Chapter 035

The next evening, as soon as the school bell rang, Meng Li grabbed her backpack and left the classroom.

By the time she reached the school gate, Zhuo Xi and the others were already waiting for her.

The group hopped on their bikes and first found a place to have a casual dinner. As the sky grew darker, they made their way to the exhibition hall.

By then, a large crowd had already gathered around the exhibition hall, mostly made up of young boys and girls.

Meng Li had specifically worn long sleeves and long pants today, mainly to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes at night.

The clothes of that time didn’t show off one’s figure; the focus was on simplicity and modesty. Whether it was a cloth jacket or pants, they were loose enough to fit another person inside. The clothes were baggy and didn’t hug the body, making everything look rather plain no matter how one wore it.

Meng Li had rolled up her sleeves earlier, stopping at her wrists.

As the night grew deeper and the mosquitoes became more bothersome, she let her sleeves down and held a thin book in her hand, fanning herself.

The group stood together, with nothing much to do, so naturally, they began chatting.

Wei Dong said, “Just wait and see. Everyone worth mentioning in all of Beijing is here. If nothing unexpected happens, there’s definitely going to be a fight.”

Although they hadn’t come with the intention of causing trouble, it was inevitable that conflicts would arise when so many hot-blooded youths gathered together.

Even the slightest wrong word could spark a fight in an instant.

Meng Li, relying on her reputation as ” Third Master Meng” and the fact that Ji Chen, her sworn enemy, had already made peace with her, wasn’t too worried about anyone bothering her. As long as she didn’t provoke anyone, she thought things would be fine.

Fanning herself with the soft cover of her book, she felt the heat; the night was far from cool.

Meng Li didn’t have much else on her mind and simply said, “I don’t want to fight.”

Zhuo Xi glanced at her and said, “If people don’t mess with us, we won’t mess with them. We won’t cause trouble.”

Though it felt a bit cowardly, Wei Dong, Zhou Nan, and Jin Bei all nodded in agreement.

Knowing that Meng Li had been seriously injured before and wasn’t as strong as she used to be, they had become much more cautious when it came to fighting. They didn’t have the intention to start trouble, but they still kept their guard up, so their backpacks were all packed with bricks and steel locks.

To be prepared for any unforeseen events, Zhuo Xi had slipped half a brick into Meng Li’s backpack as well.

Better safe than sorry—what if they couldn’t avoid getting dragged into something?

…

In the evening after school, Ji Chen thought that Meng Li, as usual, would go to the cafeteria for dinner and then head back to the dormitory to read.

However, when he finished his meal and returned to the dorm, he didn’t find Meng Li.

Not knowing where she had gone, he didn’t think too much about it. He sat on his bed, pulled out a book from under his pillow, and began reading.

He alternated between reading the book and checking his watch, waiting until after eight o’clock, but still no sign of Meng Li.

A sense of curiosity began to rise in his mind. Ji Chen sat up on his bed, lowered his head, and thought for a moment.

Remembering that there was a performance of The Red Women’s Army at the exhibition hall tomorrow, he got up and tossed the book onto the desk.

He hadn’t planned on missing the performance, since he never passed up on events like these. Whenever there was such an event, he would always attend.

However, he wouldn’t go to buy the tickets himself. Naturally, someone would bring them to him before the performance started.

He had originally thought that Meng Li wouldn’t go on her own, after all, for things like this, it was easy to ask someone to get the tickets for her.

Looking at it now, it seemed that she must have gone there on her own.

Ji Chen was someone used to being in the spotlight. Since joining Cuihua High School, he had been more settled, all because Meng Li kept him entertained and prevented him from feeling overly bored or uninterested. Now that Meng Li had gone out to mix with others, he naturally wouldn’t just stay in the dorm.

He left the dormitory, went to the school bike shed, unlocked his bike, and, under the night sky with the evening breeze, headed straight for the exhibition hall.

Once he arrived, he parked his bike and began scanning the crowd for his friends.

Though he had come looking for Meng Li, all he could find were his buddies.

He glanced around, still unable to spot her, when suddenly, someone grabbed him by the neck.

Zheng Hang jumped up and hooked his arm around Ji Chen’s neck, forcing him to bend slightly. Grinning, he said, “Look who it is! Wasn’t it just the other day you asked me to get you tickets? So what brings you here on your own?”

Ji Chen shrugged off his arm and straightened up. “It’s boring to be alone. I came to hang out with you guys.”

As he spoke, he continued scanning the crowd, searching for Meng Li.

Since it was already dark, finding someone wasn’t as easy as it seemed.

After scanning the crowd a couple more times without spotting anyone, Ji Chen gave up and joined Xiao Jianguo and the others to chat.

Xiao Jianguo said, “It’s been a long time since there was a performance. The crowd tonight is huge. Even if they open ticket sales tomorrow, it’s not certain we’ll be able to get any.”

Zheng Hang threw his arm around his shoulder. “They just don’t know how to be flexible. Each person can only buy one ticket.”

Xiao Jianguo turned to Zheng Hang. “By the way, Yu Sitian and Wan Hong also asked me to get two tickets for them. I’ve already promised them. As for your ticket, Ji Chen, you’ll have to get it yourself. You guys can get me two more tickets tomorrow.”

Zheng Hang wasn’t happy when he heard this. “If you want to play the matchmaker, you can do it yourself. It’s easy to make promises, but look at all these people waiting here. Flies buzzing, mosquitoes biting—everyone’s covered in bumps. You think getting tickets is that easy?”

Xiao Jianguo purposely raised his voice, “Are you still my bro or not?!”

Zheng Hang scoffed, about to say something, when suddenly, loud shouting and commotion came from not far away.

The group’s attention was immediately drawn, and they all turned to look. They saw two groups of people had started fighting.

This wasn’t unusual. Zhang Yue craned his neck and squinted, asking, “Who’s involved?”

Xiao Jianguo also took a careful look. “I don’t think I recognize them.”

Zheng Hang spoke up, “If you don’t know them, then don’t bother.”

It was their own fight, and they were just chatting among themselves—no one was getting in anyone else’s way.

But if it involved their own people, then they’d have to step in.

At that moment, Ji Chen wasn’t interested in showing off, so he didn’t go over to intervene.

Given his reputation and status, he could have gone up and said a few words, and most likely, these people would give him some face. But he wasn’t in the mood to cause trouble right now.

What if they didn’t give him face? Then he’d end up in the fight too.

He wasn’t afraid of a fight, but he just didn’t want the hassle at the moment.

Similarly, Meng Li wasn’t keen on getting involved. She technically had the ability to step in, but in reality, she didn’t.

If she went over, it would just be her showing off and getting herself into trouble, so she wasn’t about to do something that foolish just for the sake of attention.

This matter, if taken seriously, should be handled by the police.

However, without a phone on hand, calling the authorities wasn’t so easy, and besides, no one really wanted to involve the police.

Originally, everyone thought it was just a simple fight to let off some steam, and the conflict would be over quickly.

But unexpectedly, it didn’t die down fast—it only escalated.

Meng Li and Zhuo Xi’s group didn’t get any closer, though they did peek a couple of times to watch the commotion.

When they saw it was a bunch of strangers involved, they lost interest and didn’t pay any more attention.

As they were chatting, a small brick suddenly flew through the air and struck Wei Dong on the head.

Wei Dong, with his fiery temper, immediately exploded in anger.

He touched his head, turned around, and shouted at the troublemakers, “Who the hell threw that?!”

The noise momentarily died down as everyone turned to look at Wei Dong, but no one spoke up.

In the chaos of the scene, it was impossible to tell who had thrown the brick.

Two boys in military uniforms stood together. One of them, with a dark expression and triangular eyes, whispered, “Hey, that’s Third Master Meng over there.”

The boy beside him gritted his teeth, clearly fired up for a fight. He glared at Wei Dong for a moment, then turned to look at Meng Li and said, “Who cares who it is? Get them!”

As soon as he finished speaking, the scene erupted into chaos once again.

Wei Dong, fueled by anger, had already forgotten the earlier decision not to cause trouble. He reached into his backpack, pulled out half a brick, and charged straight toward the boy who had spoken.

Seeing Wei Dong move, Zhuo Xi and the others couldn’t just leave him to handle it alone, so they quickly followed suit.

They left Jin Bei behind to make sure Meng Li was moved out of the way and kept her safe.

Seeing that Zhuo Xi and the others were now involved, and knowing there was no way to pull them back, Meng Li had no intention of trying to show off by getting in the way.

She rolled up the book in her hand and, along with Jin Bei, moved toward a less crowded area.

However, someone in the crowd had noticed her movements. This boy, looking slim, kept his eyes fixed on Meng Li. He reached into his backpack, thinking to himself that if he could injure Meng Li, he’d steal the spotlight and, in doing so, take her place as the leader.

They were all out here to make a name for themselves—who didn’t want to be the boss?

With this thought in mind, the boy slipped his hand into his backpack and stealthily made his way closer to Meng Li and Jin Bei. He knew Meng Li was skilled in fighting, so he didn’t plan to confront her directly. Instead, he aimed for a sneak attack to gain the upper hand first.

Neither Meng Li nor Jin Bei realized they were being quietly targeted. As they were moving out, suddenly, a figure darted to their side and kicked the person behind them.

They both froze for a moment, turning around to see a boy knocked to the ground, still holding a brick.

The one who had kicked him was Ji Chen. After the kick, he quickly grabbed Meng Li and started pulling her away.

Meng Li hadn’t fully processed what was happening when he yanked her along, and after two steps, she spoke up, “You…”

Ji Chen replied immediately, “That guy had a brick and was about to hit you from behind. Didn’t you feel it at all?”

Hearing him say this, Meng Li’s heart tightened, and a sense of fear crept in.

Just as that tight feeling in her chest hadn’t loosened, suddenly, another figure lunged at her. This time, Meng Li reacted quickly and instinctively dodged.

However, Ji Chen’s instinctive response was different from hers. He pulled her into his arms, slightly turning his body to shield her, and took the brick on his left shoulder.

The red brick hit him with a heavy thud, shattering into pieces and sending a cloud of red dust into the air.

In the next instant, Ji Chen swiftly drew the steel wire lock from his sleeve and sharply swung it at the boy who had thrown the brick.

The boy cried out in pain, raising his hand to shield his face before letting out a sharp scream.

Before he could recover, Ji Chen swiftly kicked him away.

Still holding the steel wire lock, Ji Chen grabbed Meng Li’s hand and quickened his pace, pulling her toward where he had parked his bicycle. He didn’t give her a chance to say anything, his expression serious as he made her get onto the bike.

Meng Li, still shaken and frightened, was too flustered to process anything. In a daze, she climbed onto Ji Chen’s bicycle.

As they drove, her heart continued to race, and she could feel sweat dripping from her palms, back, and forehead.

By this late hour, the school had already closed, and Ji Chen didn’t take Meng Li back to the dorm.

He rode his bike straight to the General Staff Compound and brought Meng Li to his home.

When they entered the house and turned on the lights, Ji Chen’s expression was calm, but he didn’t seem entirely at ease either.

With a serious face, he turned to Meng Li and asked, “What’s going on with you? Can’t even queue up to buy a ticket?”

Meng Li, startled by his harsh tone, instinctively tried to explain, “The tickets are limited to one per person. I didn’t want to trouble Zhuo Xi and the others too much, just sitting aside and doing nothing. And… I didn’t expect anyone other than you would try to hurt me…”

After explaining, she slowly started to realize what had just happened. She blinked at Ji Chen, and then, still feeling unsure, she added in a soft, almost childish voice, “But… why are you yelling at me?”

After asking, she realized the situation even more and quickly looked around the room, feeling confused. Her mind was full of question marks, and her expression became cautious as she looked at Ji Chen again, asking, “Also… where is this?”

Ji Chen, who had been confidently scolding her just moments before, paused at her question and realized the situation as well.

Ji Chen’s gaze flickered, and the intensity of his presence seemed to weaken. He raised his hand to rub his forehead, almost as if trying to cover up his discomfort. He turned and sat down on the couch, then looked back at Meng Li and said, “Because… because I took that brick for you.”

At his words, Meng Li recalled that he had indeed shielded her from the brick earlier.

She was touched by his action, and when she thought about how well Ji Chen had been treating her lately, her focus shifted. She stepped forward and asked, “By the way, how’s your shoulder? Let me check on it for you.”

Ji Chen glanced up at her, his gaze instinctively drifting to her chest, before quickly looking away. He cleared his throat and said, “It’s fine, no need to check.”

Taking off his clothes in front of a girl? That would be inappropriate.

Meng Li didn’t believe him. The brick had shattered on impact—there was no way he was fine.

Even if his bones weren’t injured, there must have been bruising or swelling.

He wasn’t going to look after himself and would just tough it out for the night?

If he hadn’t taken the hit for her, she might have let it slide, but now, she felt she had to make sure he was okay.

Meng Li’s expression turned serious. “Did it hit your shoulder? Take it off and let me see.”

Ji Chen sighed lightly, looking at her, and said, “It’s really fine.”

Meng Li inhaled deeply, her expression blank as she stared at Ji Chen, thinking to herself—What’s the big deal? I’m a guy, looking at your shoulder. What’s there to hide? It’s just a shoulder, right?

Without saying another word, she stared at Ji Chen for a moment, then suddenly bent down and began unbuttoning his shirt.

Ji Chen was startled, quickly grabbing her hand, his face filled with shock and disbelief.

The sudden reaction triggered Meng Li’s rebellious side, and she forcefully pried his hand away, continuing to unbutton his shirt.

At that moment, with his shoulder injured, he couldn’t do much to resist her strength.

Meng Li “dominantly” unbuttoned two of his shirt buttons, then pulled the left collar down. There, she saw his shoulder was already swollen, turning red and purple.

His bones didn’t seem to be broken, and there was no skin damage or bleeding—just swelling.

At this moment, Ji Chen was still in a daze, unable to process what had just happened. His ears were burning with embarrassment.

He could hardly believe it—this woman actually started undressing him!

Meng Li, seeing herself as a man, didn’t think much of it.

She carefully examined the injury on Ji Chen’s shoulder and said, “It’s swollen. Doesn’t it hurt? Do you have any ice at home? Ice packs might help reduce the swelling.”

As she spoke, Ji Chen began to regain his senses.

He stopped resisting, cleared his throat, and turned to Meng Li. “In this hot weather, where would I get ice? It’s just a small injury. It’ll heal in a couple of days…”

Then he asked, “Are you like this with Zhuo Xi and the others too?”

Meng Li didn’t quite understand. She looked up at him, confused, and met his gaze. “What?”

Ji Chen took a deep breath. “With Zhuo Xi and the others, do you also undress them?”

His mind wandered to other scenarios, and he continued, “Do you eat and sleep together too?”

Meng Li held his gaze, the distance between them uncomfortably close. She could sense an odd tone in his words and then noticed his ears turning red. Her heart skipped a beat, and she unconsciously held her breath for a moment.

It was like being shocked by electricity. Quickly, Meng Li straightened up and awkwardly chuckled to cover the embarrassment. “We’ve been good friends for years, of course we do! Not just eating and sleeping together, but we also shower and… pee together…”

Ji Chen: “…”

Stay calm.

Control your blood pressure.