Zou Yang started the scooter. Fan Jun kept his legs propped on the ground, not daring to pull them up. After all, Zou Yang had just been in a car accident and entered the hospital at noon; it hadn’t even been eight hours since his injury.

This scooter of his was quite large. It could easily seat two people.

“Are you…” Fan Jun looked at the bandage on Zou Yang’s head, “…going to be okay?”

“What problem should I have?” Zou Yang turned the handlebars slightly, tapped the ground twice with his right foot, and backed the scooter out of the parking spot.

“Your head and your leg…” Fan Jun said.

“Do you need to use your left leg and your head to drive this scooter?” Zou Yang asked.

“Well, no.” Fan Jun said.

“Then it’s fine.” Zou Yang said, swinging the handlebars again. He turned around, drove along the sidewalk for a bit, and merged onto the slow lane.

It had to be said, Zou Yang was still very skilled at riding a scooter. At the very least, he was much better than him, a Nanzhouping NPC who usually relied on his legs to stroll around.

He even had the time to kick his right leg back: “Is there nowhere to put your feet on this thing?”

Fan Jun genuinely hadn’t paid attention to where the person on the back was supposed to put their feet. He tilted his head to study it and found the footrests. They felt quite far away; his feet ended up resting right beside Zou Yang’s legs.

“You actually drove pretty far today,” Zou Yang turned his face to the side and raised his voice. “From here to the First Affiliated Hospital is only ten minutes.”

“Mm.” Fan Jun smiled.

“What made you decide to ride the scooter out today?” Zou Yang asked.

“Just… trying it out,” Fan Jun said. “Uncle Lu’s side is almost done running around, so I was helping him run errands.”

“Running errands for the new venue?” Zou Yang frowned. “He asked you to help?”

“Uncle Lu,” Fan Jun said. “He probably wanted me to… get out and walk around more.”

“Actually, if Lu Lü can get that place up and running again, you don’t have to rush to find another job for now,” Zou Yang’s speaking speed suddenly sped up halfway through, “There’s a…”

Before he could finish, the scooter suddenly jolted.

Fan Jun on the backseat felt like he had been launched straight up. Because he wasn’t holding onto anything, he bumped into Zou Yang when he came back down.

“A bump,” Zou Yang said.

“…I noticed,” Fan Jun said.

“You should… hold on,” Zou Yang said.

“Oh.” Fan Jun hesitated between Zou Yang’s waist and shoulder, and opted to hold onto Zou Yang’s shoulder.

Actually, seeing Zou Yang today, especially seeing that Zou Yang’s condition wasn’t too serious, his mood had been very good.

…It was still very good right now. The only thing he couldn’t quite put his finger on was the sense of constraint that suddenly and inexplicably appeared between them.

Zou Yang was subtly different from usual.

He himself was the same.

Zou Yang drove him from where they parked back to Nanzhouping. There were no more uncomfortable feelings along the way.

With the wind blowing, without paying attention to the surrounding sounds and scenery, there was no panic or tension.

For most of the time, his field of vision only contained Zou Yang’s profile and his ear… He even felt like it didn’t take much time at all.

The intersection at West Beixiao Street was an easier place to hail cabs. Fan Jun had Zou Yang park the scooter by the side of the road.

“Don’t get off yet,” Fan Jun stepped off the scooter. “Wait until your car arrives before you move.”

“Mm.” Zou Yang took out his phone and looked around. “My mom won’t suddenly appear, will she?”

Fan Jun glanced at the time; it was almost five o’clock. “She usually doesn’t come this way much. She should be going grocery shopping now, heading towards the mall. She wouldn’t take this route.”

His mom wouldn’t appear, but other troubles might.

For instance, Sun Xulei’s dad, Sun Laowu.

Zou Yang called a car and still had to wait about ten minutes. He confirmed which direction the driver was coming from, and as soon as he looked up, he saw Sun Laowu storming over from the other side of the road, fuming with rage.

“Is he coming for you?” Zou Yang asked Fan Jun.

Fan Jun turned his head to glance over there and frowned. “Probably. We haven’t seen each other since he got out [of detention].”

Zou Yang looked down, preparing to put the kickstand down and get off.

“Don’t move.” Fan Jun pressed down on his hand, turning around to face Sun Laowu.

“Don’t you run!” Sun Laowu raised his finger to point at Fan Jun from far away.

The people on the sidewalk scattered to the sides one after another.

Fan Jun didn’t move or make a sound, just watching him.

It was evident that even someone as good-tempered as Fan Jun had uncontrollable anger towards Sun Laowu right now.

Zou Yang saw him gently squeeze his fingers. If the environment wasn’t so noisy right now, he probably would have heard a crisp crack of knuckles.

“Where did you hide my son!” Sun Laowu kept pointing at Fan Jun, reeking of alcohol. He was still pointing when he got right up in front of him, even continuing to point when there wasn’t enough distance and he had to bend his arm.

It was as if he was holding a gun in his hand, currently pressing it right against Fan Jun’s forehead.

“Didn’t you beat him until he ran away again?” Fan Jun batted his hand aside.

“Beat him away? Is it rare for me to beat him away?” Sun Laowu’s hand pointed back again. “Which time did he run away and not come back the next day to watch over his grandma!”

Hearing these words made Zou Yang burn with rage. He had to let go of the handlebars, afraid that in a moment of impulse he would just ram the scooter straight into this scumbag.

“It’s been three days!” Sun Laowu continued pointing at Fan Jun. “Three days…”

Fan Jun grabbed his wrist and violently twisted it downward.

With an “Aow!” sound, Sun Laowu followed his own arm downward, arching his back. “What are you doing! Haven’t you spent enough time in the detention center…”

“It’s been three days and you’re only looking for him now?” Fan Jun suppressed his voice, twisting his arm with one hand and grabbing his collar with the other.

“I’m calling the police!” Sun Laowu roared.

“Call them,” Fan Jun let him go. “Call them right now.”

“What! You think I’m afraid of you!” Sun Laowu spun around and lunged at Fan Jun, probably feeling he had caught an opportunity for a sneak attack.

Fan Jun once again grabbed his collar and hoisted him up.

The moment Sun Laowu’s feet left the ground, all his arrogance vanished: “Try touching me one more time! My bones are…”

Fan Jun slapped his face.

Sun Laowu froze, glaring at him.

Fan Jun followed up with another slap to his face.

“He touched you twice,” Zou Yang said from the side.

Sun Laowu couldn’t turn his head, so he could only roll his eyeballs sideways to glare fiercely at him. “Don’t get cocky. Peng Shan might be involved too, your martial arts club’s…”

“Here,” Zou Yang picked up his phone. “You’re not going to call the police, right? Let me help you.”

“Use my phone,” Fan Jun reached back, pulled his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and tossed it over. “It has Officer Liang’s number from the police station.”

“…Damn.” Zou Yang swiped it with one hand, catching his phone.

Fan Jun’s action was too sudden. To catch his phone, Zou Yang almost threw his own phone away.

“What are you doing!” Sun Laowu panicked, trying to pry Fan Jun’s hand open. “Blaming the victim, huh!”

“Your kid has been missing for three days and you didn’t call the police!” A middle-aged woman nearby started shouting. “Someone helps you call the police and you’re protesting? Is he even your son! You definitely beat him into running away!”

Zou Yang didn’t listen to Sun Laowu arguing with a few passing neighbors. He quickly opened Fan Jun’s contacts, found Officer Liang’s number, and called it directly.

“Fan Jun?” A middle-aged man answered the phone on the other end.

“Hello Uncle, I’m Fan Jun’s friend. Fan Jun is currently being attacked by Sun Laowu,” Zou Yang said. “I want to report to the police. Sun Laowu says his son has been missing for three days, but he won’t let anyone call the police, and he’s hitting people.”

“Don’t you spout nonsense!” Sun Laowu panicked, roaring at Zou Yang. “Who did I hit! Right now he’s the one hitting me!”

Before he even finished speaking, Fan Jun let go of his collar.

Sun Laowu paused for a moment, turning his body slightly to the side.

“Don’t run,” Fan Jun pointed at him. “It won’t even take three steps to catch you.”

“The police will be here right away,” Zou Yang said.

Although there weren’t many people in this area, they more or less all knew each other. Soon, over ten neighbors gathered. Everyone started criticizing Sun Laowu one after another, guessing where Sun Xulei might have gone.

A car stopped beside them, and the driver honked the horn.

Zou Yang turned his head and glanced at the license plate, realizing the car he called had arrived.

In all this chaos… he could only wave at the driver: “Bro, I’m catching a human trafficker here, I can’t leave. I have to cancel the order.”

“Human trafficker?” The driver’s head immediately leaned over to the passenger side window, staring at the crowd on the sidewalk. “You’re not taking the ride?”

“Your QR code,” Zou Yang said, “let me scan it.”

The driver didn’t even pay much attention, casually holding the payment QR code to the window, his eyes still fixed over there.

Zou Yang scanned the code and transferred ten yuan over. “I’ve cancelled the order. This is compensation for you, sorry about that.”

“Ah, cancel it, it’s fine, it’s fine.” The driver drove forward slowly, reluctant to part with the drama. It was only when the car behind him honked that he accelerated and drove off.

Two police officers from the station quickly rode over on a motorcycle. Their understanding of Sun Laowu made them take him away first without any hesitation.

But because Sun Laowu insisted that his son’s disappearance was related to Fan Jun, Fan Jun also had to follow them to the police station for a trip.

“Didn’t the car you called just arrive?” Fan Jun looked around.

“Cancelled the order,” Zou Yang jerked his head towards the back. “Get on, I’ll accompany you to the police station.”

“This is Nanzhouping,” Fan Jun said. “You get on the back.”

Zou Yang smiled and shimmied back onto the backseat.

Fan Jun straddled the scooter and drove in the direction of the police station.

“Actually, you could just go straight back,” Fan Jun said. “I can handle this.”

“I know, I just… don’t want to go back to school yet.” Zou Yang sighed.

Sitting on Fan Jun’s backseat right now, for a split second, he was transported back to the scene of Fan Jun carrying him on his back earlier. He almost wanted to drape his arms over Fan Jun’s shoulders again.

He snapped back to reality and loosely placed his hands by Fan Jun’s waist.

The police station was still quite unfamiliar to Zou Yang. The last time he entered a police station was back in elementary school.

A kid hadn’t wanted to go home after school and was forcefully dragged away by their grandma, crying incredibly tragically. Zou Yang had rushed into the police station to report that someone was kidnapping a child.

In contrast, Sun Laowu was very familiar with the police station. He plopped himself into one of their chairs and pointed at Fan Jun: “He hit me! Everyone saw it!”

Officer Liang glanced at him. “Where did he hit you?”

“He slapped my face!” Sun Laowu said.

“He’s someone who practices Sanda. He slapped you in the face and there isn’t even a mark?” Officer Liang said.

“Where did your son go,” Zou Yang cut directly to the main point. “Aren’t you anxious to find your son? Tell the police.”

“None of your damn business!” Sun Laowu glared at him.

“Why, did you catch a whiff?” Zou Yang asked.

“Take a seat first, don’t rush,” Officer Liang brought a chair for Zou Yang. “Let me understand the situation first.”

“Investigate him!” Sun Laowu pointed at Fan Jun. “He coaxed my son into looking for him every day. Now the kid is gone, he definitely has something to do with it!”

Fan Jun looked at him in silence, the corner of his eye twitching slightly. If they weren’t in the police station, Zou Yang guessed that Sun Laowu wouldn’t just have a hairline fracture this time, but a full-blown bone fracture—the displaced kind.

Officer Liang began to carefully question Sun Laowu. It was obvious he had a lot of experience with people like Sun Laowu. His questioning couldn’t be called aggressive, but it was quite strict.

It didn’t take long before he had asked just about everything.

Three days ago, Sun Laowu came home to look for money to buy alcohol. He gave Sun Xulei a beating. Sun Xulei couldn’t take the beating and ran away. Once he ran, it had been three days. Today was the fourth day, and he still hadn’t come home.

“In the past, when he ran, he’d just stay outside for a night and come back the next day,” Sun Laowu stared at Fan Jun. “This time he’s been gone for three or four days. Someone must have taken him in.”

“How did you hit him?” Fan Jun’s voice wasn’t loud.

Sun Laowu choked on his words and didn’t speak.

“There was blood, wasn’t there.” Fan Jun asked again.

Someone was talking outside the door. Zou Yang thought the voice sounded familiar. When he turned to look, a police officer brought Uncle Lü inside.

“What’s going on?” Uncle Lü asked Fan Jun as soon as he entered the door. When he turned his head and saw Zou Yang, his eyes widened. “Zou Yang, what’s going on with you too?”

“He hit me.” Zou Yang pointed at Sun Laowu.

“Are you fucking sick in the head!” Sun Laowu started cursing. “Does your leg have a damn thing to do with me, for you to blame me?”

“Does your son’s disappearance have a damn thing to do with Fan Jun, for you to blame him?” Zou Yang said unhurriedly.

“Alright, alright, alright, stop arguing, both of you,” Officer Liang stood in the middle and looked at Zou Yang. “That mouth of yours… You step outside first. Tell Uncle Lu what happened while I get some more details…”

Supported by Uncle Lu, Zou Yang walked to the outer lobby and sat down.

“My mom…” Zou Yang glanced outside.

“She’s cooking,” Uncle Lu looked at the bandage on his head, then bent down to look at his leg. “How did this happen?”

“I fell off a bike after my exam this morning,” Zou Yang said. “It’s fine, it’s not serious.”

“Why didn’t you say anything!” Uncle Lu frowned.

“Uncle Lu, you absolutely must not tell my mom,” Zou Yang said. “She gets anxious really easily, you can’t tell her. And it’s not a big deal anyway.”

“Did Jun’er fall together with you?” Uncle Lu asked.

“No. After I fell… he came to the hospital to see me,” Zou Yang said.

“Which hospital?” Uncle Lu asked.

“The First Affiliated Hospital,” Zou Yang said.

“Oh…” Uncle Lu gave him a somewhat surprised look, then fell silent for a moment. “With your leg like this, how are you going to handle your classes later?”

“Those classmates of mine will help out, it’s fine,” Zou Yang said.

“I won’t tell your mother,” Uncle Lu said. “But if you need any help, you have to speak up.”

“Mm.” Zou Yang nodded.

Fan Jun walked out of the room, and Uncle Lu went over to stop Officer Liang and ask about the situation.

“How is it?” Zou Yang looked at Fan Jun.

“Sun Xulei is truly missing.” Fan Jun sat down next to him, holding his phone in his hand. “He has a phone, but it won’t connect right now. It’s turned off.”

“He has such a good relationship with you,” Zou Yang said in a low voice. “Didn’t he say anything to you?”

“No.” Fan Jun furrowed his brow. “Since I got out of the detention center, I haven’t seen him much.”

“He might be afraid of causing you trouble again,” Zou Yang said.

“Mm.” Fan Jun stared blankly at the ground.

“How old is Sun Xulei?” Zou Yang asked.

“Thirteen. A year younger than Monkey,” Fan Jun replied.

“He’s already thirteen?” Zou Yang was a bit surprised. Sun Xulei looked quite a bit younger than Monkey—skinny and tiny, only reaching Monkey’s shoulders.

“If he really ran away,” Fan Jun said in a low voice, “he’s definitely not in Nanzhouping right now. He always wanted to leave this place. It’s been three days, and I haven’t had the time to look after him these past few days. If…”

“Fan Jun.” Zou Yang interrupted him, extending a hand in front of him.

“Hm?” Fan Jun looked at his hand, hesitated for a moment, then took the scooter key out of his pocket and placed it in his hand.

Zou Yang clicked his tongue, took the key and put it in his own pocket, and extended his hand out again.

Fan Jun thought about it for a long while before tentatively placing his own hand onto his.

“First of all,” Zou Yang gripped his hand tightly, “this is none of your business, and it definitely wasn’t caused by you. Secondly, you’ve given Sun Xulei more help than anyone else…”

Fan Jun turned his head to look at him.

“He definitely knows that, which is why he didn’t dare to look for you again,” Zou Yang said. “Send him a message. Tell him that if he has any problems, he can look for you. Once he turns his phone on, he’ll definitely look for you. He’s only thirteen. Even if he ran out of Nanzhouping, he won’t have run too far.”

“Mm.” Fan Jun replied softly.

“It’ll be fine,” Zou Yang said. “Everything will be fine.”