There weren't many people on the street at this time. Those who were eating were eating, those who had finished eating were at home watching TV, and those who went for walks hadn't come out yet.

As soon as Yan Hang went out, he swept his eyes on both sides of the road. The lights were very bright towards the main street, and everything seemed peaceful. He also looked towards Chu Yi's house. The street lights were not all on, and he couldn't see clearly if there was anything in the dark areas.

"Let's walk towards his house," Dad said, "you call him again."

"Okay." Yan Hang took out his phone and continued to dial Chu Yi's number.

This time, it wasn't that no one answered, but the call simply couldn't get through.

"What the hell?" Yan Hang frowned.

"Let's go," Dad said, "let's go up ahead and take a look. There are many nooks and crannies here, maybe he's been cornered somewhere."

Yan Hang followed his dad and walked towards Chu Yi's house.

To find such a place to corner someone, he just needed to follow his dad. It was basically like having a radar. In the past, when his dad stood up for him, he could always hit the target with one strike.

So he always felt that his dad must have been in the mix back then.

"The poor kid probably hasn't gone out to play like this before, he must be excited," Dad said as he walked and lit a cigarette, "if he was in a hurry to come over, he wouldn't have taken a detour... over there."

Dad pointed to a fork in the road to the front right: "It can't be too far."

That was the road to the riverside, and it wasn't far to reach the river, with few people around.

Chu Yi had been avoiding the Crab, indicating that he didn't want to have a conflict with the Crab. The Crab's means of "having fun" must be different from Li Zihao's. In this situation, Chu Yi would resist, and as long as he resisted, he couldn't be taken too far.

Yan Hang followed his dad and quickened his pace.

After passing the fork in the road, just as they could see the willows by the river, Yan Hang heard the laughter unique to a group of hooligans. It seemed that all the little hooligans in the world had a unified standard and could make the same laughter and cheering sounds.

"Four people," Dad said, "so easy."

Turning the corner, Yan Hang saw four people standing under the half-light and half-dark street lamp ahead, with a figure sitting on the ground in the middle.

That school uniform of Chu Yi's, even if it was burned to ashes and scattered in the wind, he could still recognize it.

They were still twenty or thirty meters away, and those few people didn't notice that someone was coming over. They were focused on laughing. First, someone kicked Chu Yi's back, then the Crab stepped on Chu Yi's hand with one foot, and another person went over, bent down, and grabbed the waistband of Chu Yi's pants.

"Despicable stuff." Dad said a sentence.

As soon as he finished saying this, Chu Yi suddenly pulled his hand out from under the Crab's foot, and headbutted the person pulling his pants in the nose.

That person howled loudly amidst the laughter.

The Crab lifted his foot and kicked Chu Yi's head.

"Fuck." Yan Hang cursed in a low voice and rushed over.

The Crab was the first to discover that someone was coming, but Yan Hang's speed made it so that even if he saw it, he couldn't react in time.

When Yan Hang rushed to his face, he only had time to raise his arm, ready to block any possible attacks.

The Crab's reaction was quite fast, but Yan Hang didn't go for his head.

Dad said that inertia is a good thing.

He jumped up and used the inertia to knee the Crab in the right rib. The Crab didn't make a sound and was directly bounced back, falling on his butt on the ground.

The Crab's two little buddies behind him surrounded him, but Yan Hang didn't look back. Dad was behind him.

His second attack used his fist, smashing the head, and he landed a punch on the face of the one who had kicked Chu Yi's back just now.

When he turned around, Dad had already kicked one away and grabbed the collar of the other, throwing him against a tree trunk on the side.

This throw wasn't forceful, and the person staggered, trying to maintain balance, but still hit the tree.

When Yan Hang pulled Chu Yi up from the ground, this person rushed back, with a flash of light in his hand.

"Knife." He said.

Dad went up to meet him, chopped the person's wrist, and the knife fell to the ground.

Yan Hang hadn't even reacted yet, and Dad had already dragged this person to the railing and threw him out over the river bank amidst his constant struggles and kicking.

Splash.

This person fell into the black mud on the river beach.

Yan Hang turned his head and looked at the Crab who had just gotten up from the ground.

Chu Yi said that the Crab had just come back, and he was probably building his own prestige. If he ran away now, he would lose a lot of face.

So he charged again.

Perhaps his fighting spirit was aroused, or perhaps it was a desperate fight, but his speed as he rushed over was somewhat astonishing.

Yan Hang had just pulled Chu Yi to the side when his fist was already in front of his eyes. Yan Hang only had time to tilt his head.

He dodged the Crab's ring, but didn't dodge the unknown thing on his fingers, and a cut was made on his face.

The cut should be very shallow, and there wasn't much feeling.

He raised his elbow and smashed it against the Crab's head. The Crab swayed, and his eyes lost focus for a moment.

As the Crab raised his hand again, Chu Yi suddenly pounced over from the side.

With a pounce and a bump, Chu Yi's momentum was astonishing. He fiercely jumped up, crashed into the Crab's back, and hugged the Crab from behind with his arms and body.

This pounce and bump, the force Chu Yi used was astonishing. Yan Hang even heard a bang.

He felt that Chu Yi might have caused internal injuries to the Crab.

Then he saw the Crab lose his balance, and because his arms were restrained by Chu Yi, he couldn't support himself on the ground. In the end, he could only try to lift his face up, and his whole body fell to the ground.

Chu Yi had no experience in fighting, but he had plenty of experience in being beaten. However, it was useless now.

This was the first time in his life that he had gotten physical with someone.

He could endure many things and calmly ignore many things, but he could not endure Liang Bing's behavior tonight no matter what.

When he saw Liang Bing's ring scratch across Yan Hang's face, he felt like his blood was about to spurt out of his eyes.

Liang Bing fell to the ground, his chin hitting the ground. A few seconds later, he struggled to get up.

Chu Yi didn't know what to do, so he could only continue to lie on his back and tightly hug Liang Bing with his arms.

The two who were with him wanted to come up, but Yan Hang and Uncle Yan were standing on either side, so the two moved and then stopped.

"I'll fuck your mom, let go!" Liang Bing roared.

Chu Yi didn't make a sound and didn't move.

"Chu Yi," Yan Hang tugged at his shoulder, "Get up."

Chu Yi hesitated for a moment before letting go and getting off of Liang Bing.

Liang Bing cursed as he quickly got up and swung his hand towards Chu Yi's face.

Yan Hang grabbed his wrist, twisted it behind his back, and pressed Liang Bing back onto the ground.

"You fucking..." Liang Bing looked up and wanted to continue cursing, but Yan Hang slapped the back of his head, slamming his face into the ground. When Liang Bing raised his head again, he was silent.

"Big brother," Yan Hang leaned close to his ear, "There are rules to follow even in this life. He didn't provoke you, there has to be a limit to having fun."

Liang Bing clenched his teeth and didn't make a sound.

"As a boss, you need to have perspective," Yan Hang said, "Otherwise, even in your twenties, you'll just be stuck on these three streets. How boring."

After saying that, Yan Hang let go. This time, Liang Bing didn't jump up to sneak attack. After standing up, he stared at Yan Hang for a while before saying, "I'll admit defeat today. Leave your name."

"Yan Jidao." Yan Hang said.

Liang Bing was stunned. Chu Yi didn't know if it was because he knew of Yan Jidao, or because he had seen a surname Yan before and was surprised to see another one pop up in just a few minutes.

Liang Bing glanced over at Uncle Yan.

"Yan Shu," Uncle Yan said while lighting a cigarette, "Nice to meet you."

"Fuck!" Liang Bing squeezed out a word from between his teeth. After a while, he turned to look at Yan Hang again, "Yan Hang, right? I'll remember that."

Yan Hang smiled.

"Let's go." Liang Bing turned and left.

The two sidekicks pulled their companion, who was covered in mud from head to toe and had just poked his head out from the railing, up. After glaring at them, they followed behind Liang Bing and left.

The surroundings suddenly became quiet.

Chu Yi was dazed for a moment before coming back to his senses. He raised his hand and pointed at Yan Hang's face, "Is it se-serious?"

"It's nothing," Yan Hang took out a tissue and pressed it against his face, "It's already starting to scab over... You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

Chu Yi shook his head and said softly, "I'm sorry."

"You..." Yan Hang frowned. Chu Yi felt that he probably wanted to say "sorry my ass", just like how he said "thanks my ass", but Yan Hang didn't finish his sentence. He just patted Chu Yi's head, "Let's go."

"Thank you," Chu Yi said, then looked at Uncle Yan, "Thank you, Un-uncle."

"Why don't you bow again." Uncle Yan said with a serious face.

Chu Yi bowed.

"Okay, I accept it," Uncle Yan patted his shoulder, then patted his arm, "Didn't expect it, but you've got quite some strength."

"Hidden de-depths." Chu Yi smiled and picked up his cell phone from the ground to take a look.

The phone was intact and not broken from the fall. Knockoff phones are sturdy, but the signal seemed to be gone. He restarted it and the signal was full again.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

The three of them walked quickly along the road back towards Yan Hang's home. Only then did Chu Yi finally slowly emerge from his chaotic emotions.

Nervousness, fear, anger, anxiety...

As these emotions gradually dissipated, he suddenly felt a bit lost.

From the first time he knew what it meant to be embarrassed, the first time he knew what it meant to be bullied, the first time he knew what it meant to be helpless, he never thought that he would suddenly explode like this.

He had always believed that he could carefully persist in calmness until he left this place.

When he pounced on Liang Bing just now, his mind was filled with rage. He never realized that he could accumulate such a high level of anger.

But as his mood slowly calmed down, his whole being felt a bit empty.

Even his footsteps became a bit unsteady.

"You haven't eaten, have you?" Yan Hang glanced at Chu Yi.

Chu Yi had been silent the whole way, and Yan Hang was a bit worried that his brain might have been damaged from the beating.

"No," Chu Yi rubbed his stomach, "I stayed at home for a while before coming out."

Yan Hang sighed, "I made a lot of dishes today, eat more later."

"Mm." Chu Yi smiled.

When they got home, Yan Hang didn't immediately go to prepare the food. He saw that Chu Yi's pants were covered in dirt, and there was a triangular hole torn in his butt, revealing his underwear. It was actually red.

"Don't tell me this year is actually your zodiac year of birth? 12 years old?" Yan Hang asked.

"14 already." After answering, Chu Yi froze for a moment. He felt his butt and quickly covered the hole when he found it.

"Your school uniform is torn up like this," Yan Hang went into his room and rummaged through his closet, "What should we do?"

"Changing to summer uniforms soon." Chu Yi said.

Yan Hang didn't say anything. He took out a set of his own clothes and handed them to him, "Wear mine for now, this set is a bit small for me."

Chu Yi hesitated a bit.

"Or are you going to wear those pants with the red underwear showing to the music festival?" Yan Hang asked.

Chu Yi took the clothes and went into the bathroom.

When Yan Hang finished making dinner and brought it out, Dad had already disinfected several of the scrapes on Chu Yi's body, "Bring an ice pack."

Yan Hang looked at Chu Yi.

His own clothes were a bit big on him, but after all, it was a set of normal, fashionable casual wear for teenagers. Wearing these clothes, it was the first time Chu Yi's appearance truly took shape.

Yan Hang felt that only today did he get a clear look at what Chu Yi actually looked like.

His face was pretty much the same as usual, the "handsome boy" that the girls talked about, but with the clothes, his whole aura was different, with a bit of coolness.

Just too short.

Tsk tsk.

"Ice pack." Dad said again.

"Oh, where do you need it?" Yan Hang opened the fridge and took out an ice pack.

"There's a lump on his head." Dad pointed at Chu Yi's head.

Yan Hang felt Chu Yi's head and found the lump, then placed the ice pack on it, "What's that guy's name?"

"Liang Bing." Chu Yi held the ice pack in place.

"You shouldn't take the long way tomorrow either, just walk this way," Yan Hang said, "If you go around and he goes to find trouble with you again, I won't be able to help even if I want to."

"Mm." Chu Yi responded.

Yan Hang had thought about whether he should accompany Chu Yi to and from school, but Chu Yi definitely wouldn't agree, so he didn't bring it up.

Just now, he didn't go hard on Liang Bing. In the past, if someone made him bleed, even if it was a small cut like today's that would scab over as soon as it met the wind, he wouldn't have let the person go so easily.

He didn't care about making enemies or causing trouble. Anyway, he was bored every day and didn't stay long anywhere.

But Chu Yi was different.

Since he stood up for Chu Yi, he had to leave him a way out.

"Chu Yi," Dad said, "come here and play when you're free. Uncle will teach you some self-defense moves."

Chu Yi looked at Dad with some confusion.

"I see you have good motor skills, quick reactions, and enough strength," Dad said. "I'll teach you a few simple moves. When you can't run, you can protect yourself and hold out for a bit to find a chance to escape."

"Okay." Chu Yi smiled a little shyly.

"There's no shame in running away," Dad also smiled. "Of course you have to run if you can't win."

"To-tomorrow," Chu Yi glanced quickly at Yan Hang, "tomorrow..."

"Tomorrow works." Dad said.

"Eat," Yan Hang sat down. "No drinking today, want a soft drink?"

"Lemon juice." Dad said immediately.

Yan Hang got up, opened the fridge, took out three bottles of iced red tea and put them on the table.

"I want lemon juice." Dad said.

"Only bought this." Yan Hang said.

"This guy, he likes drinking this so he only buys this," Dad took a bottle and twisted it open. "Good thing I'm an amiable person."

Chu Yi didn't know if it was because he was hungry from being beaten or from fighting, but in any case, he ate much more today compared to last time he came.

However, Yan Hang was quite surprised when Chu Yi pounced out today.

Although he had thought Chu Yi would resist when facing thugs like Liang Bing, he was still a bit surprised to see it with his own eyes. After all, since the first time he met Chu Yi, he had been enduring calmly and silently.

"Is the square far?" Yan Hang took out his phone. "I'll call a car in a bit."

"No, no, no..." Chu Yi waved his hand a little anxiously.

"Not far?" Yan Hang asked.

"No taxi," Chu Yi said. "The bus goes directly there."

Yan Hang glanced at Dad, and they spoke at the same time: "Let's still take a taxi."

Chu Yi didn't say anything and sighed.

He really envied Yan Hang.

He really liked Uncle Yan and their family.

As Chu Yi ate the last fried shrimp ball, he had never experienced this kind of ease and gentleness in his own home.

When Yan Hang and Uncle Yan appeared by the river today, for a moment he didn't quite believe his eyes and wondered if he had been beaten silly and was hallucinating.

When Uncle Yan threw the person down the riverbank, when Yan Hang pulled him up from the ground, all he could think was: divine soldiers descending from heaven, divine soldiers descending from heaven, divine soldiers descending from heaven...

He was very envious. Too bad he didn't have a dad like that.

Sometimes, Dad might not even be as reliable as Grandma. At least in most cases, Grandma dared to make a scene.

And he himself wasn't like Yan Hang either.

"Are you full?" Yan Hang asked.

"Mm," Chu Yi quickly nodded. "Stuffed."

"Let's go," Yan Hang stood up while looking at his phone. "The car is almost here."

Chu Yi habitually glanced at the plates on the table. Yan Hang grabbed his wrist: "Control your servant soul a bit."

"Okay." Chu Yi nodded solemnly.

The taxi hadn't arrived yet, so they stood by the road waiting.

Yan Hang's clothes had a very nice smell. He didn't know if it was the laundry detergent, cologne, or Yan Hang's own scent.

He lowered his head to sniff his sleeve, then leaned over to Yan Hang and quietly sniffed his body.

It seemed a bit different, so he tugged at his collar to sniff again. As he tiptoed to lean over, wanting to sniff that spot between the shoulder and neck, he glanced at Yan Hang's face and froze.

Yan Hang was looking at him through narrowed eyes.

"Your nickname must be Doggy." Yan Hang said.

Chu Yi gave him a thumbs up: "Yan-half-immortal."

"The clothes are washed." Yan Hang said.

"No, no," Chu Yi quickly said. "I mean... the clothes smell nice."

"Because I sprayed cologne in my closet, you little country mutt." Yan Hang said.

Chu Yi started laughing, a little embarrassed.

The taxi arrived soon. Uncle Yan sat in the front while he and Yan Hang sat in the back.

After getting in the car, both Yan Hang and Uncle Yan looked at him, waiting for him to tell the driver the address.

"Music festival." He said.

"Okay." The driver nodded and drove off.

Uncle Yan paused: "Actually, it doesn't matter that we don't know which square it is, right?"

"Right." Yan Hang nodded.

After a pause, the two of them started laughing. Chu Yi laughed along with them for a long time.

As the taxi crossed the bridge, Chu Yi glanced out the car window. This place that he usually only connected with through his tree hole now felt a bit complicated in his heart.

He put his hand in his pocket and felt the little black stone.

It was very smooth with a great texture.

He took out the little stone and gently placed it in Yan Hang's palm: "For you."