A Lesson in Humility

From behind stepped a young woman of about seventeen or eighteen, her hair tied in a simple ponytail. Her face bore no trace of makeup, yet it was remarkably delicate—the kind that instantly put one at ease. She wore a plain white T-shirt that hugged her curves tightly, as if they might burst free at any moment. Her blue jeans, though faded from washing and slightly wrinkled, were impeccably clean.

As soon as Ji Yu saw her—a “lotus rising from clear water, naturally sculpted without artifice”—his eyes went wide. He barely stopped himself from drooling. His current girlfriend, standing beside him, was decent enough, but the heavy scent of cosmetics from a mile away couldn’t compete with this natural beauty.

“Sister Xue, you’re back already? Weren’t you at the shooting range?”

The young woman shook a Winnie the Pooh doll in her hand and smiled. “I wasn’t supposed to get it this quickly—or at all, for that matter. But a boy helped me win it with one shot. I was planning to thank him, but he vanished in an instant.”

Upon hearing the word “boy,” Qin Yage accidentally crunched her lollipop into pieces.

“Tianyu, so this is your sister? Aren’t you going to introduce us? We’re good friends, aren’t we?” Ji Yu’s voice oozed with fake warmth, sending shivers down Ma Tianyu’s spine.

“Xiao Yu, who’s this? A friend of yours?”

“No, Sister Xue, he’s…”

Ma Tianyu caught Ji Yu’s menacing glare and swallowed his words.

Just then, a childish but clear voice came from behind the scrawny Ma Tianyu. “I can’t believe there are people this shameless. Do you even know how to spell ‘shame’?”

Startled, Ji Yu, his girlfriend, and the siblings Ma Tianyu and Ma Linxue turned around.

Standing not far away, a cute girl with a lollipop in her mouth glared angrily at Ji Yu.

“Little girl, were you talking to me?” Ji Yu asked, surprised.

“No kidding. Who else would I be talking to—the air? Looks like you’re not only too dumb to know the word ‘shame,’ but also as slow as a turtle.” Qin Yage sneered.

Enraged, Ji Yu shouted, “You brat! Say that again if you dare!”

“I can say it as many times as you like. You shameless idiot, pervert, moron.” Qin Yage’s voice grew louder, drawing the attention of other tourists in line.

Fuming, Ji Yu glared at her. “I’ve never seen such an ill-mannered brat. If you apologize, I’ll forgive you. If not, I’ll teach you a lesson your parents clearly failed to.”

He strode toward her menacingly, his dyed blond hair bristling. Did she take him for a Hello Kitty?

But as it turned out, she didn’t even compare to Hello Kitty.

Despite her fear, Qin Yage stubbornly stood her ground. She calmly pulled a new lollipop from her pocket. The word ‘apologize’ didn’t exist in her dictionary.

“Apologize now, or don’t blame me if I mess up that pretty face!” Ji Yu raised his hand, ready to slap her.

Suddenly, another childish voice, equally cold and emotionless, came from beside him. “Touch a single hair on her head, and I’ll make sure you ride the Ferris wheel horizontally.”

Hearing this, Qin Yage’s face lit up with a brilliant smile.

It was a boy. Hair as dark as night, blue eyes shimmering with an unusual light. He held two ice cream cones—one large, one small—and the big one was astonishingly huge.

“Brother,” Qin Yage cooed, hiding behind him. She tugged at his shirt with one hand while the other formed a tiny fist, taunting Ji Yu.

Ji Yu had been hesitant to hit the girl, who was as delicate as porcelain. Now her brother had arrived—perfect. He could vent his anger on the boy and reassert his dominance.

“You little—” Ji Yu’s words were cut short as both ice cream cones slammed into his eyes. The cold hit him like a shock, and he let out a scream like a stuck pig.

Before he could react, Qin An gently stepped on his toes. It looked light, but only Ji Yu could feel the excruciating pain.

When Ji Yu wiped the ice cream from his eyes, his face was smeared with cream, making him look like a circus clown. The crowd burst into laughter. Even Ma Tianyu’s sister covered her mouth to stifle a giggle. Mortified, Ji Yu thought, “I’ve kicked kindergarteners and punched retirement home residents, yet today I’m humiliated by a brat!”

“You little pest!” he bellowed, but when he looked around, the siblings had vanished, along with Ma Tianyu and his sister.

“Haven’t you embarrassed us enough?” his girlfriend sobbed, then ran off with her face in her hands.

“Hey, Tingting, wait for me!” Ji Yu chased after her. He couldn’t let this catch go. As for Ma Tianyu’s sister, he’d make her pay later—make her taste what it meant to be truly humiliated.

“Wait for us!” Ma Tianyu called out.

But Qin Yage, pulling Qin An along, ignored him and kept running.

“Yage, what’s wrong? He won’t follow us.”

Qin Yage didn’t listen. She kept running, as if afraid her brother would be snatched away, oblivious to the obstacle ahead.

“Ouch!”

Ma Linxue, caught off guard, was collided with by Qin Yage. The incredible bounce of her chest sent Qin Yage stumbling back into Qin An’s arms.

Qin An hit the ground hard, his buttocks aching, and couldn’t get up for a moment.

When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was her towering chest, followed by her slender hand.

Ma Linxue pulled him up with one hand, but Qin Yage slapped her other hand away.

“Hmph! Big chests are all vixens. None of them are good,” Qin Yage said, standing up and dusting herself off. She crossed her arms and pouted.

Ma Linxue simply smiled, her eyes crinkling. Only Ma Tianyu found it eerie—he hadn’t seen his sister smile like that in a long time, except when he did something wrong.

“Little boy, thank you. For the doll and the ice cream. Want me to treat you to some ice cream?” Ma Linxue extended her hand to Qin An.

“No need to thank me. It’s what a Young Pioneer should do,” Qin An said, his left hand reaching out, the word “sure” on his lips.

But Qin Yage roughly grabbed his collar and pulled him away, muttering, “Brother, don’t you love shooting? Let’s go do that!”

“Yage, I don’t actually—” She shot him a cold glare, and he fell silent. He had never seen Qin Yage so serious.

Dragged off, Qin An could only wave at Ma Linxue and make an apologetic gesture.

Once they disappeared into the crowd, Ma Linxue smiled at her brother. “Xiao Yu, care to explain what your relationship is with that young man?”

—

“Brother, I want that biggest doll!” Qin Yage pointed at a Hello Kitty plush nearly half her height.

“Alright.” Qin An took the air rifle, agreeing readily.

Before him was a pyramid shelf of toys, from small at the bottom to huge at the top. Few could claim the big ones, as most were glued to the base—especially the largest ones, firmly stuck.

But Qin An wasn’t deterred. Though glued tight, the vendor hadn’t gone too far. If he hit the same spot repeatedly, the doll would eventually fall.

He raised the rifle, focused, aimed, and fired. The motions were fluid, practiced.

The first five shots did nothing. On the sixth, the doll wobbled slightly. By the tenth, the vendor was sweating. The thirteenth shot—the vendor was in tears.

As the doll toppled, an ecstatic Qin Yage kissed Qin An on the cheek. “Brother, you’re amazing!”

Qin An froze, then wiped his face. The gesture made Qin Yage blush, realizing what she had done.

Ignoring her reddened ears and neck, Qin An asked, “Want another? We have seven shots left. We can grab a few small ones.”

Before Qin Yage could respond, the vendor, tearfully, handed the doll to her. “This is a small shop. After winning one doll, the remaining shots are void.”

Qin An had no chance to protest the unfair rule. Qin Yage had already run off with the doll, which was too big for her small frame. She looked like a thief stealing a watermelon. Qin An touched his cheek again—still warm and a bit sticky. Perhaps she hadn’t stolen a watermelon, and it wasn’t a doll she clutched, but something far more important.