V2 C8: The True First Meeting
“Sister Zou…” Facing Zou Yameng, Ruan Qian was visibly intimidated, her voice shrinking. Back in the day, Ruan Qian had idolized Zou Yameng. However, due to the ongoing feud between Zhou Haiming and Lu Li, she had kept her distance. Lu Li glanced at his sister’s bandaged ankle. “Sis, were you eavesdropping at the door?”
“It’s not eavesdropping when it concerns my brother.”
“Sure, sure. But you should stay home and rest, Sister Yameng. I’ll go with Ruan Qian.” He cut off her protests. “You’ll only distract me if you come along in that state. Besides, it might not even be a fight. Maybe Zhou Haiming and Chen Shiwei have already subdued their opponent.”
“You have to message me if anything happens!” Zou Yameng wasn’t one to fuss unnecessarily. “And try to avoid fighting if you can, okay?”
In youth, violence was often the preferred solution to problems. A strong body could offer many advantages in those years. Having lived two lives, Lu Li’s approach to problem-solving had shifted from brute force to using his brain. Faced with this sudden situation, he found himself momentarily unsure of what to do. He followed Ruan Qian out of the Low-Rent District, arriving at a construction site ten minutes later. The place was already crowded with onlookers.
Zhou Haiming and Chen Shiwei were pinning An Gulai to the ground, each holding one of his arms twisted behind his back. Their faces were contorted with rage. “You bastard! You still think you can act all high and mighty with us? We’ll break your arms if you don’t tell us what we want to know!”
An Gulai was a middle-aged man in his forties, his face haggard and unkempt. He wore a faded black leather jacket and baggy jeans. If you said he was homeless, no one would question it. But looking closely at his features, you could still see traces of his former handsomeness.
Held down without any dignity by the two ruthless teenagers, his expression remained calm. “Even if you break my arms, I can’t pay you back. I have nothing but this worthless life. Do you dare take it?” His words enraged Zhou Haiming, making him want to strangle the man.
Lu Li arrived just in time. “Zhou Haiming, Chen Shiwei.”
“Brother Lu?”
“Brother Lu, it’s this bastard! He was the one who led the scam to steal the subsidies!”
Lu Li didn’t respond. There were too many people around, and some things were best not said in public, especially since this involved the local government. If this turned into a scandal, Chu Xiaodong would be the first to call him in for a talk. Moreover, Zhou Haiming and Chen Shiwei were acting like thugs, and some onlookers were already recording the scene with their phones. It was unwise to continue this confrontation here. He crouched in front of An Gulai, studying him silently before asking calmly, “Mr. An, can we talk?”
“You their leader? Huh.”
“Come with me.” Lu Li didn’t want his face caught on camera. He turned and walked towards the Low-Rent District. Zhou Haiming and Chen Shiwei dragged the limp An Gulai behind them. Once they were away from the crowd, Lu Li told them to throw An Gulai by the roadside.
Years ago, Chuanhai had implemented an orphan assistance program, assigning guardians and providing living allowances to the orphans in the Low-Rent District. Back then, Lu Li had been taken from the orphanage, confused and disoriented, and brought to the district. He was too young to understand what was happening, only remembering a blur of adults talking to him in confusing terms. He had been shuffled from the orphanage to the hospital, to some apartment complex, and finally, like a piece of cargo, dumped in the Low-Rent District. For him, this place was where his life truly began. He had often wondered, if his assigned guardian hadn’t been a con artist, would his life have been different?
Instead of immediately questioning the half-dead An Gulai, he turned to Zhou Haiming. “How did you find him?”
“Didn’t Ruan Qian mention his name last time? I kept my ears open these past few days, asking around, and I actually found him at the construction site.”
An Gulai gasped for air, sneering. “That’s because I’m the only idiot who used his real name. I wasn’t even hiding. You think you kids could have found me otherwise?”
“It was you back then?”
“Of course it was me. I needed money, so I took it. What’s wrong with that? As for you lot, heh, you’re just trash from the Low-Rent District. No one would care if you starved to death on the streets.” An Gulai made no attempt to hide his actions. He eagerly recounted the events of that year, his words laced with malice, hoping to provoke a reaction from Lu Li. But to his disappointment, Lu Li’s expression remained as calm as still water, his eyes as deep as the abyss, his thoughts unreadable.
An Gulai’s explanation revealed that he had been the mastermind behind the scheme to defraud the government. He had brought his “co-workers” to apply as guardians. After receiving the money, they had all disappeared, leaving only An Gulai behind. He hadn’t even bothered to cover his tracks all these years.
It could only be said that the children of the Low-Rent District had limited access to information. Their enemy had been living in the same city, and they had only found him today.
“How did you manage to get your co-workers through the guardian qualification process?” This was a procedural question, one Lu Li was asking not for himself, but for Chu Xiaodong. A group of workers without even a fixed residence had somehow managed to become legal guardians. There had to be something fishy going on.
An Gulai suddenly fell silent. He realized that Lu Li wasn’t seeking revenge. Continuing to provoke him would be pointless.
The middle-aged man sighed and lay on the ground, looking at Zhou Haiming. “Well? Why aren’t you hitting me anymore?”
“Answer Brother Lu’s question!”
“Hit me! Hit me! Kill me, you bastards!” An Gulai suddenly roared, his outburst startling everyone, including Lu Li. His emotional swings were too extreme, too erratic.
He burst into tears, grabbing Zhou Haiming’s hand and slamming it against his own head. “Kill me! Kill me!”
Zhou Haiming recoiled in shock, jumping back several steps as if An Gulai was a plague carrier.
“Brother Lu, is he mentally ill?”
Zhou Haiming initially thought An Gulai was putting on an act. Mental illness often offered leniency in legal cases. Perhaps that was how he had evaded punishment all these years? But if it was an act, it was incredibly convincing. His face was contorted with anguish, his wrinkles seeming to deepen, a stark contrast to his previous defiant demeanor.
“You’ve been searching for me all these years! Don’t you want me dead?! Come on!”
Zhou Haiming and the others were just teenagers. In their anger, they had truly wanted to kill An Gulai. But now, faced with his breakdown, they were at a loss. They had beaten him, they had cursed him, could they really kill him? Reporting him to the police was pointless; the statute of limitations had long passed.
Lu Li didn’t know if he was truly mentally ill, but he definitely had self-destructive tendencies. He watched as An Gulai alternated between crying and shouting, pounding his head with his fists, as if punishing himself. Pain was eternal. It wouldn’t disappear; it would only shift. Those in power would transfer their pain to those below them, and so on, the cycle continuing. When the weak received this pain, unable to vent their anger outward, they would turn it inwards, seeking to eliminate the source of their pain – their own existence. This was the root of self-destruction.
Those who longed for death were often like this.
An Gulai had been seeking death all along. That was why he had allowed himself to be found. He was waiting to die.
Only now did they realize that An Gulai was, perhaps, truly insane.
“He’s not mentally ill, he’s just a coward.” Lu Li addressed Zhou Haiming, but his next words were directed at An Gulai. “If you really want to die, stop pretending to hit yourself with your fists. There are rocks and broken glass on the ground. Close your eyes, take a deep breath, and use a little force. You’ll be free soon enough.”
“Brother Lu… what…?” Zhou Haiming and the others were shocked by his words. They were angry, but they didn’t want to be responsible for a life.
“Let’s just leave him.” Lu Li had lost interest in pursuing this further. He didn’t know what An Gulai had gone through, but for a cowardly man seeking death, interrogation would only provide him with a perverse sense of satisfaction. Knowing his name and address was enough. He would leave the rest to Chu Xiaodong.
“Are we just going to let him go?” Ruan Qian’s eyes flashed with hatred. She bit her lip, staring at An Gulai. What could be more tragic than finally finding your enemy, only to discover he was a broken man?
Lu Li didn’t offer her a definitive answer. Everyone’s hatred was different. He had no right to speak for her. “Do as you please.” He walked up to the stunned Zhou Haiming, patted his shoulder, and said nothing. When he had first heard the news about finding An Gulai, he had been filled with excitement and a thirst for revenge. This was the first time in both his lives that he had found the culprit who had wronged him and his sister. But now, facing the half-mad man, he only felt a sense of absurdity.
A forty-year-old man, shamelessly crying and screaming on the street, alternating between mocking them and pleading with them, his appearance pitiful and pathetic.
An Baili returned home, her heart heavy. She unlocked the door and made herself a simple dinner. She had barely taken a few bites when she heard a knock. An Gulai never knocked. He would bang on the door and yell. If she didn’t open it, he would break in through the window. The living room window was still broken from one of his outbursts.
She took a deep breath and reluctantly opened the door. It was the neighborhood committee aunt. Her first words stunned An Baili.
“Your dad got beaten up!”
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