Although, Ding Wei had told them they didn't need to bring him anything, they had done anyway, at least in the form of study materials, his Playstation Portable, and a drawing pad with pens. 

"Wenjie, I'm so glad to see you," Lin Zhiyue said. "I was so worried about you. How are you?" She sat down at his bedside, like Xiao Dao before. 

"Better than a few hours ago" A faint smile crossed his lips. Seeing her relieved him more than he had expected. After all, it proved that his friends were fine and that he didn't have a fever dream either. "I'm sorry about the party. You went to so much trouble."

"Ding Wei told us what happened. We're just glad you're back. The celebration wasn't that important. I was afraid I'd lose you too." Her lips quivered and her hands shook. 

She didn't have to say anything. He knew what she was alluding to, Wang Xue, her best friend who had taken her own life. If only he had listened better. Then maybe, she wouldn't have died. "He wanted me to work for him. It wasn't as bad as Xiao Dao makes it out to be," he downplayed the kidnapping and imprisonment.

"You were as pale as cheese, you could barely make a sound, and the poison thing was just the icing on the cake," Ding Wei protested. "You call that, not so bad? Then what would that have been?" 

"Nutrient deficiency. He barely gave me anything to eat."

Xiao Dao laughed and grabbed an orange from the fruit basket. "Then you're in desperate need of vitamins." Again he tossed him the fruit, which Wenjie caught with the presence of mind. 

His lips formed a faint smile. 

"Don't scare us like that again," Zhijian said, dropping onto the sofa with a plop. "We wanted to graduate together."

"We will," Wenjie muttered. 

"Hey," Ding Wei interjected. "When you guys graduate, we can go on a graduation trip together."

All eyes turned to him. 

"Which subject you're graduating in, I'd like to know," Wenjie said with a raised eyebrow. 

Xiao Dao shrugged his shoulders. "Professional criminal trickery."

He said that in such a composed tone that made the statement float in space for a moment. There was silence for a second, then they all laughed.

"Ey, I'm serious," Ding Wei mei complained with tears of laughter in his eyes.

"Didn't know you could study something like that," Zhijian commented with a big grin on his face. 

The laughter lightened the general mood and the conversation drifted off to trivial topics, successfully distracting Wenjie from dark thoughts and feelings. 

Later, when his friends left and Ding Wei agreed to drive them back to college, the visit left an atmosphere of relief and peace. Wenjie was allowed to breathe a sigh of relief and recover. 

It wasn't long before rounds dropped by and his doctor said they would keep him here for two days for observation, but he was confident Wenjie would be discharged then. Finally, after dinner, with permission to get up, the student decided to check on his father. He took a few pieces of fruit from Captain Luo's gift basket with him, to share with his father.

In front of the room sat Pang Dazhi, who immediately inquired how he was and informed him that the doctor had just arrived, and his father had already woken up. Then, he opened the door for Wenjie and closed it again behind the student. 

Zhuang Yaobai had a cast on one arm and a bandage on his head. Wenjie could not see whether he had also sustained injuries to his upper body and legs. His father gave him a warm smile. Involuntarily, Wenjie felt remorse in view of the reproaches he had made to his father. 

At first, without saying a word, he put the fruit on the bedside table and then sat down at Yaobai's bedside. Just as he was about to start to say something, his father reached out to him with his uninjured hand. "I'm sorry I wasn't a better father to you."

Wenjie bit his lower lip and stared at the hand over his in shame. "I didn't mean to blame you," he murmured. "I just wanted to know why. I'm glad you're alive."

"I know. And you have every right to be disappointed Wenjie. I've made mistakes. You don't have to forgive me, but give me a chance to be a better father from now on."

Wenjjie raised his eyes and looked at him. He wasn't angry with him, just hurt. "There is nothing to forgive. Captain Luo said your cooperation will be credited to you. He will see what can be done, that you can get a suspended sentence like Ding Wei."

"Ding Wei?"

His father didn't know? Judging from his tone, the similarity in name to Ding Shenghuo seemed to surprise him. "He is Ding Shenghuo's son. It looks like Xu Zhengqing blackmailed him with his family back then just like he blackmailed you. He tried to pressure Ding Wei too, but Dao Dao didn't care. If he hadn't put all his eggs in one basket, the police wouldn't have found us like this."

His father smiled. "You seem to like him."

Only now did it occur to Wenjie, that he had used Xiao Dao's nickname in a modified form. "He has redeemed himself," he said.

"The conflicts of the previous generation should not be your conflicts. Is it true that Ding Shenghuo tried to kill you?" His tone changed, taking on a worried tone. 

Wenjie avoided eye contact. "I don't think he wanted me to die in the process at all." Who he was trying to convince with that, he wasn't sure himself. Did it even matter after his father differentiated between Ding Shenghuo and his son anyway. It relieved him in a way, since Xao Dao was actually well on his way to becoming a friend, if he wasn't already. 

"I hear you're studying law. I'm proud of you," his father steered the topic of conversation back to himself.

Wenjie pulled his hands away again and stood up. He walked to the window and looked out. "I didn't want to have anything to do with your business." But that wasn't the real reason he was studying law. He sighed deeply. "I wanted to find out what really happened then and who was behind your accident."

His father was silent. When Wenjie turned back to him, their eyes met. "What are you going to do if you get a suspended sentence?"

"Turn my back on the business for good. I'll move into our old house and visit some people in prison."

"Ding Shenghuo?"

Yaobai nodded. "Among others."

"Do you think they'll leave us alone when they get out of prison in ten years?" Wenjie didn't really believe that.

"We'll be prepared when that time comes."

That sounded as confident as the words he had addressed to him when they had still been in the grip of Xu Zhengqing. Wenjie smiled. "I'll come visit you on the weekends." 

"I'd be glad, if you do."

to be continued...