Case Files 013

The night was still noisy and rowdy. Under the street lights, aunties and uncles gathered together to play cards and gossip. Inside the house, Zhang Xue and I looked at each other silently. For a girl who was only 15, her life story was harrowing, no wonder she was attracted to books like To Live. It was a simple directive, to live, but there were often too many difficulties in it. Zhang Xue never showed this side of herself to others because she was no longer living the same life as her peers… Or at least most of her peers.

Lee Taida hated his father intensely that he would not hesitate to kill him; Zhang Xue was her father's sex captive, was it more than a shared family condition that brought these 5 children together? Yu Cai High School was a big school in Dong Xing City, there should be more than these 5 kids who came from single-parent families.

Looking at Zhang Xue, I asked slowly, "Do they… know about your story?" Zhang Xue hesitated and then nodded. Since she had just told me her biggest secret, there was no need to hide the rest. Zhang Xue told me how the 5 of them met. Interestingly enough, the 5 of them came together because of Zhou Guo. Zhuo Guo was a good student, the bookworm type. He didn't like to talk and he had a pair of thick glasses, he was not a popular kid by any means. He was often the best student in class, he was obedient and quiet, he was a treasure in the eyes of the staff, he was the model student; but among the students, they hated goodie-two-foodies like him. And Zhou Guo was too weak to dare to complain to the teachers even after he was bullied.

As the saying goes, all lay loads on the willing horse. Zhou Guo was always bullied but never fought back so more classmates made him their targets. They bullied the best student to fulfil their own sick pride and honor. This was the way they managed to regain a little self-value in the system of education that emphasized on tests too heavily. Since they couldn't beat Zhou Guo in terms of studies, they would beat him quite literally.

One day, the bullies surrounded Zhou Guo again. They peeled off Zhou Guo's shoes and tossed them among themselves, making Zhou Guo run after his shoes like a monkey. At that moment, someone shouted, "Fucking stop that now!" The whole class became silent. It was Zhang Xue who shouted. With everyone watching, Zhang Xue walked towards the student who had Zhou Guo's shoes. She didn't say a word, only stretched out her hands. The student appeared to be stunned by Zhang Xue's presence and obediently handed her the shoes. Zhang Xue accepted the shoes and walked towards Zhou Guo. Zhou Guo's face was red. He reached towards the shoes and lowered his voice to thank Zhang Xue. But Zhang Xue raised the shoe and used the foot to slap Zhou Guo across his face, 5 times on each side of his cheeks. Zhou Guo's face was instantly red. His cheeks were glowing with his own shoe print. Instantly, the surrounding crowd laughed and an atmosphere of joy spread. Zhou Guo was placed in an awkward spot. His hands froze in mid-air, he didn't know whether to take the shoes or not.

"Shut the fuck up!" Zhang Xue dropped the shoes beside Zhou Guo's feet. "From today onwards, no one is allowed to bully Zhou Guo anymore. That 10 slaps will be the end. Especially you, Liu Yang!" Zhang Xue pointed her finger at Liu Xue. The ‘boss' of the bullies, Liu Yang, was still stunned. Wasn't this Zhang Xue often bullied by the girls too? Where did she find the guts to shout and order him around that day? While Liu Yang was baffled, Zhang Xue went back to her seat while Zhou Guo put his shoes back on. The class was silent.

When Liu Yang came to his senses, he was pissed but as a boy, he still had the pride that prevented him from laying his hands on a girl. However, if he couldn't even deal with a Zhang Xue, then his place as the boss would be shaken. He was contemplating what to do when the bell rang. "Zhou Guo, Zhang Xue, don't you dare to go anywhere after school." Liu Yang recited the lines common for all school bullies.

After the last bell rang, if this was a normal day, the students would slip out of class immediately, shouting along the way. But today, most of the students stayed in class, taking their leisure to pack away their stuff. After the teacher was long gone, a student went to follow her, this was Liu Yang's scout. If a staff member returned or passed by, he would shout to inform Liu Yang.

"Okay, I have no idea what is going on in your mind today but some lessons are necessary to remind you who the boss of this class is." Liu Yang pulled over a chair and sat down before the two. A group of people surrounded Zhang Xue and Zhou Guo at the corner. These were all Liu Yang's lackeys. They were just school bullies but they saw themselves as more than that. Under Boss Liu Yang's direction, they ruled the school.

"If you want a fight, come and get it. Stop wasting my time!" Zhang Xue spat at Liu Yang. The girl who leaned on Liu Yang's side scoffed. This was Liu Yang's girlfriend. The girlfriend scoffed. "Bitch, do you know who you're talking to? How dare you talk to my husband with such disrespect. Sisters, go and tear out her mouth." Then the girl and her lackeys stomped forward. Soon the girlfriend was lying on the ground. Zhang Xue kicked her right on her stomach, she didn't even see it coming. Everyone was shocked because they never thought someone would fight back when they were surrounded. Whenever they did this in the past, no one dared to counter. Their victims all waited at the corner to be punched and then cried for mercy. Zhang Xue was clearly not afraid of the bullies' bigger numbers. She landed more kicks on the girlfriend. Liu Yang only reacted when his girlfriend started to cry. He shouted. "Get them!"

To save his own face and girlfriend, Liu Yang swung a fist at Zhang Xue. Zhang Xue was so focused on dealing with the girlfriend that she didn't notice the incoming fist. However, the fist didn't land on Zhang Xue because someone stepped forth to block it. Hearing the grunt, Zhang Xue turned around and saw Zhou Guo smile dumbly at her. Zhou Guo stood before Zhang Xue like a meatshield, he didn't fight back but he wouldn't allow anyone to hurt Zhang Xue. Zhang Xue looked at Zhou Guo but didn't say anything. She turned her attention back to the girlfriend.

At that moment, someone walked in.

"Eh, who are you people? Which class are you from?" The scout at the door shouted.

Two people walked in, 1 male and 1 female, Lee Taida and Lin Rou to be precise.

"Boss, someone is here." The scout immediately reported after the duo strode past him into the classroom. Hearing that, everyone stopped, assuming the newcomer was the teacher. Lee Taida and Lin Rou reached the crowd and the crowd parted to reveal Zhou Guo who was covered in footprints and Zhang Xue who was untouched.

"Who are you people?" Liu Yang frowned. "Mind your own business." Lee Taida answered with his fist. "The person I hate the most is the kind who would raise their fists against women." Then it became a brawl. Even though she was a girl, Lin Rou was as strong as a boy. Then again, with the chaos that was happening, who cared about small details like gender anymore. The tables and chairs were kicked over and several students were rolling on the ground.

Eventually the 4 were wounded. Then someone shouted out of nowhere. "Help, please. My head is bleeding!"

Then more people wailed and screamed. The crowd turned back to look and spotted a giant coming from behind them. The giant held a wooden stick in his grasp. There were not many people who would reach 1.8 metres in junior high. He towered over the rest of them easily. Using the stick, he aimed at the bobbing heads and soon the heads bruised and bled. People cried and sobbed. The school bullies were so unstoppable because they had the number's advantage but this giant came swinging with a wooden stick. No one dared to take him head on, they scattered and some of them went to find the teacher. In the end, only Liu Yang and a few unconscious students were left in the class.

"Who, who are you?" Liu Yang had never encountered someone who was more brazen than he was. This giant aimed to wound and kill.

"The name's Zhao Erming." The giant dropped the stick, it was the foot of a wooden stool. Lee Taida added, "You know the consequence if you dare to bully the two of them again."

Liu Yang nodded. The teacher finally arrived. When he took in the scene, he immediately sent for the school nurse. Then the 5 ‘bullies' were sent to the discipline office. It was the same old spiel, do not fight, do not resort to violence, threat of expulsion, their parents would be summoned and so on. Even though Zhang Xue tried to explain that it was not their fault, the discipline teacher was not having any of it. 4 of these 5 students were rebels, had bad results and shared a bad reputation among the staff, so who would buy her story? Furthermore, there were so many students in the class, did they all gang up to bully Zhou Guo?

Zhang Xue nodded defiantly and the discipline teacher slapped her for it. Zhang Xue was suddenly reminded of a term she learned in history class, tyranny of the majority. When the majority thought we were wrong, were we really wrong?

As they left the discipline office, Zhang Xue and Zhou Guo were frowning but the other 3 were laughing. Zhang Xue and Zhou Guo didn't get it, what was so funny?