Li Erqin’s trio successfully made the final group that would represent the school at the regional competition. On the day they departed for the regional competition, Peng Zige was the only one still at school. After breakfast, the three headed to the front gate of the school to catch the school bus, and Peng Zige was left to walk back to class on his own.
Lonely. Just too lonely.
Despondent. He could not feel any more despondent.
Peng Zige was depressed and mopey all day, unable to stir up any motivation whatsoever. In all his life, he had never experienced such frustration (sense of defeat). When everyone had gone to the cafeteria for lunch, he had stayed behind in class, eating his bun and working on the English revision papers Rong Si had left behind for him.
“Hey! You there!” From the back of the class came a confident, assertive female voice that was a bit ruffian sounding.
Listlessly he turned to the back of the class and saw a girl by the door, standing erect and dressed in a black biker bomber jacket. By his estimate she was probably about 1.7m tall (about 5’5”) and she was looking at him lazily.
“What’s up?”
“Where’s Rong Si?”
Peng Zige went back to sprawling on his desk and resumed lifelessly flipping through his dictionary. “He’s participating in the English competition.”
“Ah, that’s right.” The girl rummaged through her pockets and finally pulled out a tattered looking love letter. “Can you help me pass this to him? This is the love letter I wanted to give to him.”
Peng Zige used his pen and pointed to Rong Si’s desk. “That’s Rong Si’s seat; just leave it there.”
“Rong Si sits here?” She became excited, haughtily walked into the classroom and then plonked herself in Rong Si’s chair. It gave Peng Zige such a fright that he bolted upright in his seat.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
Slapping down the love letter on the desk, she replied, “Do your revision. (Just do your work = mind your own business)”
After speaking, she excitedly fiddled with the books on Rong Si’s desk. “What is this, advanced mathematics? Is this really our textbook?”
“Oi, don’t go touching Ah Si’s books….”
Peng Zige shut his mouth, demoralized. This whole day had just been a shambles, and even now, this girl who had appeared out of nowhere was able to just walk all over him.
Said girl glanced at him and closed the book. “Alright, I won’t touch. Don’t cry.”
“That’s good then.” She nodded her head, picked up another book to look at and turned to him asking, “Does Rong Si have a nasty temper?”
“You had better stop touching his books.”
“What’s his temper like?”
“Not too bad. Put his books back.”
“Oh.” She took the pen from Peng Zige’s hand and opened the textbook to the front page. As she wrote, she belatedly introduced herself, “My last name is Qiu, single name Jiu, just call me Ah Jiu.”
Now Peng Zige really felt like he wanted to cry. “You can’t just randomly write in Ah Si’s book. Even though his temper is mostly good, he can get mad too.”
Qiu Jiu paused, “Why didn’t you say so earlier? Is there a way to erase ink?
“This is why I told you to leave his things alone.”
“Hey, give me some correction fluid. Just blame it on me.”
Peng Zige’s earlier depression and dispiritedness seemed to collapse by the wayside. “What good is correction fluid going to do?!blame it on you – what a joke! Has your brain been cooked?”
Peng Zige got a beating.
Minodayz : Poor PZG puppy…assaulted once LEQ is gone!
When Li Erqin and company returned and began looking for Peng Zige to have dinner together, they found him head down lying on his desk dejectedly. No matter how much they cajoled and showed their concern, he refused to lift his head and talk.
“Peng Zige.” Li Erqin patted his back, “today is THE day they serve braised chicken thighs. If we miss out, we’ll have to wait a whole other week for it.”
Peng Zige’s shoulders moved a little, and then he barely lifted his head as if returning from the dead.
The three of them reeled in shock. Su Zi slowly spoke, “Peng Zige….your face….”
Peng Zige angrily turned his head, hiding the slight bruising on his left eye.
“How about this,” Li Erqin said, “we will bring dinner back from the cafeteria. You just wait in class for us.”
Peng Zige, having suffered a severe blow that day, could only nod his head and lay back down on his desk utterly defeated and listless. “$5 rice, and don’t forget the braised chicken thighs….”
“….ok.”
Under the dual comfort of delicious braised chicken thighs and the concern of his good friends, Peng Zige quickly recovered his spirits. By the start of the evening remedial, he was pretty much back to his usual self and had forgotten about the bruise on his left eye, rather turning his attention to the result of their competition.
“The results aren’t out yet! It won’t be out that quickly,” Su Zi replied. Still concerned over Peng Zige, she asked, “Why did you get into a fight?”
“It wasn’t a fight.” Peng Zige flapped his hands impatiently raised his hands in frustration. “I was punched by a vicious mad girl .”
“Did you retaliate yet Why didn’t you just retaliate?” Li Erqin asked matter of factly.
“How could I do that? She’s a girl!”
Li Erqin serenely asked in her monotone voice, “If someone randomly hits you for no reason, why can’t you hit them back If she randomly punches someone, why can’t you retaliate (beat her up too?)?”
Minodayz : That’s right girl!!! Lol
“It’s because I said she had no brains. Didn’t I say that she has no brains.”
Li Erqin shrugged.
Peng Zige finally remembered the incident that he had pushed to the back of his mind and addressed Rong Si, “Ah Si….”
“This afternoon, that person wanted me to hand you her love letter/confession.” Peng Zige choked at this thought and silently pushed it down to the pits of his stomach. Peng Zige silently suppressed it back down his stomach.
Beside him, Rong Si’s face had darkened as he stared at his revision book. In it was written “Qiu Jiu likes you. Be my boyfriend.” in correction fluid.
Peng Zige elaborated, “She had initially written in ink, but I said you’d get annoyed, so then she just used correction ….”
Rong Si emotionlessly tossed the revision assessment aside.
“You don’t want it?” Peng Zige picked up the discarded book. “It’s such a waste to throw this away. There’s still a lot left to write….”
Midway through his speech, he amended what he was saying, “I guess you’ve just about completed most of it already….”
Rong Si give him a chilling stare. ”Any other books?”
“Nope.” Peng Zige immediately shook his head.
Rong Si took out a brand new book from his desk drawer, and Peng Zige cautiously took out the tattered love letter. “Ummmm….this……she….”
Without even lifting his head, Rong Si replied, “Give it back to her.”
“I don’t know which class she’s in.”
“Toss it.”
Although it couldn’t really be described as angry, but from all accounts, Rong Si appeared to be rather unhappy about the incident. Peng Zige sighed and shared a look with Su Zi, unsure what else there was to say. At the same time, he was just as perplexed. Wasn’t he the one that took a beating? So shouldn’t he be the one to be (annoyed and) in a foul mood?
Minodayz : Oooooo… tension & some emo from RS! Dear PZG – puppy dog, don’t go letting any O girl trash you!!!