But even that brief moment of vulnerability ended when he tripped the masked man and brought him down. After a while, the masked man managed to free his arm but was then kneed in the stomach by Xie Yu.
"Wait—" the masked man said, "Do you know what the ground temperature is today?"
Even with the continuous heat warnings, people still had their daily egg-cooking experiments.
Xie Yu wanted to say that a grown man shouldn’t be so delicate. But before he could react, the masked man pinned him down and flipped over, switching positions quickly. He raised an eyebrow, his deep-set eyes and narrow eye spacing giving him an intense gaze as he leaned close: "It’s warm; you can feel it."
"Feel my ass."
They didn’t get to continue their fight on the ground.
Xie Yu felt a sudden lightness; the masked man had quickly climbed off of him, dusted his clothes, and then extended a hand to pull Xie Yu up. As he did so, he started talking nonsense: "Friend, you’re really careless—watch where you step! Be careful on your way home or I won’t let you walk in the park alone."
Xie Yu was confused by this behavior: "Are you insane?"
The masked man said, "You're the one who’s insane."
He then called out to the other side: "Stop fighting! The police are coming."
Just as Xie Yu heard approaching police sirens, a group of heavily armed policemen descended from their vehicles on the opposite side of the road. They pointed at them and shouted: "Hands up! Put your hands over your head! No moving! Gang fight!"
While they were far from the main conflict, the masked man quickly stood up with Xie Yu before the police could react. The policemen didn’t expect to find two people sparring in a cool spot.
The masked man placed his hand on Xie Yu's shoulder, and from afar, it looked like two friends out for a walk in the park: "No need to thank me; I have better hearing than most. Let’s take turns giving statements. What identity do you want? I’ve already prepared mine—I’m an innocent pedestrian who came here to walk off after eating too much breakfast."
Xie Yu replied coldly, "I don’t care about you."
The masked man: "..."
Then he said, "Afraid of the police when fighting?"
"Not afraid," he shrugged, "Just find it troublesome."
They should have been lucky enough to watch as the policemen took away others. But fortune wasn't on their side.
One of them, less composed, lost his cool and called out, "Cao Ge! Over here!"
...
Hē Zhaogāo was really cursing inwardly.
Xie Yu: "Cao Ge? You?"
Hē Zhaogāo replied, "If I say no, will you believe me?"
Xie Yu pulled away Hē Zhaogāo's hand off his shoulder. The performance of brotherhood ended as they turned on each other: "Ask the police if you want to."