The Early Spring - Chapter 59

Chapter 59 - Stage After Stage 

Shang Zhitao dragged her luggage to the front entrance of the complex and bumped right into her three dear roommates heading outside. She quickly caught her breath and asked them, "Where are you guys going?"

"To find the agency." The few of them had been working overtime in their respective rooms when the power inexplicably cut out. After checking for ages, they discovered the agency had swallowed the electricity fee they had paid. When they called to ask, the agency cursed them out for no reason.

In an era run rampant with shady intermediaries, many people assumed they were lucky enough never to become the ones who happened to get hit, only to find themselves completely unable to escape it.

"Then wait for me a second, let me drop my luggage back inside. I'm coming too."

"You don't need to come." Sun Yuanxu told Shang Zhitao to wait at home, and then said to Sun Yu, "And you, we told you to stay home, but you insisted on following us out."

Shang Zhitao pushed her suitcase and ran, shouting as she went, "Wait for me! I'm coming too!" During that period, plenty of news reports were covering shady real estate agencies. Shang Zhitao knew in her heart that these agencies were nothing to mess with, but since she considered herself an adult, she had to stand together with her friends through thick and thin at a time like this.

Zhang Lei exchanged a glance with Sun Yuanxu and advised Sun Yu, "Go back. With two grown men going, you girls aren't needed. The two of you just wait at home."

"I'm not going back." Sun Yu shoved a pair of scissors into her bag. "I'm really good at fighting! In case those ruffians try to play dirty, at least I can pull off a trick or two." Ever since their event in Handan got crashed by troublemakers, Sun Yu always carried self-defense items with her. In her own words: those hooligans had better think twice before daring to run wild on her turf!

She liked to talk tough, though she had never actually thrown a punch in a real fight. Life, ultimately, forced a delicate girl into becoming capable of everything.

Shang Zhitao dropped off her luggage and ran to catch up with them. When the group arrived at the agency's small storefront, Sun Yuanxu paused and consulted the girls. "How about this? You two stand outside. If a fight breaks out inside, you guys call the police."

"No way." Sun Yu refused.

"Be reasonable, listen to me." Zhang Lei took off his heavy coat and handed it to Sun Yu. "We can't let ourselves get cornered all at once. If a fight really breaks out, you two call the police first and then scream for help. If you both come inside, we'll just have to waste energy looking after you. Deal, my brothers?"

"Deal."

Shang Zhitao had never experienced this kind of scene before. She pulled out her phone, pre-dialed 110, and stared intently at the movement inside. She didn't even realize her fingertips were trembling slightly. Soon, the sound of a fist slamming against a table echoed from within, followed immediately by a roar of "Fuck your mother!" Sun Yu rushed forward, and Shang Zhitao quickly dialed 110 to connect the emergency call. She didn't know she was scared to tears; speaking with a crying lisp, she gave the address, hung up the phone, screamed "They're beating people!" a few times, and rushed inside as well.

Zhang Lei was right—she had to shout those few words. Only by shouting would a crowd gather so they wouldn't end up on the losing end.

She had no idea where she found the courage—probably from the unwavering conviction that she couldn't let her friends face this alone. When she burst into the room and saw a few agents surrounding Sun Yuanxu and Zhang Lei as they wrestled and traded blows, Sun Yu picked up an ash tray from the periphery and hurled it at one man's head, only to be blocked by another who raised a hand to strike her. Shang Zhitao rushed forward and shoved the man away with all her might.

A crowd began to gather outside. Fights at agency offices were far too common back in those days, and someone finally couldn't watch any longer and yelled, "The police are here!" which forced the brazen agents to halt.

The onlookers blocked the doorway so tightly that nobody could squeeze through, and the young agents tried to slip out the back door, but Sun Yuanxu blocked them with lightning-fast reflexes. He had a scrape on the corner of his mouth, but he didn't bother wiping it. Having just finished fighting, he now spoke reasonably: "Give us our electricity money now—or if not, give us the cash and the power card so we can top it up ourselves."

"Don't push your luck! I told you, the money is at corporate headquarters; it has nothing to do with us!"

"We don't know who has the money, but we need our power turned on today!" Zhang Lei was genuinely infuriated by these people. Working in commercialization meant making friends across all walks of life, and he rarely ever lost his temper for real, but today he was boiling with rage.

One of the scoundrels, likely accustomed to acting high and mighty, saw that these young people weren't backing down and decided to pick on the softest persimmon. Out of sheer panic and spite, he threw a punch straight at Shang Zhitao's face. Sun Yuanxu reacted with lightning speed to block the man's arm, but the blow still grazed Shang Zhitao's cheek, instantly swelling up her fair, tender face.

That was simply too bullying!

Shang Zhitao had lived for twenty-three years and had never suffered such an injustice. She jumped forward, clamped down hard on the man's arm with her teeth, and bit into it. Since everyone was bundled up in heavy winter clothing, how much damage could a single bite do? So she switched tactics and clawed at the man's face with her hands, hating herself for not having long nails like Lumi.

The police finally arrived. Taking in the room full of young men and women, it was clear the agents hadn't taken the worst of it—the four tenants were the ones who suffered. They were obviously law-abiding citizens under normal circumstances, but today they had been pushed to the absolute edge. The officers simply hauled everyone back to the police station for mediation and education.

"Who threw the first punch?"

"They did!" Fingers pointed at each other. The agents were clearly more experienced; there was no concrete proof that they had thrown the first punch since the actual brawl had only started by the time onlookers gathered.

"Where's the electricity money?"

"At headquarters."

"Where is your headquarters?" The police officer asked casually. There was nothing happening in this neighborhood that they didn't know about; this was just standard procedure.

The shady agents looked at each other, and one of them finally spoke up: "We don't know... we were just stationed at this shop when we started, we've never been to headquarters."

Bulls**t!

The police officer cursed them inwardly: Look at every single one of you like a bunch of spineless worms! You could do anything, yet you choose to be scam artists!

The police couldn't reason with these agents anymore; they were seasoned pros who stuck together like glue. They turned to Shang Zhitao and the others and asked, "How do you want to resolve this?"

"First, we got hurt and need to go to the hospital for a checkup..."

"We got hurt too! We need to go for a checkup as well!" the thugs shouted loudly.

"Shut up!" The police officer slammed a hand down on the table, and the room instantly fell silent.

"Second, we want our money and our power card back, and we demand a direct dialogue with the landlord." At this point, Sun Yuanxu paused to look at Shang Zhitao and Sun Yu. "Third, the girls were terrified, and we need them to apologize publicly and guarantee they won't cause trouble or harass us again."

"Hospital first." The officer looked at the young people who had gotten the short end of the stick and thought to himself that they certainly had guts.

"I have one more demand." Sun Yuanxu interrupted the officer. "There are definitely others who suffered the same fate as us. Please contact them so we can resolve this together, or else we will take legal action."

How gentle Sun Yuanxu used to be, yet today he stood so unyielding over two hundred yuan. Shang Zhitao suddenly remembered a teacher talking about the May Fourth Movement back in school: Look at those frail students; they are always the first to awaken. She suddenly understood that the greatest gift education could bestow upon someone was probably the sight of Sun Yuanxu standing right here today.

They went to the hospital to get injury certificates. The police dismantled the scam agency's den, confiscated their account books, and arrested the financial officer. By the very next day, Shang Zhitao and her friends were meeting face-to-face with the landlord. The speed of it all was jaw-dropping.

Yet the landlord said, "With things blown up this badly, I'm afraid the agency will retaliate. You know how they pour paint or jam locks, right? The neighbors won't have a moment of peace. I'm sorry, kids."

Standing before the white-haired landlord, Shang Zhitao and the others suddenly didn't know what to say. The landlord's concerns were completely valid; an elderly woman living alone could not handle this kind of trouble if it was brought to her doorstep.

"Auntie, do you think you could give us a few days? We need to find a new place."

"Is three days alright?"

"Alright."

They returned home and sat in the living room, none of them seeming very inclined to speak. Finally, Sun Yu broke the silence. She had been scammed by shady agencies before and had experienced this kind of situation: "So, are we looking for a large four-bedroom or a partitioned apartment next?"

"Let's look for a three-bedroom," Zhang Lei finally said after a long silence. "I'm thinking of moving closer to the office. I just got promoted, my work is way too busy, and a long commute leaves me exhausted."

The last time Shang Zhitao faced a similar situation was during the second semester of her junior year of college, when her dormmates discussed their future paths—some said they were going to Beijing, others to their hometowns, some wanted to venture to Shenzhen, and others planned to take the graduate entrance exams. They were all young and had experienced very few partings; discussing that topic on that particular day had been exceptionally sorrowful, and in the end, everyone shed tears.

Today, Shang Zhitao didn't shed any tears because she knew everyone would scatter sooner or later. Changing jobs, dating, getting married, having kids—the time spent together was only a year or two. At first, they would hang out frequently, but gradually they would drift apart due to lack of contact, ultimately disappearing into the sea of humanity. The people left by your side would only ever be a handful.

Partings and reunions are unpredictable; that is simply the truth of life.

Nobody knew what to say until Zhang Lei scratched the back of his head and said, "Please forgive me for leaving first, but I've genuinely loved the time we've spent together. Still, all good things must come to an end."

"Why are you making it so sad?" Sun Yu stood up and clapped her hands. "Enough, enough! We're not discussing what kind of apartment to look for today. Today is about sending Zhang Lei off properly! Let's go grab a drink!"

Shang Zhitao nodded. "Yes, yes, let's go drink."

The group headed out to a nearby barbecue restaurant to drink. Most of them still bore bruises and scrapes on their faces, drawing sideways glances from passersby. They felt a bit self-conscious too—never had they imagined that after spending over a decade studying, they would end up following the same path as schoolyard ruffians, eventually getting into a proper street brawl in society.

While waiting for their food, Shang Zhitao looked down at her fingernails and told Sun Yu, "I'm going to start growing my nails out. I'll grow them like Lumi's, and file them into sharp points so I won't lose the next fight." Driven by Luan Nian over the past year to constantly self-reflect and review, she had been replaying the fight in her head, trying to figure out how to win the next one.

Everyone burst out laughing at her remark. One side of her face was still swollen, and the corner of her mouth was split, making her look rather comical. They looked at each other—wiped out completely, what a miserable sight.

Sun Yu raised her cup. "Let's toast to Zhang Lei. Congratulations on moving out of this crappy apartment and starting a new life."

"Don't put it like that." Someone experienced in the commercial world, used to all sorts of scenes inside and out, felt a rare touch of emotion. "These past two years have genuinely been the happiest time since I came to Beijing. No matter what grievances I suffered at the company or how angry I got, seeing the three of you when I came home made everything instantly better. Even though I've decided to move out, our bond can't be broken."

"In Beijing, finding friends willing to get into a street fight with you isn't easy."

The circumstances of this day were actually quite comical. For the sake of two hundred yuan and the principle of the thing, they had suffered a massive beating yet didn't feel humiliated at all. Instead, they felt that having fought side by side, they had truly forged a lasting friendship.

Yet life always requires scattering in the end!

No matter how bustling and endless the crowds, parties must eventually break up!

They all drank heavily. The two guys, against all odds, relieved themselves against a tree on the side of the North Fifth Ring Road, patting each other's shoulders as they peed—"Don't be like me... don't be like me, it's uncivilized and impolite"—before vomiting their guts out.

Shang Zhitao and Sun Yu stood a distance away with their backs turned, facing the cold wind and shivering slightly.

Sun Yu rubbed her swollen arm, looked at Shang Zhitao's swollen face, and suddenly felt a twinge of sadness. "Look at us, what on earth have we done all year? Ending up battered and bruised right as the year comes to a close."

"Magnificent and grand—it does justice to the year."

It felt just like a dream, having experienced both the good and the bad. Early the next morning, Zhang Lei moved out. Sun Yu went to organize her event, while Shang Zhitao and Sun Yuanxu went house hunting.

Before heading out, Sun Yuanxu noticed the faint bruising on Shang Zhitao's swollen face—that punch had certainly not been light—and felt a pang of heartache. He went inside and brought out a bottle of rubbing alcohol. "Let me clean that up for you?"

"Okay. Thank you."

Shang Zhitao turned her face to the side. Sun Yuanxu's movements were very gentle; a cotton swab dipped in alcohol lightly brushed against her skin, and he asked softly, "Does it hurt?"

How could it not hurt?

Yet Shang Zhitao shook her head. "It doesn't hurt. Sun Yuanxu, I think you should stop fighting in the future. Scholars aren't suited for street brawls."

"They threatened us, said if we caused any more trouble they'd jump you and Sun Yu with sacks. That's why we threw the first punch."

Shang Zhitao's heart felt truly warm. She sniffed. "It wasn't worth it."

"It was worth it."

When adults do things, they always want to calculate whether it's worth it first—where did so many interests suddenly need weighing anyway?

"Meeting each other wasn't easy. If I didn't see it, I couldn't help it, but since I saw it, I was definitely going to protect you guys."

Shang Zhitao felt her eyes grow a little damp. She gave Sun Yuanxu a playful punch in the chest and mimicked Zhang Lei's tone: "Thanks, brother."

"You're welcome."

Don't be so polite.