You Must Stand on My Side

Ending up at the police station for fighting was a completely different experience from going there because of a lost phone. For the first time in his life, Xie Qizhi was body-searched, had his front and profile photos taken, and had to give fingerprints, footprints, and a blood sample.

The officer drawing his blood had an extremely sour expression, likely because of having to work overtime in the middle of the night.

Xie Qizhi stared at the lancet for a long time, protesting, "Is drawing blood absolutely necessary?"

"Scared now, are we?" the officer said. "Why didn't you think of this when you were fighting?"

"I wasn't fighting, I was just standing nearby." Xie Qizhi shifted his leg to show the dirt on his pant knees and the scrapes on his palms. "Clearly, I was the one who got beaten up."

"Looking at your build, your offensive power indeed isn't very strong." The officer observed Xie Qizhi, then added, "Even if you didn't raise a hand, you still have to give blood. Once you're in here, it's the rule."

Xie Qizhi asked, "Can I request to see a lawyer? Before my lawyer arrives, no one can draw my blood."

"Hey, kid, do you think you're in a movie?" the officer said. "Our country's laws don't dictate that a lawyer has the right to be present during questioning. Besides, you're the victim here, you didn't commit any major crime. Why on earth do you need a lawyer just to draw a little blood?"

"He's implying that he has connections high up, a very solid backer," Li Yi, who was standing to the side, said with a mysterious air to bluff the officer. "You'd better treat him a bit better."

"What connections? Is it some gang boss in your Songcheng? Spit out a name so I can hear it." The officer had heard this kind of talk too many times and naturally didn't believe it. He tapped on the table. "Extend your right hand. A grown young man, yet you're afraid of drawing a little blood."

"I'm not a gangster." Xie Qizhi reluctantly extended his hand, then couldn't help but ask, "Is your needle sterilized?"

"It's disposable." The officer looked at Xie Qizhi. "If you're not a gangster, what were you doing in a bar in the middle of the night? And you even dyed your hair and wore colored contacts? Do you think that makes you look cool? Don't act so rebellious."

Xie Qizhi: "..."

He said petulantly, "You're the rebellious one! I was born this way!"

Aside from being body-searched, this was also Xie Qizhi's first time being held in a waiting room—a cage enclosed by a dense wire mesh.

Inside was a mix of all kinds of people, with a chaotic blend of smells. One sniff was enough to tell that at least a dozen thugs had slept off their alcohol here.

He didn't want to sit on the bed that others had lain on, so he only dared to squat by the wire mesh. During the body search, his face mask had been removed. He already suffered from respiratory sensitivity, and now without any barrier, once he started coughing, it became increasingly violent.

He buried the lower half of his face in his arm, coughing uncontrollably. The blue veins on his fair neck bulged from the lack of air, and his fingers gripped his coat sleeve so tightly that his fingertips turned pale and stiff.

The female officer on duty was startled by his reaction. She stepped closer and asked if he was alright.

Xie Qizhi gasped for a few breaths, raised his eyes, and said to her in a weak, raspy voice, "In my pocket... there is... a bottle of... bronchodilator..."

The female officer hurried to get his medicine, then returned to unlock the waiting room door, letting him move to a more comfortable spot. She couldn't help but ask, "Do you have asthma? If you're sick, you should have said so earlier."

Xie Qizhi shook his head.

CF was not asthma, but it had similar symptoms. However, while the fatal point of asthma was an attack, his fatal point was cardiopulmonary failure or pulmonary infection.

He didn't know why he hadn't mentioned it beforehand. Perhaps he thought someone would recognize the medication during the body search, or perhaps he had grown so accustomed to everyone around him pampering him that he felt no need to explain further.

Once his breathing stabilized, his stomach began to feel upset again. A burning sensation welled up, bringing an unceasing wave of nausea.

Xie Qizhi frowned, declining the cup of hot water the female officer offered, and went with her to the restroom to throw up.

As soon as he stood up, his vision went black. He held onto the sink, waiting for the dizzy spell to pass, then turned on the faucet and leaned down to wash his face.

The moment the water flowed, he hissed through his teeth and immediately pulled his hand back.

Looking down, his fingers were caked with dirty sand, and his palms were scraped. Rolling up his pant legs, his knees were bruised. His back couldn't be seen, but it throbbed with pain as well.

All his injuries made themselves known at once, the pain suddenly becoming sharp and clear.

Xie Qizhi washed his hands, endured the pain to wash his face, and finally felt a bit better.

Looking up at his reflection in the mirror, a few wet strands of hair clung to his face. His skin was deathly pale, his lips completely bloodless, and only his eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion.

*So ugly,* Xie Qizhi thought. No wonder Li Yi didn't want to end up at the police station.

It was truly a night of utter physical and mental exhaustion.

Ying Huai also hadn't expected that shortly after taking a shower and falling asleep in the middle of the night, he would receive a call from the police station asking him to sign bail for someone.

His mind went blank for a moment, and he instinctively asked, "Who did you say?"

"Xie Qizhi. You're Xie Qizhi's family, right?" the other end asked. "If so, hurry on over."

Ying Huai fell silent for half a second before saying, "I'll be right there."

The result of the interrogation was a mutual reprimand, as both sides had fought and both had sustained injuries. Fortunately, no weapons were used, and the minor injuries didn't constitute a criminal offense. If they could reach a mediation, they would; otherwise, they would face fines and administrative detention.

Neither Li Yi nor Xie Qizhi wanted to mediate. Ying Huai made a phone call to an acquaintance and paid an additional 500-yuan fine for them so they could avoid detention, allowing him to sign the bail papers and take them home.

Li Yi was still indignant and questioned, "Why are we the ones paying the fine? It was three against one!"

Ying Huai had no fondness for this stubborn guy who had dragged his younger brother out to fight in the middle of the night. He nodded and went along with his words: "Fine, return the fine. I won't pay it anymore. Let's have him detained here for five days instead."

Xie Qizhi tugged at Ying Huai's sleeve. Before he could speak, he was silenced by a warning glare, so he obediently shut his mouth. His eyelids felt heavy, and he clung to Ying Huai's arm, feeling exhausted.

The military green bomber jacket he wore was obviously oversized, as it belonged to Ying Huai, while Ying Huai held Xie Qizhi's own dirty jacket in his hand.

"What about those three? How many days are they getting?" Li Yi asked unwillingly. "Are they also just paying a fine?"

"Those three haven't even sobered up yet, but they have prior records. Rest assured, their fines won't be any less than yours," the officer said.

Li Yi still frowned but said nothing more. He turned his head and suddenly saw Ying Huai reach out to pull the sleepy, unsteady Xie Qizhi into his arms, brushing away a few stray locks of hair on the boy's forehead. His thumb brushed over the smooth, pale cheek and poked it gently. In a slightly scolding tone, Ying Huai asked, "You're this sleepy, yet you still ran around?"

How should one describe that look? It was enough to give someone goosebumps. In any case, Guan Yu definitely didn't look at Zhang Fei that way.

Xie Qizhi was poked awake. He opened his eyes, completely oblivious to Li Yi squinting beside them with an expression as if he were about to go blind.

He murmured, "Brother Ying Huai, I want to go home."

Ying Huai lowered his eyes and gave a soft "Mm."

Standing by and witnessing this, Li Yi couldn't help but let out a cold snort.

Ying Huai turned around, his expression suddenly turning cold and indifferent. He glanced at Li Yi and asked flatly, "What are you still standing here for? Expecting me to drive you home?"

Li Yi didn't bother with him either. He threw back a "No need" and turned to leave.

Xie Qizhi followed Ying Huai into the car in a half-awake state, but he was fully awake before they arrived. Looking at the quiet night scenery ahead, his mood suddenly became a bit gloomy.

Ying Huai glanced at him. "Not sleepy anymore?"

Xie Qizhi gave a soft "Mm."

At the station, Ying Huai had gotten a general idea of the whole brawl, but he didn't know why Xie Qizhi had gone out so late. He asked, "Why did you go looking for Li Yi?"

Xie Qizhi replied simply, "There was something I needed to tell him."

"Is it something that couldn't be said over the phone?"

"The phone isn't convenient," Xie Qizhi said. "Only by meeting in person can I tell if Li Yi is sad. I can't hear it over the phone."

Ying Huai remained silent for a full half-minute. After passing the speed limit zone, the car quietly accelerated a bit.

Xie Qizhi looked at Ying Huai curiously, thinking he was in a hurry to get home, when he suddenly heard his voice, which was thick with suppressed anger.

"So, you had to run to such a chaotic place in the middle of the night, get into trouble, and end up at the police station before you thought of calling me? Your second brother is impulsive, so you're impulsive too? If he gets beaten up or detained for a few days, it doesn't affect him much, but is it the same for you? Do you have no brain, or do you just stop using it whenever you meet him, only knowing how to follow him and run wild?"

Being yelled at, Xie Qizhi was stunned for a moment. Once he reacted, his nose stung, and tears rolled down his face without warning.

Ying Huai hadn't expected him to cry just like that. He pulled out a few tissues and handed them to him, unable to help but ask, "Is crying all you know how to do?"

"Is blaming me all you know how to do?" Xie Qizhi's eyes were red, a wave of grievance welling up uncontrollably. "You didn't even blame those people for bullying me! They pinched my cheeks and said I was out to entertain guests, which is why Second Brother fought them. They pushed me and kicked me once. My back still hurts, my knees are bruised, and my hands are scraped, but you don't care! You only know how to blame me!"

He spoke with so much self-pity that he felt like dying of grievance. He cried harder and harder, tears pouring down endlessly.

Ying Huai had to pull over to soothe him. He grabbed Xie Qizhi's wrist. Xie Qizhi didn't want him to touch, but Ying Huai firmly pulled his hand over, rolling up the sleeve covering the back of his hand to inspect his palm. Sure enough, the palm was scraped. After several hours, the scraped area had turned into tiny red dots.

He didn't dare touch it. He looked up and asked, "They said you didn't participate in the fight and only stood aside to call the police. Why didn't you tell me you were hurt?"

Xie Qizhi yelled back at him, "Are you blind? Can't you see for yourself!" A moment later, he added, "Third Brother was afraid I'd get disciplined by the school. He said those drunks wouldn't know who hit who anyway, so he told me to say I didn't participate in the fight and not to mention that I also raised a hand."

Ying Huai wanted to pat Xie Qizhi's head, but the boy pouted and dodged.

Ying Huai withdrew his hand and asked, "You want me to stand on your side and help you vent your anger, right?"

Xie Qizhi turned his head, peeked at him with still-red eyelids, and gave a soft snort without speaking.

Ying Huai called his acquaintance and asked, "About the matter just now, can the detention period for the other party be extended? Keep them locked up for a few more days."

The acquaintance, whose sleep had been disturbed by him again, sounded even more annoyed:

"Ying Huai, is there something wrong with you? Do you really think you're some privileged class? Does the national law have to revolve around you? According to regulations, if they don't sign the mediation agreement, that kid who fought won't escape detention. I helped with this because I saw your side is young, while the other side consists of thugs with prior records. Do you know what they told me? That kid named Li Yi hit them even harder than they hit him! He has at most a few superficial wounds, but those three were beaten into pig heads by him! And you still want to detain them for a few more days? If one of those three pigs sobers up a bit and takes a medical certificate to sue you guys, prepare to go to court and pay compensation!"

Ying Huai replied expressionlessly, "Extend it to 30 days? Let me ask him."

He moved the phone away and asked Xie Qizhi, "30 days, a month of detention, is that okay?"

Xie Qizhi nodded.

The acquaintance let out a "Huh?": "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Ying Huai calmly replied, "Then 30 days it is. My side has no objection."

"Playing tricks in the middle of the night." The other side hung up with a beep.

Ying Huai put down his phone and asked, "I've vented your anger for you. Are you happier now?"

This was the first time in his life he had done such a foolish thing, completely disregarding the facts just to show favoritism—like blaming the table when a child bumps into it. But Xie Qizhi really liked this approach. His tightly knit brows gradually relaxed, though he still pouted and pretended not to care, saying, "It's not like I wanted to vent my anger. Who cares what happens to them."

He paused for a moment, then said, "You have to stand on my side. It was clearly someone else's fault, so how could you blame me? If you encountered something similar and beat someone up, I would definitely think the other person provoked you first. People who like you will only side with you, and will never think there's anything wrong with you."

Ying Huai's view of right and wrong was completely different from his, but this was indeed Xie Qizhi's philosophy—the rule of loving and being loved that he adhered to in this world.

Ying Huai looked at the tear-rimmed blue eyes, which resembled those of an innocent puppy staring with wide, glistening eyes as it bowed its head to lick his fingers, as if it instinctively knew how to make people soften their hearts for it.

And so, Ying Huai's heart softened very easily.

"I was wrong, I shouldn't have blamed you," he promised. "In the future, I will always stand on your side, alright?"

Xie Qizhi didn't answer and turned his head away, but he graciously offered the soft back of his neck for Ying Huai to caress.

Arriving at their destination, Xie Qizhi had fallen asleep again, half-consciously pulling at the seatbelt, which had already unbuckled itself.

Ying Huai opened the car door for him. He stepped down, took two steps, then stopped, wrinkling his nose as he looked down. "My knees hurt so much."

Ying Huai walked over, pinched Xie Qizhi's cheek, and called him "fragile."

Xie Qizhi replied unhappily, "Can't I even say it hurts? It's not like I'm forcing you to do anything—"

Before his words could finish, his body was suddenly lifted into the air. He reflexively wrapped his arms tightly around Ying Huai's neck. "What are you doing?"

"What else?" Ying Huai carried him into the elevator. "Stop acting spoiled, let's go home and sleep."

Xie Qizhi looked at the advertisement in the elevator and said, "This doesn't seem to be my house."

"Give me a break," Ying Huai tilted his head, saying with a touch of helplessness. "If I take you home, I'll have to drive all the way back. How am I supposed to get any sleep tonight?"

Xie Qizhi let out an "Oh," suddenly remembering something. "Your house doesn't have my pajamas."

Ying Huai didn't think much of it and said, "Wear mine."

Xie Qizhi blinked, his mind conjuring up who-knows-what images. Leaning against Ying Huai's shoulder, his forehead rubbed against the collarbone exposed beneath the collar of Ying Huai's T-shirt. He squirmed a few times, then suddenly fell completely silent.