Half dragging, half hauling, Fang Chi hauled Zhang Jian out. Zhang Jian fought, sputtering incoherently.
Zhang Jian wasn’t exactly well-liked in his own class, but Fang Chi barging into another class to snatch someone, any class would rally.
Sure enough, a few students followed them out. Fang Chi didn’t hesitate. Before Zhang Jian could even regain balance, Fang Chi released him, then drove a kick into his stomach.
Not too hard, but Zhang Jian’s skinny frame folded at once, collapsing into the others. Fang Chi followed with a heavy punch to his face.
This blow landed harder than the one he’d given Sun Wenqu that day. Zhang Jian shrieked, scrambling back, voice cracking high with panic.
“If you’ve got guts to run your mouth, have guts to take a hit. Run it again, and I’ll finish you in under a minute.” Fang Chi jabbed a finger at him.
Then he turned and walked. By the time Class Six regrouped enough to chase, his classmates had already poured into the hallway, forming an eager wall around him.
“Who’d you hit?!” Xu Zhou rushed up, thrilled. He lived for chaos, always hoping for a brawl with Class Six.
“No one.” Fang Chi brushed him off and kept walking.
He didn’t want a fight. Especially not outnumbered, not now.
That’s why he hit fast, then left. By the time Class Six reacted, he was already back inside Class One’s buzzing shield.
After that, there wasn’t really anything to worry about. It had sounded like the prelude to some big fight, but when two classes bumped into each other in the hallway, it usually ended up just trash talk. Too many people, too many onlookers mixed in with the “targets”, impossible to actually fight.
As for whether someone might come looking for trouble tomorrow, that was another story. But for Class Six to actually wait a whole night just to back Zhang Jian and pick a fight? Unlikely.
Leaving school, Fang Chi thought about calling Sun Wenqu, to ask about Chief Huang. He didn’t. It was obvious Sun Wenqu liked cats, and Chief Huang seemed pretty happy with him too. Probably fine.
Still, thinking about how Chief Huang went from swatting at kibble like some tyrannical CEO, to turning into a purring fluffball the second he saw Sun Wenqu, it left Fang Chi a little sour.
“Fang Chi!” someone called behind him. It was Liang Xiaotao.
He stopped. Liang Xiaotao coasted up on her little e-bike. “Hey, you walk so fast. I turned around for a second to watch the commotion and poof, you were gone.”
“What?” Fang Chi asked.
“Treat you to spicy hotpot skewers,” she grinned.
“Not hungry.” He walked on, letting her roll along beside him.
Her house was the same direction as his. Sometimes, if he didn’t feel like walking, he’d hop on her bike for a stretch. Tonight he just wanted to walk.
“Hey,” Liang Xiaotao nudged him with her elbow. “You beat up Zhang Jian because of that thing?”
“What thing?” Fang Chi shot her a look.
“Don’t play dumb with me. Zhang Jian’s crew was running their mouths all over school tonight,” she frowned. “The second I heard, I knew you’d end up hitting someone.”
“I’m that hotheaded?” Fang Chi smirked.
“Facts speak for themselves.” She tsked twice, then lowered her voice. “Did Xiao Yiming say anything? He looked really down today.”
“He just said thanks. What else is there to say?” Fang Chi replied.
“Mm.” Liang Xiaotao sighed softly. “You two used to be so close. Now it’s like this… kind of a shame.”
Fang Chi said nothing. Truth was, he and Xiao Yiming had been close, basketball together, walking to and from school together, hanging out all the time.
“Fang Chi, not to nag, but I know you don’t like hearing it,” Liang Xiaotao hesitated, “you’re not the kind of person who’d be prejudiced against Xiao Yiming. At least, I thought you’d be the type to not support but not oppose either. I just…”
“I’m not prejudiced against him,” Fang Chi said flatly.
“You’re prejudiced against gays.” Liang Xiaotao tilted her head at him. “Honestly, I find Lin Wei and those girls annoying too, always gossiping about real people. But… your reaction really surprised me. Sometimes I can’t help wondering if maybe you actually…”
“I just…” Fang Chi frowned, hesitated, then muttered, “think it’s disgusting.”
“…I see.” Liang Xiaotao pushed her hair back, then changed the subject with a laugh, patting his shoulder. “Forget it, nothing more to say about that. How about you treat me then, spicy tofu, spicy broccoli, spicy beef balls… ugh, I’m drooling already.”
“Which place? The one Xu Zhou recommended?” Fang Chi asked.
“Mm-hm. Right across the street.” She pointed to a little shop opposite.
—
“You know why your stomach hurts since you came back?” Li Bowen sighed over the phone.
“Yeah. Cheap liquor, what else,” Sun Wenqu answered, standing by the window sipping yogurt, while Chief Huang dangled from his pants leg practicing his rock climbing.
“No exercise. You used to hit the gym every day, right? Even in the mountains you stayed active. Now you’re home and just holed up with the cat all day…” Li Bowen sounded almost heartbroken.
“Enough. Just say what you want.” Sun Wenqu cut him off, grabbing Chief Huang, who had climbed up his back by now, and setting him on his shoulder. “And don’t say hiking. I’m not going.”
“Not hiking. When you’re better, sure. I’m talking climbing,” Li Bowen chuckled. “Been telling you for ages. At least give us some face. Liangzi’s busy as hell, but he said if you come, he’ll come.”
“…Why are you guys suddenly all about ‘positive living’?” Sun Wenqu sighed. “Fine, whatever. I’ll go.”
Ma Liang came to pick him up, and only when they arrived did Sun Wenqu realize this wasn’t the usual club, it was an outdoor base. Huge place. Hiking, canyoning, camping, BBQ, rafting, you name it.
Of course, the main point of this trip was eating, grilling meat and drinking beer. Twenty or so people, all familiar faces, guys and girls. The food was already set up. The climbing wall on the nearby cliff was just for burning off the calories.
“If you’d told me it was like this, I’d have come sooner,” Sun Wenqu flopped into a deck chair by the grill. “The way you sold it, I thought we were heading for Everest.”
“No Everest.” Luo Peng handed beers to him and Ma Liang. “But before autumn’s over, we are thinking of climbing a mountain. You in?”
“Which one?” Ma Liang cracked his can. “Behind my house… there’s a hill. You guys go.”
“Come on, Brother Liang,” Luo Peng laughed. “You should be hyping Wenqu up. He’s been way too down lately.”
“He’s just a snake,” Ma Liang muttered, “about to hibernate. Give up.”
“F*ck off,” Sun Wenqu couldn’t help but laugh.
Truth was, though, since he’d come back, he hadn’t felt like doing anything. The only fun he could scrape up was teasing Fang Chi on walks.
Pretty bleak.
“What mountain?” he asked lazily.
“Crow Ridge.” Luo Peng leaned in.
“Sounds like a horror set,” Sun Wenqu’s hair stood on end at the name.
“Called a ridge, but it’s really a range. Gorgeous scenery. Used to be full of photographers, now it’s old hikers with trekking poles…”
“Nope!” Sun Wenqu pictured a sea of uncles and aunties waving bright silk scarves and shut it down. “I’m not going.”
“Let me finish!” Luo Peng patted him on the shoulder. “If we go, we’ll be taking an adventure route, a newly developed one, which is not the same direction as the senior hiking group.”
“Oh?” Sun Wenqu eyed him.
“It’s beautiful. I went once, but the guide wasn’t good enough to see the whole thing, including the waterfall and canyon,” Luo Peng said with a regretful look. “This time we’ll have to find a local guide… How about it, want to go?”
“Sure, sure,” Sun Wenqu yawned. Whatever. Even if life was aimless, you had to put some energy into fun. “Just call me in advance.”
“Great!” Luo Peng patted him again with a smile. “I said you wouldn’t want to go, but Bowen said you would, and asked me to talk to you about it. He really knows you well.”
Sun Wenqu just smiled and glanced at Li Bowen. He was by the grill, cooking skewers sweetly with Zhao He.
Knows him?
He and Li Bowen didn’t know each other that well. It was just, they’d been around each other for twenty years. Li Bowen knew he liked being idle, but was afraid of being too idle. That was all.
Sun Wenqu didn’t eat much BBQ, his stomach had only just recovered, so he couldn’t risk it. Barely drank either. He dragged Ma Liang over to try the climbing wall.
“You done this before?” he asked Ma Liang.
“Mm. Played a few times with them,” Ma Liang tugged at the harness strapping tight under his crotch. “Can’t do it too often. This thing… crushes your balls.”
The coach helping them gear up was barely in his twenties, all serious face. “Not that bad. Unless your balls are huge.”
Sun Wenqu burst out laughing. “Pretty big, actually.”
Climbing looked easy. Doing it was another story.
Sun Wenqu had been learning from the coach for a long time but hadn’t had a chance to actually climb. It was only because the coach seemed decent that he got impatient.
“You exercise regularly, right?” The coach finally finished explaining all the key points and casually pressed on his leg. “You’re quite muscular. When you go up there later, it should be easier than when Brother Luo first started.”
“He came for weight loss.” Sun Wenqu sidestepped, just that casual touch made his whole leg go numb.
Three years, and still…
He remembered Li Bowen’s words and couldn’t help but frown.
“Mostly he slimmed down from outdoors,” the coach said, leading him to the real wall. “Come on, try the easiest one.”
“Easiest” still wasn’t easy. Even following the coach’s instructions, left hand here, right hand there, left foot, right foot, it took all his effort just to get up.
“Nice, Brother Sun!” the coach gave him a thumbs-up.
“How do I get down?” Sun Wenqu’s fingers were sore, clinging to a rock.
“Like I taught you. Remember?”
“Mm.”
Facing the wall, legs about 80 degrees apart, heels braced, body leaning back about 100 degrees…
He remembered the words fine, but actually doing it was a pain.
Finally on the ground again, he exhaled. Even in the cool weather, he was drenched. He turned, and saw Ma Liang grinning.
“Toad Style. The heir. Toad Spirit,” Ma Liang patted his shoulder.
“Shut up. You could climb with your mouth alone,” Sun Wenqu stripped off the harness. “I’ll clap for you. Did Bowen bring a camera? I’ll take your picture.”
Mentioning photos reminded him of that long-limbed silhouette on the club’s display wall. He glanced around, none of the coaches looked like him.
When it was Ma Liang’s turn, Li Bowen and Luo Peng came over with the others, cheering him on loud enough to make Ma Liang laugh so hard he slipped twice.
“Next time, buy your own gear,” Luo Peng nodded at Sun Wenqu’s shoes. “The rentals suck.”
“We’ll see,” Sun Wenqu said. “No skill, but plenty of style.”
“Tools of the trade, my friend. Like your calligraphy, you want to do good work, you need the right tools,” Luo Peng said. “Hey, you still writing? Can I beg a couple characters off you?”
“Four or fewer,” Sun Wenqu sighed. “Haven’t picked up a brush in ages.”
“Four characters, huh? Let me think…”
“Grow old, stay strong,” Li Bowen cut in.
“…That work?” Luo Peng looked at Sun Wenqu.
“Sure,” Sun Wenqu said. “Then hang it over your bed?”
“F*ck off!” Luo Peng cracked up.
The day stayed lively, eating, drinking, climbing. By the time he and Ma Liang drove back to the city in the afternoon, Sun Wenqu was dozing off in the car.
“I thought you’d stay overnight,” Ma Liang said.
“With that bunch of lovebirds? What for.”
“True.” Ma Liang nodded. “You’re dog… men.”
Sun Wenqu chuckled.
“No, wait, not dog men,” Ma Liang corrected, holding up a finger to his nose, waiting until Sun Wenqu opened his eyes. “Dog man. One. You’re single.”
“F*ck off,” Sun Wenqu laughed, exasperated. “Pain in the *ss.”
It was just past six when they got back. Ma Liang had a dinner appointment, didn’t join him. Sun Wenqu’s stomach, mostly empty all day, growled as he stepped inside.
Chief Huang was snoozing on the sofa, paws folded like an old farmer. Hearing the door, he leapt down and rubbed against Sun Wenqu’s leg.
“Hungry? Had lunch yet?” Sun Wenqu looked at the empty bowl left on the coffee table. The cat litter he had rushed out to buy that morning had already been used. “Hold on, little one sure can eat.”
After setting out food for Chief Huang, Sun Wenqu took a shower. The shower only made his stomach growlier. Checking the time, Fang Chi should’ve been out of school long ago.
How could a con artist who’d signed a debt-and-sell-yourself contract be so arrogant? Even making a meal, he always had to be nagged for it!
Sun Wenqu dialed Fang Chi’s number. It took quite a while before the other side picked up. Then came Fang Chi’s breathless voice: “Hello?”
“Whoa, what’s with that sound? Running for your life?” Sun Wenqu paused.
“Pretty much,” Fang Chi said.
“When will you be done running for your life and come cook? Ever heard of service spirit? You’re still drawing a salary under that contract, you know.”
“Half an hour.” Fang Chi seemed to still be running.
“I don’t want porridge today, I want stir-fry. And you still have to come shovel your master’s cat sh*t. Show up half an hour late and you’ll use school as an excuse again.” Sun Wenqu listened closely to the noise on Fang Chi’s end. By all appearances, the kid didn’t look like someone who could stir up trouble, but the way he was panting and rushing along, it really did sound like fleeing for his life.
“I’m not going back to school tonight,” Fang Chi said between gasps, then added, “What do you want to eat?”
Sun Wenqu froze, and after a moment said, “Whatever.”
After hanging up, he went into the study and stood before the desk.
That morning he’d dreamt of Gong Ji smiling, woke up earlier than usual, and to kill the boredom had laid out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. But when he picked up the brush, he hadn’t managed to write a single character.
Even now, he still couldn’t.
That question Fang Chi asked suddenly left him a little moved. What do you want to eat?
The phrasing was so familiar. A group going out to eat would always ask: what do you want to eat, eat what, what dishes, which restaurant…
But he couldn’t remember the last time anyone had asked him what he wanted to eat because they were cooking for him.
Even if forced, it left Sun Wenqu dazed for quite a while.
Chief Huang clung to his pant leg and meowed a few times. He bent down to scoop him up and strolled around the room: “You used to be a stray CEO with balls, how’d you get so whiny?”
Chief Huang meowed again.
“Don’t meow, your slave will get jealous when he comes. Didn’t you scratch him the other day?” Sun Wenqu walked toward the living room window and heard running footsteps outside.
Running here? He reached for the gate lock, but before he could touch the switch there was a thud in the yard, followed by a knock on the door.
“What, addicted to climbing walls now?” Sun Wenqu opened the door to see Fang Chi, forehead drenched in sweat.
“Just running, then hopped right over, habit,” Fang Chi came inside. “You don’t have an anti-theft grill? Getting into your place is as easy as a shopping mall.”
“The complex security patrols 24/7. Besides, nothing here worth stealing.” Sun Wenqu noticed Fang Chi carrying a supermarket bag. “Bought groceries?”
“Yeah, you said whatever, so I just bought groceries. Otherwise I’d have to head out again.” Fang Chi tossed his schoolbag to the wall and went into the kitchen. “Stuffed meat, there’s minced meat left from yesterday.”
“Oh? Stuff with what?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“Bitter melon.” Fang Chi came back out and took Chief Huang from his arms.
“I don’t eat bitter melon.” Sun Wenqu frowned.
“Then you eat rice,” Fang Chi said crisply. “I’m taking the cat today.”
“Scoop first.” Sun Wenqu pointed at the litter tray, then grabbed his wallet. “How much were the groceries?”
“Not much. I’m keeping accounts, we’ll settle at the end of the month,” Fang Chi said. “I won’t cheat you.”
“Oh?” Sun Wenqu smiled. “Coming from a con artist, that’s almost touching.”
Fang Chi turned his head and stared at him.
“Swallow it if you don’t like it.” Sun Wenqu flopped back onto the sofa.
“I’m not… I just…” Fang Chi knit his brows. “I…”
“You look like a decent kid, how’d you end up mixed up with Fang Ying? Fourteen years old and already learning all the wrong things.” Sun Wenqu propped one leg on the coffee table.
Fang Chi said nothing. He put down Chief Huang, went to the kitchen, dumped the cat litter into a plastic bag, and carried it out to the trash.
When he came back, Sun Wenqu asked again: “Is your surname really Fang?”
“Yeah.” Fang Chi pulled a badge from his bag, held it out. “I’m Fang Chi.”
Looked like a school ID, but with his finger covering the school and grade, all Sun Wenqu saw was the name, Fang Chi, and a very serious photo.
“You got facial paralysis?” Sun Wenqu asked.
“Huh?” Fang Chi looked at him.
“Face’s stiff. Can you even smile?” Sun Wenqu looked back at him.
“I can.” Fang Chi picked up the litter pan and headed for the bathroom. “Just don’t see anything funny about you.”
“Oh, but I find you hilarious. Every time I see you, I want to laugh.” Sun Wenqu grinned.
Fang Chi ignored him, went into the bathroom, and was back out less than a minute later. He asked, “Did you hit her or not?”
“Who?” Sun Wenqu hugged Chief Huang, who had jumped onto the sofa. “Your mom?”
“…Yeah.” Fang Chi answered.
“Why ask that out of nowhere?” Sun Wenqu squeezed the cat’s ears.
“You just seem so righteous about everything,” Fang Chi said.
Sun Wenqu laughed. “So you finally noticed?”
“Did you hit her?” Fang Chi pressed.
“No.” Sun Wenqu looked up at him. “Do I look like the type to hit women?”
