Before Yin Zhenru could respond, Sang Zhi noticed a few people coming out of a nearby building.
They were three girls in vocational school uniforms.
The leader had dyed red hair and heavy makeup covered her face, making it hard to discern her original appearance. Her uniform was adorned with various peculiar designs, and she held a cigarette in her hand, blowing smoke rings as she spoke to Yin Zhenru, “Why are you so late? I’ve been waiting for you for quite a while, Little Sister.”
Yin Zhenru turned her head slowly and hesitantly replied, “Th-the teacher kept us after class today…”
The girl with red hair responded, “Oh, I see. I thought you had run away or something. I was planning to come to your school tomorrow to hang out with you.”
”…”
”Did you ask your parents for money?”
”Sister, I really don’t have any money. My parents won’t give me any… but, but my friend has money…” Saying this, Yin Zhenru turned to look at Sang Zhi, pleading, “Sang Zhi, didn’t you bring money?”
Sang Zhi instantly realized what was happening. She stared at Yin Zhenru with dark eyes, her emotions unreadable.
Yin Zhenru didn’t dare to meet her gaze, quickly averting her eyes.
Upon hearing Yin Zhenru’s words, the girl with red hair finally noticed Sang Zhi standing behind her. She sauntered over with an air of superiority, “How much money did you bring?”
Sang Zhi pursed her lips and took out the twenty-yuan bill from her pocket.
The girl with red hair took it from her: “Just this?”
Sang Zhi nodded.
The girl with red hair clicked her tongue twice, “Little Sister, are you really this poor?”
The other two girls standing behind her burst into laughter, “She even has a limp.”
”Little Limp.” She quickly corrected herself, then used the hand holding the cigarette to pat Sang Zhi’s face and smiled, “You don’t have money, but your parents should, right? Can you lend your sister some to spend?”
Afraid of getting burned by the cigarette, Sang Zhi didn’t dare to move and just gave a slow “Mmm.”
The girl with red hair withdrew her hand and spoke softly, “Then come here after school tomorrow. By the way, if you dare to tell the teacher or your parents, I’ll come to your school every day to find you.” Sang Zhi paused for a couple of seconds and gave another “Mmm.”
Satisfied, the girl with red hair walked away. As she passed by Yin Zhenru, she forcefully tugged at her hair and sneered, “Bring me money tomorrow too. Don’t use the excuse of your parents not giving you any. If you must steal, make sure you steal enough for me.”
Yin Zhenru leaned back as she was pushed, trembling and on the verge of tears, “Sister, please don’t hit me… I promise I’ll give it to you tomorrow…”
After the intimidation, the three girls chatted and laughed amongst themselves for quite a while before finally leaving the alley.
Yin Zhenru and Sang Zhi were left standing there.
Sang Zhi looked at Yin Zhenru, her expression devoid of emotion. “Do you know them?”
”I met them at the web café yesterday.” Yin Zhenru started crying, “I’m sorry, Sang Zhi, I was really scared… I’ve used up all my allowance, and my parents don’t give me much. I don’t know what to do…”
She didn’t respond, turning her head to walk toward the alley entrance.
Yin Zhenru grew anxious and quickly caught up, “Don’t be mad at me. Just give them the money, they probably won’t hurt anyone… It’ll be fine after the break, everything will be okay after the break…”
”…”
”Sang Zhi…”
Suddenly, Sang Zhi turned around and asked, “Did they extort money from you?”
Yin Zhenru nodded pitifully.
”Then why did you call me here?” Sang Zhi was clearly angry, her voice hinting at frustration, “You should have told your parents or the teacher. Why did you call me here?”
”Didn’t you hear what they said just now…” Yin Zhenru faltered under Sang Zhi’s stern tone, her voice choking, “If I tell my parents, they’ll come to bother me every day. I can’t… I’m too scared…”
”…”
”And, and…” Yin Zhenru’s voice grew muffled, “Isn’t your family quite wealthy?”
A strong sense of betrayal surged within Sang Zhi.
She stared at Yin Zhenru, momentarily unable to utter a word. Without saying anything further, she walked out of the alley in silence.
Yin Zhenru wiped her tears, tremblingly following her.
After a while, Sang Zhi finally spoke, “Don’t come to me again in the future.”
Yin Zhenru began to cry again, “Sang Zhi…”
”Don’t let them scare you,” Sang Zhi said calmly, “Once you’re home, tell your parents. They can’t just ignore you. Those few people don’t seem much older than us. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
”…”
Yin Zhenru lowered her head, unsure if she had taken in Sang Zhi’s words.
After saying that, Sang Zhi remained silent for a moment before saying, “I’m leaving, goodbye.”
Yin Zhenru didn’t catch up this time.
Sang Zhi didn’t dare linger in the area any longer. She quickened her pace until she reached the vicinity of a familiar beef offal restaurant, where she finally stopped. She stood there in a daze for a while, feeling somewhat lost, and suddenly remembered about Duan Jiaxu.
Sang Zhi’s heart tightened, and she quickly pulled out her phone from her backpack.
Only then did she realize it was already past six o’clock.
Duan Jiaxu had called her multiple times.
Having kept him waiting for quite a while, Sang Zhi felt a mix of anxiety, fearing his scolding and his potential anger. Just as she was considering calling back, another call came through.
She hurriedly answered.
Seemingly surprised that she picked up this time, there was a noticeable pause on the other end before Duan Jiaxu’s voice came through, “Sang Zhi?”
Sang Zhi obediently replied, “Yes.”
Duan Jiaxu let out a sigh of relief. “Where did you go? Didn’t your brother tell you to wait for me at school?”
Sang Zhi: “I’m at the Chen Ji Wonton place, my brother told me.”
A brief silence followed.
Duan Jiaxu: “Wait for me there.”
-
A few minutes later, Duan Jiaxu appeared at the entrance of the wonton noodle shop. He seemed to have run over, a thin layer of sweat forming on his forehead, and a hint of redness on his face. His expression, rarely devoid of a hint of a smile, seemed to relax slightly upon seeing that Sang Zhi was unharmed, but then quickly tensed up again.
Sang Zhi took the initiative and called out, “Brother.”
Duan Jiaxu’s tone was calm, “Where did you run off to just now?”
Sang Zhi hesitated for a moment, then pointed towards the alley she had been to earlier.
”Over there?” Duan Jiaxu looked in that direction, his gaze pausing for a moment. He turned his attention back to her, as if finding it incredulous. A mixture of amusement and exasperation formed on his face. “The net?”
”…”
”Who let you go there?”
Sang Zhi glanced at him, unable to utter a word.
Duan Jiaxu’s chest rose and fell slightly, as if suppressing his temper, “You didn’t even answer your phone?”
”…”
”If you didn’t want me to pick you up, you should have told your brother,” Duan Jiaxu paused for a moment. He stared directly at her with his almond-shaped eyes, which suddenly narrowed, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. His voice lowered, his tone returning to its usual casualness, but with an underlying sharpness, “You know your brother is tight on money and doesn’t have that much time.”
Only then did Sang Zhi speak up, “I didn’t…”
Anxiously clutching her backpack strap, she hesitated on how to explain what had just happened. She didn’t want to trouble him too much and feared he might think she was foolish for being easily deceived and led to that place.
Seeing Sang Zhi appearing somewhat ashamed, Duan Jiaxu’s anger dissipated a bit, but he still masked his smile, his expression becoming neutral, “Do you even realize what you did wrong?”
”…”
”Hmm?”
”…”
His tone deliberately grew firmer, “Speak.”
Sang Zhi had never seen Duan Jiaxu angry before. In this moment, she inexplicably recalled the tone with which her brother, Sang Yan, was scolded by Sang Rong before he was about to punish him, a tone that sounded exactly like Duan Jiaxu’s now.
A phrase popped into her mind once more.
—”When kids don’t listen, a good beating will do.”
Sang Zhi quickly moved her hand behind her back, taking a timid step backward.
Her action was abrupt and exaggerated, giving it an odd and mysterious appearance. Duan Jiaxu was momentarily confused, not grasping the meaning behind her actions, and a crack appeared in his tensed expression.
The next moment, Sang Zhi swallowed nervously and cautiously said, “Brother, I’m sorry.”
Her voice was timid and anxious, as if she had genuinely been frightened. Duan Jiaxu’s anger began to dissipate. Just as he was about to say something, he was taken aback as she unexpectedly blurted out, “—Please don’t hit me.”
”…”
”Let’s… let’s just reason with each other,” Sang Zhi took a few more steps back, not daring to get too close to him, “I’ll listen this time, and I understand how to reason things out now…”
”…”
Peek-Aboo 
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