Chapter 12 012. Xia Chan, who hit someone, is a ruthless person.
At night, Chenzhoudu sat alone in the courtyard, lost in thought. The moon was cool and clear, and the stars and moon twinkled in the sky, accompanied by the cicadas' chirping at the end of summer.
In the afternoon, his deskmate had already told him everything he knew about Xia Chan. He didn't know the specifics, only that when he first entered high school, the legend had already spread throughout the school and was known to almost everyone.
She was only twelve or thirteen years old that year, still a junior high school student.
For some unknown reason, one day news spread in town that a girl had stabbed her father three times; that girl was Xia Chan.
After this incident, Xia Chan was detained in a juvenile detention center in Tongcheng for a period of time. It is said that after the incident, her father's family kept applying to the court to severely punish Xia Chan, even if they did not want compensation, they wanted her to go to jail. It was her maternal grandmother and mother who ran around in Tongcheng to help her and finally got a retrial.
Later, the case was handled by a female judge, and the Xia family's neighbors at the time jointly signed a petition for acquittal.
Xia Chan's three stabs, though seemingly severe, did not actually hit any vital organs; and she was too young at the time to be criminally responsible, etc... These factors combined ultimately led to her being acquitted.
At the time, almost everyone in Qingshui Town knew about this, but very few people knew the specific details.
After Xia Chan returned to school, many people still peered out the window to see her, but no one dared to ask her directly what had happened.
Later, the school intentionally prevented students from discussing the matter, and over time, it became a legend. Xia Chan naturally became a figure that no one dared to mess with. Now, when it is mentioned, all that remains is, "Xia Chan is a ruthless person."
After learning all this this afternoon, Chen Zhoudu tried to search for related news online, entering "Qingshui Town, Xia Chan", but found nothing.
Finally, he hesitated and entered keywords such as "stabbed his own father three times" before he found an old news article.
Tongcheng is remote, and Qingshui Town is small. There is little news information left from a few years ago when the Internet was not as developed.
The only remaining trace, seemingly from a newspaper clipping, consists of a few words and an old photograph, roughly stating why a thirteen-year-old girl stabbed her own father. Please stay tuned for further reports. The girl in the photo is thin and frail, her empty eyes, like black grapes, piercing through the screen as she stares indifferently at him.
Sitting on a swing-style rattan chair in the courtyard, swaying slightly, Chen Zhoudu stared blankly at his locked phone screen. After a long while, he closed his eyes, sighed deeply.
A sudden chill ran down his arm; someone had handed him a can of iced drink.
"Grandma, I don't..." Shen Zhoudu subconsciously looked up to refuse, but when he opened his eyes, he found that Xia Chan had appeared in front of him at some point.
She was still drinking another can of cola in her other hand, and when she saw this, she handed it to him and looked at him leisurely.
Chen Zhoudu paused for a moment before taking the can, but didn't drink it. His hand was covered in water droplets from holding the can.
Xia Chan leaned against the small flower bed opposite him. "Unhappy?"
He remained silent, taking it all as tacit agreement. Xia Chan chuckled lightly, guessing the reason for his unhappiness and teasingly asked, "It's such a small thing, why are you so upset, young master? Didn't you ever have any scandals at your old school? That's unusual... Or is it that your looks are so common in this vast city of Shanghai?"
"..." Shen Zhoudu opened his mouth as if to say that this was not the reason, but closed his lips as soon as he moved them.
She loved teasing him, and he only fell into her trap by responding to her. Xia Chan met his reproachful glance and couldn't help but smile even more. She took another sip of cola and said nonchalantly, "Ask whatever you want."
Chen Zhoudu's gaze shifted slightly, his expression complex as he looked up.
After school today, Xia Chan had already noticed something was wrong with Shen Zhoudu on the bus, and her gaze towards her was particularly complicated several times.
She immediately guessed that he probably knew about her stabbing.
This is actually normal. Ever since Xia Chan enrolled, whenever there's any gossip or disturbance at school, this matter always circulates in private, and she doesn't care even if it gets out in front of her.
She never intended to hide it from him from the beginning; she even considered what she would say and how much to say if he asked. But from the time she waited until after school and after dinner, until his butt was practically calloused from sitting on that chair, he still didn't actually ask.
Chen Zhoudu looked at her, slightly taken aback, his expression turning somewhat apologetic. Just as Xia Chan saw him take another deep breath, seemingly about to ask, she heard him say, "What do you like to do when you're unhappy?"
...?
Xia Chan seemed surprised that he would ask that question.
She smiled in an instant and looked at him meaningfully.
"Hitting someone."
This time, the person who ferried the sunken boat showed a look of astonishment.
Looking at his expression, she couldn't help but smile even more deeply. Then, as if she were to reveal some secret to him, she straightened up and beckoned to him. Shen Zhoudu got up in surprise and followed her to the backyard.
"Du" has a small backyard, but because it is small and dark, a shed is always set up as a temporary storage room.
Xia Chan moved some odds and ends aside in the storage room, finally revealing a sandbag pillar in the corner of the yard.
The sandbag looked quite old; it was very worn, and the outer skin had almost completely peeled off. It was probably used when she was younger, and it wasn't tall enough, so a round "head" and two "hands" were sewn onto it, and it was covered with an old garment.
At first glance, doesn't it look just like a "person"? If this were set up on a main road in the middle of the night, it would startle people.
So that's who it was, Chen Zhoudu couldn't help but laugh.
Xia Chan had already pulled out a pair of boxing gloves from somewhere, put them on, patted them, and prepared herself to let him watch.
Chen Zhoudu's lips couldn't help but curve slightly as he watched her movements, and he saw that she was truly facing a "person".
He bent slightly, his fists gently protecting his face, and his eyes gradually turned fierce and stern.
Then, at the precise moment of preparation, he suddenly threw a punch forward—with a loud "bang!"—striking the human-shaped punching bag!
The human-shaped sandbag shook violently a few times, almost falling to the ground like a roly-poly toy.
Chen Zhoudu's heart trembled at the moment of the loud noise, and she finally believed that she, at the age of thirteen, would dare to stab an adult man.
Xia Chan threw a few punches, only stopping when she felt satisfied. She took off her gloves, tossed them into Chen Zhoudu's arms, and suggested with interest, "Want to try?"
Chen Zhoudu shook his head and returned the gloves to her, refusing to accept them.
She, however, seemed completely intrigued, urging him to try. She claimed that when you're in a bad mood, you need to vent it out, otherwise you'll get sick from holding it in, and besides, there's always a first time, so what's there to be afraid of?
Seeing her insistence, Chen Zhoudu reluctantly agreed, but instead of putting on gloves, he took two steps back and stood facing the "person".
Then, just like in a preparatory stance, he turned sideways, stepped back with his right foot, clenched his fist in front of him, and focused his gaze. Even his usually calm and composed eyes became slightly sharp.
Xia Chan initially thought he was just making a symbolic pose, but to her surprise, he suddenly turned around and kicked his leg—
But it was a beautiful whirlwind kick that went out with all its might!
It slammed into the human-shaped punching bag with a "bang"!
The sandbag shook violently a few times. Xia Chan couldn't help but exclaim "Wow," and her gaze towards him held a hint of surprise she had never seen before.
"Have you practiced?"
"I've learned a little bit of Taekwondo." Shen Zhoudu had returned to her and stretched his right leg that he had just kicked out, his eyes lowered and a humble smile on his face. "But it's all just for show, it's not useful in real combat."
Xia Chan's curiosity seemed to have been piqued by him. With a sly glint in her eyes, she suddenly pulled on her gloves, patted them, and prepared to compete with him.
Seeing that he really wanted to refuse, Chen Zhoudu shook his head with a smile.
She relentlessly pushed him forward, step by step, as if there was no turning back.
She moved forward, and he stepped back.
She retreated step by step with each step she took.
The dim light in the small storage room reflected in her eyes like tiny, joyful sparkles.
Chen Zhoudu stared at her with a momentary pause, then finally retreated to a point where he had nowhere left to retreat and stopped, smiling helplessly as he symbolically kicked her.
In that instant, Xia Chan lowered her hand, perfectly blocking his "attack," and then suddenly struck out with her other hand, aiming for his face.
For a split second, Chen Zhoudu instinctively closed his eyes, but didn't even flinch. The oncoming wind gently ruffled his tousled hair.
Her fist stopped just two centimeters from his cheek. If she hadn't held back, he thought he would probably have gone to school with half his face swollen tomorrow.
"I lost." Chen Zhoudu admitted defeat readily.
Xia Chan could tell he was deliberately holding back. She scoffed, threw off her gloves, and asked, "What a show. Why bother imitating that?"
Chen Zhoudu paused for a moment before answering, "Because it adds points."
"..." This time, Xia Chan was speechless. "Is this the mindset of you rich people?"
"A businessman's mindset." Chen Zhoudu smiled and went along with her, "You could say that."
Xia Chan chuckled again, nodded, and clicked her tongue, "As expected, only those who are profit-driven can make big money!"
Chenzhoudu also smiled noncommittally.
That evening, Chen Zhoudu and Xia Chan played with punching bags in this small storage room. They chatted idly for a while, and then Chen Zhoudu straightened up again and kicked the "person".
The human-shaped sandbag swayed left and right like a roly-poly toy.
Xia Chan curled her lips and stood on the other side of the sandbag. When he kicked it, she punched him.
The sandbag really did look like a hapless little man being beaten, swaying back and forth between the two of them.
After playing so freely for a while, Chen Zhoudu inexplicably felt much more relaxed and happy.
Xia Chan's eyes also brightened slightly, and she said to him in a moment, "Doesn't it make you feel much better if you treat it like your enemy and hit it a few times?"
Chenzhoudu stopped and stared at the "person" without realizing it, wondering who he might be.
Is it Shen Jinghai? Or...?
He glanced at her again, wondering who she mistook it for.
The old clothes the "person" was wearing were men's style, and they had been beaten and torn.
Suddenly, the image of her dark, grape-like eyes from that afternoon's photograph flooded his mind again, as if dragging him once more into a cold, dark sea. As if possessed, he gazed at her and asked softly, "Were you afraid then?"
Xia Chan stopped moving for a moment, and her dark gaze fixed on him softened slightly.
When Shen Zhoudu met her gaze, he realized for a moment what he had asked. He was about to apologize for being too presumptuous when he saw her smile indifferently again and say, "I was afraid."
Chen Zhoudu stared at her, slightly taken aback.
Her eyes were calm, as calm as a still sea, reflecting his image quietly.
As if telling someone else's story, she said quietly, "But sometimes, there's no time for me to be afraid."
The next day, Shen Zhoudu and Xia Chan were summoned to the director's office again. Vice Principal Liu and other school leaders were also present. They wanted to make a decision about the issue between the two of them.
The initial decision made by the group was to transfer to another class.
However, a disagreement arose regarding who should be transferred to which class.
The Experimental Middle School assigns classes upon enrollment to avoid creating a sense of unequal academic standing among students. The students are evenly distributed across classes based on their academic performance, although the top classes tend to have a higher proportion of high-achieving students.
Aside from the division into arts and sciences tracks, the overall class composition will not change significantly within the next three years.
Over the past three years, some students may have improved their grades while others have declined, but they will not be transferred to another class because of this, which can be considered a form of equality.
Xia Chan was assigned to Class 1 when she entered high school. It would seem too cold-blooded to send her to another class now because of Shen Zhoudu.
Furthermore, Class 1 is already the best science class in the senior year, and Chenzhoudu must not be touched.
Xia Chan is now a senior in high school, and sacrificing her for someone who doesn't do well in school or doesn't like studying would be unfair. Finding a solution seems difficult.
"Aren't you afraid that separating us will only make us feel that our love is true, and that we will never part from each other, even if mountains crumble and the heavens and earth unite?"
Xia Chan listened half-heartedly to the conversation, and couldn't help but chuckle teasingly. Chen Zhoudu glanced at her profile.
Vice Principal Liu's brow twitched, and he launched into another scathing reprimand at her. But in the end, the decision was abandoned.
As she said, if students of this age really had something going on with each other, even if they moved to Leifeng Pagoda, there was probably nothing that could stop them. All she could do was make them repeatedly promise that it wouldn't affect their studies or have a negative impact on school, and then reluctantly let them go back.
Fortunately, gossip is time-sensitive. Seeing that there was no further progress between the two of them, the rumors about them gradually faded away.
Shen Zhoudu and Xia Chan also deliberately avoided suspicion, rarely interacting except when going to and from school, and even when setting up their stalls, they adopted a "rotation system".
She goes today, he goes tomorrow. Seeing the two of them staying behind for evening self-study from time to time, Vice Principal Liu felt quite gratified, thinking that they had finally figured things out. Even Huang Mao couldn't suppress his joy.
That afternoon during chemistry class, Class 1 was given an impromptu science test, and the students complained and groaned.
Even in the small classroom tests at Experimental Middle School, students had to hand in their cell phones. Everyone obediently handed their phones to the storage box on the podium, and Xia Chan also turned off her phone.
During the exam, Fat Tiger suddenly stood up, holding a cell phone, and called out to Xia Chan in a trembling voice.
"Xia Chan...something has happened."
A note from the author:
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Next update will be Wednesday night at 9 PM. After this week, I can update daily again! See you then! [Sprinkling flowers]
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