FIO CH68

Chapter 68: Kid, Run Faster

Zhou Zheng opened his eyes to a scene that was both blurry and clear, as if shrouded in a light mist, lacking a sense of reality. He exhaled, and a puff of white vapor rose into the air. Was it winter?

Looking around, he found himself in a narrow, crowded alleyway, dark and damp, with an unknown liquid flowing on the ground and emitting a foul odor. The dilapidated streetlights overhead flickered intermittently, accompanied by a “creak, creak” sound, as if they could go out at any moment.

This was a familiar scene. By walking through this long alley, turning left and then right, he could return to his pigeonhole-like residence, where he would be greeted by his drunken, irritable father and a floor littered with empty bottles and cigarette butts.

Zhou Zheng straightened up and realized he was carrying a school bag on his back. He adjusted the straps with a wince, only to have them snap back sharply.

Looking down, he saw a pair of thin, dark, and small hands, with rough, dry lines on the backs, and several areas were red and swollen, resembling purplish-red scabs. The frostbitten spots itched, making Zhou Zheng unable to stop himself from wanting to scratch.

After rubbing them a couple of times, Zhou Zheng restrained himself and continued walking forward, sidestepping a drunkard who was relieving himself under the streetlight, and reached the first fork in the alley, preparing to turn left.

Before he could lift his foot, a boy in his mid-teens emerged from the corner, wearing jeans with holes and a leather jacket. He had a non-mainstream, spiky hairstyle with ear piercings and was exhaling smoke, looking like a troublemaker.

Three or four followers came out behind him and surrounded Zhou Zheng in a circle.

The leader with the spiky hair tilted his head and approached, slapping Zhou Zheng’s cheek like a thug and said, “Kid, time to pay protection money. I’ll be generous and say fifty bucks.”

In the urban village, it was a mix of all sorts of people. Adults had their own circles, and kids had their own territories. This area was dominated by the spiky-haired boy, who bullied elementary school students to extort protection money as pocket money.

The kid in front of him had moved here a week ago, slippery like an eel, always out of sight. Today, he finally got his hands on him, but the kid seemed to disdain him? Frowning, he brushed away the spiky-haired boy’s hand and coldly said, “I don’t have it.”

The spiky-haired boy wasn’t angered by this rebellious reaction. He smiled, as if being magnanimous, “No problem, you can go home and get it now.”

He changed the subject, “Stealing is fine too.” The spiky-haired boy’s laughter was very sinister.

Living in the urban village was like this; pockets were cleaner than faces. Kids had no choice but to steal from home, and most would obediently comply. But Zhou Zheng was a troublemaker. He stiffened his neck and said firmly, “I don’t have it.” He had an attitude of “No money, but I’ll give you my life.”

This attitude ignited the spiky-haired boy’s anger. He took a hard drag on his cigarette, flicked the burnt-out butt onto the ground, spat, and with a gloomy face, poked Zhou Zheng’s shoulder, threatening, “Does the kid not understand good advice? I’m talking to you nicely, and you’re getting out of line?”

There was a significant disparity in strength between the teenager and the child. Zhou Zheng’s small frame was pushed straight back by the spiky-haired boy’s finger, his back hitting the uneven wall. Fortunately, the school bag and cotton jacket cushioned the impact, preventing any skin damage. Zhou Zheng stubbornly raised his head and repeated again, “I said, I don’t have it.”

What greeted him was a barrage of punches and kicks, delivered with full force and no mercy. Zhou Zheng instinctively curled into a ball, protecting his head with his hands, without making a sound.

After about one or two minutes, the punches to his head stopped, and he heard the spiky-haired boy’s irritable voice, “What are you staring at? Get lost!”

Zhou Zheng, who had been covering his head, relaxed his arms a bit and, through the legs of the group, saw two teenagers not far away. Both were very fair-skinned, with upright postures and an air of distinction; they clearly didn’t belong here.

The slightly shorter young man trembled as he spoke, “Y-you, this is not right…”

The spiky-haired boy sneered, kicked Zhou Zheng again, and turned to face the two teenagers, mocking, “Playing the hero? Then speak up with more conviction. At least don’t stammer.”

He then mockingly imitated the young man’s trembling voice, causing his followers to burst into laughter.

The ridiculed young man, full of defiance, was about to say something when the taller teenager grabbed his wrist. Without a word, he pulled him away…

The spiky-haired boy whistled, turned back to Zhou Zheng, who was peeking from the ground, squatted down, and said condescendingly, “Forget it, your savior is gone, and no one can help you now.”

“Kid, I’ll give you another chance. Go home and get the money now, and I’ll let you off this time.”

Zhou Zheng pursed his lips, biting them so hard they were about to bleed, but he still didn’t give in, “I said I don’t have it. Can’t you understand that?”

The spiky-haired boy had never seen such a kid. His eyebrows furrowed, and with bloodshot eyes, he slapped Zhou Zheng. Then he waved his hand, signaling his followers to join in the beating.

Kids around fifteen or sixteen years old have no sense of restraint when it comes to fighting. Zhou Zheng could only use his hands to protect his head, and his stomach was kicked so hard he felt like vomiting. Just when he thought he was going to die from the beating, he heard the young man’s voice shouting, “Stop.”

The attackers ignored him. The young man said again, “I’ve called the police. They’ll be here soon.” The next second, the sound of “wail, wail, wail” echoed through the alley.

The attackers, hearing the siren, stopped like wolves with their tails between their legs and disappeared in an instant.

The young man quickly went to check the child’s injuries, “Can you still walk?” he asked.

Zhou Zheng struggled to open his eyes and saw the young man’s face clearly. He was even more handsome than the brief glimpse he had caught earlier. His skin was fair and delicate, his eyes bright, his eyelashes long and curled, with snowflakes that had fallen from the sky melting into glistening droplets on his eyelashes. His lips were rosy, and he had a pleasant scent about him.

He was a world apart from someone like Zhou Zheng, who felt as dark and lowly as a sewer rat. Zhou Zheng regained his senses, shook his head, and shrank back against the wall.

The young man ignored his retreating action, took his hand, and with the other hand, picked up the school bag, saying, “Let’s go.”

Zhou Zheng stood up and tried to pull his hand away, but it didn’t budge. The young man started jogging, and during the run, he looked back and urged, “Kid, run faster.”

The two of them ran out of the alley in one go, standing on the flat street, panting heavily. The young man, supporting his knees to catch his breath, finally let go of Zhou Zheng’s hand and explained, “I lied to them. I didn’t call the police.”

A wise move. In the urban village, there were many trivial matters among neighbors. People called the police every day, and the police would delay as much as possible, with an extremely low response rate.
Zhou Zheng nodded slightly.

The young man took a look at Zhou Zheng’s appearance, which seemed rather pitiful. He asked, “Are you hungry?”

Zhou Zheng shook his head, but his stomach betrayed him with a loud “growl.”

The young man’s eyes curved into crescents, revealing a set of white and neat teeth, and he smiled very gently. He tilted his head and said, “I’m hungry. Will you keep me company and eat something?”

The two of them went to the nearby convenience store. The young man casually picked up three or four loaves of bread, several bottles of milk and yogurt, and some hot oden.

The young man unwrapped all the bread, took a small piece from each, tasted it, and then, as if it didn’t suit his taste, threw them all aside. Zhou Zheng couldn’t bear to see the waste and quickly gobbled up the bread.

In the end, the young man who had claimed to be hungry only drank a bottle of yogurt, while the rest of the food all ended up in Zhou Zheng’s stomach.

At one point, the young man left and came back with a bag of medicine. He disinfected the visible wounds on Zhou Zheng’s body and applied band-aids, even providing ointment for chilblains. He said, “There won’t always be someone to help you. You need to be smart. If you can’t fight back, run. Don’t just stand there and take the beating, okay?”

Zhou Zheng blinked and nodded.

When they parted, there were still two unopened bottles of warm milk on the table. The young man put the two bottles of milk into Zhou Zheng’s pockets, one on each side, and said with a smile, “Thank you for keeping me company while I ate.”

Feeling the warmth from the milk in his pockets, Zhou Zheng’s mouth moved, but after much hesitation, he still couldn’t bring himself to ask the young man’s name.

Today was just a coincidence, and they probably wouldn’t meet again. Knowing or not knowing his name didn’t really matter.

Zhou Zheng walked into the alley and stopped, looking back at the young man’s receding figure and the long trail of black footprints left in the snow…

However, they did meet again later. Every Friday, the young man would appear at the mouth of the alley, just like today, and suggest, “I’m hungry. Keep me company and eat something.” The two of them would go to the convenience store next door and get bread and oden.

Zhou Zheng never spoke, and the young man never asked if he was mute. They coexisted in this strange yet harmonious way.

This situation didn’t last long, only about two months, eight times in total. Because Zhou Zheng moved. His mother had hooked up with someone who had a bit of money, and the whole family benefited, moving into a commercial apartment and leaving the dark and gloomy urban village behind.

When packing up, Zhou Zheng deliberately dawdled. It was Friday today. He glanced out the window at the horizon not far away, which was tinged red as the sun was setting. If he waited a little longer, he would see him.

At least, he should say something. Zhou Zheng thought to himself.

But he really didn’t have much to pack. The tiny room was cluttered with junk. He only had a small bed and a very short, old wooden table. He had few clothes, all neatly folded at the head of the bed. He packed them in a snake skin bag, slung it over his shoulder along with his school bag, and that was all his belongings.

Moreover, Zhou Dawei was getting very impatient. His irritable voice rang out again, “Are you fucking done yet?”

Zhou Zheng pursed his lips, not daring to delay any further. He reached out, tied the snake skin bag with a cloth strap, slung it over his shoulder, and walked towards the door.

Just as his hand touched the doorknob, the door was violently yanked open from the outside, rebounded against the wall, and wobbled precariously, as if it would fall off at any moment. Behind the door was Zhou Dawei’s terrifying face, his swollen and red face, eyes half-closed but filled with bloodshot veins, and a mouthful of yellow teeth as he shouted, “Can’t you hear me when I talk to you? Don’t you know how to respond?”

Fear flickered in Zhou Zheng’s eyes. He clutched the snake skin bag tightly, swallowed hard, and whispered, “I heard you. I’m done packing.”

“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” Zhou Dawei raised his hand as he spoke.

Instinctively, Zhou Zheng raised his arm to shield himself, but this action completely enraged Zhou Dawei. Reeking of alcohol, he swung his hand and flung Zhou Zheng’s thin arm aside, then pulled out the belt from his waist and started lashing out.

The searing pain was intense. Zhou Zheng dared not raise his arm to block anymore and could only keep retreating, turning his body sideways to avoid the belt from leaving marks on his face.

The sound of the belt striking flesh was quite loud, attracting Li Xia’s attention from outside. She walked to the door in her high heels, “click-click,” and grabbed Zhou Dawei’s belt with her bare hand, flinging it away with a look of impatience, “Enough. Don’t waste time here. If you want to beat him, do it at home. I don’t want to stay in this dump for a second longer.” With that, she turned and left without even a glance at Zhou Zheng, whose skin was now raw and bleeding from the beating.

Zhou Dawei glared in the direction Li Xia had left, his face contorted as he spat out a “bitch” and then turned his fierce gaze on Zhou Zheng, “Hurry up and get moving.”

Zhou Zheng quickly grabbed the snake skin bag from the ground and limped after Zhou Dawei.

The urban village had narrow paths where cars couldn’t fit. Fortunately, neither Zhou Dawei nor Li Xia had much luggage. Zhou Dawei didn’t care and walked empty-handed, with a bottle of liquor in one hand and a pack of cigarettes in his pocket. Li Xia, on the other hand, despised everything about the place and was dressed in a new outfit—mink coat, mini skirt, and a limited-edition bag. It was Zhou Zheng, dragging a snake skin bag and carrying a school bag, who looked out of place among them.

The three of them walked outside and soon reached the main road. Li Xia hailed a taxi. Zhou Dawei, restless, took out a cigarette and put it between his lips. Zhou Zheng looked around, hoping to see the young man with the crescent-shaped smile at the intersection.

Unfortunately, his hope was in vain. A car soon stopped by the roadside. Li Xia got in first and sat in the passenger seat. Without a moment’s delay, Zhou Zheng quickly opened the back door, let Zhou Dawei get in first, and then followed, struggling to tuck the snake skin bag under his feet.

Despite his quick actions, he still drew Zhou Dawei’s irritation. He kicked Zhou Zheng’s luggage violently and cursed, “What trash is this?”

Zhou Zheng pursed his lips, pulled the snake skin bag closer to himself, and kept looking back at the intersection until the car started and drove away, getting farther and farther from the urban village…

If only he had asked for the name.