Chapter Thirty

It was almost midnight when I left the police station.

He Qi was making arrangements to go out for barbecue and have some drinks to ward off bad luck for Wen Hu and celebrate his five years of lying low finally getting revenge.

He Qi randomly found a barbecue stall to sit down and asked the waiter to bring over a case of beer.

With a bottle opener, Wen Hu poured three bottles of beer for the three men, maintaining a silent expression throughout the night. The chilled beer glasses hissed and emitted a little cold air, with a bit of beer foam spilling out, only to be repelled by the crisp sound of the men clinking glasses.

The sound reminded him of the sound of Wang Mian breaking free of his handcuffs in the interrogation room.

Exhaling, Wen Hu wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the gaudy pattern on Shen Yue's arm, pointed at it, and asked, "You... didn't your aunt kick you out of the house?"

Shen Yue finished his skewer and wiped his mouth. Upon hearing this, he said seriously, "I've already come clean with her. I'm going to establish the Xinghai Gang. I'll go to the school in a few days to withdraw from the program. I'm not going to A University. I want to be a gang leader."

He Qi, who was frantically eating skewers next to him, was stunned for a moment.

Wen Hu was startled, wondering how his brother had suddenly gone mad, uttering such outrageous words. Remembering his brother's stubborn nature, which was beyond redemption, he became even more anxious and angry: "You fucking... Shen Yue, are you fucking serious??"

Shen Yue nodded with a straight face.

The similar scene instantly transported him back to seven years ago.

Rural areas have less pollution, and at night the stars shine brightly in clusters, like wheat in a field.

He and Wang Mian often lay on the roof with their hands behind their heads, staring blankly at the wheat field under the stars.

Whenever this happens, when the gentle summer night breeze caresses his cheeks, he feels an urge to say something, to bring out his heart, which beats beneath his rough skin, and let it bask in the moonlight.

So he chatted with his best friend about everything under the sun. The thoughts of a young person are the purest. They talked about everything from embarrassing childhood stories to grand dreams. They talked about how their math teacher assigned a lot of homework and how he actually wanted to be a scientist. They talked about who in the next class was dating whom and what kind of girl he liked.

At the time, Wen Hu was obsessed with the Young and Dangerous movies starring Chicken. He excitedly told Wang Mian that he wanted to be a gang leader in the future and that his nickname would be Brother Haihu.

Wang Mian laughed. He saw his own reflection in Wang Mian's bright eyes and heard Wang Mian pat his chest and say, "Then I'll call you Sponge Bro. I'll always be your most loyal right-hand man. You can kill whoever you want, and I'll cover your retreat if you run. If you die, I won't live either."

They stood head to head, gazing at the sea of ​​stars like waves of wheat, dreaming of their own bright yet distant future, as radiant as the stars themselves.

Seven years later, Wen Hu can still see his own reflection in Wang Mian's bright eyes, only now the brightness doesn't come from the starry sky, but from the interrogation lamp right next to him.

Wen Hu was so angry he almost choked. He jumped up, nearly knocking over the beer glass in front of him. His hand, which was pointing at Shen Yue, trembled unconsciously before he suddenly put it down. He paced around the small table a few times, so long that He Qizheng gave Shen Yue a look, signaling him to stop. Wen Hu then plopped back down, grabbed the glass, and gulped down the beer.

"You fucking..." Wen Hu slammed his cup on the table, "Do you even know how Wang Mian got arrested?!"

Shen Yue remained calm: "Involving a gang fight and provoking trouble."

Wen Hu's voice trembled slightly: "Knowing that you still..."

He was most afraid that his two brothers would be implicated because of this trivial matter.

After his grandmother died, Wen Hu became a walking corpse.

He didn't know how things had suddenly turned out this way. Waves of police came to his house to investigate and question him. His father's hair turned into cotton overnight. His best friend became his enemy. All the changes happened so unexpectedly. It was as if the world had suddenly gained a layer of membrane. He was inside the membrane, and the world was outside the membrane.

Looking back now, he lived like an aggressive autistic person for the entire first year of junior high school. He survived being beaten to death by his classmates only because he was thick-skinned and could take a beating.

In the second year of junior high, he suddenly felt very tired. The good news was that he no longer wanted to attack others, but the bad news was that he wanted to attack himself.

Perhaps it was fate that he would run into Shen Yue and He Qizheng every time he attempted suicide. They had been attacked by him for no reason at first, but after witnessing his suicide attempt and knowing that he was mentally ill, they stopped bothering with him.

Shen Yue somehow found out about his family's affairs. He thought he would once again receive the pitying looks that were like a pile of dung that could never be cleaned up, just like when things first happened. Instead, Shen Yue and He Qizheng beat him up, called him an idiot, and told him that only an idiot would punish himself for other people's mistakes.

He raised his fist and swung it back, saying they didn't know anything, but he got beaten up again and finally collapsed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably.

Wen Hu swore that it was the most shameful memory of his life.

Seeing Wang Mian after five years, he did think about killing him. When Shen Yue came to find him, he did consider jumping off the rooftop, but the wind was too strong. He mentally rehearsed how to kill Wang Mian before he died. He had been sitting for too long and his legs were numb. Shen Yue also arrived.

Looking at Wang Mian, who was handcuffed to the interrogation chair, through the one-way glass, Wen Hu suddenly felt completely listless.

Especially when he heard Wang Mian say that the arson was a spur-of-the-moment decision, that he couldn't go to junior high school, and that he wanted Wen Hu to stay with him because he had promised Wen Hu that he would always be his little brother.

Wen Hu's strength dissipated with the summer night breeze.

It turns out that it was just because of his whim, just because of a youthful joke, just because of such a ridiculous reason. It turns out that the consequences of misjudging people are so serious, so serious that it caused his beloved grandmother to lose her life, and turned his seventeen years of life into an absurd joke.

Wang Mian confessed to his arson and murder without hesitation. Looking at his indifferent smile, Wen Hu felt that all his resentment, hatred, and despair had turned into a wisp of smoke, swaying and dissipating with the soft rattling of the handcuffs, and with the ceaseless wind that had blown from the age of ten to seventeen, after the lawyer revealed the word "death penalty."

He could finally climb down from the roof where he was ten, crawl through the membrane, and step into his seventeen-year-old life.

His head was pressed down and shaken, and he heard Shen Yue say, "Tiger, it's alright."

Wen Hu was stunned for a few seconds, and without warning, large tears fell down his cheeks.

Wen Hu raised his hand to cover his face, trying his best to keep quiet. His shoulders and back were tense, like a fully drawn bow.

"Hold!"

He Qi slammed the cup on the table, stood up, and roughly pulled Wen Hu into his arms. He held Wen Hu's head and rubbed it hard, saying, "Fuck you, Wen Hu... You're really good at holding back... You're even pretending with your brother! Fuck!"

Shen Yue poured himself a glass of wine, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. He stood up and put his arms around both of his brothers.

It's not a common sight to see three tall, burly young men embracing each other. Many eyes, both open and hidden, glanced over, and after a few looks, they noticed the piles of empty bottles on and under the table and suddenly realized what was happening.

When you're drunk, it's normal for you to do anything.

Alcohol numbs the brain, everything around appears dull, leaving only the flashy, muscular arms in front of the eyes.

"...I can't breathe."

A sentence struggled to escape from within the small encirclement.

Feeling the two arms around him loosen slightly, Wen Hu sniffed and leaned back in disgust: "Stay away from me, Boss Hei. I get annoyed just looking at your tattooed arms."

"Damn it." Shen Yue laughed in exasperation.

He rolled down his tattooed sleeves, folded them neatly in a few quick movements, and stuffed them into his pocket.

"You idiot, I'm fucking lying to you, and you actually believed me."

Wen Hu reacted in a few seconds, then forcefully tightened his elbow around the gang leader's neck, his teeth itching with hatred: "Fuck you, Chen Yue, I'll strangle you to death today—"

"No one is allowed to bully my brother!" He Qizheng shouted angrily and charged forward.

Before Wen Hu could even prepare for a two-on-one situation, he heard the gang leader on his elbow let out a muffled groan. The enemy soldiers who had been charging at him with the bugle call suddenly turned into allies. A crushing blow nearly flattened his good brother's buttocks. Noticing Wen Hu's gaze, the gang leader gave him a triumphant smile.

They made a huge fuss until the owner received a complaint and had to come and break it up. Only then did the three of them calm down and sit down to drink and eat skewers.

Shen Yue poured himself a beer and took a breath. A message came in on his phone, which he picked up and looked at.

[I am a fish: Did you write an essay for me?]

Shen Yue paused for a moment. He had been busy with Wen Hu's affairs all day. He hadn't even opened his schoolbag, let alone written an essay.

[Dai: Don't worry, I definitely won't let you leave your homework blank.]

I am a fish: ......

[I am a fish: You'd better be.]

Shen Yue glanced at the time; it was almost one o'clock.

[DaiY: Aren't you asleep yet?]

I am a fish: It's none of your business.

[I am a fish: You weren't asleep either, were you?]

[Dai: Okay.]

Shen Yue quickly ate a few skewers, thinking he should hurry home to do his homework.

His phone vibrated before he could put it down, and he glanced at it.

[I am a fish: Haven't you gone home yet?]

Shen Yue was taken aback for a moment before realizing You Congxi's true intention in sending the message.

He Qi noticed the worthless smile on Shen Yue's face, nudged Wen Hu next to him, and whispered, "Hey, Hu Zi, who do you think Shen Yue is texting?"

After saying that, he had his answer. He had forgotten that Shen Yue liked to swim in Congxi. Who else could be so happy after just one message?

Before he could hesitate about whether to tell Wen Hu, he heard Wen Hu say in a tone as if he were saying that the weather was nice today, "Let's go for a swim in Congxi."

He Qizheng: "!!!"

"How did you know?! Do you have X-ray vision?!"

He Qi was clutching his chest in terror when Wen Hu glanced at him with disdain and said, "Only an idiot wouldn't see that. It's so obvious, it's like you have six big characters carved on your face—'I like swimming in Congxi.'"

"Who do you like?" Shen Yue looked up from his phone and asked, puzzled.

"Why are you keeping this bear? And you even gave it a mosquito repellent rollerball." Qu Qi placed the bear on the edge of You Congxi's bowl and put the mosquito repellent rollerball into his pocket.

You Congxi was forced to meet the gaze of the beady-eyed man, secretly swallowed hard, and his mind raced.

You're so dense, think of something already!

As she racked her brains for an excuse, she heard Qu Qi say in a low voice, "The great powers have never given up their desire to destroy us..."

You Congxi: "?"

Qu Qi poked the sitting bear down with one finger, looking at the bear as if it were a person, and snorted coldly: "That kid Shen Yue still hasn't given up on wanting to be my male best friend. Doesn't he even look in the mirror and see how fierce he usually is? He thinks he can steal you away from me like this?!"

You Congxi: "..."

So that's how it is.

"By the way," Qu Qi slapped the bear away and turned back to gossip with You Congxi, "Did you check the group chat? You were in a hurry to leave after school yesterday and didn't post anything in the group, so you definitely don't know."

You Congxi quietly retrieved the bear that had flown away: "What?"

Qu Qi pulled up last night's chat history on her phone and said, "A bloodbath has occurred at our school!"

You Congxi was still feeling guilty because he had made up an excuse after school yesterday to let Qu Qi go first while he secretly went back to school to ambush Chen Yue. When he suddenly heard such explosive news, his mind went blank for a moment, and his expression went blank for a second.

"Really!" Qu Qi emphasized, as if afraid she wouldn't believe him. "It happened yesterday after school. There were photos in the group chat. There was blood everywhere. I heard that a mentally ill person was randomly attacking people with a knife. It took several police officers to subdue him."

Based on You Congxi's many years of experience with Qu Qi, gossip from Qu Qi can only be believed to a certain extent (50%). In addition, since her gossip comes from the school's large group chat, which is a hub for rumors, this news can only be believed to a certain extent (20%).

She calmly analyzed: "Yesterday after school, some people got into a fight and happened to run into the police who were patrolling the school as usual. They were arrested, right?"

Qu Qi: "......"

When You Congxi recalled the not-so-short scar on Shen Yue's face, he roughly understood what was going on.

Qu Qi still tried to make a last-ditch effort: "No... He Qizheng and Shen Yue also participated in the war, and suffered heavy casualties!"

"Dead?"

"Yeah, after finishing, I watched the video and it came back to life."

-

Monday, flag-raising ceremony.

You Congxi stood in the center, holding the certificate for being first in the grade, with Shen Yue and Zheng Yu on his left and right respectively.

The monthly exam results came out quickly. This time, the essay was relatively simple, and thanks to Shen Yue's miraculous prediction of the topic, You Congxi's essay didn't drag down her overall score.

It's a long-standing tradition at No. 1 Middle School that a commendation meeting is held after the monthly exams during the flag-raising ceremony. Those with good grades and significant progress are given certificates and a few words of encouragement.

You Congxi secretly glared at the second-ranked student in the grade who kept trying to squeeze in her direction, but her feet remained firmly planted on the ground.

"If you push any further, get off the stage."

You Congxi squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

"Okay." Shen Yue replied quickly, but in the end, he still squeezed as usual.

"Come on, look at the camera!"

Fortunately, the school's photographer quickly shouted, "Click!" and the shutter was pressed, allowing the students on stage to leave.

Later, You Congxi happened to see this group photo on the school's official WeChat account. There was a large empty space in the very center of the first row. The girl in the middle was facing the camera with a blank expression, while the boy to her left was very close to her, smiling brightly.

On stage, Da Hai's "Hello, hello" voice came from the microphone.

You Congxi didn't pay attention, staring blankly at a certain point in the void.

"Dear teachers and classmates, hello everyone, I am Shen Yue from Class 7 of Grade 11."

You Congxi suddenly raised his head.

"I write this letter of self-criticism with immense guilt and remorse, to deeply reflect on the mistakes I have made recently."

You Congxi: "..."

She just stepped off the podium and then went to a debriefing meeting. Should I say that she truly lives up to her reputation as Shen Yue?