Chapter 124 Spring Flowers: It turns out humans are strange creatures...
"Gun-jung, be good."
"good."
The window of the dean's office was slightly ajar, and a large patch of pale yellow forsythia bloomed under the windowsill. A gentle spring breeze blew through the few buds peeking out from under the windowsill, bringing with it the vibrant scent of spring.
Dean Liang rose from his seat, gently placing his hand on the desk. He walked over to seven-year-old Liang Jun, knelt down, and said, "We cannot resort to violence to combat violence. That's wrong, you know?"
"But they were the ones who hit me first!"
Xiao Liang sniffed, but she couldn't suck back the sticky snot and blood from her nose. "Dean, they hit me so hard! I want to hit them back! I can't let them beat me for nothing!"
The little body trembled as she cried in front of him, and the way she tried so hard to steady her trembling voice made Dean Liang feel particularly heartbroken, but he could say nothing.
He knew which children were bullying Xiao Liang, but what punishment could he possibly impose?
Those children had long been favored by several wealthy families, and in the future they would either become extremely rich or drift overseas. How much punishment could he possibly give to those children?
A verbal warning was the only method he could think of.
It seems he can't bring himself to use any other means of punishment.
Dean Liang sighed softly, his hand gently resting on Xiao Liangjun's messy head, feeling her body trembling.
“If they bully you again, come and see the headmaster, okay?” He gently squeezed the girl’s thin shoulders with his hand. “Soon, they will stop bullying you.”
Xiao Liangjun sobbed, she couldn't remember how she got out of the dean's office.
This was supposed to be the children's nap time, but she made up an excuse to go to the toilet to sneak out.
Seven-year-old children do not yet have a fully developed understanding of how things develop. They are often only good at the most basic template reasoning. For example, Xiao Liang knows that whenever she says she needs to go to the toilet, that group of people will definitely find all sorts of ways to block her in the toilet.
Then this time will definitely be no exception.
But the dean's office and the restroom are in completely opposite directions. What if those people come looking for him but find nothing...?
They've already devoured my lunch, and even trampled my yogurt on the floor. Are they going to take my dinner too...?
As Xiao Liang was deep in thought, a burning pain shot through her scalp once again.
This spot had already been hit by the smooth pebbles in the garden, and the old scars were now covered with new marks. The familiar tearing sensation made her feel as if her feet were about to leave the ground.
Xiao Liang felt her ponytail standing straight up, forcing her to look straight ahead.
The first thing that caught Xiao Liangjun's eye when she looked up was the other person's shiny newest sneakers.
She had seen these athletic shoes with wheels embedded in the bottom of the sole at school; they were a hot trend at the time.
It can run and glide, and whenever it's in motion, its tiny wheels flash with colorful lights.
Whoever can glide and run around in it is the so-called "emperor" in that small circle.
Now, the "Imperial Seal" proving his "emperor" status was right in front of him, but before he could let Xiao Liangjun properly admire it, the "Imperial Seal" kicked him in the abdomen without warning.
The colorful, shiny rollers that you run on freely can be more uncomfortable than smooth, round pebbles.
But no one knows.
The frail Liang Jun was unable to withstand the heavy blow. Before the radiating pain in her abdomen, she staggered and fell to the ground.
Twelve-year-old Xiao Qin looked down at her curled-up body. Seeing that the other girl was about to instinctively cover her injured abdomen with her trembling arms, Xiao Qin hissed and instructed his friends behind him, "Don't let her cover her stomach."
With her malnourished arms, how could Xiao Liangjun possibly compete with her brothers who ate two bowls of rice at every meal?
She was forcibly pulled up by her limbs and lay on the ground like a toad turned upside down, face up.
The nosebleed seemed to have flowed back, Xiao Liang thought, otherwise why would her stomach feel warm?
"Didn't you say you were going to the bathroom?"
Xiao Qin shuffled his roller skates on the ground. "We've been waiting for you for ages. Why don't you tell us why you're here?"
Xiao Liang stared at his movements, momentarily lost in thought.
For some reason, she thought of the little black dog that often played with her.
Xiao Liang felt that Xiao Qin's actions just now were very much like a little black dog digging a hole after pooping.
Before she could fully process what was happening, a sudden crushing pain in her calf brought her back to reality.
Xiao Qin was very dissatisfied with the other party's arrogant attitude, and the roller skates of his shoes rolled back and forth on Xiao Liang's thighs.
"So, why did you come here? Let me guess, are you here to complain to the dean?"
Xiao Liang cried.
But she clearly didn't want to cry.
The dean had once told her that crying wouldn't solve anything. But for some reason, her tears still flowed uncontrollably.
Her vision gradually blurred with tears, which made Xiao Liang feel terrible.
Because she remembered that after her vision blurred last time, she was pushed into a garbage dump.
That time, for three whole days, the smell of garbage lingered all over her body.
She didn't want to become smelly anymore; she didn't want to be disliked by any more children.
So Xiao Liang wanted to fight back.
She tried to struggle but couldn't break free, so she could only lie on the ground and shout, "Yes! I went to complain to the dean! Are you afraid the dean will find out about all the bad things you've done?!"
Xiao Qin seemed to have not expected that Liang Jun, who was five years younger than him, would fight back. For a moment, his movements froze, and the muscles that had been subjected to prolonged crushing finally received a little relief.
But Xiao Liang hadn't expected that her reckless resistance would result in them dragging her into the small garden.
It is springtime, a spring of growth and prosperity for all things.
All the plants in the garden will flourish in spring. Lush green grass and bright flowers will cover every corner, filling the air with vitality and life.
Everyone loves a garden in spring.
Only Xiao Liangjun disliked it—
I hate spring.
I dislike gardens that are covered with plants.
Because no one will notice the body clutching its head in pain behind the bushes.
Xiao Liang still thinks the same way this time.
But this spring seems a little different.
In her hazy state, she seemed to see an older sister walking towards her in the distance—she was called an older sister, but she looked no more than eleven or twelve years old, about the same age as Xiao Qin.
Her dark leather shoes were not very clean, and the dusty soles carefully avoided the rampant weeds. Then she shouted at where Xiao Liang was, "What are you doing!"
Xiao Qin was probably quite surprised that someone would come.
He spat on the ground with practiced ease, glared fiercely at the curled-up Liang Jun, and said in a deep voice to his friends beside him, "Let's go, let's go!"
After everyone left, the older sister quickly stepped forward to help Xiao Liangjun up. Shivering, Xiao Liangjun didn't want to trouble the other woman, so she braced herself with her hands on the ground and tried her best to sit up on her own.
But her palms always felt sticky. When she looked up, she found that her fingers were full of the phlegm that Xiao Qin had just spat out.
"How could they bully people like this?"
The older sister put down the book she was holding on the soft grass and quickly took out some tissues from her pocket to wipe Xiao Liang's hands. "How long have they been bullying you?"
Xiao Liang stared intently at the angel before her, afraid of missing this wonderful dream.
"A long time," she said, emphasizing each word, her voice long since devoid of the childishness expected of someone her age, "A long, long time..."
The older sister had particularly beautiful, thin eyebrows, but at this moment, those eyebrows furrowed tightly because of her words.
She helped Xiao Liangjun up, and then gently patted the dirt off Xiao Liangjun's body with a book from the side.
"Did you tell the headmaster? The headmaster won't let any child be bullied for no reason!"
“I told him…” Xiao Liang answered truthfully.
She lowered her eyes, watching the bow on the older sister's white stockings sway back and forth, and reluctantly lied, "The director said he would take care of it."
Perhaps it was this statement that gave the older sister the confidence to help Xiao Liangjun face the bullying head-on.
For a while after that, whenever Xiao Qin and his group tried to surround Xiao Liangjun again, the older sister would always step forward from somewhere and declare, "If you continue to bully her like this, then the dean will have to discipline you properly! Don't blame me for not warning you!"
Xiao Liang felt that she wasn't dreaming; this was an angel.
Dean Liang would step in to stop them when they were just playing around; but whenever Xiao Qin was about to do something drastic, the older sister would always stand up for her without hesitation.
Thus, she made her first and only friend in the orphanage.
Although Xiao Liang never knew what her older sister's name was.
She had asked before, but the older sister said she didn't have a name.
People like Xiao Liangjun, who grew up in an orphanage, would have their names given by the orphanage director—but she was abandoned halfway through her life.
People like Xiao Qin, who have already found adoptive families, will be given a completely new name by their adoptive families—but she has not yet found her new family.
Xiao Liang wanted to ask, perhaps she also had a name that her parents originally gave her.
Despite her young age, she already understood the meaning behind the phrase "no name," so she didn't press the matter further.
So, until the day her older sister was buried under the stones, Xiao Liang still knew nothing about her.
That was the day before Xiao Qin was taken away by her adoptive family.
Little Liang and her older sister went to the restroom together. They whispered to each other on the way, saying that perhaps starting tomorrow, their good days would soon be coming.
But to their surprise, Xiao Qin and his friend were still lurking on this road. The incident happened so suddenly that neither of them had time to react before they were dragged to that familiar corner.
The garden's weeds are no longer thriving, and as a result, very few people come here anymore.
Xiao Qin held a heavy stone in his hand; it wasn't a smooth pebble, but a rock with sharp, pointed edges.
He habitually spat on the ground. "I'm leaving tomorrow, and the thought of not being able to bully you anymore makes me really unhappy..."
The older sister's arm was also restrained, but despite this, she still threatened loudly, "Don't think we're afraid of you just because you look like this! Let me tell you, if you dare to hit us, we'll tell the director right away!"
To their utter surprise, the once-powerful words became the final straw that broke Xiao Qin's back.
Like a fuse being lit, Xiao Qin roared, "It's all because of you that I've been getting warned by the dean! You jerk, if it weren't for you, would I have had to hold it in for so many days?!"
Then, he raised the stone high in his hand, a blur of motion flashing through the air, accompanied by the sound of breaking wind, piercing Xiao Liang's eardrums.
She recognized the preceding actions of Xiao Qin's violence. An almost ingrained fear made her instinctively raise her hand to protect her head.
The temples, the top of the head, and the back of the head.
As long as you protect these positions, you won't die.
But the expected pain did not come.
Xiao Liang's exposed arms were stained with a sticky, warm liquid.
She subconsciously thought that Xiao Qin had spat on her again.
Xiao Liang belatedly lowered her hand, only to hear a sudden thud of something heavy falling to the ground beside her.
later……
Liang Jun couldn't remember what happened after that.
As time flows ever onward, the missing memories of that night seem to have been swept away and never to be seen again.
As she grew up, Liang Jun realized that humans are strange creatures who can switch their form at any time.
For example, although Xiao Qin inflicts endless violence on himself, when he faces his adoptive family, he shows extreme obedience and docility, just like a cat that never fights back.
It was as if Dean Liang, who had once knelt before her and repeatedly advised her "not to resort to violence," had reappeared before her in such a disheveled manner.
Liang Xun took a deep breath, opened her eyes, and tried to get used to the thick red mist in front of her.
She loosened her fingers from the propofol and casually sat down on the floor.
"Long time no see, Dean."
She greeted the other person calmly, no longer feeling the initial awkwardness, "As you can see, I am indeed looking for my friends."
Liang Jun smiled with relief.
Yes, I have many friends now.
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Author's Note: This chapter briefly recalls Sister Jun's childhood experiences; now, let's get back to the main storyline~
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