Wolves of a Pair Prowl Together

Wan Fei was stunned when he heard the name; he quickly turned around and looked at Bian Nan.

“Mn,” Bian Nan answered. Not asking further, he put his hands in his pockets and walked along the road.

“Fuck, I want to mess with Qiu Yi,” Wan Fei whispered after following him for a while, his voice laced with excitement. “Isn’t that just what you want?”

“Right now, I want to eat something,” Bian Nan spent a long time looking for a piece of candy to eat in his pocket, only to find a small supermarket ticket. He turned around, “Where to eat?”

“Old Folks, I want to eat his spring pancakes,” Wan Fei uttered after a while, and then spoke again, “I knew Pan Yifeng would be the first to look for trouble with Qiu Yi. I just didn’t think he could hold it in for the rest of the semester.”

“There’s not a single spring pancake left in this stall…” he pointed to a row of restaurants in front. “Just have some fried noodles or something.”

“Whatever, since the young master doesn’t mind, I don’t care either,” Wan Fei waved, not minding if they changed from spring pancakes to fried noodles. “If it’s fried noodles, I’ll treat you.”

Bian Nan and Wan Fei sat at the double table near the window of the small restaurant and waited for their fried noodles.

After nine o’clock in the evening, the only places with lights on were internet cafes, knock-off KTVs and midnight snack restaurants.

Bian Nan had been leaning his head to look out of the window, but he couldn’t see a thing. There was only one street lamp far away; many of them were broken and hadn’t been repaired. It was dark outside, and the glass only reflected the interior of the restaurant.

There were only four people in the restaurant, including him and Wan Fei. The other table was probably students from Hang Yun, eating noodles with their heads bowed, not saying a word.

“You won’t go home this weekend?” Wan Fei asked.

“Mn.” Bian Nan nodded, took out his mobile phone, stared at it for a while, and sent a message to Zhang Xiaorong.

Do you have time to eat out on Saturday?

Generally, he wouldn’t use such a question when asking a girl out. He would directly say, Inviting you to dinner on Saturday. But he couldn’t use this method for Zhang Xiaorong. 

“Not going back again? You didn’t go back last week either.” Wan Fei put on a pose and raised his hand to make a peace sign.

“There’s no point in going back,” Bian Nan took a picture of Wan Fei with his phone, “Bian Xinyu’s birthday is the day after tomorrow. What am I going back for?”

Bian Xinyu was Bian Nan’s half-sister, only half a year younger than him. Bian Nan has had nothing to say to her since childhood. It had been nearly ten years, and it was estimated that until now, the words he’d spoken to her couldn’t even form a lihua poem1. 

There were probably more indirect conversations than there were direct.

In general, it was like this—Bian Xinyu would say, “Dad, Bian Nan hit me,” and Bian Nan said, “I didn’t.” Bian Xinyu would say, “Mom, Bian Nan stole my doll,” while Bian Nan said, “I didn’t”.

“The main point is to avoid Bian Hao right?” Wan Fei poured him a cup of tea. Wan Fei had known him since he entered junior high Sports School, so he knew all about Bian Nan’s dog blood2 family drama.

“Mn,” Bian Nan took a sip of tea, “He would definitely go home for his sister’s birthday.”

Bian Hao was Bian Xinyu’s brother. Bian Nan couldn’t even form a single lihua poem with him; whenever they met they’d start fighting. 

“Why not go to my house,” Wan Fei said, “My mom said she’d make dumplings. Didn’t you say you like her pancakes? Let her make some pancakes for you then.”

“I’ll see,” Bian Nan waved his phone, “If Zhang Xiaorong doesn’t have dinner with me, I’ll go to your house to eat pancakes.”

“Can you two even eat for two days?” Wan Fei tutted.

Bian Nan smiled without a word. 

After eating their fried noodles, Zhang Xiaorong finally responded. 

I’m in a bad mood these days.

“It’s so hard to serve, I waited half a day for this one bullshit sentence,” Bian Nan looked at his phone and frowned, “Are you in a bad mood so you don’t want to eat, or are you in a bad mood so you want to eat? Eat or not, even one sentence seems to be too much of an effort.”

“Women don’t have this integrity.” Wan Fei glanced over and laughed for a long time. 

“Bullshit, have you ever had so much trouble talking to Li Dan and those other girls?” Bian Nan stood up and put on his coat.

“Since it’s easy to talk to Li Dan, why don’t you chase her.” Wan Fei clicked his tongue.

“Too fierce.” Bian Nan bared his teeth and tutted, lowering his head to return Zhang Xiaorong’s text. 

Come out, I’ll accompany you until you feel better.

It was still a while before 10:30 pm. After coming out of the noodle shop, Bian Nan and Wan Fei strolled slowly to Holly Internet cafe.

There were three schools in this district, so in addition to the restaurants, there were more than a dozen internet cafes, large and small.

However, internet cafes also had their own territories. Those from Sports School wouldn’t go to Holly Internet cafe on the other side, while Hang Yun students wouldn’t come to the internet cafes at Sports School’s side.

If someone appeared on the other side’s territory, it basically meant that they were looking for trouble.

Just like Bian Nan and Wan Fei, who were wearing sportswear and down jackets with white stripes; at the first glance, one would be able to tell that they were from Sports School, looking particularly eye-catching walking towards Hang Yun’s side. 

On the way, they crossed two buildings that were still under construction. Bian Nan went in and turned around in a circle. He found two hollow iron rods and weighed them in his hand before handing one to Wan Fei. “Be smart later, don’t let the nail hook onto your pants again.”

“Fuck.” Wan Fei took the iron rod.

Bian Nan didn’t know how many people Pan Yifeng had called. But by looking at those who were at the foot of the wall, according to the high school level of fighting, they could already be considered experts. All were brawlers, fought ruthlessly, and could even match up to Wan Fei. 

Although Wan Fei could get caught by a nail while climbing a wall, he fought dedicatedly, and his skills were equivalent to being professional. His unconditional enthusiasm exceeded the high school level, and without any restraint, he might even quickly become a street hooligan. 

Bian Nan didn’t consider himself headed in this direction. He also fought and hadn’t stopped fighting since kindergarten. Due to this habit of fighting, he had been enrolled in Sports School by his father to release his pent up energy. However, he generally didn’t initiate matters; he only had a bad temper that would easily flare up whenever someone ran into trouble with him. 

After walking for a while, the three words ‘Holly Internet cafe’ could be seen shining under the spotlight.

Bian Nan tightened his grip on the iron rod. He couldn’t see Pan Yifeng around, but he wasn’t the type to run away just before a battle, so the only possibility was that they had already entered the internet cafe.

“Move aside,” Wan Fei quickened his pace and walked in front of him.

When they walked to a place just 50 meters away from the internet cafe, they heard a loud ruckus from inside, and then saw someone running out of the entrance.

“Block the door,” Bian Nan said, and the two ran to the entrance.

Several people ran out panicking, and the expressions on their faces could be seen clearly under the light. None of them was their target; they only escaped in fear from the fight. 

The people who ran out after had blood on their faces, light reflecting on the metal objects in their hands. Wan Fei rushed towards the one in front and aimed at his arm, raised the iron rod and swung it.

Bian Nan’s iron rod smashed onto the other’s hand, the object in it falling to the ground with a clatter. At a glance, he saw that it was the stainless steel armrest removed from the internet cafe’s chair.

Bian Nan swung at his shoulder again. The boy screamed and shook his shoulder, yet quickly stretched out his hand to pick up the armrest on the ground. Bian Nan propelled the armrest away and then kicked him in the ribs.

He hadn’t used too much force, but the boy was still kicked down by him.

Bian Nan and Wan Fei were about to rush into the internet cafe after they took down the two, however, about four to five Hang Yun students suddenly came out, all holding weapons in their hands and waving them around ferociously.

Bian Nan couldn’t stop it in time. Not knowing what object the person was holding, it swung towards his face; he raised his hand to block it, but the back of his hand immediately stung with pain for a moment. 

“Fuck! Fuck you.” Bian Nan cursed. Unable to care about anything else, he swung his iron rod at the man in front of him.

The hand holding the iron rod jolted with numbness. Amidst the chaos, Bian Nan’s own body received a few blows. He was wearing very little clothing, only a t-shirt and a down jacket, hence taking these hits felt like he was on fire. 

Several people ran out of the internet cafe. Bian Nan and Wan Fei were the only two people blocking the door, so they were pushed out by the crowd. 

Pan Yifeng and his people came out with the others. Looking at the situation, he reckoned that he had the upper hand. He saw Bian Nan and asked, “Are you alright?”

“I’m okay.” Bian Nan answered.

“After them!” Pan Yifeng roared, “Whoever fucking thinks about running!”

The group of students from Hang Yun had already run to the road. Bian Nan chased after them, flipped over the railing by the sidewalk, and flung the iron rod behind someone’s knees. The boy knelt on the ground and rolled around. Wan Fei caught up to them and kicked his back with one foot. 

The entire course of fighting was often very short; it took only about five or six minutes from the time when Bian Nan and Wan Fei reached the cafe, to when the group of people ran out and chased the others on the road.

This time, Pan Yifeng’s target was Qiu Yi. But within this messy gang of people, Bian Nan still didn’t know which one was Qiu Yi. He only felt that this majestic new Hang Yun boss was unexpectedly no match for them.

After running, stopping and swinging a few times, then running again, stopping and swinging—this process was repeated two or three times—Bian Nan heard a sharp cry from a girl behind him.

Bian Nan thought the voice was familiar, but instantly, a low male voice sounded behind him, “Hey.”

Hey, my ass3. Bian Nan looked back.

From behind him, a fluorescent green bicycle flashed past his eyes. Bian Nan only had time to see that the person on the bike was wearing a mask, and the deep eyes exposed from under were strikingly attractive. But before he could even react, he’d received a heavy blow on his right shoulder.

The immense pain nearly made Bian Nan cry out loud, and the iron rod in his hand almost slipped.

The person on the bicycle passed him like a gust of wind. By the momentum of his bicycle, he raised a rubber baton held in his left hand and whipped Wan Fei’s right rib, who was in the front.

Unguarded, Wan Fei staggered and fell to his knees.

“Behind!” Bian Nan hollered to alert Pan Yifeng and the rest.
But during the few seconds that it took for the people in front to turn their heads, the bicycle had already rushed straight to Pan Yifeng’s side. At the same time that Pan Yifeng turned his head, that hand raised, and the rubber baton flung down towards his jaw. Pan Yifeng had been hit so hard that he suddenly leaned back and fell to the ground.

At this time, the Hang Yun students stopped running for their lives and turned around.

Fuck!

Bian Nan threw the iron rod in his left hand and raced over.

No matter what the previous battle victory results were, Pan Yifeng was the one in charge this time. His fall would be a disgrace to the Sports School.

And his intuition told him that this person was Qiu Yi.

After Pan Yifeng was knocked down, the person on the bike halted for a moment. During this short duration, Bian Nan had sprinted to his side.

The iron rod in his hand hit the boy in the face.

The boy’s reaction was quick; he raised his hand to block Bian Nan before he could hit him in the face.

But Bian Nan’s blow was powerful. The iron rod first hit his left hand, and the tip of it firmly knocked against the corner of his eye. 

When Bian Nan was about to hit the second time, the boy suddenly kicked his bike and fled.

As the boy rode on his bicycle and glanced back at him, Bian Nan saw the blood gushing from the wound under his eyes.

When Pan Yifeng was pulled up from the ground by the others, his jaw was deformed, and he wore a twisted expression, which looked a little miserable.

“Fuck…” Pan Yifeng cursed half a sentence in pain. But some words weren’t even pronounced clearly, as he had probably bitten his tongue.

“Let’s move out first,” Bian Nan said. Pan Yifeng was badly hurt, and as the leader of this incident, his command had been affected because of his crooked jaw. 

Initially, the Hang Yun students had been destroyed, but as soon as this person appeared, they’d immediately regained their composure. Several wanted to rush over, but that man stopped and said expressionlessly, “Go.”

After the people on both sides said a few ruthless words to each other, the Hang Yun students turned and left.

The Hang Yun students had been beaten quite badly. If that boy hadn’t put Pan Yifeng down in the last round, they would have succeeded in the fight today.

Apart from Pan Yifeng, the others from Sports School had only minor problems. These people had good physical endurance and a few hits were nothing to them.

Wan Fei had been whipped quite fiercely, but it didn’t impact him much either.

Two people accompanied Pan Yifeng to the hospital for emergency treatment three miles away. Others had scattered; some went to internet cafes, while Bian Nan and Wan Fei climbed over the wall and went back to school.

As he climbed up the water pipe, Bian Nan realized that his shoulder was hurt more seriously than he had expected. It was difficult to lift his right arm and it lacked strength.

“Fuck your mom!” Bian Nan cursed as he turned into the bathroom and leaned against the wall. He then pulled Wan Fei in, who was hanging on the windowsill and wasn’t able to climb in due to his rib injury.

“Fuck,” Wan Fei lifted his clothes; a large dark blue bruise had started to appear under his rib, “Fuck!”

Bian Nan pressed on the bruise, “As long as it’s not broken.”

“Shit, stop pressing it,” Wan Fei quickly dodged, “It hurts… shouldn’t be broken.”

“Was that person Qiu Yi?” Bian Nan asked in a muffled voice.

“Mn, just know by looking at his bike.” Wan Fei blew at his ribs.

“What a fucking bitch!” Bian Nan gritted his teeth.

Biting his teeth and flushing his shoulder with cold water for more than ten minutes, Bian Nan returned to the dormitory and took off his clothes. By the light outside the dormitory, he saw that his entire shoulder had also turned green. Though after flushing it with cold water, it didn’t seem as swollen as before.

He bit his teeth and tried moving his arm. There should be no problem with his bones, but even the slightest pulling of his muscles hurt so much that he wanted to kneel over. Even his shoulders and neck were numb with pain.

“Damn…” Zhu Bin in the upper bunk leaned out half of his body, “What’s the matter with you?”

“You can see it?” Bian Nan glanced at him. “Your eyesight’s not bad.”

“Your load of bullshit is so bright and beautiful,” Zhu Bin got out of bed, took out a bottle of spray from the cupboard, and sprayed Bian Nan’s shoulder several times. Turning his head, he saw the big bruise on Wan Fei’s body and clicked his tongue, “Where’d you two go?”

“To battle.” Bian Nan said, tearing open his blanket and falling down on the bed. After fighting for so long, it was the first time he had been beaten up by someone while being so unprepared. 

But that wasn’t the thing that depressed him the most.

As he had been walking back, he had seen Zhang Xiaorong standing at the door of a milk tea shop on the roadside.

When he had immediately reacted to the familiar scream he had heard, it had been Zhang Xiaorong’s, and it was very close at that time. Bian Nan could guess that Zhang Xiaorong might have just jumped off of Qiu Yi’s bicycle.

Fuck!

Bian Nan didn’t have much of an impression of Zhang Xiaorong. He just thought that Zhang Xiaorong was beautiful; not tacky, but a unique artistic sort.

Now at the thought of Qiu Yi, his heart instantly felt suffocated, and the injury on his shoulder burned like it was set on fire. 

There was no way he was giving up until he won Zhang Xiaorong over!

Holding a belly full of anger—the kind where the more he thought about, the more fucking pissed he got—Bian Nan fell asleep after a short while.

When he was awakened by the school’s loudspeaker before dawn the next day, he still felt that he had a good sleep.

It was only after he turned over and got out of bed and felt a sudden pull on his shoulder, that he remembered what had happened last night, and suddenly, he was a little annoyed again.

Wan Fei got up by covering his ribs and leaned on his side. Arching his back, he felt like an old lady.

“Today’s training will suffer.” With his back bowed, Wan Fei grabbed a towel and walked out of the dormitory.

The sports school students who wore sportswear and ran circles along the sidewalk outside the school every morning had always been the beautiful scenery of “the second city centre”.

The nearby aunties and uncles who got up early would often stop to watch.

Bian Nan ran in the middle of the team. When his arm swung, it was like being tortured, but he could still withstand it. He had strained his shoulder from training in the past, and this felt just the same. 

Just after running half a round, Bian Nan thought that he saw a familiar fluorescent green sweep past. 

He suddenly turned around, stunned, “The fuck!”

Across the street, a fluorescent green bicycle had stopped. The person on the bike stood on one foot, hands in their pockets, and looking their way.

Footnotes-

1. a haiku/ sonnet
2. ‘dog blood’ is slang for ‘vulgar’ or ‘dramatic’ things
3. 你大爷 is a general curse for “fuck off, fuck you, etc”, just changed a little to fit the context

Names of characters-

1. 边馨语 – Bian Xinyu
2. 边皓 – Bian Hao
3. 李丹 – Li Dan