On the other side, Liang Ling, who was sitting in a milk tea shop biting on his straw, received Wen Ming’s reply and jumped up for joy. He asked in disbelief: [President Wen, are you really going to eat spicy hot pot?]
After a second, Wen Ming’s call came through.
Liang Ling quickly answered, and a tired voice came from the other end, sounding a bit hoarse as if he hadn’t rested well. “Mn. Stop sending so many messages. I’m driving.”
Liang Ling let out a chuckle. “Then why are you still calling me? That’s breaking traffic rules.”
The corners of Wen Ming’s mouth curved upward, and he smiled faintly. “I’m calling you using my Bluetooth headset. Alright, let’s not talk about this for now. Wait for me ten minutes, I’ll be right there.”
After hanging up the phone, Liang Ling happily took a big sip of his milk tea, and the low mood he felt after the medical checkup eased a bit.
Before long, the sound of a car horn came from outside the milk tea shop. Liang Ling sprang up from his stool in three steps, grabbed an unopened cup of Longjing-scented milk foam, hopped into the car, and smiled. “President Wen!”
Wen Ming turned his head to look at him and saw that the little fellow still had unwiped cream on his face. He couldn’t help frowning and said with a huff, “How many times have I told you to drink less milk tea? That stuff is full of saccharin.”
“Oh.” Liang Ling brushed him off with zero sincerity, shoved another cup of milk tea into his arms, and flashed two tiny tiger teeth in a smile. “Try this, President Wen! It smells just like you!”
Wen Ming was slightly startled. Looking at the prominent characters “Longjing Fragrance” printed on the cup wall, his face suddenly turned red. Yet, he still pretended to remain composed and said indifferently, “I don’t drink these things.”
Liang Ling had known he would refuse. He bit his straw with a grin and tried to persuade him, “Just one sip! President Wen, you’re a young person just like me, so trying new things is always good.”
Hearing him put it that way, Wen Ming immediately recalled Lin Chen’s words about people changing. His expression darkened slightly, and he sighed. “Fine, I’ll drink it later.”
Seeing that Wen Ming was not in high spirits and catching a faint whiff of tobacco smoke on him, Liang Ling knew that Wen Ming must have run into some trouble today. Thus, he obediently stopped talking, sat quietly in the back seat, and hugged his cup of milk tea while taking small sips.
Having not returned to Lu San Spicy Hot Pot for a long time, Liang Ling couldn’t help feeling a bit excited when the familiar little restaurant appeared in front of him. At this hour, Lu San should be washing vegetables in the back kitchen, and Lu Ming would be getting out of school soon. Showing up suddenly at the shop would surely give the two of them a surprise.
“Hey, isn’t that the boss of the spicy hot pot shop up ahead?” Wen Ming, who was driving, caught sight of a middle-aged man rushing hurriedly out of the shop from the corner of his eye and frowned as he asked.
“Which one? Let me see.” Liang Ling rolled down the car window to look outside and indeed spotted a sweat-soaked Lu San talking loudly into his phone, looking extremely anxious.
“Stop the car! President Wen, stop the car.” Liang Ling hurriedly called for Wen Ming to stop, opened the car door, and jumped out. Waving at Lu San, he called out, “Uncle!”
Lu San, who was in the middle of a phone call, was stunned at first. When he saw clearly that it was Liang Ling and Wen Ming behind him, his eyes immediately turned red. He rushed over, grabbed Liang Ling’s hand, and choked out, “Xiao Liang, Xiao Liang, hurry, please save Xiao Ming. He is about to be beaten to death!”
Liang Ling was somewhat surprised upon hearing this. Lu Ming was a bit mischievous, but he was never a kid who picked fights or caused trouble. How could he be beaten to death?
Wen Ming, standing behind him, was also taken aback as unpleasant memories instantly flooded his mind.
“Uncle, don’t panic. Speak slowly, what happened to Xiao Ming?”
Lu San waved his hand, took a deep breath, and pointed toward No. S Middle School next door. “Xiao Ming’s classmate just called me to say that Xiao Ming got into trouble and a bunch of little bastards are ganging up on him, beating him half to death! Students these days are really outrageous. They are all classmates, how could they lay such heavy hands?”
He rambled on incoherently, prompting Liang Ling to cut him off anxiously. “Do you know the location? Where is it?”
Lu San spread his hands, looking on the verge of tears. “I don’t know. His classmate was crying and shouting and didn’t make it clear where they were, just saying it’s in the small alley behind the school.”
Liang Ling nodded, raised his eyes to look at the spicy hot pot shop behind him, and his expression turned dark. “Uncle, the shop can’t be left unattended. Call the police first, and I will go find Xiao Ming.”