CH 24

editor: Storm

After their leader, Flower shirt, fell on the ground, the other two standing lackeys immediately went to help him, patting the dust off his body with great diligence. 

Lin Dongyang took the opportunity to pull Qiao Yichen’s right hand, which wasn’t injured. Without saying anything, he dragged him to the elevator, while his other hand was busy taking out his mobile phone to call the police.

Flower shirt pushed away the blind lackeys, pointed to the two people who were running away and shouted. “Are you blind ah?! Don’t let them get away!”

There were no other pedestrians in the empty and dimly lit underground parking lot which was full of the sound of panicked running. Even though it is an international building with magnificent decoration on the surface, the signal coverage of the second floor of the underground parking lot was still very weak. Lin Dongyang listened to the cold mechanical words of ‘the signal can not be connected’ over and over again, and rudely cursed: F*ck!”

Both men ran to the elevator’s entrance, but the elevator showed that the stop position was on the fifth floor, and the jackals behind them were approaching. They had no time to wait for the elevator to descend to the underground second floor. Regardless of whether it worked or not, Lin Dongyang pressed the button and then turned back and ran in the other direction. 

This suffocating feeling of ‘calling out to the Heavens and the Earth but not getting a response’ made Lin Dongyang grasp Qiao Yichen’s hand more nervously. The two of them went all the way to the densely parked cars, using the crowded vehicles to stop the people chasing behind them.

Listening to Lin Dongyang’s heavy breathing, Qiao Yichen had mixed feelings in his heart. This man was implicated by him.

Lin Dongyang didn’t have time to think about the others, and had only one thought in his mind. He wanted to find a place with a security camera to ask for help. His mobile phone had no signal and there was no one in the parking lot. He had been sprinting from side to side, just wanting to try his luck to see if he could encounter a passerby.

Every time Lin Dongyang passed the camera, he made a sign for help, increasing the opportunity of being rescued. He had only stopped for a short while but the people who had been left behind caught up again.

“You little b*astards run very fast ah, block them for me!” Flower shirt was out of breath, but still didn’t forget the arrogant and domineering command.

After a few minutes, Lin Dongyang and Qiao Yichen were surrounded by five people. It was hard for two fists to beat four hands after all.

“Run again ah! See if Laozi doesn’t break your legs! Behave, and you can suffer less.”

The two people who were surrounded remained silent and waited for an opportunity to escape again. At this time, Lin Dongyang’s long-awaited passerby finally arrived, but it didn’t seem to bring any hope. The passerby just looked over curiously, and was yelled at by Flower shirt, “Hey you MB, get out of here!”. The cowardly passerby shrunk his head, ignored everything, and drove out of the underground parking lot. 

Flower shirt proudly swung the baseball bat in his hand. He wasn’t tall himself and had to look up at people with his nose. After facing Qiao Yichen, who was much taller than him, he raised his neck and looked up at the sky in a funny way.

“Qiao has a big appetite ah, and he isn’t afraid of choking after eating.”

From these words, Qiao Yichen understood the other party’s intentions. Sure enough, it was his father’s grudge, caused by business affairs. He could not remember how many times he had encountered this kind of thing since he was a child. At first, he would seek his father’s concern, but what he got instead was father Qiao’s indifference. Later, he quietly learned to endure it alone, getting hurt once seemed to be no different from getting hurt many times.

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The bravery of both young men was completely aroused by this desperate situation, regardless of the consequences. They would be at a disadvantage to resist the sturdy baseball bats with their fists.

The elevator opened with a ‘ding’ sound, and seven people in security uniforms ran out  from inside. They held electric batons and communication devices in their hands to communicate with each other, “Monitoring, reporting the location!”

“Area C 208, Area C 208!” 

“Speed rescue!” Seven tall security guards quickly ran to the designated location, their boots loudly stomping on the ground in a uniform manner.

The side of Lin Dongyang’s face was marked with blood stains from the splinters, and it stung with a painful heat, but compared to Qiao Yichen, he was already considered in good condition. Qiao Yichen seemed to have deliberately defended him during the battle, completely restricting his punching and kicking, and preventing him from using his full fighting strength. Aside from the initial blow from the bat he got, Qiao Yichen couldn’t help also being hit several times in the back.

At the beginning, Flower shirt wanted to sneak attack, hit them with one blow from behind, and directly drag them to the car to take them away. For this reason, the five of them specially covered up the camera in area A. Unexpectedly, just as humans make mistakes, so too can a horse stumble. The initial blows with the two bats missed, and things had deviated more and more from the original plan.

Flower shirt took the risk out of desperation, this kind of illegal matter could be explained in one sentence: Birds die for food, Humans die for money. After he got a large sum of cash from his employer, he had already embarked on a road of no return. 

After hearing the sound of firm and powerful footsteps in the empty parking lot, he instantly realized that he had been delaying the matter for too long. Not only had he lost the golden opportunity, but he had also plunged himself into the swamp. This was Area C, and the surveillance might have already captured evidence of them committing the crime a long time ago.

“You youngsters are really smart. Be careful next time. Withdraw!” Flower shirt pointed at Lin Dongyang viciously, and immediately ran out of the parking lot after saying the harsh words. After failing, there would definitely be a next time. Flower shirt kept staring at Lin Dongyang before leaving, as if to engrave this smart man into his eyes!

After escaping from the danger, they were exhausted. The security guards soon found the scene of the incident and began appeasing the victims’ emotions. Lin Dongyang with a gaze full of worries, helped Qiao Yichen, whose face was pale, “Let’s go to the hospital.”

Enduring the pain with a muffled voice, Qiao Yichen still said stubbornly, “Not going.” 

Lin Dongyang: “What if you are hurt somewhere?”

Qiao Yichen: “I’m fine.”

“At this time, don’t be stubborn. Let’s go to the hospital.” Lin Dongyang still persuaded him patiently.

Qiao Yichen brushed away Lin Dongyang’s hand and repeated impatiently, “I’m really fine.” 

Seeing that his good will was treated as unwanted, Lin Dongyang still ignored the rejection, and tolerated him. “What fine?! Your face is so pale! There’s no colour at all.”

After getting yelled at, Qiao Yichen was stunned. He looked at the angry Lin Dongyang and stupidly replied, “It only hurts a bit.”

Lin Dongyang’s eyes were hot. After the tense nerves were relaxed, his hands trembled and felt weak. The suppressed panic and fear mixed with the joy and excitement of being rescued. Lin Dongyang, who had always been living in peace and comfort, somewhat collapsed.

When Qiao Yichen saw Lin Dongyang look like this, with the bloody cut on the side of his face having solidified into a dark red scab, he pursed the corner of his lips, turned his head and said to the security guard, “Please take us to the hospital.” 

The security guard naturally agreed. This vicious group assault occurred in their underground parking lot. It also directly highlighted that there were considerable hidden dangers in the security of the Athena International Building. If it were not for the security cameras, the final outcome would be unknown.

Lin Dongyang, who had been sulking, glanced at Qiao Yichen.

After a series of physical examinations, Lin Dongyang was found to have just a few surface injuries. The bloody cut on the side of his face had been disinfected and cleaned and covered with gauze to prevent dirt from invading.

Qiao Yichen’s situation wasn’t so optimistic. He was deliberately targeted and although the other side only intended to trap him, the attack had still been heavy, as if, as long as he didn’t die it was fine. When in danger, the first reaction of a person was to protect their head with both hands. As a result Qiao Yichen’s left hand joint was struck twice. Although it wasn’t to the point of a fracture, it was so swollen that when Lin Dongyang saw such a scene he felt a shiver in his heart and his nose became sour again. The shock he was given on this day was so great that he could not bear it. 

The boss of the Athena International Building personally came to the hospital to visit the victims, and assured them that the perpetrators would be caught. At the same time, he admitted his mistakes with a good attitude. Saying that the fact their security measures didn’t reach the designated location, and the weak signal coverage of the underground parking lot, were indeed major safety hazards, and in the future they would devote themselves to a transformation.

Qiao Yichen didn’t comment on this, and didn’t listen to the boss’s words at all. Finally, according to Qiao Yichen’s request, the security guards sent them back to the underground parking lot.

Seeing that he wanted to drive back, Lin Dongyang immediately stopped him. “Are you afraid of living a long life?” Having just experienced a life and death situation, a white dazzling bandage covered his entire left hand. Unexpectedly, he still wants to drive with one hand?!

Qiao Yichen: “Whether you get in or not, I’m going back.” 

Lin Dongyang couldn’t beat Qiao Yichen. In the end he could only take a step back and say, “I’ll drive, you get in.”

“Do you have a driver’s license?” Qiao Yichen asked suspiciously.

Lin Dongyang exploded. “I have a driver’s license, I just don’t have a car!”

Smiling, Qiao Yichen got out of the driver’s seat and sat in the passenger’s seat obediently. Lin Dongyang sat in the driver’s seat and started the ignition. He was a little nervous. He hadn’t touched a car very much since he got his driver’s license. Suddenly, touching a steering wheel for the first time in a while felt strange. However, he was more comfortable driving himself than letting Qiao Yichen drive with one hand. As soon as he got out of the parking lot, Qiao Yichen instructed, “Turn left.” 

Lin Dongyang: “???” Isn’t the school on the right, is he mistaken?

Looking at his confused look, Qiao Yichen pointed to the gauze on Lin Dongyang’s face and the bandage on his arm. “Do you want to go back to school like this?”

“Where else can I go?” He had no other place to live in this city except for the school dormitory.

“If you follow the road I pointed out, naturally there will be a place to stay.” 

Seeing the person who was wrapped in such a thick layer of bandage acting so serious, Lin Dongyang drove along the road he pointed out until he arrived at a quiet and remote exquisite community.

Qiao Yichen: “It’s just around the corner.”

Lin Dongyang looked at the tall building and asked, “Is this your home?”

Qiao Yichen: “No, it’s my own place.” 

“…” Rich people have several nests.

After parking the car, Lin Dongyang followed Qiao Yichen to the elevator and up to the 16th floor. Qiao Yichen took out the key to open the anti-theft lock, and then pushed the door to enter.

This was a single person apartment with one bedroom and one living room. The decoration in the room was very simple, without any special attention to detail. It had whitewashed walls, a simple sofa set and a small side table, other than that there was no other furniture in the whole living room. There wasn’t even a TV set, but fortunately, it was pretty tidy.

A thin layer of dust had fallen on the side table, as if the place had been uninhabited for a while. Lin Dongyang asked, “Do you not stay here often?” 

Qiao Yichen said from the inner room. “En, usually not.”

Lin Dongyang went into the inner room and saw Qiao Yichen changing his clothes. The white T-shirt he was wearing had been dirtied in the underground parking lot, stained with dust and blood.

Qiao Yichen threw the clothes directly into the trash can, took out two clean pieces of clothing from the wardrobe and threw them to Lin Dongyang who was standing at the door, “Change.”

Taking them, Lin Dongyang shook the loose-fitting clothes, and muttered with a frown. “They’re a little big…”