A Shocking Encounter and an Unexpected Acquaintance

‘Was it an illusion?

Perhaps there was such a possibility.

Upon closer reflection, how could there be so many perverts in the world, right? Society was a beautiful place, after all!

(A pinch—)

‘Beautiful, my foot…’

….

‘Just now…’

‘Could it have been? Was it possible? Maybe? Perhaps?’

‘Someone had just pinched my backside?’

….

‘No, no, no, that couldn’t be right. It was merely an accidental brush due to the overcrowded vehicle. I shouldn’t be so neurotic; things weren’t as bad as I imagined.’

‘Besides, the probability of encountering a pervert on my very first day as a girl was incredibly low, wasn’t it!’

‘That probability was likely lower than winning hundreds of millions from a lottery ticket bought for a few bucks, or even lower than the Earth being struck by a giant meteor tomorrow.’

‘The very thought of it was impossible!’

(Thirty seconds later—)

‘Thirty seconds…’

‘For a judgment… it was more than enough!’

‘As expected…’

‘The Earth *would* be struck by a giant meteor tomorrow after all!!!’

‘At that moment, I was undeniably sporting the ugliest expression I had ever worn…’

‘That scoundrel of a pervert had been relentlessly kneading and pinching my backside for the past thirty seconds! What the hell was going on?!’

‘Was my butt a cotton pillow? Was it a plush toy? Was it something you could just casually pinch?!’

‘I hadn’t even pinched it myself yet!’

“I’m telling you! You’re damn well dead…”

Seizing the opportune moment, I gripped that scoundrel’s hand with my left, yanking it forcefully forward.

‘Did they think I was easy to bully?’

‘They were gravely mistaken!’

I swiftly turned my head, fixing a sharp, trash-despising gaze upon that scoundrel’s face!

‘I’ll grant you a “Face-Shattering Punch of Friendship”!!!’

‘No, wait!’

‘It’s a “Face-Shattering Punch *Without* Friendship”!!!’

“BANG!!!”

‘What a resounding thud! The power behind it seemed immense; surely that pervert had been turned into a pig’s head by this single punch?’

Pondering this, I cast a quick glance upwards.

‘Huh?’

‘Huh!’

‘H-huh-huh-huh-huh!!!!!’

Staring at the face still stuck to my fist, I froze solid…

‘It was a *female* pig’s head!!!’

‘The one who had extended that lecherous hand towards me was a *woman*!!!’

‘I was utterly flabbergasted!’

‘Ah! No, that wasn’t the point!’

‘She wouldn’t die from this, would she?!’

The female pervert, her head twisted to one side, now had unfocused eyes… Blood streamed from her nose, painting a scene reminiscent of a crime, and her eyebrows seemed to twitch uncontrollably as her body trembled incessantly.

She was, without a doubt, a picture of someone half-dead.

‘What was I going to do?’

‘This situation was entirely unexpected!’

‘It wasn’t that I felt any guilt for beating her half to death; I certainly wouldn’t feel remorse for *this* pervert (or rather, ‘pervo-madam’ (TL Note: A playful, gender-specific term for a female pervert, derived from ‘selang’ (pervert) and ‘niang’ (madam/woman).)) given how enthusiastically she’d pinched my backside!’

‘However…’

‘Had the pervert been male, my position as a “sexually harassed female” victim in this crowded public place would have made the situation much simpler to resolve.’

‘Yet… the pervert was, infuriatingly, a woman… and she had likely lost consciousness after taking my “Face-Shattering Punch of Friendship”—correction!—my “Face-Shattering Punch *Without* Friendship”…’

‘What the hell! Had even women become so lecherous in this day and age? I had always assumed perverts were exclusively male!’

‘Come to think of it, was my strength really this immense? As a girl, my power shouldn’t be so terrifying, right? It felt as though that punch could easily cause internal injuries…’

‘What was I to do? If I were taken to the police station now, I was a suspicious individual who couldn’t even prove my own identity!’

‘This was… truly disastrous…’

“Ugh—mm—oooh—”

The pervert—correction!—the female pervert tremblingly pulled a handkerchief from her pocket, pressed it to her face, and looked over at me.

‘My god… she hadn’t even passed out!’

Still trembling all over, she spoke first:

“Little sister… *cough*… *cough cough*… You’ve got it wrong, *cough cough*… I’m not a pervert, *cough*… *cough*… I’ll just consider this an accident, and let it go. And also… *cough cough*… little sister, your strength is truly immense; you almost made me restart my life… *cough cough cough*…”

I clenched my teeth slightly, feeling a small bulge likely forming at my temples. This—this was pure endurance!

‘Did she take me for a fool?! I had tolerated her for a very, very long time! If she hadn’t given me an out, a way to avoid the police station, seeing her feigned innocence, I would have truly wanted to give her another punch!’

Of course,

“I’m sorry, Big Sister, I was wrong!”

‘Right now, feigning helplessness was the priority!’

‘If I didn’t seize this opportunity, I would be a complete idiot!’

****

[After getting off the bus]

Walking along the familiar streets, I headed towards a familiar destination. Everything along the way was utterly familiar, yet something unfamiliar had inexplicably blended in…

Initially, I hadn’t noticed it, but upon glancing into a corner mirror while turning, I spotted her. I tried taking a detour, but she followed! Whether I crossed an overpass, went through an underpass, or even took a rarely-used alley, she was always right behind me!

“No way, are you kidding me?” I clicked my tongue, a sense of unease creeping in.

Ever since I noticed her, I’d felt constantly watched, a truly awful sensation.

Swallowing hard, I made up my mind.

‘Continuing like this was no solution.’

Turning back, I addressed the unfamiliar figure with an annoyed tone:

“Hey… didn’t you just say… you forgave me? So… why are you following me?”

Indeed, the one tailing me was none other than the female pervert who had so thoroughly enjoyed pinching my backside earlier…

“No, no, it’s just a coincidence that we’re going the same way; don’t overthink it, little sister.” She waved her hands from side to side, signaling her harmlessness.

“Really? If you’re lying to me, I’ll give you an even bigger one!” I glared at her, beginning to bluster.

“Truly, I’m not lying to you. Besides, even if I wanted to do anything to you, with that strength of yours, I could accidentally end up restarting my life… How could I possibly dare?” she said, her expression one of resigned defeat.

“That… that’s actually true,” I conceded, even I was startled by my own power.

‘Hmm?’

‘Now that she mentioned it, where had the bruises on her face gone?!’

“You’re heading to the orphanage up ahead, aren’t you? Let’s walk together.”

Interrupting my thoughts about her injuries, she spoke.

‘Strange. I had taken a detour, so how did she still know where I was going?’

‘I gazed at her, offering only silence in response to her suggestion.’

“Don’t be so cold; I’m really not a bad person. The director of the orphanage you’re going to is actually a friend of mine. I have something to discuss with her today.”

‘What?!’

‘This person knew Grandma?’

I remained silent for a moment.

“How old is the director this year? Answer immediately.” I questioned, scrutinizing her with suspicious eyes.

This question seemed innocuous enough, but it was actually a tricky one that only someone intimately familiar with Grandma could answer correctly.

‘…’

The other party fell silent, her expression slightly helpless. ‘Was she really here for revenge?’

“Counting it up, that old gal is exactly sixty this year, but anyone meeting her for the first time would surely mistake her for being in her twenties, wouldn’t they? She only reveals her true age to close acquaintances; to outsiders, she uses a fake one, right?”

Her helpless expression morphed into one of ease, as if she were about to whistle a tune to mock me.

As for me, I was too stunned to speak.

She had actually gotten it right! This pervert was an acquaintance of Grandma!

“Alright… I’ll tentatively believe you’re not a bad person, just this once.”

I turned my head away, my expression growing somewhat awkward.

‘Grandma… your social circle includes female perverts too… and she seems like an old acquaintance, no less…’

And so, we walked together.

Along the way, I walked alongside this person, though I kept a cautious distance, wary of her taking liberties with me again. She, seemingly aware of my apprehension, didn’t try to close the gap.

“You’re one of the children from the orphanage up ahead, aren’t you?”

Without turning her head, she posed the question.

“Hm? Oh, yes, I am,” I replied, wondering if that was alright to say.

“Then, before you entered the orphanage, did you have your own name?”

“BOOM!!!” A sound resonated in my head.

‘This question!!!’

‘This question! Only someone incredibly close to Grandma would ever tease me with *this* question!’

‘Grandma! What exactly is your relationship with her?!’

“Judging by your reaction, you probably didn’t, which means your surname must be ‘Bai,’ right?”

“Mm…” I mumbled, turning my head away, desperately wishing to avoid this awkward topic.

“So, what’s your full name?”

“Bai, Bai Ping, the ‘Ping’ from ping-pong. It’s a rather inexplicable name, the meaning of which I don’t quite understand. Of course, I’m very ‘satisfied’ with it.”

‘Yes, I was very satisfied, truly “satisfied” indeed…’

“Oh?”

Though I couldn’t see her face, I sensed she was smirking mischievously.

“That’s a bit unexpected. While the name isn’t distinctly masculine or feminine, given *that woman’s* taste, your luck is actually quite good. I thought your name would be even more ‘indescribable, beyond words.'”

On this point, there was absolutely nothing I could say; truly, it was beyond the need for refutation.

‘My luck with names wasn’t bad, it was true…’

‘Truly…’

‘This was really true…’

‘Grandma’s naming standards were simply invincible, in *that* particular sense, of course…’

‘Could you believe that among my younger sisters at the orphanage, there was one named “Bai Kai Shui” (TL Note: Literally ‘White Boiled Water’, a common Chinese name that evokes plainness and simplicity.)?’