Don’t Pick Up Boyfriends From the Trash Bin

Chi Xiaochi ran a long way to borrow a phone from a magazine kiosk to call an ambulance.

When the location of the silo became clear with difficulty, Chi Xiaochi, already exhausted, struggled with what little strength he had left and ran towards the place he had come from.

Many years later, he still remembers the stretch of road he ran.

The summer tarmac smells like coal tar, which is made even more unbearable by the heat of the air, mixed with the taste of blood from the sand in your throat.

This scent enveloped Chi Xiaochi at the age of 14 in July.

Later, whenever he thought of this day, the smell swirled around him like the wind.

On the way, he stopped two or three motorbikes, but he was wearing a small vest and shorts, so it was obvious from a glance that he had no money on him, and the few that did stop asked if he had any money with him.

As soon as they heard it was a big deal related to human lives, they ran even faster.

It’s a small business, and a day’s delay is a day’s loss of money.

Each one is calculated to the letter.

When Chi Xiaochi ran back down the silo, Lou Ying and Zhu Shoucheng were gone, and there were fresh wheel marks on the ground, a puddle of dark red blood, and several bloodstained stones.

He ran and went to the hospital.

There is only one small hospital in the town and countryside, and therefore only one destination for Chi Xiaochi.

Chi Xiaochi swoops into the modest emergency building.

He asked the nurse at the consulting desk, “Which operating theatre is the patient who was just brought in?”

The nurse looked up, “Four patients have just been pulled in in half an hour. Which one are you talking about?”

” Lou Ying .”

”Don’t say the names. Four of them haven’t even been registered in detail yet.”

The nurse spread out the incomplete critical condition book and pushed up her glasses: “Two drivers, one with a sudden cerebral haemorrhage and one who fell from a building. Which one are you asking?”

Chi Xiaochi : “It fell from upstairs.”

”What are you to him?”

Chi Xiaochi said, “I’m his brother.”

”Pro-life?”

Chi Xiaochi lies: “Pro-life.”

”That’s okay.” The old nurse put down the register and looked at him from above her glasses, “…… That way your parents will at least have something to think about.”

Chi Xiaochi looks at the nurse with wood in her heart and eyes.

It was like he understood the nurse’s words, but he didn’t.

”Turn right at the end of the first floor. Hurry up and go.” The nurse said, “A few more minutes later and it will be taken to the morgue.”

Nurses have been in hospitals for a long time and are used to seeing death and the reactions of families when they learn of the death of a loved one, especially children of this age, who are either weak in the knees, crying, or angry.

But Chi Xiaochi’s reaction was unlike any she had ever seen.

Chi Xiaochi pulled the roller bed that had been wheeled out of the emergency room, stopping it directly in the middle of the not-so-spacious corridor.

He asked the doctor, “Where are you taking my brother?”

The doctor was more euphemistic: “It’s too hot, his body has to find a place to stop until your parents arrive and then take your brother home, okay.”

Chi Xiaochi stubbornly said, “His hands are still moving, where are you taking him?”

The doctor laughed and cried, “Young man, you’re looking at the wrong thing. It’s the ground that’s uneven and the roller bed rolls on it, so it’s inevitably a bit bumpy.”

Chi Xiaochi grabbed the roller bed, desperately trying to prove to the doctor that what he saw was true: “Uncle, listen to me, my brother is really moving …… we’re not going to the morgue, we’re not going.”

The doctor sighed, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

Chi Xiaochi said, “I mourn what, he is still alive.”

The doctor said, “Young man, you’re stopping here, it’s going to interfere with our normal work.”

Chi Xiaochi did not dare to let go of her hand, fearing that if she did, Lou Ying would be pushed into that place by them.

He grabbed the corner of the bed and called out to the silent man on the bed, ” Brother Lou …… Brother Lou, wake up. You tell them we’re not going to the morgue ……”

In small local hospitals, even sedatives are out of stock.

Chi Xiaochi just stayed fully conscious and was forcibly separated from the bed by two strong security guards who broke his fingers.

The body covered in a white sheet began to shake again as the reeling rollers resumed.

Chi Xiaochi was pinned against the wall, watching from afar as the car turned a corner in the corridor and disappeared.

It’s only two floors, he thought, how could it be.

He thought it was impossible and thought that maybe he had stopped the wrong car and identified the wrong person; after all, he only saw half a hand showing under the sheet.

So he followed up the morgue as a family member after lying that he had calmed down.

The confirmation is that he really knows Lou Ying.

He had seen that hand hold a pen, hold a video game, hold a bowl, hold chopsticks, hold a screwdriver, and had seen that hand flatten out peacefully after falling asleep.

Just like now.

He was caught in a long dream.

Chi Xiaochi holds the hand and sits down slowly along the edge of the bed on the cold concrete floor.

The man guarding the body was an old man who watched from afar, shook his head, and whirled his back.

Chi Xiaochi noticed that Lou Ying’s fingertips were cold and the tips of his nails were strangely green, so he cupped his hand in his palm and gently breathed on it.

Chi Xiaochi began to feel cold when the cold air from the morgue, which did not dissipate all year, reached his body.

He felt pain in his body, but where exactly it was, he couldn’t say.

Chi Xiaochi let go of Lou Ying’s hand and wrenched her shoulders tight with both hands, tightening them hard inwards.

His teeth were gritted to death, and intermittent moans of pain emanated from between his teeth.

When the old man heard the noise, he was a bit worried and came over, speaking in a strong Shaanxi accent, “What’s wrong, baby?”

Chi Xiaochi slurred, “…… hurts.”

”Then Grandpa will take you to the doctor?”

”No doctor.” Chi Xiaochi buried her face in her arms and took a heavy breath, “Grandpa, I want to make a phone call.”

”Okay, well, give mum and dad a call. Let you a doll see to this thing ……”

Chi Xiaochi raised her eyes, “No, I’m calling the police.”

However, just as he was being helped out of the morgue by the old man, he was greeted by two police officers, a man in his early forties and a woman with short hair and floppy ears.

The male policeman looked him over and saw something in his ashen face, “Is your name Chi Xiaochi?”

Chi Xiaochi stares at him in the same way, woodenly, without nodding or shaking his head.

He said, “I have something to ask of you.”

”We also have something to find out from you.” The policewoman asked him, “How old are you?”

Chi Xiaochi said dryly, “14.”

”Ho, I really didn’t see that coming, you’re quite fierce, I thought you were sixteen or seventeen.” The male policeman glanced approvingly at his partner and then said, “Then we’ll have to get the procedure right. Tell you what, hang up the phone to your parents and tell them to wait here. We’ll ask you about things …… when your dad or mum gets here.”

”I have a situation to reflect.” Chi Xiaochi interrupted him, “It’s Zhu Shoucheng. Zhu Shoucheng hurt Lou’s brother, he made him fall down …… and he did it to me–”

To his surprise, the attitude of both policemen was calm: “We know about this matter. We are also here to investigate.”

”Investigate what?”

”It was Zhu Shoucheng, the occupant of No. 207 on the first floor of 17 An Ding Road, who called the police.” The male policeman said, “It’s related to a burglary, but I can’t reveal anything else. We’ll talk more about it when your parents arrive.”

Chi Xiaochi thought that lifting the sheet and seeing Lou’s face was the darkest moment of his life.

He still underestimates how fucked up life can be.

After taking Lou Ying to hospital, Zhu Shoucheng used the hospital phone to report a burglary in her home.

The thief’s name is Lou Ying and the person who assisted in the theft is Chi Xiaochi.

Chi Xiaochi came to his home to tutor and do the questions, while he was sleepy from staying up late last night writing his lesson plan and went back to his bedroom to sleep, intending to wait until Chi Xiaochi had finished the whole set of test questions before explaining them to him.

He was awakened by the sound of rustling outside.

He said that at first he thought Chi Xiaochi was talking to himself, but he listened with sharp ears for a while before he realised something was wrong.

…… There was another person in his living room.

Zhu Shoucheng said he got out of bed and went to the door, where he collided with Lou Ying, who was about to enter the bedroom.

Lou Ying, who had been caught by him from behind, fought with him, breaking the monarchs and knocking several pieces of furniture out of the house, and Chi Xiaochi came up to fight with him, but after he pushed him away, he went out and shouted that there was a fire.

During the scuffle, Lou Ying tried to escape through the window and Zhu Shoucheng intended to stop him, but the pushing and shoving caused him to fall.

When Chi Xiaochi heard this, he immediately stomped on the interrogation room table, almost knocking it over: “Bullshit!!!”

Chi’s mother tsked and slapped him on the head, “Watch your mouth! What do I usually teach you?”

After saying this, she bent respectfully towards the two officers in charge of the questioning, “Sorry sorry sorry, this child has a violent temper and is so cross with us at home, he is used to being cross.”

Chi Xiaochi was so angry that his eyes were blackened and his breath was clogged in his chest, and he felt all the blood in his body rising to his throat: “No! No!!! Why do you only listen to his words? Where are the other neighbours? Our building is poorly insulated, so someone could have heard something, right?

The short-haired policewoman, Zi Yu, saw that Chi Xiaochi was too emotional and softened her voice: “The only people who remained in the silo at that time were an old man with bad ears, a man with a hangover, and two children in primary school. The first two hadn’t heard anything at all, and the two children, who couldn’t remember anything at all, had one set of stories about the timeline of what had happened, and after a couple of questions, their original memories were not clear, so the testimony was not credible.”

With that, Zi Yu leaned forward slightly and soothed him with a gentle tone, “Don’t get excited. Zhu Shoucheng’s story is his story, I want to hear your account of the incident now.”

Chi Xiaochi’s face is white.

The taste of manly head oil filled his mouth again for nothing, and his nostrils filled with the fermented stench of food and saliva.

Chi Xiaochi’s hands, which were placed under the table, involuntarily clasped together and whispered, “He …… is going to do that to me.”

Zi Yu didn’t understand for a moment, “What does he want with you?”

Chi Xiaochi gritted his teeth and slashed open his hidden wound: “…… He, Zhu Shoucheng , wants to violate me.”

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room froze.

Chi’s mother, wide-eyed, pinched his leg under the table, “Are you crazy? What’s this nonsense?”

Zi Yu exchanged a look full of consternation with the middle-aged policeman, Old Dai, before saying, “Can you tell us the details?”

Chi Xiaochi spoke word for word about his experience, about being pinned down on the bed, his body shaking so badly that he recoiled with a pang, like a large invisible hand was pulling his stomach outwards.

After hearing his story, Zi Yu was very concerned and immediately decided to take him to the hospital for an examination of his injuries.

Chi’s mother, however, had been sitting on the sidelines, looking at Chi Xiaochi with a strange look.

After the examination, it was fully dark.

Zi Yu drove Chi Xiaochi and Chi’s mother back to the silo and told Chi Xiaochi to rest and not to think or wander around, that they would start the investigation as soon as possible.

Chi Xiaochi listens to one sentence or another, his eyes looking straight out of the car window.

Zhu Shoucheng is standing in front of Lou Ying’s house, dressed in a suit, carrying a huge fruit basket.

From his jacket pocket, a thick corner of a red packet was revealed.

He was saying something to a sobbing Aunt Lou Ying with a sullen look on his face.

Seemingly sensing the sight behind him, he turned his head and saw Chi Xiaochi in the police car.

Zhu Shoucheng, somewhat sheepishly, quickly looks away and says something to Lou Ying’s sister-in-law, who then moves out of the way and lets him into Lou’s house.

Chi Xiaochi wants to kill someone.

At that moment he wanted Zhu Shoucheng to be like Lou, lying cold and alone in the morgue.

Chi’s mother and Zi Yu said their goodbyes and then her face came down quickly, tugging at Chi Xiaochi and dragging him all the way upstairs.

The house is cold, the pots and pans are cold, and Ikea’s dad is sitting at the table, not looking in a very good mood.

He asked, “I’ve heard a bit of a rumour. What’s going on?”

Chi Xiaochi was just about to speak when Chi’s mother spoke up and rebuked, “What’s wrong? You’re a good son, aren’t you? You’ve grown up and you’ve learned nothing else but to cause trouble!”

She turned to Chi Xiaochi: “Didn’t I tell you to keep your distance from Lou downstairs, he’s a good student but a bad judge of character, and now look what’s happened? How’s that working out for you?”

Chi Xiaochi argued vehemently, ” Lou is not!!!”

”Oh, he’s not, so why is he running into people’s homes in the middle of the day? With someone’s money in his pocket?”

Chi Xiaochi’s voice was tinged with sobs, ” Brother Lou was trying to save me ……”

”You’re just making it up.” Chi’s mum turned to Chi’s dad, “You know what, your good son, saying that other people’s teacher Zhu made a pass at him and touched him …… Listen to this, isn’t it ridiculous, huh? You think you are some kind of meat and potatoes? He is a man, a big man, he put his hands on you, what does he want? Jokes.”

…… Chi Xiaochi doesn’t want to talk.

Even opening his mouth is too tiring for him.

The parents will not admit that their decision to send Chi Xiaochi to Mr Zhu’s home for tuition was wrong, so it must be Chi Xiaochi who is at fault. f𝚛e𝚎𝘄𝒆𝚋𝚗𝚘ѵ𝑒𝚕.𝑐𝘰𝑚

In that case, there is nothing more to be said.

He wanted to go out for some fresh air, but was stopped by Chi’s mother, who told him not to go anywhere tonight, but to stay at home and give a full account of the situation.

Chi Xiaochi purses her lips and gives two silent laughs.

He made his bed on the floor and fell straight down, pulling the covers over his head and not saying another word.

As a result, Chi’s parents turned off the lights early to counter the gossip that had spread throughout the building.

Chi Xiaochi, sleepless and under the suffocating covers, listens with open eyes to the conversation of the couple in bed.

Ji’s father said, “Why did someone die? Even if we have to move in the future, the price of the house will have to fall. Who can we talk to?”

”Go after whoever you want, but don’t go after us.” Chi’s mother was annoyed, “Your son just gave the keys to the house to an outsider, and now we’ll have to eat the melon with Lou’s family.”

”No, no, no. But it’s a good thing Lou’s boy lost his life.” Ji’s father said, “People die for the sake of peace, and Mr Zhu won’t bother us much about Xiaochi.”

Chi Xiaochi opens his mouth and bites down on the quilt.

It was only when he had a little strength to loosen his teeth that he realised he had a mouth full of heavy blood.

……

Zi Yu remained under the silo, looked around and confirmed that there was no sign of any surveillance coverage in the area.

It was not until Zhu Shoucheng had left Lou’s house that she got out of the car and stopped Zhu Shoucheng: “Mr Zhu, let’s talk again?”

Zhu Shoucheng’s expression was unnatural for a moment, but he quickly returned to his spring-like smile: “It’s so late. Going to the police station?”

”Just two or three words, just talk in the car.”

After closing the car door, Zi Yu turned his head, “Can I ask some questions.”

Zhu Shoucheng in the passenger seat : “Well, you tell me.”

Zi Yu : “Are you saying that Lou Ying used a key from Chi Xiaochi’s house to get into Chi Xiaochi’s house and then broke into your house and burgled it?”

Zhu Shoucheng : “That’s right.”

”And Chi Xiaochi is the inside man?”

”That’s just a guess. Because he didn’t seem surprised by Lou Ying’s presence.”

Zi Yu looked into Zhu Shoucheng’s eyes, “Why do you think Lou Ying chose to go through the window instead of the door, given that he had Xiaochi as his inside man?”

Zhu Shoucheng didn’t even blink: “My door is old, and the sound is very harsh when it opens and closes.”

Zi Yu pondered, “Do you think that Xiaochi let Lou Ying go through the window because he was afraid of waking you up?”

”Maybe.”

”Then his and Lou Ying’s plan to commit this theft must have been planned in advance. But how can Xiaochi be sure that you must have fallen asleep while carrying out your plan?”

”I don’t know about that.” Zhu Shoucheng shrugged, “They’re stuck together all the time, so they might have some special way of communicating.”

Zi Yu was watching Zhu Shoucheng’s expression change throughout the questioning.

But disappointingly, she didn’t find anything.

Zhu Shoucheng showed some nervousness and anxiety, but the level was within the normal range and nothing unusual could be seen.

She asked one last question, “Do you have anything else to say about Lou Ying?”

”The boy was quite a good student, very spiritual, but his character was ……” Zhu Shoucheng shook his head regretfully, “I’m not saying anything bad about the deceased, you can ask around, upstairs and downstairs, everyone knows that Lou’s children always had endless money, always got all kinds of second-hand goods, and could buy all kinds of good things for Chi Xiaochi. As for the source of his money, well, God only knows.”

……

In July, Chi Xiaochi began his war without smoke and mirrors.

He ran to the police station every day and sat there, waiting for a statement.

Chi’s mother had to go to work, so she couldn’t stay with him day in and day out, so Dai, who was in charge of the matter, was flexible and turned the “inquiry” into a “talk” so that Chi Family’s parents didn’t have to come along every time.

Old Dai was very distrustful of Chi Xiaochi.

Every time we had a “heart-to-heart”, he would ask the same question: “Tell me all the details of what happened that day.”

As a result, Chi Xiaochi has had to tear open his scars again and again to show the bloodied wounds to others.

But saying the same thing backwards and forwards inevitably skewed the flavour.

Old Dai took several transcripts and compared them back and forth:” Lou Ying into the window at the right time …… you didn’t say so last time.”

Chi Xiaochi covered her forehead, her heart and body weak with exhaustion, “What did I say last time?”

Old Dai closed his pen cap, leaned back in his chair and said perfunctorily, “You think for yourself.”

Chi Xiaochi doesn’t speak.

Over the past few days, Chi Xiaochi’s words have decreased dramatically.

For he found that more talk is more error.

Old Dai also felt bored and closed the transcript, telling him to wait here.

No sooner had he left than Chi Xiaochi followed in silence, carrying his bag on one shoulder.

Old Dai went back to his office and Chi Xiaochi also sat down wordlessly on the plastic bench by the office door, trying to hear something useful.

A young civilian policeman asked from inside, “That boy again? How’s it going, is it okay?”

”He’s fine.” Old Dai flicked his index finger loudly at the injury report, “All the red bruises on his body are from his own fall, but there are some bruises on his wrists and waist, obviously from wrestling and pushing, which also match Zhu Shoucheng’s statement.

Speaking of which, Old Dai chortled, “…… says it like it’s true.”

Chi Xiaochi rests his head on the cold tiles to cool his hot head.

If he had known, he thought, he might as well have gotten by Zhu Shoucheng at the time.

”At this age, children are so quick to tell lies that they don’t even need to draft them.” Old Dai said, “That’s how my son behaves. I know him too well.”

Zi Yu : “He may not be lying. I always thought there was something odd about it.”

”Little comrade, you ‘think’? You’re not afraid that people will laugh at you if you say that? We have to look at the evidence, the proof.”

Old Dai raised several statements in his hand, “Here, open your eyes. Inconsistencies, mistakes in details, and you’re telling me he’s not lying?”

He took another drag on his cigarette, “And did you see his feet?”

Zi Yu : “…… What happened to his feet again?”

Chi Xiaochi, outside the door, likewise looks down at his feet.

Old Dai tsked, “On his ankle, there’s a big black flower. Who’s a decent kid to get fancy things on his body?”

The tattooed flower on the inside of his ankle, cold as a snake, climbed its way up his trouser leg.

Chi Xiaochi and stopped to look.

Zi Yu didn’t answer Dai’s question, and flipped through the Wen file himself: “I suggest identifying the fingerprints on the coins in Lou Ying’s pocket.”

Old Dai lit a cigarette, “Oh, that money, ah, paid back.”

Zi Yu : “…… What? Returned?”

Lao Dai: “It’s Mr Zhu’s money, and there’s a small note for his purchases in it, so of course I have to return it to him.”

”It’s not ……” Zi Yu said, “It’s evidence, how can we just casually-”

Old Dai reached out and waved away the smoke in front of him: “Little Zi, you’re still too young to understand the ways of the world. That money is not a small amount, several hundred, if we withhold it as evidence, someone will definitely say that we are cheating on the people’s money, then we can’t even talk about it. Also, what did you say? Fingerprinting? Don’t be ridiculous, we don’t have the means to do that? There are only two or three of us in a small police station in a small place, and we are too busy to finish our work every day. It’s not enough of a hassle. Besides, Lou’s family has said they’re going to cremate the kid early, so we shouldn’t worry about that…”

Snap.

A few moments after the sound of something hitting the ground, there was a steep and continuous sound of running outside.

Sensing a hint of something wrong, Zi Yu peeks out of his office only to see Chi Xiaochi’s black school bag on the floor and the teenager’s desperate figure disappearing down the corridor in a mere flash.

”……Xiaochi?”