Chapter Thirty-Six: The Last Straw

Although it was summer and just after dinner time, there weren’t many people in the swimming pool, and even fewer children. Who knew where they had all run off to? Fewer people was better anyway; Hong Tao absolutely detested those swimming pools of later years that were as crowded as dumplings in boiling water. In places like that, you couldn’t swim at all—it was just a public bath.

“Come on in! The water isn’t deep, look, it only reaches my belly!” Hong Tao lied through his teeth, kicking hard to keep himself afloat, just to coax Jin Yue, who couldn’t swim, into the water.

“I... I’m afraid my braids will get wet...” After a few months around Hong Tao, Jin Yue had picked up some of his habits. She wouldn’t admit she was scared, insisting instead that she was worried about her braids getting soaked.

“I’ll braid them again for you when we get back. I’ll even do two extra ones this time, make it ten braids in total!” Hong Tao blocked off that excuse.

“But what if... my new swimsuit gets wet?” Jin Yue came up with another excuse, pointing at her swimsuit.

“Isn’t that what swimsuits are for? They look best when wet! I’ll catch you down here; just hang onto that ladder and come down—Brother Tao will teach you to swim!” Hong Tao couldn’t help smiling at the swimsuit Jin Yue was wearing. That was his handiwork too—he’d sewn a bikini for her out of three large bath towels. Luckily, Jin Yue was just a child and didn’t care; no one else would have worn such a thing.

He had made himself a pair of swim trunks, too, by altering an old pair of shorts—adding a string at the waist and elastic at the cuffs to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions. To be honest, at his age, no one would mind if he swam naked. At public bathhouses, mothers often took their sons into the women’s section for a wash.

“Then, can you carry me on your back...?” Jin Yue bit her lip, searching for another excuse, but when she couldn’t find one, she reluctantly grasped the ladder and stepped onto the water’s surface. The moment her foot touched the water, she shrank back.

“You can’t carry people in the water, that’s the rule. See that man over there? He’s a policeman—he catches kids who break the rules. If someone gets carried, he’ll catch them. I’ll give you a piggyback when we go home, alright? Come, take my hand... yes, just one step lower...” Hong Tao pointed at a young man in a green vest across the pool, scaring Jin Yue a little before sweet-talking her into the water.

“You tricked me again! I want to get out!” The moment Jin Yue got in, she realized her feet couldn’t touch the pool’s bottom and knew she’d been duped. She was getting used to Hong Tao’s tricks, and her mind was getting quicker as well.

“It’s a bit deeper here, but it’s shallow over there. I’ll hold your hand and we’ll swim over together. There’s nothing to be afraid of in the water...” Hong Tao wasn’t about to let Jin Yue out—not after he’d finally managed to coax her in. She wasn’t getting out again until she learned to swim!

Jin Yue was actually quite obedient. She held Hong Tao’s hand and let him guide her toward the shallow end, following his instructions: keep her mouth shut, hold her breath, and lift her head when she needed to breathe. She didn’t master it in one go, but at least she wasn’t resisting or crying. For a girl of four or five, taking her first dip in the pool, that was already impressive.

Swimming, really, didn’t require much teaching. As long as someone was watching to prevent anyone from drowning, just give them a gentle nudge into water that’s too deep for their feet to touch the bottom and watch them flail. In no time, they’d float, and within half an hour, they’d be swimming. Even the slowest learner would manage it within an hour—if the bystander had the nerves for it.

But Hong Tao didn’t dare teach Jin Yue that way—not out of excessive concern, but because there was no need. It was just for fun; whether she learned quickly or not didn’t matter. As long as she got used to the water and came more often, she’d learn sooner or later.

After splashing around with Jin Yue in the shallow end until she tired, he let her sit by the pool while he started swimming laps himself, asking her to count how many lengths he could do.

Just then, four young boys, each about eight or nine years old, entered through the swimming pool’s main doors. They were all dressed in white vests and green shorts, laughing and joking as they made their way to the pool. They stripped off their vests and prepared to jump in.

“Third! Whose little girl is that?” The skinniest, shortest boy suddenly noticed Jin Yue, who was sitting at the edge in her odd swimsuit, and tugged at one of his companions, asking in a low voice.

“No idea... she even has a perm... She’s not from our block, right? Fifth, do you know her?” The boy called Third was the tallest, with a square face. He stared at Jin Yue for a while, then turned to ask another boy.

“I’ve never seen her. She’s probably not from our block. Want to mess with her?” Fifth was pale and neat, with long bangs almost covering his forehead. His eyes darted restlessly.

“Let’s go... We’ll jump in near her and splash her. Look at what she’s wearing—why is it in two pieces?” Third was quick to take up Fifth’s suggestion, even proposing a practical plan.

“I saw this in a movie—it’s what foreign women wear. She must be a capitalist! Let’s go criticize the capitalist!” Fifth seemed worldly, even knowing about the origins of the swimsuit, though the label he slapped on Jin Yue was a bit much.

The four boys crept up behind Jin Yue, and with Third leading the way, they jumped into the water right in front of her one after another, drenching her with splashes and startling her badly.

“Brother Tao! Brother Tao! They splashed me!” Jin Yue stood up and called out to Hong Tao, who was still swimming.

“Come over here, don’t pay any attention to them!” Hearing her voice, Hong Tao looked back and quickly understood what was going on. This wasn’t his turf; even if his uncle showed up, it wouldn’t help. Better to stay away from trouble.

But sometimes keeping the peace just made things worse. Jin Yue, pouting, moved over to the deep end to avoid them, but the four boys didn’t intend to stop. Since it would be excessive to chase a little girl with so many adults in the pool, they shifted their focus to Hong Tao.

“Hey, kid, where are you from? Who brought you here?” The skinny boy blocked Hong Tao’s way, flicking water at his head and questioning him arrogantly.

“Security Department Chief, surname Wang,” Hong Tao replied, trying to move past, but the square-faced boy blocked him. The other two quickly surrounded him.

“You’re not from our block—what are you doing swimming here?” The skinny one, emboldened by numbers and Hong Tao’s small stature, splashed water into his face again.

Hong Tao sized up the situation, said nothing, and immediately swam toward the edge as fast as he could. Whatever they intended, he was alone and couldn’t risk being surrounded in the water—that would leave him no chance to fight back.

Fighting, after all, requires strategy—especially when you’re at a disadvantage. You have to decide quickly whether to run or fight. Never let yourself be cornered, always keep room to move. If you just stand there, you’ll get pummeled. If you fall against a wall, you’ll take the full force of every kick and punch—painful and dangerous.

Hong Tao couldn’t just run away—not out of pride, but because he couldn’t leave Jin Yue behind. If he were alone, he’d have bolted long ago, but with Jin Yue there, he had to tough it out, hoping to hold on until Uncle Jin returned.

“Xiaoyue, go find your father...” Hong Tao climbed out of the pool, keeping his back to the boys still in the water, and whispered to Jin Yue.

“Come with me...” Jin Yue glanced at the boys who were clearly after Hong Tao and realized something was wrong.

“Hurry, don’t cry, run!” Hong Tao widened his eyes, trying to look as authoritative as he could. It worked—Jin Yue got up and dashed toward the entrance.

“That little girl’s going to get help. I’ll go after her—you guys take care of him! Make him call for help!” The skinny boy was the first to scramble out of the pool, seeing Jin Yue run for the door. He struggled to climb out, intent on chasing her.

“Like hell you will!” Hong Tao took a few quick steps, and, gathering his momentum, kicked the skinny boy square in the face just as he was hauling himself out of the pool.

“Ah!—splash—” The skinny boy tumbled back into the water with a brief, sharp cry.

“Third! Get him, don’t let him get away!” Another boy climbed up the ladder, cutting off Hong Tao’s escape. One dove back into the water to help his friend, and the last scrambled up the other side, trapping Hong Tao in a pincer movement.

“Ah!” Hong Tao didn’t hesitate for a second. He charged straight at the biggest boy, yelling as he went—both to intimidate his opponents and to alert the adults in the pool that a fight had broken out.

He chose to go after the biggest, most dangerous boy first—another lesson from experience. If you tie up the strongest, you won’t take the hardest hits. Leave the strongest free, and he’ll pound you without restraint.

“Ah!—ow—crack—ow!” The biggest boy, called Third, didn’t expect Hong Tao to rush him so fiercely. He’d just climbed out, and the poolside was wet and slick, with only a rough surface for traction. As Hong Tao charged, Third hesitated, took a step back, and lost his footing. Both boys crashed to the ground, but it was Third who howled in pain—Hong Tao had landed a punch straight to his groin, leaving him writhing on the floor and unable to do anything but clutch himself in agony.