I squatted among the lush weeds by the river, parting the roots.
A grasshopper leaped high in front of me, and a frog was perched on a pebble shallowly submerged in the water ahead.
I had run all the way here from He Mountain Middle School to hide, the blood seeping from my forehead rolling down my eyelashes.
To stay in the relatively safe classroom, I was usually the last one to leave.
I didn’t expect a rope to be tied across the bottom of the doorway this time.
I had been tripped and fell hard, my forehead slamming against the ground.
“Got him!”
“That tripwire was awesome.”
The successful boys ran over from the nearby classroom, laughing.
I had struggled to pull myself together and sprinted away, barely managing to hide here.
There was only one elementary school and one middle school in He Mountain Village.
The idiots from my grade in elementary school naturally stayed with me after moving up, just in different classes.
It was the same from middle school to high school.
Because of that, the number of people bullying me had even increased.
Since elementary school, I had gathered my courage several times to ask the teachers for help.
However, the most they would do was give a few warnings in class; once we were out of school, they couldn’t do anything.
In a village like this, there were corners everywhere that few people visited.
No one knew what I had experienced in those places.
Every day after school on my way home, they would find me…
I thought I would become numb to it, but no matter how many times it happened, I could never get used to it.
“Hey! He couldn’t have hidden in here, could he?”
“Want to go in and look?”
Voices came from outside the tall grass.
I quickly covered my mouth and nose, not daring to make a sound.
‘Why is it like this? I’m just trying to study hard, and I haven’t called them “idiots” for a long time.’
‘Why won’t they leave me alone?’
‘I just want to get into a university in the city, earn money, and let my mom stay away from that thug-like man…’
‘Ideally, I could buy a house in the city, bring my mom there, and then find an ideal girl…’
The grass in front of me was pushed aside, revealing a grinning face.
“You’re here! Li Gougou—hurry! I found him!”
“Come play with us! Didn’t you like to tattle!? Let me tell you, no matter how well you study, you can’t run away!”
The boys crowded around one by one.
I lowered my head and heard the *zip* of a fly being undone.
I had no choice but to turn around, preparing to jump into the river behind me.
I didn’t know how to swim; perhaps I would die.
At that moment, the boys seemed to hesitate.
“Look at those boys, how disgusting!”
“So embarrassing, exposing themselves in broad daylight.”
The voices of girls approached.
I knew that “Red Flower” was coming again, bringing her group of sisters.
“Tsk, let’s go!”
The nearest boy clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“That Su Xixia… she thinks she’s so great just because her family owns a restaurant.”
“Shh — I heard her family’s restaurant gives discounts to teachers and officials. Can you afford to mess with her?”
The boys exchanged a few words, preparing to leave.
I thought I would be surrounded by the girls and “dealt with” properly, but the boys froze after only a few steps.
“Mr. Xu? No, we’re just playing by the river.”
“Yeah, we’re leaving right now!”
Their tone became extremely panicked.
I parted the grass to peek out and found that besides the girls following Su Xixia, our homeroom teacher, Mr. Xu, was also there.
‘She usually bullies me too, so why is she acting like a hero now?’
“You’re not allowed to leave! Mr. Xu is here today, and he’s going to record your names so you can each write a self-reflection!”
Su Xixia stood with her hands on her hips, her hauntingly pale face looking somewhat stern.
I wouldn’t change my opinion of her just because of this.
She was also someone who bullied me.
Even though she and the girls wouldn’t physically hurt me and weren’t as excessive as the boys, she had still carved scars into my heart.
“Mr. Xu, we’re sorry…”
“We’ll go home and write the reflections right now.”
The boys bowed their heads to Mr. Xu as he pointed at them and scolded them.
I thought no one would notice my presence, but Su Xixia still pushed through the grass and walked in.
“I knew you were here! The teacher is here, so what are you hiding for!? How did you become such a coward, you chicken!”
‘Does she not know that if I stand up now, I’ll only be bullied even worse by those boys later?’
‘It’s still relatively light now, but if it gets any worse…’
“None of your business, you idiot. Go away.”
“Hey, if it weren’t for me, you’d be all stinky again! Or do you like it that way? I hate stinky people the most!”
Su Xixia bent over and sniffed me, then deliberately waved her hand in disgust.
I didn’t want her to like me anyway.
Just then, Mr. Xu noticed us and, of course, saw the blood seeping from my forehead.
“Li Mingshan?”
He put on a stern face toward the boys and questioned them, “Explain yourselves! What happened!? I told you not to go too far! If you want to be thugs, go ahead, but don’t interfere with a good student’s studies!! You’re going to copy today’s text three times. I’ll check every single one tomorrow!”
‘No… don’t. Wouldn’t it be better if you just pretended not to see me…’
I could even feel the boys’ glares, which were cold to the extreme.
‘Su Xixia is truly a demon… a low-intelligence demon.’
“Just leave me alone!”
I clenched my fists.
“You’re just like them.”
“Huh?”
Su Xixia was stunned.
‘Why do I have to suffer in silence?’
‘Whether I curse back like I did in elementary school or hide like I do now, it doesn’t stop them. Since that’s the case, what is there to fear…’
“No matter what you do, I’m going to get into university! And you’ll just stay in our hometown, wandering the streets for the rest of your lives! I, Li Mingshan, am not afraid of you!”
I shouted, tensing every muscle in my body.
‘Whatever. Let them all come at me.’
‘I have a dream — a distant, seemingly unrealistic dream. On the way to that dream, no matter how many setbacks there are, I can overcome them.’
‘So, whether it’s the boys or Su Xixia’s group, I shouldn’t be afraid.’
‘I will definitely get into university and leave this place!’
‘This isn’t something to be ashamed of; it’s something I should be proud of. So there’s no need to endure, no need to bow. This is who I truly am. I can’t be cowardly anymore!’
The boys’ gazes became even more ferocious.
Some of the girls also glared at me, and a few of them even ignored the teacher and started walking toward me.
The hands at my sides couldn’t stop trembling, but I still stood tall to face them.
‘Just a few idiots. They can’t stop me from achieving my dream.’
“That’s exactly what I like about you…”
Su Xixia’s whisper came from beside me, and I suddenly felt a soft sensation on my hand.
‘What does she want?’
“Hey…”
Just as I was about to pull away, she raised my hand high and stepped forward to face everyone.
Only then did I realize that she was already a head shorter than me; she was so petite.
“Listen up, everyone! From now on, only I, ‘Red Flower’ Su Xixia, can bully Li Mingshan! If anyone dares to compete with me, I’ll definitely tell my family and make sure they can’t go to school anymore!”
‘What kind of stupid thing is she doing!?’
‘She’s always been one of the “idiots,” so why is she doing such a poor imitation of me? This kind of declaration has no soul and no meaning.’
‘Because a person cannot exist solely for the purpose of clinging to others.’
‘And does she really think she can go against everyone?’
I jerked my arm hard and finally managed to break free from her small hand.
I then noticed that the students who had been approaching earlier actually hadn’t taken another step forward.
Mr. Xu, who had been planning to step in and stop them, was now shaking his head with a look of helplessness.
“Su Xixia, don’t take your self-indulgence too far,” he said.
“However, only you would do something like this. I’ll leave Li Mingshan to you.”
‘What does that mean!?’
Now it was my turn to be stunned.
When the students heard what Mr. Xu said, they looked at Su Xixia and me, then dispersed shortly after.
After coming forward to confirm that I was okay, Mr. Xu also turned to leave, leaving only Su Xixia and me behind.
“Are you crazy?”
I asked her.
But she only twisted her lips into a hair-raising smirk.
“Hahaha! Li Mingshan, from now on, I’m the only one who can bully you — “
***
“Waaah — !”
I woke up from my dream with a start, gasping for air as light pierced through my eyelids.
‘What was that? Too terrifying… She’s truly haunting me.’
Opening my eyes, I saw several passersby pulling away in fright, glancing at me as they fled into the subway.
It seemed I had slept straight through until morning.
By now, Su Xixia should be locked inside my old apartment; she won’t be able to pester me anymore…
‘Wait, it’s already daytime! What time is it!?’
I looked at the time on my phone: 8:00 AM.
Then I jumped up and rushed into the subway.
‘Wait for me, An Zhi. I’m coming to find you!’