Chapter 2
Fourth Brother quickly found me a job that included food and lodging.
The owner was bald and had a tattoo sleeve.
He eyed me suspiciously.
“There’s a lot of beer and crates to haul around here. A little girl like her can’t handle it.”
The tattooed man ran an open-air food stall.
It got very busy at night.
Fourth Brother clapped me on the back.
“Xiaowu, show him what you can do.”
At his prompting, I lifted a crate of beer with one hand.
The tattooed man’s eyes nearly popped out.
Still frowning, he asked,
“Is she an adult? I don’t do anything illegal here.”
“We’re respectable, law-abiding citizens.”
Fourth Brother smiled ingratiatingly.
“She is, she is. She may look young, but she turned twenty this year.”
Nonsense. I was already a hundred.
Of course, I did not dare say that aloud.
The owner looked as though he still had something to say.
Fourth Brother suddenly stepped forward and clasped his hand.
“Boss, please take pity on my sister. She’s the first person from our village to get into university.”
“But our family scraped together barely half her tuition.”
“Please, out of the goodness of your heart, let her work here for two months.”
I had assumed no one would fall for Fourth Brother’s dreadful acting.
To my surprise, the tattooed man’s eyes reddened as he listened.
He agreed on the spot to let me stay.
And so began my work-study life hauling beer at the food stall.
Everyone there took good care of me.
With the tattooed owner around, no one dared cause trouble.
That big tattoo sleeve looked very intimidating.
But I knew it was only a stick-on tattoo.
Still, the streets attracted all sorts, and now and then someone was bound to get drunk and make trouble.
One night, the tattooed owner was away.
Uncle Liu, the cook, said his Erzhuang was sick.
He had taken Erzhuang to the hospital.
“The boss has a son?”
“What son? Erzhuang is his Ragdoll cat.”
We were still talking.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out at one of the tables.
Four or five drunk men had surrounded two young women.
They were spewing filthy innuendos.
In broad daylight, someone dared harass decent women right under my nose.
I was about to charge over.
Then one of the women stood up, grabbed a bottle, and smashed it straight over a drunk’s head.
She split his scalp open.
She wore a cap low over her face, so I could not see what she looked like.
She was tall and slender, though, and did not look built to take a beating.
Her actions successfully enraged the drunks.
She was brave, but badly outnumbered.
One man’s palm was about to come down across her face.
I snatched up a bottle and rushed in.
Behind me, Uncle Liu was still shouting,
“Xiaowu, that bottle’s expensive… Smash a different one!”
Too late.
The bottle exploded against a man’s head.
Liquor and blood streamed down his face.
The sight brought a faint red glow to my eyes.
Foxes were not bloodthirsty, but scum like this was another matter.
Within moments, all five men were on the ground, howling in pain.
If they could yell that loudly, they clearly were not badly hurt.
“Hey, you filthy perverts! You still have the nerve to make noise? Next time you see this lady, cross the street!”
With that, I gave each of them another kick.
I was still at it when someone pulled me back.
It was the woman from before.
The brim of her cap hid her face.
All I could see was a pale, finely pointed chin.
She shook her head at me.
I grinned.
“Don’t worry, gorgeous. I’ll protect you.”
She suddenly laughed.
Her peach-blossom lips curved upward.
I stared, mesmerized.
That was why I failed to slip away before the police took me down to the station.
Fourth Brother eventually arrived and dragged me out.
Then he smacked me hard on the back of the head.
“All you do is make trouble! If you see bad people, call the police. Why would you throw yourself into the fight?”
“And you beat them up that badly! Do you have any idea how much compensation we might have to pay?”
I knew it. That stingy Fourth Brother of mine was angry only because he feared losing money.
For a while afterward, Fourth Brother dragged me from one hiding place to another.
But the police never contacted him about compensation.
The tattooed owner did not ask me to pay for the tables, stools, or bottles I had broken either.
Only then did Fourth Brother breathe a sigh of relief.
Soon, it was time for university to begin.
On registration day, Fourth Brother gave me a white dress especially for the occasion.
He patted my head.
“The revival of foxkind rests on you, Xiaowu.”
I knew he did not truly expect me to revive our clan. As long as I bore the burden, Father and Mother would leave him alone.
My eyes shining, I thumped my chest and vowed to land a rich patron no matter what, then lead the Tushan clan to greatness.
Fourth Brother looked at my face, hesitating as if there was something he wanted to say.
In the end, he could only sigh helplessly and offer what sounded like consolation.
“Our Xiaowu is certainly ambitious.”
Buoyed by his words, I marched through the university gates with my head held high.
I could feel people looking at me. I knew it—everyone in the fox clan was beautiful.
And I was the prettiest of my generation.
Mother often said that with my looks, a crook of my finger would bring piles of chicken drumsticks straight to me.
Chicken drumsticks were a powerful temptation.
So I practiced even harder.
At last, I mastered everything Mother had taught me about enchantment.
Even Father praised me as the most gifted fox of my generation.
After much searching, I finally found my dormitory.
Two young women were already inside.
One wore her hair in a bun and had a sweet, delicate face.
The other had short hair and a striking, spirited look.
The moment they saw me, they both froze.
Then they burst out laughing.
“What backwater did this bumpkin crawl out of?”
“I’m dying… Who still goes out dressed like that these days?”
I wanted to argue, but I was hopeless with words and could not get anything out.
My eyes reddened with frustration.
All I could do was stand there and let them mock me.
Mother had never taught me how to quarrel…
Then someone caught me by the collar and hauled me behind her.
She stood in front of me, her voice languid.
“Where did this silly little innocent come from? You don’t even know how to argue?”
“Be good and hide behind your big sister.”
The two women in the room immediately stopped laughing when they saw her.
They muttered under their breath,
“We were only joking…”
The newcomer raised an eyelid and said coldly,
“How many times have I told you? When you’re out in the world, don’t pick on children.”
I looked up at her.
Long hair spilled loosely down her back, above a graceful waist.
Light streamed through the window, bathing her in warm gold.
She looked languid and effortlessly at ease.
Even her profile was lovelier than any fox I had ever seen.
Perhaps only my beautiful ancestress could have rivaled her…
Just then, she turned to face me.
The instant she saw my face, her exquisite, languid peach-blossom eyes flew wide open.
After a long moment, she smiled.
“Kid, do you study Chinese opera?”
“Why is your face painted like a monkey’s backside?”
I pouted, nearly bursting into tears again.
This was the most fashionable makeup in the fox clan. Comparing me to a monkey was a terrible insult to foxes.
The beautiful woman panicked and hurriedly pulled something from her pocket, then stuffed it into my mouth.
She spoke in a grave voice.
“Kid, once you eat this candy, you’re not allowed to cry.”
Sweetness spread across my tongue.
My eyes curved with delight.
The beautiful woman let out a relieved breath.
She bent down to look at me.
Her lovely face suddenly filled my vision.
I could even see her eyelashes fluttering like tiny fans, stirring an itch in my heart.
She really did seem… a little prettier than me.
My pride as a fox was crushed.
The beautiful woman tipped my chin up and clicked her tongue softly.
“Call me Big Sis. I’ll look after you from now on.”
Obediently, I opened my mouth.
“Big Sis…”
Surprise flickered through her beautiful eyes. Then she smiled and rubbed my head.
“Good girl.”