Let's Do Some Questions - Chapter 73

After Song Man finished eating, she had the maid come up to clean. She put the tray table back by the bed, stood up to stretch, and looked out the window.

The view outside the window hadn’t changed much over the years. If anything, the trees outside had gone from lush green to bare, their branches swaying in the wind.

Song Man rubbed her stomach, wanting to go out for a walk, but felt too lazy to move.

Her phone suddenly rang. Song Man leaned against the bed, picking it up lazily, but after answering, she immediately sat up straight.

“What? Where? I’ll be right there!”

Song Man shoved her phone into her pocket, grabbed her car keys from the drawer, and rushed out. Her footsteps clattered down the stairs.

The call was from Mao Mao. He said Deng Wei had been beaten up at Fifth Alley Entrance, and badly. He was in the hospital now.

How could this happen?

Was her follower, Song Man’s follower, someone who could be bullied by just anyone?

Moreover, Song Man knew Deng Wei. Although the kid talked a big game and seemed unreliable, he wouldn’t go around causing trouble randomly. He had his own principles and bottom line.

Song Man arrived at the hospital quickly. Mao Mao was waiting at the entrance.

“Man Jie, hurry! We need to pay the hospital fees. I emptied my house and only have ten yuan and five cents. Ah Wei wouldn’t let me call his mom.”

“What happened?”

Song Man frowned, walking forward in a hurry.

“I don’t know. He’s pretty badly injured. He’s still in surgery.”

After Song Man paid the hospital fees and completed all the procedures, Deng Wei was pushed out.

“A broken rib, fractured finger, large areas of bruising, mild concussion… Damn it.”

Song Man clenched her fists, a look of fury on her face.

“Do you know who did it?”

“No, when I got there, he was just lying there. He told me to call an ambulance.”

Mao Mao shook his head, his brows furrowed tightly.

“Whoever it is, they better wait for me. Go, call his auntie and let her know.”

“Didn’t Ah Wei not want his mom to know?”

“He’s like this, how long can he hide it? Can he not lie in the hospital for ten days to half a month?”

“Oh, right. I’ll go call now.”

Mao Mao nodded and went to the side to make the call.

Deng Wei’s mother arrived quickly, her steps hurried, her hair damp with sweat and sticking to her forehead strand by strand, her face pale.

“Auntie, it’s okay, take a breath. He’s already in the ward. The doctor said he’ll be fine with rest.”

Song Man patted Deng Wei’s mother’s back, helping her calm down.

“Did he go fighting again? Serves him right. Let’s see if he dares next time.”

Deng Wei’s mother took a breath, thinking it was just like before, accidentally injuring an arm or leg. Her face looked a little better.

“Auntie, it’s a bit different, but don’t worry, I’ll look into it. You should go in and see him first. He’s probably not awake yet.”

Song Man pointed to the ward for Deng Wei’s mother, letting her go in to see Deng Wei.

Deng Wei’s current condition was extremely bad, injured from head to toe, every part of him hurt.

After Deng Wei’s mother went in, she didn’t speak, just sat silently by Deng Wei’s side, quietly looking at him.

Song Man felt stifled inside. She leaned against the doorway, feeling a bit annoyed and wanting to smoke a cigarette, but then remembered she didn’t smoke at all and didn’t like the smell of smoke.

“Mao Mao, is there no surveillance at Fifth Alley Entrance?”

“Yeah, there isn’t any there. Don’t know how he ended up running over there.”

Fifth Alley Entrance was actually quite far from their usual area of activity. If Qingcheng were divided into east and west, Qingcheng No. 1 High was located in the east, and Song Man and their usual hangouts were also there. Fifth Alley Entrance belonged to the west side, quite a distance away, and Deng Wei’s home was also in the east.

In other words, if Deng Wei wanted to go from home to Fifth Alley Entrance, he’d have to cross more than half of Qingcheng.

Fifth Alley Entrance was a relatively chaotic place. The surveillance cameras in that area were all smashed. The police would reinstall them, and they’d be smashed again. Over time, that place became the city’s unspoken black market, with all sorts of people.

Song Man had strictly forbidden her followers from going to that area. After all, she was still a student, and the followers she took in were rarely from the streets. It was best for students not to go to those places.

“I’m going to make a call. Keep an eye on things here.”

Song Man said this to Mao Mao, took her phone, and went to the hospital corner.

Song Man found a number in her contacts and dialed it.

“Oh, my left eyelid has been twitching non-stop today. I kept feeling like something good was going to happen, and sure enough, it did. Xiao Manman actually called me on her own.”

“Stop calling me that disgusting name. I need you to do something for me.”

Although she knew the other person was greasy and exaggerated, hearing that address still made Song Man’s eyebrows twitch three times.

“There’s a time when our Manman needs me to do something? Just say it.”

“My follower got beaten up at Fifth Alley Entrance. Help me find out who did it.”

Song Man’s fingertips tapped rhythmically on the wall, her eyes dark.

“Just this little thing? Alright. Oh, right, when are we going out for a meal? Bring your sister.”

“Call her yourself.”

“Wow, I’m doing you such a big favor, and you won’t even help me with this little thing?”

“You haven’t given up yet?”

Song Man used the tip of her shoe to pick at the grout between the floor tiles, clicking her tongue in wonder.

“Didn’t I give up before? But looking back and forth, your sister is still the best-looking, my favorite.”

“Smooth talker. Song Qinglan doesn’t like your type.”

“That’s not necessarily true. So it’s settled, okay? Remember to message me when the time comes.”

“Talk about it after you find the person.”

Song Man hung up the phone, feeling a bit troubled.

The greasy old brother on the other end was named Jiang Shan. It sounded like a domineering name, but the person was like a husky. He was Song Qinglan’s junior high classmate and had been pursuing Song Qinglan since junior high. Song Man knew him back then and thought he was just a funny older brother. Later, after she became a delinquent, she learned that this old brother was a figure in the underworld.

Unlike her small-time antics, he was the real deal.

Song Man had even thought well of him before, thinking maybe one day his sincerity would move mountains. After learning about this, she felt there was no chance for the two of them. Someone like Song Qinglan would probably find a man from the business world in the future, someone who could be a capable assistant or something.

Song Man originally thought that after so many years, Song Qinglan had finished her degree and graduated, and she had fewer chances to see Jiang Shan, so she assumed Jiang Shan had long given up. She didn’t expect him to still be thinking about her.

Song Man was preoccupied with Deng Wei and the matter of inviting Song Qinglan to dinner, so she didn’t focus on her phone.

When the anesthetic wore off, Deng Wei opened his eyes. Seeing his mother sitting by the bed, if he could move, he would definitely have sprinted a hundred meters to escape.

“Mom, why are you here?”

“What, my son is in the hospital, and I can’t come?”

Deng Wei’s mother smiled, looking unsettlingly calm.

Song Man really admired Deng Wei’s mother; she was a tough person. If it were her seeing her son like this, she would either be furious or heartbroken. But Deng Wei’s mother could still smile, which was truly terrifying.

“You should come, you should come. You can come anytime.”

Deng Wei forced a smile, looking like he was about to cry and laugh at the same time. Coupled with his bruised and swollen face, he looked truly punchable. At least, looking at Deng Wei’s mother’s expression, Song Man really felt like hitting Deng Wei’s mild concussion into a severe one.

“Who hit you?”

Song Man spoke. Deng Wei frowned, looking conflicted.

“Did you get hit in the head so hard you lost your memory?”

Song Man looked at Deng Wei’s hesitant appearance, her temper flaring.

They beat him up like this, what was this idiot still hesitating about?

“No, no, it’s just that I don’t know who that person was. I have a general idea, but I don’t know them.”

“You don’t even know when you made enemies? And didn’t I tell you not to go to Fifth Alley Entrance? Why did you go there?”

“I…”

Deng Wei stammered, desperately giving Song Man meaningful looks.

“Just say it when I tell you to. Why so much nonsense? I’m still waiting to go back and take care of your sister. Or should I let your sister come and ask you?”

Deng Wei’s mother slapped the bed, making Deng Wei tremble all over.

“No, no, no, please don’t let my little sister know. She’ll start crying again.”

Deng Wei awkwardly recounted the whole story. Song Man raised an eyebrow, a little surprised.

Simply put, Deng Wei played the hero and got beaten up for it.

A few days ago, Deng Wei saw someone harassing a young girl persistently, so he went up to be a hero and save the beauty, pretending to be her boyfriend.

The girl was very grateful and treated him to a meal, asking him to pretend for a while to shake off the persistent suitor.

Deng Wei naturally agreed happily, eating with the girl every day, feeling pleased. He didn’t expect that even so, the girl’s suitor was still pestering her, even threatening her.

Deng Wei couldn’t stand it anymore, so he arranged to meet the guy, saying they’d fight, and if he lost, that jerk would get out of their sight.

“How was I supposed to know that guy would pull a dirty trick? He arranged to meet me at Fifth Alley Entrance, and then three or four people showed up. It was too much.”

Deng Wei was the embodiment of triple-layered grievance, feeling incredibly miserable.

“You…” Song Man paused, took a deep breath, “Forget it, I’ll restrain myself. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll just start cursing you.”

His mother was still here, it wouldn’t be good.

“It’s okay, Xiao Man, scold him. He deserves it. He has no sense at all. Now he’s just injured, but what if… Have you thought about me and your sister?”

Deng Wei’s mother finally couldn’t help but tear up, a look of weariness on her face.

“Mom, Mom, don’t cry, don’t cry. It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have been careless.”

“Is the problem carelessness? There are so many ways, why did you have to choose fighting?”

Song Man spoke coldly, arms crossed. Although violence could be satisfying sometimes, resorting to it was truly the lowest method.

“Why didn’t you tell me in the first place? Don’t you put me in your eyes anymore?”

“No, it’s just… I just wanted to be a hero and save the beauty.”

“Begging won’t work.”

Just as Deng Wei was about to admit his mistake, his phone on the cabinet rang.

The phone looked quite pathetic, its screen cracked like a spiderweb, but thankfully the quality was good, and the screen was still lit.

“Uh, I’m at the hospital.”

“It’s nothing serious, nothing serious. Are you okay?”

“My ward?”

Mao Mao quietly told him the location from the side, and Deng Wei immediately reported it.

“The girl wants to come?”

Deng Wei blinked while lying on the bed.

The girl arrived quite quickly. Song Man looked at her, and for some reason, felt she looked a bit familiar, but couldn’t remember where she had seen her before.

The girl’s eyes widened when she saw her, and she called out Song Man’s name.

“You know me?”

Song Man was a little confused, and then she saw the little girl following behind the girl, and her body stiffened.

She knew why she looked familiar!

“Little Magic Fairy?”

That damn little girl who sent her a challenge!

“You’re the Little Magic Fairy. Please watch your words. She’s not the Little Magic Fairy anymore, she’s a Dancing Beauty/Celestial Maiden, thank you.”

???

Sister, if you’re sick, please go home and see a doctor, okay?