Chapter 2

Li Ruiyuan slept until noon. Sunlight shone through the gaps in the curtains, catching his eyelids. He cursed, turned over, and tried to go back to sleep, but his stomach growled at an inopportune moment.

The refrigerator was empty. There was only half a bottle of mineral water and half a cake Li Xuan had left over from yesterday. He grabbed the bottle of water and took two gulps, the cold water sliding down his throat, barely suppressing the emptiness in his stomach.

As he dressed, he caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. His hair was a mess, a bird's nest, stubble sprouted from his chin, and the bruises from yesterday's fight were more pronounced. He forced a smile at the mirror, and the bruises wiggled with him, like parasites clinging to his face.

"Fuck." He cursed under his breath and went downstairs in his slippers.

The rice noodle shop at the corner of the alley was still open. The proprietress saw him and wiped the greasy table without any surprise: "Same old as usual?" "Add some pork soup." He sat down lazily, his phone vibrating non-stop. It was a message from his sister.

He was about to reply when a commotion erupted from the depths of the alley. Several young men with colorfully dyed hair were surrounding and shoving a boy who looked like a high school student.

"No money? Can I touch it?" the yellow-haired boy jokingly tugged at the boy's backpack strap. The boy, clutching his belongings tightly, remained silent. He was tall, probably over 1.8 meters, perhaps even a full head taller than him. The cuffs of his washed-out uniform were already frayed. In the sunlight, his drooping eyelashes cast a deep shadow on his pale face.

Li Ruiyuan initially didn't want to intervene. It would be unnatural if there weren't a few fights in this shabby place every day. But he saw the boy raise his head. His eyes were emotionless, eerily empty, as if he'd long been accustomed to this kind of bullying, yet concealed something unsettling.

"Hey." Li Ruiyuan walked over, cigarette in hand. "A few adults bullying children, isn't that shameful?"

The yellow-haired man turned around and saw it was him, his demeanor immediately diminished. "Brother Yuan... this guy bumped into someone and refused to apologize..." "So you're blackmailing me?" Li Ruiyuan chuckled and suddenly kicked over the nearby trash can. Rotting fruit peels and garbage splattered all over the floor, splashing all over the thugs.

Taking advantage of their panic, Li Ruiyuan grabbed the boy's wrist and asked, "Why don't you run?"

They ran all the way to the narrow alley behind the rice noodle shop before stopping. Li Ruiyuan supported himself on his knees and gasped for breath, but the boy stood upright, his breathing a little rapid.

"Thank...thank you." The boy's voice was low, with the hoarseness typical of voice change.

"How old?"

"Nineteen." Li Ruiyuan raised an eyebrow, looking older than he looked. "What's your name?"

"Wu Ye."

Sunlight filtered through the gaps between the tall buildings, illuminating the boy's worn canvas shoes and too-short trouser legs. There were several fresh scratches on his wrists, as if he had been pressed to the ground and rubbed.

"Why are they bothering you?"

Wu Ye was silent for a moment: "They said I peeked."

"What are you peeking at?"

"Girls' room." He said this expressionlessly, as if he was talking about someone else.

Li Ruiyuan sneered: "Have you seen it?"

"No." Wu Ye looked up at him, his eyes gloomy and paranoid, "But they didn't believe it."

The lady proprietress of the rice noodle roll shop poked her head out and shouted, "A Yuan! Your soup is getting cold!" Li Ruiyuan turned around to leave, but found Wu Ye following him closely.

"Anything else?" Wu Ye said nothing, just staring at him. That look reminded Li Ruiyuan of the stray cat in the alley—the kind that clings to you after you feed it once.

"Do you think I'm rich? I'm poor," Li Ruiyuan told the truth.

"I don't want money." Wu Ye's voice was very soft. "Can I go with you?"

Li Ruiyuan almost laughed out loud. But when he saw the seriousness in Wu Ye's eyes, he suddenly found it interesting. This kid looked cowardly, but deep down he had a crazy spirit that would not give up until he achieved his goal.

"Follow me? What for? Just eat and wait for death?" Wu Ye pursed his lips, his fingers unconsciously picking at the straps of his schoolbag: "Anything is fine."

In the end, Li Ruiyuan took the man home. On the one hand, he was kind-hearted, and on the other hand, he noticed that Wu Ye's wrist injury needed to be treated, and the boy would definitely not take care of it himself.

The old apartment building had no elevator. Li Ruiyuan lived on the sixth floor. When he opened the door, he kicked aside several packages piled at the door. They were tutoring books his mother had sent to Li Xuan.

"Sit anywhere." He pointed to the small living room. "It smells like smoke. If you can't stand it, you can open the window."

Wu Ye stood at the door, not daring to come in. He looked at the shabby but still tidy living room, his eyes flickering: "Do you live alone?"

"With my sister." Li Ruiyuan took out the medicine box from the drawer. "She went to school."

When the disinfectant touched the wound, Wu Ye shuddered but said nothing.

"Tell me if it hurts." Li Ruiyuan put a Band-Aid on him with his rough hands.

"It doesn't hurt." Wu Ye stared at his skilled movements. "Do you do this often?"

"You'll learn it if you fight enough."

After treating the wound, Li Ruiyuan threw a can of Coke to Wu Ye: "Tell me, what happened?" Wu Ye stroked the cold can and spoke for a long time: "My parents are dead. My aunt kicked me out."

He said it lightly, but Li Ruiyuan could hear the weight behind it. In a place like Guangzhou, it was not easy for a half-grown child with no one to rely on to survive.

"Where do you live now?"

"Internet cafes. Sometimes under bridges."

Li Ruiyuan sighed. He remembered how he had been through the same thing when he first started out in society. The difference was that he was even more ruthless and shameless than Wu Ye.

"What can you do?" "A little bit of everything." Wu Ye looked up at him, his eyes brightening surprisingly. "I'm quite good at fighting."

"Still studying, right? High school?"

"Um... Senior Year"

Li Ruiyuan finally smiled. He patted Wu Ye's shoulder, feeling the hardness of his bones. "Stay here for now," he said, "but I don't keep idle people here."

Wu Ye stood up suddenly, almost spilling his Coke: "I can work! I can wash dishes, sweep the floor, and even fight!" "Sit down." Li Ruiyuan pressed his shoulder, "First rule: don't let my sister know what you do." "Second rule: no drugs." "Third rule..." He squinted at the bright sunlight outside the window, "You do whatever I say."

Wu Ye nodded heavily. At that moment, Li Ruiyuan saw a kind of almost crazy loyalty in his eyes.

Like a stray dog ​​that finally found its owner.

When Li Xuan came back at noon, she was startled to see someone at home. "Brother, this is..." "Wu Ye. My friend." Li Ruiyuan lazily lay on the sofa. "He's staying here for the time being."

Li Xuan looked at Wu Ye curiously. Wu Ye was so nervous that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet. "Hello," Wu Ye stammered. Li Xuan smiled. "You are much more polite than my brother."

Li Ruiyuan kicked Wu Ye and said, "Go and help my sister carry her schoolbag." Wu Ye rushed over as if he had received an imperial decree and almost tripped over the coffee table.

Watching Wu Ye follow Li Xuan into the kitchen, Li Ruiyuan suddenly found it interesting. This guy looked gloomy and sullen, but there was a fire in his eyes, the kind that could burn everything, including himself.

The phone vibrated again. Li Ruiyuan looked out the window at the gray sky of Guangzhou and suddenly had an idea.

Maybe picking up this little stray dog ​​is not a bad thing.