Chapter 46: Bound to Terrify Someone

A male classmate, who was a close friend of the guy on the ground, raised his hand high and shouted, “There’s no such surname as ‘Bai’! Everyone knows ‘Bai Jin Nan’ means a gold-digger—only cares about money!”

“Hey, hey, hey! Everyone, tell me, is there really a surname ‘Bai’ or not?”

A girl, different from the others, glanced over—it was Mai Huatang. She usually didn’t speak, but unexpectedly, she joined the commotion.

I stared at the gold-digger on the floor and asked, “Your turn to answer—is there such a surname or not?”

The gold-digger had no dignity left and dared not ramble; he could only shout, “Zheng Tai, let me up first, then I’ll talk!”

I glared at him, eyes blazing, and shouted, “If you dare stretch your dirty paws over here again, just wait and see how I deal with you!” I put on a show, then retracted my foot and lowered my hand...

The gold-digger rolled off the ground, dusted himself off, and remained silent for a long while.

Mai Huatang stared at him for a long time and asked, “You haven’t answered yet; everyone’s waiting.”

The gold-digger sat in his seat, seeing the classmates all staring fiercely at him; he had no choice but to say, “How can there not be? My surname’s Bai, isn’t it? Surnames can’t be changed; my father says it’s quite rare.”

The classroom erupted with noise, everyone talking over one another, but no one seemed to know what to say.

The bell rang for class.

The students straightened up. A few boys and girls rushed in from outside the classroom, flustered as they took their seats.

The English teacher placed her books on the desk and faced the class. “Today we’re learning phonetic symbols,” she said, turning to write on the board: (i:, i, a:).

I wasn’t interested in this at all, so I kept my eyes on the gold-digger and warned, “Watch your hands—if you reach over, you’ll get hit!” I slid a line ten centimeters toward him along the center of the desk and said, “This is the boundary—don’t cross it!”

The gold-digger ignored me, waving his hand high and swaying side to side...

I didn’t understand his gesture and turned to look at the English teacher. She was writing on the blackboard; her black hair tied in a single ponytail, wearing a fitted blouse and a short black skirt, about 1.63 meters tall. The last time she introduced herself, she said her name was Ma Ailian. The surname was strange—I only knew the common “Ma,” but never heard this one before...

Teacher Ma had written a lot on the board, then turned around, saw the gold-digger, and asked him to stand and answer.

The gold-digger, eager as if finding a lifeline, hurriedly stood up and blurted, “Teacher, I don’t want to sit with Zheng Tai—she always bullies me!”

Ma Ailian smiled, covering her mouth for a moment, then said, “I’ve only heard of boys bullying girls, never girls bullying boys. Sit down for now!”

The gold-digger was very upset. After raising his hand for a long time without getting what he wanted, he glanced at the classmates and shouted, “She knows martial arts!”

Ma Ailian waved him quiet. “Your seats were just rearranged by Teacher Wang; no switching back and forth! Now, everyone look at the phonetic symbols on the board—there are long and short vowels; please read after me...”

I had learned this before but forgot it all. As everyone read aloud, I followed along—eyes fixed tightly on the gold-digger’s arm...

—

The bell rang for recess, and the students dashed out carrying their backpacks faster than rabbits. The teacher assigned homework: copy the phonetic symbols from the board three times.

Jiang Meili shouted from afar, “Darling, let’s go!”

I slung my backpack on and suddenly grabbed the gold-digger, twisting his left hand behind his back and holding the back of his neck with the other hand, like escorting a prisoner, and marched him out.

Jiang Meili trailed closely behind me. The crowd dispersing after school was thick, but I wanted everyone to see—classmates kept their distance from me. At the security guard’s booth, I marched him inside for a spin.

The guard shouted loudly, “Go play somewhere else! No one’s allowed in here without permission!”

I remembered—he had fought me before, and I instantly got angry, glaring and huffing, “What are you nagging about? Is this your home?”

He probably knew my story but only looked toward the door, ignoring me.

I really wanted to give him a good beating but couldn’t find a reason; feeling disinterested, I led the gold-digger out of the booth, shooting him a fierce glare with my sharp blue eyes...

From a distance came a lady’s voice: “Zheng Tai, what are you doing?”

Her voice shocked me; I hurriedly let go of the gold-digger and ran out in a flurry...

The lady looked at me suspiciously and asked, “What happened?”

The gold-digger, not stupid, ran over to plead, “Auntie, Zheng Tai bullies people.”

Jiang Meili stood firmly on my side and said, “Who bullied you? You always reach your claws onto other people’s desks; how can anyone finish their homework?”

Of course, the gold-digger denied everything and came up with a long list of excuses...

The lady didn’t want to get tangled up in their quarrels. “Take care of your own kids! It’s time to go home!”

The electric bike started up... rode into the apartment’s parking shed... back home; the lady cooked dinner personally...

I went to the bathroom to check on the status of the menstrual cup—my cycle had ended; according to instructions, it was still usable. Holding it, I called out, “Mom, does the menstrual cup need sterilizing?”

She was busy and only said, “Put it in the foot bath; I’ll take care of it for you!”

I found the foot bath and put it in, then took my phone and lay down on my small bed...

From afar, I heard the phone ring...

The lady’s voice came from the kitchen: “Hello, where are you?”

I couldn’t hear the voice on the phone; I didn’t know who was calling, only caught the lady saying, “Niu Zhenqing hasn’t woken yet. There’s nothing to be done at the hospital—just guarding!”

—

I didn’t hear what the other party said, only the lady’s reply: “I’m cooking now. I’ll go to the hospital later to check on him. He can’t be left alone!”

Bits and pieces of conversation filled me with unease. After the call ended, the lady said, “Zheng Tai, come and eat!”

I hurriedly tossed the phone on the bed and went to the kitchen. There was a bowl of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, a plate of green peppers stir-fried with lean pork, and a large pot of three-flavor soup. Holding them with both hands, I placed them on the wooden coffee table in the living room.

The lady grabbed the rice cooker, two small bowls, and four chopsticks, bustling about for a while before sitting down by the table...

It was the first time I ate a meal she cooked herself. The flavors were Southern-style; I swallowed it as if I had no throat...

She had something on her mind and finally couldn’t hold it in. “Zheng Tai, please don’t cause trouble anymore, okay? I saw everything clearly today—you twisted his hand... there were too many people around, and it was hard to explain!”

No matter what, I had to argue, “Mom, you also heard Jiang Meili... if not, why did I do it to him?”

She thought for a moment, then said, “I don’t want to hear excuses. We’ll go to the hospital tonight. You need to focus on your homework at home—no playing around!”

I hummed carelessly, just brushing her off...

She knew talking more was useless. Watching me grow taller than before, after dinner she grabbed her handbag and went downstairs...

This home was mine again. After washing up, I found the menstrual cup still in the foot bath. I boiled a pot of water to sterilize it, but it deformed; I had to toss it in the trash...

Night fell. I went into the small room, turned on the light, and placed my books on the desk. I recalled the teacher’s assignment. I had copied it once at school; now I needed to write it neatly in my English notebook.

I remembered: “I love you” is the net slang for “I love you.” How was it written in English? I searched the English book for a long time but didn’t find it. Then I used my phone to look it up and soon saw: “I love you!”

Late at night, lying in bed, I thought about men. It was so damn strange—each one smelled awful. Especially the gold-digger, who had a foul odor of sweat that was revolting...

My mind was in chaos, and I remembered Molly Ping again. She was truly a monster—unbearable...

Then the voice inside me, Zheng Tai’s voice, spoke: “How long is the ritual going to take?”

“I don’t know. Didn’t Madam have an appointment?”

“Don’t do it, better not do it. I’m scared! What if I get lost and never come back?”

“It’s all that damned scar-faced guy’s fault. His scar is clearly from a knife, but he insists it came from falling while climbing and scraping on rocks.”

“Who’s scar-faced? I should scare him a bit so he behaves!”