“Chairman Chen, Chairman Chen, I’ve brought the kettle,” Lin Fang called out loudly.
Chen Dong had already started filling water and didn’t even turn her head. “Just hand it over if you’ve got it. No need to shout—you trying to scald me to death?”
“Oh, oh, okay, coming, coming,” Lin Fang replied, squeezing her way forward.
Someone grumbled, “What’s with the pushing? Get in line at the back.”
Lin Fang quickly explained, “I’m with the girl in front. She forgot her kettle—I’m just bringing it to her.”
Another voice chimed in, “Forgot her kettle? More like cutting in line. What’s she filling if not a kettle?”
“Hey, enough already! Move aside, or I swear I’ll scald you!” Chen Dong’s roar silenced any further complaints. They believed her.
Back when Chen Dong first started high school, she got into an argument with a female classmate. In a fit of rage, she grabbed whatever was nearby and hurled it—without even knowing what it was. The girl’s face immediately bled, leaving a long scar from the corner of her mouth to her chin. From then on, Chen Dong became infamous.
Later, Chen Dong confided in Lin Fang that she had only pretended to be tough when she injured that girl, acting like some gangster to avoid looking weak. Inside, she was terrified. Luckily, the girl’s parents were going through a divorce and didn’t press the issue. If they had, Chen Dong wouldn’t have known how to handle it.
The girl Chen Dong injured had been held back a year and was now in Lin Fang’s class—towering over Chen Dong by a head and a half.
“Here, here.”
Squeezing up to Chen Dong, Lin Fang instinctively placed the empty kettle in the sink and took the filled one, pushing her way out of the water room first. She waited a short distance away.
When Chen Dong emerged, they swapped kettles. Chen Dong gave Lin Fang a once-over and asked, “How are you feeling this time?”—referring to Lin Fang’s illness.
Lin Fang smiled. “I feel stronger than usual.”
“Good.” With that, Chen Dong led the way toward the dorm.
Lin Fang quickened her pace to keep up. “My mom brought you some persimmon-flavored buns. Come with me to get them.”
Chen Dong didn’t respond, but her steps veered toward the freshman dorms—closer to the water room than the sophomore ones—indicating silent agreement.
Since starting high school, Chen Dong had spoken less and less. She rarely visited Lin Fang for fun, and when she did, she’d either bury herself in a book or silently help Lin Fang tidy up. Only when Dong Huixin visited town would Chen Dong talk—and even then, she’d speak privately with Dong Huixin, avoiding Lin Fang.
Lin Fang used to think Chen Dong and her mother were keeping something from her. Now, she realized it was likely because only Dong Huixin understood Chen Dong’s thoughts, while Lin Fang had been too naive at the time. They kept their conversations private to spare her unnecessary worry.
After walking in silence for a while, Chen Dong asked about Lin Yuanmin, Dong Huixin, Lin Yong, Lin Tuo, and even little Yuanyuan—everyone except Yan Ping, whom she also didn’t get along with. Yan Ping despised Chen Dong’s rough attitude and would say whatever she pleased when Lin Yong wasn’t around. Chen Dong mostly ignored her, only snapping back when provoked, though she never actually fought her.
As they walked and talked, Lin Fang mentioned her second brother’s plan to resell diesel, their family’s upcoming restaurant, and her eldest brother’s mushroom farming. Chen Dong nodded along, occasionally smiling. But when Lin Fang brought up Lan Xiang’s provocation, Chen Dong’s expression darkened. For a moment, Lin Fang thought she wasn’t looking at Chen Dong but the cold, silent Qi Biao—their expressions were eerily similar.
Soon, they reached Lin Fang’s dorm. Lin Fang set down the kettle, grabbed a plastic bag, and divided the persimmon buns from her backpack, handing half to Chen Dong. She reminded her to drink hot water while eating and to take small portions to avoid stomach trouble.
“Pfft, nagging like an old lady,” Chen Dong teased—her first joke since they’d met.
Before Lin Fang could respond, a girl burst into the dorm, panting. “Hurry! Two girls from your class are fighting in the bathroom!”
Lin Fang frowned. “What? Why would girls from our class fight in the bathroom? Are you sure?”
The girl chuckled. “I know both of them. One’s Pi Xinhong, who got held back and joined your class. The other’s Fu Hongxia—the one who’s always poking her nose into everything. Half the school knows her.”
Honestly, Lin Fang didn’t want to deal with this mess. She disliked both girls, but while she could ignore Pi Xinhong, Fu Hongxia was another matter. They’d been classmates during Lin Fang’s repeat year in middle school, and they were from the same town. If Fu Hongxia embarrassed herself, it’d reflect poorly on all of them.
Before Lin Fang could respond, Chen Dong set down her things and headed out. “Stay here. I’ll handle it.” Chen Dong rarely intervened in others’ affairs—only for the few people she cared about.
But since someone had come to report it, Lin Fang felt obliged to follow. Chen Dong didn’t stop her. The messenger, a classmate of Chen Dong’s, stuck out her tongue behind their backs—Pi Xinhong was the girl Chen Dong had scarred.
Rushing toward the bathroom, they could hear the shouting from afar. Lin Fang cursed inwardly—of course it was Fu Hongxia’s foul mouth again.
“You barren wretch! Your whole family should die! Your mother should’ve croaked long ago, and your brother deserves it most—!”
This was Fu Hongxia’s worst habit: cursing others as “barren” and wishing death on their families. She’d suffered for it before but never learned. In middle school, a boy had beaten her so badly she nearly lost her face. Her family didn’t even care—it was the boy’s family who took pity and brought her to the clinic.
“Say it again, and I’ll rip your mouth apart!” Pi Xinhong’s voice was strained, as if she were being restrained.
After her parents’ divorce, Pi Xinhong had stayed with her mother, who later remarried. Her stepfather treated her well, and this past New Year, her mother had given birth to a boy. Pi Xinhong doted on her baby brother, gushing about him like a proud mother.
Bursting into the bathroom, they were hit by a stench so foul it stole their breath and stung their eyes to tears. The wall separating the stalls from the open cesspool had collapsed at some point, and the school hadn’t bothered to fix it. Though the weather had cooled, it wasn’t yet freezing, and the sun-baked cesspool reeked. Fighting here? They’d picked the worst possible spot.
After adjusting, Lin Fang wiped her eyes, covered her nose, and took in the scene—it was absurd.
Pi Xinhong’s pants were around her ankles, the belt dragging in filth, dangerously close to the cesspool. Her legs, pale and bare, were being kicked by Fu Hongxia, but her tangled pants kept her from moving. Despite her height, Pi Xinhong was bent like a shrimp, her hair in Fu Hongxia’s grip.
Fu Hongxia, though her pants were up, had them haphazardly tied with a cloth belt, the seams twisted. Her entire head was practically in Pi Xinhong’s grasp, their skulls butting like fighting bulls. Shorter, Fu Hongxia yanked downward on Pi Xinhong’s hair, while Pi Xinhong pulled upward, making Fu Hongxia shriek in pain—yet she kept hurling insults.
Bystanders shouted for them to stop but didn’t intervene—except for Yang Xiuqin, who was trying to separate them.
“Pi Xinhong, let go! You’ll tear Fu Hongxia’s ears off!”
Only then did Lin Fang notice Pi Xinhong’s thumbs digging into Fu Hongxia’s ears, her grip unrelenting. Without thinking, Lin Fang rushed to help Yang Xiuqin pry Pi Xinhong’s hands loose—but they couldn’t budge them.
“Pinch her wrists!”
Chen Dong barked, shoving Lin Fang aside. She gripped Pi Xinhong’s wrists, thumbs on the front, fingers on the back, and squeezed hard. Pi Xinhong’s strength faltered, and Chen Dong wrenched her hands apart.
Freed, Fu Hongxia released Pi Xinhong’s hair—only to scream and flail wildly. Afraid she’d charge back in, Lin Fang and Yang Xiuqin grabbed her, but she kicked and thrashed, nearly slamming Lin Fang into the wall.
*Thud.* Chen Dong kicked Fu Hongxia to the ground, silencing her. Fu Hongxia curled up, clutching her head and writhing in pain.
Once Pi Xinhong pulled up her pants, she moved to attack again—but Chen Dong slapped her across the face. “Look at her! Her ears might be ruined. You want to support her for life? Go ahead, hit her.”
Pi Xinhong, a full head taller, glared but didn’t dare retaliate—not after what Chen Dong had done to her before.
“Everyone, scram! You planning to sleep in the latrine?”
Chen Dong’s roar sent the onlookers fleeing—Pi Xinhong included. Once outside, Pi Xinhong panicked, fearing she’d gone too far, and rode her bike straight home.
With the crowd gone, Yang Xiuqin knelt to check on Fu Hongxia. Lin Fang moved to help, but Chen Dong yanked her away. “Know your limits. You’ve got no strength—what if you got hurt? Stay out of trouble. Just focus on staying well.”
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