Chapter 31 Part 2

The students from both classes headed back to their rooms. Class 3 had math next. Chen Nian propped her head on her hand, her thoughts drifting.

She’d played the hero today, punishing evil and upholding justice, but Fang Zhi wasn’t happy about it.

Fang Zhi had looked unhappy ever since they’d sat under the sycamore tree. Chen Nian racked her brain, replaying every word she’d said, wondering where she’d gone wrong.

Or maybe it was just the bullying itself. Nobody would be in a good mood after dealing with an idiot like Li Gousheng.

He was in the same class as Fang Zhi, so they crossed paths more often than most.

Even though Chen Nian had beaten him until he was a blubbering, terrified mess—and even though she’d maneuvered the class monitor into playing bodyguard—Chen Nian still wasn’t reassured.

She resolved to stick even closer to Fang Zhi from now on. There’d be teachers in class, and the moment class ended or school let out, she’d rush right over. That should keep things safe.

After school that day, Chen Nian waited early outside Class 1’s door. She peered inside—no sign of Li Gousheng.

Fang Zhi emerged. “Li Guosheng’s out sick.”

Chen Nian perked up. “Huh?”

Fang Zhi explained, “He asked for leave during PE and never came back.”

“Oh,” Chen Nian said.

The two of them headed out together, with Lin Tianyi tagging along behind. He whispered, “Did he end up in the hospital or something?”

Chen Nian knew her own strength all too well. “Nah, not that bad.”

She paused. “The psychological damage was worse, though.”

Lin Tianyi frowned. “What’s ‘psychological damage’?”

Chen Nian replied, “Calling you Dog Bear—that’s psychological damage.”

Lin Tianyi beamed. “I kinda like Dog Bear now. Dog Bears are super strong. Coulda sat on him!”

Chen Nian shook her head. “You’re growing up. Soon you’ll master the art of mental victory.”

Lin Tianyi tilted his head. “What’s ‘mental victory’?”

Chen Nian sighed. “Ask your mom to buy you a book. One Hundred Thousand Whys.”

Lin Tianyi nodded eagerly. “Okay, okay!”

With Lin Tianyi chattering nonstop at her side, Chen Nian didn’t get much chance to talk properly with Fang Zhi.

After leaving the school gates, the two girls boarded the bus. It wasn’t until they got off that Chen Nian took hold of Fang Zhi’s hand. “Are you planning to tell my parents about what happened today?” she asked.

“Do you want to?” Fang Zhi replied.

“Of course not,” Chen Nian said.

“Then we won’t.”

Chen Nian hesitated, looking conflicted. “But what we did wasn’t right. It was really dangerous. We can’t just pick fights with anyone—if he’d been prepared, we might not have won. Anyway, it wasn’t the proper way to handle things. I’ll be calmer from now on, and you absolutely mustn’t copy me.”

Fang Zhi waved her hand dismissively. “Got it.”

She sounded a little impatient.

Chen Nian pursed her lips, realizing she was starting to sound preachy. She changed tack, gazing at Fang Zhi with utter sincerity. “Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

Fang Zhi said nothing. She let go of Chen Nian’s hand and dashed ahead with quick footsteps.

Chen Nian hurried after her. The two ran all the way into the Family Courtyard, up the stairwell, and onto the fifth floor. When Liu Chunhua opened the door, she was greeted by the sight of two panting little troublemakers.

“Why the rush?” Liu Chunhua said as she lifted the backpacks off their shoulders. “Is a tiger after you or something?”

Chen Nian kicked off her shoes and slipped into her slippers. “Mom, sign me up for an after-school class!” she declared loudly.

Back then, extracurricular classes for kids weren’t all that common. But they lived in a government family courtyard, where the neighbors were from decent families with good educations, so plenty of children in the courtyard were taking lessons outside of school.

Piano, painting, creative writing—these were all popular choices.

Liu Chunhua had her own firm ideas about raising children. She never forced Chen Nian to learn anything just so she could show off to relatives at New Year.

But now that Chen Nian was asking on her own, Liu Chunhua was intrigued.

“What do you want to learn?” she asked. “What brought this on all of a sudden?”

Chen Nian huffed. “I just think other kids are so impressive. I don’t want to lose face for us—I want to make you and Dad proud.”

“Well, well.” Liu Chunhua brushed some lint off her clothes, tied on her apron, and got ready to make dinner. “Never thought I’d hear that from my own daughter. Tell your dad the same when he gets home.”

“You got it!” Chen Nian said brightly. What was so hard about that? She could sweet-talk her way through a whole day if needed.

With Mom off to the kitchen, Chen Nian didn’t press the issue.

Instead, she and Fang Zhi settled down to do their homework together. That was their daily routine: finish it right after getting home, play early, and hit the hay early.

By the time dinner was on the table and Dad had returned, their assignments were done.

The family of four gathered around the table. Liu Chunhua set the stage, Chen Junjie eyed Chen Nian expectantly, and she cleared her throat before launching in.

“The schoolwork right now is no challenge for me at all,” Chen Nian began. “I’ve got all this extra energy with nowhere to put it. Might as well use it to learn something new.”

“Learning more things is never a bad idea,” she added, glancing at her father. “Sure, it costs money. But I know we can afford it. If not, just tell me straight, Dad—I won’t sign up.”

Her daughter had put it so plainly. How could Chen Junjie say no?

He slapped the table. “My girl wants to advance herself? I’ll sell the pots and pans if I have to—she’s learning!”

Chen Nian’s eyes lit up. “Everyone’s got to go to college these days, then find a job after. If I’ve got one more skill, doesn’t that give me an edge over the others?”

“Spot on, Niannian!” Chen Junjie boomed. “You know those new interns we got this year? One of the girls writes so well, she’s already the bureau chief’s secretary!”

“See?” Chen Nian slapped the table in agreement. “I promise—if you sign me up, I’ll study hard. I won’t slack on school, and I won’t waste your money or effort!”

“My daughter is just too sensible,” Chen Junjie said proudly. “Sign up! One class isn’t enough—do two!”

Chen Nian laughed. “No need to go that far.”

Liu Chunhua could sense something was up. She pressed a hand on Chen Junjie’s arm. “Shouldn’t you at least ask what she wants to learn?”

“Anything she wants!” Chen Junjie declared. “Piano? I’ll buy you one! Painting? I’ll get the paints!”

Chen Nian beamed. “Dad, I want to learn Taekwondo.”

“. . .”

“What?” Chen Junjie blinked.

“Or boxing?”

“Or freestyle fighting?”

“Chinese kung fu would work too—like Wing Chun or Shaolin staff techniques. Though those might be hard to find . . .”

Chen Junjie fell deep into thought. Fang Zhi watched Chen Nian, while Liu Chunhua calmly picked up a bite of food and ate it. She asked, “Why do you suddenly want to learn all this?”

Chen Nian blurted out the excuse she’d prepared long ago. “To build up my strength and protect my home and country!”

Chen Junjie stared at her in a daze. “Daughter, do you want to join the army when you grow up?”

Chen Nian replied, “It starts with protecting everyone around me!”

Liu Chunhua said, “Then you can start by running up and down our fifth-floor stairs twenty times a day.”

Chen Nian whined, “Whine…”

Naturally, the dinner table discussion led nowhere.

The skills Chen Nian wanted to learn were far too novel for their era.

In her parents’ minds, the family was simply too poor. If she couldn’t keep going to school, they’d only send her off to learn a trade once she was old enough to start thinking about earning a living.

Those paths meant grueling hardship and endless toil. Chen Junjie couldn’t bear the thought, and neither could Liu Chunhua.

After dinner, Liu Chunhua pulled Chen Nian into her room for a heart-to-heart. But she didn’t pry out anything new.

Chen Nian had promised Fang Zhi not to tell their parents, so she kept her word. Besides, her excuses weren’t really excuses at all—they were honest reasons.

She simply wanted to get her body in shape and pick up some basic fighting techniques, just in case.

For now, everyone around them was just kids, and Chen Nian could stay one step ahead with her wits. But as they grew older—hitting puberty, stepping into the wider world—problems would demand more than smarts. They’d need real skills.

She’d sworn to Fang Zhi that she wouldn’t break any laws or cross moral lines, but that was just kid stuff. The law only kicked in after the damage was done, and Chen Nian refused to let Fang Zhi get hurt even once.

When she emerged from her mother’s room, Chen Nian knocked lightly and slipped into Fang Zhi’s bedroom.

Fang Zhi was buried in a book. Chen Nian sidled up beside her and asked with a sly grin, “Zhizhi, how much of your New Year’s money do you have left?”

Fang Zhi eyed her. “What for?”

Chen Nian said, “Can you lend me some?”

“What do you want to buy?”

“Well…” Chen Nian hesitated. “Some special stuff.”

“Tell me, or no deal.” Fang Zhi was firm.

Chen Nian sighed in defeat and gestured with her hands. “You know what a telescopic baton is?”

Fang Zhi blinked. “???”

“It’s a stick that extends and retracts,” Chen Nian explained. “One flick, and it shoots out. When you’re done, it collapses back down and fits right in your bag. Super handy.”

Fang Zhi’s expression turned icy. “No idea.”

“I just told you!”

“No money.”

Chen Nian slumped. “…”

She was thoroughly depressed.

Her own New Year’s money hadn’t been much to start with, and she’d spent most of it on snacks and treats for Fang Zhi. There was no way she had enough left for something like this.

Now she needed cash, but ungrateful little Little White wouldn’t help. And it wasn’t exactly a normal purchase, so she couldn’t ask her parents.

That night, the interest class fell through, the self-defense gear fell through, and Chen Nian tossed and turned restlessly in bed.

The silver lining came the next day at school. When Chen Nian asked Du Tiantian, she learned Li Gousheng was still out on leave, with no plans to show up.

Chen Nian relaxed a little. Tomorrow was Saturday, after all.

Over the weekend, she could glue herself to Fang Zhi every waking second, safe at home.

Unfortunately, come Sunday afternoon, Dad headed out and took Fang Zhi along—but left her behind.

Chen Nian wheedled her mom endlessly, but Liu Chunhua just took her on a tour of the local interest classes nearby. Nothing even close to physical training.

“How about calligraphy?” Liu Chunhua suggested. “It calms the mind and nurtures the spirit.”

Chen Nian wailed, “Wahhh…” and shook her head furiously.

Monday brought a fresh week.

Chen Nian escorted Fang Zhi right to the door of Class 1, where she spotted Li Gousheng.

She fixed him with a hard glare. It took ages for him to notice and meet her eyes.

But he looked away just as quickly.

The teacher leading morning reading stepped out and shooed her off. “Back to your own class, now.”

Chen Nian dipped into a quick bow. “Good morning, teacher! Your outfit looks amazing today.”

The teacher beamed with delight as Chen Nian spun on her heel and bolted.

All day, Chen Nian stayed on high alert.

Lin Tianyi trailed right behind her, plump and poised to charge like a roly-poly cannonball at any moment.

When the final bell rang, she dashed to Class 1 and waited. Fang Zhi took her sweet time packing up her books. Li Gousheng didn’t spare them a glance before hurrying out.

Chen Nian let out a relieved breath. She helped Fang Zhi cram everything into her bag with a flurry, then slung it over her own shoulder without asking. “Home time!”

Fang Zhi frowned up at her. “Give my backpack back.”

“Nope!” Chen Nian swung it playfully side to side, not winded in the slightest. “Mom said I’ve gotta build my strength first!”

Chen Nian bolted out the door, with Fang Zhi chasing right behind her. They raced all the way down the stairs until Fang Zhi, with her longer legs, grabbed Chen Nian’s backpack at the turn.

The zipper wasn’t fastened properly. With a sharp rip, the pink schoolbag burst open, and everything inside tumbled out.

“Ahhh, sorry!” Chen Nian shouted, whirling around to scoop up her things. “I-I didn’t mean to…”

The last word caught in her throat. There, amid the mess, was something that had no business being there.

A black telescopic baton gleamed with a subtle metallic sheen, lying quietly atop the pile of books.