Chapter 53: Can You Hear It Too?
Seeing Xie Wu’s pale face, looking like he was about to faint, Xie Kai couldn’t help but shout angrily, “Where’s the doctor? Where is the doctor?”
“If my brother can’t be saved, I’ll make sure all of you pay with him!”
Yu Bai had only seen this kind of scene in dramas; he swallowed nervously and cautiously pointed at himself, “Do we… have to go too?”
There was no other way—he had heard in Gu Yang’s mind how Nie Ying had trouble with Song Yinxing using some thugs, and Xie Wu, trying to help, had died accidentally, so Xie Kai chose to take revenge on Song Yinxing.
Was this normal logic?
What if this time they were the ones caught in the grudge?
If only he hadn’t come to this mess.
And this time, the people who came were particularly numerous.
Lu Ran was surely here because of Lu Ji; Ye Chen, stirring trouble as usual; He Ming’an, busy trying to mediate; and Gu Yang…
Why was Gu Yang here? He hated crowded places, and yet he brought Song Yinxing.
And why Song Yinxing? Did he even know Xie Wu?
Lu Ji stepped forward: “This all happened because of me. Xie, your brother ended up like this because he was helping me… I’m truly sorry—”
Before he could finish, Xie Kai pointed at his nose: “Of course it’s your fault! If my brother suffers anything, I will never forgive it!”
So unreasonable!
Yu Bai silently grumbled in his heart.
Would they all get dragged into this?
Xie Wu lowered his head, not arguing. No matter what, it was undeniable that Xie Wu was caught in this because of Lu Ji.
If it weren’t for that helmet…
Things would have been different.
Song Yinxing thought.
The situation was almost the same, but in his past life memory, Xie Wu had died because he had tried to protect him from being cornered, getting hit by a metal rod from a thug.
Now the person cornered was Lu Ji, and Xie Wu survived.
His subtle gaze fell on the crushed, deformed helmet.
Do people normally carry this kind of thing around?
Had someone deliberately reminded him?
Finally recovering from his dizziness, Xie Wu trembled as he held his brother’s hand, trying to stop him from acting wildly in the hospital.
His brother was good in many ways, just sometimes a bit embarrassing, and easily got carried away when it came to things concerning him.
After catching his breath, he looked over his brother carefully.
So his brother liked Zhou Qinqin because she was a widow?
Social embarrassment aside, he now had to think about a solution.
He had originally thought that if Zhou Qinqin was trying to seduce, he only needed to watch out for women approaching his brother.
But he hadn’t expected that his brother was attracted to widows with children.
Zhou Qinqin perfectly fit his type.
Xie Wu worried that if she just made an appearance, his brother might kiss her immediately.
While Xie Wu was silently worrying, the Lu couple arrived.
Lu’s wife hurried straight to Lu Ji to check on him, and after confirming it was just a superficial injury, she relaxed.
“What happened? Xiao He said you were in the hospital, so we came to check. It’s nothing serious, right?” Lu Zhenxing asked.
Before Lu Ji could answer, Lu Ran interrupted: “It was a fight with some thugs outside. Because it was a big scale, the class monitor thought it serious and wanted to inform you quickly. That’s why I came.”
Hearing this, Lu Zhenxing’s expression worsened. In his understanding, gang fights were rogue behavior, and his son getting involved was embarrassing.
Indeed, that kind of family couldn’t raise good kids.
Lu Ji looked at Lu Ran’s performance with a cold eye and saw subtle changes in Lu Zhenxing’s expression. He no longer expected anything from this family and naturally wasn’t upset.
Lu’s wife, however, was still anxious; people from the streets hit without mercy.
“The thugs have already been caught. I’m curious, since normally there’s no grudge, why did they ambush in the alley? Could it be a competitor of the Lu family?” Lu Ji spoke coolly, which redirected Lu Zhenxing’s thoughts. After all, the truth about the baby mix-up had been revealed not long ago, and his paranoia flared.
If that was the case, the person beaten today was his son, and maybe next time they would come after him.
He focused immediately, and Lu’s wife took the chance to ask Lu Ji to go home.
Lu Ji didn’t refuse and slowly nodded.
This time, he would reclaim what belonged to him.
Lu Ran was anxious, but clearly had no room to intervene.
The Lu couple’s sudden coldness left him afraid to act, fearing things would get worse.
Xie Kai finally lost patience and issued a dismissal: “Since there’s no serious injury, you can leave now.”
He was speechless at the couple, seeing no reaction from the large person still on the bed.
If not for his brother holding him, he might have kicked someone.
“This matter, the Lu family must give me an explanation,” Xie Kai said bluntly. “Otherwise, I will never forgive it.”
Being lectured by someone much younger, Lu Zhenxing flared, but they owed this, so he could only grit his teeth and say he understood.
Ye Chen’s face showed subtle irony.
After so many years, still no improvement.
All he did was rush to his feverish crying child, not even sparing a glance at the silently dying woman.
If the Xie family and the Lu family clashed, it would be quite a spectacle.
Since the relatives had arrived, the classmates didn’t need to stay.
Xie Wu caught Lu Ji looking at him and smiled reassuringly.
Then he noticed another person watching him.
It was Gu Yang’s partner… or wait, what was their relationship now?
Xie Wu was dizzy and even more confused.
Although he didn’t know why the person seemed concerned, he still smiled at Song Yinxing without discrimination.
Song Yinxing quickly turned his head, not wanting to show anything unusual.
In the past life, Xie Wu had just been unlucky, dragged to his death. Even if Xie Kai sought revenge, he bore it silently without complaint.
Outside, the wind calmed his scattered thoughts, but his left ear began to ring again.
The scars from another life remained, reminding him of the blood debt.
Last time was like this, what about this time?
Had Xie Wu’s death ordeal truly passed?
So many variables after rebirth left Song Yinxing confused, like being on a ship heading unknown.
Gu Yang stepped forward, seemingly unaware someone was missing beside him.
Would he be the one steering the ship?
Song Yinxing watched his back, the fierce wind unable to suppress his heartbeat.
He wanted to lay everything out to Gu Yang, stepping forward instinctively.
But He Ming’an blocked his path.
No longer smiling, his expression in the night seemed dark.
Song Yinxing had never seen He Ming’an with such a complicated expression.
Even in the nationwide student suicide incident, with chalk outlines and shocking blood stains, He Ming’an had only silently stood, contained, unreadable.
After a long time, He Ming’an spoke softly:
“Can you hear it too?”
Hear it?
Hear what?
Song Yinxing didn’t understand: “What do you mean?”
His dazed expression didn’t seem fake. He Ming’an observed him, a smile covering his slightly cracked face: “Nothing.”
“Did you hear it? Sounds like sirens. Not sure where something happened again.” He Ming’an casually pointed.
Song Yinxing looked at him suspiciously, feeling the earlier words weren’t trivial.
But now he had no time to think; he needed to find Gu Yang.
Yet He Ming’an, instead of letting him pass, smiled faintly and motioned for silence.
-“Did you see it? That video online.”
“What video? Did I miss something?”
“I posted it in the group. Hilarious. Nie Ying truly embarrassed himself.”
Clicking the link, Nie Ying’s voice rang out.
“…What kind of shabby place did you pick? It ruins my appetite.”
The boy in the video, arrogant and commanding, stood in front of a modest-looking woman, who nervously twisted her fingers and lowered her head.
Then he called the owner, throwing a stack of bills to book the place exclusively.
The video had millions of likes on Douyin and even hit trending keywords.
The comments were mostly mocking.
“My god, this is the daily life of a Tianlong rich kid? Who’d dare?”
“So insane, a few stinking bills and you act like a big shot? Love the rebellious childhood rich kid vibe.”
People even made funny remix videos to rap along.
As the spread continued, some comments noted:
“Is that woman his mother? Their social statuses look so different.”
“Could it be a Yaozu? Clinging to someone at home to feel comfortable?”
A top-comment user with an original ID explained in detail the boy and the woman’s complex relationship, including some elite family grudges.
Yu Bai clicked the ID with a strange expression, then looked blankly at Ye Chen typing excitedly.
Ye Chen had previously shared videos with him via a small account; chat records remained.
He knew.
Even Nie Ying dared secretly dump oil—fair treatment in a way.
“Too bad Nie Ying lives fully and doesn’t surf the net much, not sure when he’ll see this.” After a concussion diagnosis, Xie Wu still stubbornly came to class, mainly to avoid stressing Lu Ji.
“Even if he sees it, he’ll just angrily take it down. Then it’s meaningless,” Ye Chen said with a grin.
“True,” Yu Bai murmured, agreeing quietly.
Online mockery aside, it didn’t matter for Nie Ying.
“Don’t underestimate the power of the internet,” He Ming’an said with meaning. “Even one comment from each person, accumulated, is terrifying.”
Thinking of past cyberbullying cases, Yu Bai nodded in agreement.
But Nie Ying deserved it for being reckless; no sympathy required.
Ying Jiayi watched the video but couldn’t laugh.
Yu Bai, concerned, asked: “It’s so funny, why so serious?”
Ying Jiayi said softly: “Just remembered my family once considered me with Nie Ying.”
Yu Bai: “…”
Finally, class discussions caused Gu Yang to lift his head, signaling Yu Bai to show him the phone.
Just as Yu Bai was about to hand it over, he noticed a newly posted comment in the thread.
“Your circle is messy. Last time a marketing account posted gossip about the G-family, then the account was deleted. Enjoy these videos while they last.”
He quickly withdrew the phone and downvoted the comment.
“Never mind, nothing special, just watching Nie Ying act crazy. Not like we haven’t seen it before.”
Gu Yang, propping his chin, looked somewhat playfully curious.
Yu Bai realized he had impulsively badmouthed Nie Ying—out of character. Gu Yang was keen on catching such slips.
He rubbed his golden hair helplessly.
“Your roots are growing out,” Ying Jiayi observed.
“Oh really? Is it noticeable? I should recolor it,” Yu Bai said casually.
He Ming’an advised kindly: “Better not, bleaching damages hair.”
Yu Bai was joking. The hair color had been a punishment from a truth-or-dare game.
Gu Yang had suggested it would suit him, even lending a card from his usual barber.
When he returned to school, classmates were impressed—even Ying Jiayi praised the look.
Only the unlucky math teacher nearly had a heart attack.
Gu Yang stared at his roots.
Yu Bai said generously: “If you like, I could keep it dyed.”
“Not necessary now. I’ve grown tired of it,” Gu Yang said lazily.
“You can dye it again for my funeral, so it won’t be a dull gray mess everywhere.”
