Chapter Thirty-Five: The Ambush

After several days, one evening finally arrived when Cui Yue happened to be finishing his late shift. Under a sky full of stars, he rode his old Forever bicycle, hurrying home. As he turned the handlebars around the northwest corner of the apartment block, he immediately saw a group of people on bicycles blocking the narrow lane’s end.

Looking closely, he recognized Feng Tao at the front, wearing a dark jacket, straddling his bicycle with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a red brick in his hand, which he tossed lightly from palm to palm. Feng Tao’s gaze was full of contempt, as if crushing Cui Yue would be as easy as squashing an ant.

The others glared at Cui Yue with equal malice, each holding a homemade short steel pipe, tapping them against their bicycle handlebars in a cacophony of clangs.

Seeing this gang, Cui Yue cursed his luck—they’d clearly been lying in wait, and he was outnumbered and vulnerable tonight. Things didn’t look good.

“Cui Yue, I told you I’d teach you a lesson. Well? It’s not too late to be scared. Kneel down and apologize, and we’ll call it even,” Feng Tao sneered.

To hell with that!

“Afraid of you? If you’ve got the guts, come at me! I won’t even bat an eye. The lot of you aren’t even fit to shine my shoes,” Cui Yue spat fiercely, staring at them with defiance. He’d made up his mind—everyone’s got the same two shoulders and one head, so why be afraid? The bold only fear the reckless—if he died tonight, he’d take someone with him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cui Yue spotted an empty bottle in the shadows. He grabbed it, brandishing it at the gang.

Feng Tao hadn’t expected him to stay so stubborn even now. He snorted coldly. “Alright, boys, let’s see if he still has anything to say after we show him why the flowers are so red.”

With that, the group stormed forward, pipes and bricks raised, full of menace.

Though Cui Yue was thin and lacked Zhang Hu’s burly strength, he wasn’t a pushover at school and was no stranger to a fight.

As the group charged, Cui Yue shoved his old Forever bicycle at them with all his might. Sorry, old friend—hope you don’t fall apart. Take out as many as you can.

The bike barreled into them, and they collided in a tangle of limbs and metal.

Feng Tao, an experienced brawler, nimbly leaped over the onrushing bike and swung his brick at Cui Yue’s head, cursing as he attacked, “You bastard, I’ll split your skull open!”

Cui Yue couldn’t see clearly in the darkness, but he heard the brick whistling through the air and dodged to the side just in time.

Still, the brick slammed hard into his shoulder, sending a wave of pain through him and nearly knocking him off his feet.

Seeing his strike land, Feng Tao was elated. “Tonight, I’ll beat you until you call me grandpa!” he crowed, raising his hand again.

But Cui Yue, mustering all his strength, suddenly kicked at Feng Tao’s stomach. Feng Tao tried to block, but it struck his midsection, sending him staggering back with the brick.

The two squared off, neither getting the upper hand.

By then, Feng Tao’s cronies had surrounded Cui Yue. Feng Tao spat on the ground and barked, “Enough talk—get him!”

They all piled in, fists and feet flying. Cui Yue fought back desperately, smashing the empty bottle on someone’s head amid the chaos—it was impossible to tell friend from foe.

Just then, beams of flashlight cut through the darkness. Several men in work uniforms and red armbands shouted from a distance.

“What are you doing over there?”

At the sound of the shouts, the fighting stopped abruptly. The gang glanced around in panic.

“Feng, it’s the workers’ patrol!”

“Quick, run! He’s lucky tonight!”

Hearing “workers’ patrol,” the group scrambled onto their bikes and fled in all directions, soon vanishing into the night.

“Stop! Stay right there!” the patrolmen shouted, but by the time they arrived, the assailants were long gone. Their flashlights found only a young man crouched in pain, blood at the corner of his mouth.

“Young man, are you alright? What happened?” they asked as they hurried to help Cui Yue up.

Cui Yue finally caught his breath, tossed aside the bottle shards, and forced out through gritted teeth, “It’s nothing. Just a bunch of punks, drunk and looking for trouble. I just happened to run into them.”

“Did you see what they looked like?” one asked.

“No, it happened too fast, and it was too dark,” Cui Yue lied. He didn’t want this blown out of proportion—if word got out, it would be humiliating and make him look weak.

One of the patrolmen said, “Where do you live? We’ll take you home.”

Cui Yue drew a sharp breath, trying to sound casual despite the pain. “No need, really. I’m fine—just a few scrapes.”

He took back his battered Forever bicycle and limped home.

He slipped into his bedroom without waking his parents. After testing his injuries, he was relieved to find no broken bones or serious wounds—just bruises all over and aching muscles.

Cui Yue hadn’t expected Feng Tao to be so devious—unwilling to confront him openly at the factory, instead ambushing him on his way home with superior numbers. The humiliation burned in his chest. If this grudge went unanswered, he wouldn’t be able to call himself a man. If he didn’t strike back, they’d take him for a sickly cat. One day, he’d make Feng Tao pay twice over.

The next day at lunch, Zhang Hao noticed Cui Yue’s bruises and was shocked. “Cui Yue, what happened to you? Are you alright?”

Cui Yue quickly clamped a hand over Zhang Hao’s mouth but couldn’t withstand his barrage of questions. Left with no choice, he recounted the previous night’s events and made Zhang Hao swear not to tell a soul—especially not Zhang Hu. He didn’t want to look like a child running to adults for help.

“My god, Cui, I told you Feng Tao’s a bad egg—he’s ruthless, but you wouldn’t believe me. See, you got hurt now.”

“I’ll remember this beating. I’m not letting him off. Give me a few days to recover, then I’ll decide what to do.”

“Come on, Cui, can’t you just avoid him? Isn’t it enough to stay out of his way?”

“You sound like a traitor. If the Japanese invaded, you’d be the first to surrender. You’re all afraid of him, but I’m not. He’s not some monster.”

Cui Yue yanked on his jacket, still fuming.

Zhang Hao could only sigh—there was no reasoning with Cui Yue.

Near the end of the afternoon shift, as Cui Yue was about to head out, he saw Yang Liu standing before him. Her almond eyes were misty, her lips quivering as she bit back words, standing there in a daze.

Cui Yue felt a sudden pang in his heart. Before he could speak, Yang Liu pulled him aside behind the back wall.