Chapter 5: Kid, You Don’t Understand

The night air in the Walled City was thick with the smell of cheap cigarettes and tension. While Liu Yi went off to handle the rival gang, Chu San sat frozen on his stool. He looked at the script, then at the dark alleyway where the "Monster" had disappeared.

A few hours later, Liu Yi returned. He wasn't limping, but his white shirt was ruined by dark red stains, and his knuckles were bruised. He looked exhausted.

Without saying a word, he sat down next to Chu San and grabbed the student's water bottle, drinking the whole thing in one go.

"Did you... win?" Chu San asked, his voice trembling.

Liu Yi wiped his mouth and leaned back, looking up at the dirty ceiling. "In this place, no one really wins. You just survive long enough to fight again tomorrow."

Chu San looked at Liu Yi's bruised hands. For the first time, he didn't feel just fear—he felt a strange flicker of pity. He reached into his bag, pulled out a small first-aid kit his mother had made him carry, and nervously took out an antiseptic wipe.

"What are you doing?" Liu Yi growled, pulling his hand away.

"It will get infected," Chu San insisted, his "good student" brain taking over. "If you lose a finger, you can't hold your twin blades, and then you definitely won't survive tomorrow."

Liu Yi stared at him like he was an alien. No one in the gang ever tried to "nurse" him. They usually just gave him more alcohol or a fresh weapon. But he slowly held out his hand, letting the "Mummy" clean his wounds.

As Chu San worked, he asked quietly, "Why do you live like this? You’re smart, and you're famous. You could be anything else."

Liu Yi let out a dry, short laugh. "Kid, you don't understand. You grew up with books and a family that worries about your grades. I grew up learning which parts of the human body bleed the most so I wouldn't get killed at age ten."

He leaned closer to Chu San, the scent of smoke and iron surrounding them. "You think the world is a movie where the hero chooses his path. But for people like me, the path was paved before we were born. You belong in a bright office; I belong in this dirt."

Chu San looked into Liu Yi’s eyes and said, "The script I'm writing... the hero finds a way out. Maybe you could too."

Liu Yi’s expression softened for a split second, then he suddenly flicked Chu San’s forehead. "Stop dreaming, Finance Boy. Just finish the scene. And make sure the hero looks cool while he's 'finding a way out.'"

But as Chu San went back to writing, he noticed Liu Yi didn't move away. He stayed right there, watching the pen move across the paper, as if the student’s words were the only "light" in his dark world.

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