TIL - 14

When the driver picked up Wen Huo, she received a call from Qiu Mingyun.

On the phone, Qiu Mingyun didn’t say a word, but the chaotic environment mixed with a few curses seemed to speak for her, indicating she was in a very bad state. With this new urgent matter, Wen Huo stood Shen Cheng up.

The driver was in a difficult position and stopped her: “Would you mind telling Professor Shen? It’ll be hard for me to explain.”

Wen Huo nodded: “I’ll tell him, thank you for your trouble.”

The driver politely said: “No problem.”

The two parted ways. Wen Huo stood by the road, calling for a ride. Before starting the car, the driver inadvertently caught a glimpse of her. After a moment’s thought, he got out and said to her: “Where are you going? Can I give you a ride?”

Wen Huo saw that no ride-hailing car was accepting her request anytime soon, so she agreed: “Thank you then.”

The driver walked around to the passenger side and opened the door for her: “You’re too kind.”

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Qiu Mingyun was from Qingdao, from a well-off family. Her father owned a paper mill, and her mother was a university professor. She was about the same height as Wen Huo and quite beautiful. Coupled with her parents’ good upbringing, her growth had been smooth sailing.

Perhaps her early life was too easy, which is why, in the year she officially entered society, she met Gu Xuanyu—a high-level scumbag.

Gu Xuanyu was very handsome, with a strong youthful charm. Just looking at his face, and his shy and timid demeanor in front of the camera, few girls wouldn’t be smitten.

Qiu Mingyun was one of them.

But back then, she was just an older sister supporting him, not a fan. Their relationship began at the ISY Music Festival in 2018.

The excited mental state from being drunk, the explosive DJ electronic music, and the dual control of atmosphere and rhythm, among many other factors, ultimately led them to roll into bed together.

After their entanglement, Gu Xuanyu wanted to blame it on the alcohol, but as soon as he saw Qiu Mingyun holding a Centurion Card, he proposed they be together and promised to cherish her.

The truth was, from then on, Qiu Mingyun gave him 20,000 yuan every month, and bought him shoes, bags, and clothes. If she didn’t have time herself, she would ask friends to buy them for her. In short, she made Gu Xuanyu live like a young rich second generation.

Later, Qiu Mingyun’s parents found out and ordered her to break up with him. She refused, falling out with her parents and having her previously freely disposable money confiscated.

Without money, Gu Xuanyu’s quality of life plummeted. He started picking fights with Qiu Mingyun, giving her the silent treatment, or engaging in “textual love” and nude chats with pretty female fans on Douyin and Weibo.

Qiu Mingyun caught him many times. At first, he seemed somewhat remorseful, but as it happened more often, he became shameless.

Originally, Qiu Mingyun wouldn’t have been so irrational, no matter how much she liked a handsome face. To put it bluntly, Gu Xuanyu was just too good at acting. He always had ways to make Qiu Mingyun pity him, even making her believe that many of their arguments were her own fault.

In today’s terms, this was a classic case of emotional manipulation (PUA).

As Qiu Mingyun’s roommate, Wen Huo had only intervened minimally in the past, not wanting to interfere too much. But now, it seemed she couldn’t continue that way.

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Gongti, Elements Bar.

Gu Xuanyu was surrounded by many girls. Their slender waists and long legs, achieved through injections, combined with faces full of fillers, created a collection of living Barbies. They looked indignant, seemingly giving Gu Xuanyu courage as a “solid backing.”

Looking at Gu Xuanyu among them, appearing so innocent under the neon lights, his mouth was downturned, and there were glistening things in his eyes, like tears.

From this perspective, Qiu Mingyun’s frequent compromises weren’t entirely unreasonable. Who could stay angry at this level of beauty for too long?

Qiu Mingyun was crouching by the roadside, her face buried in her lap, enduring the razor-sharp glares and unbearable insults from the group.

Wen Huo adjusted her bag, walked over, and gripped her shoulder.

Qiu Mingyun’s immediate reaction was to flinch. She was scared, meaning she had been severely bullied recently.

Wen Huo crouched down, tilting her head to look at Qiu Mingyun’s face.

Surprisingly, she wasn’t crying this time, and her makeup was still intact. But it was clear that her pain hadn’t diminished one bit due to the absence of tears.

Wen Huo gently stroked her face: “Let’s go.”

Qiu Mingyun stood up, her legs numb, and she was hypoglycemic, causing immediate dizziness. She almost fell, but Wen Huo was quick and steadied her.

The two walked towards a place where they could call a cab. The provocations from behind started again: “Know your place and don’t bother our brother anymore. If he really wanted to date, we wouldn’t stop him, but he’s clearly been compromising with you because he doesn’t want to hurt his fans. Don’t use the fans as an excuse to cling to him.”

Someone else echoed: “Sasaeng fans aren’t real fans!”

“Our brother is in his rising period. Do you know these rumors you’re spreading are enough to ruin him? Is this your love? It’s truly ridiculous.”

Wen Huo roughly understood the situation from their few words and said nothing.

It wasn’t that she was cowardly. It was that they dared to publicly humiliate Qiu Mingyun, and no one went to ask Qiu Mingyun if she was okay while she crouched there, meaning the current atmosphere favored Gu Xuanyu.

The atmosphere was wrong; it was like an egg hitting a rock, so she couldn’t turn back now.

As Qiu Mingyun walked, the voices behind them gradually faded, then disappeared. Her mind also cleared. She suddenly stopped, looked at a soju bottle by the roadside, then looked at Wen Huo.

Wen Huo was rational; at this point, she should advise her not to act impulsively, but she didn’t. She nodded.

As if emboldened, Qiu Mingyun grabbed the bottle, rushed back, jumped up, and brought the bottle down on Gu Xuanyu’s head: “You made me a living ghost! Do you think you’ll have an easy life now?! Dream on! Your Sister Qiu served you for two years, and she’s had enough. What you owe me, I don’t want it anymore. Consider it two years of charity! But this bottle, you must take it! This is my youth!”

Her actions were swift. The people around Gu Xuanyu didn’t even notice until they reacted, by which time blood was already streaming down Gu Xuanyu’s face, covering him completely, turning him into a bloody mess.

He was bleeding too much, looking abnormal. Wen Huo, seeing the dire situation, quickly called an ambulance and reported it to the police.

Qiu Mingyun was also stunned. She thought she had vented her anger, but now it seemed she had caused serious trouble.

The ambulance arrived quickly. Qiu Mingyun and Wen Huo got in together. The accompanying doctor examined the patient, stopped the bleeding first, and then asked them: “Does this patient have leukemia?”

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Shen Cheng had just put Yiyi to sleep and was about to leave to find Wen Huo when the driver called to say she had an urgent matter and couldn’t come. The veins on his forehead and neck seemed to burst instantly, and his face became unreadable with anger.

Fine, she dares to stand him up now?

He called Wen Huo; it was busy. So he sent her a WeChat message: “You told me to drink water. Where’s the water?”

When the message reached Wen Huo’s phone, she had just hung up a call from the police station and told Qiu Mingyun the situation: “The police will be here soon. Adjust your demeanor.”

Qiu Mingyun was a smart person in every aspect except love. The fact that she would ask Wen Huo with her eyes if she could hit someone meant she had an easy way out, which is why Wen Huo called the police before anyone else did.

A disturbance here would definitely lead to a police report; Qiu Mingyun, having frequented such places for years, would know that.

Now, it turns out that while Qiu Mingyun had plans A, B, and so on, she hadn’t anticipated that Gu Xuanyu had leukemia.

Wen Huo stayed with Qiu Mingyun until the police arrived. When they started questioning, she consciously went to the waiting area outside the emergency room.

Taking out her phone, she saw Shen Cheng’s WeChat message. She felt a little embarrassed; his “I sent someone to pick you up” implied urgency, and she had stood him up. She thought for a moment and replied: “I’ll treat you to a drink another day.”

“What if I want it today?”

“It’s all yours. Why are you in such a hurry?”

“You left me hanging, and you’re still justified?”

“Aren’t I thinking for your health? Think about it, you opened the floodgates the day before, you must have been drained, right? Don’t you need two days to recover before you have fresh things to feed me? Only if you feed me, I’ll have water to give you to drink.”

Shen Cheng frowned at her reply. What kind of nonsense was this? He called her: “Where are you now?”

Wen Huo didn’t want to say: “Tomorrow, I’ll apologize to you. I’ll wear a see-through outfit and handcuffs. All your favorites.”

“Don’t negotiate with me. I’m asking where you are now?”

“Ah, bad signal. Oh, this signal, it’s really problematic. Hello? Professor Shen? Are you still there? You’re not there anymore? Then I’ll hang up. Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

Having played dumb, Wen Huo hung up.

Shen Cheng must be furious now, right?

She couldn’t help it. What a coincidence this situation was! Qiu Mingyun had no relatives here. What would she do if Wen Huo didn’t come?

So, Shen Cheng would just have to be a little aggrieved.

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Shen Cheng seemed unchanged, but standing in front of the car, he looked particularly like an envoy from the underworld.

The driver behind him trembled: “I asked around. They said two women got into a fight and injured someone. They should be at the hospital now.”

Shen Cheng turned around: “Fight and caused trouble?”

“Mhm...”

Alright, Wen Huo, you’re full of surprises.

Shen Cheng opened the car door and got in: “To the hospital!”

The driver rarely saw Shen Cheng outwardly express his emotions like this. The few times he did, they were all related to this Wen Huo.