TA •Chapter 81

Chapter 81

Cheng Ke had lived for nearly thirty years. In the rather uneventful life he had led, the most exciting things he had done were probably getting into a few brawls at bars, getting scolded by his dad, and the friction with Cheng Yi, which only counted as a bit of seasoning because of his own patience.

What he had experienced in the days after leaving home had already dwarfed every "conflict" from all those years before. And now, for the first time, he ran into something like this. On the way back home, forced by his dad, Jiang Yuduo led people to block the car and snatch him away.

When Jiang Yuduo yanked him down from the car, he saw the expression on his dad’s face.

Shock.

What Jiang Yuduo had done was probably beyond anything his dad could have imagined. Even the anger and contempt from before had already been swallowed up.

Cheng Ke did not want to go home with his dad, and he did not want to cooperate with his dad’s way of solving anything, but he had never once imagined such an accident would happen.

Jiang Yuduo had violently disrupted his dad’s plan in the most unexpected yet completely characteristic way.

Jiang Yuduo had no concept of parents or family. What his parents had given him was a lifetime of injury and pain. He had been mixing in the streets since the age when ordinary kids started middle school. He had no rules, no hierarchy of elders and juniors. He was Third Brother, he was the big boss here. He dared to say ruthless things, dared to strike hard, and "if you can avoid fighting, then don’t fight" was his restraint.

Under his current mood, already so sensitive and uneasy, facing Cheng Ke’s family, who he had never liked in the first place, he probably would not even bother thinking about whether his behavior was "appropriate."

Cheng Ke did not want Jiang Yuduo to solve problems like this. He did not want to validate his dad’s impression of Jiang Yuduo, but he would not blame Jiang Yuduo, and he would never allow anyone to use that as a reason to blame him.

He could even admit that this kind of aura on Jiang Yuduo, something he might never have, something that would seem very "out of place" in the eyes of his family and his friends, had been the most fatal attraction from the very beginning.

"Third Brother," Cheng Ke grabbed Jiang Yuduo’s arm. "Tell Chen Qing and the others to back off first."

Jiang Yuduo looked at his face and frowned.

"I’m fine," Cheng Ke said softly. "Don’t let this affect you."

Jiang Yuduo was silent for a moment, then waved at Chen Qing and the others.

The junk blocking the front and rear of the car was removed, but the people did not leave. They crouched or stood at the sides of the road with things in their hands, smoking and watching from over here.

"I still have something to say to your dad." Jiang Yuduo looked at Cheng Ke’s dad in the car.

Cheng Ke froze.

The assistant got out of the car and blocked the door.

"Let him speak," Cheng Ke’s dad said coldly from inside the car. "I’d like to hear what kind of crap someone like him can come up with."

The assistant stepped aside a little.

Jiang Yuduo braced one hand on the roof of the car, bent down, and stared at Cheng Ke’s dad for a moment. "Good afternoon, Uncle."

That greeting stunned everyone. Even Lao Hu turned his head to look at him.

For some reason, Cheng Ke suddenly wanted to laugh very badly. Whatever Jiang Yuduo wanted to say, he no longer cared at all.

"I’m being so rude to you today because I hate you, and Cheng Yi," Jiang Yuduo said. His words were blunt, but his voice was steady. "It’s impossible for you to just take Cheng Ke away like this. He’s almost thirty, not three. Don’t tell me you’re his dad, even if you were his grandfather, you still couldn’t do this."

Cheng Ke did not dare look at his dad’s expression. He only quickly turned his head away, afraid he would laugh out loud.

His dad said nothing. In situations like this, he usually just kept a cold face and stayed silent, leaving the speaker unsure whether to go on or stop.

But Jiang Yuduo was clearly unaffected. He did not need any response from Cheng Ke’s dad.

"I don’t know why this is happening today. I’m guessing you heard something from Cheng Yi again. I won’t say anything else, just this one thing." Jiang Yuduo pointed at the brothers either crouching or standing on the sidewalks on both sides of the street. "We who mix on the streets never only listen to one side when something happens. We’d have to find a middleman. Both sides speak face to face, and right or wrong gets settled on the spot. Whether it’s chopping a hand or stabbing with a knife, everybody knows what’s what…"

When Cheng Ke heard that, he quickly glanced at his dad’s face. His dad was still cold, but he had frowned. Getting his dad to show any expression at all was already something Jiang Yuduo had managed.

"You’re already this old, and you live worse than a bunch of punks. If you want to keep playing dumb, then ignore me. If you want to hear both sides, I’ve got a recording here." Jiang Yuduo straightened up and patted the roof of the car. "Alright, I’m done."

Those words finally provoked a strong reaction from Cheng Ke’s dad. He turned to look at Cheng Ke. "What recording?"

Cheng Ke said nothing. Still shocked, he remained silent. He did not know what Jiang Yuduo meant.

"It’s useless asking him, he doesn’t know," Jiang Yuduo said. "If he had that kind of scheming mind, he wouldn’t have been kicked out of the house."

"What is it about?" his dad asked with a furrowed brow.

"Relax," Jiang Yuduo stepped back and stood beside Cheng Ke. "It’s not some business secret, and it’s not blackmail. It’s just something he probably doesn’t want you to hear."

Cheng Ke’s dad turned to look at Jiang Yuduo.

"But whether to give this to you or not, that’s Cheng Ke’s call." Jiang Yuduo took a USB drive out of his pocket and placed it in Cheng Ke’s hand.

Cheng Ke had pretty much already guessed what recording this was, probably the time Cheng Yi had blocked him when he left the quiet bar.

The only time in more than twenty years that Cheng Yi had torn off his disguise, peeled away the smile of a "good younger brother," and exposed what he really thought.

It really was not something that could be used to make a point, but for Cheng Ke’s dad, even if he had once sensed something, it still might be a side of Cheng Yi he had never seen before.

"Call me after you listen to it." his dad said.

"Okay." Cheng Ke put the USB drive into his pocket.

"Drive." his dad said.

The assistant closed the car door, returned to the front passenger seat, and the car drove off with one broken window like that.

"Third Brother!" Chen Qing ran over. "You alright? Is it settled?"

"Yeah, it’s fine now," Jiang Yuduo answered. "Couldn’t you have thrown a handful of triangular nails over there? What’s with all this junk?"

"Be reasonable. You were in such a rush, where was I supposed to find them? I picked these up at a construction site on the way here," Chen Qing said. "As long as they could stop the car, that’s enough."

"Fine," Jiang Yuduo looked at the people around them. "Tell them to disperse. If not, the cops are really going to show up in a bit."

"Alright, then we’re heading out first," Chen Qing said, turning and waving. "Everybody disperse, take your stuff with you. I’ll get Brother Bin to treat everyone to afternoon tea."

"Want to go in first?" Jiang Yuduo said.

"Mm." Cheng Ke nodded, clutching the USB drive in his pocket, and walked into the corridor.

As soon as Jiang Yuduo entered the apartment, he went straight for the fridge, took out an ice pack from the freezer, and wrapped it in a towel. "Use this."

Cheng Ke sat down on the sofa, feeling exhausted. "No need, I don’t want to move."

"I’ll help you." Jiang Yuduo sat beside him and pointed at his lap. "Come here."

Cheng Ke hesitated for a moment, then lay down with his head on Jiang Yuduo’s legs.

"Don’t look in the mirror right now," Jiang Yuduo said as he gently pressed the towel-wrapped ice pack against his face. "Your dad hit too hard."

"Really." Cheng Ke sighed.

If Jiang Yuduo had not said it, he had not noticed it yet. At this point, he realized his left cheek was probably swollen quite badly, and it felt like his left eye had been squeezed smaller by the puffed-up flesh.

"That slap," Jiang Yuduo frowned, "could’ve been heard all the way down this street."

"Bullshit." Cheng Ke smiled, then hissed in pain.

Once they were indoors and it had warmed up, the burning sensation on his face became obvious. With that smile, it pulled from the corner of his mouth all the way to his temple, and it hurt.

He really had not expected his dad to still have such strength at that age. If he had Cheng Qing’s build, he probably would have been slapped flying with one palm.

"That recording, you recorded it?" Cheng Ke asked.

"No, Chen Qing did," Jiang Yuduo said. "I didn’t even know he recorded it. He captured the part where Cheng Yi yelled at you. If you want, take it to your dad and let him see what Cheng Yi was really thinking behind his back. If you don’t want to, just toss it. Chen Qing doesn’t have a backup. I made him delete it."

"Mm." Cheng Ke responded.

"What did your dad want from you today?" Jiang Yuduo lifted the towel and turned it around before pressing it back onto his face.

"He just… wanted me to go home," Cheng Ke said.

"Why?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

"Probably…" Cheng Ke’s head was still a little muddled, and he could not immediately find a proper reason.

"Because of me?" Jiang Yuduo said.

"What?" Cheng Ke immediately tensed up.

"Cheng Yi told him I’m… mentally ill, didn’t he." Jiang Yuduo said, and when he said the words "mentally ill," his voice dropped a lot.

"What you are has nothing to do with them," Cheng Ke said.

"Nobody would want their son to be with a mentally ill person," Jiang Yuduo said. "Not even son. If Chen Qing were dating some girl who was mentally ill, I’d definitely… definitely scold him."

Cheng Ke grabbed Jiang Yuduo’s hand. "I’m not Chen Qing, and I’m not the son of those 'nobodies' either. Of course I know my dad would worry, and I can understand him worrying, but the person who’s with you is me, not anyone else."

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo did not say anything else. He held the ice towel and pressed it to a different spot on Cheng Ke’s face, then said softly, "It would be better if I were someone else."

"What kind of triangular-nail bullshit is that?" Cheng Ke said. "Are you someone else? No, you’re not! There’s no point making assumptions about something that can’t be changed. You’re Jiang Yuduo, I’m Cheng Ke, and we just ran into each other. That’s the situation now. Handle whatever comes up, stop making pointless assumptions."

Jiang Yuduo stared at him for a long time, then said softly, "Good thing it was you. If someone else talked to me like that, I’d knock out a triangular-nail bullshit answer right away."

Cheng Ke pulled up one corner of his mouth and smiled. "That, I believe. Today you really did… open my dad’s eyes."

"I don’t know what to do," Jiang Yuduo frowned. "If I hadn’t stopped them, I was afraid you’d be taken away. If… what if you didn’t come back."

"How could I not come back?" Cheng Ke lifted a hand and patted his face.

"I’m just scared," Jiang Yuduo said in a low voice. "I know I shouldn’t be like this, but I can’t control it. I don’t know what else I can do."

"It’s fine. You didn’t do anything," Cheng Ke said. "It was just a car window. In less than two hours he’ll have someone replace it."

"He’ll think I really am just some… lunatic," Jiang Yuduo continued very quietly. "But when I’m scared, I can’t control myself. I even saw other people there then. I know there wasn’t anyone, but I still saw them. Even though I know other people couldn’t see it…"

"Jiang Yuduo," Cheng Ke sat up and cupped his face with one hand. "Listen to me…"

"What if I never get better and stay like this?" Jiang Yuduo looked up at him. "Would you stay with a mentally ill person forever?"

"I said no assumptions," Cheng Ke said. "We don’t make assumptions. We only look at right now. You don’t need to worry about things that aren’t in front of you yet. Do you know what you need to do now?"

Jiang Yuduo was silent for a moment. "Cooperate with treatment."

Cooperate with treatment.

Just four simple words, but Cheng Ke knew that for Jiang Yuduo, it had been something he had been unable to do for ten years.

The prerequisite for cooperating with treatment was that he had to face the pain head-on. It was different from the illusory pain he had created and extended for himself. This was real pain, pain that remained at his heels even after he had returned to the normal world.

Sister Luo’s opinion was to let Jiang Yuduo make the decision himself and not force him, because when Jiang Yuduo faced a psychologist, he could disguise himself and cope very well. As long as he was not willing of his own accord, treatment would not have any effect at all.

All Cheng Ke could do was wait patiently, just as he had said, only looking at the present.

Right now he was with Jiang Yuduo. Right now he still had some things to do properly.

He did not want to prove anything to anyone. He just wanted to do things according to his own thoughts and wishes.

Until the day Xu Ding and his shop opened, there was no movement from his dad’s side, and Cheng Yi was also peaceful. When the shop opened, Xu Ding, out of politeness, invited him, and he only said he would come if he had time.

"It’s the opening, don’t you need to dress a little more formally?" Jiang Yuduo sat on the sofa and looked at Cheng Ke.

"How formal? This is already about as formal as I get," Cheng Ke said. "Xu Ding asked if I wanted to wear a suit. I really didn’t want to. I’m still in a cast."

Today Cheng Ke was wearing a wool sweater. Jiang Yuduo nearly tore the cuffs off before he got the sleeve over the cast and pulled it up to his elbow. His outer layer was a thin short wool coat, with one sleeve left draped over.

"I think I’ll just not go," Jiang Yuduo said, pulling Mao over and putting him on his lap. "Even if I go, I won’t be able to help. I might even make things worse."

"Didn’t you make a fuss about wanting to go last night?" Cheng Ke looked at him.

"I changed my mind." Jiang Yuduo looked down at Mao.

"I’ll give you ten minutes to think about it," Cheng Ke walked over and touched his head. The bandage had already been removed, leaving several scars that still had not healed completely. "Go or don’t go, I’ll listen to you."

Cheng Ke went to pour himself a glass of water and finished it. Jiang Yuduo stood up. "I still want to go."

"Then let’s go." Cheng Ke smiled. "You know about the lounge on the third floor, right?"

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo nodded.

"If you feel uncomfortable, go stay there," Cheng Ke said. "Lock the door. No one will bother you."

"Okay." Jiang Yuduo said.

"If you want me with you, I’ll stay with you too." Cheng Ke said.

"No need," Jiang Yuduo smiled. "That’d be too… not good. People would think we were doing something in there."

Cheng Ke clicked his tongue.

The opening was lively. Even for a store that looked rather upscale, the opening was pretty much the same. Firecrackers, flower baskets, music, lots of people.

By the time Jiang Yuduo got out of the car, he had already started getting nervous. When people began streaming into the store one after another, he had already backed into a corner. By the time the store was full of people and Cheng Ke was about to begin his performance, Jiang Yuduo spotted someone standing against the wall at an angle across from him.

He started regretting following along like this. He had only thought that today was an important day for Cheng Ke, something Cheng Ke wanted to do, and he just wanted to follow and watch, to leave his own mark on Cheng Ke’s important day.

But he had acted on impulse. He was not suited to this kind of environment. Almost every person, every face, was unfamiliar. The intense unease made him a little disoriented. Besides Cheng Ke, Xu Ding, and Lin Xu, everyone after that made him feel suspicious.

He slowly moved to the back door.

"Today my hand isn’t very convenient, so I can only use my left hand…" Cheng Ke had been looking over at Jiang Yuduo this whole time. After he stood by the door, Cheng Ke’s gaze followed him too. He shook the pack of cigarettes in his hand, and Cheng Ke smiled and nodded. "If there are kids at home learning it, you can record this and encourage them. Look, your level is about the same as an uncle who’s spent more than ten years playing sand painting…"

Everyone in the room laughed. In the midst of the laughter, Jiang Yuduo slipped out the back door. After standing by the wall in a daze for a while, he lit a cigarette.

Outside the back door was a small open space. The cars belonging to Xu Ding and the others were parked there.

Behind several cars, there was a person.

Jiang Yuduo stared at the cigarette in his hand, not lifting his eyes, not looking that way.

There was no one.

No one else could see it.

It was fake.

But he could still feel the gaze, a gaze nailed tightly to his face.

His hand trembled a little. After taking a few puffs, he ground out the remaining half of the cigarette on the ground and went back into the shop.

Cheng Ke glanced over here. He smiled at Cheng Ke.

Cheng Ke very faintly hooked the corner of his mouth and lowered his head to sprinkle a handful of sand.

Cheng Ke, even using his left hand to play with sand, was still very handsome.

Jiang Yuduo slowly walked to the side, picked up the coat he had put on the chair, and, while Cheng Ke had his head down, slipped out through the back door again.