Xiao Ran was in a good mood today. She found a job at a beauty salon, which paid better and had a nicer environment compared to working at the supermarket. She had bought jars and ingredients to make some special mountain mushroom sauce from her hometown. She planned to give two jars to Uncle Shen and two jars to Shiyu.

She had just come out of the supermarket with two large bags when she looked up and saw a familiar figure across the street. Looking closer, she realized it was Shiyu!

Xiao Ran quickly ran a few steps forward. “Shiyu, hey!”

Her voice was too soft, and Lin Shiyu was walking too fast. She could only watch as he turned into an old neighborhood. It was a run-down place with fruit and vegetable stands cluttering the entrance, and electric bikes parked haphazardly, making it difficult for larger vehicles to enter. Xiao Ran stood there for a moment, realizing that Shiyu should be in school right now.

Instinctively, she followed him a few steps, noting the name of the neighborhood. She knew Shiyu didn’t live there. Confused, she put her bags on the ground and called Lin Shiyu.

The phone rang for a while before he answered. “Xiao Ran?”

“Ah, Shiyu.” Xiao Ran cleared her throat awkwardly, “Where are you?”

“…I’m at school.”

Xiao Ran was surprised. “Oh, well… I changed jobs. I’ll be working at a beauty salon now, with a higher salary. I made some mountain mushroom sauce from our hometown. It’s delicious. I’ll bring it to you.”

There was a long pause on the other end before he replied, “I’m still in class. I’ll come get it on the weekend.”

Xiao Ran looked at the neighborhood gate, reluctantly saying “okay” before hanging up.

Did Shiyu skip class? Xiao Ran saw Lin Shiyu as a little brother so she was worried. It was concerning to see him out on the street instead of in school.

Determined to get him back to school, she hurriedly stored her purchases at the supermarket and rushed into the neighborhood.

Luckily, she didn’t lose track of him. Lin Shiyu seemed unsure of the way, turning from one building entrance to another. Xiao Ran ran to catch up, calling his name, but he didn’t hear her and disappeared around a corner.

She finally caught up and saw him enter a building. She followed, feeling a sense of unease. Seeing him in this unfamiliar, dimly lit building reminded her of her own dark past. Alone, she had walked through busy streets into a deserted, stark room where she felt she’d be trapped forever.

Her face pale, Xiao Ran took a deep breath and climbed the stairs. She was about to call out to Shiyu when she heard urgent knocking from above. After a moment, a door opened.

A hoarse, grim male voice spoke, “What are you doing here?”

Lin Shiyu’s voice replied, “Did you take twenty thousand yuan from my mom?”

“What’s it to you?”

“She’s my mom. What’s it got to do with you? Why did you ask her for money?”

“It’s none of your business who I ask for money! She’s my wife. I can spend her money if I want!”

“She has nothing to do with you anymore! Can’t you earn money on your own? You’re a loser—”

A loud thud followed, and Lin Shiyu let out a muffled groan. The man’s angry cursing continued, the door slammed, and all sounds were cut off.

Xiao Ran crouched in the corner, trembling. After a long time without hearing anything, she got up and ran down the stairs, fumbling for her phone. She found a contact and called.

“Hello? Uncle Shen, I’m at Dadi Neighborhood. Please come quickly! Shiyu’s in trouble!”

Meanwhile, Zhong Qi had taken a detour to buy Lin Shiyu’s favorite lemon soda. Mao Silu had invited him to play basketball, but he declined, carrying the soda back to the classroom.

The classroom was empty. Zhong Qi put the soda on the desk, seeing Lin Shiyu’s bag and open textbooks, indicating he had just left and would be back soon. Zhong Qi sat down, playing games on his phone while waiting.

Twenty minutes passed with no sign of him.

Did he fall into the toilet? Zhong Qi wondered, checking the bathroom but finding no one. He stood in the hallway, thinking, and then called Lin Shiyu.

He called once, no answer. Twice, no answer. Three times, the line was busy.

Zhong Qi leaned over the railing, watching the people coming and going below, and had a thought: maybe he got caught skipping class and sleeping in the classroom by Mr. Li.

He walked towards the office. Just as he reached the door, he heard Mr. Li’s voice coming closer. “Officer Shen, please give me the address. I’ll head over right away. I’ll call Shiyu’s mom on the way and ask her to go too…”

“Of course, I have to go. That kid has such a bad temper, running off without telling anyone…”

“Alright, thank you.”

Teacher Li stepped out of the office, nearly dropping his phone when he saw Zhong Qi standing there. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you in class?”

“What’s wrong with Lin Shiyu?”

 “Why do you need to know? Get to your PE class.”

Li Zhong hurried forward, but Zhong Qi followed him. Li Zhong turned back, exasperated, “Hey, are you disobeying now?”

Zhong Qi insisted on following. Li Zhong, in a rush to find Lin Shiyu, had no time to argue and reluctantly brought him along.

“Where’s the money?”

In the dirty, cluttered room, Lin Shiyu and the man were at a standoff. Lin Shiyu’s mouth was bleeding from a punch. The man, reeking of alcohol, was slumped on the sofa, panting. The room was littered with empty bottles and leftover food. His once-handsome father had deteriorated, his face ruined by alcohol, cigarettes, and irregular living habits.

Their former home no longer resembled its past. Before they left, Lin Hui would clean the house every day, even if the man had gone on a rampage the night before.

Now, no one restored this home to its former state.

The man lit a cigarette, glaring at Lin Shiyu. “Is that how you talk to your father?”

Lin Shiyu turned and headed towards his room. The man jumped up. “Lin Shiyu, are you itching for a beating?”

They charged into the bedroom. Lin Shiyu went straight for the nightstand, but the man grabbed his collar. Lin Shiyu turned and kicked, and they started fighting. The man tried to punch Lin Shiyu’s face, but Lin Shiyu twisted his arm away each time. The man’s curses were vile, but Lin Shiyu ignored him, his eyes red with anger. He pressed the man’s head into the bed, shouting, “You’re no longer my father!”

He was no longer the child who was beaten, thrown to the ground, and hit with ashtrays and bottles without being able to fight back. He knew resistance only brought more violence, but he fought back every time until he could finally strike back fiercely.

Lin Shiyu threw the man to the floor, making him cough violently. The years had turned his father into a frail shell. Lin Shiyu panted for a moment, then turned and pulled out all the drawers from the nightstand, finding only a few hundred yuan.

He threw the money at the man. “Where’s the rest?”

The man leaned on the bed, gasping, “It’s all spent! Your mother’s money is nothing—”

Lin Shiyu grabbed his collar and slammed him against the wall. “That’s my mom’s hard-earned money! She has to support two kids! Wu Xiang, are you even human?!”

They clashed again. Lin Shiyu, like a wild beast, choked the man and punched him repeatedly. “If you ever touch my mom again, I’ll never let you go!”

The man, bleeding and desperate, grabbed a small knife from the floor and stabbed Lin Shiyu’s arm.

The taxi stopped at the entrance of Dadi Neighborhood. Li Zhong and Zhong Qi had just gotten out when a police car arrived. The area was too chaotic for cars to drive through, so Officer Shen jumped out and waved at Li Zhong. “Let’s go. Why is Zhong Qi here?”

“He insisted on coming! Which building is it?”

Zhong Qi stayed close to the adults, asking, “Uncle Shen, what happened to Lin Shiyu?”

“I’m not sure. Xiao Ran called, crying, asking me to come over… Oh, there she is!”

A girl anxiously waiting by the building ran towards them, “Uncle Shen!”

“Xiao Ran, what’s going on?”

She grabbed Officer Shen’s hand, leading him forward. “Shiyu seemed to be fighting with his dad. His dad looked scary. I was so scared…”

Before she could finish, they heard shouting and crashing from upstairs, followed by a loud bang. Everyone froze for a moment. Zhong Qi looked up instinctively.

The old residential building had balconies without security bars, made of cement and bricks. Some had windows, some didn’t. Following the sound, they saw it came from a third-floor balcony, surrounded by flimsy iron railings, clearly neglected for years.

Zhong Qi watched as Lin Shiyu fell out through the balcony door, hitting the iron railing with the back of his head, making a loud, resonant “bang.”

Li Zhong shouted urgently, “Hurry, hurry, get upstairs!”

Officer Shen looked at the third-floor balcony and suddenly yelled, “Danger!”

The iron railing was rusted badly. When Lin Shiyu hit it, it made a creaking, decaying sound.

The iron bars, originally welded to the ground, started sliding out of the loose cement seams, causing the railing to collapse significantly.

Lin Shiyu fell from the third floor.

Xiao Ran covered her eyes and screamed in terror. Officer Shen and Li Zhong’s desperate shouts seemed distant. Everything happened so fast. They hadn’t had time to get close to the building. The distance, which seemed so near, stretched endlessly in that moment. They could only watch helplessly as Lin Shiyu fell like a leaf, seconds away from hitting the ground.

A figure rushed past them, bringing a gust of wind.

Zhong Qi’s heart pounded wildly.

His legs moved on their own, running frantically. He sprinted towards the falling figure, his mind blank except for one thought—

He couldn’t let Lin Shiyu hit the ground.

Time seemed to stretch and compress as daylight flickered over the running figure. Zhong Qi’s adrenaline surged to its peak, muscles exploding with unprecedented strength. He leapt forward, his fingers brushing against the flapping edge of Lin Shiyu’s clothes.

In the final moment, Zhong Qi grabbed Lin Shiyu, clutching him as they tumbled and slid a long distance on the ground, leaving a deep mark.

Zhong Qi coughed violently from the impact. Gasping for air, he propped himself up, carefully laying Lin Shiyu’s head on the ground. His shoulder throbbed with excruciating pain, but he couldn’t care about that now. His legs were too weak to stand, so he knelt by Lin Shiyu, breathing heavily, senses and awareness slowly returning to his body.

He caught him. Zhong Qi’s fingers trembled as he touched Lin Shiyu’s cold cheek. Catching him meant everything was alright.

“Hurry, don’t move him, lay him down gently, and call an ambulance right now!”

“Shiyu? Lin Shiyu! What happened to him?”

People gathered, their voices buzzing around Zhong Qi. His senses gradually returned. He stared at Lin Shiyu’s face, eyes closed, lips pale.

Why wasn’t he opening his eyes?

Feeling helpless, Zhong Qi carefully withdrew his hand from Lin Shiyu’s head, wanting to check his condition. Suddenly, a shocking red stain appeared in his vision.

His hand was covered in blood.

 

Edited by: Jaisland

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