TA •Chapter 67

A madman who had escaped from a psychiatric hospital.

When Cheng Yi said that, he probably thought the information would shock Cheng Ke. Whether Cheng Ke had known or not, that one sentence was enough to make him go blank for a moment.

Cheng Ke had indeed been hit, but what it hit was his rage.

Ever since the day he had learned to control his emotions, he had not really gotten truly angry again, or rather, he would not let himself reach that state.

But now, if he had already been furious the moment he saw the photo on that phone, then this one sentence instantly pushed his anger past the point of explosion.

He only heard a boom in his head, and everything around him seemed to have blown apart.

Cheng Yi took a step back and pulled out a cigarette. "I was just worried…"

The moment Cheng Ke grabbed the wooden stand beside him, the one holding a vase, and swung it at Cheng Yi, he did not hesitate at all.

The last shred of reason he had left was what kept him from smashing it straight onto Cheng Yi's head.

Even though it was his left hand, the force from that surge of anger made the stand slam hard into Cheng Yi's right shoulder.

Cheng Yi was sent stumbling several steps to the side and crashed into the partition bookshelf in the middle of the office.

The books on the shelf toppled down with him, and a vase was knocked over in the process.

When that vase scraped past Cheng Yi's side and shattered on the floor, he let out a furious roar. "Cheng Ke, are you crazy too!"

Cheng Ke rushed over and kicked the leaning bookshelf over. Cheng Yi, who had been braced against it, lost his support and fell backward and forward with the shelf onto the floor.

Something like this had never happened to Cheng Yi in all his life. Not only had he never encountered it, he had never even imagined it. No matter how patient he was, no matter how good he was at pretending, there was no way he could stay calm now.

As he hit the floor, he kicked toward Cheng Ke's knee.

Cheng Ke had already seen he was about to make a move the moment he lifted his leg, but that kick came straight at the front of his knee. If he had not dodged it, it would have been far worse than taking a hit to the shoulder from a wooden stand.

By the time he pounced on Cheng Yi and straddled him, he was deeply regretting having controlled himself just now. He should have smashed that thing into his head!

It was not too late now.

He clamped his left hand around Cheng Yi's throat and raised his right, plaster cast and all, and brought it crashing down on Cheng Yi's face.

Cheng Yi was the model child. Aside from fighting with him at home, he was always polite and calm when he went out, and had never once laid a hand on anyone.

He did work out, but compared with Cheng Ke, who had professional training and a rage level maxed out, all he could do right now was struggle. He had no chance to fight back.

Cheng Ke kept him pinned by the throat and swung down at his face again and again. Every punch landed hard.

His anger toward Cheng Yi was no longer just about having people follow him, having people investigate Jiang Yuduo, or even just about the way he had called Jiang Yuduo a madman who had escaped from a psychiatric hospital…

Every punch carried years of dissatisfaction and anger toward Cheng Yi that he had forced himself to suppress and digest.

When the office door was pushed open, Cheng Ke was still straddling Cheng Yi, his fist coming down onto Cheng Yi's face.

"Call the police! Hurry and call…" Xiao Tang rushed into the office and shouted, but before he could finish, someone seemed to have yanked him right back out.

In the chaos, Cheng Ke heard Chen Qing's voice again. "Nobody fucking come in!"

Then came several sounds of iron bars slamming against the door.

When Jiang Yuduo dragged him up from the floor in one pull, Cheng Ke's left hand was still gripping Cheng Yi's collar.

"Cheng Ke!" Jiang Yuduo grabbed his wrist. "Let go! Let go!"

Cheng Ke finally came to his senses a little and let go.

As Jiang Yuduo dragged him away, Cheng Yi, who was still lying on the floor, suddenly lifted his leg and kicked hard at Cheng Ke's lower abdomen.

"Fuck your mother!" Jiang Yuduo roared, pulling Cheng Ke aside, then stepped in and stomped down on Cheng Yi's ankle.

Cheng Yi let out a shriek of pain.

"Third Brother!" Da Bin rushed over and blocked Jiang Yuduo's path. "Third Brother! Go first! Take him and go first!"

Jiang Yuduo glanced at him, then turned to look at Cheng Ke.

"I'm fine." Cheng Ke was clutching his lower abdomen, his face a little pale.

Jiang Yuduo gritted his teeth and forced down the urge to go over and throw Cheng Yi out the window, then steadied Cheng Ke.

As the few of them headed toward the office door, the company's security guards rushed in. "Nobody's allowed to leave! Protect President Cheng! Hurry! Control those few!"

Two guards ran up to Cheng Yi's side.

Da Bin blocked the other guards, flicked his arm, and a knife slid out from his sleeve. "Come on."

The guards also pulled out stun batons and slowly advanced.

"Let them go." Cheng Yi's voice came from behind them.

Jiang Yuduo turned back.

The guards had already helped Cheng Yi up from the floor. Cheng Yi looked a little disheveled now, his face pale, blood at the corners of his nose and mouth, his eyes swollen. The ankle Jiang Yuduo had just stomped on was probably in bad shape now, his foot hanging in the air without touching the ground.

"Let them go," Cheng Yi repeated. "All of you go back to work. What are you crowding around here for!"

The guards blocking the door hesitated, then all stepped aside. The employees gathered outside the office also slowly dispersed.

Jiang Yuduo helped Cheng Ke out, and Cheng Yi called after Cheng Ke again, "Ge."

Cheng Ke did not stop. He kept walking forward.

"What happened today is over if you let it be over," Cheng Yi said. "You’ve already gotten your anger out."

Jiang Yuduo did not know what else Cheng Yi wanted to say, he just felt irritated. If this were not in Cheng Yi's company, and if he had not been worried about causing trouble for Cheng Ke, he would already have gone over and beaten Cheng Yi until every injury on him was perfectly symmetrical.

"Ge," Cheng Yi said, "I'm still saying the same thing. I only did this because I was worried something would happen to you. No matter how you see me, I still hope you turn back…"

Turn back?

Turn back from what? Jiang Yuduo frowned. This guy's pretty words were practically moving heaven and earth, sweet enough to water the heart…

"Nobody would want their own family mixed up with a mental patient," Cheng Yi said.

Mental patient.

Those four words made Jiang Yuduo jolt hard.

He turned back and looked at Cheng Yi.

Cheng Yi was also looking at him, his face expressionless.

"What the fuck did you just say?" Chen Qing turned and took two steps to Cheng Yi's front, raising the stick in his hand and pointing it at him. "You think you haven't been hit enough yet, is that it!"

Several guards gathered around him as well, and the atmosphere tightened at once.

"I think you're the one who's sick!" Chen Qing was not afraid of them. He still pointed the stick at Cheng Yi. As long as he was not fighting, he was very formidable. "I'm telling you, don't you fucking think having a couple of bucks means you can open your mouth and spray shit. If I pulled my pants down, I could shit right in your mouth. If you have a grudge against your brother, go find your brother. If you can't beat him, then keep it in. If you can't keep it in, go find a toilet and take a dump…"

Mental patient.

Jiang Yuduo could not hear what Chen Qing was saying. He stared at Cheng Yi, and there was only those four words in his head.

Mental patient.

The panic in his heart flooded over him in an instant.

He was not a mental patient!

He was not sick!

How did Cheng Yi know?

"Third Brother," Cheng Ke grabbed his hand. "Look at me."

Jiang Yuduo felt that his voice was far away, as if it were coming through cotton.

"Jiang Yuduo, look at me." Cheng Ke said it again.

He managed, with great difficulty, to pull his gaze back and turn to look at Cheng Ke.

"Let's go," Cheng Ke said.

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo answered.

"Chen'er," Cheng Ke said, turning back and interrupting Chen Qing, who was still in the middle of his speech. "Let's go."

"Did you hear that? This is your boyfriend and his friends," Cheng Yi said. "Are you still going to keep mixing with people like them?"

"What the fuck does it have to do with you?" Chen Qing said. "If you’re unhappy, then go find a boyfriend with friends like that too!"

Cheng Ke was somewhat surprised by Chen Qing's reaction. He probably had not understood what the words "boyfriend" meant at all. Da Bin and the brother with the ex-con face probably had understood, and their expressions changed a little, but none of them said anything.

"Listen carefully to what I'm saying now," Cheng Ke said, looking at Cheng Yi, whose face had been beaten to the point of looking unfamiliar. "From this second on, I have no more relationship with you or with the family. What I do, who I like, it's just three words, I do as I please. Whether I'm dead or alive, whether I can make it or end up drifting homeless, it has nothing to do with you. Did you hear that? It has not one shred of fucking anything to do with you."

Chen Qing looked at him in surprise.

"Also, there's one more thing. I wasn't planning to do this so soon, but since things are already out in the open, I'll tell you in advance," Cheng Ke said, looking at him. "That store you helped me set up, I'm planning to sell it. If you want it, I can give it to you cheap. If you're not interested, I'll sell it to someone else."

Cheng Yi's face stiffened for a moment.

"Let's go," Cheng Ke said.

From the company entrance to Cheng Yi's office, it took less than thirty seconds to walk in, but from Cheng Yi's office to the company entrance, Cheng Ke felt as though the trip were so long it made him anxious.

He did not care about the probing or contemptuous looks from everyone around him, and he did not care that the pain in his right wrist had started erupting wildly, as though it had just woken up.

The only thing he cared about was getting out faster, getting Jiang Yuduo out of this environment that was like hell to him as soon as possible.

He regretted it deeply. He regretted bringing Jiang Yuduo here with him, regretted losing control and hitting Cheng Yi, and letting Cheng Yi retaliate by saying those words in front of Jiang Yuduo, in front of Jiang Yuduo's little brother.

His heart was twisting with pain now. That pain was sharper than the pain in his wrist.

It was only after they had walked out of Cheng Yi's company's doors and into the elevator that he looked at Jiang Yuduo.

There was no emotion visible on Jiang Yuduo's face, only a slight furrow in his brow.

"Ke-ge," Da Bin said, "your hand has to go to the hospital right away."

Cheng Ke only then glanced down at his hand. The plaster cast had shattered completely, and his wrist… he did not look any further. The moment he saw the state of his wrist, the pain that felt like it had exploded suddenly multiplied several times over.

"Chen Qing can drive straight to the doctor in a bit," Jiang Yuduo said, still holding Cheng Ke's arm. "Da Bin, you two take a taxi home. There’s nothing else, no need to keep following us."

"Mm," Da Bin nodded. "If anything comes up, call me, Brother Qing."

"What else could there be? Go back and eat." Chen Qing waved a hand.

Da Bin and the brother with the ex-con face got off on the first floor and took a taxi home directly.

When the elevator kept descending, Chen Qing leaned against the car wall and let out a breath. "Fuck, your brother is really fucking trash."

Cheng Ke did not speak.

"I'm just bad at fighting. Those security guards had me surrounded, and I couldn't even get near him," Chen Qing said through gritted teeth. "If I could have gotten to him, even if just one finger could touch him, I'd have scraped a layer of skin off him."

"Can you still drive in that condition in a bit?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

"Yeah, not only can I drive, I can fucking race too." Chen Qing said.

Jiang Yuduo glanced at him. "I'll drive."

"I'm fine," Chen Qing said with a sigh. "The second I touch a steering wheel, I calm down."

Actually, Cheng Ke did not want Chen Qing to drive him to the hospital. It was just that Jiang Yuduo would not go in, and it would be a little awkward for him to hold this hand up by himself.

He wanted some time alone with Jiang Yuduo. He was not planning to comfort him, because comfort of any kind was meaningless at a time like this.

He only wanted to hold Jiang Yuduo, hold him tightly, rub his back, kiss the swirl of hair at his crown…

"I'll still park the car at the entrance," Chen Qing said. "Third Brother, you drive to the parking lot and wait for us there."

"No need," Jiang Yuduo said. "You drive to the entrance, Cheng Ke and I will go in, then you park the car and come find us."

Cheng Ke froze, then turned to look at him sharply.

Chen Qing also turned in surprise. "What?"

"You can just wait in the parking lot," Cheng Ke said softly. "It should be handled very quickly."

"I'm going in." Jiang Yuduo said.

"No, it's just that, Third Brother, you…" Chen Qing pulled the car over to the side of the road. ""

"Park at the entrance," Jiang Yuduo looked at him. "Don't understand?"

Chen Qing hesitated, then said nothing else and drove the car to the hospital entrance and parked.

Jiang Yuduo opened the door and jumped out, then immediately turned back and grabbed Cheng Ke's right arm, as if if he was a moment too late, the arm would fall off.

Cheng Ke got out of the car. At this moment, he really was starting to strain against it. Even the slightest jostle from getting out caused another wave of pain in his wrist.

"I'll come over as soon as I park," Chen Qing said with concern, leaning his head out the window. "Third Brother, take him to the emergency room. You know where the ER is, right?"

"Didn't you say you'd be over soon?" Jiang Yuduo said.

"…Fine." Chen Qing withdrew back into the car and drove toward the parking lot.

As Jiang Yuduo held Cheng Ke's arm and walked into the hospital, Cheng Ke could feel that he had no hesitation, his steps never faltered, but he could still sense a certain stiffness in him.

"Jiang Yuduo," Cheng Ke looked at him. "You…"

"I won't…" Jiang Yuduo turned his head to look at him.

"What is it?" Cheng Ke asked softly. Jiang Yuduo had not shown much expression the whole time, but now his brows were tightly knitted. Cheng Ke hurriedly patted his hand. "It's fine, I can go in by myself, you…"

"I'm not… a mental patient," Jiang Yuduo said, his brows furrowed as he spoke with difficulty. "I'm not… I just… I just…"

Cheng Ke only felt his nose sting. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Jiang Yuduo's shoulder. "I know, I know."

"I won't hurt you," Jiang Yuduo said softly. "Really, even though before… but after this, I won't ever…"

"I know," Cheng Ke said, patting his back and cutting him off. "I really know. I know you won't hurt me, or I wouldn't have come back."

Jiang Yuduo said nothing else, only stood there in silence.

There were many people around them, the hospital entrance, doctors and patients coming and going, and every person passing by would glance at them.

Cheng Ke did not care, but Jiang Yuduo not moving at all surprised him a little. Even being in the shop counted as a public place to Jiang Yuduo, and now it was broad daylight and the whole world was watching, but he still did not avoid it.

"I'm a little scared." After a while, Jiang Yuduo finally said this softly.

The instant Cheng Ke heard that, he tensed up immediately and rubbed his back furiously. "Don't be afraid, I'm here."

"No," Jiang Yuduo said, a little embarrassed. "I… don't know where the emergency room is."

"…I know." Cheng Ke smiled and let out a sigh.