The Great Trump Card - Chapter 23
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Chapter 23 Wang Hongwei Was Beaten to Death?
On the evening prior to the weekend, everyone was in the dormitory. When Lin Huai came in, he was surprised and asked rather curiously, “Aren’t you returning home for the weekend? Many people seem to have left tonight.”
Suddenly, Wu Mengjie squatted down and pulled out a box of beer from underneath the bed. Wu Jun, on the other hand, pulled out a bag of snacks from the closet, while Fan Hanning and Zhuang Bifan set the table together, and they all glanced at Lin Huai.
Wu Mengjie said, “Brother Huai, I have stopped being a follower of Second Lei. Let’s have a round of drinks tonight.”
Lin Huai was a little taken aback, but he smiled and said, “We can always have a round of drinks, whether you are a follower of Second Lei or not.”
Wu Mengjie chuckled. “Yes, it doesn’t really matter. I was just worried that you would be prejudiced against me. Anyway, I’m not that close to Second Lei. I had no choice but to become his follower since Zhang Chunlei is his eldest brother. I’ve been thinking about these matters lately. Even if Second Lei wasn’t defeated by you, we are currently dormmates, so I’d feel rather uneasy if my leader is at odds with you. Therefore, I decided to choose sides and now I’m no longer his follower! ”
Lin Huai asked, “Since Second Lei is my enemy, why didn’t you decide to sever our friendship? What made you choose to side with me instead of him? Just because I seem stronger than he is?”
Wu Mengjie smiled and replied, “Brother Huai, no offense to you, but even though Second Lei is now under your thumb, his elder brother, Zhang Chunlei, is not someone you can afford to mess with. Just because you got away a few times doesn’t mean you can succeed in a fight against him. Zhang Chunlei has dozens of members in his gang, and if you really declare war against him, you will surely lose. ”
Lin Huai asked him, “Then why did you choose to side with me?”
Wu Mengjie explained aloud, “Second Lei used his brother’s name to intimidate and control me. He doesn’t treat me as an equal. In contrast to him, you seem to care about our well-being. The night that Wang Hongwei was almost beaten up, you took pity on our misfortunes, and didn’t want us to be mistreated. If we had proceeded with our actions that day, you would have tried to help us out immediately. It is clear to us who is really looking out for us and who is just using us for their own benefit. Do you think we’re really that stupid?”
Lin Huai smiled and sat down on the lower bunk. He reached out and took a sausage made of duck meat. As he took a bite, he felt a spicy sensation on his tongue. Chewing on this snack gave him a warm sensation in his belly, finally heating up his cold heart.
“All of you, take a seat. Looks like you have planned this gathering well in advance. Everyone in the dormitory is here. Looks like all of you are interested in a round of drinks!”
Everyone heaved sighs of relief. They instantly sat down cheerfully around the table.
Wu Jun, who had always been a loner, raised his glass. “Brother Huai, I would like to make a toast to you. The fact is, we have wanted to have drinks with you for long now, but we were afraid that you would turn us down. Later, we heard that Wang Hongwei was with you when he got drunk, and we realized that you actually don’t despise us. ”
Lin Huai drank all the wine in his glass. As the alcohol seeped through his body, he started to feel warmer.
Wu Mengjie spoke, “Brother Huai, regarding the matter with Niu Haijiao, I don’t believe that you were the perpetrator.”
“Yes, I don’t believe it either,” Wu Jun added cautiously, “but many people kept insisting that you were seen by Niu Haijiao’s dormmates.”
Wang Hongwei, who was seated, suddenly stood up in agitation and retorted, “How can you doubt Brother Huai? Although I haven’t known him for long, I can vouch for his character and integrity. Brother Huai is definitely not someone who will commit such an act.”
Several of them momentarily quieted, and then they started nodding in agreement.
Wu Mengjie looked at Lin Huai and said, “Brother Huai, everyone seems to believe this rumor that is going around. What exactly has happened?”
“I am innocent in this matter,” Lin Huai replied. Noticing the curious glances of the people around him, Lin Huai began to explain the situation in detail, before adding with a sneer, “Xuan Yuzhai is threatened by the fact that I am getting close to Mianmian, so he tried to frame me. Mianmian is an intelligent girl, so if he teamed up with any other girl, it would not be convincing at all. She might not fall for it. But Niu Haijiao is different, since she’s Mianmian’s dormmate, and they have a close friendship on top of that. Adding to the fact that Mianmian witnessed everything that had happened, she can’t deny what she saw… Anyway, I have nothing more to say. You can decide whether to believe me, or to believe the rumors.”
Wang Hongwei felt indebted to Lin Huai. Ever since Lin Huai had accompanied him for drinks, he had treated him with reverence. He was touched by Lin Huai’s actions. As he heard these words, he was the first to answer, “I don’t care what everyone else is thinking. I believe you wholeheartedly, Brother Huai.”
With a stern expression on his face, Wu Jun also responded, “Brother Huai, I believe you as well. I can’t explain it, but from the moment I met you, I feel that you’re a man of honor and integrity.”
“Yes,” Wu Mengjie added. “I believe you too.”
Fan Hanning and Zhuang Bifan also chimed in, “Brother Huai, we believe you as well.”
Lin Huai smiled slightly. Confronted with everyone’s doubts and suspicions, it was encouraging to hear his dormmates’ trusting words. Being classmates was already a remarkable stroke of serendipity since everybody was from all over the place, but being dormmates? It was truly an inescapable destiny. If they were fated to share the same dorm, then they were fated to be the best of friends. In that case, shouldn’t they share their joys and sorrows with each other?
Beaming, Lin Huai picked up his glass and said, “I would like to thank all of you. Let’s toast. Cheers!”
Lin Huai seemed to let his guard down in front of his dormmates slightly, and they began to open up and talked about themselves as well. They shared intimate stories from their past. Wu Jun even turned red from drinking and pounded the table, saying, “Brother Huai, you don’t understand our predicament. In this school, who doesn’t want to be a hero? Who doesn’t want to defend his own dormmates when they’re bullied? We didn’t want to be like this, but the situation in the school is too tumultuous, so we dare not act like we are the heroes here! ”
“Yes, I agree,” Fan Hanning said. He seemed sober, and he continued to speak, “Brother Huai, you arrived just a few days ago, so you have not witnessed the brutal and underhanded tactics of all these people. Just take that Zhang Chunlei for instance. He has dozens of members in his gang, and he hasn’t gone all out yet. And the sports student that Wang Hongwei offended the other night is even worse than Zhang Chunlei.”
The more they drank, the more stories they began to spill out. Wang Hongwei was the weakest in holding his liquor. He stood up, swaying back and forth, and mumbled, “Keep drinking, guys. I need to use the bathroom.”
As Wang Hongwei walked out of the dormitory, Lin Huai followed closely behind him. They entered the bathroom together. Wang Hongwei leaned on the wall with one hand and unfastened his pants with the other. Noticing this, Lin Huai chuckled. “Wang Hongwei, you can’t hold your liquor well, huh? You shouldn’t drink so much next time. ”
“I’m not… It’s alright. Brother Huai, no one has ever really cared about me… I’m really touched that someone with such strength and character like you treats me like a brother.”
Lin Huai grinned as he loosened his pants and started to relieve himself. He replied, “We are dormmates, don’t mention it.”
After Wang Hongwei had finished, he hiked up his pants and said rather distractedly, “Brother Huai, you treat me so well… b-but I am actually hiding something from you… I am a bad person… let me just reveal it to you now, that Brother Di… Brother Di… Di… He sells… ”
Before Wang Hongwei could finish his sentence, he wobbled unsteadily and almost fell. He bumped head-on into another person who was emerging from one of the toilet stalls to the side, prompting Lin Huai to burst out laughing. “Be careful! Don’t stumble and fall…”
“Oh, alright then… Brother Huai, let’s discuss this when we get back.” Wang Hongwei shook his head from side to side, his vision rather blurred. He left the bathroom in a daze.
Lin Huai shook his head and grimaced. Wang Hongwei really could not hold his liquor; he drank too much whenever they had drinks together. But what was he mentioning in the bathroom? The name Brother Di clearly referred to Zhang Hongdi, the head hooligan in the sports major. As for what he said he was selling… Wait, did he mean drugs?
This seemed improbable. It was just a school after all, no matter how chaotic and tumultuous it was. How could a crime as heinous as selling drugs take place here? However, if it was not drugs that Wang Hongwei was hinting at, what was it that caused him to be so afraid to speak up? It couldn’t be a prostitution ring, could it?
Lin Huai suddenly felt a dark cloud hanging over his heart. If the students were just involved in interpersonal conflicts and fistfights, it would still be within the control of the school. However, if drug trafficking was involved, it was more than the school could handle, for it would be completely crossing the line into criminal territory. Dealing with drugs was a crime that could cause harm and had adverse effects on many students and their families. The school should be a sanctuary for students, not a cover for crimes and illicit transactions. How could the school spiral downwards to this level? Anyhow, maybe he was overthinking. After all, Wang Hongwei only said one word, which was ‘selling’, and he didn’t get to hear the rest of his words…
Lin Huai pondered over this matter while using the bathroom. As he hiked up his pants, he made a mental note to talk to Wang Hongwei in private later. If this was true, he couldn’t just turn a blind eye to this situation. even if this matter was completely unrelated to his task. He felt that it was time for him to take some actions.
Lin Huai walked out of the bathroom and returned to the dormitory. As he opened the door, he spotted only the other four students in it. Lin Huai froze in astonishment.
The others also paused briefly. Fan Hanning grinned. “Brother Huai, Wang Hongwei has not returned yet. Do you think he had to throw up in the bathroom?”
“Yeah,” Wu Mengjie laughed as well. “This guy really can’t hold his liquor.”
Lin Huai frowned, feeling a little unsettled and rather uneasy. He muttered to himself, “Why isn’t Wang Hongwei back yet?”
In fact, Wang Hongwei had left the bathroom earlier than he did. If he wasn’t at their dormitory, then where could he be? It might be possible that he had gone to another dorm… However, Lin Huai felt that this was impossible. During the past few days, he had made the observation in the class that Wang Hongwei didn’t have a good rapport with his classmates. If one behaved like a lone ranger all the time, keeping to himself and rarely engaging in conversations, then how could he suddenly have the desire to go to another dormitory?
Lin Huai took a deep breath, and his mind suddenly became unprecedentedly clear. He articulated each word carefully, “Let us look for him in the other dormitories.”
“Sure!”
“Alright then!”
Although everyone thought that he was making a mountain out of a molehill, they proceeded to stand up one after the other. However, before they had even stepped out of the dormitory, they heard a loud cry from a boy in the corridor. Somebody had shouted loudly, “Somebody’s dead! Wang Hongwei was beaten to death!”