Urban Leisure: Returning to University as a Model Student

Chapter 2 The Dregs of Society

The scorching July heat in Jiajing City made the air ripple with waves of warmth, enough to kill anyone’s desire to step outside.

Chen Jiahua, clad in a white T-shirt with the logo of Carpoly Paint printed on it, was aimlessly riding an old second-hand Haojue motorcycle he had picked up from who-knows-where. The hot summer wind whipped past him as he drove down the road without a destination in mind.

After a while, he remembered the irreversible and unfair “contract” he had signed earlier. There was no turning back now. Feeling frustrated, he realized this time he couldn’t bluff his way out like before. To his dismay, his father had taken the matter far more seriously than he’d expected.

Going back home wasn’t an option at the moment. Sighing, Chen Jiahua pulled over under the shade of a tree and pulled a white flip phone from his pocket.

The phone, a new Sharp SH6620C model, boasted a clear display and decent performance. It wasn’t something he bought for himself—it was a hand-me-down from his sister, Chen Jiapei, after she upgraded to a newer model.

Opening his contacts, he dialed her number.

Recently, Chen Jiapei had taken a summer job as a tour guide in a nearby historic town. It was noon, the hottest time of day, when no tourists would brave the sun to venture out, giving her a rare moment of rest.

When the ringtone started, Jiapei frowned. Not another annoying call from that persistent male classmate, is it? she thought. She regretted ever putting her number in the class contact list. Next time, she swore, not a single digit will go on there.

Grumbling, she stepped into the shade of an overhang and answered the phone. As soon as she heard the familiar voice on the other end, her slouched shoulders straightened.

“Big Brother? What a surprise! I thought you’d fallen off the face of the earth!” she teased.

“Chen Jiapei!” Chen Jiahua growled, glancing behind him to check for oncoming traffic as he sat astride his motorcycle. The way he gritted his teeth while saying her full name made her flinch.

“What’s wrong, bro?” she asked cautiously.

“Did you tell Dad you didn’t want to stay in the dorms? If you don’t want to stay, fine, but why drag me into it? You’ve got enough money from your summer jobs to cover rent, so what’s the big idea pulling me into this mess?”

“Hey, don’t pin this on me!” she protested, laughing nervously. “I only told Dad I didn’t want to stay in the dorms. I never mentioned you!”

“Well, congratulations,” Chen Jiahua sighed. “Now Dad wants me to re-enroll in school. What am I supposed to do about that?”

“Really?!” Jiapei shouted so loudly that passersby gave her strange looks. She quickly composed herself, though her excitement was barely contained. “Bro, that’s amazing! We’ll be schoolmates! You’re going back to Jiajing University, right? Perfect! No one on campus will dare bully me with you around!”

She paused, her tone growing sly. “Don’t worry, bro. I’ll find you the best sister-in-law the school has to offer! Dad won’t be mad at you anymore if you bring someone home!”

Great, another conversation that’s completely off the rails. Chen Jiahua hung up abruptly. On the other end, Jiapei kept talking, oblivious, until she realized the line had gone dead.

“Hello? Hello? Ugh! He hung up on me! So rude!”

Chen Jiahua rode off toward Changming District in Jiajing City, eventually pulling up outside a bar. The noise from inside spilled out into the street, but no one seemed to notice his arrival.

“Brother Hua!” the bartender called out with a grin, recognizing him as a regular.

“Where’s Ye Yun?” Chen Jiahua asked, lighting a cigarette. The bartender produced a lighter and helped him out.

“He’s in the back. Should I get him for you?”

“No need. I’ll go myself,” Chen Jiahua replied, grabbing a bottle of Jiajing Beer and heading toward the bar’s backroom.

Inside, a group of men was playing drinking games and laughing raucously. As soon as they noticed Chen Jiahua, they exchanged glances and quieted down.

“Brother Hua, you’re here!” Ye Yun stood up, pulling out a chair for him.

“I need to talk to you guys about something,” Chen Jiahua said, exhaling a puff of smoke as he leaned back.

“Sure, Hua-ge. Who’s the target this time?” one of the men blurted, slamming the table with a smug grin, looking every bit the cocky neighborhood thug.

Chen Jiahua shot him a sharp look before grabbing the chunky gold chain around the man’s neck. “Target? What target? All you think about is fighting and causing trouble. What makes you any different from those old-fashioned gangsters?”

Releasing the chain, he continued, “I’m here to ask if any of you have connections at Jiajing University—leaders, staff, relatives, anyone.”

The room went silent. The men exchanged awkward glances. They were barely literate enough to survive the digital age, let alone have ties to a top university.

“What a sorry bunch,” Chen Jiahua sighed. “Look at you—gaudy chains, ridiculous outfits, the spitting image of society’s trash. Why don’t you spend some time reading a book instead of parading around like fools?”

The man with the gold chain, nicknamed “Fatty Wei,” bristled at the comment. His real name was Wei Sanpang—“Sanpang” because he was the third child in his family and sported a hefty build.

“Come on, Brother Hua, no need to lump us all together. You’re only a high school graduate yourself!”

“Me?” Chen Jiahua sneered. “When I was hitting it off with girls at Jiajing University, you were probably hiding in some alley trying to be a wannabe gangster.”

His words made the room fall silent again. Chen Jiahua lit another cigarette, then said with a grin, “If you all think your leader’s education level isn’t up to snuff, I guess I’ll just have to buckle down and go back to school.”

Ye Yun was stunned, unsure if Chen Jiahua was joking. But the serious look on his face confirmed it wasn’t a jest. Ye Yun glared at Fatty Wei, who quickly stood up in alarm.

“Brother Hua, come on, I was just joking! I’m no better—I only graduated from a vocational college!”

“Exactly! Don’t take it seriously, Hua-ge,” another chimed in, eager to shift the topic. “Oh, and about the task you gave me, I’ve nearly finished investigating those beggar camps.”

“Good,” Chen Jiahua nodded. “But keep things quiet. The sooner we act, the fewer kids end up maimed and sold off.”

The shift in topic worked, and the group refocused on the matter at hand. Ye Yun grinned and began massaging Chen Jiahua’s shoulders.

“So, about going back to school, you really can’t count on us for help?” Chen Jiahua sighed.

The group turned sheepish again. Ye Yun exclaimed, “Hua-ge, you’re serious? If you go back to school, what happens to us? The security company’s only just started!”

“What security company? It’s just a handful of small-time hooligans with nothing better to do,” Chen Jiahua said with a smirk, ignoring their protests as he walked out the door.