Chapter Thirty-Seven: The Art of Fighting

“Ouch...” But Hong Tao wasn’t feeling much better himself. His knees scraped against the ground, burning with pain. He had only just managed to get up when the pale, long-haired boy lunged at him again, shoving him back down, pinning him to the floor. The boy straddled Hong Tao, pressing his head hard against the ground.

No matter how quickly Hong Tao had developed, it was only in comparison to his peers. These kids looked several years older than him; their height, weight, and strength were on a completely different level. Once the pale boy sat atop him, Hong Tao had no chance of throwing him off. Luckily, this boy didn’t actually know how to fight—he just held Hong Tao down tightly, making no attempt to attack his most vulnerable face.

But Hong Tao, seasoned from many such scraps, wasn’t about to let this rare opportunity slip away. Though his body and right arm were pinned, his left arm was still free. He aimed carefully at the pale boy’s head, clenched his fist, and let fly an uppercut from below.

A scream rang out across the entire swimming pool, echoing off the walls. The pale boy, clutching his face with both hands, rolled off Hong Tao.

“Stop fighting! Stop!” Hong Tao had only just pushed the boy off and hadn’t even gotten to his feet when someone seized his arm and hoisted him up.

Several adults, alerted by the commotion, quickly intervened to break up the scuffle. Hong Tao was dragged to one side, while the big fellow and the pale boy were helped up from the floor. Someone else pulled the skinny boy out of the water by the edge of the pool.

“What happened here? What’s going on?” At that moment, Uncle Jin and Section Chief Wang rushed in. Seeing the chaos at the poolside and two children with bloodied faces, they immediately panicked. Uncle Jin parted the crowd, pulled Hong Tao over, and asked loudly, “What happened?”

“They were chasing me—four of them! They threw me to the ground. Look, my leg’s all scraped!” Hong Tao stretched out his leg to show Uncle Jin the raw patch on his knee.

“That’s not true—he started it! He hit the Monkey first and made his nose bleed!” protested the only child who hadn’t joined the fray, accusing Hong Tao of starting the fight.

“Nonsense! The four of you were chasing me! What was I supposed to do—stand there with my hands behind my back and wait for you to hit me? Who was splashing me in the water? Who shouted not to let that little girl go call for an adult? Why were you afraid of her calling for help? If you weren’t up to no good, what’s there to fear? You’re all so young and already learning to harass girls. What school do you go to? I’ll go there tomorrow and ask your teachers if this is how they educate their students!” Hong Tao was never afraid of a verbal battle—anything but a physical fight. When it came to arguing, he could twist things in his favor even if he was in the wrong, let alone now when he had the upper hand.

“Daddy, they splashed me with water and chased Brother Tao in the pool. They’re all bad kids!” Jin Yue chimed in at just the right moment, tears glistening in her eyes, winning Hong Tao a wave of sympathy.

“Captain Jin, I’m so sorry your daughter was frightened. These children are just too much for me. I thought they’d all gone to the movie tonight, so I left for a bit, and this happened. I’ll go check on their injuries. Please, take your children home for now—we can talk about this another day.” Section Chief Wang seemed to have grasped the situation. To him, this was just a scuffle among children and not worth making a fuss over.

“Xiao San... Xiao San... Xiao Wu... Xiao Wu... Who did this to my sons? Who was it?” At that moment, a middle-aged woman burst in from outside. Seeing the big fellow still on the ground and the pale boy with a bloodied face, she didn’t even check on their injuries but stood with her hands on her hips, shouting loudly, spittle flying.

“Oh, Sister Sun, it’s nothing serious—just a kids’ fight. Why don’t you check on your boys and maybe take them to the infirmary?” Section Chief Wang stepped forward, trying to calm her down.

“Section Chief Wang, look at my boys! They’ve been beaten like this, and you’re doing nothing? Who did it? Arrest him and take him to your security office! Or send him to the police station! Where is he? Where?” The woman’s voice rose several notches after seeing Section Chief Wang, causing him to shrink back from her tirade.

“Mom, it was him—he hit me and my brother!” The pale boy, still sitting and clutching his nose, tugged at his mother’s pants, pointing at Hong Tao.

“Who?” The woman followed her son’s pointing finger, glanced at Hong Tao, and thought she must be mistaken. In her mind, only a much older child could have beaten her two sons like this. But the boy before her was clearly much younger.

“It’s him! He kicked the Monkey first, then knocked my brother down, and then broke my nose!” the pale boy complained, muffled by his hands.

“You little rascal! Whose child are you? Why did you hit my sons? Where are your parents?” Now certain this boy was the culprit, the woman strode over and towered above Hong Tao, barking at him as if she would devour him.

“Ma’am, I think I see why your sons dare to act up in public—the problem starts with you. Listen to yourself, insulting people right in front of all these kids. How can you expect to raise decent children like this? No wonder they take after you!” Hong Tao stood his ground, calmly shielding his face from her flying spittle with a small hand, and replied in his still-childish voice, unruffled.

“You... who are you calling a troublemaker? You beat my boys and still think you’re in the right? Section Chief Wang, you need to settle this—whose child is this? Where are his parents?” The woman hadn’t expected such a response and was momentarily stumped by Hong Tao. Seeing the onlookers trying to suppress their laughter, she quickly changed tactics, giving up on arguing with the child—she knew she wouldn’t win.

“I’m his guardian. If you have any issues, you can discuss them with me. I didn’t see what happened, but before you arrived, the children explained things pretty clearly. Your two sons and the other two boys splashed water on my daughter, then chased my nephew in the pool to stop him from calling an adult. In the end, my nephew fought back to protect his sister. As for the injuries, my nephew’s leg is also hurt. So, how about we each take our own children home and discipline them ourselves?” Uncle Jin stepped forward, his face stern, and began negotiating with the woman.

“That’s what you say—but who saw it? Who? I say your kid hit my sons first! If you think it ends here, you’re dreaming!” The woman was not one for compromise; she glared around, and when no one spoke up, her confidence grew. She turned her venom on Uncle Jin.

“Ma’am, you have the nerve to say I hit them? Ask your sons how old they are, and then ask how old I am. I’m not even five—haven’t even started school yet! If your sons are so useless they can’t handle a five-year-old, what good are they? And did you see me hit them? They slipped because the floor was wet! If you don’t believe me, let’s go to the police station and have them investigate. But your sons harassing girls in public—we’ll have to discuss that in front of the police too and see who’s really at fault.” Hong Tao, fearing Uncle Jin might not be a match for this seasoned shrew, quickly stepped in again.

“Fine—let’s go to the police station! I’m not afraid of you. Let’s see who’s right! Section Chief Wang, you’re coming too!” The woman was unyielding, grabbing Uncle Jin’s arm and refusing to let go.

In the end, the matter did end up at the police station. Section Chief Wang had no authority to handle incidents involving outsiders—the security office only dealt with affairs within the institute and compound. So off to the police they went.

But really, it didn’t matter where they went. Once Hong Tao stated his age, and with Jin Yue’s age as well, anyone with common sense could see that a five-year-old couldn’t possibly beat up three boys of eight or nine. Hong Tao insisted he’d never hit them—they simply slipped because the floor was wet, and he’d been hurt as well, his knee still bleeding.

As for why the three boys were hurt more badly than he was, Hong Tao didn’t bother to explain, and the police didn’t ask. That’s just luck—nobody can control how they fall, and if you get hurt, that’s just tough luck.

Though the middle-aged woman made a huge scene at the police station—crying, yelling, even threatening to hang herself—the officers were unmoved. They waited for her to calm down, questioned each child, and finally concluded: everyone should go home, and the four boys received a stern warning, particularly for harassing Jin Yue in public.

“Uncle Wang, sorry for all the trouble. That woman won’t come after you again, will she?” As they left the police station, Hong Tao bowed to Section Chief Wang in apology.