Early the next morning, Mrs. He ended their lease and loaded all their belongings into the car.
The well-behaved Xiao Heqing helped her mother, panting heavily as she carried a package larger than her own head.
Mrs. He reminded her, "Qingqing, did you get everything? We won't be able to come back for anything left behind."
Xiao Heqing counted the packages. "I haven't left anything behind."
She turned to look at Lin Zhengran, who was heading out for school. The two exchanged glances.
Everything that needed to be said had already been said over the past month. With nothing left to add, Lin Zhengran simply offered, "Have a safe trip."
Xiao Heqing's eyes held an indescribable complexity. She hesitated before calling out, "Lin... Lin Zhengran!"
He stopped in his tracks.
Xiao Heqing continued, "Before I come back, can you... can you try not to play with other girls too much?"
Lin Zhengran looked at her in confusion and slight disdain. "Do I look that bored to you?"
The adults burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Their endless chuckling made Xiao Heqing so shy that she fidgeted with her fingers, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.
Lin Zhengran's dad, Lin Yingjun, took the initiative to agree. "Don't worry, Qingqing. I'll keep an eye on Ranran. I'll watch him right up until you come back."
Xiao Heqing lowered her head even further. "Thank you, Mr. Lin..."
"You're welcome, haha."
Mrs. He also chimed in, "Qingqing, say goodbye to Ranran. We're leaving."
Xiao Heqing waved at Lin Zhengran, and he waved back.
The two got into their respective cars and headed in opposite directions.
Sitting in the car, Xiao Heqing couldn't help but keep looking back. After a moment, she sat properly, gazed out the window, and smiled knowingly.
Although they were parting, she was looking forward to seeing what Lin Zhengran would look like in a few years. She figured he would probably be very handsome by then, since he was already so good-looking now.
Despite today's separation, Xiao Heqing and Lin Zhengran didn't grow as distant as one might expect over the following year.
From her hometown, Xiao Heqing would occasionally call Lin Zhengran to report everything going on in her life and ask about his.
"Lin Zhengran, I showed my grandma the video of me winning the championship, and she said I was amazing! I told her a boy named Lin Zhengran taught me everything! Grandma even said she wants to meet you if there's a chance in the future."
"Is that so."
...
"Lin Zhengran, have you been going to and from school by yourself lately? You haven't... haven't been with any other girls, have you?"
"No. Do you really think I have nothing better to do all day?"
...
"Lin Zhengran, my grandma's health seemed to be getting better, but she got sick again a while ago. How is your health these days?"
"...I don't even know how to answer that. I'm a kid, how else would my health be? I'm growing like a weed!"
...
"Lin Zhengran, it's been over a year since I moved back to my hometown, and time feels so slow. We're only in the third grade now. There's still fourth grade, fifth grade, and sixth grade... When will we finally make it to middle school?"
A year later.
Xiao Heqing and Lin Zhengran still kept their habit of talking on the phone, but the frequency had dropped from once every few days to once a week, and eventually to once a month.
Another year passed. They were in the fourth grade.
Their call schedule became irregular. Xiao Heqing would generally only call Lin Zhengran when something very happy or very sad happened.
Yet, the thread of their fate, much like a telephone line, never broke.
Today, it was lightly raining in the South. Xiao Heqing, now a nine-year-old in the second semester of fourth grade, got dressed at home and headed to school.
Separated for a few years, the current Xiao Heqing had grown taller and even prettier than before. Even her ponytail was longer.
She took her mother's car to school.
Carrying her backpack, she arrived at the noisy classroom.
"He Qing, did you finish yesterday's homework? Let me copy it, quick!"
Xiao Heqing pulled the assignment from her bag and handed it to the girl sitting in front of her. "Don't copy it word for word. The teacher will notice."
"I know! Thanks, Your Majesty!"
"I told you not to call me that..." she muttered.
Xiao Heqing still had the same temperament as before. However, because she strictly adhered to Lin Zhengran's advice, whenever someone tried to bully her, she would return the favor tooth and nail.
She would simply deliver a suplex to her aggressor right in front of everyone, displaying her combat prowess. This move terrified not just the girls, but the boys as well. Consequently, people gave her nicknames like the "Suplex Queen" and "Your Majesty."
Xiao Heqing didn't particularly like these nicknames, but there was nothing she could do about everyone calling her that. She had even specifically complained to Lin Zhengran about it.
Perhaps Xiao Heqing truly didn't know how to make friends. Even though her transfer had gone smoothly, she still hadn't made a single close best friend.
She figured it was probably because she kept suplexing people when she first arrived at the school, which made everyone afraid of her.
When morning classes ended today, Xiao Heqing went to the cafeteria for lunch as usual.
The rain was still falling, so she held up an umbrella.
While passing the narrow path behind the teaching building, Xiao Heqing suddenly heard the sound of an argument in the distance. She glanced over curiously, originally not intending to get involved. After all, kids arguing was a common occurrence.
But then she saw a large group of girls surrounding a pretty girl, and the girl cornered in the middle looked somewhat familiar.
Looking closer, she realized it was actually a classmate of hers. Xiao Heqing remembered her name was Han Wenwen; because she was exceptionally pretty, she was unusually popular with the boys in their class.
"I already told you, him coming to find me is his own business. What does that have to do with me?" Han Wenwen was backed into a corner by the crowd, yet she showed no fear.
One of the girls surrounding her yelled, "You're talking nonsense! You did it on purpose! I've gone to and from school with him since we were little, and he even said he'd marry me when he grew up! But recently, as soon as he saw you, he stopped playing with me and only wants to find you every day!"
Another girl chimed in, "And my brother, too! Why does he go look for you every day?! He mentions your name at home every single day!"
Han Wenwen frowned in confusion. "So your friends come to find me—what does that have to do with me? Have you ever seen me pay them any attention? There are tons of boys trying to talk to me every day. Why don't you people look for problems within yourselves?!"
"What did you say?! Are you saying we're not as pretty as you?! Are you calling us ugly?! It's obvious that you took the initiative to seduce them!"
Seeing that they were about to get physical, Xiao Heqing quickly ran over. "Don't fight!"
Even with Xiao Heqing's timely intervention, Han Wenwen's face was scratched slightly, drawing blood, and her hair was pulled into a messy tangle.
However, Han Wenwen clearly had a different temper than He Qing. Even if she couldn't win, she fought back fiercely, scratching her opponents' faces in return.
Xiao Heqing spread her arms and shielded Han Wenwen, vouching for her. "Stop fighting! I'm in the same class as Han Wenwen. I can testify that she really hasn't seduced anyone. She barely even talks to boys in class."
After saying this, she turned her head and asked Han Wenwen, "R-right? If I remember correctly, you always eat alone and stuff in class, right?"
Han Wenwen looked at He Qing and wiped the blood off her face with her hand.
Seeing someone interfering, the group actually tried to attack He Qing. "Who are you?! What does this have to do with you?!"
He Qing warned them, "Don't come any closer! Stay back! Don't lay a hand on me."
As a result, the moment the other party grabbed Xiao Heqing's clothes, Xiao Heqing hit them with a suplex, slamming them right into the rainy ground.
SPLASH! Water and mud splattered everywhere.
The girl was stunned at first, then lay on the ground and burst into loud wails. "It hurts, it hurts so much! I'm going home to tell my mommy~"
Xiao Heqing panicked and tried to comfort her. "A-are you okay? Even though it hurts, I use proper technique when I throw people. You won't be injured."
The other girls looked absolutely terrified. They took a few steps back and quickly ran away.
Behind her, Han Wenwen was also dumbfounded. She had heard of He Qing's moniker in class—the Wrestling Queen—but having only been classmates for half a year, she had never seen it with her own eyes. She hadn't expected her to actually throw people...