As soon as Liang Ling saw Wen Ming arrive, he could no longer hold back the grievance in his heart. He grabbed Wen Ming’s arm and his eyes turned red.
“Good thing you came.”
Wen Ming frowned slightly, tenderly wiping the blood off Liang Ling’s face. Sighing, he said, “Next time, do not act so recklessly. Use legal means to solve problems.”
Liang Ling nodded heavily, gave a fierce sniff, and turned around to extend a hand to Lu Ming, who was lying on the ground. “Xiao Ming, get up quickly.”
Lu Ming grabbed his hand with a tremor, struggling to climb up from the floor. He practically hung his entire weight on Liang Ling, which made Wen Ming feel a wave of annoyance.
Lu Ming panted heavily, clutching the terrifying wound on his head, and forced a smile at Liang Ling. “Brother Liang, thank you so much today. But I am too scared to go home looking like this. If my dad sees me, he is definitely going to give me a severe beating with a bamboo strip. Can you and your boss do me a favor and take me to the hospital?”
“This.” Liang Ling hesitated for a moment, then stealthily cast his gaze toward Wen Ming.
Wen Ming had no choice but to nod with a dark face.
Before long, the three of them drove to the hospital. Wen Ming went to help Lu Ming register, while Liang Ling sat on a chair to accompany him, massaging his bruised and swollen wrists with a heart full of distress as he asked softly, “Xiao Ming, does it still hurt?”
Lu Ming grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, and leaned close to Liang Ling’s ear to say mysteriously, “It hurts! It really hurts! But Brother, let me tell you, I do not regret it at all.”
Liang Ling was somewhat surprised. Looking at Lu Ming, who practically looked like a plucked little dog, he poked the wound on Lu Ming’s arm. “You are still playing around. It just happened, so the heat of the moment has not worn off yet. You will know how much it hurts later.”
Lu Ming let out an ouch, grabbed Liang Ling’s mischievous hand, and mumbled, “No way! Brother, do you know what happened? The female classmate I just protected sent a text message saying thank you and offering to buy me milk tea.”
“Oh.” Hearing this, Liang Ling instantly perked up. He gave Lu Ming a mischievous poke in the ribs with his elbow and chuckled, “Young man, you played the hero saving the damsel and even managed to harvest a romantic spark for yourself.”
Uncharacteristically, Lu Ming lowered his head in embarrassment, scratched his cheek, and laughed sheepishly, “Not really, we are just classmates.”
“What are you two talking about? Why are you leaning so close together?” Wen Ming returned with the registration slip. From afar, he had spotted the two of them with their heads pressed together whispering, and a nameless fire instantly ignited in his heart.
“Ah, President Wen, you are back.” Liang Ling happily stood up, pulled Lu Ming up along with him, and urged, “Quickly go get your wounds dressed. Be careful or it might get infected and inflamed later.”
Lu Ming nodded, gave Wen Ming a complicated look, and walked into the surgical consultation room with the registration slip to get bandaged.
While waiting for Lu Ming outside, Liang Ling anxiously wrung his fingers the entire time. Wen Ming leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, watching Liang Ling’s dejected expression, and asked with disgruntled awkwardness, “You seem very worried about him?”
The moment he spoke, a thick wave of vinegar filled the air. Liang Ling froze for a moment, completely dumbfounded by his words. “Huh?”
Wen Ming lowered his arms, frowned, and his expression darkened. “Are you and Lu Ming very close? Why are you this worried just because he got a little hurt?”
Watching Wen Ming’s thoroughly displeased expression, Liang Ling realized the other man had misunderstood. He let out a chuckle and said, “No, Xiao Ming and I are not what President Wen thinks at all. I am just worried that this group of punks does not look like decent people. Since Xiao Ming stuck his neck out for the girls in his class, plenty of trouble is bound to find him in the future.”
Hearing this, Wen Ming seemed to recall something and gave a calm nod. “It is hard to be a good person. Things in this world have always been like this.”
Liang Ling sighed, looked pleadingly at Wen Ming, and asked in a small voice, “Then does President Wen have any good ideas?”
Wen Ming raised an eyebrow, let out a hmph, and said, “I do have one, but I do not plan to waste this much effort on this kid. After all, I am no Bodhisattva who has to poke my nose into everybody’s business, especially when it comes to such messy matters that could easily cost someone their life.”
Hearing this, Liang Ling lowered his head in disappointment. He cautiously raised his eyes to look at Wen Ming and pleaded, “President Wen, you are magnanimous. Xiao Ming offended you before just because he was ignorant. Please help him out this time.”
His tone was soft and practically amounted to begging. Wen Ming’s breathing hitched abruptly, and his mental defenses collapsed instantly, though his mouth refused to budge. “I refuse. There is no benefit for me. Who does a losing business venture?”
Liang Ling flashed two little tiger teeth, raised four fingers, and swore solemnly, “President Wen, if you help Xiao Ming this time, I am willing to learn how to cook from now on, preparing three meals and a soup every day without repeating dishes!”
Wen Ming was amused by him, though he couldn’t laugh anymore the moment he remembered Liang Ling’s special talent of burning everything on the outside while leaving it raw on the inside. With a dark face, he muttered, “I am not sure whether this is a benefit for me or a trial I am supposed to undergo.”
Seeing that Wen Ming had finally relaxed his tone, Liang Ling smiled and said, “Of course it is a benefit! Even though my cooking is not that great right now, I am still improving! At least the sugar-mixed tomatoes did not turn out a disaster last time!”
How could sugar-mixed tomatoes even go wrong? Wen Ming silently complained. He coughed, straightened his expression, and said, “Alright. Actually, solving this problem is not that difficult. We just need to assign a few people to stand guard at the entrance whenever Lu Ming finishes school, just to ward off punks coming to cause him trouble. Isn’t he taking the college entrance exam soon? I heard that seniors at S High School are forced to board on campus, so we only need to keep watch for one month.”
Hearing this, a heavy stone in Liang Ling’s heart finally fell to the ground. Indeed, this method could guarantee Lu Ming’s safety to the maximum extent. While a bit clumsy, it was definitely more effective than trying to persuade punks to change their ways.
Watching Liang Ling lower his head in deep thought, Wen Ming’s lips curved upward slightly. “Do not just focus on being happy. Have you figured out what to cook tomorrow?”