Ji Yaru took Xu Zifan to the hospital to check his injuries. The Xu and Ji families, having been notified, also rushed over. Upon hearing the scene, they turned pale with fright. Thankfully, the doctor confirmed that Xu Zifan only had superficial injuries and would recover with proper medication. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Ji's father patted Xu Zifan's shoulder heavily and laughed, "Good lad! You took down more than a dozen people by yourself. When did you learn that? I didn't even notice!"
Mr. Xu's eyes also lit up with a smile, "Don't even mention you, I, as your father, didn't even notice. You must have been practicing every morning. Luckily you practiced, otherwise you would have suffered terribly today!"
Both Mrs. Ji and Mrs. Xu looked terrified. Mrs. Xu patted her chest and sighed, "That's right. I don't know who hired those people, but they actually tried to cripple Zifan's right hand. It's so vicious. We must have the police investigate thoroughly. What will happen to Zifan if they really succeed!"
Holding Ji Yaru's hand gratefully, Ji's mother said to Xu Zifan, "Zifan, Auntie must thank you for protecting Yaru today..."
Xu Zifan quickly interrupted her, "Auntie, what are you saying? They were all after me. Ya Ru was innocently attacked. We haven't eaten yet tonight, so let's go out for a nice meal after we get to the police station to calm our nerves. Anyway, everything's alright now, so don't worry."
The elders nodded. Ji Yaru remained silent, but her eyes kept drifting towards Xu Zifan. She would quickly look away whenever their gazes met, her ears constantly blushing pink. Xu Zifan chuckled inwardly; he never expected the aloof female academic genius to have this side to her—she was truly adorable.
Later, they went to the police station together. Although there was no CCTV footage, the phone call was recorded, and the people involved indirectly admitted that someone had instructed and premeditatedly tried to cripple Xu Zifan's right hand. When exam results were mentioned, suspicion naturally fell on his classmates. Xu Zifan stated that he suspected Li Xudong and Yan Yuxin because he had been busy studying and had clashed with them in the past two months. He also recorded their somewhat complicated relationship on file. Upon hearing this, the police realized that these two were indeed highly suspicious, and their interrogation of the thugs became more focused, employing certain questioning techniques to extract information.
Further investigation is needed, so Xu Zifan and his group simply left to await further news. Although he had beaten the thugs so badly they couldn't even get up, he had just knocked down the last one when the police arrived, meaning he had been in constant danger and could be considered to have acted in self-defense. Even if the thugs were swollen and in pain, their injuries were only superficial; even the dislocated arm was quickly set by Xu Zifan, hardly qualifying as a minor injury. Knowing they were in the wrong and wouldn't get away with it, the thugs didn't demand a medical examination or compensation. Xu Zifan finished giving his statement and left.
After learning that Li Xudong was the mastermind, the group's expressions turned grim. This man and Yan Yuxin had cheated on Xu Zifan, and now he even wanted to cripple Xu Zifan's right hand, just because his family was rich enough to clean up the mess? This was too much of a bully. They knew this case would be dropped, and the worst part was that they really had no way to resolve it. They were so unwilling to accept it.
Ji Yaru kept frowning. After ordering at the restaurant, she said in a low voice, "I'll go find..." She paused and changed her words, "I'll find Mr. Yan and Mrs. Yan and ask them to help teach Li Xudong a lesson."
Xu Zifan poured freshly squeezed juice for the three ladies and said with a smile, "No need. Once you leave the Yan family, you're gone. It's not worth it to repay these favors that come to your door, and it will only damage their impression of you. It's not necessary. Actually, it's nothing. He can bully others today, but in the future, our power may not be greater than his. A gentleman takes revenge even after ten years. I will make him pay for it sooner or later."
Ji Yaru felt a warmth in her heart, but she began to think about what other ways she could teach Li Xudong a lesson. She had been in that circle for eighteen years, so she wasn't completely without connections.
Frustrated, Mr. Ji took out a pack of cigarettes. Seeing that Ji Yaru put the cigarettes back, he said in a deep voice, "Zifan, if I didn't know how to raise children, you wouldn't have any connection with Li Xudong. Don't worry, your uncle's business started off well. As it grows bigger, I will definitely get justice for you."
Xu Zifan didn't say anything about not needing his outside talk, but directly picked up his beer and clinked glasses with him with a smile, "Then I'll wait for Uncle Ji. Come on, let's all have a drink, don't be unhappy about this, life is long, when we make him pay it back later, we'll add interest, he won't get off easy."
The elders were amused by his words, and seeing his relaxed and unconcerned demeanor, they couldn't help but relax as well, embracing his heroic spirit. They were ordinary people now, but who said they wouldn't be able to get justice from the Li family in the future? This time, not only was Mr. Ji even more eager to make big money, but Mr. Xu also had his eye on it. What kind of man couldn't even protect his own son? No matter how much he longed for a peaceful life, this incident had ignited a surge of determination within him. Justice for his son was his to seek, and he would seek it tenfold!
Mr. Xu works in a government agency. He always seems cheerful and indifferent to everything, but in reality, after so many years, he's more worldly-wise than anyone else. He just doesn't want to get involved in the power struggle between the two factions at the top, so he's always worked in an inconspicuous position where he doesn't offend anyone. It's quite an achievement that he managed to find such a position and not be replaced. In his original career path, after his son broke his leg, he considered taking a chance, but at that time he was depressed and not calm enough, and there wasn't a good opportunity, so his career didn't go smoothly.
This time was different. He had witnessed Xu Zifan's potential and knew that a powerful enemy was lurking in the shadows. Therefore, he was more composed, rational, and cautious. Most importantly, a perfect opportunity presented itself. Originally, Xu's father hadn't planned to get involved; the higher one climbed in officialdom, the more complex and exhausting it became. But this time, he changed his mind, seized the opportunity, and caught the eye of the provincial leader.
There is great potential here.
Xu Zifan knew a little about officialdom, but as the saying goes, "a trade is like a mountain," and he didn't really understand it. So when his father got busy, he couldn't help much. All he could do was give his father a massage every night after he came home to relieve his fatigue. He even went to learn a set of massage techniques for this purpose.
His parents had never stood up for him when he was wronged. He cherished his father so much. Although they could only be together for one lifetime, it was enough. Don't most people only live one lifetime? Their father-son relationship in this lifetime was fate. He should be filial to his father, Xu, so as not to let down this father-son relationship.
The matter involving the thugs was ultimately dropped. The leader, a blond-haired man, changed his testimony and took full responsibility. The other thugs also said that the blond-haired man had sent them. The blond-haired man was sentenced to two years for disturbing public order, while the others were sentenced to three months. After all, they had said they wanted to cripple someone's hand, and it was premeditated, which was a serious offense. This was considered an explanation for Xu Zifan, to prevent him from making things worse if the thugs were released without charge.
The Li family used their connections to clear Li Xudong of all charges. When Li Xudong returned to school, he disliked Xu Zifan even more and looked down on him with a sense of superiority. So what if he called the police? He got away with it.
Xu Zifan didn't have time to deal with him. In his eyes, this kind of rich second-generation was just a good-for-nothing. He didn't know how to cherish good resources and wasn't ambitious. He was just a fool who would reap what he sowed sooner or later. And he was never afraid to take revenge. When he was all alone, he couldn't help but feel angry and would often resort to underhanded tactics to get revenge. But now he had a good family and didn't want to take that risk. In a few years, when he crushed the Li family, he could do whatever he wanted. What made him so open-minded was his confidence, so he wasn't in a hurry.
Seeing Li Xudong's state was unbearable for Ji Yaru, so for several days after school she didn't walk home with Xu Zifan. Instead, she went to the Qi family, a rival of the Li family, and used the connections she had made with the Yan family to connect them with a better business partner. Ji Yaru knew both sides. Although she was no longer a member of the Yan family and they wouldn't normally give her face, businessmen are profit-driven. She offered them a better cooperation plan that would bring them more benefits, so they naturally agreed to cooperate. They praised Ji Yaru for being worthy of being raised by the Yan family and promised not to reveal her involvement.
This business partner was exactly what the Li family had been secretly vying for recently, effectively thwarting the Li family's plans and causing them considerable losses. Ji Yaru had met the Li couple before, and they were just like Li Xudong in temperament. Not only did the Li family protect Li Xudong, but they didn't even offer an apology. She felt that this return gift was rather lenient.
Xu Zifan had been secretly monitoring the situation of the Li and Yan families. As soon as he discovered this, and considering Ji Yaru's actions over the past few days, he guessed what had happened. Before their live stream, he leaned close to Ji Yaru and said with a smile, "Thank you for helping me get revenge. As expected, this aloof lady is very powerful and domineering."
Ji Yaru was surprised to be discovered by him. Her ears turned red, and she lowered her head to flip through her book to hide her fluster. She said, "Who's being aloof?"
Xu Zifan raised his arm and placed it on the table, propped his chin up and tilted his head to look at her, teasing her with a smile, "You, look, every day during the live stream people call you a cool and aloof lady, saying they've never seen you smile. By the way, you don't smile at school either, your classmates are too scared to even ask you questions, they all come to me instead. I'm so busy every day, I don't even have time to play basketball."
Ji Yaru thought about it seriously and realized that he really loved playing ball. He had helped her so much, so she should try her best to help him in return. She said, "Then I'll help my classmates with their homework, and you can go play ball."
Xu Zifan couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth, stood up and ruffled her long hair, "I was just teasing you, I don't like to play around that much! Come on, let's start the live stream, let's start."
The live stream started abruptly. Ji Yaru quickly straightened her hair, giving him a stern glare. She thought to herself, "He says he's not that playful, yet he's teasing me. What's wrong with him!" Then, she straightened her back and began explaining the problem, as usual. This time, she carefully checked the comments and found many people saying she was aloof and never smiled. She glanced at her own image during the live stream and realized she certainly didn't smile at all. But what's there to laugh about? Do people all prefer girls with smiling faces? She glanced at Xu Zifan, only to meet his smiling eyes.
The next moment, Xu Zifan pointed to a problem in the workbook and laughed, "Cool Miss, how do you do this problem?"
Ji Yaru felt a little itchy and wanted to hit him. Why was he so naughty?