Chapter 211: Rebellion Day

Qiao Jia Jin's face was grim.

After a moment, he suddenly sprang to his feet and headed straight for the classroom door.

"Fist," Qi Xia called out, "what are you doing?"

"I'm going to save someone," Qiao Jia Jin replied. "Gongfu Nui fought alongside me; she's my comrade."

"How can you take on the entire Tian Tang Kou by yourself?" Qi Xia asked.

"I... well," Qiao Jia Jin hesitated, "Deceiver, aren't you here too? I'm not alone; we have two people."

"Alright, since you've treated me as one of your own, I'll tell you a plan," Qi Xia said. "Doctor Zhao, Lin Geng, Han Yi Mo—this plan needs your cooperation too."

Everyone heard this and sat up with serious expressions.

...

Qiao Jia Jin slowly pushed open the door to the ward. Zhang Shan was no longer there; only Li Xiang Ling was holding a worn-out martial arts novel and reading it.

"Qiao Ge?" Li Xiang Ling spotted Qiao Jia Jin and instantly smiled. She closed the book, straightened her hair, and sat up straight. "You're here?"

"Hey, Gongfu Nui," Qiao Jia Jin said as he slowly sat down beside her. "What are you reading?"

"A not-so-great martial arts novel," Li Xiang Ling said with a smile, handing the book over. "Have you read it?"

Qiao Jia Jin glanced at the title and shook his head.

"What's it about?" Qiao Jia Jin asked casually.

"Oh, it's so ridiculous..." Li Xiang Ling said with an embarrassed smile. "It's about a great hero in the martial world—handsome and skilled in martial arts—who's always rescuing damsels in distress. Every woman in the book falls for him, and people keep asking him, 'Are you married?'"

"Ha ha." Qiao Jia Jin laughed; he'd never read such a silly novel.

"Are you married?" Li Xiang Ling said. "Qiao Ge, isn't that hilarious?"

"Yeah, it's pretty funny. And then?"

"Are you married?" Li Xiang Ling said again.

"I... huh??" He looked up at Li Xiang Ling and noticed her cheeks were a bit flushed.

Qiao Jia Jin jumped to his feet in alarm, his face full of confusion.

"What... what's going on?" He stared at Li Xiang Ling, flustered. "Gongfu Nui, did I misunderstand something?"

"Of course not..." Li Xiang Ling said with an awkward laugh, though there was a hint of disappointment in her eyes. "Qiao Ge, I was just telling you the story from the book! What were you thinking?"

"Oh, whew." Qiao Jia Jin sat back down, relieved. "My bad; I must have misheard."

"Yeah, exactly..."

The two fell silent for a while. Li Xiang Ling turned to look at the dark night outside the window and asked, "Qiao Ge, what did you come to see me for?"

"Nothing much," Qiao Jia Jin shook his head. "Someone wants to kill you, so I'm here to protect you."

"Oh, well... ah?" Li Xiang Ling didn't react at first. "Someone wants to kill me?!"

"Shh, don't shout." Qiao Jia Jin put a finger to his lips. "Gongfu Nui, do you trust me?"

"Um..." Li Xiang Ling nodded cautiously.

"Just relax and rest. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen."

As he spoke, Qiao Jia Jin lay down nearby, looking completely at ease.

In the distance, the faint chirping of insects could be heard, and the room was very quiet.

The fire had gradually died out, and neither of them bothered to relight it. They just lay quietly in different corners of the room.

Li Xiang Ling couldn't close her eyes.

She wasn't worried about anyone coming to kill her; she was just curious about what kind of person Qiao Jia Jin really was.

Why did he have all those tattoos on his back, yet he didn't seem off-putting at all?

They had only gone through one game together, but this man was so strange—he had completely disrupted her peace of mind.

"Qiao Ge, are you asleep?" Li Xiang Ling whispered very softly.

Qiao Jia Jin didn't answer.

Li Xiang Ling had no choice but to close her eyes reluctantly, feeling a bit presumptuous.

Time passed slowly, and the bonfires throughout the teaching building began to die down. Listening to the rustling sounds outside the window, Li Xiang Ling started to feel drowsy.

It was already the fourth day since they arrived at the end of everything, and for the first time, she felt at ease.

After a while, Li Xiang Ling felt her arm itching.

She groggily opened her eyes and saw a shadowy figure standing beside her, touching her arm.

Though she was half-asleep, she knew there were only two people in the room: herself and Qiao Jia Jin.

But something felt off—she had touched Qiao Jia Jin's hand before, and it was very warm, whereas this hand was unusually cold.

"Qiao... Ge?" Li Xiang Ling called out softly.

The shadow didn't speak; it just kept feeling along her arm, as if searching for something.

"Hey..." Feeling the increasingly cold hands, Li Xiang Ling grew afraid. "Who... who are you?"

Before the figure could respond, another shadow stood up in the darkness and swung a chair toward the window.

Crash!!

The loud noise echoed as the room's glass shattered into pieces. The shadow in front of Li Xiang Ling jumped in fright and turned to flee, but Qiao Jia Jin was already waiting by the door.

Suddenly, several beams of light shone in from outside.

Clearly, someone was shining flashlights into the room.

Li Xiang Ling could now see the shadow clearly.

It was Chu Tian Qiu.

He was holding a dirty syringe.

"Tian Qiu Zi, what are you up to?" Qiao Jia Jin asked with a smile. "Coming to visit the patient?"

The people with the flashlights slowly approached.

Chu Tian Qiu turned and immediately looked uneasy.

Yun Yao, Zhang Shan, Qi Xia, Lin Geng, Zhao Hai Bo, Han Yi Mo... It seemed like none of them were asleep; they were all here, as if waiting specifically for him.

"You... you all..."

Before Chu Tian Qiu could finish, Qiao Jia Jin shouted loudly down the hallway: "Hey, everyone! Something big is happening!"

In just a moment, the classrooms stirred to life, and people started putting on clothes and poking their heads out.

By the time Chu Tian Qiu realized what was going on, he was completely surrounded by the entire Tian Tang Kou.

Qi Xia stepped forward slowly, giving Chu Tian Qiu a meaningful look.

"What were you doing?" Qi Xia asked.

"I was just visiting the patient," Chu Tian Qiu said calmly.

"Oh? Never mind why you're here in the middle of the night... What's with the syringe in your hand?"

"This..." Chu Tian Qiu glanced down at the syringe. "It's just some antibiotics to prevent infection."

"I suggest you think this through before you speak." Qi Xia pulled forward a man in a white coat. "We have a doctor in our group, after all."

Chu Tian Qiu blinked slightly.

Qi Xia knew his point had been made.

Xu Liu Nian, how are you going to handle this challenge?