Pei Cangyu leaned against the wall, panting. He had run back at full speed. The man behind the counter only spared him a glance before looking away, showing no reaction; everything seemed normal.
Relieved, Pei Cangyu looked around, trying to find a suitable place to stand.
His wandering eyes quickly drew dissatisfaction from others. In a place like this, staring was no different from being a pervert. Moreover, he had only looked around for a few moments before he heard several moans in varying pitches—skillful gasps that left little to the imagination.
Pei Cangyu shifted to the side, hoping to find a spot that wouldn't attract attention. At the same time, he glanced toward the upper floor. What was Bai Shi doing up there?
He craned his neck and thought he caught a glimpse of the water-blue shirt Bai Shi was wearing today, standing very close to someone.
To get a better look, he moved forward, only to bump straight into someone’s "embrace"—and calling it an embrace was entirely accurate.
Pei Cangyu had to look up to see her face. She laughed loudly, looking down at him as if he were a fledgling bird. She thrust her chest forward, bumping him backward, and laughed at his panicked expression.
She was taller and broader than Pei Cangyu. Her skin was a coarse brown, and her arms were thick, the flesh trembling slightly when she moved. Her heavy skirt made her appear even more massive. She was stunningly beautiful, her face resembling the Venus of a Renaissance painter. Every movement she made exuded a certain carnal sensuality. She smelled of cinnamon, her lips were slick with sweat, and she didn't even need makeup.
Pei Cangyu stole another quick glance upstairs. He was entirely unfamiliar with women who existed so far outside his world; it was like dropping a tiger cub into a pride of lionesses, unsure if it would end in a mating or a slaughter.
The woman leaned down and kissed Pei Cangyu’s eye. In the eyes of women, he had always appeared fierce and pretentious, a man who looked like a rogue at first glance but was actually prone to panic.
Her movements softened as she took Pei Cangyu’s elbow and rubbed against it. She lowered her gaze in a submissive gesture, and Pei Cangyu felt a sudden surge of heat. He licked his lips, glanced upstairs once more, and as if making a final decision, reached out and grabbed her wrist.
The woman smiled. They pulled and tugged at each other as they headed deep into the corridor. The small rooms on either side were only screened by beaded curtains. When the curtains swayed, one could see slender calves wrapped around torsos. Giggles mingled with high-pitched cries, creating a noisy cacophony. They continued into the depths.
Reaching a certain curtain, she gave him a push. Pei Cangyu stumbled into the room and collapsed onto the bed a second later. The woman kissed his eye again and patted his shoulder. Pei Cangyu blinked, realizing she was telling him to get up.
So, Pei Cangyu stood.
The woman gathered her hair and bent over to tidy the bed. She stripped the sheet, which was covered in various sweat stains; it even made a tearing sound as it was pulled from the wooden board. The room was deathly damp. Pei Cangyu brushed his hand against the wall and pulled it back covered in green mold.
The woman twisted the stripped sheet into a bundle and wrung it out like she was squeezing water from laundry. To Pei Cangyu’s shock, sweat actually dripped down.
She tossed the sheet aside, found a cleaner one, and spread it across the bed frame with a flourish. Then, with her back to Pei Cangyu, she began to undo the belt of her skirt. As she pulled the cord, she stepped one leg onto the bed. The edge of her skirt fell away, revealing a smooth thigh.
She reached out her arms toward Pei Cangyu, inviting a kiss. Pei Cangyu froze for a moment, then shook his head.
He walked out.
Or rather, he ran out.
He ran through the dim corridor, head spinning. She was truly beautiful. Pei Cangyu felt that she deserved a better life, no matter what, rather than wringing out the sweat-soaked sheets of clients. But Pei Cangyu was a powerless man, a hypocritical passerby who could only feel pity and then flee.
He burst out of the corridor and collided with someone. The man reeked of alcohol and, without a word, slapped Pei Cangyu across the face. A woman rushed forward to stop him, but the man knocked her to the ground as well. With practiced ease, the man pulled a belt from his waist, folded it in half, selected the side that would strike with the most force, and raised it high. The woman curled her legs and retreated.
Pei Cangyu lunged forward, kicking the man squarely in the waist.
The impact made the man’s beer belly jiggle as he stumbled forward. Taking the opportunity, Pei Cangyu landed a punch on his face. The man crashed into the wall, the belt slipping from his hand.
Pei Cangyu turned to help the woman up. On the other side, the man shook his head to clear the stars from his vision. With a roar, he snatched up the belt. He spoke with a rapid, trilling tongue, spit flying everywhere. He lunged toward them and brought the belt down hard across Pei Cangyu’s back.
The sudden lash felt like being split open. Pei Cangyu went rigid instantly. He couldn't even stand. The man planted a foot on his back, raised the belt again, and whipped it against Pei Cangyu’s head.
Pei Cangyu twisted his face in fury, shielding his head with his hands. "I'll fuck your..." He cursed as he struggled, trying to crawl out from under the man's foot.
Watching Pei Cangyu squirm, the man stomped down hard. The first kick made Pei Cangyu retch up stomach bile. As the man raised his foot for a second, Pei Cangyu slipped away like a fish. He stood up, clutching his waist, and before he was even steady, he kicked the man in the knee. "Fuck you, you idiot..."
He cursed and kicked, his vocabulary repetitive and dull. The onlookers probably memorized his insults.
The man fell to the ground, taking a few hits from Pei Cangyu before finding an opening to grab his ankle. With a sharp yank, he pulled Pei Cangyu down. Pei Cangyu hit the floor with a thud, seeing stars. In his daze, he saw the man climb on top of him and deliver a stinging slap to his face.
Pei Cangyu felt like he was spitting blood.
The man was a head taller and twice as broad as Pei Cangyu. Sitting on Pei Cangyu’s abdomen, he nearly crushed the life out of him. He slapped Pei Cangyu’s forehead repeatedly until it was a bruised mess of red and purple.
Pei Cangyu’s vision doubled. He watched the man shouting. From his years of fighting experience, he knew that the most important thing for people like this was to vent their anger, not to kill. Killing wasn't done this way. So, the man was venting, cursing and hitting simultaneously.
There was nothing he could do.
He tried to protect his head and chest.
Losing a fight was a common occurrence.
Pei Cangyu had lost this one. He planned to just lie there and take the beating. He closed his eyes, seeing nothing but a wash of blood-red. His ears rang. For a moment, he had a hallucination that he was back in the alleys of his youth. After his friends had left one by one and he was alone, he had beaten people and been beaten in alleys just like this—just as noisy, with that same blood-red vision.
It was familiar.
Suddenly, a soft gasp rippled through the crowd. Pei Cangyu immediately felt the weight lift from his body. He opened his eyes blankly and saw a tall, blonde man practically hoisting the attacker off him. The man was dragged sideways and slammed against the wall.
The blonde man extended a pale hand, covering the attacker's face, and slammed his head into the wall several times by the hair. Despite the seemingly effortless, elegant movements, a smear of blood appeared on the wall, and the attacker’s head soon slumped forward.
The blonde man used a finger to tilt the man's face up. Pei Cangyu rubbed his eyes and saw that the man’s eyes had begun to bleed.
The blonde man stood up. Pei Cangyu saw the water-blue shirt and snow-white trousers and felt a jolt of shock. The man stood directly in front of the attacker. The surrounding crowd watched, no one speaking, as if witnessing an execution. Even Pei Cangyu felt something was wrong.
Bai Shi cracked his neck, knelt down, and wrapped his hand around the man's throat. Expressionlessly, he began to apply pressure.
"Hey..." Pei Cangyu struggled to crawl up from the floor, looking at the people around them. "He's going to kill him..."
The crowd didn't react. Only one woman spared him a glance, though it was unclear if she understood him. She fully grasped the situation; she simply didn't care. She continued to watch with cold indifference. The man in front of Bai Shi had begun to roll his eyes back. He clawed at Bai Shi’s arm, but Bai Shi remained as immovable as steel.
Pei Cangyu stood up shakily and stumbled toward Bai Shi, passing through the indifferent crowd. They were like an audience waiting for a murder play to reach its climax. He even saw the beautiful woman who had led him into the room earlier; she was leaning against the wall, watching leisurely, and even let out a yawn as if waiting for the scene to end.
Pei Cangyu found it terrifying.
He lunged forward, tripped, and grabbed Bai Shi’s arm.
Bai Shi turned his head in surprise, looking at Pei Cangyu’s bloodied face.
Pei Cangyu gripped Bai Shi’s arm. He said, "Don't do this, Bai Shi."
His voice was soft, almost pleading, but it wasn't because he wanted to save the dying man. Pei Cangyu admitted to himself that he wasn't that kind of person. He wasn't doing this to save a life.
Bai Shi didn't move, nor did the pressure of his hand loosen. Precisely calibrated killing machines were like that; they could handle multiple tasks at once. Even without letting go, he turned to ask Pei Cangyu, "What's wrong?"
Pei Cangyu tightened his grip on Bai Shi’s arm, wrinkling the water-blue sleeve and staining it with his blood. He opened his eyes wide, his gaze shimmering with moisture. "Don't do this, Bai Shi."
Bai Shi looked at him for a moment, then released his hand.
A low sigh of disappointment rippled through the room. Then, as if a pause button had been released, the noise returned.
The man with the rolled-back eyes craned his neck and gasped for air, making a sound like a torn bellows. He was clawing back the breath that stood between life and death.
Bai Shi pulled Pei Cangyu up, walked over to the man at the counter, and reached out to take his belongings. The man’s small eyes didn't look at Bai Shi; instead, they narrowed as he took a few extra looks at Pei Cangyu.
Bai Shi leaned down and asked him, "Shall we go back now?"
Pei Cangyu nodded. Bai Shi supported him as they left.
Night had fallen. Dogs barked by the roadside, frogs hopped across the path, and the moon hid behind the clouds.
Pei Cangyu felt lightheaded, as if he were dreaming.
"You dyed your hair... *cough*...?" Pei Cangyu asked, coughing.
Bai Shi nodded. "How is it? Can you recognize me?" He handed Pei Cangyu a bottle of water.
"I identify people by their aura." Pei Cangyu felt a bit better. He pulled away from Bai Shi’s support and held his own abdomen.
"Your face is almost unrecognizable." Bai Shi looked at him and handed him a tissue.
Pei Cangyu wiped himself, avoiding the wounds, then poured some water onto the tissue to clean away the blood and grime. "Hmph."
That "hmph" was the result of Pei Cangyu’s years of experience in acting tough. He added, "This is nothing to me."
Bai Shi smiled and reached out to touch Pei Cangyu’s eyebrow. "You'll need to shave a bit here. There's a cut."
Pei Cangyu made a face. "Damn, shaving an eyebrow is too ugly. My face is one of my assets..."
"Just a little, in the middle."
"Fuck, a split eyebrow? Even uglier. No way, absolutely not." Pei Cangyu tossed the crumpled tissue into a pile of roadside trash.
"We can discuss it further."
"Shit, every time you say that, it ends up going your way anyway..."
"How do I say it?"
"Just..." Pei Cangyu mimicked Bai Shi’s gentle tone, though with more affectation. "'Is that alright?' 'I think so, what do you think?'"
"It sounds nice."
"..."
Bai Shi didn't ask why Pei Cangyu had been fighting. No explanation was needed.
Pei Cangyu looked at Bai Shi’s profile. The moon happened to emerge from behind the clouds, casting a glow over his smooth face, plating it with a layer of radiance. For a fleeting moment, he looked noble, beautiful, and untouchably distant. And for just one moment—one single moment—Pei Cangyu felt that "this" was quite nice.
What was "this"?
...He didn't know. Just "this."
They chatted idly, like they had when they were children, spending vast amounts of time saying useless things, yet never feeling like they had said enough.
But now, there probably wasn't much time left.
***
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Stolen Jade | Chapter 115 | A Moment of Fragile Peace | Novela.app | Novela.app
