A Leisurely and Extravagant Life - Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Seeing Injustice on the Road

When Luo Tianwang went home, he saw Cai Binghong’s scalp shining as if polished and couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter.

“What’s so funny? A shaved head looks pretty good too.” Cai Binghong said, embarrassed and annoyed.

A bunch of kids zipped away with their mouths pressed shut; Luo Tianwang walked behind them at an unhurried pace.

“Luo Tianwang.” Cai Binghong suddenly called after him.

“What’s up?” Luo Tianwang stopped.

“Someone said you’re raising a brood of crows. Is that true?” Cai Binghong stared into Luo Tianwang’s eyes, watching for his reaction.

Luo Tianwang gave a little laugh. “If I were raising birds, I wouldn’t raise crows. Wild birds don’t survive in captivity.”

Cai Binghong scratched his shiny head and nodded. “Alright, then go on home.”

Luo Tianwang walked out of Hemawan Primary’s gate and was about to head home when out of the corner of his eye he noticed a furtive figure hiding in the bushes at the foot of the hill beside the school gate. The person kept peeking out toward the gate.

‘It’s Luo Shuigen!’ Luo Tianwang’s heart tightened as soon as he recognized him. That guy was full of bad intentions; if he was hiding here, he was up to something.

Luo Tianwang slipped into the trees a few steps away and hid in a thicket. The little sparrow thought they were playing hide-and-seek and darted into the bushes too, chirping away.

“What are you doing here? Go away!” Luo Tianwang, afraid the sparrow would attract attention, lowered his voice. The bird kept chattering—its head was too small to hold much sense; being simple-minded was just how it was. Luo Tianwang couldn’t help it, so he grabbed the sparrow and patted its head; the sparrow snuggled happily into his palm.

“If only you’d peck that rascal a couple times,” Luo Tianwang sighed.

Luo Shuigen kept hiding behind the bushes, as if waiting for someone.

Soon the students of Hemawan Primary all left. Only a few unlucky kids who were kept behind by teachers to recite or finish homework still muttered in their classrooms.

Wang Mengmeng, the youngest and prettiest female teacher at Hemawan, waited until the last kid handed in his homework, then put her textbooks and lesson plans away and locked the classroom to go home.

Wang Mengmeng lived in Hemawan and went home every day. There was a room at the school, but she dared not sleep there.

She never went home too late, mainly for fear of being targeted by the village ruffians. A few days earlier she had gone home a bit late and was nearly dragged into the woods by a dark figure. She screamed for help; luckily Zhao Pingshui was also returning late and happened to pass by. Otherwise, the consequences would have been terrible. Even now, walking past the trees, her heart pounded—she feared someone might jump out.

“Wang Mengmeng!”

Exactly what she feared appeared. A grinning young man stepped in front of her.

“Luo Shuigen? What are you doing here?”

Wang Mengmeng knew Luo Shuigen; strictly speaking, they were old classmates—they’d been in the same class in primary school. But Luo Shuigen didn’t get into middle school. Word had it he’d become a useless layabout, hanging around town with shady people, never going out to work. Any money he got was for eating, drinking, or gambling. Most of the classmates who didn’t continue school had either started families or paired off; only Luo Shuigen hadn’t studied much and hadn’t found a partner—who would give their daughter to a man like him?

“I’m waiting for you. I heard you were nearly dragged into the woods the other day. I was worried about your safety, so I came to protect you.” Luo Shuigen grinned.

Wang Mengmeng had been terrified that day—it had been too dark and the stranger grabbed her from behind, so she hadn’t seen his face or heard him speak. Now seeing Luo Shuigen, she suspected he might have been the one.

“You… you should go home. It’s broad daylight; nothing will happen.” Wang Mengmeng said.

“Did you see who it was that day? If I knew who did it, I’d castrate him myself. Mengmeng, don’t worry—from now on I’ll escort you home every day after school.” Luo Shuigen said.

“No, that’s not necessary.” Wang Mengmeng was so frightened as Luo Shuigen inched closer that she could scarcely speak.

“Mengmeng, we’re old classmates. We were deskmates for years. When we were kids we didn’t know better and I used to bully you. Now we’re grown, I have to make up for what I did back then. Am I right?” Luo Shuigen was shameless; he had already taken complete control of the situation.

Luo Tianwang watched everything through a gap. He’d heard about the incident where Wang Mengmeng was dragged into the woods. In a small place like Hemawan, news spread in a single night. Besides, the police had come that day and searched the village but hadn’t been able to find the attacker.

Wang Mengmeng had been extremely shaken and her mind went blank afterwards; she couldn’t give the officers any useful clues. The case hung unresolved.

“What a shameless ba***rd.” Luo Tianwang couldn’t help swearing under his breath. He loosened his grip and the sparrow flew out of his hand, chirping as it flew over Wang Mengmeng and Luo Shuigen’s heads.

“Oh, a sparrow.” Luo Shuigen looked up. “You remember, don’t you? When we were in primary school I used to come into these hills to raid nests. Once I stuffed a whole clutch of sparrow eggs into your schoolbag and they all got smashed, getting your textbooks dirty. Then your father went to complain at my house and my father hung me from a chinaberry tree and beat me.”

When he brought this up, Wang Mengmeng blushed. “I didn’t expect your father to beat you like that. I felt really bad at the time—if only I hadn’t told my dad, you wouldn’t have been punished.”

“I always said you were kind-hearted, Mengmeng. Really. You were different from the rest in our class. Later I heard you went to a vocational school, such a pity. If you hadn’t gone to vocational school you could’ve gone to university.” Luo Shuigen said.

Wang Mengmeng felt Luo Shuigen closing in and frowned; she slipped aside to put distance between them. “Luo Shuigen, what do you want? I don’t want you to see me home. Don’t say these things to me.”

“Mengmeng, can’t you see how I feel? I like you. I want you to be my wife.” Luo Shuigen reached and grabbed Wang Mengmeng’s hand.

“Ah! Let go of me or I’ll scream!” Wang Mengmeng pulled her hand free with all her strength.

“Don’t, don’t. Don’t be afraid. I really don’t mean any harm.” Luo Shuigen grew anxious too, looked around and seeing no one, breathed easier.

Luo Tianwang hid in the bushes, not knowing what to do. If he rushed out, his small arms and legs wouldn’t stand a chance against Luo Shuigen. He picked up a stone from the ground, aimed at Luo Shuigen’s head, and threw with all his might. After throwing it he quickly hid back in the thicket.

“Thud!” The pebble hit Luo Shuigen’s head dead-on.

“Ouch!” Luo Shuigen cried out in pain. He looked toward the direction the stone had come from but found nothing. “Who threw a stone at me?”