Da Ge

Wei Qian was afraid that “Dog Demon” would suffer a miserable death, so he compassionately used a brick to deliver several more ruthless blows, smashing the dog’s head into a bloody pulp, before he finally tossed aside the brick, gasping for breath, and wiped the dog blood on his hands against the wall.OwBCWFhstJlqYjYdYfclrDcjCyWBkM

Only then did he get a chance to look up and size up the little brat who had caused him such trouble. However, this ungrateful little wretch had already taken the opportunity to steal the can of food while he was busy with the dog, clutching it in his arms and gobbling it down greedily.sjXYykVkfcZdXkkeJpekRDiiFcnIHe

Perhaps the murderous look in Wei Qian’s eyes was too intense, as the little brat shivered visibly, glancing at Wei Qian with his big, shiny black eyes. A streak of soup from the can dribbled down his chin, which he hastily caught with his hand and licked clean in a panic.bbHxbvioYFXUzddxoVKLcRrBQSicFz

The fire of nameless rage inside Wei Qian blazed even fiercer, wishing he could crush the little shit’s head under his foot and make him lick his shoes clean.enpuWgtmCoHHXEkVQEddXGORPOXIAH

Seeing his terrifying gaze, the little guy must have thought Wei Qian was after his can, and immediately became guarded, clutching the can tightly, standing up against the corner of the wall, posing as if he was ready to defend his territory to the death.ZowSijBRuGNeRiAXOeWveeckaTMkuM

Wei Qian felt deflated, thinking, why the hell am I even bothering with this little shit?GVzHfHenyMtRMjBwNmavPXQqkSYWHz

So, he spat on the ground in disinterest and walked away.YgQNnprMeYzntkgjtPedwhzIZNEPDt

During the following days, Wei Qian didn’t waste his precious holiday. He spent his days with Mazi and San Pang, peddling pirated tapes, and found a job at a pool hall at night, earning ten bucks a day as a bouncer.JfRDifYZFBHpsJwoBWYQGolBPZoEEk

He noticed that the little brat he encountered that day seemed to have made a home in a trash-filled alley. Every time Wei Qian went out, he saw him rummaging through the trash for his dinner.WNIAqUnQpZZCQCPMKNewOBEUPXDgRB

When Wei Qian passed by, if he was in a good mood, he would occasionally toss a steamed bun to the little ghost.fLBgMuAPwffyMhThIxxAklEbFZloWz

Wei Qian had always harbored hatred for his biological parents. Children learn how to interact with the rest of the world through their relationships with their parents, so it was hard for him not to despise society. His capacity for love was more scarce than the spring rains in the north. The occasional soft spot he had for the little guy was because he had observed the child.WuiJPVCgZPYughEmYumqjIOQZFkaWw

He noted that the boy had all his limbs intact, no physical disabilities, and seemed to be not only intelligent but perhaps even smarter than the average kid. His looks were unremarkable, but his eyes were black and bright, indicating he wasn’t bad off. If he really was an orphan with no one to care for him, he would have been sent to a welfare institution, where, given his age and condition, he would be highly sought after for adoption.adGejJHCRDVpeTXWVQXCvyTjzsMHoD

The boy living on the streets led Wei Qian to speculate that either he had a guardian who abused him and he ran away, or he was abducted as a child and had managed to escape.cZPzcgPFgZpHSUKUXITrQMztkMAacQ

Either way, it was an escape from someone treating him poorly, from a situation so unbearable that he had to flee. Wei Qian understood that feeling all too well, and he even felt a sense of empathy.oTsIxcuwPEkvTUsqzDyqHdQelNJxnj

Of course, even with this empathy, Wei Qian would only feel pity for the little shit when he was in a good mood. Most of the time, he maintained his cold and sarcastic demeanor quite well.EMuFVKaTQZVFQBQaKHpKCejdUfWbdk

And it was precisely these sporadic acts of kindness that brought him trouble.QiYiNtOJINAqomLRGckNffyuseyQIs

The day the results of Wei Qian’s middle school exams came out, he did well, scoring twenty points above the admission cut-off for the best high school in the city, ranking him among the top ten in his district. In any other family, this would have been a cause for celebration. Wei Qian had no one to celebrate with, so instead of buying steamed buns for dinner, he treated himself to a bag of meat buns as a form of celebration.mjhsdtqOAbwYTbzHFfHMLFGktAdLmv

Wei Qian thought he should be happy, but he wasn’t. It felt like two huge rocks were lodged in his chest: one for the high costs of attending high school, and the other for the bitter realization that no matter how well he did, there was no one to share his troubles with.gBlaiNZfFqtNUpEtoeqbhLhnfKMjUo

He tried to ignore these feelings, leaving him in a peculiar state-his mind was hot with thoughts, but his heart felt cold.mHKamGSCxSooikVeqVmfUjJEHNQwKu

Passing by, he casually tossed a meat bun to the little boy by the trash pile, amusing himself with the thought: this is like throwing a meat bun to a dog, never to be returned.LLZcYuDeIIWWVERzONCYPPLXdtFVfg

To his surprise, the little shit didn’t let the bun go unreturned. He wolfed down the bun in a few bites, then, bundle and all, doggedly followed Wei Qian.sGXcLSOQkXVFLpIoCHmBHmoqhbIzav

Like a stray cat who latches onto anyone who feeds it a piece of sausage, he decided Wei Qian was his new source of food.zckuERbkzIXeCWvTDJGoFOrvEsuLWA

Turning around in astonishment, Wei Qian thought, “Fuck, this is a buy one, get one free disaster!”nMsKSYdTFVODWadLHoijkKwGoetaqi

Already feeling pissed off, being followed only added to his annoyance. He turned around several times, cursing fiercely and even pushing the boy, causing the kid to stumble and squat down, and even made as if to hit him. But the kid stubbornly kept up, following him all the way home.CgAzHjSajnDTgBekbOVMoRMuUCkoLA

Wei Qian’s house was originally his grandmother’s, which then passed to his deadbeat mother, and finally to him after she died. It was an old place.RayPvCWHvBMKpzVXuzqshSdRuRouVk

The building, a typical urban slum dwelling, had a garbage dump below. It was a mess, with neighbors generally lower in both quality and financial means. Many were not exactly friendly.iOCVtEGKVCIbEmCivdrbSRNOpPMlzd

Acts of kindness and selfishness, warmth and unfriendliness coexisted without contradiction in this impoverished and backward neighborhood, creating a bizarre harmony.kdrEdTpzcBOyvFOTcQvbziAWPijglj

Take the solitary old lady across the way, for example; she was particularly unfriendly. Every time she saw Wei Qian, she would roll her eyes from afar and then shut her door as if she had seen something filthy. Sometimes, she would even deliberately leave her trash at his doorstep.SazhmXfjaNXQxXUKcAyBtKdyECSSbs

Initially, Wei Qian couldn’t be bothered to stoop to her level, too preoccupied with his own daily struggles and the small child he was now unexpectedly responsible for.LutBIMgjwpBtVzhycpocSRapZBGCJx

Besides, why should the poor make life harder for the poor?LJNbtCWqvtETekyrgVBtHdwVHaDzKe

But later, Wei Qian realized that the poor could only make life difficult for other poor people; what else were they supposed to do?cDjzyjelxTBVrsArtVrMnjsktHYhhq

His mom was a whore, so he was the son of a whore. Logically, the old lady wasn’t wrong in her insults.yUpWWHYvZTtjrmeDQawTImIYmUsPhQ

But today was different.RwPFrZEaZPczHpDHpGExdnByTbSEMb

He hadn’t done a damn thing wrong. Even by the most traditional standards, he outshone everyone. So why the hell was his life so excruciatingly hard?pXVRVDbJyiOschksUMfqLCVYxIYEuJ

His exceptional middle school exam scores had yanked his upper half into a whole other world, while his lower half was still sinking in a boundless swamp, showing him the vast possibilities of the universe yet trapping him in his inherent identity and class.DEEXMhAiPWnZrzdpKcqqLqEMIpFiHy

Even if he were like San Pang and Ma Zi, purebred scum of society and petty thugs, he wouldn’t be in such agony.hgzZFBRrJwTagEvtrayeqPLfvmthBg

Wei Qian’s overheated brain and icy heart finally pushed him to a breaking point. He stared down at the stinking trash at his doorstep, veins bulging on his arms, his features much like his mother’s but lacking her grace. A lifetime of hatred and gloom had almost become his natural demeanor, dazzlingly handsome yet oppressively morose.CxscqTlYfhuSkUauVQoYJnWchzngPq

Silently, the young Wei Qian squatted down and began picking up fruit peels and rotten leaves from his doorstep, piece by piece.wMbSqKlGupVWhBtJsvvIOkmWpkBazs

A little boy who had followed him home watched, not understanding what was happening.lUGVwjNWpvfmHbLfkCqFdABAVgpmRk

After carrying the trash a few steps, Wei Qian suddenly couldn’t stand it anymore. He furiously threw the trash at the neighbor’s doorstep, turned around, and roared at the boy, “What the fuck are you looking at?!”UYNCmDTcCfcNhDLtfIdzCRCdIQaIKT

The little boy, startled, instinctively stepped back.SOFCAWrRxCGExvNbglKmuaChfhiGLR

Wei Qian snarled, “You little bastard!”tdEePqBPNzFvscumeZwNFuhHgZscrZ

The “little bastard,” back against the wall corner, cautiously kept his wide eyes on him.ovZzsdIsePluUHLiisYSOQTxRKGnxV

Wei Qian took a deep breath, trying hard to suppress the malice inside. As an “adult,” he didn’t want to lose his composure in front of the kid.onpkaLhwQxWqGqFwjoRnWavpUvfLYO

But in that moment, he found he couldn’t hold back, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably… He wasn’t really an adult after all.TbMvELkmaShPrpjCEMxHeUGxzAEjHu

Without warning, Wei Qian suddenly turned around, picked up a large rock from the ground, and smashed it into the window of the old lady across the way. The glass shattered with a loud crash, scattering everywhere, and a scream echoed from inside the house.QWqtNJePUSByMHHNfOsVmiyoQcHNLK

Wei Qian shouted, “Listen up, you old hag, I’ve let you off easy before because you’re pushing eighty and don’t have many years left, but if you cross me again, I’ll fucking wipe out your entire family!”mzhLlXBXKqsyxniRFmUYfETNNshdsg

The old lady’s fierce curses came from inside, clearly not taking this half-grown boy seriously.AIPvZvJLrZDQBHwWHiPpepaJbkdWiN

Without another word, Wei Qian went back into his house, grabbed a kitchen knife, and kicked her door so hard that the lock broke, leaving only a metal chain dangling precariously. Holding the knife, he hacked away at her door, his face pale and eyes bloodshot, looking every bit the deranged killer, effectively scaring the cursing old lady to tears.dKpaXtNJWrMGQuEATwMUISRveNqgaO

From then on, the old lady started to avoid Wei Qian, spreading rumors that he was a murderer, but she never dared to curse at him directly again, nor did she throw trash at their doorstep.pGpuztaLbPviuuGJwYFSmdooIjQARo

It seems that bullying the weak and fearing the strong is in their nature.mevZmfgUITZXMgLYhoyMIpZlOsPjMh

Yet, while Mr. Wei’s ghastly fury had reduced the old lady to tears, it didn’t have the same effect on the little boy. Unyieldingly, the boy continued to linger at his doorstep.YbXzoMmhVXKCTEmBoLIsdBgwTdeAkS

After completing his intimidation, Wei Qian slammed his door shut with a loud bang right in front of the boy, locking him out. Left all alone outside, the boy wandered around for a while before he bent down and picked up the remaining bits of trash at Wei Qian’s doorstep, tidying up and disposing of it.eJkhbwBBkkslGoRPSzpqJARpVpkDWF

He even gathered a few small twigs, tied them together, and swept the ground.TIgcZYYUlQIECuxBShfolEcfLOvlBn

Then, like an unwanted little puppy, he curled up at the doorstep and spent the night sleeping in that huddled position.TPfpXPkSgPIaMpyGrNUPxnROmCbQDi