Chapter 33 Li Sheng said, "I want to hear..."
When the knife was drawn, some people, fearing it would escalate into a murder, called the police. Li Sheng wiped his face, tugged at Li Jiacong, and told him to step back: "Be careful."
Li Jiacong didn't move. He was consumed by rage and lost his mind. He said to Feng Hui, "Scum, all you can do is play dirty tricks, is that it? A bunch of you ganging up on one person with a big knife, trying to chop vegetables? Is your dad from the mine canteen?"
"Fuck your mother!" Feng Hui pointed the knife at him, "I'll teach you a lesson for being so arrogant!"
With a single swing, the clang of metal clashing rang out. The blade neared his shoulder, but Li Jiacong blocked it with his flute. He kicked out, and Feng Hui, holding the knife, fell to the ground.
Li Jiacong skillfully deflected the knife from Feng Hui's hand, then struck Feng Hui's neck with his flute. Feng Hui stiffened and coughed violently. Feng Hui scrambled to his feet again, roared, and charged at Li Jiacong. Li Sheng immediately pulled Feng Hui back from behind. At this moment, everyone moved.
Li Jiacong and Li Sheng were surrounded. Li Sheng hugged Li Jiacong, and he felt the sharp pain of a knife tip piercing his skin. Just then, the police arrived. The crowd immediately scattered. Police officers rushed out of their cars, subdued several people, and took them all back to the police station.
Li Sheng and Li Jiacong were locked up together. The police officer asked Li Jiacong to hand over his "weapon" first. The flute was taken out and was covered in scratches.
The policeman paused for a moment, then laughed, "Wow, quite sophisticated, huh? You've got money! Using ten thousand dollars as a weapon!"
Li Jiacong remained silent, sitting awkwardly on the stool. Li Sheng nudged him with his finger. Li Jiacong didn't respond. Li Sheng nudged him again with his leg. Li Jiacong sighed and said, "I hit you—why didn't you fight back?"
Li Sheng didn't say anything, but took out a band-aid from his pocket and placed it in Li Jiacong's palm. Li Jiacong pushed it away: "You use it, look at your own head!"
He turned his head and asked, "Do I have any external injuries?"
Li Sheng pointed to the web between his thumb and forefinger, and Li Jiacong noticed the crack. He glanced at it and said, "It's a minor injury. You need to go to the hospital."
Li Sheng shook his head: "I want to stay here with you."
Li Jiacong's parents arrived quickly. Li Sheng and Li Jiacong gave brief statements, and Chen Wen took Li Sheng to the hospital to have his wounds bandaged. Li Mingda was responsible for handling the rest. Feng Hui, a member of organized crime, was already on the police station's blacklist, but this time, both Li Jiacong and Feng Hui were injured; it was a mutual fight. Li Mingda sat down and talked to the other party about reconciliation.
After saying a few words to his father, Li Jiacong rushed to the hospital.
Fortunately, Li Sheng's ribs were not broken, but there was a large bruise on his left rib. The rest were superficial wounds, and the cuts from the knife were not too serious, but they looked scary.
Chen Wen offered to drive Li Sheng home. Li Jiacong interjected, "Let's go to our house, Mom."
Li Sheng said, "No need, I'm going back to my dorm."
Chen Wen remained silent, while Li Jiacong said, "There's no dormitory room anymore; Feng Hui has ruined the bed boards!"
Li Sheng was stunned for a second.
Chen Wen: "I'm so sorry, Li Sheng. Let me get you a hotel."
Li Jiacong glanced at his mother with a surprised expression and said coldly, "Then I'll go take care of him."
Chen Wen thought for a moment, smiled and said a few words, "Who can you take care of?" and finally drove the car home.
Li Sheng sat on the large living room sofa, feeling at a loss. In front of him was a fruit platter brought by Li Jiacong. In the kitchen, Li Jiacong's mother was cooking. Li Jiacong turned on the TV and asked him to watch.
The television was showing a fascinating program, but his attention was completely elsewhere. He kept looking at Li Jiacong beside him, who was leaning back on the sofa with his legs crossed.
The cultural performance was ruined, he even went to the police station, and his return to school became news again. Li Jiacong knew his mother would definitely scold him after this incident, but because Li Sheng was around, he hadn't had a chance to speak up.
Li Jiacong looked ahead and said in a low voice, "Don't want to watch TV? Want to see me?"
Li Sheng suddenly turned back.
Li Jiacong: "If you're tired, go back and lie down. Stay here for a few more days; there are guest rooms at home."
Li Sheng could sense from the subtle details that his mother wasn't very welcoming to him. After thinking for a moment, he said, "The dormitory bed board will arrive tomorrow. How did you know?"
Li Jiacong: "A girl told me this. She cares about you a lot and said quite a bit."
Li Sheng nodded. Chen Wen called out from the kitchen that the food was ready, and Li Jiacong pulled him up and led him to the dining table.
As Li Sheng ate, a sharp pain shot through the corner of his mouth, then his waist, and finally his legs. Li Jiacong's hand holding the chopsticks trembled uncontrollably—this was the first time they had actually fought with knives. They appeared calm, but neither of them had truly recovered from the shock.
The meal ended hastily. Chen Wen tried to talk about something several times, but Li Jiacong stopped her each time. After finishing the meal, Li Jiacong took Li Sheng back to his room.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, Li Sheng felt this was not a good situation and kept looking towards the door: "Let's go out. You do your homework, I won't bother you."
Li Jiacong recalled the phone call his mother had made to Li Sheng before, shook his head and said, "It's okay. While my parents still feel guilty towards you, they can't say anything. My studies aren't something you can delay alone. There's nothing to delay. With my hands shaking like this, what I write will just be wavy."
Li Sheng squeezed his hand and asked softly, "Your flute..."
Li Jiacong: "Huh?"
"Is the flute broken?"
"So be it." Although Li Jiacong didn't like this, he still felt a little heartache when he thought about it. "It's worth it to beat up Feng Hui and his gang. I could install flute keys on their heads and play a doremi."
The more he talked, the more frustrated he felt. These people had wasted so much of his time; it was like stepping in dog poop after going out looking glamorous. He gently touched the wound on Li Sheng's cheek, then withdrew his hand and said, "You got beaten up and didn't say a word, pretending to be an iron man, huh?"
Li Sheng chuckled and sighed, looking at him with a deep and gentle gaze.
At this moment, the door was pushed open, and Chen Wen paused for a moment before saying, "I'm going downstairs to buy toiletries for Li Sheng. Li Sheng, if you need anything else, just tell Auntie."
Li Sheng shook his head.
After Chen Wen left, Li Jiacong and Li Sheng remained seated, their fingers lightly intertwined, making no further moves. This was clearly a good opportunity, but neither seemed to be in the mood. The release of emotions and blood, the throbbing pain in their bodies, made this moment strangely quiet and emotional.
Li Sheng suddenly said, "I want to hear you play the flute."
Li Jiacong clicked his tongue, lazily rummaged through his desk, found the old silver flute he usually used for practice, tilted his head slightly, and put it to his lips.
As the melody of Bressanone began, desolate and melodious, it was like the wind blowing through withered grass, and the distant, stranded stream meandering to the ends of the earth.
He didn't perform on that big stage, but he performed for the only person he wanted to show off to.
Li Sheng suddenly stood up, and Li Jiacong asked with a hint of smugness, "How was it?"
Without clapping, Li Sheng hugged him, leaned on his shoulder, and let out a deep breath, feeling as if his heart had just landed safely on a precipice. Li Jiacong was a little dazed and patted his back.
-
Chen Wen sat in the car, staring straight ahead. Her phone suddenly lit up, and she answered it. The person on the other end said:
"Sister Chen, this so-called homosexuality we're talking about was removed from the list of mental illnesses last year. It's not an illness anymore. So I think psychological counseling might not be very useful; it might be innate."
“Impossible,” Chen Wen’s voice trembled. “He’s never shown any signs of this since he was a child. It can’t be innate! Could it be influenced by someone? He’s in his adolescence now, and he’s very curious about these things. He was even dating a girlfriend before!”
"...I can't analyze the specifics, but there are cases showing that some boys and girls only gradually discover their sexual orientation at a certain stage, such as high school or even college. As for the impact, unless it's forced..."
Chen Wen: "No, at his age, guidance and manipulation will change him. Okay, I understand!"
"Sister Chen? Sister Chen?"
Chen Wen hung up the phone, looked at the lights on the roof, and tears streamed down her face—her keen senses had detected her son's unusual behavior.
After confirming repeatedly, Chen Wen was certain that there was something unusual between Li Jiacong and Li Sheng. Li Jiacong skipped evening self-study to be with Li Sheng at a fixed time, and no matter where they went, it was like they were on a date! It was unlike any ordinary friendship or classmate relationship.
Based on her understanding of Li Jiacong, the original Li Jiacong was unwilling to spend any time on others except for his own enjoyment. However, Li Jiacong kept creating opportunities to meet Li Sheng, once or twice... even for this performance, it was Li Jiacong who invited Li Sheng.
After being explicitly forbidden from seeing each other again, Li Jiacong broke the rule once more, this time in a more covert manner. This was very unlike the Li Jiacong of the past. He had never shown the same level of care for his previous girlfriends as he had for Li Sheng. Despite being so afraid of his father's threats, he still insisted on seeing this person.
Chen Wen had a terrible premonition. She began to sob, finding it hard to accept the reality. Homosexuality—this unfamiliar word—had appeared in her son's life. Chen Wen tried to calm herself and dialed Li Mingda's number.
-
Li Sheng received the toiletries Chen Wen had bought, and she told them to go to bed early, arranging for Li Sheng to stay in the guest room. It seemed she intended for them to separate as soon as possible.
Li Sheng went into the bedroom, lay down on the bed, feeling uneasy. But the place beneath him was the softest he had slept in the past few days, and he soon fell asleep.
In his half-awake state, he heard the door open; it must be Li Jiacong's father returning. He tried to get up, but the wound that had been dormant all night began to flare up and ache, making it too painful to get up. He could only lie down and drift off to sleep again.
It seems that Li Jiacong came by in the middle of the night. He came to see him, rummaged through the clothes he had taken off, and then left.
The next morning, Li Sheng's bruises had spread, and the corners of his mouth were more noticeably purple. Li Sheng struggled to get dressed, trying to avoid aggravating his wounds, when suddenly there was a knock on the door.
Li Sheng opened the door, and Chen Wen was standing outside. He greeted her politely, "Auntie..."
Chen Wen said, "You should go."
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