“Who can be the bait?”
“No one can be the bait.” Xu Qin’s expression was deadly serious. “We can’t send another girl into danger just to prove Zhang Gou’s guilt.”
Zhou An spoke up. “We don’t need another girl. I can do it.”
Meng Bai chimed in. “Me too.”
Xu Qin looked utterly unconvinced. How on earth was she supposed to explain to these two underage girls that sexual harassment was a profoundly, catastrophically serious thing?
Risking themselves like that was pure insanity. One slip-up along the way, and it could scar them for life.
“My advice is to go to the police. And honestly, it looks like that’s our only real option.”
Xu Qin’s suggestion wasn’t without merit.
Student safety had to come first, of course. Cut off Zhang Gou’s funding, warn the girls to stay away from him, and everyone would know he had sinister intentions. They’d steer clear naturally.
“But what if he’s got accomplices? Until we catch him, he’s a ticking time bomb.”
The three of them went around in circles but couldn’t land on a solution.
You couldn’t have everything. Something always had to give.
Was there a way to split the difference?
Meng Bai let out a sigh. It was just too tricky—even a god couldn’t pull it off.
Wait—
“Let’s find a god!”
Meng Bai blurted it out, startling Zhou An.
It would have startled anyone.
“You okay…?” Zhou An’s eyes held real concern.
“I’m fine. Better than fine. I just thought of something.”
Find Miao Bai. Maybe she could help.
“What is it?”
Meng Bai opened her mouth, then closed it. No—she’d promised Miao Bai not to breathe a word to anyone.
And just like that, they hit another dead end, with Meng Bai tongue-tied.
Zhou An, seeing she wasn’t getting anywhere, shifted gears. “We’ll figure it out later. I’m planning to crash at Teacher Xu’s for a few more days, then head to the police station on my own. They’ll probably just escort me home by then.”
“Have you thought about what comes after you go back?”
Living under the same roof as Carpenter Zhou and Zhang Caiyun—peace on the surface, paranoia underneath?
“I don’t know. That’s why I want to stay here longer.”
Meng Bai said, “I won’t feel right if you go home alone. Come stay with me instead—until the College Entrance Exam’s done, until we finally leave this Small Town someday.”
Zhou An sighed deeply and flopped backward onto Xu Qin’s bed.
She stared up at the ceiling, murmuring, “Even if I pass, who’s gonna cover tuition? My dad’s nothing like yours. You know that.”
“Don’t borrow trouble.” Meng Bai stepped over, took her hand, and squeezed it reassuringly. “Didn’t I say it already? If there’s a bite for me, there’s one for you. Take the exam first. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. Worst case, we hustle summer jobs for a couple months and scrape the rest together.”
Xu Qin watched them volleying reassurances back and forth.
“Listen to your teacher. Plenty of that stuff isn’t for you to worry about right now. Just study hard and nail the exam.” She paused, then added softly, “Get out of here—get out on that exam score, and everything’ll sort itself out.”
It had become a creed.
A lifeline—one for Zhou An, and even more so for Meng Bai.
~~~
In the afternoon, Meng Bai stepped out of Teacher Xu’s dorm. Their three-way pact: keep it under wraps for now.
Relief washed over her on the walk to class. Zhou An was safe. She hadn’t vanished for good. Dodged a bullet there.
The sunlight glared a little too sharply along the path. Meng Bai passed the little flower bed.
The spot where Ye Hong had fallen that day.
Plenty of blooms had been trampled then, but fresh plants had been put in soon after. Sturdy jasmine shoots now thrust from the earth, releasing a subtle, sweet haze of fragrance.
Meng Bai paused, crouched at the bed’s edge, and brushed her fingers against the soil within. The sun-baked patches radiated warmth.
Toasty. Scorching, even.
She patted the surface lightly, scooped up a pinch, and rubbed it between her fingertips.
“Ye Hong,” she whispered. “It all starts today.”
~~~
Meng Bai spent the whole afternoon lost in her head.
No nap at lunch, barely touched her food—she was ravenous and bone-tired.
But she couldn’t doze off.
Her English textbook swam with a thicket of words; practice sheets towered in stacks upon stacks, every problem a stake in her future.
She powered through till the bell.
Meng Bai patted her pocket. One yuan. Just enough for two steamed buns from town.
Hunger gnawed at her—she couldn’t hold out till dinner.
Evening brought bustle to the Small Town: old men puffing cigarettes on stoops, grannies twisting hemp thread, brawny middle-aged folks trudging home with hoes slung over shoulders, muttering to themselves.
Her bicycle rattled over the bumps, wind rushing past, sunset washing the flagstones in a warm glow. A crooked alleyway stretched toward the rosy horizon.
The evening breeze lifted a strand of Meng Bai’s hair, carrying a crisp, clean scent across her face. She squinted into it, her clear gaze alight with dreams of what lay ahead.
She wondered what it would feel like, ten or twenty years down the line,
to look back on these Small Town days.
Impossible to picture. The future stretched out like forever.
Screech.
Daydreams slammed to a halt with the brakes.
The bicycle pulled up at the bun shop.
“Got any steamed buns left? I’ll take two.”
The shopkeeper auntie nodded. “Starving? Perfect timing—the last ones.”
Meng Bai handed over her yuan. “Thanks.”
The auntie eyed her a moment longer, then grinned. “What grade you in?”
“Senior Year 3.”
“My girl’s Senior Year 3 too.” She wiped her hands on her apron. “She’s still on that recommendation list for you all!”
Meng Bai froze. One bun slipped from her grasp and hit the dirt.
She stooped to snatch it up, then blurted on the way back upright, “Auntie, why do you reckon GM Engineering’s sponsoring us for college?”
“Boss is a saint, that’s why!” The auntie beamed at the mention of GM Engineering. “He’s from the town next door—made good, and now he’s giving back. A real living bodhisattva!”
Meng Bai didn’t contradict her. She just took a bite of her bun.
“So you think pies really fall from the sky.”
The shopkeeper froze for a moment, clearly unable to figure out why GM Engineering would sponsor these students.
Unable to come up with a reason, she simply put the best spin on it. “He’s just a good guy! He wants to help us out! Once our girl makes it big, we’ll pay him back!”
Those words hit like a lump too big to swallow.
Meng Bai was truly at a loss for words.
She turned and wheeled her bicycle out. “Then I’m off.”
On the ride home, a chill prickled her scalp.
She had the feeling that everyone in town thought pretty well of Zhang Gou these days.
Going up against him would mean going up against most of the town.
By the time she got home, night had already fallen.
Lin Li was bustling about in the kitchen, cooking dinner and muttering to herself about how Meng Xingzhong was coming home to eat tonight.
“Has the construction site been slow lately? Dad’s been coming home these past few days.”
“Their boss’s birthday is today. They’re holding some kind of event, giving the workers a day off. Your dad hates hanging around the site anyway, so he just came back.”
“Oh.” Meng Bai poked her head into the kitchen and asked Lin Li, “Mom, have you ever met the boss?”
“No, I haven’t. He’s a big shot. Where would I ever get to meet someone like that?”
Lin Li shooed her out, saying the kitchen was full of grease and smoke and she should go back to her room to do her homework.
“I’m not busy, Mom. I can help you…”
“Go on, shoo. If you’re not busy, go play.”
“Hey, you said it. I’m really going to go play then!”
She was itching to go, dying to sneak off to find Miao Bai even in this short time.
“You silly girl. I was just teasing, and now you’re actually trying to head out? Your dad’s coming home—he’ll chew you out for sure! He’s been suspecting you’re dating lately, and here you are wanting to run off every night. Be careful!”
Lin Li’s warning left Meng Bai wanting to go but unable to.
It was so strange. She hadn’t felt this way at school, but the moment she got home, she wanted to bolt straight to the Old Courtyard.
It wasn’t like she even had anything to do with Miao Bai, but she just wanted to see her.
Meng Bai lingered at the doorway, dithering. She wanted to leave but didn’t dare, and finally grumbled reluctantly, “Dad has to control everything.”
Lin Li laughed from the kitchen. “It’s a good thing to have parents watching over you! You kids just don’t know how lucky you are.”
Meng Bai pouted. “Lucky? Yeah, right. Not a shred of freedom. Wait till I get to university—I’m definitely dating then!”
The wooden door creaked open.
Meng Xingzhong stood there in the doorway, work helmet in one hand and hammer in the other.
“Dating? Dating who?” He’d only caught half the conversation, but his eyes flashed a warning. “Listen up, girl—I’m telling you again, don’t go mixing with any no-good guys!”
“What do you mean ‘no-good’? You only heard half and you’re already yelling!”
Lin Li jumped in from the kitchen to smooth things over. “Little Meng was talking about university, not now.”
“We’ll talk about it after university!” Meng Xingzhong shot Meng Bai another stern look. “And even then, you’ll bring him home first for your dad to check out.”
“I won’t let you check him out!” Meng Bai shot back, deliberately picking a fight.
It left Meng Xingzhong fuming, beard practically bristling. “Getting more disobedient by the day! So disobedient!”
He said it, but deep down, he didn’t really feel that way.
Meng Xingzhong doted on Meng Bai. It was just that their father-daughter dynamic had its issues. Their relationship seemed to run on these little spats—it always had.
“No point talking to you.” Meng Bai turned and headed to her room.
Meng Xingzhong jabbed a finger at her retreating back. “I came home early today just to keep an eye on you. No going out.”
“Fine, I won’t go out! I wasn’t planning to anyway!”
Meng Bai was all talk.
In truth, her heart was breaking.
With Meng Xingzhong home, there was no chance to go play with Miao Bai. Just thinking about it made the night ahead feel endlessly long.
Yesterday, with Miao Bai around, time had flown by. Not a boring moment.
Meng Bai pushed open the door to her room and shut it behind her.
Sigh—
No sooner had the breath left her lips than a walnut went thump, rolling across the floor.
Meng Bai looked up, her heart thudding hard. The gloom in her chest vanished in an instant.
Miao Bai was standing right there in the room. Her presence made even the air feel charged, alive.
Meng Bai’s lips curved up unconsciously. “Miao!!!”
Before she could get the “Bai” out, the girl in front of her shook her head.
“Shh.”
