Xue Bao Tian was reading a little picture-book with one end of a rope pinned beneath his foot. Yan Ye returned from the bicycle repair stall nearby, followed the rope with his eyes, then crouched beside Xue Bao Tian, picked up a copy of The Buddha’s Palm, and held it in front of his face. “Why don’t we let him go?”
Xue Bao Tian lifted his eyes and glanced at the child tied to the other end of the rope, then scoffed. “Little brat, daring to fake an accident in front of Master Xue. If I don’t teach him a lesson, he’ll really think I have a good temper.”
The bookstall owner was an idle sort. Sitting on a little stool, he watched the show with a smile. “Your family’s kid has filthy hands. If he gets the books dirty, you’ll have to pay.”
Before Xue Bao Tian could speak, the child jumped in first. “He and I aren’t related. We’re not even on the same IQ level.”
Xue Bao Tian wound the rope around his palm and gave it a tug. “Shake your fucking brain matter evenly before you talk.”
The seven- or eight-year-old boy’s wrist jerked, and the little picture-book in his hand nearly fell. His temper was foul too. He plopped down on the ground, cocked his head, and said, “In the time it takes me to read two books, you can only read one. Either your comprehension is terrible, or you’re illiterate.”
For once, Xue Bao Tian was rendered speechless. Yan Ye could not bear to see him lose, so he tried to smooth things over, saying gently to the child, “His reading speed is fine. I read even slower than he does.”
Xue Bao Tian nearly choked on his own irritation. He planted a hand on Yan Ye’s face and shoved him away. “Go back to your pigsty.”
Then he turned a sharp gaze on the child. “You little bastard, just now you threw yourself under my wheel. The tire didn’t even touch you, and you screamed like every bone in your body had been shattered. How much were you after? Five hundred?” Xue Bao Tian pulled five hundred yuan from his wallet and tossed it into the enamel cup. “What the fuck do you care how slowly I read? Even if I squat here all day, the bookstall owner still has to wait on me.”
The bookstall owner was a man of action. He quickly tucked the five large bills into his pocket and smiled obsequiously. “Exactly. You go ahead and read. However long it takes, I’ll keep you company.”
Across from him, the boy with one hand tied looked covetously at the bookstall owner’s pocket. He switched to another book, sniffed, and said flatly, “This is a fight between you and me, but you let somebody else profit from it. The snipe and the clam fight, and the fisherman wins. What exactly are you getting out of this?”
Fuck. Xue Bao Tian actually found a little sense in that. Before he could win back the round, scattered, dragging footsteps sounded from the street entrance. Turning toward the boy, he saw him visibly shrink, face paling as he edged closer to Yan Ye.
Xue Bao Tian tilted his head and glanced at the newcomers. There were three tall, sturdy men wearing undershirts and flip-flops, hands shoved into their pockets, showing off their powerful muscles.
The three men walked closer. The man in front, whose hair was dyed white, kicked the boy solidly. The child plunged headfirst into the bookstall, crumpling several comic books that were already old and fragile to begin with.
The bookstall owner did not dare make a sound. He gathered up the cloth spread on the ground, packed everything up, and went off to hide nearby.
Looking at the other side, Xue Bao Tian and Yan Ye did not seem affected by all this commotion. The two of them were still crouching by the wall, each holding a little picture-book.
Yan Ye asked Xue Bao Tian for guidance. “How do you read these two characters?”
Xue Bao Tian narrowed his eyes and stared at them for a long time. The rope in his hand wound around twice, pulling the child who had been kicked down in front of him. “You’re so awesome. You tell me how these two characters are read.”
The child looked timidly at the three men standing before him, then quickly glanced at the picture-book held out in front of him. “Shackles.” He raised his bound hand and explained quietly, “It means being restrained, like this.”
Suddenly, a huge force came toward his face with the sharp sound of wind. The white-haired man who had just kicked the little boy raised his leg again and cursed viciously, “Where the fuck did you run off to? You made me search so damn hard.”
The boot with a piece of chewing gum stuck to its sole came closer and closer. The little boy curled himself into a ball and closed his eyes in terror.
But the expected pain did not arrive. He even heard the white-haired man cry out in pain, along with the sound of footsteps retreating again and again.
When he opened his eyes again, the man beside him who did not recognize words had already stood up. This man, who had always seemed gentler than the “pretty boy,” now stood before them with a suppressive aura, his voice vibrating lightly from his chest as he asked unhurriedly, “What business do you gentlemen have?”
The white-haired man whose ankle had been caught and then shoved violently back was clearly furious. Pointing at the boy, he cursed loudly, “Turning against your own people, are you? You’re fucking looking for death!” Then he raised his eyes to Yan Ye and shouted, “What business? Didn’t you people hit my nephew and refuse to pay his medical fees?”
Suddenly, a cool voice cut in. Xue Bao Tian’s eyes were long and narrow, his thin lips curved in a smile, every gesture carrying a trace of arrogance. Though his manner was lazy, his presence was oppressive. “Weather’s getting colder. If you’ve got nothing better to do, pile more dirt over yourselves. Looking like a pack of ghosts, stop fucking crawling out to offend people’s eyes.”
The three men’s expressions changed together after hearing this. Pointing at Xue Bao Tian, they asked three times in a row, “Who the fuck are you talking about? You don’t want to live anymore, do you? Before you speak, why don’t you ask around and find out who we are?”
Xue Bao Tian threw a cigarette into his mouth. Yan Ye flicked the wheel of the lighter, drawing out a flame and sending it before him.
After lighting the cigarette, Xue Bao Tian’s eyes were cold and clear, his voice carrying contempt and disdain. “If you can’t stand the sight of me, then stay farther away from me. I don’t want to be reported for abusing animals.”
After a moment, the men finally realized they had been insulted again. They were all street toughs; when had they ever lost face like this? They immediately rolled up their sleeves and, cursing, closed in around the patch of wall where Xue Bao Tian was crouching.
Xue Bao Tian still bit the cigarette, calmly exchanging words with the boy beside him. “I was bitten by a dog when I was little, so now I’m a little scared. What about you?”
“You… aren’t going to dodge?”
Before the boy had finished speaking, a tall figure had already shielded them. Yan Ye intercepted the men, took out his wallet, and revealed a gentle smile on his face. “You want money, right? I’ll give it.”
The rope tied around the boy’s wrist changed hands. The white-haired man, whose pockets were stuffed full, tugged at the rope. “Let’s go. I’ll settle accounts with you when we get back.”
The boy’s arm stretched straight forward, red marks being strangled into it. His head drooped as he slowly went away, never once looking back.
“Grandson, give Grandpa a hand.” Xue Bao Tian had just put on a magnificent show, but now he was grimacing. “My fucking legs went numb from squatting.”
When they met that boy again, only eight hours had passed.
Deep in an alley without surveillance cameras came the repeated sound of blows landing on flesh, as well as miserable cries of pain and pleas for mercy.
Outside the alley, Xue Bao Tian leaned lazily against the wall, arms crossed, looking at the child before him. “You read little picture-books so quickly. If you’re so awesome, why are you still being controlled by others?”
The boy rubbed the red marks on his wrist and spoke coldly like a wolf cub. “Everyone in my family is dead. I lived with my uncle. My uncle used to run with them, but later someone stabbed him to death. I had nowhere to go, so they kept me and made me fake accidents to earn money for them.”
Xue Bao Tian had no great sympathy. He only wanted to recover the face he had lost in front of this little bastard. “What use is reading quickly and recognizing lots of characters? Isn’t your life still bad?” He lifted his eyelids and asked indifferently, “If you’re in difficulty, why didn’t you go to the government?”
The child kicked a stone on the ground with the tip of his foot and said quietly, “I’m used to it.”
“If you insist on throwing yourself away, who the fuck can save you?” Xue Bao Tian grinned and pointed at the garbage truck across the road. “Quick, hide. The garbage collectors are coming.”
“I know you’re cursing me.”
“Mm, so you’re not stupid, little trash.”
The sounds of fighting in the alley gradually stopped. From within the long, dark alley came steady footsteps. A tall, upright man walked out from the darkness, coming toward the light, his features gradually becoming clear.
His collar was disheveled, his sleeves rolled up, his gaze cold, heavy, and razor-sharp. His usual peaceful air had vanished, replaced by a pressure that silenced people on instinct and the bloodthirsty aura of a predator fresh from carving up its prey.
He walked up to Xue Bao Tian, his expression still cold and grave. He intercepted the cigarette in Xue Bao Tian’s hand and took a heavy drag. Behind the smoke was a cold, hard stare Xue Bao Tian had never seen before. “In the future, when I’m not here, what will you do?”
Xue Bao Tian’s heart trembled. Out of habit, he immediately went cowardly. He lightly kicked the child. “Adults are talking. Kids go stay to the side.”
Then he secretly hooked Yan Ye’s fingertips. “Brother Chi, don’t worry. When you’re not here, I absolutely won’t run my mouth or get myself into trouble.”
Yan Ye’s cold hardness gradually dissolved. He rubbed Xue Bao Tian’s head and said softly, “When I’m here, say whatever makes you happy. I’ll cover for you.”
Fuck. Xue Bao Tian felt his heartbeat suddenly accelerate, as though a rabbit had been stuffed inside his chest and was kicking wildly. A faint current rose from deep within his body, raced along his veins into every limb and bone, and burst into a shivering numbness at the ends of his nerves.
The sensation was too strange. Before Xue Bao Tian had time to savor it, the child interrupted him by dropping to his knees in front of Yan Ye with a thud.
“Boss, let me follow you from now on.” The child looked at Yan Ye with incomparable worship and sincerity.
Whoever made Xue Bao Tian unhappy, Xue Bao Tian naturally would not let him be happy either. After sending Yan Ye off to push the bicycle, he crouched in front of the child.
“Little Trash, do you know you ruined my date twice today?” Xue Bao Tian pulled a stack of money and a business card from his wallet and stuffed them into the child’s hand. “You screwed up my business, so I can’t stand to see you have it easy either. Don’t you hate school? If you want to follow him, fine. Go to the relevant authorities, apply for hardship assistance, then go to school. Once you get into that place that gives people a fucking headache every day, I’ll let you follow him.”
Standing up, Xue Bao Tian looked at the boy one last time and said in a low voice, “Everyone has their own fate. Maybe your fate is different from your uncle’s.”
With that, he tossed Little Trash to the back of his mind. Lifting his eyes, he saw Yan Ye waiting not far away, the wind filling his white shirt with the quiet romance of peaceful years.
He walked toward him step by step, thinking, Whoever the fuck stops me from dating, I’ll kill them.
Only when he drew close did he see the hidden worry in Yan Ye’s eyes. “Two Hundred, that business Tong Yan mentioned, someone just contacted me about it. For a lucrative job like this to be transferred out of Sheng Yu’s hands, there really is something wrong. I’ll take you home first, then go to the company.”
Fuck! Xue Bao Tian bit the cigarette butt flat between his teeth and lifted his eyelids. “I’m going with you. We’re killing Sheng Yu.”