After autumn rain comes the cold. After three consecutive rainstorms in Liao City, signs of clearing weather finally appeared. On Sunday afternoon, after finishing her tutoring work, Ruan Yu returned to her dormitory and washed several accumulated jackets. Her clothes hung all over the balcony, with water droplets falling rhythmically, like another autumn rain.
By the time she finished washing her clothes, it had grown dark. She went downstairs to the cafeteria and packed a hot bowl of sauerkraut noodles. Just as she was halfway through eating, her phone rang. It was Teng Hao.
They had just met that afternoon when Teng Hao was distracted while doing his exercises and got scolded by her. He was still unhappy when she left, so why was he calling now? Was he looking to argue?
Ruan Yu pressed the answer button, and before she could speak, Teng Hao spoke first. As soon as she heard him, she jumped up from her chair. The other three girls in the dormitory looked at her as she dropped her chopsticks, grabbed her bag, and ran out.
Teng Hao said he had gotten into a fight and was at the police station, asking her to bail him out. Fighting, bail… what kind of situation was this? What’s more, that kid’s tone sounded righteous and unapologetic.
Ruan Yu had a headache. Outside, it was completely dark. She ran to the back gate, hailed a taxi, and rushed to the police station. When Jian Xiangxiang and the others asked what happened in their dormitory group chat, she realized she had rushed out without explaining anything. But how could she explain this? Ruan Yu could only tell them there was an emergency to handle and not to worry.
The police station was brightly lit. In the lobby, several drunk men were pushing each other around, ignoring the police officers’ warnings, looking like they might fight at any moment. Teng Hao sat behind these people, sporting some bruises on his face, but still maintaining his “young master knows best” attitude with an imposing presence.
“Teng Hao!” Ruan Yu called out.
Teng Hao raised his head at the sound and looked at her.
“What happened?”
“Didn’t I say I got into a fight? Don’t you understand?” he replied impatiently.
“You got into a fight and you think you’re in the right?” Ruan Yu suppressed her anger and asked quietly, “Where’s your brother? Why didn’t he come?”
“Don’t know, he didn’t respond to my calls or messages, might be busy. I couldn’t find him so I called you.” Teng Hao said, then turned to the police officer, “Officer, my sister’s here.”
Sister?
Before Ruan Yu could react, the police officer beckoned to her.
“You’re Teng Hao’s sister?”
Ruan Yu glanced at Teng Hao, who discreetly winked at her.
“Yes,” Ruan Yu said.
“Blood sister?”
“No.”
“Then what kind of sister?”
“I’m… his cousin.”
“Did you bring your ID?”
“Yes.” Ruan Yu took out her ID card and asked the officer, “What exactly happened here?”
“Teng Hao got into a fight with a neighbor, who called the police.”
“Neighbor?”
The officer pointed to Teng Hao: “For details, ask him.”
Ruan Yu looked at Teng Hao.
Teng Hao shrugged: “I didn’t throw the first punch. That guy must have something to hide, that’s why he was trying to intimidate people. But the more he tried to intimidate, the more I wanted to take him down.”
“Which guy?” Ruan Yu thought for a moment, “That piano player?”
“No.”
Teng Hao organized his thoughts before explaining what had happened.
After finishing tutoring in the afternoon, Teng Hao practiced dancing in the practice room before heading home. Because he was too tired, he fell asleep as soon as he got home, but just as he was drifting off to sleep, the piano next door started playing again.
Still just random noise.
Teng Hao grabbed a pillow and pressed it against his ears, trying to block out the noise, but the more he tried to ignore it, the more it seemed to creep into his ears. After half an hour, the person showed no signs of stopping. Teng Hao couldn’t take it anymore. Days of accumulated frustration exploded in an instant, and he grabbed his jacket and rushed out.
The neighbor’s door was tightly shut. Teng Hao stood at the doorway, frantically pressing the doorbell.
No one came to answer.
His doorbell rings were urgent, and the piano inside played urgently; his doorbell was aggressive, and the piano inside was aggressive. The person seemed determined to provoke him through the door.
Teng Hao was furious. He started pounding on the door with his fists, but that didn’t work either. The piano playing became even more vigorous. Just when Teng Hao didn’t know what to do, a black sedan stopped behind him.
A man and a woman got out of the car. The woman was dressed luxuriously, about the same age as Shen Bing, and the man wore sportswear, about Teng Hao’s age.
These two were also mother and son.
“Is there a problem?” the woman asked Teng Hao.
“Auntie, I’m Teng Hao, your next-door neighbor.”
“I know, so, is there a problem?”
“I don’t have a problem, but someone in your house keeps causing trouble.” Teng Hao pointed toward the second floor, “This piano playing is too noisy! Can’t you have some public decency? Can’t you avoid disturbing others?”
The woman and her son exchanged glances, then immediately smiled at Teng Hao.
“I’m sorry, my daughter hasn’t been in a good mood lately and keeps throwing tantrums at home. I’ll stop her right away. Very sorry for the inconvenience.”
Seeing the woman’s sincere attitude, Teng Hao didn’t press the issue.
He turned to leave as the woman and her son quickly opened the door and went inside.
Complaining in person seemed quite effective.
Just as Teng Hao walked into his yard, the piano playing stopped. He was feeling satisfied when suddenly, he heard the sound of something being smashed, and the window on the left side of the second floor shattered with a loud crash, startling him.
Something seemed wrong.
This thought flashed through Teng Hao’s mind, and he quickly turned back.
Just as he reached the neighbor’s door, it suddenly opened, and a long-haired girl in a white dress ran out barefoot and fell into his arms.
They both froze.
Teng Hao tried to push the girl away, but she held onto his arm even more tightly.
“Mmph! Mmph! Mmph!” She shook her head vigorously, seemingly trying to say something, but couldn’t speak a word.
She was mute.
“Yun Shen!”
The luxuriously dressed woman and her son came running out of the house.
The mute girl called “Yun Shen” quickly hid behind Teng Hao when she saw them, gripping his jacket tightly and making shrill “mmph” sounds.
In that instant, Teng Hao felt that she was treating him as her only lifeline.
“Yun Shen.”
“What’s going on?” Teng Hao instinctively blocked the woman’s outstretched hand.
“She’s my daughter,” the woman explained. “She’s mentally different from others, and she didn’t take her medicine today, so…”
“Mmph!” The mute Yun Shen interrupted the woman’s words, glaring at her fiercely.
Teng Hao became more suspicious.
“Come here, Yun Shen, Mom will take you back to your room. You’ll catch a cold dressed so lightly,” the woman said in a gentle voice as she reached out again.
Yun Shen rejected the woman’s touch, retreating further behind Teng Hao.
“Auntie, it seems she doesn’t want to go with you. Is there something else going on?”
The woman’s expression turned unpleasant, and her tone was no longer friendly: “Don’t be ridiculous, what else could be going on?”
Teng Hao looked at Yun Shen and asked her: “Can you write?”
Yun Shen immediately nodded.
“Then will you come to my house and write down what happened? I live right next door.”
Yun Shen nodded again.
Just as they agreed, the previously silent young man suddenly rushed forward.
“Damn, who are you? Will you die if you don’t meddle?” He threw a punch at Teng Hao.
Teng Hao couldn’t dodge in time and took the punch squarely, almost falling.
“Damn! I’m your grandfather!” Teng Hao, enraged by the unprovoked attack, immediately fought back.
The two young men became entangled in a fight.
The woman took advantage of the situation to grab Yun Shen, who made “mmph mmph” sounds asking for help, but Teng Hao was preoccupied and couldn’t protect her. By the time Teng Hao had beaten the young man to the ground, Yun Shen had been dragged back inside by the woman.
Soon after, the police arrived.
Teng Hao didn’t know what the woman told the police, but he ended up being taken to the police station for assault.
As Teng Hao was explaining the situation to Ruan Yu, the interrogation room door suddenly opened. A female police officer walked out, followed by the mother and son Teng Hao had mentioned.
Ruan Yu’s gaze fell on the young man who had fought with Teng Hao. His face was black and blue, clearly showing he had been badly beaten.
“Has Teng Hao’s guardian arrived?” the female police officer looked at Ruan Yu.
“His sister came,” another officer answered, “looks quite young though.”
The implication was that she didn’t look like a proper guardian.
“Hmph.” The neighbor woman sneered, “This kind of bastard with a mother but no father, no wonder he’s so savage.”
Teng Hao’s face suddenly turned bright red.
“What did you say!”
“I said you’re a bastard! What? Did I say something wrong?” The woman smiled, “Everyone in Hua Fu knows you two brothers are fatherless bastards!”
Teng Hao jumped up from his chair and charged at the woman like a mad dog. He made a motion to punch her, which was exactly what the woman wanted.
“Hit me, if you dare!”
“I’ll tear your mouth apart!”
“Go ahead! Do it!” The woman thrust her face toward Teng Hao.
The police moved to intervene, but both sides were stubborn, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.
“Teng Hao!”
Ruan Yu went forward to pull Teng Hao back, but the young man was using all his strength, and she couldn’t move him.
In the pushing and shoving of the crowd, Ruan Yu was suddenly knocked to the ground.
Her elbow burned with pain.
Just as Ruan Yu was about to get up, someone helped her from behind and drew her into their arms.
It was a familiar scent, a familiar feeling, even a familiar breath.
Ruan Yu looked back and saw that Teng Yie had appeared at the police station at some point.
He was wearing a suit today!
The suit and the shirt underneath were both blue, a very deep blue. His tie was pure black, seemingly thinner than usual ties, hanging lazily in front, giving his elegance a touch of rebelliousness, and this rebelliousness perfectly complemented his dreadlocks.
Heaven, how could someone blend traditional suits and alternative dreadlocks so harmoniously?
What a divine combination!
Behind Teng Yie stood a middle-aged man wearing glasses, who had a strong scholarly air and looked particularly proper.
“Teng Hao!” Teng Yie called out.
The young man who had been acting like a wild beast in the crowd turned his head at the sound, and upon seeing his brother, his eyes suddenly turned red, looking as wronged as a child.
“Brother!”
“No fighting.” Teng Yie released Ruan Yu and walked toward Teng Hao, “Come here.”
His tone was gentle, without reproach, carrying instead a hint of comfort.
Teng Hao reined in his aggression, broke free from the restraining forces, and obediently walked toward Teng Yie like a lost cub finding its way home.
“Brother, why didn’t you answer my calls?” the young man complained softly, his grievance more pronounced.
The person who had seemed fearless moments ago suddenly dropped his armor, becoming so unlike himself.
“I was in a meeting and didn’t have my phone with me. Later when I saw your message and called back, your line was busy.” Teng Yie explained patiently, then reached out to touch the blood at the corner of Teng Hao’s lip, “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine, but that woman she…”
“I heard everything.” Teng Yie turned to the middle-aged man behind him, “Uncle Sun, I’ll trouble you with this. Teng Hao’s fight is one matter, that lady’s public insults are another.”
The middle-aged man surnamed Sun nodded, took out a business card from his briefcase, and handed it to the mediating female police officer.
“Hello, I’m Sun Xianzhou, a lawyer from Guangming Law Firm. From now on, all matters concerning Teng Hao will be communicated through me.”