Chapter 47: With tears in her eyes, she said, "Don't break up with me..."

People leaving the private room in twos and threes were having dinner. Xing Lan, with one hand in her pocket, followed at the very back of the group, head down.

As they approached the bathroom door, they heard a man ahead of them exclaim in surprise. In the blink of an eye, he froze on the ground like a stone statue, looking utterly astonished as if he had seen a ghost.

"What?! Isn't that Brother Qi?! How did he get beaten up like this?!"

"Is...is he still breathing?"

Xing Lan glanced up and saw Qi Bo lying drunk on the cold floor of the men's restroom, his face and body covered in dirty bruises and bloodstains. The scene was shocking, like a horror movie being filmed late at night.

Qi Bo's nose was not high to begin with, and now it was almost crooked from the blow. His two small eyes were swollen like light bulbs and he could hardly open them.

His most cherished expensive suit had been torn into a tattered mess, not only wrinkled and covered in dirt, but also had a large pig's head drawn on it with a black marker by the culprit, who had a perverse sense of humor.

Xing Lan followed behind the crowd and glanced at it, but felt that the pig's head looked strangely familiar.

He frowned, as if he had thought of something.

The murderer who beat Qi Bo was very clever and careful, even cunning.

He somehow managed to destroy all the security cameras near the restaurant's restrooms beforehand, and even placed a yellow sign at the restroom entrance that read "Cleaning in progress, please do not enter."

After that, men who came to use the toilet would turn around and leave when they saw the sign, so for so long, no one discovered Qi Bo lying inside, half-dead.

The class reunion, which had been held for three years, was thrown into chaos by Qi Bo's sudden injury. Because the surveillance cameras were destroyed, no one was spared, and no one knew what had just happened or who had acted so viciously for no reason.

In the end, it was class monitor Pei Zhi who hurriedly dialed 120 and, together with several boys, managed to get Qi Bo into the ambulance.

Watching the ambulance parked by the roadside speed away with its lights flashing, a girl patted her chest with lingering fear: "I was so scared! What happened? Who was so cruel as to beat Qi Bo up like that?"

"I don't know, I guess he accidentally ran into some thugs while he was using the restroom," a classmate said, frowning. "Although this street is lively, the security is really bad. There are a lot of thugs loitering around. I heard there was a robbery in public a few days ago. Sigh, poor Qi is really unlucky."

"You're right, it's not safer the later it gets, especially since there are so many girls in our class. Everyone should head home early today. The class monitor is with Qi Bo, and he'll let everyone know in the group chat if anything happens."

After that person finished speaking, the others nodded in agreement.

With Qi Bo's fate still unknown after what happened, no one had the heart to continue the gathering. The group said their goodbyes and ended the party early.

Xing Lan stood at the intersection for a few seconds. Just as he looked down and opened his phone screen, he suddenly felt someone pat his left shoulder.

He turned his head, but Li Baidong suddenly appeared from his right, grinning: "Brother, did you have fun at the party today?"

Xing Lan paused for a moment, then looked at him expressionlessly: "How old are you? How childish are you?"

Li Baidong chuckled twice, then casually put his arm around Xing Lan's shoulder and whispered in his ear, "Brother, you still haven't answered me. Did you have fun at the party today? How was the food at this restaurant? Did you eat anything particularly delicious?"

Xing Lan recalled for a moment and replied, "Nothing particularly delicious, but the baked pudding after the meal was pretty good...not too sweet."

Li Baidong narrowed his eyes, lowered his head and carefully sniffed Xing Lan's neck. He didn't smell anything different from before, only a faint citrus fragrance, the scent of the restaurant's perfume.

He nodded in satisfaction, smiled, and kissed Xing Lan quickly, giving her no chance to dodge.

After kissing Xing Lan, Li Baidong returned to his motorcycle, raised an eyebrow, and said enthusiastically, "Brother, let's go home."

Xing Lan was about to get on the motorcycle when, under the dim light of the streetlamp, he suddenly felt that Li Baidong, who was sitting on the motorcycle and looking at him with a smile, seemed a little strange.

There seemed to be a small cut on the boy's face, as if it had been scratched by something sharp.

Although I was wearing the same outfit I've been wearing lately, the cuffs and hem were a little wrinkled for some reason, and there were also some barely noticeable water stains.

besides……

Xing Lan's expression hardened, and she asked Li Baidong, "Where's your necklace?"

Li Baidong has a thin silver zircon necklace, which he bought from his favorite trendy brand store. The necklace is very sparkly and cool, and he likes it very much, wearing it almost every day.

Li Baidong paused for a moment, then blinked and said, "I'm at home. What's wrong, bro?"

Xing Lan glanced at him with some suspicion: "Really? I remember seeing you wearing it when I came here."

Li Baidong still denied it, saying, "No, brother, are you sure you're not mistaken? I've had some skin allergies these past few days, so I haven't been wearing a necklace."

Xing Lan looked at him, as if she had been persuaded, and didn't ask any more questions. She got on the back of Li Baidong's motorcycle and skillfully hugged his waist from behind.

Li Baidong thought Xing Lan didn't care about this anymore, but halfway through the drive, Xing Lan squinted at the city's dazzling night view and suddenly said casually as if chatting, "Just now when we were eating, someone in our class was cornered in the bathroom and beaten up."

"Huh?" Li Baidong feigned surprise, even though Xing Lan couldn't see him from behind, he still exaggeratedly widened his eyes, acting very professionally. "How did you get beaten up? Oh my god, what happened?"

"I don't know. He said he drank too much, went to the bathroom, and then never came back." Xing Lan wrapped her arms around Li Baidong's waist and could clearly feel that his muscles were more tense and stiff than before.

"Later, when we went to find him after we finished eating, we found him unconscious in the men's restroom, his face covered in blood, and he was badly injured. If the ambulance hadn't arrived in time, he might have died."

"I see..." Li Baidong was silent for a moment, then gave a forced smile, asking with concern, "That's really scary, brother, you weren't frightened, were you?"

Xing Lan shook her head, and after a while spoke indifferently: "The person who was beaten up didn't get along with me at school. Once, I even got into a fight with him. In the end, both of our parents were called in, and we had to write a full five thousand words of self-criticism."

Xing Lan gave a self-deprecating chuckle, then looked up at Li Baidong, her eyes filled with complex emotions: "Isn't it tragic?"

"...Yeah, it's really pretty bad."

Li Baidong subconsciously swallowed, eager to change the subject, but Xing Lan never gave him the chance. No matter what he tried to say, Xing Lan would steer the conversation back to Qi Bo.

Finally, he could only lick his lips and ask, following Xing Lan's words, "Brother, why did you fight with him back then?"

Xing Lan didn't answer Li Baidong's question directly. Instead, she poked his waist with her finger and suddenly asked, "You're asking me? I want to ask you, why did you fight today?"

Li Baidong's breath hitched, then he chuckled dryly and said, "Brother, what are you talking about? I didn't fight."

"I've been waiting patiently outside for you ever since you went into the restaurant."

"Really?" Xing Lan paused, then mercilessly exposed him. "So what exactly did you do while you were waiting for me outside that got your sleeves all wet and caused your necklace to fall off?"

Just as Li Baidong was about to retort, Xing Lan calmly asked, "If I don't find your necklace at home after we get there, how do you plan to explain it?"

This question was like a fatal blow, leaving Li Baidong speechless instantly.

Everything leaves a trace. Even the most skilled murderer cannot commit a perfect crime. Moreover, Xing Lan, as the detective in this case, has a close relationship with the "murderer" and is more likely to notice the most subtle abnormalities and flaws than others.

Xing Lan found it strange. Li Baidong and Qi Bo were clearly meeting for the first time today. Although they did have a bit of a quarrel at the restaurant entrance, it shouldn't have been enough to make him beat someone up like this. Qi Bo looked really bad; with those injuries, he'd have to stay in the hospital for at least ten days to two weeks.

Li Baidong sniffed and muttered under his breath, "Who told him to talk about you just now..."

"If I hadn't stopped him, he would have pushed you too," Li Baidong said, pursing his lips with some indignation.

As Xing Lan listened to Li Baidong's words, which sounded slightly aggrieved yet childishly accusing, he suddenly remembered the kid who used to come to see him often in high school.

Although Li Baidong was tall and strong, and had nothing to do with the skinny little boy in Xing Lan's memory, at this moment, their figures seemed to overlap in Xing Lan's mind.

"Are you a child?" Xing Lanliang said coldly. "Someone just said a few words to me, and you're going to beat them to death?"

"You've all been admitted to university, so you must have learned some legal knowledge by now. Killing someone can land you in jail."

Xing Lan frowned, and her tone grew colder and colder as the cold wind blew in her face.

"You were lucky this time. That restaurant wasn't very strict and didn't notice you. There are so many people coming and going to eat; what if someone had seen you by accident?"

"Don't do this again. If you do it again," Xing Lan paused, then said seriously, word by word, "we'll... break up."

Upon hearing the word "breakup," Li Baidong's heart skipped a beat, and he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, so much so that he could barely grip the handlebars of his car.

He used all his strength to barely maintain his last shred of rationality and regain control of the motorcycle that was speeding down the street, preventing it from crashing and killing him with Xing Lan.

With a screeching sound of tires scraping the ground, Li Baidong barely managed to stop the car in front of the apartment building, turned his head, and looked pitifully at Xing Lan.

Xing Lan immediately noticed the obvious tears glistening in his eyes, but he still cruelly turned his face away and looked in the other direction.

“Brother…” Li Baidong’s eyes were red and his voice trembled.

"I'm sorry, I was wrong. I promise I'll never hit anyone again. I really swear."

"Please don't break up with me..." Li Baidong lowered his eyes in grievance, and in the blink of an eye, tears fell like raindrops.

His once handsome and bright face was now shrouded in dark clouds, and he looked as forlorn as a wilted eggplant, his expression filled with a fear and regret that he could not quite believe.

He cried quietly for a while, and Xing Lan finally softened a little from his crying. She turned around and said coldly, "What are you crying about? I said we would break up if you did this again, not that we would break up now."

Li Baidong sniffed, his hands trembling as he took off his helmet. In the night, he cried so pitifully, his face streaked with tears.

He lowered his eyes and choked out in a low voice, "But I don't want to break up with my brother in the future."

"Brother, I really don't like the word 'breakup,' can you please stop saying it? I beg you, I beg you, sob sob sob..."

He obediently lowered his eyes, putting on a docile and sincere look of admitting his mistake. He reached out and hugged Xing Lan's slender waist in a flattering manner, sobbing softly in his warm embrace. His expression was innocent and pitiful, showing no trace of the cold-faced man who had beaten Qi Bo to death in the restaurant bathroom just moments before.

Li Baidong buried his face in Xing Lan's chest, tears falling like raindrops, soaking a large area of ​​Xing Lan's clothes.

Xing Lan didn't move, letting him hold her. She felt the cool tears spreading on his clothes, and frowned helplessly as she pushed him away: "Don't cry."

Li Baidong looked genuinely upset, and Xing Lan, who was the type to respond to gentle persuasion but not force, was completely controlled by his coquettish charm, so even if she was angry, she couldn't do anything about it.

Li Baidong cried so hard he could barely breathe. After a long while, he finally tilted his head back slightly, looking at Xing Lan with teary eyes, "Brother... I'll listen to you in everything from now on. Please don't break up with me, okay?"

Looking at his fragile appearance, Xing Lan felt a throbbing pain in her temples.

Xing Lan disliked people crying in front of him, since tears couldn't solve anything and were merely a sign of weakness. But Li Baidong, perhaps because of his young age, always cried naturally, his tears filled with genuine emotion, making him not only not annoying but even more endearing.

never mind.

He felt a pang of pity, thinking that after all, Li Baidong's actions against Qi Bo were ultimately to help him vent his anger.

Xing Lan sighed resignedly. Although her face remained cold, she raised her hand and used her sleeve to wipe away the tears of Li Baidong, who was crying incessantly.

“There absolutely cannot be a next time,” he warned.

Li Baidong nodded repeatedly, his eyes filled with tears.

Perhaps to show goodwill or loyalty, he gently grasped Xing Lan's outstretched wrist and rubbed it against it like a puppy.

-

It was quite late when I got home.

After taking a shower, Li Baidong was feeling drowsy and was just about to go to bed when he heard Xing Lan's cool voice beside him.

He frowned slightly, as if deep in thought, then suddenly turned to Li Baidong and asked, "When did you come to Ning City? Middle school?"

Li Baidong yawned and nodded sleepily.

"Yeah, what's wrong, bro?"

Xing Lan hesitated for a moment, looking at him with a sense of unspoken words.

"Then...didn't we meet at school before?"