WHI – Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Ah?”

“You know, like in those idol dramas, where a rich kid goes to a fancy school, but there’s only one female lead who got in because she’s exceptionally good at her studies, so she’s different from everyone else.”

“Damn, are you talking about me? I thought you were the one.” Wen Lan opened two bottles of beer from the table, placing one in front of himself and handing the other to Lin Ting. “If that’s the case, you should be a special recruit for fighting.”

“That makes sense too.” Lin Ting took the beer bottle and chuckled. “Are you injured every time you come here?”

“Um… not every time, but quite often. How did you know?”

“From the boss to the waitstaff, not a single expression showed any surprise.” Lin Ting said.

Wen Lan nodded. The two of them suddenly fell into another enigmatic silence.

Only when all the dishes were served did Wen Lan speak up, “Thank you again for this. I really mean it.”

“Didn’t I already say it once? Stop being so fussy and dramatic. But don’t even think about me becoming your subordinate. After this meal, we’re even. We owe each other nothing.” Lin Ting said. “But how did you get entangled with people like that? The guys around you don’t seem like…”

“Are you talking about Centipede?”

“Centipede?” Lin Ting thought of the curved scar on Boss Ye’s face. The nickname was quite fitting.

“Centipede’s real name is Ye Wengong. He has an older brother named Ye Wencong. The Ye family has a strong influence in official, business, and even underworld circles. Centipede’s reckless behavior wouldn’t be possible without his brother’s power. I can only maintain a superficial peace with him. If the Ye family really wanted to deal with me, my family wouldn’t be able to match up. Oh, and definitely don’t call him Centipede or his full name in front of him.” Wen Lan said.

“Why?” Lin Ting asked. A nickname might be disliked, but why couldn’t his full name be used? Did the Ye family still follow Qing Dynasty rules? Not allowed to speak names directly?

“Before he got the scar on his face, he already had the nickname Centipede. It seems an enemy deliberately coined it based on the characters in ‘Wengong.’ Later, that enemy sent someone to slash his face severely. I think that person went to jail, but the Ye guy did end up with a centipede-like scar on his face.” Wen Lan explained.

That made sense.

Wen Lan paused and then added, “I just wanted to scare you that day, I didn’t actually plan a group fight. Who told you your mouth is always so obnoxious?”

“I know. Just looking at that guy with pockmarks and the one with big ears holding milk tea and chips, I knew your group was just playing house. You’d all be crying and kneeling on durians when your moms called you home.” Lin Ting laughed.

“Damn, who are you calling big ears? His name is Wang Xingzhi. He’s in the same class, and you don’t even know his name?”

“In the same class?” Lin Ting was stunned.

“Otherwise?” Wen Lan stared at him.

They made eye contact for less than three seconds before Lin Ting, feeling guilty, slumped onto the table and burst into laughter.

“You still haven’t answered me. You, okay, you look like someone who can fight and cause trouble. But that Song… Song what’s-his-name.”

“Song Mi.” Wen Lan said.

“Anyway, your subordinates, why are they all with you? Shouldn’t they be at home writing homework, or rather, playing golf? And getting involved with Centipede’s gang.”

“Maybe… charisma. You know, the school hunk?”

Lin Ting: “…”

Lin Ting knew Wen Lan didn’t want to talk about it, so he didn’t press. It was just for his curiosity, and if he didn’t know, he wasn’t particularly bothered.

The meal was quite satisfying. He thought they might have leftovers, but it turned out to be just the right amount, not too much, not too little.

On the way back, Wen Lan drove slowly, and the delivery riders behind them honked their horns as they overtook them one after another.

“It’s good you’re driving slowly, otherwise I would have thrown up all over your back.” Lin Ting took off his helmet and returned it to him after getting off.

“Do you think I’d do something as stupid as making myself sick?” Wen Lan took the helmet and added before leaving, “Boss Ye often hangs around this area. From now on, if we see each other, we’ll fight. Remember that.”

“Don’t worry, even without that Ye guy, I don’t like you.”

Wen Lan let out a snort from his nose. “Coincidentally, I don’t like you either. When I finally beat that Ye guy down, you’ll be next.” Without giving Lin Ting a chance to retort, he rode off on his electric scooter, swaying.

Unexpectedly, the next day, Su Li and Gu Jiang didn’t comment on the bruises on Lin Ting’s body. Gu Jiang just looked at him with a complicated expression.

Well, his foster son caused trouble as soon as he got home. Lin Ting had to admit he was quite annoying. So, with the mentality of absolutely not leaving his room unless necessary, he settled down to read books, scroll through his phone, and take a bath.

As Lin Ting lay in the bathtub again, he suddenly thought of the phrase “profligate and decadent.”

He was doomed. He was going to be spoiled by this life of indulgence.

Just as Lin Ting was comfortably soaking in the bath, there was a knock on the door. It was almost ten o’clock. Lin Ting felt a bit irritated. After calling out “Wait a moment,” he grabbed a towel from the side of the tub, quickly wiped himself down, and, without bothering to dry his dripping hair, put on his pajamas and opened the door.

Gu Jiang was outside. He seemed to freeze, looking at Lin Ting’s mouth without speaking.

“Uncle Gu, is there something you need?” Lin Ting knew he had a cut on his lip. As he was being stared at for his imperfection, he unconsciously tightened his grip on his fingertips. “I got into a fight. Are you here to lecture me?”

“No.” Gu Jiang snapped back to attention and held up the medical kit in his hand. “I have some medicine. Do you want…”

“Thank you, Uncle, but no.” Lin Ting firmly refused him. “I have my own.”

“Then do you need me to help…”

Before Gu Jiang could finish, Lin Ting interrupted him again. “It’s fine now. Just some minor injuries. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Saying this, he stood at the door, somewhat signaling for Gu Jiang to leave. Gu Jiang pursed his lips awkwardly and handed the medical kit to Lin Ting. “Then you can see if there’s anything you can use.” With that, he turned and went upstairs.

Lin Ting half-closed the door and watched from the gap as Gu Jiang grabbed the stair railing and went upstairs, entering the bedroom he shared with Su Li.

The moment that bedroom door opened and then closed, Lin Ting heard his mother’s voice: “I said from the beginning we shouldn’t have picked him up…”

“I thought Lin Ting would be at least better than Lin Fang. Turns out he’s still from the lower class…” It was Gu Jiang’s voice. He said something more, but Lin Ting couldn’t hear the rest.

Lin Fang… The last time Lin Ting heard that name was on a court judgment. After several years of not hearing it, Lin Ting realized that the image of his father’s face in his mind had become blurry. If he saw him now, he might not even recognize him.

Lin Ting felt Su Li’s thoughts were easy to guess. But Gu Jiang was like an old fox, unfathomable. Sometimes he would show touching understanding, capable of winning awards for “Top Ten Moving Figures in China: My Good Stepfather,” but other times he was so harsh that Lin Ting felt they truly were not of the same family.

He clearly looked down on him from the bottom of his heart, yet he acted friendly and ingratiating. If it was an act, there was no one else watching.

It would be better to be like Su Li, who directly considered Lin Ting a disgrace, a living, unsightly blemish in her life that she had to endure.

Or like Gu Yi, who, despite appearing respectable on the surface, his pretense and mask were clear. He never tried to get close, and their relationship hadn’t completely broken down – even if it did one day, it wouldn’t matter, because Lin Ting knew what he was thinking.

But Gu Jiang was different. He seemed to have two personalities, contradictory yet compatible.

Lin Ting lay on his side in bed, unable to sleep. His phone screen kept showing the WeChat page. The pinned chat boxes were “Grandpa” and “Mom.” His hand trembled as he unpinned Grandpa and changed “Mom” to “Su Li.”

As soon as he finished, Lin Ting couldn’t help but laugh. What was the difference between this action and those who, after arguing with their boyfriends, changed their contact names from “Darling” to their full names? It was utterly childish.

He curled up on the bed, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably with silent laughter, then suddenly stopped, transforming into silent sobs without warning. But to an outsider, it would all look the same. In this small room, his heart, fragile and exposed, was forced to lie trembling on the white bedsheet. The bedsheet might wrinkle a bit from the trembling, or it might be soaked with blood from his heart, but these tiny details were never seen or pitied by heaven.

Just a second ago, he clearly remembered the sting in his nose and the swelling around his eyes, and the next moment, Lin Ting had fallen asleep.

When he woke up the next day, he pinned Grandpa’s chat box again and changed “Su Li” back to “Mom.”

Lin Ting saw the message Wen Lan had sent early in the morning: “Remember, if we see each other, we fight.”

“Are you fing sick?” Lin Ting replied with a voice message.

“Yes! That’s the feeling. Keep it up.” Wen Lan replied instantly.

Lin Ting smiled and went downstairs to leave.

Gu Jiang’s voice drifted from inside the house, “Aren’t you going to eat breakfast?”

“Not hungry.” Lin Ting’s voice was very quiet, but he didn’t turn back to confirm if the person had heard him.

By the time he reached the classroom, Wen Lan was already there. He didn’t bother to look at him and took out his bag of chips to eat.

“Yo, eating chips this early in the morning? Unhealthy.” Wen Lan deliberately came over to tease him.

“As long as it’s healthier than you, who can barely play 6-star on dance machine’s speed mode.” Lin Ting thought of Wen Lan’s flustered appearance when they first arrived at the arcade that day, and couldn’t help but laugh.

“You were peeking? Not only were you eavesdropping, but you were also peeking. That’s impressive.” Wen Lan clicked his tongue a few times, looking particularly displeased, and snatched the chip bucket. “Wang Xingzhi bought these chips for me. You’re already digging into them.”

“Snatching a bucket of chips? Is your Wen family going bankrupt?” Lin Ting reached out and took a few chips.

“If I give them to you, they’re yours. But if you don’t finish them, can’t I ask for them back? No problem.” Wen Lan said shamelessly.

Lin Ting smiled. “I finally understand why the pockmarked and big-eared guys brought snacks when they went to fight.”

“Why?” Wen Lan crunched on a chip.

“If you’re going to perform for monkeys, shouldn’t you bring some snacks to make them jump, huh?”

After saying that, Lin Ting sprinted to the restroom at top speed and closed the stall door. Wen Lan’s reflexes were getting faster and faster. Next time, he’d probably have to run midway through his sentence.

Lin Ting leaned against the door, laughing loudly. Outside, Wen Lan shouted, “Get out here, you son of a btch! Do you believe I’ll beat you to death?” while banging frantically on the door. After a while, he probably got tired of knocking and squatted by the outer door. “Lin Ting, haven’t your lips ever been beaten before?”

“I came to your school because I couldn’t beat them. But I generally don’t bother others if they don’t bother me.”

“But I didn’t bother you!”

“You snatched my chips.”

“Damn, are you in elementary school? And those were mine to begin with.” Wen Lan knocked on the door. “Hey, the school bell is about to ring. Apologize, and I’ll let you out.”

“I was wrong.” Lin Ting replied immediately.

“You admit… what?” Wen Lan was stunned. “No, Lin Ting, your grandpa, you admit wrong so quickly?”

“You even know my grandpa? I haven’t even met him.” Lin Ting himself started laughing before he finished speaking. He opened the door while laughing. “I have to go back to class. I’m a good student.”

Wen Lan watched him turn and walk out. He quickly caught up and slapped him hard on the back. “Want to go play dance machine after school?”

“Sure, I’ll crush you, you noob.” Lin Ting replied without looking back.