LCFM Chapter 1

“Really not studying anymore?!” The shouted voice was scattered by the wind.

Jiang Xinghuai propped his hands on the iron pole, leaped over the rooftop, and rolled as he landed, his back brushing against the scattered pebbles. In less than a second, he was back on his feet, running forward.

Study what? He never liked studying in the first place. Before, he had only used those terrible grades to make his presence felt in front of his dad.

Now, he didn’t need to.

“Take care of yourself.” That was what his dad had said.

He had to follow through. He had to obey.

“The college entrance exam is coming soon! Really not studying anymore?!” The voice followed again.

Jiang Xinghuai didn’t even turn his head, his eyes fixed on the stairs descending ahead, irritation in his tone: “Mind your own shoelaces. Stop staring at me all the time!”

Chen Zhou, hearing this, looked down at his shoelaces. All he saw were a pair of lightweight cloth shoes. He called out in confusion, “My shoes don’t have laces!” As he spoke, he forgot about the stairs ahead. By the time he noticed, his steps faltered. He hastily grabbed the rusty iron railing, abruptly stopping and kneeling.

Looking up again, Jiang Xinghuai was already leaping through the air, crossing the stairs, perfectly twisting his body, and landing smoothly.

“Cool!” Chen Zhou blurted out.

Jiang Xinghuai planted his feet firmly, turned around, and walked up the stairs. He slowly came to stand in front of him, his brows sharp and defined. “We’re brothers. No need for formalities.”

Chen Zhou waved his hand generously. “How can that be!”

“How can that not be? Even if you just kneel there and say nothing, you’re still my good brother.” Jiang Xinghuai smiled and reached out his hand.

“Is this how your dad got so mad at you that he wouldn’t talk to you?” Chen Zhou laughed as he grabbed his hand and stood up.

Jiang Xinghuai shook off his hand and turned to walk forward.

“Hey!” Chen Zhou called, following after him. “I’m sorry!”

“Did you bring the drinks?” Jiang Xinghuai asked.

“I put them on the rooftop the other day,” Chen Zhou replied, then asked, “You really won’t relent?”

Jiang Xinghuai stayed silent, walking to the rooftop and looking down.

Night was approaching. The music square below had long been lit up with colorful night lights and crowded with people. There were skateboarders, rollerbladers, guitar players, and boys kicking off walls into the air, making the girls scream.

Countless voices merged, rising with the currents of air, distant yet noisy.

“Still cold?” Chen Zhou tossed over a can of ice-cold cola.

Jiang Xinghuai raised his hand to take it. He pressed the can to his face and sat down at the edge of the rooftop.

“Did you tell your dad? Did he have any objections?” Chen Zhou pulled the tab, tilted his head back, and took a long gulp, sighing deeply. “Ah—so good—”

“Objections?” Jiang Xinghuai propped himself up with his hands behind him. He leaned his head back, his calves swinging in midair, his voice laced with mockery. “His secretary said Mr. Jiang is busy, and that he’ll schedule a time to talk to me about this in a few days.”

“Today is the fifteenth day since I dropped out. The secretary scheduled a time for me to talk to my dad, but I don’t even know where the appointment went, or what number in line I am. Before the college entrance exam, I don’t even know if it can fit into his schedule…” Jiang Xinghuai took a sip of the ice-cold cola.

Chen Zhou sighed. “Ah, poor thing.”

Overflowing with maternal affection, he said, “Come here, let your brother give you a hug.”

Jiang Xinghuai tilted his head to glance at him, speaking slowly: “I do lack love, that’s true, but it’s not a big problem. You need to know what you’re lacking.”

Chen Zhou looked puzzled. “I’m lacking what?”

“The dad who could slap you to death with a single hand.” Jiang Xinghuai sneered, swiftly stood up, and took a few significant steps back, facing sideways.

“What are you doing?!” Chen Zhou called, turning to look.

“Going to Fei Ge’s place!” Jiang Xinghuai shouted as he charged forward.

The moment he finished speaking, Chen Zhou saw Jiang Xinghuai arch his back like a sharp arrow slicing through the air, jumping into the gap between the buildings.

Jiang Xinghuai’s eyes were wide open, arms raised. The wind whipped through his hair. Below him stretched dozens of meters of open air.

Chen Zhou sprinted over, shouting, “Is he dead?!”

“Not dead yet, son! Hurry up and jump!” Jiang Xinghuai’s voice came from a spot very close to the neighboring building.

“Dad, I was wrong! Catch me!” Chen Zhou said, and without a single pause, he jumped down.

The other building had a small balcony, with a few flower pots on either side, all filled with cigarette butts.

The window was open.

Jiang Xinghuai landed steadily on the balcony, swung slightly, and slipped through the open window.

At the same time, a man in his forties, wearing a loose bathrobe that couldn’t even hide his large belly, and carrying a glass of whiskey, walked elegantly from the end of the corridor with his eyes closed.

With a “thud”, Jiang Xinghuai landed, thoughtfully closed the window behind him, and turned around. The two of them faced each other, almost bumping into one another.

The man heard the commotion. His eyes widened, and the whiskey in his mouth sprayed out like a fountain.

Jiang Xinghuai sidestepped disdainfully. He snatched the glass from Zhu Gaofei’s hand, tilted his head back, took a sip, and frowned in assessment. “This beer’s expired, isn’t it?”

Zhu Gaofei’s face went pale. Carefully guarding the glass, he snatched it back and shouted, “Know your stuff! Whiskey! A collector’s edition!”

“What? Collector’s edition? Fei Ge got some good stuff again?” Chen Zhou climbed in through the window from behind. He walked between the two, grabbed the glass from Zhu Gaofei, and took a sip. “Delicious!”

The pained expression on Zhu Gaofei’s face softened into one of finding a kindred spirit. He trembled as he reached out, “Good kid!”

“Although…” Chen Zhou smacked his lips, savoring it, then added, “Well… the beer flavor is a bit strong, though.”

“Get lost.” Zhu Gaofei, furious, snatched the glass again. “You two kids who only drink cola don’t know a thing.”

“We’re drinking tonight.” Jiang Xinghuai announced.

“I’m warning you two. If you crawl in again, you’ll be the ones heating the place tonight. You’ll be on stage doing pole dancing.” Zhu Gaofei glared at them.

“Whiskey’s great!” Chen Zhou clapped in praise.

“Whiskey’s awesome!” Jiang Xinghuai echoed, showing his support.

“Of course.” Zhu Gaofei proudly lifted his chin, shook the nearly empty glass, and tilted it back with satisfaction.

A minute later, only a single drop remained at the rim.

Zhu Gaofei: “…………”

“Where’s the drink?!” Zhu Gaofei exploded in anger, snatching Chen Zhou’s head and pressing it down toward his crotch.

Jiang Xinghuai had already run ahead, propping himself on the railing of the corridor, jumped down, and stood behind the bar, opening a can of beer.

“The elementary school kid is making noise in all sorts of ways to show his dad and get attention.” Zhu Gaofei looked over at the bar, laughing mockingly.

Chen Zhou shrugged. “At most, I’ll drink five of your beers.”

“Is this about alcohol? It’s about feelings!” Zhu Gaofei fumed. “That dog last time got drunk, hugged me, and called me ‘Dad’, pouring out all his heart. My fatherly love exploded. I cried and sniffled all night! And the next day, just the next day! That brat flipped and stopped calling me ‘Dad’, calling me ‘fat old man’ instead?”

“He was just embarrassed. Normally, he still respects you a lot, Fei Ge!” Chen Zhou explained for his brother.

“Fat old man! Why can’t I open this beer?!” Jiang Xinghuai shouted from below.

The fat old man sneered, rolled up his bathrobe sleeves, and resignedly went down to open the drink for that brat.

By ten o’clock at night, this highly private bar had gone from being almost empty to slowly filling up.

Jiang Xinghuai had also drunk quite a bit. He slumped in the corner and, only after a long while, managed to brace himself against the back of the sofa and stand up.

“What are you doing?” Chen Zhou had just put down his guitar and stepped off the stage.

“Peeing.” Jiang Xinghuai wobbled a little before straightening up.

“Watch your step…” Chen Zhou followed him helplessly.

Jiang Xinghuai’s mind was a little hazy, but he managed to finish and, in a daze, pushed the door open and went out.

He gave himself a little pep talk and a compliment before taking a couple of steps forward.

At the same time, a woman, clutching her neck and staggering, rushed out of the women’s restroom next door.

Her disheveled hair collided perfectly with Jiang Xinghuai, who was coming out of the men’s restroom.

Jiang Xinghuai’s steps were unsteady. He was pushed back by the woman and fell, hitting the back of his head against the wall. He quickly reached out to steady himself against the wall. At least he stayed upright, though his head was a little dizzy.

The woman pressed closer again and said something, more like an unconscious low growl, which Jiang Xinghuai didn’t catch.

“What did you say?” Jiang Xinghuai frowned and pushed her away, finally creating a small gap between them.

At that moment, the woman suddenly lifted her head, her neck unnaturally tilting backward.

Jiang Xinghuai got a clear look at her face.

Her features were twisted, veins bulging on her forehead, eyes protruding as if they were about to pop out.

Jiang Xinghuai: “!”

The shock sobered him up instantly. With a startled yell, he instinctively pushed with all his strength.

The woman stepped back two paces, but as if unfazed, lunged forward again. This time, wrapping her arms around Jiang Xinghuai.

“Sister! You’ve got the wrong person!” Jiang Xinghuai struggled desperately. “Sister! Wait! Don’t do this!”

The commotion wasn’t very loud, but Chen Zhou, waiting nearby, heard Jiang Xinghuai’s voice and hurried over. Seeing the situation, he was astonished: “What’s going on?!”

“Confess your love!” Jiang Xinghuai pressed firmly against the woman’s shoulders.

“Doesn’t look like it!” Chen Zhou shouted.

“Then why the hell are you asking?! Pull her off! This lady’s going to bite me!” Jiang Xinghuai yelled at him.

Chen Zhou grabbed with both hands, but he hadn’t expected the woman to be so strong. He couldn’t move her at all, so he had to lock her throat while desperately pulling and shouting, “Fei Ge! Fei Ge! Fei Ge!”

Hearing the commotion, Zhu Gaofei rushed over to help, but still couldn’t separate them.

Then three more men arrived. With several big men grabbing an arm each, they finally manage to restrain the woman.

Jiang Xinghuai was still gasping for breath, his eyes full of astonishment and terror. After a long moment, he muttered, “This lady is way too strong.”

“You okay?” Zhu Gaofei’s face was grim, worried that the kid might be hurt.

Jiang Xinghuai shook his head. A sharp pain shot through the back of his neck. He instinctively touched it. Blood was in his palm.

Bitten? He didn’t seem to have been bitten… maybe he hit the corner of the tile?

“Bitten?” Zhu Gaofei asked, looking at the blood in his palm.

“Ah… maybe I just hit it…” Jiang Xinghuai said uncertainly.

“Go to my room and disinfect it first.” Zhu Gaofei immediately instructed the staff to call the police, then smiled at the men who had come to help. “Guys, help out and get her outside.”

The woman, seemingly drunk, was unaware of the current situation. She continued struggling, letting out low growls from her throat.

Before Chen Zhou pulled Jiang Xinghuai upstairs, he glanced back at the woman pinned to the ground. His heart suddenly started racing.

“Bleeding?” Chen Zhou pried open his hand and looked at the back of his neck. “This woman doesn’t have any diseases, right? You should go to the hospital.”

“I’m not going.” Jiang Xinghuai refused. “I probably just hit the corner of the wall. She didn’t bite me.”

“Probably?” Chen Zhou warned him. “I’m telling you, just a few days ago, there was that news on Weibo about someone getting bitten to death on the streets in Country A. They said it was some kind of virus, something like rabies. You really weren’t bitten?”

“Wait, phone.” Jiang Xinghuai pushed him aside, pulling out his phone from his pocket. It was ringing. The caller ID showed Xiao Xu.

Xiao Xu was the property manager of his building. Why is he calling him now?

“Hello?” Jiang Xinghuai answered, puzzled.

“Hello, Mr. Jiang, this is Xiao Xu from Building A.” Xiao Xu smiled awkwardly. “So, we received a complaint. The sound from your home audio system is too loud and has seriously disturbed the resident of unit 1702.”

“There’s no one at home.” Jiang Xinghuai frowned.

“I’m really sorry. The resident of 1702, your neighbor, provided us with an audio recording.”

“I said, there’s no one at home.” Jiang Xinghuai impatiently hung up.

“Your new neighbor complained about you again? You haven’t even been home lately. Are they just looking for trouble?” Chen Zhou twisted off the cap of the alcohol bottle. “Lower your head.”

Jiang Xinghuai scowled and lowered his head.

The wound on the back of his neck was growing increasingly painful, burning like fire.

His phone rang again.

Chen Zhou’s hand shook in fright. A large splash of alcohol spilled directly onto the back of Jiang Xinghuai’s neck.

“Ah—” Jiang Xinghuai gasped sharply, nearly dropping to his knees from the pain.

“Shit, shit, shit! Are you okay?!” Chen Zhou panicked. “Do you want me to pour some water on it?”

“The water in your brain?!” Jiang Xinghuai cursed him, then scowled as he answered the phone that had been ringing in his pocket.

On the other end, the caller first apologized for disturbing him, then immediately made a request: “Sir, we really have no choice. The resident of 1702 said your audio system played Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf twenty-one times.”

“Do I look like I enjoy listening to that dumb goat song?” Jiang Xinghuai covered the back of his neck, gritting his teeth. “There’s really no one at my place. Are you sure the guy in 1702 doesn’t have hearing problems?”

“Sir, here’s the situation—”

“Bullshit! Ask him if he’s just hallucinating. Can you take him to the hospital to have his ears checked? I’ll pay.” Jiang Xinghuai’s patience was completely gone.

“I’m sorry, Sir, but the gentleman is right here. He says his ears are fine. He also requests that you return immediately; he needs to rest, or he’ll call the police.”

“………” Jiang Xinghuai froze for a moment, then burst out cursing: “Call! Let him call! I’ve never obeyed anyone my whole life except the police! Tell that punk if he doesn’t call, he’s my kid!” With that, he threw the phone aside and irritably finished the whiskey Zhu Gaofei had stored in the glass cabinet of his room.

1:00 a.m.

Jiang Xinghuai, thoroughly drunk, staggered into the apartment building, his legs weak, making his way toward the elevator.

Only one tall man was inside.

Reeking of alcohol, Jiang Xinghuai approached. The man frowned, stepping aside to avoid him.

Jiang Xinghuai didn’t notice the man’s disgust. He instinctively tried to press the floor button, but his knees gave out. With a thud, he knelt in front of the man.

He tried to stand, but failed, and with a sigh, leaned against the elevator wall. Looking up at the only man inside, he slurred his words, asking for help: “Uncle, can you press the elevator for me? I can’t see clearly.”

The man looked down at him and reached out, intending to help him up.

“17th floor. Thank you, Uncle.” Jiang Xinghuai slurred his words but politely announced his floor.

Each floor of the apartment had only two units, designed for privacy and minimal interference, so only two residents lived on the 17th floor.

As luck would have it, the man also lived on the 17th floor.

Without even hesitating, the man withdrew his hand, abandoning the attempt to help the boy.

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