Do You Hate Her

"Did you hear that?"

"Big bro told you to take action."

Lin Yu turned to Xia Yueshan with a puzzled look, as if questioning why he hadn’t moved yet.

Xia Yueshan glanced at Lin Yu, then at the man behind Li Heizi. Without hesitation, he lunged straight at Li Heizi.

Xia Yueshan hadn’t been lying—beating up Li Heizi really didn’t take any effort at all.

He kicked Li Heizi to the ground, then immediately straddled him, throwing punch after punch into his face, leaving him no room to fight back.

"You bastard!"

Li Heizi’s father instinctively rushed forward to help his son, but Lin Yu didn’t waste any words either. He stepped forward and slapped the man across the face, sending him sprawling to the ground, nose bleeding, dazed for a long moment.

"Don’t get too worked up."

Lin Yu shielded Xia Yueshan behind him, smiling as he said:

"Since the parents are here, big bro, if you’ve got a problem, you can take it up with me. Why go after a kid?"

Li Heizi’s father looked stunned, still reeling from Lin Yu’s slap. He clutched his nose, blood seeping between his fingers.

The woman standing close to Li Heizi’s father suddenly let out a piercing scream, collapsing to the ground in hysterical sobs. Between wails, she shrieked:

"Oh heavens!"

"Is there no justice left in this world?"

"Bullying people in broad daylight like this!"

"Doesn’t anyone care?"

"My husband and son are being beaten to death!"

"Help! Somebody help!"

Her shrill cries were loud, and the crowded square only drew more onlookers as she screamed.

Lin Yu surveyed the growing crowd, feeling no guilt—after all, he was here for revenge.

If he wanted to be shameless about it, he could even claim he was upholding justice.

But...

Lin Yu gritted his teeth as he watched the woman wailing at the top of her lungs.

She was annoying.

Glancing around, he quickly spotted a half-empty plastic water bottle on a stone bench a few steps away.

Lin Yu strode over, grabbed the bottle, and returned.

Holding the front half of the soft plastic bottle in his left hand, he twisted the back half with his right, winding it like a spring.

Once the bottle was twisted into a gourd-like shape, he aimed the cap straight at the woman’s wide-open, wailing mouth.

With a flick of his finger, the built-up pressure in the bottle exploded—pop!—launching the cap directly into her gaping mouth.

The grating screams cut off instantly. The woman clutched her throat, gasping as if she couldn’t breathe, before spitting out the cap and doubling over, retching violently.

The woman had quieted down, but the surroundings hadn’t.

With the loudest voice gone, murmurs rose from the crowd instead.

People whispered among themselves, casting strange looks at Lin Yu and Xia Yueshan, who was still pummeling Li Heizi.

Xia Yueshan, at the center of the attention, gradually slowed his punches before stopping altogether.

Under the weight of the crowd’s judgmental stares, he grew tense and helpless, instinctively turning his gaze to the only person shielding him.

Lin Yu looked back at him and asked:

"Had enough?"

Xia Yueshan scanned the surrounding spectators before meeting Lin Yu’s eyes again. His loosened fists clenched once more, teeth gritting as he shook his head fiercely.

"Then keep hitting."

"I’ve got your back. No need to be afraid."

Lin Yu’s light, careless words seeped into Xia Yueshan’s ears. The emotions he’d suppressed for who-knows-how-long finally erupted, fueling his fists as they slammed into Li Heizi’s body and face again and again.

Lin Yu didn’t watch the fight. Instead, he raised his arms toward the crowd, waving as if greeting them, and said:

"Here’s the deal."

"The guy getting beaten up right now—"

He pointed at Li Heizi beneath Xia Yueshan.

"—ganged up with others at school to bully my little brother."

"So we’re here for payback."

"Not to pick on someone."

"Of course," Lin Yu added, tone shifting,

"this is just my side of the story."

"If anyone here doesn’t believe me, or thinks this kid’s getting a raw deal and wants to play hero—step right up. I don’t mind."

"Just come forward, knock me down, and you can go save this little bastard who bullies others without a care at school."

Lin Yu shrugged, speaking cheerfully:

"If you save him, he’ll probably be real grateful. Maybe next time he slaps your kid around at school, he’ll remember the favor and go easy on ‘em."

As Lin Yu spoke, the murmurs in the crowd noticeably quieted. Some of the more righteous onlookers, hearing his words, didn’t frown as deeply as before.

Especially after considering that saving this kid might mean their own children could end up bullied by him later.

Most chose to stay silent, content to keep watching.

They didn’t fully trust the punkish-looking teen’s explanation.

But at the same time, they no longer assumed the boy getting pummeled was entirely innocent either.

Satisfied with the subdued crowd, Lin Yu lit a cigarette, taking a slow drag.

Seemed like no troublemakers would be stepping up now.

"I’m done."

A calm voice came from behind. Lin Yu turned, cigarette dangling from his lips, to see Xia Yueshan already standing up from Li Heizi’s body.

But despite his even tone, his flushed face was streaked with two clear tear tracks.

He...

Had been crying.

"Then let’s go."

Lin Yu said softly.

Just as Lin Yu and Xia Yueshan were leaving, Li Heizi’s father—finally recovering from the slap—clambered to his feet, pointing at their retreating backs and cursing wildly:

"You damn brats!"

"Little bastards!"

"Just you wait, this isn’t over!"

"I swear to—"

Listening to the filthy stream of insults, Lin Yu paused, turning back to the bloodied man with a nod.

"It was almost over."

"But now it’s not."

"Tomorrow, then."

"It’s late today, and I’ve got things to do."

"I’ll send someone to have a proper talk with you tomorrow."

Delivering the words coolly, Lin Yu ignored the continued cursing and led Xia Yueshan away to pick up the roasted pork trotters.

The trotters were ready. Lin Yu grabbed a few extra skewers of meat and grilled squid before hopping on his motorcycle, riding off with Xia Yueshan. They stopped by a quiet riverside, away from the crowds.

Parking the bike, Lin Yu carried the food to an open spot by the river, sitting down with Xia Yueshan.

After some idle chatter, Lin Yu finally asked the question he cared about—the only one he cared about.

"Xia Yueshan, why do you have such a strained relationship with your sister?"

"Do you hate her?"