Everyone at Li Cai School knew Jiang Ren.
Chen Shuo, clutching his head, couldn’t even beg for mercy.
The commotion and the sound of a shattering vase quickly caught the attention of doctors and nurses. They all tried to restrain Jiang Ren.
However, he was like an enraged lion, his eyes cold and wild, wanting to tear Chen Shuo apart. Several of them could barely hold him back.
Chen Shuo had already fallen silent.
Meng Ting pushed through the crowd and stood in front of him. She spread her arms, shielding Chen Shuo, her voice trembling, “Enough!”
Jiang Ren raised his eyes to look at her.
His eyes were pitch black, without a hint of light. His chest heaved rapidly.
Meng Ting repeated, “I said enough!”
He suddenly shook off the hands holding him back, without even glancing at her, and walked out of the ward.
The people in the ward bustled about, examining Chen Shuo and stopping his bleeding.
Meng Ting looked back; Chen Shuo was unconscious, unaware of his surroundings. When she looked outside again, Jiang Ren was nowhere to be seen. She adjusted her backpack strap and walked towards the infirmary.
The doctors in the infirmary, discussing the recent violent incident, were still shaken. “That boy who hit him wasn’t mentally stable. So many people couldn’t hold him back.”
“Where did he get such strength? It’s chilling to think about it now.”
“If he’s sick, he should get treatment. To beat someone up like that, you didn’t see…”
Meng Ting lowered her eyelashes and knocked on the door, interrupting their conversation, “Excuse me, I’m here to get medicine.”
The discussion inside came to an abrupt halt.
By the time she ran out of the hospital, it had started raining outside.
The winter rain was cool, hitting her cheeks, but she had no choice but to walk along the street, braving the weather.
Due to the rain, there were few pedestrians under the evening sky, all hurrying to seek shelter or return home.
Under a large tree, she saw Jiang Ren.
He was leaning against the tree, his black leather jacket covered in water droplets. His motorcycle was parked nearby, without any protection from the rain.
Hearing footsteps, he turned to look at her.
His eyes were cold as ice, without a trace of warmth, fierce and distant, every bit a troublemaker. Nothing like his earlier flirtatious demeanor.
Meng Ting felt a slight fear; he had been truly vicious when hitting Chen Shuo. So much so that no one dared to stop this violent perpetrator as he left the hospital. She sighed, placed the alcohol and bandages on the back seat of his motorcycle, and then pulled up her hood, preparing to leave.
Jiang Ren glanced at the bandages, his fingers twitching slightly, and caught up to her in a few steps.
The young man’s hands were strong, gripping her shoulders, bringing her under the awning of a shop. He was terrifyingly fierce, pushing her back against the wall.
Inside was a convenience store; the owner was taking inventory, and the radio was playing an old Wang Fei song from ’93.
She remembered it was called “Stubborn Love.”
The female voice sang softly—
“This time I stubbornly face my willful intoxication
I don’t care if this is right or wrong”
The young man’s fingers pressed against her shoulder, their temperature scorching. He looked down at her, his eyes cold and deep.
“Even if I’m deeply trapped, I don’t care about anything
Even if it’s an obsession, I won’t regret my obsession”
Jiang Ren’s breath was also hot. Passersby hurried by on the street, occasionally glancing back at them. The store owner hummed along, unaware of the young couple outside his store, oblivious to what was happening.
“Don’t tell me I should give up, should open my eyes
You’re not me, how could you understand”
The heavy rain poured down, quickly soaking the road. He lowered his head, suddenly and fiercely kissing the corner of her lips. Meng Ting, still reeling from the pain in her shoulders, was stunned by this violent yet gentle touch.
Heat radiated from his body, causing a blush to spread from her face to the tips of her ears.
She turned her head, pushing away the young man on top of her, covering her lips in embarrassment, “What are you doing!”
“What about you? What are you trying to do?” His fingers pressed harder, “I had already left, why did you follow me out?”
Fresh blood from his palm fell onto her shoulder.
Meng Ting’s cheeks were so red they could almost bleed. Her eyes were watery as she bit her lip and said, “Let go of me first, let’s talk properly.”
He remained silent, looking at her for a long time, then suddenly let out a light, mocking laugh. Then he released her.
This was the second time he had an episode.
However, this time he couldn’t control it, and it was even more violent than before. He almost beat Chen Shuo to death. When he was hitting him, his mind went blank, only remembering Chen Shuo’s lust-filled “Play with me.”
He even forgot that she was behind him, watching.
It wasn’t until she stood in front of Chen Shuo, her eyes also filled with fear and trepidation, that he felt the boiling blood in his body instantly freeze, chilling him to the bone, painfully.
When Jiang Ren walked out of the hospital, he heard everything they said about him.
Things like “sick,” “mad dog,” “so scary.”
Rainwater fell on his face, and he wiped it off. Wanting to smoke, he reached into his pocket but found only a few pieces of mint gum. He then remembered he had been trying to quit smoking for several days.
But she still followed him out.
Gave him a bottle of disinfectant alcohol and bandages.
Jiang Ren had never told her about his illness. He had been seeing a psychologist since kindergarten, and other children didn’t dare to play with him, whispering about him behind his back.
But just now, she had seen everything.
She saw it all.
The radio crackled, and rainwater dripped from his black hair. Meng Ting was still flustered from the kiss. “You…”
She was furious. “I wish I hadn’t come.”
He coldly said, “Right, you shouldn’t have come.”
Meng Ting looked at him, wanting to push him away and leave, but the young man’s body was solid, and she couldn’t move him. He was like a wall, not letting her leave, just stubbornly looking at her.
The wound on his hand had stopped bleeding, turning white from the rain.
Meng Ting raised her eyes. “Move.”
He didn’t speak, but his knuckles were pale.
If he let go, he would truly lose her forever. He just had a mental illness, but it could be cured someday.
After a while, he spoke with difficulty, “I wouldn’t have killed him. I know my limits.”
A faint surprise appeared in Meng Ting’s clear eyes. She nodded, “I understand. Now can you let me out?”
His lips pressed into a cold curve. “You don’t believe me.”
Her ears burned. “I do.”
Jiang Ren pointed out, “You’re lying.”
She was so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
However, Jiang Ren’s fierce appearance, like a wolf pup, would make anyone think he wanted to beat Chen Shuo to death.
Her face red, she said for the first time, “Then don’t do this in the future. Someone as bad as him, if something happened, you’d have to pay. It’s not worth it.”
He stiffened for a long time, light gradually returning to his eyes.
The store owner finished tidying up inside, only to see that the rain outside had suddenly intensified. He exclaimed in surprise and hurried to collect his things from outside.
As soon as he came out, he saw them.
The young man had the young woman cornered in a small space.
The boy wore a black leather jacket and black gloves, his hair dripping with water. The girl’s cheeks were flushed red. Seeing the surprised store owner, she was both embarrassed and annoyed, and simply turned her face away.
Jiang Ren turned his head, his tone fierce, “What are you looking at?”
The store owner thought to himself, this kid…
He clicked his tongue inwardly but didn’t rush to tend to his things outside. The awning was wide anyway, it wouldn’t get wet.
Meng Ting said, “Let go quickly, don’t you have any shame?”
He couldn’t help but smile, “Not anymore.” It’s all yours.
She almost cried from frustration.
However, at this moment, Jiang Ren suddenly ran into the rain, as if injected with boundless vitality, and picked up the bandages and alcohol from the back of his motorcycle. Fortunately, they were well-packaged, and the rain hadn’t soaked them.
He tucked them into his chest, unable to help the curve of his lips.
When he hit Chen Shuo, the vase shattered, cutting a long gash across his palm.
Meng Ting was still wearing her comical hood, making her small face look cute, her eyes wet and soft.
He glanced at the blood stain on her shoulder, then at the heavy rain outside. “I’ll take you to change clothes.”
Meng Ting quickly shook her head. “No need, I’m going home.”
“You’re going home with blood on you?”
Meng Ting opened her mouth, also a bit worried. If Mr. Shu came back and saw the blood stain on her, it would be hard to explain everything. She thought for a moment, “I can take off my school uniform jacket before I get home.”
Jiang Ren didn’t insist. He couldn’t ride his motorcycle in the rain, so he took out his phone and made a call.
Soon, He Junming drove over in his car. He lowered the window, “Ren-ge, Meng Ting classmate, get in.”
Meng Ting shook her head.
In both her lives, she wasn’t very familiar with Jiang Ren and his friends. Like other classmates, she held a respectful but distant attitude towards people like them.
Jiang Ren glanced at He Junming.
This time, He Junming understood immediately. “Meng Ting classmate, I’m not a bad person. The rain is so heavy, it’s hard to get a ride, and it’s almost dark. Please, just bear with it this once, okay?”
Meng Ting nodded awkwardly.
They drove her near her home. Before Meng Ting got out of the car, Jiang Ren said, “Don’t say anything when you get back. I’m the one who hit him. I’ll handle things at the hospital.”
She lowered her head, suddenly feeling uneasy.
Jiang Ren’s eyes held a hint of amusement. “Do you know how to lie? Want me to teach you?”
Meng Ting worried, “Don’t joke around.”
Looking at her wet eyes, his heart softened. “Don’t be afraid, I’m here. Just don’t say anything when you get home.”
Meng Ting hesitated before nodding. If Shu Zhitong knew who Jiang Ren was and why he hit someone, he would probably be even more anxious.
His Adam’s apple moved slightly as he looked at the corner of her lips. “Just now…”
She raised her eyes, with a kind of pure cleanliness, uniquely alluring.
Damn it!
Jiang Ren steeled himself, his eyes twinkling with mischief as he whispered in her ear, “Was that your first kiss?”
Meng Ting’s mind went blank, so embarrassed she wanted to kill him.
She opened the car door without looking at him and disappeared into the rain.
He Junming turned back, “Ren-ge, what did you say just now? Why did Meng’s classmate suddenly get angry?”
Jiang Ren gave him a light glance, “Just drive, why so many questions?”
He touched his lips. He had been in a frenzy at the time, but now, savoring the memory — damn, it was sweet and intense.