Chapter 193: Chapter 193

Two hours later, several people gathered in the hospital ward, in a two-person room, where a few girls were either sitting or standing around a bed, talking.

The one lying in the bed was Xiao Chong, with his lower leg in plaster hoisted up on the other side, his face a colorful mosaic, smeared with iodine and mercurochrome.

Li Xianglu said guiltily, "Xiao Chong, I’m sorry, it’s my fault that you got hurt. Look at your face; even your mom wouldn’t recognize you, right?"

Xiao Chong tried to speak, but the pain was unbearable whenever he opened his mouth. Frustrated, he gestured with his hand to express his anger.

Iro, standing nearby, chuckled and patted Li Xianglu, "Alright, enough teasing. He’s already . Don’t provoke her anymore."

Lu Anna, who was peeling an apple, cut the peeled apple into small slices, placed them on a plate, and set it within Xiao Chong’s reach.

Tears welled up in Xiao Chong’s eyes as he whispered a soft "Thank you!"

Lu Anna let out a sigh and said, "Xiao Chong, you chose not to ignore the danger at the critical moment. Actually, you didn’t have to come yesterday, but you did, and you got hurt. If it weren’t for you distracting those people, Xiao Xiang and I would have been in big trouble." She took Xiao Chong’s hand earnestly and said, "Thank you!"

Xiao Chong’s mouth was injured, and it hurt terribly to even smile, but hearing Lu Anna’s words made her happy. She had done the right thing and could now return to the group. Although the cost was heavy, she had proven with her actions that she had changed.

Xu Xin couldn’t stop shaking his head, "How could Li Dayu do such a thing? We could say we’re from the same dorm, yet she betrayed someone just for a few words from her boyfriend."

Li Xianglu, unaware of what had happened, had gone to sleep last night and only heard the explanation from Iro, "The police interrogation revealed that Li Dayu’s boyfriend didn’t offer to introduce Anna to someone for no reason; he was offered one hundred yuan."

Ah, how could this even be?

Iro then recounted what happened after she left yesterday.

"After I went back home, my family said they hadn’t called me, so I thought there might have been a mistake and just stayed home. When my second brother came back and asked why I was there again, I told him the whole story. He felt something was wrong and he took me back here. By the time my brother and I returned, it was already past nine o’clock, and none of you were here anymore. We waited for a bit until Wang Ke came running back, panting. Only then did we find out something had happened."

What happened next was that by the time they arrived, Qin Xi had already brought people over, knocking down and tying up the three assailants, and Anna had been rescued. When they entered, they saw Qin Xi fiercely holding Li Xianglu as they left.

While talking about this, Iro curiously asked, "Why are you standing all this time? Why not sit?" It was at this moment that Iro realized that while everyone else was sitting, only Li Xianglu was standing.

Li Xianglu tried to appear calm, "It’s nothing. I just want to stand."

Lu Anna, who had witnessed Li Xianglu getting beaten yesterday, didn’t want to expose her, but she glanced at Li Xianglu’s buttocks. She couldn’t even sit. It must’ve been quite a beating.

This Qin Xi is truly an enigma. Normally, he’s gentle and courteous, seen as an excellent prospect by many girls. Even my sister-in-law and brother said that if Li Xianglu hadn’t claimed him first, they would have tried for him themselves. But who would dare now? Hitting someone’s buttocks—what kind of habit is that? No way would she want that!

Lu Anna felt an endless surge of sympathy for Li Xianglu.

Xu Xin knew about the incident too. When she came back yesterday, it was already late, eleven o’clock. The dormitory was in total chaos, with Iro and the others coming back to get things for Xiao Chong, saying that his leg was broken. She was so scared that she followed along, never expecting so much to happen in one afternoon.

Xu Xin cautiously asked, "How should we treat Li Dayu in the future?" Are we going to treat her like we did Ma Lingling? But Li Dayu probably didn’t do it on purpose, and she helped to find someone afterward.

Lu Anna smiled faintly, "Let’s just leave it at that, it’s just a schoolmate relationship." In fact, she never had any bad feelings towards Li Dayu, she’s just a girl from a well-off family with a bit of petty-mindedness and some small flaws, but overall not bad. In this incident, there really wasn’t much malice on her part, but people always make comparisons. Why didn’t Xianglu do such things? If someone offered Xianglu one hundred yuan or even one thousand yuan to invite her out, would she do it? The answer is no.

So please excuse her for not being able to understand.

While everyone was still talking, a figure quietly left the hospital room.

There were no classes in the afternoon, and after Qin Xi got the full story, she took Xianglu straight home, and they even took another day off.

The two first went to the food supply station to buy some vegetables and fish meat, along with corn bones and pig trotters. They had a special guest at home, so they had to treat them well.

When they got back to the courtyard house, it was past noon. The elders had already finished eating, and Ms. Su Yan, undeterred by the chill of early summer, was wearing a long-sleeved cheongsam and watering the flowers. Mr. Li had some orchids and roses.

Xianglu went over and upon seeing her wearing her own floral cloth shoes, she smiled and said, "You know, those cloth shoes really suit you."

Su Yan elegantly rolled her eyes and checked the soil moisture, "Well, I usually wear leather shoes, but the yard is all dirt, I had no choice but to wear your shoes for now." The way she looked so put out made Xianglu almost want to take the shoes off her feet.

The two then went to the melon patch at the back and looked at the ground full of melon tendrils, and Su Yan laughed, "Sigh, can’t you plant something like flowers instead, just look at you, always thinking about eating."

Xianglu replied irritably, "What’s wrong with watermelons? They’ve already bloomed, so I can enjoy both the flowers and eat melons – it’s killing two birds with one stone!"

While they talked, Xianglu crouched down and fiddled around before picking a small muskmelon, not too small, with a white rind. Su Yan curiously asked, "Is it ripe?"

Xianglu nodded, "I covered and buried a few seeds on March 7th or 8th. They grow fast; these plants are already ripe. I even ate one a few days ago."

Su Yan looked at the melon with some skepticism. It was only a few months into the year, and they were already able to eat muskmelons.

Later, the two sat outside on the stone bench eating muskmelon. Su Yan nodded her head, "Hmm, not bad, very sweet. I didn’t expect you to have some skill in planting!"

Xianglu took a bite of the melon, grimacing, and looked like she didn’t want to talk.

Su Yan glanced at the person who had been slightly hit by the bench and teased her, "You only dare to mess around in front of me. Just look at that pathetic look of yours, even getting hit on the butt!"

Xianglu retorted in a fit of pique, "You don’t hit the face when you’re beating someone, and you don’t expose people’s shortcomings when you’re scolding them."

On the side, Qin Xi and Mr. Li could only helplessly shake their heads, as the two started bickering again.

ps: Did everyone see? The plot behind is so terrifying, the chase is so close, I’m so scared.