In the least popular individuals list at Fuming High School, there were only two names. The first one was Director Ma from the Moral Education Office, who was responsible for school spirit and discipline, and was known by the nickname "Black-Faced Ghost King." The second one was a female student from Class 6 of the second year, named Tang Xiaohua.
Tang Xiaohua, 17 years old, 159 cm tall, fair and slender, with a nearsightedness of -500 degrees, had mediocre grades, limited interests, and zero awareness of dressing up. She was the type of person who disappears when thrown into a crowd. In short, she was just a little country girl who would be overshadowed by my handsome and stunning aura as soon as she stood next to me. Everyone regarded this country girl with more fear than anything else, much like how most people feel about rats and cockroaches—simultaneously hating and fearing them.
The reason for this fear was that Tang Xiaohua was famous for being a "doomsayer[1]." Whenever she uttered phrases like "Be careful not to catch a cold!" or "Be cautious of oncoming vehicles when you go out!" or "You should be very careful in this exam; it's easy to fail!" and so on, they came true without fail, and it would work every single time. At first, people thought it was just a coincidence, but after countless instances of coincidences, gradually, everyone went from doubting her "ability" to confirming it, from indifference to taboo. Those with elderly family members even warned the younger generation not to get too close to someone like her because she was too ominous.
As a living witness, I experienced countless such tragic incidents. As early as when she was still a babbling baby, one day when her mother took her to the hospital for a physical examination, she pointed at a nurse's sparkling diamond ring and said a single word: "Lose... Lose..." Two hours later, the nurse's diamond ring accidentally slipped into the drain when she was washing her hands, and it couldn't be fished out.
Tang Xiaohua's tumultuous life began at that moment. When she was a child, I protected her countless times from stones, rotten vegetable leaves, and so on thrown her way. Those ignorant children spat at her and called her a monster. Neighbors would take a detour as soon as they saw their family. Even the way her parents looked at her was filled with anxiety and growing doubts.
"Xiao Tou," a depressed ten-year-old Tang Xiaohua sat on the slide at school, looking dejected at me hovering in the air, "Is it wrong to be an honest child? Didn't the teacher also say that good kids should tell the truth and not lie?"
Oh, how I hated it when she called me "Xiao Tou"! It sounded like "thief[2]," and it was also particularly effeminate. After all, I am a handsome guy[3] who stands over 180 centimeters tall! Just because back then, when she asked for my name, I couldn't come up with one, she took it upon herself to call me Xiao Tou. She said the word "Tou" felt very familiar, just like how I made her feel.
Fine! I admit that I even forgot my name after leaving the fox den, but what's in a name anyway? It's just a symbol, so let it be Xiao Tou. Xiao Tou protects Xiaohua; what a perfect match.
I know ten-year-old her was absolutely serious when she asked this question.
"Well..." I landed beside her and put on super scholarly airs, "Tang Xiaohua, sometimes the truth can upset people. When lies are more beneficial to human beings, they would rather be lied to. Perhaps you'll understand this truth better as you grow older."
"I don't understand, and I don't want to understand. Even if I don't say it, these bad things will still happen. It's not good to lie to people." Ten-year-old Tang Xiaohua concluded this question with the most bewildered expression.
What a single-minded creature she was! I flew back into the air, watching the tiny figure below sitting on the orange slide, hugging her knees. The setting sun moved slowly through her dark hair, leaving a subtle trail of light, like an unnoticed flower in bloom.
Even though she was just an "assignment" to me, her gradually drooping little face under the sunset eventually tugged at my heartstrings, especially with the new scrape on her knee. The day before, I had slipped away to the neighboring town to buy roast chicken, and I was only gone for a few hours. While she was napping, the troublemakers at school had tied her shoelaces in a tight knot, causing her to tumble and fall flat on her face. I did feel a slight twinge of guilt for this, after all, I'm a kindhearted fox. Besides, Tang Xiaohua didn't have any other shortcomings apart from being simple and a bit silly.
More importantly, this country girl was very kind to me. In kindergarten, the other kids would stuff all the delicious snacks distributed into their own mouths, but she always shared half with me. Although I don’t particularly like sweets, every time I saw her eyes and her dirty but warmly outstretched little hand, I couldn't refuse. One winter, she even used the skills she learned in her school’s handicraft class to knit a scarf full of holes and gave it to me on Christmas Day.
"It's so ugly..." Being the visual creature that I am, I picked up that white scarf, my gaze passing through a large hole formed by a dropped stitch. Behind it was Tang Xiaohua's silly smiling face.
"You always wear so little, more scarves will keep you warmer," she said earnestly.
"I'm a fox, I'm not afraid of the cold," I poked her little head, "You took so much time and effort, and it still turned out so ugly!"
Tang Xiaohua sighed like a little adult and mumbled: "Besides this, I don't have any other gift for you."
"Why would you want to give me a gift?" I was puzzled. This country girl's mind was indeed quite unusual.
"Because, Xiao Tou, you've always been protecting me," she cocked her head, "You're good to me, so I want to give you a gift. This way, you'll know that I'm good to you too."
Oh my god, this country girl is honest to the point of foolishness!
"Listen carefully, protecting you is just my job," I said firmly, "I don't accept any bribes, especially something as ugly as this."
"But I spent a week knitting it..." she sounded a bit disappointed.
I could see her bloodshot eyes and two red frostbites patches on the two fingers of her right hand. I knew this idiot had been knitting a scarf recently, but I didn't know it was for me.
"Alright, alright," I wrapped the scarf around my neck, "Just this once."
I raised my head, and the figure reflected on the floor-to-ceiling window was crystal clear. My waist-length black hair was neatly tied behind me, and my black leather jacket exuded a wild yet dazzling sense of fashion. Coupled with the stylish Armani sunglasses, I looked so perfect that I wanted to cry! But now that I had this incredibly tacky scarf added to the mix... I truly felt like crying.
Tang Xiaohua, upon seeing me wearing her gift, pounced over and hugged my waist, giggling incessantly, "Long live Xiao Tou!"
The clear glass reflected this affectionate embrace. I glanced at it accidentally, but my heart missed a beat.
For a brief moment, I suddenly felt that the scarf wasn't actually ugly on me.
And, I found myself strangely enjoying the feeling of being hugged by this soft little thing.
I once again pondered the true motivation behind the old fox sending me to protect Tang Xiaohua. Could it really be just because the truth is hard to find, and in today's world filled with lies, a child who can insist on telling the truth is so precious that she must be protected to keep her safe and sound?
This reason is too ridiculous.
Tang Xiaohua is a human, but she is definitely not an ordinary human. Her doomsayer ability frightened others and surprised me. She explained that people about to experience something bad would have different colored mists floating on their foreheads, and the darker the color, the more serious the accident would be.
She has the ability to see these mists. Not only that, but with a little more focus and the use of an inexplicable innate power of thought, she can also see through the mist to determine exactly what would happen.
However, being gifted is not the same as being blessed with good luck. Tang Xiaohua's "gift" probably brought her nothing but persistent confusion and the strange, alienated looks from others.
I once asked her what color the mist on my forehead was. She said she couldn't see it. This was another strange thing. Could it be that the power of the protected was ineffective on the protector?
But I was really glad. The habit of preferring to hear good news over bad news is not only a human trait, but it's something foxes share as well. Especially a fox like me who just longed to complete the mission early and go back to sleep.
Tang Xiaohua gradually grew up under my protection. I watched her grow from a baby to a girl as tall as my shoulder. With each passing year, I felt a bit more at ease. When the day of her life's end arrives, I can complete my mission and roll back home with a sense of fulfillment. During this time, as long as this country girl doesn't cause me too much trouble, I'll be content. Doing a lot of cleanup work for this doomsayer can be quite draining, you know. And I'm not a very diligent fox.
But fortunately, Tang Xiaohua is a fairly sensible country girl, and she hasn't caused any major trouble over the years.
Recently, however, something about her made me catch a faint whiff of danger.
Footnotes:
[1] Wū yā zuǐ: crow's beak(literal). Boring person who constantly caws about disasters; vocal pessimist; doomsayer; croaker; jinx(figurative).
[2] 小透 and 小偷 are not homophones. 小偷 means thief; 小透 is just a nickname. The character tòu has many meanings like to penetrate; thoroughly; transparent; to appear; to show; clear and thorough. In Internet slang, it means f*ck.
[3] shuài gē also means lady-killer.
Translator:
It's gotten cold and Christmas lights are up in my neighborhood! Holidays are coming~
No comments:
Post a Comment