Chapter 62

Chapter 62

The acupuncture course was taught in a small class setting, and including Yu He, there were only ten students. This made it impossible for Yu He to skip class without being noticed.

Fortunately, Shen Han knew about Yu He’s fear of needles. In the two-hour long class, the first hour was dedicated to analyzing classic cases, while the second hour was for group practice.

Initially, Professor Zheng led the other nine students, while Yu He received individual guidance from Shen Han.

Under the envious gazes of his classmates, Yu He followed Shen Han out of the classroom.

Watching Yu He’s retreating figure, Liu Ruitong sneered, “What a joke. A person who faints at the sight of needles is also worthy of learning acupuncture? Even if Teacher Shen is devoted to teaching, what can he possibly teach him? You can’t make bricks without straw.”

Liang Ran frowned, “Aren’t you being a bit too malicious?”

Liu Ruitong was very disdainful, “Am I wrong?”

Liang Ran said, “Liu Ruitong, you are a medical student. You should know that very few people faint at the sight of needles for no reason. As his classmate, you show no compassion, and on top of that, you use this to mock others. Is this how a medical student should behave?”

Liu Ruitong put down the needle box he was holding and turned to look at Liang Ran, “Fainting at the sight of needles is a psychological disorder, and 50% of such cases show abnormal personality traits. Speaking broadly, personality disorders are classified as mental illnesses. Do you really want a mentally ill doctor treating you? I’m advising him to quit ahead of time, for the sake of the patients. You wouldn’t want a mentally ill person treating you, right?”

Liang Ran took a deep breath, feeling that he had called Liu Ruitong ‘malicious’ too soon.

Yang Yuqing, standing nearby, bit her lower lip upon hearing this.

She knew very well that Liu Ruitong’s malice towards Yu He was because of her, and also knew that the more she spoke up for Yu He, the more Liu Ruitong would target him.

But Liu Ruitong was really going too far.

Yang Yuqing suddenly spoke up, her voice trembling, “Liu Ruitong, the school’s debate club is recruiting new members. Why don’t you check it out? I think you’re very skilled at using sophistry, like the ‘white horse is not a horse’ argument.”

It was currently a break between classes, and Professor Zheng hadn’t arrived yet. Some students went to the restroom, while others played with their phones at their seats.

With only a few students in the class, when three of them started arguing, the rest couldn’t help but turn their attention toward the commotion.

Wang Guangbin took the initiative to walk over and asked Liang Ran, “What’s going on?”

Liang Ran, infuriated by Liu Ruitong, felt a sharp pain in his side. He pressed a hand to his waist, shook his head, and remained silent.

Liu Ruitong, faced with the three of them, had an increasingly icy look in his eyes.

He glared at Yang Yuqing, “Weren’t you the one who couldn’t argue back? Didn’t you always end up crying during arguments? Yet, you seem to have plenty to say when it comes to defending Yu He.”

Yang Yuqing had once considered Liu Ruitong a friend, and they had worked well together in a group. In the first half of their freshman year, when Yang Yuqing was the class monitor, things weren’t going smoothly for her.

The major of acupuncture and tuina (Chinese medical massage) was challenging. At the start of the semester, there were 15 students, but less than two months into the school year, 6 had transferred to other departments. With an already small class reduced to just 9 students, organizing any activities became particularly strenuous.

During the sports meet, some unpleasantness arose over the registration for events. Later in class, Liu Ruitong asked Yang Yuqing why she didn’t fight back, and that’s when she shared her tendency to cry during arguments.

But once they fell out, the trust they once had became a weapon for Liu Ruitong to attack her with.

Yang Yuqing couldn’t understand why Liu Ruitong had changed so much.

Her eyes reddened as she looked up defiantly at Liu Ruitong, trying not to cry. She struggled to control the tremble in her voice, “You know exactly what Liang Ran meant, yet you deliberately misinterpret his words. If, by your judgment, fainting at the sight of needles equates to a mental illness, then I truly believe you are the one who shouldn’t be studying medicine—speaking nonsense, arrogant, and rash. If one day I fall ill, I’d be more terrified of someone vengeful like you than a doctor who faints at the sight of needles.”

Liu Ruitong clenched his fists, “If I were really vengeful, I wouldn’t be carefully placing my needle box every day, just to avoid scaring that useless person!” Furious with Yang Yuqing, he grabbed his needle box from the table and stormed out of the classroom, “You all think Yu He fainting at the sight of needles isn’t a big deal, right? Well, let’s see how many seconds he can last in front of a needle box.”

Liang Ran couldn’t take it anymore. He grabbed Liu Ruitong’s arm and, as Liu Ruitong turned back, punched him in the face, “Damn, are you out of your mind?”

The punch was powerful, knocking Liu Ruitong to the ground.

The needle box fell, and the silver needles scattered across the floor with a clatter.

Just as Liang Ran was about to step forward and kick again, Wang Guangbin grabbed him and pulled him back, “Ran Ge! Ran Ge! Calm down!”

Overwhelmed with anger, Liang Ran, unbelievably strong, managed to push Wang Guangbin away.

Wang Guangbin took a step back, bumped into a desk, and almost fell over. He steadied himself against the desk, too late to stop the kick, managing only to shout, “Don’t kick the stomach, okay!”

Just at that moment, the classroom door slammed open.

Yu He rushed over swiftly, placing himself in front of Liu Ruitong, extending his arm to stop Liang Ran: “Ran Ge! Ran Ge!”

For the first time, someone was fighting on Yu He’s behalf. He was even more nervous than if he had been fighting himself. Holding onto Liang Ran’s shoulders, he said, “Ran Ge! It’s okay, it’s okay!”

Liang Ran tried to push Yu He away, “Yu He, stay out of this. I have to beat this bastard to death today.”

Yu He firmly positioned himself in front of Liang Ran, “Don’t be angry, don’t be angry, let’s not stoop to his level.”

Liang Ran was livid, pointing at Liu Ruitong, “This bastard threatened you with a needle box, damn it.”

“I know, I know…” Yu He stopped Liang Ran, persuading him, “I heard it, I heard it!”

Yu He embraced Liang Ran, patting his back, “Take a break, I’ll handle this myself.”

Liang Ran: “......”

Seeing that Liang Ran was no longer charging forward, Yu He breathed a sigh of relief, turned to look at Liu Ruitong who was on the ground: “You…”

Liu Ruitong was picking up a needle that had fallen to the ground.

Just after uttering a word, Yu He caught sight of the needle in Liu Ruitong's hand.

Yu He suddenly felt weak, as if all his strength had left him, and his legs gave out beneath him.

Liang Ran quickly stepped up from behind, supporting Yu He, while Wang Guangbin hurried over, blocking Yu He’s line of sight, and together with Liang Ran, helped Yu He walk out of the classroom.

The color rapidly drained from Yu He’s lips as he said, “Let’s let it go this time, we’ll fight another day.”

Liang Ran couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time, “Alright, alright, we’ll fight another day.” He gave Wang Guangbin a look, “Let’s go, let’s go.”

Thus, the tumultuous episode came to a temporary close.

＊

On the sports field.

Sitting in front of the platform alongside Liang Ran and Wang Guangbin.

Yu He lay back, resting his head on his hands, gazing up at the azure sky, “Well, this is great. Not only did I skip class, but I also brought two good students along with me.”

Wang Guangbin said, “It’s fine. You dare to skip Professor Shen’s class, so what’s the big deal about me skipping a regular acupuncture class?”

Clouds rolled and billowed across the sky, moving slowly with the push of the wind.

Watching the clouds, Yu He’s mood gradually calmed down, “Going to school is really great.”

Liang Ran also lay down, “What’s so great about it? The school is full of nutcases! People like Liu Ruitong, after they graduate and enter society, they will fawn over the rich. They can only harbor resentment towards the wealthy while they're in school.”

Wang Guangbin chuckled, “It’s the same everywhere, resentment towards the wealthy.”

Liang Ran turned his head to look at Wang Guangbin, “What do you mean by that?”

Wang Guangbin answered, “Our family is well-off in our village, but the health clinic won’t let us take charge of it. In reality, it's not because we lack the necessary qualifications; even those in charge now aren’t properly certified.”

Liang Ran had never heard Wang Guangbin go into detail about his family's situation before: “Does running a clinic in the village make that much money?”

Wang Guangbin paused for a moment before answering, “My family also sells some medicinal herbs.”

“What kind of medicinal herbs?” asked Yu He.

Wang Guangbin replied, “Cordyceps and wild ginseng.”

Yu He: “......”

Liang Ran: “......”

Sitting up, Liang Ran asked, “And here I thought your family had been farming for generations?”

Wang Guangbin earnestly said, “Well, we grow cordyceps and wild ginseng on the mountains, isn’t that considered farming?”

Liang Ran was astonished, “Your family owns mountains?”

“Just a few peaks, around a thousand or so acres,” Wang Guangbin responded.

Liang Ran quickly searched online and exclaimed, “Holy shit, wild ginseng can yield three hundred thousand per acre per year, that’s... three billion for a thousand acres?”

Wang Guangbin was nonchalant, “Overdeveloping the land is bad for the environment, and we don’t plant that much ginseng. After deducting the costs, it’s just tens of millions a year.”

Yu He burst into laughter, “Hey, you two tease me every day, calling me ‘Young Master Yu’, but it turns out, out of the three of us, I’m the only one who's not a real young master. I never realized Bin Ge was the deepest hidden rich second generation.”

Wang Guangbin also laughed, “What rich second generation? I’m a farmer’s kid; in the end, I have to go back to the village.”

“I don’t even know whose child I am,” Yu He said.

The three of them lay on the platform, enjoying the breeze.

A gentle breeze caressed his skin as Yu He stretched out his hand, letting the wind slip through his fingers.

Yu He was the kind of person who tended to keep his negative emotions to himself. Even though he was quite talkative, he rarely shared his troubles with others. He had many friends in the past, but Liang Ran and Wang Guangbin were different.

Reflecting on Liu Ruitong's words, Yu He asked in a daze, “Is fear of needles a personality disorder? Is it a mental illness?”

Liang Ran swore under his breath, “Don't listen to that idiot’s nonsense; he doesn’t know shit. There are so many people in the world; some are afraid of snakes, some are afraid of insects, some are afraid of mice, and some are afraid of ghosts. Does that mean they all have mental illnesses?”

Yu He felt that Liang Ran’s argument made sense.

Wang Guangbin analyzed, “You were probably scared by a needle when you were young. Any condition that affects your life is considered a disorder. Social anxiety, narcissism, avoidant personality, OCD—they’re all disorders. Everyone has their little issues, you can’t scrutinize it too much or no one would be considered sane.”

Liang Ran put an arm around Yu He’s shoulder, “Hey He, don’t think too much about it. Wang Guangbin only washes his socks once a month, he definitely has a severe case of procrastination.”

Wang Guangbin scoffed, “Look who’s talking. You clean everything with alcohol and even throw my dirty clothes outside. Your germophobia is practically bullying me.”

Liang Ran retorted, “I even thought about putting your bed on the balcony, did I do it?”

Listening to the two bicker, Yu He’s mood gradually lifted.

After a while, Yu He finally said, “I might really have some psychological issues. Sometimes my mood changes without reason; one second I’m happy, and the next I’m suddenly down. Before I met my boyfriend, I used to have trouble sleeping frequently. What do you think is wrong with me?”

Both Liang Ran and Wang Guangbin were medical students, and Wang Guangbin in particular had aspired to be a doctor since he was a child. They had read quite a few books on psychology.

After hearing what Yu He had to say, the two exchanged glances.

“Have you ever had thoughts of ending your life?” Wang Guangbin asked cautiously. “We’re just discussing this, and we’re majoring in traditional Chinese medicine, so it’s not our field of expertise. I’ll ask, and you can answer if you want to, but feel free to skip it if you don’t.”

Yu He shook his head, “I've never thought about ending my life, but I have felt world-weary, like living didn’t matter and anything goes. I didn’t want to struggle anymore. Sometimes I get really irritable and feel like picking a fight.”

After listening, Liang Ran said: "Emotions are unpredictable. Sometimes I feel on top of the world one moment and utterly flat the next. Hearing what you’ve said, I feel like I might need psychological counseling. Damn, I was isolated by my entire grade in my third year of high school, and I was seriously depressed back then.”

Yu He didn't expect his casual analysis of his past insomnia to bring up Liang Ran's painful memories, so he quickly changed the subject: "Well... that sounds more serious than my experience. I was quite popular in high school; everyone loved hanging out with me.”

Wang Guangbin also reflected on his high school days: “I had a decent time in high school. I just focused on my studies and didn’t get involved in other stuff. No one bullied me, and I didn’t bully anyone else. Damn, who would have thought that I’d end up being bullied by Liang Ran in university.”

Liang Ran asked, "How did I bully you?”

Wang Guangbin complained to Yu He: “On a Saturday, when I was sleeping in, he insisted on doing a big clean-up and even sprayed disinfectant under my bed. Does he think I’m some kind of pathogen?”

Liang Ran also complained to Yu He: “You have no idea how smelly his socks are; they’re practically a nuclear weapon. Shouldn’t I take appropriate quarantine measures?”

Wang Guangbin retorted, “Damn, your quarantine measure was to throw all my stuff onto the balcony.”

“Right,” Liang Ran raised his eyebrows, feeling a sudden impulse, and suggested, “Since we’ve already skipped class, let’s go out and have fun.”

Yu He turned over and asked, “Go out and do what?”

After thinking for a moment, Liang Ran suggested, “Amusement park? Escape room? Real-life CS? Board games? Murder mystery game?”

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them appeared at the internet cafe at the school gate.

Out of all the exciting options, choosing to go online truly showcased the spirit of contemporary male college students.