Chapter 88: Youth Without Regret ④
Wang Chao Lei dropped his mobile phone and schoolbag and rushed forward. Zhang Haiyang stepped forward, picked up Wang Chao Lei’s mobile phone and schoolbag, and then carefully helped Nie Qiu, standing at the edge of the crowd.
The way the boys fought was different from the girls. They would grab and pull, which required close contact. However, boys preferred to punch and kick, so those girls couldn’t get close to Luo Xu and the others at all! Perhaps knowing they wouldn’t gain any advantage, these girls gradually retreated, keeping a distance of five meters from Luo Xu and the others. The boys wouldn’t pursue relentlessly either, as after all, these were just girls.
After they stopped, the onlookers were somewhat disappointed. Some people gradually dispersed, while others remained in place.
“I knew it was you! It’s the dinosaurs from Class 5!” Zhang Haiyang, supporting Nie Qiu, looked at the girls with scorn. “What? You lost the exam to our class and now you want to lay hands on our classmates? You should at least ask if our fists agree!”
“You boys hitting girls, do you have any shame?” A girl with a bruised and swollen face stepped forward, pointing at Luo Xu.
Luo Xu frowned and slapped the hand pointing at him. “I said, I hate it when people point at me the most.”
“Joke, you ask if we have shame hitting you? Are you girls? I thought I was hitting dinosaurs.” Ma Xin sneered at the girl’s words. “I said, eight of you against one, do you have any shame?”
“You… you! You guys!”
Luo Xu touched his hair, accidentally pulling some out. “It’s not far from the school, there should be cameras. It will be clear who made the first move. Xiao Hai, make the call, report to the police.” They didn’t suffer much, but they couldn’t let these people off the hook. Nie Qiu wouldn’t be the type to provoke others.
As soon as Luo Xu finished speaking, seeing Zhang Haiyang actually take out his mobile phone to call the police, the girls truly became scared. Several of them took a few steps back and turned to flee.
“I advise you not to run.” Wang Chao Lei grinned, twitching his sore mouth and wiping the blood from the corner of his lips, gasping in pain, he said with difficulty, “We all know you, and I believe the cameras will recognize you too.”
When the police arrived, many people had gathered to watch. After a brief inquiry, the group was taken to the police station. After reviewing the surveillance footage, since the offenders were all minors, the police called their parents. Nie Aifang arrived at the police station unaware of what had happened. Seeing Nie Qiu covered in injuries, Nie Aifang’s pupils contracted. Facing the apologies from parents who arrived earlier than her, who promised compensation for losses and strict discipline for their children, Nie Aifang finally understood the general situation. She didn’t say much, only applied to take Nie Qiu to the hospital, leaving Luo Xu and the others at the police station to give their statements.
Compared to Luo Xu and the others, Nie Qiu’s injuries were much more severe. She was in pain all over and couldn’t speak. If someone hadn’t been supporting her, she would have fallen to the ground long ago. Nie Aifang’s heart ached seeing Nie Qiu’s condition, but she remained silent and didn’t question Nie Qiu. Instead, while in the taxi, she gently hugged Nie Qiu, stroking her back softly, trying not to touch Nie Qiu’s wounds.
Nie Qiu understood Nie Aifang’s gentleness, so she didn’t speak either, just quietly closed her eyes.
Upon arriving at the hospital, Nie Qiu saw the clean and tidy building before her, the place where she had first woken up. For this familiar place, Nie Qiu finally showed a hint of expression.
Nie Aifang paid the taxi fare and helped Nie Qiu out of the car. “Qiu Qiu, how are you feeling? Can you move? Do you want Mom to carry you?” Nie Aifang looked at Nie Qiu with concern. Although Nie Qiu’s hair had been tidied, it was still evident that some was missing, stained with blood. Her mouth and eyes were bruised, and her hands and feet had red, swollen abrasions and scratches. There was also a scratch on her face.
Nie Qiu shook her head and smiled to comfort Nie Aifang. “Mom, I’m fine.”
Nie Aifang supported Nie Qiu and had her sit on a resting chair in the hospital lobby. Nie Aifang then went to register and took Nie Qiu for various examinations, CT scans, X-rays… After all the examinations were completed at once, and it was confirmed there were no major issues, Nie Aifang took Nie Qiu to the outpatient department to have medicine applied.
Ordinary people might have this thought: since someone else is paying, it’s best to get all the necessary checks done to see if there’s anything wrong. However, Nie Qiu didn’t stop her. She knew they were all superficial wounds. Although they hurt a lot, they were indeed superficial. But she knew that her words probably wouldn’t stop Nie Aifang and might even anger her.
Nie Qiu knew this was Nie Aifang’s concern for her. Therefore, she tried her best to comply with Nie Aifang’s arrangements. Whatever Nie Aifang took her to check, she would go. She enjoyed Nie Aifang’s care and concern.
The doctor bandaged Nie Qiu’s more severely injured areas and gave Nie Aifang some ointment to apply to Nie Qiu. After prescribing the medicine, the doctor asked them to leave.
“Doc… Doctor, don’t I need to be hospitalized?” Nie Aifang asked, standing up while still holding the ointment.
“No, although she has many injuries, they are all superficial. The pain today will be gone tomorrow,” the doctor said with a smile. “Go home and rest well. If you don’t feel too embarrassed, you can go to school tomorrow.”
Nie Qiu smiled and nodded at the doctor, then walked out of the doctor’s office with Nie Aifang and sat on a chair in the corridor. Nie Aifang placed the ointment in Nie Qiu’s hand and smiled, saying, “I’ll go get the medicine for you. You sit here and wait for me. We’ll go home together after I get it.”
Nie Qiu had no objection and sat on the chair waiting for Nie Aifang.
“How is it? Where’s Nie Qiu?” When Li Kai arrived at the police station after receiving Luo Xu’s call, Luo Xu and Zhang Haiyang had just come out. As soon as Luo Xu saw Li Kai, he greeted Luo Sheng and walked over.
Luo Xu frowned and said, “Nie Qiu’s injuries are much more serious than ours. Her mom took her to the hospital.”
“The hospital? Which hospital?” Li Kai asked hurriedly.
Zhang Haiyang shook his head. “We don’t know which hospital it is, and we don’t know how Nie Qiu is. We were supposed to go for medical examinations together and demand compensation, but Nie Qiu seemed very serious, so the police allowed her to go for treatment.”
With so many hospitals in City A, Li Kai knew he couldn’t search them one by one. He calmed down, took a breath, and asked, “What exactly happened?”
“It was those dinosaurs from Class 5!” Zhang Haiyang frowned in dissatisfaction. “I encountered people from Class 6 last time, and they were making snide remarks when they saw people from our class! When we saw them bothering you, we knew it might be because of this monthly exam.”
“Because of the monthly exam?” Li Kai found it hard to believe.
Luo Xu nodded. “Our class’s overall grades were much better than Class 5’s in this monthly exam, so classes that performed worse than us couldn’t help but feel unhappy. However, everyone just talked about it privately, and there were no conflicts. I also saw people from our class being pointed and gestured at by people from other classes in the corridor.”
“It’s understandable. Our class has really improved a lot this time, so people from classes that performed worse than us would act like this,” Ma Xin said. “It’s not surprising that they would bother Nie Qiu.”
