Even though this apartment had been remodeled by his dad, based on his aesthetic, the style and arrangement of the various pieces of furniture were still exactly as Zou Yang was familiar with.

Every time he came over before, Zou Yang would feel a misplaced sense of being both familiar and unfamiliar with it.

But today was a bit different; the whole thing felt entirely unfamiliar.

“Let’s chat in the tea room,” Dad said.

“Can we?” Zou Yang asked, looking at the woman.

The woman stared at him without speaking.

“Zou Yang!” Dad lowered his voice and turned to walk toward the tea room.

Zou Yang didn’t say anything else. He tilted his head at Liu Wenrui and followed toward the tea room.

Liu Wenrui walked over, picked up the folder Zou Yang had tossed on the coffee table, waved it, and said, “Let’s go.”

The group walked behind Zou Yang, moving so briskly they practically kicked up a breeze.

Once inside the tea room, they stood right behind Zou Yang, who had already sat down. Without even turning his head, Zou Yang could see Liu Wenrui and Zhang Chuanlong with their arms crossed in the reflection of the floor-to-ceiling window opposite him.

He really had forgotten to set the boundaries with them before coming in. Right now, it felt like they were overacting a bit.

“Everyone take a seat,” Dad sat in the host’s chair opposite him, boiling water to prepare tea. “Have some tea, let’s talk slowly. I haven’t seen Xiao Yang in quite a while either.”

When it came to pretending to be calm and unruffled in the face of chaos, the guys standing behind him were no match for his dad. After hesitating for a moment, they all sat down.

Especially Liu Wenrui. Even though Zou Yang’s dad wasn’t home often, Liu Wenrui had grown up under his occasional watch, so he felt an inexplicable bit of intimidation.

Only Zhang Chuanlong stubbornly kept his arms crossed.

“Xiao Yang,” Dad glanced at him. “You running over here so suddenly doesn’t really look like you just want to have tea and chat with me.”

“That wasn’t the plan anyway,” Zou Yang said. “I said it, I’m here to settle accounts.”

Dad smiled. “What accounts do we father and son have to settle?”

“According to the terms of your divorce agreement with my mom,” Zou Yang said, pulling out a photocopy of the divorce agreement from the folder, “you are required to pay for my living expenses and tuition up through university… and under clause four, for major medical expenses, anything over five thousand per single incident or over twenty thousand accumulated annually, based on the settlement receipts…”

“Zou Yang,” Dad interrupted him, the smile gradually fading from his face. “What do you mean by this?”

“The best-case scenario is that you pay these expenses off in one lump sum,” Zou Yang leaned back in his chair and looked at him. “The not-so-great scenario is that you first give me half of the medical expenses for my hospitalization and treatment. I’ll come to you again for subsequent treatments as needed.”

“Lump sum?” The woman had walked into the tea room at some point and stood by the door. “Zou Yang, do you really treat your dad like an ATM?”

“Even if he is an ATM, I’m withdrawing money that belongs to me,” Zou Yang glanced at her. “What, is Auntie still counting on this little bit of money to earn interest?”

“Old Zou! This is your son!” the woman raised her voice.

Poked by her, Dad couldn’t keep up his act anymore either. He slammed the tea scoop in his hand onto the table: “Zou Yang, did you take the wrong medicine? How did you turn into such an unruly mess!”

“I’ve always been like this,” Zou Yang said. “I’ve always been like this, I was like this before, I’ll be like this in the future, and I’ll be like this for the rest of my life.”

After saying this, he suddenly felt light-headed. His ears buzzed, and the surrounding sounds became faint and muffled for a moment.

Dad stared at him, his lips trembling uncontrollably.

The other hand holding the teapot was also shaking. If it weren’t for the several people present, and if Zou Yang’s complexion didn’t genuinely look a bit unhealthy, Zou Yang suspected that teapot would have been smashed over his head.

Dad suddenly started laughing. “How pathetic, truly pathetic. I kept thinking, even if your life was an absolute mess, you’d still at least have the parts of you that resemble me, so you wouldn’t end up looking too disgraceful in the future…”

Zou Yang smiled. “The lord is not Shusun Tong; we are fundamentally of different stock.”

[“You are not a wise man who understands the times, and we are not the same kind of people” — implying they do not share the same values or caliber]

“Insolent! You really have become completely unscrupulous!” Dad roared. “Who allowed you to speak to your father like this! Where did you learn this hooligan behavior!”

That roar was truly robust. Everyone present was startled, and even the woman standing off to the side stumbled a step backward in shock.

Zou Yang instantly felt a wave of suffocation; his breath hitched and he couldn’t quite draw it in.

“So you still know you’re my dad?” Zou Yang gasped forcefully for air. “I was hospitalized for three months, you came once, and after you left I had to be put on an analgesic pump. Now that I’m discharged, I have to come to your door to ask for my medical expenses! Who told you this is how you act as a father!”

By the time he reached the end, he could hear a wheezing sound in his own breath.

Extremely pathetic.

So pathetic it couldn’t even be faked.

It was a pity he no longer needed this “assistance” right now.

“Zou Yang, Zou Yang,” Li Zhiyue grabbed Zou Yang’s shoulder and rubbed his back firmly. “Calm down.”

Zou Yang glared at his dad—this man he had tried to please, whether genuinely or falsely, for over a decade. This man who was glaring back at him with eyes full of fury, eyes that held not a trace of familial affection for him anymore… The taste in his heart was truly a kaleidoscope of emotions.

“Uncle,” Liu Wenrui leaned his body across the tea table toward Dad. “Zou Yang has fractured ribs and pulmonary contusions. Watch how you speak.”

“I should watch it?” Dad looked at Liu Wenrui in shock.

“Yes,” Liu Wenrui nodded, his hands pressing on the tea table trembling slightly from nervousness.

“Uncle,” Li Zhiyue spoke up before Dad could erupt again. “Zou Yang’s original intention in coming wasn’t to fight, but simply to fight for his rights. This didn’t need to turn out like this. We can just discuss the matter at hand.”

After saying this, Li Zhiyue even glanced over at the woman.

Dad didn’t reply to Li Zhiyue. He just looked at Zou Yang, slowly loosening his grip on the teapot, and finally waved his hand at the woman. “You go out first.”

The woman was silent for a few seconds before turning and walking out of the tea room.

“Paying off the tuition and living expenses in one lump sum is impossible,” Dad said. “I have no way of knowing whether you’ll use this money for its intended purpose.”

“That’s fine,” Zou Yang adjusted his breathing. He had anticipated beforehand that his dad wouldn’t agree to this. Anyway, there was no need to pretend anymore, so there was no pressure in coming over to disgust him once a month. He pushed up his glasses. “Then we’ll continue with the monthly payments. Do you need me to explain the treatment expenses to you item by item?”

“No need.” Dad took the folder resting on the table, opened it, and pulled out the stack of receipts. “I hope you won’t regret your actions today.”

“I don’t have time to regret,” Zou Yang said.

Dad looked up at him and remained silent for a long time.

The water had boiled, but no one moved to brew tea. Dad read the two pages containing the injury descriptions very carefully.

It was obvious that Dad hadn’t paid any attention to how badly he was actually injured from the beginning, and only now was he getting a full understanding from start to finish.

When he finally raised his head to look at him again, Dad’s gaze was somewhat complicated.

“How is your recovery going now?” Dad asked.

“Just like what you see,” Zou Yang said.

Dad didn’t say anything else. He put the photocopies back into the folder and directly transferred the money to his card.

Zou Yang didn’t even check it. His dad cared about his face on this point; the amount would definitely be more, not less.

“Sorry for the intrusion.” He stood up to walk out. “Let’s go.”

“Sorry to intrude, Uncle, Auntie,” Li Zhiyue said.

“Zou Yang,” Dad stopped him while standing by the tea table.

Zou Yang stopped and turned around.

Liu Wenrui and Zhang Chuanlong also stopped, but before they could turn around, Li Zhiyue gave them a push and whispered, “Just keep walking.”

Only after the guys had walked out of the tea room did Dad say, “If I said I didn’t feel a bit of guilt toward you, that would be a lie…”

Zou Yang smiled but didn’t speak.

“I’ve indeed been quite busy lately…” Dad said. “I haven’t had the time to sit down and have a proper talk with you. I don’t know how you could… I’m really disappointed in you.”

“I’ve been disappointed in you for a long time.” Zou Yang turned and walked out of the tea room, giving his dad no further opportunity to move himself to tears.

Liu Wenrui and the guys were standing by the elevator doors. Seeing him come out, they pressed the button to open the doors.

The group entered the elevator in silence, rode down in silence, and walked out of the elevator in silence.

The mid-day sun was very intense. As he walked out of the building, Zou Yang could smell the scent of the heatwave, which brought an indescribable sense of refreshment.

He closed his eyes for a moment.

“Fuck yeah!” Zhang Chuanlong shouted, breaking the silence.

“How much did he give? Was it half?” Liu Wenrui quickly cut straight to the point.

“Let me see…” Zou Yang took out his phone and opened the bank notification.

“Holy shit,” Zhang Chuanlong leaned over to take a look, then snatched the phone right away. “The full amount?”

“He never forgets to express that his financial capability is stronger than my mom’s,” Zou Yang stretched lazily. There was still a bit of a pulling sensation in his chest, but it felt much better than before. “What do you want to eat? My treat.”

“Let’s split it,” Li Zhiyue said. “Your ATM has a limit now.”

“We’ll eat this meal and then go back to living tough,” Liu Wenrui took out his phone. “Let’s go here. I’ve wanted to go for a long time but couldn’t bear to spend the money, just waiting for our little golden sheep [Yang] to be discharged.”

“You really…” Zhang Chuanlong clicked his tongue.

“Just say if you want to eat or not,” Liu Wenrui looked at him.

“Eat,” Zhang Chuanlong nodded.

---

“For the muscle recovery training exercises I gave you before,” the doctor said while applying electrode pads to Fan Jun’s shoulder and arm, “follow the time phases listed, and progress gradually.”

“Mm,” Fan Jun nodded.

“Your injuries aren’t too severe, your baseline physical fitness is good, and you have a foundation in sports,” the doctor said. “The chances of recovery are still very high.”

“Mm,” Fan Jun responded.

Rehab training was three times a week. This was his third session this week.

The hospital was quite far from Nanzhou Ping; it was an area Fan Jun had never been to before.

After finishing training each time, he would wander around the nearby area.

He didn’t really like crowded, lively places. Over the years, he had gotten used to everything remaining unchanged in Nanzhou Ping. Now, however, he had to traverse unfamiliar streets to go to a strange place and do even stranger things.

Fan Gang and his only accomplice were dead. The person in this world who could make him feel fear had vanished, but everything that had spawned from Fan Gang’s existence still remained.

Too many people, complex environments, unfamiliar neighborhoods, noises he wasn’t used to hearing…

It still made him feel chaotic and lost.

Every step he took carried hesitation.

There was a very bustling commercial complex near the hospital. It was huge, consisting of several open-air buildings connected together, with a large plaza that always had crowds of people.

The last time Fan Jun came, there was a performance in the plaza. He had originally wanted to go over and watch, but intense dizziness made him give up.

Today, he decided to go back and wander around again.

He picked a commercial street that, from the outside, looked to have the fewest people.

It was an antique-style street. The ground was paved with blue bricks, and the shops sold various tea sets, pottery, and some vintage items like old windows and old door panels…

Although there wasn’t much to buy, because there were few people and the decoration style of each shop was very quiet, strolling around for a bit felt quite comfortable.

Fan Jun took out his phone and casually snapped a few photos.

Then he opened WeChat to take a look.

[Zou_yang] You were discharged?

[Fan] Mm

He casually tapped into Zou_yang’s Moments to check, but nothing had been posted.

He sighed softly and exited the chat interface.

One shop had six or seven stone roof-ridge beasts placed by the entrance. They all looked quite cute, and one of them looked a lot like Da Hei.

Fan Jun slowly squatted down and took a few pictures of that “Da Hei”.

Just as he was about to take a group photo of “Da Hei” and its little companions, a few shouts of argument erupted from inside the shop, followed by a woman’s scream, and a figure flew out.

The person landed in the middle of the street, about a meter away from Fan Jun.

More accurately, they had been thrown out by a heavily bearded man holding a wooden stick, who rushed out of the shop closely behind.

The bearded man rushed out and lunged straight at the person on the ground, delivering a strike to his thigh with the stick.

The person on the ground let out a howl. The voice was inexplicably familiar, and Fan Jun turned to look at the ground.

“Are you going to refund me or not!” The bearded man struck his leg again.

“No refund!” The person on the ground covered his head. “You take an item back for a month, don’t maintain it well so it cracks, and now you want to return it. If everyone did this, how could I stay in business!”

Fan Jun stood up. He recognized the voice.

It was that useless He Chuan.

The bearded man didn’t swing the stick at He Chuan again but took a step back and kicked toward his stomach.

Fortunately, they were close. Fan Jun stepped right over, raised his leg, and kicked down hard on the bearded man’s calf. The bearded man stamped his foot on the ground and snapped to attention.

After being disoriented for two seconds, the bearded man regained his senses and glared at him. “Don’t stick your nose into other people’s business!”

“Fan Jun?” He Chuan shouted in shock from the ground. “Fan Jun!”

Before Fan Jun could speak, He Chuan jumped up from the ground and pointed at the bearded man. “This is my Sanda coach! This is my master. You’d better know your place…”

Fan Jun felt a bit speechless—a very embarrassing kind of speechlessness.

He pressed He Chuan’s hand down.

The bearded man had been somewhat hesitant after being kicked to a standstill, but being pointed at and threatened by He Chuan made the flames in his eyes start to rise again.

Just as the bearded man raised his hand to swing the stick again, Fan Jun chopped his right hand against his wrist.

The stick fell from the bearded man’s hand. He froze for a moment, then made a fist, preparing to smash it into He Chuan’s face.

Fan Jun quickly grabbed his right wrist.

The bearded man struggled a couple of times but couldn’t break free, so he switched to throwing a punch with his left hand.

Fan Jun only had his right hand available. Right now, he could only grip the bearded man’s right wrist and pull it toward the direction of the left punch to block it.

The bearded man was yanked into crossing his right arm over his chest, spun half a circle, and ended up taking his own left-handed punch.

Caught between confusion and shock, he turned his head to look at Fan Jun.

There wasn’t a trace of anger left in Fan Jun’s eyes; he looked surprisingly calm.

“If you have a reason, use reason,” Fan Jun let go. “Don’t use physical force.”

The bearded man’s gaze swept over his face a few times. “The item he sold me cracked when I took it back.”

“It’s made of wood! A vintage piece!” He Chuan said. “You insisted on putting it in your courtyard under the rain. What else was it going to do but crack? I told you if you wanted to put it outside, I had stone ones, but you thought they were too expensive! It’s been over a month, and you insist on returning it. Does that make any sense!”

“Then you fix it for me,” the bearded man said, then looked at Fan Jun again. “Fix it.”

I don’t know how to do that.

Fan Jun didn’t speak.

“Fixing it costs money. Since you bought it from me, I’ll give you a discount,” He Chuan said.

“…Fine,” the bearded man said.

“Bring it over tomorrow.” He Chuan frowned and patted his pants, then looked up at Fan Jun and became cheerful again. “Quick! Coach Fan, come inside and let’s chat! It’s been so long!”

Fan Jun was pulled into the shop by He Chuan, who pointed to a girl inside and said, “This is my sister. We opened this shop together. We just set it up not too long ago.”

“Mm,” Fan Jun nodded.

“Scared me to death,” the girl patted her chest. “That guy was even fiercer than the last one.”

“From now on, we don’t sell to people who won’t listen to advice and insist on buying,” He Chuan turned back and waved at Fan Jun. “Come, have a cup of tea.”

He Chuan’s shop sold all kinds of things salvaged from old houses, scattered casually but not messily throughout the room. Near the inner part of the shop was a tea table made from an old door panel, with incense burning.

Fan Jun navigated around the small stone piers and ornaments placed by his feet, walked over to the tea table, and sat down.

“It’s a bit messy today. A batch of goods just arrived and hasn’t been organized yet,” He Chuan said. “How have you been? I heard from Tan Ru that you got hurt?”

“I’m okay,” Fan Jun said.

“Injured your left hand, right?” He Chuan looked at his left arm. “I saw you were only using your right hand just now.”

“Mm,” Fan Jun responded.

“Are you not taking students anymore?” He Chuan poured him some tea.

“For now… yes,” Fan Jun said.

“When can you go back?” He Chuan frowned, then leaned in closer and lowered his voice. “Is it really… like they say… a murderer or something?”

Fan Jun’s heart trembled slightly, but he didn’t answer.

“Forget it, let’s not talk about that,” He Chuan waved his hand. “I feel like you never leave Nanzhou Ping. How come you came all the way out here today?”

“For rehab,” Fan Jun said.

“At the rehab hospital next door?” He Chuan nodded. “That hospital is the best. My friend had neck issues and did rehab there too.”

Fan Jun picked up the cup and took a sip of tea.

“How is it?” He Chuan asked. “My sister roasted this tea herself.”

To be honest, it wasn’t great. Even though he didn’t drink much tea, it tasted a bit burnt.

“It’s good.” Fan Jun took another sip.

“No need to be polite,” He Chuan laughed. “She was just messing around. The taste isn’t up to par, we just drink it ourselves for fun.”

Fan Jun smiled slightly.

“So if you aren’t working as a coach now, are you doing anything else?” He Chuan asked.

“No, just rehab,” Fan Jun said.

“Oh…” He Chuan nodded and took a sip of tea. “Then come hang out when you’re free. I don’t have many people coming in here normally anyway. Aside from going out to collect goods, I’m usually here.”

“…Mm.” Fan Jun looked out the window. A few shoppers were leisurely strolling past the wooden window frame, looking very peaceful.