Chapter 7
It was already past one in the morning when Chen Ju got back to where he lived. He went to the side door and carefully tried to push it open, but it wouldn’t budge. He paused, then pushed harder, but the door still didn’t move. Someone had locked it from the inside.
Before he left that day, he’d clearly told them he’d be home late, but they’d still locked the door.
Chen Ju tried knocking twice, but no one answered. He had no choice but to sit on the stone beside the door.
It looked like he’d have to spend another night outside.
Chen Ju rubbed his hands together and breathed on them a few times until they began to warm. He took the business card from his pocket and carefully blew away the dust that wasn’t there, his eyes fixed on the two black-and-gold characters: Jiang Zhou.
His frozen lips moved, producing a sound so faint it was almost inaudible. Chen Ju closed his eyes, pressed the business card to his chest, and curled up.
Suddenly, he heard a click behind him. The side door opened, and a slender young man came out carrying a large black bag on his back.
When he saw Chen Ju sitting beside the door, he paused. “Why are you out here stargazing instead of going inside this late?”
“Good evening, Brother Qing.” Chen Ju hurriedly scrambled to his feet, dusted off his pants, and greeted him.
Thank goodness. He wouldn’t have to spend the whole night outside.
Chen Yiqing dragged a suitcase through the doorway and said coolly, “It’s very late.”
Chen Ju looked at the bag on Chen Yiqing’s back and the suitcase he was dragging, puzzled. “Brother Qing, w-where are you going?”
“I’m leaving.” Chen Yiqing met Chen Ju’s eyes and paused. Then he suddenly took a wad of cash from his wallet and stuffed it into Chen Ju’s hand. “I’m leaving. Don’t tell anyone you saw me.”
Chen Ju clutched the money and watched Chen Yiqing walk away, his eyes stinging. He murmured, “Thank you, Brother Qing.”
Feeling his way through the dark and climbing two flights of stairs, Chen Ju reached his room. Calling it a room was generous—it was a cramped storage closet with a small bed and a table. There was nothing else.
Chen Ju felt under the bed and pulled out a metal box. He put the money Chen Yiqing had just given him inside. He was almost there; once he got paid at the end of the month, he’d have saved enough.
Chen Ju had only been asleep for a few hours when the banging on his door woke him. He jolted out of a dream, rubbed his eyes, and hurried to open it.
The wooden door creaked open. A chubby boy stood outside: Chen Ju’s cousin, Chen Yifa. He glared at Chen Ju and demanded, “Have you seen my brother?”
“N-no,” Chen Ju stammered.
“How could you not have? If you hadn’t seen him, how would he have gotten through this door? He’s the only one in this house who’d stick his nose where it doesn’t belong!” Chen Yifa shoved past Chen Ju with his stocky body and entered the cramped, low-ceilinged room. “Is he hiding in here? Come out!”
“He’s really not here.” Chen Ju hurried after him, his eyes fixed on the space beneath the bed. His savings were still in the metal box. “Brother Qing isn’t here.”
Chen Yifa knew there was nowhere in the little room to hide a person. He’d only come in to look around, but then he caught sight of something under the bed. He shoved Chen Ju aside and rushed over.
“What’s this?!” Chen Yifa pulled the metal box out from under the bed, a triumphant gleam in his eyes.
Chen Ju’s small face went deathly pale. He rushed over to snatch the box back, but he was no match for Chen Yifa and was shoved aside in moments, landing hard on the floor.
“That’s a lot of money! Well, Chen Ju, you’ve been secretly saving all this money. I’m telling Mom and Dad!” Chen Yifa carried the metal box toward the door.
Ignoring the pain, Chen Ju scrambled up and staggered after him. He grabbed the hem of Chen Yifa’s shirt and pleaded, “Th-this is what I saved. Please d-don’t take it...”
“What do you mean, yours? You live in our house and eat our food. Of course this money belongs to us too!” Chen Yifa shoved Chen Ju aside. “Mom! Dad! Come quick! Chen Ju’s been secretly saving a ton of money!”
A middle-aged couple in pajamas came over. When the woman saw the metal box, she snatched it away and glared at Chen Ju. “You dare hide this much money from us? What are you planning?”
Chen Ju stared at the metal box in the woman’s hands, his eyes red. Though he was terrified, he stood his ground. “That money is for me to get M-Mom out. G-give it back to me.”
“Raising you isn’t enough? Now I have to raise a crazy woman too? You think this is a temple?” The middle-aged woman’s eyes widened as she launched into a stream of vile abuse. “This money can count as your food expenses! If you want to get that crazy woman out, then get out of my house!”
A knot of painful emotions churned in Chen Ju’s chest, as if someone had shoved a huge stone into a plastic ball filled to bursting with water. His chest heaved. Gripping the hem of his shirt, he forced the dry words from his throat. “This is my home. If anyone should leave, it... it should be you.”
“What did you say?” The woman flew into a rage. She took two steps forward and slapped Chen Ju across the face. “Your dad was arrested for doing that. If it weren’t for us, you and your mother would have nowhere to go! You’re an ungrateful little brat!”
At first, Chen Ju felt a burst of pain. Then his right ear started ringing, his vision blurred, and his cheek burned where she’d hit him.
“Chen Ju! Go to work first!” His uncle, who had been silent until then, restrained his furious wife and said sternly, “Don’t bring up getting your mother out again!”
In a daze, Chen Ju walked out of the house. The door slammed shut behind him. He clenched his hands and stood rooted to the spot, his legs as heavy as lead.