Chapter 7 Do you really have to make me sad?

When Wen He was in high school, he went through a rebellious phase. Once, after arguing with his second uncle, he ran away from home and no one could find him.

Wen Ling went to their class and asked everyone. Everyone gave the same answer: they didn't know where he went. It was his girlfriend at the time who couldn't stand it and secretly told her where he was.

Wen He was in an unlicensed internet cafe.

It was in a very narrow, chaotic alley. Wen Ling had never been to such a place before. Her school uniform, which was always spotless, was covered in mud. The hair clip that was used to decorate her hair had been snagged by a clothes hanger in the alley, and her hair was a mess.

After finally finding the entrance to the illegal internet cafe.

Looking at the dilapidated signboard, the dark storefront, and the lingering stench that had been lingering since entering the alley, Wen Ling frowned. She simply couldn't imagine how the pampered Wen He could stand it.

She mustered her courage and pushed open the transparent, earthen-yellow curtain that was blocking the way. As soon as she entered, she bumped into a drunkard. The drunkard grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms, his foul-smelling mouth trying to get close. Wen Ling was terrified and her eyes widened. But at that moment, countless images flashed through her mind, and she felt that the scene in front of her was somewhat familiar.

He was already too nervous to speak.

Those past images were even more stimulating to her; her rapid breathing and pale face made Wen Ling experience the feeling of being on the verge of death.

The drunkard, unable to stand steadily, accidentally knocked over a small beverage machine by the door, the deafening noise finally waking the group of people who were living a life of drunken revelry in the internet cafe.

At that moment, Wen He lazily lifted his eyelids and looked over. It was this one glance that made him tremble with fear.

He even thought he was hallucinating from playing games all night, otherwise how could he have seen Wen Ling, the little princess whom the Wen family cherished, come to such a dirty place?

Wen He was absolutely certain that even if they turned every internet cafe near the school upside down, they would never expect him to come to a place like this.

But Wen Ling was not only found, she came alone, and was being bullied by a drunkard. She was panting heavily with her mouth open, tears streaming down her face, and her eyes were glazed over.

He slammed down his headphones, jumped off the table, his eyes blazing with fury, and was filled with regret for his impulsiveness: "Sis!"

…

After that incident, Wenhe's rebellious phase was over.

He became a complete sister-obsessed person and no longer felt ashamed to have a sister who stuttered. He would introduce her to his best friends as the best sister in the world, even though Wen Ling was only three months older than him.

In many ways, Wen He took care of her and respected her desire not to reveal her stuttering in front of others, and tried his best to help her hide it.

Over the years, Wen He has taken care of her in so many ways and helped her solve a lot of troubles. However, because of this, Wen Ling often feels that she is not good enough as an older sister and always hides behind him.

So when she noticed Jia Xinquan's mother approaching with an unfriendly look, she pulled Wen He behind her, took a step forward, and was immediately slapped by the other woman's mother.

A diamond-encrusted manicure brushed across her cheek, leaving a deep red mark. The burning sensation and the faint, warm liquid clinging to her face made Wen Ling feel no pain, only sadness, a sadness that seemed to be something she had caused.

As tears welled up, Jia Xinquan's mother slammed her bag heavily into her chest, yelling, "You still have the nerve to cry? My son is lying in the ICU and can't get up!"

Wen He felt as if he had returned to that suffocating day.

Because of the trouble he caused, Wen Ling had to bear the consequences. He clenched his fists, wanting to rush over and beat the two people who were bullying Wen Ling to death.

But that will only make things worse.

He's grown up now; he shouldn't act like this.

So he took a step forward, trying to rationally demand an apology. Whether it was because his expression was too fierce or something else, he only took one step and didn't make any other movement. Before he could, Mr. Jia started yelling at the counselor, pointing at him: "Teacher, look at him, look at him! How fierce he is! He's not a well-behaved person at all! What else is there to say? He beat my son! Call the police! We need to call the police immediately!"

Wang Siyang felt helpless. The worst thing about teaching was dealing with parents who were being unreasonable and argumentative. She said, "It's like this, parents, let's all calm down first. We can't just listen to Jia Xinquan's one-sided account of what happened—"

"Teacher Wang, what do you mean by that?!" Grandma Jia shrieked. "Are you saying my son is lying to us? That's impossible! You have no idea how well-behaved he is at home. He cooks and cleans, and he's always been excellent in every aspect of his life. He never causes us any trouble. He would never lie to us. Teacher Wang, are you trying to protect this rascal?"

"Did their family give you a gift, but our family didn't? Are you just taking their side like this?"

Wang Siyang now deeply regrets saying that. She should have said to present the evidence directly and let the facts speak for themselves.

A throbbing pain shot through her forehead, and she considered calling the police.

“Alright, parents, we completely understand how you feel right now!” Xu Ming stepped forward, blocking their way. “However, this isn’t going to work. I’ve already called the police. Before they arrive, why don’t we find out what happened? If it really was Wen He who did it, then we should handle it accordingly.”

Jia Xinquan's parents then calmed down.

Wang Siyang rubbed her temples in pain. Turning her head, she noticed the door was half-open. She went over and closed it. She vaguely heard people discussing lawyers or something, but couldn't hear clearly. A gust of wind blew in, making her headache seem even worse.

Wen He finally had a chance to ask, "Teacher Xu, what exactly happened?"

Xu Ming's expression was quite complicated: "After you and Jia Xinquan left the office that day, did you see each other again?"

"No," Wen He practically swore. "Teacher, what happened?"

Xu Ming sighed softly: "He's in the ICU. The accident happened on his way home on Friday. His vital signs have only stabilized in the last two days, so his parents want to come to the school to find out what happened."

Wen He thought about their series of reactions just now and felt it was absurd: "Teacher Xu, you saw it yourself, his injuries that day were not as serious as mine."

Xu Ming continued to have a headache: "Yes, I explained it to the parents as well."

But it had no effect at all; Jia Xinquan's parents insisted that it was Wen He who beat him.

Jia Xinquan only had time to say Wen He's name and that they had a conflict before he collapsed from exhaustion. No one knows exactly where he was injured.

In other words, they insisted on accusing Wen He without any evidence.

After several rounds of arguing without reaching a conclusion, they didn't say what they were trying to achieve by making such a fuss.

Wen He lost patience, especially when she saw them deliberately lecturing Wen Ling about not disciplining her younger brother. She yelled at them, "Just tell me what you want, are you sending me in or asking for money? Say it! Stop dragging my sister into this, it's so annoying!"

"Wen He!" Wen Ling looked at him, utterly furious.

"Don't talk nonsense, Wen He." Xu Ming was even more exhausted. "Don't make promises you can't keep without evidence. This isn't the time for you to show off."

With bloodshot eyes, Wen He approached the two men and held out his hands to them: "Take me in, and we'll argue in the police station, okay? Don't interfere with the teacher's work here."

Jia Xinquan's parents were terrified, fearing he might attack them. They moved next to Xu Ming before daring to point at him and say, "Teacher, look at him. With his fierce appearance, how could he possibly be someone who wouldn't fight back?"

Xu Ming was even more troubled.

Wen Ling was unusually angry. She pulled Wen He around, pointed in a direction, and the meaning was clear: go stay there.

Wen He turned his face away, unwilling to listen.

Wen Ling typed on her phone: Do you really have to make me sad?

Wen He still refused to look, knowing that he would soften if he did. Wen Ling called out to him, "Wen He, no... don't come over."

"sister…"

Wen He still went over there.

As soon as he arrived, Jia Xinquan's parents visibly relaxed a bit, and their backs straightened up a little.

Wen Ling took a deep breath, encouraging herself that she could do it, that she could say that sentence completely.

She took a few steps forward, staring intently at Jia Xinquan's parents, and said firmly, "...Where's the evidence?"

Grandmother Jia said shrilly, "What evidence? Your brother himself admitted it. Go ask him for the evidence!"

Wen He, standing behind her, seemed to know what Wen Ling was about to do. He suddenly stood up, his brows furrowed, and said, "Sister, you don't need to do this."

Wen Ling told him to shut up.

Wen Ling's heart felt like it was about to leap out of her body. She took another deep breath, and under the intense gazes of several people, she clenched her fists and opened her mouth: "Fanfanfanfanfan, everything must have evidence..."

Wen Ling felt as if she were in a vacuum.

No one touched her, yet she inexplicably experienced the pain of being squeezed by air. The teacher's eyes were full of surprise, as if she hadn't expected that this was the reason why she didn't like to talk.

Jia Xinquan's parents looked at her with disdain and the kind of mockery she was most often seen with.

It was as if it had been slapped several times in the face silently.

Wen Ling tried her best to finish what she was saying.

Jia Xinquan's parents interrupted her directly: "Alright, alright, you can't even speak clearly. You call yourself a college student? With this problem, how did you get into college? Did you get in through connections? It's true that a corrupt family will spoil the whole bunch. Don't glare at me anymore. When the police come, you can ask them for evidence."

"To be honest, our family doesn't lack the money for medical treatment. We just can't tolerate the people who bullied my son living so freely. They must pay the price they deserve. Of course, compensation is also essential, and you should pay the medical expenses."

After saying that, he laughed a few more times: "They can't even speak clearly, and they need evidence. Kids these days are really funny. They watch a few TV shows and think they're so great."

Xu Ming and Wang Siyang were on the sidelines, trying to restrain the impulsive Wen He and mediate the fight. The two of them were too busy to handle it all. Looking at the little girl whose eyes were red from holding back her anger, they couldn't help but sigh. Wang Siyang went over and whispered to comfort her, "Okay, don't argue with them. Teacher believes that Wen He didn't do those things. Just sit there and wait for the police to come, okay?"

Wen Ling nodded obediently.

Wang Siyang pulled a few tissues from the table and wiped her tears: "Don't cry, it's nothing serious, don't be afraid."

Wen Ling's tears flowed even more fiercely. She bit her lip tightly and kept nodding.

Wen He's throat tightened: "Sister... I'm sorry."

He never expected that getting involved with Jia Xinquan, this leech, would bring so much trouble. If he had known, he should have just thrown away the umbrella and left that day.

Wen Ling shook her head, calming down a bit, and squeezed his hand: "I...I'm fine."

Wen He looked at the blood beads that had already congealed on her cheek, wanting to touch them but not daring to: "Does it still hurt?"

Wen Ling said, "It doesn't hurt."

She hung her head, her face full of dejection, her shoulders trembling slightly from time to time. She spoke very slowly, "I just... feel that I'm useless, that I can't help with anything."

Wen He's heart was being pounded hard, and it hurt a little: "Don't say that, sister, you're much braver than me."

Whether out of genuine fear or a desire to tease Wen Ling, Wen He feigned ease and said, "Don't let my cocky tone fool you, I'm actually a little afraid of going to the police station."

The incident with the drunkard during high school was Wen He's first time in a police station. He was beaten half to death by Wen Jianjun, who rushed over and left him with a psychological trauma.

Wen Ling thought he was genuinely afraid of being wrongly arrested, so she rubbed his hand to comfort him: "It's okay, don't be afraid... Without evidence, they won't... arrest people randomly. I'm with you, don't worry."

Wen He hummed in agreement and forced a smile: "With you here, I'm not afraid."

Wen Ling nodded.

The office was unusually quiet.

Time ticked by, and before they knew it, a few voices were heard coming from the doorway, followed by a knock on the back door.

The police must have arrived.

Xu Ming and Wang Siyang exchanged a knowing glance; they could finally get rid of this couple.

I couldn't wait to open the door.

A note from the author:

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