Several motorcycles roared through First Street. The New Year holiday hadn’t yet concluded, and the roads were still blanketed in shredded red firecracker paper.
The spring couplets and paper window cuttings on the storefronts flanking the street blazed a vibrant crimson. Many of the more elegant, boutique-style shops hadn’t even reverted to their usual playlists, still blasting an assortment of joyous, festive New Year anthems.
However, the crowds had thinned considerably compared to the preceding days. Many tourists had returned to work, leaving behind a bustling streetscape and a slightly quieter crowd—a unique atmosphere distinct to the tail-end of the holidays.
Since there were barely any cars on the road, the Pigpen Gang rode with absolute disregard for traffic laws. In the lead, Sanbing straddled the center line. Flanking him slightly behind were Lao Si and Lao Wu, each taking a lane—with Lao Si driving head-on against traffic. Chen Jian brought up the rear on the proper right side; even though he left ample room for Chen Erhu, Erhu refused to merge over, stubbornly holding his ground on the wrong side of the road.
The town roads were narrow enough that a person on the sidewalk could clearly make out the faces of anyone in an oncoming car, and none of them were nearsighted anyway.
So they maintained this formation purely for the sake of aesthetic symmetry.
Then again, in a place like this town, traffic regulations were largely treated as suggestions. Cars stopped wherever, drove however, and plenty simply parked diagonally half-on the curb and called it a day.
They rode all the way to the town intersection without spotting Zhang.
None of them dismounted. Propping their bikes up with their legs, they collectively stared down the incoming road.
Aside from a few hidden dirt trails known only to locals, this was the sole main artery into town. Whether arriving by car or shuttle bus, this was the only way in. As long as they guarded this chokepoint, they were guaranteed to intercept him.
Chen Jian’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and checked the screen: Shan Yu.
“Hello?” he answered.
“Running off to play without taking me,” Shan Yu said.
Chen Jian laughed: “Want to come, then? We’re at the shuttle stop by the intersection.”
“Got him blocked yet?” Shan Yu asked.
“Not yet,” Chen Jian replied.
“Tell him the best-case scenario is a mutually agreed divorce. I read over Sun Nana’s drafted agreement—she’s essentially leaving with nothing. No assets, only asking the guy to reimburse half of the mortgage payments she already made,” Shan Yu said. “Tell him not to push his luck.”
“When did you read her agreement?” Chen Jian asked, thoroughly surprised.
“Just now,” Shan Yu said.
“Oh,” Chen Jian paused. “And what if he refuses?”
“Then we take him to court,” Shan Yu said. “We’ll dig into exactly where her psychiatric diagnosis came from, and where the bruises on her body came from. The fact that he threw the first punch at us in the restaurant that day has witnesses too; tell him the only reason he wasn’t locked up for a few days was out of misplaced nostalgia. Tell him to go ask around who the best divorce lawyer is—if he crosses paths with one, he won’t walk away with a single cent.”
“Who is the best divorce lawyer?” Chen Jian asked.
“Who knows, but he certainly can’t afford them,” Shan Yu said. “If he calls our bluff, we’ll find one. If he has no clue, I’ll have President Liu introduce one. Sourcing one from another city isn’t exactly a hassle.”
“…Got it,” Chen Jian acknowledged.
“Best-case scenario is we don’t escalate to that point. Sun Nana definitely wouldn’t want to drag us into that deep of a mess,” Shan Yu said. “Zhang is a contract worker at the tax bureau. If he doesn’t cooperate, we’ll have people unfurl banners outside his office; he can kiss that job goodbye…”
“Nana would never do something like that, would she?” Chen Jian hesitated.
“She definitely wouldn’t,” Shan Yu said. “That’s a job for us… or rather, you shameless bunch.”
“Shan Yu?” Chen Jian was taken aback.
“How thrilling,” Shan Yu suddenly sounded deeply invested. “I’ve already drafted the slogans. I can even write the banners for you…”
“Give it a rest!” Chen Jian cut him off in a hushed hiss.
“Looks like he’s here!” Chen Erhu turned and yelled at Chen Jian. “Who are you talking to for so long?!”
Chen Jian looked ahead. A white sedan, about twenty or thirty meters away, suddenly braked upon seeing them.
“He’s here,” Chen Jian said. “Hanging up now.”
“If he tries anything funny, get physical,” Shan Yu said. “Scare him a bit. The only reason he’s been relentlessly harassing Sun Nana is because she’s never had anyone tough enough standing behind her.”
“Get physical?” Chen Jian suddenly felt relieved Shan Yu hadn’t come.
“Appropriate shoving, Store Manager,” Shan Yu instructed. “You have better judgment on this than I do.”
“Mm, understood.” Chen Jian recalled the time in the restaurant when Shan Yu had nearly choked Zhang into unconsciousness.
The white car pulled over to the side of the road.
Chen Jian and the crew slowly rolled their motorcycles forward, stopping about ten meters away before dismounting in unison.
With an imposing, swaggering strut, Chen Erhu marched straight toward the hood of the car.
After a few steps, he tilted his head back: “Fuck, Chen Jian, he brought backup.”
Chen Jian noticed the figures in the back seat as well.
But as he drew closer to the hood and made out the faces in the back, he froze.
This Zhang guy really was repulsive. If he had brought a few thugs to start a brawl, that would have been easy to handle. But the people he brought were the exact same pair they had met at the restaurant that day—Sun Nana’s parents.
How were they supposed to “appropriately shove” them?
“What do you think you’re doing!” Zhang stepped out of the car, pointing at them, then jabbing a finger toward the dashboard camera. “The dashcam is recording.”
“You threw the first punch in the restaurant hallway the other day,” Chen Jian raised his voice, stepping up to the passenger-side window and peering in. “The restaurant security cameras were recording too!”
With that, he offered a polite smile to the solemn-faced parents in the back seat: “Uncle, Auntie, Happy New Year.”
“I don’t want to get tangled up with you thugs,” Zhang said. “You abducted Nana to this place…”
“Spreading rumors is a crime, buddy.” Chen Jian turned to look at him.
“Watch your mouth,” Chen Erhu glared at Zhang. “What kind of abduction victim gets to wander around the city shopping and sightseeing?”
“Then what is the meaning of you blocking the road, refusing to let us pass?” Zhang demanded.
“You parked the car yourself. We thought you broke down and came over to help,” Lao Wu said. “What? Why park so far away? Feeling guilty?”
“Where is Nana? We want to see her.” Sun’s mother remained in the car, looking directly at Chen Jian as she asked.
“Nana-jie is at work,” Chen Jian said. “If you want to see her, we’ll take you to her. But this man—she doesn’t want to see him, so…”
“Mom,” Zhang marched over and forcefully shoved Chen Jian aside. “Don’t listen to them. This backward countryside is full of local thugs; it’s completely unsafe.”
“The police station is a hundred meters down from the intersection,” Chen Jian said. “Want to go file a report first?”
“I won’t let you take them away.” Zhang pointed a finger right in his face.
Point at my ass, go to hell!
Chen Jian didn’t waste a word. He grabbed Zhang’s finger and wrenched it backward. Zhang’s face twisted in agony, and he immediately grabbed Chen Jian’s wrist, trying to drag him toward the front of the car while yelling: “You—”
Before he could finish his sentence, Sanbing suddenly yelled from behind: “What are you doing?!”
In the next instant, Sanbing threw himself violently onto the hood of the car, slamming the phone in his hand against the metal before letting it go flying.
“Sanbing, are you okay?!” Lao Wu threw himself forward just as quickly, helping Sanbing up before whirling around to point accusingly at their side. “What do you think you’re doing, assaulting people?!”
Meanwhile, Lao Si stepped up from behind, using his body to physically block Zhang from retreating toward the front of the car.
Though the Pigpen Gang’s brain folds might be shallow, they possessed enough situational awareness to realize Zhang’s dashcam wasn’t a 360-degree model; it only recorded straight ahead.
Chen Jian released Zhang’s finger, reversing his grip to lock onto Zhang’s wrist and pressing downward. Zhang stumbled forward, nearly crashing directly into him.
Chen Jian seized him by the collar, keeping his voice low and deadly: “Go sign the divorce papers. If you’re genuinely stupid enough to drag this to court, you’re the one who will bleed. How did she get her psychiatric diagnosis? Where did the bruises on her face come from? Care to have the leadership and your colleagues at the tax bureau analyze those questions together?”
“What are you implying! Playing dirty, are you?!” Zhang tried to wrench his wrist free, but failed.
“Who could possibly out-dirty you? I’m telling you right now—forget the divorce, this is enough to send you straight to prison,” Chen Jian leaned right into his face, his voice a dark rumble. “Don’t push your luck. Go ask around who the most ruthless divorce lawyer is. Don’t come crying to me when you’re ordered to leave the marriage with absolutely nothing.”
Before Zhang could react, Chen Jian shoved him forcefully against the car door.
Zhang’s head smacked against the vehicle with a loud thump.
Inside the car, Sun’s parents jolted in their seats from sheer shock.
Chen Jian froze for a second.
Did I go too far?
Sun Nana’s parents are sitting right there…
Behind Zhang, Lao Si reacted with lightning speed, simultaneously throwing himself backward to “crash” onto the hood.
“Ouch!” he cried out on cue.
…Fuck, that’s even worse.
Being “shoved around” by them had finally pushed Zhang past his breaking point. Much like Shan Yu had predicted, this man had never encountered anyone truly tough when dealing with Sun Nana.
Especially a pack of “local thugs.”
His carefully maintained facade of a “gentleman” crumbled completely.
Gritting his teeth, he lunged wildly at Chen Jian. Chen Jian took a half-step back, preparing to deliver a swift kick, when Chen Erhu intercepted. Wrapping his arms around Zhang in a tight bear hug, Erhu barrel-rolled the both of them straight onto the hood of the car.
The sheer cinematic timing.
Shooting web series might actually be a viable career path for them…
“Stop fighting, stop fighting!” Sun’s mother finally couldn’t bear it anymore and stepped out of the car. “Xiao Zhang, don’t argue with them.”
“Auntie,” Chen Jian glanced at the hood, where Chen Erhu and Zhang were locked in what looked like an inseparable embrace. “Nana-jie works at our inn. She just received a threatening text message and was terrified, which is why we came to check things out first.”
“You people…” Father Sun swept a wary gaze over the group.
Sorry, Uncle. This bunch really does look like a pack of thugs.
“We undeniably have a very poor impression of Mr. Zhang,” Chen Jian stated smoothly. “Because the last time we ran into him at the restaurant—after the matter had already been resolved—he suddenly launched an unprovoked physical assault on our boss. The waitstaff witnessed the entire thing…”
“Is that true?” Sun’s mother looked doubtful.
“You can ask anyone there, Auntie,” Chen Jian said.
“How about this,” Father Sun frowned, looking toward the brawl on the hood. “Let’s stop this commotion, it’s completely unseemly… Xiao Zhang, wait here. We will go inside…”
“No!” Zhang yelled. “Dad, you can’t go alone.”
“Auntie, why don’t you call Nana-jie first,” Chen Jian suggested.
“She won’t answer our calls.” Sun’s mother let out a heavy sigh.
“One moment.” Chen Jian pulled out his phone, dialed Sun Nana, and put it on speaker.
“Store Manager Chen, how is it?” Sun Nana’s voice came through.
“Nana,” Chen Jian glanced at her mother. “Your parents are here. They’re in the car…”
“I won’t see them, I won’t see them, I won’t see them…” Sun Nana rapidly chanted.
“It’s just them,” Chen Jian clarified. “Mr. Zhang isn’t coming inside.”
Sun Nana fell silent.
Chen Jian handed the phone to her mother. Sun’s mother stepped aside and spoke quietly with her daughter for a few moments. When she turned back around, her eyes were rimmed with red.
“Store Manager Chen, we’ll have to trouble you to take us inside,” she said.
“Alright, then…” Chen Jian glanced at the white sedan, unsure if anyone else knew how to drive it; he currently only knew how to drive the two vehicles belonging to the inn. “We’ll take you in on our motorcycles.”
“Fine.” Sun’s mother exchanged a look with her husband and nodded.
“Sanbing, you guys keep Mr. Zhang company out here,” Chen Jian turned a cold eye on Zhang. “Erhu and I will take Uncle and Auntie inside.”
When Chen Jian and the Pigpen Gang had ridden out in formation earlier, no one batted an eye; the locals were likely thoroughly desensitized to their antics by now. Yet as he and Chen Erhu drove back into town—each carrying a middle-aged parent on the back of their bikes—several shop owners by the road cast highly curious glances their way.
Arriving back at the inn, Sun’s parents stood in the courtyard, tilting their heads back to stare up at the building for a long while.
“Uncle, Auntie, Happy New Year. Must have been a tiring trip,” Hu Pan walked out to greet them. “Nana-jie is resting in the dorm. Let me take you up.”
The group stepped into the lobby. Shan Yu was standing behind the front desk.
“Isn’t that…” Sun’s mother pointed at Shan Yu.
“Our boss,” Chen Jian said. “You met him that day.”
“Right.” Father Sun stared at Shan Yu. “That’s him.”
The atmosphere shifted in a strange, inexplicable way. Shan Yu, who normally wouldn’t have bothered riding the elevator up, seemed to pick up on the tension and stepped into the cabin last.
“Is Nana doing alright?” Sun’s mother asked Shan Yu.
“She was doing perfectly fine before. Right now, not so much,” Shan Yu answered.
No one else spoke in the elevator. The group rode in silence to the fourth floor and walked into the dorm.
Sun Nana was sitting in the women’s dorm, making no move to stand when they entered.
“Have a chat with your parents. Call us if you need anything,” Shan Yu said, turning to leave.
“Don’t leave.” Sun Nana stood up.
Shan Yu and Chen Jian halted. Chen Erhu, who had already stepped out into the hall, quickly stepped back inside.
Sun Nana likely felt her current mental state was too fragile and wanted people she trusted there to speak on her behalf.
“What is your… relationship with Nana?” Father Sun finally turned to Shan Yu, asking the question he had clearly been holding in the entire ride.
Shan Yu looked at him: “I am her boss.”
“Just… her boss?” Sun’s mother seemed equally unconvinced.
“What else?” Shan Yu said. “Are you trying to ask if Sun Nana had an affair?”
Father Sun fell silent.
“We… just wanted to know if Nana was somehow at fault as well,” Sun’s mother let out a soft sigh.
“Whether she is at fault or not, she has already made every possible concession in the divorce agreement,” Shan Yu shot a brief glance at Chen Jian. “Furthermore…”
Chen Jian grasped the intent behind that single glance in a fraction of a second.
He didn’t speak; he merely gave a minute, imperceptible nod.
Say it!
It doesn’t matter!
Inexplicably, a surge of adrenaline rushed through him.
“This is my boyfriend,” Shan Yu stated plainly, looking at Chen Jian. “Therefore, aside from being colleagues and friends, it is physically impossible for Sun Nana and me to have any other kind of relationship.”
The moment the words dropped, Sun’s parents were stunned into absolute silence.
Add Chen Erhu to that list.
Chen Jian could practically hear the screaming inner monologue radiating from Chen Erhu’s wide-eyed stare: What the fuck?! Chen Jian?! Is this real?! Or is this a ploy?! How am I supposed to play along with this?!
“Is that so…” Sun’s mother finally murmured, recovering her voice.
“Right,” Chen Erhu, proving why he was the former gang leader, snapped out of his shock with impressive speed. He nodded firmly. “We all knew about it.”
Chen Erhu, I’m impressed 😂