Nội dung text C8: Glass
E I G H T Glass Jiang Cheng is running. He doesn't know why and he doesn't know where to, but there's this rush, this desperation, inside him that makes his legs move faster. His heart is hammering under his ribs and his whole body feels like glass. Every step he takes causes the whole forest around him to crack. There are screams surrounding him and he isn't sure if they belong to him or someone else, and still he keeps on running because it's all he can do. When he stops, the sword he's carrying is dripping with blood. He squints his eyes and tries to see through the darkness, find the danger he's been evading. Everything continues to spin. The only thing he is seeing is the crimson that continues to stain his sword. “Uncle...” Jiang Cheng whirls around. The towering trees of the forest cage him in, laughing. “Uncle, stop!” The whole world shakes and the laughter gets louder, louder. Jiang Cheng is screaming. Is he scared? Angry? Insane? He doesn't know but the laughing won't stop, not even when he blindly attacks at the trees. “Uncle!” He's knocked back. His head slams against the ground. Everything shatters. When he opens his eyes, Fairy is licking his face and quite literally crushing him. “What the—?” Jiang Cheng splutters. His left cheek is now covered is dog slobber. “Jin Ling, get him off me!” Fairy whines as Jin Ling tugs on his collar, pulling him off the drowsy adult. Jiang Cheng has to blink several times to readjust himself back to reality. “He's only waking you up from your nightmare,” Jin Ling grumbles, stroking Fairy's ears. At the mention of nightmare, Jiang Cheng glances down at his bed. As usual, his sheets are a mess and his pillows are on the floor. He knows he's been struggling in his sleep, attacking some unknown thing in his dreams. It's always the same dream; he's running in the forest and trying to kill something. He'll wake up before he ever finds out what's going on.
Usually, he's not one to care for superstition, but if the same dream's been haunting him for years then that's got to mean something. He even tried to see if walking through an actual forest will do anything, but all he found was that Lan Xichen guy waving around a sword in broad daylight. And he knows his dream definitely isn't anything about that weirdo. Clutching his head, Jiang Cheng tries to shake away the drowsiness still clinging to him. “Ah, shit. What time is it?” Jin Ling juts his chin up. “Just past nine.” The officer almost doesn't hear him. His nephew is purposely mumbling, his lips curled. It takes Jiang Cheng a second to realise Jin Ling's making a show of looking pissed and he has to stop himself from rolling his eyes. Still half asleep, Jiang Cheng sees an image of Lan Xichen. Do not let your anger cloud your own emotions, he says in Jiang Cheng's head. The smile accompanied with those echoing words has the officer wondering why this feels like a goddamn religious experience. He shakes his head and shoves Lan Xichen's angelic face out of his head. He rubs his eyes, holding back a yawn. “Look, Jin Ling... I'm sorry about yesterday, okay?” he says. The words he said to the teenager plays back in his mind. Jiang Cheng can't help but wince. Jin Ling blinks. “What?” “I said I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that.” “You're sorry?” “Yes,” Jiang Cheng says through gritted teeth. Jin Ling isn't even bothering to hide the shock on his face! “Wow,” he says. Wow? Wow? Jiang Cheng forgets all about Lan Xichen's benevolent advice and glares at his nephew. “Shut the fuck up, I'll break your legs!”
Jin Ling hides behind Fairy, throwing out a scowl of his own over the dog's fluffy ears. “You can't apologise and then say that!” “I'll do whatever the fuck I want!” “No! Apology not accepted!” Jiang Cheng has half a mind to chuck a pillow at his nephew, but stops just in case he hits Fairy instead. “You really want your legs broken?!” he yells instead. “N-No! I-I mean... I'll forgive you if you help me with my history homework!” What? What? Is that why he's here? So much for waking Jiang Cheng up from his nightmare—the brat just needed someone to do his homework for him! “You've got some nerve!” Jin Ling finally jumps out from behind Fairy, clasping his hands together and bowing his head. “Please, Uncle! It's due on Monday!” Today is Saturday and he's going to that midget's house tomorrow. Anyone with a brain will know that Jin Ling never gets any work done when he's with Meng Yao. All the actor does is shower Jin Ling with gifts he doesn't need, forgetting the fact Jin Ling is fifteen now and is too old for toys. But, as expected, Jin Ling won't complain about it. “Why the fuck haven't you started it yet?” Jiang Cheng asks. He leaves the bed with a groan, combing his fingers through his hair. Jin Ling looks down, shuffling his feet. “It's the class I have with those kids, okay... I haven't been able to focus much on the work.” He must mean the idiots that keep picking a fight with him. Jiang Cheng sighs; he can just imagine Jin Ling trying his best to ignore those assholes, but his nephew, like him, feels too much. Both of them can pretend all they want; it doesn't stop it from hurting. “What's it even about anyway?” Jiang Cheng asks, no longer feeling the urge to break Jin Ling's legs. “I don't know, like Ancient China history and whatever.”
Well, shit. He knows nothing about that as well. “Wait, I'll get dressed first and then... we can research it or something,” Jiang Cheng says. How typical that he ends up spending his only day off helping his nephew with his essay. Researching for the essay is a harder first step than Jiang Cheng realised, and it's all because he can't find his laptop at all. He searches around his apartment, trying to remember when was the last time he saw it. Chief Nie wanted him to do more research on the gang attacks... Jiang Cheng brought his laptop to the police station so he could get some extra work done during his breaks... “Ah, shit. I left my laptop at the police station,” he says, finally remembering. Jin Ling looks at him like all hope is lost. “Fucking hell,” Jiang Cheng mutters. “Let's go to the station first and then I'll help you with your damn homework. This is the only time though!” Just like that, his nephew grins. Beside him, Fairy barks and wags his tail. “Thank you, Uncle!” Why is he thanking him already?Jiang Cheng hasn't even started the damn essay yet. They make their way to the police station. Jiang Cheng is not at all happy he still ends up going to work during his day off, but at least it doesn't look like everyone is on edge. That can only mean Chief Nie is in a relatively okay mood. Song Lan spots him, frowning when he catches sight of Jin Ling and Fairy behind. “I thought it was your day off?” he asks. Song Lan spares a moment to kneel down and ruffle Fairy's head. The smile creeping up on his face makes him look more relaxed, reminding Jiang Cheng this guy is around ten years younger than everyone here, despite how mature he acts. Jiang Cheng nods. “Yeah, I just forgot my laptop.” Standing back up, Song Lan taps his chin. “Oh, right. Chief Nie found it earlier. He's kept it in his office. I think he should be on his break now, so you should be okay to get it.” “Thanks,” Jiang Cheng says.