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Chapter 89: Childhood Dream

“Yes.” Wan Sisi nodded. “I’ve been bullied all those times, and no one ever stepped up to help me. Neither had you before then, actually. Why did you take a stand for me that day?”

Gao Yang paused.

Why?

Because I came to this world that very morning.

It was the morning Gao Yang transmigrated into this world. Coming to terms with his new body, he went to school with his head still muddled from the unusual experience. Then he saw a boy in class yanking on a girl’s hair and burning it with a lighter. The girl’s face was pale. She was obviously terrified and in pain, yet she hid under the table with both hands holding her head without making a sound. She had thought that enduring the abuse would make it go away faster, yet it only bolstered her bully.

When Gao Yang entered the classroom, he hadn’t fully digested the memories of the original owner of the body. His instinct took over his rationality, and when he realized it, he had already grabbed the lighter from the bully and thrown it away. Then the tall boy pushed him to the floor, and as he put up a futile resistance, the boy and his two sidekicks beat him up.

“I was so young. I don’t remember too clearly.” Gao Yang lied with a smile.

“Is that so?” Wan Sisi pursed her lips and smiled with what could be either disappointment or sadness. “But I remember clearly. I was in so much pain and despair. I didn’t know when the bullying would stop, and if it ever would.”

She turned to the side and walked up to the wall. “During that time, I went past a water reservoir on my way home from school every day, and always, I felt the urge to jump... That day, I thought that this was it. This would be the day I jumped...” Wan Sisi paused and turned to look at Gao Yang, her eyes shiny with tears. “But you stood up for me. You saved me and got beat up for it.”

Gao Yang didn’t say anything, but there were a thousand words whirling in his head. He didn’t expect his decision that day would end up saving a girl’s life. He was glad to have helped Wan Sisi.

“Gao Yang, I’ve always, always been grateful to you. I wouldn’t be here if not for you, and I wouldn’t be saying these words to you. Life sure works in mysterious ways.”

Gao Yang nodded with a smile. “Yeah, life works in mysterious ways.”

Still smiling, Wan Sisi turned to point at the ginkgo tree on the hill behind the wall, raising her voice to say, “I’ll race you, Gao Yang. To the hilltop!”

Wan Sisi vaulted over the wall with difficulty and ran along the path leading up the hill toward the ginkgo tree.

It would be easy for Gao Yang to catch up to Wan Sisi, but he slowed down and yielded to her on purpose.

“I’m first!” Wan Sisi laughed brightly as she heaved under the ginkgo tree.

“I’m second.” Gao Yang arrived not long after.

“If only...” Wan Sisi’s smile slid off, and her eyes became sad. “Li Weiwei were here.”

Gao Yang felt a sharp stab in his heart. After a moment of silence, he looked down at his feet and said, “I wonder if the tin box is still here.”

“Why don’t we look for it?”

“Sure.” Gao Yang knelt down and picked up a thick branch to start digging.

Wan Sisi found a branch and joined in. Smiling shyly, she said, “Gao Yang, would you let me open the box once we find it?”

“Of course.”

They soon dug a hole, and to their surprise, they did find the tin candy box. It was covered in mud, which Gao Yang wiped away with some leaves. He could still make out the drawing of the seven fairies clearly.

“Here. I’ll do it!” Wan Sisi hurriedly took the box from him and turned away to open the lid.

The way she took out the wrapper containing her dream could only be described as urgent. Her face flushed when she unfolded the wrapper and took a look. She quickly balled it up in her hand. Then she turned back to hand Gao Yang the box. “Here.”

Gao Yang took it and picked up the other two wrappers. He had forgotten about the color of the wrapper he chose, so he picked the green one at random. It was Li Weiwei’s.

In Li Weiwei’s neat handwriting, her childhood dream was condensed to a single word: singer.

Gao Yang’s chest tightened. That’s right. Li Weiwei loved singing, and she was a good singer. She even taught herself guitar. The second year in highschool, she went to a lounge bar to perform. Her parents gave her a good scolding for that.

Before her death, Li Weiwei had gone to Gao Yang for advice, saying that she would like to apply for a singing competition show the summer after they graduated from highschool. Gao Yang had given her his full support.

It all felt like a dream.

Suddenly, Gao Yang felt like he could understand what Officer Huang told him before.

Li Weiwei was a wrath monster, but she was also Li Weiwei. The girl he had known hadn’t disappeared; she had simply passed away, killed the moment she was replaced by a monster.

Gao Yang carefully folded the green wrapper and tucked it in his pocket. Then he unfolded the golden one. On it was a word written messily with a crayon—yingxiong.

What a brat. He didn’t even know how to write the words properly, and he wanted to be a hero[1].

Amused by his own embarrassing history, he looked up to meet Wan Sisi’s eyes. She seemed to be sneaking glances at his wrapper.

“No peeking...” Gao Yang smiled awkwardly as he put the wrapper into his pocket.

“Haha, too late for that.” Wan Sisi snickered. She usually smiled shyly and reservedly with her lips pursed. It was rare for her to laugh so openly.

“Not fair! Then I’ll take a look at yours...” Perhaps her childishness was infectious. Gao Yang reacted like a child too and reached out to grab her wrapper.

“No, I’m not gonna give it to you...” Wan Sisi grinned as she backed away, clutching onto the wrapper.

It was then Gao Yang’s phone rang.

He took it out. It was a number he didn’t know.

He focused and took the call, putting his phone to his ear. “Hello?”

After two seconds of silence, the caller said at a deliberate pace, “Hello, Gao Yang.”

“Who is this?” Gao Yang asked, alerted.

“Have you forgotten me already?” The man’s voice was sharp with icy amusement. “I’ll give you a hint...boom!”

Gao Yang shuddered, feeling like his blood was rushing in the opposite direction.

It was the red-haired man.

With his hand tight around his phone, Gao Yang looked around. Twilight descended, and sunlight was compressed to a mere line on the horizon. The school’s running track at the foot of the hill became a dark wasteland. Standing amid the knee-high grass was an ice cream mascot, and the mascot was holding a phone.

After a few seconds, the mascot took off the headwear. It was the red-haired man.

His voice came from Gao Yang’s phone again. “Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Mad Red. Mad as in Mad Hatter, and the color red.”

“What do you want...” Gao Yang’s throat felt tight. His palms were sweaty, and his heartbeat was quickening.

“You foiled my plan last time. I’m here for my revenge, of course. Before that, I have a great gift for you!”

Gao Yang’s head jerked up. Wan Sisi was looking at him with confusion. “Gao Yang...what’s wrong?”

Gao Yang’s face turned ashen gray. He could see thin red lines emerging from Wan Sisi’s fair face before slowly spreading out, growing more and more pronounced until the lines became cracks, and they flickered faintly. In seconds, her eyeballs began glowing with an eerie red.

No!

No, no, no, no, no!

“Gao Yang, my head... I’m feeling dizzy...” Wan Sisi wasn’t sure what was going on with her. She didn’t feel too good, and she never got the chance to find out what was wrong.

Boom!

Wan Sisi’s head exploded.

The explosion of brain, blood, and shattered skull was like a blooming red firework, splattering Gao Yang’s face with warm blood. Eyes widened, he stared as crimson vapor obscured his vision, and the metallic smell assaulted his nose.

He didn’t have the time to do anything. He didn’t even get to say goodbye.

Two seconds later, Wan Sisi’s headless body collapsed by his feet.

Time seemed to freeze, and the world was drained of all colors.

Gao Yang slowly dropped to his knees. He wanted to help the girl up, yet he didn’t even know where he should place his hands.

He looked down and saw the blue candy wrapper in the girl’s tight clutch. Before even the words were lost to the spreading blood stain, he saw the dream she had written down.

—Gao Yang’s bride.

1. 英雄, hero, is quite hard to write in Chinese for a kid. Gao Yang wrote the second character in pinyin, xiong, rather than writing the actual character, 雄. ?