Love For You - Chapter 16
Chapter 16: Two Little Wild Dogs, Walking On and On
Chen Yi knew this place like the back of his hand. He stripped a roll of copper wire from a cable, then gestured for Miao Jing to come over and help. There were rollers and iron balls inside the discarded machinery; as long as she could carry them, she could take as much as she wanted.
Miao Jing went from being terrified to completely disoriented. After her brain finished rebooting from a total shutdown, she watched Chen Yi crouching with his back to her, his movements skilled and his fingers deft, his expression calm and focused. She slowly shuffled over, touching the machinery covered in grease and soot, picking away at any parts she could remove and sell.
In the end, the two of them emerged looking filthy. Chen Yi had wrapped a massive bundle of scrap in his jacket. Carrying it on his back, he led Miao Jing through the abandoned factory. She followed him aimlessly, holding up her two hands, which were stained black with grease. They walked out, got on the motorcycle, and he took her to a scrap yard, where they sold the haul for one hundred and thirty yuan.
Chen Yi took the crumpled bills, grinned at Miao Jing, his dark eyes brimming with smug, unbridled energy: "Let's go."
He took her to get something to eat.
After all this exertion, Miao Jing was already famished, her stomach touching her spine, seeing stars. She followed Chen Yi into a small roadside diner. He spent forty yuan on two meat dishes—stir-fried pork and braised chicken chunks—and a large bucket of rice. The aroma was intense, a scent so sharp it made Miao Jing’s eyes sting.
Chen Yi gave her the remaining tens of yuan. Covered in grime, he sat there lazily as if he had no bones, watching Miao Jing, who was pressing her lips together tightly. He took a phone call, told her he had things to do, and left, telling her to eat by herself.
It was a meal Miao Jing would never forget for the rest of her life. No matter how many delicacies she ate in the future, none would ever surpass the taste of that greasy little dive.
Her hair was disheveled, with two streaks of ash on her face, yet her eyes were exceptionally calm and clear. She stroked her heavy stomach, walking for a long time before she felt better, eventually walking all the way home.
There was light in the house, and the television screen was flickering. Chen Yi had finished showering and was sprawled out on the bed in the room, fast asleep. The old-fashioned air conditioner was humming, with the electric fan blowing directly on him. Miao Jing silently went to take a shower. Seeing his dirty clothes left to the side, she hand-washed both their outfits. Passing the refrigerator, she heard the hum of its compressor restarting. She opened it to take a look; it was stuffed with eggs and milk.
Her heart spasmed, just a little.
From then on, Chen Yi came back every now and then, taking her to all sorts of places.
They went to food processing plants, which had specific days for disposing of scraps or substandard products; many were still edible, and a tiny bit of money was enough.
They went to the suburbs, where there were reservoirs and farmland. Many anglers there would give away fish, and the prices for vegetables in the villages were very low. Fish kept in a bucket could last a long time, and duck meat was cheaper than chicken. As long as they put their minds to it, there was always meat to be had.
They went to various scrap yards the most. During those years, Teng City had a lot of demolition; construction sites and empty buildings were everywhere. Chen Yi usually brought her out on weekend evenings. In truth, there were easier ways to make money, but Miao Jing was busy with school every day and was thin-skinned, not wanting to be seen by others. She preferred it this way: the two of them moving silently through abandoned residential buildings, in cluttered, shattered demolition sites, and in desolate, ruined factories, bringing back things to trade for cash.
Chen Yi didn't say much, but he would tell her the tricks of the trade. "Always open wallets and drawers; there will be valuables forgotten by the owners." Miao Jing had actually found a few tens of yuan in loose change in a rotten wallet, and likewise, she had also found discarded photos and all kinds of stories.
"Don't come to places like this alone; there are vagrants, thugs, and all sorts of chaotic people here." He held a long piece of steel rebar in his hand. "If you are seen or targeted by anyone..." He turned back to warn her solemnly, his gaze cold and sharp, "...you know what they would do, right?"
Miao Jing, bundled in a dusty jacket and wearing cotton gloves and a mask, nodded calmly.
"Look for the most valuable things: copper wire, electric motors, electronic chips—old goods that can be used or sold."
"Watch your step when walking. If you get poked by a nail, get crushed by something, or accidentally fall, you might lose your life."
Chen Yi had a keen eye, a quick mind, and great strength. He could always find something unique, and Miao Jing just had to follow obediently and lend him a hand.
"Were you like this before?" she asked softly as she followed behind him. "Coming to places like this often?"
He lowered his head to twist a piece of wire and stuff it into the sack, his brow and jawline sharp and handsome, his voice calm: "Back in elementary and middle school, I guess. I was always hungry then; I wanted to eat."
Miao Jing remembered in a daze, though she had forgotten what kind of life he lived back then. She only remembered that he didn't come home, spent every day playing outside, and no one at home cared about him or whether he had eaten.
She and Chen Yi walked one after the other through the deserted, empty buildings. Everything in sight was dirty, abandoned, and shattered to pieces. She followed in his footsteps, dragging a giant sack. She was just as dirty and dusty as he was. Their silhouettes cast on the ground looked dark and desolate. She remembered the moonlight was very thin back then, the world always hazy, gray, and dark. She didn't know why, but a crescent moon was always hanging in some dark, silent corner. She had never managed to look back and catch a glimpse of a clear, bright full moon. She heard the lonely wind echoing through the spaces, the occasional faint barking of dogs in the distance, and the rising and falling of Chen Yi’s whistling. She looked at his tall back, then looked at herself, feeling like two wild dogs wandering in the wilderness with their tails tucked between their legs, trotting along to find food, searching for survival and fleeting moments of happiness in the loneliness and desolation.
Miao Jing didn't spend much money. Every month, her expenses were only for daily necessities, food, and miscellaneous school fees. It wasn't much, and the money from selling scraps was all in her hands, which was completely enough for her to live on—Chen Yi still didn't come home often, nor did he eat her food.
Because she had no money, Miao Jing rarely socialized with classmates, avoiding unnecessary spending and preventing them from seeing her situation and embarrassment. She was naturally quiet, and with the third year of junior high being graduation season, the small cliques in her class had plenty of activities. Miao Jing participated in none of them. She was aloof and antisocial, drifting outside the collective.
In fact, the expenses of living alone were very small. She left home every morning with a thermal lunch box for school. At night, she ate some eggs and bits of bread, and after evening study hall, she would cook a late-night snack, shower, and go to bed. That was how each day passed.
Was she afraid of living alone? After Wei Mingzhen left, Miao Jing had feared the future for a period of time, but later, she feared nothing at all—things were already like this, what else was there to be afraid of?
However, the whispering among the neighbors grew increasingly intense. With Chen Libin dead, the Chen household was quiet. A few months later, Wei Mingzhen vanished; word was she had run off with a man. Later, Chen Yi also disappeared. The house seemed to be empty, yet people were surprised to see Miao Jing still coming and going. Chen Yi would occasionally return to show his face. What was this supposed to mean? Had Wei Mingzhen abandoned her daughter?
People kept coming to strike up conversations with Miao Jing, asking about Wei Mingzhen's whereabouts, observing her shabby clothes and food, asking about the Chen family's money, and then asking how Chen Yi was doing. Miao Jing kept her mouth shut tight, not answering a single word. Seeing her like this, the rumors and gossip grew rampant.
No one knew where the rumors started, but it was said that between Chen Libin's lifelong savings and his death benefits and insurance, there were millions involved. Where did the money go? Did Wei Mingzhen take it, or did the family split it? There was only a teenage girl living in the house—was there still some money left?
People started targeting Miao Jing, pulling her aside to chat, bringing gifts to the door, claiming they wanted to look after her, wanting to come inside and have a look. There were also local delinquents who would block her path on the street or knock on her door at night, peering through the cracks.
Chen Yi climbed through the window to get home and found the balcony window couldn't be pushed open; it was locked tight, with wooden strips nailed into the cracks. He circled to the room's window and parkoured his way up, banging loudly on the window. The lights in the room came on slowly, but there was still no sound. Chen Yi cursed as he dropped back down, picking up small stones to pelt her window. After half an hour, the curtain was drawn open cautiously, revealing Miao Jing’s pale, terrified face, her eyes filled with tears.
Seeing that it was Chen Yi, she finally let out a long breath of relief.
Chen Yi entered the house, suppressing his rage. Seeing every window blocked off by her, iron nails scattered under the windowsills, every door propped shut with furniture, and the main door set up like a booby trap, he frowned, hands on his hips, and cursed: "What the hell are you doing?"
Tears swirled in Miao Jing’s eyes as she pointed to the main door. Someone had marked it with a row of black pen marks. Chen Yi’s expression turned dark in an instant, his thick brows knitting together, his face fierce: "When did this happen?"
She told him about the things she had encountered recently, about people pestering her, people knocking and kicking the door at night, the cigarette butts at her threshold, and how the group of people looking for her were coming more and more frequently, escalating the situation.
"Tomorrow, you come with me when I go out." A cold smirk hung on his face. "If they dare to mess with me, they’ve got guts."
The next day, Chen Yi emerged from the room holding a sharp, gleaming knife in his hand, dragging a wide-eyed and shocked Miao Jing out the door.
He knocked on door after door to pay "visits." Chen Yi knocked with the knife, thumping on the doors until they shook. A ferocious smile hung on his handsome face, his tone exceptionally polite: "I heard you were very interested in my family's business. Since I’m home today, would you like to come over for a chat?"
When the families saw his setup, they were already scared out of their wits, trembling and unable to speak.
Chen Yi stroked the silver blade, leaning lazily against the door frame, his eyes sinister: "Do you think my knife is sharp enough? The police station's phone number is pretty easy to remember, right? I've lived in this neighborhood since I was a kid. I even received your care when I was young, Uncle. I know your family situation quite well, too. We should keep in close touch in the future."
After visiting every house, he stood like a colossus in the crowd of people downstairs. They were all old neighbors who had watched Chen Yi grow up. Seeing him grinning while stroking the knife, his hand resting on the shoulder of the numb-faced Miao Jing, he asked everyone to pass on a message: if anyone dared to snoop into his family's affairs or eye his family, he would make sure they got exactly what they wanted, and pay them back in full.
To settle the score, Chen Yi called over a dozen people in one go—yellow-haired, green-haired, all sorts of wayward youths—smoking cigarettes and riding motorcycles. They were a dark, imposing mass, searching through internet cafes, arcades, and mahjong parlors. Those little punks who had shown their faces to Miao Jing were all given a brutal beating.
It became completely peaceful.
Anyone who saw the two siblings would take a detour, not daring to utter a single word in their presence.
Chen Yi threw a tiny fruit knife to Miao Jing, stuffing it into her hand and teaching her a couple of grappling moves. Miao Jing backed away, shaking her head repeatedly, whimpering through tears: "I don't want to..."
He rolled his eyes: "Take it, tuck it under your pillow for self-defense."
Miao Jing took it with trembling hands, tears hanging from her eyelashes: "Thank you..."
Chen Yi smoked in silence, looked at her twice, lowered his eyes to flick the ash, and slowly exhaled a plume of smoke: "I'll be back to stay for a few days every week."
He tossed some money to her: "Buy more groceries when you're home, buy something to eat and use... you’ll always have a use for it."
Miao Jing took the money, pursed her lips, and said in a tiny voice: "What do you like to eat? I'll go buy it..."
He unfolded his brows and smiled, his grin radiant and wild.