Chapter 131

Li Xiu walked into the classroom and asked Mo Yin, “What’s wrong?”

Mo Yin stared fixedly at his phone screen, completely oblivious to Li Xiu’s question or his presence in the room. In his world, there was only him and the number displayed on his phone screen.

Having enjoyed the peaceful days for too long, it felt like a thunderbolt on a sunny day suddenly woke him up. Where exactly was he?

Momentarily dazed, Mo Yin quickly regained his composure. He dialed the number back, and it was answered immediately as if someone had been waiting for his call.

While Mo Yin talked on the phone, pressing it close to his ear, Li Xiu couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end. He only saw Mo Yin’s expressionless face, tightly pursed lips, and the brief response of “Okay.”

After hanging up, a hint of confusion slowly crept onto Mo Yin’s face.

“Is something wrong at home?” Li Xiu asked.

It was only then that Mo Yin noticed Li Xiu standing beside his desk.

“It’s nothing.”

Mo Yin reached back to grab his bag, hesitated, and then put it down again.

“I’m leaving.”

For Mo Yin, these seemingly disjointed words were already difficult enough. At least he informed Li Xiu that he was leaving. As for where he was going and what exactly was happening, he wouldn’t say anymore. Li Xiu would have to figure it out for himself.

Mo Yin only took his phone and rushed out of the classroom.

Li Xiu followed him out.

Mo Yin dashed into the office.

Li Xiu didn’t follow him inside, instead he waited outside and saw Mo Yin exchange a few words with the head teacher. The head teacher looked serious, nodding continuously, and then quickly signed a form.

Mo Yin came out of the office without greeting Li Xiu, heading straight for the staircase.

Li Xiu followed to the balcony and quickly spotted Mo Yin downstairs, sprinting towards the school gate.

The bus hadn’t arrived yet. Mo Yin couldn’t quite gauge his urgency. It seemed like it didn’t matter whether the bus came or not. He even thought that it might be better if the bus didn’t come…

But contrary to his wish, the bus arrived soon after.

Mo Yin glanced up. The bus doors opened, and he boarded alone. He reached into his pocket, realizing it was empty. He had forgotten… forgotten everything. He looked bewilderedly at the driver, who glanced at him with a thermos cup in hand, took a sip of tea, and said nothing.

The bus doors closed, and the driver started driving.

Mo Yin stood in front of the coin box for a while, mechanically walked to the nearest seat, and sat down.

Time passed in a blur. He lost all sense of the bus’s speed and the passing time. His mind was in turmoil, unable to think straight.

“The student, you’re here.”

Mo Yin turned towards the voice.

The driver stopped the bus and pointed to the side. Mo Yin looked up and saw the sign indicating his stop. Oh, he had arrived. He stood up and walked to the front doors of the bus. He glanced back, and the doors closed as the bus swayed and moved forward. There were still two stops until the terminal.

It was already dark.

City lights came on, with headlights and neon signs on the streets. The suburbs had their own hustle and bustle. Mo Yin walked towards the dimly lit and quiet area. Streetlights were completely broken, and yesterday’s heavy rain left the road wet and sticky, with sewage flowing.

Mo Yin ran into an alleyway, splashing water with each step. He found a nondescript set of stairs, taking two steps at a time without stopping. He panted heavily as he reached the top floor. Just as he turned the corner from the staircase, he saw a figure in front of his darkened door. As expected, Mo Yin stopped in his tracks, bent over to catch his breath, hands on his knees, a fire burning in his chest.

He cautiously approached. In the darkness, the person stumbled back with his forceful push.

“You’re going to kill me, aren’t you? If you don’t kill me today, I’ll kill you—” Mo Yin exclaimed.

In the darkness, the person staggered back a step. They remained silent and didn’t resist. After steadying themselves, they calmly said, “It’s me.”

It took Mo Yin a moment to recognize Li Xiu’s face in the darkness. It wasn’t that it was too dark to see clearly; tears were welling up in his eyes.

“Why is it you…” Mo Yin’s voice choked. He quickly wiped his eyes, preventing the tears from falling, blinking rapidly to dispel the remaining moisture. “…What are you doing here?”

Li Xiu said, “I looked up your registered family information at school, secretly.”

“Oh,” Mo Yin responded quietly.

“I thought something might have happened at your home…”

Mo Yin pushed Li Xiu hard again, this time with even more force. Like before, Li Xiu wasn’t prepared and staggered back two steps.

“What’s it to you?”

Mo Yin’s voice was cold. “What’s happening at my home is none of your business.”

“Who do you think you are? What gives you the right to be here?”

He was shoved roughly again. Li Xiu stepped back, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, seeing a fierce determination on Mo Yin’s pale face.

As Mo Yin raised his hand again, Li Xiu grabbed his wrist. “We’re friends,” Li Xiu said, serious and without a hint of levity. “What’s going on at home? Is it something with your dad?”

Mo Yin clenched his lips tightly.

Li Xiu tilted his head slightly, glancing behind Mo Yin. “Someone’s coming.”

Mo Yin immediately turned around.

There was a figure at the end of the corridor. Mo Yin’s mind raced.

Mo Yin let go of Li Xiu’s hand and sprinted towards the figure standing still.

“Mo Xuemin—”

Mo Yin grabbed Mo Xuemin’s arm, furious. “Why are you running around like this—”

Even though he knew accusing Mo Xuemin was pointless since Mo Xuemin couldn’t understand anymore, Mo Yin still shouted loudly, “What are you doing here? I’ve already terminated the lease here! I paid your deposit and hospital fees. You should be staying in the hospital, don’t you understand?! You don’t understand anything… Are you just here to torment me, just to make sure I don’t have a good life?!”

Mo Yin’s voice echoed loudly in the corridor. Someone pushed open a door to watch. Li Xiu walked over, arms outstretched, closed the door, startling the person inside, who shouted through the door, “You’re crazy!”

Li Xiu approached and only then realized Mo Yin was holding onto a middle-aged man. The man looked dignified yet thin, emitting a slightly grim and gloomy aura. Despite Mo Yin shouting so loudly at him, people downstairs looked up, but he remained unresponsive, staring blankly ahead.

Li Xiu realized something. Mo Yin lowered his head, his back bending, his school uniform taut against his spine.

Li Xiu wasn’t sure if Mo Yin was crying. His hand hung by his side, fingers curling, hesitating to touch Mo Yin’s back. The middle-aged man suddenly broke free from Mo Yin’s grip with a burst of strength. Mo Yin was thrown back, and Li Xiu caught his shoulder. Mo Yin hadn’t yet regained his balance when his hand instinctively reached forward, fingers brushing fabric, and Mo Xuemin ran off.

“Quick, chase after him—”

Mo Yin yelled, and Li Xiu immediately let go of Mo Yin and ran after him in the darkness. Mo Yin followed closely behind.

Mo Xuemin was running upstairs.

The building only had six floors, so reaching the top floor was quick. The moment Mo Xuemin ran onto the terrace, Li Xiu caught up and immediately embraced him from behind.

Unexpectedly, the usually quiet Mo Xuemin suddenly screamed, struggling desperately. He turned his head and bit Li Xiu’s forearm. Li Xiu grunted, and a loud shout came from behind him, “Let him go—”

Li Xiu looked up and instinctively loosened his arm. Mo Xuemin immediately wriggled free.

“It’s not you!” Mo Yin also caught up.

Li Xiu reacted quickly, took a step forward, and tackled Mo Xuemin who was running towards the edge of the terrace. This time, he expertly held Mo Xuemin’s hands behind his back, controlling the struggling man with one knee on the ground.

“Alright,” Li Xiu turned around. “Call the hospital.”

Mo Yin wiped his eyes, turned, and made a calm call, “Hello, we’ve found the person. Sorry for the trouble. They’re at our old place. Please come pick him up.”

Perhaps hearing that he would be taken back, Mo Xuemin’s struggling weakened, and he began to whimper. Soon, a foul smell filled the air, and he hoarsely murmured, “Murderer… You’re a murderer…”

Mo Yin turned around.

Li Xiu remained composed, unaware of the spreading liquid beside him and Mo Xuemin’s accusations.

After waiting for about half an hour, a vehicle arrived with all the necessary medical equipment. The hospital staff apologized to Mo Yin, explaining their mistake due to Mo Xuemin’s improved condition, which led to negligence and his escape.

Mo Yin didn’t want to argue with them. He feared Mo Xuemin would cause more trouble if sent back, as not many hospitals in the city were willing to accept him in the first place.

The hospital’s vehicle flashed its lights and drove away.

The rooftop terrace returned to emptiness. Li Xiu examined his forearm, Mo Yin approached and glanced down at his school pants. “Your pants got dirty.”

Li Xiu glanced down and said, “It’s okay.”

“How’s Mo Yufan’s hand?” Li Xiu asked.

The topic changed abruptly, and Mo Yin looked at him quizzically.

Li Xiu said, “Pants can be washed, but the injury is a bit troublesome.”

Mo Yin looked at his arm. “The wound isn’t deep. You should go to the hospital.”

“Just a minor injury,” Li Xiu put his arm down. “No need to go to the hospital.”

Earlier it was troublesome, now it’s just a minor injury.

Mo Yin said, “Then let’s buy some pants first.”

Li Xiu grabbed his thigh where the pants were wet below the knees due to the accumulated water on the terrace, and it smelled bad from being mixed with something else.

The two went downstairs, and there was a supermarket next door. Mo Yin entered and used Li Xiu’s money to pay for a pair of sweatpants. At the public water sink upstairs, Li Xiu took off his school pants, shoes, and socks. He held water in his palms and washed his knees and shins.

Mo Yin stood aside, leaning against the wall with the sweatpants in his arms. In the darkness of the unlit public water sink, only the sound of rushing water could be heard. Mo Yin said, “I won’t thank you. You came here on your own; I didn’t ask you.”

Li Xiu remained silent, washing quickly. After a while, he uttered a soft “hm.”

Mo Yin asked, “Is this something you wanted to do too?”

Li Xiu smiled. His laughter mingled with the sound of water, sounding light-hearted and cheerful, as if he had come here late at night to play in the water.

“I guess so.”

Li Xiu stood up straight, turned his head, and said to Mo Yin, “I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether I should come.”

Mo Yin watched him quietly.

“If I came, there might be trouble, and you probably don’t need my help. If I didn’t come…” Li Xiu paused and smiled again. “Well, I just wanted to come.”

Mo Yin smiled too. “Are you starting to pity me, feeling sorry for me?”

Li Xiu said, “No.”

He took the sweatpants from Mo Yin and smoothly pulled his wet legs through them, putting them on. “I just feel like we’re a bit alike.”

“Alike?”

“Don’t you think?” Li Xiu smiled. “We’re both a bit odd.”

Mo Yin didn’t argue. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked at Li Xiu askew. Li Xiu said he didn’t know what he really wanted, sometimes wondering what he did want. To defeat Li Xiu and become first, and then? After achieving first place, or after getting into the ideal university and finding the ideal job, would these things that everyone wanted satisfy him? Would they bring him true peace?

No, he actually knew what he wanted.

What he truly desired was such a foul-smelling expectation.

Using all the beautiful goals to conceal, still unable to cover up the stench inside, even if no one knew, he knew, only he knew, what he thought about day and night, what he fought against.

“Just now…” Mo Yin looked up, a large spider web swaying in the wind in the corner. “It would’ve been better if your pants didn’t get dirty.”