Chapter 13 Revenge (Part 1)
Time flies, fleeting as a white steed flashes past a crevice.
When the first snow of winter drifted down in Qingcheng City, Chen Yu returned.
He was wrapped in a thick cotton-padded jacket, wearing cotton trousers, his face haggard and his jaw bristled with stubble as he stepped out of the taxi. Lugging his heavy steps, he walked toward his rented flat.
Mumbling to himself as he went.
About three minutes later.
Emerging from the elevator, Chen Yu finally closed his mouth, took out his trembling hand to find the key, slowly inserted it into the lock, and gently turned it.
"Creeeak—"
The security door slowly opened.
Revealing his "home" that he had not seen for a long time.
"..."
In an instant, Chen Yu's face was streaked with tears.
"Oh, heavens above."
"Oh, great earth."
"Grandpa is... finally liberated."
"Bang!"
Closing the door behind him, Chen Yu suddenly leaped forward and threw himself onto the bed, not caring about the massive cloud of dust he raised as he began to roll around wildly.
"Damn it!"
"Crap!"
"I'm finally free aaaaah—"
Four months!
A full four months!
Heaven knows how he endured it.
The government and the Security Bureau were inhuman! They forced him to watch "Teletubbies" over a hundred times!
"Calabash Brothers" more than fifty times!
And "Big Head Son and Small Head Dad" enough to make him wet himself.
Every time the Apron Mom appeared, he would pee.
He would pee every time she appeared!
He could recite and draw from memory every outfit that the female protagonist in "Cardcaptor Sakura" had ever worn.
It was not until the day before yesterday, when he was labeled a harmless "loser," that the middle-aged director of the Security Bureau finally announced the "re-education was complete" and set him free.
For this, not only did Chen Yu weep tears of joy.
The staff members of the Bureau who had participated in his education also held their heads and wept together.
Recall a certain confident psychology and education professor who, on one helpless night, suffered a sudden heart attack due to Chen Yu's "stubbornness" and left this world completely.
It was already a great fortune that these people were still alive.
It is said that before dying, the professor bit his finger and wrote a line of blood on the ground—"He's too damn stubborn, I'm done"...
But that was not the end.
To prevent Chen Yu from "repeating his mistakes," the Security Bureau ordered the local public security system in Qingcheng to check on Chen Yu's behavior every few days.
To ensure that Chen Yu had not "returned to his old ways."
As for Chen Yu, he no longer cared about any of this.
Because the "titles" associated with his name would only get better and better.
Names like "explosive extremist," "villain," "rapist," had become a thing of the past. They would never be associated with him again.
Greeting him was only a beautiful tomorrow...
"Ahh—"
Taking a deep breath of the dusty air, Chen Yu calmed his boiling emotions, stood up, and walked toward the bathroom.
In the mirror, he saw himself, weary, aged, the whites of his eyes threaded with red.
"..."
"...Sweet are the uses of adversity."
He was silent for a while, murmured to himself, and turned on the tap.
"Pfft!"
The valve, which had not been used for a long time, first let out a fart, ejecting some yellow-brown crud. Then, a stream of clean water flowed.
He reached out, opened a small cabinet, and took out a still sharp razor. Without applying any shaving cream, he began scraping hard.
As soon as the blade touched his skin, a small cut started to bleed.
He seemed unfazed by the pain, continuing to shave.
"Crack—"
"Crack—"
One after another, the stiff short hairs fell.
Sticking to the tap, the washbasin, the mirror, the razor. And with Chen Yu's rinse, they flowed down the drain.
Following that, Chen Yu stripped off all his clothes, revealing his solid and sturdy body, and stepped into the bathroom for a thorough disinfection.
He seemed utterly oblivious to the nearly sixty-degree hot water pouring over him.
The continuous "torture" of four months, ah, both his spirit and his ability to endure pain could now be described with the word "tough."
"Huff——"
More than ten minutes later.
He turned off the showerhead.
Chen Yu exhaled a breath of turbid air, steaming as he walked out of the bathroom, and found a set of clean clothes to put on.
Right now, he had no desire to rest.
He was happy to be home today!
For this reason, he had to do something very important, so crucial that it couldn't wait another moment.
"When the night asks the day♪"
"If it can forgive♫~"
"The grey world of people♬~"
Humming a song, Chen Yu went to the kitchen, bent down, and carefully inspected the tools on the counter.
There was a kitchen knife.
A sharp knife.
A fruit knife.
A cleaver.
After checking them, he chose the cleaver that best fit his hand. Then he found a sharpening stone and happily started to rub it.
"Shua——"
"Shua——"
The crisp and clear sound was especially pleasing to the ear.
It gradually brought a smile to Chen Yu's face.
"Has anyone ever told you♫~"
"That I love you so much♪"
...
Soon, the blade was sharpened.
Chen Yu performed a flourish with the cleaver, then tucked it into his trousers.
He then began the dance of the Axe Gang from the movie "Kung Fu," swaying as he walked out of the house. Passing the doorway, he didn't forget to take a hat from the coat rack and put it on his head.
To cover up his "Useless Otaku" title.
"Has anyone ever told you♫~"
"That I love you so much♪~"
Singing and dancing along, he arrived at the next-door neighbor's entrance.
Chen Yu rubbed his face, relaxing his facial muscles, and covered his jaw with his collar, his left hand pulling out the cleaver while his right hand raised up.
Gentlemanly, tenderly, slowly, he knocked on the neighbor's door.
"Dong dong dong!"
No response.
Chen Yu continued to knock.
"Dong dong dong dong!"
"..."
"Who's there?"
This time, the familiar voice of the man inside spoke.
"Great." A brilliant smile emerged on Chen Yu's face, and tears of emotion started dropping down from his mouth: "It's still him."
Half a year had passed.
The man next door had actually been waiting for him all this time, not having moved away.
This friendship, he simply could not fail to honor...
"Cough."
Clearing his throat lightly, Chen Yu quietly raised the cleaver in his left hand and said warmly, "Hello, the community sends its warmth."
"Ah?"
Inside, the neighbor uttered a sound of surprise.
Then a series of footsteps followed, along with the sound of the "clack" as the door unlocked.
"Creaky gaga——"
The security door gradually opened.
The cleaver in Chen Yu's hand rose higher and higher...
...