ACMS 48

Chapter 48 – Street Fight

Even though Qiao Le didn’t approve of Zhou Xiaoyun’s decision, it was a personal choice. He couldn’t really say much.

After a while, Zhou Xiaoyun calmed down a little and gave him an apologetic smile. “Look at me, dumping all this on you. You must be sick of hearing it.”

Qiao Le shook his head and said it was nothing, offered her a few words of comfort, and after a moment of thought, still said, “Sister Xiaoyun, you really should get the surgery done as soon as possible. Your health comes first.”

“I know.” Zhou Xiaoyun replied. “The doctor said I’m in good condition and could have the surgery as early as tomorrow. But I still can’t get in touch with him.”

She was talking about her boyfriend, Yang Jian.

She fell silent, then took out her phone to try calling him again. Earlier, he had simply not picked up; now, the call wouldn’t even go through.

She knew then—he had blocked her.

Because this wasn’t the first time, or even the second. Every time Yang Jian got annoyed with her, he would block her.

Qiao Le saw this and, though he felt bad for her, couldn’t help but say, “Sister Xiaoyun, he’s not someone you can count on. You should know that better than anyone.”

“Yeah.” Zhou Xiaoyun answered softly. She did know. Better than anyone.

She took a deep breath, like she had finally come to terms with it, and said, “I’ve made up my mind. I’ll have the surgery tomorrow. You’re right—nothing is more important than my own health.”

“I’m glad to hear that.” Qiao Le was relieved and reminded her, “Ask Brother Jiaxu for a few days off. After the surgery, make sure to rest and take care of yourself.”

“Mm.” Zhou Xiaoyun nodded, then hesitated a little as she looked at him. “Lele, are you free tomorrow?”

“I’m free in the morning. No classes at school—” Qiao Le paused, guessing what she meant. “You want me to go with you for the surgery?”

Zhou Xiaoyun said awkwardly, “I know it’s sudden and kind of over the line, but I don’t have any other friends, and I don’t want anyone at the bar to know—”

She was from out of town. Her parents weren’t around. For years, her life had revolved around her boyfriend. Aside from a few coworkers she occasionally drank with, she didn’t have anyone close.

If she hadn’t run into Qiao Le by chance, she wouldn’t have told anyone about this at all.

But she also knew the request was inappropriate. So by the end, she trailed off and changed her tune. “…Sorry, my head’s a mess. Just forget I said anything—”

“I can.” Qiao Le cut her off. “I’ll go with you, Sister Xiaoyun.”

Zhou Xiaoyun froze, and tears welled up again. “Lele?”

“Let’s go schedule the appointment first. I’ll come pick you up tomorrow.” Qiao Le comforted her. “Don’t worry. Medical technology is really advanced now. The procedure’s very standard—it’ll be fine.”

“Mm.” Zhou Xiaoyun wiped her tears. “Thank you, Lele.”

“What’s there to thank me for?” Qiao Le smiled. “Back when Xiao Man had a fever and was in the hospital, you brought food every day for a whole week, even made extra for me. I’m just going with you for a surgery—honestly, I still owe you.”

Back when Qiao Man was hospitalized, the hospital food was awful, and the outside food too greasy for a child. Zhou Xiaoyun had cooked at home and brought meals every day.

Zhou Xiaoyun was amused by him and finally relaxed a little. She went with him to find the doctor and scheduled the surgery for the next day.

When they came out of the consultation room, Zhou Xiaoyun asked, “Where’s Mr. Shen? Still on the phone?”

Qiao Le looked around the crowd but didn’t see him, so he took out his phone. “I’ll ask him.”

At that moment, Shen Hechuan was talking with Dr. Yao.

The OB-GYN department was crowded with patients and their families. To give Qiao Le and Zhou Xiaoyun some space to talk, he’d stepped outside to a quiet corner in the small garden to get some air.

But he hadn’t been there for two minutes before he heard shouting—along with a woman crying.

He stepped back and looked through an open window, seeing a pregnant woman leaning against the wall, sobbing. A middle-aged man stood beside her, looking anxious as he tried to console her gently. “Don’t cry, honey. The doctor said you’re almost full term. You can’t get too worked up.”

The pregnant woman was agitated and cried, “Don’t use the doctor to pressure me! The baby’s not in your belly—you can stand there and talk all calm. Do you even know how miserable I feel?”

“I know, I know. Just don’t cry, it’s not good for the baby—”

“The baby, the baby, all you care about is the baby!”

She punched the man. “Pregnancy’s already awful enough. Can’t you think about me for once? I’m puking bile every day, can’t even turn over without help, my legs cramp so bad I want to scream but don’t even have the strength—yet all you care about is the baby!”

The man tried to explain, “Isn’t that just how pregnancy is for everyone? I know it’s hard for you, but once the baby’s born, it’ll all be fine.”

“Once the baby’s born? Easy for you to say! Why don’t you try giving birth?”

Their shouting started bothering others, and a nurse came to take them back to the ward.

Shen Hechuan stood where he was, the pregnant woman’s words echoing in his head.

“Hey, aren’t you Qiao Le’s partner? What are you doing here?”

A voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

Shen Hechuan turned around to see a middle-aged male doctor standing behind him. The man asked, “Weren’t you with Qiao Le to see Doctor Liang? How’d it go? I didn’t misdiagnose, right?”

From the way he spoke, Shen Hechuan guessed this was Dr. Yao, the one who had examined Qiao Le last time.

“Dr. Yao.” He greeted him. “We’ve finished the consultation.”

“How’d it go? Everything okay?” Dr. Yao asked, clearly concerned.

“Everything’s fine,” Shen Hechuan replied.

“That’s good.” Dr. Yao adjusted his glasses, then launched into a long, enthusiastic explanation of everything they needed to watch out for during pregnancy—classic occupational habit. He only stopped when Qiao Le called.

After hearing that everything was settled, Shen Hechuan said, “I’m heading back now,” hung up, and turned to Dr. Yao. “Got it. Thanks, Doctor.”

Dr. Yao waved him off. “No need to thank me. These days same-sex marriage is common, but same-sex pregnancy is still rare. You’re very lucky to have your own child. Take good care of it, okay?”

Lucky?

Shen Hechuan thought, they really were lucky—but this so-called luck came with far too many dangers.

He didn’t tell Dr. Yao that they weren’t planning to keep it. He just thanked him again and went to find Qiao Le, and together they took Zhou Xiaoyun home.

—

The next day, Qiao Le drove himself to pick up Zhou Xiaoyun, and the two of them went to the hospital.

He didn’t tell Shen Hechuan about accompanying Zhou Xiaoyun for the surgery—because he’d promised to keep her secret.

The nurse saw him accompanying Zhou Xiaoyun and mistook him for her irresponsible boyfriend. Her gaze lingered on him a moment longer, with a hint of contempt.

Qiao Le didn’t explain. He simply waited outside the operating room during the procedure.

Sitting outside the OR, pregnant, while waiting for a friend to undergo an abortion was a bizarre feeling. Qiao Le couldn’t describe it—it even felt, for a moment, like he was the one lying in there.

Not far away, a young couple was arguing. The girl was scolding the boy for not using protection, for not thinking about her, and the boy was repeatedly apologizing, promising to be more careful next time.

Next time, I’ll be careful.

Qiao Le remembered Shen Hechuan had said the same thing. And he had been careful after that. It’s just—who would’ve thought that one time would be the one that hit the jackpot.

Zhou Xiaoyun’s surgery didn’t take long. When she regained consciousness, Qiao Le gave her the brown sugar water he’d prepared in advance. Once the IV was finished, she could go home.

On the way back, Zhou Xiaoyun sat in the passenger seat with her eyes closed. Qiao Le used one hand to pull out a couple tissues and passed them to her.

“…Thanks,” Zhou Xiaoyun said softly, taking the tissues to wipe the tears from her face.

At the entrance to her apartment complex, Qiao Le parked the car.

Zhou Xiaoyun said she’d treat him to a meal once she was feeling better. Qiao Le, not fully at ease, asked, “Want me to walk you upstairs?”

“No need. It was a minor surgery,” Zhou Xiaoyun said. “I’ll rest for a few days and be fine. You should get going—you’ve got class this afternoon, right?”

Qiao Le said, “Okay. Get some rest.”

“Mm.”

Zhou Xiaoyun got out of the car and walked alone toward the complex.

Just as Qiao Le was about to drive off, he noticed Zhou Xiaoyun’s phone had been left on the seat. He rolled down the window, about to call out to her, when he saw someone coming out from the complex and intercepting her.

The person wasn’t far, and Qiao Le immediately recognized him as Zhou Xiaoyun’s boyfriend—Yang Jian.

When things had gone wrong, this guy had vanished. Now that it was all over, here he was, crawling back out again.

Qiao Le saw them start to argue. Then Yang Jian raised a hand and slapped Zhou Xiaoyun across the face. Without hesitation, Qiao Le jumped out of the car and ran over, punching Yang Jian square in the face and sending him stumbling backward.

Zhou Xiaoyun let out a startled scream. Yang Jian was stunned by the sudden punch. When he regained his footing and saw Qiao Le, he exploded, “You hit me? You fucking crazy—”

Qiao Le didn’t wait for him to finish. He went in with a swift kick that knocked Yang Jian to the ground. “Damn right I hit you. Scumbag.”

The kick was heavy—Yang Jian rolled twice before he could react. Qiao Le grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, and shoved his face into the ground.

Yang Jian wasn’t even 1.7 meters tall—not a match for Qiao Le at all. Pinned to the ground, his face was distorted as he wailed, “Zhou Xiaoyun! You dumb bitch, what’re you standing there for? Tell him to let me go!”

Zhou Xiaoyun snapped out of it and hurried over. “Lele, let him go.”

Qiao Le didn’t loosen his grip. He looked up and asked, “Why did he hit you?”

“She’s my girlfriend! None of your goddamn business—”

Qiao Le yanked his hair and slammed his face harder into the ground. Yang Jian screamed, “Ow, ow, ow! Mercy! Please—”

Zhou Xiaoyun explained, “He saw me get out of your car and thought I’d hooked up with some rich guy.”

“Trash,” Qiao Le cursed again, unable to hold back. Zhou Xiaoyun had just had surgery, and this piece of shit dared to lay a hand on her?

“Let him go. Don’t stoop to his level—it won’t be good for you,” Zhou Xiaoyun pleaded. This was between her and Yang Jian. Qiao Le was still a student—she didn’t want to drag him into it.

Qiao Le let go. Yang Jian scrambled up and pointed at him, shouting, “You hit me! You’re not leaving without paying up!”

“Have you had enough?” Zhou Xiaoyun shouted angrily. “Is money the only thing you care about?!”

“Oh, I see! You’re defending him. You’re screwing him, aren’t you?” Yang Jian shouted irrationally. “Now I get why you like working at bars—must love flirting with men—”

Smack—

Zhou Xiaoyun slapped him across the face, tears brimming in her eyes. “Shut up! You know exactly how I treated you. Who the hell do you think you’re insulting?!”

It was the first time Zhou Xiaoyun had ever hit Yang Jian. He was stunned again. When he came to, his face twisted in rage as he raised a hand to strike back—but Qiao Le was faster. He grabbed Yang Jian’s arm and slapped him hard on the other cheek.

Left and right. A matching set.

The commotion drew a crowd. Yang Jian couldn’t win in a fight, so he called the police.

The station was just nearby. Officers arrived quickly and brought the three of them in to figure out what happened. Yang Jian wailed about being beaten by Qiao Le.

Though Qiao Le had only stepped in to protect Zhou Xiaoyun, he had indeed thrown punches—and the surveillance cameras at the gate had it all. No denying that.

The incident wasn’t severe, and the police, seeing that Qiao Le had a good attitude, asked how they wanted to resolve it. Yang Jian immediately shouted, “Money! He has to pay me! This won’t be over without compensation!”

Qiao Le didn’t object. The officer asked Yang Jian how much he wanted. Yang Jian threw out a ridiculous number: “Fifty thousand!”

“You’re insane!” Zhou Xiaoyun snapped. “You’re standing there just fine—what about you is worth fifty thousand?!”

“I’ve got internal injuries and facial trauma! I need hospitalization! He has to pay for my medical bills and emotional damages!” Yang Jian rattled off confidently. “Fifty thousand is cheap!”

“Hospitalization, huh.” Qiao Le chuckled coldly. He rolled up his sleeves and walked toward Yang Jian. “Fine. I’ll give you sixty thousand—make sure you stay at the hospital long enough to earn it.”

Yang Jian took a step back. “What’re you doing?! Don’t get violent! The cops are right here!”

The officer had clearly dealt with plenty of these types before and was already losing patience. He barked, “Are you trying to solve the problem or not?!”

Just then, Qiao Le’s phone rang. He looked down—it was Shen Hechuan.

He meant to decline the call, but Yang Jian shoved him slightly, causing him to accidentally hit “accept.”

Shen Hechuan’s voice came through the line: “Where are you?”

Before Qiao Le could answer, Yang Jian shouted toward the officers, “He hit me, officer! Am I not allowed to ask for compensation? I’m the victim here!”

The officer snapped, “You can ask for money, but not like this. You’re basically extorting him!”

On the other end of the line, Shen Hechuan clearly heard everything. He immediately asked, “Where are you? What happened?”

Qiao Le paused for a moment, then decided not to lie. “At the police station.”

“The police station?!” Shen Hechuan sounded panicked. “What happened? Why are you at a police station? Which one—I’m coming right now.”

“…Fighting,” Qiao Le said quietly.

“What?”

Qiao Le told the truth: “I got into a fight in the street. They brought me to the station.”

Shen Hechuan: “……”

You’re pregnant, and you got into a street fight and ended up at the police station?