Blood Neon

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

The First Impact

"Alright, alright, aside from this, there’s nothing major—just some superficial wounds."

The elderly doctor at the clinic finished wrapping the bandage and gave his assessment.

Sitting obediently by the clinic bed was none other than Zhang Qiming, his head wrapped with several layers of bandages.

"What hit you?"

The doctor habitually asked while holding a small notebook.

"A beer bottle. He was struck from behind with an empty one. The glass shattered all over the ground."

The expressionless girl answered before the boy could speak.

"Hmm, well, it’s lucky there’s no wound that needs stitches. Usually, for something like that, it’s normal to get a dozen or so."

"Yeah, guess you could say fools have their own kind of luck."

The girl nodded calmly, maintaining her even tone.

Heh, this young couple... having a little spat?

The doctor, who had mentally filled in the blanks with three volumes of pure romance and one of cuckold drama, couldn’t help reminiscing about his own youth.

"So, do you still feel dizzy?"

With a wry smile, the doctor looked at the boy—who somewhat resembled a wandering Taoist—and asked with concern.

"Uh, maybe a little? Or maybe not? It’s more like the whole body aches worse than the head..."

"Then it’s probably not serious. But if you feel clearly dizzy in the next few days, you’ll need to go to the hospital for a CT scan. After all, a blow to the head still carries the risk of mild concussion."

The doctor nodded after jotting down some mysterious symbols on the paper in front of him. "Alright, you two can go. Take this to the front desk to settle the bill, and also pick up a box of aspirin. If your body hurts tonight, take one tablet."

"Mm, thank you, doctor."

"Hiss... thanks, doctor."

The girl helped the boy to his feet, and both of them offered their thanks.

Seeing the harmonious scene, the doctor’s face broke into a gentle, auntie-like smile. "If it doesn’t hurt too much, just take half a tablet. But remember, don’t exceed two in a day. Also, don’t wash your hair for the next few days. When you shower, wear a shower cap and don’t let the wound get wet. Luckily this time it wasn’t serious. Young man, you’d better learn your lesson. I know people your age are hot-blooded, but even if you don’t care about yourself, you should at least consider your girlfriend’s feelings..."

"Ah… okay..." The boy blushed, while the girl showed no particular expression.

After thanking the doctor again, the two left the small room and slowly walked toward the clinic’s front desk in silence.

"Hey, did you bring any money?"

Lin Ying poked the boy beside her in the arm.

"Hiss—don’t move, you poked the sore spot again." The boy winced and drew in a sharp breath from the pain.

"Enough with that. Did you bring it?"

"...No."

Lin Ying turned her head and looked at him with a cold and complicated expression.

The boy awkwardly turned his head halfway, not daring to meet her gaze.

...

"Thank you for your visit, we look forward to seeing you again."

With the little nurse at the entrance seeing them off, the two stepped down the clinic stairs.

"That woman… is something off with her too? Like you? What kind of clinic says ‘we look forward to seeing you again’ when sending off patients?"

Lin Ying touched her wallet and commented in her usual emotionless tone.

"Maybe it’s their signature style? I mean, look, there’s always—"

The boy, naturally going along with the complaint, immediately shut his mouth when he saw the girl ahead slowly turning her head with that cold, indifferent gaze.

The two stood there in the chill of the night wind, silently, for a few seconds.

"Um, uh, may I… ask your surname?"

The boy was the first to break the awkward silence.

"Lin. No need to be formal, just call me Lin Ying. You?"

"Ah, oh, I—I’m Zhang, the humble Zhang Qiming."

The boy hurried to reply.

"Mm, got it." The girl paused, seemed to think for a moment, then parted her lips again, "But generally, you don’t use ‘I’ before ‘no need for formality’, right? Also, isn’t the Zhang surname one of those where you’re not supposed to use ‘no need for formality’?"

Faced with the barrage of quick-fire rhetorical questions from this girl—this girl who called herself Lin Ying—Zhang Qiming was stunned. A phrase flashed across his mind: a gym barbell turned sentient. His expression twitched uncontrollably.

"Ah, sorry," Lin Ying, on the other hand, was completely calm. Her expression didn’t change at all as she casually apologized, "I’ve been wanting to roast you ever since we met, so I couldn’t quite stop myself."

Her tone remained level, without the slightest ripple.

"Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine. I don’t mind."

Thrown off by this girl who had suddenly gone full deadpan mode, Zhang Qiming gave up trying to make sense of it and just went along.

"Good," the girl nodded coolly.

Zhang Qiming felt a bit helpless. Truth be told, he had originally planned to just head straight home since he didn’t have a penny on him. But he hadn’t expected the girl to practically drag him to the clinic, and now he couldn’t even pay for the treatment. Being forced to lower his head and let the girl who had saved him foot the bill—this was truly a bitter pill to swallow.

And the worst part was, she was such a beautiful girl.

Zhang Qiming couldn’t help but grumble to himself.

After all, he was still a teenage boy. Wanting to show his cool side in front of a pretty girl was a desire etched into his DNA. Even though he was the kind of guy who constantly said things like, "Women only slow down my sword-drawing speed" to his classmates, in this moment, he sincerely wished this girl wouldn’t have to see him looking so pathetic.

How lame… seriously, just pathetic.

.

"It’s fine. Whether it’s bringing you to the clinic or saving you earlier, I did it all voluntarily—because I wanted to."

The girl nodded calmly, completely unfazed, showing no desire for repayment. That earlier look of resentment in her eyes seemed like nothing but a hallucination.

"How’s your body now? Can you go home?"

"Yeah, thanks to you, I’m feeling much better now. At least I can walk without much problem."

Ah, what a kind and lovely girl… She had charged into danger expecting nothing in return and even paid for his medical expenses afterward. Her kindness and sense of justice weren’t lacking in the least—in fact, they might even surpass his own. And the fact that she was a quiet, deadpan girl with a bit of a sharp tongue… honestly, it was kind of adorable.

Zhang Qiming couldn’t help but admire Lin Ying in his heart.

Lin Ying gave a knowing smile and looked at him, then opened her mouth.

"Well then, classmate Zhang Qiming, since you’re fine now, may I ask when you plan to pay me back?"

Lin Ying stretched out her delicate right hand, palm up, and curled her fingers slightly.

The boy’s smile froze somewhat on his face.

Well… I was going to pay her back anyway, so it’s not a big deal.

But why… why did it feel so disillusioning?

Sighing, Zhang Qiming explained the situation.

"Actually, I was afraid I’d get mugged or something tonight, so I didn’t bring anything valuable—no phone, no wallet, no campus card, not even discount coupons. I left everything at home this morning."

"I could give you a call after I get the money tomorrow, or we could just add each other on WeChat? I’ll transfer the money to you once I’m home."

The boy asked, trying to negotiate. Hidden agenda? Absolutely not.

"Sorry, I don’t have a phone, so I can’t make the transaction that way."

The girl shook her head regretfully.

"Ah, then maybe we could set a place to meet? Like, same time tomorrow here? Or you can pick somewhere easy to find."

"It’s fine. I can just go with you and collect the money at your place. I’ll leave once I have it."

The girl shook her head again and directly offered her suggestion.

It was still early enough. She could collect the money and still have time to begin her nightly hunt. Lin Ying thought to herself.

"But… it’s already pretty late." The boy glanced at the LED display nearby: 20:17. He turned and looked at her. "It’s getting even later. It won’t be safe. Don’t you have a curfew? Your family might worry. And you don’t have a phone..."

Ah, that’s another problem. Lin Ying couldn’t help but sigh. Spending so much time wandering alone in the shadows at night had made her common sense drift from that of normal people. That wasn’t a good sign.

"It’s alright," she said seriously, "they won’t worry about me."

Like a rebellious teenager talking back out of spite.

This only made Zhang Qiming more concerned. So this girl had her own story too?

"I don’t think that’s a good idea. Lin Ying, maybe because you’re still young, you’re not very aware of the hidden dangers in the city, but look—"

As he spoke, he pointed at the bandage on his own head.

"You saw it yourself—there are people out there who don’t have good intentions. And especially for someone like you..."

He didn’t finish the sentence. After all, a pure and innocent girl, walking alone through the city at night—that was practically asking to trigger a 218 scenario.

No way. He made up his mind. Tonight, he was going to make sure this girl—who seemed like she was having a spat with her family—got home safely.

This was the duty of a decent person, a responsibility that could not be ignored.

//

Lin Ying was a little frustrated, because she more or less realized the inconvenience her appearance brought her.

But she just wanted to get the money and go, okay? The night was short, young man! Every dark, windy night was an opportunity to be seized to fill her stomach! The pain of having to go fishing in the dead of night—did he even understand that?

"Don’t worry about it. I’ll head home immediately after getting the money. I’ll stick to the main roads, so nothing’s going to happen. I appreciate your concern, but I can take care of myself. So stop worrying, okay?"

A slight hint of annoyance crept into her voice as she lifted her head and locked eyes with Zhang Qiming.

The boy, a bit overwhelmed by her aura, could only nod slowly.

"Alright then…"