No. 39 Shadows Dance with Memories
School life is fleeting, especially for those of us who lived off-campus, like Xiaodie and me.
According to school regulations, all students, whether boarding or commuting, were required to attend evening self-study from 7 PM to 10:30 PM. However, Yi Yao had previously requested exemption from evening self-study due to her Taekwondo commitments. The homeroom teacher, probably assuming Yi Yao was a lost cause academically, had approved her request.
“You should try to fit in.”
I said to Huang Yingdie as we rode through the bustling streets, remembering my own past.
Back then, I had been just like her, struggling to connect with others, my focus solely on academics.
Even in university, with a less demanding schedule, I hadn’t made many close friends.
After graduating, I had been forced to adapt, to conform, to please those around me, just to survive.
There was no obstacle you couldn’t overcome in this world, as long as you were willing to throw your pride and your wallet at it. Even the highest walls could be scaled eventually.
“Why should I fit in? They’re all immature children.”
She grumbled from behind me.
“Do you plan to rely on me to accompany you to the restroom every time?”
I sighed. “I’m not your boyfriend. I can’t be with you forever.”
“I don’t want a boyfriend anymore.”
Her voice was tinged with sadness.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing… sorry. I’ll try to talk to them.”
Although I couldn’t see her face, I could imagine her expression: a mixture of annoyance and defiance.
“Don’t tell me you were like this at Nurturing Talent too? No friends at all?”
“Does Huang Qinghao count?”
That explained it.
“Only when you’re strong enough can you break free from others’ control.”
I knew that, for Huang Yingdie, the Huang Qinghao incident was far from over.
“Until then, if you consider me a friend, you can always ask for my help.”
Evil wasn’t scary. What was scary was evil with intelligence and power.
I didn’t know why I was helping this girl, someone I barely knew.
Perhaps it was simply a connection between two lost souls.
“Then…”
She hesitated as she got off my bike at her complex gate. “Are you free tonight?”
I raised an eyebrow. “More milk tea?”
“No… Huang Qinghao’s old friends want to meet me to discuss something. I’m worried…”
“Just don’t go.”
“We’ve known each other for years. I feel bad about refusing…”
She looked at me with pleading eyes, her voice trembling. “Please, just this once. I promise I won’t have anything to do with them after this.”
“Do you think acting cute will work on me?”
“Hmm…”
“You already owe me two favors.”
“Then make it three, including this one.”
“Deal.”
I returned home and, remembering that my father was still at the hospital with my mother, retrieved the two knives and playing cards Pai Ge had given me from my desk drawer.
I had been practicing the Pai family’s techniques every day for the past two weeks, honing my skills.
From the fighting stance to the way I held and wielded the knives, I trained until I was drenched in sweat, refusing to shower or sleep until I was satisfied.
Now, the knives felt like extensions of my own body, no longer unfamiliar.
As for the playing cards, I had progressed from scattering them all over the room to manipulating them with ease. I felt like I could become a professional card magician if I learned a few more tricks.
After dinner, I changed into jeans and a T-shirt, concealed the knives in the seams of my pants, checked my appearance in the mirror, and headed to Xiaodie’s apartment.
“There’s food on the coffee table. I’m going to change.”
She pointed at a cake on the table, then grabbed some clothes from her closet and changed in front of me.
Seriously? You’re that comfortable around me now?
I cut a small slice of cake, forcing myself to look away. “Where’s your dad?”
“He’s lucky if he comes home once a week.”
She shrugged, pulling on a pair of denim overalls. “There, that should do.”
“No dress today?”
I had always seen her in dresses, usually short ones that barely covered her thighs. I had assumed her wardrobe consisted solely of dresses.
“I need a change of pace sometimes.”
She spent another ten minutes primping in front of the mirror, then turned to me, satisfied. “Alright, let’s go.”
I put away my phone, which I had been using to chat with Zhai Fangning. “You look like you’re going on a date.”
“If I’m going on a date, it’s with you.”
“…”
We found the group of men who had contacted Xiaodie at a secluded plaza.
Unlike what I had imagined, they weren’t dressed like stereotypical delinquents, with dyed hair and baggy clothes. They looked more like successful businessmen, or perhaps gangsters: black gloves, black sunglasses, plaid shirts, dress pants, and leather shoes.
This wasn’t good.
I discreetly scanned the plaza and noticed that the few pedestrians present weren’t paying attention to their surroundings. They would glance at us nervously, then quickly look away and continue their “stroll.”
I whispered to Xiaodie, “You’ve known these people for years?”
“I only know the one in the black suit.”
They were all wearing black suits.
“Aren’t you afraid of all these strangers?”
“Why should I be afraid? If they try anything, I’ll just beat them up.”
She exuded an aura of confidence and authority, a stark contrast to her shy demeanor at school.
She was like the girl I had first met, the one who had attacked me without hesitation.
“Alright, what do you want?”
She glared at the man standing before her, his age similar to ours.
A wave of danger washed over me.
My instincts screamed that these men were not on the same level as Huang Qinghao’s gang. They might not be as powerful as Pai Ge, but they were definitely not pushovers.
If a conflict arose, and no one intervened, Xiaodie and I would be in trouble.
“A-Pian Jie, you have to believe… Qinghao Ge didn’t mean it…”
The man stammered under her intense gaze. “You know how men are. You’re so beautiful, it’s hard to resist.”
“So, he drugged me and stabbed my friend?”
She was clearly not falling for his excuses. Even his compliment didn’t faze her. “I’ll say it again. I have nothing to do with Huang Qinghao anymore. I don’t care what happens to him. I don’t want to see any of you again. Understand?”
“Come on… A-Pian Jie, for old times’ sake, just give him an alibi at the police station.”
He looked distressed. “We can’t hold them off much longer. Qinghao Ge is sixteen. If they investigate further, he’ll be convicted. You know what that means. A criminal record will ruin his life.”
“His life will be ruined? What about mine?”
She was getting agitated. “If Yi Yao hadn’t come, my life would have been ruined!”
I watched silently, my heart heavy.
A girl’s prime was fleeting, just a few precious years.
During their school years, girls faced far greater risks from the opposite sex than boys. That was why there was such a vast difference in their perspectives on life.
“Go ask him what he promised me! He said he would respect my choices, my feelings. And now? What do you take me for? You’re willing to do anything to get me, and you call that respect? And after everything that happened, you’re still not remorseful. You haven’t even apologized. And you want me to give you an alibi?”
“Just tell us how much you want.”
One of the men, a tall, imposing figure, interrupted, tired of the charade. He opened his backpack, revealing stacks of cash. “Let’s not beat around the bush. It’s all about money, right? We can give you whatever you want.”
This is bad.
I glanced at Xiaodie, whose expression was darkening by the second, and silently offered a prayer for those men.
Did the mayor’s daughter need money?
She had lost her mother at a young age, and her father was always busy with work. I could imagine how she had been raised.
Her father probably showered her with gifts to compensate for his absence, or made empty promises, like “Daddy will buy you the most expensive doll,” to appease her. She had probably grown up surrounded by material wealth, but starved for love and attention.
Which meant that she probably hated money more than anything.
“Yi Yao…”
As I had predicted, the mention of money extinguished the last flicker of hope in her eyes. “Let’s go.”
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