Without waiting for the next day, the three Qiao siblings scrubbed the two basins spotless that very evening, then headed to Wang Yan's home after dinner as if taking a stroll to aid digestion.
"No rush to return them. Why come all this way so late? Haven't you seen that whole pile of basins I've got?" Wang Yan welcomed them inside, pointing at the pots, bowls, ladles, and basins piled beneath the awning before leading the three into the main room.
"Better to return them sooner. I was afraid we'd put it off and forget later." Qiao Erqiang looked around the room.
"You're really okay?" Sanli spoke quietly, her voice full of concern.
"Of course I'm okay. I'm going to school tomorrow." Wang Yan grinned. "The ones who beat me up, though—I bet a lot of them will be dropping out."
They had never studied anyway, merely killing time at school while waiting to scrape together a middle school diploma and leave. That was their parents' wish, not the wish of those pint-sized hooligans themselves.
They had once been the ones setting up little factions at school, with connections to thugs outside as well. Now they had suffered such a massive humiliation, and even dragged their own fathers into getting beaten up. With their warped sense of pride, there was no way they could endure it.
They could not bear their classmates' stares, nor the looks from those they had bullied before. Coupled with the fact that they had never liked studying to begin with, naturally, they no longer wanted to attend school.
Qiao Erqiang nodded. "It'd be better if none of them came back. School would be more peaceful then. Otherwise, there are fights every day and someone getting bullied every day."
"Wow... Brother Yan, you have so many