“I understand.” Gong Ze replied quietly, making a shush gesture. Lu Youling immediately nodded like a chicken pecking rice. Only then did Gong Ze release the hand covering his mouth and call out toward the door: “Who is it? I’m not dressed. What’s the matter?”
From outside came Feng Xueping’s voice. “Gong Ze, it’s me. Hurry up and get up. Breakfast soon. By the way, my cousin’s room seems empty. It’s just the two of us left.”
Gong Ze: “Got it. You go wash up first. I’ll change clothes.”
Outside came Feng Xueping’s answering sound. Soon the light and shadow at the doorway moved and disappeared. He had probably walked away.
“What do we do?” Lu Youling clutched the blanket, expression terrible. “You can’t let my little brother find out I’m in your room!”
Although he was interested in Gong Ze, Gong Ze was his little brother’s friend, and there was also a ten-year age gap. As an adult, Lu Youling still wanted face. He was too embarrassed to let his little brother know.
Gong Ze’s arm was still over his shoulder. He lowered his voice to soothe him. “It’s fine. Later I’ll go out and leave with him. After we’re gone, you come out. He’ll only think you had something at the hospital and left early.”
Lu Youling bit his lower lip and nodded. “Okay…”
Then he noticed Gong Ze was still holding him. Lu Youling’s face reddened. He wanted to break free, but subconsciously he also clung to the familiar tenderness. But the next second Gong Ze released his arm and got up to dress, leaving only Lu Youling frowning with a sleepy face, inexplicably unhappy.
After Gong Ze finished changing, he reminded Lu Youling not to make noise in his room, then left and closed the door.
Outside, Feng Xueping had already washed up. He wondered why it was only six in the morning and his cousin was already not home. Where had he gone so early?
Gong Ze brushed his teeth as if nothing was wrong and said casually: “He’s a chief surgeon. Maybe the hospital called him urgently. Illness never follows a schedule. Isn’t that how doctors are? If there’s an emergency, you have to crawl out of bed at three in the morning. He probably left too early and saw we were sleeping, so he didn’t wake us.”
“Mm, true.”
Feng Xueping scratched his head and believed it, complaining: “That’s the bad part of being a doctor. Even off-duty time isn’t free. An emergency comes and you have to run back.”
He said: “Last year during New Year’s Eve dinner, there was a patient in their inpatient department scheduled for surgery after the new year, but that night the patient worsened. My cousin didn’t even eat New Year’s Eve dinner and rushed over to perform a seven-hour surgery. Tsk tsk. Although my cousin earns a lot, I’m not jealous at all. They really work hard.”
Gong Ze smiled. “Don’t rush to feel sorry for your cousin. In the future when you become a police officer, it’ll be even rougher, and you won’t earn as much as your cousin either.”
Feng Xueping’s face turned green upon hearing this.
“Damn, don’t crush my enthusiasm for serving the people, okay!”
“Hahaha, I’m telling the truth.”
The two roughhoused. After Gong Ze finished washing up, they together ran the floor-cleaning machine over the house. Gong Ze used the excuse of not rummaging through the owner’s things, so they only cleaned outside the bedrooms, and packed the leftover garbage from yesterday into trash bags.
Finally Feng Xueping sent his cousin Lu Youling a message telling him they were leaving.
“My cousin didn’t reply. How about calling?”
“He’s probably in surgery. Don’t call. He wouldn’t hear it anyway.”
Actually, when Lu Youling came to sleep with him, he had not brought his phone at all. His phone was still in his own room. If they called and the phone rang in the bedroom, wouldn’t that expose him?
“True.”
Feng Xueping had not thought of this at all.
Gong Ze smiled and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. “Let’s go. Breakfast, then we still have to explain these injuries to our families.”
A day had passed and the swelling had not gone down.
Speaking of this, Feng Xueping scratched his head, his attention diverted, and said worriedly: “Yeah, let’s go. Think while eating… Sigh, do you think your parents will believe us if we say we fell?”
“The wound on the mouth is okay. I’m just afraid the one on the face won’t work.”
“Sigh…”
Crack.
The sound of talking disappeared along with the sound of the room door closing. Only then did Lu Youling carefully walk out of Gong Ze’s room.
Seeing the empty living room, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he thought of the scene last night when Gong Ze coaxed him to sleep, and little deer pounded wildly in his chest.
…
The two ate breakfast at the KFC downstairs. Gong Ze thought KFC burgers differed from store to store, which was magical. Clearly the ingredients looked the same, yet some were made especially delicious while others were awful.
The one they chose was good.
But the soy milk was average.
While drinking porridge, Feng Xueping even complained: “If not for the fact that downstairs from my cousin’s place only this place sells breakfast, I’d rather choose a roadside pancake stall.”
Gong Ze agreed: “Everyone who lives here is a white-collar little elite.” They came up and immediately ordered coffee sets to take away.
After eating, the two unified their story, saying the injuries were from acting bravely for justice.
“At least I didn’t lie.”
Feng Xueping poked Gong Ze with a teasing smile.
Gong Ze rolled his eyes at him, amused.
After the two got home, Feng Xueping’s grandpa was okay. Hearing it was for justice and that he was not badly hurt, Grandpa Feng only scolded his grandson a couple of times and let it go.
But when Gong Ze got home, his parents Ruan Aimei and Gong Haiping were badly frightened.
The two had always treated their son as a good child “easily bullied.”
Good grades, thin and slender, and not many friends… Thinking carefully, wasn’t that the template of a child easily bullied?
As a result, when Gong Ze was little and his black belly acted up and he caused trouble every time, his parents always felt their son must be innocent.
Feng Xueping, who knew the truth: Uncle, Auntie! Your little brat is wicked! He’s not the one being bullied. He made all the bad kids at school cry!
Ruan Aimei distressingly touched the wound on her son’s face. “Why go act bravely for justice? You’re so young. Although Mom sounds wrong saying this, in the future when you see bad people, run if you can. Do what’s within your ability. Stay far away from dangerous things, okay! Besides, there are other adults around.”
His father Gong Haiping was thunderously furious. The tall, dull man paced in circles around the room, roaring: “I’ll go find them! What kind of skill is bullying a child!”
Gong Ze lowered his head to conveniently let his mom touch his head. Hearing this, the wicked thing said without blushing: “It’s fine, Dad. The police already handled it. Besides, I hit the hardest. I didn’t suffer.”
Ruan Aimei muttered: “That Feng Xueping kid too. He promised so well. Why didn’t he pull you back?”
Gong Ze curved his eyes and acted cute to his mom: “I went first. He got hit more protecting me and is injured worse than me. I’m the one who owes him.”
Hearing this, Ruan Aimei immediately changed her tune: “Oh, so that’s how it is. Then we have to thank him. Mom was wrong to blame him. Mom will stew some soup and have your dad deliver it later. You drink more too and nourish yourself.”
His father Gong Haiping immediately nodded in agreement.
This matter was considered over.
But when his mom went to cook, his dad sat on the sofa and glanced at his son. After a moment he said…
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