chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ever since I was bullied, Cheng Yubai never let me go out alone again. Every time I wanted to go out for a walk, he would always accompany me.

Maybe because I had older kids backing me up, Liu Huzi and his gang didn’t dare bully me anymore. Several times when we ran into each other-still far apart-they would scramble away in panic, just like mice running from a cat.

I felt a bit puzzled, but even more relieved.

After all, I didn’t want to bully others, and I certainly didn’t want to be bullied myself.

But soon, I didn’t have time to worry about these things, because I was old enough to start school. Dad decided that after the rice harvest at the end of summer, he would send both me and Cheng Yubai to school-

Yes, I was going to school.

For someone like me who was used to sleeping in, this really wasn’t good news.

But Dad was resolute. He didn’t even ask us-he just registered both me and Cheng Yubai.

“Your mom is the only high school student in our village.”

That night, when he came home, Dad pulled me aside and tried to persuade me sincerely: “Now the policies are better, you can go to college. My girl, you’ll have to run the household one day. How can you live your life ignorant of everything?”

Dad meant well, but I was hopeless, whining and refusing to go: “Dad, it’s too early. I just can’t get up.”

“It’s all right.”

Dad patted his chest and promised, “Tomorrow morning, I’ll wake you up!”

My face fell instantly.

Dad still didn’t get it-it wasn’t a matter of whether I could get up, but that I just didn’t want to go-

Studying is so exhausting!

I sighed and fell asleep. The next morning, Dad really did get up early. After making some white fungus soup, he came cheerfully to wake me.

I got up, but after putting on my new clothes, I flopped right back onto the kang (heated brick bed).

No matter how nicely Dad tried to coax me, I refused to get up.

“It’s so early.”

Hugging my pillow, I mumbled with my eyes closed, “Dad, I don’t want to go to school…”

Suddenly, everything went quiet.

Dad stopped nagging, and the room fell silent. But that silence only lasted a few seconds. Just as I was about to settle in for more sleep, a sudden, sharp pain hit me from behind.

I let out a miserable scream, clutching my butt as I scrambled up. When I turned around, I saw Dad holding a feather duster, his face full of disappointment and frustration.

Did I just… get spanked?

Realizing this, I pouted, then burst into loud tears, rolling and flailing on the kang, my feet kicking the quilt into a mess, trying to express my grievance and anger that way. But Dad was unmoved.

He quickly grabbed me, and the feather duster landed mercilessly on my butt. As he spanked, he demanded, “Are you going to school? Are you going to school?!”

The clothes we wore in summer and autumn were thin, so the feather duster stung my skin-it really hurt.

“I’ll go! I’ll go!”

I tried to dodge, begging for mercy, clutching my sore bottom and crying, “It hurts, Dad, stop hitting me, my butt hurts, sob sob…”

When it rains, it pours; when Dad wants to spank, he does.

For as long as I could remember, Dad had never said a harsh word to me. I never thought my first spanking would be because I didn’t want to go to school.

Looking back now, my memory of that day is already fuzzy. I just remember that in the end, it was Cheng Yubai who stopped Dad’s feather duster and carried me to school on his back. As a little kid, I sobbed on his back, my tears, drool, and snot soaking his shoulder.

He was always so clean, yet he endured it without a word.

As for my vow to never speak to Dad again-I completely forgot about it the moment I came home from school and saw that pot of braised pork knuckle.

Actually-

School turned out to be pretty fun.

Besides, with Cheng Yubai by my side, getting up early for school didn’t seem so hard after all.