Lin Duole constantly made trips to the county hospital every few days. He didn’t dare come on weekdays, fearing his mother would find out he was skipping school. Every time he ran over clutching a foam box, a coaxing, obedient smile was forced onto his face. Yet the moment he turned his back to his mother, his expression would invariably slump back into listlessness.
His mother had been admitted to the hospital early in the spring of last year, making it a full year by the time this spring arrived. The treatment at the county hospital was truly dreadful; if only he could bring his mother to a big city for treatment, wouldn’t she recover much faster? But when on earth would they ever be able to go to a big city? Lin Duole pondered gloomily in his heart.
Ye Wanqiu had just finished taking her medicine, her mouth completely filled with bitterness. Lin Duole could feel the bitterness just by smelling it. He fished two White Rabbit milk candies out of his pocket, peeled off the wrappers, and held them up to his mother’s lips.
With the candies stuck to her upper lip, Ye Wanqiu had no choice but to accept them. Following his lead, she popped the candies into her mouth, managing to squeeze out a slight smile as she asked, “Where did you get the candies? Spending money recklessly on Mom again, aren’t you?”
“No, the neighbor auntie’s family had something to celebrate, so they gave them to me as wedding candy.” Lin Duole blinked his large eyes, speaking these words with a hint of bashfulness.
“Remember to bring a pair of scissors next time you come over; Mom will give your hair a proper trim,” Ye Wanqiu said softly. Gentle by nature, she merely smiled upon hearing her son’s unnatural explanation without exposing him. Instead, she stroked his long hair and continued, “Look at you, hair so long you look just like a girl.”
Lin Duole didn’t argue with her words. He simply offered his mother a smile and nodded in agreement.
“You’re in your second year of middle school this semester. Put your mind into your coursework and stop running to the hospital all the time. You don’t need to worry about Mom’s illness—besides, worrying won’t help anyway; you’re not a doctor.”
Lin Duole furrowed his brows and listened quietly, his lips pressed into a tight straight line. In the end, he merely uttered a silent “Mm.”
More than half a month had passed since school opened in town. Lin Duole bade farewell to his mother and rushed back to the village on the final bus of the day.
“Gengsheng’s mother! I mainly brought Teacher Xiao over to your place today to get a sense of the situation. Lately, we heard the kid hasn’t been to school for over half a month. Is there some obstacle at home that you can’t get past, or was the kid mistreated at school? Tell us about it—between neighbors, if there’s a difficulty, everyone can figure out a way together,” the Village Chief said directly, stating the purpose of his visit.
“Figure out a way! What kind of way is there to figure out?!”
Duole’s grandmother, her head covered in silver hair, scooped up water with a gourd ladle and splashed it across the main courtyard, driving their group away while wailing about her hardships: “This kid being born into our family means he just wasn’t fated to study! His dad died early, and his mother is a sickly burden—a whole family of deadweights! Every morning when I open my eyes, my hands are full of chores. How did I end up with such a miserable life?! Saddled with these money-draining, life-threatening burdens!”
Throughout the whole village and beyond, no one could out-talk Duole’s grandmother’s sharp tongue. The Village Chief pulled Teacher Xiao forward, trying to reason with her patiently: “Gengsheng’s mother, I know you have it rough in your heart, and relying on you alone for this whole family isn’t easy.”
“Right now, we might feel in our hearts that whether a child studies or not is a private family matter, but under the law, it really isn’t.”
Lacking much education himself, he only knew these few lines. After finishing, he nudged Teacher Xiao’s arm with his elbow, gesturing for him to cooperate with his work.
Teacher Xiao was the Dean of Students at the town middle school. Holding a red educational promotional booklet in his hands, he passed it over for Duole’s grandmother to look at. “Big Sister, the Village Chief is right. Look here—it’s clearly stated in the Compulsory Education Law that allowing a child to receive nine years of compulsory education is a parent’s duty, as well as a right that Student Duole ought to have. If you forcibly prevent Duole from attending school, strictly speaking, that’s breaking the law.”
“Yes, yes, Teacher Xiao is educated after all; that’s exactly what I meant just now,” the Village Chief chimed in hastily upon hearing Teacher Xiao speak. “Gengsheng’s mother, for our generation, suffering a little hardship is nothing, but we can’t ruin the child’s future. In today’s society, it’s hard to even find manual labor jobs after graduating from elementary or middle school. In the future, if he goes to a big city, he can only do the dirtiest and most exhausting work, remaining at the bottom of society and earning the least money. Your kid is obedient and smart; letting him study isn’t for the school’s sake—it’s so he can build up his own skills, bring honor to your family, and have better means to honor and care for you two elders in the future.”
“Study, study! You all make it sound so easy! Raising a college student takes the life savings of several generations in a family?! Don’t talk to me about national subsidies in middle school—what about after he graduates, when he goes to high school and college?! Even if he studies through middle school, he still won’t have the money for high school or college! In the end, what’s the difference between graduating from middle school and graduating from elementary school? He’d be better off not studying right now and using these three years to enter society, earn money, and support the family.”
Having finished her tirade, Duole’s grandmother snatched the promotional booklet from Teacher Xiao’s hands, tore it to shreds, and tossed it casually into the chicken coop.
It was the first time in his life that Teacher Xiao had encountered such an overbearing and arrogant parent; his elbow was practically bruised from being bumped by the old woman.
Seeing this state of affairs, the Village Chief hurriedly pulled the teacher helping him behind his back, then put on a conciliatory smile and said, “Future matters can be dealt with in the future. Right now, middle school doesn’t cost a thing, and there are even national subsidies for tuition and living expenses. Even if Duole needs money when he reaches high school or college later on, just come and tell me. When the time comes, I’ll find a way in the village to help you apply for assistance and ask the villagers to lend a helping hand. He absolutely must attend this school.”
“Attend what school?! If he insists on going, you might as well arrest me and take me away first! Let’s see how he attends without me!” The old woman was entirely unreasonable, brandishing a broom as she began driving them out of the house.
Lin Duole rushed home under the moonlight. Just as he reached the entrance, he seemed to hear his grandmother arguing with someone. As he prepared to open the door, he saw the Village Chief, Teacher Xiao, and a neighborhood committee auntie who was helping to break up the fight, all being driven out of the courtyard gate by the old woman.
“Since Duole is here too, let’s lay out the ugly truth first. If you insist on not sending the kid to school, we can only settle this through legal procedures,” the Village Chief said, pointing toward the county seat.
Teacher Xiao added, “The township government and the Bureau of Education will issue an Order to Enroll Notice. If you still refuse to comply, we can sue the parents, and in severe cases, custody rights can be stripped.”
The affair ended as a farce. Left with no choice in the end, the old woman had to let the child continue going to school.
The next day, Lin Duole wheeled out a bicycle that had been sitting idle in the cattle shed for many years—it was bought when his parents got married. The iron frame on the bike was already rusted through, and the tires were completely flat.
His grandfather said to push it into the courtyard first; once he went to town to buy new tires and fix it up, it would be rideable.
A few days later, Lin Duole smoothly wheeled the bicycle out the front door. Riding down the road, a fierce spring wind whipped past, blowing against his hair and cheeks. On the roadside were classmates like him riding bikes to school in town, as well as a few small kids huddled together by the side of the road playing in the snow.
Upon arriving at school, Lin Duole saw Cai Huayan in class, who had also returned to school. Wearing a tiny, dark felt hat, she waved at him by way of greeting, to which he responded with a smile.
He had enrolled the latest that day, so it wasn’t until Teacher Li entered the classroom that a seat was arranged for him. In the new semester, Lin Duole’s desk mate was Zhang Jiahui from the neighboring village—a domineering and tyrannical boy. Zhang Jiahui was burly and tall, fond of bullying classmates after class. He blocked the entrance to Lin Duole’s seat like a hulking brute, as if intending to imprison him in that spot against the wall.
“Yo, the little bastard actually came to school today!” Zhang Jiahui slapped his face, only to have his hand slapped away by Lin Duole. Refusing to give up, he reached out and pinched his chin, forcing Lin Duole to raise his eyes and look at him. “Quite feisty, aren’t we? Look at your long hair and pale face—you really look less and less like your dark, ugly, rough biological dad! Saying your mom slept around with wild men to have you isn’t without reason! Otherwise, how could your mom give birth to such a pretty, flirtatious look like yours?”
It wasn’t that Lin Duole hadn’t heard the wild rumors in the village—plenty of people said he didn’t resemble his biological father. But those who taunted him so blatantly and with such malicious mockery were always the most uncultured group in school.
Lin Duole shoved Zhang Jiahui, along with his desk and chair, flat onto the ground. He had never liked getting into conflicts with others, but if someone deliberately came looking for trouble, he was by no means the type to swallow his pride just to keep the peace.
Zhang Jiahui was stunned by the fall, completely unprepared for this soft-looking, gentle top student to strike first. Overcome with rage, he stood up, pinned Lin Duole by the back of his neck, and slammed his head straight down onto the desk. “You fucking wild bastard, you dare hit me?!”
The two tumbled into a brawl right at their seats. As middle schoolers, the classmates were long accustomed to such scenes—the slightly kinder class committee members stepped forward to break up the fight, while those who enjoyed watching the chaos cheered and shouted from the side.
The classroom was in complete disarray until the class bell rang and Teacher Li arrived, finally pulling the two apart. Without even asking for the context, he knew how the farce had been ignited. Teacher Li looked at Lin Duole, glanced at Zhang Jiahui, and led the latter out of the classroom.
Having seemingly grown accustomed to such unprovoked malice since childhood, Lin Duole paid no more attention to the strange looks from his classmates. He often felt that he simply wanted to sit in the classroom and study—why was that so difficult?
Sometimes, what God gave him was far from perfect. Lin Duole had no choice but to grit his teeth and pretend as though nothing had happened, composedly continuing his classes and life.
It wasn’t until school ended in the afternoon that Zhang Jiahui was released from the office by the teacher. Lin Duole didn’t care what kind of punishment the other had received; he packed his books into his bag, slung the large canvas bag with embroidered patches over one shoulder, and walked out the school gate.
A sinister gaze swept across the back of the top student’s head. Zhang Jiahui’s sidekicks murmured among themselves: “Boss, are we just letting him off like that? That makes your writing a self-reflection in the office all day way too unfair!”
“Yeah, why is it that we’re the ones getting punished every time there’s a fight, while this little loser gets off scot-free?! What’s so great about having good grades!”
“Exactly! How about we beat him into submission in private! Let’s see if he dares to be so arrogant in the future!”
A chilling wind whipped through the gloomy air. Winter here was exceptionally long; even though it was past mid-March, snowflakes still drifted sporadically along both sides of the street.
Lin Duole rode his bicycle somewhat fast, wanting to get back as early as possible to help his grandmother with chores. Although the old woman was often harsh and stingy, she was ultimately still willing to contribute a share of money to prolong his mother’s life.
The kids by the roadside were still huddled together playing with snowballs, looking as though they had come from the south and had never seen a snow-covered world, immersing themselves merrily in the snow day after day.
Further ahead was a steep, heavily sloped incline, currently on a downhill stretch. Lin Duole gripped the handlebars, intending to slow down, but the bicycle’s brakes seemed to malfunction. He could only swoop down all the way, startling the kids on the roadside into scattering like scared animals.
Before he could finish descending the slope, a rather unpleasant whistle sounded behind him. He had no time to pay attention, yet had no way to dodge either. In the end, someone rammed him from behind, sending him and the bike flipping straight into a ditch.
“Hahahaha, Boss, he’s way too stupid! Some top student he is! Hearing us behind him and not hitting the brakes, just charging forward like that!”
“Hahahaha, exactly, stupid to death! Even an idiot like this can score a hundred on a test—he must have cheated!”
“Hahahaha~”
Lin Duole felt dizzy for a moment before scrambling up amid the burst of mockery. The bike wheels spun on their own inside the ditch as he glared with rage at this group of evil spirits who belonged in hell.
The wind blew over a pool of stagnant water in the gully, over the withered wild grass beside the rocks, over a rat flattened onto the road surface like a specimen by cars, over the lonely graves burying the dead on the nearby hillside, and over their faces…
“Do you know what you look like the most?” Listening to the filthy words coming out of their mouths, Lin Duole didn’t get angry; instead, he let out a sneer: “Like those ditch rats run over by cars on the main road!”