Volume One, Chapter 16: A Token of Love

I will never forget that moment.

Gathering all my courage, I confessed my feelings. Sister Yuzhu tilted her head, blushing deeply, and let me hold her hand without saying a word.

After a long pause, I swallowed hard again. “Sister Yuzhu, I... I like you.”

“I heard you, Xiaohui,” she finally spoke.

“Does that mean you... you agree?” I could hardly believe it.

This time, she looked at me solemnly, as if making a firm decision, and nodded with conviction. “Xiaohui, I see how good you’ve been to me... I’m willing to wait for you to grow up, to mature.”

“Yes!” Although it seems incredibly childish now, at that moment I cheered and almost jumped for joy!

Sister Yuzhu... was my girlfriend!

Sister Yuzhu... belonged to me!

“So, Sister Yuzhu, shall we be ‘mutually affectionate’ tonight?” I asked eagerly.

“Pervert!” She shot me a sharp glance. “How do I know your kindness isn’t just a passing fancy? How do I know you won’t change your heart later? If you meet a better ‘darling’ down the road, how do I know you won’t abandon me? Xiaohui, how old are you? Until you truly grow up, everything is uncertain. I have to think about myself. For a woman, mutual affection is very important! You must make me feel that I can entrust myself to you completely before I can reciprocate. Understand?”

“But... but I’m sincere!”

“A person’s heart is very complicated.”

“Oh, Sister Yuzhu, look here!” I pointed to my hands. “Just holding your hand makes me feel this way. Am I not sincere?”

“Pah! Pervert!” Her face flushed even more.

“Then, Sister Yuzhu, what would it take for you to believe I’m sincere?” I asked again.

“If, after you grow up and mature, you still like me, then you’ll be truly sincere.”

“Then, Sister Yuzhu, what counts as ‘growing up’?”

“At least two or three more years.”

“Two or three years? Sister Yuzhu, I... I feel so sad...”

“Your brother knows a lot about these things; he should have taught you. Handle it yourself.” She said this and quickly walked away, hands behind her back.

I scratched my head, never imagining that even after she agreed to be my girlfriend, things would still be so complicated...

Then Sister Yuzhu came back and gently kissed me on the cheek.

At that moment, I felt like I was dying... dying of happiness!

She quickly trotted away again, as if that kiss was a token of our bond.

I touched my cheek and brought my hand to my nose, inhaling deeply... it smelled so sweet...

I recalled the softness of that kiss... so warm and gentle...

And then... I couldn’t hold back any longer!

I slipped into a nearby alley, reliving that kiss from Sister Yuzhu and feeling completely satisfied...

Only after I had finished did I catch up with her again.

She blinked at me, asking where I had gone.

“Sister Yuzhu, didn’t you say? Handle it yourself,” I replied.

Her cheeks flushed again, and she scolded me lightly, “Pervert!” But she still held my hand and walked with me toward the night market street beside the market.

Along the way, I gazed at Sister Yuzhu’s exquisitely delicate face under the moonlight, endlessly grateful to heaven for sending her to me.

The path to the night market felt so short, so unbelievably short. If only it could be longer, if only I could walk with Sister Yuzhu forever, how wonderful that would be...

But alas... such is life’s fleeting nature...

As we held hands walking into the night market street next to the market, from a distance, we saw a large crowd gathered in front of a small convenience store, drawn by some commotion.

Naturally curious, Sister Yuzhu and I joined the crowd.

Outside the shop, several police motorcycles gleamed with flashing lights.

Inside, the officers had entered a back room curtained off by a cloth.

Through a slit in the curtain, we saw them smashing a collection of colorful machines with steel pipes and wooden clubs.

I had seen these machines before in the factory’s small shop. My brother said they were slot machines used for gambling.

The shop owner stood nearby, smoking with a stern expression, seemingly resigned, not trying to stop the officers.

At that moment, someone suddenly patted me on the back.

I turned to see my brother, looking somewhat alarmed.

“Brother, it looks like they’re smashing the slot machines inside,” I said, pointing toward the store.

He didn’t respond, just pulled Sister Yuzhu and me toward the end of the street.

As he did, I noticed a man quickly slipping out of a dark alley beside the shop, bent low and moving fast—it was Kang Youwei!

Immediately, I sensed that something was wrong.

My brother tugged us along with Kang Youwei, hastening out of the night market street, crossing the market, and heading back along the factory path.

Along the way, I noticed both Kang Youwei and my brother’s clothes were covered in footprints—clear signs they had been beaten.

“Brother! What happened?” I asked, my expression darkening.

He motioned for me to hold my questions and, together with Kang Youwei, kept a wary eye on our surroundings as we hurried through the path back to the industrial area.

When we reached the brightly lit factory buildings, my brother and Kang Youwei finally relaxed slightly.

I asked again what had happened.

“It’s... the slot machine gang in this area... Ma... Ma Fei...” Kang Youwei, clearly injured and gasping for breath, struggled to speak.

“My brother and I had a few words with Ma Fei,” my brother took over, shooting Kang Youwei a sharp look. “Old Kang, it’s your fault! I told you to buy the horse and leave, but you insisted on playing the slot machines!”

With that, my brother pulled Kang Youwei into the factory.

At this point, Sister Yuzhu said she had disinfectant and medicine for bruises in her dorm and offered to treat them.

My brother shook his head decisively. They’d only been kicked a few times, he said, and the injuries weren’t serious—no need for treatment.

“Brother, are you sure?” I worried he was putting on a brave face.

“No, no, a night’s rest will fix it,” he replied, looking me straight in the eyes. “But you, Ah Hui, we just have to endure this; don’t act rashly, understand?”

“Understood.” I nodded.

“Promise me,” he pressed, still uneasy.

“Okay! I promise not to lose my temper.” I nodded again.

Only after patting my shoulder did my brother lead Kang Youwei toward their dormitory.

But as I watched their retreating figures, I noticed my brother slightly bent over, both hands pressed in front of him, clearly holding some pain...

A chill ran through me.

He was definitely putting on a brave face in front of me.

He must have been hurt at least as badly as Kang Youwei but was silently enduring the pain to keep me from worrying.

Given their tense expressions when they returned...

This matter was far more complicated than he let on.

I guessed this too, and Sister Yuzhu, standing beside me, seemed to notice the oddity in my brother’s posture.

“Xiaohui, it looks like your brother and Kang Youwei are seriously hurt. Come with me to my dorm; I’ll get the disinfectant and medicine for bruises.”

I agreed and went with her to her dorm to collect the supplies.

When we arrived at my brother and Kang Youwei’s dorm, the door was ajar.

Just as I was about to step inside, I glimpsed through the crack that they had taken off their clothes.

It seemed the room held only the two of them.

Their bodies, front and back, bore several bruises from being struck, darkening with swelling and oozing blood.

I clenched my teeth in anger.

Inside, my brother was speaking urgently to Kang Youwei.

“Old Kang! Don’t tell Ah Hui! He’s hot-tempered; if he knows, something bad might happen again!”

“What do we do then, Chunsheng?” Kang Youwei’s face was panicked. “If it weren’t for running into that police team by chance, Ma Fei... Ma Fei would have crippled us! How could we have escaped?”

The weight of the situation hung heavily between them.