"Of course." Zhengyang beamed with pride when he saw the rabbit dangling from his mother’s hand. "Mom, you’re back!"
"Mhm. Let’s go home." Bai Jiu gave the rabbit a little shake. She hadn’t expected the young brat to already know how to show off.
"The mountain isn’t safe. You’re still young, so you absolutely cannot go up there alone," Bai Jiu warned the little tots kindly. She never dragged children into adult matters—provided, of course, that those children harbored no ill will toward her or her own kids. Otherwise, she couldn’t care less how old they were.
"We know!" The kids had no patience for a lecture; all their attention was glued to the rabbit.
Using the rope Zhengyang had been holding, Bai Jiu tied the rabbit securely, even though it was currently unconscious. Who knew if it might suddenly wake up later?
On the way back, Bai Jiu understood exactly what the children were feeling; she had been the exact same way when she was little. She let Zhengyang and Xiuxiu lag behind to show off their prize while she hurried ahead to boil water. However, she didn’t realize that leaving early would cause Xiuxiu to suffer tremendously.
"What are you doing?" Xiuxiu clutched the rabbit tightly to her chest, glaring at Gao Erzhu as he tried to snatch it.
"Give it to me! I’m taking it to Grandma so she can cook meat for me!" Erzhu had always been highly unfriendly toward Xiuxiu and Zhengyang.
The only reason he hadn’t grabbed it earlier was because Aunt Bai Jiu was there. She had become incredibly fierce lately. His mother, Song Caihua, had warned him that Aunt Bai Jiu even dared to beat his young aunt, and told him not to cause trouble in front of her. So, no matter how much he coveted the rabbit earlier, he had held himself back.
Now that she was finally gone, he naturally had to seize his prize. This was meat! If he brought it back, his grandmother would definitely reward him. Then, his young aunt’s snacks would be all his! The mind of a six-year-old was just that simple.
"Why should I give it to you? My brother and I caught this!" Xiuxiu naturally refused.
"So what? Yours is mine! Even the money your dad earns belongs to our family. Hurry up and give it to me!" Erzhu was only six; everything he knew was just parroted from the adults at home. Seeing the rabbit, he genuinely believed it rightfully belonged to him. Since all the money his uncle earned belonged to the Gao family, the belongings of these two little runts naturally belonged to his family, too.
"Bullshit! We split the family!" There was no way Zhengyang would just stand by and watch his sister get bullied. He pulled Xiuxiu behind him and snapped back, "Our family is our family, and it has nothing to do with yours!"
One was six, the other four. The two little brats immediately started bickering.
Gouwa wasn’t very old either. He simply liked playing with Zhengyang, which was why he had come looking for him. Encountering this situation, he naturally took his best friend’s side. If they hadn’t run into Erzhu on the road, they never would have walked together in the first place.
"Yeah! Erzhu, you can’t steal Xiuxiu’s things. You’re separated! My grandpa said that splitting the family makes you two different households!" Gouwa also had uncles at home, though his family hadn’t split up yet. However, he had heard his grandpa talk about Zhengyang’s situation, and he knew they weren’t one family anymore.
"None of your damn business! This is our family’s matter. What does it have to do with you?" Gao Erzhu was a tyrant at home. As the eldest grandson of the Gao family, Song Caihua spoiled him rotten. This had nurtured an incredibly domineering personality. Aside from his young aunt and his grandparents, there was no one he wouldn’t dare hit. He was even dictatorial with his own parents, always getting whatever he demanded. Now that Xiuxiu had refused him and made him lose face, there was no way he would let it slide.
"You’re giving me this rabbit today no matter what! If you don’t, I’ll get Grandma to come over and teach you a lesson. You’re just a little runt and a worthless girl—neither of you deserves to eat meat!" Erzhu spat, his words filthy.
Xiuxiu and Zhengyang were furious. In the past, they never would have dared to fight back, knowing their mother wouldn’t help them. But things were different now. Mom had said that no one was allowed to bully them, and if anyone tried, they should fight back. As long as they didn’t kill anyone, Mom would pay for the damages.
"Bullshit! It’s mine, and I’m not giving it to you! Calling anyone won’t help. My mom said we have absolutely nothing to do with the Old Gao Family anymore!" Zhengyang stood firmly in front of Xiuxiu, terrified that Erzhu would snatch the rabbit from her arms. More than that, he was afraid Erzhu would hurt his sister.
"Pfft! You shameless little runt! Give it to me! Give it!" Enraged by his words, Erzhu remembered what his grandmother had said: the third branch of the family didn’t deserve good food. Everything good belonged to him and his young aunt. Cursing, Erzhu lunged forward and shoved Zhengyang aside. Being two years older and far better fed, Erzhu had significantly more strength. Zhengyang was knocked straight to the ground.
They were at the foot of the mountain, in an area that had just been cleared for farming right before winter set in. The ground was relatively flat. Zhengyang landed flat on his bottom, but thanks to the thick layer of snow, he wasn’t hurt.
"Give it!"
"No!"
Erzhu grabbed directly for the rabbit in Xiuxiu’s arms. But Xiuxiu wasn’t about to give in. Seeing her resistance, Erzhu didn’t hesitate—he started beating her. A child’s strength was not to be underestimated. He slammed a heavy fist right into Xiuxiu’s head. Even through the blinding pain, she refused to let go.
Seeing his sister getting hit, Zhengyang scrambled up from the snow and threw himself at Erzhu, initiating a brawl. However, he was no match for the older boy.
Gouwa burst into terrified tears. WAAH WAAH! He bawled loudly, crying and shouting at the same time. "Stop fighting! Stop fighting!" He was scared to death.
Xiuxiu’s head spun dizzyingly. Clutching the rabbit, she stumbled back two steps before inexplicably collapsing to the ground. Her lips turned pale, and her eyes began to glaze over.
Meanwhile, Erzhu quickly overpowered Zhengyang, pinning him down. He rained punches onto Zhengyang’s head until blood streamed from the younger boy’s nose and the corners of his mouth.
Seeing this, Gouwa rushed forward and shoved Erzhu. As the only son in his family with a capable father, Gouwa was just as strong as Erzhu. He knocked Erzhu away and brawled with him. Even as he took blows from Erzhu, Gouwa planted himself firmly in front of his best friend, crying and fighting back at the same time.
Zhengyang scrambled off the ground and rejoined the fray. A chaotic three-way brawl ensued. In the midst of the chaos, no one noticed that Xiuxiu’s eyes had slipped completely shut.
"That’s for hitting me! That’s for trying to rob us!" With Gouwa’s help, Zhengyang swung at Erzhu with everything he had.
"You’re bad! You steal from people! You’re not a good person!" Gouwa sobbed as he punched, making sure he wasn’t on the losing end of the exchange.
Soon enough, all three boys’ faces were bruised and bloodied.
Just then, a villager coming down the mountain spotted the kids fighting and let out a sharp yell. The three boys finally broke apart.
But in the split second they separated, Gao Erzhu darted over to Xiuxiu and snatched the rabbit straight from her arms. Not stopping there, he delivered a vicious kick to her side. The sheer force of the blow sent Xiuxiu tumbling down the grassy slope.
What the children didn’t realize was that at the bottom of the slope lay an old reservoir left over from the land-clearing efforts. The adult coming down the mountain knew it was there, and seeing Xiuxiu roll toward it, he immediately sprinted in their direction.
Zhengyang and Gouwa finally noticed what was happening to Xiuxiu and rushed forward to grab her. Tragically, they missed their grip and tumbled down the slope right along with her.