Chapter 8
It rained at night, and the raindrops made a fine sound against the security net. Wu Ye turned over and faced Li Ruiyuan.
"Brother Yuan." His voice was so soft as if he didn't want to disturb the sound of the rain. "Are you...getting married?"
Li Ruiyuan opened his eyes in the darkness: "What the hell?"
"Yesterday, Auntie said..." Wu Ye's voice became even quieter, "She told you to save money to get married..."
Silence stretched amidst the sound of rain. Li Ruiyuan suddenly laughed out loud, his laughter shaking the bed slightly. "I don't even have a girlfriend, so why would I get married?"
Wu Ye breathed a sigh of relief, his fingers unconsciously tugging at the corner of the quilt. His mother had just changed the quilt cover today, and it smelled of sunshine and laundry detergent.
"But..." Li Ruiyuan turned over, "It will be a marriage sooner or later."
The sound of rain suddenly grew louder. Wu Ye huddled himself in the quilt, leaving only his eyes exposed. "Can you... not tie the knot?"
Li Ruiyuan raised his eyebrows: "Are you worried that I will leave you behind after I get married?" The person under the quilt nodded slightly.
"Idiot." Li Ruiyuan reached out and ruffled his hair. "You are my brother whether you get married or not."
Wu Ye crawled out from under the quilt, his eyes bright in the darkness: "Really? It's just my brother."
"Why would I lie to you? Otherwise, you still want to be my boss?" Li Ruiyuan yawned, "Besides, who would look down on a gangster like me?"
The rain gradually subsided, and the dim light of the street lamps leaked in through the window. Wu Ye secretly moved closer until he could feel the other person's body temperature.
"Brother Yuan."
"What again?"
"So what kind of person do you want to find in the future?"
Li Ruiyuan closed his eyes and thought for a while: "Big breasts and a big butt." Wu Ye immediately stopped talking.
After a while, the boy said sullenly, "Oh."
Li Ruiyuan suddenly laughed and kicked him: "Just kidding, at least we should get along well."
Wu Ye quietly clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms.
"Go to sleep." Li Ruiyuan kicked the quilt over. "I have to take you to the Mathematical Olympiad class tomorrow."
In the darkness, Wu Ye listened to the steady breathing beside him. After a long pause, he whispered, "Brother, I will definitely be admitted to Tsinghua University."
"And then..." the voice was so soft it sounded like a sigh, "with you"
The rain had completely stopped, and moonlight was leaking from behind the clouds. Li Ruiyuan unconsciously reached out his hand in his sleep and placed it on the boy's thin back.
Like a clumsy hug.
The next day, after sending Wu Ye home, Li Ruiyuan went to the convenience store to do odd jobs.
The fan in the shop was whirring as Li Ruiyuan squatted in front of the shelves, counting the inventory. Suddenly, his phone buzzed, and the word "Mom" flashed on the screen.
"A Yuan..." Suppressed sobs came from the other end of the phone, with the sound of violent banging on the door and a man cursing in the background, "Your father...he's here..."
Li Ruiyuan stood up suddenly, and the cargo box fell to the ground with a loud bang. "Have you called the police?"
"You can't call the police..." The mother's voice was shaking. "He said if you call the police...they'll take Xuanxuan away..."
In the background came Li Xuan's sobbing and the man's drunken roar: "Open the door! I know you are in there! Bring out 30,000 yuan!"
Li Ruiyuan dug his nails into his palms. "Lock the door. Don't open it. I'll be right back." After hanging up the phone, he flipped through the address book with trembling fingers. The first person he called was Lin Lixin.
"Hello?" There was a deafening sound of music coming from the other side.
"Help me pick someone up." Li Ruiyuan's voice was tense. "Help me pick up Wu Ye."
"Now? I'm halfway through—"
"Please," Li Ruiyuan said hoarsely, "My dad is here."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone: "Send me the address."
A sudden downpour hit. Li Ruiyuan rushed into the rain, his slippers splashing into puddles. The owner of the mahjong parlor at the corner of the alley leaned over and shouted, "Ayuan! Your father seems to be—"
"I understand." Li Ruiyuan ran without looking back.
From a distance, I could see several neighbors gathered downstairs. My father was sitting drunk at the stairs, holding an empty bottle.
"Oh," his father grinned, revealing his smoke-stained teeth. "I heard you picked up a young master and raised him?"
Li Ruiyuan ignored him and went straight upstairs. The security door outside his home had a large dent, and the keyhole was blocked with glue.
"Mom!" He knocked on the door. "It's me!" The door opened a crack. His mother's eyes were red and swollen, and Li Xuan huddled behind her, trembling.
"Where's the money?" Father staggered over, "I must get the money today... If I don't get it, I'll..."
Li Ruiyuan pushed his mother into the house and turned to block the door: "No money."
"Bullshit!" The father swung the bottle and smashed it against the wall. "I heard you're paying for someone's schooling? Wearing brand-name shoes? No money?"
The broken glass splashed on Li Ruiyuan's face, leaving a bloody mark. The neighbors watched from a distance, and no one dared to step forward.
At this moment, the phone vibrated and Lin Lixin sent a photo: Wu Ye was standing at the door of the classroom, looking at the camera blankly.
"I got it, what do I do now?"
Li Ruiyuan took a deep breath and typed a reply: "Take him to your house first."
"? Are you sure?"
"Help me out"
His father was still roaring: "If you don't give me money today, I will go to school to find that little bastard..." Before he could finish his words, Li Ruiyuan suddenly grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall.
"Listen." The voice was cold and frightening. "If you dare to touch him, I will throw you into the Pearl River to feed the fish."
The father was stunned, and now he was almost sober. There was a cruelty in his son's eyes that he had never seen before.
Finally, the property management and the local police arrived. My father was still cursing as he was taken away, and he said he would come again tomorrow.
The rain stopped, and the setting sun shone into the messy corridor. Li Ruiyuan sat on the steps, watching his mother pick up the broken glass with trembling hands.
The phone vibrated again. It was a message from Wu Ye: "Brother Yuan, are you okay? Sister Li Xin said there are bad guys at home." It was followed by an emoticon of a worried puppy.
Li Ruiyuan wiped the blood off his face and typed slowly: "It's okay."
"Just taking care of household chores"
As dusk fell, the Canton Tower in the distance lit up. He looked at the bright lights and for the first time felt the heaviness of the city's night.
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