The Taming of the Ruffian Hero

“Do you know who Lin Wenxi is?” Zhao Ming asked with difficulty. He was in the last stage of treatment now and felt really exhausted. His damaged kidney tissue had gotten repaired, and his right leg had been amputated.

Upon hearing his father’s question, Zhao Yuan shook his head.

“Of course, you don’t know. He won’t tell you. Years ago, I always thought that someone framed me but failed to find any evidence. When I was arrested, I was told that I would be imprisoned for at least several years. At that time, I heard about an upstanding official who was surnamed Lin. He was the head of the county’s displine inspection commission at that time. I wrote him dozens of letters, asking for his help. He was determined to redress this injustice but failed to find any evidence either. He discovered that some of the documents that I submitted to get the building permit were missing for no reason. Fortunately, he proved that I was never engaged in illegal fund-raising activities. As I didn’t get the building permit in time, I had some financial problem and was deeply in debt. One year later, when I was on trial, the court thought that I had the ability to repay debts and decided to release me.” Zhao Ming said with a sigh.

“Are you suggesting that the official surnamed Lin is Lin Wenxi’s father?” Zhao Yuan asked in a low voice.

Zhao Ming nodded firmly.

“If it had not been for him, I would’ve died in jail! He’s the savior of our family. You must take good care of his son!” said Zhao Ming.

“Wenxi has never told me anything about his family…” Zhao Yuan said while shaking his head. In the meantime, he sighed inwardly, “Well, why does he have to tell me these things? It’s my bad. I fail to win his trust. That’s why he hides these secrets from me.”

“His father planned to send him to another university before. As he’s the founder of Jifu University, he doesn’t want others to accuse him of abusing his power. To his surprise, the admission office of Jifu University recruited his son ahead of schedule without knowing his identity, since his son was exceptionally talented and well-versed in literature and history. As his son was determined to go to Jifu University, he had no choice but to agree,” said Zhao Ming.

“How do you know this, dad?” asked Zhao Yuan.

“You seldom read newspapers before. Lin Wenxi’s father seemed to have an implacable enemy who would spread rumors about his son and his wife to blacken his name from time to time. The government of Yangzi County once tried to stop the rumors but failed to find the rumor maker. As such, it had no choice but to publish articles in newspapers to clarify the rumors. However, it could not do this too often in case that the people would think that this official protested his innocence too much. After that, he was transferred to the education bureau. He made a great contribution to Yangzi County by managing the several high schools very well. As such, he still works in the government now. Otherwise, he would’ve been taken down by his enemy a long time ago. Back then, you were still a little boy and didn’t care much about such rumors. Of course, you don’t know Lin Wenxi’s identity.”

Zhao Ming continued worriedly, “After knowing what Lin Wenxi has done in the university, his father’s enemy will probably make a fuss about this thing again. You’d better go back to your university as soon as possible. Once he needs you to prove that he’s innocent, you must speak for him and don’t let him take any blame. You should protect him in the university. I think no one dares to physically harm him, but you’d better stop him from doing anything like this again. After graduating from the university, he can go to another city to enjoy a peaceful life.”

Zhao Yuan felt increasingly nervous upon hearing that. He hurriedly rushed back to Jifu University.

Zhao Yuan gave his friends a treat and got the list of the donors’ names. After that, he went back to his dorm and chatted with his roommates for some time before going to find Lin Wenxi.

“Is everything okay with you?” Zhao Yuan seriously asked Lin Wenxi.

Lin Wenxi shook his head, as he had no idea how his father would react upon knowing what he had done in the university. Lin Ziwei was still in the countryside and could not receive calls.

“From now on, you have to tell me everything when you’re in trouble. Did I make myself clear?” Zhao Yuan said very seriously.

“Why?” Lin Wenxi shrugged. In the meantime, he thought, “My father will at most beat me up. When I can’t bear the pain, I’ll pretend to pass out. My mother will feel worried about me upon seeing that and fall out with him. My father will always compromise with her.”

“Just promise me!” Zhao Yuan said anxiously.

Lin Wenxi smiled and nodded.

Since that day, Zhao Yuan and Lin Wenxi had stayed together nearly all the time. Upon seeing that, their classmates could not help but wonder, “Is Lin Wenxi terminally ill? Why does Zhao Yuan stay together with him all the time?”

Every day in the morning, Zhao Yuan would deliver breakfast food to Lin Wenxi and watch him eating breakfast. After that, they would attend lectures together. They would even go to the toilet together during breaks. Upon seeing them leave together for the washroom, Zheng Kai could not help but point at them with a trembling finger as he asked, “Do they get physiologically synchronized?” Wang Xiang smiled bleakly and replied, “You know what. Zhao Yuan even refuses to play basketball together with us if Wenxi refuses to join us. What can we do?”

“Oh, you don’t say. Zhao Yuan even refuses to let me spend some time together with Wenxi now. He just wants to keep Wenxi for himself,” Gu Xi sighed slightly.

“Zhao Yuan seldom talks to Wanxin now. When he meets us, he’ll just smile at us,” Shu Xiaoman said bashfully.

After soliciting donations together, girls from Dorm No. 419 and boys from Dorm No. 216 often hung out together.

“Well, I don’t mind it. After all, it was not I that made the most contribution for the fundraising,” Chen Wanxin smiled slightly and said.

“No, it was you that made the most contribution,” Shu Xiaoman said immediately. Suddenly, she felt that someone pulled a corner of her coat. Zhang Anan looked somewhat worried.

“To be fair, it was Wanxin that inspired us to ask for more donations. She did make the most contribution.” Zheng Kai said after some thought.

“How can forget who organized this thing?” said Gu Xi.

“Well, Maybe Zhao Yuan doesn’t treat us differently according to our contributions. He just wants to stay together with Wenxi.” Shu Xiaoman suddenly came to a conclusion. She felt that Zhang An’an pulled her coat again and did not know what to say.

Chen Wanxin did not seem to pay much attention to Shu Xiaoman’s words. She asked Zheng Kai curiously, “By the way, do you guys really think that it’s alright for them to stay together all the time?”

Wang Xiang said indifferently, “We’re not against it or for it.”

Zheng Kai turned his face away as he said, “I don’t like to gossip about others behind their backs.” Chen Wanxin seemed somewhat irritated and said to Gu Xi with a smile, “Zheng Kai really adores you. Yesterday, I told him that this jade goddess of mercy pendant necklace looked really nice, and today, he wears it.”

Upon hearing that, Zheng Kai left without saying a word. Gu Xi flushed with embarrassment but did not chase after Zheng Kai. Instead, he went to the garden alone.

“Chen Wanxin, you’ve gone too far!” Shu Xiaoman said loudly. “Do you want to turn everyone against you?”

“Yes. Whoever speaks for Lin Wenxi is my enemy. If you stay neutral and mind your own business, I’ll treat you as my sister. Well, that’s it. I have to go to see Nannan. She’s about to leave the hospital.” Chen Wanxin smiled and walked away.