Rebirth: Different Way [(重生) 殊途]

Chapter 101

After the shower room brawl, no one dared to mess with Shen Xi again for some time. According to the rumours, the man who led the fight against Shen Xi had serious injuries to his lower body and very possibly would never be a man again in his life. When the news reached 302, Fang Luowei obviously sensed the few people in the cell who were chatting animatedly shiver at the same time, glancing subtly at the silent Shen Xi and quietly distancing themselves from him.

Fang Luowei had seen Shen Xi's attack with his own eyes and had already guessed the outcome, and even guessed the reason why Shen Xi had done so. Shen Xi was deterring those who were hiding in the shadows and had ideas about him, or those who might have had ideas about him in the future.

After this incident, Fang Luowei did not conceal his closeness to Shen Xi in front of others but appeared openly by his side, not caring in the least about the trouble Shen Xi might bring to him. He still remembered Shen Xi's alienation when he first entered the prison, and the snicker he heard when he couldn't sleep on his first night in prison. He could never have imagined that a few months later, Shen Xi would become his only trusted friend in prison.

After another confrontation with the inmates, Shen Xi and Fang Luowei were sentenced to confinement together. This was Fang Luowei's first experience of confinement. In the small, dark space, no matter how wide he opened his eyes, all he could see was darkness. The wounds on his body ached dully, and he and Shen Xi had not received any treatment before being confined. Fang Luowei groped his way closer to Shen Xi who hadn't said a word since they had been locked in.

"What's wrong? Does it still hurt?" Fang Luowei said in a low voice.

"I'm the one who dragged you down," Shen Xi replied.

Fang Luowei froze; he quickly realised the reason for Shen Xi's silence and said sternly, "Why do you say that!"

"They are coming at me."

Fang Luowei reached his hand to hold Shen Xi, "We are friends, what's the difference between coming at you and coming at me."

Fang Luowei's words came from his heart. He and Shen Xi were friends and Shen Xi's trouble was his trouble. Apart from that, because of his relationship with Shen Xi, many people did not dare to attack him again, so he really avoided a lot of trouble. Since he had enjoyed the benefits of this friendship, how could he refuse to give anything? Of course Fang Luowei had always been secretly curious, who had Shen Xi offended? Looking at Shen Xi's opponents, it was clear that they did not intend to kill Shen Xi straight away but rather enjoyed torturing him.

Shen Xi never mentioned anything about his past, and although Fang Luowei was curious, he kept to the boundaries of friendship and never asked. This time, perhaps it was the darkness that made people weak, or perhaps it was Shen Xi's true recognition of Fang Luowei but he took the initiative to reveal his scars in front of Fang Luowei, squeezing out the pus and blood inside.

As he told of his frivolous youth, of his family's dislike, of the consequences of an impulse, Shen Xi's voice was not as calm as usual and carried a deep sense of resentment.

Fang Luowei listened quietly to Shen Xi's narration, saying nothing. What Shen Xi needed was not his comfort, but simply a quiet person to talk to.

"I hate them, I hate my father, I hate the Shen family, I hate all the people surnamed Shen."

Shen Xi ended his story with these words, and Fang Luowei held Shen Xi's hand silently. The world that Shen Xi talked about was the world that Fang Luowei had never been exposed to, so he could not understand how there could be such a father in the world. Shen Xi was also his son, how could he be so biassed? How could he be so cruel stomping on Shen Xi's desire for affection? How could he even kill Shen Xi's hope for freedom? He thought of his own life. Although his parents died young, his grandparents had given him everything they could. Compared to Shen Xi, he was lacking in material things, but emotionally he was so much richer than Shen Xi.