Chapter 44: 44

Before returning to the campus, Qin Juran rode around the city on her bike. In recent years, media companies have sprung up like mushrooms in C City, and a company like Sheng Heng couldn’t compare to those other larger ones with more well-known reputations.

Qin Juran had originally agreed to the interview because she liked how the company recruited and supported new talents, but after tonight’s conversation, directly asking her to lead a team seemed a little too good to be true.

Usually, new employees had misgivings about not being treated well, but Qin Jurn thought she might just be the first person who had misgivings about being treated too well. And there was Mr. Chen, who claimed to be an HR representative. No matter what the profession is, anyone who has been in an industry for a long time will have would inevitably have a manner of nonchalance. However, Mr. Chen’s enthusiasm seemed to exceed that of any regular HR representative.

Qin Juran shook her head, not wanting to think too much into it. Anyways, the starting date was in two months, so she’d have plenty of time to prepare if she decided to join.

It was already late by the time Qin Juran arrived back at her dorm. She had sent a message to Ruan Nan right when she finished the interview, and by then, Ruan Nan had already returned to her apartment from dinner.

Not wanting her to worry, Qin Juran also said that she was already at home at the time, and told her to sleep early.

Right as Qin Juran made it to the campus gates, she saw a group of rowdy guys surrounding a single male student. Since Qin Juran hated getting involved in these types of things, she planned on driving straight past, but when she turned around for a quick glance, she saw that the student who staggered out from the crowd was none other than Zhou Ziqing.

He must’ve been beaten, as his hair was ruffled and there was blood trailing down his head and muddy footprints on his white shirt. However, the group didn’t seem to plan on letting him go so soon. They chased after him noisily, shouting assaults along the lines of “Shameless mistress!”

Qin Juran couldn’t see Zhou Ziqing’s face clearly, but she knew that he was in a helpless situation. As he ran, the students nearby all avoided him, not wanting to get involved. Qin Juran remembered that Ruan Nan had mentioned that Zhou Ziqing wasn’t able to make it to the dinner, so he was most likely caught up by this trouble.

As Zhou Ziqing began running in her direction, Qin Juran blared the horn on her bike, attracting various glances from the surrounding students. She furrowed her brows and quickly called out, “Zhou Ziqing, get on.”

Zhou Ziqing didn’t even care that it was Qin Juran; he immediately stumbled onto the backseat of the bike. Some of the guys nearly pulled him off, but Qin Juran made a sharp 180 turn and plowed through the group, blaring the horn in a threatening manner.

Despite the ruckus coming from behind them, Qin Juran didn’t dare slow down. She looped around the campus and only came to a stop in a small clearing with no streetlights when they made sure that no one was following. As soon as she parked, Zhou Ziqing quickly leaped off the bike, as if he had gone against his personal principles.

Qin Juran assessed Zhou Ziqing. Although she couldn’t see him clearly in the shadows, she had a feeling that his head wound hadn’t stopped bleeding: “How’d you end up provoking those guys?”

Zhou Ziqing was one of the well-known rich second-generation kids at their school. For him to willingly get beaten to such a degree, he must’ve done something quite shameful.

“None of your business.” Sure enough, Zhou Ziqing had calmed down a little and was back to his cold attitude. Although Qin Juran had just helped him out, his tone of voice didn’t show an ounce of gratitude.

“Fine then, I’ll be on my way then. But just so you know, there’s quite a distance from here back to your dorm; if those guys catch you, there’s not going to be anyone to save you.”

“……”

Qin Juran didn’t even have the heart to argue with someone in such a pitiful state. She pulled her bike up to him: “Get on, I’ll give you a ride to your dorm.”

“They know where I live.”

“And where Lin Wei lives, too.”

“Do you have your identification card?” Qin Juran asked.

“Didn’t bring it.” He was just planning on going out for a drink, why would he have brought his identification card? Zhou Ziqing hung his head: “What if I go ask Sister Nan?”

Qin Juran turned her head to glare at him: “Get on the bike, I’ll get you a room.”

“……”

Once Qin Juran returned to her dorm to retrieve her identification card, she explained briefly to Huang Ying about Zhou Ziqing’s situation. Huang Ying listened, then asked whether Zhou Ziqing was the male student that was shorter than Lin Wei who always tagged alongside Ruan Nan, to which Qin Juran replied affirmatively. Huang Ying quickly dug out some gauze and bandages from her drawer, as well as a unisex style jacket, and handed them to Qin Juran.

Qin Juran stashed all the supplies and made her way back downstairs. Since Zhou Ziqing seemed to have some lingering fears, he asked Qin Juran to find a hotel that was very far away. Once they arrived, Qin Juran directed him to stand under the streetlight so that she could wipe the blood from his forehead, but he avoided her touch: “I’ll do it myself inside.”

Qin Juran replied, “You don’t even have your ID, and you want to go inside looking like that?”

Zhou Ziqing understood her reasoning. He soon surrendered and let Qin Juran tend to his wound. Thankfully, his injury was mild enough that her basic first-aid skills were able to take of it. She wiped off the blood with a wet towel, then instructed him to look for her inside after 20 minutes.

Once Qin Juran booked the room, she notified him of the room number. Soon after, a crestfallen Zhou Ziqing walked inside. Inside the well-lit room, Qin Juran was finally able to get a good look at him – not only was his forehead smeared with blood, but his eyes were rimmed with purple bruises, and half of his face was swollen. By the time Qin Juran returned from the bathroom with some wet towels, Zhou Ziqing had taken off his jacket and was staring at the muddy footprints implanted on the fur.

As she handed him the towels, Zhou ZIqing frowned and asked, “My clothes are ruined. How am I going to go outside tomorrow?”

Qin Juran passed him Huang Ying’s jacket: “Here are my roommate’s clothes. I’ll come check you out of the room tomorrow morning at 8.”

Zhou Ziqing stared at the clothes: “I’m not wearing those ugly things.”

“……” Qin Juran’s patience was wearing thin. Rather than replying, she simply picked up the jacket and moved towards the exit. When Zhou Ziqing saw that she was serious, he quickly stood up and tugged at the clothes in her arms: “Alright, alright, I understand.”

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Qin Juran glared at him as if he were an idiot, then let go of the clothes. “There’s ramen in the cupboard, you can make yourself some if you’re hungry.”

“Ok.”

Qin Juran examined his injuries once again, and once she made sure he was alright, she finally announced, “I’m leaving now. Don’t toss around too much in your sleep and open up your wound again.”

After a brief pause, Zhou Ziqing kicked off his shoes sullenly. “Did you hear what they said when they cursed at me?”

“Mm.” Qin Juran thought back to the chants of “Shameless mistress!”

“You’re not going to ask about it?”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Zhou Ziqing stood in silence for a long moment.

Qin Juran broke him off: “The reason I helped you without any questions today was because you’re one of Ah-Ruan’s close friends and I trust her judgment. Since you’ve been friends for so many years, I’m sure there’s another side to your story than how it appears from the outside.”

“But of course, if you’ve really become that kind of person and did something as unforgivable as what they accused you of, then I don’t think Ah-Ruan will want to remain friends with you anymore.”

“Zhou Ziqing, people change.”

The lamplight shone upon Zhou Ziqing’s listless profile. Meanwhile, Qin Juran leaned against the desk, staring at him solemnly. After a long while, he spoke: “I’m not the freaking ‘mistress.’ I didn’t know she had a boyfriend.”

After Zhou Ziqing continued to rant for a while, Qin Juran finally understood the situation. There was a girl who had chased him for a long time. Although he had refused at first, he eventually gave in and agreed to date her. When they were together, he spent no shortage of money, even buying her a few purses. Who knew that one day, he would find himself cornered by some guys, accusing him of cheating and demanding 50,000 yuan in compensation.

After listening to his story, Qin Juran surmised that he had been scammed by them. Usually, Zhou Ziqing would hang out in a group at S University, but since he was alone today, they took the opportunity to seize him and beat him up.

“They better f*cking watch out tomorrow; I’m going to beat them so bad that they can’t get out of bed.”

Qin Juran spoke thoughtfully, “I know that you’re telling the truth, but I suggest that you hold back and accept their offer.”

“Why? I’m not afraid of them.”

Qin Juran met his eyes: “Because you are still a student living on campus – you have a lot more to lose than they do.”

Zhou Ziqing didn’t say anything for a while. Finally, he yielded, nodding and mumbling, “I got it, thank you very much.”

Without replying, Qin Juran merely glanced at the time on her phone and pulled up her WeChat, holding it out before Zhou Ziqing: “Add me as a contact.”

Zhou Ziqing raised his head in surprise: “No way; you think I’m like Lin Wei and can just be won over like that? I don’t give away my contact to any woman that easily.”

Qin Juran frowned, kicking a foot against the bed: “What are you talking about? The room cost 350 dollars a night, please transfer the money to me.”

“……”

The next morning, Qin Juran came to check out of the hotel room. Instead of going to school, Zhou Ziqing had called his friends over directly to solve the problem. As she passed through, Qin Juran saw Lin Wei doubled over in laughter at Zhou Ziqing’s face, so purple with bruises that he looked like a panda bear.

Once Qin Juran finished checking out, she noticed that the jacket Huang Ying lent actually fit Zhou Ziqing quite well. She sent a message to Huang Yin asking whether she needed it back soon, but she replied that they could keep it for as long as needed.

As the group waited outside of the hotel entrance, Lin Wei asked Qin Juran why she hadn’t come last night. He said that Ruan Nan had been glued to her phone the entire dinner, waiting for news from the “fox vixen.”

Qin Juran laughed, asking the two of them whether they were free on Thursday, since she had promised Ruan Nan to a dinner.

As soon as he heard the word “dinner,” Lin Wei agreed eagerly. When Zhou Ziqing didn’t reply, he nudged his arm: “Hey mister, she’s talking to you, can you go or not?”

Zhou Ziqing glared at Lin Wei reproachingly before glancing back at Qin Juran. Finally, he replied stiffly, “I guess I can go.”

Qin Juran didn’t want to waste any more time and got on her bike to go to class. Zhou Ziqing had asked her to keep the matter from Ruan Nan, not wanting her to worry.

Over the past few days, Qin Juran had taken the opportunity to look into the “Sheng Heng” company, as well as two other media companies of similar standing. If Sheng Heng didn’t work out, then those other two were good options. Regardless, come winter break, she would begin either her internship or entrepreneurship.

After all, she couldn’t keep Ah-Ruan waiting for too long.

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