The next day, I went to the market early and bought some pig liver. After stewing it with red dates into a soup, I hurried to the hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Yan Yan was washing up in the bathroom of the ward, and Circle was still asleep.

Afraid of waking Circle, I quietly placed the thermos containing the soup on the cabinet next to the hospital bed, then stepped outside the ward and called Mi Cai.

After a while, Mi Cai answered the phone, and I quickly asked her, “Are you up? I want to buy you some breakfast.”

“No need, I’m on my way to Shanghai. I have a meeting with the Bureau of Industry and Commerce today.”

“Oh.”

After a moment of silence, Mi Cai said to me, “Don’t forget to go to the police station later.”

“I won’t forget.”

“Do you have enough money to pay the fine?”

In fact, I only had a little over a thousand yuan left on me, but I braced myself and said, “Yes, you focus on driving. I’ll hang up now.”

“Mm.”

Then the two of us hung up the phone.

……

When I returned to the ward, Yan Yan was holding the thermos I brought and asked, “What’s in it?”

“Soup made from red dates and pig liver. It’s good for blood replenishment.”

Yan Yan put down the thermos and said sternly, “Do you realize your mistake?”

“Yes, I’m a troublemaker!”

Yan Yan sighed and softened her tone, “Zhao Yang, you really need to change your trouble-making temperament. Think about it, from college till now, how many troubles have you caused? And our Circle always ends up getting hurt. I’m really scared. After all, we haven’t practiced any martial arts like the Golden Bell Cover or Iron Cloth Shirt. We can’t stand your torment!”

“Sis, I really know I was wrong. I will restrain myself in the future… You’ve been up all night, have some soup too. It’s good for blood replenishment, especially suitable for women during their period.”

Yan Yan gave me a look, and Circle finally woke up. I leaned in and asked him, “Do you recognize your buddy?”

“Zhao Yang!”

I pointed at Yan Yan and asked him, “And her?”

“My wife.”

I finally breathed a sigh of relief, it seemed that there were no lingering effects.

Yan Yan helped Circle to the bathroom to wash up, and I served them the pig liver soup. I felt guilty and secretly vowed: if I ever start a fight again, I’ll cut off my own hands.

After a while, Yan Yan helped Circle out of the bathroom. I quickly handed a bowl of soup to Circle, then another to Yan Yan, and watched them eat.

After a little while, the door to the ward was suddenly opened, and the person who came in surprised me.

Mi Lan came to Circle’s bedside, put down the fruit basket in her hand, and asked with concern, “Manager Fang, how are you feeling?”

Circle replied, “No problem, I should be able to be discharged from the hospital after a few days of rest. Thank you, Director Mi, for coming to visit me.”

Mi Lan smiled, glanced at Yan Yan, and then said to Circle, “You focus on your recovery. The company will reimburse you for the treatment costs.”

Circle quickly replied, “Director Mi, the company doesn’t need to get involved in this. The person who started the fight should definitely pay for the treatment.”

Mi Lan looked at me and said disdainfully, “This lowlife also injured the other party. My sister negotiated with them to reduce the trouble, and the result was that each party would bear their own treatment costs. Do you think this lowlife can afford it?”

Yan Yan looked coldly at Mi Lan and said, “Miss, I appreciate you coming to see Circle, but please be polite. What do you mean by ‘lowlife’?”

I took over Yan Yan’s words and said, “Sis, be understanding. Maybe she was bitten by a dog when she was young and didn’t get a rabies vaccine. Now she barks at everyone she sees!”

Mi Lan glared at me hatefully, on the verge of losing her temper.

Seeing this, Circle held his forehead and said, “I’m feeling a bit dizzy. Can one of you go get the doctor?”

Everyone immediately stopped arguing. Yan Yan got up to find the doctor, but Circle stopped her, smiled, and said, “I was just joking. I was afraid you guys would start arguing. Let me have some peace and quiet this early in the morning.”

Mi Lan glared at me again, then said to Circle, “Manager Fang, focus on your recovery. I won’t disturb you anymore. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

……

After Mi Lan left, I said to Yan Yan, “You’ve been up all night. Go back and rest. I’ll stay here with Circle.”

Yan Yan nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll come back to relieve you at noon.” She then turned to Circle and asked, “What do you want to eat for lunch? I’ll make it for you.”

“Anything that suits my taste is fine. Oh, and when you come back, bring my tablet. I have a few project proposals to review.”

Yan Yan agreed and left with her handbag, admiring Circle’s strong will to work even while lying in a hospital bed.

Seeing that Yan Yan was far away, I lowered my voice and asked Circle, “Do you have any money on you? Can you lend me some?”

“What for?”

“To pay the fine for fighting at the police station.”

Without saying anything else, Circle took out his briefcase from the cabinet, handed me a bank card, and also told me the password.

I patted his shoulder, half ashamed and half grateful, and said, “I really caused you trouble this time… You stay here for a while, I’ll be back after I pay the fine at the police station.”

“If we’re brothers, don’t talk about causing trouble.” After saying this, he patted my shoulder and smiled, “Go pay the fine quickly. In the future, restrain yourself a bit and control your temper.”I nodded, not saying anything. It wasn’t that I was brushing Circle off. In fact, I really should mature a bit.

……

After turning myself in at the police station, a police officer with the surname He gave me a stern lecture according to procedure. When I took the initiative to offer to pay the fine, he told me, “No need.”

I was a bit puzzled, and he explained that before I arrived, a woman had already come to the police station and paid the fine for me.

I knew that this woman was most likely Mi Cai’s assistant, because not many people knew about this matter. Mi Lan would never pay the fine for me. In her heart, she probably wished to see me locked up in a detention center for a year or two.

I couldn’t express my feelings when I left the police station, but I knew in my heart that Mi Cai still couldn’t let go of me, even though she was utterly disappointed in me.

After returning to the hospital, I gave the untouched bank card back to Circle and stayed with him until evening. Then I drove to the coffee shop where I had arranged to meet Jian Wei.

About fifteen minutes later, I arrived at the Starbucks Times Store, where Jian Wei was already sitting inside, having ordered coffee and waiting for me.

I took a deep breath before pushing the door open, reminding myself that this was just an ordinary business meeting. To me, Jian Wei was just the CEO of an advertising company, and what I needed to do was to hope that the upcoming meeting would go smoothly, and then seize this opportunity to make my first fortune in life.