【015】
Yu Ting’s head was heavy and muddled. Straining to keep his eyelids open, he barely managed to make out the scene before him.
Lu Jue had arrived.
He was like a berserk beast, kneeling on a blond man and pummeling him violently. His left hand gripped the man’s collar tightly, while his right fist, like a pile driver, relentlessly smashed into the man’s face.
The blond man’s face was splattered with blood, the golden hair on his forehead matted to his scalp, soaked in gore.
Guan Ning ran over and shoved Yu Ting. “Don’t just stand there! Go! You’re the only one who can pull my brother away!”
Guan Ning wasn’t trying to boost Yu Ting’s confidence. When Lu Jue went wild like this, even his own father couldn’t stop him, let alone anyone else.
He actually didn’t believe Yu Ting could pull Lu Jue off. He just didn’t dare go himself, afraid Lu Jue might indiscriminately beat him up too. So he had no choice but to egg Yu Ting on.
Restaurant staff arrived. Two men, immediately moving left and right to grab Lu Jue’s arms. “Sir, please calm—”
Lu Jue was completely unresponsive. His pupils were a dark, bloody red, the veins bulging on his powerful arms as he directly threw the staff members aside.
Taking advantage of Lu Jue’s hands being momentarily free, the foreign man finally got his chance. Scrambling on all fours, he broke free from under Lu Jue, suddenly shoved him away, and stumbled forward in an attempt to flee. He spat a mouthful of bloody foam. “F-…”
He only got out one word before a tremendous pain exploded in his back. Kicked flying, he lunged forward, rolled on the ground, and his chin smashed into the grass. Under the soft sensation was a hard iron plate. The man’s chin split open, viscous fluid pouring backward into his mouth.
Dense fists rained down again. But this time, it wasn’t Lu Jue. It was Yu Ting.
Yu Ting’s head was incredibly dizzy, yet his strikes were steady and accurate.
“I… sorry, sorry, I won’t dare anymore…” The blond man wailed and begged for mercy in fluent Mandarin.
“…” Everyone was stunned.
Guan Ning was equally dumbfounded. Wasn’t Yu Ting supposed to be the peacemaker? Why was he fighting too!
Thrown off and crashing into the wall, Lu Jue’s blood-red pupils instantly cleared when he saw Yu Ting pummeling the man.
In the end, it was Lu Jue who pulled Yu Ting away.
He half-embraced the youth’s slender waist, his lips brushing past Yu Ting’s earlobe as he spoke very low into his ear: “Good student, aren’t you afraid of getting a disciplinary record?”
Without waiting for Yu Ting’s reply, he scooped him up. After helping Yu Ting stand steady, he didn’t fully let go. His hand moved up to grasp Yu Ting’s wrist, and he led him straight out.
Guan Ning shouted from behind. Lu Jue acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing. He fished out his phone, called Xu Ling to explain what happened, then turned it off, shoved it back in his pocket, and pulled Yu Ting out of the restaurant.
Yu Ting remained silent the entire time.
Outside, it was starting to get dark—that juncture between dusk and night, with a few remnants of the setting sun still visible and the street lamps already lit.
Lu Jue’s mouth had just begun to open when Yu Ting spoke first. “You’re hurt.”
When he was thrown against the wall earlier, a vine had scraped Lu Jue’s right ear. It stung a little. His mind was still filled with the image of that man getting close to Yu Ting. The pent-up violent streak he’d kept hidden for so long surged up again. He closed his eyes for a moment, exhaled. “It’s nothing.”
“You’re bleeding.” Yu Ting kept his head down.
Lu Jue followed his gaze and looked down, noticing the hand he was using to hold Yu Ting’s wrist. The skin on his knuckles had torn off to varying depths, still oozing blood.
That foreign man had been wearing earrings. He must’ve scraped his hand while punching him.
Both of Lu Jue’s hands were so battered they’d gone numb, devoid of any pain. Before he could speak, Yu Ting lifted his head and looked around. Suddenly, he flipped his hand over and grabbed Lu Jue’s wrist, stepping to the left.
“There’s a pharmacy over there.”
The light from the streetlamps mingled with the remaining few rays of the setting sun, falling upon Yu Ting’s fine features. In an instant, all of Lu Jue’s hostile energy vanished. He obediently let Yu Ting pull him across the crosswalk.
~
Next door to the pharmacy was a 24-hour convenience store. After coming out of the pharmacy, Yu Ting again led Lu Jue by the hand into the convenience store.
The store was rather small, the shelves squeezed tightly together and packed with all kinds of snacks.
Yu Ting still hadn’t let go of Lu Jue. Head down, he started taking things off the shelves.
He asked, “I’m hungry. I’m going to eat some bread. Do you want some?”
Lu Jue was taller and broader than Yu Ting. The two squeezed side-by-side into the narrow aisle. Lu Jue saw Yu Ting take a piece of old-fashioned cream bread and a bottle of oolong tea. He couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah. Old-fashioned cream bread.”
“What do you want to drink?”
“Oolong tea.”
Yu Ting took another piece of old-fashioned cream bread and another bottle of oolong tea. He stood in place for a few seconds, then pulled Lu Jue toward the checkout counter.
The counter had two machines: one, a steamer warming buns, steamed buns, grilled sausages, and corn; the other, an oden machine.
The buns and corn looked like they weren’t too fresh anymore. The oden machine, however, bubbled away with rising steam, filled with all sorts of skewered items.
Yu Ting spoke again. “I want some fish ball soup. What do you eat?”
Lu Jue’s wrist was growing hot from Yu Ting’s grip. The youth’s palm was dry and slightly warm. The heat spread rapidly from where their skin touched up to Lu Jue’s throat. Swallowing hard, parched, he answered, “Anything’s fine.”
Yu Ting stared at the pot, patiently placing his order. “Two skewers of tempura, two skewers of octopus balls, two cod rolls, two cuttlefish balls, two curry fish balls, two kelp, two tofu, two radish—white radish. Put it in two containers.”
After ordering, he politely asked the cashier, “Do you have any ketchup?”
Normally, no. But looking at Yu Ting, the cashier’s words took a turn by the time they reached his mouth. “Yes!”
He tore open the ketchup packet meant for his own fries and squeezed it liberally over the oden.
“Total is 56 yuan. For here or to go?”
The convenience store had a long, narrow seating area by the window—a long table with a few high stools.
It was empty now.
“For here.” Yu Ting paid the bill and finally let go of Lu Jue.
His wrist suddenly free again, Lu Jue ran his tongue displeasedly over his back teeth.
Yu Ting grabbed the two cream breads and two bottles of oolong tea, placing them in Lu Jue’s uninjured hand. He himself picked up the two cups of oden and slowly walked over to the seating area.
Lu Jue faintly sensed something was off with Yu Ting. But as he scrutinized him, aside from his face being flushed from the excitement of the recent fight, nothing else seemed abnormal. He didn’t notice any injuries.
Lu Jue pulled a stool over and sat down next to Yu Ting. He studied the youth carefully. His ears were red too. Unable to resist, he reached out to check. “Did you get hurt anywhere?”
Quietly, Yu Ting pressed Lu Jue’s hand down onto the table. Shaking his head, he made no sound.
Out of the pharmacy bag, he pulled out iodine, cotton swabs, and Band-Aids. He snapped a swab to break the seal and, head bowed, patiently wiped the blood from Lu Jue’s knuckles.
A few strips of flesh had been scraped away, the raw skin beneath clearly visible.
When the iodine touched the raw flesh, Lu Jue couldn’t help but grunt, then found it funny. He looked down with a smile at that fluffy, soft head that remained perfectly still. “Why does a good student fight?”
Yu Ting changed to a fresh cotton swab. “You hit him.”
“… ” Lu Jue’s throat itched slightly. “What does it matter if I hit him?”
Another new cotton swab. “You hit him. So I hit him. We’re friends.”
Lu Jue’s throat tightened violently. The disinfecting was finally done. Yu Ting tore open a Band-Aid and stuck it onto the back of Lu Jue’s hand. Lu Jue quickly pulled his hand back, turning away without looking, and randomly pulled a skewer from one of the paper cups.
Only when he put it in his mouth did he realize it was his most hated cuttlefish ball.
Along with his most despised sour tomato taste.
He curled his lip. “Delicious.”
Yu Ting didn’t reply. He was ravenously hungry. After putting the trash into a plastic bag, he bent his head and quietly focused on eating.
The two ate without speaking. No other customers came into the store the whole time. Only the faint sound of a TV drama drifted over from the register area now and then.
Yu Ting finished everything clean. Noticing there were still two skewers left in Lu Jue’s cup, he took those too and polished them off.
It was almost eight by the time they finished eating and left the convenience store. The sky was completely dark.
Lu Jue walked a few steps ahead. He was just about to turn on his phone to find the way when Yu Ting suddenly spoke from behind him. “Carry me on your back.”
The valves in Lu Jue’s heart trembled. He spun around abruptly. “What did you say?”
Behind Yu Ting was the light outside the convenience store entrance. He stood calmly and quietly within the glow, his nose slightly wrinkled, yet still looking directly at Lu Jue.
When he spoke again, his tone was actually tinged with grievance. “My head feels heavy. Carry me on your back.”
Lu Jue rapidly cooled down. He finally confirmed something was definitely wrong with Yu Ting. One stride brought him forward, and he touched Yu Ting’s forehead. Normal temperature. He breathed a slight sigh of relief.
He scrutinized Yu Ting’s face, as expressionless as usual, but flushed a vivid red. It suddenly clicked. He asked to be sure, “Did you drink alcohol?”
Yu Ting shook his head and opened his mouth slightly, pointing inside. “I ate a piece of liqueur chocolate.”
“You get drunk from this?” Lu Jue was amused. No wonder he hadn’t smelled any alcohol.
Yu Ting enunciated each word. “I’m not drunk.”
“Right, you’re not drunk.” Lu Jue played along. He turned around and half-crouched. Without letting Yu Ting move, he pulled Yu Ting’s arms over his shoulders and easily hoisted him onto his back.
He didn’t bother looking for the way anymore.
He just took a random road, walking slowly with Yu Ting on his back. Before long, a toddler who had just learned to walk passed them.
The child’s mother followed behind with continuous encouragement. “Very good, baby! So fast!”
Soon, their voices faded into the distance.
There had been no sound from his back; Lu Jue thought Yu Ting had fallen asleep. He took another, even quieter road. Suddenly, a cool sensation grazed the back of his neck.
“Does it hurt?”
It took Lu Jue two seconds to react. He chuckled softly. “No—”
Yu Ting leaned closer again; his lips seemed to be steaming with heat. He clung to Lu Jue’s shoulder, leaned in near that area of dense, tiny needle marks, and blew very gently. He asked again, “Does it still hurt?”
Lu Jue changed his answer. “It hurts.”
So Yu Ting kept blowing, very earnestly.
When he was a child and a fly bit him, his mother would apply some menthol balm and then blow on it very, very gently. Then it wouldn’t hurt or itch anymore.
Lu Jue had absolutely no intention of interrupting Yu Ting. With him on his back, he walked down one street, then turned onto another.
They reached an intersection. Few people were on the street, few cars. The traffic light was red, already flashing the countdown numbers.
Lu Jue carried Yu Ting to the crosswalk.
At that moment, the signal was flashing.
3.
2.
1.
The yellow light lit up; the green was about to come on.
The warm breath on his neck stopped at the same time.
Yu Ting suddenly asked, “Do you like me?”
Up ahead, the yellow light jumped to green. Cars in both lanes came to a slow halt.
Lu Jue’s canvas shoe, poised to step onto the first stripe of the crosswalk, paused for a moment, then came to a complete stop.
