Lin Zhexia found it very hard to imagine that scene.
The boy who had been so arrogant in front of her yesterday, who seemed like he could take on five people at once, had gone out, been blown by the wind, and overnight, had fallen ill.
What kind of sickly child was this?
Lin Zhexia was just about to secretly mock him in her heart.
Then she saw Grandpa Wang shake his head, saying with some pity: “That child is quite pitiful. At such a young age, his parents are often not at home, and he lives alone.”
“His health isn’t good either. He goes to the hospital every few days. I don’t know what his parents are thinking, how they can be so at ease… No job is more important than a child…”
Hearing this, Lin Zhexia suddenly felt like letting him off the hook.
Her second encounter with Chi Yao was a week later, when she was returning from the supermarket with Lin He.
After a week, she still wasn’t quite adjusted to life in her new home.
She was carrying a bag of snacks when she saw a somewhat familiar figure in the distance.
The boy’s silhouette was thin. Although it was summer, he was still wearing a black windbreaker and was opening the building’s entrance door.
Lin He went into the house first, and Lin Zhexia thought for a moment before running toward the building across the street.
She called out to him: “Hey.”
The boy’s hand, which was opening the door, paused briefly. There were clear needle marks on the back of his hand.
Lin Zhexia took out a packet of her favorite milk-flavored cookies from her snack bag and stuffed them into his hand: “For you.”
He wanted to say, “Take it back.”
Lin Zhexia said with a stern face, “I heard you were sick. Get better quickly, otherwise I won’t be able to defeat you fair and square.”
He hadn’t expected her to come up with such a reason and was momentarily stunned, which meant he didn’t immediately return the cookies to her.
A month after moving to Nanxiang Street.
Lin Zhexia got into a fight with someone.
This fight was quite sensational, instantly making her famous in the neighborhood and earning her a severe scolding from Lin He. However, her opponent wasn’t Chi Yao but He Yang.
That day, she was wandering around the neighborhood.
Lin He had found a new job nearby and had left early in the morning for work. Wei Ping was off that day.
She didn’t want to stay with Wei Ping, so after eating, she said: “Uncle Wei, I’m going out for a walk.”
Wei Ping was also at a loss. He had never had children and didn’t know how to deal with them or how to gain Lin Zhexia’s favor: “Then… be careful, don’t leave the neighborhood. It’s dangerous outside.”
Lin Zhexia nodded: “Mm, I know.”
There was a simple basketball court in the neighborhood. Older people usually came to play basketball in the evening, gathering after work or after school.
At this afternoon hour, the court had more children her age.
At that time, He Yang was a chubby little boy with a domineering personality who considered himself the “big boss of this neighborhood.”
Perhaps because he was sufficiently juvenile and childish, there was indeed a group of little kids who followed him and recognized him as their boss.
“Boss, you can throw the ball so high.”
“Boss, your shots are so accurate.”
“Boss! Let’s go to the store and buy popsicles!”
“…”
Lin Zhexia, sitting on a swing nearby, thought these people were very childish.
She sat for a while, but the sun was too hot, so she prepared to go home. Then she heard someone finally break free from the “boss” sentence pattern and say: “Look—isn’t that Chi Yao?”
She looked in that direction and saw a face she had only recently encountered.
The sickly boy with his pallid complexion was carrying something, passing by the path outside the basketball court.
He Yang, a troublemaker at that time, took pleasure in mocking others: “Call him over, let him play basketball with us.”
Someone said, “He can’t handle the ball.”
Someone else said, “He’s always sick, he can’t play with us.”
The group burst into laughter.
He Yang stood with his hands on his hips, arrogantly shouting: “I just want to see him make a fool of himself. He definitely can’t play basketball. Let’s see what he does. Call him over.”
Then they threw the ball at him—
With a “bang,” the ball hit the sickly boy directly.
Chi Yao at that time did indeed look somewhat “frail.”
Wearing a jacket in the height of summer, with sickly eyes.
Although this person seemed to have a temper that wasn’t easy to provoke, it still didn’t prevent people from wanting to bully him because of his weak constitution.
He Yang: “Hey, you always-sick guy, come play basketball. Can you play basketball?”
This scene of bullying the “weak” was too much.