Queen

Early the next morning, Aunt He checked out of the house and loaded everything they needed to take onto the car.

The well-behaved Little He Qing helped her mother, hugging a package bigger than her own head and panting from exhaustion.

Aunt He reminded her, "Qing Qing, you've got everything, right? If you leave anything behind, we won't be able to come back for it."

Little He Qing counted the packages. "Nothing's been left behind."

She turned back to look at Lin Zhengran, who was heading out to school, and the two of them met each other's eyes.

Everything that needed saying had already been said over the past month, and there wasn't much else to add, so Lin Zhengran simply said, "Have a safe trip."

Little He Qing's gaze was indescribably complicated. She hesitated, then opened her mouth and called out, "Lin—Lin Zhengran!"

He stopped.

Little He Qing continued, "Before I come back, can you... can you try not to play with other girls too much?"

Lin Zhengran did not understand at all, and his gaze turned disdainful. "Do I look that free?"

The adults all burst out laughing when they heard that.

They laughed one after another, making Little He Qing shyly pick at her fingers, wishing she could sink into the ground.

Lin Zhengran's dad, Lin Yingjun, took the initiative to agree. "Don't worry, Little Qing Qing. I'll supervise Zhengran, all the way until you come back."

Little He Qing lowered her head even more. "Thank you, Uncle..."

"You're welcome, haha."

Aunt He also said, "Qing Qing, say goodbye to Zhengran Gege. We're leaving."

Little He Qing waved at Lin Zhengran, and Lin Zhengran waved back.

The two of them got into their families' cars and headed in opposite directions.

Only, sitting in the car, Little He Qing still kept turning back to look. A moment later, she sat properly again and looked out the window, smiling knowingly.

Although they had parted, she was also looking forward to seeing what Lin Zhengran would be like a few years later.

By then, Lin Zhengran would probably be very handsome, because he was already very handsome now.

After they parted that day, Little He Qing and Lin Zhengran actually were not as distant as one might have imagined over nearly the next year.

From time to time, Little He Qing would use the phone in her Hometown to report everything going on with her to Lin Zhengran, and ask about how he had been doing.

"Lin Zhengran, I showed my Maternal Grandmother the video of me winning the championship. She said I was amazing! I said it was all taught to me by a boy called Lin Zhengran! Maternal Grandmother even said she wants to meet you someday if there's a chance."

"Is that so?"

"Lin Zhengran, have you been going to school and coming home alone lately? You haven't... you haven't been with other girls, have you?"

"No. Do you really think I've got nothing to do all day?"

"Lin Zhengran, my Maternal Grandmother's health seemed to be getting better and better before, but she got sick again a while ago. How's your health lately?"

"...I don't even know how to answer you. I'm a kid, how else could my health be? Growing like crazy!"

"Lin Zhengran, it's been over a year since I came back to my Hometown. It feels like time is passing so slowly. We're only in third grade now, and there's still fourth grade, fifth grade, and sixth grade. When will we finally get to Middle School?"

A year later, Little He Qing and Lin Zhengran still kept up the habit of calling each other, but the frequency had gone from once every few days to once a week, then later from once a week to once a month.

Another year passed. Fourth grade.

The timing of their phone calls became irregular. Basically, only when something very happy or very sad happened would Little He Qing call Lin Zhengran.

The thread of fate, like the telephone line, had never been cut.

Today, it was drizzling in the south. In the second half of fourth grade, nine-year-old Little He Qing got dressed at home and went to school.

After several years apart, Little He Qing had become even prettier and taller than before, and even her ponytail was longer than it used to be.

She took her mother's car to school.

Carrying her schoolbag, she arrived at the noisy classroom.

"He Qing, did you finish yesterday's homework? Hurry and let me copy it!"

Little He Qing handed the homework in her bag to the girl sitting in front of her. "Don't copy it exactly the same, or the teacher will find out."

"I know! Thanks, Queen!"

"I told you not to call me that..." she muttered.

Little He Qing still had the same personality as before, but because she had always strictly followed Lin Zhengran's instructions, whenever someone bullied her, she would give as good as she got.

She would throw the other person right in front of everyone with a back throw, showing off her combat power. After that, let alone the girls, even the boys were scared silly, so someone gave her the nicknames Back-Throw Queen and Queen.

Little He Qing did not like those two nicknames very much, but since everyone called her that, there was nothing she could do. She had even specially complained to Lin Zhengran about it.

Perhaps Little He Qing really did not know how to make friends. Even though things had gone so smoothly after transferring schools, she still had not made the kind of close Best Friend.

She felt it might be because when she had first come to the school, she had always been throwing people with back throws, and everyone was afraid of her.

At noon that day, when school let out, Little He Qing went to the cafeteria to eat as usual.

The rain was still falling, and she held up an umbrella.

When she passed the small path behind the Teaching Building.

Little He Qing suddenly heard the sound of arguing in the distance and looked over curiously, though she had not planned to get involved.

After all, children arguing was a common thing.

But then she saw a lot of girls surrounding a pretty girl, and the girl being surrounded looked somewhat familiar.

After taking a closer look, she realized it was actually a classmate from her own class. Little He Qing remembered her name was Han Wenwen, and because she was especially pretty, she was unusually popular with the boys in class.

"I already said, him coming to find me is his own business. What does it have to do with me?" Han Wenwen had been forced into a corner by the crowd, but she still showed no fear at all.

The girl who had surrounded her shouted, "You're lying! You did it on purpose! Ever since we were little, he and I went to school and came home from school together. When he grew up, he even said he was going to marry me! But a while ago, the moment he saw you, he stopped playing with me. Every day, all he knows is going to find you!"

Another girl also said, "And my older brother! Why does he go looking for you every day too?! He mentions your name at home every single day!"

Han Wenwen was puzzled. "So what do your friends coming to find me have to do with me? Have you ever seen me pay them any attention? There are plenty of boys who come talk to me every day. Can't you people look for problems with yourselves?!"

"What did you say?! Are you saying none of us are as pretty as you?! Are you saying we're all ugly?! You're clearly the one who took the initiative to seduce them!"

Seeing that they had already started fighting, Little He Qing hurriedly ran over. "Don't fight!"

Even though Little He Qing stopped them in time, Han Wenwen's face was still scratched a little, blood seeping out, and her hair had been yanked into a mess.

But Han Wenwen's personality was clearly different from He Qing's. Even if she could not beat the others, she fought back fiercely, scratching the other girl's face as well.

Little He Qing spread her arms and stood in front of Han Wenwen, testifying for her. "Stop fighting. Han Wenwen and I are in the same class. I can prove she really hasn't seduced anyone. She barely talks to boys in class usually."

After saying that, she even turned back and asked Han Wenwen, "Right, right? If I remember correctly, you eat alone in class and everything too, don't you?"

Han Wenwen looked at He Qing and wiped the blood from her face with her hand.

When that group saw someone had gotten involved, they actually wanted to start on He Qing too. "Who are you?! What does this have to do with you?!" He Qing warned them, "Don't come over, don't come over! Don't try to hit me."

In the end, the moment the other girl grabbed Little He Qing's clothes, Little He Qing threw her down into the rainy ground with a shoulder throw.

With a smack, water and mud splashed everywhere.

The other girl was stunned at first, then lay on the ground and burst into loud tears. "It hurts! It hurts so much! I'm going home to tell my mom~"

Little He Qing anxiously comforted her, "Are... are you okay? It hurts, but I have technique when I throw people. You won't get injured."

The other girls all looked terrified. They backed up a few steps, then hurriedly ran off.

Han Wenwen was also staring blankly from behind. She had heard about He Qing's title in class: Wrestling Queen. It was just that after half a year as her classmate, she had never seen it with her own eyes. She had not expected that He Qing really did know how to throw people...