When Zhuang Tongguang rushed to the kindergarten office, he saw Xin Hexue waiting outside with his head lowered.
He was leaning against the wall with his hands placed behind his back, swaying slightly as he waited for the adults to arrive.
Zhuang Tongguang immediately ran forward, held his younger brother’s shoulders, and looked him up and down. “Are you hurt? Who hit you?”
He looked fine on the outside, but he was worried there might be wounds hidden out of sight.
What if the bad kids pinched him through his clothes when they fought?
Zhuang Tongguang rolled up Xin Hexue’s sleeve and pulled it up. “Let me see.”
“No.”
Xin Hexue pursed his lips and broke free from his older brother’s grasp.
Zhuang Tongguang was taken aback.
“Big Brother, I’m fine.” Xin Hexue said with his head lowered, hiding a somewhat guilty expression. “They were the ones fighting. I didn’t join, and no one hit me.”
Zhuang Tongguang glanced into the office. Sure enough, several boys had marks on their faces, and their clothes were dusty. One short, fat, and sturdy boy was still wailing, his face bruised and swollen, sporting a black eye, his whole body dirty.
Separated from these boys and standing distinctly opposite them was one slightly taller boy.
He had an indifferent expression on his face, with a buzz cut and sharp, jet-black eyebrows. When the teacher spoke to him, he showed no sign of remorse, standing there as if nothing had happened.
The only injury was a bruise on his chin which was barely noticeable if you didn’t look closely.
Zhuang Tongguang frowned. He could tell at a glance who the toughest kid among them was. He put his arm around Xin Hexue’s shoulder and said seriously, “Don’t play with kids who hit people.”
The noise from the office was so loud it could be heard in the small playground outside, and many children were eavesdropping and watching the excitement out there.
“You keep going on and on! So what if my son snatched one of his animal cookies?!” scolded the parent of the beaten child. “Who are your parents? Why aren’t they here yet? How did they raise you? You’re so petty over such a small thing!”
“Over one cookie, you beat my son like this? Look, his face is almost ruined! Haven’t you ever eaten a cookie before?”
“That’s not a reasonable thing to say.” Lu Yang raised his head and retorted. “Clearly, it’s your son who hasn’t eaten cookies and had to snatch mine.”
“You… you little brat! Grown-ups are talking, who gave you the right to interrupt?”
His precious son was crying his eyes out, and the culprit in front of him showed no remorse.
Section Chief Su was furious. “We need to teach you a proper lesson today. What would become of society if kids like you grew up like this?”
Lu Yang wasn’t the least bit afraid of this furious adult. “Bullying the weak with your size? Your family is really interesting. Your son is exactly like you. What’s that saying? ‘Dragons breed dragons, phoenixes breed phoenixes, and the sons of rats know how to dig holes.'”
“Hey, you little bastard!”
The teacher quickly stopped Section Chief Su, persuading him to discuss it with Lu Yang’s parents when they arrived and not to hit or scold the child.
Just then, a group of parents arrived at the kindergarten gate. Lu Guoxing hurried over, still wearing his work clothes from the factory. He pulled off his gloves, his sleeves stained with machine oil. Hearing that his son had fought again, he roared before even arriving, “You little rascal! Are you trying to kill your dad and your mom?!”
Lu Guoxing and his wife, Zhu Cuifeng, hurriedly squeezed into the office. He scolded with his words but still moved to shield Lu Yang behind him, separating him from the opposing parent.
Xin Hexue was hugged by Xin Zhiying, who had rushed over, and was then turned around and around, checked front, back, left, and right.
He looked up at Xin Zhiying and Zhuang Ping and said, “Aunt, Uncle, I’m fine, don’t worry.”
Zhu Cuifeng saw how badly her son had beaten the opposing child, took a deep breath, and twisted Lu Yang’s ear. “What did Mom usually tell you?!”
Lu Yang howled in pain. “It’s going to fall off, Mom! Do you want your son to become One-Ear?”
Hearing this from outside, Xin Hexue quickly patted the back of Xin Zhiying’s hand to reassure her, then walked into the office.
He went forward and took Zhu Cuifeng’s other hand. “Auntie, it’s not Lu Yang’s fault.”
Zhu Cuifeng saw a fair, clean, pretty doll, fresh and bright as a flower.
Startled for a moment, she let go of Lu Yang’s ear. “What happened? Tell Auntie about it.”
Lu Yang rubbed his ear in dissatisfaction.
Xin Hexue said that at the time, Su Zhuang brought several little followers to corner Lu Yang, insisted on snatching his animal cookie, and when they couldn’t snatch them, they started the fight.
So, not only did Su Zhuang start the trouble, but he also threw the first punch.
He brought several little followers and still got beaten up like this, which was quite embarrassing.
Lu Guoxing couldn’t help but laugh. “Section Chief Su, look at this mess…”
Section Chief Su was embarrassed. Moreover, his son was still howling. He continued, “Foreman Lu, as parents, how can your attitude be so improper? No matter what, even if my son threw the first punch, look! Your son only has a bruise on his chin, but my son is beaten up like this! It’s one thing for kids to have little scuffles, but to be so heavy-handed…”
After saying this, Section Chief Su muttered under his breath, “The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree.”
Miao Ling and the few classmates she usually played with came in, holding their parents’ hands.
They immediately started speaking up one after another. “Teacher, this isn’t the first time Su Zhuang has snatched other classmates’ cookies.”
“He snatched Xin Hexue’s before!”
“He also pulled my pigtails, my hair clip was snatched away by him.”
“Su Zhuang often bullies other classmates and fights behind the teacher’s back! He always says his dad is a section chief in the administration department and will get other classmates’ moms and dads fired!”
“He said the workers in the boiler team are uneducated and only know how to clear coal ash, and said Miao Ling’s parents should stay in the mountains forever, why come back to the city to steal jobs and housing!”
The implications behind these words were too snobbish, there was no way young children could have thought of saying such things on their own.
This way, it ruled out the possibility of the other children falsely accusing Su Zhuang and also exposed Section Chief Su’s attitude towards people and affairs behind the scenes to the sun.
Faced with the dissatisfied gazes of many parents, Section Chief Su instantly fell silent, his face alternating between blue and white.
………
Xin Zhiying held Xin Hexue’s hand and walked home without a word. Zhuang Ping also had a heavy expression, though he was usually honest and quiet, so his emotional change wasn’t as obvious.
Zhuang Tongguang held his younger brother’s other hand and didn’t speak the whole way.
Xin Hexue pressed his lips into a straight line, secretly glancing up at his aunt’s expression.
He still felt a little guilty because he had played a part in creating this situation. He told Lu Yang that when Su Zhuang came to snatch the cookies, he must scare him.
He didn’t expect Su Zhuang and the others to end up in a fight with Lu Yang, and the other classmates couldn’t pull them apart.
Xin Zhiying closed the door behind them and sat on the sofa.
The lilac window curtain filtered a beam of sunset, drifting over the surfaces of the furniture. A mirror on the cabinet reflected a faint light.
“Xiao Xue.” Xin Zhiying beckoned. “Come here.”
Xin Hexue twisted his fingers and slowly shuffled over.
“Aunt…”
“Sorry.”
Xin Hexue looked up in confusion; these words were spoken by Xin Zhiying.
He didn’t know how to describe his aunt’s expression…her lips were trembling, and her eyes were glistening with tears.
He raised his hand and gently touched the corner of Xin Zhiying’s eye, asking puzzledly, “Why is Auntie apologizing to me?”
Xin Zhiying burst into tears, and she hugged Xin Hexue tightly.
“You child, why didn’t you tell Auntie you were being bullied in kindergarten?”
He lowered his head, his small hands patting Xin Zhiying’s back clumsily. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”
Xin Hexue cast a pleading look at Zhuang Tongguang.
Zhuang Tongguang put on a serious expression and stepped forward. “Mom, it’s my fault. Xiao Xue was unhappy before, and I didn’t notice he was being bullied.”
Zhuang Ping sighed. “I should be blamed. The child isn’t oblivious. He must have heard Section Chief Su’s son say those things and remembered I work in the boiler team, so he didn’t dare tell the adults.”
Xin Zhiying took the handkerchief her husband handed her, wiped her tears, and pinched Xin Hexue’s cheek. Watching the fair, tender cheek slightly deform, she smiled helplessly. “You’re just like your mom, you’re both too sensible.”
She recalled events from long, long ago, and her eyes were filled with reminiscence.
“Your mom, also my older sister, was only nine months older than me. Do you know why?”
“Because my older sister was adopted by my mother from a relative’s family. Back then, some families had too many children and couldn’t afford to raise them. Imagine having seven or eight kids who couldn’t even eat their fill. Then other families couldn’t have children. Your grandma couldn’t get pregnant at the time, and it happened that a relative’s family was giving away a child, so they took a bag of rice and brought my sister over.”
“What does it matter that she wasn’t my biological sister? We grew up wearing the same pants since we were little. Anyone who dared bully me, she was the first to stand up for me. When I got something good to eat, I thought of her first.” Xin Zhiying said, “Things changed when we were about to start junior year of middle school. By then, there was less than a year until the high school entrance exam, and after that, we had to consider going to technical secondary school, vocational school, or high school, but the family really couldn’t afford to support two children.”
“Your mom took the initiative to tell Grandma, ‘Mom, let my sister go to school.’ She said she didn’t like studying and could just graduate from junior high and go work to help support the family. I foolishly believed that reason at the time, but actually, she was lying.”
Xin Zhiying choked up a little. “She really liked studying. Even after going out to work, she picked up discarded high school textbooks to study on her own.”
That’s why she said that Xin Hexue was just like her older sister, both too sensible.
Xin Hexue blinked and wiped his aunt’s tears. “Mom probably was very happy thinking she could let her beloved sister go to school.”
“Xiao Xue.” Xin Zhiying wiped the tears from the corner of her eye and said seriously, “I know you’re smart. You can understand what Auntie wants to say.”
“Even if I didn’t give birth to you, you and your brother are both my children.” She held Xin Hexue with one arm and Zhuang Tongguang with the other, hugging them together, while Zhuang Ping embraced them from the side.
“We are family.”
“You should tell us if anything happens. Family should face things together. No matter how big the problem, the adults will solve it. Do you understand?”
It was a cold night in the late spring, but Xin Hexue felt a warm, glowing heat. He nodded vigorously, like a little stray finally finding its nest. Only when the knot in his heart was untied was there space for love to flow in and nourish him.
“I will protect you.” Zhuang Tongguang held his younger brother’s hand tightly, vowing solemnly. “We will always be family.”
………
Spring deepened, birds chirping incessantly.
Zhuang Tongguang helped his younger brother put on his jacket. Last night’s weather forecast said it would be sunny today and warmer, so no need for a scarf.
After straightening the collar and making it neat and tidy, Zhuang Tongguang said, “Alright, let’s go to the living room for breakfast.”
It was Xin Zhiying’s day off today, and Zhuang Ping had not left for work yet, so the whole family sat around the table for breakfast together.
It was tomato and egg noodle soup. The eggs were fried golden, with the edges slightly crispy and red tomato wedges nestled in the noodles. The broth was also sweet and sour.
There was a knock at the door.
‘Who could it be so early?’
Xin Zhiying opened the door curiously. “Huh? Sister Zhu? Foreman Lu? What brings you here?”
Outside the door were Zhu Cuifeng and Lu Guoxing. They also lived in this tube-shaped apartment building. Their family lived on the fifth floor, while Xin Zhiying’s family was on the third. They saw each other often and were familiar faces.
After a lively exchange of greetings, Xin Zhiying warmly invited them in. “Come in, have you had breakfast? I’ll cook another pot of noodles.”
Zhu Cuifeng quickly stopped her. “No, no, don’t trouble yourself. Lu Yang, his dad, and I have all eaten! I heard you were off today. Perfect, I didn’t get to thank you properly yesterday.”
Lu Guoxing held a net bag of eggs and a jar of malted milk powder. “These are from Lu Yang’s grandmother, they’re local eggs from the countryside, very delicious! And this jar of malted milk powder is for the children’s nutrition.”
Zhuang Ping and Xin Zhiying were completely baffled as to what they were being thanked for and hurriedly refused. “No, no, we don’t deserve this without merit. How can we accept?”
Zhu Cuifeng smiled from ear to ear. “You’re too polite! Yesterday, we really have to thank your child for speaking up for our Lu Yang. Otherwise, that brat who only knows how to throw punches would have been wrongly accused by the Su family boy and couldn’t even explain himself clearly!”
“And it’s thanks to your child speaking up, otherwise I wouldn’t have thought that my son, who’s always climbing roofs and tearing off tiles, actually did a good deed, and acted chivalrously.”
The parents of the two families finally had a good talk about yesterday’s events.
As they talked, Lu Guoxing looked behind him. “Hey, where’s Lu Yang? Hurry up and thank your classmate.”
Lu Yang had already made himself at home and was sitting on the sofa, watching TV with Xin Hexue.
When Xin Hexue put down his bowl and chopsticks, there was still a bit of soup on his lips, making them look moist and shiny.
Zhuang Tongguang handed him a handkerchief and reminded him.
Lu Yang watched Xin Hexue carefully wipe his mouth clean with the handkerchief. His long and thick eyelashes like little fans drooped, making one’s heart itch.
He grabbed Xin Hexue’s hand and received a puzzled look.
“My family has a color TV, we can watch ‘Black Cat Sheriff’ in color.” Lu Yang suggested seriously, “Come to my house and be my younger brother.”
Author’s Note:
Zhuang Tongguang: Where did this yellow hair come from?
