“Mm, I understand. Thank you, Teacher.”
After An Qing nodded politely, the Volunteer Teacher gently ruffled her soft hair for the last time.
Then the teacher packed up and left.
“Yo, isn’t this our little freak? You finally came out, we’ve been waiting for you here forever!”
As soon as An Qing stepped out of the activity room, she heard a familiar voice tinged with resentment.
The girl instinctively looked up, and her heart instantly sank — it was those same sneering faces again.
She quickly turned, trying to retreat back into the classroom, only to find two boys had appeared at some point, blocking her path.
“You… you, what do you want this time…”
The girl’s weak question drew a round of laughter from the boys.
“Hahaha, what do we want? Isn’t it obvious? Of course, we’re here to settle accounts with you!”
Leading them was the same chubby boy, with a new patch of gauze on his head.
“Look at my head! It’s all your fault that it’s like this!”
But it was you who bullied me first.
Then, then it was Zhixian who fought you to protect me.
An Qing said nothing, only hugged the teddy bear in her arms tighter, curling her thin body inward.
“Hmph! That yellow-haired brat isn’t here today, so who’s going to stand up for you now?”
With that, the chubby boy stepped forward and shoved the girl.
“Ugh!”
Caught off guard, An Qing’s frail body staggered backward and she landed heavily on the concrete ground.
Forget it, let them bully me. Just like before.
It’s nothing serious, anyway. If I endure it, it’ll pass.
The black-haired girl instinctively curled into a ball, eyes lowered, silently comforting herself.
“Hey, where did your teddy bear come from? Let me see it!”
At that moment, the chubby boy noticed the teddy bear she clung to. He sneered, bent down, and with one thick arm yanked the bear from her hands.
An Qing jerked her head up, a sudden blaze igniting in her heart.
“Give it back to me!”
“Hm? How did a weirdo like you end up with such a cute teddy bear? I’ve never seen it before.”
The chubby boy ignored An Qing’s plea, pinching the teddy bear by its arm and holding it up to examine it suspiciously.
“Tell me! Did you steal this from somewhere?”
“I did not! Zhixian gave it to me! Give it back!”
“Zhixian…? Who’s that?”
This little freak is always alone, isn’t she? She shouldn’t have any friends.
Who would give her such a nice teddy bear?
Could it be…
A painfully obvious answer slowly surfaced in the chubby boy’s mind.
“Is it that annoying yellow-haired brat who gave this to you?” the chubby boy demanded, holding the teddy bear high, out of the little girl’s desperate reach.
“So what if it is! Hurry up and give it back!”
On tiptoe, the girl jumped anxiously, her thin arms reaching desperately upward.
Her shoes scraped the concrete with a raspy sound, each jump just barely brushing the chubby boy’s elbow.
“Hahaha! Hear that, everyone? The yellow-haired brat gave it to her!”
The chubby boy glanced at the other boys around them and burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! Didn’t I say it? The yellow-haired brat must like her!”
“A token of love! It’s a token of love!”
Words that should have been sweet now, from the boys’ mouths, became jeers and ridicule, stabbing into An Qing’s ears like needles.
“Give it! Back to me!”
Still reaching desperately, hot tears welled uncontrollably in the girl’s eyes.
“Hmph! I’m not giving it back!”
The chubby boy clicked his tongue in annoyance, then shoved the girl hard again, making her crash to the ground once more.
“Something from a guy like that should be thrown in the trash! Only a weirdo like you would cling to it like some kind of treasure!”
With a flick of his wrist, the chubby boy flung the teddy bear to the ground. Before it could even settle, a muddy sneaker stomped down on it.
“No—!”
The girl’s pupils shrank sharply.
(“Now we both have a teddy bear, it’s a symbol of our friendship!”)
(“And I think, instead of sitting forgotten in my closet, the bear would be much happier if you took care of it, An Qing!”)
(“An Qing, I know you’ll take good care of it, right?”)
Ruan Zhixian’s smile seemed to linger before her eyes.
“Hmph! Like I’d listen to you!”
The sneaker ground the bear viciously underfoot, crumpling the poor toy beneath the dirty sole like garbage.
“I told you, give it back to me!”
After a moment’s silence, the trembling girl suddenly looked up. For the first time, a fierce light flashed in those timid eyes.
“Awoo!”
Like a cornered cub, the black-haired girl sprang up and bit hard into the chubby boy’s thick forearm!
“Ow! Ow! Ow! Let go of me!”
The chubby boy squealed like a stuck pig, his fat face twisted with pain. He grabbed the girl’s hair with his free hand, yanking it hard.
Her hair, still attached to her scalp, stung as it was pulled, but An Qing clamped down like a wolf cub locked on its prey, teeth sinking even deeper no matter how hard the boy yanked and hit.
“Mm-mm!”
The tang of blood seeped from the girl’s clenched jaw, mixing with the salty taste of tears.
Through the mess of pulled hair, An Qing glared fiercely at her attacker, black eyes burning with a terrifying light.
“Ahh! She’s killing him!”
“The freak’s trying to bite the boss to death!”
“Let’s go get someone!”
The boys, who’d been laughing moments before, instantly panicked at the scene. Like startled sparrows, they shouted and scattered, dashing away.
In less than two minutes, the sound of hurried footsteps grew louder. Surrounded by the shouting children, a frightened adult came running down the hallway.
“An Qing! Let go, now!”
“And you, Zhou Guoqing! You let go too!”
Humming a little tune, Ruan Zhixian bounced along the sidewalk, carrying a paper bag. The soles of her canvas shoes slapped against the tiles.
Hehe, today I bought McDangdang Fries again—no seagulls stole them and I didn’t put any mustard in by mistake.
Fries this tasty—if I bring them for An Qing to eat with me, she’s sure to be happy!
Hugging the warm fries, the golden-haired girl pictured An Qing’s smiling face. Her steps grew even lighter as she headed for the familiar Little Park.