Male Sing and His Pet Owner: Chapter 83

“Nothing serious…” Zhao Kaiming moved his lips with effort, feeling as if his entire body had been run over by a truck. Zhao Kaile’s voice sounded distant and near, then his vision went completely black.

By the time they finished giving their statements, it was already past ten at night. Zhou Jiyang led Zhan Hang out of the police station, his expression complicated.

He looked up and took a deep breath, sighing with emotion. “Just this morning I saw Zhao Kaile happily posting gifts on his social media. Sigh.”

Zhan Hang didn’t respond. The two of them lit cigarettes together and stood quietly by the roadside for a while.

“What’s the deal with his brother?” Zhou Jiyang asked.

Zhan Hang said expressionlessly, “I don’t know, I didn’t ask much. What those guys confessed inside just now probably wasn’t the truth either.”

Zhou Jiyang said, “You should ask. You can save him once or twice, but what happens when they get released in a few days and keep coming after him?”

“Mm.” Zhan Hang said indifferently, “What could happen? If we can’t settle it publicly, we’ll settle it privately.”

Zhou Jiyang nearly choked on his cigarette upon hearing this. “My brother, do you still want to take on new roles? If what happened tonight gets photographed and exaggerated when it spreads, you’ll be in deep trouble.”

His phone notification sounded. Zhan Hang took it out and saw it was Zhao Kaile replying to his inquiry.

Zhao Kaile: Not out yet, I can wait by myself. Brother Hang, you go home first.

Zhan Hang: How are you?

Zhan Hang finished a cigarette without receiving a reply. After extinguishing it, he casually flicked the butt into the trash can and put his mask back on. “I still need to go to the hospital.”

“Don’t go.” Zhou Jiyang frowned and said, “I’ll go for you. One night of police station and hospital…”

“I won’t be able to sleep if I go back. You go home yourself.” Zhan Hang casually made a goodbye gesture and walked away without looking back.

Zhou Jiyang stood in place, watching him indignantly, muttering, “Hey! What kind of person are you!”

However, before Zhan Hang’s car had driven far, another Toyota followed at a distance.

Zhou Jiyang’s heart skipped a beat. He thought, this is bad.

A City People’s Hospital.

Zhao Kaile had been sitting in the waiting area for nearly an hour, slightly hunched forward, pressing his forehead against his crossed hands. It seemed only by maintaining this posture could he find the strength to support himself. From following the ambulance to the emergency room door, his consciousness remained utterly chaotic, his mind a tangled mess, not yet fully detached from that state of extreme fear.

Zhao Kaiming should be fine, right…

He lost so much blood… Could Zhao Kaiming die? How could Zhao Kaiming die? How could the word “death” possibly apply to him…

Yet the more Zhao Kaile tried not to think about it, the more the thought forced its way into his mind, like a maggot attached to bone, impossible to shake off no matter what. It was even more profound than the fear of witnessing Zhao Kaiming being beaten just moments ago, pressing down heavily on his heart until he could barely breathe.

Zhao Kaile covered his mouth. Immense grief and fear surged up from the bottom of his heart, repeatedly stimulating his already strained and extremely fragile nerves. His stomach churned, and he couldn’t help but retch.

At one end of the corridor, hurried footsteps sounded.

“Zhao Kaile?!” Zhan Hang finally found the place, slightly out of breath, and hurried forward to check on him. “Why didn’t you reply to my messages for so long? What’s wrong?”

Zhao Kaile gasped in pain a few times, struggling to say, “I’m sorry…”

“What are you sorry for.” Zhan Hang frowned, half squatting in front of him, continuously stroking his forehead and back, speaking softly, “What’s wrong?”

Zhao Kaile kept gasping, unable to speak for a long time.

Zhan Hang hurriedly said, “Your brother will be fine, I guarantee it.”

Zhao Kaile looked up at him, eyes still somewhat teary, lips parting, as if wanting to ask if it was really true.

“Really.” Zhan Hang looked at him frankly, not avoiding his gaze at all, patiently saying, “I’m not a doctor, but I know perfectly well how to hit someone where it hurts most and how to protect vital areas when taking a beating. Your brother isn’t stupid, he definitely knows to cover his head when he’s about to get hit.”

Zhao Kaile finally found his voice, his throat already somewhat hoarse. “But he still hasn’t come out, I’m really scared, Brother Hang, I…”

Zhan Hang used his fingertip to wipe away a tear for him, then said solemnly, “Zhao Kaile, don’t make a fuss out of nothing. People’s lives are tougher than you think. Don’t scare yourself.”

His voice was calm and steady, miraculously soothing Zhao Kaile’s emotions. The previous nausea also completely disappeared.

Zhao Kaile finally calmed down somewhat. He lowered his head to look at Zhan Hang’s hand, where there was still a bloodstained scrape on the back. Zhan Hang noticed him spacing out again, followed his gaze downward, understood, and then casually said, “Minor injury.”

Zhao Kaile acted as if he hadn’t heard. He rummaged through his utility bag and pulled out a band-aid, lowering his head to apply it for him. It was still the pink packaged one, not yet used up despite having it for so long.

Zhan Hang moved the corner of his mouth, not resisting, letting him carefully apply it, then said softly, “Thank you.”

Zhao Kaile packed his bag away and continued spacing out.

Zhan Hang got up on his own and sat beside him, quietly accompanying him while waiting for Zhao Kaiming to come out.

“Brother Hang, when you went to give your statement, did the police see your face?” Zhao Kaile stared blankly at the floor, suddenly asking.

Zhan Hang gave an affirmative sound.

Zhao Kaile asked dazedly, “Did I get you into terrible trouble?”

“Don’t worry. In front of police officers, we’re all ordinary citizens.” Zhan Hang teased him, “Good citizen Mr. Zhan saw injustice and acted bravely, teaching a lesson to a bunch of ex-convict hooligans. Even if it gets out, it’s positive news.”

Zhao Kaile’s nose was still stinging, and upon hearing this, he felt like crying again.

Zhan Hang said, “To infinity and beyond.”

Zhao Kaile was startled for a moment, turned to look at him, thinking, Buzz Lightyear.

“Don’t worry.” Zhan Hang hooked the corner of his mouth at him, saying, “You’re too timid, Zhao Kaile. You need to borrow some courage to save the Earth from Buzz Lightyear.”

Zhao Kaile fell silent, seeming to sink into a contemplative state.

He admitted that Zhan Hang was right. If he hadn’t encountered Zhan Hang tonight, he couldn’t imagine how he would have handled this situation. Perhaps he and Zhao Kaiming would have been beaten black and blue together, only discovered the next day. Perhaps some other kind person would have successfully called the police, and he and Zhao Kaiming would have been sent to the hospital together, but he had no experience with any relevant procedures and would definitely waste a lot of time on these trivial matters.

But Zhan Hang wasn’t flustered at all when encountering these things. He always seemed to know what to do next, clearly aware of what he should do.

Zhan Hang sat quietly to the side without disturbing him. His original intention was simply to get Zhao Kaile to perk up a bit, not to only hang his head when encountering problems. He had no idea how far his thoughts had wandered.

As it turned out, Zhan Hang’s prediction was correct. Half an hour later, Zhao Kaiming was wheeled out of the emergency room.

“Mild concussion and cerebral hemorrhage, excessive blood loss causing short-term shock, fracture of the left third rib, thirty-two instances of subcutaneous tissue edema and swelling…” The doctor listed them one by one, then said to the two of them, “The patient is temporarily out of danger now. He needs to remain in bed under observation for a week. After that, if there are no problems, he can be transferred to a regular ward.”

Upon hearing this, Zhao Kaile’s legs went soft. His long-tense nerves finally relaxed, nearly causing him to kneel. Only then did he realize that those grateful family members kneeling and kowtowing on TV were real.

Zhan Hang half supported him with one hand and thanked the doctor.

The next day, Zhao Kaiming woke up in the hospital bed, his entire body wrapped up like a mummy. The slightest thought of turning over caused intense pain in his abdomen, and he couldn’t help but cry out.

Zhao Kaile had been lying by the bedside all night. Hearing the movement, he immediately woke up and asked nervously, “Brother?! How are you?? Does it still hurt?”

“It hurts…” Zhao Kaiming saw his face and heard his voice, finally feeling at ease. For a moment, he wanted to both cry and laugh. “Brother is still alive.”

Zhao Kaile was on the verge of tears of joy, shouting loudly, “Alive!!”

Zhao Kaiming said with difficulty, “Shh… lower your voice, that shout made my head buzz…”

“Are you hungry?” Zhao Kaile couldn’t help but show a bit of a smile, leaning closer to ask, “Do you want to eat something? Do you want water?”

Zhao Kaiming said weakly, “Seems like there’s still some anesthetic effect… where are we?”

“At the hospital.” Zhao Kaile hurriedly said, “Those people who beat you have been detained. Once the disability assessment comes out…”

Zhao Kaiming: “No rush, no rush… I think I heard Boss Zhan’s voice yesterday, was I imagining things?”

Hearing this, Zhao Kaile instantly fell silent, then hesitantly said, “It was him. He helped you beat those people up, went to the police station himself to give a statement, and came to the hospital to keep me company while waiting for you to come out. He only left in the middle of the night.”

After hearing this, Zhao Kaiming also fell silent, taking quite a while to recover, murmuring, “This is a huge favor we owe.”

Zhao Kaile weakly lay back down, burying his face in the blanket, distressed. “I know.”

Zhao Kaiming hissed, no matter how he thought about it, he found it unbelievable.

He had always felt that Zhan Hang was just like what he saw on TV, high above, cold, and arrogant. How could he possibly appear in that narrow and dirty alley? How could he possibly get into a big fight with others for someone like him who wasn’t even closely related?

Zhao Kaile seemed to see through his thoughts and immediately said seriously, “Brother Hang has always been righteous! Much better than those shady friends of yours!”

“Ha.” Zhao Kaiming closed his eyes, his throat still somewhat hoarse. “It was Brother who misjudged him and dragged you two down.”

Zhao Kaile was still somewhat worried. “Do they have any other accomplices? Will they continue coming after you?”

Zhao Kaiming fell silent, shaking his head slightly.

Author’s note:
Who the hell keeps making wishes to Santa Claus for handsome guys? Getting kidnapped from home for no reason, speechless.