Zi Han lay on the ground unable to get up. If he was being frank he could see stars in his eyes and possibly doubles. The half side of his face was throbbing as something warm flowed from his nostril and his ear.
Yi Chen stood tall with his chest heaving deeply as he pulled down his sleeves and buttoned the cuffs of his shirt. He pulled back the stray strands of his hair as he slowly strode over to the boy who lay limply on the ground.
"I commend you for your bravery but you should have realised already how stupid your decision was. You possess true potential but unfortunately, you broke the law and have to bear the consequences thereof....," he said only to pause when he saw the face that was dazedly looking up with a self-deprecating smile on his face.
He wanted to get this person arrested for selling an illegal substance which the penalty was death in the federation but seeing that face that looked no older than himself he froze.
It wasn't just the air of youthfulness that caught his attention. Something about this person made him feel giddy inside. For the first time, his mind went blank and his IQ immediately went offline that he even forgot what he wanted to say next.
Zi Han whose gaze was out of focus just now slowly cleared up only to be met by two pairs of dark eyes staring at him. Granted he was seeing doubles from the punch earlier but that didn't stop him from being vicious.
"What are you looking at?" he said the smirk on his face vanishing in an instant. The hostility surrounding them intensified. Yi Chen didn't know what to say for a second.
Looking at those eyes glaring daggers at him he found that anger and frustration from earlier had vanished like someone had poured a bucket of cold water quenching the fiery rage tormenting him.
"Take this as your second chance in life and stop selling such things.....," he said glancing over at the black case he had knocked out of his cousin's hand earlier but that surging anger that had just been quenched sprung up again. Both the black bag, its contents and his cousin had vanished.
Without much thought, Yi Chen took off to look for him. If Yi Feng is caught with such illegal material his father would murder them both and bury them in unmarked graves.
Zi Han who had been left alone wallowing in filth got up with a grim look on his face. God forbid he meets that douche bag again. This person didn't even stick to the code of street fighting which is never ever go for the face.
Now that he had been struck in the face it would be impossible to hide it from his mother. This is why he had laughed at himself earlier. It was a self-deprecating smile because he knew he was screwed.
Grimacing in pain he limped out of the alley. By the time he got to the platform, the twin suns had already sunk in the horizon though there was still some light outside.
If he had known that the jerk from earlier was so much stronger than himself he wouldn't have provoked him. For a person who was used to winning fights, this was incredibly disheartening.
Good thing that goody-two-shoes didn't report him otherwise his mother would attempt a jailbreak just to beat his ass up. Ruffling his hair in annoyance he leaned his head back thinking of ways to appease her when she sees his face.
As soon as he arrived in district ten he rushed over to old Yuang's stall before he closed to buy his mother an egg tart. He only ever bought her her favourite dessert on her birthday but seeing that he had committed an offence he might as well use this to appease her.
Zi Han tapped on the counter as he lowered his hoodie further down before saying, "Old Yuang, can I get one egg tart please."
The old man who was packing away turned around and smiled as he replied, "But it's not her birthday yet?"
Zi Han couldn't tell him that he was using this to appease her. He just lowered his head opening his terminal to scan the payment. The old man packed up the contents in a bag as he said, "Uh, I see why you are buying it. It is to cheer her up, isn't it?"
Beep!
The sound of the successful scanned payment masked the old man's last words. Zi Han raised his head as he picked up the package and asked, "What?"
"Tsk, tsk..... some people came to bother her just now. I heard Mrs Lee say it just now. Maybe your mother should consider getting a husband.... Xiao Han!' yelled the old man but Zi Han had already sped off in the distance with his hoodie blown away by the wind.
As soon as he reached his apartment block he was met by a crowd of people and at the centre of it was a woman standing by an expensive hovercar surrounded by bodyguards. She was pointing towards the fourth floor screaming her lungs out at another woman standing on the balcony.
Words like slut and goomar were thrown around mixed in with some swear words. Goomar was the slang name for a mob boss's mistress over at district two and his mother right now was being accused of being Morano Gambino's mistress by his sixth wife.
Do you see why Zi Han needed a gun? The accusations weren't coming from regular housewives with no backing but people like these who had entire armies. "Tsk....," tsked Zi Han as he pushed through the crowd and up the stairs. Some neighbours noticed him but because he flashed by fast they couldn't say anything to him.
He hurriedly climbed up the stairs as the elevator had long stopped working. It probably hadn't worked ever since the building was built. He reached the fourth floor in a second but instead of his apartment he knocked on the door opposite.
After a minute or two, the door opened and an old lady's head popped out. When she saw Zi Han's face she smiled happily and opened the door. "Xiao Han, you are just in time. I just finished soaking in the dish but it's too heavy, too heavy..... I can't carry it," she said as she walked slowly to the centre of the lounge.
There were obvious signs of dementia on the elderly woman but she had no one else to care for her. Afraid she might drown in the big tub in her bathroom she would attach a hose in the kitchen sink and fill up a dish. But the problem came when she needed to empty it. Thus she always asked Zi Han to help her.
"It's okay Mrs Cheng. I will pour it out for you." As he said this he picked up the dish filled with her bathwater but instead of carrying it to the bathroom, he head outside the door. Mrs Cheng wanted to tell him that that wasn't the way to her bathroom but the young man was too fast.
Zi Han opened the door opposite startling his mother who came from the balcony with an old fashioned cigarette caught in between her fingers.
"Han Han yo-," she said but abruptly paused when she saw his face. Before she could utter a word he went out to the balcony and.... SPLASH! Mrs Cheng's bathwater rained down on the mob boss's wife and any onlookers who should have been in their houses instead of watching this public spectacle.
Before he could hear the scoldings and curses coming from downstairs he pulled his hoodie up and got inside making sure to shut the balcony door tight while he was at it. Before his mother could say anything he gave her the package from old Yuang's stall and walked out to return the old lady's dish.