Chapter 8 – Astray Youth (8)
Sounds of commotion reached his ears.
There were voices speaking, along with the sound of river water hitting the bank, and a pungent smell of smoke in the air. Unexpectedly, Zhou Kaiji was suddenly pushed and stumbled forward.
When he raised his head again, he saw a completely unfamiliar scene.
He was standing on a concrete road, with tall dark warehouses on one side. The light near the warehouse door seemed to be broken, emitting only a faint glow. Within the range of the light, the deep rust on the warehouse’s metal sheet was clearly visible.
This warehouse seemed to be abandoned, with damp ground and piles of garbage emitting a foul smell.
On the other side was a spacious river. Today, the wind was strong, causing the river surface to churn restlessly, producing intermittent sounds and a chilly breath.
Far away, a high bridge spanned across the river, with a series of red car lights on it.
“Kid, I finally caught you.”
The already dim light was blocked by a figure, and Zhou Kaiji felt a sudden pain in his stomach. He could clearly feel his stomach spasming wildly, and his breathing became heavy.
He wanted to break free from the suppression, but he had taken a nap in the classroom at noon, didn’t have time for dinner, and had been busy since afternoon until night. His limbs were already finding it difficult to exert force, so he could only listen to the person in front of him saying, “You owe so much money, do you really think you can escape?”
“If you can’t repay the money, helping out with some tasks should suffice, right? Not repaying the money and not doing anything makes it difficult for us.”
“Brother, he’s quite stubborn.”
The light and shadows changed, and a bearded middle-aged man appeared within sight. He looked down from a higher vantage point, then smiled and said, “Let me handle this.”
Zhou Kaiji felt the force on his body disappear, but it was only for a moment before he felt a stabbing pain in his throat.
The bearded man dragged him towards the riverbank, leaving a trail on the ground.
He could see the river getting closer and closer, feeling the cold water vapor hitting his face.
The bearded man brought him to the closest point to the riverbank. Several people leaned against a car in front of the warehouse, their cigarette butts emitting a faint crimson glow. They all looked at him like that, with smiles on their faces, a mix of disdain and joy.
The bearded man asked him if he was going to do the job or not. Zhou Kaiji heard himself say that he wouldn’t.
In an instant, his line of sight suddenly plunged downward, and the icy river water surged overwhelmingly. Apart from the sound of the water flowing, all other sounds were shut out.
There was ice in the river, and he could feel the broken ice scraping across his cheeks.
The world turned dark, his breath was taken away, and his mind gradually became blank.
Just before losing consciousness, he was abruptly pulled out of the river, coughing continuously as the cold air rushed into his nostrils. The bearded man asked him again, “Will you do it?”
Zhou Kaiji didn’t answer. Apart from the voice of this person, he also faintly heard a bell ringing.
It was the school bell. His vision was starting to blur, but he could still vaguely make out what seemed to be a school across the river, with a bright square representing a classroom. The lights were bright, and even though he couldn’t see the students inside, he could guess that it must be lively right now.
“Are you still thinking about going to school?” The bearded man glanced at the person on the bank wearing dirty school uniform and said, “Do you think you can still go?”
The icy river water struck again.
Until he couldn’t move anymore, Zhou Kaiji was dragged back to the warehouse.
The warehouse was abandoned, with only various irrecoverable waste left inside. The dim light couldn’t illuminate the entire warehouse.
When Zhou Kaiji opened his eyes, all he saw was the dazzling tip of a knife, with something dripping onto his face.
It was raining. The warehouse was dilapidated and no one had repaired it, so the roof had started leaking.
The rain was pouring heavily, drowning out all other sounds.
The man who had first hit him in the stomach was squatting on the side with a knife, saying, “You owe money and have no skills. Apart from us, no one dares to take you in.”
The tip of the knife wavered, ultimately resting on his finger. He said, “For this matter, I only want one finger from you this time. Don’t make the same mistake next time.”
“Someone like you, whether alive or dead, no one cares. You’re destined to be with us.”
The cold light was blinding as the sharp blade, wet with rain, swung down.
“Bang—”
In the darkness, the person lying on the bed suddenly opened their eyes wide and sat up straight.
Apart from the heavy breathing in the room, there was only the sound of rain outside the window.
The rain had started when he was on the bridge, and now it was pouring heavily, hitting the leaves outside and making a crackling sound.
The bedside lamp was on, his chest rising and falling continuously. Zhou Kaiji lowered his head and looked at his hands.
They were intact. His body was dry and warm, the window was closed, and not a drop of rain could get in.
It turned out to be just a dream.
Zhou Kaiji sat there, realizing that he had just been dreaming, yet his heartbeat showed no signs of slowing down.
The dream was too real, so real that it felt like it had actually happened.
He recalled that the warehouse should be one of the warehouses he had seen on the way back tonight, but he hadn’t seen any of those people from the dream.
— Just like what Secretary Chen mentioned, there really were ice shards in the river in winter.
With his heart pounding incessantly, Zhou Kaiji didn’t go back to sleep in the end and instead chose to sit at his desk.
He turned on the desk lamp, opened the unfinished homework from today, and picked up a pen.
— The dirty school uniform, the school across the river.
“…”
Zhou Kaiji tried to steady his trembling hand but couldn’t manage to write a complete word.
His throat felt dry.
He glanced down at the ink blot on the paper caused by the pen’s nib and stood up eventually.
He had finished the water in his room before going to bed, so he opened the door and took the empty glass downstairs.
It was close to 2 a.m. now, and everyone in the house was asleep. It was dark, with only a faint light illuminating the wall, making the path visible.
Down the stairs, around the corridor, in the darkness, a thin strip of light illuminated a small patch of floor.
The door to a room wasn’t closed properly, and the light was seeping through the gap.
Zhou Kaiji remembered that it was Secretary Chen’s room.
Through the not-so-narrow gap in the door, he immediately saw the massive bookshelf and stacks of documents, along with the figure in a simple shirt.
As if noticing his gaze, the person sitting at the desk slightly turned their head and looked over.
It was Secretary Chen, but not the usual Secretary Chen he was accustomed to seeing.
Zhou Kaiji was seeing the person working for the first time. The room had the heater on, and the person sitting at the desk was only wearing a shirt, with two buttons on the collar undone, the black tie loosely hanging, and the silver-rimmed glasses on their nose reflecting light. Those eyes, usually filled with a smile, appeared a bit colder than the silver frames when devoid of emotion.
Then he saw the person smile.
Chen Luosong put down the documents in hand, casually waved, and asked, “Why are you still up so late?”
As soon as he spoke, he reverted to his familiar self. Zhou Kaiji walked into the room with the water glass, paused for a moment, and said softly, “Can’t sleep.”
After answering, he asked, “Why is Brother Chen still working so late?”
“It’s the end of the year, so there’s a bit more work these days.”
Chen Luosong stood up, took the empty water glass from the person standing at the door, and also closed the door.
When the water glass returned to Zhou Kaiji’s hand, it was half-filled with water.
The cup contained lukewarm water, which made his cooling body gradually warm up, and his breathing also began to calm down.
With his light-colored pupils meeting the gaze of the person still standing in place, Chen Luosong’s expression remained unchanged as he asked, “If you can’t sleep, would you like to read a book?”
“I have some books here.” he smiled and added, “Perfect timing for company during my late-night work.”
Zhou Kaiji agreed as he held the water glass emitting continuous warmth in his hands.
This was the first time he had looked so closely at the bookcase in this room. There were more books in the bookcase than he had imagined, with various genres and even books related to academic subjects, but the titles were quite obscure, and he couldn’t make sense of them.
In the end, Zhou Kaiji picked a book with a title he could understand from the pile of books that he couldn’t quite comprehend. There was a sofa in the room, also piled with books and various folders, but there was still space to sit.
— He had barely touched the sofa for a few seconds, hadn’t even opened the book yet, when he was pulled up by someone.
Chen Luosong tapped the back of the high schooler, who was only wearing a thin pajama, and said, “Go read on the bed.”
Zhou Kaiji was ushered onto the bed.
It was his first time sleeping in someone else’s bed, yet he strangely adapted well.
The cup and the pillow were both soft and warm, carrying a familiar and pleasant scent. Surprisingly, he could understand the words on the book.
Outside the French window, the rain continued, but the dampness and chill were kept out by the window, leaving the room dry and bright. He could also hear occasional sounds of flipping documents and keyboard typing coming from one side.
Sinking into the soft pillow, Zhou Kaiji held the book and turned his head to look at the person sitting not far away.
Behind the stack of documents, the person sitting at the desk was looking down at the files in hand, the glasses on his nose slipping down, the lenses reflecting the faint blue light from the computer screen.
As his body slid down, he sank completely into the warmth of the blanket. Zhou Kaiji’s mind gradually became sluggish, and his vision also became blurry. In the midst of clarity and confusion, he heard himself saying, “Secretary Chen, I don’t understand this book.”
The sound of papers being flipped filled the room as the person at the desk lowered their head to sign with a pen and said:
“Blockhead, call me Brother Chen.”
