10 10.Faithful Friendships

"Gu Ren, are you all right? Is something wrong?" Zhang Wei asked, placing a warm hand on Gu Ren's shoulders.

"Nothing."Gu Ren said while trying hard to digest the reality.

Gu Ren and Zhang Wei were friends since childhood. Zhang's very mature older-brother like personality was admired by Gu Ren because it contradicted his child-like one. In fact, when his own parents neglected him, it was Zhang who gave him refuge in his house. Their friendship evolved over the years and now, they were inseparable.

"Lay out your lap."Gu Ren commanded.

Zhang, as usual, obeyed his orders. He sat down and stretched his lap, where Gu Ren rested his head. It was always like this. Gu Ren usually liked to rest on Zhang's lap whenever he needed a peaceful sleep and today was the day he required it the most.

"Say, are you in some trouble?"Zhang asked, running his fingers through Gu Ren's hair, which was soft and silky.

"Its the same old story."Gu Ren replied while taking out his flask and taking a sip.

"Sometimes you need to let things go. Its how life works. When you hold on to one thing, you never know when something better passes by. It is you who has to keep an eye on that."Zhang replied in his preacher's voice.

Meanwhile at the storehouse," Wang Xiu? Are you all right" Mark muttered, entering the old place that reeked of rotten rubber, sweat, and other unusual things..

Wang Xiu was on the floor, the same position in which she was thrown. She didn't budge. Mark propped her up and placed her on the chair.

"I brought in the doctor!"Akio screeched while barging in through the door.The doctor came along.

"Is this a time to celebrate?"Mark questioned, now raging with fury.

"Nooo," Akio replied.

"THEN WHY THE HELL ARE YOU SCREECHING?!"Mark yelled.

The doctor came in and examined her. She was sitting on the chair, lifeless. He placed the stethoscope over her heart, trying to catch any possible pulse. It was present but in a very minimal amount.

He grabbed his first-aid kit and took out mesh bandages. He disinfected the wound and wrapped the bandages around her head,arms, and feet. Occasionally, she winced in pain due to extensive swelling around the bruised areas. However, she remained unconscious.

"There weren't many external bruises but definitely internal ones. A lot of internal bleeding has led her to lose an excessive amount of blood, which can be fatal also. If I were to be a little late, she could have possibly died."He said, after the examination. He also scribbled something on the prescription note and gave it to Akio, asking him to get it.

Akio left with the prescription, to get the required medicines from the school infirmary. Mark was left alone.

"You need to tend to her wounds and give her proper care. If I see her in trouble again, I will complain about it to the college authorities."The doctor strictly warned.

"Yes sir, I will make sure that she will be careful from now on, "Mark replied, obediently.

"Make sure to feed her well and give her medicines at prescribed times."He said while packing his first-aid box."I'll be taking your leave then." after saying this, he left.

Akio came in with the medicines and a bottle of water. He opened a pack of painkillers and gave it to Mark, who fed it to Wang Xiu along with water. They waited there till she was conscious.

It was almost 10 in the night. Wang Xiu began showing slight movements. Mark noticed this. He looked out for Akio, but he was not there. He got out of the storehouse. Still, no sign of him.

"Why does this person always vanish?"Mark thought.

Akio was outraged. "What does he think of himself? If Wang Xiu would have died, I would have killed him."Akio scampered all around the place, searching for Gu Ren.He found him with Zhang,on the grass field.

"What do you think you are?"Akio roared at Gu Ren, baffling him.

"What do you want?"Gu Ren yelled back, intensifying the scene.

"How can you even sit here peacefully after beating someone so badly?"Akio asked, trying to comprehend the situation.

"Well, it's none of your business!"Gu Ren screamed, increasing Akio's fury.

"Guys, can you both stop it?"Zhang asked, trying to dissolve the situation. However, his intervention had the most negative effect. Both Akio and Gu Ren's fury only rose.

Akio's fury now knew no bound. He had lost a sense of rational thinking. All he could see was his worst enemy, standing in front of him. His mind was a mess. Eventually, he gave into his subconscious, which constantly kept on asking him to hit Gu Ren. He raised his fist towards Gu Ren, landing a punch on his face and knocking him out.

"What have you done?!"Zhang screamed.He sat down on the grass and looked at Gu Ren,who was bleeding excessively.

"You'll pay for this."Zhang said,gritting his teeth.

Was Akio truly wrong?Did Gu Ren deserve this? or is everything turning into a mess?