10. An Unintended Wrong

Her so-called peaceful, uneventful days had lasted all of one single day before a merciless phone call sent Wen Mingjuan back to the police station once again.

Counting it up, this made her fifth trip to the police station.

Wen Mingjuan cursed Tao Muwei silently in her head a thousand, ten thousand times over, genuinely wishing she could chop him into a thousand pieces — the only regret being that she couldn't actually do it.

She hadn't even set foot inside the station yet when, from a distance, she could already hear Gao Weizhao's voice.

"How the hell could you go and pull a stunt like this on me?"

"You're not my dad, you're my uncle." Tao Muwei, with all the reckless bravado of a duck heading to slaughter without a clue what awaited it, had the audacity to talk back to Gao Weizhao without a shred of self-preservation.

"Doesn't matter who I am." Gao Weizhao was clearly seething. "I've never stolen or robbed a single thing my whole life, and here you go pulling some low-down, shameless stunt like this..."

Hearing this, Wen Mingjuan's heart sank with dread. Though she too was furious with Tao Muwei for constantly causing her trouble every few days, if he'd gone and truly angered Gao Weizhao, she feared things might turn out very badly for him. So she took off running inside as fast as her legs could carry her.

Inside the station, besides Gao Weizhao, there were also several students. What was truly shocking was that Lin Yitan and Lai Chunxiang were there too, along with a few middle-aged people she didn't recognize, presumably the parents of those students.

"Mingjuan." The moment Lin Yitan spotted Wen Mingjuan, he waved to her. "You're here too?"

Did they really need to greet each other this warmly inside a police station? As the homeroom teachers of "thieving students," this wasn't exactly a badge of honor for either of them — making such a show of it hardly seemed appropriate.

Wen Mingjuan felt quite embarrassed.

Just as Lin Yitan called out her name, Gao Weizhao glanced over at her, but immediately went right back to berating Tao Muwei.

"If I don't beat you today, I'm not your father — no, I mean, I'm not fit to call myself your uncle." No sooner had Gao Weizhao finished than he lunged forward, raising his right hand high, ready to bring it down at any moment.

"Stop." Wen Mingjuan suddenly shouted sharply: "What do you think you're doing?"

As everyone's alarmed gazes turned toward Wen Mingjuan all at once, the officers, who had been about to move in and intervene, froze abruptly too.

Gao Weizhao's raised right hand hung there, refusing to come down...

He stared coldly at Wen Mingjuan.

"Stay out of this." He barely managed to hold back his rapidly boiling temper.

"You can't hit him — if you strike that hard, you'll kill Tao Muwei." Wen Mingjuan rushed forward with a burst of courage she didn't know she had, planting herself in front of Tao Muwei, and blurted out without thinking: "You can run prostitution rings and gambling dens, but you can't tolerate him keeping watch for someone stealing?"

"Mingjuan, don't talk nonsense." Lin Yitan had long since heard that Gao Weizhao was no upstanding character — this Wen Mingjuan was practically begging for trouble, not even leaving it to the police, taking it upon herself to step in like this?

"Teacher Wen, get out of the way, quick." Lai Chunxiang was also flashing her urgent looks.

"Prostitution and gambling rings?" At Wen Mingjuan's words, Gao Weizhao's movement froze for a full minute before he finally lowered his hand. "Did you see this with your own eyes?"

"I..." Challenged like this by Gao Weizhao, Wen Mingjuan suddenly felt she was standing on very shaky ground.

Right — she genuinely hadn't seen any of it herself.

"If you didn't see it, don't go spouting nonsense." Gao Weizhao corrected her, clearly displeased.

"Regardless of all that, you simply cannot hit Tao Muwei." Wen Mingjuan pushed back at him again.

"I'm hitting Tao Muwei, not you. This is a family matter."

"He's my student. I can't just stand by and do nothing."

"Step aside." Gao Weizhao gave Wen Mingjuan a verbal warning.

The words had barely left his mouth when he spun around, deftly circling past Wen Mingjuan, and swung his palm straight toward Tao Muwei standing behind her. At that exact same moment, without a second thought, Tao Muwei yanked Wen Mingjuan in front of him — and completely unguarded, she took the full, solid force of Gao Weizhao's slap meant for him.

The whole thing happened so suddenly that no one present had time to stop it; all they could do was watch, helpless, as the disaster unfolded.

"Smack!" The instant that crisp slap rang out, Wen Mingjuan's slight, frail frame went flying sideways into the corner of a nearby desk, and the loud, jarring impact sent everyone rushing to her side at once.

"Mingjuan..." Lin Yitan was the first to reach her, throwing his arms around Wen Mingjuan, crying out in a panic: "Are you alright?"

Gao Weizhao's grip strength was extraordinary — a clear, five-fingered handprint had bloomed across Wen Mingjuan's left cheek, the swelling and redness rivaling a steamed bun. There was also a visible bruise on her right forehead, with a thin trickle of blood slowly making its way down.

"Gao Weizhao, you..." Lin Yitan was both furious and frantic; he desperately wanted to scream at Gao Weizhao, but he was more worried about Wen Mingjuan, and turned back to gently shake her. "Mingjuan, say something!"

The instant that slap landed on Wen Mingjuan's face, Gao Weizhao himself was utterly stunned by what had just happened. He never in his wildest dreams could have imagined that he would end up striking a woman with his own hand.

He could hit thugs, he could hit his brothers from the underworld, he could even hit people he simply didn't like the look of — but hitting a woman was something he had always refused to do.

"Wen Mingjuan..." Worry and guilt instantly flooded across Gao Weizhao's face. He wanted to move closer, but Lin Yitan shoved him back.

"Don't come near her. Look at what you've done to her, and you still dare come close?" Lin Yitan snapped furiously.

Gao Weizhao still wanted to say something, but the officers had already rushed over, and everyone made way to let them get to Wen Mingjuan.

"Teacher Wen." An officer called out to Wen Mingjuan, trying to determine whether she was still conscious. "Can you speak? If you can, please answer us."

"Teacher Wen..." Beside her, Lai Chunxiang couldn't hold back and burst into tears.

"What are you crying for?" Suddenly, Wen Mingjuan spoke weakly.

"You... you're awake?" Everyone was overjoyed, especially Lin Yitan. "You scared me half to death, do you know that?"

"Good thing you didn't die." Lai Chunxiang, as always, couldn't manage to say anything kind.

"And here you are wishing me dead?" Wen Mingjuan tried to sit up, but stumbled and fell right back into Lin Yitan's arms.

"Why are you holding me?" She tried to push Lin Yitan away, but her whole body had gone limp, no strength anywhere, her head swimming with dizziness.

"You're hurt."

Only after Lin Yitan said this did Wen Mingjuan register the burning, stinging pain flaring across her face and forehead.

She recalled the disaster that had just occurred and hurriedly covered her own face with her hands.

Her face must be ruined!

How was she supposed to face anyone looking like this?

"Teacher..." Tao Muwei, realizing what a huge disaster he'd caused, scrambled over to Wen Mingjuan's side in a panic, so anxious he was nearly in tears. "I... I really didn't mean to."

"I know." Wen Mingjuan freed one hand and weakly grasped Little Tao's hand.

Lin Yitan shot Tao Muwei a fierce glare, thoroughly displeased. "If you hadn't dragged Teacher Wen in as a human shield, she wouldn't be in this state — and you still have the nerve to say something?"

"That was just a reflex, I panicked in the moment — I really didn't mean to do it." Tao Muwei looked utterly remorseful.

"Let's get Teacher Wen to the hospital first! Better to have a doctor take a look, for peace of mind." The officer spoke up, and Lin Yitan immediately agreed.

"Right, let's go to the hospital!"

* * *

Amid a flurry of chattering voices and scrambling hands, Wen Mingjuan was rushed to the emergency room of a nearby hospital, where she received a basic examination and treatment. Her head still felt a bit foggy; whether she had a concussion or not would need to be confirmed through observation over the next few days.

This whole delay ate up time until eight or nine at night. Seeing that Wen Mingjuan seemed to be in no immediate danger, everyone gradually filtered back to the police station to give their statements, leaving only one officer and Gao Weizhao behind — while Lin Yitan insisted stubbornly on staying to keep Wen Mingjuan company.

"Teacher Lin, you should head back to the station first. It's so late, hurry along." Wen Mingjuan didn't at all approve of Lin Yitan's insistence on staying by her side.

"But..." Lin Yitan looked at Wen Mingjuan and said: "How could I possibly leave, seeing you like this?"

"It's fine, there's an officer here, and Gao Weizhao too. That's enough." she answered him.

"You're still defending him? Isn't Gao Weizhao the one who did this to you? Aren't you scared of him? You should have the doctor issue an injury report and press charges."

"Don't be like this — neither he nor Tao Muwei meant to do it." Wen Mingjuan said irritably.

The moment she lifted her head, Gao Weizhao's face, etched entirely with guilt, immediately filled her vision. Ever since the incident happened, his face had remained locked in that same expression the whole time — he hadn't said a word, but she could clearly see the remorse weighing on him.

Half-reclined on the hospital bed, Wen Mingjuan had things she wanted to say to Gao Weizhao, but with everyone still around, she'd had no chance at all.

"Teacher Lin, please go. Whatever's between Gao Weizhao and me, we'll settle it privately." she told Lin Yitan.

"Are you really going to be okay?" Lin Yitan looked from Wen Mingjuan to Gao Weizhao and back again, and suddenly felt a faint, bittersweet sourness rising in his chest.

There seemed to be some strange atmosphere between the two of them.

Lin Yitan couldn't quite put into words what kind of strange, unsettling energy it was, but he thoroughly disliked it.

"I'll be fine." Wen Mingjuan said again, firmly.

In the end, Lin Yitan left with his heart weighed down by an uncomfortable feeling he couldn't shake. The officer happened to step out to use the restroom, and with the emergency room emptied out, aside from the medical staff, only Wen Mingjuan and Gao Weizhao remained.

"Gao Weizhao." Once Lin Yitan had walked far enough away, Wen Mingjuan waved Gao Weizhao over, gesturing for him to come to her bedside.

"Are you... still in pain?"

This was the first thing Gao Weizhao had said tonight regarding this whole disastrous mess.

"Of course it hurts, obviously!" For some reason, though it might have been better if he hadn't asked at all, the question forced tears right out of Wen Mingjuan's eyes.

She suddenly felt a wave of hurt welling up in her chest.

"Don't... don't cry... I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to." Seeing Wen Mingjuan cry, Gao Weizhao panicked, utterly at a loss for what to do. He reached out to wipe away her tears, but the moment his hand was halfway raised, he suddenly thought better of it and pulled it back.

"I'm not blaming you." Wen Mingjuan said.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Gao Weizhao's heart was in complete turmoil.

"Could you tell me why you got so angry? Back in Tainan, or at the train station, weren't you the one who told me I should first understand what's going on in a child's head, and not just blindly blame him without knowing the full picture?"

Suddenly, Gao Weizhao's expression darkened.

"What is it?" Wen Mingjuan noticed the grave look on Gao Weizhao's face and felt deeply puzzled.

"Tao Muwei is desperate to ruin himself. He believes that's the only way he can enter my world. Do... do you understand what I mean?"

"Your world?" Wen Mingjuan finally managed to hold back her tears, and looked at Gao Weizhao's troubled face in confusion, shaking her head: "I don't understand."

"You're not supposed to understand. Neither is Tao Muwei. The less you two know about my affairs, the better." Gao Weizhao said, his voice distant.

"I think I'm starting to understand a little." Wen Mingjuan could guess some of it from Gao Weizhao's expression. "You're saying Tao Muwei wants to follow in your footsteps and join the gang?"

"You could put it that way." Gao Weizhao's brow remained deeply furrowed. "But he's wrong. He's just blindly worshipping me, without any idea that this path isn't at all what he imagines it to be. Most importantly, he's simply a pure, kind-hearted kid — this isn't a path he's suited for."

"You..." Wen Mingjuan hadn't expected to hear this kind of reasoning coming from Gao Weizhao's own mouth.

"I joined the gang back in high school. Based on that, he wants to follow the exact same script."

"Does doing all these bad things actually get him into the gang?" Wen Mingjuan was thoroughly confused.

"That's exactly the point — Tao Muwei is too naive. He's just a kid who understands nothing about the real world." Gao Weizhao sat on the edge of the bed and said quietly: "I know he really admires you as his homeroom teacher. If you get the chance, please try to talk some sense into him for me."

Gao Weizhao's eyes were large and clear, luminous and bright, catching the light and glinting with a soft radiance. Yet within that beautiful pair of eyes lurked an inexplicable trace of sorrow.

Wen Mingjuan noticed this for the very first time.

"Why did you join a gang back in high school? With you as the role model, it's going to be very hard for me to talk Tao Muwei out of it — after all, the influence of example always outweighs mere words."

"I understand what you mean. But how I chose to live doesn't mean Tao Muwei should live the same way. I have five older sisters — my parents kept having children desperately, hoping for a son to carry on the family line. My very birth was like a suffocating label placed on me. But Tao Muwei isn't like that."

"I'm not entirely sure I understand what you mean." Wen Mingjuan looked at Gao Weizhao — tonight, everything he said sounded so grave, so cryptic, nothing at all like the him she'd known before.

"It's only natural you wouldn't understand — no one ever has, really. But you understand Tao Muwei. You genuinely care about him from the heart, which means he has even less reason to go ruining himself."

Just as they reached this point in the conversation, an officer walked over from the far end of the emergency room.

"I'll go pick up the medication." The moment he saw the officer approaching, Gao Weizhao immediately stood up and said this.

"You can head back to the station now." the officer said.

"Mm." Wen Mingjuan responded.

Suddenly, the officer rubbed at the faint stubble already forming on his chin, his tone puzzled. "What were you two talking about just now? Teacher Wen doesn't seem the least bit afraid of him."

"Why should I be afraid of him? I haven't done anything wrong, and I don't owe him anything either." Wen Mingjuan, utterly baffled by the question, just stared blankly at the officer.

"I hear several of his top men are absolutely ruthless characters — wanted men the police have been desperate to catch on shooting charges. Gao Weizhao himself is hardly the compassionate, merciful type, I'd imagine. And yet, he's remarkably sharp and cool-headed — he never leaves a shred of evidence behind when he does things. The police have never once been able to pin anything on him; they've been dying to lock him up but never had the chance." The officer let out a small sigh and continued: "Both sides of the law have to show him a certain amount of respect. He's actually helped us on the force quite a bit too — whenever there's gang fighting or a turf war, calling him in to mediate usually settles things smoothly. The detectives up in Taipei love to say he's a man who walks the line between righteous and wicked. Even so, you're better off keeping your distance from him."

"I really can't see anything all that frightening about him." Wen Mingjuan murmured to herself, head bowed. She thought back to the expression on his face while he'd been talking just now — it hardly seemed to belong to someone capable of commanding a whole army of dangerous, wanted criminals.

If someone truly understood him, would he never have walked this path into the underworld in the first place? Just as he'd said himself — because she understood Tao Muwei, Tao Muwei shouldn't follow the same path as him?

What exactly did that mean?