Heart Like Brilliant Words

Only one of the two dishes was barely edible for them to eat, and the remaining one was really unbearable. Fortunately, Lin Yuyan didn’t cook too many ingredients and didn’t waste too much food. Eating it with rice was still pretty bearable for him. 

Gu Yaoyang finished his meal before him. He took his tableware and went into the kitchen to wash it. He then went into the bathroom to wash his hands, it seemed like he was planning to go somewhere. 

Lin Yuyan stood up and asked him, “Are you going out?” 

Gu Yaoyang changed his shoes and opened the door before responding to his question. 

“Can I come?” Lin Yuyan also wanted to change his shoes to go out. The slippers on his feet were newly bought. They had plastic soles and were a bit too stubby and small for him to wear. 

Gu Yaoyang bluntly said, “No.”

Lin Yuyan asked him, “Why? Do you have anything important you need to do? If you’re only going out for a walk, I could accompany you-“

“I said no.” But before he could finish his words, Gu Yaoyang rejected him again while he glanced at him. His eyes were firm and indisputable, and his tone was cold and emotionless as he talked.

Lin Yuyan was stunned. He looked at his departing figure downstairs, not daring to follow the other any longer.   

Strictly speaking, although Gu Yaoyang liked to tease him, he had never hurt him. Let alone hurting him, Gu Yaoyang hasn’t even humiliated and embarrassed him too much in public. 

So all this time, Lin Yuyan only thought that the other was annoying. He never thought that the other was dangerous or even dreadful. 

Before vacation, the teacher had asked him to deliver a letter to him. Although he was very reluctant to do so, he still did it in the end. Although he got timid when he saw the fierce-looking uncle who sold meat, when he looked back and saw Gu Yaoyang standing behind him, he thought that there was nothing to be scared about.

This was the first and only time so far that the carefreeness in his eyes disappeared and got replaced by a fierce gaze that he had never seen before. 

Lin Yuyan felt a little regretful. Just as he was about to close the door, he saw a figure dashing upstairs. This person wore black-rimmed glasses on his face and went up and greeted him. 

Lin Yuyan said, “You’re…”

The person wearing black-rimmed glasses introduced himself, “My surname is Fang, and my full name is Fang Jie.” 

Lin Yuyan greeted him, “Hello,” before asking the other party, “Are you looking for Gu Yaoyang? He had just left.”

Fang Jie looked a bit messy with some stubble on his face, it was as if he hadn’t shaved for a few days. He quickly said, “No, no, no. I’m here to look for you.”

“Me?”

Fang Jie got straight to the point and bluntly said, “I know your name and why you’re here.”

Lin Yuyan cautiously asked him, “You, how do you know?” 

Fang Jie smiled as he answered, “Hu Dongdong told me about it.”

Lin Yuyan was stunned, “Dong… Dongdong? He, how did you get him to tell you?”

Fang Jie didn’t hide anything from him as he bluntly answered, “Oh, that greedy little cat? I only needed to give him a few skewers of roasted pork belly for him to spill out any secrets he knew.” 

“You…” Lin Yuyan carefully scrutinized him for a while before uncertainly asking, “Are you the four-eyed brother Dongdong told me about?” 

“Yep, that’s me. So, what will it be? Do you want to follow Gu Yaoyang?” Fang Jie carried a computer on his back as he cautiously looked downstairs. It’s as if he was afraid that Gu Yaoyang would suddenly return and catch him in the act.

Of course, Lin Yuyan wanted to follow him. After all, Gu Yaoyang rarely went out, so he would definitely make new discoveries about the other if he followed him.

“But he said… not to follow him.” 

“Aren’t you being too obedient?” Fang Jie frowned as he continued, “Do you really want to get to know him?” 

“Of course I do.”

“Then learn to be flexible. For one, I happen to know where he’s going. I’ll take you there.”   

Lin Yuyan asked him inexplicably, “Why are you taking me there?”

Fang Jie patted his shoulders as he casually said, “Since you’ve moved here, you’re a buddy of mine. Besides, everyone living here helps each other out.”

At around 8 o’clock at night, Wenchang street became empty, though a few shops were still open. The lights were dim and there were no customers inside them. 

Although what Zhuo Hong said to him wasn’t true, Lin Yuyan was still a bit curious about this street. After all, when you search for it on a map, it’s shown as an open space.

Fang Jie owned a car. It was an old car that looked like it got passed on to him after seven or eight owners, and it often made squeaking noises when he drove it, though the seatbelt was still in good condition.  There were no street lights in the long street of Wenchang, it was like an abandoned city. 

Lin Yuyan asked him why he was doing this.

Fang Jie answered him, “It’s because the folks here don’t go out here often to take care of themselves.” He glanced at him again and felt his doubts, but it looked like he didn’t give a shit as he asked him, “What do you think about Hu Dongdong?”

Lin Yuyan answered him, “He’s very cute.”

“What about Grandma Hu? Have you met her?”

“En, she’s a very kind old woman.”

Fang Jie lit a cigarette as he said, “But before they came here, they were begging for food on the streets.”

“Beg- begging?” The word felt foreign to Lin Yuyan, he hurriedly asked, “But what about Hu Dongdong’s parents?”

Fang Jie answered him, “They’re in jail for scamming.” 

Lin Yuyang was stunned, he didn’t know what to say for a moment. 

“Don’t hate the people here after I say this, but the folks who live in this street are more or less related to these things. Some of them got dragged down by their children, and some came out of jail. There’s too much gossip outside. Not many people are willing to believe that they can correct their mistakes and be a better person.” 

“Then, what about Gu Yaoyang…?”

“Him? Oh, he’s different.” Fang Jie breathed out a ring of smoke as he recalled a memory, “He was cut down before getting thrown on the side of the road.” 

Lin Yuyan suddenly remembered the scar on Gu Yaoyang’s back as he asked in a daze, “Why, why was he thrown on the side of the road?”

Fang Jie answered him, “I don’t know. I’m also curious about it.” He then put out the cigarette butts he smoked and threw them out of the window. He drove for another 40 or so minutes before stopping.

Lin Yuyan got out of the car and found that the place in front of him seemed very familiar. He never thought that it would be the bar street where he met Gu Yaoyang on his first day of vacation.

Fang Jie led him through the noisy crowd and got into a hidden alley. There was a small shop with no signs or customers. The furnishings inside the shop were like an ordinary coffee shop, which made Lin Yuyan relax a lot.

The bartender asked for his age before letting him in. Fang Jie seemed to know the people inside this store very well. 

The bartender nodded and held up his five fingers.

Fang Jie said, “Fifty thousand?”

The bartender smacked his lips and whispered, “Five million.” 

“D*mn!!” Fang Jie was shocked, “Which second generation could save up this much money?” 

The bartender replied, “I don’t know, but there are a lot of people signing up now. It’s estimated that the arena on the second floor will be opened.” 

Fang Jie said, “Five million is a sky-high price.” Then he gossiped, “Is Yaoyang going to participate this time?” 

The bartender shrugged as he answered, “Sister Ling thinks so, but Brother Xiao Yang ignored her.” 

Fang Jie asked him, “Then why did he come here today?” 

The bartender handed him an elevator card as he replied, “There are many people who have signed up this time, and it’ll get messy below. The competition hasn’t even started yet, but I’ve already beaten a few of the rowdy ones earlier. Sister Ling called him to come and keep a watch, but told him to not beat all of them up. Or else, what will the audience be watching?”  

Fang Jie took the card and thanked the bartender before taking Lin Yuyan into the elevator. 

Although Lin Yuyan listened for a while, he didn’t really understand what they were talking about. He only knew that there might be a match here, and he was a little curious about it.

The elevator didn’t go up, instead, it went down to the second basement floor. 

When he came out, Fang Jie seemed to remember something and stopped him as he asked, “You.. What hobbies do you have?”

Lin Yuyan answered him, “I like to draw.”

“Well..” Fang Jie pondered for a moment before asking again, “Anything else?” 

Lin Yuyan said, “Reading books?”

Fang Jie said, “Anything else? Like… fighting?” 

Lin Yuyan shook his head. That was too violent for him, he didn’t like it.

Fang Jie coughed a little unnaturally before saying, “Then if you see something you can’t stand, you can wait for me at the elevator.” 

“What about Gu Yaoyang?”

“He’s either in B1 or B2, I’ll look for him first.”

Lin Yuyan nodded and followed behind him.

Compared to the floor above, this place was more spacious. The bar counter and wine cabinets had everything you needed. There weren’t any messy lights and there weren’t even any guests. There were two closed doors in front of it. Fang Jie pushed the doors gently, and in an instant, the sound of a messy and harsh fight penetrated his eardrums. 

Lin Yuyan didn’t dare to take a step forward, but he saw a man covered in blood laying on the ground. His entire face was swollen, and he lost a few of his teeth. He tried to get up, but it seemed like his bones were broken. 

Lin Yuyan was completely shocked. He’d never seen such a scene before. He wanted to leave, but he couldn’t move his legs. The man seemed to see the door opening, and with all his might, he dashed out from the inside, but he was so severely injured that he fell down in front of Lin Yuyan’s feet in a daze. He grabbed his ankles tightly and kept muttering, “I can’t compete- let me go… please let me go…”

He was surprisingly strong. His hands, which were covered in blood, slowly went up to Lin Yuyan’s legs.

Lin Yuyan couldn’t break free from his grip, and his eyes went red with fright. He was a timid person and had never seen such a scene before. His whole body shook like a sieve and he stayed quiet in fright.  

  “Lin Yuyan!”

Suddenly, someone called his name.

He hurriedly raised his head and saw Gu Yaoyang standing in the distance, he eagerly stretched his hand towards the other as he shouted “Gu-“

But before he could finish his words, the grip on his feet vanished. Gu Yaoyang caught his arms, pushed the person on his feet away, pulled him into his arms, and frowned as he said, “Didn’t I tell you not to follow me?”

“Did you think I was joking?”