"Why make such a big deal out of an argument." Yan Hang took a bite of pizza.

To be honest, they had been to many places and had seen old ladies with their chests exposed and smoking pipes when it was hot, and had also seen people pulling hair and pants when fighting, but they had never seen anyone going shirtless during an argument.

"I don't know, if she hadn't gone shirtless I would have gone over to watch the commotion..." Before Dad could finish, he glanced at Chu Yi.

Dad was an old fox, and no subtle emotional reaction from childhood to adulthood could escape his eyes. He immediately knew that Chu Yi might know this old lady.

And now, the way Chu Yi was holding a piece of pizza and chewing it with difficulty in his mouth made it clear that it wasn't just a simple matter of knowing her.

Yan Hang immediately thought of that old lady with the pale face and the long and short caterpillar eyebrows.

...This was very awkward.

He exchanged a look with his dad, and was about to change the subject when Chu Yi finally swallowed that mouthful of pizza and said softly, "That's my, grandma."

Yan Hang really couldn't follow up on that, so he looked at his dad.

"Your grandma?" Dad had no choice but to bite the bullet and face the difficulty head-on. "Then your grandma...has quite a fiery temper, a heroine among women."

Chu Yi glanced at Dad and suddenly laughed.

"Haha." Dad also laughed awkwardly a couple of times.

"No, no problem," Chu Yi took a bite of pizza, "everyone knows, her."

"Oh." Dad responded.

"Is she always like this?" Yan Hang decided not to beat around the bush and asked directly.

Chu Yi nodded.

Yan Hang didn't say anything, but seemed to understand Chu Yi's personality a bit and why he was bullied. Grandma's behavior of going shirtless at the slightest disagreement must be a very important reason.

"Does she have mental issues?" Yan Hang thought for a moment and asked again.

"No," Chu Yi shook his head, "she's just, just a heroine among, women."

Dad couldn't help but laugh.

Chu Yi also laughed a little.

"Some things, you have to grow up to understand." Dad said.

Chu Yi looked up at him.

"For example, you are first and foremost yourself." Dad said.

Chu Yi didn't say anything and took another bite of pizza.

After eating in silence for a while, Dad finally found a suitable topic: "I saw on the news that there's a music festival in a couple of days, we can go check it out."

"Where?" Yan Hang asked.

"Some kind of square." Dad said.

"What kind of what?" Yan Hang asked while eating.

"...Didn't remember." Dad replied.

"I know, know." Chu Yi said.

Yan Hang turned to look at him.

After waiting for a long time, Chu Yi still didn't say anything else. He lowered his eyelids and ate a piece of pizza very seriously before looking at him and staring blankly: "Huh?"

"What huh?" Yan Hang was a little speechless, "What's next?"

"Wh-what?" Chu Yi was still looking at him.

"He's just telling you he knows what square it is," Dad couldn't stop laughing on the side, "what's next, what's next."

"Then what? What square? Where? How to get there?" Yan Hang asked a series of questions, "Or are you taking me there?"

"Okay." Chu Yi nodded.

Yan Hang was speechless for a long time before giving him a thumbs up.

"The kid is quite interesting." Dad said with a smile.

After eating, Yan Hang leaned back in his chair and slowly wiped his fingers with a napkin.

Chu Yi looked around the table, stood up, and cleared the plates and bowls on the table at lightning speed.

Yan Hang and his dad were not in the habit of cleaning up immediately after eating, and would first sit in a daze and enjoy the wonderful meal.

They had never seen the speed of this new era Chu Yi, and before they could stop him, Chu Yi had already taken a pile of plates and bowls into the kitchen.

"Chu Yi!" Yan Hang got up and followed him into the kitchen, "Just put it there."

"It's convenient." After answering simply, Chu Yi turned on the faucet of the sink and started washing the dishes efficiently.

Yan Hang walked over and leaned against the wall watching him: "Relax, this is my house, not yours."

Chu Yi washed the dishes quickly, and after a while he said softly, "Used, to it."

Yan Hang patted him on the shoulder and turned to go out.

"Have you no shame," Dad looked at him, "letting the guest wash the dishes like this? Not only do you not lend a hand, you don't even spectate?"

"I'm afraid he'll get nervous and drop the dishes." Yan Hang said.

"Quite an interesting kid, being raised like this at home," Dad sighed, "if he were my son..."

Dad glanced at him and tutted: "Seems like he's not raised very well either?"

"Yeah," Yan Hang smiled, "so don't keep praising yourself."

"Is he staying here this afternoon?" Dad asked.

"Probably not, he has to run home on time every time," Yan Hang said softly, "he already didn't deliver the oil he bought today, and didn't even go home for dinner, he'll probably get punished when he goes back."

"Sigh," Dad sighed, and his cell phone in his pocket rang. He took it out and looked at it, "I'm going out for a bit."

"Mm." Yan Hang responded.

When Chu Yi came out after washing the dishes, Yan Hang was sitting on the windowsill looking out at the street.

"Done washing." He walked over to Yan Hang and said.

"Thanks for your hard work," Yan Hang said, "is it okay that you didn't go home for dinner?"

Chu Yi didn't say anything.

Yan Hang turned his head to look at him and found that he was also looking out.

"Want to sit?" Yan Hang moved over to make room for him.

Chu Yi hopped up and sat down.

The two of them sat facing the street and spaced out for a while. Chu Yi turned to look at him: "Ji, Ji, Ji..."

"Jijiji." Yan Hang said.

Chu Yi stared blankly and then laughed.

"Ji?" Yan Hang looked at him.

"Ji, Dao," Chu Yi said with a smile, "you're called..."

"I'm not fucking called Yan Jidao," Yan Hang said, "don't listen to my dad's nonsense, he never says a single proper thing all day."

"Oh," Chu Yi was still smiling, "Uncle is very nice, fun."

"He's alright." Yan Hang said.

"My dad doesn't, doesn't really talk, much." Chu Yi said.

"Then where did you inherit this chattiness from?" Yan Hang asked.

"Maybe it's because he's been holding it in." Chu Yi said very seriously.

Yan Hang laughed, "You're quite funny, as they say..."

"No, no one talks to me." Chu Yi said.

"Oh." Yan Hang responded, taking out a cigarette and putting it in his mouth.

He fumbled in his pocket for a lighter for a while but couldn't find it. Just as he was about to turn his head to see if he had thrown it on the coffee table, Chu Yi had already curled his legs, turned around, and jumped down from the windowsill in a series of movements. He went to the coffee table, grabbed the lighter and handed it to him.

"Damn," Yan Hang couldn't help it, "Are you a servant at home?"

"My mom is very, very busy, and gets tired when she comes home." Chu Yi didn't jump back onto the windowsill, instead resting his arms on it and lying down.

Yan Hang lit his cigarette.

"Are those..." Chu Yi pointed to the side of the street, "your shoes?"

"Huh?" Yan Hang looked over and saw the running shoes he had placed next to the trash can. "Yes."

"You don't want them anymore?" Chu Yi looked at him, seeming a bit surprised.

"They're dirty," Yan Hang said, "And they're old too, I've worn them for a year."

"Wow, what a pity." Chu Yi's tone was full of heartache.

Yan Hang glanced at the door. Chu Yi was still wearing the same old street vendor shoes as before, but... he sized them up, his shoes probably wouldn't fit Chu Yi.

"How about this," Yan Hang took out his phone, "Chu Yi, you..."

Those girls really liked Chu Yi. If he let Chu Yi appear a few times, he could probably get a pair of shoes. If someone went crazy and gave him a yacht, he could even change his clothes.

Not only were Chu Yi's shoes old to the point of being ridiculous, his clothes were also always his school uniform, with some parts washed until they were transparent.

"No, no need," Chu Yi quickly understood his meaning and reached out to stop him, "No."

Yan Hang looked at him.

"I have, I have new shoes." Chu Yi said.

"Then why do you wear this pair every day?" Yan Hang asked.

"They're not broken yet," Chu Yi smiled and quickly added, "I'll change them tomorrow."

Yan Hang didn't insist anymore, but was a bit confused, "Do your parents have jobs?"

"Yes," Chu Yi nodded, "But the water delivery station my mom works at went bankrupt, and my dad drives for someone."

"That shouldn't be too bad..." Yan Hang was even more puzzled, "Driving should make at least a few thousand yuan a month, right?"

"Yeah," Chu Yi rested his chin in his hand, "I don't get it either."

Just as Yan Hang was about to say something, Chu Yi's phone rang.

He suddenly straightened up as if startled, and after a moment of daze, took out his phone from his pocket. After fiddling with it for a while, the phone reluctantly connected the call.

"Hello?" He said softly.

Yan Hang saw that the caller ID said "Dad".

"I'm at a classmate's house," Chu Yi seemed relatively at ease talking to his dad, "I ate... I bought the oil, I'll be right back."

After hanging up, Chu Yi didn't even have time to explain to him and ran straight to the door.

"Telling you to go home?" Yan Hang jumped down from the windowsill.

"Yeah," Chu Yi smiled at him apologetically, "My mom is angry."

"...I'll go back with you," Yan Hang felt a bit guilty, after all, it was him who asked Chu Yi to come over to drink oil, "I'll explain to your mom?"

"It's okay," Chu Yi put on his shoes and picked up the oil, "Don't worry."

Chu Yi didn't hear what Yan Hang said behind him, and hurriedly left with the oil can. Once he was sure Yan Hang couldn't see him, he started running.

Dad was back, so it would be fine to go back now. Dad would speak up for him.

Mom probably wouldn't say much. Under normal circumstances, Mom ignored his existence except to tell him to do things. Grandma was the one that made him most uneasy.

As he turned the corner and ran towards his building, someone on a bicycle came out from inside and brushed past him. As they passed, the person on the bike suddenly kicked out at him.

Chu Yi was caught off guard and was also carrying oil. He stumbled and fell to the ground.

"Yo, your stance is so unsteady?" The person on the bike said.

Chu Yi was a bit surprised to hear this voice. He turned his head to look and confirmed that it was Liang Bing, someone he had avoided since he was a child.

In this area, except for Grandma, no one wanted to have any conflict with Liang Bing. Chu Yi always felt that it was a miracle Liang Bing hadn't gone to prison in his twenties.

However, Liang Bing hadn't been back for two or three years. Chu Yi had always thought Liang Bing wouldn't appear again, but unexpectedly ran into him again so unprepared.

"Long time no see." Liang Bing grinned at him.

Chu Yi didn't say anything. After getting up, he brushed off his pants, picked up the oil and continued running forward.

"I'll come find you to play in a couple days!" Liang Bing laughed and shouted behind him.

Only when Chu Yi took out his key did he find that he had scraped a large piece of skin off his left palm when he braced himself on the ground earlier. He nervously raised his hand to look at his sleeve again, and saw that there was a hole in the elbow.

He held up his hand for a long time before putting it down, and gently opened the door.

The room was dark. The living room had no windows, so the lighting was poor. Even during the day, if the lights weren't turned on, he couldn't see anything clearly.

He entered the room, and his eyes hadn't yet adapted to the dimness inside when he heard Grandma's voice.

"You're back from whoring around!"

Chu Yi reflexively raised his arm, but still couldn't block the plastic cup filled with water that Grandma threw at him. His forehead throbbed with pain from the impact.

Luckily it wasn't Grandpa's stainless steel one.

"It's normal to go eat at a classmate's house," Dad walked out from the kitchen and stood between him and Grandma, taking the oil can from his hand, "Next time, remember to let us know at home if you're not coming back to eat."

"Okay." Chu Yi responded.

"He was waiting to buy oil! Instead he went out to eat!" Grandma walked over, pushed Dad aside, and slapped Chu Yi on the back.

"That's enough!" Mom shouted, "Are you addicted to hitting people now?"

"What's this! You're managing your mom now?" Grandma pointed at Mom, "You can't teach him so I'm teaching him for you, and you're talking back to me!"

Mom slammed the cup in her hand on the table and went into the room.

"Come." Dad pulled Chu Yi, wanting to pull him into the room, but Mom pushed the door closed from the inside as soon as Dad opened it a crack. Before Dad could turn it again, she locked it from the inside.

Dad hesitated for a moment, then had no choice but to turn around and push Chu Yi into the kitchen, closing the door behind him.

Grandma didn't break down the door, but stood outside the kitchen and started scolding.

"What's with you, how could you suddenly go to a classmate's house for dinner without saying a word," Dad said in a low voice.

Chu Yi didn't make a sound, he didn't want to bring up Grandma arguing with people on the street again.

"I bought you some clothes, in a bit..." Dad glanced towards the kitchen door, Grandma's voice coming through as if the door didn't exist, "I'll give them to you after Grandma is done scolding."

"Mm." Chu Yi responded.

Dad had a good temper, or... Chu Yi didn't know how to sum up Dad's personality. Anyway, from a young age until now, he had never seen Dad get angry. He was always working in vain to mediate and calm people down, but always helpless.

Grandma scolded for almost half an hour, and Chu Yi just stood there in the kitchen with Dad in a daze.

It wasn't until Grandma got tired of scolding and started nitpicking the TV drama with Grandpa that Dad finally patted his shoulder, "I'll go get the clothes for you to take a look."

Chu Yi nodded.

Dad went out, and there was no movement for a long time. He probably couldn't get into the room.

Chu Yi turned to look out the window and waited a while longer before Dad returned to the kitchen with a plastic bag in hand, "Here, try it on."

Chu Yi took the clothes out of the bag. It was a set of sportswear, light gray, and quite good-looking.

When he shook out the clothes, he knew they were too small, but he still silently took off his school uniform jacket and put the clothes on.

"It seems... too small?" Dad said somewhat awkwardly.

"It's fine." Chu Yi tugged at the sleeves.

The sleeves were short and the clothes were a bit short, but if he didn't zip it up, it was passable.

The pants were also short. He couldn't bend his legs, otherwise the pant legs would ride up.

"My son's legs are too long." Dad said.

Chu Yi smiled.

Dad was the only one in the family who wouldn't scold him or hit him, and would have a smile for him, but Dad didn't remember his birthday or what grade he was in. When others asked, he told people for three years in a row that his son was in sixth grade.

So Dad would buy clothes that were too small. He wasn't surprised at all.

"Why don't we let out the pant legs here?" Dad said.

"No need," Chu Yi said, "it's fine, thanks, thanks Dad."

"Then... wear it? Or change out of it first?" Dad asked.

"I'll wear it." Chu Yi said. He didn't want to change clothes in the kitchen again.

When he walked out of the kitchen, Grandma let out a cold laugh.

Chu Yi walked towards Grandma and Grandpa's room. No one was in there at the moment. He wanted to stay in there for a bit. Mom called out from the room, "Water!"

He turned back to pour a glass of water and brought it into the room.

"You went to a classmate's house for dinner today?" Mom asked.

"Mm." Chu Yi nodded.

"Which classmate of yours on the wrong meds would invite you over for dinner?" Mom asked again.

Chu Yi didn't answer.

"Be careful they're setting you up. Maybe they put some laxatives in your food and you'll have diarrhea in a bit." Mom said with a frown.

Chu Yi turned and walked out, entering the next room.

He sat on the small bed in a daze for a while, then bent over and took out a shoebox from under the bed.

Inside was a pair of sneakers, new ones that Mom had bought for him during the New Year. Because his current pair hadn't broken yet, he never wore them.

-Did you get scolded?

Yan Hang sent Chu Yi a message, then lay down on the sofa.

He still had to go out tomorrow to look around and see if there were any suitable jobs.

The coffee shop gig was gone, but he didn't really care. However, he still had to go out and find work. One reason was that he was running low on money, and the other was that he was bored.

Dad hadn't brought him money recently, probably because he couldn't get any.

But what Yan Hang was more concerned about was Dad's state when he looked at his phone before going out today. It was a bit different from usual.

But where it was different, he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Of course this old fox wouldn't let anyone see through him at a glance. It's just that after all these years of living like this, if anything was off, Yan Hang could still sense it.

That uneasiness that had been suppressed in his heart for a long time without surfacing was starting to emerge a bit again.

-No

Chu Yi replied to him.

Yan Hang looked at this message, wanting to chat a few more lines but unable to find an opening.

-Do you often go running at night?

Chu Yi sent another message.

-Yeah

Yan Hang looked at his own reply, also in a state of killing the conversation.

Fortunately, Chu Yi was a magical person with the ability to revive the dead.

-I also often go running at night

-I can tell, you're pretty good at running

-Are you running tonight? I'll take you, I know a good place to run

-Sure, what time and where?

-I'll come get you

-Okay

Yan Hang waited a bit, but Chu Yi didn't say anything more. He put down his phone.

He had just adjusted his position to take a nap when his phone rang again.

-Do you still have those shoes?

-....I'll go check

Yan Hang got up helplessly. Chu Yi's obsession with those shoes made him want to pick them up, wash them and keep wearing them.

-Still there

-Can you get them back?

Yan Hang stared at this line of text for a long time before finally gritting his teeth, opening the door and walking out.

There were quite a few people coming and going on the street. He could only fight a quick battle. The longer he lingered by the trash can at times like this, the more conspicuous he would be.

But taking big strides over, picking up the shoes and walking away didn't look much better either. Several people still looked over.

What the hell are you looking at! These are my own damn shoes!

Yan Hang returned to the room and threw the shoes on the ground, sending Chu Yi a voice message, "Got them back."

-You really don't want them anymore?

"No, just say what you want to do with them," Yan Hang said. "It wasn't easy for me to go out and retrieve them, swallowing my pride."

-If you don't want them, give them to me

Yan Hang wanted to say they might be too big for him to wear, but in the end didn't say it. Adding an insole would still be better than his current pair.

-Sure, come get them tonight

-Okay, thank you

Seeing Chu Yi's serious reply, Yan Hang fell back on the sofa, "Ah..."