After hanging up the phone, Su Qing felt something was amiss with Jiang Sui. Then she thought it might be because of Hu Yifan's injury.
She pinched her brows and sat down on a chair by the window. Her window faced the Yuan River, so the bright streetlights outside were now shone on the water.
The Yuan River was always tranquil, unperturbed. In this dilapidated dwelling, it seemed particularly lonely and pitiful. Fortunately, the warm sunlight made it feel less desolate, and even radiated a touch of warmth under the yellow light.
A gentle breeze blew across Su Qing's face. Liu Ranran answered the phone quickly. Hearing her name being called, Su Qing's delicate lips uttered reassuring words.
"Ranran, Hu Yifan is fine. Don't worry. Jiang Sui just told me he's awake."
Thinking of her crying so hard at noon, Su Qing still felt a little worried.
Although Liu Ranran came from a modest family and wasn't popular at school due to her slightly plump figure, she only had a friend after Su Qing arrived. Therefore, Su Qing was particularly important to her.
Liu Ranran, whose tears had stopped, smiled, her chubby face lifting. "Qing Qing, did Jiang Sui call you? Hu Yifan called me just now and said he's fine."
"But I thought, that would better call the police. But back then, Hu Yifan actually said he accidentally fell!"
"How could he have accidentally fallen? His head was bleeding, and his nose was broken, and the doctor said he needed a blood transfusion!"
"How could we not call the police? We must have them punish those bad guys."
Liu Ranran's brows furrowed again as she spoke, her lighthearted words slowly becoming more serious.
She was deeply worried, but Hu Yifan… even if she was dumb, she wouldn't believe what he said. It was obvious he was being bullied.
Thinking of this, Liu Ranran realized she'd already been on a rant.
She couldn't help but pull open her phone to check. It was still on. "Qing Qing, are you there? Did you hear that? Is the signal bad?"
Her voice got a little louder.
Su Qing's left hand, resting on the table, relaxed from its previous tense position. A flicker of doubt crossed her face, and she spoke softly.
"Ranran, when did you tell Hu Yifan all this?"
The other end replied without a second thought.
"Just half an hour ago, and he called from Jiang Sui's phone. Before he hung up, Hu Yifan warned me not to reveal our school most handsome boy's number."
The latter part of the sentence made Su Qing's fingers tighten her grip on the phone.
Half an hour ago, that is, before Jiang Sui called her.
Jiang Sui knew Hu Yifan had called Ran Ran, but when she said she was going to let Ran Ran know he was safe, Jiang Sui didn't mention that had already called Ran Ran.
The boy hung up the phone.
"Qing Qing, what do you think we should do about this? We can't let Hu Yifan get beaten up for nothing. Why don't you talk to Jiang Sui and ask him to persuade Hu Yifan to call the police? It's such a serious matter. His sister doesn't seem close to him. What if those people retaliate?"
Though the girl was unpopular and friendless, she was rarely protected by her family, and her character was very simple.
Su Qing agreed calmly, her brows furrowed tightly.
She believed that matters like this were handled by the parties involved, and that it was Hu Yifan's decision whether to call the police or not. But the boy chose not to, and someone else was bullying the Hu family's young master. What was going on?
Did this prove the police couldn't handle the situation, or was there a reason they couldn't call the police?
But sensing Liu Ranran's fear, she still agreed. She didn't tell her about her doubts, and she couldn't tell her. She also no tell her that call police might be useless this thing. She just told her to get some rest.
After hanging up the phone, Su Qing was overwhelmed with thoughts, tangling her brow and mind, unable to shake them off.
Just one afternoon after lunch, and something so drastic had happened.
After a long pause, Su Qing clutched the water glass beside her. The water had cooled. She took a few sips, the cool breeze bringing her back to her senses.
Looking at the clock, it was already past nine. She looked down at the notebook the boy had given her, which still contained unfinished exercises from the day.
She pinched her fingertips, flipped it open, picked up her pen, suppressed her worries, and began to work on the exercises.
She hadn't chosen to call Jiang Sui right now.
Everything that had happened tonight proved that he was hiding something from her. Since he was hiding something, she might as well pretend she didn't know. Isn't that how the adult world works?
Su Qing shook her head, looking at the densely packed formulas. She, usually immersed in her studies, became a little irritated. She could only bite the bullet and work on the exercises.
But the more she worked, the less she could concentrate.
---
Inside the hospital ward, Hu Yifan lay propped up on the mattress, his head tilted as he gazed at Hu Ling, who sat cross-legged on the small sofa. His eyes were filled with sweetness.
"Sister, why are you here?"
Hu Ling glanced reluctantly at Hu Yifan's unsightly face, now half covered by gauze, and spoke coldly.
"If I don't come, who will sign for you?"
Seemingly sensing the tenderness in the boy's eyes, Hu Ling grew disgusted.
"Don't look at me with that disgusting look. Jiang Sui forced me to come here. You have a good friend."
Hu Yifan's eyes were bitter with hurt. He remained silent, pursing his lips. He couldn't even feel the pain at the moment.
Hu Ling grew extremely impatient.
"If you can't make it, go back and inherit the family fortune with those illegitimate children. Stop hanging around like a jerk and learning to play pickup basketball with others."
Hu Ling's words were unkind. Jiang Sui wasn't there—no, even if Jiang Sui was, Hu Ling felt she would be just like that. She looked at the person on the bed with a cold expression.
That red hair and that face truly disgusted her.
Hu Yifan, lying on the bed, was completely stunned and bewildered. He stared at Hu Ling in shock, wondering how she had known so quickly...
Then, realizing that she only knew half of it, he relaxed his nerves and relaxed a lot.
But thinking of his good brother-in-law, he immediately understood, and his tone fell silent, making it hard to hear his emotions.
"You don't have to beg him for me."
Hu Ling glanced at him with disdain and said something even more harsh.
"Do you think I'd bother caring about you if you are not boy?"
"Hu Yifan, if you dare let the Hu family's assets fall into the hands of others, I'll tear you apart."