The Class Monitor’s Debt and a Doctor’s Misdiagnosis

“Do you want me to let him go?” Shahu Wu asked, standing on one foot, her other leg pressed across Jiu’s neck. Her left hand casually tossed a tennis ball, her eyes fixed on Ma Chao, who had scrambled up from the ground and was now fleeing.

“M-hm!” I replied, a wave of fear washing over me. ‘Would the class monitor hit me too?’ I wondered.

Shahu Wu suddenly tossed the tennis ball high into the air, then swung her racket with her right hand, striking towards a specific direction.

Ma Chao had run five or six meters, and just as he let out a sigh of relief, a whistling sound cut through the air behind him. He barely managed to turn his head before a blurry object hurtled toward his face.

Before Ma Chao could even react, the flying object struck him squarely in the eye socket, knocking him directly to the ground. The ball, having hit its target, then bounced back along its original trajectory.

With a casual extension of her arm, Shahu Wu caught it. The skill displayed by our class monitor left me utterly stunned. Even if my sworn brothers, Chao and Zhou Yu, and I teamed up, we still wouldn’t be able to defeat her.

“Before you lost your memory, you used to give me a pack of spicy strips every week. I don’t want you to forget our agreement just because of amnesia. Otherwise, I’ll beat you every time I see you. I’ll be waiting for you after school,” Shahu Wu stated nonchalantly.

As I stood there dumbfounded, she had already retracted her leg and walked a considerable distance away.

Her words implied that I used to buy her spicy strips every week before my memory loss. What could be the reason? If it were to pursue a girl, it might make sense, though it felt a bit forced.

This wasn’t elementary school anymore. The only plausible explanation was protection money. Regardless, I was just glad Chao wasn’t beaten to death; otherwise, I’d be plagued by nightmares.

“Chao, how are you?” I rushed over. Ma Chao was clutching his eye, and when he finally lowered his hand, his left eye was swollen and crimson.

“Everything looks a bit blurry. I’m afraid I might go blind,” Ma Chao stammered, a hint of a sob in his voice. He never imagined that simply confessing his feelings to the class monitor would result in such a brutal beating.

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.

“Are you alright, Ma Chao? Don’t tell me you’re turning into Xiahou Dun before you even become one of the Five Tiger Generals!” Zhou Yu quipped, his concern laced with teasing.

“Jiu, please accompany Ma Chao to the infirmary. I’ll inform the teacher shortly.” Chenxi didn’t linger, running towards the classroom, with Zhou Yu close behind her.

I helped Ma Chao as we walked towards the school infirmary.

****

Several minutes later, Ma Chao and I stopped before a small building. The door was open, so we walked straight in.

At the desk sat an old man with a head full of white hair, wearing a white lab coat and poring over a medical book. The moment we entered the room, he looked up.

“Sit down, little ones!”

Zhang Tian stood up and gently pressed the boy in front of him onto the desk.

“Doctor, I’m not sick, it’s—”

“Don’t speak. Let this old man examine you properly.” Doctor Zhang retrieved a magnifying glass from his desk and meticulously examined Jiu’s face, head, stomach, and entire body. Then, he said earnestly, “Young man, your body has serious problems.”

“Huh? I don’t have any problems! I’m perfectly fine! It’s my friend who has issues.”

“This old man will first prescribe you a dose of medicine. After taking it, I guarantee you’ll be full of vigor, a nine-times-a-night man.” Doctor Zhang opened a cabinet full of traditional Chinese medicine and began to grab ingredients.

“Doctor, is my friend deficient in kidney essence?” Ma Chao asked, understanding instantly upon hearing the doctor’s mention of a “nine-times-a-night man.”

“Doctor, have you misunderstood? I’m only a twelve-year-old child! Isn’t it a bit too early for kidney tonics?” I stood up from the stool. Aside from my slender arms and legs, I had no other issues.

“One ginseng rootlet, three red dates, three liang of Angelica sinensis, five liang of Astragalus, one jin of Horny Goat Weed,” the doctor muttered as he continued to grab the herbs.

I didn’t recognize any of the traditional Chinese medicines, only seeing the doctor retrieve root-like substances from several drawers and place them on a newspaper. Finally, he wrapped them up and pushed the package towards me.

“Young man, these are potent tonics for replenishing blood and qi, strengthening the spleen and stomach, nourishing yin, and invigorating yang. I guarantee you’ll be bursting with energy in three days. Take it once in the morning, noon, and evening. You can pay with your student card, for a total of thirty yuan.”

“Doctor, if I drink this medicine, will it make me stronger?” I asked. My concern was my frail body. If I were taller and sturdier, I could protect my sister and mom, preventing bad people from bullying them.

“Naturally. If it doesn’t work after a month, you can come back to me.” Doctor Zhang took out the card reader.

I pulled out my student card and swiped it.

“Doctor, please look at me! Am I going blind?” Ma Chao cried out, walking in front of the doctor.

“You’ve been hit, haven’t you?” Doctor Zhang squinted, quickly assessing his injury.

“Yes, yes, yes, I was hit. It really hurt when the tennis ball hit me,” Ma Chao said, rubbing the edge of his eye socket.

“Lie down on the bed,” the doctor instructed before disappearing into the inner room, where he began to concoct something.

I helped Ma Chao lie down. Chao’s eye was incredibly swollen, seemingly worse than when we first entered, almost completely shut.

Soon after, the doctor emerged, holding a bowl containing a gooey, green, mud-like substance that smelled somewhat bitter.

“Doctor, this green stuff doesn’t look very appetizing!” Ma Chao glanced at the lumpy substance in the doctor’s spoon, clearly disgusted.

“Idiot, this is a trauma salve, not a snack. Close your eyes, this old man is about to begin.”

Ma Chao obediently closed his eyes, and the doctor applied the contents of the spoon to Ma Chao’s swollen eye. Eventually, the entire eye was covered by the unsightly substance, and the doctor took a bandage, wrapping it several times around Ma Chao’s eye.

“Do not let it get wet for three days, or even a god won’t be able to save you.”

“Okay, thank you, Doctor, thank you.” Ma Chao got up, shook his head, and pulled out his student card to pay. With that, I helped Chao back to the dormitory, as he was a boarding student and didn’t need to go home.

After saying goodbye, I walked towards the school gate. My sister had told me to wait for her there after school.

As I reached the tree-lined path, three boys with dyed yellow and white hair approached from the opposite direction. Although the school prohibited dyed hair, many students still did it in secret. I naturally had no opinion; it was none of my business.

What filled me with dread was that they were converging on me from three different directions.

“W-what do you want?” These boys were much taller than me, and judging by their school badges, they were also first-year middle school students.

“Heh heh,” one of the yellow-haired boys sneered, a sly grin spreading across his face as he spoke in a thuggish manner, “Heard you’ve been getting pretty close to Chenxi.”

I didn’t understand what they meant, and a feeling of fear crept over me. I remained silent, retreating step by step. A hand pushed me from behind, and at the same time, the yellow-haired boy in front grabbed my collar, glaring at me fiercely.

“Listen up, kid. Chenxi is *my* woman. You’d better stay away from her. And tell me her phone number, or I’ll beat you to death.”

So, they were afraid I was trying to win Chenxi over. It seemed they liked Chenxi and didn’t want any other boys to have a chance. I had never seen Chenxi interact with these boys before.

From their demand for her phone number, it was clear they weren’t familiar with her, likely not even acquainted. They simply wanted to get information about Chenxi from me.

They immediately resorted to violence and threats. Though I was afraid they would hit me, I still wouldn’t tell them Chenxi’s number. If I did, Chenxi would certainly be harassed.

“I don’t know her number. I’m not close with Chenxi.”

“You’re asking for it! How dare you mess with us?” The white-haired boy grabbed my throat and opened his phone to show me a picture. It was of me and a few classmates playing a game during a break, with Chenxi sitting very close to me.

Due to the angle, it looked as if I was leaning on Chenxi’s shoulder.

“L-let go of me! I don’t know you guys. If you keep this up, I’ll tell the teacher!” The white-haired boy was incredibly strong. The other two boys grabbed my hair and held my shoulders, pinning me down.

“Oh, still threatening to tell the teacher, huh? If we don’t teach you a lesson, you won’t know the might of us, the Three Musketeers!” The yellow-haired boy released my hair, took two steps back, rolled up his sleeves, and clenched his fist, aiming a punch at my nose.

I struggled, desperate to escape, but my body was pinned, making it impossible to run. I closed my eyes in fear, already picturing my nose bleeding profusely. I never imagined that Chao and I would have such a terrible day.

After a long wait, no punch landed. Instead, a scream erupted from the yellow-haired boy.

“Ah!”

“You—who are you? I won’t let you get away with this!”

When I opened my eyes, I saw a tall, slender figure standing resolutely before me. Her black and white school uniform could not conceal her well-developed physique. The yellow-haired boy had just gotten up from the ground when she tripped him with an unassuming move, like autumn winds sweeping fallen leaves.

His head hit the cement ground with a dull thud.

“Are you two just going to stand there?” the yellow-haired boy roared at his two companions.

No sooner had he spoken than the girl’s long, graceful leg was before his eyes. A pool of blood appeared on the ground as the yellow-haired boy lay there, twitching uncontrollably.

“Watch out behind you!”

I only managed to shout a warning, but the two other boys had already pounced from behind Shahu Wu. Her movements were incredibly agile; she lightly tapped the ground with her left foot, and her entire body suddenly leaped into the air.

Her right foot kicked forward, landing a powerful blow to the white-haired boy’s head, knocking him out cold. The other assailant, meanwhile, was swinging his fist, about to strike Shahu Wu’s stomach.

Shahu Wu showed no trace of panic. As her feet landed one after another, her left hand shot out, grabbing the boy’s fist. She then smoothly pulled him backward, sending the boy sliding several meters across the ground.

All three boys were large and tall, yet in Shahu Wu’s hands, they were like mere children.

The three boys stared at Shahu Wu in terror, not daring to advance further.

Shahu Wu, like a queen of the apocalypse, walked calmly among the three. She spoke in a low, eerie voice, “His life belongs to me. If there’s a next time, I’ll make you disappear forever.”

“You—you’re Shahu Wu?” The white-haired boy recognized the woman before him. With such explosive combat power and dazzling looks, there was no one else like her in the entire school.

The other two scrambled and crawled away, running into the distance without a moment’s hesitation.

“Thank you, Class Monitor,” I said. I hadn’t expected the class monitor to appear so suddenly, like my prince charming. She was so cool. How I longed to possess her skills, to fight villains and rescue the bullied.

But my body, compared to my peers, was truly too thin and small; even girls were much sturdier than me.

“You haven’t forgotten what I said on the sports field, have you?” Shahu Wu didn’t turn around, her arms crossed over her chest, her back to Jiu, as she watched the students coming and going at the school gate. She was a woman of her word; any prey she set her sights on had no chance of escape.

“Are you here to—to get the spicy strips?” Her words reminded me of what had happened on the sports field. The crucial thing was that I had completely forgotten about it. I was terrified, wondering if I would suffer the same fate as Chao if I couldn’t produce the spicy strips.

“I’m so sorry, so sorry! I was taking care of Ma Chao, and I just came out of the dormitory. I’ll go buy them for you right away, please wait.” I swallowed nervously and bolted towards the convenience store. Before I’d run two steps, I felt my entire body lift into the air.

She had lifted me by the scruff of my neck with one hand, holding me up so I was directly facing her. Her cold, dark eyes were terrifyingly grim, devoid of any human warmth. I lowered my head in fear, not daring to speak, my left hand clenching my right.

“Deliver them to me personally tomorrow morning.”

As her cool, indifferent voice rang out, my feet finally touched the ground. I felt how incredibly strong she was, lifting me with just one hand. Her wrists looked no different from other girls’. She walked step by step towards the cafeteria, disappearing completely from my sight a minute later.

A bald man in a suit and leather shoes walked alongside Shahu Wu. “Miss, should I go knock him out and tie him up, then throw him on your bed right now? That way, once the child is born, he won’t be able to leave even if he wants to.”