Little Bird, When Will I Be Able to Fly Freely Like You?

The air in the dean's office seemed frozen solid. Liu Xu sat on a chair in the corner, the red mark on his cheek still visible. He clutched the hem of his clothes, tears circling in his eyes, though he dared not let them fall.

Wen Shiming stood beside him, a little dust on his school uniform jacket and a small cut at the corner of his mouth. Yet he still held his neck stiff, his eyes full of defiance. He didn't regret fighting. As long as Fu Li kept bullying Liu Xu, he would do it again next time.

"Look at my son! His face is swollen from the beating. What if it leaves a scar?" Fu Li's mother, Chi Tang, shouted, her shrill voice echoing through the office. She stroked Fu Li's face, her eyes scraping over Wen Shiming like knives. "So violent at such a young age. How did his parents raise him? You must give us an explanation today!"

Fu Li hid behind his mother, holding his cheek, but still found time to shoot Wen Shiming a provocative look, as if to say, You're finished.

Wen Shiming was just about to retort when the office door flew open with a bang, and a boy in a black hoodie walked in. It was Fu Yanzhi. The loose hair over his forehead was a little messy; he had clearly rushed over after getting the call. The moment he entered, he saw the wound at the corner of Wen Shiming's mouth, and his gaze turned cold.

"Big brother..." Wen Shiming's tense shoulders relaxed a little when he saw Fu Yanzhi, but he still explained in a quiet voice, "Fu Li bullied Liu Xu first. He even slapped Liu Xu..."

Chi Tang glanced at the newcomer and was somewhat stunned. The boy looked so much like her own husband. If she didn't trust her husband, she would really have thought he was her husband's illegitimate son. Seeing his mother in a daze, Fu Li nudged Chi Tang.

Chi Tang came to her senses and said, "Are you this child's guardian? Look at the fine son you've raised! He beat my son into this state. I say we should send them straight to juvenile detention!"

Fu Yanzhi ignored her. He went to Wen Shiming first and gently touched the wound at the corner of his mouth. His voice was very low, but carried a soothing strength. "Does it hurt, Third Brother? Bear with it for now."

Then he turned to Chi Tang, the gentleness gone from his eyes. "Ma'am, before you send us to juvenile detention, why don't you ask your son what exactly he did today?"

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Liu Xu in the corner and settling on his reddened cheek and disheveled hair. His voice grew colder. "My younger brother may be impulsive, but he would never hit someone for no reason. Your son brought people to corner a classmate, pull his hair, and slap him. Shouldn't you get to the bottom of those things too?"

Chi Tang froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Fu Yanzhi to say that. She instinctively looked at Fu Li, whose eyes flickered as he avoided his mother's gaze.

Chi Tang's heart skipped a beat, but she still refused to back down. "What nonsense are you talking about? My son is so well-behaved. How could he do something like that? Your brother must have started it!"

"Whether he's well-behaved or not, we'll know once we check the surveillance footage." Fu Yanzhi's tone was calm, but carried an unquestionable force. "There's a camera outside the school supermarket. It should have captured Fu Li and his group cornering Liu Xu very clearly.

"If you don't think that's necessary, ma'am, we can call the police and have them investigate instead. After all, school bullying is no small matter."

At those words, Chi Tang's expression changed instantly. She knew Fu Li was usually arrogant and overbearing, but she hadn't expected things to reach the point of calling the police. If they really checked the footage, Fu Li's wrongdoing would be impossible to hide. She opened her mouth to speak, then swallowed her words. Most of her earlier arrogance vanished in an instant.

Fu Yanzhi paid her no more attention. He turned and walked over to Liu Xu, then crouched down, his voice softening. "Liu Xu, don't be afraid. We won't let you suffer unfairly over what happened today."

Just then, the office door opened again, and Liu Xu's father walked in.

He didn't look at Liu Xu's flushed cheek or ask what had happened. His gaze went straight to Liu Xu's hair. He reached out and swept his bangs aside, then ran his fingers down the long strands. Only after confirming that none of the hair was broken or messy did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Good. None of your hair is missing," he said quietly. His tone held no concern for Liu Xu, only care for the long hair, as though Liu Xu were merely a container for it.

Liu Xu's body stiffened, and his head sank even lower. Even his fingertips began to turn cold. When he had been hit and cursed at earlier, what he had wanted most was for his father to come and protect him. But only now did he realize that all his father had ever cared about was the long hair that had caused him so much suffering.

Fu Yanzhi frowned and was about to speak when the dean hurried to smooth things over. "Now that all the parents are here, let's talk this through properly.

"Fu Li provoked the other student first and even hit him, so he must apologize. Although Wen Shiming was protecting a classmate, it was still wrong to fight, so he must also be reprimanded and educated.

"As for Liu Xu..." The dean glanced at Liu Xu's father, then at Liu Xu himself, and finally said, "Be careful at school from now on, and tell a teacher promptly if anything happens."

Liu Xu said nothing, merely edging closer to Wen Shiming. Only beside Wen Shiming could he feel a little warmth and believe he was not a lonely shadow defined only by his hair.

Seeing things turn against him, Fu Li stamped his feet in frustration. "I won't apologize! He provoked me first!"

Chi Tang chimed in, "Exactly. Why should my son be the first to apologize?"

Fu Yanzhi sneered. "Ma'am, if you're still going to protect him like this, then let's do as I said: check the footage and call the police."

Chi Tang's expression changed again and again. Finally, she shot Fu Li a fierce glare. "Hurry up and apologize!"

Fu Li walked over to Liu Xu with extreme reluctance and muttered, "Sorry."

Liu Xu lowered his head and gave a soft "Mm." Seeing that things had eased, the dean quickly said, "Now that this is settled, everyone calm down. From now on, students should be united and friendly. Don't let anything like this happen again."

Fu Yanzhi nodded and led Wen Shiming out.

Liu Xu's father also prepared to leave with Liu Xu. Behind them, Fu Li muttered resentfully, "You got lucky today."

Fu Yanzhi paused and looked back. "If there's a next time, it won't end this simply," he said coldly.

With that, Fu Yanzhi led Third Brother out of the office. Sunlight spilled over them, and Liu Xu stole a glance at Wen Shiming and Fu Yanzhi. He had never seen anyone defend another person so steadfastly, and a different kind of ripple stirred in his heart.

But just then, his father gave his arm a hard yank and urged him on. "Walk faster. Stop dawdling." Liu Xu could only look away and follow his father out of school.

Wen Shiming glanced back at Liu Xu and said quietly to Fu Yanzhi, "Big brother, Liu Xu's father doesn't seem to care about him at all. He's so pitiful."

Fu Yanzhi ruffled his hair. "He's pitiful? Compared to him, your big brother is the pitiful one. Having a troublemaking little brother like you means I never get a moment's peace."

Wen Shiming scratched his head and smiled. "I was wrong, big brother. I won't be so impulsive next time, I promise."

Fu Yanzhi patted Wen Shiming on the head. "Come on, let's go home and put some medicine on you."

Meanwhile, Fu Li said indignantly to Chi Tang, "Mom, are we just going to let this go? I can't swallow this insult!"

Chi Tang reassured him. "Son, bear with it for today. We'll tell your father when we get home and find a chance to deal with them later."

Fu Li nodded through gritted teeth, his eyes full of resentment and hatred.

Liu Xu followed his father home. As soon as Liu Xu stepped through the door, his father slapped him across the face. With a smack, Liu Xu's head snapped to the side, and his ears rang. "Don't you know how important your hair is? And you still dare cause trouble outside?"

His father's voice was fierce and vicious. "If your hair had broken, you might as well not live either!"

Liu Xu was stunned, and tears streamed down his face again. Breaking down, he shouted at his father, "Why? Why do you treat me like this? Is hair more important than I am?"

His father glared at him, his eyes full of madness. "What do you know? If it weren't for you, would your mother have died? What's wrong with keeping your hair long? This is what you owe your mother! And what you owe me."

Liu Xu cried in anguish, "Since you hate me so much, why don't you just kill me and avenge your wife? They all bully me, and it's bad enough that you don't ask about it, but you hit me too?"

"You dare talk back?" His father grew even angrier. He unfastened the belt from his waist and lashed it across Liu Xu's back. Smack, smack. The sounds echoed through the room.

Liu Xu tried to resist, but he was too weak to push his father away. He could only curl up on the floor and let the belt rain down on him, tears streaming from the pain. Soon his back and arms were covered in red welts, beads of blood seeping out.

When his father grew tired of whipping him, he seized Liu Xu by the collar, dragged him into a room, and locked the door. His father's curses came from outside. "You'd better reflect on what you've done! If you dare talk back again, I'll break your legs!"

Liu Xu lay on the floor, the pain in his back piercing to the bone, but his heart hurt even more. He hugged the little green bird doll, its plush fur wet with his tears. "Little bird, when will I be able to fly freely like you...?"

Buzz. The phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated, the faint sound especially clear in the quiet room.

Liu Xu gritted his teeth and slowly pushed himself up through the pain, then fished his phone out of his school uniform pocket. The moment the screen lit up, the name "Little Sun" jumped into view, and tears welled up in his eyes again.

He opened the messages, and Wen Shiming's texts appeared one after another. "Liu Xu, are you home yet?" "Did you put medicine on your injuries?" "Does it hurt? Should I bring you some ointment tomorrow?" Every word showed concern for him, and the messages warmed his icy fingertips little by little.

Liu Xu stared at the screen, his fingers hovering over the keyboard for a long time, but he didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell Wen Shiming that his father had beaten him and locked him up, that he was in pain and very scared. But he was afraid Wen Shiming would worry, and afraid Wen Shiwu would think he was a burden.

In the end, he typed only a few words: "I'm home. I'm fine, don't worry." The sent notification popped up, and he was about to put the phone back in his pocket when the screen lit up again. Wen Shiming had sent a voice message.

Liu Xu held the phone to his ear. Wen Shiming's voice sounded a little anxious, but also a little gentle. "Are you really okay? Seeing how your dad was in the office just now made me a little worried."

Listening to Wen Shiming's voice, Liu Xu could no longer hold back his tears. They ran down his cheeks and dripped onto the phone screen. He covered his face, his shoulders trembling, but he didn't dare cry aloud.

He could only bite his lip and swallow his sobs. So there really was someone who cared whether he was hurting, someone who worried whether he had been bullied.

The phone vibrated again. Wen Shiming had sent another message: "Oh, right, our English results should come out tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll definitely get 90 points, and then Wang Chenchen will have to apologize to you!" He had added an encouraging sticker at the end.

Liu Xu looked at the sticker, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly despite himself. He stroked the little bird doll's head and thought, Wen Shiming, thank you. Meeting you is the luckiest thing that has happened to me in this life.

He held the phone to his chest and leaned against the cold wall. It was completely dark outside. The lights were off in the room, and only the glow of his phone screen lit his face.

He stared at Wen Shiming's profile picture for a long, long time, until the screen dimmed automatically. Only then did he slowly close his eyes.

Even if he would have to face his father's scolding and his classmates' ridicule again tomorrow, at least for now he had Wen Shiming's messages and the little bird doll in his arms to keep him company. That tiny bit of starlight was enough to sustain him through this painful night.

Meanwhile, Fu Li returned home with his mother, Chi Tang. As soon as he entered, he threw his schoolbag onto the sofa, covered the bruise on his face, and burst into tears. "Dad! Someone bullied me and hit me! You have to avenge me!"

Fu Chengyuan sat on the sofa in the study, a newspaper in his hands. Hearing his son's cries, he frowned. He put down the newspaper and looked up at Fu Li, his eyes showing no trace of sympathy, only a hint of coldness. "Stop howling first and explain what happened."

Chi Tang hurried over, pulled Fu Li to her side, and embellished the story. "Chengyuan, you have no idea. At school today, Wen Shiming brought that neither-man-nor-woman transfer student and beat our Lili until his face was covered in injuries! The dean even called the parents in, and that Wen Shiming's brother was especially arrogant and completely unreasonable!"

Chuan Li nodded along and cried, "Exactly! That Liu Xu is a freak with long hair, and Wen Shiming even protects him! The two of them ganged up on me. They're such bullies!"

After listening, Fu Chengyuan sneered. He got up and walked over to Fu Li, looking down at him. "You think I'd believe you? Don't I know what kind of character you have? You've bullied plenty of classmates at school. You must have started it this time."

He paused, his gaze growing colder. "I told you long ago not to go around causing trouble after coming to your new school, but you refused to listen. You brought this beating on yourself."

Fu Li hadn't expected his father to say that. His crying stopped abruptly, and he stood there dumbfounded. "Dad, I didn't... They hit me first!"

"Didn't you?" Fu Chengyuan picked up the phone on the table and opened a message from the homeroom teacher. "Your homeroom teacher just messaged me. He said you brought people to block that transfer student, called him a 'freak,' and pulled his hair first. Wen Shiming fought you to protect him. And you still want to lie to me?"

Fu Li's face went pale, and he didn't dare say another word. Chi Tang still wanted to defend her son, but Fu Chengyuan shot her a glare. "Don't protect him either. If you keep spoiling him like this, something serious will happen sooner or later."

He turned to Fu Li, his tone stern. "Go to school tomorrow and apologize to Wen Shiming and that transfer student, or don't even think about getting any allowance this month."

Fu Li opened his mouth, still wanting to argue, but when he met Fu Chengyuan's icy gaze, he had to swallow his words. He stamped his foot resentfully, turned, and ran back to his room.

Chi Tang watched her son leave, then looked at Fu Chengyuan. She wanted to say something, but in the end she didn't dare. She could only sigh and follow Fu Li to his room.

Fu Chengyuan watched the mother and son leave and shook his head. He picked up the newspaper on the table, but found he couldn't take in a word.

He recalled what the homeroom teacher had just said: "Fu Li has bullied classmates at school many times." His frown deepened. If he didn't rein his son in, the boy really would go down the wrong path.

That night, Chi Tang and Fu Chengyuan lay in bed. Chi Tang suddenly remembered what had happened at school during the day and nudged Fu Chengyuan's arm. "Oh, right, that classmate who bullied Lili today—his brother is called Fu Yanzhi, isn't he?"

"He really looks like you did when you were young, especially his brows and eyes. If I didn't know Lili was your only son, I'd have thought he was your illegitimate son," Chi Tang said with a smile.

Chuan Chengyuan smiled and reached out to ruffle her hair. "How could that be? It's probably a coincidence. You and Lili are the only family I have in this life. How could I have an illegitimate son?"

Chi Tang gave a half-doubtful "Oh" and didn't press further, but Fu Chengyuan's gaze darkened as he stared at the ceiling.

He recalled what Fu Yanzhi, whom Qiao Shuyan had brought to the last banquet, looked like. Fu Yanzhi's brows and eyes did more than resemble his; they might as well have been carved from the same mold. He decided to have his assistant investigate tomorrow.