Chang Zhuo stood on the grass-dominated field, his master Mei next to him while she kept her slim arms crossed.
The two watched a teenage pair dancing together while thirty other teenagers stood on the grass.
Pop music blasted from a radio the tallest boy on the field held.
Each person on the field was at least eighteen-years old.
The prize money was four-thousand yuan, which Mei told Chang she intended on splitting in half when they won the dance competition.
Chang never met a person more confident than Mei.
Mei's confidence would have made him respect her if he didn't have the deep urge to strangle her to death.
"Okay. Now, for the next two. Mei and Zhuo Chang, let's see you dance." Du Sosong said in his deep voice. He was the host, the judge, person with the prize money. Mei gripped Chang's wrist, moved to the spot at the center of the teenagers' circle.
While Chang and Mei performed their dance routine, Sosong and the other teenagers watched the dance as if it was the universe's sole entertainment.
Chang longed to have the prize money after Mei split it. He longed to buy Sa Sa a necklace, give a gift to the girl who did not slap him or shove a chicken leg up his ass.
Chang performed the same dance move as Mei, like he rehearsed with the suffering-giving beauty.
The two Chinese students' moved in almost complete sync. It was hard to believe the two were people who were far from being friends with each other.
At one point, while warm wind brushed against hair, skin, clothes, as the radio on the field blasted the song that would signal for Chang and Mei to stop dancing when it ended, Mei's body pressed against Chang's.
Chang took a trembling breath, tried not relishing Mei's warm, clothed body against him.
Flower-scented perfume's aroma emerged from Mei, accessed Chang's nose.
A moment from Chang's past filled Chang's mind. It involved Chang inhaling a flower's aroma when he was four years old, searching for a flower to give to his lung cancer-afflicted grandfather.
The boy picked Mei up, like almost all the other boys on the field did to their female dance partners.
Holding Mei distracted Chang from the fact the girl wasn't as harmless as a baby.
When he spun in a circle, the hostile hatred Chang had for Mei decreased a bit more.
It was as if he didn't have the longing to strangle the girl the past couple days.
When Chang put Mei onto the ground, he mustered his former urge to strangle his domineering master, aware it was not clever to distract himself from the fact Mei was a person who struck his balls without remorse.
The song on the radio ended.
Claps emitted from the teenagers' circle around Chang and Mei.
Sosong clapped while walking towards Chang and Mei. He and Mei gave each other a quick hug.
Sosong pulled four-thousand yuan from his pocket, handed it to Mei. Sosong said, in an loud tone, "These two are the winners! Congratulations, Mei and Zhuo Chang. You two earned it."
The crowd cheered.
Chang grinned. It was as if a person let him have a new red sports car and ten billion yuan.
Sosong extended his right hand towards Chang.
Chang shook the contest host's hand.
"Mei, where did you find him?" Sosong said when he stopped shaking Chang's hand, directing his question to Mei, who finished placing the prize money in her pocket.
"School. He's not my boyfriend, but he's not my friend either." Mei said as Chang trained his eyes on the teenagers who were either talking to each other or exchanging kisses on the field. Mei slapped Chang's ass, making the boy as humiliated as a student dressed as a clown in class. "He does have his uses, though."
Sosong laughed, crossed his arms. He said, "Zhuo Chang, consider yourself lucky. Only the really fortunate guys get to see Mei naked."
Chang didn't speak. He longed to be far from the field, far from Sosong, far from Mei.
Mei had humiliated Chang on the field, made the pride he experienced from winning the dance competition leave his body as fast as a straight man chases a naked woman with massive breasts.
Like a corrupt politician who seems sincere and compassionate while trying to gain an excellent approval rating, Mei was not a person Chang could expect constant friendliness from.
Mei was a person who would pretend to spill lemonade on someone on accident, give them a shirt she placed three spiders inside.
"Sorry, Sosong. This bitch of mine is too much of a pathet weakling to talk to you." Mei said, resulting in Chang scowling. The boy clenched his fists, aware the deep urge to make Mei's heart stop beating returned to him. "I'll punish him for it. I promise."
Two teenagers stepped onto the field, emerging from the surrounding trees. The pair was a boy and a girl, both dressed in sleeveless shirts, shorts, shoes, socks, which the other teenagers on the field wore.
Chang kept his eyes trained on the eighteen-year old pair, focused on the boy. The boy walked with as much confidence as Mei. He was two inches taller than Chang.
The boy stopped twenty feet from Chang, gestured for him to come near him.
Chang grinned, left Mei without hesitation.
"Zhuo Chang, it's been some time." Fu said when Chang approached him. The two shared a quick hug, the girl Fu came onto the field with watching. When the two males separated, Fu pinched the girl's cheek. "Me and this cool girl came to dance too, but I got into a fucking fight with that fucker-Li Wei. Did we already miss the party, bro?"
Chang nodded. He smiled before saying, "Yeah. But I'm the winner. Me and... nevermind. What's up?"
Fu didn't question why Chang didn't tell him who his dance partner was.
Since elementary school, Chang and Fu had been as caring to each other as orphan siblings with no parents. Middle school was the last time they attended the same school together. They were best friends who had only met outside school grounds when they attended the same school.
In elementary school, Fu enjoyed forcing bullies to eat live insects. When the tough boy made Chang's bully eat a live roach, Chang admired the tough boy as much as a sports car owner admires self-taken photographs displaying their polished sports car.
"What's up is the fact me and Ling here didn't get to dance. We practiced for a whole month." Fu said, rubbing a black dragon tattoo on his right bicep. He crossed his muscular arms, sighed. "Oh well. Hey, at least I had the miracle of making Li Wei eat another live roach today. He deserves it for all that mess he put you through in elementary. Anyway, Chang, this is my girl-Ling."
Chang gave Ling a nod.
Ling gave Chang a nod.
"And Ling, this is my best bro-Zhuo Chang." Fu said. "I owe him after all the fun stuff we did in our younger days. He's not a gangster like me, but he's definitely a winner, like me."
Chang smirked, appreciating the fact he was with a person who would murder Mei if he was aware what Mei did to him.
Ling laughed. She said, "Of course, he's a winner. He won the competition, right? I'm just wondering where's the girl he won it with. Zhuo Chang, is she your girl? Your sister? Some random student you paid to be your partner?"
"No. None of those. She's a girl who's in the same class as me. She forced me to have sex with her inside one of the restrooms at the school, said she would tell everyone I raped her if I didn't cooperate with her. She even shoved a chicken leg up my ass. And later on, got her friend with big breasts to have sex with me. Then it was her much nicer friend. Then I had to have sex with her. And I've been frustrated and depressed, because the girl's been making sure I suffer and go on the verge of killing myself. She's talking to the competition's host right now." Chang could have said but didn't.
"Don't worry about it, cool girl. My bro here doesn't want us all in his business." Fu said, saving Chang from informing his best friend and his best friend's girlfriend about the suffering a certain dangerous girl caused him. Fu slapped Chang's shoulder. "Tell Sosong I said what's up. Me and Ling are going to get something to eat. And give me a text sometimes. You've been acting like a stranger since middle school."
Fu and Ling turned, moved towards the spot they emerged onto the field from. Chang said, "Alright. Bye, you two."
Chang stood on the field, green grass smashed underneath his shoes' bottoms. His closest friend putting distance between himself and him, Chang was as miserable as a forty-five year old virgin man listening to a eighteen-year old boy tell him about how he had sex with three different women in one night.
