The “Fighting Cock” and the Expensive Breath

The youth’s voice was gradually scattered by the wind brushing past his ears.

Everyone present stood frozen in place, as if someone had pressed a collective pause button.

It wasn’t until the blue-haired lackey behind Zhang Zhuo was the first to snap out of it. He poked his head out from behind Zhang Zhuo’s shoulder, tremblingly pointing a finger at Chu Ci: “Boss Zhang, this kid actually dared to curse at you!”

“Motherf*cker!” Zhang Zhuo couldn’t help but curse under his breath. The reason he had been stunned for those few seconds was actually that he hadn’t quite parsed what Chu Ci was even insulting him with. To avoid looking slow to his gang, he ground his back teeth and widened his eyes, glaring furiously at Chu Ci: “You looking for death, kid?!”

Beside him, Lin Yu saw Zhang Zhuo’s state and cautiously tugged twice on Chu Ci’s hem, whispering a warning: “Don’t make him any angrier. When Zhang Zhuo loses his temper, his punches hurt a lot.”

He didn’t know if Chu Ci heard him. Seeing no reaction, Lin Yu cast another fearful glance at Zhang Zhuo. He furrowed his brow and was just about to step forward to apologize to Zhang Zhuo on Chu Ci’s behalf—

Right then, Chu Ci, who had been silent for so long, spoke up again: “Has anyone ever told you that you look like a fighting cock when you’re angry?”

Lin Yu: “?”

Zhang Zhuo, who was about to launch into a tirade: “?”

That sentence seemed to land right on Zhang Zhuo’s ultimate trigger. As Zhang Zhuo’s face grew redder and more hideous by the second, Lin Yu closed his eyes.

Well, clearly his advice had fallen on deaf ears.

“You fcking… You fcking say that again??!!” The whites of Zhang Zhuo’s eyes were bloodshot, and the red hair on his head seemed to bristle along with his temper. He lunged forward, held back by his little followers, looking for all the world like a literal aggressive rooster.

Realizing the comparison was accurate, the others were busy pulling Zhang Zhuo back while suppressed snickers broke out. They muttered: “Hey, forget it, Boss. Let’s not lower ourselves to his level.”

Zhang Zhuo shoved away the hands obstructing him and roared: “Whose side are you guys on?! Mine or his!”

“Boss, Boss, don’t be impulsive!” The blue-haired lackey quickly stepped up to Zhang Zhuo’s ear, soothing him in a low voice.

“We’re definitely on your side. But like I said earlier, remember the other day when I was carrying that heavy bucket? This kid didn’t even blink or flinch when he ran over and took the hit. I really suspect there’s something wrong with his head. If we mess with a mental patient and he hurts or kills someone, he won’t even go to jail.”

After the blue-haired boy finished his logic, Zhang Zhuo actually calmed down significantly after a moment of thought. He had never been much of a thinker and was easily swayed by whatever those around him said. Plus, the bandage wrapped around Chu Ci’s forehead was indeed a bit intimidating. Thus, he shot Lin Yu a vicious glare: “Consider yourself lucky today, kid! Next time won’t be so easy! Let’s go!”

With that, he waved his hand forward and marched away from the scene, the rest of the group swaggering off behind him.

Once their figures had completely vanished from sight, Chu Ci turned around and coldly took his backpack back from Lin Yu’s arms. He hooked the strap with one hand and couldn’t help but mutter under his breath: “What a bunch of idiots.”

“What did you say?” Lin Yu hadn’t heard clearly. He blinked his round eyes, asking curiously.

Chu Ci finally lifted his gaze to meet Lin Yu’s. His black bangs obscured the expression in his eyes, adding a touch of mystery to his cold tone: “Nothing. They’re gone. You should be brave enough to go home by yourself now, right?”

Lin Yu stared at him, biting his lower lip with his upper teeth. His eyes sparkled as he nodded heavily: “Thank you. I didn’t expect you to be such a good person.”

After speaking, he hesitated for a few seconds before continuing: “Ji Yanli rejected my invitation because of you, so I originally hated you a little bit.”

“But now I don’t hate you at all!”

The youth before him seemed completely unaware of how blunt his words were.

Chu Ci’s lip twitched.

“Well, gee, thanks.” He rolled his eyes silently in his mind.

A shallow smile hung on the corners of Lin Yu’s mouth. The soft glow of the streetlights fell on his thin shoulders, blurring the curves of his frame. He suddenly thought of something and couldn’t help but let out a “pfft” of laughter. The light reflected in his eyes looked like brilliant stars against a black night sky.

Chu Ci frowned, asking in confusion: “What are you laughing at?”

Suppressing his amusement, Lin Yu replied in a muffled voice, the corners of his eyes slightly flushed: “I thought you were going to fight them. I didn’t expect you to just scold them away. Zhang Zhuo has never been insulted like that since he was a kid; he’ll probably be too angry to sleep tonight.”

At the thought of this, his laughter became even more unrestrained.

Chu Ci’s temple throbbed: “Who would fight them? I don’t even know how to fight.”

There was a faint nasal quality to his tone.

Lin Yu finally caught his breath, wiping away the physiological tears from the corners of his eyes. He cleared his throat, a light blush covering his cheeks: “But I truly want to thank you. If it wasn’t for you today, I’d probably have died a miserable death.”

His words were exaggerated, but Chu Ci felt it wasn’t far from the truth; before this, Lin Yu had indeed been bullied ruthlessly by Zhang Zhuo.

“So, let me treat you to—”

“Hey!” Before Lin Yu could finish, Chu Ci suddenly pulled out his phone. Then, as if he had encountered an emergency, he waved dismissively at Lin Yu: “Ah… ah, I’m back! Right away, right away!”

He tilted his head to wedge the phone against his shoulder, adjusted his backpack, and turned to run away in a hurry, ignoring Lin Yu’s calls behind him.

The night temperature dropped a few degrees. The headwind was chilly, freezing Chu Ci’s nose until he could barely breathe. He moved quickly, running quite a distance before looking back to ensure Lin Yu hadn’t followed. Only then did he stop, panting heavily.

Good thing his reflexes were fast. Helping Lin Yu once was enough; any further interaction would make Chu Ci feel completely uncomfortable.

The mission to pursue Ji Yanli was already giving him a massive headache. He had no desire to be some grand savior and change the destiny of every character.

Because he had run too fast, his heart was thumping violently in his chest. The “thump-thump” sound felt like it was making every muscle in his body vibrate, accompanied by a faint sensation of pain.

He assumed it was just from breathing too hard and didn’t pay it much mind. Rubbing his chest with one hand, he slowed his pace and began walking toward the original owner’s residence.

There was still a long distance to go, and it would likely be late by the time he got home. Passersby brushed past him in the bustling city where the high-rises were brightly lit. Looking at those windows, Chu Ci felt a strange sense of lonely exhaustion.

Suddenly, a bizarre sound erupted from the phone in Chu Ci’s hand. He froze, then lifted the phone to look at it. The screen clearly showed an active call interface.

And the person on the other end was—

Ji Yanli.

All of Chu Ci’s “emo” feelings vanished instantly.

Wait…

Wait!!

When did he call Ji Yanli!!!

Chu Ci’s eyes widened as he looked panic-stricken at the call duration at the top. It hadn’t been long. Judging by the timing, he must have accidentally pressed it while making up an excuse to ditch Lin Yu.

He didn’t say anything weird just now, did he!!

Chu Ci felt his breath trembling. He swallowed hard, brought the phone to his ear, and opened his lips, speaking in a voice that sounded like he was about to expire: “What… did you hear…”

Ji Yanli didn’t answer immediately. First, Chu Ci heard the “click” of a pen cap being closed, followed by the rustle of clothes and books, and finally, Ji Yanli’s voice.

“Hmm?” The youth’s usually gentle tone sounded much deeper through the phone’s distortion. “Actually, I didn’t hear anything.”

Chu Ci didn’t quite believe him: “If you didn’t hear anything, why didn’t you hang up?”

Ji Yanli answered with a hint of grievance: “You called me suddenly, so I thought you had an emergency, but you didn’t say anything.”

“You’re not home yet?” Ji Yanli noticed the sound of car horns through the phone and shifted the subject.

Chu Ci couldn’t help but “tsk.”

How could us commoners compare to a young master who has private cars and planes at his beck and call?

He didn’t say that out loud. If he did, the annoying Xiao Ba would surely activate that d*mned Deep Affection BUFF again.

“Almost.” Chu Ci didn’t want to waste words. “I just pressed it by mistake. Nothing else is going on. I’m hanging up.”

He finished the last word crisply and moved the phone away, intending to end the call.

“Wait!” Just as Chu Ci’s finger hovered over the hang-up button, Ji Yanli’s volume spiked, interrupting him.

Chu Ci frowned: “What?”

“You don’t have to hang up,” Ji Yanli said.

Chu Ci: “Why?”

“I’m doing today’s homework. It’s a bit boring. Talking to you is quite interesting.”

Chu Ci found it even more bizarre: “I’m not saying anything. How is it interesting?”

Ji Yanli hesitated for a few seconds: “…I can’t really explain it. Just hearing you breathe is very interesting.”

Hearing this, Chu Ci curled his lip and cursed “Psycho” under his breath.

What do you mean “hearing your breath is interesting”??

Bro, are you using me for ASMR??!

Chu Ci didn’t understand and didn’t want to. “Hanging up. It’s wasting my phone credit.”

“Wait!” Ji Yanli continued to block him. “I’ll pay for your credit.”

“So… don’t hang up, okay?”