Thirteen Wonders (ShíSānYāo) : Chapter 19 - West Wind, North Wind
Chapter 19: West Wind, North Wind
Chen Xuze and Zhou Yao did not leave. The commotion had alerted the surrounding neighbors, and even some shop owners cautiously entered the alley to check what had happened.
Upon learning that two students had been attacked, concerned bystanders immediately called the police.
The response was swift. The three men who had been beaten to the ground were still alive but severely injured or temporarily unconscious from the pain. They were taken to the station.
Naturally, Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze also had to go. Zhou Yao's wound was still bleeding, and a kind older woman standing nearby advised, “Young lady, you should wrap your hand up first. It must hurt.”
Someone else interjected, “Better not. Get a medical examination first.”
Different opinions were voiced, but Zhou Yao thanked them and followed the police to the car.
Chen Xuze turned slightly to look at her, his voice carrying a hint of weariness. “Are you okay?”
Zhou Yao's face was pale, but otherwise, she seemed fine. She shook her head. “No. You?” He also shook his head.
With police officers accompanying them, they got into the car. Since their injuries were not too severe and they remained conscious, there was no need for an emergency hospital visit. Instead, they were taken to the station first.
Chen Xuze entered the vehicle first, sitting in the inner seat. As Zhou Yao was about to get in, he extended his left hand to her. Without overthinking it, she grasped his palm for support as she climbed in.
The car drove steadily. Other than the occasional question from the officers, neither of them spoke much. One of the officers, who had a daughter around Zhou Yao’s age, felt some sympathy and spoke with them more than usual.
Zhou Yao chatted with him, completely unaware that Chen Xuze’s right hand remained inside his pocket the entire time. His thick clothing concealed whatever was beneath it, preventing anything from seeping through or being noticed.
……
The three thugs had been hired for the job. Their instructions were simple: beat the targets half to death, and make them suffer. When they woke up at the police station and realized their plan had been exposed, they confessed everything.
Liang Li.
The girl who paid them was named Liang Li. When the police brought up this name to Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze, they both froze for a moment. Then, their expressions turned unreadable.
“Do you know her?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a conflict with her?”
“Mm. We used to be classmates.”
“What kind of conflict?”
“Her brother pursued me back in school. After I rejected his confession, he went out street racing that night, got into an accident, and died. Liang Li blamed me for his death and has held a grudge ever since.”
The case was both simple and absurd. Once the police verified all the details, they immediately took action.
Liang Li was summoned to the station with her parents. The moment she stepped through the door, a flicker of panic flashed in her eyes. Her parents, on the other hand, were confused. When the officers explained the situation, Father Liang shot to his feet in shock. “Impossible! My daughter would never do something like this! This must be—”
“The perpetrators have already confessed. Her phone number appears in their call records, and her bank transactions show payments to them.”
The evidence was undeniable.
“Then… where are the injured students?” Father Liang hesitated before adding, “We… we’ll apologize to them. We’ll pay for their medical bills and emotional damages. That should be enough, right?!”
Mother Liang quickly nodded. “Yes, yes! We’ll pay! However much it takes!”
“—Pay?!”
A sharp female voice, accompanied by the sound of high heels striking the floor, interrupted them. “You think you can just throw money at this and make it go away? That’s a nice dream. Nothing serious happened this time, but what if it had? Who would take responsibility?”
Everyone turned toward the source of the voice. Before the police could ask, the newcomers introduced themselves. “We are Chen Xuze’s parents.”
Though they stood with a slight distance between them, making them seem not particularly close, their imposing auras were unmistakably alike.
Father Chen spoke calmly, “Where is my son? I want to see him now.”
The group moved to another room for the meeting.
Zhou Yao wasn’t very familiar with the Chen couple. Her strongest impression of Chen’s family had always been the elderly grandparents who had personally raised him.
Given the situation, she stood up and bowed slightly. “Uncle, Auntie.”
The Chen couple regarded her neutrally, treating her no differently than any other neighbor. However, in moments like these, they were naturally on the same side. “Where are you and Xuze injured?” Mother Chen asked. “Those men attacked you, didn’t they?”
Zhou Yao nodded and showed her injuries. Her skin was naturally delicate and fair, so despite wearing thick clothing, she had still ended up with several bruises from when she had stumbled while running.
Chen Xuze’s face was even worse—two bruises, a split lip, and traces of dried blood.
“Compensation?” Mother Chen scoffed at the suggestion, pointing angrily at Liang’s parents. “Look at these kids! Compensation? What a joke! These two are among the best students in their school—outstanding in every way. If something had happened to them, who would take responsibility?”
Father Chen was much quieter, his tone steady but firm. “We will not settle this privately.”
Liang's parents' expressions changed drastically. “What more do you want?! We’re offering to pay! It’s not like our daughter was the one who hit them. You people—”
Their voices rose, the argument teetering on the edge of a full-blown shouting match. At that moment, for the first time, fear crept into Liang Li’s expression.
A police officer slammed his hand on the table, his face cold. “No shouting in here.”
The two sides fell silent. But in terms of presence, the Liang couple was no match for the Chen family. Mother Chen took a deep breath and rolled her eyes as if she were looking at rotten vegetables in a field. Mother Liang’s face turned pale with anger.
“Our family is well-mannered and educated,” Mother Chen said slowly. “Unlike certain people who think money can solve everything. And frankly, we don’t need your money. Even if we did, you wouldn’t even be in our league.”
She sat down gracefully, crossing her legs in a way that exuded confidence rather than arrogance.
“Then what exactly do you want—”
Father Liang was losing patience. He slammed his hand on the table. Before Mother Chen could reply, a voice suddenly broke the tension. Chen Xuze had spoken.
“Mom.”
His calm and indifferent words made Mother Chen freeze for a moment. His relationship with his parents had never been close. They had been preoccupied with making money when he was young, and by the time they wanted to reconnect with him, they realized he had grown up and inexplicably harbored a sense of rejection toward them. He was withdrawn and difficult to communicate with, so they had no choice but to let it be.
Whenever Chen Xuze returned to their home in the city and saw them, he wouldn’t even greet them aloud—just a slight nod, which counted as his acknowledgment.
In this regard, the Chen couple had no way to deal with him. But such an outstanding son—smart, self-disciplined, mature, and never causing trouble—was widely recognized as a genius. When he was little, they even had his IQ tested, and it was indeed high. The title of ‘genius’ was well deserved.
Perhaps gifted children were simply different. With that thought, the couple gradually accepted it. Besides, having such an exceptional child was something others envied. The neighbors spoke of him with admiration—who wouldn’t want a child like that?
At this moment, hearing Chen Xuze call out ‘Mom,’ Mrs. Chen nearly jumped up in shock. Realizing they were still in public, she barely managed to contain her emotions. “Mom's here! What is it? What do you want to say?”
Under everyone’s gaze, Chen Xuze, expressionless, slowly withdrew his hand from the right pocket of his coat.
He stretched out his hand for all to see.
As if it wasn’t even his own, he stated calmly, “My middle finger is broken.”
……
The chaos at the police station nearly turned into a full-blown brawl. Just moments ago, Mrs. Chen had been basking in the rare warmth of her son calling her ‘Mom.’ But the instant Zhou Yao’s parents arrived, they were met with the sight of the usually dignified and composed Mrs. Chen gripping another woman by the collar, looking ready to strangle her.
Once the situation was explained, Zhou Yao’s parents fell into silence, realizing that Mrs. Chen’s reaction was not excessive at all.
The three thugs who had attacked them wielded iron rods, which, during the scuffle, either hit the wall or something else, resulting in a crack. That crack in the iron was what had carved a chunk of flesh from Chen Xuze’s blocking right hand, exposing stark white bone beneath. Even the bone itself had splintered.
He had kept his injured hand tucked in his pocket the whole way there, and when he finally turned the pocket inside out, it was soaked with blood.
Chen Xuze was immediately taken for a medical examination. When the results came out, the doctor shook his head.
“It’s too late. The bone is broken. Even if reattached, it won’t heal like before. Once the wound recovers, the middle finger will be practically useless…”
He was a senior in high school, about to take the college entrance exam—the one year when millions of students fought to cross the narrow bridge to a better future. And now, his middle finger was ruined. Everyone understood how devastating this was for his exam performance.
Originally, he might have attended interviews for a guaranteed admission program, which included a written test. But now, whether he could even qualify had become uncertain.
Losing control entirely, Mrs. Chen yanked Mother Liang by the hair, hysterical in a way rarely seen. “Compensate! You better compensate me! My son has been a genius since he was little! He could easily rank first in school! Prestigious universities fought over him! Now his finger is ruined—how are you going to compensate for that?!”
Before Mother Liang could retaliate, Mrs. Chen grabbed Liang Li, who had been hiding behind her and slapped her hard across the face. Mother Liang rushed forward to stop her, but Mrs. Chen struck again, two more crisp slaps landing. Liang Li burst into tears.
Chen Xuze, however, remained eerily calm, like an outsider to his own tragedy. Zhou Yao, who had been gripping his wrist tightly, had red-rimmed eyes. He lightly squeezed her wrist in return. Their eyes met, and she froze, suddenly realizing something. The redness in her eyes slowly faded.
That iron rod had indeed cracked while they were waiting for the police. But at that time, both of Chen Xuze’s hands had been completely unscathed.
Zhou Yao remembered it clearly—he had used his right hand to touch her cheek and tell her not to be afraid.
She stared at Chen Xuze in stunned silence.
While the adults continued to argue, he stood there and spoke calmly, “Dad, Mom.”
His voice, at this moment, sounded particularly fragile, instantly triggering the parental instincts of the Chen couple. Their eyes turned red.
“We’re here, we’re here! What do you want to say?”
Father Chen added, “Son, don’t be afraid! I’ll find you the best doctor—I promise we’ll do everything we can!”
But Chen Xuze showed no reaction to their reassurances. His indifferent gaze swept over Liang Li, whose face was red and swollen from the slaps, tears streaming down like a pathetic clown.
He said,
“I don’t want to settle this privately.”
Father Chen nodded repeatedly. “Okay, okay!”
“I’m eighteen. So is she.” Chen Xuze looked at Liang Li, his voice as cold as ice. “I want her to take responsibility for her actions.”
It took the Chen couple a moment to process his words before they understood his meaning.
“Alright, alright! Whatever you say! I’ll find a lawyer first thing tomorrow—the best lawyer! All those legal connections we’ve built over the years, we’ll use them! Don’t worry, son, whoever committed a crime will face justice. We won’t let those bastards get away with it!”
He turned to glare at the Liang family, his expression so full of contempt that he seemed moments away from spitting at them.
……
With his right middle finger permanently damaged, writing became a struggle. The impact of this incident at No. 7 High School was unimaginable. He had been ranked third on the school’s honor roll, yet he suffered this tragedy a year before the college entrance exams. Everyone could only sigh in pity.
Meanwhile, Liang Li was facing possible juvenile detention or even imprisonment. When people heard the news, they found it immensely satisfying.
Ruining someone’s future deserved this kind of punishment.
Chen Xuze remained unchanged. He still attended classes as usual. The teachers, heartbroken for him, showed him extra care. Jiang Jiashu, on the other hand, was utterly enraged. If Ying Nian hadn’t stopped him, he would have stormed into the Liang household wielding an iron rod himself.
Chen Xuze stopped him with just one sentence: “I’m fine. Don’t you trust my abilities?”
Jiang Jiashu nearly cried. Of course, he wanted to trust him. But now, Chen Xuze wrote at half the speed of others. If this cost him a spot at a top university, who could they reason with? He was supposed to be brilliant.
After that, Chen Xuze said nothing more. But as Jiang Jiashu was leaving the classroom, he uncharacteristically called him back.
Jiang Jiashu thought he needed something. “What is it?”
Chen Xuze simply gazed at him for two seconds before saying, “Thank you.”
……
Sometimes, when staying over at the Zhou house, Mother Zhou would make soup for the two of them. Because of his injured finger, she made extra this time.
While they studied in the room, the adults were busy at the mahjong parlor. No one found it inappropriate for them to be alone. After all, they had long been used to it.
Zhou Yao was solving a problem. Chen Xuze, sipping soup with a spoon, glanced at her and said, “Simplify that step further.”
“It’s the same,” Zhou Yao muttered lazily. “I just want to finish quickly so I can drink my soup before it gets cold.”
Hearing that, Chen Xuze put down his spoon. “You drink. I’ll do it.”
She turned her head, meeting his gaze. A silent moment stretched between them before she handed him the pen.
He took it—with his left hand.
Fluently and effortlessly, he solved the problem on scratch paper, using a more concise approach than hers. No hesitation. No awkwardness. And more importantly—his left-handed handwriting was exactly the same as his right-handed handwriting.
Zhou Yao drank a few sips of soup, wiped her mouth, copied down his solution, then tore up the scratch paper with his left-handed writing.
When millions fought to cross the narrow bridge, Chen Xuze had two hands. Even if his right hand was ‘ruined,’ when the real battle came, he would still be himself.
Everyone knew Chen Xuze was a genius.
But only Zhou Yao knew—he could write with both hands, and they looked exactly the same.
To carve the flesh from his own finger, to even grind the bone—how excruciating must that have been? No one else, not even Liang Li, who would soon pay the price for her actions, would ever know.
But Chen Xuze knew just how excruciating that pain was.
—To him, it was the moment he saw Zhou Yao’s injured finger.
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