Unbridled 17

Did Old Liu make a cameo in the video?

Ding Ji almost believed it for a moment, but the look in Old Liu's eyes when he lunged at him made him immediately understand that it was real.

Old Liu didn't have such good acting skills.

Although he never got involved in the conflicts within the small square and the surrounding area, Ding Ji, who had grown up here, quickly realized that he couldn't stand here with the identity of Old Liu's acquaintance.

Otherwise, he and Lin Wuyu would definitely be in trouble tonight, and trouble would be an understatement.

Lin Wuyu still needed to study, as it was the final sprint for the college entrance examination.

Moreover, Ding Ji and Old Liu weren't really acquainted.

He quickly took two steps back, avoiding Old Liu's hand reaching for his clothes.

But Old Liu's reaction and his cry for help had already exposed him.

Four men rushed out of the corridor and immediately turned their heads, locking their gaze in their direction.

Some of the men were muscular, and Ding Ji recognized the one with a thick neck who wore yellow glasses day and night.

Ding Ji had never had any contact with him, but the only thing he had heard was that he had stolen money from three junior high school kids.

If there wasn't a time constraint now, he really wanted to introduce Lin Wuyu to him and show him that this was the true con artist and vagrant, while he himself was a high school senior.

"You dared to call someone for help?" The bald man glared at them with an expression of disbelief.

"No, I…," Old Liu waved his hand at the bald man.

"Where the hell are you from?" Another person behind the bald man shouted.

Only now did Ding Ji snap back to reality and turned his head to look behind them. The group of muscular guys with greased hair were still frozen in place.

Perhaps they were too immersed in the role, their muscles still flexed.

For the bald man and his gang, this was simply a provocation stealing their limelight.

"Who the hell cares who they are!" the bald man shouted.

Before his words even finished, Ding Ji grabbed Lin Wuyu's hand and pulled him back forcefully, yelling, "Run!"

Lin Wuyu didn't hesitate and turned around to run.

"Get them all!" the bald man shouted for the second time.

They had run about seven to eight meters when the group of muscular guys finally started running. Soon after, sounds of fighting and chaos erupted behind them.

Cursing, shouting, screams, and expletives.

While running alongside Ding Ji, Lin Wuyu stole a glance behind him, somewhat shocked to find that someone was actually following them. There were two of them, one of whom was even riding a rental bicycle!

When did they even scan the QR code¹? 

"Don't look! Focus on running!" Ding Ji lowered his voice. "Left turn up ahead!"

Lin Wuyu made a left turn at the intersection ahead, entering a narrow alley, and under Ding Ji's guidance, prepared to turn right and exit onto the main road.

But just as they turned into the narrow alley, the people behind them caught up.

Lin Wuyu heard the sound of a bicycle behind him.

He quickly glanced at Ding Ji, wanting to exchange a look to see what they should do in this situation, but Ding Ji didn't look at him. The moment he turned his head, he opened his arms up and pounced on him.

"You…" Lin Wuyu was tackled and almost fell down.

The bicycle had caught up from behind, and the person on the bike swung a stick at Ding Ji.

Lin Wuyu immediately realized why Ding Ji did this.

He felt like all of his life's reaction speed was concentrated in this moment as he struggled to turn half a circle to the side while holding onto Ding Ji.

The stick that was supposed to hit Ding Ji's head grazed his left ear and landed on his shoulder. 

The stick's head had something on it, and it scratched Lin Wuyu's face.

It didn't hurt.

But he knew there was definitely a cut.

There was no support behind Lin Wuyu, and the force of the stick and Ding Ji's weight pushed him back two or three steps until he hit the wall.

The person on the bicycle jumped off.

Lin Wuyu felt along the wall, trying to find something to defend himself with.

Ding Ji regained his balance, glanced at Lin Wuyu's face, and then turned and charged at the person.

Lin Wuyu reached out to grab him, but it was in vain.

Ding Ji was incredibly fast. Before the person even raised the stick, Ding Ji had already rushed in front of him and collided with him directly.

The force was quite strong.

While the person took a step back and was still off balance, Ding Ji grabbed the person's shirt at the chest and pointed at his nose, saying, "You better recognize who I am!"

The person frowned and hesitated.

"You have thirty seconds," Ding Ji's voice was hoarse, "to make a phone call to Brother Sheng and ask him if he can make Lao Liu call people without my permission!"

Lin Wuyu looked at Ding Ji's profile.

The imposing and fierce aura.

If it wasn't for him personally seeing the names that Chen Mang sent, if it wasn't for him personally seeing that the first name was Ding Ji, he would definitely believe that Ding Ji was a notorious hooligan in this area.

"Who the fuck are you?" The person still frowned, not putting down the stick but also not making a move.

"Zhao Shanhe," Ding Ji said, releasing his grip on the person's collar, and pushed his chest hard with a slap. "Make the call!"

The person scrunched his eyebrows, hesitating as he stared at Ding Ji.

"You don’t have Brother Sheng’s number?" Ding Ji spoke in a cold voice, taking out his own phone, "Do you want me to help you dial?"

"No need," the person hesitated and took out his phone. "I have it."

Ding Ji ignored him and turned around to face Lin Wuyu.

"How…?" Lin Wuyu was interrupted as soon as he spoke.

"Come with me," Ding Ji said in a low voice. "Walk slowly."

Before Lin Wuyu could respond, Ding Ji turned his head and glared at the person.

The person was originally looking in this direction but quickly picked up their phone and glanced towards the corner. They shouted to another person who was coming with them, "What the fuck is going on?"

"What's wrong?" The other person hurriedly walked towards them.

"Let's go." Ding Ji dialed a number on his phone and walked forward.

Lin Wuyu followed him, and the two of them walked to the right turn at the intersection, one in front and one behind.

"Hello?" Ding Ji began speaking into the phone, "I’m fucking Zhao Shanhe! Do you know where this bald guy came from? What the hell is he up to today? Is he fucking sick? He just punches people for no reason! Did he come out without taking his medication?!"

When Ding Ji mentioned the name Zhao Shanhe, Lin Wuyu already knew that this kid was deceiving someone. He didn't know if the other party could be fooled, so he kept paying attention to the movements of the two people over there.

They were only about three or four meters away from the right turn. It didn't look like many steps, but in this situation, it felt quite lengthy to walk.

Fortunately, Ding "Zhao Shanhe" Ji walked calmly and naturally, with a touch of arrogance.

At this moment, Lin Wuyu was wavering between playing the role of Ding "Zhao Shanhe" Ji's lackey or his brother.

Before he could make up his mind, Ding Ji had already turned into the intersection leading to the main street. "Hurry!"

Lin Wuyu quickly followed suit and turned the corner.

"Run, run, run, run!" Ding Ji lowered his voice and shouted repeatedly as they ran forward.

Lin Wuyu also sprinted along with him.

When they were just two steps away from reaching the main street, the bald guy and his brother realized they had been tricked and chased after them.

The two of them had to take advantage of the distance that opened up and keep running.

They ran out of the intersection, crossed the street, passed through a supermarket, ran into a restaurant, and then came out through the back door… Finally, they didn't know what route they took, but they ended up running into the hospital through a side entrance.

"Damn, I'm almost out of breath." Ding Ji sat down on a nearby chair, supporting his knees and panting heavily.

Lin Wuyu was also catching his breath. After sitting down next to Ding Ji, he began to feel a slight stinging sensation on his face.

"Just wait for me," Ding Ji panted a few more times and stood up. "I'm going to the nurse's."

"Why?" Lin Wuyu asked.

Ding Ji frowned and pointed at his face.

After confirming that no one was chasing them, Lin Wuyu walked to the door and looked at his own face in the glass.

It was plain as day that there was a slanted cut with a little blood seeping out.

"You sit down," Ding Ji unexpectedly brought a nurse over. "This young lady will help disinfect your wound."

"What cut it?" The nurse examined Lin Wuyu's face and took out a cotton swab and a small bottle from her pocket to start disinfecting his wound. "The wound is okay, not too deep…"

"Will it leave a scar?" Ding Ji nervously asked on the side.

"That's hard to say," the nurse said. "If the wound were deeper, it would definitely leave a scar. In its current state, some people might still have some marks."

After helping with the disinfection, the nurse advised to get an appointment to have a doctor take a look.

"Thank you," Lin Wuyu smiled and nodded.

After the nurse left, Ding Ji sat next to him with his head down and didn't speak for a long time.

"Who is Zhao Shanhe?" Lin Wuyu asked.

"Have you seen Young and Dangerous²?" Ding Ji said, "Shanji Bro is called Zhao Shanhe."

"I haven't seen it," Lin Wuyu looked at him. "You still watch such old movies?"

"My uncle likes watching them. He can recite the lines fluently. He also has comic books, and I followed along and read them too." Ding Ji smiled and turned his head, but his smile instantly disappeared when he saw Lin Wuyu's face.

"It's okay," Lin Wuyu said. "I don't have a tendency to scar."

"Who knows," Ding Ji frowned, "What if… I shouldn't have mentioned the hospital and called a car for you! I shouldn't have taken the small street! I… I should've consulted a fortune teller."

Lin Wuyu laughed, "What kind of occupational disease is this?"

"Does it hurt?" Ding Ji looked at his face.

"It doesn't hurt now," Lin Wuyu said. "And it's not a big cut."

"Forget it, my dad slapped me and didn't break the skin. It hurt all night," Ding Ji raised his hand and pinched his shoulder, probably hitting the spot where he was injured. He frowned and gritted his teeth, "Did you pull me out of the way just now?"

"No," Lin Wuyu said.

"Don't pretend to be an anonymous hero at a time like this," Ding Ji clicked his tongue.

"That wasn't a pull," Lin Wuyu replied calmly. "You're so heavy, if I pulled, would it have been enough to pull you away? I really had to exert force to move you."

Ding Ji lowered his head and chuckled a few times.

"Don't be so eager to jump into my arms next time," Lin Wuyu looked at him. "What if something really fell on your head?"

"I didn't think about that," Ding Ji said. "I just felt that you had nothing to do with this. I couldn't let you get hit for no reason. You're about to take the college entrance exam, and your appearance should at least be that of a top scholar. Just thinking about it scares me. The top scholar almost got ruined because of me."

"Nonsense," Lin Wuyu looked at his shoulder. "Didn’t you ask the nurse to take a look at this here?"

"I didn’t feel anything," Ding Ji said and paused. "Am I heavy? It can't be. I've lost quite a bit of weight recently."

"You bumped into me," Lin Wuyu quickly used his fingers to hook his collar and pulled it open. 

He glanced at his shoulder, "You must be heavy…"

"What are you doing!" Ding Ji glared at him.

Lin Wuyu let go of his collar, "There's a large bruise, don't you feel it?"

"A large bruise? How big is it?" Ding Ji quickly jumped up and bounced to the glass door, pulling open his collar and looking, "Damn, this would scare my grandma."

He turned around again, "Can you see it without pulling open my collar?"

"No," Lin Wuyu said.

"That's good then," Ding Ji breathed a sigh of relief.

"You should go back to the ward with your grandma," Lin Wuyu said. "If your mom is there, it will only lead to another argument if you come back late, right?"

"I'll call a car for you first," Ding Ji took out his phone.

"I'll call it myself," Lin Wuyu pressed his hand down. "You go."

"But like this…" Ding Ji hesitated.

"Don't want to leave me?" Lin Wuyu asked.

"Fine, you can call one yourself." Ding Ji immediately turned around and walked towards the corridor of the ward, while instructing, "If there's anything, give me a call. Call the car at the entrance, don't go far. What if you run into the bald guys again…"

"Got it, you're like an old person," Lin Wuyu sighed. "So long-winded."

Ding Ji's judgment about his mom was accurate. When he returned to his grandma's ward, his mom was standing in the corridor with a dark face, talking on the phone.

Seeing him coming out of the elevator, his mom hung up the phone and stared at him, "Took so long to eat?"

"We were discussing some questions," Ding Ji said and walked towards the ward.

"Discussing questions?" his mom said from behind, "while drinking? You just can't help but spout nonsense, huh?"

"I've said it before, before the college entrance exam, I won't talk to you or argue with you," Ding Ji said. "I don't want to affect my mood for reviewing. I'm back now, and I'll start reviewing immediately. Whether I ate, drank, or discussed questions earlier, arguing about it now serves no purpose other than wasting my time."

After finishing his words, Ding Ji entered the ward. His grandma had her eyes closed, but he didn’t know if she was asleep.

He gently walked to the bedside, bent down, and his grandma smiled and said softly with her eyes closed, "Where's my precious grandson? You really ate, and you really drank. Who knows, maybe you even got into a fight."

"Did you smell it?" Ding Ji asked.

"I sensed it," his grandma replied.

Ding Ji clicked his tongue and pulled his clothes and sniffed, "No smell of sweat?"

"People who have been drinking have blocked noses," Grandma opened her eyes. "The nurse just left. Hurry up, go take a shower, you smelly brat."

Ding Ji took his clothes and slipped into the bathroom of the ward to take a shower, and his mom walked in with a serious face. He closed the bathroom door.

He quickly finished showering and came out, and his mom had already left.

Ding Ji breathed a sigh of relief, "I'm going to study, Grandma."

"Mmm," Grandma responded softly.

Ding Ji took out an English exercise book and quietly went to the corridor.

Studying in the hospital was actually fine, as long as he didn't stay on the corridors of these few floors of the ward. Otherwise, it would be too noisy, with bells ringing to call the nurses every now and then, someone coughing, and people unable to sleep chatting and cursing when they were woken up.

He would stroll to the rooftop and then stroll down to the lobby from there.

Today, however, he reversed it and went down to the lobby first.

Every day he went up first and then down. He didn't know why today he went down first and then up.

But when he saw Lin Wuyu still sitting in the chair in the lobby, he understood.

He just wanted to see if Lin Wuyu had left, but he was provoked by Lin Wuyu's remark, "Don't want to leave me?" and he needed an excuse to come down.

Although he came down to see if Lin Wuyu had left or not, Lin Wuyu really hadn't left, which surprised him.

In addition to the surprise, there was also a bit of happiness mixed with a subtle sense of intimacy.

This kind of intimacy was easy to develop, experiencing a beating and escaping once together was enough, but it was also particularly difficult to develop. After all, under normal circumstances, one might not be beaten in their whole life.

Lin Wuyu wasn't surprised to see him, just smiled with the corner of his mouth, "I told you."

"You said nothing," Ding Ji walked over. "Why haven't you left? No money?"

"I was afraid your mom wouldn’t believe you. I was waiting here to testify for you," Lin Wuyu said. "Or maybe you’ll have another argument, and when you leave in anger, I can stop you."

"We didn’t have an argument," Ding Ji said. "Just exchanged a few words, and she left."

"Took a shower?" Lin Wuyu looked at the clothes on him.

"Yeah, my grandma just said I stink," Ding Ji clicked his tongue. "Told me to take a shower… I didn't even feel like I stink…"

As he spoke, he leaned towards Lin Wuyu.

Lin Wuyu quickly stood up and stepped back, tugging at his own clothes, "Let me smell it first."

Ding Ji laughed, "Do I stink?"

"I didn't smell anything," Lin Wuyu said.

"Let me smell," Ding Ji leaned over again, and this time Lin Wuyu didn't dodge. He sniffed his shoulder, "No odor… Did you spray perfume? Your clothes smell good."

"It's flower-scented water from our dorm," Lin Wuyu said. "Everyone's bodies have this smell."

"Oh," Ding Ji responded.

After the response, there was a brief silence.

For a chatterbox like Ding Ji, especially when drunk, it was unbelievable that he couldn't find a topic within five seconds.

"Well, then…" Lin Wuyu pointed to the entrance. "I'll go back. You focus on your studying."

"Do you still study when you go back to school?" Ding Ji immediately asked.

"Not necessarily," Lin Wuyu said. "I might just sleep if I'm tired. I don't want to stay up late during this period before the exam."

"Then how about… I treat you to ice cream? I am a bit thirsty after eating barbecue," Ding Ji suggested.

Lin Wuyu looked at him and smiled, "You could have just said you didn't want to be alone right now and asked me to accompany you for a chat."