Chapter 17: Go Easy, It Hurts So Much.

【017】

“Came back for something, bought these egg tarts at the airport.” Li Chengxi held out the paper bag. “They’re pretty good, give them a try!”

He was lying.

Li Chengxi clenched his fist tightly.

He’d been away for half a month, and his desire to see Yu Ting had grown with each passing day. It finally erupted the day before yesterday. He’d rushed out of school and headed straight for the airport.

The caramel egg tarts were also the hottest new product trending internationally right now. He wanted Yu Ting to try them too.

A strong, surging beat pulsed in Li Chengxi’s chest as he fixed his gaze on Yu Ting, unwilling to waste a single second.

Yu Ting was taken aback for a second, then quickly accepted the egg tarts. “Thanks. When did you get here?”

“Couple of days ago,” Li Chengxi casually fibbed.

Yu Ting stepped onto the steps to open the door, but Li Chengxi hurriedly stopped him. “I’m not staying, gotta head back…”

Suddenly, he noticed the bracelet on Yu Ting’s wrist. A look of surprise flickered in his eyes, halting his words.

The bracelet Yu Ting wore looked very similar to his mother’s agarwood string. His dad had said it was a kind of natural White Qinan Agarwood, won at an auction for over a million yuan. His mom had scolded his dad for a whole week about it.

Yu Ting’s beads were even bigger, and the fragrance was better too—an exceptionally elegant floral scent, just like the feeling Yu Ting himself gave off.

Catching a close whiff of Yu Ting’s scent again, Li Chengxi’s eyes grew even gentler. He stopped paying attention to the bracelet; it was probably just some little trinket his mom had bought him.

“Brother Ting!” Li Chengxi couldn’t hold back. He stepped forward and gave Yu Ting a loose, brotherly hug. “Remember to eat well! You’re so thin, there’s barely any meat left! See you at New Year’s, I’ll definitely be back!”

Yu Ting hadn’t expected Li Chengxi to leave so soon. He patted Li Chengxi’s shoulder in return. “Safe travels.”

He then remembered the gift for Li Chengxi. Stepping back, he set down his luggage bag, crouched down, unzipped it, and dug out the already-wrapped present. “Perfect timing, your birthday gift.”

Li Chengxi’s face lit up with joy as he crouched down too, eagerly taking the gift. “You prepared it this early?”

He was so careful, unwilling even to tear the wrapping paper. His hands barely used any force, gently and meticulously peeling away the outer packaging.

“It’s a gaming mouse!” Li Chengxi looked up, grinning at Yu Ting. “Awesome, I’ve been needing a new mouse lately! Brother Ting, you’re literally my god!”

Li Chengxi was always so good-natured, emotionally intelligent in dealing with people. That’s why he had so many friends, though he always treated Yu Ting a little bit better.

“You’re my best Brother Ting, I still feel I don’t treat you well enough!” Li Chengxi said carelessly.

Yu Ting wouldn’t have overthought this in the past. But now, having met Lu Jue, the strange and distant concept of homosexuality was gradually becoming clearer in his world. A sudden thought popped into his head—

Could Li Chengxi like him?

From middle school to high school, Li Chengxi had always been popular. During and after classes, girls from other classes, even other grades, often came to see him. But Li Chengxi had only ever ended up as friends with all of them.

But then again, he felt he’d been overly sensitive lately.

Ever since he was a child, it had always been girls who slipped him love letters. Boys mostly ostracized him.

Yu Ting instantly dismissed the thought.

They were somewhat close at the moment. He shuffled back a few centimeters, zipped up his bag, and stood up. “As long as you can use it.”

Li Chengxi stuffed the box, case and all, back into his bag. His well-shaped messenger bag immediately lost its form, but he didn’t care. He stood up, revealing a mouthful of brilliant white teeth. “Later! See you at New Year’s!”

Yu Ting smiled back. “See you at New Year’s.”

Shortly after he went inside, Zhao Rufei came out.

Yu Ting had already cooked noodles. Simple tomato and egg noodles, a large bowl each for him and Zhao Rufei.

Everyone said he was thin, but Yu Ting’s appetite wasn’t small. It was probably genetics; their family just had a physique that didn’t gain weight easily.

Not having seen Yu Ting for several days, Zhao Rufei was all smiles. She didn’t bother with the noodles at first, quickly gesturing to tell him the good news.

Yu Ting ate while watching.

Zhao Rufei told him that the result for the flower nursery vandalism case was out.

The five minor offenders were detained for ten days. Besides compensating for the original damages, they were also fined 5,000 yuan each. As for the main culprit, Blondie, Zhao Rufei had firmly refused any compensation or apology. He was charged with intentional destruction of property and sent to a juvenile detention center for one year, with a criminal record.

“They won’t dare bully you anymore!” Zhao Rufei was especially happy.

So many things had happened lately, and Yu Ting hadn’t yet told her about that day’s incident. He put down his chopsticks and told Zhao Rufei exactly what happened when Blondie and the others ambushed him.

“They hit me, but I hit back.” Under Zhao Rufei’s astonished gaze, Yu Ting clenched his fist, showing off the lean, powerful muscle on his arm. “I can protect myself.”

Zhao Rufei was shocked. Yu Ting had always been quiet and sensible since he was little. This was the first time she knew he could fight.

Seeing Zhao Rufei’s expression, Yu Ting recalled that he’d learned to throw a punch back in elementary school.

That was a few years after his father passed away. One morning, a few cigarette butts suddenly appeared beneath Zhao Rufei’s window.

Mom didn’t know. Yu Ting found them.

He staked out for a whole day and finally saw the person—a man.

Yu Ting collected a large bag of small stones. At night, after his mom fell asleep, he crawled out of bed, grabbed a slingshot, and snuck outside. He hid in the bushes, not daring to blink, watching over his mom’s window.

He didn’t remember how long he waited. All the nearby lights were out. A little later, the man appeared in the moonlight, vaulted over the wall, slipped silently into the yard, and crept to his mom’s window to peek inside.

Yu Ting picked up the biggest stone, pulled the slingshot back to its limit, aimed at the man’s back, and immediately fired.

Stone after stone rained down on the man, making him howl and yelp in pain.

Mom couldn’t hear; it wouldn’t wake her.

Yu Ting coldly shot stone after stone, until the man fled in panic.

After that, cigarette butts never appeared beneath his mom’s window again.

Yu Ting lowered his eyelashes for a moment. When he raised his head again, the corners of his eyes curved into a bright arc. “Starting today, I’ll eat dinner at school too. Evening self-study goes until nine. I’ll be home very late. You go to sleep early, don’t wait up for me.”

Returning to his room to switch textbooks, Yu Ting looked at the bracelet on his wrist. After thinking for a moment, he took it off and placed it inside the aluminum lunch box where he saved his money.

……

At the same time, another golf club slammed into Lu Jue’s back.

A dull thud resonated through the room. Lu Jue’s face was pale, turning ashen, but his thin lips remained tightly pressed together, not making a single sound.

The man swinging the club was in his early forties. His features were exactly like Lu Jue’s, only more mature and cold, his build also taller and larger.

After a moment, the man tossed aside the club and loosened his meticulously knotted tie. “A warning: keep your thing well hidden. If you cause me any trouble during this period, even if you are my seed, it might not be my hand that comes down on you, but someone else’s.”

A suit jacket was draped over the back of the sofa. The man retrieved it, put it on, pulled out his glasses from the breast pocket, and put them on. He re-tied his tie exactly as it was before, then, without looking back, opened the door and walked out.

He instructed Xu Ling, who was waiting outside the door: “You don’t need to go back with me today. Handle the news thoroughly.”

“Yes,” Xu Ling bowed his head respectfully.

After the man went downstairs, Xu Ling sighed softly. He picked up a medical kit and stepped forward to knock on the door. “I’m coming in?”

Ever since Lu Jue came out, getting beatings was a common occurrence. But today, Xu Ling felt that Lu Jue had been deliberately provoking his father.

No response came from inside.

Xu Ling said, “I’m coming in.”

He pressed the door handle, and the door slowly opened.

The living room was silent. Lu Jue wasn’t there.

The room wasn’t too big. Xu Ling found him in the bathroom.

Lu Jue had taken off his T-shirt, wearing only a black tank top. Where the tank top didn’t cover, there were layers upon layers of long red welts. Where it did cover, the black was saturated into a dark, bloody red.

And Lu Jue was squeezing toothpaste.

Xu Ling expertly opened the medical kit. “Put some medicine on it and then go rest.”

Lu Jue squeezed out a strip of blue gel toothpaste. He brought it to his nose and sniffed it. It had absolutely nothing to do with the scent of Endless Summer Hydrangea.

Annoyed, he shoved the toothbrush into his mouth. “Not putting any on. I’m going to school right away.”

Xu Ling was shocked. “You’re still going to sch—”

His mind suddenly darted to that student named Yu Ting, and he shut his mouth. “Fine, I’ll drive you.”

Lu Jue quickly brushed his teeth, wiped the foam from the corner of his lips, and suddenly changed his mind. “Forget it, I’ll go in the evening.”

He immediately walked out. “Going to look at houses.”

As soon as Yu Ting sat down in the classroom, several students with good grades gathered around to ask about the competition.

They hadn’t qualified this year but still had a chance next year.

Patiently, Yu Ting recalled and reproduced all the questions. The class bell rang, and those students, satisfied, finally returned to their seats.

Only then did Yu Ting have time to open his backpack. He took out the textbook for the first class, glanced at the empty seat next to him, pulled his gaze back, and paid attention to the lesson.

After the first class ended, Yu Ting was called to the physics teacher’s office to review the competition questions again.

When he returned to the classroom, it was already the fourth period. His deskmate still hadn’t come.

At noon, when school let out, Yu Ting didn’t go to the cafeteria or off-campus. He had brought a box of dumplings from home. As his classmates gradually cleared out, he got up, opened the windows wider, returned to his seat, and opened the lunch box.

The dumplings were already cold. Yu Ting didn’t mind. He quietly ate all twelve dumplings. After the smell dissipated, he closed the windows again and rested his head on the desk for a nap.

He’d slept on the bus the night before. Although he’d slept long enough, the quality was poor. This nap took Yu Ting straight through until the class bell rang.

He opened his eyes and instinctively looked at the seat next to him first.

Still empty.

Yu Ting rubbed his cheeks, pulled out his book, and started the lesson.

The afternoon consisted of three classes: two math, one chemistry. The moment the dismissal bell rang, even before the teacher left the classroom, most of the students stampeded out like zombies to play ball or find food.

Yu Ting put his books away and also went to the cafeteria for dinner.

The cafeteria food was affordable. He got one meat dish, one vegetable dish, and four liang of rice. He found a sparsely populated area, finished eating, and then headed back to the classroom.

Passing by the basketball court, it was extremely lively. A boy from Grade 11 Class 3 saw Yu Ting and waved at him from afar. “God Ting, we’re one player short! Come shoot some hoops!”

Yu Ting smiled and politely declined.

He wasn’t very good at basketball. As for other sports, he wasn’t really skilled in any of them.

Back in the classroom, it was already empty.

Sounds of laughter and chatter occasionally drifted in from outside the window. Yu Ting took a soft breath, sat down, and pulled out a bi-monthly magazine from the very depths of his desk.

Ship Science and Technology

The date was last month. He’d never had the time to read it. A new issue… he did a quick mental calculation of his savings. Maybe he’d catch up and buy it next month when he had money.

Opening the pages, Yu Ting was quickly absorbed. The noise around him became inaudible.

When he finally put down the magazine, immensely satisfied, he suddenly froze.

Yu Ting was not stunned by those things, though.

He tilted his head slightly. His deskmate was sprawled over the desk, and it was unclear if he was asleep or awake.

Lu Jue wasn’t wearing his school uniform jacket; it was draped over his back. The classroom’s fluorescent lights shone on him, and a fresh, unscabbed red welt disappeared from his shoulder line into the collar of his shirt.

Yu Ting’s breath caught.

For the first time, he did something that completely lacked any sense of boundaries. He gently lifted a corner of Lu Jue’s uniform.

Under the white T-shirt, he saw a dense patch of fresh, striped red welts.

Just then, Lu Jue suddenly turned his head, his bangs a little messy from sleep. His expression was indifferent, a faint smile on his lips as he mouthed silently.

“Be gentle. Hurts like hell.”