He moved to the bathroom, closed the door, and Han Lie's movements immediately became brisk.
Facing the mirror, he carefully examined the external injuries on his face, inspecting them inch by inch, his anger gradually intensifying.
Quite the beatdown, huh? Not that old, but daring enough to really hit hard! Fine, let's play this game slowly!
Han Lie reached into his mouth with his right hand, carefully probing around.
Apart from the one that had been completely knocked out, four other teeth were loose.
Han Lie found the loosest one, grabbed it with two fingers, and began to forcefully work it. He worked it up, down, left, and right, then back and forth, again and again...
Cold sweat quickly beaded on his forehead, the pain making his veins bulge.
But Han Lie didn't make a sound, stubbornly wrestling with the tooth.
Finally...
"HISS... HUH!"
He grunted softly, successfully completing a minor surgery on himself.
"PTOOEY!"
He spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with tooth fragments. Han Lie looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly cracked a smile.
Despite his bruised and swollen face and blood-streaked mouth, his spirit was beginning to show its sharp edge.
Kid, whether or not you've got 'the system,' you're already quite the character!
After a quick cleanup, washing wherever he could, Han Lie emerged from the bathroom.
Chen Yanfei was waiting outside the door, eyeing him nervously from head to toe.
"I thought I heard you groaning... Are you okay?"
"What 'groaning'?"
Han Lie tried to convey his discontent with his gaze.
"I warn you, forget everything you heard as soon as possible. Lie Brother's tough-guy reputation can't be tainted!"
"PFFT!"
Chen Yanfei burst out laughing.
She had seen young men tell jokes, act tough, and strut like peacocks.
In fact, those who wanted to pursue her had tried everything.
But she had never seen a guy who had just been beaten black and blue in front of her be so immediately optimistic, so broad-minded, and so shameless about poking fun at himself.
Especially the comical facial contortions he made—they were hilarious.
Yet they were also incredibly endearing.
She thought she would remember that expression for a lifetime.
"Alright, alright, tough guy Lie Brother, shall we head back?"
"Let's go!"
Han Lie, with a grand, heroic gesture, waved his hand, then draped half his body onto her again.
Ow, that hurts, I really can't walk~~~
The train pulled smoothly into Jinling Station. Han Lie was carried out on a stretcher by the train attendants and taken to the police station near the station.
Ordinarily, when dealing with similar cases, whether it was the train police, the chief conductor, or even the officers at the local police station, the first instinct was always to mediate.
The goal was to avoid filing a case if possible.
Especially when the case involved a freshman from Shanghai International Studies University, even more caution was warranted.
Moreover, the elder Pan was quite resourceful and had even used his connections to contact the deputy chief of the police station near the station.
However, it was to no avail.
When they learned Han Lie had been unconscious for half an hour and nearly hadn't woken up, no one dared suggest a private settlement anymore.
Are you kidding? Whose responsibility would it be if the kid really had a serious problem?!
The student's status, old friends' connections—everything took a backseat.
Handle it by the book!
Han Lie hardly wasted any breath. He lay there groaning for a bit, and the procedures were completed.
Filing the case, issuing a request for a medical injury assessment, and then being driven to the People's Hospital for examination and treatment.
Pan Shaohang was detained directly at the police station, while Chen Yanfei stayed by Han Lie's side the whole time.
Actually, if she had truly wanted to avoid the mess, she could have continued her journey directly to Magic Capital.
After all, the day's events had no direct connection to her.
But this girl was truly righteous. Convinced that Han Lie had been beaten because of her, she simply followed him all the way to the hospital.
The injury assessment classified his injuries as minor, requiring hospital treatment.
That second tooth he pulled had done its job. One damaged tooth constituted a slight injury, but two damaged teeth elevated the case to a minor injury—squarely a criminal offense.
General ward beds in the People's Hospital were in high demand. Han Lie waved his hand dismissively, "Got any deluxe business rooms with king-sized beds? Get me one of those!"
"PFFT!"
The nurses, doctors, and Chen Yanfei all couldn't hold back their laughter. They had never seen such an interesting patient.
The nurse, only her beautiful eyes visible, chuckled and said, "We only have private rooms. The bed isn't huge, but it's even pricier than a room with a king-sized bed. How about it?"
"Start the billing!" Han Lie gestured grandly again. "Arrange the most expensive one. Today, it's on Young Master Pan's tab."
The nurse couldn't stop laughing.
Blinking her eyes, she made a lively "OK" sign with her hands.
"Don't worry," she quipped, "all our hospital's domestically produced medicines are critically out of stock today!"
This one was also a joker.
After they got settled, Han Lie and Chen Yanfei were the only two left in the hospital room.
Chen Yanfei hadn't been offended by Han Lie's straightforward behavior earlier.
She asked curiously, "Does Pan Shaohang's family have to compensate you with a lot of money?"
"What else?"
Han Lie smiled bitterly and let out a half-genuine, half-joking sigh.
"I can't really send him to prison for a few years, can I?
"Strictly speaking, this incident has nothing to do with you. But would Pan Shaohang's parents think that way?
If I really sent him in, what if his family causes you trouble?
They wouldn't even need to do much else; just bad-mouthing you daily in Dream City's various circles would be enough to make you suffer..."
Chen Yanfei's expression gradually became serious as she finally realized the severity of the problem.
She was smart, but she lacked real-world experience.
If Han Lie hadn't reminded her, she wouldn't have thought of these subsequent troubles.
The more she thought about it, the more moved she became, and she felt somewhat at a loss.
"Um... you don't have to... for me... you know. You're injured so badly; you should think about yourself first..."
"It's not all for you,"
Han Lie waved his hand and calmly added his second wave of explanation.
"Actually, I couldn't bear to take things to such an extreme in the first place. Going to jail is no small matter, after all.
To be honest, I'm angry, but I don't hate Pan Shaohang.
This beating served as a wake-up call for me—don't underestimate anyone, and certainly don't be arrogant.
I'm even a little grateful now that this stumble happened early enough.
So, as long as his family can let me vent this anger, reconciliation is fine.
There are two main points.
First, Pan Shaohang must apologize in person and write a letter of guarantee.
Second, the compensation must satisfy me.
If his family is unreasonable and continues to act tough with me, then I'll really stop being polite."
"You really are very..."
Chen Yanfei paused, taking a moment to find a suitable word to express her feelings.
"...very unique."
Actually, she wanted to say "cool," but it suddenly felt too suggestive, so she quickly corrected herself.
But in her heart, everything Han Lie had done today was truly cool.
From the very beginning, when Han Lie had proactively shown goodwill towards Pan Shaohang, she had felt that this boy was somewhat different.
Beneath those old-fashioned, black-framed glasses hid a pair of calm, deep eyes that seemed to hold countless stories.
She didn't know where that feeling came from and had even suspected it was an illusion at one point.
However, everything that ultimately happened proved her judgment correct.
Han Lie's composure, maturity, and humor showed her a different caliber of high school student.
It was incredibly special.
Especially the calmness reflected in the words he'd used to remind her just now, as well as his magnanimity in forgiving Pan Shaohang—it was just unbelievably cool.
Is getting beaten up embarrassing? Some girls might think so, but she wouldn't. A man should use his wisdom, be composed, and not be ostentatious. What kind of skill is abusing violence? No matter how good you are at fighting, don't you still end up wailing at the police station?
The contrast was so stark. Han Lie's image in her mind grew taller, while Pan Shaohang, at the opposite extreme, had a favorability rating deep in the negatives.
Negative by at least three digits.
The thought that Han Lie had been injured like this by that brute Pan Shaohang because of her made guilt well up inside her again.
She instinctively wanted to do something, but looking around, there didn't seem to be anything she could do.
Suddenly, she noticed the empty bedside table, and her eyes lit up.
"You just lie there and rest. I'll go buy you some fruit!"
Han Lie didn't stand on ceremony.
There was a Douyin celebrity called Liaoshen Er Gou who had shared advice on attracting girls—
"Want to be a simp? Just blindly do things for your goddess with your eyes closed.
But what if you want your goddess to simp for you?
Do the opposite!
Use your brain, find a way to make her do things for you!"
With Chen Yanfei being so proactive right now, only an idiot would refuse.
Not only did Han Lie not refuse, but he also added a specific request—
"Just don't buy apples, alright? I can't even look at apples right now; my head hurts."
"PFFT!"
Chen Yanfei burst out laughing once again.
She shot Han Lie an exaggerated eye-roll and drawled, "Got it! So fussy..."
She couldn't see her own face.
Otherwise, she would definitely have realized just how charmingly coy she looked.