Chapter 15: Can the Heroine Stand Firm?

Beep, beep—

A somewhat battered Jialing motorcycle stopped by the road. On its seat was a dark-skinned middle-aged man in a navy work vest.

He was tall and rugged, with the fatigue of long-distance driving around his eyes, but his gaze was exceptionally gentle as he looked toward the court.

“Dad!”

Su Xiaoqing, who’d been ready for action outside the three-point line, lit up. Forgetting the ball entirely, she cheered and rushed toward the wire fence.

We had to take a break too.

Father and daughter spoke for a while in the shade. Afterward, the usually quiet truck driver lifted an enormous dark-green watermelon from the metal basket on the back of his motorcycle. Drops of icy water still clung to its rind.

He seemed to have come especially to bring watermelon for everyone, perhaps so the neighborhood children would get along.

With a few crisp cuts, the melon was divided into thick slices.

“Watermelon! My dad bought a big, sweet one!” Su Xiaoqing held a large slice in each hand and waved to the court.

The children, already parched, cheered and swarmed over.

Her father stayed with her for a while, nodded to me from a distance, then climbed onto his motorcycle and rode away with the engine puttering, off to who knew what. He was a man always on the move.

An autumn breeze stirred the paulownia beside the court, making its palm-sized green leaves rustle.

We sat in a row on the concrete steps in the shade. An occasional old-fashioned bicycle rattled over fallen leaves on the road, its clear bell echoing through the quiet afternoon. Sweet watermelon fragrance filled the air.

Zhang Wei and Monkey argued over which ultimate Digimon was strongest as they ate. Li Bo idly spat a seed into a crack in the concrete and used a little stick to tease a few black ants carrying things.

I ate my watermelon in silence.

It was truly sweet, with juicy, sandy flesh. The cold juice soothed the heat of the whole afternoon the moment it reached my stomach.

After finishing my slice, I still wanted more. Another piece would be nice.

Without thinking, I murmured, “I’ll ask Mom to buy a watermelon this afternoon.”

It was a quiet, instinctive thought spoken aloud, but Su Xiaoqing, sitting to my left, heard it.

Her mouth was full, her cheeks puffed like a hamster’s. She’d eaten the slice in her left hand down to the white rind, but in her right she still held a big, shining red slice she’d specially chosen. She hadn’t touched its sweetest tip; in other words, she hadn’t taken a bite.

Hearing me, she generously held the untouched slice out. “Here, have it!”

I blinked. “What?”

“Didn’t you say you wanted more? Here.”

So that was what she meant.

Looking at the cold watermelon, I felt the corners of my mouth rise. Who’d have guessed that this normally overbearing little tomboy was loyal enough even to share her watermelon?

Well, I might as well accept. “Thanks.”

“We’re good friends!” Su Xiaoqing patted her chest happily.

I took the slice and bit into it. Sweet, cold, and wonderfully juicy. Watermelon really was the ideal summer fruit.

In the light breeze and cicada song, I quickly ate half. Then Su Xiaoqing suddenly reached out. I was baffled at first, until she took the slice from me, muttering about how stingy I was and asking why I wouldn’t let her eat when she’d shared it with me.

“?…” I was genuinely confused.

Without the slightest hesitation or concern for where I’d just bitten, she took a huge bite from the same spot.

…I’d just bitten there, but she didn’t mind at all…

Another large portion vanished. “Mm… It really is sweet!”

Su Xiaoqing chewed contentedly, cheeks puffed, a ring of red watermelon juice around her mouth. Then she naturally held the unevenly bitten slice out to me again. “Here, you can have all the rest! I only needed one bite!”

“…” I fell silent.

Where was I even supposed to start?

Sigh. Never mind. I’d just say I was full.

“No, thanks.” Looking at the bite marks and the faint moisture on the cut surface, I found it difficult to keep eating the same slice.

“Really?”

“Yes, really. I’m full.”

“…Strange. It’s so sweet, and you just don’t want it?”

As she muttered, Li Bo, who’d been teasing the ants, laughed as though he’d seen the truth. “Su Xiaoqing, you’re so unhygienic! You took something someone else was eating, bit it, and gave it back. Of course Fang Luo won’t want it!”

Su Xiaoqing’s eyes widened, and she looked at me. “But that slice was mine in the first place!”

Uh, was that the point?

Her hand froze in midair. Her big dark eyes full of disbelief, she looked at me seriously. “Why don’t you want it? Didn’t you just say you wanted more? There’s still a big piece down here!”

I sighed and shook my head inscrutably. “When you grow up, you’ll understand why.”

At that dismissive answer, the enthusiasm visibly drained from Su Xiaoqing’s face. Holding the watermelon, she stared straight at me, thinking who knew what.

Perhaps she remembered me complaining about her strange smell when she carried me. Or perhaps she knew her clothes were sticky after sweating through basketball. Whatever the reason, she hadn’t minded eating after him, but now he was disgusted by her.

Yes, she admitted Fang Luo looked clean, always smelled faintly of body wash, and didn’t have blackened sleeves.

But she hadn’t minded him!

Hurt and embarrassed anger surged in her chest, turning her little face red. “Fine! Don’t eat it!”

She pulled the slice back and bit it hard. “Fang Luo, you big jerk! Ungrateful bastard!!

“I was kind enough to share, and you think I’m dirty. I didn’t think that about you! So don’t eat it!

“When we play again, this heroine is definitely not on your team! I’ll guard you so tightly you won’t score a single basket! I’m so mad!!”

She gobbled up the rest, hurled the rind into the trash, and rushed back to the court like a firecracker with a lit fuse.

Zhang Wei and Monkey shuddered at the fire-breathing tyrannosaur and looked at each other over their rinds.

I sat in the shade, then helplessly brushed off my hands and stood. Time to play.

…

As everyone knew, elementary schoolers’ anger came quickly and went just as fast.

For the rest of the afternoon, Su Xiaoqing shouted and targeted me relentlessly on the court, practically sticking to me on defense. But that inexplicable grudge vanished amid high fives and cries of “Yeah! Nice shot!”

After the sun finally sank below the horizon, we bought a bottle of orange soda at the little shop. Only after drinking it did we go our separate ways.

Su Xiaoqing, Zhang Wei, and I lived in the same direction, so we walked together. Perhaps with basketball over and nothing else to occupy her, Xiaoqing’s temper returned; she kept bumping me with her shoulder on the way home.

She’d practically gone mad.

“I’m sorry, okay?” I said, pressing a hand to my forehead.

Su Xiaoqing made a face. “That’s for being disgusted by me! This heroine won’t accept anything from you again, and I definitely won’t share anything I eat with you!”

“I’ll buy you a Chupa Chups tomorrow. Can you forgive me?” I sighed, hands in my pockets.

“Mm… I suppose I could, reluctantly.” She bumped my shoulder with hers and skipped along.

Honestly. Only a few words, and the heroine had already given in.