Chapter 34 So big, so crowded…
When Li Jiacong woke up, he saw that the bedroom door was open. He sat up, walked out of the bedroom, and saw his father sitting on the sofa and his mother standing by the window. He glanced into Li Sheng's room, but no one was there.
Li Jiacong asked, "Where is he?"
No one answered. This silence quickly alerted Li Jiacong to something was wrong. He wanted to retreat back to his room, but it seemed there was no way out; his parents were waiting for him.
Waiting for him to wake up and fall from a beautiful dream into a nightmare.
Li Mingda: "What is your relationship with Li Sheng?"
Li Jiacong's heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out a lie that seemed to have been rehearsed countless times in his mind: "Friend."
Li Mingda: "Friend? What friend? How far have things progressed between you two?"
Li Jiacong: "What..."
Li Mingda stood up and pointed at his nose: "Stop pretending! Li Jiacong, you're something else, tell me, how did you two start!"
Li Jiacong: "No..."
Li Mingda punched Li Jiacong: "You two got involved at your grandma's house, didn't you? I told you to go back and calm down, and you just stayed calm! You were messing around with men!"
Arrested? When? What evidence? Li Jiazong was completely stunned. He didn't feel any pain, but the words were grating. He looked out the window. His mother didn't turn to look at him—a gesture of avoidance, tacit approval, or perhaps shame. Only his mother could have discovered these things; Li Jiazong had no reason to doubt anyone. And Chen Wen's support would always stand against him in moments like these, sending Li Mingda to teach him a lesson.
"I'll ask you one more time, how did you two start? Did he approach you first, or did you approach him?"
Li Jiacong gritted his teeth, remaining silent. And silence was tacit agreement.
Seeing his stubbornness, Li Mingda slapped him hard across the face.
Li Jiacong wasn't scared by Feng Hui's attack, but he felt a deep-seated fear when facing his father. He was completely defenseless and slapped him across the face, knocking him to the ground and causing him to crash into the door behind him.
Li Mingda asked again, "One last time, tell me, between you and him, who made the first move! You want me to ask Li Sheng, right?"
"Me," Li Jiacong said. Saying it was Li Sheng might have allowed him to shirk responsibility, but Li Jiacong still answered in this way.
"Pervert!" Li Mingda slapped him again. Li Jiacong felt dizzy.
"That's fucking disgusting!"
"What's going on in your head? Can't you live without thinking about that? You think with your lower body! You're shameless, but I have a conscience! I'll beat you to death!"
"We sent you to school, and what did you learn? How can you face your mother and me? How old are you?"
"Are you out of your mind? Huh? Who is Li Sheng? Aren't you disgusted? You fucking want to be like him?! Do you even know you both have the surname Li?! You beast! You beast!"
This was a shameful affair, and he thought he could cover it up, but he was just being clever. When his affair with Li Sheng was exposed to his parents, he realized how despicable he truly was.
They all share the surname Li, and they are both men.
Perverted, disgusting. His father didn't say anything even worse, but his face clearly showed it.
"Besides him, who else have you slept with?"
“That’s all,” Li Jiacong replied stiffly.
Li Mingda sat back on the sofa, took a deep breath, and said in an extremely cold tone, "You don't need to go to school anymore. Someone like you doesn't deserve to study. From now on, you can do whatever you want. Nobody can control you. From today onwards, you are no longer my son. Get out of here, and don't just stand there!"
Li Jiacong panicked.
Chen Wen finally made a move, saying, "Jia Cong, kneel down and apologize to your father."
Li Mingda: "No need! Let him rot if he wants to. Call his homeroom teacher and arrange for him to drop out of school tomorrow. College entrance exam? What a load of crap! Someone like you, you can't possibly get into a damn university!"
Chen Wen pressed down on Li Jiacong's shoulder, easily forcing him to kneel. This posture was humiliating, a taste of fate being in someone else's hands; his destiny and dignity were in the hands of his parents. For the first time ever, he saw himself standing at a crossroads in his life, so clearly.
He hated school, hated studying, hated every day he was tightly bound by his parents. But now, because of this incident, his life may be completely derailed, crashing into the wilderness, plunging into a state of confusion and uncertainty.
Dropping out of school. Those two words had truly arrived, and the terror was palpable. Li Jiacong felt an unbearable tightness in his throat, unable to speak.
Chen Wen: "Say it, say you'll never do it again."
Li Mingda pretended to call his homeroom teacher, but Chen Wen held him back and urged, "Apologize to your dad!"
For a moment, Li Jiacong felt a sense of absurdity, unsure whether his parents' struggle was an act or not. But regardless, he had to play along. His voice trembled as he spoke, proving that he was truly afraid: "Dad, I'll never do it again."
Li Jiacong lowered his head: "I will definitely study hard from now on. Dad, please don't be angry."
He had to kowtow to get his rightful life back from his father—to study, go to university, get a decent job, get married, and have children.
"Dad, I'm sorry."
"sorry……"
"sorry……"
…
Li Mingda went to work. Chen Wen pulled Li Jiacong up from the floor and sat him on the sofa, asking him, "You and Li Sheng, did you," she took a deep breath, "have a relationship?"
Li Jiacong replied blankly, "Yes."
Li Jiacong heard her mother gasp.
Chen Wen said, "Son, let's go to the hospital."
Li Jiacong looked up blankly: "What?"
Chen Wen: "Get a medical checkup. You know there's a disease spreading among same-sex couples now, it's terrifying..."
"No, I haven't met that many people."
"But you can't be sure about Li Sheng..."
"He can't."
Chen Wen insisted on pulling him along, saying, "Let's go take a look, just to put our minds at ease."
Li Jiacong looked at Chen Wen with an almost desperate gaze. His lips moved, but no sound came out, and tears, which he rarely shed, fell from his eyes.
"mom."
-
Li Sheng had a bad feeling. He might never see Jia Cong again.
"You're back?" Everyone was in the dorm. Wang Dapeng had bought a lot of alcohol. He poured himself a glass and said, "Have a drink. It's to celebrate your victory. You're fucking awesome. You got Feng Hui thrown into the police station, hahaha!"
Everyone laughed along. Li Sheng walked over expressionlessly and stood in front of Liu Quan.
Liu Quan took a step back: "What's wrong?"
Li Sheng didn't say anything, but the next second, he punched him in the face. Having been beaten several times since leaving the village, he had learned how to fight and knew where to hit where it hurt the most. The bones protruding from his clenched fist smashed into the soft flesh without making a sound.
Wang Dapeng: "Hey! Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me!"
He ordered someone to pull Li Sheng away: "What are you doing? Have you gone mad?"
Li Sheng looked at Liu Quan: "This is what I'm returning to you."
Wang Dapeng laughed heartily, took a glass of wine and held it to his lips: "Calm down, calm down, why are you angry with Liu Quan?"
Li Sheng took the wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
Liu Quan was Feng Hui's man. Stealing money, throwing away bed boards, telling Feng Hui where and when he was going to see Li Jiazong—only Liu Quan could do that. Li Sheng laughed at himself for trusting him so much. This place, these rotten people—where was there any integrity? No, they weren't even human; they were parasites.
Liu Quan lowered his head and said tremblingly, "Brother Sheng, I'm sorry, please don't hit me..."
Li Sheng chuckled. He had learned that word from Jia Cong: "idiot."
Wang Dapeng put his arm around his shoulder and said, "Shengzi got so angry he started cursing. This is the first time I've ever heard him do this. Forget about Liu Quan, come on, let's drink! We all know what kind of person he is—"
Wang Dapeng had a two-faced expression, constantly changing from laughing to angry. Li Sheng, feeling down, actually started drinking with Wang Dapeng. Alcohol is something that helps people forget their sorrows. After a few bottles, Li Sheng's face turned red, and he stood up to get some fresh air in the corridor.
Different noises emanated from each dormitory room. Li Sheng washed his face and stood there for a long time, listening to the sounds of a hairdryer, dripping water, and plastic flapping in the wind...
He took out his phone; the corner was chipped from the fight. There were a few missed calls, which he ignored. He scrolled through his text messages with Li Jiacong—simple greetings—and read them for a long time.
Back in the dorm, someone told him that Huang Yin had just come looking for him. Wang Dapeng said, "Are you dating Huang Yin?"
Li Sheng: "No."
Wang Dapeng pursed his lips and nodded: "I'm relieved that he's not your boyfriend."
Li Sheng: "What's wrong?"
Wang Dapeng said, "If you don't like such a beautiful girl, plenty of others will. A friend's wife is not to be trifled with. Since she's not your girlfriend, we can pursue her without worry!"
Li Sheng's gaze turned cold as he walked next door. He knocked on the door, and a strong, cheap perfume wafted from inside. Huang Yin saw him and asked with concern, "Are you alright? You're injured!"
Huang Yin touched the wound around his eye, and Li Sheng gently took her hand away, saying, "It's just a superficial wound, nothing serious."
Huang Yin felt sorry for him: "I heard from Lü Xiaoshan that you got into trouble. She said that person is very powerful. People from the restaurant came looking for you today, and it seems to be one of them. They made a big scene, and the manager... tried to call you, but couldn't get through."
Li Sheng seemed to have anticipated this: "He fired me?"
Huang Yin: "He just asked me to tell you that tomorrow is the last day. He told you to get ready..."
Li Sheng closed his eyes; he was exhausted. This matter was never-ending. It revolved around him, around Li Jiacong. It had created even more cracks in their already fragile connection, pushing his shaky life to the bottom of the water, like stepping on something disgusting that stuck to him and he couldn't get rid of it.
Anger burned within him, but violence was not an outlet for him. He bit his lip, suppressing his rage. Huang Yin felt uneasy seeing him like this. Suddenly, she took his hand and said, "Li Sheng, come with me somewhere!"
Li Sheng followed her out of the old building. It was very cold, and the cold wind blew into his collar. Huang Yin led him to an unfinished building, its massive frame standing tall in the cold northern sky. They climbed up to the rooftop, looking down at the entire brightly lit city. So vast, so crowded, so distant.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Huang Yin pointed to the residential buildings in the distance: “Look, a bright little cubicle is a home. A… warm home supported by two people.”
She looked on with envy: "Do you like it?"
Li Sheng hummed in agreement. He looked towards the small cubicle; someone was cooking in the kitchen, there was a small potted plant on the windowsill, and the warm-colored curtains were parted in a V-shape. He was envious. He thought these things wouldn't be too far from him, but reality was quite the opposite.
Huang Yin suddenly grabbed his hand. Li Sheng wanted to pull it away, but he was worried about hurting Huang Yin. Huang Yin smiled and blew on his hand. When he opened it again, there were several hundred yuan more in Li Sheng's palm. She said, "Leaving Yunji is good. This is all I have. You can rent a place and you'll have a home."
Li Sheng pushed it towards her, saying, "I don't need it."
"No way!" Huang Yin frowned, looking adorably about to throw a tantrum. She crumpled the money into a ball, stuffed it into Li Sheng's pocket, and then turned and ran away.
Li Sheng reached into his pocket, took out a handful of money, and found that it wasn't just the money Huang Yin had given him, but also a neat stack of brand-new hundred-yuan bills.
—It was secretly given to him by Li Jiacong.
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