The night was cool.
He Li rented a place in an old building and liked to sit on the edge of the rooftop. He enjoyed the rooftop because of a movie called "Infernal Affairs."
Once, in his adolescent phase, he’d imagined someone standing behind him, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm a police officer."
Then, he would shake his head and reply with a dismissive chuckle, "Who can tell?"
Adolescent angst was every young person's prerogative.
During his university's military training, his roommate had told him that he always fantasized about a convoy of luxury cars arriving at the school gate while everyone else was training. From one of the cars would emerge a team of bodyguards in black suits, who would then kneel before him and say in a low voice, "Young master, the three-year period has ended. The master commands you to return and inherit the family fortune..."
"Why aren't you resting? What are you doing sitting here? You have to work when it's light and sleep when it's dark. You can't be up all night and asleep all day," Jin Fang said, standing beside He Li.
"Being lectured about having a regular life by an assassin, I feel rather compliant," He Li said, smiling at Jin Fang.
Jin Fang's expression was a little wistful. "That's why I like a normal person's life. That's my dream state."
He Li pointed at the sparse lights in the old residential area and asked Jin Fang, "What kind of people do you think live in these houses with the lights on?"
Jin Fang thought for a moment and replied, "Elderly people, whose children are not around."
He Li then pointed to the houses without lights and asked, "And these?"
Jin Fang answered, "No one."
He Li smiled and shook his head. "It's people who haven't gotten off work yet."
Jin Fang was taken aback, pouted, and said nothing.
He Li continued, "What do you think they do when they get home from work?"
Jin Fang answered directly, "Eat, play on their phones, sleep."
He Li wagged his finger at Jin Fang, indicating he was wrong. He said, "Eat, stay up late playing on their phones, sleep."
Jin Fang was displeased. "After working all day, they still stay up late playing on their phones?"
"Yeah, it's precisely because I don't have time to play on my phone during work that I have to stay up late playing when I get home," He Li said with righteous indignation.
Jin Fang stared blankly at He Li and sighed, "I really don't know what you people are thinking."
He Li chuckled. After a moment of silence, he said, "Staying up late isn't because the phone is that fun, or the games are that fun. It's because the time spent staying up late is truly your own."
As his words fell, He Li looked at Jin Fang. "Do you still like a normal person's life?"
Jin Fang glanced at He Li, seemingly annoyed by He Li's questions. He said coldly, "Dreams are called dreams precisely because they are impossible to achieve."
He Li looked at Jin Fang.
Jin Fang had a very distinct personality. His thoughts were always different from others, even opposing them. Yet, his thoughts were also very simple, constantly instilling in He Li the idea of living a quiet life.
His emotions were the most varied. He would argue with Xiao Yue, fight with Chen Sui, let He Xi ride on his shoulders like a horse, and not get impatient listening to Li Qin's rambling. Most frighteningly, he could even get along with Yan Ping, albeit by playing games where they chopped at each other.
He disagreed with this and disagreed with that, but at critical moments, he always stood behind him.
"I don't agree with you doing this, but I'll help you."
Beneath his cruel and bloodthirsty exterior, he was actually a proud tsundere.
He Li grinned foolishly at Jin Fang.
Jin Fang frowned. "Are you sick? Why are you grinning at me like that?"
He Li shrugged. Just as he was about to speak,
He heard arguing from downstairs.
"The school homework was assigned to you. Why should I help you do it?"
"But the teacher said it was also assigned to parents, asking parents to complete it together with us, and then grade it."
"How strange. Homework assigned to parents? And they require grading?"
"Our teacher has too many students and can't manage everyone."
"So, they're not managing anyone?"
"Isn't that for our own good? Isn't educating children a shared responsibility of teachers and parents?"
"...I'm sorry, Dad can't do it. I'll sign you up for a tutoring class tomorrow."
"Mm..."
The argument stopped, followed by the sound of a gas stove being turned on. They were probably cooking.
He Li pursed his lips. Children these days were so mature.
Jin Fang looked down at He Li and asked, "When you were little, who helped you with your homework?"
He Li blinked. "I basically didn't do homework."
"Why?"
"I didn't need to study too hard. I just needed to do well on the exams."
Jin Fang: "???"
Was that even human language?
Jin Fang left, believing He Li wouldn't want to see him for the next couple of days.
He Li smacked his lips. What he said was the truth. Then, supporting himself with his hands on the rooftop edge, he tried to stand up.
Then,
His left hand slipped,
And he tumbled over the edge of the rooftop.
Bang!
He landed squarely on Zhang Fucheng's kitchen balcony.
Zhang Fucheng was startled, holding his chopsticks and looking at the kitchen balcony in alarm.
He Li slowly got up, looking at Zhang Fucheng innocently.
Noodles were bubbling in a pot.
Zhang Fucheng looked at He Li, unsure what to say for a moment. Why had he fallen onto his balcony? Where had he fallen from? But he felt too awkward to ask. He could only hesitate, purse his lips, point at the pot, and ask,
"Want some noodles?"
He Li froze for two seconds.
"Do you have garlic?"
...
The "family of three" sat on the sofa and finished the noodles. He Li helped Zhang Fucheng's son with his homework, graded his previous assignments, and then went home.
Not long after,
He Li returned with two bottles of beer to find Zhang Fucheng, and they went to the rooftop to drink.
"I remember you said you don't drink, right?" Zhang Fucheng recalled a conversation they had at the supermarket near their complex. He Li had mentioned he didn't drink.
He Li hummed. "It's fine as long as I don't get drunk."
They sat where He Li had been sitting earlier, drinking.
Zhang Fucheng looked down, his gaze falling on his kitchen balcony. He asked, "You fell from here?"
"Yes. Luckily, I fell onto your balcony, otherwise I would have been killed," He Li said with a smile.
Zhang Fucheng nodded, then fell silent for a moment before asking, "You heard everything?"
He Li didn't deny it. He said directly, "Kids these days are nothing like when I was young. Their minds are very mature."
Zhang Fucheng said nothing. He tilted his head back, looking at the dark sky, and took a large gulp of beer. His eyes seemed to glisten slightly. He let out a deep breath, like a sigh, or perhaps just exhaling the alcohol fumes.
After a long silence,
He murmured softly,
"Life... is quite difficult."
Clink...
The sound of an empty can hitting the ground.
Zhang Fucheng looked towards the sound and saw that He Li had finished a can of beer. Moreover, He Li's cheeks were flushed, his eyes were hazy, and his body swayed slightly.
Zhang Fucheng was surprised. He got drunk on just one can of beer?
"Brother Zhang, you keep drinking. I can't anymore. I'm going home to sleep."
He Li mumbled, then pushed off with his feet, launching himself like a small projectile into the night, disappearing into the darkness.
On the rooftop, Zhang Fucheng was left alone, bewildered.
...