TITCFRIBN 6

Chapter 06

In the cool hallway, the man's voice was calm and pleasant.

"Senior, before seeing us, did the counselor meet with anyone else?"

"Why are you asking?"

Li Yu walked out of the office building, the bright sunlight stinging his eyes a bit.

"I just want to know how strict the counselor is right now. After all, you mentioned that the situation has escalated quite a bit."

It wasn't something that couldn't be discussed. Li Yu began walking towards the campus hospital. "Chen He came by earlier, but you don't need to worry. The counselor is just anxious, not angry at you."

An Cheng felt somewhat reassured. "I understand. Thank you, senior."

After hanging up the phone, An Cheng leaned against the wall for a while until the nurse came out.

The young nurse frowned, looking indignant. "Is campus violence really this bad nowadays? How could someone end up beaten like this?"

An Cheng asked, "How badly was he beaten?"

The young nurse replied, "Bruised all over."

Bai Qing followed behind the nurse, his face flushed red. He didn’t dare to look at the nurse, nor did he have the courage to meet An Cheng's gaze.

"It's nothing serious. When I was little, I often got bumps and bruises. It'll heal soon," Bai Qing mumbled.

An Cheng walked up behind Bai Qing and playfully ruffled his short, slightly wavy hair.

Bai Qing's embarrassment faded as he looked at An Cheng in confusion. "Cheng-ge, what's wrong?"

An Cheng sighed inwardly. Such a pure and kind child, he thought, How could he possibly survive in a world of schemers?

He casually made up an excuse. "There was a mosquito."

Bai Qing didn’t believe it.

Li Yu arrived on a shared bicycle, braking to a stop at the campus hospital entrance. After locking the bike, he jogged over to An Cheng and Bai Qing.

Out of breath from hurrying, he leaned on his knees and panted, "You two, the moment you entered the school, you made it to the forum's trending topics."

Bai Qing's eyes widened slightly. "Trending on the forum?"

He had just enrolled and didn’t even know there was a forum.

Li Yu pulled out his phone, tapped a few times, and handed it to Bai Qing. "Look for yourself."

"This matter is spreading rapidly. By the afternoon, it won’t just be confined to the campus forum."

"The student council has already issued a clarification," Li Yu glanced at An Cheng. "An Cheng isn’t dead, but you still need to say something on the forum yourselves. The counselor probably wants to talk to you about this, too."

An Cheng responded indifferently with a simple "Hmm."

He was always this cool and composed. Besides, this situation was exactly the outcome An Cheng had aimed for, so there was nothing particularly surprising about it.

Bai Qing, on the other hand, was much more enthusiastic. "We understand. Thank you, senior."

Li Yu asked, "You understand?"

Bai Qing nodded like a little chick, "Yes, yes, we understand."

"Then why aren't you hurrying to see the counselor?"

Their counselor, Wu Meng, was a woman in her early forties. In addition to overseeing the first-year finance students, she also handled some special administrative tasks, so she had her own small office.

The office wasn’t large. At the far end was a black wooden desk, and next to it, a filing cabinet. The air conditioner hummed softly, making the room comfortably cool.

When An Cheng and Bai Qing entered, Wu Meng pointed to the red plastic stools with long legs beside her desk. "Take a seat."

After setting aside her work, Wu Meng looked up and sighed. "An Cheng, Bai Qing?"

An Cheng and Bai Qing both nodded.

Wu Meng adjusted her glasses. "Tell me what happened."

Bai Qing glanced at An Cheng before speaking first. "I’m not really sure about the specifics. When I came out of the bathroom, they were waiting by the door to ambush me, and then we started fighting."

He emphasized this part, looking serious. "They threw the first punch."

An Cheng: … What kind of description is that?

Guessing that Bai Qing was trying to save face by framing a one-sided beating as a mutual fight, An Cheng added, "They were pretty ruthless. Bai Qing sustained quite a few injuries. He could go to the medical center for an injury assessment."

It was the first time An Cheng had spoken this much, and Bai Qing’s eyes sparkled as he looked at him.

Wu Meng nodded. "I see."

"But An Cheng, you hit someone too. You should have pulled them apart instead of throwing punches. Now that the other party is injured as well, it becomes a case of mutual fighting, making it hard to determine who’s right or wrong."

Bai Qing’s gaze dimmed. He didn’t want to drag An Cheng down with him.

An Cheng remained silent for a moment, furrowing his brows in confusion. "So, are you giving me a legal lesson, teacher?"

Wu Meng was taken aback for a moment before she started to take this male student in front of her seriously.

The stool that fit others perfectly seemed a bit small for An Cheng. Though his long legs were neatly placed, his sharp features made him look intimidating, like a tiger lying in wait. When he looked up, his eyes seemed to pierce through others, making people feel uneasy for no apparent reason.

This one's a troublemaker, Wu Meng quickly concluded.

"Did I say something wrong?" Wu Meng retorted.

An Cheng relaxed his brows. "Of course not. Please continue, teacher."

Wu Meng turned her attention back to Bai Qing. "They were in the wrong for throwing the first punch, and they know that making this a big deal would be bad. So they’ve asked me to mediate. They’re willing to offer you 50,000 yuan in compensation if you’re willing to accept. If you agree to the mediation, you’ll need to publicly state on the forum that this was just a small misunderstanding."

An Cheng looked down and noticed that Bai Qing's elegant fingers were already intertwined nervously.

Avoiding Wu Meng’s gaze, Bai Qing looked at An Cheng and bit his lip. "Cheng-ge, this isn’t just about me. What do you think?"

An Cheng had stepped in for his sake and even taken a punch to the face. It wouldn't be right to make a decision on his own.

An Cheng didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked Wu Meng, "Teacher, did you know that they’re not from our school?"

A hint of discomfort flashed across Wu Meng's face. She even subconsciously averted her gaze and took a sip of water.

"I know."

"How did they get in? Where did they go after they got in? How long were they waiting in the bathroom?"

Wu Meng set her cup down, her voice faltering slightly. "How would I know?"

"Isn’t it worth investigating?" An Cheng asked casually.

"If they’re willing to mediate, why bother investigating further?" Wu Meng replied, her tone now more forced.

Wu Meng forced a smile, one that had the practiced ease of someone well-versed in navigating tricky situations. "The best way to resolve this is to de-escalate. Keep things small, and it’ll pass. You’re still students; you don’t understand these things yet."

But An Cheng wasn’t easily swayed. He wasn’t about to be intimidated by a mere counselor.

"Let me rephrase it. For outsiders to enter the campus, someone from inside has to vouch for them and register their entry. Who let them in, Teacher Wu?"

The smile on Wu Meng's face froze, and she awkwardly forced out a dry laugh. "I’m not entirely sure about that. How about this—you two head back for now, and I’ll look into it and get back to you."

An Cheng and Bai Qing were ushered out of the office.

By now, it was lunchtime. The two of them walked in silence towards the cafeteria. When they reached the entrance, they saw a long line had already formed. The sea of green military training uniforms looked like waves rising and falling.

Bai Qing had been lost in his thoughts, but when he saw the long line, he suddenly remembered some comments he’d seen online.

They said that first-year students were like livestock, running faster than horses to the cafeteria and leaving nothing for the upperclassmen.

Despite the heavy atmosphere, Bai Qing couldn't help but chuckle softly.

Seeing him laugh foolishly, An Cheng sighed inwardly again.

An Cheng was about to line up when someone tugged on his sleeve. Bai Qing, standing behind him, said, "Cheng-ge, let’s go eat out. My treat."

An Cheng glanced at the time: 12:40 p.m. Military training resumed at 2:00 p.m.

“You’re not planning to take a nap?” An Cheng asked.

Bai Qing shook his head. “I’ll rest.”

If they went out to eat, it would take at least forty minutes round-trip—there wouldn’t be any time left for a nap.

An Cheng was about to point out that there wasn’t enough time when he noticed Bai Qing’s mischievous smile.

"I’m injured, so I can skip the afternoon session. Of course, Cheng-ge, you would be staying with me, so you wouldn’t go either."

An Cheng felt a sense of relief. The pure and kind protagonist actually knows how to bend the rules a little. And it’s so reasonable!

He certainly didn’t want to suffer through training or face Instructor Wang’s worn-out, grumpy face.

He nodded, “Let’s go.”

Just outside the university's east gate, several streets were lined with food stalls. Last night, Qi Le had raved on WeChat about a grilled fish place.

An Cheng was tempted, but knowing Bai Qing didn’t eat spicy food, he chose a place that served Qiao Jiao beef instead.

Since the upperclassmen hadn’t returned yet and the first-years had little time to go out, the restaurant was mostly empty.

As soon as they sat down, the owner came over with a notepad, speaking in a strong local dialect, “Take a look at the menu and write down what you’d like.”

Bai Qing didn’t understand. "What?"

But An Cheng could guess what he meant and translated it into standard Mandarin.

Bai Qing nodded and handed the notepad to An Cheng. “I’m treating today, so just order whatever you like, Cheng-ge.”

An Cheng didn’t hold back. He ordered two kinds of meat and three kinds of vegetables, then asked Bai Qing to add whatever he liked.

With nothing else to do, An Cheng glanced down at Bai Qing as he wrote.

Bai Qing’s handwriting was beautiful. It wasn’t the standard neat characters of a high school essay, but rather a flowing, signature-like script, with strong and fluid strokes. It seemed almost too bold for Bai Qing's usually golden-retriever-like personality.

After Bai Qing tore off the order sheet and handed it to the owner, the owner assured them that the food would be ready soon.

The Qiao Jiao beef turned out to be quite tasty, with rich broth and flavorful dipping sauces.

Bai Qing enjoyed chatting with people and tried to make small talk with An Cheng, but An Cheng was naturally quiet and only responded with brief nods or simple replies.

As they were finishing their meal, Bai Qing called the owner over to pay.

The owner glanced at the bill. "Eighty-five yuan. Are you paying with Alipay or WeChat?"

This time, he spoke in standard Mandarin, so Bai Qing understood. He smiled and asked, “Can I pay with cash?”

“Of course,” the owner laughed, “but not many people use cash nowadays.”

When they left the restaurant, An Cheng checked the time: 1:30 p.m.

On the way back, they passed by a milk tea shop. A white cat with heterochromatic eyes was lounging on a chair outside. After getting the shop owner’s permission, Bai Qing carefully rubbed the cat’s head. Seeing that it didn’t react much, he gently stroked its back.

After he finished, Bai Qing straightened up and noticed that An Cheng was standing behind him, half of his face bathed in the summer sunlight as he looked down at his phone. His long eyelashes cast shadows on his cheeks.

Bai Qing bit his lip and said, “Let’s go, Cheng-ge.”

An Cheng turned off his phone screen and slid it into his pocket. “Hmm.”

Silence hung between them for the rest of the walk.

At an intersection, they stopped at a red light. Bai Qing finally made up his mind.

He kept his head down, hiding his expression. His slightly elongated neck was turning red from the sun, and his hands awkwardly fidgeted behind his back.

“Cheng-ge, should we accept the mediation?”

“I… I want the money.”

An Cheng raised an eyebrow.

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