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墨書 Inktalez
I meet Xiao Shan about three times a day. In the morning, he drives me to work; in the evening, he picks me up; and during lunch, he comes over to hang out for two hours. The rest of the time, he is busy with his own things, which I am well aware of and don't really care about.
Recently, however, he has been spending more and more time at the internet café, seemingly turning into a free spirit overnight. He always sits in the front row closest to the cashier, sometimes playing games and sometimes organizing his QQ space. No matter what he is doing, he looks up at me every ten minutes or so, thinking I haven't noticed. In reality, I see everything and feel sweet about his actions.
One day, after getting tired of playing, he leaned against the cashier's desk and started chatting with me.
"Some buddies are going out for drinks tonight; do you want to join us?"
"Sure."
"Um..." He rubbed his nose and looked down, avoiding eye contact with me. "Invite your classmate too; the more, the merrier."
"Classmate? Which classmate?" I didn't catch on at first. Before he could answer, I realized he was talking about Xu Wenmo. My hopeful feelings plummeted instantly. "Forget about her; she won't hang out with your buddies."
"What do you mean?" My words hurt his pride, and he looked very angry.
"I mean it literally," I said, equally irritated and unwilling to back down. "Her dad is a big boss in real estate. She only goes online at home and eats at fancy restaurants; she wouldn't be caught dead at a street stall like yours."
Xiao Shan's face turned pale as he glared at me. After a few seconds, he cursed under his breath, "How ungrateful," and then walked away.
This was the first time Xiao Shan had ever lost his temper with me. I felt victorious verbally but heavy-hearted inside, as if a stone had dropped in my chest; it was extremely frustrating.
That evening after work, I was left to go home alone.
As I passed by the school gate, I saw a familiar figure standing under a streetlight with a backpack in her arms, looking down. Her graceful figure caught my attention.
I was contemplating whether to go over and say hello when she suddenly looked up and spotted me. She crossed the street and jogged over to me. Breathing slightly heavier from the ten-meter run, she said, "You finally finished work."
"Were you waiting for me?"
"Yeah."
This surprised me. "Did you need something?"
"Let's go home together," she said unexpectedly.
"Huh? Are we going in the same direction?"
"Yeah, if you walk south from your house for less than two thousand meters, you'll reach mine."
"It doesn't seem like it's the weekend today; why are you going home?"
"I asked my teacher for leave; as long as I'm on time for school tomorrow morning, it's fine."
"Ha! You honor students get away with anything; whatever you say, they agree to it. If it were me... well..." I said with a hint of bitterness.
"That's how people are," she imitated me with a shrug. I wondered if I looked as cute as she did when I made that gesture.
"Let's go, it's getting late."
I was in a bad mood and didn't feel like talking. She stole glances at me a few times along the way, and when I suddenly turned my head, I caught her in the act. She looked as embarrassed as a child. For some reason, even though the conflict between Xiao Shan and me arose because of her, I couldn't bring myself to be angry with her.
This must be the power of beauty; everyone submits to it.
My home wasn't far from school, just over three miles away. After about half an hour of walking, we reached the entrance of the courtyard. With my back to the empty yard, I advised her, "Be careful on your way home. If it's too late, just take a taxi; there are many bad people out at night."
"Okay... be careful!" Before she finished speaking, my father slapped me hard on the back of my head for the second time in front of her.
How did I not smell it earlier? The strong smell of alcohol was enough to get someone drunk.
"Damn it, you worthless thing! Why are you coming back so late? Who were you fooling around with?" My father could barely stand, leaning against the wall, his words jumbled together. "Just like your mother, both of you are damn whores! You're a little whore, and she's an old whore; neither of you is worth anything!"
"Dad, you've had too much to drink."
"Damn it! I can drink as much as I want with my own money; do you need to meddle?" After saying that, another slap came flying toward me.
I instinctively dodged back, but this small movement completely enraged my father. He lunged at me with the intent to not stop until he had beaten me senseless.
Xu Wenmo tried to step forward to block me, but in my panic, I shouted at her, "You should leave! My dad is drunk and won't recognize anyone!"
Xu Wenmo's expression changed, but I didn't have the energy to observe her at that moment; I was too busy avoiding my father's wild kicks and punches.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her move into a dark corner, seemingly making a phone call to someone.
My father hit me for over ten minutes without stopping. I crouched in the corner, protecting my head tightly. Eventually, he got tired and collapsed against the wall, covering his face while starting to sob quietly. "Damn woman! Fooling around again... I'm such a coward playing this turtle role; damn it all! One day you'll be crying too!"
As he continued to sob, I felt like laughing but didn't have the courage to do so. I shifted slightly and noticed a chill on my back from the night breeze brushing against my skin. When I looked back, I saw that my shirt had been torn open by my father’s blows, and blood was oozing from exposed skin. It hadn't hurt before seeing it, but now it stung fiercely.
Where did Xu Wenmo go? It suddenly struck me; I looked around desperately but couldn't find her. Had she already left?
"Dad, let's go home," I said unsteadily as I stood up to help him.
"You know what your mother has done, don't you?" My father looked at me with a mix of grievance and unwillingness.
Yes, I knew that my mother had many lovers scattered throughout Shantytown—some were even my father's drinking buddies who often came over for drinks and flirted with her right in front of him without any shame.
"What are you talking about? I don't know anything; let's just go home; it's getting cold," I said as I tried to pull him up but was pushed back instead and fell onto the ground, landing on some stones that made me wince in pain.
"Don't move!" Several police officers in uniform silently emerged from the Alley Entrance and quickly surrounded us with serious expressions. My father was startled and stood there with his mouth agape in shock.
"Officer, I haven't committed any crime! What are you doing—" My father finally reacted and desperately tried to explain himself.
"A report from the public has indicated that someone here is committing domestic violence against Minor," a police officer said sternly.
"I didn't do it," my father raised his hands, looking like a suspect caught in a crime drama, almost begging for mercy.
"He did!" A person stepped out from behind the officer and pointed at me. "The injuries on her are evidence. Look at her, a little girl, and see what her clothes have been torn into. Xiao Mo, go get your classmate a jacket."
"Oh."
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