A musky smell lingers in the air within a pitch dark alleyway. Mice scuttle along the decrepit walkway, taking cover beneath the trash and debris lining the walls. Their panicked squeaks break through the silence as a figure slumps to the ground. Amidst the unpleasant smell, a boy buries his face into his bent knees, trembling as the imaginary rain crashes around him.
“Dan… You okay?”
Wei’s voice calls out from the entrance to the alleyway. Upon hearing no response, he steps into the darkness. After a single step, he flinches as the musky stench assaults his senses, causing him to take two steps back. Staring into the faint outline of the figure slouching against the wall, he sighs before stepping back into the alleyway. With careful steps, Wei weaves through the debris lining the alleyway before pausing before Dan.
After a moment of silence, Wei breaks through his reluctance and leans against the wall, sliding towards the ground and seating himself across from Dan. Unable to find the words to alleviate the tense atmosphere, he sighs and stares at the faint outline of his hands. Meanwhile, a breeze sweeps across the main road before veering off into the alleyway. As the melodious howl echoes through the narrow corridor, Wei lifts his gaze.
I swear if you tell a single soul…
“I envy you.” Despite his hesitation, Wei decides to speak his mind. “That night, whilst I was frozen stiff, you stepped up. Thinking about it now, I get the feeling that you calculated everything. Somehow, amidst all that, you managed to stay composed and exploit every little detail. From riling me with that disdainful gaze, to baiting that traitor into removing you from the battle- I’m envious that you managed all of that in the face of death.”
Wei pauses, hoping to hear a clapback. He didn’t know what he wanted to hear, perhaps something on the lines of “that’s rich coming from you.” Anything would suffice. Instead of a response, Wei hears only the howling wind. With no response, he decides to continue.
“I still have nightmares about it. It pissed- no, it pisses me off. That helpless feeling… While that traitorous filth… I couldn’t do a single thing except struggle to st-”
“Three hundred.” Dan finally speaks. His cryptic words cause Wei to raise a brow.
“What?”
“That’s how many laps I run every night.” Dan continues, his trembling no longer present. “From my house, around the corner, past the noodle bar, through the alleyways, over the pharmaceutical house, along the lake, and back.”
Wei stares blankly at the shadowy face before him, still confused by the random tidbit of information.
“You’re giving me too much credit for Annings…” He pauses, not wanting to say the word that Maoyi had forbidden them from even uttering. With Anning’s condition stable, there was no need to refer to it as such. Still, the mere thought of her comatose state weighs down on him even now. Biting his tongue, he decides to shift back to his initial line of thought. “I still have nightmares about it too. I run because I hate that feeling too- or at least that’s what I tell myself… I don’t know. Maybe I’m just running to escape it all. Either way, if you hate it, then train until your gut screams in pain.”
Stolen story; please report.
“Is that part of Instructor Sun’s training?” Wei asks, his mind still slightly dazed from the thought of running three hundred laps around the district every night.
“Hahaha.” The naive question causes Dan to release an involuntary laugh. “No. Don’t even put them on the same level of pain...” He pauses, shivering at the memory of the training session earlier in the day. “His method is relentless, forcing me to my feet the moment I-” Dan pauses again, realizing the intent behind his master’s unrelenting methods, never affording his mind a moment to wander. With a soft smile, he continues. “Even with my arms the way they are, he’s merciless.”
Another gust of wind breaks from the main road, sweeping into the alleyway. The unpleasant stench circulates with the gust, causing Wei to flinch as he opens his mouth.
“Can we get out of here?” He mumbles behind the protection of his sleeve. “That smell doesn’t bother you?”
“Not at all.” Dan smiles as he stares off into the darkness, recalling those rainy nights in the familiar setting he was forced to call home. “Think of it as payback for the punch.”
The comment causes Wei to momentarily cringe in despair as he recalls their first scuffle. As the tense memory passes, he lowers his sleeve and accepts his punishment.
“I’m not blind. You could’ve dodged.” Wei finally asks the question that had been bothering him since that day. Initially, his pride was hurt from the thought that some nobody was even remotely close to his level, causing him to lash out further. After all that has happened since, it no longer bothered him as much. “Why didn’t you?”
“Idiot.” Dan chuckles as his mind drifts back to that moment. “Would you have let it be if I did? I ate it because your dumbass would’ve escalated everything if I didn’t. Unlike a certain proud prince, I don’t want to rely on my family name to resolve my problems. Thinking about it now though… It would’ve been nice to slap you around a fe-”
“Ahem!” Wei clears his throat to cut Dan off. His face cringes at the very real possibility of being slapped around in public after his unsightly display of status. “Revenge doesn’t suit you. I’m already being punished with this disgusting smell, let’s just leave it at that.” His mind races, trying to think of something else to shift the topic. Setting eyes on the faint outline of Dan’s hair against the brick wall, he hastily continues. “Anyways, why the haircut?”
“Yuyu said she-” Dan pauses as a thought passes his mind. He stares blankly at Wei, more specifically, the long dark hair hanging from the back of Wei’s head. “I changed my mind.” A devious smirk sweeps across Dan’s face as he rises to his feet. “Let’s go, this is no place for a prince.”
“Urgh! Thank Heavens.” Wei jumps to his feet and follows Dan out of the alleyway. Upon escaping the stench, Wei gasps a deep breath of air. His chest celebrates as the brisk air fills his lungs. Whilst caught up with the change in atmosphere, Wei fails to notice that he had fallen straight into Dan’s devious trap. “I’ve got plenty of coins, wanna swing by the Resting Crane Tree for some re- er... for some snacks?”
“Sure sure. But since you’re so adamant about the method of payback, I’ll take something else as payment.”
“Now?”
“No, now we go wherever you want.” Dan turns away from Wei, expending extra effort to hide the smirk on his face. “Tomorrow, sunrise- meet me at the clinic. No forgiveness if you’re late.”