Chapter 21

When the big cat heard my voice, he ran even faster. However, his body was too fat, and he was also carrying someone, so his overall speed was definitely not as fast as mine! When I was about to catch up, I saw a dirty board on the ground and quickly bent down to pick it up, because I knew the big cat was quite capable of fighting, otherwise, Monkey wouldn't have taken him so seriously!

After picking up the board and standing up, I found that the big cat was already running towards me, and Wang Yao had been put aside. Seeing that he was unarmed, I felt a bit more confident and charged at him. In a narrow path, the brave one wins. I didn't waste any words and swung the board directly at him. The board hit his neck solidly, making a dull "thud" sound.

I secretly rejoiced, but then felt a chill in my lower abdomen, followed by intense pain, and my strength quickly drained away. Looking down, I saw that the big cat had a knife in his hand. He sneered and released the knife handle, saying, "You think you can stop me with just yourself?"

I fell to my knees, not because I was kneeling to him, but because my strength had quickly disappeared, and I couldn't even stand steadily.

This was the first time I had been stabbed, and I had no experience in this area. I could only instinctively try to block the wound with my hands. The big cat didn't pull the knife out, so I held the edge of the knife with my hands, and blood flowed out from between my fingers. My body couldn't help but fall down. But I knew that people like the big cat and Monkey, although they dared to stab, would never kill anyone.

Last time when Monkey was in the hospital, he told me that in such situations, unless there was excessive blood loss, even if the intestines were pulled out, one could still be saved.

So although I was in pain, I wasn't afraid. Instead, I was more worried about Wang Yao. The big cat turned and walked away, and I grabbed his calf. The big cat turned and kicked my head with his other foot, making me dizzy and disoriented, but I still held on tightly, as I was extremely worried about Wang Yao. From a few meters away, Wang Yao's shrill cries echoed, "Zuo Fei, Zuo Fei! Big Cat, if you dare to do anything to him, I'll have my brother kill your whole family."

But the big cat ignored her. He had already lost his mind, even knocking Wang Yao unconscious, clearly ready to do anything. The idiom "色胆包天" (extreme audacity) wasn't just a fabrication by the ancients!

The big cat continued to kick me, clearly not stopping until I let go.

Wang Yao kept shouting, her symptoms similar to Lin Ke'er's before, where her limbs were weak but she could still speak.

I don't know how many kicks I received from the big cat, but my consciousness became increasingly blurred, and Wang Yao's shouts seemed to come from far away. I knew I was about to faint, and could only hold onto the big cat's leg with my last bit of strength.

My heart was filled with bitterness. Who would come to save me at this moment? Monkey and the others were at school, and they were definitely taken away by the security department. Monkey, Monkey, this time you miscalculated; the big cat would do anything!

Suddenly, there was a dull "thud." The sound seemed distant, clearly not the big cat kicking my head. Dazed, I looked up and saw another person fighting the big cat. This person was tall and thin, with long bangs that covered his eyes but couldn't hide his fierce gaze. He held a baseball bat and was hitting the big cat's head repeatedly. The big cat could still fight back at first, but soon couldn't hold on and fell to the ground limply.

This person didn't stop, still bending over to hit the big cat, as if he intended to kill him on the spot.

After a while, he straightened up and walked over to me.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"Zuo Fei."

"What's your relationship with Monkey?"

"Brothers," I managed to say in two words.

"I'm Mao Mao," the person said. "Monkey asked me to watch over Wang Yao."

I nodded. "Mao Mao from No. 7 High School, I know." Then I fainted.

My last thought was: Monkey had already made arrangements, why didn't you tell me earlier? Why didn't you tell me earlier?!

But when I fainted, I felt a sense of relief, knowing that Wang Yao would definitely be safe.

When I woke up again, I found myself being lifted onto a surgical bed by several doctors in white coats, and a crowd of people gathered around. Monkey, Huang Jie, Zheng Wu, Mao Mao, Lin Ke'er, Liu Yina, Zhang Xuan, and others were all there.

"Zuo Fei!" Monkey was the first to notice that I had opened my eyes.

"Where's Wang Yao?" was my first question.

"Wang Yao is fine, some friends are watching over her."

I nodded, and suddenly felt a sweet taste in my throat, spitting out a mouthful of blood, which even scared me. Why was I spitting blood from a stab wound in my abdomen? Then, intense pain hit me, and I almost fainted again, unable to speak a complete sentence.

"Zuo Fei, you better hold on for me!" I saw Monkey's eyes well up with tears.

The surgical bed was being pushed quickly, and I still held onto Monkey's hand tightly.

"Buy me some food..." Then I fainted again.

Damn, the feeling of revenge is so satisfying.

I woke up again and saw several medical staff working on my abdomen, the surgical lights blinding my eyes. After a few seconds, I fainted again.

When I woke up again, I was lying in a hospital bed, the sky outside was a clear blue, and I was covered with a new blanket. An IV needle was inserted into the back of my left hand, and a girl was busy arranging things on the bedside table.

It was Lin Ke'er.

I hummed softly, and Lin Ke'er immediately turned around, saying happily, "You're awake?"

I nodded, feeling my mouth dry.

"Have some water." Lin Ke'er raised the back of the bed, letting me sit up and drink water, which tasted a bit salty.

"The doctor said it's best to drink some light salt water now."

I nodded again. "Where's Wang Yao? Is she okay?"

As soon as I said it, I regretted it. Wang Yao must be fine, as many people were watching over her. My concern for Wang Yao might make Lin Ke'er suspicious.

"Wang Yao is fine. She came to see you last night, but you were still unconscious. She left a thousand yuan and then left." Lin Ke'er didn't show any unusual reaction, answering my question seriously.

I sighed in relief and asked, "What about the others? Is Monkey okay?"

"They all went back to class. I took a leave to stay with you. Monkey and the others are fine. The Nine Princes are finished. The big cat is still in the hospital, but Wang Yao's brother has vowed to finish him off. The big cat probably won't even dare to come to class, and the others are even more useless. Some didn't come to class, and some have submitted to Monkey. The Nine Princes are history."

"Didn't the school say anything?"

"How could they? They were all taken to the security department yesterday. The leaders were furious, saying they would severely punish them, but Monkey said one sentence, and the school let them go."

"What did he say?" I was very curious.

"Monkey said, 'When the Nine Princes were collecting protection fees, why didn't you step in? Were you secretly benefiting too? Should I call the education bureau to discuss this?'"

"The school leaders immediately softened. I don't know the exact details, but in the end, the school paid for the students' medical expenses and downplayed the incident. I heard they only gave Monkey and the others a warning."

I laughed. Monkey was Monkey, although he usually acted silly, he never failed to be dominant when it mattered.

I sighed and lay flat on the bed, feeling that life was truly beautiful. I said with a sigh, "Monkey is reliable. He had Wang Yao lure out the big cat and had Mao Mao from No. 7 High School watch nearby. Sigh, if I had known, I wouldn't have gone and acted foolishly."

After saying this, my heart raced, feeling like I was trying to cover something up. In fact, I said this to avoid making Lin Ke'er suspicious. Lin Ke'er didn't speak, just staring at me intently.

"What are you looking at?" I laughed, but it was a forced laugh.

"Zuo Fei, tell me, do you like Wang Yao?"

"How could I!" I exclaimed, "Wang Yao has helped me many times in the past. I just wanted to help her once, so when I heard she was in danger, I ran over. Don't misunderstand me."

After saying this, I felt a bit guilty. Honestly, I didn't know how I felt about Wang Yao. I hated fickle men, so I didn't want to be one. I preferred to treat this as gratitude, even if I had a tiny bit of affection for Wang Yao, I would suppress it and focus on being good to Lin Ke'er.

As humans, isn't the greatest characteristic our ability to control our actions?

Lin Ke'er didn't speak, still staring at me intently, as if trying to see through me.

"It's true," I said with a smile, "I was planning to confess to you after dealing with the Nine Princes. You should be prepared, don't let me down."

Lin Ke'er still didn't speak, lowering her head, lost in thought.

I knew she was still thinking too much and was about to comfort her when the door to the ward was suddenly pushed open.

Lin Ke'er and I looked up to see a person holding a bouquet of flowers walk in.

"Zuo Fei, are you feeling better?" the person smiled, placing the flowers on the bedside table.

Seeing this person, my eyes blazed with anger, because it was Yi Zhen! A weasel visiting a chicken, not with good intentions!

"Lin Ke'er, you're here too," Yi Zhen still smiled.

"Uh-huh," Lin Ke'er replied coldly, clearly not wanting to talk to Yi Zhen.

"I'm a good friend of Zuo Fei, so I came to see him. I didn't expect you to be here too," Yi Zhen still looked at Lin Ke'er.

"Uh-huh, you two chat, I'll go out for a bit," Lin Ke'er stood up.

"Hey, don't go," Yi Zhen grabbed Lin Ke'er's arm.

I couldn't stand it anymore and said, "Let go of her!"