Xu Yan dashed into the dim, narrow alley and sprinted all the way to the tube-shaped apartment building at the very end. Gripping the handrail, he charged up to the third floor.
The third floor was packed with people, and the door to Xu Yan’s home was wide open.
A crowd had gathered outside, craning their necks to see what was happening inside.
“Xu Yan, you’re back! Your parents are fighting again. They smashed the door—it’s terrifying! The noise is so loud we can’t even sleep. How are we supposed to rest with you making such a racket every day?” A middle-aged woman standing at the door sprayed saliva as she spoke, shoving Xu Yan’s shoulder, demanding an explanation.
Xu Yan stumbled backward from the push, his face instantly darkening.
“Oh, for goodness’ sake, why blame the child now? Let the boy go inside and see what’s happening,” another woman hurriedly steadied Xu Yan and snapped at the woman crowding the doorway.
The crowd at the entrance finally parted slightly.
“Go in and take a look. Your mother wouldn’t let us call the police. A few people have already gone in to try and calm things down,” the woman patted Xu Yan’s shoulder gently, making a small path for him and ushering him inside.
As soon as Xu Yan stepped through the door, he was hit by a wave of damp air mixed with the smell of blood.
Under the dim light, the dilapidated home seemed on the verge of collapse amid the chaos.
His mother, Gu Xiaorou, sat slumped on the floor, clutching his younger sister Xu Yao tightly in her arms. Trembling, she stroked Xu Yao’s back, her eyes vacant as she muttered over and over, “Don’t hit Yao Yao, don’t hit Yao Yao.”
His sister Xu Yao pressed her lips together, her eyes wide with helplessness, a few dried bloodstains still visible on her forehead.
Several men Xu Yan didn’t recognize were sitting on the sofa, trying to reason with Xu Guodong, who was smoking. “Women, they’re always causing trouble. If you give them money, they complain it’s not enough. If you don’t give them any, they raise hell. Brother Guodong, it’s understandable you’re angry. Sister-in-law really is in the wrong here.”
“And I heard Sister-in-law used to work in that kind of profession. Who even knows where that son of hers came from? Can’t blame Brother Guodong for that.”
Xu Yan clenched his fists, cutting them off. “Shut up. You have no right to talk about my mother.”
His anger didn’t quiet the men on the sofa; instead, they grew even more sarcastic. “Xu Yan’s in high school now, thinks he’s grown wings, daring to talk back. Brother Guodong, aren’t you going to do something? If my kid dared talk back like that at his age.”
Hearing this, Xu Guodong frowned deeply, as if his authority had been challenged. He stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and walked toward Xu Yan.
He was about to raise his hand to discipline Xu Yan but froze at his son’s words.
“I already called the police on my way here. Xu Guodong, domestic violence is a crime. Get ready for jail,” Xu Yan said calmly, though cold sweat broke out on his back.
He was still afraid of him.
“Jail? Xu Yan, you’re registered under my name, the Xu family. On the household register, you’re my biological son. How are you going to send me to jail? Even if the police come, this is just a family matter,” Xu Guodong said slowly, a smug expression on his face.
Xu Yan felt nothing but disgust. The thought of sharing a household register with this man sickened him.
“Xu Yan, don’t call the police! Don’t call the police! Do you think I’m not humiliated enough? Xu Yan! Xu Yan, you must not call the police!” Xu Yan’s words sent Gu Xiaorou into a frenzy. Her eyes bloodshot, she glared at Xu Yan before tears began to stream down her face. “Xu Yan, do you want me to die?”
Xu Yan stood frozen in place, as if plunged into an icy abyss. Had he done something wrong?
“Brother, it hurts so much,” Xu Yao sobbed, struggling free from Gu Xiaorou’s embrace and running toward her brother. Her mother had gone mad, her father had hit her, and she was afraid her brother might abandon her too.
Xu Yao tugged at the hem of Xu Yan’s school uniform with her small hand, tears welling up in her eyes. She had been in pain for so long—why had no one noticed?
Only then did Xu Yan snap out of his daze. Looking down, he saw that Xu Yao’s lips had turned pale, and a gash several centimeters long stretched across her forehead near the hairline, blood steadily seeping from it.
“Brother, I think stars are growing on my head,” Xu Yao mumbled, her mind foggy. She could barely make out her brother’s face.
Xu Yao felt as if she were dying. Her feet had already lifted off the ground for no reason, and she whispered in fright, “None of you care about me anyway. Fine, I’m going to die now.”
“Shut your mouth,” Xu Yan snapped, scooping her up into his arms and pressing a hand over her bleeding forehead. He cast a cold glance back at the shattered home behind him and said firmly, “Do whatever you want. I’m taking Xu Yao to the hospital.”
Fortunately, Xu Yan’s home was very close to the city hospital—just a few minutes’ walk away. Otherwise, Xu Yao’s constant whining would have driven him mad.
Xu Yao clung tightly to the collar of Xu Yan’s school uniform and whispered, “Brother, do none of you like me?”
Xu Yan nodded. “Mm.”
“Then if I die, will you remember me? Brother?”
Xu Yan frowned deeply.
Xu Yao was only nine years old—what on earth went through her mind all day?
On this day, seventeen-year-old Xu Yan finally realized there was an unbridgeable age gap between him and Xu Yao.
City Hospital, Emergency Department.
Xu Yao, her forehead freshly stitched, sat in the infusion room receiving an IV drip.
“Will it leave a scar?” Xu Yao asked worriedly, her tone sweet and clingy as she turned to her brother sitting beside her.
Xu Yan glanced at the gauze wrapped around her head and said nothing.
“Oh, so it will,” Xu Yao concluded, taking it in stride. “Do I have to go to school tomorrow?”
“No, I’ll take the day off to look after you.”
“Yay!” Xu Yao beamed, completely oblivious to the gloom on her brother’s face.
“Surprise!” As Ji Ran opened the front door, he froze in place, startled by Ms. Ran Qingshuang holding a party popper.
Ji Ran’s lips parted slightly, and after a long pause, he finally spoke. “Mom?”
“Look how scared you are,” Ran Qingshuang laughed, pulling her stunned son inside. “What, surprised to see me? Darling?”
“Mm,” Ji Ran replied softly, though his eyes were filled with joy. The last time he had seen Ms. Ran Qingshuang was during summer break, and he had missed her terribly.
Because when she was home, the cameras scattered throughout the house would stop rotating, and the atmosphere would become much lighter and more harmonious.
“How long are you staying this time?” Ji Ran asked as he changed his shoes, leaning against the entryway to look at Ran Qingshuang.
Ran Qingshuang playfully poked Ji Ran’s expressionless face, her smile bright and radiant. “Guess, son?”
Ji Ran fell silent, finished changing his shoes, and headed straight for the study.
“Alright, I won’t tease you. I’ll stay until Sunday afternoon—four days,” Ran Qingshuang hurried after him into the study, casually grabbing a rag to cover the camera at the doorway.
Once inside the study, Ran Qingshuang noticed a 360-degree, no-blind-spot camera on Ji Ran’s desk, slowly rotating in her direction.
Ran Qingshuang inwardly cursed, disgusted, then turned to search for some cloth to cover the spinning camera from all angles. She looked at Ji Ran, her expression grave. “How long has Ji Chen been doing this?”
Ji Ran replied as if it were nothing out of the ordinary. “He installed another one last week when he came back.”
“Does Ji Chen have some kind of problem?!” Ran Qingshuang snapped angrily.
Ji Ran didn’t deny it. Indeed, his father had always been a bit off.
“By the way, what about the phone I bought you over the summer? I kept calling, but it was always off. Did Ji Chen confiscate it?”
“Yeah,” Ji Ran acknowledged, then pulled out a smartwatch. “You can call this instead.”
Ran Qingshuang: “…”
“At least you can reach me this way.”
Unlike Xu Yan, whose calls he couldn’t even get through to.
Seeing her usually aloof son staring at the watch with a bitter smile, Ran Qingshuang instantly exploded.
“No, I’m calling your dad,” she grumbled, pulling out her phone, but Ji Ran stopped her.
“He’ll just agree on the surface,” Ji Ran paused, “and then secretly install even more hidden cameras.”
Ran Qingshuang choked for a moment, then lifted her freshly permed wavy hair, gritting her teeth with a forced smile. “Ji Chen really is a bastard.”
Ji Ran nodded, offering comfort. “You chose him yourself.”
Ran Qingshuang felt a bit dazed. Why did she feel like her son was unusually talkative today?
Ji Ran didn’t sleep well all night.
He had a dream.
In the dream, he was leaning against the headboard, with Xu Yan straddling his waist, flushed and panting heavily into his ear.
But he couldn’t move, could only let Xu Yan’s hand gently trace his lips, his Adam’s apple…
“Ji Ran,” Xu Yan wrapped his arms lightly around his neck, tears welling in his eyes, trembling as he arched his back with each movement, “help me.”
The intimate scene vanished in an instant. Ji Ran jolted awake from the dream, lying in bed for a long while to calm down. Suppressing the stickiness between his legs, he pulled out a change of clothes and walked into the bathroom with a displeased expression.
“Son, come out for breakfast,” Ran Qingshuang had gotten up early specially to make breakfast for her son and was knocking on Ji Ran’s door when she faintly heard the sound of running water from his room.
Still washing up?
“Coming,” Ji Ran opened the door with a cold face.
“Huh? Why so grumpy in the morning?” Ran Qingshuang was surprised, then glanced down and saw her son holding a freshly washed pair of underwear.
“I’m going to hang the laundry,” Ji Ran brushed past Ran Qingshuang, his body stiff as he headed to the balcony.
Ran Qingshuang instantly understood—her son had had a wet dream.
“Son, do you have a girl you like?” At the breakfast table, Ran Qingshuang pinched Ji Ran’s right cheek and smiled.
Ji Ran pursed his lips in silence.
“Oh? So there is someone?”
“No,” Ji Ran’s voice was cold, but as his mother, Ran Qingshuang knew very well he was just being stubborn.
“If you like someone, go after them boldly,” Ran Qingshuang said cheerfully, tilting her head with a grin. “I chased your dad down myself.”
“He’s not easy to pursue,” Ji Ran lowered his gaze and took a sip of porridge.
Ran Qingshuang held up three fingers, waving them confidently in front of Ji Ran. “Pursuing someone is just three steps!”
“Step one: deepen the bond. For example, make sure you’re always around them.”
Ji Ran listened and nodded, signaling for Ran Qingshuang to continue. He had already done step one.
“Step two, provide timely assistance. Offer your warmth when she needs help. In school days, that means buying breakfast, sharing notes, things like that.”
“And step three?”
Ran Qingshuang was slightly taken aback—this kid was already asking ahead?
“Step three, soul exploration. This is the ambiguous phase. You need to subtly understand her and strike right at her heart,” Ran Qingshuang said, poking Ji Ran’s chest with her finger. “Biu—direct hit.”
Ji Ran looked up, expression unchanged. “Got it.”
Class 2, Grade 11. Before morning self-study, the classroom was buzzing with noise.
Ji Ran had specifically bought breakfast at the school gate today and placed it on Xu Yan’s desk.
Qiu Muyang, seeing this, looked puzzled. “Top student, didn’t you know Xu Yan asked for leave today?”
Ji Ran was confused. “Asked for leave? Did he tell you?”
“Yeah, right. He sent me a WeChat message last night, asking me to inform the teachers for him.”
Qiu Muyang again.
Xu Yan messaged Qiu Muyang but didn’t tell him.
Ji Ran turned around, face dark, and threw the breakfast into the trash can. Qiu Muyang stared at the food, heart aching. “If you’re not eating it, you could’ve given it to me.”
For a whole day! Ji Ran felt as if sitting on pins and needles. Like torturing himself, he endured the discomfort in his heart while copying two sets of notes, neatly placing the extra set into Xu Yan’s desk drawer.