MDPWU Chapter 2

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Zhou You tilted his head, holding his phone between his shoulder and ear, listening closely to the voice on the other end. He thought for a moment, then tugged at his T-shirt and sniffed under his nose.

No noticeable smell.

Maybe just a little bit of smoke, plus the faint scent of herbal oil that some old man on the train had rubbed on his arm earlier.

"A guy? With big eyes? You—" The voice on the phone, Shan Hang, sounded surprised.

"No—"

BANG!

Without warning, there was a loud bam, and the bathroom stall door shook violently.

Zhou You was startled, nearly dropping his half-fastened pants.

"What the hell…" Zhou You was dumbfounded.

For a split second, he thought people in this city had to fight for bathroom stalls.

Immediately after, another loud bam followed outside the stall.

"What’s going on?" Even Shan Hang on the other end heard the noise.

"Nothing, gotta go." Zhou You hung up the phone and shoved it back into his pocket.

He straightened his shirt, then carefully tied the drawstring on his sweatpants into a neat bow.

There was no expression on his face, quite calm, as he pushed the bathroom door open with one hand.

The door swung open a little too fast, seeming to hit something and stopping for a moment.

Then, Zhou You heard a low, muffled groan.

The door fully opened, and his narrowed eyes widened when he saw the person outside.

The boy standing outside was holding his nose, eyes wide, panting heavily.

Zhou You: “……”

Zhou You recognized him—it was the big-eyed guy from the bus.

Feeling a little guilty since he had just been talking about him in the bathroom, Zhou You coughed and said, “Hey, what are you doing kicking my bathroom door?”

Tong Tong didn’t respond. The sharp pain at the tip of his nose had scrambled his brain with rage.

After a long moment—

“F***.” Tong Tong let go of his nose, his face looking absolutely terrible.

His expression said just three words: F** your mother.*

The two of them stared at each other for a full minute, their expressions growing more impatient by the second.

Zhou You raised an eyebrow. “Did I take your stall?”

His tone was far from friendly, even though he liked to think of himself as a sunny and cheerful guy.

But being sunny and cheerful didn’t mean he had no temper.

Tong Tong still said nothing. The temper he’d been holding back all this time was finally reaching its breaking point.

His family had gone bankrupt, they were in debt, his father was sick and hospitalized.

It was like a soap opera—just as dramatic, just as tragic. In his seventeen years of life, he had never experienced this kind of suffocating frustration.

He was about to explode. He was this close to turning into a pupper fish.

Zhou You looked at his puffed-up, fuming face and thought for a moment. “How about I let you have the bathroom?”

The pupper fish exploded.

The moment their gazes clashed again, sparks flew.

Neither of them knew who moved first.

Tong Tong lunged forward, throwing a punch, and Zhou You quickly blocked it.

But to his surprise, the punch that landed on his forearm had no strength behind it.

Zhou You frowned. Something felt off.

Then suddenly, a dull pain shot through his foot. Zhou You’s eyes widened as he looked down.

He stepped on my toes?!

What the hell!!!!!!

Zhou You was stunned. He hadn’t expected Big Eyes to fight so dirty, and for a moment, he didn’t know whether he was more in pain or just shocked.

His elbow swung instinctively, striking out at the other person.

Tong Tong staggered back a step, gasping for breath. But his legs didn’t slow down—he stomped down again, grinding his foot in.

“AH!” Zhou You yelled in pain, grabbing the boy’s collar and throwing him against the wall.

Tong Tong clung to him, his face flushed, his breathing completely out of control.

The two of them wrestled from the bathroom all the way into the hallway.

Stepping on toes, pinching soft flesh, biting fingers, forehead smashing forehead—

It was a childish, chaotic mess of a fight.

Zhou You’s anger was completely worn out by the end. He was just blocking and dodging, barely fighting back, and honestly, he wanted to laugh.

After all this, it was clear—this guy didn’t know how to fight at all. So why was he acting so fierce?

“Hey, what’s your name?” Zhou You asked between dodging punches.

Tong Tong clenched his teeth, his face turning even redder. He knew he wasn’t doing great in this fight, but with his brain starved of oxygen and all his pent-up emotions bursting out, he wasn’t thinking anymore.

“I’m Zhou You.” Zhou You introduced himself good-naturedly. “Zhou as in ‘traveling around,’ You as in ‘traveling around.’”

Tong Tong still didn’t answer, just kept swinging his fists with serious concentration.

“So should I just call you Big Eyes?” Zhou You said, half-heartedly blocking and dodging.

That only made Tong Tong even angrier.

_

“Qian'er, over here! You’re going the wrong way!”

“What do you think happened to Tong Tong’s family?”

“How did his dad’s company suddenly—”

A few voices sounded from a short distance away.

Tong Tong barely heard them, but his body froze instantly. He didn’t even turn his head.

Instead, he grabbed Zhou You’s collar and yanked him close.

His back hit the wall, and the cold surface made him shiver.

He lowered his head, his mind going completely blank.

Zhou You hadn’t expected such a dramatic reaction and was momentarily stunned. He looked down at the boy who was practically buried against his chest.

The boy’s breathing was fast and erratic.

But even though he was gasping for air, his face was completely pale—an unnatural, icy white.

Zhou You loosened his clenched fist and averted his eyes, feeling strangely awkward. He coughed. “Uh… what are you doing…”

“A fight’s a fight… why are we… hugging now…”

“Um… do you wanna… grab a coffee or something…”

The warm breath against his ear snapped Tong Tong out of it.

He frowned, pushed Zhou You away, and bent over, one hand on his knee, the other pressing against his chest.

He was struggling to get his breathing under control after the wave of tension and panic.

The boys in the distance pushed each other along, walking further away. Their voices faded.

Tong Tong slowly straightened, turning his head to look down the hallway.

Call it pride, call it ego—whatever it was, he just didn’t want to run into his old friends and classmates.

It wasn’t just about avoiding their sympathy or pity.

What he feared more was their help.

“You okay?” Zhou You finally picked up on how off he seemed. “You’re not dying or anything, right?”

Tong Tong seemed to remember he was still there. He frowned impatiently.

But with his nose slightly red, his eyes tinged pink, and his head tilted up, his expression took on a different meaning.

Zhou You looked at him and suddenly felt like he had bullied him.

After fumbling in his pocket for a while, he finally pulled out a crumpled tissue and offered it. “Here, wipe your nose.”

Tong Tong slapped his hand away and turned to leave.

Zhou You grabbed his wrist and yanked him back.

Tong Tong was already a little dazed from lack of oxygen, and when he bumped into Zhou You's chest, his head bounced slightly.

He stared with wide eyes for a while before reacting, "Still want to fight?"

"No, do you know where the orthopedics department is?" Zhou You touched his nose and looked down at him. "I've been wandering around for ages and still can't find it."

Tong Tong frowned and gave him a once-over, his gaze stopping on Zhou You's left hand, which had barely moved.

"It's not because of the fight. It was already messed up," Zhou You said nonchalantly. "Not sure if it's broken or not, but I need to get an X-ray. Honestly, with your strength, I was more worried you'd break your own arm hitting me."

Tong Tong let out a sigh of relief but then heard Zhou You say he had no strength. He gritted his teeth. "Downstairs, turn left, go straight."

"Thanks." Zhou You grinned, turned around, and headed toward the stairwell without hesitation.

Tong Tong squinted, thinking about the boy's bright white teeth—they were almost blinding.

"Brother You! Listen to me!" Shan Hang's voice came nonstop from the other end of the phone. "Don't do this! Running away is one thing, but why go so far? That small city is dull as hell—no spice in the food, not even a proper fur coat to keep warm! What are you doing there? Come back!"

Zhou You was about to lose his mind. He deeply regretted being born in the same year as Shan Hang.

If he had been born even one minute earlier, he would've crawled through blood to strangle this guy.

"Give your dad a chance, will you?" Shan Hang pleaded.

"Sure," Zhou You said carelessly as he walked downstairs. "Give him a chance to be my son. If he's willing, I'll go back."

"Bro, what's wrong with you?" Shan Hang's voice pitched higher. "If your dad catches you, you're dead. You know his temper better than anyone!"

Shan Hang was sweating bullets. An hour ago, when he got Zhou You's call, he thought it was a joke.

Now, realizing Zhou You was serious, he felt a chill run down his spine.

"Bro, don’t be stubborn. Really. Even if you want to leave, you can't go that far. Before your dad left, he made sure someone was watching you. You snuck out without a word—have you thought about what happens when he comes back—"

"You really think he wanted to stop me?" Zhou You interrupted, his back straight like unyielding steel. "He had ten people block me. I had to break an arm to escape."

"Bro, your arm—" Shan Hang stammered in shock.

"He put ten people there. You know what that means," Zhou You cut him off.

There was a long pause, then he chuckled darkly. "He knew I’d get out. He just didn’t want me to leave easily."

Silence filled the call.

"He knows, and so do I." Zhou You’s expression was cold, his sharp eyes like a blade reflecting dim light in the stairwell. He looked like a different person. "I can't walk my dad's path. I don't want to."

"I'm making my own way." His voice was low and firm.

Neither of them spoke for a while, only the sound of their breathing came through the line.

"...I'm just worried about you," Shan Hang finally sighed. "You're alone in a city that far away. You don't know anyone."

"Brothers are everywhere," Zhou You said with a grin. "Just made a new one—big eyes, bad temper. But I’m easygoing, so we complement each other. Pretty lucky, right?"

Sunlight from a nearby window cast a glow on his side profile, making the short stubble of his buzz cut shine. His smile was bright and carefree.

Just as he turned the corner, a young nurse rushed out, pushing a cart full of medical supplies. She was moving too fast—headed straight for Zhou You's leg.

"Ah!" she yelped.

Zhou You quickly steadied the cart before stepping back. His smile remained. "You okay?"

The nurse blushed. "Thank you…"

Zhou You turned to leave.

The nurse hesitated, then held out her phone with a hopeful look. "C-Can I add you on WeChat?"

Zhou You blinked, then laughed cheerfully. "No worries. Don't worry, I won’t file a complaint."

Nurse: "…"

_

"Alright, I won’t nag anymore. You’re smarter than me anyway. How’s it going over there? Found a place yet? Need money? I can wire some to you," Shan Hang said, then smacked his forehead. "Wait, no. Your dad's probably watching my accounts already. How about this? I send you ten grand a week—small amounts, shouldn’t raise suspicion."

"Forget it. I brought some cash before I left," Zhou You interrupted, frowning at the hallway ahead.

The directions should've been right, but something felt off.

As he walked, doubt crept in, but he still trusted the big-eyed guy completely. He kept going.

"I have stuff to do, hanging up." Zhou You ended the call before Shan Hang could respond and picked up his pace.

A few more steps, and then—

He stopped dead in his tracks.

His eyes widened.

A bright sign hung ahead in the hallway.

OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY.

Zhou You: "…………"

Damn it.

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