A Beautiful Life

"How have things been with those two little girls lately? I heard the three of you skipped class together and got publicly reprimanded?" Faint sounds of reading drifted through the air as the girl pretending to be mature and the boy pretending to be young sat side by side on the swings by the playground, gazing at the distant sunset.

"Sis, your news travels fast. Such a trivial little thing, and you still found out about it over at the Noble Academy... Are you a teacher or an FBI agent?" Jiaming sighed.

"Heh." Yahan couldn't help but laugh. "I saw the bulletin board when I came in. Your blacklist is still hanging up there. By the way, has that Huang Haoyun been giving you trouble at home lately?"

"Mm, I'm usually not home, so even if he wanted to find me, he couldn't..."

"If he keeps picking on you, let me know."

In truth, Jiaming and Yahan's contact had never really stopped since that camping trip. Jiaming had wanted to shake off this nuisance, but Zhang Yahan would come to the Ye Family Martial Arts School to exercise, and they'd inevitably run into each other from time to time. Occasionally, when the mood struck her, Yahan would even go wait for him at the Huang Family villa, causing quite a stir.

Every time Zhang Yahan showed up at the Huang Family villa, Huang Haoyun would inevitably be there buzzing around her, trying to curry favor. Unfortunately, Miss Yahan had never had any feelings for this Young Master Huang from the start, and his cowardly behavior during the camping trip had only made her lose her appetite for him even more. There was nothing for them to talk about. But Yahan, without any restraint, treated Jiaming as a friend, which landed Jiaming in deep trouble. Though Huang Haoyun was past twenty, his emotional intelligence was below twelve. Unable to attract the girl's attention with gentle methods, he spent every day desperately picking fights with Jiaming, hoping to catch Yahan's notice.

Luckily, Jiaming wasn't childish at heart and just treated it all as a farce. Otherwise, being harassed at home every day for no reason would have driven him to murder. Still, despite his outward helplessness and inner sneers, after being targeted by Huang Haoyun for a while, he couldn't help but feel stifled. He'd already been somewhat avoiding Zhang Yahan, and during that period, he dodged her even more fiercely. Not long after, Huang Haoyun's harassment was discovered by Zhang Yahan. It was around the New Year of '94. Taking the chance to pay a New Year's visit, Zhang Yahan gave Huang Haoyun a thorough scolding, making it clear they were no longer friends. After that, she never went to the Huang Family again, and Huang Haoyun's picking on Jiaming gradually lessened.

As for Yahan's feelings toward Jiaming, she mostly saw him as a precocious child prodigy. Since they'd also been through life-and-death together, she naturally considered him a friend. Jiaming had been dealing with two childish kids for so long, and it was rare to meet someone he could talk to from an adult perspective. Once he figured this out, he stopped pushing Yahan away. Occasionally meeting at the martial arts school or elsewhere, they'd trade jabs and chat—it made for a decent friendship. Still, this was the first time they'd met at school.

Hearing Yahan bring up Huang Haoyun again, Jiaming snorted with laughter: "Give it a rest. If he's already annoyed with me, you showing up will just make him hate me more... Unless you're willing to sacrifice yourself and sleep with him—that'd solve it once and for all..."

Yahan's face flushed: "What kind of kid are you..."

"I want milk..." Hearing her call him a kid, Jiaming jumped off the swing and, in a babyish voice, lunged toward Yahan's chest. Then—thump—a carton of milk smacked into Jiaming's arms. Yahan's face was red, her expression caught between laughter and exasperation: "Every time I call you a kid, you pull this stunt..."

"Hehe..." After taking a couple of sips of milk, Jiaming reached up and plucked the plain-glass glasses off Yahan's nose. He studied her until her cheeks burned and her gaze turned fierce, then finally grinned: "See, this is how you look pretty. These glasses are mine now."

"Don't cause me more trouble." Yahan reached for them several times, but Jiaming wouldn't give them back, so she had to let it go. Jiaming put the glasses on his nose. His features were already plain, and with them on, he looked like an honest, dull bookworm. Yahan laughed again and said, "Such a show-off..."

"Do you wear these glasses to keep from attracting too much attention?" Jiaming asked with interest. "Hey, fess up—how many of those male teachers are chasing you? That handsome guy who came over to talk to you just now, is he one?"

"None of your business, you little troublemaker." Yahan smiled, remembering how when they'd greeted each other earlier, this precocious little scoundrel had come over to cop a feel. A male colleague had amiably asked, "Yahan, is this your little brother? You've never mentioned him before."

"No, Yahan is my child bride." He'd wrapped an arm around Yahan's waist like a boyfriend. Though Yahan had blushed and pushed him away, the man's stunned expression had been hilarious. Remembering it now, Yahan couldn't help but laugh again. She looked in the direction Jiaming indicated—those teachers were still wandering around the playground, sneaking glances. When they met Yahan's eyes, they quickly turned away, pointing at nothing.

"Don't underestimate him. That male teacher is called Xu Mo, a top graduate from Peking University. His family runs an ocean shipping business, but his older brother Xu Ran handles it, so he doesn't get involved. It might not be as big as your Huang Family or our Zhang Family, but it's nothing to sneeze at."

"I bet he told you something about not wanting to rely on family power, wanting to make his own way."

Yahan was slightly startled, her eyes widening prettily: "How did you know?"

Jiaming took a sip of milk: "Silly girl, haven't you read novels? That's what playboys always say when they're trying to pick up girls... Mm, that guy's my rival in love."

"Go to hell!" Yahan laughed and smacked Jiaming on the shoulder. In truth, she knew herself well. She was confident in her beauty and family background. Combined, they attracted plenty of boys, and she was well aware of their intentions. That was why she always kept a low profile, treating people warmly but keeping her distance. This attitude meant she rarely made close friends.

But Jiaming was different. He was a kid—a bit precocious, a bit sharp-tongued, occasionally sly, and a bit perverted—but undeniably a good friend. For one thing, on that camping trip, he'd voluntarily become a hostage in exchange for her. How many people in this world would do that? And when it counted, he showed real manliness—sneaking out of his ropes, grabbing the gun, facing off against Scarface. Without him, the girl named Zhang Yahan would have been raped and then killed as a hostage.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel glad she'd found such an interesting friend. Even if he occasionally took liberties, it didn't matter...

"Ah, right, when I came up just now, I saw that fatty and a few guys surrounding you. They weren't going to beat you up, were they?" Remembering this, Yahan couldn't help asking. "His dad brought him a few days ago, trying to transfer him into the academy. If you say the word, I'll immediately—" She drew a finger across her throat, grinning. "Chop him off."

"Mm, we've got a little grudge." Jiaming nodded. Seeing Yahan's eyes light up, he quickly added, "Don't cause trouble. I'd love for him to drop dead far away. Get him out of this school fast, so he stops coming after me."

"Mm, leave it to me!" Yahan patted her chest with a smile. Noticing Jiaming staring blankly at her, she quickly spat, "Don't you start getting ideas again."

"Cough, no more ideas, no more..." Jiaming checked his watch. "Class is almost over. I need to hit the bathroom. You do your thing. I'll go find Lingjing and Shasha to walk home together later."

"Mm, I drove today. I'm heading to the martial arts school anyway. Oh, right—" Yahan stepped in front of Jiaming. "Give me back my glasses."

"Dream on. Have you ever seen something spit back out once it's in my mouth?"

"Come on."

"Kill me if you've got the guts."

"You think I wouldn't? Hand them over, or I'll fight you for real."

"Kill me if you've got the guts."

"You think I wouldn't? If you don't give them back, I'll really do it!"

"Rape me if you've got the guts."

"You think I wouldn't? I'll—ah—"

They tussled over the glasses. With too much force, Jiaming, sitting on the swing, toppled backward onto the grass. Yahan's whole body came down on top of him, pinning him beneath her.

"Mmph... mmph... help... I'm dying..."

With their uneven heights, Yahan's chest landed right over Jiaming's head. Smothered between those two soft mounds, Jiaming could barely breathe. Yahan yelped and scrambled off him, her face burning red, but she still remembered to snatch the glasses back.

"Hehe... Sis, if you want to kill me, you don't have to do it like this... haha..." Jiaming laughed on the ground, a noticeable red mark from Yahan's button pressed into his forehead. Embarrassed, Yahan punched him aside: "Go to hell!"

She got up, put the glasses back on, straightened her hair and clothes, then took a few steps before turning back: "Hey, I'm going to find Lingjing and Shasha too. If you don't see them, wait at the school gate. You know my car."

"OK, got it. Are you my child bride or my mom?"

"Such a young kid, already so improper..." Yahan spat softly, her face still red as she finally turned and left. Once she was far enough, Jiaming got up with a grin, taking a deep breath.

"Spending time with little kids all the time, occasionally getting a taste of big boobs... Life is beautiful... Thanks, you turkey..."

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Walking out of the bathroom, the five-man group led by the fatty popped up again. School was about to let out, and this was the quietest time on campus. Jiaming's smile dropped helplessly: "What do you want now?"

"What do we want? There's no teacher around now, and no one nearby. I'm going to beat you so bad your own mom won't recognize you!"

"Whether you beat me or not, my mom wouldn't recognize me anyway—I don't know her either. But..." A smirk curled at the corner of his mouth. "There really is no one around."

He clenched his right fist, flexing his wrist in the air. Seeing his movement, the fatty charged first: "You think you can still fight back!?"

The fatty was a full head taller than Jiaming, and in terms of sheer mass, he could easily count as two of him. At this moment, there wasn't a shred of fear in him. Taking advantage of his running start, he thrust both hands toward Jiaming—and then... missed.

In that instant, Jiaming retreated a step like a flash of lightning, his right fist arcing through the air in a perfect curve as his body swung.

"Bam—"

With that single punch, the fatty's entire body lifted off the ground, spun twice in midair, and flew nearly two meters before crashing down in front of the other four. Teeth mixed with blood gushed from his mouth, and his body could no longer move an inch.

Under the stunned, wide-eyed gazes of the four, Jiaming calmly slipped his hands into his pants pockets and walked over.

"Thirty percent strength. That was for Shasha. Don't let me see you again."

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Recommendation tickets! I'm going to hypnotize you all...