Ten minutes later, Liang Ling drove Wen Ming in a flurry toward the small alley behind S High. Because the roads were intricate, he was temporarily unable to determine Lu Ming’s specific location, and calls to his phone failed to get through, making Liang Ling stomp his feet in anxiety.
“Will Lu Ming be in danger?”
Looking at his expression, which was on the verge of tears, Wen Ming felt inexplicably irritated and calmly comforted him, “That kid Lu Ming is shrewd, and didn’t you say he is not the type to easily provoke trouble? There should not be any major problems.”
“He is about to be beaten to death, and you call that not a major problem?” Liang Ling glared at him and said ungraciously, “President Wen, you cannot just make sarcastic remarks in such an emergency because Lu Ming talked back to you over spicy hot pot last time.”
With his little thoughts seen through, Wen Ming shrugged with a dark face, “Fine. But you cannot search like this; you have to think about where Lu Ming might go.”
Prompted by this, Liang Ling paused in surprise for a moment, then lowered his head to think carefully. Suddenly, his eyes lit up, and with tears in his eyes, he smiled at Wen Ming, “I know! Come with me quickly!”
Before long, the two of them hurried to Night Internet Cafe next to S High.
The entrance of the alley was bustling and noisy, with a dense crowd surrounding it. Faint sounds of scolding could be heard, accompanied by a wave of wailing cries for mercy. Liang Ling instantly lost his composure, rushed forward to push the crowd aside, and roared, “Stop! All of you, stop right now!”
His shout was like a thunderclap on flat ground. The few ruffians who were beating and kicking Lu Ming paused, turned around, and upon seeing that he was a weak-looking pretty boy, burst into loud laughter. The leader with a mohawk spat on the ground and sneered disdainfully, “What are you to this kid?”
Lu Ming, who was on the verge of breath on the ground, heard Liang Ling’s voice and raised his head in shock. His cheeks were already swollen, both eye sockets were bruised, and a striking knife wound ran across his forehead.
They really hit him hard. Liang Ling cursed inwardly, rushed over to push them aside, and stood protectively in front of Lu Ming, shouting angrily, “I am his older brother! Beating people is one thing, but using a knife as well, do you want to go squat in a police station?”
The ruffians burst into laughter once again. The mohawk even clutched his stomach from laughing, “Oh, oh, I am so scared. Kid, did you not even ask around? I just came out of the police station, and that place is like dropping by for a visit to me. Do you really think you can threaten me?”
The social circle Liang Ling grew up in was too sheltered, and for a moment he found it hard to believe that such vicious people existed in the world. He stood frozen in place, at a loss, his cheeks flushed with anger.
The mohawk wiped the tears of laughter from the corners of his eyes, stared with a vicious gaze at the battered Lu Ming on the ground, and sneered, “Let me tell you, me and this group of brothers are all minors. As long as we do not kill anyone, those stinky cops cannot do anything to us.”
Liang Ling was so shocked that he took two steps back, almost stepping on the lying Lu Ming. The latter let out a groan, tremblingly reached out to grab the hem of Liang Ling’s pants, and gave him a forced, reassuring smile, “It is fine, Brother Liang. They dare not do anything to me, it will be over soon.”
Looking at Lu Ming’s bleeding wound, Liang Ling felt his heart ache so much that he did not know what to say. He squatted down and took off his clothes to wipe it for him, but unfortunately, the more he wiped, the dirtier it got, leaving both of them in a mess.
The mohawk snorted, brought his gang around aggressively once more, and looked down at Liang Ling from above, saying, “Hold on! Do you think you can just settle it like this? This kid ruined my chances of picking up a little girl, and if I do not cripple one of his hands, this matter is not going to end easily!”
Lu Ming, who had been silent all this while, suddenly exploded. With bloodshot eyes, he roared at him, “She is my classmate! She rejected you so many times, yet you kept pestering her. How disgusting! How are you any different from a pervert?”
“Hey, has this kid had enough of living?” The mohawk, furious, raised his foot to kick. Liang Ling reacted with quick eyes and hands, blocking in front of Lu Ming and taking the kick head-on, a dull pain surging through his chest.
“Gathering a mob to make trouble, beating students, and you still think you look mighty?”
A stern shout echoed from afar. The ruffians were all taken aback. The familiar wail of police sirens rang out, and the mohawk, who had just claimed the police station was like his second home, instantly turned weak in the knees. He hurriedly bolted away in a pack, while several police officers rushed forward and quickly pinned them all to the ground.
Wen Ming walked quickly toward Liang Ling, catching sight of the shoe print on his chest at a glance. With an aching heart, he reached out to support his shoulders and asked with concern, “I just brought the police over. Are you alright?”