Their argument was clearly pointless since neither could convince the other.
Suddenly, Song Yi spotted Xu Che walking out not far away.
Song Yi immediately pressed her hand on Shen Yujing's head, "Duck down!"
Forced to crouch down with Song Yi, Shen Yujing asked, "What's going on?"
"He's come out," Song Yi whispered as she peeked out, watching Xu Che stand at the self-service payment machine, paying with his phone before turning back inside.
"Let's follow him!" Shen Yujing said, hunching forward.
Song Yi remained silent for a few seconds. In this situation, she had no choice but to follow – at least she could restrain Shen Yujing if anything happened.
They watched Xu Che enter a room but didn't dare approach immediately, deciding to wait nearby.
Just then, Song Yi's phone lit up with a message from Murong Huan in the group chat.
[Welcome]: @Song Yi @Lonely Wolf, where are you two?
[Lonely Wolf]: We're at the hospital, we've spotted Xu Che.
[Power is Mine]: What? What's going on?
[Lonely Wolf]: @Hang Feng, your brother went to the psychiatric department.
Meanwhile, at Murong Huan's home.
When Shen Yujing sent this message, all four people present fell into silence.
Murong Huan exchanged glances with Quan Le, then said, "Hang Feng."
Hang Feng looked up at her without speaking.
Murong Huan continued, "I've known Xu Che for many years too. I can testify that everything Shen Yujing said yesterday was true. We all knew he had an important brother, but we only later learned it was you. The suicide rate for mental health issues is very high, so... so..."
Murong Huan's words trailed off, unsure how to continue.
Jiang Yiheng picked up where she left off, saying, "You're innocent, and so is Xu Che. There's no need to let the previous generation's grudges continue hurting you both. You're our friend, and we'll respect whatever choice you make, but we don't want you to regret not having made a choice at all."
Quan Le nodded vigorously, placing his hand on Hang Feng's shoulder, "Those two know Xu Che well, but I'm not close to him at all – I'm one hundred percent on your side. But from what I saw yesterday when his mother rushed to the private room, even though you brothers were about to fight a second earlier, he immediately stepped in front of you to protect you. So I think he truly considers you family in his heart."
Their combined persuasion left Hang Feng silent.
And there was more.
Hang Feng lowered his gaze to the unopened bottle of strawberry milk on the table.
Yesterday, during the fight with the bodyguards, Xu Che had taken punches for him, more than once.
The young man's hands tightened on his knees, the purple-blue veins clearly visible under his pale skin.
After a long while, Hang Feng heard himself speak, his voice hoarser than he'd expected.
He said, "I understand."
*
At the hospital.
Song Yi turned to Jiang Yiheng, who seemed to be the only reliable one here, and asked with complex emotions, "Why did you all come?"
Jiang Yiheng shook his head; he didn't know either – somehow they'd all just ended up here together.
Shen Yujing, seeing this united front before him, raised his right fist forward enthusiastically, "Let's go find Xu Che now! He'll surely be deeply moved by our concern!"
Song Yi: "..."
Rather than being moved, Xu Che would probably be more frightened seeing such a large group.
Of course, Song Yi's thoughts didn't matter now.
Because Shen Yujing and Quan Le had already started walking forward, pulling Hang Feng along on either side.
As they walked, Jiang Yiheng felt increasingly uneasy. He asked, "Are you sure Xu Che is here?"
Shen Yujing confidently replied, "Of course, I watched him go in myself."
Before Jiang Yiheng could say more, he saw Shen Yujing already pressing his ear against the door, with Quan Le quickly following suit.
A moment later, Murong Huan squeezed past them from behind to join Shen Yujing and Quan Le in pressing their ears against the door.
Passersby looked at them with bewilderment.
How strange – these dazzlingly beautiful young men and women were doing something completely incomprehensible.
Song Yi took a step back, quietly maintaining her distance from them.
This was embarrassing, truly embarrassing.
Song Yi looked at Jiang Yiheng and said, "This doesn't seem right, does it?"
Jiang Yiheng stepped forward, extending both hands to pull Quan Le and Shen Yujing up.
However, an accident occurred first – the door suddenly opened from the inside.
The three people leaning against the door lost their balance and fell forward, while Jiang Yiheng, who had just grabbed their collars to pull them up, could only stumble forward with them.
The scene was incredibly awkward, truly.
The nurse inside asked in surprise, "Who are you people?"
Xu Che, lying in the dental chair, looked toward the door when he heard the commotion. Although his mouth was open for dental work, these people clearly looked more disheveled than he did.
Complex emotions filled Xu Che's eyes. He seemed to say nothing, yet somehow said everything.
Finally, Xu Che looked at Jiang Yiheng, trying to get answers from the person who appeared slightly more normal.
Jiang Yiheng: "..."
Jiang Yiheng felt that his life, which had been normal for over a decade, had somehow gone wrong at some point.
It was all because of... that guardian angel game.
Jiang Yiheng took a deep breath and proceeded with the original plan, pulling Shen Yujing and Quan Le up by their collars.
Meanwhile, Song Yi came over to help Murong Huan up.
The room was suddenly crowded with people.
The dentist who had been working on Xu Che's teeth put down his tools and said, "We're finished now. Your daily cleaning habits are good, just eat less sugar. It's rare to see teeth so clean despite having cavities."
To ease the awkwardness, Shen Yujing started clapping, "Wow, so your teeth are this clean! Amazing!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Shen Yujing realized what strange nonsense he'd just said.
His smile froze on his face, but his hands continued clapping in an attempt to dispel the awkwardness.
Of course, this only made everything more awkward.
Quan Le, who always supported Shen Yujing, started clapping even more enthusiastically.
Xu Che, who had just finished his dental work, lay expressionless in the dental chair, watching these people appear out of nowhere and inexplicably start applauding for him.
Was he having some strange nightmare? Probably.
