With his previous experience, Han Fei had an easier time unearthing news about Qu Yun. Instead of spreading a wide net, he looked into articles on past criminal cases. Soon, he found the thing he needed. About 10 years ago, a murder happened near Xin Lu countryside. A wife was murdered by her husband. The husband often beat up his wife and one day, he hit a bit too hard and killed his wife. The murderer was caught and given the death penalty. The point of interest was that they had a son together. The father killed the mother and the father was executed. The boy was the murderer’s family but also the victim’s family. He tried to commit suicide after the tragedy but was rescued by the police. To provide a sense of belonging to the child, the police decided to leave the boy with his uncle.
There were a few follow up articles about the boy. He did not do anything wrong but for some reasons, the people disliked being around him. His schoolmates ostracized him and he did not really find a happy home with his uncle. His uncle would be reminded of his dead younger sister whenever he saw the boy, so the uncle did not care for him much. He would give him some monthly allowance, just enough that he would not be punished by the law.
“Qu Yun’s son is still alive, his name is Qu Wenhou.” Han Fei decided to seek out the boy after he finished shooting. If possible, he wanted to get to know the boy better. The progress in the afternoon slowed conspicuously because there were a lot of couple and group scenes. The other actors in the same frame as Han Fei were under a lot of pressure. This was especially true for the new actor, Mian Nian, she was even frightened a few times by Han Fei who was too into character. Han Fei still managed to wrap up his own scenes by 6 pm. He skipped dinner and hurried towards the boy’s uncle’s address. The address he got was from 10 years ago, he hoped they had not moved. He bought a bottle of yogurt and a fruit basket at a convenience store before entering the dilapidated neighbourhood. The environment here was horrible, there was not even a gate at the neighbourhood entrance. He eventually located the address.
“I’m sorry but does Qu Wenhou’s family live here?” He knocked for a long time before the door was answered by a miserly man. “Who are you?”
“Hi, I’m looking for Qu Wenhou’s family.”
“Are you his friend? He’s at the store, go look for him there.”
“The boy is only supposed to be 17 years old now, shouldn’t he be at school?”
“He doesn’t want to go to school so what can I do?” The man huffed and gave Han Fei the store’s address with great impatience. He took the presents from Han Fei but instead of inviting Han Fei in, he slammed the door. The man detested anyone who had anything to do with Qu Wenhou. Following the GPS on his phone, Han Fei arrived at a convenience store not far away from the neighbourhood. The store was located at a secluded spot. There was no customer and surprisingly no person manned the shop either. “Where is the child?” Han Fei was strolling through the shop when he heard sounds of argument coming from the back alley. He hurried towards it.
Five ruffians surrounded a soft-looking young man wearing the convenience store’s uniform. One of the five wore the uniform from the nearby high school, his left arm was bandaged.
“Do you think this is over if you don’t come to school?”
“There’s still teachers to help you at school but who is going to protect you now? Tell on us some more, why don’t you?”
“Do you really think no one will know about your history by changing schools? Do you think people will befriend you now? How naïve!” The ruffians mocked relentlessly until the surrounded boy finally exploded, “I’ve never done anything to any of you, why do you insist on targeting me?”
“Who is targeting you? We were merely telling everyone the truth, so that they can see what you really are. How that affects other people treats you, that we cannot control.” The student with the bandaged arm took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket. “Furthermore, don’t you forget who put this bandage on me. See, we were not wrong. You have indeed inherited your father’s DNA. You’re his biological son. Your mother was murdered probably because she was a slut and was caught in bed with another man.”
“Don’t you dare talk about my mother like that!” The young man suddenly lashed out like a beast. He jumped at the student with the bandaged man. The other 4 were too slow to stop him. The two rolled to the ground, fighting each other. The gentle-looking boy was a surprisingly ferocious fighter. But he was outnumbered and was soon pinned to the ground. His face was grinded against the tarmac. The boy’s pretty eyes filled with venom. He struggled vehemently but no one was there to help him. The ruffians were right, at least at school, the boy could go to the teachers but outside of school, he was alone.
“What are you people doing? Stop that!” Han Fei pulled two of the students up by the back of their collars and tossed them to the side. Then he picked up the boy in the convenience store uniform up from the ground and guarded him behind him.
“Uncle, what does this have to do with you? He was the one who started it. He was the one who broke my arm, do you know how painful the injury is?” The 5 ruffians obviously were not going to let this go.
“He might have done that but can you really blame him? From the way your mouth runs, I’m surprised you have not been beaten up sooner.” Han Fei countered as he looked around. He realized there was a surveillance camera at the front of the alley. With determined steps, he backed the boy deeper into the alley.
The ruffians took this as a sign of weakness. “What did you say? Uncle, do you know there is a price to pay for minding other people’s business?” The ruffians cornered them inside the alley.
“Kids like you want to talk prices with me?” When Han Fei made sure the five had followed him deep into the alley, a smile appeared on his face. “Since none of you stay in school like you’re supposed to, then I shall help your teachers to impart a quick lesson on you. This is for your own good.”
Han Fei had the boy move back a bit. When the five ruffians charged at him, Han Fei unleashed his full power!
Han Fei was still not as good as a professional fighter, but with the training from the game, his reaction speed was very fast. He was outnumbered so he knew he had to strike fast and strike hard. Han Fei aimed a kick right at a student’s chest. He then evaded a punch and raised a right hook at the second student’s chin. Han Fei was a much better fighter than the students. The attacks that they landed on Han Fei did not do any damage but one hit from Han Fei and they found themselves having difficulty standing back up.
In less than half a minute, the fight was over. 4 of the ruffians were on the ground groaning. Han Fei dragged the student with the bandaged arm over. “So, how did you like your impromptu lesson so far?”
“I, I’m so sorry!”
“Do you know why I didn’t start punching directly but wait for all of you to follow me into the alley before I start the lesson?” Han Fei stared coldly at the student.
“I don’t know.” The student blanched. Whenever he wanted, Han Fei could be very terrifying.
“In that case, you better go back to school, the streets aren’t a good place for you.” Han Fei tossed the student to the side. Then he turned to the gentle-looking kid, “He’s all yours.”
“Really?” The boy’s fists tightened.
“Sure, I merely stepped in to help even out the playing field. This is your fight to begin with. Go all out.”
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