Bro | Chapter 25

Before long, someone shoved their way over. Wei Qian was pushed aside. The newcomer seemed to be a medical worker. With obvious indifference, he pressed on Scarface’s carotid artery, then flipped open his eyelids to check. A few minutes later, he stood up and announced coldly, “Take him away. He’s dead. This lousy brat took too many stimulants and dropped dead. No skill to fight, yet he still tried to get up on the stage. He deserved it.”

Those words immediately stirred up public outrage. The people who had just lost money all jumped out cursing, accusing the house of rigging things behind the scenes. Another life-and-death fight was still being played out on the platform, while below the platform it had already developed into a full-scale brawl. The show had only just begun, and one climax after another was already erupting.

Wei Qian dodged several punches that had nearly hit him by mistake, though he was only a passerby, and silently walked out. In the damp, sticky night breeze, he hurried across the street, went into a small shop that sold cigarettes, alcohol, tea, and sweets, bought a pack of cigarettes, tore it open impatiently, pulled one out, lit it, and shoved it into his mouth.

An old man who had been about to enter the shop glanced at him twice. Seeing the way he looked, the old man thought he was not smoking but taking drugs instead. He was so frightened that he simply did not dare go in, and took a detour.

From beginning to end, Wei Qian’s face remained expressionless. Only his hand, slick with cold sweat, kept trembling.

By the time he got back, Wei Zhiyuan was already asleep.

Wei Zhiyuan had not smelled that thick, choking smoke in a long time. Half asleep and half awake, he opened his eyes and asked drowsily, “Did you smoke?”

Wei Qian gave a quiet response. “Mm. Not next time. I’m going to take a shower. Go back to sleep.”

Wei Zhiyuan said nothing. He did not have any opinion about his smoking. He even liked that smell.

The room Zhao Laojiu had arranged for them was a standard twin room. The conditions were good, the air conditioner was strong, and the place was clean. Most importantly, there were two beds. At home, they had to squeeze together because there was no other way, but here, Wei Qian had no intention of making himself put up with that. So after washing up quickly, he lay down on the other bed.

By then, Wei Zhiyuan was completely awake. He found it extremely unfamiliar that his big brother apparently did not plan to sleep with him. After waiting a while, Wei Zhiyuan guessed his brother had already fallen asleep, so he put on his slippers and quietly climbed onto Wei Qian’s bed.

Who knew Wei Qian was not asleep either. The moment the little brat made a move, he opened his eyes.

Wei Qian was already in a foul mood, so he smacked Wei Zhiyuan on the back without much patience. “What are you coming over here to be annoying for now?”

Wei Zhiyuan did not say a word, and with practiced ease burrowed into his blanket.

Wei Qian said, “Are you sick or what? There are two beds, and you still have to come squeeze in with me.”

Wei Zhiyuan said softly, “I want to sleep with Ge.”

Wei Qian lowered his eyes and looked at him without expression.

Wei Zhiyuan shrank down a little, avoiding his gaze. He wrapped both hands around one of Wei Qian’s arms and silently started acting shameless.

Wei Qian did not know whether to laugh or cry. This little thing was already eleven or twelve years old, and he was still this clingy. He had clung to him all the way from home to the south, and now that they were so far away from home, he still had to cling all the way onto his bed too. It was enough to give a person a headache.

Wei Qian did not drive him away again. His thoughts drifted elsewhere.

The one thousand-yuan Zhao Laojiu had given him was still in the breast pocket of his shirt. It made him feel like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. Even lying flat on his back, it pressed on his chest until it hurt. Wei Qian was considering how feasible it would be to take that one thousand-yuan and quietly disappear, never coming back to this place of trouble again.

But the things Zhao Laojiu had said to him kept echoing in Wei Qian’s mind no matter what. Depressed, Wei Qian realized that Zhao Laojiu had seen him through completely.

Going to fight black-market matches for a few thousand-yuan sounded like something only a lunatic with a hole in his brain would do.

Rationally, Wei Qian certainly agreed with that view. Yet wad after wad of RMB kept circling in his mind, lingering there, refusing to go away.

He had no way to drive off that crazy longing.

In a sudden flash of understanding, Wei Qian realized how those lunatics who got abused all day by their husbands or wives, mentally or physically, yet still cried and shouted and refused to get divorced, must feel. It really was blind obsession. It really was true love that could not be cut away.

Wei Qian mocked himself in his heart. He would not dare brag about anything else, but when it came to his feelings for RMB, they absolutely did not lose to any twisted or obsessive love in the world.

To say he was haunted by it day and night, bewitched out of his mind, would not be an exaggeration.

So should he choose money or his life? A fierce struggle began in his head, fiercer than when he had once held a knife and thought about whether he should kill his mother.

Just then, Wei Zhiyuan spoke.

Wei Zhiyuan said, “Ge, I want to tell you something.”

Absent-mindedly, Wei Qian answered, “Mm?”

“There’s a Sichuan restaurant downstairs. I already talked to the boss. From now on I’m going to work for them, carrying dishes and serving food. The boss agreed to give me five-yuan a day.”

Wei Qian froze for a moment, then came back to himself. “What did you say?”

Wei Zhiyuan went on, “At first they thought I was too young and were afraid someone might come inspect the place. So I said I could pretend to be their son, just helping out during summer vacation. Ge, I saw their hiring notice, and I asked around too. If they hired an adult, they would have to pay at least ten-yuan a day. As long as the boss isn’t stupid, he’ll definitely take me.”

Wei Qian did not say anything for a long time. Afraid he might be unhappy, Wei Zhiyuan hurried to add, “I won’t cause you trouble. I’ll go out at ten every morning, and I’ll come back at night.”

Wei Qian turned onto his side and wrapped an arm around Wei Zhiyuan’s shoulders. “Has your brother gone so poor he needs your five-yuan?”

Wei Zhiyuan said, “I can earn money too. I’m not a burden.”

He said the two words “a burden” so softly that they were almost swallowed in his throat. But Wei Qian was too close, and he still heard them.

Something suddenly stirred in Wei Qian’s heart. He caught the meaning hidden in Wei Zhiyuan’s words and felt vaguely uncomfortable. After quite a while, he finally asked hesitantly, “Xiao Yuan, has da-ge not treated you well?”

Wei Zhiyuan froze, then quickly shook his head.

Wei Qian lifted a hand and rubbed his head, trying as much as possible to keep his voice calm and even. “You’re not a burden, and Xiao Bao isn’t either. You’re both still little. It’s only right for me to raise you.”

Wei Zhiyuan lifted his eyes to look at him. Wei Qian, a little roughly, pushed his head back down. “When the two of you grow up, just remember to support me in my old age and see me off when I die… Alright, go to sleep.”

After saying that, miraculously, his heart became completely clear. He no longer thought about the question of money or life at all. Wei Qian decided that tomorrow he would go contact Zhao Laojiu. He planned to rest and recover for one week, then get back into the ring.

What if he really died?

He thought, if I die, then so be it.

Life and death are decreed by fate, wealth and honor rest in heaven. He had come all this way to fight black-market boxing. In the end, it was not for anyone else, but mostly for himself. If he wanted a future, then he had to risk it. There was nothing to say about it and nothing to resent. It was fair enough.

If Wei Zhiyuan had known that it was his own words that pushed his brother into the ring, he would definitely rather have been mute.

That first week passed very peacefully. Wei Zhiyuan did not know what big brother was busy with. Anyway, every morning he would take him to the little restaurant, just as if he were taking him to school, and every evening he would come pick him up on time. Someone brought them food at regular times, and sometimes it was even foreign food that Wei Zhiyuan had never eaten before. Wei Zhiyuan had the illusion that they had come here on a trip.

But one week passed quickly. That day, Wei Qian was late for the first time.

It was getting dark. There were fewer customers in the restaurant now, and Wei Zhiyuan no longer had to keep running back and forth serving dishes. He sat on the little stool the boss had given him, staring so hard at the doorway that his eyes almost ached. He would stare for a while, then look up at the clock for a while. He waited until the sky had gone completely dark before someone finally lifted the curtain and came in. The man first gave the restaurant owner a polite nod, then beckoned to Wei Zhiyuan.

The owner’s wife had just stuffed the five-yuan into Wei Zhiyuan’s pocket when Wei Zhiyuan impatiently threw himself at Wei Qian like a little cannonball. Every time he pounced like this, big brother could always catch him with one hand, then hook him up with his arm and swing him until both his feet left the ground. But this time, Wei Zhiyuan sharply sensed that big brother had dodged him.

At the instant he lunged over, Wei Qian bent awkwardly at the waist and only caught him with one arm, stopping him from throwing himself any farther forward. Then he turned half around, keeping his side toward him, and only then took him by the hand and headed back to the hotel.

The smile on Wei Zhiyuan’s face immediately disappeared. Frowning, he asked, “Ge, what’s wrong with you?”

Wei Qian said, “Nothing.”

Wei Zhiyuan edged closer to him, wrinkled his nose, and caught the scent of blood on him. “Then why do you smell like blood?”

Without even blinking, Wei Qian lied, “I ran into a pig butcher on the road. Blood splashed all over me. I finally managed to wipe it clean.”

Wei Zhiyuan felt that his intelligence had been insulted with absolutely no sincerity.

Wei Qian, however, calmly led him to a McDonald’s. This kind of junk food that later nobody would even want to eat had been fairly luxurious back when it first entered the country. Its decor and packaging were all bright colors, and it smelled better than it tasted, so it held enormous appeal for children.

Rushing to make it before closing time, Wei Qian went in and bought Wei Zhiyuan a children’s set meal and an ice cream.

“I’m warning you,” Wei Qian said, “if you eat it, then fine, but don’t go telling your sister when we get back. She’s annoying as hell. Hear me?”

On the one hand, Wei Zhiyuan was instinctively drawn to the food. On the other, he was full of worry. Torn between the two, he nodded with a solemn, bitter expression and held the ice cream up to Wei Qian’s mouth. “Try some.”

Wei Qian flinched backward. A pained look flashed across his face, and he waved a hand in refusal. “I’m full. No appetite.”

Then, as if trying to make himself sound more believable, he deliberately added in a disdainful tone, “This stuff is for kids.”

Wei Zhiyuan drew his hand back somewhat regretfully and took a careful lick of the absurdly expensive ice cream in his hand. At the same time, he was secretly observing his brother.

By the dim light of the streetlamp, Wei Zhiyuan discovered that Wei Qian’s face was deathly pale. Sweat on his forehead had dampened a few strands of hair, sticking them to the corners of his forehead and temples, making him look almost haggard.

Wei Qian’s brows were faintly drawn together, and he had kept that expression on his face the whole time.

A person like Wei Qian could call anybody “brother” with people he was not familiar with. Even though he had been born with a withdrawn disposition, the life he had lived scraping by from place to place had polished him into someone who knew how to be smooth and worldly. Only when facing his family would his original bad temper show with no attempt to hide it.

Wei Zhiyuan knew that big brother hated noise more than anything, and especially hated Grandma’s nagging. At home, he had to maintain the dignity of being the head of the household, so he did not like letting himself seem too lively. He rarely smiled, and he rarely praised anyone. After a long time, Wei Zhiyuan could only judge whether he was in a good mood or a bad one through his actions and tiny changes in expression.

Based on his experience, when his brother wore no expression but his posture was relaxed, his mood was usually very good.

If his expression looked bad but he was willing to open his mouth and curse a little, then he was unhappy, but only mildly so, the kind he would forget in the blink of an eye.

If his face darkened and at the same time his gaze grew sharp, yet he said nothing, then he was truly furious.

He would not keep frowning like this. Only when his body was uncomfortable would he unconsciously frown lightly for a long time. He would look very stern, but in fact he was enduring pain.

Wei Zhiyuan silently finished the food and obediently let Wei Qian send him off to sleep. He kept his eyes closed and pretended. Wei Zhiyuan was already very practiced at this trick. Back when big brother had first taken him in, he had always worried that he might be thrown out during the night, so he never dared sleep too deeply. Sometimes, if his nerves were so tight he could not fall asleep, he would pretend to be asleep.

Sure enough, not long later, Wei Zhiyuan heard Wei Qian rustling as he got up. He could feel that big brother’s movements were somewhat stiff, and the arm he braced against the bed was trembling slightly.

Wei Zhiyuan secretly opened his eyes to a tiny slit. Wei Qian seemed to think of something and suddenly turned around. Wei Zhiyuan hurriedly squeezed his eyes shut again.

Luckily, Wei Qian did not notice. Very soon, he stood up, felt around in the bedside drawer for the medicine for bruises, and went into the bathroom.

He had only just taken off his shirt and had not yet had time to put the medicine on when Wei Qian grabbed the toilet and vomited first. But there was nothing in his stomach, so all he threw up was sour fluid. His opponent had landed one solid punch squarely in his stomach. That was why, when Wei Zhiyuan had offered him the ice cream, he had felt nauseated right away.

Only after quite a while did the urge to vomit subside. Wei Qian was almost unable to straighten his back. He lowered his head and looked carefully, making sure there was no blood in the toilet. Only then did he relax slightly.

After all, he was young. It was not serious.

Wei Qian leaned against the wall and rested for a moment. Only then did he flush, rinse his mouth, and begin treating the wounds on his body.

His bare upper body was covered in shocking bruises. On the hipbone where his trousers were belted, there was a large patch of purple pooled blood spread out like a spiderweb. Gritting his teeth, Wei Qian yanked off his belt and tugged his trousers down a little. First he pressed down hard on the bruise with ointment on his hand, forcing the bruised blood to spread so that the joint would loosen up.

Anyone who had suffered this sort of external injury knew that when a joint turned into one huge bruise, it already hurt so badly it was hard to bend. If you indulged yourself and refused to move it, then after enough time passed, it might really hurt so much that you would no longer be able to bend it. You had to work it loose before it “rusted up,” and you had to grit your teeth and move it open through the pain.

The underground boxing ring was even more dangerous than he had imagined. This was only his first match, the lowest level, and Wei Qian had still won with difficulty. But he had already taken this step. He also had in his pocket the three thousand-yuan in pay and bonus that Hu Siye had sent someone to deliver. He could not back out anymore, unless he made it through the three matches Zhao Laojiu had mentioned.

Difficult was difficult, but with the level of fighting he was doing, although being covered in injuries was unavoidable, he would not die from it in the end. Besides, Zhao Laojiu had only said three matches. It was not as if he absolutely had to win. If it really came down to it, he could still admit defeat, provided Hu Siye and Zhao Laojiu were willing to let him move up level by level and steadily finish those three matches.

The man who had died at his feet that day still lingered in Wei Qian’s mind, impossible to dispel. In a black boxing ring like that, almost everyone took stimulants. It was an unspoken rule, and the ring itself also sold them. But anyone with even a little common sense knew that this kind of thing had to be kept within limits. Taking too much caused damage to the body that could not be reversed, and it could even send a person to meet their ancestors on the spot.

That Scarface had clearly been an old hand. There was no way he did not understand these things. And his opponent’s body full of decorative muscles was not much use. His explosive power and endurance might not even have been enough. He absolutely was not strong enough to force Scarface to chug that stuff like his life depended on it.

Either something had been forcing him, or else… the stimulants he had taken were not the kind commonly found on the market.

Pain sharpened Wei Qian’s brain. While he ruthlessly kneaded the bruises on his own body, his thoughts were racing. At that point, a terrifying idea suddenly came to him. What if Hu Siye was collecting drifters with no roots and no backing like him, not simply to warm up the arena, but in order to… test drugs?

Wei Qian was so deep in thought that he did not notice that at the bathroom door, Wei Zhiyuan had slipped barefoot out of bed and was now peering inside through the crack. Wei Zhiyuan’s eyes were red-rimmed. He looked like a little beast that had been provoked to fury. He was clenching his teeth with all his strength to endure it. A vein near his temple throbbed endlessly, and he had the illusion that he might grind his teeth to pieces.

After who knew how long, Wei Qian put down the ointment box, braced both hands on the sink, and softly sucked in a breath. Then he scooped up a handful of cool water and washed the cold sweat off his head and face.

Only then did Wei Zhiyuan snap out of his numb daze. Quietly, he left and lay back down on the bed.

He had not been lying there for long before Wei Qian came out, carrying with him a chill of water vapor and the smell of medicine. But then he seemed to remember that this little brat had a sharp nose. After hesitating a moment, Wei Qian bent down and tucked the blanket around Wei Zhiyuan, then turned and started toward the other bed.

At last, Wei Zhiyuan could not hold it in anymore. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Ge.”

Wei Qian jumped, startled by the sudden sound of his voice.

Then he heard that little brat suddenly say, in a voice thick with tears, “If you don’t have money, then sell me.”

That was not actually what Wei Zhiyuan was thinking in his heart. He did not know why those words had simply blurted themselves out.

Probably… because he truly had nothing to his name.