The Three of Us

This matter did not stir up much in Jiaming's heart. To him, it was merely an interlude in an ordinary life. If he had gained any insight from it, it was probably nothing more than the joke that no matter what kind of girl she was, once she had been pushed down, her martial arts became useless. However, if he had known how great a stir this little episode would later cause, whether he would have given that push in the first place would be hard to say.

In any case, after that match that had Father Ye laughing nonstop, Sister Huaisha began learning martial arts at the Ye Family Martial Arts School and regarded Jiaming as her sworn enemy. Whenever Jiaming was around, he was always her target. This area happened to be Sand Bamboo Gang territory, and the Liu Family was not far from the Ye Family Martial Arts School. After Huaisha and Lingjing became close friends, the number of people participating in morning training became three. On the grassy slope at the outskirts, Huaisha and Lingjing practiced against each other while Jiaming, as usual, dazed off or took a nap nearby. However, whenever they ran into someone selling steamed buns in the morning, Jiaming was the one paying.

After school started, Liu Huaisha naturally continued practicing at the Ye Family Martial Arts School, while Jiaming hurriedly got himself out of that daily set of punches. His interests lay elsewhere, and Mr. and Mrs. Ye could not very well force him. Still, whenever Sister Liu was around in the evening, he could not avoid being dragged up for a thorough beating. According to Sister Liu, it was pre-dinner exercise, light and appetite-stimulating.

Outside the Ye Family Martial Arts School, Sister Liu remained the model bad student, her notorious reputation spreading far and wide. Lingjing's grades continued marching triumphantly onward; she occasionally entered one competition or another and casually took home a ranking. Jiaming's scores, meanwhile, always hovered between sixty and seventy. He liked staring blankly into space when he had nothing to do and occasionally read all kinds of miscellaneous books. He became an utterly inconspicuous decoration at school. His relationship with his classmates was neither distant nor close. Other than being with Lingjing every day, if anyone remembered him at all, it was probably because of the girl who always stood in front of him whenever anything happened.

At the end of the third lunar month, Jiaming turned eleven. He himself did not feel much about it. Lingjing used the money she had saved to buy him a radio, and only when she gave it to him did he realize it was his birthday. Sister Liu, who had always bullied him, gave him a baseball bat. It was expensive, and it was enough to show her fierce personality. Neither girl knew how to play baseball. In Sister Liu's mind, the bat was probably just for fighting.

The days passed in leisurely fashion. Lingjing seemed carefree, but she was actually very clingy. At home and at school, she had grown used to taking care of Jiaming in the role of an "older sister." In other people's eyes, though, Jiaming was simply Lingjing's little tagalong. Of course, sometimes they would have a cold war over trivial matters. For example, Lingjing once argued with someone at school and was called a tomboy who would never get married. Sister Liu happened to pass by and gave that person a vicious beating. It would have been better if she had not. Afterward, Little Lingjing instead became upset. That evening, she sat dejectedly on the little grassy slope outside the city for a long while, while Jiaming stayed beside her and watched the sun set.

"What's wrong with being a tomboy? What's wrong with liking to hit people? He doesn't hand in his homework and still talks about other people. I'm definitely telling the teacher tomorrow..."

She muttered there for ages, her eyes red around the rims. Jiaming merely listened quietly, occasionally interjecting, "How about I beat him up for you tomorrow?"

Lingjing broke into a smile through her tears. "Jiaming, you can't fight. Shasha already beat him up for me."

"Yeah. Someone like Shasha is what you call a real tomboy. Terrifying."

"Shasha is one, and so am I." Lingjing lowered her head miserably. "When I was little, back in the countryside, people always said I was like a boy and that nobody would want me when I grew up... Hmph. I hate it most when people say things like that."

So that was a childhood shadow. But although this era still favored the gentle, demure type of girl, with Lingjing's looks, the title of tomboy should never have fallen on her. The next thing those guys usually said was probably, "...so marry her to my so-and-so." Jiaming smiled to himself and casually comforted her. "Actually, Lingjing, you're great. If nobody wants you in the future, I'll marry you."...

That was a joke meant for adults. Lingjing lowered her head, blushing. Jiaming thought she would be touched and give him her first kiss the next moment. Instead, when he turned his head, he received a slap that was neither hard nor light. It did not hurt his face, but it rang loudly—the kind that made one lose face completely.

"I'm your older sister! How can you say something like that?! I'm not talking to you anymore!"

After shouting those words in a crisp voice, Lingjing turned and ran away, leaving Jiaming standing there with a bitter smile.

For the next two days, Lingjing truly ignored him.

His training started at three in the morning every day. Since Lingjing did not come to wake him in the mornings, he was happy for the peace and slept a little longer. He did not know that the little girl had waited on the grassy slope for a long time each morning, hoping to give him a chance to apologize, only for him to be lazy at home. During class that day, Lingjing sat upright and ignored Jiaming, while Jiaming leaned by the window and stared into space. That evening, the two returned to the martial arts school one after the other. Lingjing went in first and slammed the door shut, refusing to let Jiaming inside in a fit of pique. Jiaming knocked twice. Standing beside the door, Lingjing thought, If you apologize, I'll open it. Yet after waiting for a while, no more knocks came. When she opened the door, the little boy had already vanished into the dusk with his schoolbag on his back.

That night, Lingjing was so angry she could not even eat. Mr. and Mrs. Ye Han found it strange that Jiaming had not come over, and when they asked Lingjing, she naturally could not say something like, "Jiaming wanted to marry me, but I wouldn't let him." The next day, when she ran to the grassy slope, Jiaming was still nowhere to be seen. Lingjing sat there and cried her heart out. The elderly people nearby comforted her for a long time, their hearts aching for her. If places like the local shop had been open, a mountain of candy would probably have appeared beside the little girl at once.

That day happened to be Saturday. Lingjing went home with red-rimmed eyes, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Ye deeply worried. Unfortunately, Jiaming did not see it, or he might have felt guilty. On the third morning, as she ran past the Huang Residence, Little Lingjing finally could not stand it any longer and ran in to knock on Jiaming's window. A moment later, Jiaming got dressed and jumped out. The two ran to the little grassy slope as usual. Lingjing said softly, "You're not allowed to say that again." Jiaming nodded. "Sorry." And just like that, they made up.

In truth, this brief cold war also helped Jiaming think through certain things. Originally, Lingjing had been nothing more than a shield to him. For instance, if someone was gay, he would often marry a beautiful wife to show that his sexual orientation was normal. Lingjing had been much the same. Since she liked sticking to him, he was happy to let her serve as his shield. He would hide behind the little girl whenever anything happened and use her behavior to make himself seem more like a child. After all, if he were alone, he would either spend every day staring blankly into space or do things that did not resemble what a child would do.

Yet over these past two days, without this little girl constantly around him, he had actually felt somewhat empty. When she deliberately came to make up with him, the aggrieved expression on her face had somehow warmed his heart. Had his body become smaller, and his mind followed suit? Or had he become some kind of perverted pedophile? The thought only flashed through his mind. No matter what, he knew that, without realizing it, he had come to regard this girl as someone very important.

As for Sister Liu, aside from coming to study at the Ye Family Martial Arts School during weekly holidays, she often skipped class to come play with the two of them. Occasionally, she would arrive after getting into a fight, bruised and battered. Jiaming and Lingjing would accompany her back to the martial arts school to get medicine for bruises and sprains. After this happened several times, Jiaming's schoolbag always contained gauze, medicated wine, ointment, and the like, practically becoming a first-aid kit. Whenever Sister Liu got hurt, she would come directly to him for treatment rather than return to the martial arts school and listen to Father Ye's lectures such as, "Martial arts are for strengthening the body and cultivating one's character."

In the autumn of 1993, Jiaming and Lingjing advanced to fifth grade. Liu Huaisha, however, had performed too poorly and had grades too bad, so she had to repeat a year. The three were in the same grade, and Sister Liu wanted to transfer to the same school as the two of them. Her father did not agree, so she ultimately had to give up...

In order to keep their good friend from repeating another year, the three often studied together afterward under Lingjing's lead. By the summer of 1994, when they graduated from fifth grade, Sister Liu's exam results were truly excellent. Father Liu had never expected his daughter to get particularly good grades. Who would have thought that after the exams, her scores would leave all his underlings' jaws on the floor? It gave this gang boss quite a bit of face. Delighted, he agreed to his daughter's request and let her attend middle school at the somewhat farther Xinghui Middle School. It was a relatively good school in Jianghai City, with middle and high school combined, though it was not within Sand Bamboo Gang territory. Still, after his daughter made a fuss, he finally agreed, because Jiaming and Lingjing were also planning to attend that school.

To celebrate the fact that the three of them would be attending the same school from then on, Sister Liu proposed that they go camping and exploring in the mountains during summer vacation as soon as she received her father's permission. Of course, it would not really be three half-grown children going alone. A travel company in Jianghai City happened to be running a wilderness survival Summer Camp, and the fee was expensive. During the period when Sister Liu's grades had been poor, Father Liu had boasted that if she scored this many points, he would give her this much money, and so on. He had said it in a moment of irritation, and the reward was absurdly high for a child. This time, in his happiness, his wallet took another heavy blow. Sister Liu had the money and paid for all three of them, so Jiaming and Lingjing naturally agreed.

Once the matter was settled, the three spent those days shopping all over Jianghai City for outdoor travel supplies. That afternoon, Jiaming returned to the Huang Family's grand villa, only to encounter a supernatural incident.

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