The boy in front of Little Taotie gave her a strange look, then fell into a long silence.
Little Taotie pressed, "Is it illegal?"
She felt somewhat panicked inside.
Every year, her uncle in the mountains caught wild geese. She wondered how many years in prison that would add up to.
If wild geese were considered a second-class protected species, what about the extinct descendants of the Vermilion Bird... what level of protection would they fall under?
She had eaten the "Pheasant" down to the bone, not sparing even a single one, turning them into what would soon be her own mittens.
Boy in front: "Are you playing me?"
Little Taotie with an innocent face, "I’m asking you a question."
Boy in front: "Hmph!"
He pulled his chair forward and lay down on the desk, ignoring Little Taotie.
Little Taotie was even more baffled and looked at Hua Jinyan questioningly.
Hua Jinyan, resigned, leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "Nobody will believe it."
Little Taotie was startled, looked down, and said, "I’m not lying."
Hua Jinyan softly comforted, "I know, but others won’t believe in the existence of the Vermilion Bird and Chaos."
Little Taotie pouted, "But it’s clearly recorded in the ancient Classic of Mountain and Sea..."
Hua Jinyan patiently explained, "For ordinary people, that’s just a mythological, fictional book."
Little Taotie looked over at the empty seat beside the boy in front and asked, "Qiaoqiao still hasn’t come to school? She has already missed the midterms."
Seeing that she was no longer fixated on the "Pheasant," Hua Jinyan was happy to continue this topic, "Qiaoqiao had an accident."
"An accident?" Little Taotie grew worried.
Upon hearing the name Qiaoqiao, the boy who had been lying on the desk sat up, turned around, and sighed, "She’s been disfigured."
"Disfigured?" Little Taotie’s eyes widened, filled with shock and concern.
The boy in front sighed like an old man, "Her stepmother did it with something hot."
Stepmother! Little Taotie grew even more afraid of that term!
Little Fatty, holding a chocolate bar, came over eating it and, hearing them talk about Qiaoqiao, whispered excitedly, "Her family and my family live in the same complex! I know the inside story! Do you want to know?"
The boy in front nodded his head.
Hua Jinyan looked away, showing no interest.
Little Taotie clenched her clothes tightly and worriedly asked, "Other than her face, is Qiaoqiao hurt anywhere else?"
Little Fatty shook his head, "Just the left side of her face was burned."
Little Taotie breathed a sigh of relief.
Little Fatty mysteriously added, "I’ll tell you, Qiaoqiao was the one who started it. Everyone in the complex says she had it coming."
"What?" Little Taotie looked confused.
The boy in front urged, "Don’t keep us in suspense, just spit it out!"
Just as Little Fatty was about to speak, the sports committee member came over with a can of Coke and asked, "What are you guys talking about?"
Boy in front: "About Qiaoqiao."
Sports committee member: "I know. It was Qiaoqiao who pushed her pregnant stepmother, causing the stepmother to miscarry. The stepmother saw the bloody face of the forming baby, snapped, and burned Qiaoqiao’s face with a frying spatula that had been in the fire!"
Little Fatty stamped his foot in frustration, "You stole my moment to shine!"
The sports committee member handed over the half-finished Coke, "My apologies."
Little Fatty swallowed hard.
His family had been forcing him to diet, and it had been so long... since he had last had a Coke!
Little Fatty accepted the Coke, somewhat reluctantly, "I forgive you this time."
Little Taotie was so shocked she could hardly speak.
Qiaoqiao was her former deskmate, a girl with fair skin, long eyelashes, and plump apple cheeks when she smiled.
She was three months older than Little Taotie and considered herself an elder sister, so she would bring delicious snacks every day to feed Little Taotie.
Little Taotie couldn’t believe that Qiaoqiao would do such a thing.
"Impossible, Qiaoqiao would never push her stepmother!"