Ferocious Dog of Old

Tao Huainan originally hadn’t wanted to talk about this at all. He understood Chi Ku too well—he was worried Chi Ku would get into a fight.

There had been so many people there smoking, and Chi Ku was just one person. Tao Huainan was afraid Chi Ku wouldn’t be able to fight all of them and would be at a disadvantage. But even if he could fight all of them, he shouldn’t anyway; what if he was knocked silly?

Tao Huainan had desperately refused to bring up that day in the bathroom. Who would’ve expected the boy behind him to talk about it.

Was he looking to ascend…

–

“What is he talking about?” Chi Ku asked Tao Huainan, raising his eyebrows.

“Who knows…” Tao Huainan wrapped himself around Chi Ku’s arm, leaning his face in close to whisper, “Don’t pay attention to him.”

Chi Ku asked, “Did someone bully you?”

“Of course not, no.” Tao Huainan seemed to remember he wasn’t allowed to stick so closely and hug his arm while outside, and so he uncertainly asked, “Is it Level Three right now?”

Chi Ku had no interest in caring if he was Level Three or not. He asked, “You didn’t fall by yourself that day?”

“I did, I fell by myself.” Now that he was grown up, Tao Huainan couldn’t keep acting like a delicate little brat, but it wasn’t as though he’d forgotten how to whine and act spoiled. He pressed closely into Chi Ku and used a voice only the two of them could hear to say, “You know I’m clumsy. You weren’t there, and the floor was so slippery. I slipped and fell on my butt as soon as I got there.” 

With his eyes lowered, Chi Ku watched him; he didn’t say anything.

After a moment, he pulled his arm away and turned his head around to ask the boy behind them, “Who bullied my younger brother?” 

The boy had just popped a piece of bubblegum into his mouth. He blew a bubble and said, “Not me.”

“Who?”

“A bunch, the room was filled with people. What can you do.” The boy rather carelessly said, “Forget about it, it’s in the past. I’ve already told them not to be so shameless next time. Just drop it.”

Tao Huainan’s heart was in his throat just by listening. Big bro, can you not be such a troublemaker. 

–

It was the final class period of the day, and their class teacher had still yet to come back from teaching another class. The students couldn’t quiet down; they were all waiting for school to finish, so the classroom couldn’t be considered as particularly quiet.

But even though the classroom was fairly noisy, Chi Ku abruptly standing up was still very obvious. The legs of his chair scraped against the ground as he violently got up, and the screech scraped at the ears.

Chi Ku exited the classroom with large strides. He even grabbed the mop rod at the classroom door, used to carry trash cans, before heading out.

Tao Huainan wanted to chase after him, but he was blind—he couldn’t go anywhere without Chi Ku taking him.

The boy behind him seemed to finally understand what was happening, cursing a ‘fuck me’ under his breath before also running out. The boy’s deskmate didn’t know what was happening, but since his deskmate had gone out, he followed as well.

The classroom started to quietly chatter in confusion. A little while later, they heard noise from the end of the corridor, and a curious boy poked his head out to see.

It was a day for coincidences today—the boy who’d taken the lead in making fun of Tao Huainan that day was just about to come out of the bathroom when Chi Ku shoved that mop rod up horizontally against the door, blocking it. None of the four boys inside could leave. 

The young hooligans found it quite novel to be blocked like this, and they grinned as they looked at Chi Ku, wondering what he was going to do.

Chi Ku asked, “The boy who can’t see. Who pushed him last week?”

The one who’d taken the lead was amused. He didn’t take Chi Ku seriously, sniggering as he said, “Me.”

Chi Ku asked him, “You?”

“Yeah, me. Me.” He even stretched his shoulders. “What you going to do about it?”

His voice hadn’t even disappeared yet; Chi Ku directly thrust that rod right up into his face.

–

As a child, Chi Ku had been beaten so badly by his father because he would hit back whenever he saw a chance. A small child daring to whack a rock, a brick or even a clothesline pole at his father would’ve definitely not been able to win; he’d only ended up being beaten even more fiercely.

Even Chi Zhide’s extreme abuse hadn’t been able to get Chi Ku to respect him. Chi Ku, deep within his bones, had yet to respect anyone. If he wasn’t a match for anyone, then he’d rather take the beating than submit to someone.

There was no fear in his heart, plus he was strong. His one lunge with the rod made the other boy grunt in surprise, and he immediately covered his face, having lost all of his fighting power. The other three remaining boys refused to stand there; they started yelling, and they gathered around Chi Ku, pushing and shoving.

The boy behind Chi Ku and Tao Huainan’s seats arrived, shouting, “stop fighting”—he flew to pull apart the fight, and he wrapped himself around one of the boys, refusing to let him move.

Some boys from other classes in the corridor had also come out, and they pulled Chi Ku and the guys away from each other.

Chi Ku’s eyes were already reddened, and he kicked the leg of the boy in front of him. He said, roughly panting, “Just try and see what I’ll do to you if you touch my brother again.”

He had always been quite scary whenever his eyes turned red. He was a child only in his teens, and yet his gaze was so terrifying.

The boy who’d had his face smacked by the rod was holding onto his jaw; with scarlet eyes, he said to Chi Ku, “You fucker, just you wait.”  

–

The class teachers for all the different classes had yet to arrive, and there was no one patrolling the corridors. The fight in the bathroom had been quickly diffused by the boys, and they were quickly brought back to their own classes. Everything peacefully calmed down; the school wasn’t disturbed.

Tao Huainan reached out to touch him as soon as Chi Ku came back. He anxiously asked, “Did you get hit? Why are you still like this…”

Chi Ku plucked Tao Huainan’s hand off his body and flung it away.

Tao Huainan was very distressed, thinking he’d been the one to cause the trouble. He knew he was a troublesome brat—his older brothers had always had to pick up after him ever since he’d been a child.

“Why’d you bother with them…” Tao Huainan once again reached out to touch Chi Ku’s face. Since he couldn’t see, he could only depend on his hands when wanting to find out if someone was okay. “Are you hurt?”

Chi Ku pushed his hand away again.

Tao Huainan didn’t give up, frowning as he said, “Don’t push my hand away.”

Almost their entire class was looking at Chi Ku. Children of that age were always curious about boys who fought. The academic rep jogged up to them from behind and gave them a small packet of tissues before running back to her seat.

The soft mutters from earlier about Chi Ku and the academic rep started to rise again, but Tao Huainan didn’t have the time to care. He didn’t know that the academic rep had come over, and he also didn’t know everyone around them was looking at Chi Ku.

He could feel something damp on Chi Ku’s lower jaw, and Tao Huainan’s heart jolted. “What is this? An injury?”

Chi Ku didn’t speak, so Tao Huainan hurriedly smelled his own hand. It really was the smell of blood—Tao Huainan’s eyes rounded in alarm. Chi Ku indifferently said, “It’s fine, just a small cut.”

He then ignored Tao Huainan after that; Tao Huainan pulled out a tissue and pressed it onto his skin.

“Please don’t ignore me. It was my fault,” Tao Huainan softly said. Chi Ku truly was angry, and Tao Huainan didn’t know what to do for him to stop being angry, his heart lost and unsteady.

Chi Ku treated him coldly the entire time. When school finished, he grabbed his bag and walked away—Tao Huainan followed behind him, clutching onto Chi Ku’s school bag. He was brought home like that, hanging from Chi Ku like a pendant.

–

As soon as the door to their home was shut, Tao Huainan could no longer keep himself together. He also was no longer afraid of embarrassing himself, no longer needing to think about whether it was Level Two or Level Three or something he couldn’t do. When Chi Ku was about to circle around him to walk inside, Tao Huainan, without taking off either his schoolbag or his shoes, immediately threw his arms around Chi Ku and jumped onto him.

His grown up body still carried that milky smell of his childhood. Perhaps it was from his hair or his face or maybe even somewhere else—it was also possibly from the milk-scented children’s facial cream he’d always used. 

“Xiao-ge, please pay attention to me. I can’t take it anymore.” Tao Huainan pushed and rubbed his face into the crook of Chi Ku’s shoulder and neck, using the tip of his nose to prod at him. He used a feeble voice to say, “Don’t be angry. And don’t fight anymore.”

When it came to something like this, Tao Huainan had never been stubborn. He was willing to do anything when coaxing someone, and when they were children, Chi Ku hadn’t been able to withstand Tao Huainan pouting and saying nauseating words every day at all.

“It was my fault for not speaking clearly that day,” Tao Huainan said, holding onto him tightly. Chi Ku had his back straight and upright, and Tao Huainan refused to let go of his neck. “It was also my fault for lying. I didn’t speak clearly because I was upset at you yelling at me, and I lied because I was afraid of you going to fight.”

Spoiled brats knew very well how to talk, their little mouths able to flap about and release all kinds of nice-sounding words. Who could resist his coaxing?

He kept holding onto Chi Ku, nestled into his neck as he quietly explained himself, as he said he was wrong. His nose poked into Chi Ku’s neck, and when he spoke, the movement of his mouth made Chi Ku feel quite itchy.

Later, Chi Ku reached out and pulled him down. Tao Huainan was about to jump on again, but even though his voice was still a bit cold, Chi Ku still opened his mouth and asked him, “Aren’t you hot?”

The two of them had yet to take off their cotton-padded jackets. Tao Huainan couldn’t be bothered; this time, he didn’t go to circle his arms around Chi Ku’s neck. He only held onto one of Chi Ku’s arms, and so Chi Ku could only use his other hand to pull off his bag and jacket.

“Then smile,” Tao Huainan said, letting out a ‘hehe’. He raised his face, eager to please, and said, “Pay attention to me.”

Chi Ku lifted a hand and pinched Tao Huainan’s face, Tao Huainan squawking from the force. Tao Huainan covered his face, softly saying ‘ouch ouch ouch’. 

“You’re all grown up now, even knowing how to lie.” Chi Ku, holding onto Tao Huainan’s face, pushed at him. Tao Huainan had to take a step back. Chi Ku placed his jacket and bag onto the sofa.

Tao Huainan himself felt guilty—Chi Ku got fairly annoyed about lies, and there were no secrets between the two of them. There shouldn’t be lies, either. Tao Huainan had said it himself when they were still tiny beans: he’d fuzzily emphasised at night right before sleeping that ‘we’re each other’s little dogs’, and he’d even added, “We can’t lie to each other, and we can’t hide things either.” 

It was natural for Chi Ku to be angry; Chi Ku was angry every time Tao Huainan hid something from him.

–

And then, in the midst of his guilt, Tao Huainan suddenly remembered the academic rep. He didn’t feel as guilty anymore. He stood behind the sofa, his hand on its back, and pursed his mouth to say, “But you also have something you haven’t told me. You’re also hiding secrets.” He felt like he had reason on his side.

Chi Ku’s footsteps paused, and he looked at him, asking, “What have I hidden?”

“You know yourself.” Tao Huainan scratched at the sofa, not knowing why his heart felt upset every time he thought of it. He’d clearly felt only surprise in the beginning and hadn’t minded, but now he kept feeling like someone had pushed their way in between him and Chi Ku. The two of them didn’t feel as close anymore.

It really wasn’t good to date—it wasn’t as if it was a good thing.

“What do I know?” Chi Ku knit his eyebrows together. “What am I hiding from you?”

Tao Huainan couldn’t say it, silently thinking you’re not embarrassed about it and you still want others to expose you?

“Talk.” Chi Ku stared at him. “Don’t make me angry.”

Honestly, Tao Huainan was still afraid of getting Chi Ku angry, and so he hopelessly closed his eyes and quickly said, voice quiet, “I already know about the thing between you and the academic rep.”

“What thing?”

“The two of you dating.”

Chi Ku blinked, his mouth opening.

Two seconds passed silently, and yet they felt almost like two minutes. Chi Ku opened his mouth to speak.

“Tao Huainan,” Chi Ku called out his name, breathing deeply. He didn’t even know what kind of look he should have on his face. He looked at Tao Huainan’s face, so angry his teeth were hurting. “Is there something wrong with your head?”