The fluorescent lights in the police station were blindingly bright, illuminating every bruise and wound on everyone’s face with stark clarity.
A middle-aged officer led them into the mediation room, had them sit in a row on the bench, and sat down across from them with a notepad spread open on the table.
“Alright, what happened?”
Xu Shen spoke first, recounting the events in a halting manner.
He had gone to the billiard hall to find Zhou Yang, saw Zhou Yang being bullied, and a verbal altercation had escalated into a physical one.
The officer listened, flipped through his notes, and glanced at the others across from him.
Their accounts were more or less the same.
The officer had seen plenty of brawls like this and knew that some things between young people didn’t need to be dug into too deeply.
“Alright, mutual assault isn’t something either side should be proud of.”
He closed his notepad. “I won’t file a report today, but you’d better remember this—if there’s a next time, it won’t just be a warning. You’re all in your twenties. What are you fighting for? Win and you end up in the police station; lose and you end up in the hospital. Which one’s worth it?”
No one answered.
“Did you hear me?”
“Yes.” Xu Shen spoke up first.
The others mumbled in agreement.
The officer stood up. “Write a statement of apology, sign it, and you can go.”
By the time they walked out of the police station, it was almost eleven.
Worried about their parents, Xu Yuan had called them earlier, saying she and Xu Shen were out having a late-night snack.
She walked at the back, watching the three figures ahead of her.
Xu Shen was in the middle, Tang Shuqing on his left, and Yan Ting on his right.
Her gaze kept drifting to Yan Ting’s right arm.
He was wearing long sleeves today—black, as usual—so she couldn’t see how badly he was hurt.
She quickened her pace, moving to his side, and gathered her courage to ask, “Are you okay?”
Yan Ting kept walking as if he hadn’t heard her.
Xu Yuan pressed her lips together and didn’t ask again.
The three of them stopped at the roadside.
Xu Shen leaned against a lamppost, tilting his head back and letting out a breath. “It’s all my fault today. I dragged you all into this.”
Tang Shuqing rubbed his shoulder and smiled. “It’s not your fault. They were the ones picking a fight. Next time something like this happens, tell us sooner. We’re brothers.”
Xu Shen nodded.
The three stood by the roadside in silence for a moment.
Just then, an electric scooter came up from behind—not slow, its headlight flashing. It didn’t honk, and it was heading straight toward them.
Xu Yuan was standing on the outermost side. Her peripheral vision caught it, but before her body could react, a hand grabbed her arm and yanked her aside.
The headlight swept past where she’d been standing, kicking up a gust of wind.
Xu Yuan’s mind went blank for a second.
She looked down at the hand gripping her arm—long, slender fingers, well-proportioned, with clearly defined knuckles. The veins on the back of the hand stood out from the force being applied.
She looked up.
Yan Ting was standing right in front of her, very close.
His features were striking—naturally deep-set brows and eyes, a high nose bridge, perfectly shaped lips—but his gaze was cold as ice.
At this moment, looking at her, there was something in his eyes like he wanted to skin her alive.
He still hadn’t let go, his brows furrowed. “Are you blind?”
Even as he said it, his hand didn’t release her.
Xu Yuan, snapped out of her daze by his shout, finally came back to her senses from being lost in his looks.
She glanced in the direction she’d been facing.
The scooter had made no sound, no horn. She’d been with her back to the direction it came from—how was she supposed to see it?
Seeing this, Tang Shuqing was afraid Yan Ting might scare the girl.
He spoke up in a gentle tone to smooth things over. “Yan Ting, watch how you talk. Xu Yuan didn’t do it on purpose.”
Xu Shen also snapped to attention. Seeing that Yan Ting was still holding his sister’s wrist, he pulled Xu Yuan behind him and frowned at Yan Ting. “Why are you yelling at her? She’s a girl who came out in the middle of the night to help me—that’s scary enough as it is.”
Xu Yuan felt guilty that Yan Ting had taken a blow for her. She pressed her lips together and, for once, kept her temper in check. “I really didn’t see it.”
She looked at Yan Ting, her voice soft. “I’m sorry.”
Yan Ting glanced at her.
Those eyes were just as cold as they’d been at the school gate that time.
His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, then shifted away. Without a word, he turned and walked across the street without looking back.
“Where are you going?” Tang Shuqing called after him.
Yan Ting didn’t turn around, just raised his left hand and waved.
His right hand still hung motionless at his side. His figure disappeared into the alley entrance across the street, quickly swallowed up by the streetlights and tree shadows.
Xu Yuan stood where she was, watching the direction he’d gone.
The way Yan Ting’s hand hung down didn’t look right—its range of motion was much smaller than his left arm’s swing, as if every movement was accompanied by pain.
She turned to Xu Shen. “Brother, is he okay? His arm seems pretty bad.”
Xu Shen glanced at Tang Shuqing.
Tang Shuqing said, “Don’t worry. I’ll go check on him.”
Then he took off at a jog in the direction Yan Ting had disappeared.
Xu Yuan watched Tang Shuqing’s running figure and only then realized—Tang Shuqing was probably hurt too.
She’d forgotten to ask if he was okay.
Sigh. Another missed opportunity to score some points.
They bought iodine at a pharmacy near home, and Xu Yuan helped Xu Shen clean and dress his wounds.
After getting home and showering, it was already one in the morning when she got into bed.
She wanted to send Yan Ting a message to ask about his injury, after all, it was because of her.
But her main account didn’t have him on WeChat.
And she couldn’t just ask directly from her burner account.
After thinking it over, she switched to her burner account and started typing.
【Brother, you haven’t replied to my messages all day. My heart aches so much~】
No response from the other side.
She waited a moment, then sent another message.
【It hurts like someone hit me with a stick.】
After sending it, even she thought she was crazy.
Why bring up the one thing she shouldn’t? Of all things, why mention a stick?
The words “typing…” popped up at the top of the screen.
Xu Yuan curved her lips. The fish had taken the bait.
Yan: 【Did someone hit you?】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【No, it’s you who hit my heart】
Yan: 【.】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【Why aren’t you talking to me, brother? Is your arm too sore to type? Want me to blow on it for you?】
Yan: 【What exactly are you thinking about all day?】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【About you, do you even need to ask】
Yan: 【.】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【Brother, what did you actually do today? You were gone all day.】
Yan: 【Had things to do.】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【Where did you go? With who? Guy or girl? What time did you leave? What time did you come back? Did you eat? What did you eat?】
Yan: 【Turning into a household registrar now?】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【Not a registrar, a checkpoint. My boyfriend’s been out of contact for over six hours—I have the right to know his whereabouts.】
Yan: 【Who’s your boyfriend?】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【You are. Otherwise why would I talk to you every day? It’s not like I have nothing better to do.】
Yan: 【You definitely have nothing better to do.】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【Fine, I admit I’m bored, but I’m only bored over you. Is that sincere enough?】
Yan Ting probably didn’t want to deal with her, so he didn’t reply.
Xu Yuan waited a few minutes, then decided to turn up the heat.
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【Brother, is your arm sore? If it is, I’ll rub it for you. I know I can’t reach through the screen, but my telepathic massage skills are amazing.】
Yan: 【How do you know my arm is sore?】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【I guessed. You play so many games, how could your arm not be sore? Besides, you’re my person—I can sense whenever something’s wrong with you.】
Yan: 【Then sense what I’m thinking right now.】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【You’re thinking about me】
Yan: 【Thinking about how to block you.】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【You wouldn’t dare】
Yan: 【Where do you get that confidence?】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【From you. If you really wanted to block me, you would’ve done it ages ago. Why wait until today? Admit it—you like me.】
The other side was silent for a moment.
Yan: 【You’re especially chatty today.】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【When am I ever not chatty? But you reply every time, which means you like hearing me talk.】
Yan: 【I’m just bored.】
Wish Upon Xu Yuan: 【Bored? Come to me. Interested? Come to me too. Either way, you can’t get rid of me now. Accept your fate, brother.】