*Chapter 3 Part 3*
The night before leaving school, a slow-moving warm breeze drifted through the air. Unknown insects in the depths of the woods chirped tirelessly, and the lights shimmering on the lake surface formed a landscape difficult to forget.
Hou Weidong was extremely familiar with Zhang Xiaojia’s emotional fluctuations. When they were together, if she kept her mouth shut and remained silent, it meant she was in a bad mood. The reason was naturally self-evident. Hou Weidong slipped one hand inside Xiaojia’s clothes, grasping her small breast from behind and stroking it gently. Xiaojia tilted her head back slightly, her nipples already hardening.
After a while, Hou Weidong felt himself aroused again, pressing firmly against Xiaojia’s back. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, “I’m ready again.”
Xiaojia obediently lay down on the bedsheet. Hou Weidong knelt beside her, slowly rolling up her skirt. Her thighs were revealed bit by bit, looking as smooth and warm as white jade under the moonlight. Xiaojia had always loved sports; she was quite skilled at badminton and volleyball and was even a member of the school’s volleyball team. Years of exercise had given her legs a particularly匀称 (well-proportioned) shape, which was Hou Weidong’s favorite feature.
Suddenly, Xiaojia felt a mosquito bite her thigh and slapped at it with a “smack.” The mountain mosquitoes were large, with long proboscises and strong bites, moving with agility. Hearing the sound of the slap, one buzzed away instantly.
Hou Weidong’s heart was racing when a slick, mocking voice suddenly rang out, “Looks like there’s a good show?”
Three figures jumped down from behind the bushes. They had been sitting on the hilltop, waiting for prey, but had caught nothing. Just as they were feeling disappointed, the sound of the slap alerted them that their target had appeared.
“This place is really hidden. You guys know how to pick a spot. Confess honestly, how many times have you done this here? Put on a show for us.”
This small hill had witnessed several incidents where local youths bullied couples. As the captain of the campus discipline patrol, Hou Weidong had once gone undercover in the mountains under the leadership of the Security Section Chief, preparing to catch someone in the act. However, chance encounters are better than planned invitations. On the day before graduation, the deputy captain of the campus discipline patrol, who had already stepped down from his post, finally waited for the people he was looking for. It was just that the opportunity had arrived at a highly inappropriate time.
Hearing the voice, Hou Weidong’s heart tightened. He gripped the dagger at his leg, pulled Xiaojia up, and stood protectively. Xiaojia was wearing a two-piece skirt outfit; at this moment, the advantage of such clothing was fully displayed. She could stand up conveniently, her clothes neat as before. She trembled as she stood behind Hou Weidong, her teeth chattering involuntarily.
A tall man stepped forward, pointing at Hou Weidong and saying in a low voice, “Get aside. If you dare to shout or move, I’ll stab you to death.”
Hou Weidong forced himself to calm down. He had two hundred yuan on him, which was for tomorrow’s bus fare. He pulled out one hundred yuan, trying to keep his voice steady, and said, “We are students. We don’t have much money. There’s only one hundred yuan on us. Take it all and let us go.”
The tall man waved the knife in his hand, threatening, “Give me the money. You stay down there. Don’t move. After I finish my business, you can take your girlfriend back. If you scream, I’ll stab your girlfriend to death.”
This was a clear case of robbery with sexual intent. Hou Weidong knew that this matter could not be resolved peacefully. Steeling his heart, he pretended to be afraid and said, “Please, I’ll give you the money.” As he spoke, he began to move forward.
Hou Weidong had been on the school track team in middle and high school, and later joined the sanda (Chinese kickboxing) team in university. After years of training, his body was extremely strong. Moreover, students on the track team were often mischievous and bold, with grades ranking at the bottom of their classes. Only Hou Weidong had average academic performance, making him an anomaly in the track team. However, as a member of the track team and having grown up watching Chow Yun-fat’s A Better Tomorrow, he was full of passion. He had fought many street brawls with his track team friends and was by no means a fragile, inexperienced nerd.
The three local youths did not notice Hou Weidong closing the distance while he was speaking. They had tasted success many times before. As long as they flashed their knives, most student couples would freeze like stunned chickens, allowing them to do whatever they wanted. Over the years, only one couple had dared to resist, so their胆子 (audacity) had grown larger and larger.
Hou Weidong approached the tall man and suddenly attacked, stabbing his thigh with the dagger. He felt the dagger meet resistance. The tall youth screamed in pain. Hou Weidong did not let up, swinging the dagger wildly and cursing, “Fuck your mother, come on if you’re not afraid of dying.” With a cry of “Aiyo,” another man was slashed by the dagger and screamed like a pig being slaughtered. The third man, seeing the situation turn bad, showed no loyalty and turned to run into the woods.
With Xiaojia beside him and unsure of how many attackers there might be, Hou Weidong did not dare to linger. He grabbed Xiaojia and ran down the hill as fast as he could. Human potential is infinite; in such emergencies, they jumped over ditches and bumps as smoothly as if they were doing hurdles. When they reached the bottom of the hill and stood on the path, seeing no one chasing them, Xiaojia’s legs gave way, and she sat down on the ground.
“Quick, let’s go. It will be trouble if they chase down.” Hou Weidong pulled Xiaojia up and jogged along the path until they reached the edge of the playground. Dozens of couples were on the playground, some sitting, some walking.
Once inside the playground, seeing no one chasing them, Hou Weidong finally stopped. After calming down, he felt a wave of fear. He asked anxiously, “Did I stab him to death?” He asked the same question several times. Xiaojia, her face pale with shock, replied with a crying tone, “I don’t know.”
The two stood in the middle of the playground, feeling uneasy. Hou Weidong realized he was still gripping the dagger tightly in his hand. “I have to throw the knife away,” he said. He was majoring in political science and law, so he knew he could not keep the dagger. He carefully wiped the fingerprints off the blade with his clothes and said, “Let’s go to the Lotus Pond. We’ll throw the knife into the pond so the weapon cannot be found.”
At the edge of the Lotus Pond, seeing no one around, Hou Weidong crouched down and threw the knife into the water. He slowly calmed down, encouraging himself, “If I die, my balls face the sky. Let’s not think about this anymore.” “If I die, my balls face the sky” was a catchphrase of his roommate, Jiang Dali. Every time Jiang Dali acted recklessly, he used this俗语 (colloquialism) to boost his courage. After four years of exposure, Hou Weidong had also become very fluent in saying it. Strangely enough, every time he said this coarse phrase, his courage seemed to increase significantly.
It was not yet time for the unified lights-out, so there were still people moving around on the playground. Hou Weidong said, “If the hooligan on the hill was seriously injured, he would have to pass by the Lotus Pond to get to the school hospital. We’ll guard the Lotus Pond and observe for a while. If no injured person passes by, it means the injury is not serious, and I can rest easy.” Since the nearest hospital was the college’s affiliated hospital, one had to pass by the Lotus Pond to get there. Hou Weidong prepared to watch for any movement at the pond.
They came to a snack shop next to the Lotus Pond. There were more than ten tables inside, all occupied by couples. The snack shop had a pair of speakers, which was the owner’s favorite equipment. As usual, he was playing an old song that everyone knew by heart: “There’s a girl named Xiaofang in the village, beautiful and generous, with a pair of beautiful big eyes and long, thin braids.”
The owner of the Lotus Pond shop knew Hou Weidong and greeted him enthusiastically. Seeing Hou Weidong and Xiaojia holding hands, he smiled and said, “Hou Weidong, is this your girlfriend? You’re leaving tomorrow, and you’re only bringing her out today. You’ve been hiding her well, you young man.”
Shazhou College was a relatively conservative institution, which generally did not encourage students to date. Student cadres dating were especially subject to ruthless crackdowns by the college administration. Hou Weidong was a highly valued student cadre. Over the past three years, he had racked his brains to conceal the fact of his relationship. The owner of the Lotus Pond shop was familiar with Hou Weidong and knew Xiaojia, but he had never imagined that the two were a couple.
The Lotus Pond owner brought a coffee table from the inner room for Hou Weidong and Zhang Xiaojia, fetched two small stools, and quickly ordered several dishes that Hou Weidong often ate. Then he hurried to settle the bill for another couple who were leaving.
After eating at the Lotus Pond, seeing no injured person pass by, Hou Weidong felt slightly calmer, but Xiaojia was still shaken.
The song from the snack shop changed to Lao Lang’s voice: “You used to be very careful, asking to borrow half an eraser… Who will marry the sentimental you? Who will make the wedding dress for you?”
The Lotus Pond owner took out a pack of Hongtashan cigarettes, the highest grade of cigarettes students could afford, and handed one to Hou Weidong, saying, “Have a smoke. The Yiyang Party and Government organs came to the college to select candidates. I heard you ranked second.”
“Mm.”
“You young man have a bright future. Don’t forget your old brother when you become an official in the future.”
Hou Weidong forced a smile and said, “What bright future? I’m just looking for a job.” The Lotus Pond owner sat down heavily and said, “I have a cousin in the Yiyang County Party Committee. Do you want me to pull some strings for you?” Hou Weidong’s mind was still on the mountain, and he had no mood to chat with the Lotus Pond owner. He said, “Forget it. Let’s talk about it after I report for duty.”
Several men at the neighboring table shouted, “Boss, settle the bill.” The Lotus Pond owner stood up and smiled, “If you pull strings through acquaintances, you might be assigned to the city. If you are assigned to remote mountain valleys like Huping or Qinglin, it takes three hours just to get to the city. That would truly be going up to the mountains and down to the countryside. If you want to find someone to pull strings, just let me know.” Hou Weidong perfunctorily replied, “Thanks.”
After the Lotus Pond owner left, Hou Weidong noticed some small cuts on his hand, likely from being scratched by weeds while running down the mountain. He asked, “Xiaojia, were you scratched?” Xiaojia was staring blankly at a plate of peanuts on the table. Hearing his question, she looked down. She cried out “Ah,” and tears began to fall drop by drop. Hou Weidong looked down and saw that Xiaojia’s calves were covered with countless fine scratches from the weeds. Tiny beads of blood seeped from the cuts, standing out starkly against her snow-white skin.