Jiang Yu told Li Heng to mind his own business, adding that he was simply too popular and that the line of people chasing him could stretch all the way to France.
Li Heng asked where the starting point of that line was.
In response, Jiang Yu gave him his second beating of the day.
Walking toward the bulletin board, they saw Fang Bozhou’s punishment notice. It stated he was permanently expelled and sentenced to three years in prison, accompanied by a long warning directed at other students.
4:00 PM: The Bar
Jiang Yu appeared at a bar. Since it was early, the place was sparsely populated. He sat at the bar waiting for the bartender to mix his drink. He had barely finished his first glass when someone approached him.
“Hello,” a young man sat on the stool next to him. He had blond hair and blue eyes.
Jiang Yu rested his fingers against his forehead, giving him a nonchalant glance. “Don’t drag English into this,” he said lazily. “I can’t understand it.”
As soon as he spoke, the man replied in stumbled Chinese, “My name is Hardy.”
“Oh.”
“May I ask what your name is?”
“Liu Jiaming.”
“Are you leaving a fake name?”
Jiang Yu arched an eyebrow. “Smart.”
Hardy awkwardly reached up to fiddle with his earring. He had excellent bone structure paired with deep, soulful eyes; even Jiang Yu could not help but steal a few extra glances. However, as soon as Hardy opened his mouth, his attractiveness plummeted. “I’ll buy you a drink.”
“No need. I am an SVIP here.”
“Then could you buy me one?”
“?” Jiang Yu drained the drink the bartender had just set down. “I have never seen someone so thick-skinned. Why do you not go to a bank and ask them for some pocket change?”
Hardy’s face flushed with embarrassment. “I, I want to be friends with you. They taught me to do it this way.”
“Be friends with me just so I can buy you drinks? You are so calculating; you must have been an abacus in your past life.”
Jiang Yu left Hardy speechless. After a moment, Hardy spoke again. “You are the most beautiful Chinese person I have ever seen.”
“Heh, and you are trying to buy me drinks with lines like that? It seems you have not been to many nice places. China is full of beauties, though, granted, a large portion of them are still inferior compared to me. Anyway, stop making a fool of yourself. Do you really think wearing a white shirt makes you some innocent boy-toy? We are both in a bar at this hour; neither of us is a saint. You want to pick me up? You are not qualified. Beat it.”
It took Hardy two full minutes to process those words before his eyes welled up and he ran upstairs.
After two more drinks, Jiang Yu felt he could still walk in a straight line, so he left the bar. The humid, sweltering wind outside was suffocating. Just as he was about to hail a taxi to go home and sleep, he spotted a kitten in the bushes of a roadside planter. He was not sure if its leg was broken, but it was lying there meowing pitifully.
He took one look and walked away.
The Animal Hospital
Jiang Yu, wearing a face mask and looking grumpy, stood by the examination table holding the kitten by the scruff of its neck. He held his arm out perfectly straight, his brow furrowed in a look of disgust that had not eased since he arrived.
As soon as the vet finished laying down a pee pad, Jiang Yu dropped the kitten onto it.
“How many days old is it?” the vet asked.
“I do not know.”
“When did you last feed it formula?”
“Never fed it. I picked it up off the street.”
The vet gave an apologetic smile, noting that the cat looked a bit too clean to be a stray.
Jiang Yu nodded. “It has a mother, and she is probably watching from not too far away.” He then asked, “You guys take in animals here, right?”
“We do, but we are out of space. The back is full of rescues, cats with broken legs or spines, some with eyes poked out or ears cut off. The medication and food are a massive ongoing expense.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yu said sincerely, “That is tragic.”
“What are you planning to name the kitten?”
“When did I say I was keeping it?”
“You are not?”
“I am.”
“Then what name are you giving it?”
“Chen Dog.” Seeing the vet’s confused look, he explained, “A lowly name makes them easier to raise.”
The vet gave the kitten a full examination; it was healthy with no major issues. Jiang Yu nodded, bought cat litter and goat milk powder, and went to check on the other animals. Seeing they were well-bandaged and clean, he left two thousand yuan in cash before driving back to school and calling Li Heng.
“Brother Jiang.”
“Come out. I am at the school gate.”
“What is up?” Li Heng asked, already leaving his seat.
“Take my girlfriend back to the dorm and look after her for two days.”
“What?!”
Xu Zhile was startled by Li Heng’s outburst and asked what was happening. Li Heng said, “Brother Jiang wants me to take his girlfriend to the dorm for two days. Is he testing my self-control?”
Chen Zhiyan sneered. “He certainly is generous.”
Xu Zhile rubbed his chin. “Based on my experience with Brother Jiang, he is definitely talking nonsense.”
The three of them walked out together. They ended up staring blankly at the kitten on the ground at the main gate.
Li Heng looked at Jiang Yu, who was leaning against the car window, and asked wordlessly, “This is your girlfriend?”
“When did I say it was my girlfriend? Its nickname is ‘Girlfriend’.”
Technically, he had not said it.
“Take Chen Dog back to the dorm and look after him. I hate hairy creatures anyway.”
“Chen Dog?”
“That is his formal name!” Jiang Yu locked eyes provocatively with Chen Zhiyan. “Does it sound good?”
No one dared to answer.
Li Heng glanced at Chen Zhiyan beside him, then silently shifted his gaze back to the kitten. “Is it sick?”
“It is fine. Are you taking it or not? The litter and milk are in the car. I will pay for the vaccinations when the time comes.”
“I will take him!” Li Heng picked up the kitten, cradling it in his shirt. Xu Zhile reached out to poke it.
Chen Zhiyan walked up to Jiang Yu. Looking down at his flushed face, he asked, “Have you been drinking?”
“I have been drinking milk.”
Chen Zhiyan’s nose twitched as he caught a hint of unfamiliar perfume. He asked again, “Who were you drinking with?”
“Friends.”
“Friends? Jiang Yu, you still have not cut ties with those fair-weather friends of yours?”
“I have not, and I love drinking with them.”
“Do not let there be a next time.”
“It is not your place to manage me.” Jiang Yu turned his head toward the driver. “Sir, drive!”
“Hey, Brother Jiang! You did not give me the litter and milk!” Li Heng shouted, running forward.
The car stopped. Once Li Heng grabbed the supplies, Jiang Yu ordered the driver to go again. Upon reaching his destination, he went to Chen Zhiyan’s room first, then returned to his own room to soak in the bath and fall into a deep sleep.
The Silent Treatment
At 9:00 PM, Chen Zhiyan sat on his bed and opened his laptop. Before he could type a few words, Li Heng’s earlier comments drifted into his mind, distracting him.
Jiang Yu was indeed too impulsive, but he had always been that way, and his actions had certainly been satisfying. Chen Zhiyan figured he should apologize.
With that thought, Chen Zhiyan opened WeChat and messaged Jiang Yu. He typed out “I am sorry” and hit send, only for a glaring red exclamation mark to appear next to the message.
Chen Zhiyan frowned, set his phone aside, and went back to typing. After a while, he tried calling Jiang Yu. It rang for a long time before a voice recording played: “The number you have dialed is currently unavailable. Please try again later.”
His lashes lifted suddenly, his gaze cold. He hung up, closed his laptop, turned off the lights, and lay down to sleep. Tonight, the room lacked the familiar sound of another person’s breathing. For Chen Zhiyan, who had started to get used to it, his insomnia returned.
At 11:00 PM, Chen Zhiyan turned on the light and took a melatonin pill.
In the early hours of the morning, an alarm clock under the bed went off, jolting Chen Zhiyan awake just as he had finally managed to drift off.
“Jiang Yu.”