TA • Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Cheng Ke came back from the base of the wall to the street, where it was still a mess, with quite a crowd gathered.

He did not know how Jiang Yuduo’s underlings had fared. He had wanted to stay and watch the ending, but after standing there for two seconds, he thought of what Jiang Yuduo had said.

None of them treated themselves like people.

He did not know whether that “them” included him too.

Suddenly finding it all rather pointless, Cheng Ke turned and slowly walked toward the supermarket.

After a few steps, he looked back at the road where Jiang Yuduo had disappeared earlier. Only then, from this angle, did he notice that it did not even really count as a road, just a narrow passage between a building and a wall. It was very dark. If he had not already known Jiang Yuduo had gone through there, he probably would not have noticed that there was a passage there at all.

Jiang Yuduo really did seem like a local bully born and raised here, probably with a map of the area’s escape routes in his head.

Everyone had something like that in their head. Not necessarily a map, either. It could be all kinds of other specialized skill maps.

For example, right now Cheng Ke really wished he had a skill map in his head for housework.

The various procedures of housework, and the corresponding tools.

He stood very gloomily in front of the supermarket mop shelf, feeling that this new life was full of malice.

A mop was just for mopping the floor, wasn’t it? Why were there so many types and styles?

Before this, he had thought he understood mops pretty well. Even though someone handled the cleaning at home and it never fell to him, he at least knew there were flat-head ones and the big-brush kind.

But only now did he discover that the flat-head kind had round flat heads and flat plate heads, while the big-brush kind was divided into the type that spun the water wildly in a basket and the type that straightened the mop handle and twisted it to squeeze the water out…

And the materials were all different too.

What had seemed like a very easy thing suddenly became extremely complicated.

In the end, he picked one with a flat plate head, because it looked like it covered a large area and could scrape the water off if he pulled the handle up, so it should be pretty good.

After carrying the mop home, he decided to use the alcohol buzz to mop the floor first.

Say it and do it.

Wet the mop, scrape off the water, start mopping.

He had barely mopped an area of two square meters before he stopped and looked at the clumps of dust mixed with fluff, thinking he had made a mistake. He should have bought a broom too.

Before mopping, the floor had not looked like it had this much stuff on it. Why was it getting dirtier the more he mopped…

And the landlord had actually not even provided a broom!

So what if the water heater and gas stove were new? Not even a broom!

Thinking of the landlord who had just finished fighting with a huge gash on his head and said he was not a person and not as good as a dog, Cheng Ke frowned.

Forget it. Just mop it like this.

An hour later, Cheng Ke, sweating all over, went into the bathroom.

At least the floor had been mopped, but as for the result, that was not very clear. All he knew was that the wooden floor was covered in water now.

This mop was no good. If he wrung the water out, after only a few swipes it was like dry mopping. If he did not wring it out, it was like a flood. He could only force himself to pretend not to see it. In the end, because he did not have gloves and did not want to use his hands to tear off the inexplicable fluff stuck to the mop, after mopping the floor twice with fluff on it, he threw away the mop cloth. It had come with a replacement cloth anyway.

He took off his clothes and stood under the hot water. For someone like him, who was useless with hands and feet and did not know one crop from another, mopping the floor felt like he had just fought a battle, and he actually felt exhausted.

After showering, he looked at the injury on his waist in the mirror again. It seemed okay, as if it had started scabbing over. Compared with the injury on Jiang Yuduo’s head, which had been seeping blood for several hours already, this one was considered very strong.

After his shower, Cheng Ke did not even check the time. He just flopped onto the bed and fell asleep. He struggled for a long time with the blanket and duvet cover, unable to stack them neatly together, so in the end he simply kicked the duvet cover off the bed.

When he woke up the next morning, he found that at some point he had also tossed the pillowcase onto the floor.

Then he did not need it anymore, right? If the quilt and pillow got dirty, he would just wash them directly. He knew there was a washing machine on the balcony.

He lay in bed in a daze for more than ten minutes before slowly getting up. He had no idea where to start or how to face this new life, and even when he rinsed his mouth, he was a little distracted.

His phone rang in the living room for quite a while before he heard it. When he went over and picked it up, he saw it was Liu Tiancheng.

He sighed and answered, "Hello?"

"You just got up?" Liu Tiancheng asked from the other end.

"Just did." Cheng Ke walked into the kitchen, opened the fridge, and took out a carton of milk. When he wanted to pour it into a cup and drink it, he realized he did not have one.

"Did you leave pretty early yesterday? I came out to the lobby and your table was already empty," Liu Tiancheng said.

"Mm, we ate and left." Cheng Ke held the carton and took two swigs directly. He found that this milk was not as fragrant as the kind he drank at home, and it was cold too, so cold that he shivered.

But as for what kind of milk they drank at home, he did not remember either. It seemed like he had never paid attention to the box.

"You really did not save Xiao Yi any face yesterday. At least he’s your biological younger brother," Liu Tiancheng sighed. "He was pretty depressed the whole meal and did not really say much."

"He does not talk much to begin with," Cheng Ke said. It was true that Cheng Yi did not say much. Since they were kids, Cheng Ke had always said more words when arguing with Cheng Yi than when talking normally.

Liu Tiancheng smiled. "When we used to eat together, he was not this…"

"How many times have you eaten with him before?" Cheng Ke cut him off. "It’s been a year since the last time we ate together, right?"

"Hey, you, why are you getting mad at me?" Liu Tiancheng sounded awkward.

Cheng Ke did not actually want to be this sharp with Liu Tiancheng, but he really was out of sorts. Half the people at dinner yesterday had been his friends from before, and none of them were closer to Cheng Yi than they were to Xu Ding, including Liu Tiancheng. Now Liu Tiancheng was acting like, "Well, I’m friends with both of you," and it made his chest feel blocked.

"Morning grumpiness," Cheng Ke said.

"Did you not sleep well yesterday?" Liu Tiancheng asked with a laugh. "Was there more going on after that?"

"No." Cheng Ke put the milk back in the fridge. It was too cold, so cold that it made him a little nauseous.

"No plans? I saw your few… friends," Liu Tiancheng said. "They did not seem like… were those new friends of yours?"

"Mm." Cheng Ke made a sound of assent.

"That’s kind of surprising. You can still hang around with people like that?" Liu Tiancheng laughed.

"I can hang around with any kind of people," Cheng Ke said. "The people I used to hang around with were even worse than they are."

"Ah," Liu Tiancheng sighed. "Fine, I forgive you. You’ve been out of sorts lately."

"Did you call me for something?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Can’t I just call if I have nothing to do?" Liu Tiancheng said. "Didn’t we used to call each other all the time too?"

"It’s not like before now," Cheng Ke said. "I’m very busy."

"Busy with what?" Liu Tiancheng asked immediately.

"Going to the supermarket to buy a cup," Cheng Ke answered.

"What?" Liu Tiancheng froze, not understanding.

"I’m hanging up." Cheng Ke hung up.

Originally, his plan for today was to stay at home. Even though he really did not want to and had no clue, he still had to think about what he should do next.

He did have money on hand. The gap was just a little too big. It had gone from never needing to think about money at all to suddenly realizing that the money that truly belonged to him still had a ceiling, and by his standards it was not much, but for living an ordinary normal life, there was no need to worry.

His “what should I do” was that he could no longer live the way he used to.

Doing whatever he wanted when he wanted, not doing what he did not want to do. Every time Xu Ding asked him to work together, they would sign a contract and then pay him. He had always thought it was pretty boring, just a game anyway, as long as he was willing.

Thinking about it now, his collaborations with Xu Ding were probably the only things in his entire useless life that could be counted as something outside of uselessness.

He sighed, stood up, and walked around the room. Since he was going to the supermarket to buy a cup, he might as well see what else he needed to buy while he was there. He should get everything in one trip and avoid having to run out repeatedly.

But when he left, the only other thing he could think of was a broom.

He picked a glass cup and an ugly-as-hell red plastic broom from the supermarket, carried them home, and when he opened the door, Cheng Ke sighed. He should have bought a shoe rack. He did not have as many shoes as before, but with the slippers included, there were still three pairs, all piled at the door and looking ugly.

He took out his phone and wrote down shoe rack in the notes.

If he discovered something was missing, he should write it down immediately. That way he would have to make fewer trips.

But by the time he went to the supermarket that evening, the notes still only contained shoe rack, and this supermarket did not sell shoe racks.

In the days that followed, he shuttled back and forth between the supermarket and the apartment. Every time he discovered something was missing, it was something he needed right away. When he was sweeping, he realized there was no trash can. When he wanted to make instant noodles, he found there was a pot but no bowl. When he wanted to dry clothes, he discovered there were no hangers…

There were also all sorts of things he had been used to using normally, but now did not have at hand, from big things like a computer to small things like an ashtray.

He spent almost a month experiencing what it felt like to rent an apartment that came with renovation, furniture, and appliances, but in fact had nothing at all.

When the doorbell rang, Cheng Ke was standing in the living room, sighing that today, at last, there was nothing he needed to go out and buy.

At long last, the beginning of this new life was over.

He went over and looked through the peephole, only to find complete darkness. Someone had blocked the peephole.

But the doorbell was still ringing.

Cheng Ke frowned, locked the deadbolt first, then asked, "Who is it?"

"Me," someone outside answered.

The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but not familiar enough to identify from just one word.

"Do you not have a name?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Chen Qing," the person outside said.

Cheng Ke came to himself. That voice really was the Grand Protector.

"Why did you block the peephole?" Cheng Ke asked again. This guy felt like a low-rent version of Jiang Yuduo’s crazy. He did not dare open the door casually with the peephole blocked.

"Rules," Chen Qing replied.

"What the hell kind of rule says you block the peephole before knocking on the door?" Cheng Ke was practically speechless.

"It’s unblocked now," Chen Qing said. "Hurry up and open the door!"

Cheng Ke looked through the peephole again. It really was unblocked. Only Chen Qing was standing at the door, wearing sunglasses with admirable determination even though there were no windows in the stairwell.

He opened the door a crack and looked at Chen Qing. "What is it?"

"Collecting rent," Chen Qing said.

"…Impressive," Cheng Ke said as he opened the door and let Chen Qing in, giving him a thumbs-up. "You can collect rent in a way that makes people want to call 110."

The room was not lit, and the curtains were drawn. After Chen Qing came inside, he bumped into the sofa and finally took off his sunglasses. "Actually, it has not quite been a full month yet, just a few days short. But the agreement says the rent is due on the 28th of every month, so…"

"It’s fine. Transfer?" Cheng Ke asked.

"If it were a transfer, why would I come over?" Chen Qing looked at him as if looking at an idiot. "Cash. Sister Qian likes cash."

"Oh." Cheng Ke took out his wallet. Luckily, he had withdrawn money earlier. Otherwise, judging by Chen Qing’s setup, he probably would have held him down and dragged him to the bank to withdraw cash.

"You’ve got everything pretty well set up here, huh?" Chen Qing glanced around the room. "You even bought an electric chair?"

"Elec…" Cheng Ke was at a loss for words. "That’s called an electric massage chair."

"Short for electric chair," Chen Qing said.

"Fine," Cheng Ke nodded, counted out the money, and handed it to him. "Count it."

Chen Qing did not take the money. He looked at him. "Third Brother was really not wrong."

"What?" Cheng Ke asked.

"You’re an idiot," Chen Qing said.

Cheng Ke froze. For a long time, he did not know what he should say, and he could not even pick the right emotion for himself.

"The house was rented to you by him," Chen Qing said. "Now I’m here to collect the rent, and you actually handed the money to me without even hesitating?"

Cheng Ke kept looking at him in silence.

"When he told me to come up just now, I said, what if you refused to give it to me?" Chen Qing said. "Third Brother said that would not happen. Someone as stupid as him would definitely hand it over without even asking, and you really did?"

Cheng Ke clenched his teeth, put the money back in his wallet, and sat down on the sofa. "Tell Jiang Yuduo to come get the money himself."

"He’s downstairs. If you don’t believe me, call him yourself," Chen Qing said.

Cheng Ke did not say anything. He took out his phone and dialed Jiang Yuduo’s number.

"Hello." Jiang Yuduo’s voice came from the other end. That voice was easier to recognize than Chen Qing’s.

"I want to give the rent to you personally," Cheng Ke said.

"Give it to Chen Qing," Jiang Yuduo said. "I told him to collect it."

"No," Cheng Ke said. "If something goes wrong, who is responsible?"

"I am," Jiang Yuduo said. "I’m downstairs."

"Then come up here and sign a liability waiver with me," Cheng Ke said.

"What the hell?" Jiang Yuduo froze.

"If Chen Qing runs off with the money," Cheng Ke said unhurriedly, "or if someone robs him as soon as he steps outside, or if a gust of wind comes and blows the money all over the place when he hands it to you, I bear no responsibility."

"Are you fucking sick?" Jiang Yuduo was stunned.

"Not sick," Cheng Ke said. "Just stupid."

"Fuck," Jiang Yuduo cursed under his breath. "What did Chen Qing tell you?"

"Come up and get the money yourself, or come up and sign the liability waiver yourself." After Cheng Ke said that, he hung up and looked at Chen Qing.

Only then did he suddenly notice that Chen Qing seemed to have quite a few injuries on his face.

"What’s up?" Chen Qing asked him.

"Go ask Third Brother," Cheng Ke said. He walked over and turned on the living room light, confirming that Chen Qing really was injured, and the injuries were pretty eye-catching too. Wearing sunglasses was probably to maintain the image of the Grand Protector who was always on top of things.

"I’ve discovered that you," Chen Qing sat down in the chair, "have a really bad temper."

"You hang around with Jiang Yuduo every day and say I have a bad temper? Your fan filter is a little too thick," Cheng Ke said. "Can you still see the road?"

"He really does not usually lose his temper," Chen Qing said.

Cheng Ke had nothing to say to that. Although he had not seen Jiang Yuduo many times, the only time he had not gotten angry the whole time was the day they ate together.

"You have not seen him when he’s really angry," Chen Qing added, probably seeing his doubt. "If he really gets angry, you would have died after kicking over that trash can that day."

"I’m going to your grandfather’s," Cheng Ke could not hold back. "Have you ever had your IQ tested?"

"No," Chen Qing answered.

Cheng Ke clenched his teeth and said nothing more. There was nothing more he could say either.

They stared silently at each other for a few minutes, giving full appreciation to the various bruises on Chen Qing’s face, when the doorbell rang. Chen Qing immediately jumped up to open the door. "Third Brother, I already told him to give me the money…"

"Are you bored?" Jiang Yuduo entered, pulled over a chair and sat down, looking at Cheng Ke. "You messing with me?"

Cheng Ke had already thought out how he was going to speak before, but the moment he saw Jiang Yuduo, he forgot what he was going to say. "Did you… jump off a building?"

The bandage on Jiang Yuduo’s head, which had already lasted for a month, was still there, and it was even still seeping blood. There was another cut on his face, his right arm was in a sling, and his left trouser leg was rolled up, with a splint from his ankle to his calf.

He had never expected to see such a scene. Even if there had been a fight over territory, for a boss to be more seriously injured than his protector was truly unbelievable.

"It’s all because of me…" Chen Qing said beside them, frowning. He looked very uncomfortable.

"Cut the sentimental crap," Jiang Yuduo waved him off, then looked at Cheng Ke and asked, "Where’s the money?"

"Receipt." Cheng Ke said.

Chen Qing took out a receipt book and a pen. Just as he was about to write on it, Cheng Ke pointed at Jiang Yuduo. "The one collecting it should write it."

"Third Brother’s hand is injured!" Chen Qing said angrily, glaring at him.

"…He’s left-handed," Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo stared at him for two seconds, then held out a hand toward Chen Qing. Chen Qing placed the receipt and pen into his hand.

"Received today from Cheng Ke…" Jiang Yuduo put the receipt on the table and wrote as he read aloud.

"The Ke in abide by, not the Ke in passenger," Cheng Ke said, looking at his scribbly handwriting.

Jiang Yuduo looked up at him.

Cheng Ke sighed, took the pen from his hand, and wrote his own name on the memo pad beside him. "Don’t you have a photocopy of my ID card?"

"Who remembers that," Jiang Yuduo said. He took back the pen, crossed out the character for passenger, wrote in the character for grid, then crossed that out too. After glancing at the memo pad, he wrote in the character for abide by. "I just looked at the photo and the age."

Cheng Ke put away the receipt and handed the money to Jiang Yuduo.

Then the scene he vaguely remembered happened again, the three of them staring at one another in silence. Cheng Ke had originally thought that after they had eaten together that day, things would not be this awkward and unfriendly again, but it seemed he still did not know Jiang Yuduo well enough.

Just as he cleared his throat and prepared to show them out, Jiang Yuduo tilted his head toward Chen Qing. Chen Qing opened the door and went out, then closed it again.

"What?" Cheng Ke looked at him.

"That Maybach 888," Jiang Yuduo slowly took out a cigarette with one hand and put it in his mouth, then slowly found a lighter and lit it, "what’s its relationship to you?"

Cheng Ke froze. "That’s my younger brother’s car."

"What’s wrong with you?" Jiang Yuduo narrowed his eyes.

"Me?" Cheng Ke could not make sense of the logic in it.

"What’s the purpose of you two?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

"…What the hell are you talking about?" Cheng Ke frowned. "What did the Maybach 888 do to you?"

"The Maybach 888 was driving around this area today," Jiang Yuduo said. "It went around twice and then left. What was it doing here? And it even had a driver, why did it not drive itself? Was it afraid that if it drove, it would miss something it should have seen?"

"He has to have a driver wherever he goes," Cheng Ke said helplessly. "He does not have a license!"

Jiang Yuduo froze. "No license?"

"Yeah, he can’t drive." Cheng Ke sighed. Right now he did not have the mind to think about Jiang Yuduo’s weird, cryptic words. He was just a little confused. What was Cheng Yi wandering around here for?

"Is he really your biological younger brother?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

"Yes, same father, same mother," Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo looked at him. Only after a while did he lower his voice and say, "You’re really not adopted? That gap is kind of huge."

"Get lost," Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo laughed. After laughing, he took Cheng Ke’s cup and drank some water. "Keep your younger brother far away. In ancient times, he’d be the kind of guy who killed his own older brother to snatch the crown prince’s seat."

Cheng Ke frowned. He and Cheng Yi really did not get along, but hearing that still made him uncomfortable.

"Really, I can tell at a glance," Jiang Yuduo said.

"You can even read faces now," Cheng Ke said. "Impressive."

"I’ve seen more bad people," Jiang Yuduo said, "than the descendants you’ve ever shot out."

Cheng Ke did not speak. When Jiang Yuduo said that, the look in his eyes made him ignore the crudeness of the words themselves.