Chapter 28: Trouble at the Rink

After days without a visit, Jiajia appeared with her new boyfriend, Xiao He.
“Yijun!”
She called my name enthusiastically as soon as she came in, then formally introduced the handsome young man beside her.
“This is my boyfriend, Xiao He.”
The same Xiao He I’d met before, of course. He just hadn’t been her boyfriend then.
With both of them so eager, their relationship had progressed at remarkable speed. From the way they clung to each other, you’d have thought theirs was a love so profound that only death could part them.
“Hello, Sis. It’s been ages.”
I nearly fell over.
“No need to be so formal,” I said, my expression darkening.
“Hello, ladies.”
He turned to greet Weiwei, Zhou Guo and the others, addressing them as older sisters too.
Honestly. Weiwei was younger than he was. Who did he think he was, Jia Baoyu, calling every girl he met “Sis”?
“Weiwei’s younger than you,” I pointed out irritably.
“It’s fine. He’s cute.”
Weiwei was happy to accept the promotion. Young as she was, she had a mature outlook and liked playing the older, wiser woman.
“You’re very pretty, Sis.”
Jiajia pinched him from behind.
“Ow!”
Realising his mistake, he hurriedly put an arm around her shoulders.
“My girlfriend is the most beautiful goddess in my heart.”
“In all our hearts,” Weiwei said softly. “Miss Jiajia has always been as lovely as a goddess to me.”
What magnificent flattery.
“Yes, exactly!” Xiao He agreed at once.
“You’re embarrassing me.”
Jiajia’s eyes narrowed into delighted crescents. She was practically floating.
“Yijun, let’s go skating tonight.”
Jiajia had become a complicated friend for me. She was one of my closest friends, but she was just as close to my sworn enemy, Sun Wenyuan.
It hadn’t bothered me much before. Now that things between Wenyuan and me had become so bitter, remembering how Jiajia had left me behind that day to run after her made my heart turn cold.
“Not interested.”
“Don’t be like that. Come with us.”
She pouted. Wheedling was one of her talents, and it made staying angry with her difficult.
“Go on,” Weiwei urged.
We were still at work, so her voice was gentle and soft.
“You come too, Weiwei,” Jiajia said. “The more, the merrier.”
“Yes!” Xiao He said eagerly.
“Shall we?”
Weiwei nudged me with her elbow. When I didn’t answer, she turned to Jiajia.
“We’ll both come tonight.”
Then she looked back at me.
My silence told her I’d agreed.
Skating was fun. There was no reason not to go. I was annoyed with Jiajia, but not enough to cut her out of my life.
Even so, I wasn’t about to give in too graciously.
That was simply how I was.
“Could I come too?” Zhou Guo asked.
“Of course!”
Jiajia agreed without hesitation. She’d always liked a crowd.

Deafening rock music filled the rink. Fashionably dressed boys and girls showed off their skating skills amid constant cheers.
Even shouting to the person beside you, you couldn’t be sure they’d heard.
Jiajia and Xiao He held hands. Weiwei and I paired up too.
That left Zhou Guo on her own, but she didn’t seem to mind. She skated happily by herself.
“Have you noticed she keeps following us?” Weiwei shouted into my ear.
Looking back, I saw Zhou Guo behind us.
She’d come with us. What was wrong with staying nearby?
“Don’t you think she’s strange?” Weiwei asked, her mouth close to my ear.
I shook my head.
“Hey, Sally. Long time no see.”
Several rough-looking young men skated over and surrounded us.
One stopped in front of Weiwei, leering at her before turning his eyes towards me.
That sly, unpleasant grin made my skin crawl.
Weiwei’s expression changed instantly.
She took my hand and tried to leave, but the others closed in, trapping us.
I might have been wilful and fearless at home, but that was home. Throwing tantrums in a sheltered garden was nothing like finding yourself out in the wilderness.
I’d never faced anything like this.
Every man around us wore the same lecherous, ill-intentioned look.
Fear crept in.
“Not today, Rat. I haven’t got time for you.”
That was the only part of Weiwei’s exchange with their leader I could hear clearly.
The man wore a skull earring in his right ear. He reached towards her, and she pushed his hand away.
He looked angry. They struggled briefly.
Then his arm swung.
The slap knocked Weiwei to the floor.
She’d been holding my hand loosely. As she fell, her grip slipped free, making me sway.
There was no time to think. Shocked, I crouched to help her.
Someone took her other arm.
Zhou Guo.
When I looked up, she gave me a lovely smile.
“Another one.”
The man Weiwei had called Rat rubbed his chin.
“Hey.”
He pointed at Zhou Guo and me, then towards the exit.
“I’m letting you two off. Get lost.”
Without a trace of fear, Zhou Guo helped Weiwei towards the edge of the rink.
The men blocked our way.
Zhou Guo said nothing.
In one swift movement, she threw the man in front of us over her shoulder. He hit the floor and lay there howling.
Before the others could react, she shoved Weiwei and me through the gap.
With skates on our feet, we shot forwards.
The whole thing took only seconds.
“After them!”
“Damn it! Don’t let them get away!”
Chaos broke out across the rink. Several couples were knocked sprawling, cries rising above the music.
We were finished.
How were three women supposed to escape this many big men?
Once we were off the skating floor, Zhou Guo told us to take our skates off quickly. Hers were already off.
Several men came charging towards us.
She hurled the skates at them. The three at the front went down, tripping those behind them.
My heart was pounding so hard it felt ready to burst.
Getting one pair of skates off seemed to take half a century.
“Go!”
Weiwei and I ran barefoot.
Glancing back, I saw Zhou Guo deftly throwing one man after another, even though they were all bigger than she was.
Reassured, we kept running.
“She’s a judo expert,” Weiwei gasped.
But Zhou Guo couldn’t hold them all off alone.
One caught up and seized my hand.
Without thinking, I swung my free fist straight into his left eye.
“Nice one!” Weiwei cheered.
Then several more appeared behind him, carrying wooden clubs.
We screamed and ran for our lives.
Outside the rink lay a straight, brightly lit road. A few cars passed, but there wasn’t a pedestrian in sight. In this winter cold, most people were safely indoors.
We ran as fast as we could.
Stopping a taxi was impossible. Our pursuers were only a few steps behind.
A club swung towards us.
With a cry, Weiwei and I ducked. The wood whistled over our heads.
We’re dead.
Crouched on the ground, we trembled with our eyes squeezed shut.
“What are you doing?”
At the last possible moment, a patrol car stopped beside the road.
Only two police officers were inside.
Outnumbered, they faced the men advancing towards them, clubs raised and expressions vicious.
The patrol car sped away.
Weiwei and I opened our eyes and seized the chance to run.
“Leave them! The police might come back.”
At that shout, the men turned back.
We kept going until we were well away, then stopped beside the road, struggling for breath.
“What about Zhou Guo?”
Fear rose again. However good she was at judo, she could still get hurt.
“I hope she’s all right.”
“How do you know those thugs?”
“It’s a long story… I’ll tell you another time.”
A flicker of alarm crossed Weiwei’s eyes, as though there was something she didn’t want anyone to know.
We waited beside the road, stamping our feet and breathing warmth into our hands while watching everything around us.
The men might come after us again.
But we couldn’t abandon Zhou Guo, and we didn’t dare go back.
All we could do was wait for her to find us.
The night was quiet. Time dragged unbearably.
I had no idea how long we’d been there when a figure appeared in the distance.
Faintly, a voice called, “Yijun! Weiwei!”
“We’re here!”
We jumped up in relief.
“Are you both all right? Sorry, they kept me tied up back there. I couldn’t get away. I was so worried something had happened to you.”
Weiwei and I shook our heads.
“Your face is hurt.”
A cut marked Zhou Guo’s right cheek, as though something sharp had caught it.
“It’s nothing. Something they threw nicked me.”
She seemed entirely unconcerned.
In the taxi back to the hotel, Weiwei and I couldn’t stop praising her.
Zhou Guo explained that her father had been a police officer. She and her younger brother had learned martial arts as children, and she’d taken up judo later.
That brought another chorus of admiration.
So judo wasn’t her only skill.
I really wanted to see what else she could do.