TA •Chapter 91

While Jiang Yuduo had been "traveling" these past few months, Cheng Ke sometimes met up with Chen Qing, Da Bin, and the others for meals, late-night snacks, or an occasional stroll down the street to count the trash bins.

After all, as the acting Third Brother, he had to keep these younger brothers at ease, and he also had to let everyone else know that even though Third Brother was not around, this was still Third Brother’s territory, and he had no intention of handing it over to anyone.

But from the way Chen Qing, Da Bin, and the others lit up when they saw Jiang Yuduo, Cheng Ke could tell that, in their hearts, Third Brother was irreplaceable.

Jiang Yuduo was a very good person. Even if he was just a street thug, he was the kind who could hustle his way into making a whole group of people loyal enough to recognize only him as their boss.

Cheng Ke could not help feeling a little regretful. If Jiang Yuduo had grown up with a normal, ordinary life, a normal, ordinary family, and a normal, ordinary education, then he now…

No, maybe not necessarily.

Jiang Yuduo’s charm and the way he handled people, all the ways he made the younger brothers following him feel secure, came from the fact that his experiences were unlike anyone else’s.

But Cheng Ke very much hoped, and he knew Jiang Yuduo hoped for the same thing, that he could be just an ordinary person, plain and unremarkable, someone who passed through the crowd without leaving a trace, like everyone else.

No bone-deep pain, no darkness that clung to him for life, no terror every minute and second, only the simple, small happiness and satisfaction of blending into a sea of people.

Cheng Ke turned his head and looked at Jiang Yuduo. Maybe he would never be "ordinary," maybe he would never be "normal," but at least from now on, this was the beginning of him slowly moving toward it.

Jiang Yuduo had just seen someone again. Cheng Ke did not ask more. Going back to the way things had been before could bring some relapses, but as long as they kept things stable, it would not have too much impact.

Still, what Jiang Yuduo had just said was that it might have been a hallucination, and that bothered him a little.

Dr. Li and Sister Luo both believed that Jiang Yuduo could tell the difference between "them" and ordinary strangers. Even if he had not known before, when he was in direct conflict with "them," he would instinctively choose a place where he could avoid being seen by the people around him.

Cheng Ke could sense that too, so Jiang Yuduo not being able to tell whether this time had been a hallucination or real surprised him a little. He did not know whether that was a sign the treatment was working.

With so many people in the car, there was no way for him to ask.

And after that, there would be even less chance to ask.

The parking spot for the sour fish restaurant was more than two hundred meters away. After they parked, they had to walk over.

The restaurant was still in Third Brother’s territory, and as they headed that way, Cheng Ke could feel eyes on them, all kinds of eyes.

Over these days with Jiang Yuduo, he had slowly come to understand the world hidden beneath the crowd. From the different people he saw, he could roughly tell which ones were in the game, which ones only thought they were, which ones belonged to this area, and which ones were outsiders looking to settle here.

It was pretty interesting. Before, he would never have been able to distinguish any of that, and his family would probably have thought that beyond being boring, there was no other meaning to it at all.

But now Cheng Ke thought it was fine. He did not want Jiang Yuduo to keep living this kind of life forever, but he also did not mind learning bit by bit about his world.

Jiang Yuduo had a lot of brothers. Some of them might never even have spoken to Third Brother, but Jiang Yuduo leaving and returning still stirred them up.

And the scene outside the sour fish restaurant, where everyone was waiting for Third Brother, was stirred up to an even greater degree. Every passerby stopped to stare at them for a long time.

Cheng Ke felt that if they arrived five minutes later, someone would probably call the police, saying there was a gathering of unidentified social troublemakers.

The server standing by the entrance looked equally lost and tense.

"Damn," even Third Brother himself was a little overwhelmed. "What are you all doing? Haven’t you had your fill of pretending to be gangsters for a long time?"

"…I don’t know either," Chen Qing said, stunned. "I just told them to come over first."

"They couldn’t just run straight into the private room and sit down first," Da Bin said from behind. "They had to wait at the door… Mainly because there are a lot of people today. Usually, a few people standing around is fine, but today all at once, there were…"

"At least thirty," Ertu said. "Fuck, this turnout. And this isn’t even everyone yet. If all of them showed up…"

"If they all showed up, they’d just take the police car together," Jiang Yuduo said. "Chen’er."

Chen Qing hurried a few steps forward and pushed the whole group, who were standing at the entrance and might very well have started shouting "Hi, Third Brother!" in unison, into the restaurant.

Chen Qing had reserved a conference room. Inside were four large tables, with extra seats added, and it was already almost full.

The moment they went in, Cheng Ke heard a wall of "Hi, Third Brother!" "Hi, Brother Ke!" "Hi, Brother Qing!" … His head felt instantly stuffed full, and even his butt seemed to ache faintly…

He glanced at Jiang Yuduo. This guy looked pretty normal, and even when he sat down, he was calm. His technique was still pretty good.

But honestly, Jiang Yuduo’s homework submission was really not great.

Cheng Ke only said an agreeable little mm-hmm and ah-hmm to save him some face.

In fact, besides the pain, all the pleasure belonged to spiritual pleasure.

That could only be blamed on himself. He had taught him with such storm-and-thunder intensity that the next second they could be fighting, so naturally what Jiang Yuduo learned was also all wind and rain and the next second he was already at it.

When Cheng Ke sat down beside Jiang Yuduo, Jiang Yuduo turned his head and looked at him.

"What are you looking at?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Looking at a handsome guy," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Fair. It’s been a long time since you looked, so take a good look. After all, not many of these around," Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo lit a cigarette and leaned close to his ear to ask in a low voice, "You… don’t have anywhere that’s a little… uncomfortable?"

"No," Cheng Ke answered quickly, afraid of hurting Jiang Yuduo’s pride.

"Oh," Jiang Yuduo looked at him. "Then your technique is worse than mine?"

"Wha…" Cheng Ke blinked. "Technique?"

"I’m a little uncomfortable right now," Jiang Yuduo’s voice was so low it was almost inaudible. "Just sitting here makes it a little… not so much…"

"Shut up." Cheng Ke jumped in alarm. Jiang Yuduo could actually discuss the question of whose technique was better in front of a room full of dozens of people. He was genuinely surprised.

Jiang Yuduo lowered his head and snickered several times.

Cheng Ke looked at him, then hurriedly glanced around. Luckily, every time these people got together, after yelling hello to Third Brother, they started bragging their asses off like maniacs. No one was looking this way, and no one noticed that their usually arrogant and imposing Third Brother was actually bending his head and stupidly grinning at his own crotch.

But when Cheng Ke looked up again, he realized he had missed the biggest target of all, their chief guardian, Chen Qing, who was now staring at Jiang Yuduo with a face full of disgust and grief.

"Chen’er," Cheng Ke quickly picked up the glass in front of him, he did not even know who had filled it to the brim with liquor, "let’s have a drink first."

Chen Qing sighed and unwillingly clinked glasses with him. "You two really are… all sweet and lovey-dovey."

"If you’re not convinced, go find one yourself," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Third Brother! I don’t like…" Chen Qing lowered his voice in panic. "Men! Why would I go find one!"

"I said," Jiang Yuduo looked at him, enunciating every word, "go find one, a girlfriend."

"Oh!" Chen Qing shouted awkwardly. "Oh!"

"Drink your wine. What’s with all the ohs," Jiang Yuduo said.

Chen Qing threw his head back and drank, clicking his tongue before sighing again. "Sigh, a girlfriend. Easier said than done…"

Seeing him like that, Cheng Ke nearly said, then how about I introduce someone to you.

But when he saw Jiang Yuduo smiling, he got distracted again.

"You’re in a pretty good mood today?" Cheng Ke asked.

"Not bad," Jiang Yuduo said with a cigarette between his lips. He smiled again, then squinted at him. "Young Master Cheng’s nearly thirty years of technique is just…"

Cheng Ke quickly tapped his empty glass against Jiang Yuduo’s. "Third Brother, have a drink."

"One glass and two people," Jiang Yuduo said unhappily. "If someone else drank with me like this, I’d have already smashed the glass."

"But I’m not someone else," Cheng Ke said.

"Mm," Jiang Yuduo picked up the glass and drank it all in one go. "My boyfriend."

Cheng Ke instantly tensed up again. He knew Jiang Yuduo was definitely feeling pretty unrestrained today. He had been discharged, they had met, they had gone to bed, done the doing and been done to…

Although he had always been unconcerned about people knowing his sexuality, Jiang Yuduo was definitely different. The environment he lived in, the people he faced, his mental state, none of it could afford that risk.

"Third Brother," Cheng Ke took Jiang Yuduo’s hand under the table, "I’m begging you."

"Say it," Jiang Yuduo looked at him.

"Eat and drink properly," Cheng Ke said. "You’re only missing a loudspeaker."

Jiang Yuduo laughed. Then he squeezed Cheng Ke’s hand and said, "Okay, I know. I’m just… excited."

Cheng Ke looked at him.

"Really happy," Jiang Yuduo said. "I can’t quite say exactly what I’m happy about, but I’m happy."

"Mm." Cheng Ke nodded.

"But Dr. Li said," Jiang Yuduo lowered his voice, "I still have to pay attention to emotional management. I can’t let my mood swing too much."

"Then you have to do that," Cheng Ke said.

Jiang Yuduo nodded hard. "Don’t worry."

Actually, Jiang Yuduo’s self-control was probably extremely strong. Before he had any treatment at all, he had relied entirely on self-discipline to deal with his abnormal state, making sure no one saw his tension and fear, and whenever he felt like he was about to lose control, he would quickly pull away from the crowd.

After Cheng Ke reminded him, he quickly returned to normal, back to the identity of Third Brother.

It was not until after the meal was over and he had patted each younger brother who came up to say goodbye on the shoulder that he turned back into Jiang Yuduo.

And not even the usual version of Jiang Yuduo, but Jiang Yuduo who felt that his bed skills were excellent the very first time.

"Right?" Jiang Yuduo looked at Cheng Ke.

"Right what?" Cheng Ke asked.

"My technique is better than yours," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Ahhh…" Cheng Ke bent over helplessly, bracing his hands on his knees. "Third Brother, are you ever going to let this go? How exactly did you come to that conclusion?"

"Because I was uncomfortable and you weren’t," Jiang Yuduo said.

"I…" Cheng Ke sighed. "Fine, your technique is the best, number one in the universe."

After Jiang Yuduo laughed smugly a couple of times, he suddenly stopped and grabbed Cheng Ke’s arm. "Cheng Ke."

"Mm?" Cheng Ke blinked.

"Are you comforting me?" Jiang Yuduo said. "Actually, it was pretty uncomfortable, wasn’t it?"

"…Not really," Cheng Ke said.

"You hesitated," Jiang Yuduo pointed at him. "You hesitated."

"Can we stop discussing this topic? Please?" Cheng Ke was practically going insane. He could never have imagined that Jiang Yuduo, who had previously told him he could not accept sleeping together, would suddenly become so generous after they had done it twice, obsessively examining whether something felt comfortable or uncomfortable, and whose technique was better.

"It’s fine," Jiang Yuduo waved a hand. "I’ll pay attention next time."

"Next time?" Cheng Ke looked at him.

"If you want to take turns, then I’ll take the one after next," Jiang Yuduo said.

"Let’s go home," Cheng Ke said, dragging him forward by the arm. "Shut up and walk."

Jiang Yuduo finally stopped discussing the issue and walked with Cheng Ke all the way, talking about how these younger brothers had not changed much, and that since he had not gone with them for late-night snacks, he would have to make it up another day, and so on.

Cheng Ke could tell his mood was very good, that easy feeling of life still being there.

His friends, the people he knew, the familiar environment, everything was still there waiting for him.

Smiling, Cheng Ke lifted a hand and stroked Jiang Yuduo’s face.

Jiang Yuduo smiled and turned his head, just about to speak when he suddenly whipped around again.

"What is it?" Cheng Ke froze for a fraction of a second, then quickly turned to look behind them as well.

Behind them was the crossroads they had turned in from earlier. When Cheng Ke turned back, he only saw a car drive past, and two old men by the roadside talking to each other. The old men had already been there when they came.

"Did you see it or not?" Jiang Yuduo asked.

The moment Cheng Ke heard that, it felt like all the blood in his body had frozen, and he was instantly dragged back into the worry he had felt months ago.

But he did not believe Jiang Yuduo’s relapse could be this severe. He knew Jiang Yuduo was taking his medicine on time every day, so he pulled him once. "Go look. Which way did it go?"

"Right." Jiang Yuduo followed him for two steps, then stopped. "Cheng Ke."

"What is it?" Cheng Ke looked at him.

"Forget it," Jiang Yuduo frowned. "I might have seen wrong, or maybe it was… a hallucination."

"You know whether it’s a hallucination, right?" Cheng Ke asked. "You can tell the difference."

"Mm," Jiang Yuduo was still frowning, "but… I haven’t seen them for a long time. It’s possible that… even if it wasn’t a hallucination, by now they’ve already run off…"

"You wait here," Cheng Ke said. "I’ll go ask someone."

Before Jiang Yuduo could say anything, he turned and ran to the two old men at the intersection.

"Uncles," Cheng Ke said with a smile to the two of them, "I wanted to ask, when you were chatting just now, did you see anyone pass through here?"

"Was there anyone?" The fat old man looked at the thin old man.

"Seems like…" The thin old man stretched the word "seems" out for so long it filled his whole process of recalling it, and in the end he frowned. "There was, I think. He didn’t come over… no, not that he didn’t come over, he sort of swayed over here and then went off again? Like he took the wrong road."

"Now that you mention it, I think I saw someone like that too," the fat old man said, patting his belly twice. "Wasn’t he pretty skinny?"

"Not fat, that’s for sure, but I can’t really remember how tall he was. It was just a quick glimpse," the thin old man said.

"Thank you, thank you, Uncle." Cheng Ke bowed slightly to them both, then took a few quick steps back to the intersection. Just as Jiang Yuduo had said, even if there had been someone, they were definitely gone by now. Right after turning out to the right, there were two more intersections.

When he turned to go back, Jiang Yuduo was standing behind him somehow.

"Did you ask?" Jiang Yuduo looked at him with some tension.

Cheng Ke looked back at him too. "I did. They weren’t completely sure, but they said it looked like they saw someone…"

"Who came out from there and then backed out again, right?" Jiang Yuduo interrupted, as if eager to prove that what he had seen had not been a hallucination.

But the moment he asked that, Cheng Ke let out a huge sigh of relief.

"Yes," he said. "They said it looked like he had taken the wrong road."

Jiang Yuduo did not speak. The brow he had been furrowing all this time still did not relax, but the expression on his face eased at once. After a long while, he said softly, "Cheng Ke, if it weren’t for you, I might not be able to sleep again tonight."

"How could that be," Cheng Ke patted his face. "Just ask, and you’ll know."

"How would I dare ask?" Jiang Yuduo still said softly. "How would I dare go ask…"

"I dare," Cheng Ke said. "I’m the one who should ask."

Jiang Yuduo looked at him for a long time, then smiled and opened his arms to hug him. "Mm."

When they got home, Miao meowed very unhappily. After they came back, they had fed Miao half a can of food, but before leaving, they had forgotten to prepare its dinner. Although Miao had already scratched the rest of the canned food onto the floor and eaten it clean, it was still displeased that there was no dinner in the bowl.

"Xiao Cun," Cheng Ke put some cat food down for it. "This kind of unreasonable behavior is not okay."

"What are you calling it?" Jiang Yuduo said with a click of his tongue.

"The younger brother of Da Cun, Xiao Cun," Cheng Ke said.

"Isn’t it Da?" Jiang Yuduo suddenly lifted his eyebrows.

"…Are you poisoned or something?" Cheng Ke was speechless.

Jiang Yuduo took a sip of water, leaned back into the sofa, and laughed for a long time. But after he finished laughing, he seemed to drift off again.

"What’s wrong?" Cheng Ke asked.

"That guy definitely didn’t take the wrong road," Jiang Yuduo said. "I saw him twice today. I couldn’t see his face clearly, but he was wearing the same clothes."