TA •Chapter 65

Chapter 65

Chen Qing’s car was pretty good in every way. It was flexible for cutting in line, convenient for parking, and it even had a screen installed, so if you plugged in a USB drive, you could curl up in there and watch a movie or something. But the speed was the problem.

After buying a jianbing guozi and a cup of soy milk for Cheng Ke, there was no traffic jam on the way. By the time he got to Cheng Ke’s shop, though, Chen Qing, Da Bin, and the others were already there.

Still, he didn’t see anyone. When he came in, Cheng Ke was sitting by the counter. Seeing him enter, he asked, “Why did Chen Qing and Da Bin come over?”

“I called them over,” Jiang Yuduo put the food on the table. “You should eat first. I bought it by breakfast standards.”

“Holy shit, this big?” Cheng Ke picked up the jianbing guozi and let out a breath of amazement.

“It’s packed with fillings, and it tastes good too. There’s a reason they can sell until noon.” Jiang Yuduo sat down in a chair and looked out through the glass door. The shop wasn’t lit right now, so they could see outside clearly, but it was basically impossible to see anything from outside looking in.

“Why did you call them over?” Cheng Ke took a bite of the jianbing guozi.

“Someone followed me when I was on my way here,” Jiang Yuduo said. The jianbing guozi smelled great. Even though he was full, the smell still made him a little hungry, so he tore off a small piece from Cheng Ke and ate it. “It was the same one from the building materials market, the one with the white stripe on his clothes, and the other one was him.”

“You’re sure?” Cheng Ke looked at him.

“Sure,” Jiang Yuduo said. “I remember what they look like. When I turned around, his car drove ahead, and Chen Qing and the others will go follow them.”

“And then?” Cheng Ke looked a little tense. “It won’t make a huge scene or anything, right?”

Jiang Yuduo kept his face tight. “How big a scene it makes isn’t up to me. It depends on what that guy wants to do.”

Cheng Ke didn’t speak. His expression shifted through something hard to read, and finally settled into worry. He frowned. “If anything really happens, you have to tell me.”

“Why?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“I’ll say I had them do it, that they’ve been following me all day,” Cheng Ke said. “Then I’ll find someone to handle it.”

“Find who? Xu Ding?” Jiang Yuduo asked again.

“Not necessarily. Whoever can do it, I’ll find them.” Cheng Ke clicked his tongue.

“You’ve already been cut out of the circle by those friends of yours, haven’t you?” Jiang Yuduo said.

“Damn, you really can’t talk, Third Brother,” Cheng Ke sighed. “Whether I’ve been cut out or not, I can still find people if I need to. As long as I’m willing to ask.”

Jiang Yuduo looked at him but said nothing.

When he said the scene making it big wasn’t up to him, he’d only meant to tease Cheng Ke a little. Cheng Ke didn’t know much about their kind of hoodlums. In situations like this, they usually wouldn’t make trouble outside their own turf. Calling Chen Qing and Da Bin over today was just a precaution. As long as the other side made no move, they would just keep watch and not do anything.

But Cheng Ke’s words suddenly made his eyes sting.

Cheng Ke didn’t stop him. He didn’t tell him to call Chen Qing and Da Bin back. He just told him that if anything happened, he would think of a way.

But Cheng Ke had to “be willing to ask” to find someone. Besides Xu Ding, Jiang Yuduo knew he basically had no friends. Sometimes he would get calls from a few people other than Xu Ding, but the attitude was basically cold and perfunctory. If he had people he could just “ask,” he wouldn’t have been like this.

Jiang Yuduo tore off another piece of jianbing from his hand and ate it. “Don’t worry. I’m just having them follow along to see what the hell they’re trying to do. If they really want to do something here, that’s when Chen Qing and the others will step in.”

“Mm.” Cheng Ke nodded, as if he’d finally relaxed a little, then glanced at him and held the jianbing guozi out. “Stop tearing at it. Take a bite.”

Jiang Yuduo didn’t stand on ceremony either. He grabbed Cheng Ke’s hand and pulled it toward himself, then leaned down and took a big bite.

Satisfying. Delicious!

“You’re that hungry? Wouldn’t two have been enough? It’s not like I wouldn’t pay.” Cheng Ke looked at the jianbing guozi in his hand.

Jiang Yuduo looked too, and immediately felt a little embarrassed. He hadn’t thought he’d bitten off that much. “If it’s not enough… I can go buy you a bun from the supermarket across the street.”

“It’s enough,” Cheng Ke said. “I was just making a remark.”

After saying that, he hesitated for two seconds, then pulled the soy milk over to himself.

“What are you doing?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“Afraid you’ll drink this one up too.” Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo laughed. “Three and a half years old.”

“And you’re the one stealing food,” Cheng Ke said, head down as he ate.

“Stingy as hell.” Jiang Yuduo laughed.

His phone rang in his pocket. Cheng Ke quickly looked up and stared at his hand.

Jiang Yuduo took out the phone. “It’s Da Bin.”

“Everything okay?” Cheng Ke asked.

“Yeah. If something had happened, Chen Qing would’ve called me. Da Bin would’ve had to fight somebody,” Jiang Yuduo answered the call. “What is it?”

“I took a lap around. That car went back to the shop. It’s parked in the spaces by the supermarket entrance,” Da Bin said. “You can see it from the second floor of the shop.”

“Okay,” Jiang Yuduo said. “They didn’t spot you, did they?”

“No,” Da Bin said. “Brother Qing was driving. We kept a really far distance. Almost lost them four times.”

“…Alright then,” Jiang Yuduo said. “Keep watching for a while longer.”

“Relax, Third Brother.”

Jiang Yuduo hung up, lifted Cheng Ke’s soy milk, and drank it all in one go. Then he stood up. “I’m going upstairs to take a look. The car’s parked across the street now. I thought the driver wasn’t in on it.”

“Across the street?” Cheng Ke got up too, still holding the half-finished jianbing guozi and the now-empty soy milk cup. He followed after him. “Fuck, what the hell is going on?”

“Don’t know.” Jiang Yuduo went upstairs. “Don’t come over here.”

Cheng Ke stopped.

Jiang Yuduo casually grabbed a chair, carried it past the window, and looked outside.

“Is it there?” Cheng Ke stood at the landing by the stairs and asked.

“Yeah.” Jiang Yuduo set the chair down, then picked up a small tea table and carried it past the window. “It’s there. Don’t worry about it for now. Let’s watch a bit first.”

“Is this following me, or following you?” Cheng Ke asked.

“Us.” Jiang Yuduo looked at him.

“What do you mean?” Cheng Ke froze.

“I went to the rental place this morning, and nobody followed me,” Jiang Yuduo said. “You came here this morning, and nobody followed you either. They only start following when we’re together, at the very least when I might go looking for you.”

Cheng Ke looked at him. It took a very long time before he said softly, “…Cheng Yi?”

“You think it’s him?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

Cheng Ke wasn’t certain it was Cheng Yi, and he didn’t want to believe it was Cheng Yi either, but in this situation, he really couldn’t help suspecting him.

Jiang Yuduo was a boss, but normally he just collected rent and stood up for his underlings in fights. Even if he had enemies, it wasn’t worth someone tailing him every day like this.

It had been two days since they discovered the tail, but it wasn’t clear whether there had been anyone before that. Even if it had only been two days, there had been no movement at all. If they wanted to beat someone up or take revenge, they wouldn’t need this much time.

This looked more like surveillance.

Besides, when he first rented the place, Cheng Yi had once appeared in front of him without even knowing the address.

If it was surveillance, it did feel like Cheng Yi’s style. Cheng Yi had always wanted everything under control.

Only if it really had reached this point, for Cheng Ke, it would be more than just a why.

It would be anger.

Cheng Ke sat down in the chair and finished the other half of the jianbing guozi. His appetite and sense of taste were actually unaffected. The jianbing guozi still tasted great, just a little cold.

After finishing it, he took a sip of soy milk, but even though he tipped his head back nearly ninety degrees, he still didn’t get any into his mouth.

Only then did he realize the soy milk was already gone.

“When did you drink all of it?” He shook the empty cup.

“I’ll go buy you another one.” Jiang Yuduo was already heading for the stairs.

When he passed by him, Cheng Ke grabbed his hand. “No need.”

“I’m just going out to buy a cup of soy milk. Nothing’s going to happen. It’s normal behavior.” Jiang Yuduo looked at him.

“Whether it’s normal behavior or not doesn’t matter,” Cheng Ke said. “Right now I just don’t want you walking off. That’s normal behavior too. You just stand here and keep me company.”

“…Can I sit and keep you company instead?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“Fuck,” Cheng Ke laughed. “Fine. Or you can keep me company while mixing cement.”

“Mm, okay.” Jiang Yuduo smiled too.

Jiang Yuduo took off his coat and tossed it aside, rolled up his sleeves, and started mixing cement on the terrace and pouring the mold.

Cheng Ke dragged a chair over and sat beside him, directing him the whole time.

After the cement was poured, they ground down the anti-corrosion wooden planks. That was easier than sawing them, but it made a ton of dust. Cheng Ke found a mask for Jiang Yuduo and made him wear it, staring at him for a long time.

“What?” Jiang Yuduo looked up and asked.

“Nothing, just…” Cheng Ke’s words were cut off halfway again.

“Let me remind you, if you talk here, you can’t take it back.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“Get lost!” Cheng Ke snapped. Even with the mask on, he could still tell Jiang Yuduo was laughing. His eyes were practically narrowed into slits.

“Actually, I sometimes think about you too,” Jiang Yuduo said, head down as he kept sanding the board. “If I say it, I won’t take it back. You’re way too guilty.”

“Then send me one right now, and don’t take it back.” Cheng Ke said.

“I’m not thinking about you right now.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“…I’m just telling you to send one,” Cheng Ke said. “I didn’t say you’re thinking about me right now.”

Jiang Yuduo looked at him for a while, then put down what he was holding, took out his phone, poked at the screen a few times, and put the phone away before continuing to work.

Cheng Ke’s phone rang once. He smiled, took it out, opened the message Jiang Yuduo had sent, and then froze. “I fuck your damn uncle, Jiang Yuduo, are you childish or what?”

– one that can’t be taken back

“I don’t fuck your damn uncle, and you’re still more childish, young master.” Jiang Yuduo didn’t even look up.

Cheng Ke looked at that message and couldn’t help laughing for a long time. “I really haven’t played this game since elementary school.”

“When you were in elementary school,” Jiang Yuduo looked up, “what were you like? Fat? A chubby little kid?”

“Not fat.” Cheng Ke thought for a moment. “Let me look for it. My mom posted childhood photos of me in her Moments.”

“Find them quick. Can I still see them?” Jiang Yuduo leaned over at once.

“It was posted last year, when I was still living at home, but her Moments don’t have a time limit setting,” Cheng Ke said while scrolling down. Luckily, his mom didn’t post much, only a dozen or so updates a month. It didn’t take long before he found them. “Just these few.”

The photos were old ones found while cleaning out the study, and his mom had had them scanned and posted to Moments.

The first one was a family photo, the second was Cheng Yi, the third was a photo of Cheng Yi and him together.

Cheng Ke opened the third one. “The one on the right is me, the one on the left is Cheng Yi.”

“You…” Jiang Yuduo enlarged the picture with his hand, until Cheng Ke alone filled the screen. “You were actually this cute as a kid?”

“All kids are cute, aren’t they?” Cheng Ke glanced at him. “What do you mean, actually?”

“You looked too much like an uncooked tangyuan when you were little!” Jiang Yuduo said.

“What kind of description is that? What’s the difference between uncooked and cooked?” Cheng Ke laughed.

“The uncooked one is pink, all soft and pinkish,” Jiang Yuduo said. “The cooked one is glossy.”

“…Oh.” Cheng Ke smiled and nodded.

“Can you crop this photo in half and send it to me?” Jiang Yuduo asked.

“What do you want this photo for?” Cheng Ke shrank it and looked at Cheng Yi on the left.

Cheng Yi had been a very cute little kid back then, with a round face and big eyes, but no smile. In his memory, Cheng Yi had never really liked smiling in photos.

He frowned. Such a cute younger brother, and yet when he grew up, he had somehow turned into this.

“I saved photos of Chen Qing as a kid too,” Jiang Yuduo said. “I even saved a photo of him at three and a half… I just wanted to see what other people were like as kids. I don’t know what I looked like as a kid. I have no photos, and I never even took a look in the mirror.”

Suddenly, Cheng Ke felt a tightness in his chest. He pulled Jiang Yuduo’s head into his arms and kissed his forehead hard. He used too much force, and his own teeth knocked against Jiang Yuduo’s forehead, leaving him a little sore.

“Damn,” Jiang Yuduo covered his forehead. “Are you kissing me or hitting me?”

Cheng Ke didn’t say anything. He went over and pressed a hard kiss to Jiang Yuduo’s lips again.

Jiang Yuduo was still holding his forehead, looking at him. It took a while before he lowered his arm. “I thought seeing Cheng Yi’s photo would put you in a bad mood. Looks like you’re actually in a pretty good mood?”

Cheng Ke smiled and tapped the photo on his phone, sending his half over to Jiang Yuduo.

“If it really is Cheng Yi,” Jiang Yuduo looked at him, “would you be angry?”

“Right now,” Cheng Ke turned his phone over. His left hand was too clumsy, and the phone slipped out of it and fell to the ground. He picked it up. “I’m already very angry.”

“…I couldn’t tell.” Jiang Yuduo said.

“If it really is him,” Cheng Ke said with a smile, “then I’m going to settle a full account with him.”

Jiang Yuduo looked at him.

Anger.

Rage.

But somehow, he also seemed to be angry in a strangely calm way, so calm that he almost didn’t seem to care anymore.

Cheng Ke looked at Jiang Yuduo busying himself on the terrace, and he didn’t know what was running through his own head.

By the time Jiang Yuduo had ground down all the sawn planks and brushed them with tung oil, Cheng Ke had stayed in that position on the chair the whole time, not moving once.

“Done,” Jiang Yuduo walked up to him. “There’s nothing else to do for now.”

“Mm.” Cheng Ke stood up, moved his slightly numb legs around, then bounced twice. “My ass is numb.”

Without even thinking, Jiang Yuduo raised a hand and slapped his ass several times, smack, smack, smack.

“Fuck!” Cheng Ke stared at him in shock. “What are you doing?”

“You said your ass was numb, didn’t you?” Jiang Yuduo said. “Slap it a few times and it’ll be better. Speeds up blood circulation, Chen Qing…”

“You even slap Chen Qing’s ass for him?” Cheng Ke cut in.

“He’s slapped mine before,” Jiang Yuduo said. “Works.”

Before he could say anything else, Jiang Yuduo came over and slapped him twice more, smack, smack. “How about now? Isn’t it not numb anymore?”

Cheng Ke was honestly speechless. “Did Chen Qing slap you this hard too?”

“Was it that hard?” Jiang Yuduo paused.

“You’ve slapped it numb again…” Cheng Ke sighed. “Alright, it’s not numb anymore. Stop slapping it. If you slap me again, I’ll hit you.”

“Mm.” Jiang Yuduo took the coat and put it on, then helped Cheng Ke put one sleeve of his coat on too. “Let’s go. That car’s still down below.”

“Is there anyone in the car?” Cheng Ke asked.

Jiang Yuduo walked over to the window, picked off a bit of putty stuck to the glass, then turned and went downstairs. “Someone’s in there.”

Cheng Ke followed Jiang Yuduo into Chen Qing’s tiny car. After they closed the door, Jiang Yuduo called Chen Qing. “Follow them. I’m going home. Block them at the small intersection.”

After he hung up, Cheng Ke asked, “And after we block them?”

“If they don’t say what they’re doing, then beat them.” Jiang Yuduo answered simply.

“I want to be there.” Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo started the car and turned his head to look at him. “Okay.”

After they drove off, Cheng Ke kept watching the rearview mirror. He didn’t see any car following them. It was almost twenty minutes later before he finally saw one in the mirror, trailing them through three intersections.

It wasn’t until they were close to Jiang Yuduo’s place that the car turned out from the cross street.

Cheng Ke didn’t know how Jiang Yuduo had judged it, but the direction that car turned toward was the same small intersection where he had told Da Bin to block them earlier.

Jiang Yuduo hit the brakes and pulled over. As he got out and started walking toward the small intersection, he said, “Stay behind me.”

“Mm.” Cheng Ke slowed his steps and followed behind Jiang Yuduo.

From here to the small intersection, they had to pass through a small street only about thirty meters long. Since it was one-way, there weren’t that many cars.

As soon as they turned the corner, they saw a car parked diagonally by the roadside in the middle, with a Land Rover blocking the front.

Chen Qing really had style.

Cheng Ke couldn’t help giving him a little applause in his heart.

But the closer he got, the more uneasy he felt.

He wasn’t afraid of discovering these were Cheng Yi’s people.

He was afraid these people had nothing to do with Cheng Yi.

“Third Brother,” Chen Qing came over, holding a hose in his hand. “The guy’s in the car and won’t open the door.”

Jiang Yuduo didn’t say anything. He took the hose from Chen Qing, walked over, and swung his arm. The hose slammed with a bang into the driver’s window.

Cheng Ke jumped at the dull, sudden sound.

The people in the car were clearly startled too. They jerked back toward the center.

Jiang Yuduo’s second blow came right after it, smashing down again.

This time, the strike hit a corner of the window. The glass shattered.

Da Bin went over and smashed his elbow through the broken glass, pointing at the people inside. “Don’t fucking move! Move once and I’ll send both of you out horizontally today.”

“What are you doing? Are you crazy?” the person in the passenger seat said. “I called the police! Nobody’s leaving today!”

Da Bin didn’t say anything. He just opened the car door and yanked the driver out.

The little brothers with him all rushed up and burrowed into the car.

The scene became a little chaotic. Cheng Ke couldn’t see clearly what was happening inside the car, and could only confirm that none of the people who went in were carrying knives.

But the chaos didn’t last long. Someone threw a phone out of the car.

Chen Qing picked it up and looked at it. “Fingerprint lock.”

“Unlock it with your hand! Stop waiting for me to chop off your fingers!” someone inside the car shouted.

The owner of the phone was pretty tough. When his hand was dragged out of the car, it was clenched into a fist.

Jiang Yuduo glanced at it, picked up a small chunk of broken glass from the ground, and pressed it onto the man’s hand. “If you don’t open it, I’ll cut it.”

The man couldn’t tell what was pressing down on his hand. After shouting once, he loosened his fist.

Chen Qing took the phone and unlocked it.

“Check the photos,” Cheng Ke said.

He didn’t know why he had that thought, but after getting the phone, his first instinct was photos.

Chen Qing poked at the phone a few times, then suddenly turned around. “Fuck!”

Cheng Ke snatched the phone away.

The first thing he saw was a photo of him and Jiang Yuduo.

He flipped through several more. They were all of him and Jiang Yuduo, and they seemed to have been taken just over the past two days.

Cheng Ke couldn’t quite control his trembling fingers. He felt like his whole body had gone cold with anger.

Although these photos didn’t look like they showed anything wrong, at most they suggested the two of them were close and had spent the night together, he still wanted to smash the phone to pieces at that moment.

Jiang Yuduo took the phone away. “Want me to check the call log too?”

“No need.” Cheng Ke said.

He took out his own phone and dialed Cheng Yi’s number.