Cao Rui chimed in, "Since you're alright and have someone here with you, I'll be leaving now."
The doctor suggested that Qiao Yuchu stay overnight to observe her condition, since it was inconvenient to inform her parents about this matter. The hospital also insisted that someone stay here to take care of her, and Cao Rui was a very busy person, and they weren't particularly close to each other.
Cheng Zhen, being an idle person, was naturally the first choice.
"Do you think I want you here? You're giving me a headache."
Listening to Qiao Yuchu and Cheng Zhen bickering, Xie Shi'an smiled slightly, a rare occurrence. He was still playing basketball when Cao Rui notified him.
“I’ll be there in a bit, and once I get there I can send him home.”
Just as the group arrived at the bus stop, the bus bound for Chengnan No.1 Middle School came.
Zhou Mu jumped into the car in a few steps and said goodbye to them: "I'm leaving now, see you another day."
Jian Changnian waved to her: "Goodbye."
Buses to the city center and the suburbs go in opposite directions, so Jian Changnian has to cross another overpass to get to the bus stop.
Seeing that Xie Shi'an didn't seem to want to cross the street after hanging up the phone, she asked, "Aren't you going back to the training base?"
Xie Shi'an shook his head: "I'm not going back, I'm going to the hospital."
She's probably going to visit Qiao Yuchu.
There won't be any more buses any later.
After hesitating for a moment, Jian Changnian said, "Then I'll head back first. Please give my regards to Sister Yu Chu."
Xie Shi'an nodded slightly, turned his toes, and walked into an alley next to the overpass.
Jian Changnian also turned around and went onto the overpass.
She took a couple of steps, and for some reason, she suddenly turned her head and looked around. Under the dim streetlights, several figures followed Xie Shi'an into the alley, and one of them looked like Qin Yang from behind.
The alley was only lit at the entrance; a few steps further ahead, it was pitch black, and you couldn't see anything from that distance.
Jian Changnian's heart pounded. On the busy street, the last bus back to the training base slowly pulled up.
She glanced at it, bit her lip, and suddenly took off running towards the alley.
***
"So, did you win?"
"We won."
Xie Shi'an was walking along while talking on the phone with Qiao Yuchu.
This is a shortcut from the club to the hospital. After passing through this alley, you'll reach the food street, and once you cross the food street, the hospital is not far away.
The alley is lined with self-built houses, and it was designated as a demolition area a couple of years ago, so there are no people and not even a street lamp.
However, Xie Shi'an often walked this way to school, and she was very familiar with the roads in this area, so she let her guard down.
In the entire alley, the only light was the faint glow emitted from her phone during the call.
Qiao Yuchu: "It's too late, you should go back and rest. Orange Juice can stay here with me."
Xie Shi'an shook his head: "Anyway, I'm fine."
She heard light footsteps behind her, but assuming they were just pedestrians, she didn't pay much attention. Suddenly, the footsteps became more hurried, and before Xie Shi'an could turn around, a gust of wind blew past her ear, accompanied by a familiar voice shouting.
"Xie Shi'an! Get out of the way!"
Xie Shi'an, clutching her phone, felt goosebumps all over her body and instinctively turned to the side. A thick iron rod, about the thickness of a thumb, grazed her head.
Jian Changnian rushed over, and seeing that the iron rod was about to fall on Xie Shi'an's head, she could only use her own body to knock him away.
"Holy shit!" a man shouted amidst the chaos.
Before she could even regain her footing, she was kicked to the ground by several other men who had come to their senses.
"Jian Changnian, get up!" Xie Shi'an's pupils contracted, and he reached out his hand to her.
Jian Changnian had just gotten up when she was kicked to the ground again.
"You ruined my plans! Beat him up!"
Qin Yang's eyes were sinister as he pointed the iron rod at Xie Shi'an.
"And you too, none of you will escape, get them!"
"Xie Shi'an, run!" Jian Changnian covered her head and rolled on the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone heading towards Xie Shi'an. She didn't know where she got the courage, but she actually grabbed Qin Yang's leg.
"Damn it, this is really troublesome—" Qin Yang was held by the foot and couldn't move. He spat on the ground, raised the iron rod in his hand high, and was about to hit Jian Changnian.
In a flash, Xie Shi'an pounced over, slammed an elbow into Qin Yang's waist, dragged him by the neck and slammed him to the ground, tearing a gash in his neck, and quickly helped him up.
"Run!"
Jian Changnian was dragged forward, staggering, with several men chasing after her. Seeing that they were about to catch up, Xie Shi'an threw all the trash cans, construction debris, and cleaning tools that could be pushed over on both sides of the road behind him.
In the chaos, Jian Changnian tripped over a brick and fell flat on his face, seeing stars.
A hand reached out to grab them, and Xie Shi'an picked up the brick and smashed it hard against the man's face.
The man cried out in pain, and Xie Shi'an took the opportunity to drag and pull Jian Changnian up and run away, not even noticing that he had dropped his phone.
"Go! Run forward! Don't look back!"
Qiao Yuchu only heard a few urgent words like "Run!" and "Don't look back!" and she jumped up from the bed.
"Shi'an, Xie Shi'an! What happened to you?! Shi'an! Shi'an! Say something!"
Before she could finish speaking, Qin Yang stomped on Xie Shi'an's phone, which was still lit up on the ground, and smashed it to pieces.
The call abruptly ended.
Qiao Yuchu's heart clenched.
"Cheng Zhen! Cheng Zhen!" she called out as she threw off the covers and got out of bed. Cheng Zhen rushed in from outside the door.
"What's wrong? What's wrong?!"
Qiao Yuchu clung to his sleeve, her eyes red.
"Shi'an...Shi'an...something might have happened to him!"
For Qiao Yuchu, who is usually gentle and emotionally stable, to lose her composure like this, something serious must have happened.
Without hesitation, Cheng Zhen said, "Don't rush! Stay here, I'll go find them. Do you know where she is?!"
Qiao Yuchu managed to calm herself down and recalled her conversation with Xie Shi'an. Knowing Xie Shi'an as she did, she knew she would definitely take a shortcut.
"There's a food street to the left of the hospital entrance. At the end of the food street, it connects to an alley. It's only a ten-minute walk from the alley to the hospital! That alley is in a demolition area, so there aren't many people there usually. If someone wants to harm her, it's definitely there!"
"Okay, okay, I'll go right away!" After getting the exact location, Cheng Zhen helped the person sit down on the bed, turned around and ran, but after running two steps, he turned back and picked up the key to his electric scooter that he had placed on the bedside table.
Cheng Zhen rode her bike with one hand, weaving through the bustling crowds of the food street, her heart pounding with anxiety, honking the horn incessantly.
"Holy crap, how do you drive?!"
"Can you ride a bike?"
He streaked along, with people cursing behind him, but Cheng Zhen ignored them. He took out his phone and made several more calls to Xie Shi'an, but the phone was switched off.
He gritted his teeth and dialed 110.
***
"Thank... Thank you Shian... I... I can't run anymore!" Jian Changnian gasped for breath, her pace gradually slowing down.
Xie Shi'an looked at the light not far away, then glanced back at the few people chasing after them. He gritted his teeth, put her arm on his shoulder, and dragged her to continue running forward.
"Hang in there a little longer, you'll be safe once you reach a populated area!"
As soon as she finished speaking, several more people emerged from the alleyway ahead. They stood against the light, making it impossible to see their faces, but they were all carrying weapons and blocking their way.
The footsteps behind them slowed down.
Qin Yang's nonchalant voice came over: "Run, why aren't you running anymore?"
Jian Changnian looked around. It was pitch black, and there were people all around her. She couldn't help but take a few steps back, her whole body trembling slightly.
"Thank you... Thank you Shi'an."
She instinctively moved closer to the only source of heat at that moment.
Xie Shi'an stood back to back with her and whispered, "There are less than a hundred meters left. I'll stop them, and you rush out to find someone to call the police."
Jian Changnian swallowed hard. At a glance, there were five or six of them. How could Xie Shi'an possibly defeat them all by himself?
"No...no...what will you do if I leave?"
"Leave? Not one of you will leave today." Qin Yang slung the iron rod over his shoulder and scratched the itch on his back.
"What exactly do you want?" It's best to stall for time for now. Xie Shi'an's palms were sweating, but he remained calm and asked.
"You think you're so great? Prodigy, genius, number one in Jiangcheng? Cripple her hand, and let's see how she plays professionally then!"
Qin Yang knew she was stalling for time, so he didn't waste any words with her.
Xie Shi'an pushed Jian Changnian behind him, turned his head slightly, and shouted, "Let's go!"
Jian Changnian was pushed and stumbled, and saw Xie Shi'an being held down by three or four people. The boy picked up a brick from the ground and smashed it hard at those who were holding her. Qin Yang seemed not to have expected her to resist, and in a moment of pain, he let go.
Xie Shi'an managed to escape, but before he could even get up, he was kicked to the ground again.
She gritted her teeth, struggled, grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, and threw it fiercely at their faces.
The boy's eyes shone like stars, his gaze so resolute and unyielding, never begging for mercy, never kneeling, never admitting defeat.
She was kicked down time and time again, but she got up again and again until someone grabbed her hair and hit her knees with an iron rod, forcing her to kneel down.
The two men held Xie Shi'an down by the shoulders. Qin Yang grabbed her hair, twisted her right hand from behind, and stepped on her shoulder.
Xie Shi'an let out a painful groan as he was forced to bend over deeply.
The man who was just swaggering around the club, full of confidence, is now kneeling on the ground, wailing in despair.
That felt so good!
"You should thank me now for letting you retire early."
Qin Yang smiled, but a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. He was about to press down hard on her shoulder.
Jian Changnian ran a few steps, then stopped and looked back. Her eyes were red. She didn't care about being scared or Xie Shi'an's instructions. At this moment, she only had one thought in her mind.