Chapter 30

Chen Nian stood there stunned for quite a while.

Lin Tianyi was right beside her, craning his neck to peer outside.

“What did he say? What did he say?” Lin Tianyi whispered.

Chen Nian pushed his head back into place, and the two of them jogged neatly along with the rest of the group.

Once the run was over, the Class 1 teacher gathered the students to play Drop the Handkerchief while Class 3 went through their calisthenics routine. Everyone craned their necks enviously toward the fun.

Finally, the teacher raised her hand with great mercy. “Free activity time!”

“Awoo!” The class scattered in an instant, with most of the kids rushing over to join Class 1 and watch the game.

Chen Nian went too, but she didn’t crowd in too close.

She chose a spot a little farther back where she still had a clear view, sat down, and Lin Tianyi plopped down beside her. “Aren’t you going to find Fang Zhi?”

“We can’t play together anyway,” Chen Nian said.

Lin Tianyi suggested, “Just talk to the Class 1 teacher. Maybe she’ll let you join.”

Chen Nian pointed at her own nose. “Am I the principal? Or the principal’s son?”

Lin Tianyi’s eyes went wide. “You’re a boy???!”

Chen Nian smacked the top of his head and ignored the idiot.

Drop the Handkerchief with an entire class was a massive affair. The circle was enormous, the singing boomed out loud, and the runner came back gasping for breath. Completing a full lap back to the empty spot was easily enough exercise for the whole period.

Watching the game she’d played as a kid, Chen Nian couldn’t help admiring how clever the designer had been. The children were too caught up in the joy to notice the exhaustion. She kept a close eye on Fang Zhi, worried the girl might get shortchanged somehow.

Fang Zhi’s neighbors on either side were classmates she’d jumped rope with before—familiar enough.

But Fang Zhi clearly wasn’t focused on the game. She kept twisting her head around until her eyes finally met Chen Nian’s.

Chen Nian waved, and Fang Zhi lifted her hand to chest height, giving a small wave back.

Out of the corner of her eye during the gesture, Chen Nian noticed the tall boy. He was obviously watching them too and broke into a dumb grin at the sight.

Chen Nian lifted her chin in his direction. “Do you know that guy?” she asked Lin Tianyi.

Lin Tianyi wrinkled his nose. “Gousheng.”

“Huh?”

“He hates my guts,” Lin Tianyi said with clear resentment. “His name’s Li Gousheng.”

Chen Nian turned to him. “What’s his real name?”

“Li Guosheng.”

“Why give the poor guy such an awful nickname?”

[TL Note: This is a phonetic pun. His real name is Guosheng (国胜), meaning ‘National Victory’. The insulting nickname, Gousheng (狗剩), sounds almost identical but means ‘Dog Leftovers’.]

Lin Tianyi bristled. “I didn’t make it up! That’s what he calls himself. Even dogs won’t give him the time of day.”

Chen Nian tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Sounds like you two have history.”

Lin Tianyi pouted and thought it over for a moment before spilling the story to Chen Nian.

There was history, all right. Li Gousheng and Lin Tianyi’s cousin had been in Class 1 together. The cousin was chubby too, and Li Gousheng kept calling him Dog Bear. Fed up, the cousin told the teacher, but Li Gousheng rounded up his crew and beat the cousin bloody—nosebleed and all.

These days, the cousin was in fourth grade while Li Gousheng was still stuck in second. His grades were abysmal, he never listened, and he was the nightmare every teacher dreaded.

Lin Tianyi never imagined he’d end up in the same grade as Li Gousheng. He especially never saw it coming that the bully knew about his cousin and started calling him Dog Bear too.

“When did it start?” Chen Nian asked, her brows furrowing.

“Calling me Dog Bear?” Lin Tianyi scratched at his palm. “Last semester.”

“Does he still do it?”

“Every time he sees me.”

“Then why’d you run over to Class 1?”

Lin Tianyi sniffled, looking utterly aggrieved. “You wanted to watch Fang Zhi.”

Chen Nian shoved his face playfully. “Some guts you’ve got.”

Lin Tianyi’s eyes welled up. “Mom won’t let me fight, and telling the teacher doesn’t work.”

“What are you gonna fight with?” Chen Nian said. “You’d never win like this.”

“Wah…”

Chen Nian waved him off irritably. “I mean you’re still little. He’s bigger and bulkier right now. Wait till you grow—you’ll catch up and beat him easy.”

“He’ll grow too,” Lin Tianyi grumbled.

“People stop growing eventually. Your size gap will even out by then. Didn’t your mom tell you that?”

Lin Tianyi huffed out two angry breaths and fell silent.

Chen Nian turned her attention back to the game. Now it was Du Tiantian’s turn with the handkerchief. She hopped along slowly before dropping it right behind Fang Zhi.

Chen Nian shot to her feet. Lin Tianyi yelled, “Fang Zhi! Handkerchief!”

Chen Nian smacked him. “That’s not how the game works! Fang Zhi, chase her!”

Fang Zhi blinked in surprise and glanced first at Chen Nian.

Only when she saw Chen Nian practically bouncing with urgency did she finally look down at the handkerchief behind her.

She furrowed her brows, bent down languidly, and picked up the handkerchief.

Chen Nian: “…”

Chen Nian: “Run!!!”

Fang Zhi lifted her foot and started running, but she was already too slow off the mark, and her pursuit lacked any real effort. Her long legs took tiny steps, as if she were just out for a leisurely stroll.

Du Tiantian bolted forward like a frisky little foal, kicking up clouds of dust on the playground as she dashed smoothly back to her spot.

Seeing the situation, Fang Zhi simply came to a halt.

Chen Nian: “…”

She began to wonder if Fang Zhi even knew how to play the game. Unable to stay seated any longer, she got up and ran toward Fang Zhi.

Lin Tianyi trailed right behind her. They had barely reached her when Li Gousheng let out two long whistles and bellowed at the top of his lungs: “Here comes the wife hunter!!! Taking Dog Bear to find a wife!!!!”

Chen Nian: “…”

Fang Zhi: “…”

Laughter erupted from the crowd, and several boys chimed in: “Wife hunter—”

Chen Nian skidded to a stop and took a few steps back.

Lin Tianyi, directly in her path, got bumped and clenched his fists in fury. “He’s spouting nonsense! Total nonsense!”

Chen Nian glanced sideways at the PE teacher standing nearby. “Then go punch him.”

Lin Tianyi surged forward in a huff, but Chen Nian yanked him back.

“Wait a sec,” Chen Nian said.

With someone stirring up trouble like that, the teacher wouldn’t let it slide.

Sure enough, the teacher came over and issued a couple of stern warnings, restoring order.

Li Gousheng plopped down on the ground and shot Chen Nian a smug look.

The game resumed. Fang Zhi ambled along at a snail’s pace and slipped the handkerchief into the oversized hood of a petite girl.

The hood on the girl’s jacket was enormous, gaping open like a cavern. It could easily hold not just a handkerchief but several bags of snacks.

Fang Zhi deposited it with a perfectly blank expression, then kept walking with the same stoic face, her hand dangling naturally at her side as if the handkerchief were still in her grip.

Freshly reminded of the rules, the kids stuck to them faithfully.

It wasn’t until Fang Zhi had circled most of the way back that anyone noticed, sparking gales of laughter.

By the time the little girl caught on, fumbling desperately in her hood before finally extracting the handkerchief, Fang Zhi had already returned to her original position and squatted down.

The girl stared in bewilderment as laughter exploded all around her.

Lin Tianyi exclaimed, “Whoa, Fang Zhi’s amazing!!! When did she even do that?!!!!”

Chen Nian quirked her lips and muttered under her breath, “Such a good little actress at her age…”

After that round, no one dared toss the handkerchief behind Fang Zhi again.

They played a bit longer before the teacher broke up the group for free playtime.

Chen Nian approached Fang Zhi. “Tired?”

Fang Zhi shook her head.

Chen Nian: “What do you want to play? I’ll grab it for you.”

Fang Zhi shook her head again.

Lin Tianyi craned his neck to peer at her, asking timidly, “Fang Zhi, are you upset?”

Fang Zhi shot Lin Tianyi a glance, and he fell silent.

Fang Zhi said, “I don’t want to play.”

“Got it.” Chen Nian wasn’t about to push her.

The sun was beating down fiercely, so Chen Nian raised her hand and pointed to the massive parasol tree at the edge of the playground. “Then let’s go sit under that tree and chill for a bit.”

“Mm.” Fang Zhi nodded.

Lin Tianyi tagged along behind them uninvited. Chen Nian turned to him. “Go play on your own.”

Lin Tianyi shook his head. “Nope, I wanna hang out with you guys.”

Chen Nian: “Aren’t you embarrassed, a boy like you playing with girls all day?”

Lin Tianyi was used to the jab by now and shrugged it off. “Nah!”

He added thoughtfully, “If you girls wanna whisper secrets and don’t want me hearing, I’ll just stand back a ways.”

“Fine then.” Chen Nian didn’t mince words. “Stand back.”

Lin Tianyi puffed out his round cheeks and obediently retreated a distance.

A stone bench sat under the parasol tree. Chen Nian pulled a tissue from her pocket, wiped it down, and gestured for Fang Zhi to sit.

Fang Zhi tilted her head skyward. The parasol tree’s leaves were just budding, and the glaring sun poured down, bathing her cheeks in light.

Chen Nian said, “Close your eyes. You’ll blind yourself staring like that.”

Fang Zhi obediently shut her eyes. The scene was picturesque, like something out of a painting.

“Unhappy, huh?” Chen Nian prodded. “Hate them yelling stuff like that?”

Fang Zhi stayed silent and still, though sunlight turned her ears a warm orange.

Chen Nian tugged at her mouth in a wry smile. “I hate it too. Really hate it. Some people’s mouths are just trash—they love spewing garbage. Pick up a random phrase from TV and shout it without a clue…”

Fang Zhi turned her head to meet Chen Nian’s gaze.

Chen Nian’s words trailed off, a flicker of guilt in her eyes.

Lin Tianyi suddenly dashed over, doubling over at the waist as he whispered urgently to Chen Nian: “Li Gousheng keeps staring at you guys. He’s huddled with a bunch of boys—they’re definitely trash-talking you again.”

Chen Nian turned to look. Comrade Lin Tianyi, her intelligence officer, had spotted him perfectly.

She didn’t want to call a ten-year-old boy sleazy, but the look on Li Gousheng’s face was exactly that.

Sneaky and full of shady intentions—it was downright nauseating.

Chen Nian stood up. “Go call him over,” she told Lin Tianyi.

He blinked in surprise. “Huh?”

“Just say I want to see him. Him alone, behind the Equipment Room.”

“Huh.”

Chen Nian tilted her chin toward him. “Hurry up. I’ll get revenge for you.”

Lin Tianyi leaped to his feet, buzzing with excitement. “Got it!”

He dashed off. Chen Nian rose too, heading toward the Equipment Room.

“Zhizhi, wait here a minute,” she told Fang Zhi. “I’ll be right back.”

Fang Zhi stood as well. “I’m coming too.”

“No need. I can handle it myself.”

“It’s my business.”

The words came out dead serious. Chen Nian met her eyes and knew there was no arguing with her.

“Fine, come along then,” Chen Nian said. “I’ll show you how to handle life’s problems the right way.”

A wide open patch lay behind the Equipment Room, walled off on three sides for total privacy.

A few trees dotted the area amid piles of discarded desks and chairs. The ground stayed perpetually damp, moss creeping into the corners—a forgotten spot no one touched even during big cleanups.

Chen Nian led Fang Zhi there, and moments later Lin Tianyi came sprinting back. He skidded to a halt beside her, grinning ear to ear. “He said he’s coming.”

Chen Nian beckoned him close and whispered a few words.

Fang Zhi eyed her curiously. Chen Nian just smiled. “You’ll see.”

No sooner had she spoken than Li Gousheng slunk into view. He glanced around—left, right, behind—then spotted the trio: Fang Zhi, Chen Nian, and Lin Tianyi. A sleazy grin spread across his face.

He was two or three years older than the other kids in class, towering over them to boot.

Two years of repeating grades had given him real street cred, like some gang tough who’d owned the block for twenty years. He was the big man here.

Fang Zhi and Chen Nian? Total good-girl types—smart, obedient, zero intimidation. The sort who’d burst into tears after a harsh word. And Lin Tianyi was this pudgy snowball of a kid, all bluff and no bite. If you beat him up, he’d just run crying to the teacher.

To Li Gousheng, this crew was easy pickings. Pure entertainment.

He sauntered up, hands in his pockets. “Hey, Class 1 brats. You and your little wife messing around back here?”

Chen Nian: “…”

“How do you two play house at home, anyway? Guys call their girls ‘hubby,’ but Black Egg—you’re a girl, right?”

Chen Nian: “…………”

“Black Egg, did your folks buy you a bride? You even know what to do with her? Bet you don’t. You gonna ask Dog Bear? Hahaha, like he’d know squat!”

Chen Nian: “…………..”

“Little wife, how much cash did your mom get for selling you to Black Egg’s family? You got sisters on the market? Hook me up, haha!”

Chen Nian exhaled slowly. Lin Tianyi’s eyes were practically popping out of his head, his face flushed crimson with fury. “Tianyi,” she said, “forget calling the teacher.”

“Huh?” He stood there, fists balled, dazed.

Chen Nian flexed her wrist. “Zhizhi, this isn’t the right way.”

Before Fang Zhi could respond, Chen Nian shot forward.

She moved like lightning—no one even had time to blink. By the time they focused, Li Gousheng was curled on the ground, clutching his gut.

Chen Nian straddled him. Ignoring his agonized grimace, she hauled back and cracked him open-handed across the face.

The slap rang out sharp and clear: Pa!

“Didn’t your mom teach you any manners?” Chen Nian shook out her stinging hand. “Fine. Today, I’m your mom.”