"Fuck! When did you get here?!" Wen Tao instinctively cursed. Then, when he looked around, he saw that Tang Yu had already disappeared with Zhao Yu, leaving him behind with Li Beining.
Li Beining fondly smiled as he reached out to rub Wen Tao's soft hair. Then, he said, "I arrived long ago. You just weren't paying attention."
Wen Tao slapped away the hand that was messing up his neatly combed hair. Then, giving Li Beining a look of disgust, Wen Tao said, "If you want to say something, just say it! Don't touch my hair!"
The smile in Li Beining's eyes gradually vanished, his expression growing solemn. It was as if he had suddenly changed into an entirely different person.
This was the first time Wen Tao had seen such an expression on Li Beining, and he couldn't help but back away out of fear and anxiety.
"Listen here, Wen Tao. When the school asks you who caused that boy's injury, tell them I did it," Li Beining said as he grabbed Wen Tao by the arm, his silver hair glistening under the winter sun.
"W...Why?" Wen Tao frowned in confusion. "I will take responsibility for my own actions. Why should I have you take the blame?"
"I'm not a student, so I won't have to worry about getting a bad record in school. Although they can report me to the police...I already have a criminal record, so a minor offense like this is trivial," Li Beining said, finding Wen Tao's stunned expression a little funny. Then, he gently tapped his knuckle Wen Tao on the forehead and continued, "You're still a student with a clean record, so you should keep it that way."
"Not a chance!" Wen Tao shouted as he pushed away the person gradually moving closer to him. Then, scratching his hair in irritation, he said, "I don't need you to meddle in my affairs. At worst, they'll give me a demerit. Whatever the case, I'll take responsibility for my own actions."
Li Beining put his hands into his pockets as he watched the upset young man walk away, a different emotion appearing in his eyes.
Should he say that as expected of the kid he had taken a liking to?
Wen Tao was clean. Very clean. The boy remained mostly uncontaminated even after rolling about in the cesspool known as society for a couple of years. In this day and age, specimens like Wen Tao had already become very rare.
Suddenly thinking of something, Li Beining shook his head and chuckled before making his way out of the school campus.
…
The hospital was as crowded as always. Almost every day, countless people would come to line up in the lobby, each waiting anxiously in front of a counter with a phone or a bill in hand.
"Why are there so many people..." Tang Yu knitted her brows as she carefully helped Zhao Yu over to an empty seat. "Wait here for me while I get you registered. Be careful not to let anyone touch your arm."
"...Okay," Zhao Yu weakly responded, his lips turning white from the pain.
Unfortunately, no matter how much of a hurry Tang Yu was in, she could only anxiously wait in line to register Zhao Yu.
"Huh? Weren't you discharged already?"
This voice... Gao Rang!
Tang Yu abruptly turned around when she heard Gao Rang's voice, giving the other party a scare. Then, before Gao Rang could recover from his surprise, she urgently said, "Zhao Yu's arm is broken!"
Gao Rang instantly turned serious when he heard the name "Zhao Yu," his usually gentle face tensing up as he asked, "Where is he?"
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"Over here," Tang Yu said as she led Gao Rang to Zhao Yu.
...
Even after the surgery ended, Zhao Yu's parents did not show up. Gao Rang even had to register as Zhao Yu's guardian when helping the boy fill in his paperwork, which gave him a mild headache.
"Is the patient's family still not here, Doctor Gao?" a young nurse quietly asked Gao Rang as she carefully administered an injection to the unconscious Zhao Yu.
"No. After asking about their son's condition, they didn't say anything else and simply hung up," Gao Rang said with a blank expression whilst filling in his personal information on Zhao Yu's medical record.
"Then..."
"I'll foot his medical expenses for now, so don't worry about that." Gao Rang knew what the nurse wanted to say. After all, the hospital wasn't a charity organization. Whether it was the hospitalization fee or the treatment fee, both cost a significant sum of money.
"But why? Do you know the patient, Doctor Gao?" the nurse asked in confusion.
"Mhm, I know him. You can carry on with your duties and call me if something comes up. I'll be here in the meantime," Gao Rang said, beaming a smile at the nurse. Then, he pulled over a stool and sat down beside Zhao Yu.
Gao Rang's charming smile enchanted the young nurse, causing the latter to blush all the way to her ears as she trotted out of the ward.
…
The teenager lying unconscious on the bed had a pale complexion. His forehead was covered with fine beads of sweat, and his brows had remained furrowed since he entered the hospital.
Gao Rang stood up and took out a pack of tissues from his coat pocket. For a moment, he didn't know what expression he should make. He never thought that the tissues he had previously prepared would find use on such an occasion.
Gently and carefully, Gao Rang wiped the fine sweat off Zhao Yu's forehead. Then, he subconsciously reached out to smoothen the boy's furrowed brows, but to no avail.
Gao Rang helplessly sighed as he tucked in the quilt for Zhao Yu before sitting back down on the chair.
…
"What? Wen Tao beat up Zhao Yu?" For a moment, Yin Zhao-an wondered if she had misheard Tang Yu. However, seeing her Tang-Tang's worried look, she had probably heard correctly.
"Zhao Yu came to talk to me at the time. Maybe Wen Tao thought he was trying to bully me, so..." Tang Yu was feeling very upset at herself right now. If it wasn't for her behavior, none of these problems would have happened.
"Where is Wen Tao now? How is Zhao Yu doing?" Yin Zhao-an asked. Both people involved in this fight were her close friends. She didn't hope for the two to become enemies, even if the two didn't get along with one another.
Shaking her head, Tang Yu said, "Zhao Yu suffered a fracture to his forearm, but he's fine now after surgery. The problem is that Zhao Yu's parents still haven't shown up for some reason."