TA •Chapter 63

Chapter 63

What Jiang Yuduo said cut off the bit of excitement in Cheng Ke that had just been about to bloom before it even found its footing. He clicked his tongue. "Is this my idea? Why are you telling me to forget it?"

"Wasn't it you who brought it up first?" Jiang Yuduo let go of him and stared at him.

"What I said, like 'I fucked you' or 'fuck your ancestor,' that's more or less the same thing," Cheng Ke said. "Did I say how I was going to fuck you?"

Jiang Yuduo frowned and said nothing.

"You were the one who said it, right?" Cheng Ke lifted his plastered arm and pointed at him. "It was you, Third Brother?"

"If anyone else dared talk to me like that and not give me any face," Jiang Yuduo pointed back at him, "I'd beat him until all four of his legs were in plaster."

"Get lost," Cheng Ke said.

"I'm kind of hungry. I didn't even get lunch today, and I worked for several hours," Jiang Yuduo said. "I want lunch."

"It's dinner time now," Cheng Ke glanced at the clock newly hung on the wall. "Do we go back over there to eat, or look around nearby for something to eat?"

"Lunch," Jiang Yuduo said.

"It's already after five and you're still calling it lunch?" Cheng Ke said.

"Yeah, because I haven't had lunch yet, so it has to be lunch." Jiang Yuduo was very certain.

"Then what about dinner?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Eat dinner at night," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Fine, then we just push everything back. Either way, we can't miss a meal, right?" Cheng Ke smiled.

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo nodded. "Let's go back over there and eat. I'm not familiar with this area, and if someone is still following us, it'll be hard to deal with."

"Okay." Cheng Ke kicked all the boards on the floor aside. "Do you have time tomorrow to come over and help me make the mold?"

"Afternoon." Jiang Yuduo took his jacket.

"Should I pay you wages?" Cheng Ke said. "This whole pile of stuff was originally going to be bought, and it would've cost a lot. I wanted to make it myself not to save money, but because I thought it would be interesting. Now all the work has been dumped on you."

"How much?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

Cheng Ke had only asked casually in the first place, wanting Jiang Yuduo to feel like a carpenter or mason who earned money by working. He had figured Jiang Yuduo probably wouldn't accept, but he hadn't expected Jiang Yuduo to start asking about the price so directly.

"I'll go check how much this whole set would cost if we bought it outside," Cheng Ke said with a laugh.

"Okay," Jiang Yuduo said. "Just don't take any kickbacks, alright."

"I won't, but I still have to deduct design fees and stuff, and the material costs too," Cheng Ke said, his tone turning serious as he counted on his fingers. "What you get is labor."

"My labor is pretty expensive," Jiang Yuduo said.

"…Why?" Cheng Ke asked.

"I'm handsome." Jiang Yuduo draped the jacket over him and headed downstairs.

"I'm not trying to hit you where it hurts," Cheng Ke followed behind him. "Third Brother, you're not actually that handsome, just an ordinary handsome guy, not…"

"What did you say?" Jiang Yuduo turned around.

"I still had a punchline," Cheng Ke said. "But do you want to hear it?"

"I'll give you some face." Jiang Yuduo said.

"But your features are really good. The kind of face that can hold up from any angle," Cheng Ke said.

"I don't get it," Jiang Yuduo sighed. After taking two steps downstairs, he stopped again. "Last time, Xu Ding…"

Before he could finish, he kept walking.

"Xu Ding what?" Cheng Ke asked.

"I'm guessing he was just saying it casually," Jiang Yuduo said.

"What did he say?" Cheng Ke pressed.

"He said… if there was a chance, he'd find me to shoot videos," Jiang Yuduo sounded a little embarrassed. "That counts as a polite remark, right? Just saying something to fill the silence."

"Xu Ding isn't that kind of person. If he didn't really mean it, he wouldn't say it just to fill the silence," Cheng Ke looked at him. "When did he say that?"

"When you were filming that naked-ass video with Lin Xu." Jiang Yuduo said.

"Who was naked-ass?" Cheng Ke said.

"Lin Xu," Jiang Yuduo said. "Pretty much naked-ass."

"Bullshit," Cheng Ke laughed. "Wasn't he wearing a long shirt the whole time?"

"It was open in the front." Jiang Yuduo clicked his tongue.

"You…" Cheng Ke realized he had been led off-topic by Jiang Yuduo so easily that he could only catch himself and drag the conversation back. "Do you want to shoot videos?"

"What?" Jiang Yuduo blinked.

"Shoot videos," Cheng Ke said. "Xu Ding has quite a few video-shooting jobs. The pay is higher than what a new carpenter makes, or you could do it part-time."

Jiang Yuduo looked at him and said nothing. Even after they left the shop and locked the door again, Cheng Ke still didn't get an answer.

"You don't seem very interested?" Cheng Ke had to ask again.

"And here I thought you were serious." Jiang Yuduo said.

"Why wouldn't I be serious?" Cheng Ke tugged at his jacket. "I said it already, Xu Ding isn't the kind of person who says things like that casually."

"Sure, not for you guys," Jiang Yuduo helped him zip up the jacket, then grabbed the empty sleeve and pulled him toward the intersection while glancing at his phone. "The car's almost here."

"Jiang Yuduo…" Cheng Ke looked at his profile, wanting to figure out what he really thought, whether he was interested in shooting videos.

"I," Jiang Yuduo turned his face and pointed at himself, "am some guy who runs around the streets collecting rent. And you want me to shoot videos? Think about it yourself. Who are you kidding?"

"What you do has nothing to do with shooting videos," Cheng Ke sighed. "Right now none of that is even under consideration. It's just whether you want to or not."

Jiang Yuduo fell silent.

Cheng Ke didn't ask again. It was obvious Jiang Yuduo was insecure, or rather, that he had drawn a very clear line for himself. Whatever was on the other side of that line, he stayed on this side.

The car they had called pulled up and stopped beside them. Jiang Yuduo tugged him over by the sleeve and opened the door. When he got in, Jiang Yuduo said very quietly, "I'm just not brave enough."

Cheng Ke had just turned his head when Jiang Yuduo already pushed him into the car.

Being pulled by the sleeve was a very good method, like flying a kite. It could help him exert force.

After he sat down, Cheng Ke realized the driver had turned around and was looking at him.

"Lost an arm?" the driver asked.

Cheng Ke froze. Before he could speak, the driver clenched a fist at him. "It's okay, young man, you've still got one arm left!"

Jiang Yuduo opened the other side door and got in. "What are you two talking about?"

"I'm encouraging him," the driver said as he pulled the car out. "Society is still fair. Whether you're able-bodied or disabled, as long as you're willing to work hard, you'll live very well! Right or not, young man?"

"Right." Seeing how warm and friendly the driver was, Cheng Ke felt a little embarrassed to contradict him, so he nodded.

Jiang Yuduo glanced at him, pulled up the hood of his jacket, then tugged the brim down to cover most of his face before leaning against the car window.

Cheng Ke hurriedly stared at him for a while. What he had said when he got in the car…

But… Jiang Yuduo was smiling. Even though Cheng Ke couldn't see his face, he could tell from the way his shoulders were shaking that he was laughing.

He reached out and pinched Jiang Yuduo's leg.

Jiang Yuduo sucked in a breath, rubbed his thigh, and turned his face over. The smile he hadn't yet managed to hide was still there. He lowered his voice. "Fuck, why'd you pinch me? That was so hard!"

"Smile again," Cheng Ke said, also in a low voice.

Jiang Yuduo immediately pulled his hat down and turned back to the window, laughing again.

The driver was a really nice person. All the way there, he kept encouraging Cheng Ke to work hard and not give up on his life just because he was missing an arm.

When they got out of the car, Cheng Ke thanked him very seriously.

When Jiang Yuduo tugged at his sleeve to pull him out, Cheng Ke didn't help much, and Jiang Yuduo relied entirely on his own strength to haul him out.

After the car drove away, Jiang Yuduo cursed. "Did your fucking leg get broken too? You didn't put in any effort at all, did you!"

"I'm a disabled person," Cheng Ke said.

"Get lost!" Jiang Yuduo glared at him, then thought about it and laughed. "Hey, why didn't you tell him?"

"I wanted to, but he already said so much," Cheng Ke smiled. "I was afraid he'd feel awkward. Besides, people like that are pretty good. What if he really runs into a disabled person someday?"

Jiang Yuduo looked at him without saying anything. After a while, he reached out and patted Cheng Ke's face, slapping it twice. "You're a pretty good person too, especially… kind."

"Do you ever use your brain before you hit me?" Cheng Ke rubbed his face. "If you hadn't said I was a pretty good person, I would've thought you were provoking me!"

"What provoking? You can't even beat me when you've got four legs, and now you've only got three and a half. Why would I need to provoke you?" Jiang Yuduo looked at his own hand, then clapped it twice at the air. "Was it really that hard? I didn't feel like I used much strength."

"You can't hear the slapping?" Cheng Ke clicked his tongue.

"I'm not practiced enough," Jiang Yuduo laughed. "Fuck, I really have slapped someone's face before when I was fighting with them."

"…Let's go find food," Cheng Ke said.

It was mealtime, and whichever restaurant it was, there were quite a lot of people. In the end, the two of them decided to eat something simple.

"Stone pot bibimbap," Jiang Yuduo said, pointing ahead. "The first time Lu Xi paid me wages, I treated Chen Qing here. It's a very old shop."

"You treated Chen Qing to a meal the first time and went somewhere this trendy?" Cheng Ke said. "I thought you would've just bought him pancakes or something, the two of you being kids and all."

"I发现 you're really impressive, young master," Jiang Yuduo looked at him. "This place used to sell pancakes, and big meat buns too."

"…Did the whole meal cost even ten yuan?" Cheng Ke laughed.

"Maybe. You could still get pretty full back then," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Cheap bastard," Cheng Ke said.

"It's not that I'm cheap," Jiang Yuduo said. "I didn't know how long Lu Xi was going to keep me around. What if I had no money next month? I just made it look decent enough."

Cheng Ke said nothing. He thought about what his own state had been like in middle school. In fact, not just back then, even now, even when he only had one hundred yuan at the time, he had never once thought about a problem like "what if I have no money next month?"

From childhood to adulthood, he had never really considered money-related problems… maybe all the things Jiang Yuduo had worried about were things he had never once thought about.

So a lot of the time, he couldn't immediately understand some of Jiang Yuduo's thoughts.

Like the "I'm just not brave enough" from when he got into the car.

Not brave enough?

Why not brave enough?

Was it because he was scared and didn't dare, or because he lacked confidence and didn't dare, or because he had concerns and didn't dare?

Jiang Yuduo ordered two portions of bibimbap, both with extra meat and vegetables. When he set them on the table, Cheng Ke immediately felt that finishing the whole big bowl would be a little difficult.

"Why did you add vegetables too?" Cheng Ke mixed it with his left hand with some difficulty.

"And I added an egg too," Jiang Yuduo said. "So you wouldn't say I'm stingy."

"So vindictive," Cheng Ke said.

"Mm." Jiang Yuduo nodded, reached over and took his bowl away, mixing it quickly. "I have to say, sometimes watching you do things is really frustrating."

"I'm using my left hand," Cheng Ke glared at him.

Jiang Yuduo didn't say anything. He quickly switched the spoon to his right hand and kept mixing. It wasn't as nimble as his left, but compared to Cheng Ke's movements, it was indeed much more nimble.

Cheng Ke gave him a thumbs-up.

After the bibimbap was mixed, Cheng Ke took a bite. Maybe because an egg had been added, it was especially delicious, even more evenly mixed than what he had made when he wasn't disabled.

"I'll send you back after we finish," Jiang Yuduo said while eating and poking at his phone. "I'm going home."

"Mm." Cheng Ke nodded. Hearing that Jiang Yuduo wouldn't be staying up all night guarding him tonight, he felt a little disappointed, but he quickly felt awkward about being disappointed over something so small.

"I have people circling nearby," Jiang Yuduo said. "If those two guys come back, I want to see whether they're after you or after me."

"…Oh!" Cheng Ke suddenly understood.

Jiang Yuduo gave him a glance.

"Maybe it's not as serious as we thought. Maybe they just got it wrong," Cheng Ke said. "The boss said there are a lot of thieves over there. Maybe they wanted to steal something and thought they'd been discovered."

"Could be." Jiang Yuduo said.

Cheng Ke felt that once Jiang Yuduo separated "them" from "not them," his attitude toward the two was obviously different.

Right now, Jiang Yuduo believed those two people were not "them," so he was very calm, and he could also accept the possibility that they had been mistaken.

Thinking of this, Cheng Ke felt a little blocked up inside and couldn't help asking again, "Your psychologist…"

The moment he asked it, he felt it was a bit abrupt. He hadn't even figured out what he wanted to ask.

"Her surname is Luo," Jiang Yuduo answered without looking up, still poking at his phone. "I call her Sister Luo. If you really have some kind of… suspicion, you'd be better off guessing Lu Xi. Lu Xi is much prettier."

"…I didn't mean that." Cheng Ke lowered his head and ate.

The people Jiang Yuduo had arranged to wander around nearby were actually pretty good at hiding. If Jiang Yuduo hadn't told Cheng Ke before he left that those two people were his men, Cheng Ke really wouldn't have noticed them.

Two very ordinary-looking people, no different from anyone else you might see on the street, and you couldn't even detect that roguish air that usually seemed to spill out a hundred meters from them.

And the two of them didn't stay in any one place. Cheng Ke looked downstairs, and after the time it took to chat through one cigarette, they were gone.

Later another van came by, then a motorcycle, then someone with a scarf wrapped around their head stood there for a while… Cheng Ke couldn't tell which ones were them and which ones weren't.

Standing by the window and looking down, he suddenly felt as if he could understand a little of what Jiang Yuduo felt when he stood behind the curtains looking outside.

Right now he was just making a simple guess. If fear was mixed into this, and you had to distinguish the source of that fear within it…

Cheng Ke went back to the sofa and sat down. He was pretty tired today. Even though he hadn't done much work, he had been walking back and forth all day and hadn't really sat down to rest much, so his legs were starting to ache a little.

He really had no stamina after not exercising for so long.

Cheng Ke picked up his phone and looked at the several messages from Coach Xiao Yang urging him to go exercise. He still hadn't replied. He was too lazy to keep telling people that he had broken his hand, that he had fallen by accident, that he was fine, that the cast would come off in a month…

His phone rang once. A message came from Xu Ding.

-I'm at the shop. You actually arranged everything already? I was saying I should come over and see how to do it.

-Since the workers were all here today, I just had them do everything.

Cheng Ke replied to him.

After hesitating for a moment, he typed a few more words.

Did you want to find Lao San

He deleted them, then typed a few more.

Do you think Lao San can

Deleted again.

After staring at the blank input box for a long time, he sighed. Before he had figured out why Jiang Yuduo "didn't dare," he still shouldn't bring Xu Ding into it.

If he did, Xu Ding would probably make arrangements right away.

Jiang Yuduo shooting videos was actually pretty good, but it would probably take some time to train him. He'd need to get used to all kinds of people completely different from the little brothers he usually dealt with. And if he thought someone was a suspicious stranger…

Cheng Ke frowned.

Was it because of this? Because he was afraid of that kind of situation happening?

If Jiang Yuduo's "don't dare" meant this, then it only proved that he still wasn't "better."

Cheng Ke threw his phone aside, flopped down on the sofa, turned on the TV, and randomly picked a channel, listening to the voices from the drama.

When the drama cut to commercials, his phone rang again.

When he picked it up, Cheng Ke was somewhat surprised, but more than that, he was pleased. The message was from Jiang Yuduo.

-The sofa needs to be changed.

-What happened?

Cheng Ke quickly sent him a reply.

Jiang Yuduo sent over a photo of the sofa. There was a wet patch on it.

-…Pissed again?

-It shit

-….

-I educated it, but it wouldn't listen.

-How did you educate it?

Jiang Yuduo sent over another short video.

In the video, Meow was pressed flat on its back beside the wet patch, and Jiang Yuduo was holding a chopstick and pointing it at Meow. "Now I'm going to punish you. It's still not too late to kneel down now."

But Meow was completely unafraid. It hugged his hand and happily gnawed on the chopstick.

Cheng Ke laughed for a long time.

-You're really okay with letting your protectors and brothers see this video?

-This is how I usually discipline them.

Cheng Ke laughed again. After laughing for a while, he sighed.

When nothing was interfering with him, Jiang Yuduo was a very cute person. Even though he had nothing to do with being pretty, calling him a "little cutie" would still fit.

It's just that most of the time…

After staring blankly at the ceiling for a while, Cheng Ke sat up, picked up his phone, opened it, and searched, "Can you check call records if you have the other person's ID number?"

No, apparently you also needed the service password.

Cheng Ke frowned.

He didn't know whether his thoughts were going too far. Jiang Yuduo had tried very hard to make it look like he was already "better." When talking about the past and his psychologist, he was also very calm and composed.

On this issue, Jiang Yuduo probably wouldn't give him any further chance to dig deeper, and he didn't want to keep showing distrust either…

But checking call records to find Sister Luo, the psychologist, was something he really was hesitant about.

He had no standing at all to do this.

After thinking for a long time, he still sent Xu Ding a message.

-If you know someone's phone number and ID number, can you check their call records?

He really was a useless person, a useless person who had always been too lazy to maintain even the relationship called "friendship." At a time like this, the only person he could think of was Xu Ding.

But even if there were other people, the only one he might still think of was Xu Ding.

After all, Xu Ding knew Jiang Yuduo, and might already have guessed his relationship with Jiang Yuduo, or rather… misunderstood his relationship with Jiang Yuduo.

Xu Ding's reply came very quickly.

-You can find someone to help check

-Okay

He replied simply.

Xu Ding's extra reply made him breathe a sigh of relief. That sentence left him enough room, without asking who wanted to check or who it was being checked on.

After spacing out for a while, he opened the short video Jiang Yuduo had sent him again and watched it on a loop for more than a dozen times.

"Now I'm going to punish you. It's still not too late to kneel down now."

"Now I'm going to punish you. It's still not too late to kneel down now."

…

Listening as he laughed, he sent Jiang Yuduo another message.

-Send me a photo.

-For what?

Jiang Yuduo replied, and although he asked a question, he still sent a photo over.

Cheng Ke took one look and immediately laughed for a long time again. Jiang Yuduo had sent him the previous photo of the big O pose.

"Idiot," Cheng Ke sent a voice message. "Who wants this one? I meant take one for me right now."

Jiang Yuduo was pretty cooperative and sent back a selfie.

Probably because he wanted to take a picture with Meow, but Meow wasn't cooperating, so the whole image was extremely blurry.

But you could still tell Jiang Yuduo was in a pretty good mood right then, grinning widely and looking very happy.

-Are you scared?

-My people are near you. If anything's wrong, just call me.

Jiang Yuduo sent two more messages.

-No, I just miss you.

The moment Cheng Ke sent that message, he regretted it. He hurriedly hit recall, then stared at the screen.

A few seconds later, Jiang Yuduo's reply came back.

-I saw it, idiot