Although the first and second buildings were parallel, the distance between the two buildings was the smallest.

Gu Fei had never measured how far apart they were, but in the past, people who had jumped across had basically been able to land within a meter or so of the rooftop on the other side.

The people Liu Fan had called over were now distributed across the rooftops of several buildings, arranging obstacles. This kind of thing was also like a fight - some people threw things at Gu Fei's feet, while others threw things at Monkey's feet. In this regard, it was absolutely fair and no one would get beaten up for throwing things.

Whether someone won or lost, these people would be excited. What they wanted to see was someone falling down, someone getting injured - best of all would be to see someone fall off the building.

The sounds around his ears were very chaotic - some people were laughing, some shouting, and there were even girls' screams. At first, it was a bit like the sounds at a sports game, but when you listened closely, all you could feel was darkness.

Gu Fei looked around at these people. They were standing on all kinds of garbage on the rooftops - plastic bags, bottles, food scraps, and sometimes you could even see used condoms.

What a world of retards.

The only thing that made him look a few more times was the not very noticeable walnut shell fragments on the ground. This kind of garbage was nothing special on the rooftop. If it hadn't been for Jiang Cheng using a walnut to hit his shoe earlier, he wouldn't have noticed the little fragments by his feet at all.

These little fragments were left by Jiang Cheng.

What was the top student trying to do?

Although he wasn't worried that Jiang Cheng would do anything outrageous, he was still a little concerned.

No matter what Jiang Cheng was trying to do, it was because of him.

The insane rooftop jumping competition also needed referees, also known as intermediaries. This person Gu Fei recognized - he was a retired former gang leader that everyone called Tiger Brother. Now he would be the one to shout "start" in a way that seemed fairer.

Although already retired, Tiger Brother wasn't very old, not even 30 years old. When Gu Fei was working his way through vocational school, he had even played basketball with him. At that time Tiger Brother was no longer involved in "underworld affairs", and spoke to him in the manner of someone who had been there and done that, saying things to him like "turn back while you still can".

Was this considered "turning back while you still can" now?

He had never thought about venturing into that world, yet now he had to carry the saying "turn back while you still can". It was pretty interesting when he thought about it.

Gu Fei looked at the "obstacles" ahead without calculating which steps he would need to take larger and which ones to avoid. He wanted to get rid of some things he had to do, and didn't want to consider too much.

What he needed to do was start running, jump out, and land.

If he got injured, it would be over. If not, he would continue.

The only thing he needed to control was getting injured as late as possible. If he already got injured on the first landing, the unsatisfied audience might demand he continue while injured.

And he had already picked out where and how he wanted to get injured.

Tiger Brother raised his hand, and catcalls and shouts rose from the rooftop.

Then he lowered his arm.

Gu Fei didn't even pay attention to whether Monkey had started on the other side, and how he had started. He just stared at the edge of the rooftop and rushed out.

You said one two three, shatter the past away...

Gu Fei's right foot powerfully kicked off from the very edge of the rooftop, his body leapt up wrapped in the wind.

Below his feet was darkness, ahead of him the bright light of flames.  

The flickering flames and the flickering light and dark shadows they cast seemed to jump along with him.

In that instant of taking flight, Gu Fei suddenly felt light, almost wanting to shout out loud, to laugh.

He curled up the corners of his mouth.

The landing point could be judged in advance. With this powerful leap, he had cleared the broken beer box that had been thrown near the edge of the rooftop on this side.

He could also avoid those two soda bottles.

Stepping on the soda bottles wouldn't sprain his ankle, but it would make him lose his balance. With inertia this great, one foot slipping could lead to uncontrollable consequences.

But just as he started to descend, a beer bottle suddenly rolled out from the side.

This bottle aimed right at his landing point and rolling towards him made Gu Fei's heart plummet.

He already had no way or time to control his body further. If this foot stepped on the bottle...

Damn it.

Gu Fei closed his eyes for a moment. Damn it, whatever.

The walnut hit the bottle near the bottle mouth, almost at the same time Gu Fei's foot landed, speeding it up and sending it rolling out from under his foot.

Gu Fei landed beautifully, without swaying, firm and steady. Riding the inertia, he lightly rolled once on the rooftop before standing up.

Amidst the whistles, shouts, and clanging of steel pipes hitting oil drums, Jiang Cheng finally let out a long breath and plopped down on the ground.

"Very good," he waited two seconds before reaching out again for two more walnuts. "Everyone, you can see that deep breathing really does help relieve tension and fear... damn."

Jiang Cheng's hands were shaking badly, and the walnuts slipped out of his palm twice: "You can see contestant Jiang Cheng is shooting for the first time under such great pressure, and his hands are shaking... he can't even hold his weapon."

"Actually my legs are shaking too," Jiang Cheng bent over, moving on hands and knees to the side of the small attic. Here he was a little closer to Building 2, and in this light, even gaining an extra meter would make aiming much more steady. He braced his knees on the cement parapet at the edge of the rooftop. "Really want to pee."

Gu Fei wasn't injured, and Monkey wasn't injured either. By comparison, Gu Fei had jumped further and his landing posture was much more beautiful than Monkey's.

But this was only the first round.  

Jiang Cheng watched the situation on the roof of Building 2 through the fork in his slingshot. Right now they were probably waiting for the people from Building 1 to come over, so people on the platform were moving around.

A few minutes later, Jiang Cheng heard music coming from the other side.

"Clearly all idiots, yet feeling like they're so awesome, wanting all the beauties in the world to throw themselves into their arms..."

With just one earful you could sense the thick rural hair salon vibe.

"This is really..." Jiang Cheng couldn't help tsking. "Beyond words..."

This retarded country bumpkin style made him speechless. It was definitely cut from the same cloth as those fools who thought they were hot shit hanging speakers off their motorcycles.

Gu Fei said a few words to Li Yan who had come over from Building 1, lit a cigarette and held it in his mouth, standing at the edge of the rooftop and looking ahead.

Jiang Cheng also took out a cigarette, turned his back to block the wind and quickly lit it, taking a puff.

Then he sat at the edge of the rooftop, watching Gu Fei over there.

From the time Gu Fei landed the first jump until now, his frantic heartbeat had slowly calmed. He could calmly stare at Gu Fei now.

Gu Fei's face was expressionless, just standing there with the cigarette, seeming to be looking, and also seeming to be lost in thought.

Jiang Cheng blankly became lost in thought along with him.

He was different from everyone else, different from those who needed to live on all kinds of thrills. From the moment he took that first step, Jiang Cheng could feel it.

What Gu Fei wanted wasn't "I win", wasn't the screams and attention. All he wanted was for it to end.

To end things with Monkey, to end those mundane past events he had casually spoken of.

No one noticed the sudden acceleration of that bottle, and no one noticed that the walnut by his feet had shattered into fragments from hitting the ground and bottle simultaneously.

The speed was too fast. Gu Fei only realized what had happened when he braced his hand on the ground after landing and felt the walnut shell.

Now he really, really wanted to send Jiang Cheng a message, wanted to look over at that other building, but he didn't dare.

Any reaction from him in this situation would be noticed by others. If he so much as glanced that way, someone might go over there.

He stared at the walnut fragments on the ground, now crushed into powder and kicked apart from people coming and going. He didn't know what emotion he felt in his heart.

He didn't want to drag Jiang Cheng into these matters, yet Jiang Cheng had still appeared in a "detached" kind of way.

Brother Cheng is everywhere.

This completely, bursting-through-the-screen-at-you type of chuunibyou statement - now when he thought of it, it made his heart suddenly feel warm.

What Jiang Cheng had brought him wasn't just the simple feeling of "excellence". That purity, glinting like crystal buried beneath his exaggerated chuunibyou manner and occasional petty temper, flashing through the corners of his eyes amidst this chaotic and disordered life, could make one's heart stir just a little each time.

"The retards are clearing the field," Jiang Cheng stood up. He still knelt on one knee. Actually if he stood up, no one across the way would notice, and his field of vision would be a little better, but standing in the dark on the roof edge of a five story building, with the wind blowing, he really couldn't make himself stand up now. He pulled the elastic tight. "Looks like the second jump is about to start... forget it, I won't say anymore, please watch for yourselves."  

Building 3 was one story shorter than Building 2, and the distance between was also a little wider... Jiang Cheng felt his palms sweating and had to be thankful this slingshot had excellent grip. If it had been that inferior product from the photoshoot that day, this pull would probably send the entire slingshot flying off along with the walnut.

The retards below started throwing things towards the middle again, and several burning wooden sticks were also tossed over, significantly improving visibility of the ground.

Jiang Cheng slowed his breathing, aiming at a wooden plank on the roof of Building 3. Other than bricks and bottles, this plank parallel to Gu Fei's running direction was the most dangerous. Stepping on it would 100% sprain or break the ankle. It would be much better if it were laying horizontally. Even if stepped on, the foot wouldn't twist to the sides.

Again someone stood in the middle, facing Gu Fei and Monkey as they raised their arm.

Then swung down.

The two rushed out simultaneously. Gu Fei still had the same form and speed, flying out from the edge of the rooftop.

Because the distance was greater, Jiang Cheng could even see Gu Fei take a step in midair, continuing to accelerate his body.

If he weren't so nervous right now, Jiang Cheng would definitely have cheered at Gu Fei's freaking cool flying move. Those long legs, that beautiful leaping stride...

But just then, turmoil Jiang Cheng could never have predicted suddenly erupted on the roof of Building 3 that he was staring at.

Planks, sticks, and other indiscernible stuff were thrown from both sides towards the air above the rooftop.

Go! Fuck! Your! Whole! Family!

Jiang Cheng's shock and fury in that moment reached the highest point in his life. For an instant he almost wanted to whip out a steel ball and shoot through both their brains, to ventilate the oxygen-deprived heads of these fools!

But he had no time to think further. He even had to be grateful to those overexcited people who had thrown things early, because if they had waited until Gu Fei was falling to start throwing things, there would be absolutely no way for him to react in time.

Choosing between clearing obstacles on the ground versus in the air, Jiang Cheng picked the air.

He could no longer see Gu Fei's landing situation clearly, the various objects had blocked his line of sight. He held his breath, no time to think it over.  

The slingshot wasn't a gun, and walnuts weren't bullets. He couldn't shoot after the things had already flown towards Gu Fei. In these brief fleeting seconds, he could only find the object most likely to critically injure Gu Fei.

This kind of shot was one he had almost no experience attempting. His mind was a complete mess, mixed with the maddened shouts from the other side.

Someone in the crowd picked up a broken brick and swung out. Jiang Cheng forcefully pulled back the elastic at the same time.

Aiming ahead of time wouldn't be a big problem, but the angle could only be estimated.

The brick was deflected barely grazing Gu Fei's face, and collided with a flying wooden plank, also deflecting that from hitting Gu Fei's face. It brushed over his face and flew away.

Gu Fei showed no reaction at all, as if he didn't feel anything amidst the chaos. Only when the plank scraped his face did Jiang Cheng see him sway slightly.

Damn!

There must have been nails in the plank.

Jiang Cheng no longer had time to clear obstacles below Gu Fei, he could only watch with wide eyes as Gu Fei landed, stumbled over the mess, and rolled to the side.

Then all the stuff flying through the air rained down.

His head hadn't been hit by heavy objects, so Gu Fei guessed it was thanks to Jiang Cheng.

But when landing, he had still stepped on something, and felt his left foot suddenly tilt outwards.

This was it then.

He clenched his teeth and powerfully kicked off with his right foot that had just landed, going with the inertia and rolling out to the left.

The ground was a complete mess, in these few brief seconds he couldn't feel any pain at all. His legs and arms should all have injuries, but he had no way to ascertain the locations now.

When he finally stopped rolling, he braced a hand on an empty can beside him.

The feeling of his palm getting sliced by the can edge was very clear. He controlled the amount of force on his palm and collapsed on the ground next to it.

Liu Fan was the first to rush over, throwing himself down beside him. "Where are you hurt?!"

"...Leg." Gu Fei frowned, hugging his left calf.

"Broken?" Li Yan kicked aside the clutter nearby and reached to feel Gu Fei's calf.

"Ah!" Gu Fei cried out. "...Don't move it."

The people around all crowded over, faces filled with excitement.

Monkey had also fallen hard. Gu Fei could see he was pulled up from the ground by someone. Seeing Monkey swaying a bit as he stood but still able to stand, he immediately relaxed, lying back down on the ground.

It was over.

Finally.

"What now?" Monkey shook off the people propping him up and slowly made his way out of the path the crowd made for him, bending over to look at Gu Fei.

Gu Fei didn't speak.

"Leg seems broken?" Someone beside said.

"Is it?" Monkey's face immediately showed a smile. He looked at Gu Fei's leg, "This one? It's deformed?"

Without waiting for anyone to speak, he kicked Gu Fei's leg. "Badly injured?"

Gu Fei's body violently recoiled as he twisted to the side in pain.

"That's enough," Liu Fan stood up, blocking Monkey. "A bet's a bet, Da Fei lost this one."

"What a shame," Monkey hugged himself, expression very cheerful despite the blood flowing from his temple. "I thought this brat could play with me to the second floor."

Liu Fan didn't respond to him, and looked at Brother Xu who had just come over from the next platform.

"Tiger Brother, you got something to say?" Brother Xu said to Tiger Brother who had not yet spoken.

"Can't get up anymore?" Someone shouted.

This statement was very clear - as long as Gu Fei could still stand, this wasn't over yet.

Tiger Brother walked over to Gu Fei and squatted down, looking at the calf that was visibly deformed even through Gu Fei's pants. He reached out and grabbed the fracture site, fingers pressing down.

Gu Fei sharply sucked in a breath, unable even to make a sound.

Tiger Brother stared at him without speaking.

Gu Fei scowled at him, holding his gaze.

A few seconds later, Tiger Brother removed his hand and stood up. "Leg's broken."

Disappointed shouts rose from the surroundings.  

"This bet was a method you both voluntarily chose, one time settlement, bear the consequences yourselves. Everyone witnessed it," Tiger Brother said. "Any issues between you two are cleared now, any problems?"

Tiger Brother looked at Monkey. Monkey glanced at Gu Fei still lying on the ground. "No problems."

"Any problems?" Tiger Brother looked at Gu Fei again.

"None." Gu Fei said.

"Get to the hospital," Tiger Brother waved them off. "Go on your separate ways."

Jiang Cheng leaned against the wall. He didn't know how badly Gu Fei was injured across from him, just that he couldn't stand, and even from this distance Jiang Cheng could see the blood covering his hands.  

He couldn't make out what they were saying over there, just felt his entire body weak, hands shaking badly, back drenched in cold sweat. The scene of Gu Fei heavily slamming to the ground and rolling kept replaying before his eyes.

That fall was brutal, he could nearly feel the pain himself.

After Liu Fan carried Gu Fei on his back, he didn't dare look that way again. He lit a cigarette and clamped it between his teeth.

No matter what, there would definitely be injuries. If it was just a broken leg, that would already be the best outcome.  

Gu Fei ended some matters in this helpless yet fearless, and even nonchalant way. In many people's eyes, these may be matters that perhaps didn't need to be urgently resolved.

He flew up unconstrained, stepping forward firmly in that instant. Jiang Cheng felt he didn't want to think about anything anymore.

The fear, nervousness, and worry he experienced in that instant were unprecedented, for anyone. He had never felt such a panicked yank at his heartstrings.

The people on the other side had already dispersed, only a few left getting in their cars downstairs preparing to leave.

Jiang Cheng sat at the edge of the rooftop and had finished three cigarettes.

He stubbed out the cigarette butt, preparing to tidy up and go downstairs after everyone had left.

His phone rang at this time. He felt like he didn't even take time to take out his phone, such quick hands.

It was a message Gu Fei sent him.

- I'm fine

This kind of consoling without any use at all made Jiang Cheng want to curse.

- Where are you

- At the shop, come here

Come your grandpa! Jiang Cheng was speechless for a moment. His leg was like that yet he didn't go to the hospital! He even went back to the shop! Did he just get treated at the community hospital?

Jiang Cheng didn't reply to Gu Fei again. He took his things, bent over and looked down from the edge of the rooftop again, confirming there was no one left downstairs before coming out.

There was a lot more trash downstairs, much of it thrown down from upstairs. It looked ravaged, with even a barrel overturned on the ground, unburned wood inside still glimmering uncertainly in the middle of the road.

Jiang Cheng slowly walked through the messy things, kicking the bigger burning wood pieces into the roadside gutter.

The lamplights only reached the building area. After turning the corner, there was only moonlight on the road.

By the time he saw his own bicycle with its rear seat inexplicably smashed when he reached the intersection, he realized his legs were a little sore.

After playing a round of basketball, and kneeling on the rooftop for so long... though by comparison, Idiot No. 1's leg was truly tragic... He frowned, straddling the bike and suddenly pedaling fiercely.

All the way he was simply meteoric, riding the bike with a speed akin to the F1. Only when he saw the light on in Gu Fei's family's shop up ahead did he abruptly slow down.

Jiang Cheng basically flung the bike roadside without even locking it, running into the shop. When he lifted the entrance curtain, he had already seen the half lowered door, but his actions couldn't keep up with his thoughts and he crashed loudly into the door.

"Oh!" Came Gu Fei's startled voice from inside the shop, "Brother Cheng?"

"It's your Grandpa Jiang!" Jiang Cheng yelled, bending over to squeeze into the shop. At first glance, he saw Gu Fei standing in the door to the back room.

His left pant leg was rolled up to his knee, his calf wrapped in gauze and splint, and his hand was also thickly bandaged, with a piece of gauze taped to his face too.

Jiang Cheng stared at him for a long time before reacting, sincerely saying in a tone of "I really sympathize with you idiots": "You can still stand? Why don't you just dance a section while you're at it?"

Gu Fei was stunned for at least ten seconds before suddenly bursting into laughter, unable to stop as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Fuck your mom's cunt!" Jiang Cheng pointed at him, blazing with anger. "Keep laughing and see if I beat you! You fucking retard!"

"Brother Cheng," Gu Fei grabbed his hand and pressed it down. "Brother Cheng, I'm fine."

"It'd be great if you weren't fine! Idiot No. 1!" Jiang Cheng cursed.

"I really am fine," Gu Fei lifted his left leg and knocked it against the doorframe twice. "I'm not..."

"Fuck?" Jiang Cheng almost wanted to reach out and catch his own eyeballs. "What do you mean?"

"I'm not that hurt," Gu Fei lifted his bandaged right hand. "Just some hand injuries, and a bit scraped up. My leg isn't injured."  

Jiang Cheng looked at him, feeling a little unsteady: "Your leg is fine?"

"Yeah," Gu Fei went to pull down the shop shutters and entered the back room. "I..."

"Really fine?" Seeing him walking around, clearly not like someone with leg injuries, Jiang Cheng suddenly felt an indescribable excitement, like losing a thousand dollars only to find it floating in the washing machine.

"Really." Gu Fei smiled.

"Fuck, really?" Jiang Cheng knocked on his leg. "Fuck!"

"Really, really, really, really," Gu Fei said. "Don't worry."

"But I saw your leg..." Jiang Cheng gestured. "Was like that!"

Gu Fei took a bent piece of rebar from the wall. "This. I used it to prevent sprained ankles and..."

"Fuck," Jiang Cheng took it and looked it over. "Young man, your acting skills are pretty impressive, huh?"

"I thought there would definitely be some fracture, but I didn't expect to tumble down and roll a few times without getting hurt," Gu Fei said. "So I had to pretend."

"But someone examined your injuries right?" Jiang Cheng turned the rebar piece around repeatedly. "He didn't notice your bones were sticking right out?"

"He probably noticed," Gu Fei leaned against the bedframe. "But he didn't say anything."

"....Gotta send him a banner tomorrow, to thank the living hero." Jiang Cheng said.

"Thank you." Gu Fei said.

"What?" Jiang Cheng looked at him.

"Thank you for being a perfect shot." Gu Fei smiled.

"....It was nothing," Jiang Cheng waved his hand. "I was almost... scared to death."

Gu Fei kept laughing. Jiang Cheng glanced at him: "Gonna foolishly laugh again? We're at least people about to join the adult ranks, can we not..."

Gu Fei pressed on his facial injury, laughing even harder. Jiang Cheng was infected by him, not even finishing his sentence before sitting down on a side chair and bursting into laughter towards the ground.

It seemed like celebrating, also like venting, but more truthfully feeling happy and relieved that Gu Fei's leg wasn't injured.

After laughing it out, neither of them spoke.

Gu Fei leaned against the bedframe and softly exhaled.

Jiang Cheng lowered his head, scrubbing at his face with his hands.

"You didn't cry, right?" Gu Fei turned to look at him, sitting up.

"No," Jiang Cheng kept his head lowered for a long time before raising it, inhaling deeply. "Gu Fei."

"Hm?" Gu Fei responded.

"Have you ever thought about..." Jiang Cheng spoke with some difficulty, but without any pause or hesitation, "getting a boyfriend?"

Author's note: Resting tomorrow, continuing on Monday.

The author is kneeling on the ground hugging five black wool cushions and not saying anything.