The apartment building where Wu Jinpeng lived was rundown — at least thirty years old, judging by the look of it.
The three of them were crammed into a tiny room of barely twenty square meters. The bathroom sat right next to the kitchen, and a cloth curtain divided the room down the middle.
"It's a bit cramped — don't mind it. I was planning to move to a bigger place next month, actually." Wu Jinpeng had barely pushed the door open when a large yellow dog came bounding over, tail wagging. It was affectionate enough with Wu Jinpeng and Wu Sheng, but the moment it caught sight of
"Don't worry about it. Da Huang's a stray — been chased off by plenty of people, so he's not exactly warm to strangers. But once he gets used to you, you'll see he's a real sweetheart." Wu Jinpeng scratched the fur on top of Da Huang's head and gestured for Chen Ge to come inside.
The concrete floor had no tiles. There were things piled up all over the place, but everything was arranged neatly. Cramped as it was, the room didn't feel messy or dirty.
"Xiaokun, we've got a guest! Go pour two cups of tea!" Wu Jinpeng called toward the back of the room. A moment later the curtain was pushed aside, and a young man with a vacant, dopey expression walked out clutching an electric fan to his chest.
"Fan!"
"I know, I know. Go pour the tea first — I'll fix the fan." Wu Jinpeng tried to take the broken appliance from the young man's arms, but he dodged aside, hugging it tight.
"Fan!"
"Brat, I'll buy you a new one when I get paid." Wu Jinpeng looked at Chen Ge with an embarrassed smile. "This is my younger brother. Had an accident when he was a kid — brain injury. He looks stubborn, but he's actually quite smart. Back in elementary school his grades were outstanding — never once dropped out of the top ten in his whole grade."
His son couldn't speak and was withdrawn. His own brother had suffered a head injury and lived in a haze of confusion. Life had thrown every hardship it could at Wu Jinpeng, yet the man still carried a quiet pride in his family.
Chen Ge found himself genuinely admiring the man. "Brother Peng, I picked up some food and drinks on the way over. Let's eat and chat — I've got a whole bunch of questions I'd like to pick your brain about."
"Look at you — you come to my house and you're the one paying? That's not right at all!"
"I'm the one imposing on you. This one's on me."
The delivery arrived quickly. Along with the food, Chen Ge had ordered a few bottles of alcohol.
The family sat together on a mat in the middle of the room. The setting was humble, but the warmth was undeniable.
Wu Sheng and Wu Jinpeng's brother seemed like they hadn't had this much food in a long time. The two of them wolfed everything down.
Watching them eat with such relish, Wu Jinpeng's gaze softened considerably. He picked up his glass and drained it in one long gulp.
"Brother Peng — is that photo on the cabinet a family portrait?" Chen Ge pointed to the picture frame sitting atop the wardrobe. Inside was a photo of three people: a young Wu Jinpeng stood in the center, his brother on the left, and a pregnant woman on the right.
"Yeah. That woman was Wu Sheng's mother. She left after he was born — but she really was a wonderful person. My fault for not being able to keep her." Wu Jinpeng smiled faintly and took another drink. "Little brother, sorry to make you spend all this money tonight. Whatever you want to ask, fire away. I'll hold nothing back — that's the right way to use that expression, right?"
"Brother Peng, you're such a straight-shooter — then I won't beat around the bush either." Chen Ge clinked glasses with Wu Jinpeng again, then lowered his voice. "The thing is, the kid in my relative's family… he's not quite like a normal child. He has some rather unusual symptoms. I've been sitting on this for a long time, never knowing how to bring it up."
"Take your time. No rush."
"You might not believe me even after I say it." Chen Ge leaned closer to Wu Jinpeng. "One night I was up late, and I accidentally saw a door standing beside that child's bed."
As he said those words, Chen Ge's eyes never left Wu Jinpeng's face.