WHF Ch 12 – Going Back Home to Get Married

So why did he agree to the bartender’s suggestion?

Or better yet, why was he so fixated on finding Yu Tianbai? Two years ago, when he was kicked off the road, the hatred in his heart wasn’t even that strong. Why was that? Because back then, he hated too many things: he hated life, he hated martial arts, he hated his senior brother, he hated his parents, and he even hated himself. His hatred was as chaotic as the dreadlocks he used to wear, growing wildly without order. That summer was too hot, and he simply couldn’t think about anything related to himself.

Even though he entered university a year earlier than his peers, he couldn’t feel any joy. Getting into a top-tier university was, in his father’s eyes, as mundane as eating fried dough sticks, tofu pudding, and leek pastries for breakfast. Xiu Ma wanted to bring it up, but the man wouldn’t listen, and he definitely didn’t want to talk about life matters with his mother—the woman who once tried to sell her own son to pay off debts, the woman who was supposedly the landlord’s eldest daughter but squandered her family’s fortune herself.

And then what?

He stopped thinking about Yu Tianbai entirely and didn’t dwell on the days when he could still do flips. His hair got shorter, time dragged on, and for some reason, more people at school started asking for his contact information—girls, guys, even kids passing by would stare at him. It was really annoying!

And after that? He dropped out.

Sorry, he admitted he was weak. That woman had left him with too much: light-colored eyes, a handsome face, long limbs, and nightmares that never ended. She wasn’t even dead yet, still had the energy to curse out the fifth nanny his father hired, and kept nagging Xiu Ma to move in with her, to scheme together about what to sell next so they could gamble the days away.

The turning point came earlier this year. He felt much better because he’d figured something out: his conflict with his parents wasn’t just about his mother but also his father. Even if the house was so big it was sunny all day long, he didn’t want to live with his father anymore.

Goodbye, young master’s life. Goodbye, prodigy’s past. He needed the right opportunity to see what this world had in store.

He never expected that his first step into this world would bring him face-to-face with someone from before it all began.

Xiu Ma wasn’t without his guesses about what the boss might be like. Back when he thought he’d be working under a pharmaceutical rep, he imagined the leader as a refined scholar or a potbellied official. So when he turned and saw the lower half of Yu Tianbai’s face, he was genuinely stunned for a second. What followed was the story everyone knew: he punched Yu Tianbai, and then they hit the road together.

So after circling through all these memories, he still hadn’t figured out why he was so obsessed with finding Yu Tianbai.

At this thought, Xiu Ma picked up his drink of the day from the bar counter. The evening was still relatively quiet; fewer than ten people had come to the bar just to chat him up.

This was his third day at the bar gathering intel. The bartender already treated him like a colleague, expecting a report on the previous day’s findings when he “clocked in.” But the intel from the past few days was all pending—meaning he’d found nothing. Today’s “shift” had started, and instead of offering any intel, the bartender asked an unrelated question:

“You’re so set on finding him. What’s your goal?”

He’d been asked this question too many times, so much so that Xiu Ma initially forgot how to respond. After a long pause, he opened his mouth: “What do you think?”

It was the first time he’d seen his reliable colleague at a loss for words. She wiped a glass, head lowered, and said, “Probably something to do with feelings.”

A favor could count as feelings, and his colleague’s intuition was spot-on. Xiu Ma didn’t reply, waiting for her to continue.

“If I told you this guy might’ve gone back home to get married, would you still keep looking for him?”

Married? Impossible. Xiu Ma almost burst out laughing. How could that guy get married? He seemed like the type who’d still name his social media “Searching for True Love” after four divorces. No way, absolutely not.

His colleague fell silent for a moment. The smile on Xiu Ma’s face suddenly vanished as he realized she might be telling the truth.

—

One hundred thirty kilometers away in Dehui City, a grand wedding was underway. Yu Tianbai wove through the bustling crowd, toasting every guest he passed.

“Drink less; you’ve got to drive later,” he said to a man wearing glasses.

A mother and son approached, the mother in a red qipao, the child running wild. Yu Tianbai raised his glass to her in greeting:

“Doing alright lately?”

He then ruffled the kid’s head: “You’ve grown taller.”

He stepped aside as a few young girls came up next. Yu Tianbai smiled politely:

“Go easy on the drinks.”

The girls nodded at him, and his gaze followed them courteously for a moment before returning to an empty seat at the banquet.

The food was served.

He sat calmly in the middle of the round table, greeting the neighbors on either side. Setting his glass on the table, he joined the crowd in clapping for the newlyweds.

One thing to note, however: every person he’d greeted, including the perfect couple in the center of the wedding hall, was a complete stranger to him.

That’s right—he didn’t know a single soul here.

The Northeast had this perk: if you acted like you were chummy with everyone, everyone would genuinely treat you as a friend. Once you were buddies, nothing was a big deal anymore. Yu Tianbai let out a satisfied sigh, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his bag. Not his usual Qixi blueberry burst but a genuine red-box soft Zhonghua—given to him by an old guy at the entrance who insisted he take it.

Well, what could he do? He had to accept it.

As for why he was attending a wedding that had nothing to do with him, the reason was simple: he was just plain bored with life, maybe even a little hopeless. But whenever he felt like this, he didn’t get the expected depressive vibes. On the contrary, he felt like having fun. If a big yellow dog crossed his path, he could grab its paw and chat for half the morning. In the desolate winter wilderness, there were no big yellow dogs, but there was a countryside wedding.

The hall’s lights dimmed, and the projector screen began playing a slideshow of the couple, from ID photos to group shots to wedding portraits. Yu Tianbai quietly leaned back half an inch. Nobody wanted to see a face blown up to the size of a wall, especially if it was their own—that’d be downright terrifying. Freedom was better; the taste of freedom was truly sweet.

Rooted in the black soil, this wedding was surprisingly fancy. The ceiling was adorned with twinkling lights, looking at first glance like the Milky Way on a summer night. But this was the dead of winter, not even past the first lunar month, and it was noon. Yu Tianbai leaned back in his chair, glancing outside. If someone was going to crash the wedding, they’d probably barge in through the door right about now.

No, not now—now they were still showing photos. It’d have to wait until something juicier, like the kissing scene, for maximum drama.

He grinned, crossing his legs, and as he slipped his hands into his pockets, his chest brushed against something hard.

The young master’s knife.

Today was the fourth day since he’d thrown Xiu Ma out of the van, and he still hadn’t reached Changchun City. He’d planned to wrap the knife in an envelope and leave it at the doorstep. But in a law-abiding society, that would look too much like a challenge, and he didn’t want to leave that kind of trouble behind. Changchun wasn’t his turf.

Return it in person? Even less likely.

The wedding had reached the groom’s speech. Listening to the guy’s trembling voice, Yu Tianbai could barely hold back a laugh. He cleared his throat and popped a piece of sweet-and-sour fish from the table into his mouth.

Not bad, but he wasn’t hungry. If the young master were here, he’d probably be scarfing it down.

At that thought, his chewing stopped. If the groom hadn’t already started bawling, Yu Tianbai would’ve wanted to slap himself twice.

Why the hell was he thinking of him at a time like this?

The groom’s sobbing was discreetly hushed by the emcee—nice work, or passersby might think he was filming some kind of confession show. Yu Tianbai set down his chopsticks; this meal was probably done for him.

He didn’t know much about wedding protocols. What was next? A priest stepping out? Of course not—this was Jilin. Next up was just a shower of confetti.

Sitting under a cascade of glittering paper, Yu Tianbai felt that now would be the perfect moment for a wedding crasher.

He closed his eyes. Right now, immediately, push open the door and shout—perfect timing.

But all he heard was the dull clink of a glass being set on the table. Someone had sat down beside him. Not in an empty seat, not across from him—in this huge venue, it couldn’t be someone he knew, could it?

Someone he’d met before had once said the Northeast wasn’t that big; you might just run into someone you know.

He opened his eyes on the spot. White tablecloth, red chairs, and next to him sat a man in a suit. After staring for a moment, it really seemed like someone familiar. After a long pause, Yu Tianbai let out a chuckle:

“How’s it you?”