Help, My Buff Roommate is Begging to Touch my Abs - Chapter 24

Chapter 24: Buying Medicine

Zhao Yuheng looked at Wang Meng coldly.

Originally, he hadn’t intended to step in; he just wanted to let the Eldest and the Second vent some anger for Jin Bao.

But seeing Wang Meng’s arrogant and overbearing attitude, he thought of Jin Bao’er’s pitiful eyes, his red and swollen face, and his forehead wrapped in bandages. The fire in his heart flared up again.

He pushed the Eldest behind him.

“Did I not tell you to get the fuck away? Are you deaf!”

Zhao Yuheng grabbed Wang Meng’s collar, his voice like a roaring lion, making everyone’s scalp tingle. After the roar, he violently threw Wang Meng back onto the bed.

“Apologize!”

Zhao Yuheng took a breath and shouted.

Thrown onto the bed and still trembling all over, Wang Meng’s eyes went wide upon hearing this sound. His two roommates were standing or sitting on their beds, trembling, afraid that this rage would spill over onto them.

“Did you not hear me speaking? I told you to apologize!”

Zhao Yuheng’s large, rough hand fiercely squeezed Wang Meng’s neck.

This movement was just like how Wang Meng had strangled Hu Xiaowen’s neck today, making Wang Meng feel the same shame and humiliation. But this man’s strength was even greater than imagined. It squeezed him until he could barely breathe, giving him the illusion that if he didn’t apologize, he really would be strangled to death.

“I’ll apologize, I’ll apologize.”

Wang Meng kept slapping Zhao Yuheng’s thick forearm.

Zhao Yuheng threw him back onto the bed again, then cleared a path for him, standing with hands on his hips and staring him down deathly. Wang Meng finally took a large gulp of air, stood up, and looked at Jin Bao’er.

“I’m sorry.”

“Didn’t you eat today?!”

Zhao Yuheng roared from the side, dissatisfied.

“I’m sorry, Gan Jin Bao, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have hit you!”

Wang Meng felt as if these people were using their feet to constantly stomp on his face; his face was completely lost, and his dignity was ruthlessly trampled into the ground.

Jin Bao’er looked at this scene, somewhat at a loss. Never before had someone stood up for him and demanded an apology after he was bullied.

When he was bullied as a child, the teacher would say, “it takes two to tango” (one palm doesn’t make a sound). His aunt would say, “our family is poor, don’t go looking for trouble.” So when he was bullied, he almost never told his family.

Yet today, someone went to great lengths in the middle of the night, calling on classmates to stand up for him and this person was the very one he was desperately trying to push away.

Combined with the pain in his forehead and face, his guilt toward Zhao Yuheng, and his long-term suppression, tears fell like little pearls.

No one wants to play with someone who has a deformed finger… No one wants to stand up for a child who isn’t likable…

It wasn’t until this moment that Jin Bao’er realized Zhao Yuheng was already looking at him, seeing his face covered in tears. At this moment, Zhao Yuheng no longer had any rage; instead, there was a different kind of emotion.

It seemed to be a heartache.

Jin Bao’er firmly wiped away his tears.

“A bug flew into my eye.”

He spoke casually; no one believed this reason, yet no one exposed it.

“Is the bill for today’s medical expenses still there?”

Zhao Yuheng spoke once more.

Hearing this, Jin Bao’er quickly fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a receipt from his trouser pocket. Zhao Yuheng took it, saw it was 125 yuan, and then slapped it hard against Wang Meng.

“Reimburse the medical fees, and then there’s the mental distress fee; taking 200 bucks from you isn’t excessive, is it!”

Hearing that it would be 200 bucks, Wang Meng’s eyes widened.

“Hmm?”

Zhao Yuheng glared at him. The Eldest and the Second behind him also took a step forward upon seeing this, as if to say: If you dare say the word ‘no,’ we’ll have to twist your head off.

In the end, Wang Meng unwillingly transferred 200 yuan to Gan Jin Bao’er, specifically adding the note “medical fees.”

Before leaving, Zhao Yuheng spat on the ground in front of Wang Meng.

“In the future, when you see the few of us, take the long way around, or I’ll have to beat you to death.”

Zhao Yuheng dropped the threat and strode away.

The group left the dormitory.

“I’m going out for a bit.”

Zhao Yuheng didn’t tell the others what he was going to do; he just strode down the stairs.

“Isn’t the dormitory door closed?”

The Eldest reached out a hand to stop him, but before the words left his mouth, the person was already down to the second floor. Finally, the Eldest and the Second took Jin Bao’er back to the dorm.

“Jin Bao’er, next time someone bullies you, just tell us. Did us three muscle-men train for nothing? Standing up for you is more than enough.”

The Eldest placed both hands on Jin Bao’er’s shoulders and spoke with a serious face. Jin Bao’er nodded repeatedly in gratitude; he really wanted to thank them. Thank them for standing up for him, and thank them for being so good to him.

…

Jin Bao’er lay on the bed and waited for quite a while, but Zhao Yuheng still didn’t return. The dormitory was silent, save for the steady breathing of the Eldest and the Second. Jin Bao’er pulled out his phone and sent a WeChat message to Brother Heng.

“Brother Heng, where did you go? When are you coming back?”

The message was sent, but it was like a stone sinking into the ocean. Jin Bao’er stared at the chat interface; the wound on his left cheek was still throbbing with pain the mark left by Wang Meng.

He leaned against the headboard, his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. His heart was worried about the person, but his body couldn’t withstand the late-night exhaustion; he fell asleep in a daze, leaning against the wall.

After an unknown amount of time, the back of his hand was suddenly hit by something hard.

“Nng…”

Jin Bao’er woke up abruptly; the sudden feeling of weightlessness almost made him topple over. Using the faint moonlight filtering in from the window, he saw a white plastic bag sitting on his chest.

Before he could react, a soft “creak” came from the upper bunk. It was Zhao Yuheng.

With trembling hands, he picked up the bag and saw clearly by the faint light of his phone screen: it was a tube of ointment to reduce swelling and pain, and a box of anti-inflammatory medicine.

Brother Heng sent this medicine? He ran out in the middle of the night to buy medicine?

Jin Bao’er checked the time on his phone; it was already 2:15 AM. At this hour, the pharmacies had long since closed. Where did he buy it? The dormitory door was also locked. How did he get out?

A series of questions flooded his mind, and every answer seemed to point to the trouble Zhao Yuheng went through for him.

Just then, his phone screen lit up; it was a WeChat message from Hu Xiaowen. Opening it, it was a candid photo. The background of the photo was the window of the first-floor dormitory supervisor. Under the flash, a tall figure was turned away from the camera, holding two cartons of cigarettes and stuffing them into the supervisor’s hand.

That back was broad and stubborn; even without seeing the face, Jin Bao’er could recognize it as Zhao Yuheng at a glance.

Hu Xiaowen’s message popped up immediately after: “Jin Bao’er, look at this big idiot! I just saw this when I got up to pee. He climbed over the wall just now to buy medicine, and when he came back, he had to stuff two cartons of cigarettes into the old man’s hand before he’d open the door. These two cartons of cigarettes are enough for me to eat several good meals; what a total sucker!”

Jin Bao’er stared at that photo, and his vision blurred instantly. He imagined Zhao Yuheng sprinting through the streets in the dead of night looking for a 24-hour pharmacy; he imagined him clumsily bowing his head to hand cigarettes to the dormitory supervisor.

This man was sometimes too lazy to even grab a bottle of water or bring a tissue, yet for this small injury of his, he had spent two whole hours struggling in the middle of the night.

Jin Bao’er bit his lip deathly hard, and tears like broken pearls fell silently onto the quilt, instantly soaking a large patch. In the darkness, he whispered softly, his voice so faint only he could hear: “Brother Heng… how can you be so good to me…”

If you’re this good to me, how can I ever bear to leave you? If you’re this good to me, how do I dare tell you that I’m actually a pervert who likes you?