Chapter 23 - Coward
As the warm rays of the afternoon sun bathes the Academy, the sound of bells fill the air and signal the end of class. Students emerge from their classrooms, filling up the yards and walkways between buildings. Fine silk sleeves of all colors flow along the breeze as the students make their way towards their lunch destination. Some students make their way towards the dining hall while others make their way towards one of the many gates along the Academy walls. Regardless of their destination, they chatter and laugh along the way.
Amongst the sea of colorful silk, two students stand out. A young boy in a simple white robe walks alongside a little girl in a pale yellow dress. The little girl skips and twirls, causing the ends of her dress to fan outwards like a blossoming flower.
"Hehe." The little girl giggles as she looks down at her dress. "Dan! Look! Isn't this dress beautiful? Aunty Hong made Yuyu look like a flower!"
Dan smiles awkwardly as he watches the little girl dance past the Academy gate, completely oblivious to the disdainful gazes she had attracted along the way. He catches up to the little girl, walking alongside her as she twirls around.
"What does Yuyu want to eat today?" Dan asks as they turn the corner onto a side road.
"Beef buns!" Yuyu, still twirling, replies without a moment of hesitation.
"Of course they want steamed buns." A voice, full of disdain, comments from behind. "It's all they can afford."
The comment was met with laughter and giggling. Dan, recognizing the voice, grits his teeth and clenches his fist. He turns around, pulling Yuyu behind him, before staring directly at the owner of the voice. Dan watches as a young boy, clad in a royal blue silk robe, steps forth from his entourage of friends.
"What's wrong?" The young boy sneers as he circles around Dan and Yuyu. "What's with your face? Did I say something wrong?"
"..." Dan doesn't respond to the provocation. He just bites his tongue and shifts his body slightly in the direction of the young boy, putting himself between the young boy and Yuyu.
"Tell me something." The young boy, with a devious smile on his face, speaks loudly for his friends to hear. "How did you two get into the Academy? And spare us the usual nonsense. You don't really think that anyone would actually believe that you managed to pass the martial exam, do you? Not to mention the brat scoring highest on the scholar exam. A little brat like her?"
The young boy's friends mutter amongst themselves, occasionally breaking out in disdainful laughter.
"I smell…" The young boy stops his encircling pacing before sniffing the air around Dan and Yuyu. "Bullshit."
Dan, having become accustomed to such treatments in the past two months, chooses to stay silent. However, his eyes continue to glare straight at the young boy, never once breaking sight from fear or intimidation. Although Yuyu was scared, she did not show any signs of it as she felt safe standing behind Dan. She also has been looking at the boy ever since the start of this unpleasant encounter, albeit from behind Dan. The boy, seeing Dan's unwavering eyes and Yuyu's lack of reaction to his provocation, suddenly feels his anger rise.
"Wei, let's go." A gentle voice calls out towards the young boy. "I'm hungry."
"Your eyes." Wei, unable to hear his friend's words, steps towards Dan. "Lower them, you filthy nobodies."
"We're not nobodies!" To everybody's surprise, the little girl pokes her head out from behind Dan's back and starts yelling at them. "Dan is not a nobody! He's grandpa Yi's son! Dan is Yuyu's friend! And Yuyu is not a nobody! Yuyu is Mister's little girl! Yuyu is grandpa Liu's little genius! Stop calling us that!"
Her high-pitched tirade causes Wei and his group of friends to fall silent. A moment later, the group of friends break out into laughter.
"So the parents of the nobodies are also nobodies." Wei, elated by the fact that he finally got a reaction, takes the opportunity to push his taunting even further. "You hear that? A family of nobodies."
Realizing that the little girl was much easier to provoke than Dan, Wei shoulders past Dan before squatting in front of Yuyu. He motions his hand towards the little girl's chin. The sudden inclusion of his father's respected name, combined with the targeted verbal attacks towards Yuyu, causes Dan to tremble in anger. Dan grips Wei's wrist with one hand, stopping it before it could reach Yuyu, and pulling Yuyu back with the other.
"Don't. Touch. Her."
This show of retaliation causes Wei to snap. He twists his hips and lunges towards Dan with a fist. Dan's pupils shrink as he watches the punch flying towards him in slow motion. His foot instinctively slides half a step back, allowing him to shift his head just outside the trajectory of the punch. Upon reaching the end of the half-step, Dan braces his toes against the ground in preparation. As he raises his fist to counter, Dan suddenly regains control of his emotions. He kills off his instinct to retaliate and shifts his body back into the trajectory of Wei's punch.
*THWACK!*
The punch sends Dan back a few steps before falling backwards into the middle of the road. Upon seeing the minor spectacle devolve into violence, the small crowd of spectators disperse. They pretend that they have seen nothing as they walk away, seemingly too scared to get involved with the boy named Wei. Yuyu's legs collapse upon seeing Dan get hurt. Tears flow from her eyes as she cries. Ignoring the dispersing crowd and Yuyu's wailing, Wei jumps towards Dan with his knee raised high. As his foot stomps towards Dan's stomach, a voice stops him.
"WEI!" The gentle voice from earlier calls out, this time with much more irritation in her tone. "Let's go. I'm hungry."
"Ptoo!" Wei spits at Dan before turning around. As he walks away, he pauses for a moment to turn towards Dan. "Know your place. Don't ever glare at me with those worthless eyes again."
As the entourage departs, one person stays behind. A young girl, about fourteen or fifteen years of age, stands there with a troubled expression. She slowly walks over to the crying girl, bending her knees upon arriving.
"It's okay little girl." Her gentle voice is drowned out by Yuyu's crying.
Dan, already back on his feet, appears behind the young girl. He wipes the blood from his lip cut with his sleeve, staining the white fabric a crimson red.
"Don't touch her. Just go away." Dan steps between the two girls before bending forward to pick Yuyu up. "Your friends have already left."
The young girl turns around to see her friends turn around the corner and disappear into the bustling road. She picks herself up and turns to face Dan.
"I'm sorry." She bows lightly. "I was only trying to help."
"We don't need your pity." Dan ignores her apologetic gesture before turning around to walk away. "Coward."