The Taming of the Ruffian Hero

Zhao Yuan lost the mood to enjoy the beautiful early autumn scenery in the countryside. He sped past Liu Lanhua and Cao Damiao and returned home.

Lin Wenxi’s calls had become his daily sustenance.

“Are you up?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Did you sleep well last night?”

“Not bad. What about you?”

“I… slept pretty well too. Have you ate?” In reality, Zhao Yuan had been suffering from frequent bouts of insomnia ever since he came home.

“Yeah. What about you?”

“I’ve eaten too. What did you today?”

“Reading… some stuff.” In reality, Lin Wenxi was reading his new university’s brochure on admissions, rules, regulations, schedule, and so on. Lin Ziwei gave little explanation of these things and made him settle the rest.

Days later, Zhao Yuan finally reached the end of his patience.

“Is someone watching your home…?” he asked.

“My mom has been home due to the holidays and my dad also seems incredibly free these few days. Every now and then, Uncle Hong Xuan would patrol the area with a few men…” Lin Wenxi was feeling helpless. “Do you know where I live?”

How could Zhao Yuan not know? He had quite a few friends from all walks of life in Yangzi County, some from the Power Supply Bureau and the Telecommunications Office. They were able to give him the address of a head of household called Huang Xiya. It wasn’t the first, second, or even the third time Zhao Yuan had visited Lin Wenxi’s home. Each time, Huang Xiya would entertain him with courtesy. Either that, or Lin Ziwei would persuade him to leave in a powerful but gentle manner. He truly had no more reason to visit Lin Wenxi’s home anymore.

But whether or not he had an excuse, Zhao Yuan decided to try his luck this time.

“I’ll visit in the afternoon,” Zhao Yuan said.

Thus, in that bright and sunny afternoon, Lin Wenxi insisted to stay inside his room and refused to go shopping with Huang Xiya.

The moment Zhao Yuan entered the door, he swiftly found the shoe covers and sat leisurely on a chair inside the living room. Lin Wenxi poured him a cup of hot tea. Lin Ziwei, who was reading the newspaper, raised his head to look at the uninvited guest. He waited for him to speak first.

“Uncle, if I return all the donated money, will you allow Wenxi to stay?” Zhao Yuan asked.

“It has nothing to do with money. It’s true that he has helped you but he did so with an erroneous method. I don’t care if the contributions offset errors. But his departure has no direct relation to your issue,” Lin Ziwei replied.

“Our classmates don’t wish to see Wenxi leave,” Zhao Yuan said.

“You’ve made several visits as a representative of your classmates. These are all not an excuse. Similarly, no excuse will work for him,” Lin Ziwei said frankly.

“After all, Jifu University is more suitable for him. Shouldn’t a person who excels in both moral and studies like him be more suited to stay in a bigger world so he could further his studies and expand himself?” Zhao Yuan asked.

“No university is a person’s ultimate future,” Lin Ziwei said.

“But any major decision can affect a person’s entire life,” Zhao Yuan said.

Lin Ziwei looked at Zhao Yuan in surprise. He put down the newspaper and drank a mouthful of the tea. Neither indignant nor angry, he said, “So if we know this decision is the right one, all he has to do is walk in the right direction.”

“The word ‘right’ leaves a lot of room for debate. You should say that the decision is made for his sake so all he has to do is walk in the direction that is good for him,” Zhao Yuan said, smiling.

“That’s the idea.” Lin Ziwei affirmed his words.

“Then how is it good for him? He’s an adult and has the right to decide his own path. Give him the complete right to exercise his personality and leadership. This treatment should be the best for him, is it not? What you think is good for him might not necessarily be what he thinks is good for him. So, wouldn’t it better for him to make his own decision?” Zhao Yuan asked earnestly.

“Your words make sense.” Lin Ziwei gave Zhao Yuan an approving glance and smiled. “An adult has the right to do anything that he wants, provided it doesn’t go against the law and morals. But as they say, one can be a master even at a young age because he has learned the things earlier than others. And one can be a master in his field if he persists in it. When one encounters something so complicated that his young age and inexperience prevents him from making a sound decision, it’s necessary for a senior to help him make certain decisions. Do you agree?”

“I agree. However, I also believe that no one can completely understand another person. Even though you’re Wenxi’s father, you might not completely understand him. You might not fully grasp how much potential he has, how far his capabilities extend, and what his character is like. So, when you said ‘his young age and inexperience prevents him from making a sound decision’, that’s your experience talking. It’s not measurable by practical standards. It’s a false proposition. Since that’s the case, then the decision you’re making for him is also a false proposition. Do you agree?” Zhao Yuan asked frankly and assuredly.

“Then, let me give you a standard. Let’s take the incident of him helping you fundraise. He didn’t have to use his grandfather’s, my biological father’s, name for the donation. He could’ve just used your name. Even though it’ll hurt your self-esteem, that’ll so trivial as to not worth a mention when it comes to saving your father! Do you agree?” Lin Ziwei asked.

Zhao Yuan had no choice but to nod in agreement.

“If he is capable enough to understand you as a person, he wouldn’t have acted so recklessly and given others a chance to exploit him. Rationally and lawfully, he was asked to reveal the source of the donation. The conclusion was that he ‘had committed a fraud’ and in turn, affected and harmed his family. Your classmates understood who is he doing this for but outsiders and the all-pervasive media didn’t. And this lack of understanding and confusion were just ripe for others to manipulate. They added fuel to the fire and hurt him, his university, and his family. If he was truly capable, wouldn’t he be able to prevent the situation whereby three parties suffer a loss?” Lin Ziwei asked.

“He…” For a moment, Zhao Yuan was speechless. How could Lin Wenxi consider all that? Lin Wenxi was so focused on fundraising without hurting his self-esteem that it was impossible for him to be an old sly fox. His actions were all born out of an innocent desire to help. What would he do if he was in Lin Wenxi’s position? Likely, he would at least have some misgivings and deal with things more cunningly. He might even ignore Lin Wenxi’s so-called self-esteem. However, this was also where Lin Wenxi surpassed him in.

Zhao Yuan gave Lin Wenxi, who sat nearby quietly, a meaningful look as he considered all these. For a moment, he didn’t know what else he could say.

“He might make a decision under the assumption that it’d be good for him but he might not be able to determine if it would be good for his family and household. Does a person lives only for himself?” Lin Ziwei added patiently.

Zhao Yuan kept quiet. Sometime later, he stood up and bowed to Lin Ziwei. “As Lin Wenxi’s friend, I’m grateful that you took time out of your busy schedule to patiently talk with me. This proves how much you treasure Wenxi. Thank you.”

Lin Ziwei nodded in approval but said nothing. Zhao Yuan had no choice but to glance at Lin Wenxi, and then again. Only then did he leave dejectedly.

“Your classmate is not only quick-witted but can also think for himself. He’ll be somebody in the future! You should stay friends with him and learn from him if it doesn’t affect the overall situation. It’ll bring you many benefits,” Lin Ziwei told Lin Wenxi.

Lin Wenxi remained silent.

“What do you think about transferring to another province?” Lin Ziwei asked.

Lin Wenxi lowered his head. After a long time, he finally shook his head with force.

“Your mother and Hong Xuan have explained why many times. If you insist on being stubborn, there’s nothing we can do,” Lin Ziwei said as he made his way to his room. “How can I bare my fangs if you don’t leave, you silly child? And your mother is the greatest Achilles’ heel of my life!” Lin Ziwei couldn’t help sighing.

“I don’t want to go but I have no choice. Thank you.” Zhao Yuan nearly burst out crying after reading Lin Wenxi’s short text message.

Chen Wanxin was in near disbelief that this familiar number belonged to Lin Wenxi! She stared at the caller ID, not knowing what to do.

For that period of a little more than three months, she had nearly given up. She had nearly thought that even if Lin Wenxi leaves, she had no way of being with Zhao Yuan.

Ever since Lin Wenxi left, Zhao Yuan acted as if he had lost his soul.

Even though he kept going to work, he would only leave for the pub every now and then. Sometimes, he even got dead drunk. It was to the point that gossip was swirling about his suspicious relationships with the men and women who came to the pub. He would pick up men and women and dump them just as swiftly, causing their resentment to soar. This earned him the nickname “Player Zhao Yuan”.

Zhao Yuan continued going to class, though he could be found sound asleep all year round. Unexpectedly, he even got hit in the face by the ball while playing basketball. Zheng Kai was so furious that he nearly called for a rebellion to evict Zhao Yuan from the court. According to Wang Xiang, Zhao Yuan shifted from the top bunk to the lower bunk and even frequently wore that red jersey. It looked as if Zhao Yuan was indeed bewitched.

He ignored all the girls and it was only when he was with Gu Xi that people would see his previous hearty laughter.

Every now and then, at a specific time, Zhao Yuan would disappear for one or two days like clockwork. Whenever he came back, he would gather his friends and drown his sorrows in alcohol. If not for the fact that his grades hadn’t dropped to the bottom, that he once helped the subdistrict catch and deliver a thief to the university with fanfare, and the slow deduction of the course credits won from placing second in the cross-country competition, perhaps Zhao Yuan would be put on probation.

Chen Wanxin was terribly worried about him. She wanted to have a talk with him but he gave her no chance. He wouldn’t even look at her straight in the eye.

Once summer vacation began, Zhao Yuan ran off to Beijing by himself and only returned to Yangzi County after visiting the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, townships, and universities there. But he was only back for several days before he went off to get drunk with a band of brothers. This continued until Zhao Ming gave him a firm beating with a club and shooed him off to the countryside to help his aunt with her farm work. Zhao Ming understood that whenever Zhao Yuan was down in the dumps, the latter would often stare blankly at the few photographs he took with his mother. Zhao Ming knew that once he sent Zhao Yuan to work for his aunt Liu Lanhua, who married a farmer, the latter would regain his spirit soon enough. Even though he was the biological father, Liu Lanhua’s words were much more effective than his.

Chen Wanxin pressed on the screen of her phone to answer an incoming call.

“Wanxin, Wenxi is going to be sent to study at a university in another province. Do you have a way of making him stay at Jifu University?” Zhao Yuan asked.

“I don’t. More importantly, I’m not willing to.” Chen Wanxin couldn’t help feeling irritated after hearing Zhao Yuan mentioning Lin Wenxi again.

“Tell me your condition,” Zhao Yuan said.

“Would you dare agree to my condition?” In the early autumn, Chen Wanxin’s voice through the phone made Zhao Yuan get goosebumps all over. A burst of cold air filtered into his skin and penetrated his bones. He couldn’t help shivering.