Caught in a Brutal Shura Field Between the Protagonist and the Villain - Chapter 6
Time quickly passed, and it was now two days before the spring outing.
There were forty-two students in the class, three of whom weren’t going. The remaining thirty-nine were divided into three large teams, each led by a math, English, or Chinese teacher. The teams would compete to see who could find the cards the class monitor had hidden at each scenic spot first. The group lists and the tent-sharing arrangements were all posted on the classroom wall.
Most of the students crowded around noisily, trying to see and discuss it enthusiastically.
Zhou Wei came in with his gang of friends. Cheng Pang noticed that Zhou Wei only ever did two things at this school, and those were to act cool and play basketball. Every time Zhou Wei came in holding his ball, it made Cheng Pang think of a movie villain holding some kind of magic orb, ready to unleash a powerful spell, looking like he could take on the heavens and the earth.
Qiu Yu suddenly walked up beside Cheng Pang. “Why isn’t your name on the list?”
Cheng Pang replied, “I’m not going.”
Qiu Yu: “Didn’t you sign up?”
Cheng Pang: “Yeah, but I’m not going anymore.”
Qiu Yu stared at him. “Why not?”
Just then, Zhou Wei, who had just sat down, cut in, “Obviously because I’m not going.”
He shoved the basketball under his stool.
Qiu Yu looked toward Cheng Pang, as if to ask, ‘Is that true?’
Cheng Pang moved his pen tip away from his homework notebook, silently rolled his eyes at Zhou Wei, and cursed him in his heart with a middle finger.
Qiu Yu turned around. “Let’s talk outside.”
Cheng Pang pursed his lips and followed.
Under the eaves on the first floor, Qiu Yu asked, “Is it really because Zhou Wei isn’t going?”
Cheng Pang: “Of course not. How could it be because of him? I can barely stand him as it is.”
He stopped and spoke in his mind, Big JJ, is anyone eavesdropping right now?
System: = =
System: Not for now.
Cheng Pang let out a sigh of relief. Good.
Qiu Yu: “What?”
Cheng Pang: “Nothing. Forget it.”
Qiu Yu still felt that Cheng Pang was hiding something. “I thought you wanted to go on the spring outing with me.”
Cheng Pang had planned to kick Zhou Wei out of the picture, play the role of Cupid, and at the key moment push Qiu Yu and Xu Lin together. But now that wasn’t possible. “My money got stolen.”
Qiu Yu: “When?”
Cheng Pang: “When we turned in the payment last week.”
That damn Zhou Wei was acting like he had amnesia. He clearly saw him getting robbed and still claimed it was because he was not going. Ridiculous.
Qiu Yu: “I can lend you the money.”
Cheng Pang sat down on a nearby chair. “No need. I’d have to pay it back anyway, and honestly, I’m not that interested in the trip. I wasn’t really planning to go in the first place.” In the original novel, Liu Bai didn’t go, either.
Qiu Yu: “Then why did you tell me to go?”
Cheng Pang: “Of course it’s for your own good.”
For my own good? Qiu Yu’s thoughts flickered.
He recalled Cheng Pang’s earlier words, “How could it be because of him? I can barely stand him…”
In that instant, something clicked together in his mind.
On his first day, Liu Bai had stepped in to help him out, and then Zhou Wei’s hostility had all turned toward him instead. Could it be that Liu Bai had been deliberately tangling with Zhou Wei just to protect him…? No, that was too far-fetched. Who would do that for a stranger?
Cheng Pang glanced at him and said, “By the way, are you free after class?”
Qiu Yu: “Yeah. Why?”
Cheng Pang: “Can you come to my house for a bit? My dad worries about me, thinks I don’t have any friends. I’ll take you to show him.”
Qiu Yu looked at him quietly. “Okay.”
Liu Bai’s family was visibly poor, which was why he never brought friends home—not that he had any friends to begin with.
But Cheng Pang didn’t care about that. For one thing, it wasn’t his real life anyway. For another, he wanted to comfort Liu Duofu a bit; the man seemed genuinely worried about how withdrawn his son was.
Qiu Yu’s arrival was met with an enthusiastic welcome from Liu Duofu.
He hadn’t expected Liu Bai to actually bring someone home after saying he would, and the kid he brought looked neat and polite, with bright eyes and red lips.
Liu Duofu quickly pulled out a stool. “Child, have a seat.”
It had been a long time since anyone had called him “child.” Qiu Yu smiled. “Thank you, Uncle.”
Cheng Pang’s home was even poorer than Qiu Yu had imagined. The family of three lived in a semi-basement apartment of barely fifty square meters. The entrance was piled with junk, and the two-bedroom, one-living-room, one-kitchen, one-bath layout made the space feel cramped no matter where you stood.
But he couldn’t sense any gloom from Liu Bai at all. The boy was always smiling, eyes darting around, as if he was always thinking about something.
Qiu Yu smiled faintly.
Liu Duofu brought out a bunch of oranges and put them on the table to treat him. Qiu Yu quickly thanked him.
He picked one up and noticed Liu Duofu was studying him. Meanwhile, Liu Bai had rushed straight to the bathroom the moment they came in, clutching his stomach.
Qiu Yu: “Uncle, would you like some too?”
Liu Duofu quickly waved him off. “No, no.”
He hesitated for a moment, then couldn’t help saying, “Liu Bai’s been introverted since he was little. I’ve always worried he wouldn’t make any friends. If he does anything strange, please don’t take it to heart.”
Qiu Yu felt like there was a deeper meaning to that and looked at him.
Liu Duofu’s eyes, sunken in the folds of wrinkles, even carried a trace of pleading.
…Could it be that he already knew his son was gay? Qiu Yu thought. So he hoped that he himself wouldn’t dislike his son?
Qiu Yu responded softly, “It’s fine.”
Meanwhile, Liu Duofu thought to himself that it really was him. The one his son had kissed a few days ago!
One look at that fair and clean face, and it was definitely his son’s type!
This person had such a good heart, not the least bit petty. He even came to visit their home. No wonder Liu Bai came back crying that day, not because he’d been hit, but because he was upset.
Liu Duofu asked hesitantly, “…Then, are you…?”
Qiu Yu: “No.”
Liu Duofu let out a disappointed “oh,” and after a while said, “But my boy really is sincere toward you. He’s been timid and shy since he was little, doesn’t know how to express himself, and only dares to do things silently. Don’t worry, he won’t cause you any trouble.”
Parental love truly knows no bounds, Qiu Yu thought. As he peeled away the white threads from the orange, he suddenly thought of Cheng Pang. So he really likes me? Even his father knows?
Turns out he truly didn’t dare to confess; he could only help him quietly.
Qiu Yu felt a warmth rise in his chest.
Qiu Yu asked, “You don’t mind?”
Liu Duofu said, “What’s there to mind? My cousin’s son was the same. They wanted to ‘treat’ him, but the doctor ended up making him dull. I’m not doing that. As long as my boy’s living well, that’s all that matters.”
Qiu Yu said sincerely, “With a father like you, Liu Bai must be very lucky.”
Liu Duofu waved his hand. “No, no.”
He always thought he was too poor and had only shamed Liu Bai, but it was the first time a friend of his son’s had praised him like that. He couldn’t help but smile. “Child, stay for dinner later.”
Qiu Yu: “Alright.”
Cheng Pang finally came out of the bathroom.
Seeing Qiu Yu and Liu Duofu chatting and laughing together, he was a little surprised.
Liu Duofu went to the door to continue sorting out the trash, turning back several times to smile at them.
Cheng Pang: “What were you two talking about?”
Qiu Yu: “Talking about you.”
He looked at Cheng Pang and inexplicably smiled faintly.
Cheng Pang: “Come, I’ll show you my room.”
Qiu Yu followed.
Cheng Pang’s room wasn’t big, but it was filled with stuff. Maybe it was because of Liu Duofu’s job; there were lots of grimy comic books, a phone, models, and all sorts of odd knick-knacks scattered around.
The desktop was covered with knife marks. There were stone tiger statues, ink, and paperweights.
Under the desk were even chess sets, Go boards, and a guitar.
It looked practically like a little market.
Qiu Yu: “Didn’t expect you to have this much stuff.”
Cheng Pang: “Ah, just something I found randomly. Let’s play checkers?”
Qiu Yu: “Sure.”
There wasn’t much space, so Cheng Pang simply laid the board on the bed. They both took off their shoes and sat cross-legged to play.
“Your turn,” Qiu Yu said, looking up at him.
Cheng Pang waved a hand. “Wait a sec.”
He stared at the board in deep concentration for a full three minutes. Qiu Yu chuckled.
At that moment, Cheng Pang, sitting on the bed, looked genuinely cute, like a little . Even with the hole in his sock and the double chin visible when he lowered his head, Qiu Yu suddenly had the urge to pinch him.
He really is quite cute, he thought.
Cheng Pang really liked playing games and had been good at checkers since childhood, but Qiu Yu seemed like an expert, winning four rounds in a row.
Cheng Pang: “Let’s not play this anymore. How about Chinese chess?”
Qiu Yu: “I don’t know how.”
That made Cheng Pang happy. “No problem, I’ll teach you.”
He bent down immediately, pulling a chess box from under the bed. When Qiu Yu looked over, he caught sight of Cheng Pang’s exposed back and the faint curve of his plump waist.
Cheng Pang didn’t notice at all. He straightened up and spread the plastic chessboard on the bedspread, pressing down the corners with two comic books. As he worked, he thought smugly, Heh, this time he definitely won’t beat me, while solemnly arranging the pieces and explaining, “Chinese chess is simple. Your goal is to attack me and capture the General. Once you capture my General, you win.”
Afraid Qiu Yu wouldn’t understand, he reached over, took Qiu Yu’s hand, and guided the piece across the board. “The horse moves in an L shape, the elephant moves diagonally, the chariot moves straight, and the cannon jumps over pieces. Got it?”
He leaned in close; his fingers were soft and warm.
For the first time, Qiu Yu realized that a boy’s touch could feel like that of a girl, warm and tender, like sun-warmed skin.
Cheng Pang looked up. “Got it now?”
Qiu Yu: “Got it.”
Cheng Pang: “Then let’s try a practice round.”
In the first game, Cheng Pang won easily, rubbing his nose as he held back a couple of triumphant chuckles.
Qiu Yu smiled at him.
They reset the board and began the second game.
By the second round, Cheng Pang started to struggle. He looked up at Qiu Yu, thinking, He’s learning way too fast, completely self-taught.
Qiu Yu won four more times in a row, and Cheng Pang lost all interest in playing.
From outside came Liu Duofu’s voice, “Dinner’s ready.”
Cheng Pang answered, “Coming,” and stood up. Maybe because his mind was elsewhere, he lost his balance and fell sideways like a mallet straight toward Qiu Yu.
Qiu Yu’s reflexes were sharp, and he tried to catch him.
The next second, Cheng Pang crashed right into him, pinning him to the bed. After all, not everyone could handle that kind of momentum at such close range.
Cheng Pang’s hands were on either side of Qiu Yu’s head, and their noses nearly touched as they stared at each other.
TL Note:
Chinese chess (象棋, Xiangqi) and international chess are both strategic board games with similar goals — to capture the opponent’s main piece — but they differ greatly in structure and play style.
Board: Chinese chess is played on a 9×10 grid with pieces placed on intersections, and a “river” divides the two sides; international chess uses an 8×8 checkered board with pieces placed within squares.
Main piece: In Chinese chess, the key piece is the General (将/帅), while in international chess it is the King.
Movement rules: Chinese chess includes unique pieces like the Cannon (炮), which can jump over others to capture, and the Elephant (象), which cannot cross the river.
Gameplay: Chinese chess tends to be more fast-paced and tactical, emphasizing traps and positional control, whereas international chess leans toward long-term strategy and piece coordination.