Chapter 2

Jiang Huaiyang was a little troublemaker, always getting us into mischief. One day, we accidentally broke Auntie Song’s window. The next day, we made Liang Rui—the kid two years younger than us—cry. It was a common sight in our neighborhood: either his mom or mine dragging us home after some disaster. Jiang Huaiyang once told me, “Whenever you get in trouble, the first thing you have to do is apologize and say nice things!” So, as my mom dragged me home by the ear, I quickly begged for mercy. “Mom! My beautiful, gorgeous mom! I was wrong, I was wrong!” She sighed, clearly exasperated. “You! How could you be so ridiculous? Sticking a turtle sticker on that little girl?! Who taught you that?!” She flicked my forehead. Indignant, I defended myself. “She started it! She called Huaiyang-ge a sickly weakling and said I was his child bride!” My mom crouched down and adjusted my clothes, speaking in a serious tone. “Even so, you can’t just stick a turtle on someone. If she says things like that, you should come to me or tell Auntie Jiang.” “Hmph. She’s always tattling,” I muttered, turning my head away. My mom pinched my cheek. “Then you should tattle too! But, Yueyue, you can’t do that again, okay?” A few days later, Jiang Huaiyang took me to steal fresh eggs from Granny Li’s chicken coop. Holding the still-warm eggs, he whispered excitedly, “Do you want to hatch little chicks?” I nodded eagerly. “Yes!” We snuck back to my house and into my room. He carefully placed the eggs under my blanket and told me that keeping them warm like this would make chicks hatch. I believed him completely. I even told the eggs bedtime stories like my mom did for me, and I covered them with my old clothes to keep them warm. I watched over them day and night, waiting for the baby chicks to emerge. But then, disaster struck. I tossed and turned in my sleep, crushing both eggs. I ran to Jiang Huaiyang in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. Startled, he panicked. “Who bullied you? I’ll go beat them up for you!” Between hiccups, I wailed, “No one bullied me… I broke the eggs… The chicks are gone!” I dragged him back to my room to show him the mess. He grinned and said, “No big deal. I’ll ask my mom to buy two chicks instead.” And sure enough, a few days later, Auntie Jiang actually bought two little chicks. I visited them in their coop every day to make sure they were growing well. Meanwhile, Jiang Huaiyang trailed behind me, sucking on a lollipop. “They’re not going anywhere…” Six months later, the chicks had grown into plump chickens. One afternoon, Jiang Huaiyang invited me to his house for lunch. When I sat at the table, I saw a steaming bowl of chicken stew with mushrooms. Alarmed, I ran straight to the chicken coop—and sure enough, one of the chickens was missing. Jiang Huaiyang came after me, holding a drumstick. “How could you eat the little chicken?! It was so cute!” My tears were just about to fall when he swiftly shoved the drumstick into my mouth. I took one small bite… and immediately forgave him. “Wow, Auntie Jiang’s cooking is amazing…” It smelled so good and tasted even better. Jiang Huaiyang pulled me back inside. “She also made shrimp! I’ll peel some for you, okay?” “Okay,” I mumbled, mouth still full. Later, my mom found the dried egg yolk stains on my bed and asked if I had gotten up in the middle of the night to eat eggs but accidentally took raw ones instead. I stammered out a guilty “Yeah…” Another time, Jiang Huaiyang dragged me to find Da Hu-ge, the biggest bully in the neighborhood. “We’re settling a score!” he declared, scrunching up his nose like Bruce Lee. When we found Da Hu-ge, he copied the gangsters from movies—hands in his pockets, walking with exaggerated arrogance. “So, you’re the one calling me a sickly weakling and telling people not to play with me?” Da Hu-ge was tall and chubby, his belly jiggling with every step. I got nervous and hid behind Jiang Huaiyang. “Yeah, I said it,” Da Hu-ge scoffed. “What are you gonna do about it?” Before we could react, he shoved Jiang Huaiyang with both hands, sending both of us tumbling to the ground. Jiang Huaiyang immediately scrambled up and pulled me to my feet. A true hero knows when to retreat. He quickly changed tactics—clasping his hands together, kneeling on one knee, and dramatically exclaiming, “Boss! I was blind and failed to recognize your greatness! Please, have mercy and forgive my foolishness!” Da Hu-ge and I both stared at him in shock. Wow… that actually sounded kind of sophisticated. Da Hu-ge scratched his head, recalling similar scenes from movies. Then, with a smirk, he patted Jiang Huaiyang’s shoulder. “Alright then, from now on, you’re my little bro!” He turned to me, hands behind his back. “And you—are now my little sis!” Wait, how did I suddenly become his little sis?! I instinctively looked at Jiang Huaiyang, who was winking at me. Oh. I got it. Mimicking his pose, I clasped my hands together and cheerfully called out, “Second Brother!” Da Hu-ge frowned. “Wrong, wrong! I’m your big bro! He’s your second bro!” He pointed at Jiang Huaiyang. I didn’t respond, just stared at him blankly. Da Hu-ge seemed to lose interest in me and turned back to Jiang Huaiyang. “Got any money? I want candy.” Between the two of us, we only had seven cents. Jiang Huaiyang slung his arm around Da Hu-ge’s shoulder, leading him toward the corner store while I trailed behind. After buying Da Hu-ge his candy, he left, satisfied. “See you later, little bro!” he called over his shoulder. Jiang Huaiyang smiled and waved him off. The moment Da Hu-ge disappeared, he started shadowboxing the air in his direction. “One day, I’m gonna be taller and stronger than him! Then let’s see who’s boss!” I couldn’t stop laughing. Seeing me giggle, he grinned too. He reached for my hand, pressing a piece of candy into my palm. “Huh? Didn’t we give all the candy to Da Hu-ge?” I asked, surprised. Jiang Huaiyang puffed up his chest. “Who do you think I am? I’m Jiang Huaiyang! Of course, I saved one for you. What if you started crying?” I shook my head and denied the accusation. “I wouldn’t cry! Huaiyang-ge, you were really brave today.” “Right? I think so too! Da Hu-ge is super strong! And his belly is huge! We definitely couldn’t beat him!” Beneath the shade of the trees, their young voices gradually faded into the distance. “Xiao Yueyue, why did you call Da Hu-ge ‘Second Brother’?” “Because you’re my big brother! I met you first, so you’re my big brother.” “Good thinking! Don’t worry, I’ll always protect you!” “Then you have to eat more! No picky eating! Mom says picky eaters aren’t good kids…” “Oh…”