Ferocious Dog of Old

Chi Ku used brute strength when he dragged away the bucket, essentially tossing the one metre high bucket of water aside. Water splashed all over the floor and soaked half of his legs.

The cubicle door was frantically pulled open. Tao Huainan was inside, curled into a ball, and his clothes were dirty and wet as they lay messily on his body. His head rested weakly on his arms, his face without a hint of colour. Chi Ku had made such a loud noise, and yet he hadn’t moved at all.

For almost ten seconds, Chi Ku didn’t do a single thing—he only stared straight at Tao Huainan, his chest heaving at a frightening speed. Both of his arms were subtly trembling.

–

That day, Tao Huainan was carried out on Chi Ku’s back, his arms hanging limply in front of Chi Ku’s body. His warm breaths were all diffused onto Chi Ku’s neck, and they burned so hotly that it made Chi Ku anxious. The look on Chi Ku’s face was way too ugly; the students walking past him didn’t even dare to look at him.

Several girls in their class watched as Chi Ku came in with Tao Huainan on his back. He curved over, one hand supporting Tao Huainan, while his other hand roughly and impatiently tugged off Tao Huainan’s school bag from where it hung on his chair. The chair and the desk scratched against the floor together, and the sound was both abrupt and ear-piercing.

Tao Huainan’s entire body was soft and dangling. The students who saw him didn’t know what’d happened to him, and their eyes opened wide in fear—yet they didn’t dare ask.

Chi Ku carried Tao Huainan on his back just like that, occasionally muffling a few coughs. His hands held up Tao Huainan’s legs; veins were bulging from the hand that was also clutching onto Tao Huainan’s school bag.

Actually, Tao Huainan wasn’t so fragile to the point he would pass out from someone hitting him a few times. It was just that it had happened at the right moment, just as he was sick from a fever. He’d originally been feeling weak and chilly; he only turned out like this after being tossed about.

But Chi Ku didn’t know that—Chi Ku only saw Tao Huainan being locked into a cubicle after losing consciousness, like a puppy that’d lost his life.

–

Tao Huainan woke up while having a CT scan done on his head. He’d already been pushed through many examinations while unconscious, and as the humming machine pulled him inside, Tao Huainan’s eyes slid open halfway. He didn’t know where he was.

The machine spun back and forth, moving to the front and back. It was very cold inside the CT scan room. Tao Huainan reached out to grope around, and a beeping that came from somewhere told him not to move.

He stopped moving. Less than thirty seconds later, the machine stopped; Tao Xiaodong came over and carried him down.

“Ge?” Tao Huainan tentatively called out, touching his arms.

“You’re awake?” There was anger in Tao Xiaodong’s voice, and it was obvious he was holding his emotions back. He asked, “Are you hurting anywhere?”

“Not really.” Once Tao Huainan finished replying, he remembered what’d happened earlier and asked, “Am I at the hospital?”

Tao Xiaodong let out a ‘mn’.

Tao Huainan didn’t know how he’d come to the hospital, the memories in his mind mixed together and unclear. His body was aching from his fever, and he didn’t have much energy. He softly said to his ge, “Don’t worry about me, I just have a fever.”

Ge stroked his head and didn’t speak.

–

Tao Xiaodong carried him out of the CT scan room and placed him into a wheelchair. There was a catheter still inserted into the back of Tao Huainan’s hand. He was too cold; he curled himself up, frowning.

Someone covered him with a coat, so Tao Huainan nuzzled his face into the collar, the still-warm coat letting him raise his chin comfortably. A few seconds later, he suddenly widened his eyes and sat up straight—he stretched out his hands to grope all around him.

“Stop groping around.” Chi Ku stuffed his own hand into Tao Huainan’s. “I’m here.”

Hearing his voice so suddenly, Tao Huainan stiffened entirely. He held his breath and used both of his hands to rub the hand in his palm, not daring to believe it as he whispered, “…Chi Ku?”

Chi Ku’s thumb scraped across the back of his hand. “Mn,” he said.

Tao Huainan didn’t come out of his daze for a good long while, his empty eyes wide as he sat there blankly. He only seemed to react after a while, and both of his arms headed in Chi Ku’s direction. He said, “I don’t feel well.”

“Where?” Chi Ku bent over to look at him; Tao Huainan caught his arms and didn’t let go.

“Everywhere.” Tao Huainan’s voice was very quiet. “My head hurts…”

“All your random illnesses are here now that you’ve seen Xiao Chi.” Tao Xiaodong pushed him forward. “Complain later.”

–

When he was being bullied, his mouth had been unforgiving as it formidably cursed, cussing out that person again and again to his heart’s delight. Now that ge and Chi Ku were here, he lost all his mulishness—he actually felt a bit guilty.

On one hand, he felt like he was useless and had caused trouble. On the other hand, he also didn’t want them to worry too much.

Nothing really showed up from his examinations, and since no specific department in the hospital was taking care of him, the emergency department temporarily placed Tao Huainan into the emergency ward’s large inpatient room. There were over ten people in that long rectangular room, curtains separating each of them to give them their own space.

Ge went to get the reports and talk to the doctors. Tao Huainan was absorbing a fever control IV drip, and his other hand tugged at Chi Ku, not letting go.

Chi Ku asked him, “Who hit you?”

“I don’t know.” Tao Huainan wanted to shake his head, but he stopped after one shake. His head hurt as soon as he moved it. He also didn’t care about who hit him anymore, tugging at Chi Ku and asking, “When’d you come back? Where’s Chi Zhide?” 

Chi Ku asked him again, “How many people?”

Tao Huainan frowned and quietly rebelled. “I’m asking you something. When’d you come back?”

Chi Ku’s voice was as fierce as ever. “I’m asking you, how many people?”

Right now, Tao Huainan felt satisfied and content at hearing Chi Ku be angry at him—it felt too comfortable. He said, “There should be just one. I heard only one. Ah, don’t think about it anymore. Did you sneak your way back? Wouldn’t Chi Zhide look for you?”

“Did you hear who it was?” Chi Ku asked again.

Tao Huainan couldn’t hear a single thing he wanted to hear, so he became a bit impatient. His nose was also blocked. He swung Chi Ku’s hand and asked him, “Can you not hear me asking you questions?”

Chi Ku’s brain was filled with only this one thing. Since he couldn’t get answers, he sat by the side and didn’t talk.

Tao Huainan didn’t mind that he wasn’t responding now, and he also didn’t mind him being fierce. Chi Ku was back—that was the best, best thing.

–

Tao Xiaodong was someone who greatly indulged the children; he’d raised Tao Huainan with much coaxing and careful cradling. Since the small cub had been bullied by someone at school, then that person had essentially bullied Tao Xiaodong—there was no way he wouldn’t care.

In fact, the class teacher had heard about it that afternoon from a few girls in the class. After hearing about the situation, she’d called over to ask in concern.

Tao Xiaodong said there wasn’t much of a problem, said I’ll go to the school tomorrow to talk about it.

Class teacher Lei wasn’t someone with an appeasing personality. Even without her relationship with Auntie Huang, as long as someone in her class was bullied, she wouldn’t be kind. The teachers in the school all had their own personal relationships, and sometimes the teachers for both students would urge their own sets of parents to take a step back and save some face. Teacher Lei wasn’t like that—she was over thirty years old and was considered young within the group of teachers. Her personality was slightly reckless, her temper quick.

Without even waiting for Tao Xiaodong to arrive at school, the class teacher had already gone to the teaching director, demanding a verdict.

–

At this age, someone who did bad things truly did bad things. Their minds weren’t really mature yet, and they rarely thought things over, their entire bodies wrapped in the rebellion and ignorance of puberty. They dared to do anything.

Primary school students were more muddleheaded, high school students more logical—only junior high students, during this hazy and indefinite age, found it easiest to get into trouble.

The boy who bullied Tao Huainan in the toilet was one of the four boys Chi Ku had blocked inside the bathroom last time. He wasn’t the leader; he was one of the followers. He’d been kicked by Chi Ku at that time, and when he’d gone again to look for Chi Ku at his classroom, he’d received two of Chi Ku’s fists.

After locking Tao Huainan into the toilet, he’d originally thought a blind person wouldn’t be able to find out who he was. He wasn’t worried about being caught at all.

His brain honestly wasn’t useful. He didn’t consider that while Tao Huainan was blind, the security camera in the corridor wasn’t. The camera caught clearly who’d gone to the bathroom at that time.

–

Tao Huainan went home after staying in the hospital overnight. He only had superficial wounds; they weren’t serious. Maybe it was because he saw Chi Ku, but his entire body from top to bottom was now relaxed. He didn’t feel depressed anymore, and his fever also went away. Except he still couldn’t go to school—he needed to rest at home for two days.

Chi Ku also followed along when Tao Xiaodong went to the school. Tao Huainan tugged at him, refusing to let him go. “You’re going to leave me at home by myself?”

“I’ll be back in a bit,” Chi Ku said.

Tao Huainan kept stubbornly saying “no”.

He himself didn’t even realise his voice was carrying a touch of clingy whininess. That sticky neediness from childhood was back again.

“Let go of me, I’ll be back in a bit.” Chi Ku raised his arm and shook him off.

“No.” Tao Huainan caught him and wrapped himself around him again. “Xiao-ge, stay with me.”

“Xiao Chi, don’t come anymore,” Tao Xiaodong also said. “The two of you can stay at home.”

If all three brothers in this family were stubborn, then Chi Ku was definitely the stubbornest. Anything he said would usually be unchangeable—once he decided on something, he would continue walking down that path to its dark end.

Tao Huainan was extremely afraid; he might’ve been saying he wanted someone to stay with him, but in reality, he was worried Chi Ku was going to fight. Chi Ku was scary whenever he fought. Tao Huainan was afraid of him hitting other people, and he was even more afraid of him being on the losing end.

Except, in the end, he wasn’t able to hold Chi Ku back.

–

Chi Ku had his own ideas, and he was also smart and obstinate. He was too difficult to manage.

Tao Huainan actually didn’t know that yesterday, before he woke up in the hospital, Chi Ku had also taken the same medical examinations Tao Huainan had gone through. Tao Xiaodong had pushed one through and dragged over the other, both of his little brothers worrying him.

Within the injuries covering Chi Ku’s entire body, there was one specific injury that even the collar of his shirt couldn’t hide. It stretched up over his neck and chin, and it looked like it’d been lashed into him. There was also an obvious scab just outside his eye socket. Chi Ku had lost quite a bit of weight, almost skeleton-like, and his face also looked terrible, his lips so dry they were peeling.

If he breathed too heavily or walked too quickly, he would cough. When he coughed, his face would be pale, his eyebrows drawing together.

He looked much worse than Tao Huainan when it came down to it. Tao Xiaodong had been scared yesterday when he first saw him—for a moment, it felt like he saw Chi Ku as a child again.

Chi Ku hadn’t actually dodged from Chi Zhide like he’d said to Tao Huainan on the phone.

Not only did he not dodge, he even intentionally prompted Chi Zhide into hitting him, provoking him into trying to hit Chi Ku to death.

–

The teacher was also very surprised when she saw Chi Ku looking like that, asking what’d happened to him with deep concern.

Since she had a good relationship with Auntie Huang, she naturally knew Chi Ku wasn’t Tao Xiaodong’s true younger brother. Seeing Chi Ku like that, she thought something had happened.

Tao Xiaodong laid a hand on Chi Ku’s shoulder and said, “Everything’s okay.”

Teacher Lei took Tao Xiaodong directly to the head of discipline. The teaching director and another vice-director were also there, and they each shook Tao Xiaodong’s hand. They watched the security camera footage together.

The camera recorded everything: that boy had carried a mop to the bathroom, and not much later, Tao Huainan had groped his way inside by himself. Roughly ten minutes later, that boy came out with the mop, an excited look still on his face, and he fixed his clothes as he left. Chi Ku had found his way there only after half an hour had passed; Tao Huainan had been carried out by Chi Ku on his back.

Nothing else needed to be said. If this video was released, it would be a massive scandal for the school: people always hated school violence the most no matter what, and plus a student who couldn’t see was also involved this time. It would affect the school way too badly if this matter got out.

The teaching director discussed it with Tao Xiaodong. “How about this, let’s call the student’s parents over and have them compensate for what needs to be compensated. The school will deal with what needs to be handled.”

“No need for compensation, and there’s also no need to call the parents over. I won’t see them.” Tao Xiaodong pointed at the screen. “I won’t take a single cent. I’m not here for that. I’m a relatively straightforward person. I just want to ask—how does the school plan on handling this kind of student?”

Tao Xiaodong had also grown up from this age; he had had his own share of fights back when he hadn’t understood anything. But fights were fights: if you didn’t like the look of me and I didn’t like the look of you, it was normal to curse each other out and fight. Back then, those who didn’t study and liked fighting were all called little gangsters, but little gangsters never bothered pushovers—it was always hard things knocking against hard. It didn’t matter when; if you bullied someone who couldn’t hit back, then that could never be shared in public.

–

Adults having their own rules in dealing with matters, Tao Xiaodong spoke with the school; children had their own principles in doing things.

They didn’t notice Chi Ku leaving after they finished watching the camera footage.

It was a break in between classes right now, and the doors to each classroom had boys joking and chatting as they leaned against the windowsills. Chi Ku walked to one specific classroom entrance and, without caring about how the students in the class looked at him, entered the classroom with an emotionless look on his face, coughing as he walked. He took a chair from the first row of seats.

The few boys in the corridor all had unpleasant faces; more than one of them had had problems with Chi Ku. They glared at Chi Ku, and only one of them didn’t dare to place his eyes on Chi Ku.

Chi Ku came out of the classroom with the chair. Without pausing, he went straight to that boy. His face suddenly turned fierce, and then he raised his arms, the chair smashing violently onto that boy.