MDPWU Chapter 10

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The corridor fell into silence.

Zhou You blinked a few times before realizing he had been insulted again. He was speechless and amused. “Seriously, what do you think about all day?”

“Huh?” Tong Tong’s accent was unconsciously influenced by him.

“I’m saying, are you—wait a second.” Zhou You bent down, quickly gathered the fallen money, and then looked directly at Tong Tong. “How does me asking to take a shower at your place make me a pervert? It’s not like I’m offering to help you shower.”

“You even want to help me shower?” Tong Tong was shocked.

“………………”

Zhou You took a deep breath in frustration, then grabbed two stacks of cash from the sack and handed them to Tong Tong. “My showerhead at home isn’t working. Can I take a shower at your place?”

“You can.” Tong Tong nodded.

Before the sound of running water came from the bathroom, Tong Tong was still struggling to figure out what Zhou You really meant.

But now…

Tong Tong glanced at the big sack beside his feet.

It was his first time seeing so much cash in real life—not just a string of zeros in a bank account.

From the kind of place Zhou You lived in, he could tell some things. And usually, Zhou You didn’t seem particularly wealthy—he didn’t even wear a watch.

But now, he had suddenly lugged home so much money, all in cash.

Tong Tong found it extremely suspicious.

Either he had robbed a bank or he had raided some kid’s piggy bank.

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and Zhou You walked out, rubbing his hair with a towel.

Tong Tong turned to look at him and asked very tactfully, “Why didn’t you go to evening self-study?”

“I was making money,” Zhou You said, bending down to pat the sack with a grin.

Tong Tong’s brain buzzed. “Robbing is illegal.”

“What are you thinking? I was—” Zhou You cut himself off.

He couldn’t exactly say he had been out collecting debts.

Even though they had only known each other for a few days, he could tell that Tong Tong was sensitive. Given what he knew about Tong Tong’s family situation, he couldn’t bring himself to say it outright.

Tong Tong’s eyes grew more skeptical, and his hand moved toward his pocket, where his phone was.

Zhou You, completely unaware of the impending danger, tried to be vague. Taking advantage of the lingering smell of alcohol on himself, he pretended to be drunk. “That bastard… I had to drink over twenty glasses to bring the money back.”

Tong Tong’s expression turned complicated, and his hand moved away from his pocket.

He had been ready to call the police if Zhou You had really committed a robbery.

But he couldn’t exactly report him for underage drinking.

Or maybe… for prostitution?

Drinking twenty glasses and coming back with that much money—there was only one possibility.

He had heard that some women liked high school boys like Zhou You.

Tong Tong didn’t want to pry, but after thinking about it, he whispered, “You shouldn’t go next time. This kind of thing… isn’t really… isn’t good.”

“Huh?” Zhou You was stunned for a moment, thinking he was talking about drinking. “It’s fine, I’m used to it.”

Tong Tong: “……”

By the time Zhou You realized what had happened, he was already outside the door.

With a loud bang, the door slammed shut in his face.

Zhou You scratched the back of his head and was about to leave when the door suddenly opened again.

Zhou You turned around just in time to see a sack being thrown out.

“Hey—” He had just started to ask what was going on when the door slammed shut once more.

Zhou You stood there for a while, staring at the tightly closed door, and rubbed the back of his head.

The next morning, after washing up and getting ready to leave, Tong Tong glanced at the closed door across from his.

He thought about knocking but decided against it.

They weren’t girlfriends who needed to walk to school or the bathroom together.

But as he recalled last night, he bought an extra breakfast.

Zhou You had it tough too.

By the time he got to class, most of the students had already arrived. Just as Tong Tong stepped in, the sound of hurried footsteps came from behind him.

“Why didn’t you call me to come with you this morning?” Zhou You rested a hand on his shoulder, breathing heavily near his ear as he complained between breaths, “I was waiting for you.”

Tong Tong wasn’t used to such close contact and swatted his hand away.

Zhou You didn’t mind and immediately put his arm around him again, this time using more force.

Tong Tong couldn’t break free at all.

Tong Tong: “……”

With a big grin, Zhou You kept his arm around him as they entered the classroom.

As soon as they walked in, Zhuang Qian approached with an annoyed expression, forcefully squeezing between them. “Who said you could just grab people like that? Did he let you?”

Zhou You raised an eyebrow and pulled Tong Tong back into his grasp. “Yeah, I did.”

Zhuang Qian snatched the person over and said, “Hug your grandpa.”

Tong Tong: “…………”

“Damn—” Tong Tong had just opened his mouth, ready to curse.

Zhou You suddenly bent down, picked Tong Tong up, and ran back to his seat.

Tong Tong: “………………”

Zhuang Qian stood in place, fuming with anger.

He quickly caught up and squeezed into the seat next to Tong Tong.

Zhou You didn’t mind at all and even smiled happily at Zhuang Qian.

Now that they were all squeezed together, no one had time to say much, as morning self-study was about to begin, and they had to finish breakfast before Director Li arrived.

Tong Tong always ate slowly, so by the time he had only taken two bites of the bun’s outer skin, Zhou You had already finished his entire bun.

Still feeling hungry, Zhou You decided to drink some water to fill up. As he reached out to unscrew the cap of his bottled water, a dull pain shot through his forearm.

He frowned and glanced down at his hand, but there were no visible signs of injury—the bandages he had removed the night before.

It should be fine, but after a round of boxing yesterday morning, exerting force now made it ache a little.

Tong Tong caught Zhou You staring at the bottle cap for half a minute out of the corner of his eye and thought, Don’t tell me this guy can’t even open a bottle of water?

Zhou You, after confirming that his arm was alright, turned back to see Tong Tong’s look of disdain and found it amusing.

His hand, which had already loosened the cap slightly, twisted it back tightly in secret before handing the bottle over. “I can’t open it.”

Tong Tong was surprised but remained outwardly calm, unscrewing the cap with ease before handing the bottle back.

Zhuang Qian, sitting beside them, almost overflowed with disdain. I knew it—this guy’s tall build is all for show. His muscles are probably just from drinking protein shakes.

“What’s up with you, bro?” Zhuang Qian, now completely relieved of any sense of threat, grinned at Zhou You. “Your grip strength seems kinda weak. How’s your workout routine?”

“It’s alright,” Zhou You replied humbly.

“No worries, don’t feel bad about it. Your kind of muscle may not be strong, but at least it looks good. You can still scare people with it,” Zhuang Qian said, patting Zhou You’s firm arm. “If you ever need help, just holler.”

“Zhou You.” Zhou You smiled and extended his hand.

“Zhuang Qian.” Zhuang Qian also smiled.

The two shook hands.

There were still over ten minutes before morning self-study, and the other guys scattered around the classroom started gathering around, introducing themselves.

Their class was a humanities class with over 40 students, but only 11 boys, including Zhou You. It didn’t take long before they were all getting along.

In an effort to solidify his position as the leader and to show off in front of the guys, Zhuang Qian immediately announced the 53rd Arm Wrestling Tournament.

“Brother Zhou You, whichever hand has more strength, use that one,” Zhuang Qian said modestly with a smile. “I’ll try to go easy on you. Good luck.”

Wanting to maintain the hard-won brotherly bond, Zhou You used only the strength of his pinky finger when the match started.

But he had underestimated himself and overestimated Zhuang Qian.

One minute later, the previously excited group of guys fell silent.

Zhuang Qian’s forehead was covered in sweat, and the veins in his neck were bulging.

Meanwhile, Zhou You looked relaxed, even managing to steal the rest of Tong Tong’s bun and eat it while casually adjusting Tong Tong’s desk, which had been pushed out of place by the surrounding crowd.

Two minutes later, Zhou You eased up a little more.

But unfortunately, Zhuang Qian only looked even more exhausted.

Seeing the increasingly dark expression on Zhuang Qian’s face, Zhou You, wanting to salvage their friendship, awkwardly cleared his throat and—

“Oh no,” Zhou You suddenly let his hand fall.

“Damn it!” Zhuang Qian, furious, stormed off.

Brotherhood: officially broken.

Feeling wronged, Zhou You clung to his only remaining “sister.”

“Get lost! Don’t strangle me!” Tong Tong shouted.

That night, Zhou You showed up for evening self-study, but Zhuang Qian didn’t—too embarrassed after losing face.

After class, the “two sisters” walked home together.

As they parted ways, Zhou You said seriously, “Tomorrow, we’ll walk together. You have to call me.”

“I won’t.” Tong Tong snorted and walked inside.

Once home, a smile returned to Tong Tong’s face.

After putting his schoolbag away and wandering around the house, he realized his mom hadn’t come back yet.

He checked his phone but saw no messages from her.

His mom had evening classes, and sometimes, if she was too tired to head home, she would sleep at the music studio. But whenever she did, she always let him know.

This was the first time she hadn’t called or texted.

Judging by the time, her class should’ve ended already. Frowning, Tong Tong called his mom, but her phone was turned off, making his expression turn grim.

They had moved here not just because it was cheap but also to escape debt collectors.

Their old home had been trashed by a group of men before they moved.

And those men didn’t just break things—they hurt people.

The more Tong Tong thought about it, the more afraid he became, fearing that those people had found his mom. Grabbing his phone, he rushed out.

Just as he stepped out of the alley onto the street, his phone suddenly rang.

It was his mom calling. Tong Tong quickly answered.

Probably worried about him, his mom spoke quickly, “I had an evening class today, and a student’s parent couldn’t pick them up. I just dropped them off and got back to the studio. I was about to call you when I realized my phone was dead. You didn’t come looking for me, did you?”

“No, I just finished showering and was about to sleep,” Tong Tong said, relieved, turning back.

“Okay, I’ll head home tomorrow morning and make you breakfast,” Pei Yun said with a smile.

“Okay. Bye-bye.” Tong Tong also smiled, turned around, and started walking home.

Suddenly, a car with high beams on veered onto the pedestrian path.

Tong Tong flinched, his vision overwhelmed by the bright lights. Trying to dodge, he stumbled backward.

The person inside the car, seemingly startled too, honked its horn.

Before he could react, his back foot caught on something—

He only had time to let out a shout before falling straight down.

It took half a minute for him to come to his senses after the fall, and only after a while did he fully react.

Tong Tong had just propped himself up to sit when he heard the car driving away.

Frowning, he cursed under his breath and patted himself down. There was no impact from the car, just the fall.

As he tried to stand, a sharp pain shot through his ankle, forcing him to sit back down.

By now, the sky had turned completely dark. This wasn't a bustling area, and out of the three streetlights nearby, two weren’t even working.

Through the dim glow, Tong Tong surveyed his surroundings and figured he must have fallen into the lake.

There was a small lake near the alley, with a railing barely reaching his calves. He must have tripped over it just now.

Luckily, there was only water in the center of the lake—around the edges, it was all exposed mud and scattered trash.

"Hey! Someone down there? What's going on?" A man’s voice suddenly called from above.

Tong Tong froze for a moment. He glanced down at his mud-covered self, feeling utterly disheveled. He figured he could rest for a bit and climb up on his own, so he tilted his head back and shouted, "I'm catching fish!"

"You can't! Those belong to someone else!" the man yelled back.

The voice sounded familiar. Tong Tong's eyelid twitched.

"What’s wrong? Why aren’t you answering?" The northern accent in the voice was unmistakable.

Zhou You!??

Damn!

Tong Tong didn’t want to think about what Zhou You was doing out here at night, but being caught by him like this was mortifying.

Determined to avoid recognition, Tong Tong forced his voice lower and rougher. "They're mine!"

"Tong Tong!" Zhou You's voice sounded delighted.

"No, I'm not!" Tong Tong panicked.

"What are you doing down there?" Zhou You shouted.

"I told you! Catching fish!" Tong Tong was getting annoyed.

"Which leg is it, left or right?" Without waiting for a reply, Zhou You took large strides down toward him.

"…Left," Tong Tong finally admitted, exasperated.

After a moment, he added, "It's slippery here. Be careful!"

The words had barely left his mouth when—

"Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!" Zhou You let out a string of exclamations, tumbling down like he was rapping in a hip-hop beat.

He rolled twice before landing not far from Tong Tong, lying motionless and silent.

Tong Tong: "……………………"

"You okay?" Tong Tong called out.

After a long pause, Zhou You's muffled voice came through. "…I think I twisted my ankle."

"Stay put! Don’t move!" Tong Tong gritted his teeth and forced himself up

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