The Long Night - Chapter 5

From Lu Xiao’s admission that his arm was broken by a mysterious expert to his frequent and enthusiastic greetings towards Ge Dong-lin, who he would even go out of his way to help, the rumors at school became increasingly outlandish.

The final version of the story evolved into, “Ge Dong-lin awakened his second personality on a dark and windy night, and this personality is not to be trifled with.”

Lu Xiao even took on the task of acting as a bodyguard for his “big brother.” The people who used to bully Ge Dong-lin now tried to avoid him, keeping as far away as possible.

“This kid is simply repaying kindness with ingratitude. I took him home, and now he keeps pestering me to accompany him to the study hall,” Lu Xiao said with a sacred reverence for this unfamiliar territory. “Do people even get beaten in the study hall? Isn’t that where people who want to study go?”

This past week, Lu Xiao couldn’t stop talking about Ge Dong-lin, but he was completely unaware of it. In any case, the people who were causing trouble for Ge Dong-lin finally stopped. Maybe they had found a new target. As long as the jungle still exists, the hunt will never cease.

Yan Liao claimed that Lu Xiao had stolen his only acquaintance at school and that he was now lonely and needed company. So, the important task of eating lunch with him naturally fell on Tang Shaocheng.

The weather forecast said this was the last snow of the winter.

Tiny snowflakes were caught in the gentle breeze, forming a vortex like tiny, innocent plankton, swaying precariously in the air. They slowly fell, creating a thin layer of white on the ground, like a layer of frosting.

It wasn’t very cold for a snowy day, and the sun was even brighter than in previous days, casting a short shadow on the ground.

Yan Liao deliberately stepped on Tang Shaocheng’s shadow, leaving the first series of black footprints on the pristine white snow.

“Our teacher praised you in class today, saying your notes are good enough to be published.” He turned his head, his thick eyelashes curling slightly. “Let me take a look at them.” The statement didn’t sound like a command but more like a plea.

Tang Shaocheng nodded. “Come and get them tomorrow.”

The cafeteria was bustling with people. Because of Lu Xiao, the “delivery contact person,” Tang Shaocheng rarely came here for lunch.

He still remembered when he was in his second year and was about to give a speech as the student representative. While waiting backstage, he overheard a senior student complaining, “Why did they start renovating as soon as we graduated? We didn’t even have meal cards when we were here. We had to use meal tickets. Have you ever seen them? They had a red background with black words and a stamp. I thought I was living in the last century.”

Tang Shaocheng was deeply impressed by this because after his graduating class left, the cafeteria was renovated three times in a single year. Even the seats were replaced with soft leather sofas, and a giant screen, like something you’d see in a movie theater, was installed on the central load-bearing wall. However, the students were only allowed to watch the news channel.

It was only in the cafeteria that he realized how many people there were at school.

Tang Shaocheng carried two trays and searched for a long time before finding a seat. He motioned for Yan Liao to sit down, just as the host on the big screen announced in a clear, resonant voice, “The Qin Group has newly acquired a local technology company with a market value of one billion. The stock is currently showing strong growth…”

Tang Shaocheng looked up at the screen. At this time, the head of the Qin Group was still Qin Li, a man whose name, “Li,” meaning “resolute,” truly suited him. The face on screen was handsome and cold. Even though he was almost fifty, he looked radiant and well-maintained.

Yan Liao looked up and said in a gloomy tone, “I know that person.”

“My family moved because of him. Otherwise, I would have already been living in a big villa.”

Tang Shaocheng looked at him in surprise. He had never heard Yan Liao mention this.

“My dad used to work for their company, and he even came to our house,” Yan Liao put down his chopsticks. “But later, my dad was laid off, and he had to change jobs to the Linghai District. When he left, that old man not only didn’t pay any compensation but also swindled our family out of a large sum of money.”

He only knew these details. When he asked for more, he would be dismissed with, “Why do you need to know so much as a kid?” Now, his tone when talking about it was more like he was discussing a distant world that had nothing to do with him.

Tang Shaocheng’s eyes darkened as he looked once more at the unsmiling face on the screen. For a moment, it was as if their gazes met from afar.

The “past” was actually the “future,” and thinking about it this way felt strange. But between him and the person on the screen, or between him and that period of time, it was as if a solid barrier existed.

He had only met Qin Li twice, both times in court.

In his previous life, he had taken on a case involving the Qin Group. The young heir had taken a life, imprisoning a faded celebrity.

The tricky part was that the boy, when rescued, had already developed a serious mental illness. The opposing lawyer seized on this point, insisting that his testimony was invalid.

Tang Shaocheng’s client was the celebrity’s mother.

But later, Yan Liao was kidnapped, and he needed more time to stay in the hospital. The law firm replaced him with another lawyer to continue the case.

The final outcome was not much different from what public opinion had guessed. Young Master Qin walked away without a scratch. They were in a loving relationship; it was not the “basement imprisonment” that was all the rage at the time… All of this was proven to be intentional hype spread by the entertainment company.

He wondered if the outcome would have been different if he hadn’t been replaced as the lawyer.

Tang Shaocheng thought of these things for no reason, but too much time had passed, and there was nothing he could do now.

It was unlikely they would meet by chance in this life.

After leaving the cafeteria, the snow fell harder, and the sky was a gray that was almost transparent.

Lu Xiao had just parted ways with Ge Dong-lin when he saw Tang Shaocheng and Yan Liao, who was sticking close to him.

“You’re here, too—who is this? I’ve never seen him before.” Lu Xiao looked him up and down with undisguised curiosity.

Tang Shaocheng was so absorbed in his past thoughts that he momentarily forgot where he was. He instinctively blurted out, “My boy…” and quickly stopped.

Yan Liao gave him a confused look.

Lu Xiao’s eyebrows moved slightly, and he immediately understood, smiling knowingly. “Your friend from the south?”

“…Yes.”

They had three math classes in a row that afternoon.

Tang Shaocheng continued to review at his own pace. The to-do list pasted on his desk was filled with checkmarks.

Starting over, he could now find some clues. Tang Shaocheng skillfully drew four quadrants on a white piece of paper and filled in the tasks to be done according to “Urgent” and “Important.” This classification method was very simple, and he would also use it at work.

During breaks, he could still hear many classmates laughing loudly. In class, they were so tired they kept nodding off, and the teacher would say they “looked like a bunch of sick chickens.” But as soon as class was over, they were all as lively as if they had drunk a potion of resurrection.

Lu Xiao’s cast had been removed, but he still needed to move it around frequently. While stretching his arm, he complained to Tang Shaocheng, “The school’s poor student spots are all given to people who don’t even need them.”

Tang Shaocheng was puzzled. “Are you applying for one?”

“No, Ge Dong-lin’s family. They live under that bridge by the river with his grandpa. To save electricity, they turn off the lights at seven o’clock. He said they still owe money for last month’s electricity,” Lu Xiao rested his head on his hand, looking depressed. “I asked him if he had any school subsidies, and he said there were no spots. What kind of situation is this?”

As he said this, Lu Xiao seemed to recall the scene of taking Ge Dong-lin home that night. The “last light snow of the winter” predicted by the weather forecast had turned into sleet by night. Ge Dong-lin, who was dressed like a polar bear, still caught a cold. His forehead was so hot it felt like it had been steamed.

He did a good deed by carrying the boy home on his back. The house was pitch black, with no one in sight. When he asked, he found out that his grandpa was still working as a security guard at the parking lot and was on the night shift.

Lu Xiao was about to leave after getting him home, but just as he reached the door, he heard a loud “bang” behind him.

The cold wind howled and blew open the window. Ge Dong-lin struggled to reach out and close it. His cheeks were hot and several drops of muddy rainwater splashed on them. Lu Xiao, in the light of a flash of lightning, saw the red chilblains on his hands, so he had to turn back to help him close the window and even found a packet of cold medicine in the musty-smelling cupboard to make him.

Ge Dong-lin was groggy from the fever but still remembered to ask him, “Can you not turn on the lights?”

“I was so afraid he was going to just die there,” Lu Xiao ruffled his hair. “If it were someone else living so miserably, do you think they would retaliate against society?”

“Don’t talk nonsense.”

Tang Shaocheng had his own plate full and couldn’t help with Ge Dong-lin’s situation. With only three months left of school, applying for a subsidy was too late to get a hold of. But in college, he might be able to help.

There were three months left until the college entrance examination. After reviewing the knowledge points, he could put down the books and just do practice problems. There would be four mock exams in May, one per week on average, which would be perfect for finding and fixing gaps and adjusting his pace in a timely manner.

He still wanted to study law.

He hadn’t lost his professional skills, and this life might go more smoothly… he could help Yan Liao live in a big villa sooner.

Thinking of this filled him with motivation.

After school, in the quiet hallway of the back building, Tang Shaocheng handed over three notebooks for science subjects. “Here you go.”

“You copied another set?” Yan Liao was stunned. “Why didn’t you just print them? That’s such a waste of time.”

Tang Shaocheng patiently explained, “I didn’t copy them. This set is different.”

Yan Liao flipped through a few pages. The neat, beautiful handwriting looked like it was printed. He only looked at one page before he was surprised to find that the content was tailored just for him. Not only could he understand it, but he was also able to focus on it.

“You wrote this just for me?” He gasped as if he had a toothache. He was immediately flustered. “No way? Really!”

He even held the notebooks more carefully, feeling nervous and happy at the same time. He even had the mind to joke, “…If you had given them to me earlier, I could have gotten into Tsinghua University.”

“It’s not too late now,” Tang Shaocheng chuckled.

Yan Liao looked at the curve of his lips, and his face suddenly felt a little hot. He quickly tried to do something to distract himself. He propped one hand on the silver stair railing, wanting to slide down, but before he could lift one leg, Tang Shaocheng grabbed his collar from behind. Like being pulled by a leash, he stepped back and landed on the ground.

Tang Shaocheng gave him a light pat on the back. “Be careful.”