TL: Milaryn
Edit: IlkonEbi
Jiaming did not put too much importance on that incident because he considered it as something an ordinary person would go through. As to what he felt about it, after he pushed the girl down without using any martial arts, he thought it could be played off as a joke. However if he knew what waves this incident caused in the future, he would not have pushed her down and done it differently instead.
In conclusion, this challenge that caused father Ye to laugh nonstop ended with little Huaisha learning martial arts at the Ye family’s martial arts school. Jiaming became the one she viewed as an enemy and every time Jiaming was around, he became her target. The area they were located was part of Sha Zhu Gang’s territory and the Liu family’s home was not far from Ye’s Martial Arts School. When Huaisha and Lingjing became closer friends, every morning’s morning discipline became a three person affair. At the grasslands near the city outskirts, Huaisha and Lingjing would earnestly train while Jiaming daydreamed or dozed off on the side as per usual. However, when it came to buying the steamed buns, it became Jiaming’s responsibility to pay for them.
After school started, Liu Huaisha naturally continued training at the Ye family’s martial hall, while Jiaming continued to refuse to learn martial arts by saying he was not interested. The Ye couple naturally did not push the issue or force him to join. However the nights when Liu family’s daughter was around, she would require Jiaming to enter the ring so that she could practice on him as exercise before dinner because it allowed her to have a better appetite.
Outside of Ye’s Martial Arts School, Liu Huaisha still represented the troublemaker students, her infamy spread far and wide. Lingjing’s accomplishments remained as amazing as before; she joined a few competitions and easily ranked high on a few of them. Jiaming’s grades hovered around the sixties and seventies, when nothing was happening he would happily daydream away and occasionally read some books. At school, he was an ordinary student amongst other students and was neither close to them, nor isolated from others. He hung out with Lingjing everyday and if other people had any impression of him, it was mostly because of the girl that was always standing in front of him.
At the end of third month of the lunar year (early May), Jiaming turned eleven and he did not particularly feel anything about it. Lingjing got him a radio as a gift and he reacted appropriately when he received it. Huaisha, the one that usually bullied him, gifted him an expensive baseball bat. However, based on her personality and the fact that both girls did not play baseball, he assumed that she got him that bat with the intention of using it in a fight.
Thus the days passed by leisurely. Lingjing’s personality seemed carefree, but she was actually very clingy. At school and at home she had gotten used to the identity of being the ‘older sister’ taking care of Jiaming, however bystanders would naturally consider Jiaming as someone who just leeched off her. Naturally, sometimes they would start a cold war with each other over the smallest things. For example, one time Lingjing got into an argument with someone at school and got called a tomboy who would never be able to get married. It just so happened that Huaisha was passing by and she beat the crap out of the student for saying it. It would have been better if he had not been beaten because Lingjing felt bad about it afterwards. That evening, Lingjing had been depressed for quite a while as Jiaming accompanied her; they sat on the grassy slope at the outskirt of the city and watched the sun set in the horizon.
So what if I’m a tomboy, I do like to hit them if they’re wrong. He didn’t even do his homework! I’m definitely going to tell the teacher tomorrow…
She mumbled for quite a while with red-rimmed eyes. Jiaming only quietly listened, then suddenly said,
Do you want me to help you beat him up tomorrow?
Lingjing smiled through her tears,
Jiaming, you don’t even know how to fight. Besides, Shasha already helped me beat him up.
That’s true, Shasha is the type you would call a tomboy, so scary.
Shasha is one, so am I.
Lingjing said dejectedly,
When I was young and living in the rural area, people said I was like a boy and no one would want me… Hmph, I hated it the most when people said that to me.
Jiaming realized that it was a childhood trauma. Even though the current era was still old-fashioned and preferred daughters to be gentle and graceful, based on Lingjing’s looks, she could not be referred as a tomboy. He remembered that child had also said: [because she was a tomboy and no one would marry her]
… She would only be able to marry my family’s XXX.
Having thought of that, he mentally smiled and then casually said,
Actually, Lingjing, you’re really great. If no one wants you in the future, I’ll marry you.
It could be considered an adult’s joke, when Lingjing heard that, she blushed a bright red and lowered her head. Jiaming thought she was so moved that she was going to kiss him, but the next thing he knew, she loudly slapped him. It did not hurt but it surprised him instead.
I’m your older sister! How could you say that! I’m ignoring you!
Lingjing blurted that out and then turned and ran away, leaving Jiaming smiling bitterly.
She really did ignore him for the next two days.
He woke up at three in the middle of the night to begin his training and then, when morning came, Lingjing did not call on him. He felt happy that it was quiet and he slept for a while longer. He did not know that the little girl had run to the grasslands in the morning to give him a chance to apologize and waited for him for a long time, but he had stayed at home and slacked off. The same day, when they went to class, Lingjing sat at the same place but completely ignored Jiaming, while Jiaming leaned on the window daydreaming. At night, when the two of them – one in the front and the other behind – returned to the Ye home, Lingjing entered first and shut the door heavily in a huff, not allowing Jiaming to enter. Jiaming knocked twice while Lingjing stood by the door, hoping for a ‘sorry’ so she could open the door. However, after a while, the knocking did not repeat and when she opened the door to look, there was no sign of the little boy at all.
That same night, Lingjing was so angry she was not able to eat dinner. Lingjing’s parents were curious why Jiaming had not come over and when they asked her why, she naturally could not say that it was because Jiaming said he would marry her and because of that they got into an argument. The second day at the grassy slopes, Jiaming still did not show up and Lingjing sat down and cried loudly. The elderly grandpas and grandmas comforted her for half of the time they were there, however because the city shops had not yet opened, they were unable to cheer her up with a big pile of candies.
That day happened to be a Saturday, so when Lingjing returned home, her eyes puffy from crying, her parents were extremely alarmed. It was a pity that Jiaming did not see Lingjing or he might have felt guilty about it. On the third day in the morning, Lingjing finally went to the Huang mansion and was going to knock on Jiaming’s window when Jiaming just happened to leap out at the same time. The two of them ran to the grassy slopes and Lingjing quietly said,
You’re not allowed to say that again.
Jiaming nodded and said,
I’m sorry.
Just like that, the two of them resolved their argument and returned to the status quo.
Truth be told, Jiaming was able to clarify a few things during this short cold war. Originally, Lingjing was only a shield for him; for example, if someone were gay, they would marry a beautiful wife to show that they were straight. Lingjing’s purpose was to be used as an excuse. Since she liked to involve herself with him, then he would be willing to use her as a shield so that no matter what happened, he could hide behind her. Based on her actions, he would be able to adjust himself so that he could seem more like a child. Otherwise, he would be on his own, or he would just be daydreaming every day or possibly do things that did not seem child-like.
During those past two days, without the little girl around, he unexpectedly felt empty. He unexpectedly felt moved by the expression she had when she came to find him to repair their relationship. Was it because of his body becoming smaller that his mind devolved to match his body? Or did he actually become a twisted pedophile? Those fleeting thoughts went through his mind, but whatever the case was, he knew that this girl had somehow wormed her way into his heart and become a very important person in his life.
As to Liu Huaisha, apart from holidays, she would be training at the Ye’s martial arts hall during the week. She would also often skip classes to play with the two of them and if she got into a fight and her nose was bleeding or face was swollen, Jiaming and Lingjing would accompany her back to the training hall and apply medicine. Because this happened quite a few times, Jiaming’s school bag was often filled with gauze, ointment, medicine etc., like a mini first-aid kit. If Huaisha got injured, they would be able to treat her instantly instead of returning back to Lingjing’s place as well as avoid father Ye’s nagging about
martial arts is to improve the body and not for fighting
.
In the autumn of 1993, Jiaming and Lingjing entered Grade Five. Huaisha had to redo a year because her attendance and grades were terrible, and the three of them ended up being in the same grade. Originally she wanted to transfer into the same school as the two of them, but her father did not agree, so she had to give up on that idea.
As Lingjing did not want Huaisha to redo another year, under her lead, the three of them often studied together. When the summer of 1994 arrived, and it was time to graduate from Grade Five, Huaisha’s exam results were not bad. Her father originally did not expect his daughter to be able to get such results and it also caused all his subordinates’ jaws to drop. He was very proud of his daughter, so he agreed to his daughter’s request to transfer to a middle school slightly further away, Starlight Secondary School. This was one of Jianghai City’s better schools as it included middle school and high school, however it was not within Sha Zhu Gang’s territory. When his daughter made a fuss, he finally agreed to her request because Jiaming and Lingjing were also preparing to enter that school.
To celebrate the fact that the three of them were going to attend the same school, with permission from her father, Liu Huaisha suggested camping during summer vacation. Of course this would not be just the three of these half-grown kids, because Jianghai City’s tourism office had just implemented a survival summer camp type of activity with an expensive registration fee. During the time when Liu Huaisha’s grades were terrible, her father had boastingly promised that he would give her an allowance that would be as many points as she could get on her exams. She had been resentful when she heard it, but then she scored really well and as he had promised her, he had to honor his word. This was obviously an excessive reward for a child, and now that Huaisha had the money, she was willing to pay for the registration fee for the three of them, so Jiaming and Lingjing accepted her suggestion.
To settle their affairs, the three of them went to Jianghai City and bought the items needed for their camping trip. In the afternoon, when Jiaming returned to the Huang family villa, he happened upon a strange event.
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