Chapter 76: Bail
The days after the New Year passed quickly.
Pei Zhouye remained in Nan City. He would occasionally “accidentally” run into Wen Yan, following him from a distance.
That gaze would be there from time to time, like a shadow that had formed over a long period.
Wen Yan’s mother taught eleventh graders, and school started very early, but Wen Yan was still at home.
He always felt his mother was in a strange state after coming home from school, but he couldn’t get anything out of her when he asked.
Wen Yan was very familiar with this state.
He looked exactly like this when he was in trouble but didn’t want to burden his parents.
After several attempts, Wen Yan managed to get the contact information of a student in his mother’s class and finally found out what had been happening at school lately.
[There’s a guy in our class named Li Ming whose family is pretty rich. He’s been making trouble in Chinese class lately. Last time the teacher told him to stop sleeping, and he directly slammed the table and cursed at her.]
[He keeps threatening to report Teacher Wen, spreading rumors that she only won the Excellent Teacher award through improper means and saying he knows people in the Bureau of Education.]
[Now the Chinese classes can barely continue… Teacher Wen’s eyes have been red these past few days.]
Early morning.
Wen Yan deliberately woke up early to see his mother off to school.
He might not be able to get into the school, but this matter had to be resolved.
Wen Yan stood outside the school gate, watching his mother’s frail figure be swallowed by the crowd.
Classes had already started. The bustling school gate from ten minutes ago was now occupied by only a few people. He tried to negotiate with the security guard several times, but the man was clear that outsiders were not allowed in.
Wen Yan didn’t lose heart. He walked around the perimeter of the school looking for a low spot on the wall, intending to climb over.
He had to find evidence.
Beneath a corner of the wall, several students who were late were laughing as they passed around an e-cigarette. One boy with purple hair suddenly kicked the railing. “So annoying. It’s that old hag’s class again today.”
“You aren’t afraid of her, Li Ming. Didn’t you make her cry last time?” his companion teased.
The purple-haired boy blew a smoke ring and pulled out his phone. “She won an Excellent Teacher award and got a few thousand more—what’s she so happy about? I just said she’s still got some charm, who knows how she really got it. And then she started crying. Wait, I’m calling my dad’s assistant right now…”
He looked up and happened to meet Wen Yan’s gaze.
Li Ming’s suggestive gaze lingered on Wen Yan for a moment. He took a puff of the e-cigarette and walked over to Wen Yan.
He blew a cloud of smoke into Wen Yan’s face.
“Looking for someone?” He made his voice sound sickeningly deep.
The anger he’d been suppressing for days erupted instantly. Wen Yan grabbed the boy’s collar and swung a clenched fist.
The others who were waiting to watch the show were stunned. This person looked like a cold, quiet “good student,” yet he’d started a fight without saying a single word.
Seeing this, the others immediately rushed in. A one-on-one fight instantly turned into a brawl.
Fists landed on his body, but Wen Yan seemed to feel no pain. Patterns seemed to blur before his eyes. He took a kick to the back and stumbled, but he didn’t let go, his fist slamming into Li Ming’s face again and again.
The sound of the dean’s leather shoes clicking against the pavement inside the railing echoed just as someone was about to hit him on the head with a brick. Li Ming was pinned to the ground, his uniform collar stained with dirt and dust. His lip was split, but he was still cursing: “Do you know who my dad is? I’ll ruin you!”
“Stop it, all of you!” The dean was a slightly chubby middle-aged man with veins throbbing at his temples. He shouted for two security guards. “Take them all to the security office! Call the police! You must call the police!”
Wen Yan’s movements paused for a second, but then he threw another punch at the bridge of Li Ming’s nose.
The sound of sirens grew louder. When the cold handcuffs were snapped onto his wrists, he finally released his blood-stained fists as if waking from a dream.
He hadn’t fully recovered his senses. As he sat in the police car, he thought: these handcuffs were different from Pei Zhouye’s—they didn’t have that layer of velvet lining.
At the police station.
Wen Yan sat on a hard bench, his knuckles burning with pain.
A police officer handed him a phone. “You need to notify your family to bail you out.”
Wen Yan stared at the phone, his finger hovering over the buttons. His parents? He had never been in a fight growing up; this was his first real fight. Both his parents were at work—his mother was in class, and his father had just started his new job.
But there was one person whose number he knew by heart besides his own and his parents’.
He bit his lower lip and hesitated for a long time.
“I’ll call my friend,” Wen Yan said in a voice so quiet it was barely audible.
The moment the call connected, Wen Yan’s heart almost stopped.
“Hello?” Pei Zhouye’s voice came through the receiver, low and sounding a bit drowsy.
“It’s Wen Yan.” Wen Yan’s voice choked up. “I’m at the East City Police Station. I need… bail.”
The last word was difficult to say.
There was silence for three seconds on the other end, then a muffled thud—likely a knee hitting a nightstand.
Pei Zhouye’s voice was so steady you couldn’t hear a hint of fluster:
“Forty minutes.”
The rustling of clothes came from the other side. Pei Zhouye took a moment to add a soft but clear, “Don’t be afraid.”
He hung up after saying just those few words.
During the wait, Wen Yan stared at the clock on the wall.
The second hand went around and around.
When the station door was slammed open, Wen Yan looked toward the sound of hurried footsteps.
The delayed pain was only now beginning to register. Realizing there was bruising on his face, Wen Yan instinctively lowered his head again.
“Look up,” Pei Zhouye said, his voice suppressed.
Without waiting for Wen Yan to move, Pei Zhouye lost his patience and cupped his chin to inspect the injuries.
The exquisite, quiet face had several bruises, and his lip was split, bleeding slightly.
“Who did this?”
Before Wen Yan could answer, the station door was pushed open again.
A well-dressed couple stormed in, followed by a bruised, purple-haired Li Ming.
“That’s the kid!” Li Ming shouted, pointing at Wen Yan. “Dad, Mom, he hit me for no reason!”
A middle-aged man with a beer belly strode over to the duty officer and slammed down a business card. “I’m Li Cheng of the Li Group. I pay so much in taxes to Nan City every year—is this how Nan City protects my child? This kid assaulted my son without provocation! You must give me an explanation!”
The duty officer looked at the business card, his expression turning subtle. “Mr. Li, this is just a common brawl; both sides are responsible. Besides, it was a group of people hitting him alone. We haven’t even…”
“Bullshit!” Li Ming’s mother interrupted shrilly. “My son wouldn’t even step on an ant; how could he be in a fight? This kid must be some motherless brat who bullied my son!”
She turned to Wen Yan, her finger with its bright red nail almost poking his face. “Do you know the Li family’s status in Nan City? I’ll make sure you pay for this!”
Li Ming, who she’d claimed “wouldn’t even step on an ant,” stood behind them with his head held high. His purple hair bounced as he jiggled his leg, making him look like a purple chicken.
Wen Yan’s back stiffened. Just as he was about to speak, Pei Zhouye stepped in front of him, his tall frame completely blocking the mother’s view.
“Apologize for what you just said.” Pei Zhouye’s voice was as cold as ice.
Li Cheng looked Pei Zhouye up and down and sneered. “Where’d this kid come from? Do you know who I am?”
Pei Zhouye’s knuckles cracked. He gave a cold laugh. “Do I need to know the name of the trash I step on when I go out? Since you love using your status so much and want me to remember you, let’s play a bigger game.”
The duty officer, seeing things getting more serious, hurried over to intervene and separated the two parties.
Li Cheng was constantly making calls, his voice raised. “XXX, it’s old Li here…”
He made several such calls, each filled with a patronizing arrogance as if he were certain a single call could decide someone’s fate.
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