James Parker was, of course, busy thinking up excuses to refuse—like having too much winter homework, or that the Huang family's gang of chubby kids kept looking for him. In his heart, he thought, all the kids studying here came from wealthy families, maybe even “young masters” or “heirs” of some powerful clans. In the past, he could only be bullied by others, but now he had to be careful not to reveal too many weaknesses himself. If he made a mistake like in “Eagle Shooting Heroes”—“Your position is just too perfect, I couldn’t help but kick you, haven’t had such a satisfying kick in ages”—it would just bring a whole lot of trouble. All he wanted now was an ordinary, uneventful life.

So, what would an ordinary life look like for James Parker?

It should be a life just like everyone else’s, he thought. He should go through elementary, middle, high school, and college like a regular person, maybe fall in love a few times in high school or college, then enter society, find a job that’s neither too high nor too low, and after a few years, find a wife who suits him, and just keep going like that. Maybe he’d have one or two dreams in life and work hard to achieve them. Of course, as long as he tried, it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t succeed. When he was old, surrounded by children and grandchildren, he’d quietly pass away. Some people would cry, but soon forget him; some would be happy, but also forget him quickly. Although it was hard to imagine now what it would be like to have a troublesome, crying child around all day, wasn’t this the kind of happy life described in so many books?

With these thoughts, time quickly passed to the end of the year. He still couldn’t avoid the martial arts training, because Lily Bennett could see through all his excuses without even thinking. On February 2nd, a heavy snow fell in Jianghai City, with the TV station saying it was a sign of a good harvest year.

The third was New Year’s Eve. As usual, James Parker and Lily went out the back door in the morning to exercise. On their way back, the entrance to the Huang family mansion was bustling with cars, mostly Audi 100s, which were very flashy at the time since all the officials rode in them. The main hall was crowded with people coming and going—visiting for New Year’s, making connections—showing just how prominent the Huang family was in Jianghai City. The children were chasing each other in the garden, throwing snowballs or setting off firecrackers. James Parker and Lily watched for a while. Lily, looking at the kids, said with distaste, “We’re not staying here. Let’s go back to the martial arts school—Dad secretly bought a ton of firecrackers.”

Thinking about having to spend a whole morning setting off firecrackers with a little kid again, James Parker almost wanted to blow up the whole world with them. As he was pondering how to escape, a few voices suddenly called out to him from the yard, and then a group of chubby kids came charging over aggressively.

Section Three: Sarah Lane

“Henry Harris! What do you want!?” Seeing the kids rush over, Lily Bennett immediately stepped in front of little James Parker. The chubby kid in the lead was Henry Harris, whose father, Simon Harris, was the provincial party secretary—making him the top official in the Huang family, and always one of the bullies.

“Hmph, Lily Bennett, I’m looking for him, not you. Move aside!” In fact, this chubby kid was a bit afraid of Lily Bennett. They were all the same age, and Henry Harris was also in third grade at Hongxing Elementary, just not in the same class as James Parker and Lily. At school, Lily not only had good grades and was the team leader, but she was also great at fighting and tattling—most impressive was that she could beat someone up and then tattle, and the teachers always believed her. But with so many people watching, he couldn’t lose face before the fight even started.

“Hmph, you’re always bullying him. I won’t let you!”

“Hmph, it’s winter break now, you can’t go tattling to the teachers. Lily Bennett, don’t think I’m afraid of you!”

“Hmph, I’m not afraid of you either!”

As Lily spoke, she struck a martial arts pose. The chubby kid immediately took two steps back. Everyone kept huffing and puffing, but no one really wanted to fight her—no one was confident they could beat this girl. At the time, the TV series “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” was all the rage, and everyone had a bit of awe for legendary martial arts. Thinking of Lily’s family running a martial arts school, and seeing her pose, everyone felt a bit intimidated, afraid she could take on ten at once and flatten them all.

As they backed off, the chubby kid felt embarrassed when he came to his senses. Glancing at his little followers, he regained his composure, puffed out his chest, and said, “Don’t be so cocky, there’s so many of us here!” But he didn’t dare puff out too much, afraid he’d get within her striking range and get punched.

“So what if there’s a lot of you!” Lily shot back without backing down, then added, “If you’ve got guts, let’s fight one-on-one. A boy bullying a girl and needing backup—shame on you!”

“Hmph, I’m not afraid of you.” People say kids don’t care about saving face, but in fact, kids care about it the most in some ways. But after saying this, the chubby kid felt a bit guilty, his eyes darting around. “But do I even need to fight you myself? Mark Brooks, you fight her for me. My opponent is James Cooper. James Parker, don’t even think about running!”