Chapter 9: Apologize to my brother first.

Yang Jingtian had barely stepped off the slope when he was dragged into an alley by several boys.

"What—what do you want?!" Seeing the fierce-looking men, Yang Jingtian was seized by panic.

"Smack!" Luo Xiang, the leader, slapped him directly across the face. "Shut up! You answer what I ask, or I'll make sure you don't walk out of this slope in one piece!"

Yang Jingtian had never encountered such a situation before and nodded immediately. "Please, brothers, don't hit me."

"That day Zhou Xiaonan came to find you—what was it really about?!"

"She... she came to borrow class notes from our class monitor, that's... that's all!"

"Smack! You'd better think carefully before you answer again!"

"It's true, big brother! It really is! Please, stop hitting me!"

"Then why did he borrow the notes? Zhou Xiaonan doesn't need those notes!"

"For... for..."

"Smack! For whom? Speak! If you don't, I'll kill you!"

"For... for Chu Nan." Tears welled up in Yang Jingtian's eyes. He was naturally timid, and being bullied by a group like this made it easy for him to shed a few tears.

Luo Xiang grinned, his gaze turning vicious. "Who is Chu Nan, and where is he now?!"

"Chu... Chu Nan is a student in our class. He is currently... in the inpatient department of the affiliated hospital..."

"Which inpatient building? Speak!"

"It's... it's 503, yes, 503! I remember clearly!"

"Hmph! Useless trash! Crying after just a few slaps?!" Luo Xiang shoved Yang Jingtian to the ground. "Let's go!"

"Yes, Brother Luo!" As Luo Xiang and his cronies left, Yang Jingtian wiped his tears, his eyes filled with unease and deep inner conflict.

"No, I have to get to the hospital before them to warn Old Chu. He can't handle these people right now!" Yang Jingtian wasn't stupid; he knew this was likely the work of one of Zhou Xiaonan's suitors or enemies. He just hadn't expected them to resort to such extreme measures.

Yang Jingtian scrambled out of the alley, hailed a taxi, and sped away. He knew this was risky, and he even questioned if it was worth it—after all, Chu Nan had started this, and he could have stayed out of it. But then he remembered how, two years ago, when he was being bullied, Old Chu had stood up for him. His hesitation vanished.

"Sigh, if only Old Chu had a cell phone, I wouldn't have to risk coming to warn him." At that moment, Yang Jingtian even considered buying him one.

Meanwhile, Chu Nan sat in his hospital bed, staring at the notebook in his hands. He had already read it once, but the handwriting was so beautiful that he felt drawn to it. And the thought that Jiang Yuwei had written these words gave him an urge to read them over and over, as if the notebooks held some kind of spell. At one point, he even pressed his face against the notebook and took a deep breath.

"Is this the scent of Jiang Yuwei?" Chu Nan looked intoxicated. But a moment later, he froze, then gave himself a sharp slap across the face.

"Chu Nan, have some self-respect, will you? You're 30 years old! Show some dignity!"

"Chu Nan! Chu Nan, this is bad! You need to leave—get out of here now!" Just as Chu Nan was berating himself, the chubby Yang Jingtian burst in, grabbing Chu Nan's hand and trying to pull him away.

"Wait, wait, what are you doing? Have you lost your mind? Can't you see I'm on an IV drip? Where are you trying to take me?!" Chu Nan was bewildered, though he frowned slightly at the two red marks on Yang Jingtian's face.

"Ah, right, you're hospitalized. What do we do? That group is coming soon!" Yang Jingtian paced frantically, looking completely lost.

"Stop, stop! Speak clearly—what group are you talking about?" Chu Nan frowned.

Yang Jingtian looked horrified. "Don't tell me they already came to find you?"

"What do you mean they already found me? What are you talking about?"

"Then what about that slap mark on your face?!"

Chu Nan gave an awkward laugh. "I accidentally bumped into the bed frame while sleeping. You know how hard these hospital beds are."

"Oh, is that so? Wait, no, how can a bed frame leave a slap mark?!"

"Stop talking nonsense and tell me what's going on!" Chu Nan said, feeling agitated. It was obvious his brother had been beaten, and being kept in the dark didn't sit well with him.

Just as Yang Jingtian was about to speak, the door opened again. Three teenagers entered, with Luo Xiang leading the way.

"Well, well, so you're here. You damn Yang Jingtian, you dared to lie to us and make us search the fifth floor!"

"Chu... Chu Nan, it's them!" Yang Jingtian panicked, instinctively shrinking behind Chu Nan, completely forgetting that Chu Nan was a patient unable to leave his bed.

"Drag him out!" Luo Xiang said with a dark expression.

"Wait a second," Chu Nan frowned. "Who are you three? My brother hasn't offended you, has he?"

"Heh, your brother hasn't offended me? He lied and said you were in 503, but you're actually in 302. You call that not offending us?" Luo Xiang's eyes were filled with malice.

Chu Nan nodded. "Oh, so you're after me? If I recall correctly, I haven't offended you either, have I?"

"You haven't offended us, but you offended our boss!" one of Luo Xiang's lackeys said.

"Who is your boss? Tell me, maybe I know him."

"Our boss is..."

"Why waste breath on him? Just finish him!" Luo Xiang interrupted his lackey.

Chu Nan sneered, unfazed. "Let's see who dares to make a move today. We're all adults—do you know the consequences of beating a patient in a hospital? You don't want to spend a few years eating prison food, do you? Oh, and I forgot to tell you, there's surveillance in here. It doesn't matter if you go to jail, but what about your parents?"

"Don't try to threaten me! We haven't even started yet!" Luo Xiang looked wary, instinctively glancing around the room. His two lackeys looked even worse, their bodies trembling.

"You need to get the situation straight. It's not me threatening you; it's you threatening me. You want to hit me? Fine, I'm sitting right here. Go ahead, hit me."

"You damn—"

"Chu Nan, what are you doing?!" A soft-spoken nurse in a white coat walked in. Seeing her, Luo Xiang and the others lowered their heads, looking like three turtles retreating into their shells.

"Sister Xiaoyan, you're here. Nothing much, why?" Sister Xiaoyan was the nurse in charge of his IVs and medication these past few days. They had gotten to know each other, and Chu Nan could tell she was a very warm-hearted person who had just finished her internship.

"Oh, I heard it was quite noisy in here, so I wanted to see what was going on." Sister Xiaoyan gave the group a meaningful look. They didn't look like students—after all, what student dyes their hair yellow? But if anyone was bullying her patient, she wouldn't stand for it.

Luo Xiang and his crew kept their heads bowed. While fighting was common for them, it usually happened out of sight. They didn't have the guts to openly assault someone in a hospital; at the end of the day, they were just students.

"Nothing, we were just chatting about where to hang out once I recover."

"That's good. If you need anything, make sure to call me." Sister Xiaoyan turned to leave.

"Don't worry, Sister Xiaoyan, I'll definitely call you if anything happens. And please, close the door on your way out." Chu Nan winked at Luo Xiang.

"See? There are plenty of people around. I don't think you dare to do anything, do you?"

Luo Xiang looked frustrated. "You're lucky today. Let's go."

"Wait."

"What the hell..." Luo Xiang, worried about cameras, lowered his voice. "Brat, don't push us!"

Chu Nan laughed. "Why would I push you? I just want to know who your 'boss' is, and what I did to offend him. Tell me, and I'll change it!"

Luo Xiang rolled his eyes. "Our boss is Long Junhao. You shouldn't have gotten close to our big sister, Zhou Xiaonan, because she's Long's girlfriend!"

Chu Nan paused, then nodded. "I see. Well, alright, I understand. Rest assured, I won't approach her again."

"Good, you're smart. Let's go."

"Wait!"

"What the hell do you want now?"

"What if she approaches me first?"

"Don't be an idiot! You stay far away from her—Zhou Xiaonan isn't someone you can touch!"

Chu Nan smiled. "Sorry, I can't agree to that."

"What did you say? Say it again!" Luo Xiang's face turned dark.

"Let's put that aside for a moment. You three need to apologize to my brother first," Chu Nan said calmly.