Chapter 121: Chapter 90: Work at the Mellon Art Exhibition Hall

Li Wei was pretty free this month, so he agreed.

Before heading out, he remembered something. He had promised to give Michael some AP course books and materials, and it seemed he still had a few left at home. So, he gave Michael a call.

"Hey, man," he said, "are you home right now? I found a few more AP course books, and I’m heading your way for something else. Want me to drop them off?"

On Michael’s end, there was the sound of a child whining about homework.

"Oh... Li Wei, thanks so much, man," Michael said. "I’m still tutoring kids with their homework right now—Hey! That’s an eraser, not food!—I’ll be done in about an hour. You can just leave the stuff at my door. They know Kevin lives here."

Kevin was the younger brother Michael had mentioned—the one who did drugs and was in a gang.

"I’ll just leave it at your door then," Li Wei said after a moment’s thought. "It looks like a pipe in your building froze and burst. I’m supposed to go help check it out."

"I noticed that before I left," Michael sighed. "Thanks so much. Ever since you guys came, the pipes and trash disposal haven’t had any more problems. I hope it gets fixed quickly this time too."

"I’ll go check it out first," Li Wei said. "Okay, talk to you later."

After hanging up, Li Wei took a down jacket from the coat rack, put it on, and headed out the door.

His physique was already at 3.0, and his resistance to illness and plagues made him confident he wouldn’t get a cold or a fever.

But cold was still cold, and there was no reason to make himself suffer.

Driving past stretches of tents, Li Wei arrived in the South Bronx.

After grabbing everything from his car, Li Wei parked across the street from the police station and then walked to the building Don Quixote had bought.

Parking was fine in a place like Bei Ling Ridge, near the school, or in other areas. But in the South Bronx, it was best to park across from the police station to avoid getting your hubcaps stolen or windows smashed during the day.

This was something Li Wei had learned after driving here a few times.

Li Wei briefly inspected the pipe and determined this likely wasn’t the Italians’ handiwork. Instead, the cold weather had caused it to freeze and burst naturally.

He took a picture and sent it to Don Quixote, then went to Michael’s apartment. He knocked, but there was no answer. Li Wei was about to set down the bag he was holding.

He heard someone quietly creeping up the stairs, and he whipped his head around—

A black teenager with dreadlocks was pointing a handgun at him. He was skinny with a small frame, and his face didn’t look much like Michael’s.

"You’re... Li Wei?" he said with a frown. "Isn’t that the big star from Franklin High School? What are you doing here?"

"You know me?" Li Wei shook the bag in his hand. "I’m here to drop off some books for Michael."

"Give me the bag," the teenager said, his eyes still wary. "Don’t try any funny business—"

Li Wei tossed the bag right at him, making him scramble.

"Fuck! Shit!" he yelled, fumbling to catch the bag. "I fucking told you not to try any funny business!" 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

He backed up a couple of steps and glanced into the bag. His gaze relaxed a little.

"That asshole Michael definitely didn’t introduce me, huh," he said, putting away his gun and walking past Li Wei to unlock the door. "I’m Kevin."

"You don’t look..." Li Wei paused. "Um... like Michael’s brother."

"That’s from smoking ice," Kevin said, scratching an itch in his dreadlocks with the muzzle of his gun as he opened the door. "How do you tell what kind of drugs someone’s on?"

"People on ice are skinny," he said, as if to himself. "Potheads are slow, their eyes are glazed over, they always reek of skunk, and they get the munchies and eat anything in sight."

As he spoke, Kevin casually kicked aside the trash on the floor to clear a path for Li Wei.

"As for the ones on heroin..." Kevin tossed his gun onto the coffee table and collapsed onto the sofa as if he had no bones. He demonstrated by letting his head loll and his eyes roll back. "They’re just nodding off like this all the time. Can fall asleep on their feet. That bunch is the most boring, no different from a bunch of corpses."

"You know a lot," Li Wei remarked.

"It’s required knowledge in the gang life," Kevin said, flashing a few yellowed teeth. "It’s no easier than your calculus class. Guys who sell ice, guys who sell weed... everyone has their own turf and their own product. You mess with the wrong customer, and you’ll be dead before you know what hit you."

"So you know the ropes," Li Wei stated. "You’re a veteran."

"Yeah," Kevin said, getting agitated. "I’ve been on this street for three years. We’ve been through two bosses, but I’m still alive. Why? ’Cause I’m smart, I’ve got a good eye. I’m the most cautious dude on this block. I can smell if someone’s a user or not."

He sniffed the air and then said to Li Wei with absolute certainty, "You’re definitely clean."

"I never touch the stuff," Li Wei shrugged. "You’re right about that."

"Since you’re here," Kevin said with a grin, pulling a discolored tinfoil packet from the sofa cushions. "Wanna try some? This is the good stuff. It’ll make your brain feel like fireworks going off."

"You’re the football team captain, right?" he said, making some kind of gesture. "For your first time, I’ll only charge you 10 USD. How about it? That stuff out there, cut with plaster dust and pepper, goes for 20 USD. If you want something with more of a kick, I’ve got a private stash..."