TSIBAMS Chapter 98
by VolareQi Guang rushed down the stairs, crossed the old basketball court, squeezed through the dog hole, and sprinted across the desolate mound to a low wall, quickly vaulting over it.
Because the street outside the wall wasn’t in the same direction as the school gate and was a bit out of the way, Qi Guang ran for quite a while before finally stopping a tricycle.
“To the police station!” Qi Guang jumped on before the tricycle had even fully stopped.
The tricycle driver leisurely turned the vehicle around and set off, remarking, “The police station is lively today.”
“You came from the police station?” Qi Guang clutched the panel in front of his seat, instinctively leaning closer.
He was still catching his breath from the intense exercise.
“No, I just came from the commercial plaza. I don’t know what happened, but there were police cars and ambulances. If business wasn’t good tonight, I would have gotten out to see what was going on! You wouldn’t believe it, the main road is completely blocked, luckily these little tricycles never get stuck in traffic,” the tricycle driver said, then started sighing, “That’s why those people who spend money on cars don’t know what they’re doing. Gas is expensive, and they aren’t convenient…”
Qi Guang was impressed by his ability to stray off topic. He wasn’t in the mood to listen to his ramblings and took out his phone to send a message to Ye Xing.
– I just got a call from Sister Xiaoyun and had to leave, I can’t explain it right now. Call me when you’re done talking with the head teacher!
After sending it, he didn’t immediately lock the screen. He watched the screen light up for a while, but no new message appeared, so he put it back in his pocket.
The school wasn’t too far from the police station, but the time in between was enough to torment him.
He had hung up the phone in a hurry and rushed out without even clarifying what was going on. Anxiety and panic had overwhelmed him, making it impossible to think straight. He nervously fiddled with his phone, his palm becoming sweaty after a while, so he took it out again to wipe it on his clothes.
When he arrived at the entrance of the police station, Shuai Xiaoyun was crouching alone on the steps, lost in thought.
This scene sent a chill down Qi Guang’s spine. Where had everyone else gone?
He jumped off the tricycle and hurried over, anxiously asking, “Where is everyone else?”
Shuai Xiaoyun looked up, her usual radiant self replaced with a swollen-eyed look, “Inside.”
“What the hell happened? Was it a gang fight?” Qi Guang didn’t hesitate and tried to go inside.
“They’re just waiting inside! A bunch of drunkards, what kind of fight would they be in?” Shuai Xiaoyun grabbed him, “I just came out for some air.”
He didn’t know if this was good news or not, but Qi Guang couldn’t smile. He sighed, patted Shuai Xiaoyun’s hand, and squatted beside her, “What exactly happened?”
The night was dark, and the cold wind felt like knives. Shuai Xiaoyun pulled her hat down tighter, her tone becoming calm, “Bai Shu hit someone with a chair and they’re in the hospital. The person is seriously injured and hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Bai Shu would never fight…”
“That’s precisely why he hit someone so hard, because he doesn’t know how to fight, he just got impulsive.” Shuai Xiaoyun stared at her shadow under the street light, her eyes vacant, “I went to the bathroom with Lu Yueyang. At the door, we heard Bai Shu yelling. Then, a few people ran out, and Lu Yueyang realized something was wrong and grabbed one of them. They struggled and started fighting.”
Qi Guang didn’t know how to react. It wasn’t surprising that Shuai Xiaoyun called her class teacher “Lu Yueyang,” but why was Bai Shu fighting? Who was the other person? And how was Lu Yueyang involved?
He then noticed that Shuai Xiaoyun had looked completely lost ever since he saw her, and a bad feeling began to grow in his already confused mind.
Before he could even try to sort through his thoughts and ask, Shuai Xiaoyun continued, “Lu Yueyang used to take martial arts and combat training at the police academy, so she didn’t lose the fight, but she didn’t injure the guy either. Now they’re both inside being questioned; I don’t think it’s a big deal,” Shuai Xiaoyun paused, then said, “I mean, compared to Bai Shu, it’s not a big deal…When Lu Yueyang was fighting with that person, everyone in the bar was scared and ran out. And just then, the police arrived. What a coincidence, huh? That they came at that exact moment?”
“Someone set them up,” Qi Guang said.
“Yeah,” Shuai Xiaoyun nodded, “The other party called the police at the perfect time. And they weren’t going after Lu Yueyang; they just happened to find those two fighting on their way to the bathroom and brought them in.”
“So, Bai Shu was tricked?” Qi Guang became more and more confused. His head felt like a mess, blocking every possible path to clarity.
“I guess only Bai Shu knows what happened inside,” Shuai Xiaoyun sighed, “When we went in with the police, we only saw Xu Ge sitting on the ground in a daze, and there was someone lying face down next to him. There was a pool of blood on the floor, and Bai Shu was holding a chair in his hand, still in shock.”
Qi Guang stood up with a serious expression, walking towards the building without saying a word.
In the reception hall, he immediately saw Xu Ge’s group of brothers. They all looked silent and dazed, as if they were still drunk. But judging by their worried expressions, they were at least somewhat aware of what was going on.
Xu Ge, however, seemed more sober and was talking to a policeman near the window.
If he remembered correctly, that policeman was a friend of Xu Ge’s. The last time Xu Ge had been arrested, he had warned him not to get involved with people like Li Zhendong.
At this critical moment, Qi Guang didn’t care about manners and went straight over, patting Xu Ge’s shoulder.
Xu Ge slowly turned around, looked at him, and without saying much, nodded towards the policeman, “You can continue.”
The policeman understood that this person wasn’t an outsider and continued, “Based on my experience, it’s probably more than a minor injury. Of course, we’ll have to wait for the medical report to be sure.”
Even though Xu Ge hadn’t been in the police station himself, a lot of his brothers had been in for all kinds of minor and major offenses. He knew that “more than a minor injury” meant that the other person might pursue criminal charges.
“So, what happens if it’s more than a minor injury?” Qi Guang asked.
“It depends on how serious the injury is. At least a year and a half in jail…Of course, if the other party agrees to settle, they can just pay some money to end it,” the policeman said.
Hearing that they could settle, Qi Guang breathed a sigh of relief, “How much money?”
The policeman didn’t seem so relieved, “That depends on how much the other party wants…”
Qi Guang frowned, “It works like that?”
“There’s nothing else to do. If it’s a settlement, it is a matter between you.”
At that moment, Xu Ge, who had been silent, spoke, “As long as Bai Shu doesn’t go to jail, we’ll pay anything.”
“Xu Ge…” Qi Guang looked at him, wanting to say something but hesitating.
Normally, if Xu Ge was being so protective of Bai Shu, Qi Guang would have turned into a matchmaker and given him a good lecture. But given the current situation, he couldn’t feel any joy from Xu Ge’s words.
Xu Ge looked at the policeman, “I’m applying for bail. I’ll go negotiate when the medical report comes out.”
When Ye Xing called, Qi Guang realized that it had been a while since school had ended.
His emotions had been on a rollercoaster. Compared to when he had rushed out of school, he had calmed down a bit when he pressed the answer button, “Why are you so late? What did the head teacher want to talk about?”
“Qi Ge,” Ye Xing’s voice was low and tired, “I’m a little tired today, so I won’t hang out with you guys. I’ll go home and wait for you.”
Qi Guang heard that something was wrong. Even though things were chaotic on his end, he tried to pull himself away from the situation, carefully asking, “Are you feeling unwell?”
“No…” Ye Xing just started to speak, when the phone was snatched away, and then Zhou Tian’s voice came, “You need to talk to Ye Xing! I waited for him for a long time so we could walk home together, but he has been out of it ever since leaving the head teacher’s office. He doesn’t want to join us for the New Year’s Eve festivities!”
Clearly, the other end of the line had no idea about the dramatic events that had occurred.
Qi Guang gripped his phone and hesitated for a moment before saying, “You guys go home. We’re not at the 1984 Bar anymore.”
“Did you guys move? It’s okay, we can…”
“We didn’t move, it’s over. Things are a little chaotic right now, I’ll explain tomorrow,” Qi Guang said, “I want to talk to Ye Xing for a bit.”
“Okay…” Zhou Tian disappointedly gave the phone back, then Ye Xing’s voice came, “Hello.”
“Are you feeling unwell?” Qi Guang asked.
Ye Xing sniffed, still a bit listless, “No, I’m just tired. Come home early.”
Last time, he used that same excuse to go home when he was angry. This time was probably no different.
However, what he was sure of was that he wasn’t the one who caused it this time.
Of course, things had their priorities, and all problems needed to be addressed one at a time.
“Then you go home and rest first,” Qi Guang paused, looking at the grown men sleeping on a bench and Shuai Xiaoyun dozing off by the door. He decided not to tell him about the situation here yet, “Be safe on your way home.”
The policewoman who brought Bai Shu out was a big woman who looked strong. She must have handled too many fights like this because she didn’t even bother to lecture them, looking completely impatient.
Bai Shu looked pale and tired, his lips white. He didn’t know if he was scared or nervous.
Everyone in the hall, including those men who had been sleeping earlier, came over.
The policewoman glanced at them, “Oh, familiar faces. Here to relive your youth?”
No one answered.
“Where are Lu Yueyang and the others?” Shuai Xiaoyun rushed in front of the policewoman, almost grabbing her.
“Those two who were fighting? We’re about to ask you guys!” The policewoman raised her chin, “A 200-yuan fine each and five days of detention. Come over here to pay the fines.”
“What’s going on?” Shuai Xiaoyun’s drowsiness instantly disappeared, her eyes wide open, “Can’t she be released on bail?”
“This is administrative detention, it’s not possible! You should be thankful that the young one can get bail because he’s facing criminal detention.” The policewoman said, possibly exasperated by these familiar faces. She couldn’t help but put on a helpless expression, “You young and old, don’t learn from the best! You all look so decent, can’t you have a good conversation without fighting? You think you’re so cool for winning? You think you’re still cool after ending up in jail?”