After another round of intimacy, Su Wanying dressed and warned him, “Whatever happens between us, you must not tell anyone. If my parents find out, they’ll beat me to death!”
After admiring the pear-shaped figure’s intimate display from the inside out, Xu Honglei asked with a grin, “Are you coming over tomorrow?”
“What would I come over for? So you can bully me?” Su Wanying rolled her eyes at him.
“What’s wrong with that? I’ve got food, drinks, and an air conditioner here. Aren’t you happy when you’re with me too?”
Su Wanying hesitated before saying noncommittally, “We’ll see. I need to rest for a couple of days. I only agreed to be Li Hu’s girlfriend, so coming here all the time wouldn’t be right!”
“All right, then. Go home and get some proper rest. We’ll make plans another day!” Xu Honglei’s expression was calm, but he felt a little excited inside.
Xu Honglei watched Su Wanying’s retreating figure through the window and, feeling pleased, hummed a rewritten song from his previous life.
“The sand I can’t hold, I’ll wet it down. If you’re not my type, I’ll still rake you around. The road beneath my feet, I’ll dig it all away. Anyone who doesn’t love me is blind...”
Li Hu, you son of a bitch, I’m already eighteen this year. I’ve grown up.
If you bastard cuckolds dare to stop me for money again tomorrow, I’ll fight you to the death.
The next morning, after a good night’s rest, Xu Honglei was full of fighting spirit and brimming with energy.
This was the first hurdle of his life after his rebirth. If he couldn’t get past it, he might as well die!
He no longer shrank back or felt afraid. He mounted the battered old bicycle from home and headed straight for the vegetable market.
Sure enough, that bastard Li Hu was there again. As usual, he stood at the entrance to a small alley with his arms crossed and the brazen manner of a street thug, waiting for Xu Honglei to come to him.
“Lei, going to buy groceries? I heard your family even installed an air conditioner. You’re seriously loaded. Your buddy’s short on cash today, so lend me a few coins to spend.”
Suppressing the fury raging in his heart, Xu Honglei stopped his bicycle and walked toward Li Hu.
Although Li Hu’s limbs were more robust and he had more fighting experience, Xu Honglei was slightly taller. Even if he were beaten to death, he could still cripple Li Hu.
“Li Hu, from today onward, don’t think you can take another cent from my pocket. Dare to bully me again, and try it!”
He was declaring war on Li Hu—a declaration of war between men.
Xu Honglei could have launched a sneak attack, or brought flour, lime powder, or something similar to throw into Li Hu’s face, giving himself an advantage in the fight.
But that wouldn’t solve the problem. If he didn’t beat Li Hu down fair and square, Li Hu wouldn’t submit.
His opponent would think Xu Honglei had not defeated him head-on, only ambushed him. He would then retaliate against and hound Xu Honglei without end.
To avoid being bullied in the future, he had to beat Li Hu into submission in one fight. After that, Li Hu would instinctively hide whenever he saw Xu Honglei.
“Well, well, Lei. You’ve gotten brave today, huh? What, is your skin itching? Are you asking for a beating someone up?”
Li Hu looked Xu Honglei up and down, then lowered his hands and prepared to strike him on the head twice, as he usually did.
“It hasn’t been decided yet who’s beating whom today!”
As soon as Xu Honglei finished speaking, he charged at Li Hu and smashed a fist into his cheek.
Li Hu jerked his head aside to dodge Xu Honglei’s punch, then swung his own fist at Xu Honglei with brutal force.
Xu Honglei neither dodged nor retreated. He gripped Li Hu’s collar with his left hand and hammered his face with his right like a madman.
When men fought, there was nothing fancy about it. They traded wild punches. Whoever showed fear was the loser.
After several exchanges, Xu Honglei’s face had swollen, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Li Hu was no better off; his face had taken a severe beating too.
“Are you fucking crazy?” Li Hu began to lose his nerve. He dodged Xu Honglei’s fists while trying desperately to pry away Xu Honglei’s left hand.
“You’ve been bullying me! I’ll fuck your grandmother!” Xu Honglei’s eyes had reddened. He drove his forehead straight into Li Hu’s face.
“Awooo...” Li Hu screamed in pain. In a burst of desperate strength brought on by the agony, he broke free from Xu Honglei’s left-hand grip.
Although Li Hu broke free from his left-hand grip, Xu Honglei continued punching and kicking him. He looked ready either to die today or to kill Li Hu himself.
Once free of Xu Honglei’s hold, Li Hu turned and ran. Xu Honglei chased after him, shouting, “You bastard Li Hu! If you’ve got the guts, stop running!”
After chasing him for a while, Xu Honglei saw that Li Hu had run far away and finally stopped. He continued cursing for a long time. Only when Li Hu’s shadow had vanished from sight did he slowly walk back toward his parked bicycle.
When Xu Honglei turned around, tears began to flow from his eyes.
He realized that in a man’s world, anyone who dared to fight desperately and throw caution to the wind could no longer be bullied.
The transformation of one’s life began at the moment one found the courage to face things.
With tears streaming down his face, Xu Honglei began singing Zheng Zhihua’s 《Sailor》 at the top of his voice. Even when the people around him looked at him as though he were insane, he didn’t care.
People live for themselves, not for others.
The bitter sand stings my face, like a father’s scolding and a mother’s crying. I will never forget it.
.......
When people bullied me, I would hear the sailor say: “What does this little pain in the wind and rain matter? Wipe away your tears and don’t be afraid. At least we still have dreams.”
He said, “What does this little pain in the wind and rain matter? Wipe away your tears and don’t ask why...”
Xu Honglei was an Orphan. He had no father to scold him, no mother whose tears he could hear, and no protection from his parents—but that was all right.
He had grown up and could protect himself.
The fight was over, but life still had to go on.
After the fight, Xu Honglei bought groceries at the vegetable market, went to a nearby Pharmacy for Medicinal Plaster, then returned home to recover.
The smell of medicated oil was too strong. If he applied it to his face, he wouldn’t sleep that night; it would smoke him unconscious.
After returning home, Xu Honglei boiled several eggs and peeled them. He rubbed them gently over his face while looking into the mirror, dispersing the bruised blood so he would heal faster.
After rubbing his face with the eggs, Xu Honglei looked into the mirror, cut the Medicinal Plaster into various shapes, and covered most of his face with it.
This fight had cost him dearly.
That fellow Li Hu had a face like a mangled melon and cracked date. After giving him a Beating Someone Up in the face, Xu Honglei had practically given him plastic surgery. It might even make him more handsome.
If his family hadn’t had some money, he might have had to remain a bachelor for the rest of his life.
But Xu Honglei was a Young Handsome Man, and he would rely on this face to charm girls in the future. He had to repair it properly, lest he end up disfigured.