40. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, double the reward, is only natural.
Xiao Cheng and Chen Yang remained silent for a long time, and the old man in the reception room couldn't stand it any longer. He knocked on the window glass and then shouted impatiently, "Go back to the classroom if you have nothing to do. Don't stand there like two door gods, blocking my sun."
"What are you yelling about? When did this sun become owned by someone?" Chen Yang retorted unkindly.
"You are the one, what are you yelling at me for!" Xiao Cheng scolded Chen Yang first, then turned around, put on a smiling face, and said politely to the old man, "Uncle, we will be back soon."
Chen Yang looked at Xiao Cheng, who looked like a decent man, and spat on the ground.
That night, Chen Yang returned home injured. Chen Long scolded him harshly. When he was tired of scolding him, he asked if it was Xu Wenqiang who did it.
Chen Yang said, how could she have that ability, it was Yu Yong’s grandson, I will go to settle the score with him tomorrow.
Upon hearing this, Chen Long started cursing again. "You've already been stabbed, and you're still looking for someone to settle the score? Do you know that Yu Yong has long been hanging out with gangsters and has become a semi-gangster?"
Chen Yang refused to listen. "He's just a half-assed scoundrel, isn't he? Wait till I beat him to pieces tomorrow so he can never be a complete scoundrel again."
But when he woke up the next day, he found that he was being watched by Chen Long. At school, he asked for sick leave from the teacher and tied him up at the market during the day and at home at night.
During the past few days that Chen Yang was tied up at home by Chen Long, he could see Xiao Cheng at the farmers' market almost every day.
Xiao Cheng always showed up at the farmers' market around school dinner time and started wandering around. He wasn't just wandering aimlessly, he was like someone who was shopping, sometimes buying vegetables, sometimes meat, sometimes steamed buns... Anyway, the farmers' market sold everything, and Xiao Cheng never left empty-handed.
But no matter what he bought, he had to throw it into the trash as soon as he left the farmers' market. So, he never bought seafood or fish from Xu Yanmei.
In just a day or two, Xiao Cheng became a hot topic in the market with his clean student appearance and his clothes that looked very valuable. He also got his own nickname - God of Wealth.
Chen Yang was irritated by Xiao Cheng's shaking, and he wanted to grab him and ask what he was shaking for. But Chen Long had tied him to his own braised food stall, and if he took another step, he would be pulled back by Chen Long. Fortunately, market news is like having legs and feet; you can keep it within reach without leaving your home.
"That handsome man, the God of Wealth, asked me about Chen Long's family and Xu Yanmei's family."
"He also asked me about that guy Yu Yong who was attending vocational high school."
"Have you told him?"
"I didn't want to tell him, but that God of Wealth man was very generous. He didn't bargain and bought a lot at once. So I had to tell him something. Otherwise, I would have felt uncomfortable taking the money."
"That's exactly what I mean. They're buying our mouths, right?"
…
Xiao Cheng even came to his house to buy braised food.
He lied to Chen Long with his eyes open, saying that he and Chen Yang got along very well and had always been close friends. Chen Yang had taken sick leave, so he hurried over to see him.
Chen Yang was about to scold him, but Xiao Cheng began to persuade Chen Long in a kind way, saying that the high school curriculum was tight and it would be easy to fall behind if he didn't go to school all the time, so if Chen Yang recovered from his injury, he should go back to school as soon as possible.
Xiao Cheng's appearance as a good student was very convincing to Chen Long. Chen Long rubbed his hands and said that he would let Chen Yang go to school in a day or two.
Chen Yang then gave up and pretended to acknowledge Xiao Cheng as his cheap classmate.
Chen Long also asked Chen Yang to see Xiao Cheng off, and Chen Yang snorted "OK" through his nose.
As soon as they left the farmers' market, Chen Yang asked angrily, "Xiao Cheng, are you bored? Why are you asking about those old stories?"
Xiao Cheng stopped, turned around, and looked at Chen Yang coldly and silently. He had long since left behind the polite and considerate image of a good student in the farmers' market.
He'd heard so much gossip these past few days that he felt like he was losing all sense of shame. Right now, he just wanted to go back to school, back to that square, sunny classroom, and bury himself in textbooks and those endless exercises and tests.
Therefore, he began to doubt his life after just hearing a few nonsense words in the market and having some dealings with these businessmen.
But Xu Wenqiang grew up here. What did she experience and endure to become what she is now?
Chen Yang was annoyed by Xiao Cheng's gaze: "Xiao Cheng, I'm asking you a question, why are you asking about those things?"
Xiao Cheng said nothing, walked straight to the trash can, and in front of Chen Yang, threw a bag full of braised food into it as garbage.
"Xiao Cheng, you bastard." Chen Yang was furious. He rushed over, grabbed Xiao Cheng's collar, and raised his fist to hit him.
"Because Xu Wenqiang cried that night." Xiao Cheng stared at Chen Yang with cold eyes and no emotion on his face.
Chen Yang's head slowly lowered, and his fists also slowly dropped.
That night, Xu Wenqiang cried. She cried just like she did when she was a child, tears just flowing without making any sound. Her silence left him at a loss as to what to do.
Xiao Cheng pushed Chen Yang away. Chen Yang staggered and Xiao Cheng looked at him coldly.
"Ever since I've known Xu Wenqiang, I've seen her in all sorts of plights, but I've never seen her cry. But that night, when I laughed at your childhood sweethearts, she cried, her face wet with tears."
Xiao Cheng clenched his fists.
His palms had held Xu Wenqiang's tears, and even though they had seeped into his blood, whenever he thought of them, his palms would feel a burning pain.
"So, what happened in the past that made you keep haunting Xu Wenqiang? And what did Xu Wenqiang do, other than letting you torment her silently, yet still clinging to your past affection? None of you will tell me all this, but I must know, so I can only come to this farmers' market to find the answers myself.
The funny thing is, I was fully prepared to hear what truly awful things Xu Wenqiang had done, just to broaden my horizons. But after a few days in this market, I was surprised to find out she hadn't done anything truly wicked. Her current behavior was simply a result of bad luck, a shameless mother, and the innocent way she got dragged into this mess, from which she still hasn't managed to dig herself out.
It's a pity that the friendship you grew up with has been rotted away in that muddy pond along with you."
After Xiao Cheng finished speaking, he looked at Chen Yang with indifference and pity, as if he was looking at a stray dog on the side of the road.
Xiao Cheng's eyes, and every word he spoke, were like daggers with eyes, piercing the pain in Chen Yang's heart. Chen Yang's face was horrified with pain, but he could only shout to suppress the pain.
"My mother was killed by Xu Wenqiang and her mother. Xu Wenqiang cannot escape responsibility. You just heard some gossip in the market. What qualifications do you have to speak nonsense?"
"You know whether I'm talking nonsense or not, so don't shout at me." Xiao Cheng said with a frown.
He felt a little regretful. Now was not the time to dwell on the past.
"You spoke your mind first, but didn't let others speak. You fucking—"
"What are you going to do with Yu Yong?" Xiao Cheng silenced Chen Yang's outburst with one sentence. "Chen Yang, your dad should be letting you go to school soon. So, when and how are you going to deal with that scoundrel?"
Chen Yang was still thinking in his mind, "He will beat Xiao Cheng until he kneels down and begs for mercy, and then make him go back to evening self-study crying." When he suddenly heard the word "Yu Yong", he didn't react for a moment.
Xiao Cheng thought it was good for Chen Yang to remain silent, as it could save a lot of time.
"Let me kindly remind you," Xiao Cheng said, "Yu Yong dared to turn against you because he hooked up with some scoundrels at the vocational high school. So, don't just think about beating him up until he's on his knees and begging for mercy. Even if you're lucky and beat him up when he's alone, he'll still find someone to retaliate against you, and then you'll be beaten even worse. So if you want to completely deal with him, you have to take a long-term approach."
Chen Yang had heard Chen Long talk about Yu Yong and those gangsters, so he took Xiao Cheng's words to heart. But -
"As a good student, why do you get involved in these fights?" Chen Yang stared at Xiao Cheng and asked.
"Because of him," Xiao Cheng paused, then finally said it directly, "He molested Xu Wenqiang."
"How do you know..."
"No matter how wild Xu Wenqiang is, she's still a girl after all. She doesn't want anyone to know. I guess she was molested." Xiao Cheng lowered his eyes, hiding the bloodthirsty hatred in his eyes. "And I don't think Yu Yong will let it go. If this happens once, there will be a next time."
Chen Yang's heart trembled, remembering the blood-red scene before his eyes that night. He knew that Xiao Cheng was right. If Yu Yong could not be completely dealt with, everything that happened that night would be repeated.
"So, Yu Yong is not fighting alone, and you can't accomplish anything by yourself. Why don't we cooperate and get rid of this harm for the people together." Xiao Cheng said finally.
Chen Yang didn't immediately agree to Xiao Cheng's request that day. Xiao Cheng said he could get back to him after returning to school. Chen Yang actually had an idea in mind. He was dragging Xiao Cheng along just to disgust him, not wanting him to think everything was planned by him.
Seeing that the people fighting outside the classroom were gradually walking back to the classroom, Chen Yang didn't want to delay any longer. He asked Xiao Cheng directly: "Tell me, how are you going to deal with Yu Yong?"
Chen Yang's question effectively agreed to Xiao Cheng's proposal. Xiao Cheng didn't waste any time and went straight to the point, explaining his plan to Chen Yang: "We need to cut off Yu Yong's escape route first. The reason Yu Yong was able to hook up with those rogues at the vocational high school is because he used his family's money to support them. All you have to do is spread the word in the market, let his parents know about this, and prevent Yu Yong from getting the money. Without money, those rogues won't bother with Yu Yong."
"How did you hear about the vocational high school?"
"I know the captain of the school basketball team. He's very familiar with the vocational high school basketball team. I asked him to find out."
"You're truly a good student. You even have such a wide network of contacts."
"Stop talking nonsense! Now that Yu Yong has cut off his retreat, we can easily deal with him."
"Two of us fighting one, isn't that too much?"
"Who said two? Including Xu Wenqiang, that's three."
"Why is Xu Wenqiang still here?" Chen Yang was stunned.
Xiao Cheng said sternly: "An eye for an eye, double the reward, it's only natural."
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