Chapter 11: Shen Shu
Mu Jiashu returned home very late. After a quick wash, he practically fell asleep the moment he hit the bed. It wasn’t until the next morning, after breakfast, that he remembered Wen Shihe’s strange attitude from the previous day.
It was the weekend, and he didn’t have to work. He and Shen Ze were at Shen Shu’s uncle’s house.
Mu Jiashu pondered for a moment, then said, “Xiao Ze.”
Shen Ze had just finished a bowl of soy milk and wiped his mouth. “Brother, what’s up?”
Mu Jiashu said, “I ran into Wen Shihe yesterday.”
Shen Ze started coughing violently.
Mu Jiashu calmly poured him a glass of water. He knew this kid was a natural information spreader, no less efficient than a learning machine. He didn’t need to ask; the boy would tell him everything anyway.
Sure enough, after catching his breath, Shen Ze wiped his mouth, neglecting the water, and bombarded Mu Jiashu with questions: “Ah?! My god, how did you run into that bastard?! What bad luck! It’s over, it’s over! He… he didn’t do anything to you, did he? You weren’t beaten up, were you?”
Oh, so there was a past conflict… Had Shen Shu done something to offend Wen Shihe? That didn’t seem right. If that were the case, given Wen Shihe’s personality, he wouldn’t have let Shen Shu live this long, let alone let him off so easily today.
And what did he mean by that question?
Mu Jiashu thought about this, shook his head, and said, “No, but he asked me if I still resented him.”
Shen Ze said helplessly, “My god, he actually asked you that? Of course you should resent him! Why wouldn’t you?! You should tell him how awful he is! He and Li Qing are both terrible people. What did you say?”
Mu Jiashu’s eyes flickered, and he smiled wryly, shaking his head. “Of course I said I didn’t resent him. He’s powerful and influential. What could I do? What could I say? Besides, it’s all in the past; you can’t say it was all their fault…”
Shen Ze knew Wen Shihe was powerful and influential. If his cousin only said he didn’t resent him, Shen Ze wouldn’t have much to say. But hearing Mu Jiashu’s last two sentences, he became anxious again: “What do you mean? How could it not be all their fault?! Li Qing used you, pretended to care about you, and then dumped you as a backup once he was done with you. That’s incredibly despicable. To be honest, I was actually quite happy when he got together with Wen Shihe and stopped bothering you…”
He mentioned Li Qing several times, and Mu Jiashu finally remembered who this person was—based on his vague memories and the not-so-gentle political education from Shen Shu’s grandmother, he had come to understand that Shen Shu was a standard homosexual, and his unrequited love was Li Qing, the boy who lived in the apartment above them.
Li Qing’s father was an alcoholic who mainly survived on extortion and scams. His mother was a supermarket stock clerk. Li Qing was currently in university, and his whole family was incredibly unscrupulous.
This was evident from Shen Ze’s words.
Shen Ze continued, “Brother, I have to add something else, don’t hit me. Li Qing is a total bastard, his whole family is a bunch of bastards. He saw that you were naive and took advantage of you, and you still didn’t realize it? You told me Li Qing always sought you out because he liked you, but why didn’t you think, there aren’t that many fools in the world who would do things for him, why would he choose you?”
Mu Jiashu: “…”
He really wanted to hit him.
He said unceremoniously, “You’re the big fool.”
Shen Ze almost died laughing.
Mu Jiashu: “…”
Shen Ze said, laughing, “We both know who the real fool is. I’ve told you so many times, Li Qing didn’t actually want to be with Wen Shihe, but he wanted Wen Shihe’s money, so he introduced you to Wen Shihe. You actually thought he was being kind.”
This statement contained a lot of information. Mu Jiashu was stunned for a long time before understanding—Li Qing’s approach to finding a sugar daddy was incredibly creative; he acted as a pimp, introducing Shen Shu to Wen Shihe and taking a cut?
And Shen Shu actually went along with it.
Mu Jiashu found it both funny and sad, thinking Shen Ze’s “big fool” comment was accurate. He was indeed a big fool.
He stopped arguing, and after Shen Ze finished telling everything, Mu Jiashu learned about the even more tragic events that followed.
Although Shen Shu wasn’t very bright, he had a handsome face. Wen Shihe liked him at first sight, but Shen Shu realized what was going on and refused to be with Wen Shihe. This caused Wen Shihe to lose interest, and he had Shen Shu beaten, breaking both his legs.
Shen Shu crawled home that day.
The smile on Mu Jiashu’s face gradually faded. He didn’t speak, but a deep sadness welled up in his heart. This emotion was for Shen Shu, and for himself.
Why were there so many people in the world who hurt others, who didn’t value other people’s lives, who didn’t care about other people’s suffering?
Did weakness, stupidity, or illness mean you deserved to die?
This question seemed ridiculously naive, but although Mu Jiashu came from a wealthy background, he had never looked down on others. He didn’t understand what those people were thinking.
The perpetrators were still alive and well, the weak and defenseless Shen Shu was dead, and he, a so-called “decent person” who thought he acted with a clear conscience, was half-dead living in someone else’s body, unable to even acknowledge his own father.
“Those who kill and set fires get rich, those who repair roads and mend doors get nothing.” What else is there to say?
Mu Jiashu smiled sarcastically.
When it was time for his salary, Mu Jiashu found that Wei Xun had given him an extra month’s pay. Apparently, although Wei Xun had shielded most of the glass shards during the car accident, he still had several cuts on his waist. This was Wei Xun’s compensation for medical expenses.
The injury was worth it; after deducting the cost of a few band-aids, he had made a profit.
The extra money wasn’t deposited into his salary card but was given in cash directly from Wei Xun’s personal account. Mu Jiashu patted the stack of money in his hand and casually stuffed it into his coat pocket, thinking that Wei Xun was a good guy, willing to take the blame as a friend and generous as a boss.
Spring was approaching, the air filled with the scent of new growth. Things were different now. He didn’t have a car to take Wei Xun home, but he wasn’t in a hurry. He walked slowly along the quiet road towards the subway station.
The east wind was gentle.
In his over twenty years of life, he had been protected like porcelain, always surrounded by admirers, with a car at his disposal. Apart from his incurable physical problems, he lacked nothing and thus had nothing he particularly desired.
His life was neither good nor bad, drifting along aimlessly. Moments like this were almost unheard of.
The rich young master, Mu Jiashu, had become the small-time thug, Shen Shu. It wasn’t exactly lucky. A few days ago, he was still fuming about Wen Shihe’s wickedness. Yet, in this life, he gradually felt truly “alive.”
Perhaps life needs to mix together the sweet, sour, bitter, and spicy to create flavor. This experience allowed him to understand a different kind of life, and to appreciate how fortunate he had been before.
And now?
There were many things to do. Life in the world was a constant push and shove, a struggle; he didn’t have time to think about it anymore.
If Wei Xun knew that he was so satisfied with the extra five thousand yuan, he would probably pop his eyes out.
Imagining Wei Xun’s possible expression, Mu Jiashu smiled happily and strode down the slope.
This good mood didn’t last long. As he reached the bottom of his dilapidated building, something flew out of an open window, falling at his feet and shattering.
He looked down and recognized it as his grandmother’s old radio—the one she always kept on her bedside table to listen to storytelling. It was already quite old, and now it was just fragments, though the few circles of white tape were still clearly visible.
A muffled shout followed from the window. Mu Jiashu raised his eyebrows, stepped over the debris, and went upstairs.
The door to his apartment was ajar. A strong smell of alcohol mixed with sharp shouts filled the air. Mu Jiashu frowned slightly, pushed open the door, and entered.
It was already dark, but no one had turned on the lights. It seemed they had been engaged in a protracted battle, fully engrossed in the fight.
He stepped on something else without noticing. He casually kicked it aside without looking, and slammed the door shut with his hand. A loud “bang” brought a moment of silence.
Mu Jiashu found the light switch and turned on the lights. The room was in chaos, clothes and miscellaneous items strewn everywhere. All the cupboards and drawers were open, as if a thorough ransacking had just taken place.
Shen Ze was supporting Wang Xiu Fang, and a man was sitting on the sofa.
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