When Liu Wenjin returned, his “West Coast” shirt was gone. That finely crafted teal plaid shirt, now stained with yellow spots, had been discarded in the wilderness. Perhaps after the next rain, mushrooms would sprout from the imported, high-end garment. It was even possible that by the end of autumn, the shirt, which had been used to wipe his backside, would be completely “digested” by nature, leaving behind only its buttons.
Liu Wenjin, his face dark, made a direct beeline for Qin Zixin. Upon seeing the little devil holding his camera, he quickened his pace, eventually breaking into a run. Qin Zixin, seeing his gloomy expression, felt a pang of fear. The brat spun around and fled, but she was never fast; even against Liu Wenjin, the little fatty, she couldn’t outrun him. In a few strides, he had her by the scruff of her neck, lifting her.
“Brother Liu! I was just joking! Don’t take it to heart!”
Qin Zixin shrieked as she was caught. Her face crumpled into a mournful expression, all her earlier arrogance vanishing the moment her neck was seized. Liu Wenjin was speechless. Even if he wanted to teach her a lesson, the damn girl was too well-developed; any careless movement might easily border on molestation. Yet, her neck felt undeniably smooth and tender, like tofu, as if a mere pinch could draw water. The closer he got, the more he realized Qin Zixin’s beauty was flawless from every angle. She also carried a peculiar, faint fragrance, which became even more rich and alluring after she had sweated from climbing the mountain, like a slender velvet ribbon teasing the olfactory membranes deep within Liu Wenjin’s nasal cavity—an itchy, indescribably ambiguous sensation.
But he harbored no such thoughts; the sight of Qin Zixin, that wretched child, simply made his teeth itch with frustration.
“My camera!”
Qin Zixin offered a sycophantic smile, like a lackey, and presented the camera to Liu Wenjin. He snatched it with ill humor, releasing his grip on Qin Zixin’s neck. Freed, Qin Zixin darted away in a flash, hiding behind Qin Zhifeng. Liu Wenjin watched her, so exasperated he couldn’t help but laugh.
“You little brat, you’re asking for a beating! Just you wait! Wenwen, come, let me take a photo of you.”
Tang Manwen had been smiling serenely throughout the entire exchange. Unlike Qin Zixin, that perpetually boisterous girl, Tang Manwen always exuded an air of grace and propriety, though perhaps with a hint of distance. Liu Wenjin raised the camera, aiming it at Tang Manwen, but when he pressed the shutter, the display read “SD card storage full.” He checked the storage, only to find it packed with photos of his earlier “mishap,” some even clearly showing the embarrassing yellow liquid. Liu Wenjin’s face instantly darkened.
“Qin Zixin! Get your ass over here, you damn brat!”
“No way!”
“You!”
Seeing Qin Zixin hiding behind Qin Zhifeng with a stubborn, defiant look, Liu Wenjin was so furious his nose felt twisted. He felt he never should have left home today; this wretched child was truly asking for a beating.
“Forget it, Wenjin, why are you always picking a fight with Xinxin?”
Tang Manwen covered her mouth, chuckling. She had never seen Liu Wenjin look so chagrined during their time at No. 1 Middle School.
“How am I picking a fight with her? She’s picking a fight with me! Wenwen, stay away from her; this damn girl is truly toxic.”
Liu Wenjin sighed, dutifully deleting the photos one by one.
****
Qin Zhifeng bought the boat tickets, and the four of them boarded the sightseeing boat, heading towards the lake island. Anji Lake boasted several small islets, the largest of which spanned approximately half a hectare and was covered in a vast banyan forest. The largest banyan tree had already been a towering giant during the Taiping Rebellion, though no one could say precisely how old it was. In earlier times, when Anji Lake saw few visitors, there were two small brick houses by this lake island, serving as resting places for fishermen. Now, the area had been expanded into a small rural guesthouse.
Before the founding of the PRC, Anji Lake wasn’t nearly as large. The Seven Villages River flowed here, converging into a deep pool. Most of what was now the lake was then mountainous terrain, dotted with several sizable villages. It was only after a dam was built post-PRC establishment, transforming it into an artificial lake, that Anji Lake took on its current form.
On the sightseeing boat, Qin Zixin and Liu Wenjin were still bickering. For some reason, Tang Manwen clung to Qin Zhifeng, and the pair sat together, prompting Qin Zixin and Liu Wenjin to sit in the same row. These two frenemies ended up in the very last row, right by the sightseeing boat’s engine. That wretched thing was a single-stroke diesel engine; it would emit a loud “chug, chug, chug” upon starting, producing not only significant noise but also a lot of smoke, yet it never picked up speed.
Liu Wenjin, feeling the smoke, waved his hand and asked Qin Zhifeng for a cigarette. Qin Zhifeng smoked Huangshan Jinwan, an inexpensive brand at twenty yuan a pack, known for its pleasant aroma and mild smoke. However, Liu Wenjin had never smoked before, and he coughed incessantly after just one puff. Seeing this, Tang Manwen offered him her bottled water. Liu Wenjin gulped down more than half the bottle, then started hiccuping, only recovering after a good while.
“Oh, if you can’t smoke, then don’t!”
Qin Zixin chuckled merrily, always one to revel in others’ misfortunes. Liu Wenjin, irked, slapped her thigh hard, making the damn girl grimace in pain.
“What was that for?! Sis, look at him, he’s so petty!”
“Get lost! You’re telling *me*? Can *you* smoke?”
“Of course! Brother, give me one!”
Qin Zhifeng flicked Qin Zixin on the forehead with ill humor.
Qin Zixin, undeterred, sat in her seat, glaring at Liu Wenjin. Liu Wenjin watched the brat squinting, sensing she was brewing mischief, but he knew he couldn’t lose face. “Qin Zixin, what’s wrong? Does your stomach hurt?”
“Oh, my stomach hurts? Liu Fatty, are you judging others by your own standards? I hear those who are ‘weak in that regard’ tend to get diarrhea easily when the weather turns cold.”
Qin Zixin sniffed, feeling a faint lingering odor from the fatty, and replied with a forced smile, neither warm nor cold, a hint of disdain in her tone.
“Come on, you always attack below the belt!”
“Don’t believe me? Go ask my brother, he studies medicine.”
Qin Zixin tilted her head, seemingly confident in her made-up diagnosis.
“Forget it, I won’t ask. Asking is just falling into your trap, and I’m not doing that. By the way, do you know that my No. 1 Middle School principal is going to your school?”
“When did this happen? Who is your principal?”
Qin Zixin’s pretty little face showed a confused expression.
“What ‘our principal’? He’ll be *your* principal soon. His name is Kong Yucheng, have you heard of him?”
“No.”
“What’s the name of your South Experimental High School principal?”
“I don’t know, why? Liu Fatty, are you bored? Who cares who the principal is? Whoever’s in charge, it’s not like they can control me.”
Qin Zixin pouted.
“Alright, it’s just that your school’s principal doesn’t meddle much. Look at Wang Haisheng, the principal of Lishui Middle School; he meddles so much that his own students are thoroughly disgusted with him now.”
“What? Isn’t Lishui Middle School known for being super strict?”
“Exactly. They say Wang Haisheng adopted the Hengshui model, not only focusing on academics but even more on discipline. Holy crap, do you know what happened with their senior class last year?”
“What happened? Tell me, tell me!”
“One of their senior homeroom teachers, after school, would put on a student’s uniform, hide among the students, and catch early romances. He’d catch any boy and girl walking together.”
“That’s so absurd!”
“Isn’t it? Do you know what’s even more absurd? That unlucky fellow got beaten, quite badly too, ended up in the hospital. And because there were so many people on the road after school, and it was dark, he didn’t even know who hit him.”
“Good! Serves him right! That’s so thrilling, just hearing about it makes me want to join in!”
“You’re just the type who thrives on chaos! Oh, and during the Qingming Festival holiday earlier this year, their Lishui senior class didn’t get a break; they were forced to attend extra classes. As a result, someone tied hell money to bricks and threw them into the principal’s office, not only smashing the windows but also breaking his computer.”
“Holy crap, I think I heard about that, but I was busy with my high school entrance exam at the time.”
“Right, it caused quite a stir, Wang Haisheng even called the police. A perfectly good principal living like a joke. He’s from Heze, Shandong Province, and his name entry on Baidu Baike was modified. If you search now, you’ll see Wang Haisheng changed to ‘a special black pig breed from Heze, Shandong Province.'”
Qin Zixin burst into laughter upon hearing this.
“Who did that? So talented! That’s truly malicious.”
“Who knows? Probably some senior student from back then, definitely graduated by now. Even if Wang Haisheng wanted to find trouble, he wouldn’t have a lead. The police can’t deal with things online.”
Qin Zixin found it all amusing. Such “free-spirited” narratives held a strange appeal for a child her age.
“Hey, Fatty, you said your principal is coming to my school next month. Is he also like that Heze black pig, just meddling in everything?”
“What Heze black pig? His name is Wang Haisheng, you damn brat. Kong Yucheng is good at hyping people up, but he’s not very capable; he relies entirely on connections. He often organizes all sorts of messy motivational speeches, and it’s bad enough when he speaks himself, but he also brings in these ‘masters’ from outside.”
“That’s because your No. 1 Middle School is rich. South Experimental High doesn’t have any of that.”
Liu Wenjin waved his hand dismissively.
“You’re talking nonsense. Those things don’t cost much at all. The reported expenses are high, but the actual payment is small. It’s like those internet celebrities; look how high their remuneration is, but what they actually get isn’t much compared to what’s advertised. Besides, your South Experimental High is also rich; do you think the government doesn’t subsidize you? Your money is all spent on various knowledge competitions. Last year, for the South Experimental High physics competition, seventeen people, including teachers, went to Hangzhou. It cost a fortune for half a month.”
Qin Zixin sniffed, sensing a hidden meaning in the fatty’s words, as if he were mocking her, especially since she had scored last in her entrance exam. But then she reconsidered: she wasn’t even from the same school as him, so this fatty surely wouldn’t know how she scored.
“Hmph, that has nothing to do with me.”
The boat arrived at the lake island pier, and the four disembarked one by one. About a hundred meters from the makeshift pier stood the newly built rural guesthouse. This guesthouse itself was a hybrid establishment; the owner had enclosed an area by the water with fishing nets, where they would keep fish caught daily.