Yun Mi got two cups of peach yogurt, but she didn't see Chen Yiyang. She asked Zhou Shihui and learned that Chen Yiyang had gone home.
The homeroom teacher said they would rearrange seats tomorrow morning and told everyone to take home things they didn't need. Yun Mi went home with a heavy backpack. As soon as she entered the alley of Xingfuli, she heard loud arguing.
Chen Jici had received a call from the principal of Shanfu that morning and urgently booked a flight back from Beijing. He arrived travel-worn, took a taxi from the airport, and before Aunt Qin could even speak, he slapped Chen Yiyang across the face.
The sharp pain came with a dizzying sensation, turning the boy's face to the side.
Along with the intense pain came blood from the bitten inside of his mouth.
Chen Yiyang lowered his eyes as he heard Chen Jici's first words.
"Chen Yiyang, are you following in your grandfather's footsteps? Do you want to ruin this family?"
Chen Yiyang stood there, silent. He raised his thin eyelids slightly and said, "No."
He didn't want to get involved in family matters. In fact, there was no need to get involved anymore.
They were all going to die anyway, weren't they?
Chen Jici's breathing was rapid. He hadn't even brought an assistant this time. Knowing that Chen Yiyang wanted to study international relations like his grandfather, he knew his grandfather had corrupted him.
Chen Jici's voice was cold: "Have you forgotten how your uncle died?"
Chen Yiyang looked sideways. He was sixteen, about to turn seventeen in a month.
He was already taller than his father.
Chen Yiyang said, "He died for the country. It had nothing to do with Grandfather."
The words were flat, but they hit Chen Jici's dried-up heart like a boulder. He grabbed something from the coffee table and threw it.
The blue-and-white porcelain ornament shattered on the floor, breaking into pieces.
Chen Jici's whole life had been destroyed by his father. He didn't want Chen Yiyang's life to be ruined by that man too. Chen Jici said, "He grew up with you. He was about your age when he died."
Chen Yiyang told the truth: "He was still a few years older."
Yun Mi only heard the last part. She stood outside the door, her slender figure elongated by the lamp above the entrance, stretching all the way to the arched door not far away.
She had been hesitating whether to go in.
But then Chen Jici said, "You're stubbornly unrepentant, aren't you? Fine, I'll beat you to death today."
The expected punch didn't come. Instead, the door suddenly swung open.
Yun Mi stood there, instinctively grabbing the baseball bat by the entrance.
The pain on his face was still spreading.
Chen Yiyang paused, looking at the girl standing in the light. Yun Mi showed no sign of backing down. She said coldly, "Domestic violence is already a crime, Mr. Chen. If you make another move, I will call the police."
Yun Mi had consulted lawyers countless times and could recite the law by heart.
She said calmly, "If violent acts cause the victim's physical injury to reach the 'minor injury level two' standard or above, the perpetrator may constitute the crime of intentional injury. The penalty increases with the severity of the injury, ranging from up to three years in prison, criminal detention, or public surveillance, to life imprisonment or even the death penalty."*
-
Late at night.
Chen Jici had already left.
The whole house was quiet. All the lights were off, except for two solitary lights on the second and third floors.
The matter seemed to have come to an end. Chen Yiyang was in the bathroom.
In the cold bathroom, the boy wiped his mouth with his index finger. The faucet diluted the bloodstains. Chen Yiyang pressed the switch and saw himself in the mirror.
He didn't really care about any of this, but not caring was different from someone insisting on standing up for him.
Before leaving, Chen Jici mentioned Yun Mi: "That's your mother's current husband's daughter, right?" He sneered, but his tone softened: "Be nice to her. Once Liangyu is married, she'll be your little sister."
Chen Yiyang smiled bitterly.
He went back to his desk and continued with his exercises.
Zhou Shihui messaged him, saying that Old Qi was going to rearrange seats and that he wanted to apply to sit in front of or behind Yun Mi.
Chen Yiyang knew exactly what Zhou Shihui was thinking.
He didn't reply to that message.
He only sent a photo of the solution to a number theory problem.
There was a knock at the door.
Chen Yiyang remembered he hadn't asked Aunt Qin to come up. He asked, "What's up?"
A sweet girl's voice came through the door.
"It's me, okay?"
Chen Yiyang was sitting in a silver-gray ergonomic chair. He froze for a moment, then got up and opened the door.
Yun Mi couldn't find a good excuse to come, but saying "I was worried about you" seemed too cheesy.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yiyang spoke first. The boy said, "Thanks for earlier."
Yun Mi slowly looked up. When Chen Yiyang's face was cold, his sharp features were aggressive, especially with his still-swollen cheek, giving off a surprisingly broken and distant air.