Chapter 32 In the rose-gold flute…
The moment Li Sheng stepped into the dormitory, anger and shock flashed across his face—the bed boards of everyone else on his bunk were gone, and the bedding was scattered all over the floor.
There was no one else in the dormitory. After a while, Wang Dapeng and the others returned. When they saw the state of the room, they cursed, "What the hell is going on here!"
Wang Dapeng's fleshy face twitched: "Li Sheng, you give me an explanation, where are we brothers going to sleep tonight!"
Li Sheng glanced back, took out two hundred yuan from his pocket, and handed it to Wang Dapeng. Wang Dapeng, his eyes lighting up at the sight of the money, grabbed it and laughed, "You're a smart one."
Wang Dapeng took the money and led his brothers to the bathhouse. Li Sheng sat in the messy dormitory, took out a pack of cigarettes from his backpack. The cigarettes had been in his backpack for a long time and were crumpled. He straightened them and searched for a while before finding the lighter on the ground, which had been stepped on and broken.
Lu Xiaoshan came over with a smile, lit a cigarette for him, and said, "Shall I speak for you? I know Feng Hui too."
"I'm going to find Zhao Cheng."
"Him?" Lu Xiaoshan scoffed. "Feng Hui is a lecher. I have more influence than him when I plead for him. Zhao Cheng is his dog."
Just then, Liu Quan returned from who-knows-where, staring at the room with a bewildered expression: "What happened all this time?"
Seeing that Li Sheng ignored her, Lü Xiaoshan pouted and turned away.
"Excuse me." Li Sheng reached into his pocket to get money for Liu Quan.
Liu Quan waved his hand: "Keep it for yourself—Li Sheng, do you want to go apologize? Make amends?"
Li Sheng remained silent.
Liu Quan: "You seem mild-mannered, but you're actually incredibly stubborn!"
Li Sheng gave a wry smile. Huang Yin came in with a broom and started cleaning up the debris. Li Sheng got up and took the broom from Huang Yin, telling her to go back and rest. He cleaned the room. Liu Quan squatted on a stool and looked at him: "Where are you going to stay tonight?"
He gave the money to Wang Dapeng, but he himself was reluctant to go to an expensive place. Li Sheng thought for a moment and said, "The train station, then."
“I’ll stay with you,” Liu Quan said. “I once slept in a train station for a month; no one knows it better than me.”
The manager said the bed boards wouldn't arrive for another three days, and there was only one six-person dormitory available for now. Wang Dapeng took his group to stay there, while Li Sheng and Liu Quan stayed at the train station that night. Li Sheng treated Liu Quan to a boxed lunch, and then called Zhao Cheng to tell him about it.
Zhao Cheng was relatively polite, scolding him a few times, but implying that once Feng Hui had vented his anger enough, he would stop making things difficult for him and that he would try his best to mediate.
The train station was bustling with people, all looking hurried and weary travelers, wrapped in thick cotton-padded coats, slumped on benches. Liu Quan led him to a quiet corner, where two slightly longer, backless chairs were placed one for each of them. After lying down for a while, Liu Quan suddenly laughed: "Is it uncomfortable?"
Li Sheng opened his eyes slightly and looked at the long, cold light tube above his head: "It's harder than the kang (heated brick bed) at home."
“When I first came here, I only had a few dozen yuan in my pocket, and I got scammed. They said they'd take me to rent a place, took the money, and then disappeared. When I first slept here, I felt like a dead person.” Liu Quan paused for a moment. “Sometimes I really wanted to go home. Li Sheng, do you want to go home?”
Li Sheng closed his eyes: "There's nothing left in the house."
"..." Liu Quan said, "So, you're off tomorrow, where do you plan to go?"
Li Sheng: "Go see my brother."
Liu Quan sat up: "Oh... your brother, he's still in school, I don't think he can help you."
A smile unconsciously appeared on Li Sheng's face, perhaps because the feeling of knowing that they were about to meet made him happy. He carried this feeling with him, and even when he slept at the train station, he didn't feel tired: "Tomorrow is to see his performance."
Liu Quan twitched one corner of his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but then swallowed it back down and lay back on the stool.
-
Li Jiacong secretly rode his bike out. His father had to work overtime tonight because he said there was trouble at the factory again; someone was cutting their wrists at the factory gate, almost causing a death.
Li Mingda was overwhelmed with work and had no time to deal with him. Li Jiacong made an excuse to his mother to go downstairs for some fresh air. Usually, his mother would approve, as Li Jiacong knew that his mother sometimes turned a blind eye to his behavior.
He said he was going out, without asking any further questions. He rode off on his bike. He arrived at Li Sheng's dormitory building. A dark green, foul-smelling liquid of some unknown substance was flowing on the ground. Cobwebs covered the corners of the stairwell, along with trash—an old shoe, a broken basket, and cigarette butts scattered everywhere.
This place is terrifying. Li Jiacong stopped the car and looked back as he was about to go upstairs. He was a little afraid of this kind of place; if he turned around, his car might be taken away.
He went upstairs and lingered on the floor where Yunji's dormitory was located. He looked around for a long time but couldn't see Li Sheng. Just as he turned around, he saw a pretty girl standing at the end of the corridor.
Huang Yin, wearing a pale yellow sweater, had fair skin and a delicate, captivating beauty. She asked softly, "Are you here to see Li Sheng?"
Li Jiacong had no recollection of her at all, and simply nodded.
Huang Yin frowned: "He's not here these past few days."
Li Jiacong asked, puzzled, "Where did he go?"
Huang Yin pursed her lips.
...
The science museum displayed banners for the middle school arts festival. Li Jiacong, dressed in a formal suit, politely declined the offer from the teacher who wanted to style his hair and do his makeup. He was already embarrassed enough dressed like that. His hair was neatly combed, giving him a well-behaved student look. Standing there, a blend of youthful innocence and maturity harmoniously emanated from him.
He waited backstage. It wasn't long before the performance started. He took out his flute, assembled it, and waited to go on stage, repeatedly checking his watch.
At that moment, Li Sheng was walking briskly towards the science museum. It was cold, but he was sweating profusely. He was almost there when suddenly a group of people rushed out and surrounded him. Li Sheng didn't have time to react and was punched in the face. Then he heard someone say, "Get out of here!"
The alley was only a wall away from the science museum. Li Sheng was dragged in, and Feng Hui appeared in front of him with an evil smile: "Long time no see."
Li Sheng glanced around and saw Zhao Cheng beside him. Zhao Cheng immediately stepped forward and said, "Li Sheng, don't be nervous, Brother Feng isn't targeting you!"
Feng Hui nodded: "That punch just now puts our business at rest, but my business with that kid isn't over yet!"
Li Sheng said, "If you're still angry, hit me."
Feng Hui was taken aback for a moment, then laughed in an exaggerated manner: "So loyal, huh?"
Li Sheng looked into his eyes and said, "I'll beat you until you feel better, and I won't fight back."
Feng Hui laughed so hard he almost fell over, patted him on the shoulder and said, "Brother, these are two different things, one thing at a time. Since you've been so kind, I won't bother you anymore. We don't like your friend. His dad acts like a tyrant at the factory, while he gets whatever he wants, becoming a rich young master, living a life of ease. We're from the same factory, but some people live like royalty while others are begging. If you were in his shoes, would you feel the same way?"
Li Sheng: "What do you want?"
"Not so great! This kid gets picked up and dropped off every day, lives in that upscale neighborhood, damn it, it's so hard for us to do anything! You, call him out, we'll talk to him about the rest."
Li Sheng remained motionless, racking his brains for a solution. Perhaps he could stall them until the performance ended, and if Li Jiacong didn't see him, he would leave. He wouldn't pass through this dark alley, and if he didn't see him, Li Jiacong wouldn't appear.
Seeing his reaction, Feng Hui lost his patience and shouted, "Attack!"
A group of people surrounded him, and countless fists rained down on him. Li Sheng didn't utter a sound, and his body was quickly pushed into a corner.
Feng Hui roared in fury: "Damn it, are you trying to play the hero with me? You've been watching too many gangster movies! Crack him open and drag him out!"
Blood streamed down his forehead, crisscrossing his cheeks. Li Sheng didn't feel much pain, but he knew he must look terrifying. He kept his head down, as many hands pushed him towards the alley entrance. The alley entrance was brightly lit, and many eyes were on him. Li Sheng kept his head tightly down, not daring to look up—
The performance began, and loud applause echoed throughout the auditorium.
Li Jiacong peeked out from backstage into the arena. The lighting was dim, and after looking around, he couldn't spot Li Sheng. Just as he was about to turn around, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Li Jiacong looked up and saw Qian He.
Qian He, panting, pointed outside and said, "...Li, Li Sheng...!"
A fight broke out in front of the science museum.
The security guard asked passersby several times if the person being assaulted was a student of the school, but the assailants denied it. He didn't intervene, only shouting that he would call the police, but the group showed no fear and showed no sign of stopping.
The violence in the street attracted countless onlookers, but everyone just watched with tense expressions.
Li Jiacong ran out from backstage and saw a chaotic crowd a hundred meters away as soon as he stepped out of the gate. In the middle of the crowd, a boy with a bloodied face was being beaten.
Judging from his figure, he knew it was Li Sheng!
Li Sheng's ears were ringing and his ribs were aching. He had been dragged out for a short while, attracting too much attention, so Feng Hui decided to drag him back in.
Seeing Li Sheng slumped against the wall like a rag doll, Feng Hui clicked his tongue and said, "I'm really impressed with you." He turned Li Sheng's chin, straightening his face, and said, "I heard your dad's a rapist. You're really something else, aren't you? Fine, that's it for today. I accept my bad luck. I'll catch that kid sooner or later..."
"Idiot!" someone interrupted Feng Hui, their voice very close.
Feng Hui turned his head and saw a figure at the entrance of the alley. At this time, the light was dim, and the shadow was very long.
Feng Hui narrowed his eyes and sneered, "Young Master, you've finally arrived! Otherwise, you dog would have been beaten to death by us!"
The moment Feng Hui uttered his last words, Li Jiacong had already made his move. Feng Hui hadn't seen clearly what he was holding, but it was definitely a club or weapon, half a suit jacket held in his hand. It was heavy, either iron or steel. Feng Hui had just stood up when the thing came crashing down; a flash of metal, and blood immediately gushed out.
Feng Hui covered his head and cursed, "Fuck you! I'll kill you!"
Just as he was about to take a step, his feet were grabbed by a pair of hands—Li Sheng's bloody hands pressed on his trouser leg, tripping him.
"Charge!" Feng Hui shouted. But he only managed to get a portion of the men moving. Some people knew Li Jiacong; it was easy to beat Li Sheng, but beating Li Jiacong was a different story.
A few scattered individuals went up, but none of them could match the opponent who had weapons and swung them with great force, smashing them on the head, leaving a round dent with the shape of a stick.
"Damn it!" Feng Hui kicked Li Sheng, broke free, and ran out of the alley. He opened the trunk of his car and took out several knives, long, sharpened knives. People in the alley ran out one after another and took the knives that Feng Hui had given them.
Everyone had run outside when Li Jiacong came in and helped Li Sheng up. Li Sheng clutched his left rib and glanced at Li Jiacong's expression.
He was very angry; his lips turned white.
He looked down and saw that the suit jacket in Li Jiacong's hand had fallen off, revealing a corner of the exquisite garment wrapped inside.
Li Shengcai realized that Li Jiacong had used a flute to hit people.
Blood was dripping from the rose-gold flute.
A note from the author:
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