Chapter Thirty-Two: Serves You Right
The police and the security team parted the crowd. Several of the thugs had already been beaten badly; when they saw the police arrive, they cried and begged for help. Geng Biao came over, glanced at the scene, and asked the students nearby, “Did they start the fight?”
Li Mu handed him the butterfly knife, pointed at the battered class monitor and two other classmates, and said, “We’re students from City No. 1 High School. We’re having a class reunion here. One of our classmates went to the restroom and was suddenly attacked by these guys. This knife belongs to them—they just tried to stab someone with it.”
After speaking, Li Mu glanced at the class monitor, whose face was swollen and bruised. He said to Geng Biao, “The one who got beaten the worst is our class monitor. He’s the brightest student in our school—this year he’ll either get into Tsinghua or Yan University, maybe even become the city’s top scorer in the college entrance exam. Now that he’s been beaten like this, I doubt the school or his parents will let it go.”
Li Mu was exaggerating to fool Geng Biao. The class monitor’s grades weren’t the absolute best; if he remembered correctly, the boy was headed for a key university within the province, not a top-tier one. But it didn’t matter—the exam results weren’t out yet, and Geng Biao had no way of knowing if Li Mu was telling the truth.
Still, hearing this made Geng Biao nervous. No. 1 High was the best school in Haizhou—without question. Most years, the city’s top scorer came from this school, and in the past couple of years, they’d even produced a provincial champion. Every year, a few students went on to Tsinghua or Yan University, and local TV and newspapers would report on them all summer long. These were the city’s brightest stars…
Geng Biao’s expression darkened as he pieced together the likely sequence of events: the kid who got his head split open must have tried to stab someone, only to be knocked out with a beer bottle. Thank goodness—if a student had been seriously stabbed here, he’d be in trouble.
Moreover, these thugs had picked a fight with the police chief’s daughter’s classmates—and the police chief’s daughter was right there watching. If he didn’t handle this to Su Yingxue’s satisfaction, it might jeopardize his own career.
“Cuff these guys! Provoking trouble, intentional assault, carrying a controlled knife—process the paperwork and detain them!”
The thugs were already in dire shape, some barely clothed, and on hearing this, they were even more frightened and aggrieved. They hadn’t been in this game long; they’d been to the station before for minor brawls—a fine and they were out. But now, criminal detention?
Geng Biao turned to the thugs. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you—call your parents now. Get them to City Hospital immediately to pay for the injured students’ medical expenses!”
The boy with the head wound pointed at his bleeding scalp and whimpered, “Officer, my head’s still bleeding!”
“You deserve it!” Geng Biao glared at him. “You scum—if you don’t want to be decent, fine, but to beat up students? These are future university students, do you know what that means? They’re the pride of the city—worth far more than trash like you!”
The thug sobbed, “So if we didn’t study hard, we deserve to get beaten?”
Geng Biao snapped, “I said you deserve it, and you do!”
Without another glance at the dejected thug, he told an assistant, “Get the injured students to City Hospital right away.”
The thugs were handcuffed, clutching rags to their groins, and hauled away. Li Mu accompanied the three injured classmates to the hospital, surprised when Su Yingxue and the vice monitor also took a cab to follow.
With a police escort, the hospital gave them priority, and their wounds were treated promptly. The vice monitor called the parents of the injured students, and the parents of the thugs, clearly frightened by the police, soon arrived too, extremely apologetic.
The rest of the students, sobered up by the fight, gathered at the hospital to check on their friends.
After examinations, the three injured students were found to have only superficial wounds, except for one boy whose wrist had a minor fracture—nothing too serious. Relieved, Li Mu felt there was nothing more for him to do, so he turned to Su Yingxue and the vice monitor. “Looks like everything’s under control. Let’s all head home.”
Su Yingxue nodded, checking her watch—it was past midnight, and she’d never been out so late before. The vice monitor gathered the other students and handed out the leftover cash—ten yuan each—for taxis home.
A boy asked, puzzled, “Vice monitor, with food, drinks, and karaoke, isn’t fifty yuan each not enough? Why are we getting a refund?”
The vice monitor waved it off. “It’s plenty. We got discounts on food and karaoke, so it’s about forty yuan each.”
No one thought much of it and each took their money, heading out of the hospital. Hu Guoran walked alongside Li Mu, gazing up at him in admiration. “Li Mu, that beer bottle move was amazing—you blew me away!”
“Yeah,” someone chimed in, “If Li Mu hadn’t taken that guy out with the bottle, I wouldn’t have dared jump in. That guy with the knife was scary!”
“Who wouldn’t agree!” Everyone burst out laughing.
The history class representative suddenly declared, “If those thugs were like the Japanese imperialists in 1949, then Li Mu’s beer bottle was the American atom bomb—instantly broke their will to resist.”
“Damn, Sun Yubin, you’re really good with metaphors!” someone joked.
Of the forty or so people, a few chose to walk home, while the rest waited ten or twenty minutes before getting cabs. In the end, only Li Mu, Su Yingxue, and the vice monitor were left. When a cab arrived, the vice monitor tried to get Su Yingxue to go first, but she insisted he take it, so he got in.
Before the cab drove off, the vice monitor said to Li Mu, “Li Mu, I’m trusting you with our school’s top beauty—make sure she gets home safe.”
Li Mu nodded and gave a playful salute. “Mission accepted.”
The vice monitor winked at Su Yingxue before telling the driver to go.
After all the chaos, only Li Mu and Su Yingxue remained. Li Mu wanted to find something to say but couldn’t think of a topic. After a moment, he asked, “Yingxue, where do you live?”
“My place is pretty close,” Su Yingxue replied, glancing at Li Mu. “Less than ten minutes away on foot. Want to walk with me?”
“Of course,” Li Mu agreed eagerly. In his last life, he’d never had the chance to walk side by side with Su Yingxue late at night. Even with a second chance at life, he couldn’t help but feel a flutter of excitement.
He’d hoped to use this moment to grow closer to her, but they’d barely walked twenty meters when a police car suddenly pulled up beside them. Deputy Chief Geng Biao stepped out. “Yingxue, Chief Su asked me to take you home.”
Su Yingxue was stunned. “You called my dad?”
“Of course,” Geng Biao replied sheepishly. “I’m one of Chief Su’s old subordinates—I had to let him know, so he wouldn’t worry.”
“If you hadn’t called, he wouldn’t be worried. Just go, I don’t need you to take me home.”
“But…” Geng Biao looked embarrassed. “If Chief Su found out later and blamed me for not telling him, I’d be in trouble.”
Just then, Geng Biao’s phone rang. He hurriedly answered, “Chief Su, I’ve already found Yingxue—yes, we’re at the hospital… Okay, please hold on.” He handed the phone to Su Yingxue and whispered, “It’s your father…”
Su Yingxue, clearly displeased, took the phone and muttered a greeting, then listened in silence. When the call ended, she sounded aggrieved. “I know, Dad. I’ll head home now.”
She hung up and apologized to Li Mu. “Sorry, Li Mu. Why don’t you let him take you home?”
Li Mu shrugged, hands in his pockets. “Don’t worry about me—go on home, don’t make your dad worry. I live nearby too; I’ll just walk.”
Su Yingxue seemed about to say something, then gave up. “Then I’ll be off.”
“Alright,” Li Mu nodded, feeling a pang of disappointment.
Then Su Yingxue suddenly turned back. “Are you planning to get your driver’s license this summer?”
“Definitely,” Li Mu replied at once. It was practically a necessity before starting university, and these days the process was quick and easy.
“Let’s sign up together,” Su Yingxue suggested. “I’ve checked with Jin’an Driving School—they’re starting a special class for high school grads soon. Tuition is discounted, and you can get your license in about twenty days.”
“A special class for exam takers?” Li Mu laughed. “Driving schools offer that now?”
“Yeah, it makes things simpler,” Su Yingxue smiled. “I’m not sure of the exact dates yet—I’ll message you on QQ when I find out.”