When Xiang Xi turned his head, the motorcycle was already right behind them. At a glance, he recognized it as the same one that had nearly caused them to crash into the barrier earlier.

The rider was wearing a worn gray-blue T-shirt and a helmet. Xiang Xi remembered him—very few people riding motorcycles on the streets actually wore helmets.

The motorcycle was charging straight toward him and Cheng Boyan.

Cheng Boyan pushed him inward, trying to move him out of the way. As a result, the motorcycle was now aimed only at Cheng Boyan.

These are Uncle Ping's people. Erpan's people. Definitely.

Xiang Xi's heart sank.

The distance was already too short. Whether he tried to pull Cheng Boyan over or shove him away, it was too late.

Without thinking, he lunged forward, placing himself between Cheng Boyan and the motorcycle. If I cushion the impact, Cheng Boyan shouldn't get hurt too badly.

But after throwing himself forward, Xiang Xi realized something: The rider wasn't trying to run anyone over.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the iron bar the man had raised.

He viciously cursed himself in his head. Sure enough, he'd lived a peaceful life for too long and had overlooked the obvious. If the man actually hit someone with the motorcycle, the bike would overturn and the rider wouldn't get away either.

Of course the smarter method was to roar past and swing a metal bar in passing.

But by the time Xiang Xi realized this, it was already too late.

The instant he stepped in front of Cheng Boyan, he felt something smash into his shoulder blade. There wasn't any pain at first, but the impact made his vision spin.

“Xiang Xi!” Cheng Boyan shouted.

Xiang Xi's collision had knocked Cheng Boyan forward slightly.

When Cheng Boyan turned around, he saw that the rider had already thrown away the iron bar.

Something silver flashed in his hand.

A knife.

There was no time for any other reaction.

He immediately reached back and grabbed the blade with his bare hand just as it was stabbing toward Xiang Xi's face.

“Boyan!” A woman's voice rang out ahead of them, full of shock and panic.

It's over.

Xiang Xi couldn't describe what he felt at that moment.

Director Xu had seen everything.

That was even more painful than if the knife had been stabbed directly into his own eye. Struggling with all his strength, he slammed himself into the motorcycle.

The motorcycle toppled over.

The rider and the bike crashed to the ground together.

The helmet flew off.

The two of them tumbled into a heap.

The man threw away the knife and kicked Xiang Xi hard when Xiang Xi tried to grab him. Then he scrambled up and ran toward the opposite side of the street.

As he turned around, Xiang Xi saw his face.

Cheng Boyan ignored the fleeing man.

He didn't even have time to worry about his own hand.

He rushed over and grabbed Xiang Xi, who was still struggling to chase after him.

“Forget it!”

The three bodyguards who had been following behind them had already rushed over.

Xiang Xi shouted hoarsely, “It's Dajian! Don't let him get away! He definitely knows where Erpan is!”

The three men immediately gave chase.

Just as Dajian was crossing the street and about to reach the opposite sidewalk, they caught up to him and kicked him to the ground.

“Call the police!” Xiang Xi shouted, his voice hoarse. “Call the police!”

Cheng Boyan said nothing.

One hand supported Xiang Xi as he got to his feet, while the other took out his phone.

Xiang Xi saw blood flowing all over Cheng Boyan's hand and running down his arm.

Then he saw Director Xu hurrying toward them.

Only then did he begin to feel the piercing pain spreading across his entire back. It hurt so much that he could barely stand.

“What happened?!” Director Xu shouted. “Boyan, what happened?!”

“It's okay, Mom, it's okay,” Cheng Boyan said quickly.

He released Xiang Xi, grabbed her shoulders, and reassured her. “I'll explain later. Let me call the police first.”

“Is your hand serious?” Director Xu asked, staring at the injury. “Go to the hospital immediately.”

“Just a superficial wound,” Cheng Boyan said.

Switching the phone to his other hand, he opened his injured right hand.

A deep cut became visible.

“A couple of stitches and it'll be fine.”

Director Xu's brows were tightly knitted together. She examined his hand, then took a clean handkerchief from her pocket and pressed it against the wound.

Cheng Boyan clenched his hand around it.

“Is Xiang Xi hurt?” Director Xu turned to look at him.

“I...” Xiang Xi hesitated. “I'm not. I'm fine.”

“Let me see.”

Director Xu walked behind him, lifted his shirt, and gently pressed on his shoulder blade. “Does this hurt?”

Xiang Xi sucked in a sharp breath. “Y-yes... a little.”

“There's a fracture,” Cheng Boyan said from the side.

The emergency call connected, and he immediately said, “Hello, 110? I'm calling from—”

“Tell them they're Erpan's men! Xiao Jun's people!” Xiang Xi interrupted excitedly. “The guy's called Dajian! He works for Erpan! He definitely knows where Erpan and the others are hiding!”

He was trembling with agitation.

Looking across the street, he saw that the three bodyguards had pinned Dajian to the ground. One of them was also on the phone, occasionally glancing over.

After clearly explaining the situation, Cheng Boyan hung up. “Wait here for the police. Let's go to the car first and deal with your injury.”

“I don't...” Xiang Xi glanced at Director Xu and lowered his voice. “Treat your hand first.”

Cheng Boyan looked toward the people across the street and headed for his car. Xiang Xi followed behind him. Every time his arm swung while walking, pain shot from his shoulder into his back.

Another fracture?

There was a small first-aid kit in the car.

Cheng Boyan rinsed his hand with water. After disinfecting it, Director Xu helped wrap the wound with gauze and bandages.

“Don't move your arm,” Cheng Boyan said after finishing with his own injury.

He took out a triangular bandage and, with practiced skill, secured Xiang Xi's arm against his chest. “We don't know the extent of the injury yet.”

“I'm sorry.”

Xiang Xi lowered his head.

His mind was roaring, a complete mess. He no longer knew what else he could say. “I'm sorry...”

He wasn't afraid of these people coming after him. What he feared was dragging Cheng Boyan into it. Yet the thing he dreaded most had happened anyway. And it had happened in the worst possible way.

What would Director Xu think?

How would she see him now?

Although she hadn't said a single word, he didn't dare think too deeply about those questions.

Only two words kept circling in his mind. It's over.

“Don't think about that right now,” Cheng Boyan said with a smile.

Then he turned toward Director Xu. “Mom, it's fine. Why don't you head home first? I'll call you after everything's handled.”

Director Xu said nothing.

Xiang Xi had no idea what expression she wore. He didn't dare raise his head. He was afraid of meeting her eyes.

After a moment of silence, Director Xu turned and left.

Only after her footsteps could no longer be heard did Xiang Xi slowly raise his head. “I think...”

“Don't think about that yet,” Cheng Boyan interrupted. “I'll explain everything to her.

“When the police arrive, think carefully about what you're going to say. We'll be taken in for questioning. Think about which things the police need to know.”

“Okay,” Xiang Xi answered softly.

“Don't be afraid,” Cheng Boyan said. “This is actually a good thing. If this leads us to Uncle Ping and Erpan, then the whole matter will finally be resolved.

As for everything else, you don't need to worry about it. You've got me.”

Xiang Xi didn't reply. His nose burned with the sting of impending tears.

Dajian was brought over by the three-man bodyguard team.

He looked disheveled. His clothes were a mess, one eye was swollen black-and-blue, and there was blood at the corner of his mouth. He had probably been beaten up.

When Xiang Xi looked over, Dajian's eyes were full of vicious hatred, staring at him relentlessly. Xiang Xi wanted nothing more than to walk over and kick him in the face.

Then follow it up with a series of kicks to the head.

Ideally, he'd beat him until he rolled around on the ground.

Back then, he himself had been beaten half to death and pinned into the snow. Now Director Xu had seen him for what he was—a trouble-ridden thug.

The hatred made his hands tremble. He wanted to walk over and stab Dajian several times. But after staring back at him for a while, Xiang Xi merely let out a cold laugh and turned around to sit back in the car.

I'm not the same as you.

I'm not the same as any of you from Zhaojiayao.

From the moment he had shouted for someone to call the police...

From the moment he had finally restrained himself from attacking Dajian...

He already knew clearly.

No matter whether he had grown up in Zhaojiayao.

No matter whether he was burdened with endless trouble.

No matter whether Director Xu would learn everything about his past.

Different is different.

I am different!

He stubbornly repeated those words in his mind.

Different.

Even when the police arrived, handcuffed Dajian, and came over to take statements, he almost blurted out: I'm not the same as them!

“We need you to come back with us and answer some questions,” one officer said to Cheng Boyan. “We hope you'll cooperate.”

“We need to go to the hospital first,” Cheng Boyan replied. “I'm a doctor.”

He took out his work ID and pointed at Xiang Xi. “He has a fracture. He needs examination and stabilization first. If the bone shifts, it'll become a bigger problem.”

“Well...” The officer consulted another policeman. “Then we'll take you to the hospital ourselves. You can ride in our vehicle.”

Xiang Xi felt dizzy the whole time. He wasn't sure whether it was from the blow he'd taken earlier or because he was nervous from suddenly being surrounded by so many police officers.

No.

It wasn't just seeing so many police officers.

He was actually riding in a police car.

The dizziness became so strong that he started feeling sleepy.

The officer riding with them continued asking questions.

His brain felt sluggish, as though it had been thickened with starch.

Cheng Boyan answered most of the questions.

Xiang Xi sat there blankly. Eventually, he rested his head on Cheng Boyan's shoulder and fell asleep.

When they arrived at the hospital and got out of the vehicle, he was still groggy and almost missed a step.

The fracture in his shoulder wasn't severe.

Maybe it was because he had eaten well and lived comfortably during the past half year, putting on some healthy weight.

One of Cheng Boyan's colleagues who was on duty examined him. Since police officers accompanied them, they were allowed to jump the queue for X-rays.

The results weren't bad. There was no surgical indication. His arm simply needed to be immobilized and allowed to heal gradually.

Compared with that, his injury was probably less serious than Cheng Boyan's. Cheng Boyan's hand required several stitches in the emergency department.

Both entering and leaving the hospital, Xiang Xi kept his head lowered and remained silent.

Everyone knew Cheng Boyan had once saved him. And now Cheng Boyan had ended up back at the hospital accompanied by police because of him.

Xiang Xi felt he lacked the courage to face him.

He could only keep repeating the same sentence in his heart.

Different.

Different.

Even if things weren't different right now...

They definitely would be in the future.

In fact, things were already different now.

*

When he got into the police car again, he was no longer dizzy or sleepy. Keeping his head down, he sorted through the events of the past several years in his mind.

He thought about which information might help the police locate Uncle Ping and Erpan. But besides that, another anxiety slowly surfaced.

How would the police deal with him? A boy raised by Uncle Ping.

Someone who had committed all kinds of petty theft and shady acts.

Someone who had escaped Zhaojiayao.

Someone who didn't even possess an identity card.

A black-household resident—an undocumented person with no legal registration.

Would the police believe him?

Would they arrest him too?

Even after being escorted into an office and seated before two police officers, those thoughts still occupied his mind.

“Young man, don't be nervous,” one of the older officers said with a smile. “My surname is Zhang. First, I'd like to thank you for helping capture that man today. Right now we'd just like to learn a bit more about the situation.”

“Okay.” Xiang Xi glanced at Officer Zhang and nodded. “Doctor Cheng... the friend who came with me...”

“He's being handled the same way,” Officer Zhang said. “We're just gathering information. What's your name?”

Xiang Xi froze. The very first question left him uncertain how to answer. “Xiang Xi. Xiang as in Xiang Yu's Xiang, and Xi as in west.”

He lowered his head and bit his lip.

Then, after a moment, he clenched his teeth and looked up. “My previous name was Zhan Hongtu. That was the name Uncle Ping—Liang Chuanping—gave me.”

Officer Zhang exchanged a glance with the other officer. Then he looked back at Xiang Xi. “What is your relationship with Liang Chuanping?”

“He raised me.”

Saying those words filled Xiang Xi with conflict. This was the past he feared. And now he was revealing it to police, without knowing what outcome awaited him. Every word required tremendous courage.

“I was... picked up by him.”

“You know Dajian?” Officer Zhang continued.

“Yes. He works for Er—” Xiang Xi corrected himself. “...for Xiao Jun. He's one of Xiao Jun's subordinates. Extremely loyal. That's why I said he probably knows where Xiao Jun is hiding.”

“I see.” Officer Zhang nodded. “Do you know Li Zhenjie?”

“Mantou...” Xiang Xi said softly. “Yes, I know him.”

“Young man, relax. Take your time and tell us everything you know.”

Officer Zhang poured him a cup of water. “Want a cigarette?”

“No. I quit.” Xiang Xi shook his head.

Cheng Boyan's interview didn't take long. He simply explained what had happened that day and clarified his relationship with Xiang Xi. As for Dajian, he didn't know him.

“If necessary, we may contact you again,” an officer said while escorting him out. “We hope—”

“I'll cooperate,” Cheng Boyan replied. “My friend... roughly how much longer will he be?”

“Hard to say. We can't give you an exact time. You can go home first. Don't worry.”

The three bodyguards and Song Yi were also brought in for questioning. They came out around the same time as Cheng Boyan.

Song Yi's car was parked by the roadside. Cheng Boyan got in.

“How long will Xiang Xi's questioning take?” Song Yi asked. “Could they detain him?”

“I don't know. The police wouldn't tell me that.”

Cheng Boyan sighed.

“You should head home later.”

“I'll stay here and wait. I've got nothing else to do.”

“I'll stay with you. Lin He is on his way too.”

Song Yi handed him a bun. “Does catching that guy help?”

“It should. Xiang Xi said he's Erpan's most loyal subordinate.” Cheng Boyan took out his phone. “I should call my mom.”

“Auntie knows already?” Song Yi looked shocked.

“Yeah.” Cheng Boyan nodded. “Mrs. Xu, who came out to deliver sausages, witnessed the entire thing firsthand.”

“I'll be damned, and you're still joking?” Song Yi shoved him. “What kind of impact do you think that had on her?”

“It wasn't your mother who saw it. So why are you so worked up?” Cheng Boyan smiled and dialed his mother's number. “It's fine.”

The call connected before the ringtone even finished. His mother's worried voice came through immediately. “Boyan? How are things?”

“It's fine. After the questioning I justsigned some paperwork and came out. My hand is fine too. It's already been treated.”

“What about Xiang Xi?” she asked.

“He's... still being questioned. It'll probably take longer.” Cheng Boyan checked the time. You should get some sleep first. Don't tell Dad yet. I'm afraid he'll worry unnecessarily.”

“I haven't told him.” Her voice remained full of concern. “What exactly does that man do? What relationship does he have with Xiang Xi? Why would someone suddenly attack with a knife in broad daylight?”

“That's difficult to explain quickly. Once Xiang Xi comes out, I'll come home tomorrow and explain everything properly.” His voice remained calm. But inside, he was anything but calm.

Just as Song Yi had said— Now that his mother had witnessed everything personally, he didn't dare imagine the consequences.

“Boyan.” His mother paused and sighed. “I hope you'll explain everything clearly tomorrow.”

“Don't hide anything from me.”

“I will.”

There was another pause. Then she said quietly: “There's something I probably shouldn't say right now, but you need to understand. After Boyu died, you became everything to your father and me.”

Her voice began to choke with emotion. “If accepting Xiang Xi before was merely difficult, I was willing to observe him. I was willing to respect your choice. But now… I truly cannot calmly accept the idea that my only son is with someone who might be attacked on the street at any moment by people driving cars and swinging knives.”

Before Cheng Boyan could answer, she hung up.

He slipped the phone back into his pocket. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

Song Yi didn't ask any further questions. He rolled down the window, lit a cigarette, and leaned his head outside while smoking.

*

Xiang Xi's questioning lasted a very long time. By the time Lin He arrived carrying a takeaway roast goose, it was already past eleven at night. Xiang Xi still hadn't come out.

“Why didn't you just bring an entire pig?” Song Yi stared at the roast goose. “Who can even eat this much right now? It's huge.”

“If we can't finish it, we'll save the rest.”

Lin He climbed into the back seat, opened the food container, and held up a giant goose leg toward Cheng Boyan. “Eat.”

Cheng Boyan instinctively reached for disinfectant. Halfway through the motion, he remembered he was sitting in Song Yi's car.

“Hey, just use a disinfecting wipe.” Song Yi handed him a packet. Then he turned around and said: “Where's my neck?”

“I brought duck necks for you.” Lin He pulled out a small bag. “Mildly spicy.”

Holding a wipe in one hand, Cheng Boyan carefully rubbed his fingers clean. Then he took the goose leg and bit into it. It tasted pretty good. A little too salty for him. But Xiang Xi would probably love it.

Inside the car, no one spoke anymore.

Song Yi slowly gnawed on a duck neck, Lin He sat in the back seat playing on his phone, and Cheng Boyan sat in the passenger seat staring blankly ahead.

The radio was on. In some relationship advice program, the female host spoke in a hypnotically soft voice, saying things that alert people couldn't understand and sleepy people would only find more sleep-inducing. Cheng Boyan felt it sounded just like an audio version of a social media status feed.

At five minutes past midnight, Cheng Boyan spotted someone walking out through the main gate in his rearview mirror. He recognized at a glance that it was Xiang Xi. "He's out."

He sprang up, opened the car door, and jumped out. When Xiang Xi turned and saw Cheng Boyan running toward him, he looked surprised. "Why are you still here?"

"I was worried, so we all stayed and waited for you," Cheng Boyan said. Then he smiled at the police officer standing nearby. "Thanks for your hard work. He's free to leave now?"

"Yes." The officer nodded. "Thank you all for your cooperation."

"Officer Zhang said he'd drive me home," Xiang Xi said. "I was planning to call you in a bit."

"No need to trouble Officer Zhang. Our car's over there."

Cheng Boyan studied him. Xiang Xi's complexion didn't look good. He seemed exhausted. Maybe it was the lighting, but his face looked somewhat gray and drained.

"Then go home with your friends," Officer Zhang said, looking at Xiang Xi. "We may need to contact you at any time during this period for more information. Don't leave the city for now. If you remember anything you've left out, or notice anything suspicious, call me immediately. You saved my number, right?"

"Yeah." Xiang Xi patted his pocket.

Song Yi drove them to retrieve their own car, then left together with Lin He.

The entire ride, Xiang Xi remained silent.

Cheng Boyan didn't rush to question him. After they got into the car, he simply placed the roast goose in Xiang Xi's hands. "You must be hungry. Want something to eat?"

"Yeah."

Xiang Xi opened the container, grabbed a piece, and immediately stuffed it into his mouth.

Cheng Boyan paused midway through reaching for the disinfectant, withdrew his hand, and started the car instead.

By the time they arrived downstairs, Xiang Xi had eaten nearly half the roast goose. His hands and mouth were covered in grease.

"Let's go upstairs." Cheng Boyan pulled out some tissues for him.

Xiang Xi wiped his hands, then after getting out of the car, wiped the door handle as well. "Does your hand... hurt?"

"Not anymore," Cheng Boyan said with a smile. "Move more carefully. Don't put strain on your arm."

"Okay." Xiang Xi kept his head lowered.

The weather had already started turning cool. After all the chaos of the evening, when they entered the apartment Cheng Boyan kept smelling sweat. He couldn't tell whether it was coming from himself or Xiang Xi.

"I'm going to wash—" He stopped halfway through the sentence.

"I'll help you wash," Xiang Xi said. "Then you can help me wash. Disabled people should help each other."

Cheng Boyan smiled.

Xiang Xi had made a joke, but there wasn't the slightest trace of a smile on his face. He was probably only trying to keep Cheng Boyan from worrying.

"Alright. Though you probably won't enjoy it much," Cheng Boyan said as he went inside to get both their clothes. "Our first couple's bath is certainly creative. Worth commemorating."

Xiang Xi tugged at the corners of his mouth and managed a faint smile.

The bath went fairly smoothly. Cheng Boyan held one arm up while Xiang Xi used one hand to grip a towel and scrubbed haphazardly across his back.

"Xiang Xi," Cheng Boyan said softly, "are you okay?"

"I'm okay," Xiang Xi replied. "Really. The police were very nice. It was basically like chatting. They asked about Uncle Ping and Erpan, where they might be hiding, whether there were any other people involved. Honestly, I think they've already investigated a lot. They know more than I do. Some of the people they mentioned, I didn't even know."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Cheng Boyan said. "If this Dajian talks, they should be able to catch them. This is a major case. They'll put everything they have into investigating it."

"Yeah." Xiang Xi paused. "Actually... my mood isn't very good, but it's not because of that."

His hand stopped moving. "It's just that today I talked about a lot of things. Some of those things are things I never wanted to think about again for the rest of my life. Suddenly saying them all out loud..."

He lowered his voice. "I feel... suffocated."

"Some experiences really do stay with you for a lifetime," Cheng Boyan said gently. "You just need to face them honestly. There's no need to deliberately hide them. Being overly concerned about them—or overly unconcerned about them—is equally unnecessary."

"What about Director Xu?" Xiang Xi asked. "She'll probably never accept me now, right? If there's one thing I can never stop worrying about, no matter what, it's that."

"Maybe," Cheng Boyan said.

He turned off the water and looked at him. "But I'm a little dissatisfied with you."

"Huh?"

Xiang Xi immediately looked up. His face was filled with panic. "What? What's wrong?"

"You actually weren't worried that I might..." Cheng Boyan said. "Aren't you a little too confident in me? Shouldn't the thing you care about most be my attitude?"

"Would you?" Xiang Xi suddenly shouted. "Would you?!"

After everything that had happened that night, his throat was already hoarse. Now his voice cracked completely.

"No." Cheng Boyan smiled. "I wouldn't. So you only need to care about my attitude. I'm fine. As for everyone else… You don't need to worry about them."

 

Translator : DarNan