A Butterfly Arrives

A Butterfly Arrives. Shan Kaiquan had only gotten halfway through his sentence.

Ma Shicheng retorted, "People with tattoos aren't good people. That girl might even be involved with gangsters!"

Even in later years, tattoos still struggled to shake off prejudice, let alone in 2013, when many people's first impression was that tattoos meant someone was a bad person.

Ma Shicheng spoke a little loudly. Yang Sheng, sitting a few rows ahead, heard him and was extremely disgusted. She stood up and called him out.

"What makes you think people with tattoos aren't good people?"

"I think you're the bad person here." Yang Sheng had always been tough, and she went straight on the offensive.

Seeing someone dare to argue with him—and a girl at that—Ma Shicheng got fired up. He had never gone easy on women.

Raising his voice, Ma Shicheng shot back from across the room, "What, you think tattoos are good?"

"You wouldn't happen to have a tattoo yourself, would you?"

He gave Yang Sheng an exaggerated once-over, his gaze openly offensive.

Yang Sheng was enraged by his stare and cursed, "Bullshit!"

"Hahaha, do you dare admit you don't have one?"

"No, you don't." Ma Shicheng acted as if he had seen through everything.

"So what if I have a tattoo? Got a problem with that?" Yang Sheng really had secretly gotten a very small tattoo.

"People like you, who judge others without knowing anything and casually deny them, are the real trash!"

Being targeted like that didn't anger Ma Shicheng. He turned and asked Wang Longlong, "Dragon Bro, what do you think about tattoos? I think they're no good. Do you agree?"

Wang Longlong was an honest fellow. He had only gotten to play with Ma Shicheng's phone today. If he dared disagree, he might not get to use it again, so of course he agreed. He said sycophantically, "Ma Ge is right!"

Ma Shicheng smiled faintly, then looked at Hu Jun. "Jun Ge, what do you think?"

Hu Jun was originally the upright and selfless Class Committee Member, but facing Ma Shicheng, he couldn't help recalling the day they had elected the Class Committee Member. It was Ma Shicheng and the others' support and encouragement that had given him the courage to step forward.

He cleared his throat and stated his position.

"I think Ma Shicheng is right."

"What about Guo Bro?" Ma Shicheng asked again. One after another, several people all agreed with him.

Then Ma Shicheng looked at Yang Sheng, victory written across his face, and calmly said, "Justice lives in people's hearts."

Yang Sheng was utterly speechless at Ma Shicheng. She had never seen such a shameless person. Her chest heaved violently with anger, and for a moment, she couldn't say a word.

Seeing that everyone had finally calmed down, Shan Kaiquan continued, "She had a colorful butterfly tattooed on her arm, and on her ear, there was..."

Before he could finish, another voice cut in. "Only when people like you are all dead will tattoos stop being discriminated against!"

Dong Qingfeng's voice was forceful and ringing, like justice itself had descended.

Shan Kaiquan: ...

That show of support greatly increased Yang Sheng's favorable impression of him.

Feeling the look Yang Sheng sent his way, Dong Qingfeng felt like he was floating.

He had read online that when a woman was lonely and helpless, if you stepped forward, you might very well win her heart in one go.

Although Dong Qingfeng planned to pursue Shen Qing'e, Yang Sheng also had a unique charm to her. He found it hard to choose.

Ma Shicheng saw someone else stirring up trouble, and it was Dong Qingfeng, whom he had always found displeasing.

Ma Shicheng didn't choose to strike back aggressively. Instead, he used the tone of a mature man.

"Brother, you're still young. Think about it—what if your future wife got a tattoo? A male tattoo artist eagerly invites her in. Do you know how tattoos are done?"

"Especially tattoos in those places."

Dong Qingfeng wanted to say, I wouldn't have that kind of wife.

But when he couldn't help imagining it, a chill ran through him.

Yang Sheng was furious. "Ma Shicheng, watch your filthy mouth!"

Ma Shicheng sneered. He couldn't be bothered with someone he had already defeated in an argument.

No matter how angry Yang Sheng got, there was nothing she could do to him.

Seeing the atmosphere quiet down, Shan Kaiquan didn't speak right away. After waiting several dozen seconds, he cautiously said, "She had a colorful butterfly tattooed on her arm and a Seashell Earring in her ear. She was sitting right next to me."

"I was deeply attracted to her."

Even now, recalling that scene, he still lingered over it.

Ma Shicheng had gotten a little worked up earlier and interrupted Shan Kaiquan. Feeling bad about it now, he played along. "Did you get her QQ? Show the brothers a photo."

The moment girls' photos were mentioned, the topic immediately drew in several boys who had been watching the show.

"I asked for it." Shan Kaiquan said, "You all know how bold I am."

"Then hurry up and show us. What are you dawdling for?" Guo Kunnan urged.

"Don't rush. Let me tell you how I asked for her QQ." Shan Kaiquan said unhurriedly. Seeing the boys around him paying attention, he became even less hurried, putting on the air of a master.

"The girl was wearing very little. A short skirt, short sleeves, you get it?"

"It got colder outside today. The bus I took was a Rural Bus, no air conditioning. I was sitting by the window."

"To get her QQ, I suddenly came up with a good idea."

"I deliberately opened the window. The wind outside—man, it was strong. It blew that girl until she was shivering."

Guo Kunnan couldn't take it anymore and complained, "You're seriously a bastard."

"What happened after that? She asked me to close the window, and I took the chance to ask for her QQ."

Shan Kaiquan's face fell. "I did ask, but she didn't give it to me."

"She's got some backbone," Guo Kunnan remarked.

Ma Shicheng had expected it. "Tattoos, earrings, a short skirt—she sounds like the type with plenty of attitude."

"As if you could get it!"

Several students nearby voiced the same opinion.

Shan Kaiquan listened to them. After a long while, when the voices died down, he spoke.

"But I still got her QQ."

"? Seriously?"

"I, Shan Kaiquan, never lie. The first time I asked for her QQ, she did refuse. So I didn't close the window and let the cold wind keep blowing on her." Shan Kaiquan wore a vengeful look. "She tried to close the window herself. Heh, do you know how hard it is to pull those bus windows shut?"

"Especially on those privately run Rural Buses. They only get maintenance once in a blue moon. Most girls can't pull the windows shut at all."

At the time, he had watched coldly, as though he had turned into ice.

"But she was pretty strong. She pulled it shut a little, and the wind got weaker."

"As for me, I wasn't cold, so I casually opened the window wider." Shan Kaiquan gestured.

When it came to being wicked, even Ma Shicheng had to admit defeat.

"She really couldn't stand the cold anymore, so in the end, she begged to add my QQ." Only then did Shan Kaiquan take out his phone and show everyone.

"During Evening Self-Study just now, she even messaged me."

"She asked what grade I was in and which class I was from."

"Haha, she's starting to ask about me."

"Doesn't that mean she definitely likes me?"

"Brothers, you can't spoil women. You have to be tough!" Shan Kaiquan spoke like someone with experience.

He even opened the girl's social feed on the spot. There were several selfies inside, and she really was very pretty.

Even Ma Shicheng, who had kept criticizing tattoos, felt a little envious.

Since school started, he hadn't added a single pretty girl! Geng Lu and Yang Sheng had originally counted as two, but now both were completely out of the question. Thinking back on it afterward, Ma Shicheng felt a faint melancholy.

The final period of Evening Self-Study was, as usual, self-study.

During it, Hu Jun stepped onto the podium, looked at the whole class, and announced, "The Water Dispenser our class bought has arrived. From now on, for drinking water, we'll order Purified Water from the school supermarket. It's four yuan per jug, and we'll take turns carrying water in groups."

"This is the schedule I made. The printing costs will come out of the class fund."

Hu Jun used tape to stick the Water Carrying Schedule to the wall.

"Jiang Ning, am I in the same group as you?" Geng Lu turned around and asked.

"Probably. It's arranged according to seating. The four of us are one group."

"That's great. If I can't carry it in the future, can you help me? I'll buy you snacks."

A jug of Purified Water held 18.9 liters and weighed around thirty-eight jin. An ordinary high school girl really couldn't carry it.

"Sure, no problem." To Jiang Ning, it was nothing at all.

Xue Yuantong sat closer to the front. Her eyesight was good, and when she saw the chart on the wall, she discovered, unfortunately, that there wasn't a single boy in their group of four...

Still, she could ask for outside help.

"How can I get Jiang Ning to carry water for me without letting him realize I can't carry it?"

Xue Yuantong thought about it as she touched her newly bought Pink Rabbit Cup. She had bought two cups online for twenty-four yuan. The other was a white rabbit cup, which she planned to give Jiang Ning.

Even when the dismissal bell rang, Xue Yuantong was still thinking.

Just as she was about to stand up and leave the classroom, the door was suddenly kicked open. A boy with a vicious expression stormed in.

Dressed head to toe in Nike, his hawk-like eyes swept across the classroom as he arrogantly shouted, "Which one of you is fucking Shan Kaiquan? Get your ass up here!"

Behind the Nike-clad boy, seven or eight more boys poured in, until finally, the girl with the Seashell Earring appeared.