Anzhen was a small town; the police station at the town center was really just on the next street over.

Zhou Ya passed by its entrance twice, and on the third pass, he was caught by Ren Jianbai, who was squatting by the roadside.

“Police checkpoint! Cut the engine and get off!”

Ren Jianbai grabbed the front of Zhou Ya’s bike, cursing furiously. “It’s not even a five-minute walk from the stall to here. You’ve been gone so long, I knew you had to be loitering around this area! You’re having a grand old time — meanwhile those two inside are about to fight again!”

“Good, let them fight. Give your boring shift some excitement, won’t that be nice?” Zhou Ya revved the engine idly a couple times and glared at him. “Get lost.”

Ren Jianbai spoke as if resigned to a heroic death: “Not moving. If you’ve got the nerve, run me over.”

Zhou Ya, already full of pent-up anger, actually shifted gears and revved as if to charge forward.

Terrified, Ren Jianbai leapt aside, shouting loudly: “Damn it, you’re really going to hit me?!”

Zhou Ya glared at him fiercely: “You’re insane. I’m parking.”

Ren Jianbai’s family and Zhou Ya’s family lived across from each other, and they’d been classmates since elementary school. Ren Jianbai knew his temperament well — his mouth was as hard as the muscles on his body, but his heart was still soft.

Ren Jianbai trotted after him, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, doing some preemptive persuasion work on Zhou Ya: “When we go in, don’t scold Fang Long, okay? Actually, this whole thing — it’s not entirely her fault—”

Zhou Ya parked and killed the engine, cutting off his childhood friend: “Who started it?”

Ren Jianbai froze, the cigarette held halfway out: “Huh?”

Zhou Ya took the cigarette and lighter from him and asked again: “Who. Started it.”

Ren Jianbai hesitated a moment before saying: “Fang Long started it.”

Zhou Ya rarely let a corner of his mouth lift in a scoff, his eyes still as cold as the night wind.

Seeing this, Ren Jianbai couldn’t help but shudder, but he still forced himself to keep speaking up for Fang Long: “But Fang Long was alone, and there were two of them, so actually she barely got a chance to do anything. Hey, it was just kids scuffling…”

The flame nearly reached the cigarette tip, then was pulled away again.

Zhou Ya was silent a moment, then tossed the lighter back to Ren Jianbai, tucked the unsmoked cigarette into his jacket pocket, and strode toward the police station entrance.

“Let’s go. Go see the little ancestor.”

The mediation room at the police station wasn’t large — the table corners chipped, the chairs old, the yellowed walls stained with some unknown black marks, the fluorescent tube hazy, though the cobwebs hanging in the corners were distinct, strand by strand.

All of this was quite familiar to Fang Long — she’d been here a few times, after all.

She sat on one side of the long table, head bowed low, not wanting to look at the wretched pair across from her, nor at each of their mothers.

The scalp that had been pulled no longer hurt; the cheek that had been slapped was a bit swollen; the worst was the back of her neck, which must have broken skin — it burned with pain.

The station was so cold. Even with the doors and windows shut, cold kept creeping up from the soles of her feet.

Fang Long’s legs were numb with cold, and the slightest movement sent waves of shivering through her.

She still had to grit her molars and endure it, not wanting to let those across from her see how uneasy she was.

The young couple sitting together — one was her ex-boyfriend of less than a month, Jiang Yao; the other was her former close friend, Wu Danchun.

At that moment Wu Danchun was crying softly, sniffling: “Wu… Fang Long, you really misunderstand… I only got together with Jiang Yao after you two broke up, we didn’t, didn’t… wu wu wu…”

Jiang Yao handed her a tissue to wipe her tears, coaxing gently in a low voice: “Don’t cry. You don’t need to explain to her, we have nothing to hide.”

“What is this? A husband-and-wife duet?” A wave of nausea surged up, and Fang Long mimed retching right in front of them, mocking, “The two of you can stop your little act — you’re really making me sick.”

Wu Danchun’s mother scolded loudly: “Little sister, you really have no manners! This is a police station and you’re still cursing!”

Jiang Yao’s mother chimed in: “Exactly! No wonder Jiang Yao must have been blind before, ending up with a little delinquent like you!”

“I have no father or mother, so of course my manners aren’t as good as your family’s — able to raise such a daughter with eight hundred scheming little hearts.”

Fang Long shot a glare at the pitiful-looking Wu Danchun, growing angrier the more she thought about it. “Wu Danchun, you really are quite the actress. Back when I noticed Jiang Yao was showing signs of cheating, you were the one encouraging me to break up with him for sure. Now I finally understand — you wanted me to break up with him so you two could be together openly, right? Tell me, aren’t you just shameless?”

Jiang Yao suddenly stood up, pointing at Fang Long and shouting: “Who are you calling shameless?!”

Fang Long slammed the table and rose too: “Whoever jumps up, that’s who I’m calling shameless! Wu Danchun’s shameless! Jiang Yao, you’re even more shameless than heaven and earth combined!!”

Jiang Yao’s face flushed red with anger, Wu Danchun covered her face and sobbed loudly, Wu’s mother and Jiang’s mother pulled at the young officer responsible for mediating, demanding justice, and Fang Long was nearly ready to climb onto the table — this was the chaotic scene that greeted Zhou Ya and Ren Jianbai as they walked into the mediation room.

Having been a police officer for many years, Ren Jianbai’s warning shout carried real force and intimidation: “What are you all doing? What is this, a wet market?! Everyone sit down!!”

The other three all sat back down, and Wu Danchun stopped crying too.

Only Fang Long remained standing, back straight, chin raised, lips pressed tight, glaring at Zhou Ya as if ready to march into battle the next second, unafraid even of a valiant death.

Zhou Ya’s eyes slid sideways, sweeping over the four people sitting across from Fang Long, then quickly looked away, his cold gaze settling on Fang Long.

One hand still in his pants pocket, the other extended only an index finger, pointing at the wooden stool behind Fang Long.

When he spoke, his voice was hoarse beyond belief: “Sit. Down.”