Having left the hospital once again, Yang Xiao felt somewhat lost.
Now he didn't even have a place to stay. Five years ago, he was just a junior security guard renting a small room.
After he went in, the landlord reclaimed the rental. Yang Xiao's meager possessions were probably thrown out by the landlord as well. But Yang Xiao didn't care, as they were just material things after all.
Moreover, the most important things he had, Yang Xiao had packed up and entrusted to his good brother from university, Wang Peng.
Although he hadn't heard from Wang Peng in five years, Yang Xiao felt that Wang Peng was the only person he could turn to now.
After finding Wang Peng's number in his phone, Yang Xiao dialed it.
It took a while for Wang Peng to answer the call.
"Yang Xiao, are you out?" came Wang Peng's excited voice from the other end.
"Yeah, I got out early. Where are you, kid? Come pick me up quickly."
"No problem, I'll be right there," Wang Peng agreed readily.
"Good, I'm at Tiantong First Hospital, just come here to get me."
"Hospital? Why did you go to a hospital right after getting out? Did you get into some trouble again?"
"Stop guessing, just come over," Yang Xiao replied.
After hanging up with Wang Peng, Yang Xiao waited at the hospital's entrance.
Twenty minutes later, a taxi stopped at the hospital's entrance. A short and chubby young man got out from the passenger side. His walk was quite comical.
He was Wang Peng, Yang Xiao's college roommate. Every story has that one fat guy!
"Good brother, how come you got out early without giving me a heads up?" Wang Peng said, patting Yang Xiao's shoulder as he approached.
Looking at Wang Peng stirred a sense of emotion in Yang Xiao's heart.
Five years ago, Wang Peng was a naive chubby kid. But now, he looked greasy and had a bald patch on his head.
Without a doubt, life had taken its toll on Wang Peng. Five years had passed, and now he seemed to be doing even worse than Yang Xiao.
"Wang Peng, how have you been these years? Why do you look so haggard?" Yang Xiao couldn't help but ask.
"Ah, it's been so-so! That's how life is for people like us with no connections. Just managing to survive is good enough. Let's not talk about that, I'll take you out for a meal to welcome you back," Wang Peng said, seemingly used to his circumstances.
Two
"It's still early, let's go to your place first, all my stuff is still there, right?"
Wang Peng glanced at his watch, nodded, and agreed, "Alright, we'll stop by home first."
"Hmm."
Yang Xiao hopped on the small motorcycle, taking Wang Peng towards the old district.
The sight of two grown men on a tiny motorcycle was especially eye-catching on the street.
The tires of the small motorcycle were on the verge of bursting.
After a wobbly half-hour ride on the little motorcycle, the two finally reached Fuyuan residential area in the old district.
An old building from the last century, without an elevator, on the eighth floor.
It was an old apartment left to Wang Peng by his parents, who both died in a car accident when he was sixteen. Like Yang Xiao, he was alone in the world, which was an important reason for their strong relationship.
But even before reaching the eighth floor, Yang Xiao sensed that something was amiss.
There was a murderous aura in the stairwell that ordinary people might not detect, but Yang Xiao felt it very clearly.
However, Yang Xiao did not share this feeling with Wang Peng but remained vigilant as he continued upward.
Reaching the eighth floor, Yang Xiao indeed saw over a dozen young men standing at Wang Peng's doorstep. The one leading them had a very prominent scar from a knife across his face, giving him a particularly brutish appearance.
Next to the man with the scar stood a woman dressed very seductively.
"Wang Peng, you finally came back! So, is the money ready?" As soon as he saw Wang Peng, Scarface stepped forward and asked.
Money?
Yang Xiao frowned, sensing that the situation was somewhat troublesome.
"Ma Hua, what are you trying to do? I won't give you the money you're talking about," Wang Peng was not afraid of these people.
"Not giving it? Wang Peng, just try not giving it and see!" Ma Hua's flesh quivered with rage, and he exuded a murderous aura.
"Heh, Wang Peng, you'd better listen to Brother Hua! Otherwise, you're the one who's going to suffer," the seductive woman said, her tone enchanting as she clung to Ma Hua's arm.
From the way Wang Peng looked at the woman, Yang Xiao could tell she was probably the root of the trouble.
"Wang Peng, what's going on here?" Yang Xiao asked.
"I was framed by them. That woman deliberately got close to me, I fell for her trap. Then she used that as an excuse to bring these people to demand money from me," Wang Peng explained.
Having heard the explanation, Yang Xiao immediately understood what was going on. These thugs must have thought Wang Peng was an easy target, so they concocted this scheme.
"Wang Peng, stop bullshitting right here! Framed? You slept with my woman, that's a fact. Hurry up and compensate me, or else I will accuse you of rape, throw you in jail for three to five years, and that will be the end of you," Ma Hua threatened.
"Then go ahead and accuse me if you dare. I, Wang Peng, am not afraid!"
"Hey! You still have the nerve to talk back. Men, beat him up first," Ma Hua ordered angrily.
"Yes, Brother Hua!"
Several of Ma Hua's followers immediately stepped forward to lay hands on Wang Peng.
"Wait!"
A deep voice from Yang Xiao sounded.
Ma Hua turned at the voice, glanced at Yang Xiao, and then said disdainfully, "What are you going to do, kid? Want to get beaten up together, or are you thinking of paying for Wang Peng?"
"Yang Xiao, this has nothing to do with you. You go first, I'll deal with them," Wang Peng did not want to drag Yang Xiao into it.
"What are you saying? When two grown men are faced with trouble, is there one who leaves first?" Yang Xiao retorted.
"This..." Wang Peng hesitated for a moment.
If their positions were reversed, he wouldn't leave either.
"Damn it, you're quite loyal, huh! Then hurry up and pay up, or else your buddy here won't leave with both hands intact today, and you can write my name, Ma Hua, backwards," Ma Hua sneered.
"Want money? No problem. But let's see if you're capable of getting it," Yang Xiao knew that with these types of people, reason was futile.
"Capable? Damn it, let me show you what I'm capable of first," Ma Hua said as he threw a punch, heading straight for Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao did not fight back, merely stepping slightly to the side.
Ma Hua immediately lost his footing, staggering forward and tumbling down.
"Brother Hua!"
His underlings shouted loudly, rushing over to help him up.
"That's all the ability you have, and you still want money? Don't waste time; all of you come at once," Yang Xiao said, full of contempt.
To someone like Yang Xiao, dealing with small-time thugs like Ma Hua was nothing; at most, he had dealt with a hundred of them by himself at one time.
"Damn it, you dare to play me? Kill him!"
Ma Hua ordered once more, and the dozen or so thugs all rushed towards Yang Xiao.