Wan Qiu sat stiffly inside the car, extraordinarily well behaved.
He had never ridden in a car like this before. It was clean and beautiful, and instead of the gasoline smell he remembered, there was only a faint scent of cigarette smoke. It smelled better than the smoke on Dad.
Wan Qiu glanced at the man in the driver's seat. The man was clearly not looking at him, but seemed to sense his gaze anyway and lowered his voice in gentle reassurance. "Don't worry. The hospital isn't far. We'll be there soon."
Wan Qiu unconsciously lifted his hand again, intending to cover the wound so the blood would not drip down and stain the seat.
"Don't touch it," the man stopped him. "Your hand is dirty."
Wan Qiu looked at his palm, smeared with a mixture of blood and dust, and seemed at a complete loss.
Wan Qiu was taken to the hospital. The bright, polished lobby was even more dazzling than the most beautiful building he had ever seen—his school. The man led him by the hand, and Wan Qiu obediently followed until they reached a middle-aged doctor in a white coat.
When the doctor examined Wan Qiu's injury, he intended to cut away the clothing around it. Wan Qiu said, "Could you not cut it? I can roll up the sleeve."
"It'll rub against the wound," the doctor warned.
"It's okay." Wan Qiu moved to roll up the sleeve.
"It's only a piece of clothing. If it's ruined, it's ruined." The man spoke up to stop him.
Wan Qiu pressed his lips together. He did not want this durable piece of clothing to be cut. It was also a precious shirt Mom had bought him. He lifted his eyes and glanced at the man.
The moment Wan Qiu looked at him, the man suddenly felt strangely as if he were being carefully observed. There was something inexplicably unnerving about the child's gaze.
"I understand." Wan Qiu agreed, but that reluctant compromise made the man feel deeply uncomfortable.
The man frowned and, for some reason, yielded. "Fine. I'll help you. Bear with the pain."
He stood helplessly in front of Wan Qiu, bent down, and carefully rolled the sleeve upward. The fabric seemed to have stuck to the wound, tugging slightly as it came away.
The man watched Wan Qiu's expression, only to find no sign that he was enduring anything. It was as though the pain of fabric rubbing across the injury truly did not affect him at all.
But when his entire arm was exposed, both the man and the doctor were shocked. Across that thin, tender arm were several bruised and swollen patches, along with numerous wounds that had already scabbed over.
"Were you beaten?" The doctor, who was very familiar with all kinds of injuries, suddenly glared viciously at the man standing behind Wan Qiu, wondering whether he should call the police.
"No. I wasn't beaten," Wan Qiu suddenly said.
"Those injuries weren't caused by—"
"I wasn't beaten." Wan Qiu stated his position with absolute firmness, making the doctor hesitate.
"Sorry, Doctor. Please deal with the wound first." The man stared at the marks on Wan Qiu's arm, his expression extremely complicated, then abruptly turned and left the room.
Once the man was gone, the doctor asked Wan Qiu seriously, "Don't be afraid. If someone hit you, tell me directly. I'll help you call the police."
Wan Qiu only shook his head.
The doctor frowned, somewhat helpless.
When the man returned, he brought someone else in with him.
Wan Qiu glanced back at the newcomer and found his attention inexplicably drawn to the person the man had brought.
The newcomer was slightly shorter than the first man, but his presence was far stronger. He was middle-aged, dressed in simple summer clothes, his hair meticulously arranged. He was exceptionally handsome, tall and slender, with a somewhat refined air.
From the moment the middle-aged man entered, he kept looking at Wan Qiu. Wan Qiu lifted his eyes to study the man's expression in turn. The man's gaze was complicated, filled with many emotions Wan Qiu could not understand.
"You are…" The doctor hesitated when he saw the middle-aged man, then stared in surprise. "Mr. Chu? You…"
"Treat the wound carefully." Chu Jianshu's expression darkened slightly when he saw the injuries on Wan Qiu's arm, but he kept his emotions restrained.
"Ah, yes." The doctor did not understand, but vaguely sensed that the child in front of him might have some connection to Mr. Chu. His manner toward Wan Qiu became gentler than before. "Don't be afraid. It hurts a little, but disinfecting a wound is like that. Endure it for a bit."
Wan Qiu nodded. The doctor's movements were very gentle.
Chu Jianshu stared at Wan Qiu's profile. Wan Qiu watched the wound. It looked rather severe, yet Wan Qiu seemed to have little perception of pain. His face remained calm, his body showing none of the reactions one would expect from pain, his gaze tranquil.
It was a little strange.
Wan Qiu's wound was soon wrapped in clean white gauze, and the injuries on his hand had been medicated again.
"Nothing looks wrong at present, but just in case, let's take an X-ray and make sure the bone wasn't affected." The doctor worked at his computer.
"Doctor, please order a blood test for this child as well," Chu Jianshu said.
"A blood test?" The doctor was a little puzzled, but if Mr. Chu asked for it, he would order it. "All right. I understand."
Wan Qiu watched as the doctor did something on the computer and printed out a form for the man.
The man took the form away. Wan Qiu could not even see what was written on it.
Wan Qiu followed the man everywhere—to take X-rays, to have blood drawn. Whatever they told him to do, he did without resistance. Only occasionally did he turn back to glance at "Mr. Chu."
Mr. Chu's eyes were strange. He did not look as though he wanted anything from Wan Qiu, nor as though he had something to say.
Wan Qiu did not know how to judge him, so he remained silent and did not speak.
When Wan Qiu sat beside Mr. Chu waiting for the X-rays, he kept his head lowered, staring at his legs the whole time, so quiet he might as well not have existed.
Unexpectedly, it was Mr. Chu beside him who first broke the silence. "Does it hurt?"
Wan Qiu glanced around. There were only the two of them at the moment. Once he confirmed the man was speaking to him, he answered, "No."
"Were you scared when the accident happened?" Chu Jianshu asked again.
"A little surprised." Surprised, not afraid, Wan Qiu answered.
Silence descended again.
Wan Qiu was not curious about the man beside him. He was only confused about why the other man was deliberately speaking to him.
Why talk to him?
Wan Qiu could not figure it out.
While following Mr. Chu, Wan Qiu saw a long line outside the doctor's consultation room, yet they went directly to the front.
"Fortunately, no bones were injured." The doctor saw them first and said after examining the X-ray, "This kid can really endure pain. The soft-tissue injuries are fairly serious."
"Thank you, Doctor," Mr. Chu said.
"Oh, no, no need." The doctor was clearly flattered.
Could they leave now?
Wan Qiu wondered. He lifted his eyes to study Mr. Chu's expression. He understood very clearly that the person whose words truly mattered here should be this man. Unfortunately, he still received no instruction from Mr. Chu.
The next time Wan Qiu saw the driver who had hit him was in the hospital lobby.
The driver's face was ashen. The tall yellow-haired man stood beside him, making him look like a frightened chick being marched along by a thug.
"Let's discuss it and settle privately," the driver proposed anxiously the moment he saw Wan Qiu. "Call your parents over. I'll pay some compensation."
The two tall men exchanged a glance. Mr. Chu bent slightly to accommodate Wan Qiu's shorter height and handed him his phone. "Call your guardian and have them come over."
Wan Qiu took the phone and saw the wallpaper on Mr. Chu's screen. It was a photograph of a family of five. Everyone in the family was strikingly good-looking, especially the woman, who was as beautiful as a celebrity.
It looked like an old photo from when they were younger. The woman's complexion did not look very good, and nobody in the family was smiling much.
Wan Qiu did not have time to study it closely before entering the phone number.
Chu Jianshu reached over, pressed the call button for him, and even turned on speakerphone in passing.
"Who is it?" came a woman's groggy, sleepy voice, carrying obvious irritation at having been awakened.
Wan Qiu hesitated, holding the phone. "Mom, it's me."
"Are you crazy? Where are you calling me from?" The instant the woman heard Wan Qiu's voice, she became impatient and shrill, her attitude openly nasty.
"I'm at the hospital. I was in a car accident. Some kind people helped me." Wan Qiu briefly explained the situation.
"What do you mean? You want me to come pay money?" The woman's voice immediately rose. "You money-losing curse, you unlucky little—"
Several curses in a row darkened Chu Jianshu's expression. A layer of gloom settled over his refined, handsome face.
Wan Qiu seemed deaf to the ugly words. His expression did not change at all. He merely said, "No, Mom. The driver told me to call you. He said we can settle privately and he'll pay money."
"Pay money?" At the mention of money, the woman's voice sounded more awake, and she was clearly interested. "Fine. Which hospital are you at? I'll come right over."
The contrast was so extreme that the two tall men listening nearby could not help nervously glancing at Chu Jianshu's expression.
