CHAPTER 46: CHAPTER 7 MEDDLING

Li Yu walked out of the subway station and, after asking for directions from a grandma walking her grandchild on the street corner, quickly found a market nearby the residential area.

Inside, he bought a sea bass weighing one pound and two ounces, which the owner killed and cleaned on the spot. Then he bought two pounds of beef brisket, two pounds of ground meat, as well as vegetables and seasonings.

After leaving the market, Li Yu swung by a small supermarket next door, where he bought a package of chopsticks, a bag of rice, and a bucket of peanut oil; he had also wanted to buy some miscellaneous grains to make porridge, but he simply couldn’t carry anymore.

In the end, Li Yu walked toward the residential area holding a hodgepodge of items.

As he passed an internet café, Li Yu noticed three teenagers outside, one of whom was wearing the uniform of City No. 27 High School, cornered against a wall by the other two.

The two boys, probably not much older than the high schooler, both under twenty, a crew-cut teenager poked the high school student’s head with a finger, "What did I tell you? To steal more than this, and you only nab twenty bucks, you looking to get hit again?!"

The high school student hung his head low, "My mom has started to notice money missing at home, I’m afraid she’ll suspect me, so I don’t dare to take too much now."

"You’re not afraid we’ll beat you up?" another boy, wearing a yellow Champion T-shirt, took out a small box with a ghost head printed on it from his pocket and took a fierce drag through the clear little mouthpiece. He then exhaled two streams of white vapor, which landed right in the high school student’s face.

He then clenched his right fist and gestured towards the high schooler’s abdomen.

"Give me some more time," the latter pleaded.

"We already gave you a two-day reprieve, it’s difficult for us too when you’re always like this," said the crew-cut youth. "Ah... really, can’t you stop being so damn meek? Grow some guts, for once! Take all the money! What’s the big deal if your mom finds out? You’re her son, she won’t do anything to you."

"I, I..." the high school student cowered.

Just then, a voice came from the side, "Is there a problem here?"

The two teenagers turned around to see a man in a suit and leather shoes, carrying several big bags, standing behind them.

"Mind your own business," the crew-cut teen warned.

The boy in the yellow Champion T-shirt took another drag from the electronic cigarette, looking curiously at Li Yu, "Do you live around here too? Which community? Haven’t seen you before."

"I used to get off work pretty late."

"Hahahaha," the boy in the yellow Champion T-shirt laughed out loud, "Wow, a corporate slave, huh? That’s really sad. Off to work early, back home late, jumping through hoops for your company and boss. Putting on a smile for clients, always worried about your social security being cut off, mortgage overdue, and the wife buying deadly expensive cosmetics; wondering how to get your kid into a good school."

"Such a life... amusing and painful to hear about," said the crew-cut teen.

"Don’t talk like that, if it weren’t for these outsiders flooding into our city, who would rent your family’s two apartments?" the boy in the yellow Champion T-shirt said, then leaned into Li Yu’s ear, "Hey, you’re busy with work every day, you wouldn’t want any new trouble, right? We on the other hand, we’ve got loads of time for fun."

Li Yu ignored him, simply asking the high school student again, "Are you okay?"

"How could there be a problem? We’re good brothers," the crew-cut teen wrapped the high schooler’s neck in his arm, "Isn’t that right?"

The latter showed a frightened expression and nodded, "Right, right! We’re friends just messing around here."

"Are you satisfied?"

Li Yu didn’t say anything more, carrying the groceries and rice he had just bought, he continued towards the community.

The boy in the yellow Champion T-shirt followed, still puffing clouds of smoke.

"People who can’t save themselves shouldn’t keep thinking about how to save others."

...

Li Yu walked up to the security door of the apartment building, intending to set down the bag of rice to free his hands to unlock the door, but someone beat him to it, swiping access and pushing the door open for him.

"Thanks," Li Yu said.

It must have been just after school let out because the newcomer was also a student, wearing a school uniform. However, it looked like she was only in junior high given her height and build.

Her appearance was unremarkable, her hair a mess, with a pair of headphones over her ears.

Perhaps because she was immersed in the world of music, she didn’t respond to Li Yu but silently followed him into the building and to the elevator, where she pressed the up button before Li Yu could.

They stood close to each other in the quiet corridor, and Li Yu easily heard the noise of heavy metal rock music coming from her headphones.

Neither of them spoke during this time.

For some reason, the elevator was stuck on the seventh floor and refused to move.

The junior high girl suddenly took off her headphones. "Why meddle in affairs that don’t concern you?"

"Hmm?"

"Just now, outside the Internet café, I saw it, you tried to save Wang Jiaqi," she said.

"Wang Jiaqi? Oh, that’s the boy’s name, right? I just happened to see and asked," Li Yu replied.

"Playing the Savior must feel really good, huh? Sadly, because of your meddling, he’s going to get beaten up even more," the junior high girl said coldly.

"Do you know that boy named Wang Jiaqi well?"

"Not really, just that his mom and my mom are mahjong friends, so I know a bit," the junior high girl said. "His dad was killed by a car a few years ago. The driver was poor too, so they didn’t get much compensation. After that, his mom fell apart.

"She became addicted to playing mahjong day and night, completely neglecting Wang Jiaqi. She stopped working, didn’t attend the school’s PTA meetings, and either had Wang Jiaqi order takeout or sent him to the beef noodle shop across the street.

"Those punks have a keen nose; they can smell who they can bully and who they can’t touch. Kids like Wang Jiaqi who aren’t looked after are their favorite targets.

"Didn’t they go to the police?"

"For this level of harassment, the police mostly just give a verbal warning. Even if they do get arrested, they can’t be held long if they’re under eighteen," the junior high girl replied. "Once they’re out, the retaliation will be even more fierce."

With a ding, the elevator at last arrived at the ground floor.

The junior high girl closed her mouth and put her headphones back on.

Only after a family of three and a Meituan delivery guy had all exited the elevator did Li Yu and the junior high girl step inside.

The junior high girl pressed 14, then asked Li Yu, "Which floor?"

"13."

As the two doors slowly closed, the elevator began its ascent once more.

She took off her headphones again. "Uncle, after you start working and earning your own money, can you really live the life you want?"

"Hard to say."