FF CH50
Zou Yang was startled. He abruptly raised his head and looked at the straight road ahead; the nearest electric bike was about thirty meters away.
“What happened?” He tilted his head slightly, looking at Fan Jun’s profile.
“Nothing,” Fan Jun twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle accelerated forward. “Got startled for a second.”
“I was just thinking about taking a short nap,” Zou Yang touched his own forehead.
“Take your nap,” Fan Jun said.
Zou Yang lowered his head again, rested his forehead against the back of Fan Jun’s neck, and closed his eyes.
“Didn’t you just wake up?” Fan Jun asked. “Did you stay up late yesterday?”
“Didn’t sleep well,” Zou Yang sighed, raising his voice. “I’ve been dreaming a lot lately. When I wake up I don’t even know what I dreamed about, just a messy jumble.”
“Uncle Lü has a prescription. I’ll have him boil a dose for you later,” Fan Jun said.
“Does it work?” Zou Yang asked. “Have you tried it?”
“I have, it works,” Fan Jun nodded.
There were a lot of people at the hospital. The electric bike parking spaces at the entrance were jam-packed with vehicles.
Fan Jun rode around the lot twice before finally finding a spot, just as a woman was pushing her bike out.
Just as Fan Jun turned the front of his bike into the space, an electric bike rushed over with absolutely no intention of braking, aiming to dive headfirst into the empty spot.
Zou Yang was just about to curse the person out, but Fan Jun had already kicked his foot against the front wheel of that bike. The wheel scraped forward another five centimeters before being kicked to a halt.
“What are you doing!” the owner of the bike shouted.
This guy looked quite intimidating—a skinny bald head, his scalp covered in tattoos. He was a flowery-headed thug.
Fan Jun looked at him without speaking, his foot still pressed against the wheel, unmoving.
The thug’s eyes widened, and he fiercely twisted the throttle.
The rear wheel of the bike started spinning madly, but the front wheel beneath Fan Jun’s foot couldn’t inch forward even a single fraction.
After dry-spinning for a while, the rear wheel began to slide side-to-side due to the resistance. The thug finally gave up and backed away.
Fan Jun drove the motorcycle into the spot and parked it properly.
“Actually, there’s another spot a little further away over there,” Zou Yang got off the bike.
“Too far from the main entrance,” Fan Jun took the scooter off and handed it to him.
“My leg is already healed, I’m even getting the cast off today. Walking a few steps wouldn’t hurt,” Zou Yang stood on the scooter.
“We’ll only know after the X-ray. What if it isn’t healed? From what I see, you’re jumping up and down every day and haven’t rested properly at all,” Fan Jun said.
“Don’t jinx me,” Zou Yang said.
“Pah, pah, pah,” Fan Jun smiled.
It wasn’t until the two entered the hospital gates that Fan Jun asked softly: “When I acted like that just now…”
“Hm?” Zou Yang turned to look at him.
“Was it…” Fan Jun paused and didn’t continue, merely walking forward. “Let’s go register.”
“It’s only annoying if you act like that guy from just now,” Zou Yang said.
Fan Jun stopped and sighed softly: “Lately… my temper has been very bad.”
“If that counts as having a bad temper,” Zou Yang said, “Then my head is on fire every single day.”
Fan Jun laughed.
There was no longer any issue with Zou Yang’s leg. After reviewing the X-rays, the doctor helped him remove the cast.
“Can I walk normally now?” He looked at his leg; his left leg had grown a full size thinner.
“Take it slowly, you still can’t right now…” The doctor listed off a whole bunch of precautions. Hearing it, Zou Yang felt the implications were pretty much the same as before getting the cast off. In short, he still couldn’t walk briskly and had to take it slow with crutches.
“You can do rehab in tomorrow’s class,” Zou Yang leaned on Fan Jun’s shoulder as they walked out of the hospital.
“That’s great. I won’t have to rack my brains thinking about what you should train in class,” Fan Jun wrapped one arm around his waist and carried the scooter with his other hand. “Are we going to your dad’s place now?”
“Yeah,” Zou Yang nodded. “It’d be a loss not to let him see me in this state. He should give me a bit more money this month.”
Fan Jun glanced at him without speaking.
“What is it?” Zou Yang asked.
“Nothing,” Fan Jun said.
This leg indeed shocked his old man quite a bit. He half-squatted beside his leg: “Why does it look like it’s still not healed?”
“It’s healed, it’s just…” Before Zou Yang could finish speaking, Zou Tianrui’s mother walked over.
“It’s normal for it to be like this after a bone fracture,” she said. “If he can get the cast off, how could it not be healed? Only having it on for a month shows the injury wasn’t serious. For anything slightly more serious, it would take at least forty or fifty days, right, Xiao Yang?”
Zou Yang didn’t speak, just smiled slightly.
“You know best,” his old man waved a hand at her, gesturing for her to leave. “Has Tianrui finished packing? Go help her.”
“It’s not that I know best, it’s a fact,” the woman said, casting a glance at Zou Yang before turning and walking out of the tearoom. “You just love to overthink things yourself. It’s a good thing Xiao Yang doesn’t have any bad intentions, otherwise it would be far too easy for him to trick you…”
Zou Yang gritted his teeth, controlling himself to keep from cursing out loud.
“You really are… Xiao Yang, ignore her,” his old man patted Zou Yang’s shoulder. “Come, try this new tea I got. It’s the old bush Narcissus you like…”
“Dad,” Zou Yang stood up. “I won’t drink any today.”
“Hm?” His old man looked at him.
“I just came to see you,” Zou Yang controlled his tone. “Afraid you’d worry…”
Even as he said these words, he felt a bit of heartache for himself.
His old man wasn’t worried about him at all. All of his so-called care toward him were nothing more than tall hats Zou Yang helped put on him.
“I know, I know,” his old man patted his arm. “Your auntie speaks without thinking, don’t mind what she says.”
“I’m heading out first, just came to tell you… my leg is fine.” Zou Yang grabbed the crutch resting nearby. He had bought it when leaving the hospital. Originally it was just a prop—after all, compared to walking with a crutch, he’d rather hop on one leg.
But right now, he felt that without leaning on this crutch, he wouldn’t even be able to stand properly.
“Have some tea before you go,” his old man supported him. “Dad knows you’re not what she said you are, you’re sensible…”
“Next time, Dad,” Zou Yang looked at his old man. “You guys are indeed busy today.”
“Then…” His old man frowned, and after a moment, sighed. “Alright, next time. Next time, us father and son will have a good chat.”
“Let’s go to a teahouse next time,” Zou Yang slowly walked out leaning on the crutch.
“We’ll just do it at home,” his old man said.
“A teahouse is better,” Zou Yang said. “No one wants an outsider dropping by their house from time to time, staying for an hour or two.”
Stepping out the door, his old man still wanted to watch him press the elevator button when the woman’s voice rang out from inside: “Close the door! Mosquitoes are getting in!”
“Dad, go do your things.” Zou Yang turned around, and without waiting for his old man to speak, pushed the door shut.
If he delayed for even a second, he was afraid his true colors would show.
And now was not the time to show his true colors; he had to endure.
As he pressed the elevator button, he heard his old man’s angry roar from behind the door.
“What are you doing!”
The woman raised her voice and roared back, but Zou Yang couldn’t hear clearly.
He stepped into the elevator.
Did it feel satisfying?
A little bit, after all, he got to hear them fight again.
But it was mostly stifling.
His old man’s anger didn’t stem from the words the woman had said to his son, but simply from losing face in front of his son. If you don’t give my son face, you’re not giving me face.
That was all it was.
Fan Jun was waiting for him in the coffee shop diagonally across from the residential community. This coffee shop had a second floor; it was quiet with few people, and the environment was nice.
[Fan]: Are you still on the second floor?
[Zou yang]: Yes, are you here? I’ll come down to get you.
[Fan]: No need.
Zou Yang kept his head down, leaning on the crutch. Just as he was about to go upstairs, Fan Jun had already come down. Fan Jun grabbed his arm and helped him to a small table in the corner of the second floor.
Before even sitting down, Fan Jun asked: “What happened?”
“Nothing,” Zou Yang sat down, his head bowed, adjusting his emotions.
Fan Jun didn’t give him the time. He directly reached over, cupped his chin, and lifted it up: “What happened?”
Zou Yang clicked his tongue and turned his head away, his eye sockets suddenly growing hot.
“Couldn’t hold back from beating up your dad?” Fan Jun asked.
The slight surge of emotion Zou Yang had just felt instantly stalled, and he couldn’t help but laugh: “The doctor said this leg of mine can’t be used for fighting yet.”
“The doctor never said that, stop spreading rumors,” Fan Jun said.
Zou Yang ordered an iced Americano for himself. He stared blankly at the table for a while before finally speaking: “His wife thinks I’m tricking him.”
“Does he think so too?” Fan Jun asked.
“He wouldn’t,” Zou Yang frowned and thought for a moment. “My dad is a very confident person. He thinks I’m just an obedient son who is extremely desperate to gain his approval.”
“Then just let those two fight it out,” Fan Jun said.
“How did you know they fought?” Zou Yang smiled.
Fan Jun also smiled, then lowered his voice: “Then… why did you?”
Zou Yang took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. Leaning back against the sofa, he closed his eyes: “I just feel that he will never say or do anything for me, he only cares about his own face.”
Fan Jun didn’t speak, but merely sighed as well.
“When I came out and saw his car downstairs, I almost couldn’t hold back,” Zou Yang cracked his fingers, the knuckles popping one by one. “I really wanted to go over with a club and smash his car.”
Fan Jun remained silent.
“On one hand, I don’t want to endure it anymore,” Zou Yang said. “But on the other hand, I feel like I still need to take the money. Why should he be able to stay so aloof and comfortable…”
“I’ll go,” Fan Jun suddenly said.
Zou Yang froze, not understanding what he meant.
“Just walk out in twenty minutes and wait for me at the Mixue Bingcheng by the intersection ahead,” Fan Jun said. “Walk slowly, don’t hop around blindly.”
Zou Yang still hadn’t processed it, looking at him: “There are three Mixues at the intersection.”
“The one where you don’t have to cross the street.” Fan Jun said as he stood up.
It was only then that Zou Yang abruptly realized: “What are you doing?”
“Making him uncomfortable for a bit.” Fan Jun picked up his scooter.
“Are you crazy, Fan Jun!” Zou Yang grabbed his hand.
“Do you want me to help you go crazy for a bit?” Fan Jun lowered his head and asked softly. “Actually, it won’t make a huge commotion, just to vent a little… Give me the building number and the license plate.”
Zou Yang looked up at him. In this moment, he only felt the blood in his entire body boiling, his scalp tingling slightly from a sudden rush of excitement…
Fan Jun walked out of the coffee shop carrying the folded scooter. He pulled the brim of his hat low and walked in the opposite direction of the intersection along the storefronts. He casually turned into a small alley, unzipped the zippers halfway down his pant legs, detached the lower sections, and wrapped them around his wrists.
After standing by the alleyway for over ten minutes, he rode the scooter back onto the main street, crossed the road, and entered the residential community through a different gate.
The community was very large, but there were directional signs by the road. Fan Jun put on his earphones, pulled a single-finger brass knuckle out of his pocket and put it on, then took out his phone and started recording video.
Then, riding the scooter, he began weaving back and forth through the open-air parking levels of the various buildings. He deliberately rode close to the cars, looking exactly like an idle, restless youth.
He didn’t mind being spotted, as long as no one could tell he was with Zou Yang.
After weaving around for a long time, he finally made his way to Zou Yang’s dad’s car.
After doing a few more figure-eights nearby, he rode the scooter back beside the car. Following a stumble, he staggered and jumped off the scooter.
First, the out-of-control scooter crashed into the car door. Then, the out-of-control him staggered and braced himself against the windshield.
With a muffled bang on the glass, a spiderweb of cracks spread all the way from the driver’s side to the passenger side.
Zou Yang stood at the entrance of a small bookstore by the road holding his iced Americano. His fingers tapped against the cup one by one, his eyes fixed in the direction of the intersection to the right.
Just as he was about to finish his iced Americano, someone whistled softly to his left.
He turned his head and realized Fan Jun had actually come from the opposite direction.
Fan Jun tilted his chin at him, and Zou Yang turned and entered the bookstore first, standing in front of a row of bookshelves.
“Hi, handsome.” Fan Jun came over and stood beside him.
“Hi, handsome.” Zou Yang halfway through his sentence when he started laughing. “Making a secret drop?”
“Mm,” Fan Jun smiled.
Zou Yang looked at him and realized the guy’s long sweatpants had turned into shorts, and there were two extra… wristbands… on his hands…
“What kind of outfit is this?” he said.
“Gotta disguise myself a bit, your dad has seen me, although it seems like he didn’t really look at me.” As Fan Jun spoke, he unfastened the wristbands, shook them out, and they turned into two pant legs. As he bent over to put them on, he handed over his phone. “I recorded a video, want to see?”
“You’re really thorough…” Zou Yang smiled and took the phone.
At the same time, he also saw that Fan Jun was wearing a wide silver ring on his finger, which had a spiked cone on top.
It was a brass knuckle.
“Where did you get this?” Zou Yang asked.
“From my pocket,” Fan Jun finished putting on his pant legs and took off the brass knuckle. “I always carry it for self-defense.”
Zou Yang looked at him and didn’t speak. After a while, he lowered his head and clicked on the video on Fan Jun’s phone.
The video was recorded from the moment Fan Jun entered the community, lasting over ten minutes.
“You’re really patient…” Zou Yang sighed in admiration.
“Gotta disguise myself a bit,” Fan Jun said.
Zou Yang watched it with a smile. He was very familiar with this community; after all, he had lived here for so long. He recognized all the paths Fan Jun had woven through, and it truly was a complex route.
Right up until the end, he saw his old man’s car.
Fan Jun also aimed the camera at his own hand. The scooter dented the car door, and then Fan Jun’s hand, wearing the reversed brass knuckle, slapped down on the windshield.
Bang!
Zou Yang suddenly felt a burst of gratification. He leaned back against the wall, looked at Fan Jun, and smiled.
Fan Jun went to get the motorcycle, rode it to the bookstore, and picked up Zou Yang.
“Let’s go have a meal at the old gym first, and then go to class?” Fan Jun asked.
“Aren’t you afraid…” Zou Yang stopped halfway through his sentence and didn’t continue.
Fan Jun also didn’t make a sound.
It had been quite a while since they had come to the old gym, and the old gym hadn’t changed either.
After all, this place Nanzhouping hadn’t changed in decades, let alone a small martial arts gym.
Xiao Bai ran over from by the doghouse, excitedly circling Zou Yang, continuously nudging his hand with his nose, even getting into position to stand up and pounce on him.
“No, Xiao Bai! No!” Fan Jun pointed at him. “His leg isn’t fully healed yet!”
Xiao Bai whimpered and sat down.
Zou Yang patted Xiao Bai’s head a few times, then tentatively rubbed the dog’s head.
“Xiao Yang is here?” His mother’s voice came from the kitchen.
“Yeah, Mom.” Zou Yang patted Xiao Bai’s head and walked into the kitchen.
“Got the cast off?” His mother dropped the vegetables she was picking, walked over, and bent down to look at his leg. “Is it completely healed?”
“Completely healed,” Zou Yang said. “Just the walking needs a period of recovery.”
“Oh,” his mother touched his leg. “I stewed some large bone soup for you, have some later. I was just thinking if you didn’t come over, I’d have Fan Jun bring it to you when he went to class.”
“Mm,” Zou Yang suddenly felt a bit like crying again.
“What’s wrong?” His mother straightened up and looked at him. “Huh? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” he said, reaching out to hug his mother.
“Oh my, what’s wrong?” His mother hugged him back and yelled toward the door. “Jun’er! Fan Jun!”
Fan Jun entered the kitchen: “Sister Shan.”
“What’s wrong with Xiao Yang?” His mother asked.
“He…” Fan Jun hesitated.
“I’m fine,” Zou Yang said. “Just hugging you.”
“Hug, hug, hug…” His mother patted his back.