After Cheng Yue went downstairs, he didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he sat for a while in the small garden, holding the urn with his parents’ ashes and gazing up at the fifth floor of the nearby apartment building.
His eyesight was excellent. Although it was somewhat dim, Cheng Yue could clearly see the small black bird in the cage on the fifth-floor balcony.
Such a lively little bird, chirping away early in the morning.
Cheng Yue mentally played with the bird for a while. With no one around in the neighborhood, he took out his phone to check his location and walked out of the complex.
He wasn’t familiar with the roads here, but he remembered the airport wasn’t far. He didn’t have any RMB on him, only US dollars.
Cheng Yue planned to go to the airport, exchange money, and then buy a flight ticket back to the U.S.
However, within five minutes, his plan failed.
Cheng Yue got lost.
As dawn approached and the streets began to fill with people, and breakfast stalls started setting up, Cheng Yue frowned and pursed his lips. He fiddled with the navigation app on his phone for another five minutes but still couldn’t figure out where the arrow was pointing.
What a useless app…
Frustrated, Cheng Yue thought he might as well take a taxi to the airport and pay the driver after exchanging money.
Just as he was about to put this plan into action, a strong smell of freshly cooked meat wafted toward him with the morning breeze.
After being forced to eat a plate of bitter melon stir-fried with bananas last night, Cheng Yue now felt an intense craving for the smell of buns as if it was a lifeline.
Before Cheng Yue could react, he found himself standing outside a bun shop.
The plump lady inside cheerfully asked how many buns he wanted.
Cheng Yue: “…”
The smile on the lady’s face slowly faded.
Seeing this, Cheng Yue swallowed and quickly pulled out all the cash from his pocket, nervously handing over a US dollar bill and stammering, “Two…?”
The lady’s smile faltered further when she saw the unfamiliar green bill. Having bought breakfast for most of her life, she had never been tricked like this. She wondered if she really looked so easily deceived.
Cheng Yue looked at the hundred-dollar bill in his hand and then at the silent lady. He considered turning around and finding another way.
“Hey!” The lady suddenly shouted, stopping him. She quickly grabbed two buns from the steamer, put them in a plastic bag, and handed them to him with a somewhat complicated expression.
“You look young and not very smart. Don’t do this next time. At least use some red money, okay?”
“Ah?” Cheng Yue was stunned as he looked at the buns handed to him.
“Ah what? Just take it.” The lady extended her hand impatiently. “I have other things to do. Hurry up and eat.”
“Okay, okay.” Cheng Yue noticed that many people were coming over to buy buns, so he quickly took the plastic bag from the lady.
As soon as he received the buns, he was enveloped by the rich aroma of meat. Unable to resist, he took a bite immediately.
The buns were plump with thin skins and lots of filling. The moment he bit into one, he tasted the meat.
After swallowing the bite, Cheng Yue looked at the busy lady and, after a moment of thought, quietly dropped the hundred-dollar bill into the cash box.
One bun was over 300 yuan, so two buns were over 600 yuan.
Cheng Yue took another bite of the bun and felt it was worth it.
After finishing the buns, Cheng Yue stood on the opposite side of the crosswalk, trying to figure out the navigation app on his phone again.
Ji Xu, meanwhile, was driving and distractedly scanning the streets, his brow furrowed tightly.
He never expected that troublemaker to have such nerve.
With a red light ahead, Ji Xu, frustrated, pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and rolled down the car window.
As he prepared to light up, a flash of gold caught his eye from the street.
The bright yellow hair made him squint and smile, though the smile didn’t reach his eyes. The curve of his mouth even seemed somewhat cold.
Ji Xu looked at the stopped traffic in front of him, opened the car door, and got out. The force with which he closed the door made the surrounding air tremble.
Cheng Yue was unsure whether to cross the crosswalk or walk straight ahead. After hesitating and taking a few steps toward the crosswalk, he suddenly heard a man’s deep growl from somewhere, making him drop his phone in shock.
Damn it! Cheng Yue cursed inwardly, recognizing the voice as Ji Xu’s. Realizing what was happening, he quickly bent down to retrieve his phone and ran towards the crosswalk.
“Cheng Yue!”
Ji Xu shouted again. Seeing Cheng Yue running faster upon hearing his voice, Ji Xu cursed under his breath and quickly caught up with him, kicking him in the back of the knee and pressing him down to the ground.
Cheng Yue didn’t even gasp for air; he carefully protected the urn with his stomach and began to struggle and shout, “Let me go!”
“You little rascal.” Ji Xu, pressing him down, was furious and slapped him on the back of the head.
“You really are asking for a beating!”
“You’re the one who’s a rascal! Let me go! Who the hell are you?”
Cheng Yue, pinned and unable to move, felt his anger rise instantly. He bared his teeth and started cursing loudly, “************!”
“Swearing in English, huh?”
Ji Xu was so infuriated that he actually found it amusing. He looked up at the crowd crossing the street and thought about dragging Cheng Yue into the car for a proper scolding. However, Cheng Yue suddenly began to cry and scream.
“Help! I don’t know him!”
Cheng Yue squinted his eyes and started yelling frantically, “He’s a human trafficker! He wants to take me to mine coal! Help! Old man! Old man, help me! I don’t want to mine coal!”
Ji Xu cursed under his breath and glanced at the surrounding crowd, including the old man who had come over on a bicycle after being called out by Cheng Yue.
“What’s this kid to you?”
“Oh, poor thing, yelling until his voice is hoarse.”
“Hey, a big man like you is bullying someone?”
The people around started discussing loudly. Seeing this, Cheng Yue became even more excited, yelling desperately.
“Sorry about that. He’s my younger brother. He skipped school today and got into a fight with someone. I just caught him,” Ji Xu said calmly, without showing any sign of nervousness.
Seeing the crowd’s interest, Cheng Yue became anxious and shouted, “No! I’m not his brother! I don’t know him!”
“I don’t have a useless brother like you,” Ji Xu retorted, then patted Cheng Yue’s bag.
“The money I left in the living room was taken by you, wasn’t it? Out to pick up girls again?”
“I didn’t take your money!” Cheng Yue was so enraged by Ji Xu’s words that he began to stammer, unable to speak clearly.
“These kids are all a mess!” The old man, understanding the situation, looked irritated. “If you can’t hold him down, I’ll help you get him into the car, no problem.”
“No need,” Ji Xu said with a nod of thanks, grabbing Cheng Yue by the collar and dragging him toward the street. “Let’s go!”
Cheng Yue hunched his shoulders and staggered forward, almost being dragged along. As he turned his head, trying to salvage the situation by shouting, the old man on the crosswalk suddenly yelled, “Take him home and teach him a lesson! A bunch of ungrateful brats!”
Cheng Yue, frightened, jumped forward a step, and Ji Xu, still holding the urn, dragged him back to the car like he was handling a stray dog.
Once inside the car, Ji Xu locked the doors and drove off with a blank expression. After entering the underground parking lot, he turned to Cheng Yue, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
In the dim light, Cheng Yue swallowed nervously, his hands tightly clenched, fearing Ji Xu might slap him at any moment.
Ji Xu didn’t say a word during the drive, didn’t hit him or scold him. Yet, this silence made Cheng Yue even more anxious and fearful, though he maintained a stubborn expression as if he would never give in.
Ji Xu noticed the beads of sweat on Cheng Yue’s forehead and chuckled lightly. He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and casually unbuttoned his shirt collar.
Seeing Ji Xu’s demeanor, Cheng Yue immediately pressed himself against the car door, eyeing him warily.
“Speak up,” Ji Xu suddenly said.
Cheng Yue thought he was about to be beaten, but after waiting for a while, he realized Ji Xu had said something… wait… what did Ji Xu just say?
Cheng Yue was about to ask when he was choked by the smoke drifting in the car.
Ji Xu looked at him, frowned, and extinguished the cigarette. He then asked again, “I don’t have the patience for games. Explain why you want to leave and why you want to go back to the U.S. If you can convince me, I’ll respect your decision.”
Cheng Yue looked at him, his tense posture relaxing slightly, though he was still nervous. When he was nervous, he tended to speak incoherently. Firstly, he worried about being a burden and being kicked out when people became fed up with him. It was better for him to leave on his own.
Second, all his friends were in the U.S. Even though they were just friends who went to nightclubs and played games, he knew no one in China. He didn’t know anyone here and felt stifled.
Cheng Yue thought for a long time, organized his words, but ended up stammering as he spoke, “I don’t fit in your house… I don’t want you and your dad to worry about me… I still have to go to school in the U.S., and I have money on my card. I don’t need you to support me…”
“Alright.” Ji Xu nodded. “How much money do you have left?”
Cheng Yue thought things might be taking a turn for the better and gave an approximate amount of the remaining balance on his card.
“Quite a lot.” Ji Xu smiled, but what he said next left Cheng Yue stunned.
Ji Xu continued in a calm and methodical manner, his voice neither too high nor too low, even gentler than before, “First, you don’t need to use any of the money on that card. The card will be frozen the day after you return. It’s a supplementary card to your mother’s, right? All your family’s assets were put into it. Do you think you’ll still have any use for that money? Second, you’re 17 this year? No, to be precise, you’re not even 17 yet. Even if you go to work in the U.S., they won’t hire you. Or are you planning to put on a tragic show on the streets of America, pretending to be kidnapped to mine coal?”
Cheng Yue lowered his head, his clenched fingers trembling. He had never disliked someone so much.
Ji Xu ruthlessly pointed out all his faults, leaving him feeling as exposed as if he were standing naked in the harsh light of day, with everyone laughing at him.
“Third.” Ji Xu, seeing Cheng Yue’s pitiful appearance, reached out and ruffled his hair with a touch of pity.
“It’s my responsibility to raise you until you come of age. You don’t need to worry about the rest. Your only obligation is to grow up.”
Feeling Ji Xu’s hand on his head, as if plowing the fields, reminded Cheng Yue of how his mother used to rub his head. His eyes suddenly reddened, and his voice was thick with emotion as he said, “Thank you…”
“Dye that awful hair color back. It looks like shit,” Ji Xu said disdainfully, withdrawing his hand and carefully wiping it with a handkerchief.
Cheng Yue, moved to tears, looked up just in time to see Ji Xu’s disgusted expression as he wiped his hands.
Cheng Yue: “???”
