The Aftermath

Peace returned to the dark alleyway, only the cars and traffic out on the main street could be heard.

A clear beep rang out in this deathly silence, alerting the lone figure standing under the moonlit night.

Looking down at the lit up screen of his phone, he lifts the hand holding it up towards his face, finding a new text message.

Xiao Tang Tang:

'Hero, I forgot to ask for your name.'

Jia Bi Yu silently read the message before placing his phone back into his pants pocket right afterward, choosing to ignore it.

If it wasn't because of his lack of interest, he would have probably deleted his contact information and blocked him.

It was not likely they would meet again anyway.

He has lived in this city for two years already, and this was his first time seeing Wu Shang Tang.

Walking back out onto the still busy street at this late hour, he stood next to a telephone pole watching the incoming traffic.

He took out his phone once again, his thumb hovering over the different icons, before pressing down onto a white one with an orange upsidedown semicircle in the center.

Inputting his home's address where the destination box was and selecting the current location for pick up, he selected to hail a cab.

It did not take long before his request was accepted by a nearby driver.

Memorizing the license plate number, he put his phone away once again.

He leaned against the pole with his arms crossed in front of his chest and his eyes gently closing shut.

It has really been a long day.

It may not show through his facial expression, but he was quite tired out.

There was the full day of being pulled around the amusement park by Chen Mei Ling, and before he could catch his breath, he threw himself into a fight.

Neither really took much effort and energy, but it has really been quite a long time since he has put his body through such exercises.

Hearing the sound of a vehicle pulling up next to the sidewalk, he opened his eyes to the blinding lights around him.

The ride home was quiet.

Maybe the driver noticed his exhaustion, or maybe he felt his unapproachable presence, or maybe both, he did not say anything to Jia Bi Yu besides the usual greeting.

It did not take long before the taxi pulled up under the streetlamp next to the old building his apartment was in.

Handing the driver a 20 yuan bill, he stepped out onto the deserted small road, closing the door behind him.

Looking up at the third floor, he noticed the lights of his apartment was still on.

Closing his eyes, he breathed out slowly as though attempting to exhale all of his exhaustion, before entering the building.

As he was unlocking the front door of their apartment, he heard quick footsteps from inside.

Before long, the door swung wide open, revealing the figure of Chen Mei Ling.

Despite the sleepiness in her eyes, she gave a big smile towards Jia Bi Yu.

"You're back?"

"I'm back," he replied as he gave her a gentle smile in return.

They had already eaten before leaving the amusement park, so she did not ask any further questions.

She chose to not ask about where he went earlier, and he found it unnecessary to explain, both choosing to ignore the subject altogether.

Jia Bi Yu urged her to sleep early seeing how tired she was, and he also quickly went to bed not long after.

In the dead of the night, on the other side of the city, a young man was pacing back and forth inside a private bar room.

He chewed the nail on his thumb, clearly in irritation.

"Those idiots! Doing whatever they want without permission again!"

The door swung open with a loud bang from the outside.

Another young man, who had a deep scar running down the right side of his face from his eyebrows to his jawbone, walked in haltingly as though he owned the place.

He threw his bottom down against the red leathered couch and took out a pack of cigarettes.

Tapping the box against the palm of his hand, a single one slid out.

He grabbed it between his index and middle fingers, just holding it as he leaned his arm against his crossed legs, not lighting it up nor offering it to the first man.

"The guys got done in by someone."

The first young man finally noticed the new arrival.

His mind had been preoccupied with worry earlier and had paid no heed to his surroundings.

As soon as he saw the latter, his irritation increased even further as he went over in heavy steps and grabbed onto his collar, forcefully yanking him up from the couch.

"What happened to Wu Shang Tang?!"

"He's totally fine. It is our guys that are hurt."

The first breathed out a sigh of relief, his hands that were grabbing onto the other's collar loosening before slowly letting go.

"Thank goodness."

The latter brushed lightly against the collar of his shirt, trying to straighten back out the wrinkles that had formed.

"Boss, he is your enemy. You shouldn't care about him."

The first glared at him before quickly shifting his eyes away.

"That is none of your business. I am the boss here, not you. You do not tell me what to do."

The latter gave a soft scoff at him, unnoticeable to the first.

"Yes boss, " he replied with sarcasm. "But our guys are hurt because of him and they are still unconscious."

"Hmph. That's your own doing."

"No matter who is at fault here, Wu Shang Tang needs to give us an answer for this."

"Don't you DARE touch him!"

The latter just shrugged his shoulders in reply.

It was unclear whether he really took those words to heart.