Upstairs, Li Shaobin walked out of their suite with a few brothers and saw a group of waiters running downstairs. The staircase was even full of waiters, and some customers even ran over. Tongues were wagging.
“My god, Ruan Yang and Jiang Duoyao are actually fighting with someone downstairs. Are my eyes playing tricks on me?”
“I heard that the people they’re fighting with are CEO Qi and his gang. The few women are badly beaten up and no one dared to help.”
Li Shaobin shuddered and walked towards the spiral staircase quickly. He looked down and saw Changqing biting a man’s ear like a little beast. Fresh blood was flowing and that man kept hitting her face hard but she still had her eyes wide open, refusing to let go. Her head was bleeding from the blows.
On the other side, Jiang Duoyao was tugging on a man’s hair with all her might and the man kept hitting her. Ruan Yang and Guan Ying were dealing with a stronger man at the same time. However, their situation didn’t seem any better. The man’s head was bleeding but Guan Ying was pushed to the ground, bare-footed while two high-heeled shoes and a dustpan laid beside her. Her face was bruised. Ruan Yang, on the other hand, was grabbed by the neck but she was still using all her might to scratch his face.
There were many people standing at the side, taking photos but none dared to step out.
His heart jumped from the sight and he quickly called his brothers. “Quick, quick, quick, catch those few bastards who are bullying those women.”
His brothers were all tall and huge. The moment they went up, the few men who usually only knew how to eat and drink were all caught within a few minutes.
As for Zhao Zhu and the others who were with CEO Qi, they quickly escaped upon seeing that the situation had worsened.
Changqing swayed and fell on the floor in pain. She was hurting everywhere. There wasn’t a single spot on her which didn’t hurt. She had never fought like this in her entire life and had never been beaten up like this before. She was in so much pain that she wanted to cry. She lifted her head up and when she saw Jiang Duoyao, Ruan Yang and Guan Ying beside her who were similarly bruised with hair all over the place, she laughed.
Her laughter was accompanied by tears and blood.
Jiang Duoyao, Ruan Yang and Guan Ying looked at each other and laughed too. After laughing for a while, they started crying.
The four had already lost all semblances of their public image.
However, at that moment, they felt a sense of warmth and felt touched; they had never felt this way before.
It was as though they had returned to the times when they were studying in university.
The four were still best friends in school.
There were no conflicts between them, no disputes because of men, and no jealousy because this friend was closer to the other two and one of them felt left out.
Guan Ying teared up silently.
She hated Changqing and was jealous of Changqing. However, she had really never expected that at the time when she had the least self-respect and when she was bullied, Changqing would be the first one to rush up and be the most badly beaten.
She covered her face and her tears seeped through the cracks of her fingers.
Changqing watched her. Ruan Yang pulled Jiang Duoyao and Changqing up and hugged Guan Ying silently, saying softly, “No matter how big the conflict between us is, we would never allow outsiders to bully us.”
Jiang Duoyao sniffed and agreed: “Yes, we can only bully each other.”
Li Shaobin was a little stunned by the sorry state of the four injured women. They looked terrible and even hugged together, laughing then crying.
“Boss, what do we do with these people?” Hu Zhi asked as he came over.
“Of course you beat them to their deaths. Beat them up until they don’t even know how to call their dads and moms.” Li Shaobin turned his head back and shouted angrily with a gloomy face.
“Don’t, Li…” CEO Qi and the others didn’t even have the time to beg for forgiveness when countless punches landed on them.
These punches couldn’t be compared to the soft punches by Changqing and her gang at all. The fists were from the underworld. In no time at all, they were lying unconscious on the floor, bleeding.
Li Shaobin couldn’t be bothered with them. He went up to help Changqing and the others up cautiously. “My ancestor. Look at yourselves—I’d better take you guys to the hospital quickly.”
Changqing lifted her eyes which were seeing black and blinked hard before she could see Li Shaobin clearly. She moved her mouth. “I’m not going… to Bo Han Hospital. Don’t tell Song Chuchu.”
“Why?” Li Shaobin was in a difficult position.
Changqing covered her swollen face and pondered pitifully before saying, “We’re about to get a divorce. I’m too ugly right now. If he sees me, he’ll definitely think he’s lucky to be divorcing this woman, so ugly…”
Li Shaobin expressed that he was unable to understand the world of a woman. Was this the main reason for the divorce? “Why are you two getting a divorce?”
Did he miss anything these past few days?
“You’re his brother; don’t tell me you don’t know.” Jiang Duoyao took in a breath of cold air and said with pain, “Can we go to the hospital first? We’re dying of pain.”
“You look pretty tough when you’re fighting.” Li Shaobin clicked his tongue and quickly called an ambulance over.
Before getting in, he turned his head around and told Hu Zhi, “Have a nice conversation with the manager on duty tonight. Ask him how he did his work. A few public figures were beaten up so badly at Northern Latitude, yet not a single person stepped out to help them.”
Ruan Yang took another look at him after hearing that and said, “Also, CEO Qi and the others were a little suspicious. Why were there so many female artistes there, but he only targeted Guan Ying? I remember that Zhao Zhu was there too.”
“There were other artistes?” Li Shaobin frowned. “Then get the CCTV footage and see who else came along. Find out every single one of them.”
“Alright.” Hu Zhi nodded obediently.
The paramedics closed the door and Li Shaobin turned his head back to say proudly, “Luckily you girls bumped into me tonight. Otherwise, you girls wouldn’t even realize how you were beaten to death.”
Changqing and gang were already lying on the beds weakly from pain. Their chests hurt, stomachs hurt, faces hurt, hands hurt. They already had no strength to even talk.
“Take a look at yourselves.” Li Shaobin continued to lecture them like an elder. “If you want to fight, just give me a call. Changqing, we’re so close—wouldn’t I have helped you?”
Changqing moved her bleeding lips and was bewildered. When were we close?
In six minutes, the few of them were sent to a nearby hospital.
After finishing their checkup and having their wounds treated, the four looked at each other and smiled warmly once again.
Jiang Duoyao said with a hoarse voice, “It’s been a long time since the four of us have been reunited like this.”
Guan Ying glanced at Changqing silently. Changqing also looked at her with the wounds on her face. Her eyes were moist. “Xiaoying, can we make up?”
Guan Ying clenched her fists and lowered her head. Her eyes reddened.
She currently had mixed feelings. She felt touched and complicated, bittersweet and all.
Ruan Yang sat on the hospital bed and said softly. “Isn’t there a song lyric that goes ‘Friends know how to listen to each other more than lovers, I cannot leave my darling but I can’t leave you more’?”
“Yeah.” Jiang Duoyao nodded. “You girls know that I’m the most heartless, but a gathering without the four of us just doesn’t feel like a real gathering. Let’s not let a man affect our friendship, alright?”
Ruan Yang nodded and sighed softly. “Guan Ying, actually, we all know that within us four, you give yourself the most pressure. You long for success and sometimes you envy us a lot. However, have you forgotten how sad I was at the beginning? I was nowhere better than you. Changqing too. The only reason she got married to Song Chuchu was also because of her family business. She didn’t lie to you. The Yan Corporation would’ve collapsed and her dad would’ve gone to jail. She chose not to tell you because she cared about this friendship. Why must we fight? Don’t tell me when faced with danger during a shoot, your lover would risk his career to stand up and take that horse kick for you? When you’re bullied, your lover would rush out without a care and hit the person who bullied you? We all make mistakes but the friendship between us is real.”
Changqing nodded hard with tears in her eyes. “Guan Ying, I was wrong with regards to that matter. If I could do it over again, I would’ve definitely told you first before getting married to him.”
“If you’d asked me first, I would’ve definitely agreed,” Guan Ying said with her eyes all red. “That’s right, I’m very materialistic. Sometimes, I’m despicable, but when your family is faced with such a situation, I wouldn’t be that selfish either. I was angry afterwards probably because I was unwilling to accept the fact that both Fu Yu and Song Chuyi liked you. I was jealous and angry.”
“Guan Ying…” The curtain behind was suddenly pulled open. Fu Yu appeared before the four of them. He probably just climbed out of bed—even the buttons on his shirt were buttoned up wrong.
“Brother Fu Yu, what are you doing here?” Changqing asked with astonishment.
“The artiste from my company got into a fight—wouldn’t I be alarmed after such a huge incident?” Fu Yu looked at Guan Ying and said complicatedly. “Actually, the recent activities that Xue Gao planned for you were all because Changqing called me to help you. She’s always felt guilty.”
Guan Ying was shocked. Changqing squeezed out an ugly smile and said, “I always felt that… we would definitely make up. Because when we were studying in university, when Duoyao refused to change beds with me, you were the only one willing. How generous would a person who was willing to exchange her lower bunk bed for four years be? In any case, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
“Hey, why must you drag me into it?” Jiang Duoyao grumbled and wanted to go hysterical. “You make it sound as though my friendship can’t be compared to the two of yours.”
The group laughed aloud. Guan Ying took a deep breath and held Changqing’s hands. She said teary-eyed with a smile, “Sorry, Changqing.”
“Sorry, Guan Ying.” Changqing hugged her and cried once again. However, these were tears of joy.
She had lost Song Chuyi but her best friend had returned to her.
There was nothing bad about that.
Even Li Shaobin, who was watching from outside, sighed.
Aiyo, to think that the friendship between women could be quite touching too.
He lifted his feet to walk over and heard Jiang Duoyao say: “I think the four of us should have a proper overnight gathering.”
“Gathering? I love gatherings! Do you want to include me?” Li Shaobin said with a grin.
“We’ll include you next time,” Changqing said with a smile. “Brother Shaobin, thank you so much for tonight. We will definitely treat you to a meal next time.”