TSIBAMS Chapter 95
by VolareThe boy pressed against the wall didn’t look like he was even an adult, trembling as he spoke.
Brother Xu had a cigarette in his mouth, not even bothering to look at him.
One hand was gripping his neck, while the other hand made a fist and punched him in the stomach.
Even through the down jacket, the boy was hit hard. He tried to block it with his hands, but Brother Xu grabbed his middle finger and twisted it back.
He cried out in pain again, “Ah! I was wrong, I was really wrong! I won’t dare again!”
Brother Xu spat out his cigarette butt and stomped it out with his foot. He increased the pressure on the boy’s middle finger, and said in a deep voice, “Was it this hand that held the bottle?”
The boy’s tears and snot mixed together on his face, mingling with the blood from the corner of his mouth. His voice was almost crying, “I really don’t remember, I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, it was just an accident.”
Brother Xu glanced at him and released his grip on the boy’s neck, “Don’t try to play tricks with me. When I was mixing on these streets, you were still playing in the mud!”
The boy, as if his soul had been taken from him, slowly sat down on the ground against the wall, and then started to wipe his tears, “It’s really not like we were bored and wanted to cause trouble, someone paid us to go, and they even said that installing surveillance cameras in public places was illegal, so our actions were justified.”
“Who paid you to go?” Brother Xu looked down at him.
The boy’s face was swollen on one side, and his eyes were beaten so badly that he couldn’t open them. He was thin and weak, without the power to fight back, and somehow even looked a bit pitiful.
It’s unbelievable that he had the audacity to trespass on someone else’s territory with these conditions!
The boy hesitated, not knowing how to speak. Finally, he struggled to open a crack in his swollen eyes and looked at him pitifully, “Please, spare me!”
Brother Xu didn’t beat around the bush and asked directly, “How much did Li Zhendong give each of you?”
The boy was stunned, and did not refute. He took a long breath, “50… plus a night at the internet cafe.”
“Next time Li Zhendong asks you to come, tell him to prepare money for your prosthetic limbs first!” Brother Xu squatted down, grabbed his collar, and said through gritted teeth, “Did you hear me?”
The boy was terrified, his fingers that were supporting him on the ground trembled, and then he nodded shakily.
Brother Xu watched as he wiped his tears with his dirty hands. Not only did his face become dirtier, but also smeared with blood. He couldn’t bear to look at him.
He released his hand and stood up, took out some money from his pocket, and threw a few bills on the ground, “Go to the hospital yourself.”
“Choosing a movie should not have been my responsibility.” Qi Guang held the remote control and searched for a long time, finally throwing it onto the coffee table.
He glanced at the kitchen, Ye Xing was still washing dishes.
Why is it taking so long? He stood up and walked towards the kitchen.
Before, he was probably masked by the sound of the TV. He only realized when he got close that Ye Xing was on the phone with his back to him. The sound wasn’t loud, just at a decibel where he couldn’t hear it from the sofa.
So mysterious.
“Is it really that magical… it’s not a new scar, it must be a few years old, a keloid scar… can you ask for me… It’s not urgent, see when your friend will go back and buy it and mail it back… A proxy purchase? Then recommend one for me…”
Qi Guang listened for a few sentences by the door, and left smiling.
The mulled wine only felt warm when he drank it, but the effect came on after a while. When Ye Xing returned from his sneaky phone call, his face was already a bit flushed.
“You choose a movie.” Qi Guang was lying on the sofa, raising his hand to pass the remote control to him.
Ye Xing took the remote control, squeezed next to Qi Guang on the sofa, then moved closer to him, and put his head on his lap. “What kind of genre do you want to watch?”
“Your legs have lost weight, it’s uncomfortable.” Qi Guang moved his neck, found a comfortable position to lie down, and then reached out to touch his stomach, “Luckily, the abs are still there.”
“Hiss…” The cold touch of his hand startled Ye Xing, causing him to pull in his stomach, “Stop it.”
Qi Guang was amused by his look, “Why is your face so red?”
“It was red earlier, from drinking the mulled wine!” Ye Xing seriously defended himself while fiddling with the remote control, “I won’t watch a suspense movie, too brain-intensive.”
“Yeah, your brain isn’t working well to begin with, and you’ve also had some wine, how about we watch a brain-dead movie!” Qi Guang chuckled.
Ye Xing glared at him, picked a random comedy movie and started playing it. Seeing that Qi Guang was still lying on his legs and hadn’t moved, he moved his legs, “You say it’s uncomfortable but you still lie here for so long!”
“You’re not as easy to tease as before, you used to jump up when I argued with you, now you just glare at me, too lazy to even talk…”
“I think you have a masochistic tendency?” Ye Xing looked down at him, raising his eyebrows.
“What are you talking about?” Qi Guang hooked his arm around his neck, and propped himself up on the sofa with the other hand, “I’m going to kiss you.”
And then, he unexpectedly leaned in for a kiss.
Ye Xing lowered his head to cooperate with his movements, using one hand to support him while slowly shifting into a more convenient position.
The movie’s intro slowly finished, but the two were still lost in their kiss.
But if a phone call came at this time, it would be very unpleasant.
Especially since it rang for a long time without any intention of hanging up.
Ye Xing patted Qi Guang’s face, grabbed his phone and pressed the answer button.
“Teacher Xia?”
Qi Guang, who had been leaning back for a long time, rotated his stiff neck, sat up next to Ye Xing on the sofa, and turned the volume down a little.
Ye Xing, holding the phone, didn’t know what he was talking about, “Yeah, I’m back to classes… the fifteenth of next month? I got it… but I probably won’t go… it’s not a matter of time, it’s that I don’t want to go.”
Most of the time it was the person on the other end of the phone speaking. Ye Xing occasionally uttered a few words, his tone was gentle but his attitude was firm.
Qi Guang could sense his resistance.
After hanging up the phone, he couldn’t help but ask Ye Xing, “Your art studio teacher?”
“Yeah.”
“They are still looking for you after the exam, what’s the matter?”
Ye Xing smiled, “They told me that some schools are coming to do on-site exams, asking if I want to go, it’s nothing.”
Qi Guang didn’t understand what on-site exams were, but seeing that Ye Xing’s attitude wasn’t concerned, he guessed it wasn’t something important. He also smiled, and moved closer.
Just before they kissed, Ye Xing half-closed his eyes and said, “Why does your mouth always taste like mint?”
“Maybe I just brushed my teeth?” Qi Guang paused, and looked at him.
“You have it even when you don’t brush your teeth, it’s especially nice to kiss. Everyone says smoking affects kissing, but I think that’s not quite right!” Ye Xing reached out to rub his face, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the coffee table, “Huh? Why isn’t the ashtray I gave you on the coffee table? Did you put it away?”
“It’s not being used!” Qi Guang looked at him helplessly, “Have you seen me smoke since I’ve been with you?”
Ye Xing widened his eyes and frowned slightly, “Damn, you’re right, I was wondering why I never tasted smoke in your mouth.”
“Isn’t it because some people said that smoking affects kissing?” Qi Guang lightly bit his nose as if punishing him, and then bit his lip.
At this moment, the phone rang again, out of place.
Ye Xing took a deep breath, impatiently picked up the phone, muttering, “What now!”
But when he saw the words “Old Fang” displayed on the screen, his thumb, which was about to press the answer button, suddenly froze.
He suddenly felt very disappointed. This phone call, whether he answered it or not, had already successfully ruined his mood, and there was no way to fix it.
He could already imagine the person on the other end of the phone nagging endlessly, trying to persuade him, and then him refusing, and then the person on the other end continuing to persuade him. A stalemate with no resolution.
Just like countless calls before.
He chose not to answer.
Ye Xing just held the phone, watching it until it stopped vibrating, and then it started vibrating again… stopped… and started again…
He simply pressed hang up, and then turned off his phone.
Qi Guang was watching him from the side, his expression a bit serious.
He rubbed Ye Xing’s head, picked up the remote control and pressed rewind, “Let’s watch a movie, I’ll rewind it.”
This weather made almost no one willing to risk being blown into a facial paralysis on the streets to drink. The entrance of 1984 was much quieter, but it didn’t affect the commotion and liveliness inside.
When Qi Guang and Ye Xing arrived, they saw Brother Xu squatting on the side of the road making a call, his hand trembling as he held the cigarette. If it weren’t for his fashionable clothes, you’d think he was a homeless man.
Ye Xing glanced at Qi Guang, as if asking him if he wanted to say hello.
“It’s freezing, you should go in first.” Qi Guang opened the door and sent Ye Xing inside.
Then he backed out, and closed the door tightly.
He found a tree not too close and not too far from Brother Xu to lean on. In less than ten minutes, Brother Xu had already made calls to more than five people.
When he was about to call the sixth person, Qi Guang walked over.
“Did you go fighting today?”
“Huh?” Brother Xu only then noticed him.
Qi Guang put his hands in his pockets, looking down at him, “The blood on your fingernails isn’t cleaned yet, and you’re already coming to work?”
“Shit?”
Brother Xu spread his hands open. Perhaps it was because the weather was too cold that he didn’t wash his hands properly. The nail crevices were still red, looking a little scary.
Qi Guang asked, “Did something happen?”
“Just went to the vocational school to teach the bastards who scratched Bai Shu a lesson. I didn’t expect them to be so weak, they were half-dead before they even got to fight back. It was boring!” Brother Xu laughed disdainfully.
He put his phone in his pocket and went to the sink at the entrance to the store to wash his hands seriously.
Qi Guang followed behind him, watching him bury his head in forcefully scrubbing his hands. While he was washing, he seemed to drift off. He didn’t even realize that his hands had turned red from the cold water.
Qi Guang sighed, and suddenly opened his mouth, “Brother Xu, haven’t you realized?”
Brother Xu suddenly came back to his senses, and turned off the tap tremblingly, “Realized what?”
“Haven’t you realized that you have always been carefully protecting Bai Shu, and you’re more anxious than anyone when you see him being taken advantage of?” Qi Guang raised his chin, “It’s fine if you haven’t realized it yourself, I see it clearer than you do.”
“You don’t know anything!” Brother Xu was most annoyed with Qi Guang when he brought this up. He glared at him and turned to leave.
“Face your heart!” Qi Guang said from behind him.
“Get lost.”