Chapter 20

After dealing with Cheng Yu's matter, Lin Hu took Lin Li out of the school.

On my way home.

Lin Hu scrolled through Lin Li's green bubble friends list on his phone: "Little brother, are you still in pain? I'll take you to get checked out."

Lin Li shook her head a little embarrassed.

I glanced at Lin Hu's phone screen out of the corner of my eye.

"Brother, you—" Before she could finish speaking, Lin Hu interrupted her by patting her on the shoulder.

"Don't call me 'brother,' it sounds really awkward."

As Lin Hu spoke, he gestured to show the height of Lin Li and himself.

"You're almost as old as your brother now, a grown man, and your voice has already changed. Why do you keep calling me 'brother'? You're not a little girl anymore. Just call me 'brother'."

"Oh, okay." Lin Li immediately changed his tune, though he actually felt a little awkward. "Brother."

Lin Hu responded.

"Brother, you can just transfer 10,000 of the 33,000 to me."

Lin Hu naturally disagreed, saying, "How can that be? This is your suffering money. Take it yourself. I have money."

Lin Hu, his cousin, is 19 years old this year. He started hanging out in the underworld when he was in elementary school. After graduating from junior high school, he spent his days loitering around with people in the underworld and didn't have any formal job. After Lin Li graduated from junior high school, Lin Hu went to jail for fighting and using a knife.

He was sentenced to three years, but because of good behavior, he was released after two and a half years.

At the time, Lin Li was a high school sophomore and went home to attend a dinner party at her cousin's house.

Hearing that Lin Li was still in school, he instructed her, "Little sister, if anyone bullies you at school, just say my name. Even though I've only been out of prison, it still works in Yancheng, not just Yucheng."

Firstly, Lin Li's high school was in Yucheng, which was not within Lin Hu's sphere of influence. Secondly, no one at school bullied him, so Lin Li just listened and didn't take it to heart.

As he was thinking, he suddenly realized that Lin Hu didn't seem to have come to his funeral...

When I went home for the monthly break of my senior year of high school, I think I heard my grandma say that Lin Hu was arrested again less than a year after he was released because of the anti-gang campaign, and was sentenced to 7 years.

Lin Hu is not a bad person at heart. On the contrary, he takes good care of his younger siblings. His uncle passed away early, and only his aunt raised Lin Hu.

Children from single-parent families, especially those that are not well-off, are most likely to go astray.

Three years plus seven years, Lin Hu is only nineteen years old now. If it's the same as in his previous life, he will be nearly thirty years old when he comes out.

Ten years can be from thirty to forty, or from fifty to sixty, but it can never be from twenty to thirty years old.

These are the most precious ten years of a person's life.

Lin Li didn't know what Lin Hu's fate would be later, but now that she knew what Lin Hu's destiny would be in the next few years...

Lin Li looked at Lin Hu with a determined gaze: "Brother, why don't you go into self-media?"

Let Lin Hu have something serious to do first. Lin Li died at the age of eighteen, and in another month he will be nineteen. He has no experience in social work and has no good suggestions for work.

However, he knew that the years from 2019 to 2022 were the era of the Internet, and he was thinking about the future explosive popularity of driving test subject three and social dance.

"Here's 33,000, you take 30,000, consider it my investment."

Lin Li immediately changed her tune.

Lin Hu was a little confused, and after a moment of thought, he said:

"Are you trying to make me a social media influencer?"

"Yes, that's right, an internet celebrity." Lin Li nodded in affirmation.

“But…” Lin Hu hesitated a little.

Lin Li interrupted him.

"Brother, you're nineteen now. You must understand some of these principles. If you keep drifting along like this, the only outcome you'll end up is working for the government."

"I still need to study. What if, in two years, or even a few months, you get arrested, and I get bullied again?"

Lin Li reasoned with Lin Hu and appealed to his emotions, and finally persuaded him.

Lin Hu never expected that his younger brother, who was three years younger than him, would worry about him, and couldn't help but rub Lin Li's head.

"Then I'll listen to you, brother. After all, my little brother is so cute. If I go in, I won't be able to protect you."

Before she knew it, Lin Li had arrived at her building.

"I'll take you downstairs then. I'll go back and learn how to do self-media first."

Watching Lin Hu wave goodbye and walk away.

Lin Li muttered to herself, hoping to change everything.

The next second, a faint stinging pain came from my genitals.

Lin Li pursed her lips, forced herself to return to her room, and turned on the light.

Finally able to relax, Lin Li locked the door from the inside, even though her mother hadn't been home recently and no one was home.

Fortunately, I applied an ice pack beforehand, so now it's just a little red and swollen.

Lin Li applied the only erythromycin ointment she had at home to the wound.

He then moved with difficulty to the bedside, sat down, and took out his phone from under his pillow.

T's QQ message was displayed at the top, but Lin Li didn't open it. Instead, she clicked on the newly popped-up green message below.

Biaohan transferred 3,000 to you

Confirm receipt!

Seeing her account balance reach 3,700, Lin Li happily jumped off the bed.

"hiss--"

Lin Li covered her wound, her brows furrowed.

My phone screen suddenly redirected to a page with science videos.

"Just how painful can testicular pain be? Research has found that it's equivalent to giving birth to 158 children at the same time, or breaking 3,200 bones simultaneously."

Oh! It's that serious?

Lin Li panicked a little. She glanced at her phone screen and saw an online medical consultation option below the video.

Lin Li quickly filled in her information and sent it over.

Two minutes later, they replied.

Send me a photo to show me the details.

Lin Li: "..."

Should I go see a doctor tomorrow?

Lin Li thought for a moment, then turned over and lay down on the bed.

I was just about to search online to see if I should go to the surgery department or some other department for testicular pain when a message popped up on my QQ account.

T: 18:40

Are you there?

T: 19:04

Are you home?

These two messages were posted an hour ago. It seems Tong Yao clearly cares about me, even though she said we're just ordinary classmates.

A woman who says one thing but means another!

Lin Li was in a particularly good mood. Even if Cheng Yu were standing in front of him right now, he could still laugh out loud.

Lin Li smiled and quickly typed a reply.

Spicy Spicy Spicy: 20:06

Just arrived. It's nothing serious, nothing serious.

He replied almost instantly.

She must have been waiting for my news! Lin Li guessed with a chuckle.

T: Cheng Yu's behavior was really excessive. I will keep my distance from her from now on. Even as a friend, I will not protect her. Next week, when school starts, I will explain the situation to the homeroom teacher.

LaLaLa: Thank you for helping me today. After you left, Teacher Liu came and the matter has been resolved. Teacher Jiang was also more impartial. Cheng Yu has been suspended from school and will probably not be returning for a while.

T: Okay.

Lin Li suddenly felt like being a rascal and typed with a mischievous smile.

LaLaLa: Actually, I didn't really suffer any loss. Now that the high school entrance exam is coming up, I feel that Cheng Yu's suspension is too harsh a punishment...

T: Her previous conflicts with you could be considered minor squabbles between classmates, but this time it escalated to violence. Suspension is a consequence she should bear; you don't need to... um...

Lin Li glanced at Tong Yao's message and pursed his lips, realizing his attempt to be understanding had been discovered... The next second, a new message from the other end stunned him.

T: It's okay, it's my duty as class monitor. Also, if a man suffers an impact to the lower abdomen, remember to apply Yunnan Baiyao to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis after applying ice.

Lin Li stared at the words and felt the blood rush to her head.

He exited the chat interface, his fingertips unconsciously swiping across the phone screen, and as if possessed, he typed two words into the browser: "Pain in the balls".

Below the search bar, the automatically suggested terms popped up prominently—

How can a man relieve pain after being kicked in the groin?

Apply ice continuously for 24 hours, followed by Yunnan Baiyao to promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis.

Lin Li's fingertips paused.

She...she actually searched for this?

Tong Yao, whom I remembered as aloof and only concerned with studying, actually went to search for...that kind of question?

His fingers were slightly hot, and with a mix of embarrassment and shyness, he deliberately replied:

Spicy Spicy Spicy: You searched?

A long silence fell over the other end.

The "The other party is typing..." message at the top of the chat box appears and disappears repeatedly, as if the person on the other side of the screen is going through some intense inner struggle.

Two or three minutes passed before a calm and composed, yet ultimately cryptic, reply finally appeared:

T: This is just some common sense about sprains and bruises.

I'm handing in my phone now, goodbye.

The next second, her profile picture quickly went gray, indicating she was offline.

Although the second half of the sentence had a somewhat hasty and fleeing feel to it, Lin Li believed it and couldn't help but sigh at how strict Tong Yao's mother was. Even though it was almost the weekend, she still didn't allow her to play on her phone.

Unexpectedly, he turned misfortune into a blessing. If he had known this would happen, he should have made Tong Yao break off her friendship with Cheng Yu. He should have fought with Cheng Yu on his first day after transmigrating, and then used a self-inflicted injury ruse...

However, that might easily expose the truth. If things don't go well and the two of them start another cold war, then he'd be in big trouble. He wasn't sure he could be reborn again.

_

The next day.

Yancheng First People's Hospital.

Urology.

Lin Li emerged from behind the curtain, her face flushed.

A middle-aged woman in a white coat walked ahead, expressionless, and skillfully took off her gloves and threw them into the trash can.

Then he sat down at his desk and started writing a form.

"It's just a slight redness and swelling, nothing to worry about. I've prescribed some ointment for you. Just apply it to the affected area for 20 minutes at home and it will be fine."

Lin Li took the prescription to pick up the medicine.

Lin Li finally breathed a sigh of relief after leaving the hospital.

I found this last night, something about a twist that could be life-threatening, it scared me to death.

It seems being a guy isn't easy!

It's much more painful than my period...

_

on Monday

Bus No. 42 slowly pulled into the station.

After getting on the bus, Lin Li walked towards her familiar spot.

The pupils dilated in the next second.

Didn't Tong Yao take the bus today?

Lin Li slumped dejectedly into a chair.

Looking out the window at the receding scenery.

I don't know how much time has passed.

A familiar figure flashed past Lin Li's eyes.

Lin Li's eyes lit up, and she quickly stuck her head out to call out.

"Tong Yao!"

It turns out that her mother took her there on an electric scooter today!

The girl sitting in the back seat seemed to notice something and turned around.

But I didn't see anything.

"Hey kid in the back, sit still."

The bus's announcement came on.

It turned out the driver was shouting into a walkie-talkie.

Immediately, everyone on the bus turned to look at him.

Lin Li had no choice but to pull her head back and hope the car would arrive soon.

"We've arrived at Yancheng Middle School..."

Lin Li took a step forward and rushed into the school.

I walked past the playground without looking back.

"Hello."

Several boys, holding basketballs, were about to call out to Lin Li when they saw her running so fast. They exchanged glances.

"Are we going to be late? Why are you running so fast!"

Then he turned to look at the timetable on the podium.

7 a.m.

There are still about 20 minutes before class starts.

Lin Li quickly ran to the classroom door.

He took a deep breath and then strode inside.

Looking at Tong Yao with her head down, studying.

Lin Li took out a water glass and placed it on her desk.

Tong Yao looked up and met Lin Li's gaze.

Lin Li spoke first, "Good morning."

Tong Yao nodded. "Good morning."

Lin Li had just returned to her seat and hadn't even settled in when Tang Yue pulled her away.

"Wow, Lin Li, I heard you got rid of Cheng Yu."

"Tell me honestly, what happened? You're not replying to my messages."

Lin Li blinked blankly: "Did you send a message?"

Tang Yue kicked Lin Li in anger: "It was posted yesterday and the day before, didn't you check the Tencent account?"

Lin Li remained silent; he truly hadn't noticed.

"Nothing happened. Cheng Yu tried to get someone to mess with me, but Teacher Jiang caught her, and the school punished her by suspending her from school and sending her home."

"Holy crap, it was the old zombie who saved you."

Chen Yan and Li Jiahao gathered around at some point and began gossiping.

"Later, when Cheng Yu's parents came, they even tried to hit me, but Teacher Jiang protected me the whole time. He said, 'If any of you dare to lay a finger on Lin Li, I, Jiang Shui, will write my name backwards.'"

Lin Li also vividly recreated the scene at that time.

"Is the PE teacher named Jiang Shui?"

Cheng Yan asked in surprise.

Tang Yue thought for a moment: "I remember he introduced himself in the first year of junior high school."

Li Jiahao sighed, "The nickname 'Old Zombie' has been passed down from the last year. We've been calling him 'Old Zombie' all this time, and we've forgotten his real name."

Everyone was initially impressed by the name before suddenly noticing something.

"Is the old zombie so benevolent?"

Lin Li, however, said with a relieved expression, "Actually, Teacher Jiang is just a bit strict. Isn't his strict teaching style meant to help everyone get a few more points on the physical education exam? How can you call such a responsible teacher an old zombie?"

Li Jiahao looked at Lin Li like she was a monster and said, "Are you out of your mind?"

He could hardly believe his ears. The Lin Li of the past was the one who cursed "old zombie" the most fiercely.

Chen Yan leaned closer with a strange expression: "You weren't bewitched by the old zombie's 'hero saves the beauty' act yesterday, were you? You're starting to talk nonsense."

"Get lost!" Lin Li was so angry she laughed, and pretended to kick her, but the two of them dodged away laughing.

He turned around, feeling a bit emotional. Yes, he used to never have considered things from so many angles as he does now. All he did was complain, wishing the teacher would just ignore him.

Tang Yue, who had been silent until now, frowned slightly. Unlike usual, she didn't participate in the playful fighting; her gaze remained fixed on Lin Li, with a scrutinizing look in her eyes.

Her words just now were spoken in such a calm tone and with such mature reasoning, completely unlike the Lin Li she knew who was quick to anger and only knew how to complain.

But then he thought of Lin Li's usual childish behavior and shook his head. His eyes were full of contradiction.

"Ring ring ring"

The school bell rang.

Everyone returned to their seats.

The first class was English, taught by our homeroom teacher.

Lin Li and Tang Yue skillfully took their books and stood by the back door.

Lin Li and Tang Yue stood side by side, completely blocking the back door.

Tang Yue's gaze remained fixed on Lin Li's profile, her eyes no longer filled with mere doubt, but with a mixture of deep thought and a gradually clarifying conjecture, so intense that it was impossible to ignore.

"What are you looking at?" Lin Li finally couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Tang Yue suppressed her emotions and sighed lightly, "It's nothing. I was just wondering, now that the culprits have been caught, how long are we going to keep up this 'gatekeeping' act?"

Yes, last time, because Tang Yue and Cheng Yu argued in class and Lin Li even clapped, they were punished by having to stand at the door during class.

Lin Li watched Liu Hongli's figure walking quickly towards him at the end of the corridor, and a confident smile appeared on her lips.

"I should be able to stop standing soon."

"How could that be?" Tang Yue didn't believe it. "Given the old lady's temper, would she give in unless she stood there for at least ten days or half a month?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Hongli stepped onto the podium. Her gaze swept across the classroom and, sure enough, landed on the two people at the back door. Her brows furrowed as usual, but she said, "Lin Li, Tang Yue, go back to your seats."

Lin Li gently nudged Tang Yue, who was still in a daze, with her elbow, a "see?" smile in her eyes. Then, she picked up her book and sat back down in her seat with light steps.

As Tang Yue watched her retreating figure, the doubts in her heart not only did not dissipate, but grew even stronger. This unwavering certainty of prophecy... she lingered and walked back.

"Tang Yue! Why aren't you sitting down? Do you still want to stand?" Liu Hongli urged impatiently.

-

After class.

Tong Yao took a small bag out of her schoolbag, got up and left the classroom.

Lin Li also wanted to ask Tong Yao why she didn't take the bus today.

Watching Tong Yao's retreating figure, Lin Li also stood up and chased after her.

But halfway there, he ran into Tang Yue, who was walking towards him.

Tang Yue grabbed his wrist with considerable force, her eyes devoid of their usual playfulness, replaced by a seriousness that brooked no refusal.

"Lin Li, let's go play online games together after school tonight."

Playing with coins, like those coin pusher machines in arcades, could earn you a ton of game coins if you were lucky. That used to be Lin Li and Tang Yue's favorite after-school entertainment.

But ever since Lin Li and Tong Yao broke up and Lin Li became depressed, Lin Li has never played these games again.

He instinctively wanted to refuse, but the words caught in his throat as he met Tang Yue's unusually serious gaze. That gaze clearly said: I have something very important to ask you; we must talk alone.

Lin Li's heart skipped a beat, and he vaguely guessed what was going on. He was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Okay."