Chapter 64: Out
“Thank you,” Jiang Yu replied politely, though something felt very wrong. Even so, being called a beauty, he reflexively thanked them.
He hadn’t expected that his thanks would make the bald man burst into loud laughter.
“Thank you? Hahaha—big bro, did you hear that? He said thank you! Hahaha…” The bald man clutched his stomach, laughing until tears came out.
He laughed wildly, like a madman.
Jiang Yu felt awkward. Dropping the fake smile felt wrong, but keeping it felt even worse. He really couldn’t figure out what kind of people these three were.
The bearded man beside them knocked the bald man on the head, stopping his laughter. “Enough. Don’t attract the guards. We only get paid after we finish the job.”
The bearded man’s gaze landed on Jiang Yu, scanning him rudely from head to toe, his eyes filled with lewd intent. It made Jiang Yu extremely uncomfortable.
After a moment of appraisal, seemingly satisfied, the bearded man stroked his beard and said, “Not bad. Really not bad. No wonder he’s a celebrity—no drugs needed, I’m interested. Big bro, you want to go first?”
He turned to look at the lean man sitting on the other lower bunk.
The lean man took a deep drag from his cigarette, tossed it to the floor, ground it out with his toe, said nothing—and began to undress.
After removing his shirt, the man looked slender, but his muscles were well defined. Scars crisscrossed his upper body, each one seeming to tell a story.
The three men stood together at Jiang Yu’s bedside. Jiang Yu struggled to get up, but the sharp pain in his waist left him powerless.
“Brothers, what is this? We can talk things out. I still have some savings—if you don’t mind it being a little, once I get out, I’ll invite the three of you to my place as guests.”
“Get out? Heh.” The lean man sneered, already undoing his belt. The looks in the bearded man’s and the bald man’s eyes changed as well.
Panic flooded Jiang Yu. This was going very wrong.
“Big bro, it’s December—it’s cold at night. You’ll catch a chill if you take your clothes off. Better put them back on.” Ignoring the pain in his waist, Jiang Yu struggled upright, gripping the bed rail and trying to run.
“Hold him,” the lean man ordered calmly as he continued taking off his pants.
The bearded man’s hand clamped down like a vise, slamming Jiang Yu back onto the bed.
The lean man was already completely naked. His intentions were unmistakable.
Jiang Yu flailed, trying to resist. “Ten million per person. With that kind of money, you can have as many girls or guys as you want lining up for you. Big bro—please, let me go.”
“Too noisy.” The bearded man picked up the lean man’s pants. The bald man flipped Jiang Yu over and pressed hard on the injured spot in his waist. Jiang Yu’s vision went black from the pain—he nearly passed out.
The bald man had definitely pressed deliberately on his injury. The searing pain made Jiang Yu certain that this time, his lumbar vertebra was truly broken.
“Let go, I—” Jiang Yu opened his mouth just in time for the bearded man to stuff the lean man’s pant leg into it. Even in the midst of the crisis, Jiang Yu’s mind still managed to think: At least it’s a pant leg, not underwear.
With the pants wrapped around his head, Jiang Yu couldn’t spit out the fabric from his mouth, and even breathing became difficult.
A cold hand grabbed his waistband. Jiang Yu ignored the suffocating feeling and the agony in his waist, desperately clutching his pants.
The pain of his fingernails tearing was even worse than the pain in his back. Jiang Yu clenched his teeth so hard that his lower lip bled. He was already half-delirious from pain, yet he still refused to let go.
Suddenly, the pulling stopped. The three men were no longer tugging at his pants. Jiang Yu didn’t dare relax his grip. When he turned his head to look, he saw that the bearded man had somehow produced a pair of scissors.
One hand still clutching his pants, Jiang Yu tried to stop the scissors with the other—but the bald man pinned his hand down. The scissors cut through the fabric, and cold air brushed against his skin.
Jiang Yu tried to twist away, but his broken spine couldn’t respond to his brain’s commands.
When the “big bro” pressed down on him, Jiang Yu fell into despair. They say that when someone is near death, their whole life flashes before their eyes like a lantern show.
But in his despair, all Jiang Yu could see was Han Cheng’s face—the one he both loved and hated.
Before any memories of Han Cheng could even surface, the cell door was violently kicked open. Jiang Yu saw guards rushing in, and in an instant he forced Han Cheng out of his mind as hope flared again.
The guards were like gods descending from the heavens. In just a few moves, they kicked the three men to the ground. Jiang Yu heard the crackle of stun batons, and the three men were subdued with ease.
Behind the guards, the boy rushed in. After taking in the scene, he took off his own jacket and draped it over Jiang Yu’s exposed lower body.
“Are you okay?” The boy’s cool, clear voice carried a trace of urgency.
“My waist is broken.” Jiang Yu didn’t know who the boy was, but instinctively felt that he wouldn’t harm him.
The boy glanced at Jiang Yu’s lower back and said, “I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“Can I get out?”
“Yes.”
The boy spoke decisively—and he really meant it. Along the way, Jiang Yu was escorted by prison guards back to the hospital where he had been staying.
Seeing the familiar hospital again, Jiang Yu felt as if he had returned to the human world from hell.
When he saw Doctor Zhang, it was like seeing family. His nose ran, tears poured down, and he clutched Doctor Zhang’s sleeve, crying pitifully, “Old Zhang, save me—I don’t want to spend my next life in a wheelchair.”
“What happened to your hand?” Jiang Yu’s fingernails had torn from gripping his waistband so hard, the flesh ripped open, blood smearing all over Doctor Zhang’s hand.
“It hurts.” Noticing the injuries to his nails, Jiang Yu cried even harder.
“How do you get hurt every few days? Can’t you take better care of yourself?”
“I want to live peacefully too, but someone won’t allow it. I’m innocent as well.”
“…” Doctor Zhang was speechless and pushed Jiang Yu off to get imaging done.
“It’s broken.” After looking at the scans, Doctor Zhang reached the expected conclusion. This time it was severe and required surgery.
Jiang Yu was wheeled into the operating room. When the anesthesia took effect and the pain disappeared, he fell into a blissful sleep.
When he regained consciousness, the first thing he saw was Han Cheng’s big face.
Scruffy stubble, bloodshot eyes—Jiang Yu instinctively asked, “Did you go gambling in Las Vegas? How much did you lose to look this wrecked?”
Han Cheng’s blood-red eyes widened in surprise for a moment. Then, half laughing and half crying, he pinched Jiang Yu’s thinner cheek and said helplessly, “Even like this, you still can’t wish me well.”
“Am I in the hospital? I’m out? You’re out too?” Jiang Yu lifted his heavy eyelids and looked around. It was his single room in the hospital. At the foot of the bed stood his former cellmate—the boy who had rescued him.
“His name is Meng Zhao. He’s here to protect you. Your case has been fully investigated—someone framed you. You don’t need to go back anymore. I’m sorry. This is all my fault.” Han Cheng stroked Jiang Yu’s face, his eyes full of pain and guilt.
“It’s been cleared up? What exactly happened? Who wanted to harm me?” Jiang Yu’s eyes reddened too. He had suffered terribly in there and desperately wanted to know which bastard had done this to him.
“Aren’t you fond of following trending topics? Pay attention over the next few days. When you see a familiar face, you’ll know who framed you.
“I’m going to get revenge for you right now. Rest well—I’ll give you an explanation. With Meng Zhao here, no one will hurt you again.” Han Cheng lightly kissed Jiang Yu’s lips, reluctant yet hurried, and left.
Wang Huan escorted Han Cheng out, then ran back to Jiang Yu’s bedside. He glanced at Meng Zhao standing at the foot of the bed and said sympathetically, “Brother Yu, you’ve really suffered these past few days, haven’t you? Does your back still hurt? Doctor Zhang said the surgery was very successful—just rest and recover. But you really need to protect your waist from now on. If it breaks again, it might not be fixable.
“And your nails—are there torture methods like that inside? How did you rip your nails up like this?”
“Torture? That was far worse than torture.” Just recalling it made Jiang Yu tremble all over. Thank goodness Meng Zhao arrived in time—if those three brutes had succeeded, Jiang Yu felt sick just thinking about it. He’d rather have died.
“Thank you for saving me.” The more he thought about it, the more grateful he felt, and Jiang Yu thanked Meng Zhao sincerely.
Meng Zhao gave a cool nod in response.
“…”
The silence made the atmosphere awkward.
“Why don’t you find somewhere to sit? Standing must be tiring,” Jiang Yu said with an awkward smile, breaking the silence.
Meng Zhao seemed uncomfortable as well. He walked to the sofa and sat down with his back to Jiang Yu.
What a strange kid.
Watching Meng Zhao’s back, Jiang Yu muttered to himself. Using the hand without an IV, he touched his face and asked Wang Huan, “Wang Huan, do you think I’m handsome? No—am I pretty? Am I especially attractive to men?”
“Huh?” Wang Huan looked at Jiang Yu in confusion. In his two dark pupils, one seemed to spell “self,” the other “obsessed.”
Touching his face, Jiang Yu knew he didn’t look bad—but he wasn’t so stunning that three men would be driven by lust at first sight.
Those three brutes were definitely suspicious, and the two guards who escorted him to that room were suspicious too. The whole thing reeked of conspiracy.
Anyone who could harm him in a place like that was definitely no ordinary person. It was nothing more than Ji Xu and Wang Wan’er—or perhaps Han Li was involved too.
Sigh. Truly, disaster falls from the sky while you’re sitting at home. Taking advantage of this opportunity, he should say something to Han Cheng—though who knew whether Han Cheng would let him go for the sake of his life.
What he suffered this time—had Han Cheng foreseen it, letting him take the fall in place of Ji Xu or some other beloved person?
If he really was just a stand-in, then this time could count as meritorious service. If that bastard still had a conscience, he should let him go.
But did that bastard have a conscience? Tsk—hard to say.
