The squid skin was grilled until it turned golden and glossy with oil. Shen Mingsong brushed on only a thin layer of sauce, sprinkled some scallions at the end, wrapped it in greaseproof paper, and handed it to Song Erya.
He was deliberately pretending not to recognize her.
Her cousin added, "I want mine mildly spicy—just a little."
Shen Mingsong then slathered the squid with a thick layer of chili paste, bright red and extremely tempting to look at. The cousin took one bite and was nearly set on fire by the heat. He squatted on the ground coughing violently, and Song Erya hurried to grab a drink from nearby for him.
After gulping down more than half the bottle, he finally recovered, wondering inwardly how "mildly spicy" could be this hot.
Song Erya pulled a neatly folded handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to him to wipe the sauce from his mouth. Just as he was about to take it, he suddenly felt a blazing gaze overhead, like knives raining down on him.
Even someone as slow as he was could sense something was wrong. He quickly stood up, caught sight of the displeased expression on the grilled-squid vendor's face, and hurriedly pulled his little cousin behind him to shield her.
"We paid for it," he said weakly.
Feeling this was no place to linger, he quickly dragged his little cousin away. Halfway down the road, he suddenly slapped his forehead. "We didn't pay for that drink just now."
No wonder the vendor had glared at him like that.
He wanted to go back and pay, but Song Erya stopped him. "It's fine. The drink came free with the squid."
He believed her without question and even praised the vendor for being generous.
The next day, her cousin returned home with her aunt. Before leaving, he specifically went to Song Erya's place and told her he would come see her again next New Year.
After waving him off, Song Erya spun around and darted next door, catching Shen Mingsong still standing behind the iron gate. She demanded, "Brother, were you eavesdropping?"
Shen Mingsong replied calmly, "No."
Song Erya eyed him suspiciously. "My cousin's leaving tomorrow. Aren't you going to apologize for deliberately making his squid so spicy?"
Shen Mingsong said, "Isn't he leaving today?"
"And you still say you weren't eavesdropping."
Shen Mingsong: "..."
He seemed to get embarrassed and angry, and went off to slaughter another rooster to make white-cut chicken.
They ate white-cut chicken from New Year's through the fifteenth day—every meal featured it.
Before school started again, Song Erya measured her height. With her nutrition improved over the past six months, she had shot up several centimeters and was now nearly as tall as Song Fang's chin.
Song Fang knew she cared about her height and told her to eat more, saying she would keep growing.
None of the Song women were short. Song Fang was tall and slender, easily one of the prettiest young women along Chaoxi Road. If she didn't have two dependents, matchmakers would have come knocking long ago.
But she didn't care much about marriage. There were a few young men who came around hoping to help out with work at her place, but she turned them away coldly, unwilling to get entangled.
Song Erya vaguely knew that her mother's first husband was from Coconut City and that the marriage likely happened around these years.
In the new semester, a transfer student named Li Xiaoli joined their class. The teacher rearranged the seating, and Song Erya became her desk mate.
Li Xiaoli was quiet and withdrawn, rarely speaking to anyone. Perhaps the teacher thought Song Erya talked too much and arranged it deliberately.
After more than a month, Song Erya realized Li Xiaoli wasn't aloof—she was hard of hearing. You had to speak right into her ear for her to hear.
Once Song Erya noticed, others naturally did too. Gradually, some students began rolling their books into tubes and shouting into Li Xiaoli's ear to show off, drawing laughter and attention from the whole class.
Watching Li Xiaoli stand there, humiliated and at a loss amid the laughter, Song Erya witnessed school bullying firsthand for the first time.
Some people at this age were immature, finding it entertaining to torment others. At first it was just verbal ridicule. Then one day after PE class, Song Erya returned to the classroom to find Li Xiaoli hunched over her desk, crying softly.
When she got closer, she saw several small holes burned into the back of Li Xiaoli's clothes with cigarettes, revealing the color of her undergarments beneath.
Standing by could also be a form of bullying. Feeling guilty, Song Erya walked toward the boys in the back row, the small bag in her hand still holding the trash they had thrown at her. "You've gone too far."
They still held cigarettes that hadn't burned out completely. No one admitted who had done it. Yang Fan looked at her coldly. "I didn't mess with you this time, did I?"
He still held a grudge over how Shen Mingsong had humiliated him at the skating rink and wanted to take revenge on her but didn't dare. Now that a timid transfer girl had arrived, he used her as a punching bag instead.
Song Erya tossed the trash back at him. "Here, take it back. Throw it at me again and I'll stuff it into your mouths."
Standing up for herself felt good in the moment, but the consequence was Yang Fan grabbing her by the collar and flinging her aside.
She couldn't beat them, of course, but they had their misgivings and didn't dare actually hit her—only told her to mind her own business.
Knowing she couldn't help her desk mate on her own, she reported the matter to the homeroom teacher. The teacher, however, merely said boys were like that, that they didn't mean any harm and were just joking with girls—it wasn't a big deal.
Smiling, she added, "And also, Song Yao, tattling isn't a good habit."
Song Erya returned to her seat with a cold expression.
She borrowed a sewing kit from another girl and helped Li Xiaoli stitch up the holes. Ugly as it was, at least it stopped her underwear from showing so she wouldn't have to go home in such embarrassment.
Li Xiaoli whispered her thanks, tears continuing to fall.
Song Erya looked at her worriedly, considering whether writing to the principal might work. She'd heard the complaint mailbox had been locked for years and never opened, and she wasn't sure whether calling the police would help either.
She advised Li Xiaoli to tell her parents.
One morning, while several girls were on cleaning duty together, Lin Feifei pinched her nose and sneered, "Li Xiaoli, you stink."
Li Xiaoli didn't hear clearly, but seeing the gesture, her face flushed red. She lifted her arm and sniffed herself.
Lin Feifei continued, "Your family sells pork, right? You reek of raw meat."
Ever since Lin Feifei started hanging around Yang Fan and his group, she had grown increasingly unpleasant. Song Erya passed by with a broom and confronted her. "Is this really that interesting to you?"
As soon as she spoke, other girls chimed in. "Yeah, Lin Feifei, why are you saying that? She doesn't smell at all."
Lin Feifei smiled. "I'm not mocking her. I really do smell it. Don't you?"
At that, several girls turned toward Li Xiaoli and sniffed.
Song Erya hesitated, then snapped back, finding Lin Feifei's behavior unbearable. "Then Yang Fan reeks of cigarette smoke and has yellow teeth—do you still kiss him?"
All the girls immediately turned to look at Lin Feifei's reaction.
Everyone already knew those two were secretly dating; it just hadn't been said out loud. Lin Feifei hadn't expected Song Erya to expose it so bluntly. Her face flushed bright red.
"What's it got to do with you! Song Yao, mind your own business!" She threw down her broom and stormed off, humiliated and furious.
As soon as she left, the girls crowded around. "They really kissed? That's so bold!"
Song Erya said, "I was bluffing. Don't spread it."
The girls nodded like pecking chicks.
Li Xiaoli whispered, "Thank you, Song Yao."
Song Erya nodded. "Don't be afraid of her. The more afraid you are, the more she'll bully you."
But Li Xiaoli was timid by nature.
During a self-study period, Yang Fan chased away the student behind Song Erya and took his seat.
Frightened, Li Xiaoli grabbed Song Erya's sleeve and looked at her pleadingly, thinking Yang Fan had come to bully her again.
Song Erya turned to look at Yang Fan. He twirled a pair of scissors and smiled at her. "What are you looking at? I'm not doing anything."
She then glanced at Lin Feifei, who stood there with her arms crossed, sneering.
Lin Feifei must have said something to him, which was why Yang Fan had come looking for trouble. She seemed to relish the sense of achievement that came from being "protected" by a bad boy, her smile smug.
Song Erya tried to figure out what the two of them were up to. A long time passed, yet Yang Fan remained quiet. She had already finished half a test paper without him making a move. When she turned around, she saw Yang Fan holding the scissors in one hand and a fistful of hair in the other, grinning at her.
She froze, touched what was left of her short ponytail, then—faster than lightning—slapped Yang Fan across the face four times in rapid succession.
For a moment, Yang Fan didn't even have time to react.
***
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