't fought in a long time. I was forced to break my vow twice out of necessity."
Su Lian, usually calm, was forced to join in: "We're good students who study hard and exercise daily."
They were both telling the truth, playing off each other so well that even their own fathers wouldn't recognize them as such good kids.
Gu Anjiu suddenly raised his head to add: "Yes, the root cause of all this is that they're both exercise leaders at Third High School."
"Exercise leaders?" Hearing the key phrase, the group of police officers collectively showed confused expressions.
Gu Anjiu excitedly retold the whole story from beginning to end. The police officer held his forehead, feeling that this 3-4 AM brawl was utterly perplexing.
Young people these days just eat too much and are prone to causing trouble.
Fortunately, the opposing boss was reasonable enough, accepting the punishment, apologizing, and detention in one go. Before leaving, he patted the two on the shoulders.
"You young guys have good skills. I'll have my boys visit your internet cafe from now on."
Chi Wang was delighted: "Sure, I'll give you a 10% discount when you do."
You just broke his brother's bones, and now you're offering a discount? Still thinking about business at a time like this, that's so you.
Su Lian dragged him towards the exit: "Stop chatting, let's go to the hospital."
"No need, your butterfly bandage looks pretty good. I'd hate to undo it," Chi Wang boasted again, waving his arm, but winced from the sudden pain.
Su Lian thought this would be a good opportunity to give Chi Wang a thorough full-body check-up.
Frowning, he pushed him into a taxi, brooking no argument: "No, we must go."
"Fine then." Chi Wang didn't understand the sudden concern, but since they were already here, he might as well go along with it.
He slumped his legs and rested his head on Su Lian's shoulder, finding it quite comfortable.
Gu Anjiu tried to squeeze into the back seat but was stopped by Chi Wang: "Don't bother, go home and sleep. One person accompanying me is enough."
"Then I'll go back to Night Color with Xiaojiu to clean up a bit. We'll probably need to close for renovations for a couple of days," Lin Yan leaned on the taxi, looking down at Su Lian, "I'll leave Chi Wang in your care."
Su Lian's expression remained worried: "It's no trouble. He took a hit for me, after all."
Though he had a tough personality, he was good at remembering favors. But Chi Wang seemed to always be this righteous. Whether it was to the 20-year-old him or the 17-year-old him, he would always step up when needed.
It's just that the 20-year-old Chi Wang had become more reserved, saving him and telling him not to do foolish things.
While the 17-year-old Chi Wang was reckless and impulsive, full of youthful passion, as if he were an invincible hero who could do anything.
Seeing the crimson bandage, the taxi driver stepped on the gas, turning into a blur in the foggy night city.
At the hospital, Su Lian helped with registration, quietly adding several blood tests, focusing on tumor markers and lung X-rays.
After all the fuss, the invincible hero Chi Wang was completely drained, his face pale.
At 5 AM, the two sat on a long bench in the hospital waiting for test results, feeling that the entire night had been a rollercoaster.
Chi Wang leaned on Su Lian like a boneless creature, lazily yawning: "Why did we have to come to the hospital for so many unnecessary tests? Afraid I might have aftereffects?"
"Worried you might have a concussion from being kicked in the head, so we're getting you a CT scan," Su Lian replied irritably.
His fingers touching the bandage were gentle, though, and his voice softened: "Thank you for today, really. Otherwise, I'd probably have a big gash on my back now."
"No need for thanks, I should be the one saying thank you," Chi Wang chuckled softly. "It was Night Color that got into trouble, and you came to help. If you'd gotten hurt, I'd feel really bad about it."
Su Lian pressed his lips together. If it weren't for taking this hit for him, Chi Wang wouldn't have been injured.
Today's divination result wasn't wrong; it really was great misfortune, just that Chi Wang had stepped in to take the blow for him.
It was only now that he belatedly realized he could have gone back half an hour to prevent this from happening. He had been so flustered seeing Chi Wang injured that he completely forgot he had a talisman.
Thinking of this, Su Lian looked down at his wrist, which was bare. The watch had disappeared.
Chi Wang stared at his uneasy expression, sensing something was off, and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong?"
Su Lian pinched his palm, looking somewhat panicked: "I've lost a very important watch. It probably fell off at Night Color during the fight. I need to go back."
"That's easy, I'll have Xiaojiu look for it," Chi Wang reached for his phone and quickly sent Gu Anjiu a message.
Ten minutes later, a picture came back: Is this it? The strap is broken, but luckily the face is fine. But why does it look like a children's smartwatch? Is Su-ge so childish?
Chi Wang held the screen, holding back laughter as he repeated: "Is this the little genius children's watch? Su-ge, I didn't know you were so young at heart."
Su Lian gritted his teeth: "...Yes."
Oh well, no point in making a fuss now. It wasn't a serious injury anyway, it would heal in a couple of days.
Su Lian looked towards the blood collection area, deciding that once back at the dorm, he'd develop a special recuperative soup suitable for injured people and feed it to this guy until he recovered.
The two sat quietly together for a while, as a faint white light began to appear on the horizon.
Before the results came out, Su Lian changed his position, resting the back of his head against the wall, slightly lowering his head, drowsy.
Chi Wang used his uninjured hand to hook around his shoulder, saying slowly: "Considering I saved you, could you agree to a few unreasonable requests?"
Su Lian came to his senses, looking seriously at his savior, feeling generous: "Hmm, go ahead. If they're reasonable, I'll agree."
"My arm is injured, so I request cancellation of all subject tutoring this weekend."
"..."
"I'm not finished. Don't make any health porridge either. I don't want to add insult to injury while I'm hurt."
"..."
"I probably can't lead exercises either, so you'll have to dazzle everyone on your own temporarily."
"......"
Chi Wang squeezed his shoulder, eyes curved in a smile, his tone sincere: "Why aren't you saying anything? Are you too heartbroken that I took a hit for you?"
Su Lian flexed his fingers, making cracking sounds: "Chi Wang, do you want to be admitted to the ICU right now?"