Chapter 3

As school ended for the day, He Dongchen walked out of the school gate with his hands in his pockets. He caught a glimpse of Wang Xiaoming being dragged by two local tough guys. Thinking about this easy target, he slung his school bag aside and followed them.

Wang Xiaoming was pulled into a deserted alley by the two ruffians. Holding onto his bag strap tightly, he stared at his shoes, stuttering, “I-I really don’t have any money.”

He had been stopped twice before, once for 200 and once for 300 yuan. If he didn’t pay up, they’d beat him, targeting areas where the injuries wouldn’t show. He was scared and didn’t know what to do.

“You little punk, didn’t we tell you to bring money from home yesterday?” one of the thugs shoved him.

Wang Xiaoming remained silent, his submissive demeanor inviting further bullying.

The thug sneered and raised his fist to teach him a lesson.

But before the fist could land, it was deflected, and the thug was sent flying into a pile of trash in the corner. He landed hard, unable to speak from the pain.

The other thug was shocked, his hands gesturing wildly. Did I just fly 3 or 4 meters?

Looking at the student who had kicked his friend, wearing the school uniform and standing tall at nearly 6 feet, the thug couldn’t help but gulp nervously, taking a few steps back.

“Misunderstanding, misunderstanding,” he muttered weakly.

He Dongchen nodded slightly and waved them away. “Get lost. Don’t let me catch you near First High School again.”

The thugs nodded frantically, helping their fallen comrade up before leaving in a hurry. But just as they were about to pass by, one of them spoke up.

“Wait.”

The two thugs froze, trembling as they huddled together.

“Leave the money,” He Dongchen felt letting them off too easily.

The thugs searched themselves but could only scrape together 400 yuan.

He Dongchen tossed the money to Wang Xiaoming, clicking his tongue as he looked at the skinny boy’s arms and legs. “Too weak.”

Wang Xiaoming, still stunned, regained his senses and muttered, “I was a premature baby, born weak.” There was a hint of frustration in his voice; no matter how much he ate, he couldn’t gain weight, and it bothered him.

“Your body might be weak, but your spirit can’t be. You have to make people think you’re tough, not an easy target, understand?” He Dongchen imparted some wisdom to him.

Wang Xiaoming nodded thoughtfully.

***

 

Just then, Yuan Jin hurried over with Wang Peng.

“You guys okay? Xiao Jin said she saw you being cornered by some hoodlums,” Wang Peng, sweating profusely, assessed the two kids from head to toe.

He Dongchen glanced at Yuan Jin, her cheeks slightly flushed from running, and pointed to Wang Xiaoming, solemnly correcting, “He was the one cornered, not me.”

“Yeah, He Dongchen came to help me,” Wang Xiaoming chimed in.

“Alright, alright, as long as you’re okay. It’s getting late; hurry home. I’ll report this to the school today. These hooligans are really out of control, daring to bother students from First High.” Seeing the two unharmed, Wang Peng relaxed, relieved that it was just a false alarm. Nowadays, students were precious; any trouble and parents could cause chaos at the school.

As they left the alley, He Dongchen looked at Yuan Jin, who only reached his shoulder, feeling good. He suggested, “Where do you live? I’ll walk you back; it’s not safe in the evening.”

Yuan Jin shook her head. “No need. I’m going home with my Uncle. It’s safe.”

“Uncle?” He Dongchen was puzzled.

Walking ahead, Wang Peng turned back with a kind smile. “I’m Xiao Jin’s uncle.”

He Dongchen: … That smile seems a bit stifling.

***

 

The next day, Friday, He Dongchen received a thank-you gift from Wang Xiaoming.

“These are my Mom’s homemade dumplings; they’re delicious. And Yuan Jin, you should try them too.” Wang Xiaoming placed a box of dumplings on their desk. The blue container held a dozen or so dumplings, looking translucent and appetizing.

He Dongchen picked one up and tasted it. Indeed, it was good. He pushed the box towards Yuan Jin. “Try one; they’re tasty.”

Yuan Jin felt a little embarrassed. “I didn’t really do much yesterday.”

“How could that be?” He Dongchen looked into her eyes earnestly. “I could only help Wang Xiaoming once, but you went to the class teacher. The teacher will definitely report to the school, and they’ll strengthen patrols around the school in the future so that no one else gets bullied.”

Yuan Jin was taken aback. She hadn’t thought about it that much last night; she just remembered to find the teacher when there was a problem.

“Go ahead, eat,” He Dongchen said with a smile, his black eyes twinkling.

Yuan Jin reached out with her slightly chubby fingers, carefully picked up a dumpling, and then nibbled on it, quickly finishing one.

With one hand supporting his chin, He Dongchen watched her cheeks puff up like a hamster, her eyes slightly drooping beneath her glasses, her thick lashes trembling gently, itching the observer’s heart.

Buzz!

The phone in his pocket vibrated, and He Dongchen withdrew his gaze, taking out his phone.

***

 

A new message.

Zeng Bo: [I’m at Haishi. I’m at your school gate.]

He Dongchen squinted slightly. Zeng Bo was the friend who constantly enlightened the original owner about what it meant to have a stepmother and possibly a stepfather. It could be said that Zeng Bo played a crucial role in the original owner’s decision to run away from home and come to Haishi.

Before He Dongchen could even seek revenge, the other party had come to him.

He Dongchen smirked, sending a message asking Zeng Bo to wait at the school gate after class.

Receiving the message, Zeng Bo felt a bit disgruntled. He had traveled all the way from Jingshi, and now that he was at the school gate, He Dongchen was telling him to wait until after school! He claimed to be the best buddy, but it was obvious that he treated him like a lackey!

Feeling frustrated, Zeng Bo kicked the steps nearby hard, then turned and walked away.

After school, Zeng Bo adjusted his mood and returned to the school gate. At a glance, he spotted He Dongchen standing out in the crowd, exuding a different aura despite wearing the same school uniform.

He Dongchen seemed like a natural protagonist, always shining wherever he went, making others envy him greatly.

“Let’s go,” He Dongchen walked up to Zeng Bo. Seeing the jealousy evident on the other’s face, he couldn’t help but feel speechless. How blind could the original owner be not to notice something so obvious?

Zeng Bo put on a friendly face. “Dongchen, long time no see. Now that I’m here in Haishi, you have to treat me well.”

“Of course, follow me,” He Dongchen said, leading the way.

As they walked, Zeng Bo continued talking. “Dongchen, you’ve been in Haishi for a while now. Hasn’t Uncle been looking for you? I saw Uncle and that female secretary shopping together a few days ago, chatting and laughing…”

Seeing He Dongchen veering off the main path, finally stopping in a dirty and foul-smelling alley, Zeng Bo instinctively took two steps back. “Dongchen, why did you bring me here?”

He Dongchen threw down his backpack, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, like a big grey wolf, slowly approaching Zeng Bo. “Of course, to treat you well.”

With that, he threw a punch, silencing Zeng Bo.

“Ahhh!!! What the hell, He Dongchen?!” Zeng Bo spat out two teeth, raging like thunder.

“I’m hitting you; can’t you see that?” He Dongchen kicked Zeng Bo in the stomach, sending him flying and landing on the same pile of garbage where the thugs had lain the night before.

Well, history always seemed remarkably similar.

Zeng Bo felt excruciating pain all over, as if his bones were about to shatter. As he struggled to get up, the stench of the garbage beneath him made him dizzy. It took him a while to regain his senses. With bloodshot eyes, he glared angrily at He Dongchen, who was towering above him in the distance, and roared, “He Dongchen, have you taken the wrong medicine?!”

Zeng Bo simply couldn’t believe it. Weren’t we supposed to be best friends? Why?!

“I hadn’t taken any medicine; I just poured out the nonsense in my head,” He Dongchen chuckled dangerously, walking over to Zeng Bo and kicking him back into the garbage pile. His tone was mocking, “Don’t give me that betrayed look. You’ve been trying to sow discord between us every day, whispering in my ear. So what if I give you a beating?”

So what! What do you mean, so what!?

Zeng Bo coughed up blood, feeling pain in his lungs, with at least two ribs broken!

What was even scarier was He Dongchen’s attitude. Zeng Bo felt that He Dongchen had changed. He used to be easy to deceive, believing everything he was told. Why did he suddenly become clever since arriving in Haishi?

Zeng Bo’s expression kept changing, finally settling on a look of grievance, his eyes slightly red. His voice was hoarse as he said, “Dongchen, have you misunderstood me? I didn’t mean to sow discord; I was just worried about you.”

“Well, thanks a lot for that,” He Dongchen said, kicking him again.

With the task done, He Dongchen picked up his backpack and left, leaving Zeng Bo with a look of resentment.

Zeng Bo curled up on the ground. Finally, trembling, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number, saying with a sense of grievance, “Dad, I’ve been beaten up…”

***

 

Meanwhile, He Dongchen, walking out of the alley, stopped in his tracks, then turned and walked in another direction, where he saw a familiar figure in front of a junk collection station.

He smiled. “Classmate Yuan Jin, what are you doing here?”

Yuan Jin stiffened all over, slowly turning around, her gaze wandering. “I’m buying cardboard boxes to store books.”

He Dongchen took a few steps closer, standing in front of the girl, his smile sinister. “Why aren’t you going to find the teacher today?”

Yuan Jin took a few steps back, frightened. “I didn’t see anything!”

Seeing her face turn pale, He Dongchen dropped the act, becoming gentle and amiable. “What are you afraid of? I’m not going to hit you.”

He had been a bit brutal when he was beating up Zeng Bo just now, scaring this little girl like that.

Yuan Jin tightened the straps of her backpack, lips moving slightly, her voice barely audible. “Hitting people is not good.”

For 2 consecutive days, Yuan Jin had seen He Dongchen resorting to violence to solve problems. Getting used to violence wasn’t a good thing.

Seeing her genuine concern on her face, He Dongchen felt a slight tug in his heart and said earnestly, “Yeah, I won’t hit people.”

Hearing him say that, Yuan Jin breathed a sigh of relief. Then she hesitated and glanced toward the mouth of the alley. “He won’t get into trouble, will he?”

“He won’t, I promise.” He Dongchen didn’t want to dwell on this matter. He casually wrapped his arm around Yuan Jin’s shoulder and led her away from there. “I’ll walk you home. It’s not safe on the road.”

Just as she was about to respond, a voice came from ahead.

“Xiao Jin!” Wang Peng stood by the roadside, a deathly smile on his face. I knew that He Dongchen was up to no good! I never expected him to cause trouble for my own family!

He Dongchen: … so panicky.

He Dongchen watched their figures disappear, sighing.

***

 

After returning home and just finishing washing up, he received a call from his father.

“You little brat, you dare to hit people again!!! Unbelievable! The Zeng family just called me, cursing me out, saying their kid has two broken ribs! How could you do this!”

He Dongchen held the phone away for a bit, waiting for his father to finish yelling before casually saying, “He deserved it.”

After all, in the original text, it was this Zeng Bo who sowed discord, leading to the original owner’s rebellion and causing chaos. His father couldn’t control his son and ultimately called off the marriage, missing out on a good match.

Just giving him a beating was going easy on him.

And if he didn’t make it serious, what if Zeng Bo endured it and didn’t report? How would the rest of the play go on?

On the other end of the phone, He Dongchen’s father was shocked by his son’s self-righteous attitude. After a while, he sighed deeply and said with a heavy heart, “What are you saying? Hitting people and you’re still right?!”

“I’m absolutely right,” He Dongchen continued. “That kid sticks his nose in everything, always talking nonsense in my ear. Dad, your about to get married, and I haven’t said anything, but he’s always going on about how once there’s a stepmom, there’ll be a stepdad! He says you’ll only care about the son from the stepmom, and you’ll give all the family property to the younger son!”

He Dongchen’s father fell silent, then erupted in anger.

He had always thought his son was sensible since he was young. How did he become so troublesome this time? It turned out it was all because of Zeng Bo’s instigation! My son is young and hot-blooded; how could he resist someone’s manipulation?

“Dad, don’t compensate the Zeng family! That kid Zeng Bo is jealous of how comfortable my life is. He’s jealous and twisted, trying to goad me into coming to Haishi to study, drinking and fighting. He thinks that by doing this, he can make you give in!” He Dongchen rattled on, anyway, Zeng Bo wasn’t innocent.

“He’s talking nonsense! Don’t listen to his gibberish!” Father He exploded in rage. Zeng Bo was trying to ruin my son!

Compensation? He was considering finding someone to teach Zeng Bo a lesson!

He Dongchen thought to himself, in the original text, his father compromised quite a bit, giving up on remarrying. It just goes to show that parents can’t control their children.