Blue Cocktail chapter 51
Due to the SMS help with location, the response from the police was swift.
Before the police arrived, Cheng Shuo had already changed back into his suit.
The night was getting cooler, and Cheng Shuo knew it would be cold without an extra windbreaker.
He urged Lu Huaiqian to quickly put on the windbreaker. Lu Huaiqian promptly extended his left hand from the sleeve, but when passing the right hand through the sleeve, the movement slowed down significantly.
Cheng Shuo’s expression tightened, about to ask a question when the police arrived.
Then he, Lu Huaiqian, and other individuals involved in the case followed the police car to the police station to make statements.
After understanding the sequence of events, the police stated that they couldn’t establish a criminal case.
Since there was no intention to extort property, it didn’t constitute kidnapping. Without acts of binding or beating, lasting less than twenty-four hours, it didn’t constitute illegal detention. Cheng Shuo’s head injury didn’t meet the legal standard for minor injuries, and therefore, it didn’t constitute intentional harm.
As for the charge of rape, it only applies to the inviolable rights of women, and since men were not involved, it didn’t even qualify as attempted rape.
Forcible indecency, on the other hand, had no gender distinction. However, proving indecency was often difficult. In legal practice, it usually resulted in criminal detention only when there was substantial evidence of indecent acts between two men.
In the end, Mr. Cao received a public security penalty from the public security agency.
The outcome was somewhat lamentable.
It was already past one in the morning when they left the police station.
Seeing Cheng Shuo’s silence since he got into the police car, Lu Huaiqian, who seemed gloomy and unhappy, also knew that the results given by the police were hard to accept.
He comforted Cheng Shuo, “If you want to retaliate against Mr. Cao, it’s not difficult to use legal means to deal with him. Anyway, leave this matter to me; I’ll make him regret today’s actions for the rest of his life.”
Cheng Shuo muttered, “I’m not thinking about him.”
“What are you thinking about then?”
Cheng Shuo lowered his gaze, landing on the right sleeve of Lu Huaiqian, “Is your right hand…?”
He hesitated, his voice somewhat dry.
Lu Huaiqian was momentarily stunned.
Then he laughed, “Wow, you’re so clever.”
He asked, “How did you figure it out?”
Cheng Shuo suddenly felt a mix of emotions, “I’m not that clever.”
He stopped halfway through his words and fell silent for a moment, “When you were writing the statement, you used your left hand.”
Lu Huaiqian suddenly understood, nodding, “Yes.”
He changed the subject, “So you’ve witnessed it; I write with my left hand just as neatly and almost as fast as my right hand. I’m quite impressive, right?”
Even in this situation, he still had the mood to joke… Cheng Shuo lightly hummed in agreement but couldn’t help sighing.
The two of them got into Lu’s car.
The driver asked Lu Huaiqian, “Boss, are we heading straight back to the bar?”
“Let’s go to the hospital first.”
Ignoring Cheng Shuo’s concerned gaze, he casually added, “It seems like my wrist is broken.”
Lu Huaiqian cursed quietly, “That fat pig had quite some strength in those hands.”
The registration was for the emergency room. The doctor, after looking at the X-ray, diagnosed it as a closed injury to the right wrist. Conservative treatment was sufficient; there was no need for antibiotic infusion. They put a cast on Lu Huaiqian’s wrist and prescribed some blood circulation and swelling reduction medicine.
The hefty cast hung around his neck, but Lu Huaiqian, walking out of the doctor’s office, had a lively and cheerful walk. He grinned and said, “Cheng Shuo, my appearance now should have a hundred percent head-turning rate, right?”
Cheng Shuo held a large bag of oral medications, feeling a myriad of emotions. Thousands of words finally condensed into a light sigh.
“Oh well,” Lu Huaiqian embraced Cheng Shuo’s right shoulder with his left hand, patting him comfortingly, “don’t make that expression. It’s just a fracture; nothing serious. I broke a bone when I was a kid, wore a cast for half a month, and it healed.”
Cheng Shuo remained silent for a long time before forcing a smile. He retorted teasingly, “How do you manage to say something like breaking a bone in your childhood with a proud tone?”
Lu Huaiqian immediately replied, “Because I have thick skin.”
Cheng Shuo couldn’t help but laugh and cry.
After the two got into the backseat of the car, the driver repeated the previous question, “Boss, are we going directly back to the bar?”
“First, let’s take Cheng Shuo back to the Fufu Jiayuan.” Lu Huaiqian answered without hesitation.
Cheng Shuo was momentarily surprised, then lowered his gaze and said, “No need.”
Lu Huaiqian couldn’t help but be surprised, “It’s almost two in the morning now, and you can’t get a cab. How are you going back? You’re not going to say you’ll ride a shared electric scooter back, are you?”
Cheng Shuo’s fingertips, placed on the edge of his suit, slowly tightened, unconsciously creating a few wrinkles. Once he realized it, he quickly loosened them and smoothed out the folds.
With his long eyelashes covering the fleeting struggle in his pupils, he asked, “Can I… not go back?”
Lu Huaiqian glanced at Cheng Shuo unexpectedly, “Sure, you’ve spent the night at the bar before. You want to sleep there?”
Cheng Shuo nodded, his expression incredibly serious, “yes.”
Having successfully delivered the boss and Cheng Shuo to the bar, the driver immediately turned around, heading home to get a good night’s sleep.
By now, the bar had closed. Lu Huaiqian said to Cheng Shuo, “The keys are in the right-hand side pocket of my pants.”
Understanding, Cheng Shuo carefully unbuttoned Lu Huaiqian’s windbreaker, then gently pushed aside the lapel, and tentatively reached his fingertips into the pocket. He did it slowly, as if afraid of being accused of impropriety by accidentally touching Lu Huaiqian’s thigh.
Seeing this, Lu Huaiqian laughed intentionally, using a teasing tone, “Cheng Shuo, are you an outstanding student from the School of Virtue and Morality? You seem to be afraid of accidentally touching my thigh.”
Speaking with a tone of disappointment, he added, “Since I’ve given you permission to take the keys, it wouldn’t matter if you accidentally touched me a bit.”
The teasing was too obvious, and Cheng Shuo couldn’t be bothered to respond. He simply proceeded to reach into the pocket. The pocket was deep, and he took quite a while to retrieve the keys.
Before taking out the keys, Cheng Shuo felt a bit aggrieved. He slid his fingertips inside for a couple of touches, and then, as if nothing had happened, he apologized. It was a familiar routine for both parties.
“Sorry, my fingers cramped just now.”
Lu Huaiqian, with a playful smile, waved his intact left hand, “I told you it’s fine.”
They arrived at the second floor of the bar.
Lu Huaiqian immediately threw himself onto the sofa in the living room. His posture remained relaxed, and his attitude was still casual. The only difference was the gauze-wrapped neck and the plastered right hand, but overall, it didn’t look much different from usual.
Cheng Shuo didn’t sit down with him. “I’ll go get you some oral medicine.”
Lu Huaiqian hurriedly said, “No need.”
“Why not?”
“The medicine is too bitter, and I don’t want to drink it.”
Cheng Shuo hesitated, feeling as if he were coaxing a child, “Drinking the medicine will make you feel better faster.”
Lu Huaiqian insisted stubbornly, “It’s almost two in the morning; it’s too late. Let’s do it tomorrow morning.”
As he spoke, he increasingly felt he was in the right, “My hand is already very painful. If you make me drink such bitter medicine, tormenting my stomach, I’ll feel even worse. When I feel uncomfortable, my mood worsens, and a bad mood is not conducive to the recovery of my wrist. Don’t you agree?”
A bunch of twisted reasoning, Cheng Shuo silently commented. He couldn’t convince an adult who didn’t want to take medicine, especially not the one in front of him, who once self-assessed as having thick skin—Lu Huaiqian did have a reasonably clear self-awareness.
Cheng Shuo reluctantly nodded in agreement.
After some thought, he asked, “So how are we going to sleep tonight?”
“You’re going to sleep now?” Lu Huaiqian was astonished.
“You’re not taking the medicine, are you? Aren’t you going to sleep now?” Cheng Shuo was even more astonished. “It’s almost two in the morning.”
After saying this, he added, “Rest early; it’s conducive to the improvement of your condition.”
Lu Huaiqian automatically ignored the latter half of the sentence. “I don’t want to sleep now.”
Finally, he said without any psychological burden, “My hand hurts so much I can’t sleep. I need someone to chat with me to distract my attention.”
Cheng Shuo remained silent for a long time.
Adhering to the principle of taking care of the patient’s emotions, he compromised.
As soon as his ass touched the small sofa opposite Lu Huaiqian, he heard the latter’s dissatisfied complaint, “Why are you sitting so far away? Come sit next to me.”
Seeing Cheng Shuo hesitate, Lu Huaiqian decisively played the pity card, his voice changing from vigorous to weak, “I’m in so much pain that I can’t even speak loudly. If you sit so far away, I’m afraid you won’t be able to hear me.”
Raising his eyes, Cheng Shuo caught a glimpse of a faint smile at the corner of Lu Huaiqian’s lips. He knew this was just an excuse.
But he couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. Seeing through but not exposing, he silently sat down next to Lu Huaiqian.
Lu Huaiqian nonchalantly circled Cheng Shuo’s waist with his left arm. Cheng Shuo made no struggle and showed no sign of rejection. He obediently complied, like a cat that had been groomed, possibly considering his injury.
So, Lu Huaiqian took the opportunity to pull him closer, “Will you blame me for not replying to your messages all night?”
Cheng Shuo’s eyelashes trembled slightly. “Replying to my messages is not your obligation.”
The smile between Lu Huaiqian’s eyebrows and eyes deepened, appearing much less like a smile. “I wasn’t in the banquet hall tonight. Not many people knew about it, and I didn’t have time to tell you.”
“In the evening, my dad had an acute illness, and my mom and I went to the hospital with him. Huai Xuan stayed behind to entertain the guests.”
Cheng Shuo’s expression showed a slight surprise.
“Normally, I should be the center of attention at the birthday party, not Huai Xuan. However, this birthday party was organized by Huai Xuan alone, and I didn’t know the procedures. Plus, most people came to curry favor with Huai Xuan, so my staying behind wouldn’t have much use. It was better for Huai Xuan to stay.”
“After arriving at the hospital, I was so busy that I was at my wits’ end. I finally had a chance to rest. When I opened WeChat and saw your messages about Mr. Cao harassing you, two minutes later, I received your distress message and call. When I answered, I heard you and Mr. Cao going back and forth. I didn’t dare say a word.”
Lu Huaiqian pulled out the distress message and showed it to Cheng Shuo.
(SOS for help! I’ve encountered an emergency and need to ask for your help. You are my emergency contact that’s why you are receiving this information. My current location is N30 degrees 21’59.30. North latitude and E118 degrees 49’21.25 east longitude. It may not be convenient to answer the phone at the moment, please be careful when calling back.)
“I researched the distress function and knew it was an automatically sent message by the phone system. I replied to your message, and you indeed didn’t respond. I guessed you couldn’t respond, so I called my driver and went to track your location.”
“During the journey, I received more than a dozen messages in total, and your location kept changing rapidly.”
“The most terrifying part was when the call suddenly cut off later. I worried that Mr. Cao had discovered your secret plea for help, but I had to console myself.”
Cheng Shuo explained, “At that time, my phone probably ran out of battery and automatically shut down.”
“After the call ended, the distress messages also stopped updating. I could only rely on the location of your last message. Fortunately, there was only one hotel near that location.”
Cheng Shuo recalled something, “Mr. Cao threatened me at the time, saying this was a hotel he invested in. I just realized you used a room card to enter. So, how did you convince the staff to give you a spare room card?”
“Mr. Cao is just a small shareholder in the hotel. I know the major shareholder of the hotel; he’s an old classmate of mine.”
“I know quite a few people in Huafu City.”
“I see.” Cheng Shuo sighed, “Well, your social network is really extensive.”
Suddenly, he heard Lu Huaiqian sigh, as if he had been infected by Cheng Shuo’s previous emotions. “Don’t be fooled by my calm appearance now. While recounting the process to you, I still feel lingering fear. Recalling the feelings at that time, my thoughts were sluggish and chaotic. I was afraid my judgment was wrong, and once it went wrong, I would miss the best time to save you.”
It was rare to see Lu Huaiqian speak with such a serious tone, expressing genuine feelings. “After all, this is my birthday party, which I forcefully invited you to attend. In case, due to my negligence, something happened to you—”
He paused for a moment before continuing, “I am absolutely responsible, and I will feel guilty for a lifetime.”
A moment of stunned silence.
Cheng Shuo thought, just before going upstairs, Lu Huaiqian was still joking as usual, seeming careless and indifferent. He turned his head, “It’s not like you forcefully invited me to attend. If I really didn’t want to go, no matter what means or tricks you used, it wouldn’t work. No one can force me to do something I don’t want to do.”
After pondering for a moment, he added, “Responsibility can’t possibly fall on you. This whole thing is clearly Mr. Cao’s fault.”
“Well, you make sense.”
Lu Huaiqian silently smiled.
He smiled, remained silent for a while, and then suddenly said, “I want to ask you a question.”
“Go ahead?”
But Lu Huaiqian answered with a different question, “I hope you can answer truthfully. Although my birthday party has ended, my birthday wish should still count, right?”
—Today is my birthday; can you be more honest?
Cheng Shuo seemed to remember something and pursed his lips, “okay.”
“Before I ask, can you look into my eyes?”
“Such a fuss for a question.”
Cheng Shuo muttered, but still cooperated by shifting his gaze to Lu Huaiqian’s eyebrows and eyes—
In the next moment, he saw his own reflection in Lu Huaiqian’s pupils.
Deep black overlaid with blue-gray, creating immense gravity, and the soul traced back to the depths of a ten-thousand-meter sea.
“Cheng Shuo.”
“Why did you set me as your emergency contact?”