Xiaolei - Chapter 9

A chill spread from my spine and swept through my whole body.

I had seen Dalong fight before.

Once, after school, he beat a first-year boy with a stool leg until the boy’s head and hands were covered in blood.

That was not the worst part. The worst came several days later.

The victim treated Dalong and several of his thug friends to dinner, bowing and offering toast after toast. That counted as reconciliation.

In the end, Dalong received no punishment. The matter simply disappeared.

I was afraid.

Chen Wei was not with me. I had no friends at the studio, and Old Qi had already left. Even if he had been there, someone could be murdered outside the studio and it would have nothing to do with him.

I stood where I was, unsure what to do.

Regret overwhelmed me.

I regretted underestimating how vicious Dalong was. I regretted not hurrying home earlier.

I did not want Xiaolei to see me being beaten.

So I packed my things as slowly as possible while planning what I might say to Dalong.

Xiaolei saw my panic. “It’s all right. I’ll talk to him.”

“Don’t!” I blurted.

Dalong had once beaten a dance student nearly unconscious simply because she called him a pervert when he grabbed her bottom.

I could not let him hurt Xiaolei, but neither did I want her to see me beg him for mercy.

I truly could think of no solution.

Xiaolei patted me gently, leaned close to my ear, and whispered, “He’s waiting at the front gate. We can climb over the wall.”

That really was a good idea.

She took my hand and followed the crowd downstairs.

It was the first time we had held hands in front of so many people.

I was terrified, yet I also felt wonderfully safe.

After only a few steps, I spotted Dalong walking ahead with his arm around his girlfriend. He was tall enough to be visible at a glance.

I quickly ducked to one side and waited for him to leave first.

But Xiaolei suddenly released my hand and walked ahead alone.

I wanted to stop her but did not dare shout.

In the blink of an eye, she had caught up behind Dalong.

She was small to begin with, and the crowd soon swallowed her from view. I was about to push closer when a girl screamed. At the same time came a series of heavy thuds.

The stairwell erupted in confusion, followed by more screams from downstairs.

Something was wrong. Forgetting my fear, I ran down.

I forced my way through the crowd and stared, stunned.

Dalong lay sprawled at the foot of the stairs.

His posture was grotesque. One cheek was pressed to the floor while his body remained on the steps and his backside jutted high in the air. Both legs were twisted to one side at angles no normal person could achieve. One shoe was missing. He looked like an overfried prawn.

“Ah… ah… ah…”

He was still breathing and appeared to be trying to rise, but despite all his effort, he could only wriggle faintly.

His girlfriend shrieked beside him and tried to lift him. A teaching assistant hurriedly stopped her.

“Don’t move him! He may have broken bones. We can’t move him around. Call an ambulance!”

After watching for a while, everyone who needed to go home left. Only two assistants, Dalong’s girlfriend, and several students close to him stayed nearby.

I slipped outside and hid behind a tree, watching from a distance. My heart pounded wildly, and I planned to run.

A hand caught mine.

Somehow, Xiaolei had appeared beside me again.

“Don’t go.”

She raised her head and looked at me sweetly. Her large eyes seemed exceptionally black.

“Weren’t you angry just now?” she asked.

“Mm.”

“Then watch for a while.”

I stayed. Dalong’s cheek remained plastered to the floor. Warm breath steamed from his mouth along with white foam, and a wet stain gradually spread across the crotch of his pants. He had probably lost control of his bladder and bowels.

“Are you still angry with him?” Xiaolei asked.

“Huh?”

Dalong’s condition had frightened me so badly that I had not registered the question. When I recovered, I hurriedly shook my head.

“No. I’m not angry anymore.”

“But you still don’t look happy.” Xiaolei frowned at me.

I was scared half to death. How could I possibly look happy?

She wrapped both hands around my arm and swayed it gently, tilting her head. “Jinjiao, don’t hold yourself back. No one else is here.”

My heart thudded. I did not understand what she meant.

Looking directly into my eyes, she said slowly, “You’re allowed to enjoy his misfortune.”

“What?”

Something inside me seemed to awaken.

Of course. A person like Dalong—I had cursed him to death countless times in my heart only moments ago.

But once he truly ended up like this, I began to pity him.

Why did he deserve my pity?

If he stood up, would my pity make him decide not to beat me?

As I watched Dalong’s wretched state, a sense of vindication gradually rose within me.

“Serves him right!”