Wolves of a Pair Prowl Together

Qiu Yi felt that he shouldn’t have switched shifts with anyone today.

It was Qiu Yan’s birthday at the beginning of next month, and although it was still too early, he wanted to go shopping for a present first. So when the girl from his workgroup asked if she could switch shifts, he readily agreed, thinking he could go to the restaurant after shopping for the present.

When he exited the school, Shen Tao wanted to tag along, but Qiu Yi didn’t let him. The Sports School had just finished their training, so they were eating and resting, and hence, would probably not bump into each other. 

As a result, as soon as he reached the bus stop, he bumped into Pan Yifeng.

Seeing Pan Yifeng rush out from the nearby milk tea shop, Qiu Yi cursed in his heart.

This had been too persistent. Just using up some energy to chase a girl, and he had already been arrested by the police. 

Pan Yifeng had just brought three men with him. If he had been prepared, Qiu Yi might not have suffered any losses, but today he was empty-handed and did not want to waste time, so he chose to run.

Qiu Yi had no advantage when running with the students of the Sports School. As he ran, he scanned the road to see if he could find any wooden bricks or sticks.

But before he could find something useful, Wan Fei had come charging at him from the left side.

“Fuck.” Qiu Yi’s path was cut off, so he had to turn around and climb up the wall of the Sports School in two steps, intending to climb in first and then find a way to get out.

Unexpectedly, he bumped into Bian Nan face to face on the wall. At the moment of eye contact, he even considered whether to say ‘hi’.

However, the road over the wall would be blocked by Bian Nan again, causing him to be in trouble today.

Bian Nan’s posture wasn’t quite advantageous. When Qiu Yi jumped down, he didn’t use much strength, but when he landed, he still heard the low thud as Bian Nan fell to the ground.

Without looking back, he ran straight across the Sports School’s field and onto the narrow street on the opposite side of the wall, which was dark and convoluted.

When he got out of the street and returned to the back door of Hang Yun, he couldn’t see the pursuers behind him anymore.

He called Shen Tao, “Take my bike through the back door.”

“It’s been blocked!” Shen Tao shouted as soon as he heard it, “I’ll call people over!”

“No need, there’s no one here,” Qiu Yi fished out a cigarette. Just as he was about to light it, the class teacher came out of the back door. Seeing the cigarette in his hand, he halted his steps and silently stared at him. Qiu Yi smiled and put the cigarette back in his pocket. “Get the bike quickly, I have to buy something.”

After the class teacher walked away, Shen Tao came out of the school with several people, pushing his bike, “Have you just been to the bus stop at the Sports School?”

“Mn,” Qiu Yi nodded.

There were two bus stops in this school district; one near the Sports School and the other at the entrance of the Med School. 

To go to either one, Hang Yun students had to go through a short road. On the days Qiu Yi wasn’t riding his bike, he was usually unwilling to walk all the way to the Med School to wait for the bus. 

“Or…” Without waiting for Shen Tao to finish, Qiu Yi patted him on the shoulder before stepping onto his bike and leaving. 

As Wan Fei jumped over the wall, Bian Nan had just picked himself up from the ground. Not caring to stick around and talk, they leapt up and chased after Qiu Yi in the direction he’d run to.

However, once they reached the wall at the field, there was no one in sight. 

“Fuck!” Bian Nan was quite furious and kicked at the nearby tree.

“Where’d he go!” Pan Yifeng hurriedly caught up, and pointing at Bian Nan, he shouted.

“Ran off,” Bian Nan said angrily. He was already seething with rage when he fell down the wall, and Pan Yifeng inexplicably shouting while pointing at him fueled the fire even more. He glared at Pan Yifeng, “Run slower than that, and you wouldn’t have been able to sniff him out even if you took three police dogs.”

“How the fuck can you talk like that!” The people who ran with Pan Yifeng suddenly blew up. No matter what, Pan Yifeng had held power in the Sports School considerably for three years.  

“I can talk however I want to. I’ve been talking like this for ten fucking years, is it your first day knowing me?” Bian Nan spat out this sentence before turning and walking back. 

Wan Fei followed him with a bag of food in his hand. It looked like beef noodles, but the soup had probably dried up.

Before the two could even walk two steps, Bian Nan was pushed harshly from behind. Without knowing who it was when he turned around, he punched the person in the chest, “It’s not over, is it!”

“Wanna fight?” Wan Fei pointed to the gym, “Why don’t I wait for you guys over there?”

Zhou Wei, who was from the track and field class, took the punch from the sneak attack. He staggered and glared at Bian Nan, wanting to lunge forward, but was held back by Pan Yifeng.

Pan Yifeng’s relationship with Bian Nan wasn’t good. It was still fine when they united against common enemies on the outside, maintaining superficial peace between their internal conflicts. Bian Nan was stubborn and refused to submit to persuasion. 

However, allowing Qiu Yi to rush into the Sports School to take a turn and run away was too shameful. Even if Pan Yifeng wanted to vent his anger on someone, he couldn’t take it out on Bian Nan who had just helped.  

Neither side spoke again. After a moment of silence, Bian Nan pulled Wan Fei, “Let’s go.”

“Just watch, with the way Pan Yifeng pees*, we’ll definitely find trouble again within three days,” Wan Fei glanced back, cursing all the way, “Fuck, laozi shouldn’t have learnt from Li Feng1 to do good deeds and helped attack Qiu Yi!”

(t/n: northeastern dialect- cursing how someone shows their true colours)

Bian Nan remained quiet. He opened the bag in his hand and looked inside; it was really beef noodles without any more soup. After tossing around, it was surprising that Wan Fei had not thrown the bag away.  

“What’s the matter with you? Weren’t you lying in the dorm and fattening up, why’d you come out? And…” Wan Fei tutted, not continuing on, “You can add some boiled water with the beef noodles and some instant noodles seasoning to make do.”

“You’ve been gone forever, shouldn’t I go take a look?” Bian Nan said with a muffled voice.

“I bumped into Xu Rui and talked a little,” Wan Fei scratched his head, a little embarrassed, “Are you okay?”

“Mn,” Bian Nan rubbed his own back. The fall wasn’t too impactful, it was just that the weather had become warmer and he was wearing fewer clothes, so his back was hurt by the mess of sharp stones by the ground. 

Bian Nan was seething with rage just thinking about being flung off the wall with his limbs flailing by someone’s arm, feeling the flames rubbing against his forehead, risking escape. He lifted his hand to soothe it. 

He could bear to lose face to anyone, but not Qiu Yi.

Wan Fei’s prediction wasn’t accurate. For three days, Pan Yifeng didn’t bother them.

It wasn’t surprising. After Pan Yifeng fought with the straightened chin that looked like he had just returned from South Korea, he still resulted in failure and didn’t dare cause any more trouble in school.

Bian Nan also had a few opportunities to run into Pan Yifeng. Several people in their tennis class who were going to participate in the ranking competition next month were devotedly attached to Lao Jiang on the tennis court every day. They sweat like rainfall, as exhausted as cows and horses, even finding it difficult to sleep during class.

“I haven’t been to the Internet cafe for a long time,” Wan Fei said, sitting on Bian Nan’s back, his voice sounding a little depressed. 

“Go for fuck*,” Bian Nan was sitting on the ground stretching his legs, his face buried in his knees, “Bastard, have you put on weight?”

(t/n:direct tl is ‘go bullshit’)

“No,” Wan Fei pressed him down again and sighed, “Just when Xu Rui and I had a little hope, Lao Jiang killed us.” 

“Your mind only has Xu Rui,” Bian Nan arched his back, “Get up.”

“Not only her, there’s also you,” Wan Fei giggled. 

Bian Nan stood up and moved his arms and legs. Those who were training had relaxed and went to dinner. As Bian Nan was about to take his clothes and leave, Lao Jiang shouted from across, “Bian Nan, where are you going!”

“I’m done,” Bian Nan said.

“Going for dinner.” Wan Fei also shouted. 

“Bian Nan, backhand target for half an hour!” Lao Jiang yelled. 

“Motherfucker!” Bian Nan grit his teeth and said with a low voice. 

Bian Nan’s backhand strength wasn’t enough, and Lao Jiang stared at him while he practised. Often, when others had left and Bian Nan stayed behind, he’d toss him to the teaching assistant and ball-serving machine. 

Bian Nan had no enthusiasm for improving his backhand strength and skills, nor for training. Generally speaking, he had no passion for tennis.

His dad enrolled him into the Sports School so he had just followed; he made him play tennis, so he just did it. Over the years, Lao Jiang thought he could grow. Even though he wasn’t energetic about it, he would simply practice according to Lao Jiang’s arrangement…

Bian Nan took a backhand shot when he saw the ball flying by. Strictly speaking, he didn’t even know what he was interested in. 

Even his enthusiasm towards girls lasted two to three months. When he caught her, he found it boring. If he were unable to catch her, just like with Zhang XIaorong, he’d find that meaningless too. 

The teaching assistant wasn’t as strict as Lao Jiang. After half an hour, he let Bian Nan rest. 

Wan Fei, who was waiting for him on the side, shook his phone at him, “There was an unknown number that called you, I didn’t answer it.”

Bian Nan glanced at his phone, “Probably a prank call, let’s go.”

The two had just packed up and left the field when the phone rang again; it was the same number. 

“This prank caller is quite persistent,” Wan Fei looked over, “Won’t give up until the prank succeeds.” 

“Hello?” Bian Nan answered the phone.

“Gege, have you eaten?” a young voice came through. 

“Gege?” Bian Nan was stunned, “You’ve called the wrong number.” 

“No, you lent me 400 yuan…”

“Oh, I remember, it’s you,” Bian Nan smiled, he had forgotten about this child, “I still don’t know your name.”

The child was silent for a moment, “My dad and ge call me Er Bao.”

“Er Bao? Does your ge see you every day…” Bian Nan felt that this child was quite vigilant. He wondered why he didn’t have this awareness when he was lied to about hiding his money in the tree hole, “Then my name is big tiger.”

“I have money to pay you back,” Er Bao paid no mind to Bian Nan’s name, and he said happily, “My dad gave me 50 yuan. I can pay you… 30 yuan first.”

“Your dad is so generous,” Bian Nan tutted, “Save it first, no rush.”

“I can’t save it,” Er Bao was a little panicked, “save, save, save and there’ll be no more.”

“Then spend it,” Bian Nan found it a little funny, he had not intended to make this child pay him back. 

“No,” Er Bao became very serious, “Come and get the money today. My dad gave me the money for my birthday, my ge doesn’t know about it, so I can pay you back.”

“Your birthday? Is it today?” Bian Nan asked. 

“Not today, there are still many days, it’s next month.” Er Bao became excited after talking about his birthday, his voice carrying a smile. 

“Then alright,” Bian Nan thought, it was Friday today, and since his training schedule was tight, he didn’t go home during the weekend, “I’ll go over to find you.” 

Bian Nan didn’t ride the bus; he took a taxi to the place where he’d first met Er Bao that day. 

He bought a cartoon pen from the nearby mall and packed it in a gift box. When he exited the mall, he saw Er Bao standing outside the coffee shop, looking around.

“Happy Birthday.” Bian Nan headed over, gently tapping his shoulder with the gift. 

“Ah!” Er Bao turned around and was surprised when he saw the gift box, “Thank you, gege! Is this a gift? You even got me a gift!”

“Birthday gift, not sure if you’ll like it or not,” Bian Nan squatted down and looked at him. “How old will you be after your birthday?”

“I like it!” Er Bao opened the box, and when he saw the pen he was elated, “I’ll be eight years old.”

Initially, Bian Nan had planned to diverge the topic of paying back the money and leave right after, but before he could even finish two sentences, Er Bao took his hand and dragged him to the other side of the street, “Gege, come to my house, I didn’t bring the money out, I’m afraid I’ll lose it…”

“Next time then, don’t worry about it,” Bian Nan said. 

“It’s the same next time,” Er Bao turned to look at him, “My gege isn’t home, he wouldn’t know.” 

Feeling a little helpless, Bian Nan was dragged into the alley across the street.

This area was full of alleyways with many courtyard houses. Bian Nan slowly followed Er Bao inside.

He quite liked this kind of environment. Although the houses were not separated, with several households living in one, the atmosphere was very lively. Even though the yards were in a disordered mess, it was better than the tidy front and back yards of his home villa. 

“Have you planted anything in your yard?” Bian Nan asked. 

“Mn, my gege planted grapes and many other things,” Er Bao stopped in front of the door of a courtyard house in the alley, opened the door and went inside, “We’re here.”

Sure enough, a rack was built in the yard. Many green leaves grew from the grapevines, which would probably climb all over the rack in the summer. His dad’s favourite part was to sit under the rack with a pot of tea and a plate of snacks. 

“Daddy~” Er Bao brought him through the grape rack, pulling out the key hanging around his neck to open the door, “Daddy, I brought a friend over to play.”

“Uncle,” Bian Nan hurriedly called out as well. The lights in the house were turned off, and he couldn’t even clearly see where the person was, “Good Evening.” 

“Good evening, good evening,” a man answered from inside the house, “Er Bao’s friend?”

When Bian Nan was about to reply, a man in a wheelchair came out. 

“Er Bao has an older friend?” the man smiled and nodded at Bian Nan, “Is this your gege’s friend?” 

“He’s not! He’s my friend,” Er Bao said seriously. He poured a cup of warm water for Bian Nan, and stressed again, “He’s my friend. His name is Big tiger.” 

“Yes,” Bian Nan took the cup. 

“Big tiger,” Er Bao waved his hand and entered another room, “Come on.”

“Oh,” Bian Nan answered, before smiling at Er Bao’s dad, “Uncle, sorry to bother you.”

“Not at all, not at all,” Er Bao’s dad looked at him, “Have you eaten?” 

“I have, I have,” Bian Nan said quickly, and rubbing his nose, he smiled, “I just happened to pass by and came to play with him.” 

After closing the door, Er Bao stuck against it to listen, “My dad has gone to his room.” 

“Your dad injured his legs?” Bian Nan said quietly. 

“Mn,” Er Bao nodded. He opened the bottom drawer from beside the bed and took out a red packet, “My ge said daddy was in a car accident and couldn’t move below his waist…” 

“Oh.” Bian Nan sat down. The room wasn’t big; with a double bed and a bookcase only a little bigger than a person, there was not much space left. There was also a desk on which two rows of clay figurines were neatly arranged. Some had animals, some were coloured, and some were still white.

“This is the money I owed you,” Er Bao took out three ten yuan notes from the red packet and handed it to him. 

“Okay,” Bian Nan couldn’t bear to refuse again. He took the money, put it in his pocket, and pointed to the clay figurine on the table. “Who made these?”

“My ge did,” Er Bao’s spirits suddenly lifted. He took a little clay figurine, “This is me.”

Bian Nan took the clay figurine and examined it. It was a little boy wearing vest pants, holding a ball in his hand. It couldn’t be described as refined, but Bian Nan was still amazed. 

“Your ge’s hands are skilled,” Bian Nan lifted the clay figurine next to Er Bao’s face to compare, “It’s quite similar.” 

“And this, this is my mommy,” Er Bao took another clay figurine, “I don’t remember my mommy, so gege made one for me.”

Bian Nan looked and found that the clay figurine was obviously more carefully kneaded than the previous one, its hair and eyes were lifelike.

“Your mom’s a beautiful woman,” He said, looking at the clay figurine again. “She looks like a foreigner.”

Hearing this, Er Bao smiled and lay on the bed, holding up the clay figurine and turning it front and back, “Mn!”

Er Bao was in a good mood. He took a big jigsaw puzzle and asked Bian Nan to piece it with him. Bian Nan patiently pieced it together for half a day and only made a corner.

“You can’t do it!” Er Bao sat cross-legged on the bed. “My ge can piece it all in an hour.”

Even after piecing it together until his vision turned blurry, Bian Nan still received such an appraisal. He squinted at Er Bao, “Your ge pieces it every day, of course he’d be able to do it in an hour.”

“No, my ge finished it the first time he bought it home!” Er Bao lifted his face proudly.

“Because it hadn’t been dismantled yet,” Bian Nan bared his teeth. 

“It had!” Er Bao snorted, “You’re just not as good as my gege.”

“Okay, okay, okay…” Bian Nan watched his happy expression, “Your ge beats you every day, of course he’s great.” 

Er Bao laughed and rolled on the bed, “But your temper is much better than my gege’s.”

“My temper isn’t very good either,” Bian Nan stretched and dismantled the unfinished puzzle. He knocked against the bookcase next to him, “Are these your ge’s books?” 

“Mn,” Er Bao nodded, “His baobei.”

“Can he finish reading all of them? Still calling them baobei,” Bian Nan glanced. He had an indescribable resistance towards books, he didn’t even scan the title of a single book, “If I’d had such a precious bookcase, I’d have already gone crazy.”

“My ge doesn’t even have time to read now,” Er Bao looked at the bookcase and sighed. 

Bian Nan stayed at Er Bao’s place for over an hour. It was exhausting to accompany such a small child. He looked at the time, “Er Bao, I have to go back to school.” 

“You should go then…” Er Bao was clearly a little gloomy, however, he quickly asked, “When will you come back to play again? It’s boring alone at night.” 

“Not necessarily,” Bian Nan stood up and stretched, “Won’t your ge play with you?”

“He goes to work and doesn’t come back home until midnight,” Er Bao lowered his head in thought, “Will you come and play when you have time?”

“Alright,” Bian Nan touched his face, “Wait till my competition is over.”

“What competition?” Er Bao asked with great interest. 

“Tennis.” Bian Nan said. 

“Can I watch?” Er Bao’s eyes brightened, “I think playing tennis is so cool!” 

“Okay,” Bian Nan thought about it, “But someone has to take you, I won’t have the time to take care of you.” 

“I’ll ask my ge to take me.”

Footnotes–

Communist party of China; model for people to work hard and help others