Chapter Thirty-Three: Bitterness
If his henchman gets beaten, it's the same as him getting beaten. Although Chen Yunqi was taller than him, Scarface looked at his clean-cut and scholarly appearance and concluded that he was just a pretty face. So he roared and jumped up to pounce on him.
"You son of a bitch! How dare you run wild on my turf!"
Chen Yunqi had never been in a serious fight before. He originally just wanted to pay back the money for Li Jun and quickly resolve the matter to prevent these people from causing trouble during the New Year and involving Li Hanqiang's family. However, hearing their filthy insults towards San San, he could no longer tolerate it and took action.
With his long arms and legs, great strength and stamina, he nimbly dodged the charging scarred man by sidestepping. The scarred man used all his skills, panting heavily after several rounds of fighting, but he could never get close to Chen Yunqi. In a fit of rage, he picked up a discarded wooden stick from the corner of the wall and swung it at Chen Yunqi.
Chen Yunqi was kicking the young man, who had just gotten up from the ground, in the stomach when, before he could turn around to react, he was struck squarely on the shoulder with a stick. The stick, which looked like it had been taken from something, still had a few rusty nails sticking out. It hit his body, snagged on his clothes, and tore a hole in them with a "ripping" sound as it left. If he hadn't been wearing thick winter clothes, his skin would probably have been cut open and bleeding profusely.
Scarface was already furious. Seeing that his first blow had missed its vital point, he quickly raised his stick and struck again.
When Li Jun was struggling in the county town, he was often bullied by Scarface. As a boy from the mountains, he had no connections or support, and he was also addicted to gambling. When he was in debt, he had no confidence. When he was beaten, scolded, or robbed, he could only swallow his anger and endure it. Over time, compromising became a habit.
Today's events were all his fault. He knew he was guilty, but he didn't dare to step forward to help. Seeing Teacher Chen in danger, fighting two opponents alone, he was anxious but also worried about getting caught in the crossfire and getting beaten up himself. Getting beaten up was secondary; what if he couldn't make a living in the county town after this?
Teacher Chen can simply leave and go back to his big city. Where can Li Jun, who is uneducated and incompetent, go? He can only go as far as the county town. He is still hoping to make a living here in the future.
The young man who had been punched so hard that he was seeing stars and bleeding profusely had recovered. Chen Yunqi was now fighting three people instead of two. No matter how good he was at fighting, he was overwhelmed. Besides, these people were all thugs and petty criminals whose methods were not respectable. They would either attack from behind or overwhelm him with numbers. Although they did not gain much advantage, they still made Chen Yunqi suffer a lot.
Chen Yunqi caught the wooden stick with his bare hands several times, his palms were painfully scratched by the splinters, and his arm was cut by the sharp nails. He saw that the nails were rusty and thought that he might have to get a tetanus shot, which would delay his date with San San.
Night had quietly fallen, and scattered lights illuminated the surroundings. Occasionally, passersby would see several people covered in mud and blood fighting, and they would hurry away in fright, not daring to look any longer. With the end of the year approaching, no one wanted to get into trouble at this time.
Chen Yunqi was preoccupied with San San and had no desire to linger with them any longer; he only wanted a quick victory. He took off his coat and threw it aside, then sneered at Scarface and his men, "The three of you can't beat one of me. What a waste of time."
Scarface was enraged by the man's arrogant attitude. He couldn't understand why this man had suddenly changed his attitude and even started hitting him, when money could have solved the problem. He spat on the ground and viciously gestured to his two henchmen, "Beat him! Beat him until he can't even crawl back!"
Two henchmen sprang to their feet. One rushed forward and jumped from behind, grabbing Chen Yunqi by the neck, while the other took a punch to the front of Chen Yunqi, but as he fell, he was kicked hard in the shin. Scarface seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack, striking Chen Yunqi in the forehead with his club. Chen Yunqi felt his vision go black, and he could no longer hold on, immediately collapsing to his knees.
Scarface approached with a cold smile, carrying a wooden stick. He stepped on one of Chen Yunqi's hands, grinding his long, slender fingers into it. But Chen Yunqi didn't even utter a sound. Scarface was immediately enraged again, his eyes flashing with ferocity. He raised the stick to strike Chen Yunqi's head once more.
Li Jun was so frightened that he closed his eyes, unable to watch any longer, and weakly cried out, "Big Head Brother, please stop hitting me..."
At the critical moment, a powerful and angry shout suddenly rang in my ears.
"Stop it, all of you! Police!"
Scarface was startled. His hand, which was raised in mid-air, lost its strength in an instant, and the wooden stick fell from his hand, hitting Chen Yunqi on the back and rolling to the ground.
The three were just local thugs who spent their time drinking, gambling, and whoring; they had never committed any crimes, so they wouldn't dare to go against the police. When the newcomer pulled out his police ID, they were so frightened that they stood frozen in place, too scared to even think of running away.
Officer Zheng had just finished his shift and hadn't had time to change out of his uniform; he was still carrying a bag of groceries. He immediately herded the three men, including the one with the scarred head, to a corner where they squatted down with their heads down. He then made a phone call to his colleagues for assistance. Judging from his tone and uniform, the scarred man guessed that Officer Zheng might not be a police officer from the local station, but most likely a criminal investigator, possibly even armed. He became even more obedient, daring not to resist in the slightest.
After hanging up the phone, Officer Zheng kept a close eye on Scarface out of the corner of his eye as he walked over and carefully helped Chen Yunqi up, asking in a low voice, "Can you stand up? Where are you injured? Should we call an ambulance...?"
The person in front of him propped himself up and turned to meet his gaze. Suddenly, his eyes widened in disbelief as he exclaimed, "Eh? Teacher Chen?!"
Blood trickled down Chen Yunqi's forehead and into his collar. He forced a smile and slowly said, "What a coincidence, Officer Zheng. You smell strongly of cilantro."
Fifteen minutes later, a police car took Scarface and his henchmen away. Chen Yunqi was supposed to go back with them to give a statement, but before the police arrived, he explained the whole story to Officer Zheng and said that San San and the other children were waiting for him, and he couldn't delay any longer. Officer Zheng saw that his forehead injury was quite serious, so he agreed to let him go and meet up with San San first, treat his wound, and give a statement the next day.
Officer Zheng offered to take him home, but he politely declined, hastily wiping the blood from his face with one sleeve before turning and leaving.
Officer Zheng was about to leave when he suddenly remembered something and immediately turned around to call out to Chen Yunqi, "Teacher Chen, there are some leads regarding Huang Youzheng's case. I've been busy before the New Year and haven't had time to inform you yet."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yunqi immediately returned quickly. Officer Zheng lit a cigarette for both of them and said while smoking, "It's like this. Some time ago, when the branch office was sharing information, I found a very suspicious report. The complainant said that several people of unknown origin had appeared in their village and were all being held in a family's woodshed. But when the police searched the place, they found nothing and suspected that they had been moved. According to the complainant's description, one of the people's characteristics matched Huang Youzheng very well."
Chen Yunqi immediately pressed, "Where?"
“It was in Jiaoyuan,” Officer Zheng told Chen Yunqi all the details he knew without hiding anything. “We detained that family at the time, but we couldn’t get anything out of them. There were no other eyewitnesses and no evidence was found, so we had to release them.”
"The case is located in Jiaoyuan, and I can't see any more information. If you want to go and take a look, I'll send you the address later."
"Okay, thank you for your trouble, Officer Zheng. I'll make time to visit after the New Year." Chen Yunqi nodded to Officer Zheng, said goodbye, and hurriedly left.
The night was deep, and the streetlights in the small town shone intermittently, their dim light casting long shadows on Chen Yunqi's hurried steps. The wound on his forehead throbbed faintly, and one eye was blurred with blood, making it difficult to see the road ahead. He had thrown off his coat, shivering from the cold, but his heart was set on returning home, and he soon began to jog.
After taking many detours and going around in circles, he finally saw the small shop with lanterns hanging at the entrance. A familiar figure stood motionless in front of the shop, and Chen Yunqi felt a surge of warmth in his heart, his tense nerves relaxing as well.
Upon seeing San San, he immediately dropped his guard and concealed all his sharpness, like a soldier who had finished a battle and removed his armor, returning home after a near-death experience and seeing the lover he had longed for day and night. Although they were only a dozen meters apart, he suddenly felt unable to walk, his legs went weak, and he collapsed to the ground.
After leaving the internet cafe with Sheng Xiaoyan and Huang Yelin, San San went straight to a small shop. He let the children eat hot soup noodles at a noodle shop, while he only bought a few bottles of juice at the shop. He gave some to the three children, keeping the last one in his hand, reluctant to drink it. He bought some snacks for the three children so they could sit comfortably in the shop to keep warm, while he stood guard outside the door, afraid that Chen Yunqi wouldn't be able to see him when he returned.
They waited until the shop owner was about to close up shop, but Chen Yunqi still hadn't returned.
He was getting anxious and considered going back to find Chen Yunqi several times, but he didn't dare leave the children alone again. Although Sheng Xiaoyan usually went to and from school in the county town by herself, it was getting late and the three children were not safe. After all, the county town was not Qinghe Town, and they had no relatives or friends here. If something happened to them, they would be left helpless.
Huang Xiaoya was fussing from sleepiness, so San San picked her up and let her rest her head on his shoulder. He was about to pat her and hum a few songs to lull her to sleep, just like an adult, when he suddenly heard Huang Yelin exclaim in surprise—
"Look! Isn't that Teacher Chen?!"
San San suddenly turned his head and looked in the direction Huang Yelin pointed. Sure enough, he saw Chen Yunqi not far away, supporting himself on the ground as he stood up and staggered towards him.
He immediately sensed something was wrong, handed Huang Xiaoya to Sheng Xiaoyan, and ran to meet him. When he reached Chen Yunqi and saw the bloodstains on his face, San San's heart clenched with pain so intense she could hardly breathe, and her heart shattered into pieces.
The worst fears came true; Chen Yunqi was clearly injured. He frantically searched all his pockets but couldn't find a clean tissue to wipe the blood from Chen's face. In desperation, he took off his coat, stood on tiptoe, and gently wiped Chen's cheeks and neck with his shirt sleeve, being careful not to hurt him.
He scolded her as he wiped her, but his trembling voice only showed his tenderness.
"Didn't you say you'd be back soon...? Why are you taking so long...? Don't you have any sense of time...? And you got into a fight... Doesn't it hurt?"
As she spoke, hot tears slid down her cheeks.
Afraid of being seen by Sheng Xiaoyan and Huang Yelin who were surrounding her, San San quickly wiped away her tears with her other sleeve, composed herself, and then decisively took Chen Yunqi's hand and said, "Let's go to the hospital."
Chen Yunqi shook his head, grasped San San's hand in return, and said softly to him, "Let's find a place for them to rest first."
San San was so anxious that he almost forgot about the three children. Hearing this, he frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then obediently replied, "Okay."
Chen Yunqi flagged down a car. Before getting in, fearing that his blood-stained face would frighten the driver, he put on Huang Yelin's hat. He told the driver to take him directly to the best hotel in the county. Upon hearing this, the driver carefully sized them up in the rearview mirror. Just as he was about to say something, he suddenly met Chen Yunqi's cold gaze and immediately suppressed his curiosity, not daring to say anything. He then started the car, stepped on the gas, and drove them to the only three-star hotel in the county.
All the way, San San held Chen Yunqi's hand tightly, as if if he relaxed even slightly, he would be blown away by the wind like a cloud in the sky and disappear. Seeing his nervous look, Chen Yunqi gently patted the back of his hand with his other hand and whispered in his ear, "Don't be afraid, I'm fine, I'm back now."
San San pulled out the slightly warm bottle of juice she had been holding against her chest and handed it to him. Chen Yunqi took it, clamped the bottle between his legs, and unscrewed the cap with one hand, gulping down more than half of it in one go. He drank too fast, and a little juice leaked from the corner of his mouth, flowing down his chin and onto his neck. He didn't bother to wipe it away, and he never let go of the hand he was holding with San San.
"Where's Li Jun?" San San looked out the car window and suddenly realized that someone was missing. When he asked this, Chen Yunqi realized that Li Jun was gone. After thinking carefully, he couldn't recall seeing Li Jun again after Officer Zheng appeared.
“I don’t know where he ran off to,” Chen Yunqi shook his head. “I was in such a hurry to come back and find you that I didn’t notice. He knows this place well. That Big Head Bro has already been taken away by the police, so he should be fine. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”
Chen Yunqi was injured while helping him, and San San is angry whenever she thinks of him. Upon hearing this, she said, "Yeah, he hurt you like this, I don't want to see him."
After thinking for a moment, she added, "I'm never playing with him again, he's such a spendthrift."
Chen Yunqi was amused by his childish words and coaxed him, saying, "Okay, I'll listen to you and ignore him again."
Upon arriving at the hotel, Chen Yunqi registered at the front desk, while San San and the children sat on the sofa in the lobby waiting. Huang Xiaoya was already asleep in San San's arms, and Huang Yelin and Sheng Xiaoyan were also so sleepy that their eyelids were drooping, and they slumped to one side, feeling utterly exhausted.
The receptionist's eyes darted back and forth between the ID card in her hand and Chen Yunqi himself several times before she could barely believe that the disheveled, blood-stained man before her was the same handsome and distinguished man in the ID photo. She returned both ID cards and, instinctively, asked about Chen Yunqi's background. Only after learning that he was a teacher in Tianyun Village did she feel relieved.
"How many rooms do you need?" the receptionist asked while searching for available rooms on the computer.
"One twin room and one double room, please." Chen Yunqi blurted out as if he had already thought it through. After speaking, he turned around and looked at San San, who was sitting with her back to him. For some reason, he suddenly felt a sense of guilt.
After getting the room key, Chen Yunqi and San San escorted Sheng Xiaoyan and Huang Yelin to their room. The three children didn't even bother to wash up before falling asleep. San San covered them with blankets, drew the curtains, locked the door, and then hurriedly pulled Chen Yunqi to the hospital.
Chen Yunqi knew perfectly well that San San was nervous about him, but he suddenly felt like teasing him. What could be more fun than deliberately making his sweetheart angry and then hugging and comforting him? So, as they passed the fire door in the corridor, he suddenly stopped and pulled San San into his arms.
San San was in a hurry to walk forward when Chen Yunqi suddenly pulled her back forcefully, causing her to bump her head into his chest. She was then led into the stairwell of the emergency exit.
Chen Yunqi carried him up two steps until San San was roughly at his eye level. He cupped San San's face in his hands, kissing him as he mumbled, "I missed you so much... I don't want to go anywhere right now... Let's go back to the room, okay..."
San San was so anxious she was jumping up and down, yet she couldn't resist his passionate kiss. She frowned and said intermittently, "No... I have to go to the hospital to get checked out... Wait... Stop it... Ah... Chen Yunqi!"
The first time he called out Chen Yunqi's full name, Chen Yunqi immediately tensed up, regaining about 70-80% of his composure. Seeing the anger in San San's tone, Chen Yunqi realized he might really be angry, so he obediently let go of his hand and looked at him with an innocent expression.
In the dimly lit stairwell, San San's eyes were brimming with tears, and anger swirled between his tightly furrowed brows. Before he could speak, Chen Yunqi suddenly understood. San San had just endured a night of anxiety, panic, and agonizing waiting, and now he was back in this state. He was worried and anxious for him, but instead of comforting him, Chen Yunqi had acted like an idiot, ignoring his feelings...
He was overwhelmed with emotion, and only then did he realize what it felt like to be cherished and loved by the one you love.
Chen Yunqi felt incredibly guilty. He lowered his head and obediently withdrew his hand, pleading with San San like a primary school student making a self-criticism: "I was wrong, I won't be silly anymore. Let's go to the hospital."
Chapter Thirty-Four: The Room
In the corridor outside the emergency room, San San filled a disposable paper cup with hot water. He touched the rim of the cup to test the temperature, but it was still too hot. So he bent down and poured out a third of it, added some cold water, and tested it again. Finally, a satisfied expression appeared on his face. Then he turned and walked towards Chen Yunqi, who was sitting on the bench.
Chen Yunqi's forehead was wrapped in a thick layer of gauze, which at first glance looked similar to Huang Yelin's appearance after his injury last time, except that Huang Yelin was injured on the back of his head, while he was injured on his forehead. The gauze pushed up his bangs, fully revealing his two thick, sword-like eyebrows. Without the stray hairs obscuring his face, he looked more energetic.
Besides his forehead, the injuries on his arms and palms were also treated. Most of the bruises on his shoulders and back were from the wooden stick; the doctor prescribed some liniment and told him to apply it himself. He sat on the bench with his long legs spread out, carrying a small bag of medicine in his hand. He watched as San San repeatedly tested the water temperature at the end of the corridor, carefully carrying the cup back, treating him like a half-paralyzed man, and insisting on feeding him herself. He felt both heartache and sweetness in his heart.
Because of the rusty nail, he inevitably had to get a tetanus shot. San San never expected that this 1.9-meter-tall guy would be afraid of needles. First, when the doctor was writing the injection prescription, he stammered and asked if he could skip it, but the doctor immediately and firmly refused. Sitting on the stool in the injection room, with his sleeve rolled up to receive the injection, he nervously grabbed San San's sleeve, turned his head away, clenched his teeth, and looked like he was about to bravely face his death.
San San suppressed a laugh and whispered in his ear to comfort him, "Don't be afraid, I'll blow on it after I'm done and it won't hurt anymore."
It was late at night when they stepped out of the hospital. The streets were deserted, with food scraps scattered on the ground. Chen Yunqi, dressed in thin clothes, couldn't help but sneeze. The cold wind dispelled his previous fatigue and drowsiness, and he suddenly became energetic, saying, "Are there any midnight screenings at the cinema? Let's go now!"
While looking around for a car, San San said with a mix of laughter and tears, "There's no such thing as a midnight show. What time is it? Why aren't you going home to rest? What if your injury doesn't heal? We need to get back early tomorrow."
Just as he finished speaking, he saw an empty taxi with its pick-up light on approaching in the distance. He was about to wave when Chen Yunqi suddenly grabbed his shoulders with both hands, turned him around to face him, and said with a serious and earnest look in his eyes, "I promised to watch a movie with you, it doesn't matter how late it is. I'm not tired, I can stay up all night. You can rest at the hotel tomorrow, and I'll take care of whatever needs to be done, okay?"
San San was initially startled by his serious expression, thinking he was about to say something important. Upon hearing this, she smiled, then stood on tiptoe, cupped Chen Yunqi's cheeks in her hands, smoothed his furrowed brows with her thumbs, and said almost inaudibly, "It's really okay, we'll have plenty of time to look at each other to our hearts' content."
After saying that, he gently pushed Chen Yunqi away and quickly turned around to stop the empty car.
Chen Yunqi stood there blankly, repeatedly pondering San San's last words.
Is there still plenty of time?
What does this mean? Does it mean that San San also wants to be with him forever? No, the key point is that San San, for the first time ever, revealed his expectations for the future in his words. His tone and expression clearly showed that he was no longer afraid to face this topic. He said "we," referring to both him and Chen Yunqi. Not just watching movies, but also eating, sleeping, shopping, walking, working, living, hugging, and kissing—all the things they want to do together don't need to be rushed, because they have a lot of time, a long life ahead of them.
He thought he was destined for a dull and meaningless second half of his life.
Chen Yunqi didn't come to his senses until San San called him to get in the car. On the way back to the hotel, his mind was a jumbled mess, constantly replaying the events in his mind, unsure if San San had truly expressed that kind of desire. He desperately wanted to confess his feelings to San San immediately, asking her to be his other half and to go back to live with him, but he also worried that if it was just wishful thinking on his part, his confession would backfire and put pressure on San San.
Back at the hotel, they first checked to make sure the three children were sleeping soundly before going into their own room.
Although this hotel is rated as a three-star hotel, it's not much better than a regular hotel; it's just much better than the guesthouse in Qinghe Town.
Chen Yunqi opened the door, inserted the power card into the slot, and all the lights in the room suddenly turned on. To the left of the entrance was a wardrobe, to the right was the bathroom, and further in was the guest room. The television was placed against the wall, next to a sofa and a writing desk.
San San followed Chen Yunqi in. He had assumed the room was the same as the three children's, so when he saw the double bed facing the TV cabinet, he was clearly surprised.
Chen Yunqi coughed twice, pretended to be nonchalant, walked over and plopped down on the bed, then leaned back and lay on the not-so-soft bedding, letting out a lazy sigh.
"Ugh... I'm exhausted."
San San stood awkwardly by the bed, and after a long while, she said with a blush, "You have injuries, so don't get them wet. I'll go wash a towel for you and dry them off."
After saying that, he turned around and went into the bathroom as if fleeing, closing the door behind him.
Chen Yunqi was actually quite nervous. Although they had slept together before, it couldn't be the same. He had already accepted that he and San San were a couple, and if they were to share a bed again, it might not be as simple as just sleeping together as last time...