CH 56

Chapter 56 Debt

After coming out, Jian Chi realized that it was completely dark outside. He took a bottle of mineral water given by Uncle Yang just now and handed it to Wen Chuan, “Are you tired?”

Wen Chuan unscrewed the lid and took a sip, he shook his head and said lightly, “Today’s opponent was very weak.”

It was difficult for Jian Chi to connect ‘weakness’ with Ah Guang’s strong muscles, presumably Wen Chuan’s concept of strength and weakness was completely different from his. The scene from the match emerged again, “Did that person faint later??”

“En,” Wen Chuan seemed to understand what Jian Chi was worried about, and pinched the body of the mineral water bottle.

Jian Chi breathed a sigh of relief, “I thought Black boxing was going to be a fight to the death. In the match just now, I was really worried about what would happen.”

Wen Chuan did not refute, “Deaths don’t happen very often. Broken hands and feet are common things. The gym has a specially contracted hospital. No matter how serious the injury is, they will be sent directly to the hospital after.”

Jian Chi felt the wind blowing chills on his neck, and a shiver appeared in his heart. He looked at Wen Chuan’s smooth profile. After the ruthlessness faded away, it became the familiar appearance in his memory – cold and indifferent. If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, no one could have imagined that he would have such a contrasting side, and neither could Jian Chi.

“Why did you choose,” Jian Chi paused, “to have long hair?”

The jump of the question seemed to make Wen Chuan slightly startled. He then remembered something, lowered his long eyelashes, and said in a low and magnetic voice: “When I was a child, some people said that I was neither male nor female, like a sissy, so I kept my hair long on purpose to let them know that no matter what I do, it has nothing to do with outsiders. After, I got used to it, so I kept it until now.”

This kind of approach had some childish anger to it, and with Wen Chuan’s indifferent and serious expression, Jian Chi was a little amused, but he couldn’t laugh.

In just 20 years, Wen Chuan had experienced many difficulties that ordinary people may never encounter in their life. Even if his inside was soft and sensitive, he had to wrap it in hard armor.

This was Wen Chuan’s persistence and self-esteem.

In the darkness of the night, a few windows with lights in the building in the distance can be glimpsed. In the silence, a few messy sounds of running came from far to near. Jian Chi turned his head and saw a few men in gray clothes trotting from the opposite direction, carrying iron barrel-shaped things in their hands.

Wen Chuan turned his head and stared at the back of the group of people leaving, “What’s wrong?”

Jian Chi slowed a beat and shook his head, “It’s nothing.”

He just thought that the direction that the group of people running out was the same direction as the laundry store.

Maybe it was just a coincidence.

“Elder brother.”

Jing Jing’s voice came out of the corridor with the sound of footsteps. She first politely shouted ‘Brother Jian’ to Jian Chi, then grabbed Wen Chuan’s cuff and shook it, raised her head and seriously complained: “You said eight o’clock, it’s eight-fourteen now.”

“Sorry, I was late,” Wen Chuan’s voice was slightly soft, “What do you want to eat later? I’ll buy it for you.”

“I want to eat egg tarts,” Jing Jing reported in the same way, “roasted chicken wings, and strawberry yogurt.”

“Egg tarts are not good. You have eaten too many sweets during this time. Be careful of a cavity.”

Jian Chi remembered the bag of fast food boxes that Wen Chuan was carrying last time, a little curious: “It’s late now, why don’t you go home to cook?”

This topic actually silenced the two brothers and sisters at the same time. Jing Jing often went to the library with Jian Chi during this time, so she was no longer as afraid of him as she used to be. She turned to look at Wen Chuan, and betrayed her brother: “Brother is very bad at cooking.”

“Jing Jing.”

Wen Chuan rubbed his head, coughed lightly, looked at Jian Chi’s suddenly enlightened eyes, seemed a little frustrated, and explained in a deep voice: “I’m…not good at cooking, sometimes Jing Jing won’t want to eat what I made, so I will go out to buy the dishes. It’s not like what she said.”

“Children are still growing, and it’s unhealthy to always eat takeout, it will be bad for your health.”

Jian Chi bent down to meet Jing Jing’s eyes and smiled, “It’s very late now, and the fast food restaurants are also closed. Do you want to come to this brother’s house for dinner? Bring your brother Wen Chuan with you. There are chicken wings at home.”

Children are very simple, so when she heard the word ‘chicken wings’, Jing Jing nodded hastily, and then remembered to look at Wen Chuan expectantly, asking for permission: “Is it alright?”

Wen Chuan paused for a while,, “Go if you want.”

Jing Jing gave a cheerful ‘yeah’, and when she laughed, she finally had the liveliness and innocence of a little girl. She quickly left Wen Chuan and grabbed the corner of Jian Chi’s clothes. Whenever she asked anything, Jian Chi answered her patiently.

Before going upstairs, Jian Chi turned around to confirm whether Wen Chuan had followed, and caught a glimpse of Wen Chuan’s slightly raised lips in the night. The soft smile weakened the feeling of coldness and estrangement that he always maintained. It was only a slight change, but it also livened his glamorous eyebrows and eyes. He was no longer lifeless, and was no longer repelling people thousands of miles away.

For the first time, Jian Chi noticed that Wen Chuan looked very good when he smiled. Even if he had seen this face countless times, if he saw it at close range again unexpectedly, there would still be an indescribable focus, a hazy and wonderful throbbing.

Seeing that Jian Chi brought a friend to the house as a guest, Jian Chengchao was more excited than the person involved. Besides being a little confused by Wen Chuan’s long hair at first, he quickly accepted it under Jian Chi’s explanation. Although Jian Chi blocked several times, Jian Chengchao insisted on cooking a braised chicken wing and stir-fried celery. Jing Jing nibbled at the chicken wings and shouted ‘Uncle’, causing Jian Chengchao to laugh and leaving Jian Chi and Wen Chuan aside.

But neither of them minded, so Jian Chi leaned over and said softly, “There is an ointment at home, you can take one back later.”

Wen Chuan nodded and said, “Okay.”

“Why didn’t you refuse this time?”

Jian Chi originally wanted to make fun of him, but he didn’t expect Wen Chuan to tense up, stop his chopsticks, and reply after a while, “I didn’t want to owe you a favor.”

Does this not count now? Jian Chi thought to himself, but didn’t ask.

“It doesn’t count now,” Wen Chuan said in a low voice, as if he had the ability to read minds, “Now there is no need to use favours to count.”

Jian Chi was slightly startled.

After eating, Wen Chuan helped clear the table before leaving with Jing Jing. There was a clear division of housework at home. Cooking and washing dishes, laundry and mopping the floor were all distributed evenly by Jian Chi and Jian Chengchao. Jian Chengchao was still praising Wen Chuan and Jing Jing for being polite, while Jian Chi occasionally said a few words while washing the dishes. He asked casually, “It’s Chinese New Year, and the store is going to get busy, you really don’t need me to help?”

“No,” Jian Chengchao refused while sitting on the sofa without turning his head, “you have a good time with your friends, don’t worry about things in the store.”

“I haven’t seen the store since I came back.”

Jian Chengchao: “I’ll show you after the Spring Festival.”

Jian Chi responded okay.

The doubts started when the bowl was thrown that day, then when a few sneaky people ran away at night, Jian Chi had a bad premonition.

This kind of intuition was often effective. Jian Chengchao was not a person who liked to hide things. On the contrary, he likes to show off. He was careless and easy-going. If he drank a little alcohol, he would often talk non-stop; he would never refuse ‘going to the store’ such a small request. Jian Chengchao’s attitude these days was a bit strange, it was unbelievably strange. Jian Chi felt that there was something he didn’t know yet.

In the morning, when Jian Chengchao left home for work, Jian Chi also woke up from his bed. He remembered the address and message that Jian Chengchao sent him when he chose the store. Although he had only seen it in a photo once, the sense of direction he had made Jian Chi find his destination at once.

It was just after 7:30, and there were few pedestrians on the street. Jian Chi looked at the store name that was exactly the same as the one in the photo. During the day, he felt a chill invade the soles of his feet, and his ears buzzed.

The shutter door was closed, and there was no sign of a normal business at all. The dazzling red paint was covered with densely written ‘return the money’ and ‘repay the debt’. The red paint dripping from the edge was as terrifying as blood, and the corners of the rolling shutter door still had marks of being knocked down by hard objects, man-made violence; even the white wall next to it was not spared.

Jian Chi’s heart was beating fast, but fortunately, he still had reason to support him to take pictures as evidence.

With a ‘click’, he already had a candidate for the culprit in his mind.