Taro?
Who’s Taro? Is it him?
Yu Luan stood there in a daze as Tao Tao pulled him outside. He stumbled forward a couple of steps at first, instinctively trying to break free, but Tao Tao’s hand was soft yet strong and very warm. Unable to escape, he had no choice but to keep running with her.
They pulled open the door and walked through the dark, unlit shop. Suddenly, everything went black. Yu Luan instinctively pressed closer to Tao Tao, stopped struggling, and even reached back with his tiny fingers to hold her hand. In a small voice, he said, “Sister, it’s dark.”
Tao Tao turned to look at him.
He had always talked like this, ever since he was little—using her as if she were punctuation, a comma or period at the end of his sentences. So she just squeezed his hand firmly and comforted him, “Don’t worry. There’ll be light once we’re outside.”
Yu Luan tilted his head in confusion.
Tao Tao had already led him to duck under the rolling shutter door.
The sky hadn’t gone completely dark yet. A faint trace of orange still lingered on the western horizon, but the streetlamp at the alley entrance—plastered with messy little ads—was already on.
Rao Lili was standing outside Tao Tao’s house, carrying a long bamboo pole with a wire hook tied to the end. A little white dog was on a leash beside her. She had a sour look on her face.
Next to her stood a scrawny little boy. Sniffling, he smiled at Rao Lili pleadingly, clutching her short-sleeved shirt like his life depended on it. “Lili, just take me with you! I promise I won’t tell my mom. If I do, I’m a dog!”
“You have a cold and you snuck out? Do you wanna die?” Rao Lili whipped around and yelled at him. “I’m not taking you! You say that every single time! Then as soon as your mom yells at you, you spill everything! And I end up getting scolded every time because of you. Don’t follow me, or I swear I’ll hit you!”
“I can handle it this time!” The boy stomped his foot anxiously, nearly flinging snot from his nose as he sniffled again. “Even if my mom hits me, I won’t rat you out! I’ll say I went by myself! Please, Lili, just take me!”
“Fine, Zhang Jiaming, you said it yourself. If you lie to me, you’re dead meat.”
Zhang Jiaming sucked back a big sniffle, his long, skinny face lighting up with joy. “Don’t worry! I’d never lie to you! If I do, I really am a dog!”
“Yeah, right. My dog Baixieji is way better than you anyway!”
Zhang Jiaming looked down at the little white dog, which didn’t even reach Rao Lili’s calf.
That was Baixieji.
She’d found this dog in a ditch. It was skinnier than him, with a pointy face and scruffy features. When she first picked it up, its fur was matted, dirty, and sparse. The only decent thing about it was its big, watery doggy eyes. Everything else was a mess.
Now that it had been bathed, it looked a little better.
He sniffled again, scratched his head, and didn’t know how to respond.
Rao Lili hadn’t managed to shake Zhang Jiaming off and was clearly annoyed. But when she turned and saw Tao Tao come out, her mood brightened. She stood on her tiptoes and waved. “Tao Tao, you’re so slow… Huh? Why did you bring him out?”
Tao Tao was holding Yu Luan’s hand. “Can’t help it. My dad and his mom both went out.”
Rao Lili’s eyes darted around, and she beckoned.
“What’s up?” Tao Tao let go of Yu Luan’s hand and walked over.
Rao Lili pulled Tao Tao aside to whisper in her ear. “I get it now. You’re trying to mess with him again, right? Then let’s go to Cross Street to hit mangoes. It’s far, and there are lots of intersections. We’ll hit the mangoes and run. He won’t be able to catch us, and he’ll definitely cry. What do you think?”
Tao Tao: “…”
Oh my god. She used to do things this bad?
Tao Tao quickly covered Rao Lili’s mouth. “No, no, no. Let’s just hit mangoes nearby.”
Rao Lili twisted her head free and gave her a suspicious look. “You’re acting weird today. Are you really bringing him? Didn’t you say you couldn’t stand him?”
Before Tao Tao could answer, someone tugged at the hem of her shirt from behind.
She turned around. Yu Luan had walked over, head down, stretching out his chubby little hand to clutch her clothes. He didn’t say a word. He couldn’t bring himself to look at anyone else, either. He was so uneasy that even his fingernails seemed to strain with effort, terrified that Tao Tao might abandon him.
Tao Tao knew he needed reassurance, so she reached back to hold his hand.
The moment she did, Yu Luan’s head slowly lifted, as if recharging. But he didn’t look at Rao Lili or Zhang Jiaming at all. His gaze drifted past them vaguely, finally fixing on the bamboo pole resting on Rao Lili’s shoulder.
Rao Lili, however, was so shocked by Tao Tao’s gesture that her eyes nearly popped out of her head.
Tao Tao gave an awkward smile. “From now on, he’s my little brother. I’ll explain later. Let’s just go first.”
Rao Lili glanced at the annoying Zhang Jiaming and thought, Yeah, no way we’re telling him our girl secrets! She’d save the whispers for later with Tao Tao.
So she didn’t ask any more questions. She lifted her chin, puffed out her chest, and patted it bravely. “Okay, if he’s your little brother, then he’s mine too. I won’t bully him anymore.”
Then she turned and warned Zhang Jiaming, “You hear that? From now on, you’re not allowed to bully him either!”
Zhang Jiaming immediately raised both hands as if swearing an oath. “I’ll do whatever you say. You’re the boss.”
Rao Lili nodded with satisfaction, raised her arm, and shouted, “Let’s go!”
Tao Tao turned back, pulled down the rolling shutter, locked it, and naturally reached out for Yu Luan to hold her hand again before hurrying to catch up with Rao Lili.
Zhang Jiaming had snuck out to play, terrified of getting caught by his mom. He acted like a thief, hiding and dodging the whole way as he followed the three of them. Only when they finally exited the alley did he relax, swaggering over to pester Rao Lili: “Lili, can you lend me the bamboo pole for a few swings? Please?”
Rao Lili wasn’t stingy about this sort of thing at all. She agreed casually: “Sure, I’m all about fairness. Later, we’ll play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever wins goes first.”
“Awesome, awesome!” Zhang Jiaming was so excited he nearly jumped for joy.
Tao Tao glanced at him, feeling a bit mixed inside.
Among all her childhood playmates, Zhang Jiaming’s parents were the strictest. Ever since he was little, anything unrelated to studying was met with disapproval from his parents. Even the spring and autumn outings organized by the school, his parents considered a waste of time. They’d always ask for leave on his behalf and drag him off to tutoring instead.
Back in those days, in a small town like this, there wasn’t yet the trend of learning electronic keyboard, dance, art, or Math Olympiad. Almost no parents were obsessive about tutoring their kids. Everyone just grew up playing around.
Everyone except Zhang Jiaming’s family.
His family was fairly well-off—probably the only one in town that owned a piano.
What’s more, for some reason, Zhang Jiaming—a top student who did well in school—was especially fond of hanging out with troublemakers like Tao Tao and Rao Lili. Both of them had been wild since childhood, strong and hot-tempered; plenty of boys couldn’t even beat them in a fight.
Every time Zhang Jiaming got caught sneaking out to mess around with them, he’d get hit and yelled at when he got home. Tao Tao and Rao Lili would also get reported to their parents. His mother always said they were bad influences on him.