Sissy (Niang Niang Qiang) - Chap 6
Chapter 6
Li Chengxiu was in a daze when he got into the car.
Big Li was behind the wheel. Although the boy looked almost like an adult, he was still about eleven or twelve years old. Li Chengxiu immediately wanted to get out of the car.
Shao Qun sat down next to him and said impatiently, “Sit properly.”
“He… does he… have a driver’s license?”
“Oh, so you know what a driver’s license is. What kind do you mean? Can’t you see the one over there?” Shao Qun pointed at a copper sign on the windshield. Li Chengxiu could only see the back of this sign because it was facing outside. Judging from the pattern and the shape, it should have been something like a national emblem. “With that kind of driver’s license no one would dare to stop us.”[24]
Big Li smoothed his red hair, turned his head and smiled: “Shao Qun, you are so brave. If your father finds out, he’ll kill you.”
Shao Qun forcefully kicked the back of his chair: “Just drive and stop talking nonsense.”
Xiao Sheng, who was riding shotgun said softly, “Big Li, keep your eyes on the road.”
“Don’t worry, even though I’m young, my driving skills are good.” After saying that, he stepped on the gas, and the car started with a bang.
It was the first time that Li Chengxiu was inside a car. However, it wasn’t as cool and glorious as he had imagined. He was so scared that his body was trembling, and he even felt sick.
Due to inertia, Shao Qun was pushed directly onto Li Chengxiu. He shoved him away in disgust, and hit the back of Big Li’s head: “Fuck you, dude, slow down!”
Xiao Sheng frowned and glanced at him with disapproval: “Shao Qun, it was your idea to take the car. Why are you mad at him?”
Shao Qun glared right back at Xiao Sheng and leaned back in his seat, cursing: “Xiao Sheng, you bastard, you always take his side and make me the bad guy!”
Li Wenxun laughed.
After that the boys talked non-stop, laughing all the way till the city center.
After Li Chengxiu got out of the car, his face was as pale as a piece of paper. He bent down and put his hands on his knees. He retched for a long time, but nothing came out. He felt extremely uncomfortable.
Shao Qun snorted: “Are you made of paper? Come on, let’s go..”
Li Chengxiu touched his stomach, straightened up and followed behind the gang.
Li Chengxiu looked at the high-rise buildings around him, and was startled by the view for a while.
He hadn’t been to the city center in a long time. In his memory, when he was in elementary school, and his parents were still together, all three of them would occasionally come here for a stroll. Basically, they didn’t need to buy anything – it was enough to feel the lively atmosphere and look at the dazzling array of goods in the shopping windows. At the time, it was one of the most enjoyable entertainments for Li Chengxiu.
Boys led him into a sportswear store.
Li Chengxiu wasn’t familiar with many brands. He had seen the large tick mark[25] before, but all he knew about it was that it was very expensive. He didn’t dare to touch any of the fancy things. Even standing on the clean and translucent marble floor with not a single speck of dust on it, he felt like he was soiling it by his presence.
Li Wenxun picked two pieces of clothing and handed them to Li Chengxiu: “Go change into these here.”
Li Chengxiu looked at him blankly, neither daring to hold the clothes too tightly, nor throwing them on the floor: “I.. I.. can’t afford it.”
“You don’t have to buy anything, just put them on.”
Li Chengxiu still shook his head: “That’s not good…”
Shao Qun pushed Li Wenxun away impatiently: “Why are you being so polite with this little sissy?” Shao Qun pointed at Li Chengxiu, “You, change into these immediately! If you dare appear in front of me in those tattered rags again, I promise I will slap you right here and now!”
The people in the store all turned around at the sound of the scolding. Everyone was quite surprised, when they realized that these were just some arrogant children screaming around..
Li Chengxiu quickly grabbed the clothes, and hid inside the fitting room.
He looked at the label on the short-sleeved top, and when he saw the price, he almost stopped breathing. But when he remembered the vicious Shao Qun who was waiting for him outside, he gritted his teeth and put the clothes on. He thought that he didn’t even have that much money on him, so they couldn’t make him pay anyway. Besides, he didn’t have to buy this stuff just because he tried it on. Vendors in big shopping malls should be at least this reasonable.
After he came out of the fitting room, the boys stared at him, and the looks of surprise on their faces couldn’t be concealed.
Big Li said “Hah!”, turned away and took out his wallet to pay.
Li Wenxun smiled and looked at Shao Qun: “Not bad. He’s pretty.”
Li Chengxiu turned around and glanced at himself in the mirror with a blushing face.
Wearing such clean and beautiful clothes, he seemed much more energetic. He felt strangely ashamed when he looked at himself.
Shao Qun pointed at the row of clothes on one of the shelves, and said to the salesman, “We’re taking all of these in his size.” The young salesman nodded perfunctorily, looking at them with a bit of sarcasm and disdain in his eyes.
Li Chengxiu also found Shao Qun’s arrogant attitude unpleasant. They were obviously children, but they acted very disrespectfully towards the adults. They were bossy whenever they talked to anybody. Just being around these boys would make anybody feel uncomfortable.
Li Chengxiu hesitated to say anything about not being able to afford all this stuff. Shao Qun also didn’t say a word to him. He didn’t even let him change back into his clothes. He just tore off the label and took him directly into the next store.
Li Chengxiu didn’t know what they were up to, so he just played along and tried on all kinds of clothes he had never seen before in his life. He didn’t dare to say a word anymore.
They shopped around for more than an hour. It was already dark, when they carried the countless bags to the car.
Afterwards, they took Li Chengxiu out for dinner in a restaurant.
Li Chengxiu was completely stunned by that time and didn’t protest at all, for fear that they would make him do something that he really couldn’t accept.
They bought him a lot of stuff and took him out for dinner. It was obvious that there was an agenda behind all this kindness. He didn’t want any of these things at all, but he didn’t dare to refuse, so he was forced to accept it. He was terrified and felt as if he had sold himself out to these guys. He could probably pay off the price of those clothes after several months of work. Li Chengxiu was already looking at these boys, as if they were his creditors.
He was scared, because he couldn’t figure out the reason for them being so nice to him all of the sudden. What did they want from him?
Seeing Li Chengxiu just sitting there in a daze and not even moving his chopsticks, Li Wenxun tapped at his bowl: “What are you staring at? You haven’t eaten anything.”
Li Chengxiu raised his face, looked at him timidly, and summoned the courage to ask, “What do you guys want with me?”
Li Wenxun smiled lightly: “We want to protect you.”
“Wh… why?”
“You’re nice to look at, and for many other reasons. In short, if you hang out with us in the future, no one can bully you anymore. We will protect you. How about it? Be glad.”
Li Chengxiu was confused and unable to speak for a long time. Finally he said, “I… I’m going to the restroom.”
After saying that, he ran out immediately.
As soon as he left, Shao Qun’s face turned grim and he glared at Li Wenxun, “Are you having fun? It’s not fucking fun at all. I want to beat him up every time I look at him.”
Li Wenxun kicked him under the table: “As I already said that day – if you can’t play any more, you have to admit defeat. You can quit any time.”
Big Li also coaxed him: “Yes, just admit that you lost. If you say it, I’ll throw him out of here right now. As if I’m willing to eat together with that sissy boy! It’s embarrassing.”
“Admit defeat? These words are not in my vocabulary.”
“Then you should be nicer to him. You are so mean, that you almost scared him away a couple of times. Anyway, where should we go to confirm that he is one of those?”
When Shao Qun heard this, his mood improved a little: “We have to be 100% sure.”
“I also think so. Then let him admit it himself. Can you cooperate with us? If you sabotage this, you will have to say that you lost, and we will stop playing.”
“Fuck it. I know, I know. I will be nicer to him.”
“That’s right, you are our main weapon after all. He blushed when he saw you, didn’t he?” said Big Li and laughed out loud.
Li Wenxun also smiled gleefully: “Maybe one day he will fall in love with you.”
Shao Qun cursed: “Fuck off!”
Li Chengxiu went to the bathroom and splashed his face with water a few times. He calmed down a bit, and then came out as if nothing had happened. He sat down and asked, “Don’t you want to start studying?”
Li Wenxun took a sip of his iced tea and said perfunctorily, “Ok, you can start now.”
“Now, here? How should we begin?”
“Let’s start with English. Name everything on this table in English for us.”
Li Chengxiu was stunned for a moment and a little embarrassed. He hesitantly looked at the things on the table, and then started listing the objects: “These are called “chopsticks”. Have you already learned this word in the first year of junior high? Can you spell it?”
Shao Qun spat out all the water he had in his mouth and looked at Li Chengxiu as if he was insane.
Big Li smiled and put his hand on Xiao Sheng’s shoulder: “Oh really? Really, tell me more. Hahahahaha.”
Li Chengxiu’s face turned red, and he held up his chopsticks helplessly: “No… Do you even want to study…?”
Li Wenxun wiped his mouth with a napkin and smiled: “Let’s go to another place for a proper live lesson. Come on! ”
Li Chengxiu had to get into the car again. Looking at the dark sky outside, he tried to negotiate with Li Wenxun, “It’s already so late. How about we make up for this day some other time?”
“Late? It’s not even nine pm!”
It takes two hours from the city center to his house. If Li Chengxiu didn’t leave now, he’d only be home in the middle of the night.
But looking at the tough attitude of these guys, he couldn’t leave even if he really wanted to.
He was so anxious that he could only watch Big Li start the car and drive him to a place he didn’t know.
Finally, the car stopped in front of a nightclub that was covered in colorful lights.
Li Chengxiu was shocked.
Although he had never been in such a place before, he had heard of it. According to his knowledge, places like karaoke, discos, nightclubs, etc. were not where good people or children should spend their time.
Looking at the young men and women in various beautiful clothes who came in and out, Li Chengxiu intuitively felt that they were not good people. He was embarrassed to see the men being dressed so fancy and the women wearing so little.
Shao Qun dragged him out of the car and pushed him towards the entrance.
Li Chengxiu shouted, “What are you doing?”
His voice was normally as quiet as a mosquito buzz, so it was really unusual to hear him shout. and it was rare that his voice was so loud. The boys were startled.
Li Wenxun frowned and said, “We’ll just go in and play around a little.”
Li Chengxiu’s body trembled: “Play… We are only in junior high school. They won’t let us in. How can we go to this kind of place and play around?”
“My brother runs this club. It’s fine.”
“No. It’s not right… Things are very messy inside. We shouldn’t go in. Let’s just go.”
Shao Qun rolled his eyes: “What are you afraid of? Is someone going to eat you? We are kind enough to show you the world. Usually children can’t go in here, so you wouldn’t be able to get inside without us. What are you afraid of?”
Li Wenxun lifted his chin proudly: “You have to cherish this opportunity. Are you a man? All men have to come and play around in places like this. When you hang out with us in the future, you can’t be such a coward.”
Li Chengxiu still shrank back and refused to move away from the car.
Big Li rolled his eyes: “By the way, we can’t go in like this. We have to change our clothes.” They looked at themselves, and realized that they were still wearing school uniforms. Even if they were allowed to enter, it would be embarrassing to come in like that.
Children of that age often think they are very mature and not afraid of anything. They think that it’s enough to put on casual clothes in order to seem like adults.
Shao Qun pushed Li Chengxiu into the car again. Then they looked for the clothes they had just bought to change into them inside the car.
Li Chengxiu huddled in the corner, looking out the window. He didn’t dare to watch the boys take off their clothes.
When Li Wenxun noticed that, he winked at Shao Qun. Shao Qun glanced up and saw Li Chengxiu twisting his neck and looking out the window. The streetlights outside the window were illuminating his profile, and the visible section of skin on his neck was white and almost translucent. Even in the dim light, he could still see that Li Chengxiu was abashed. His face was blushing. Suddenly, there was a strange feeling in Shao Qun’s heart. He couldn’t tell what it was exactly but it went away as quickly as it came, and then it was replaced by disgust.
He took out a set of clothes from the paper bag and threw it at Li Chengxiu: “Put these on.”
Li Chengxiu grabbed the clothes, lowered his head and whispered, “I don’t want to go.”
Shao Qun clicked his tongue: “Hurry up and change, or do you want me to dress you?”
Li Chengxiu raised his head and glanced at him timidly: “Can I not go?”
Shao Qun pouted and raised his arm to hit him.
Li Chengxiu shrank in fright and closed his eyes tightly.
The expected fist didn’t land. He opened his eyes carefully, and saw Shao Qun looking down at him. His childish, yet handsome facial features showed the kind of arrogance that didn’t match his age. There was undisguised contempt in his bright eyes.
He simply spat out one word: “Change!”
Li Chengxiu bit his lip, digging his fingers into the hem of his school uniform, shamefully looking at the boys with his clean and innocent eyes. Seeing that they didn’t do anything for a long time, he whispered, “Turn around…”
Big Li made a face: “Fuck”. He opened the door, got out of the car, and then slammed the door shut.
Xiao Sheng also gave him a meaningful look and left the car.
Li Wenxun smiled ambiguously: “Why? Aren’t we all men here? What are you afraid of? Or are you ashamed of something?”
Shao Qun sat in the back seat with his arms folded, just looking at him without any intention of getting out of the car.
Li Chengxiu blushed even more and tried to explain: “I’m not used to…”
“We’re all men. What are you not used to? I heard, if you go to high school in the future, you will have to shower together with other guys..”
Li Chengxiu grabbed the hem of his clothes. No matter what Li Wenxun said, he just refused to change it in front of them.
Seeing that they had reached the limit with the teasing, Li Wenxun gave Shao Qun a wink, and the two of them got out of the car.
They lit up cigarettes, pretending to smoke and imitating adults as well as they could. In the meantime, Shao Qun, for some reason, turned his head and glanced inside the car. Through the dark windows, he could hardly see anything. But when Li Chengxiu was putting the clothes on, his back was right next to the car window, which happened to be seen by Shao Qun. He saw a thin pale back – so thin in fact that he could vaguely see the straight spine and ribs sticking out.
He suddenly felt that his throat was a little dry and hoarse. Before he could swallow, he choked on the cigarette in his mouth. His face turned red as he coughed
Li Chengxiu took a long time but finally got out of the car.
Shao Qun had given him a very fashionable set of clothes, but he felt embarrassed wearing them.
The clothes were so tight that they almost stuck to his body, and his thin waist and thin legs were highlighted. His limbs were flexible and slender. Wrapped in tight clothes, there was a certain youthful lure about him.
This particular set of clothes was chosen by Li Wenxun. He saw those male prostitutes in his brother’s nightclub wearing something like that. He originally suspected that Li Chengxiu had a lot in common with them, so he bought those clothes specifically for him to wear. Now he laughed maliciously when he saw Li Chengxiu actually wearing them.
Li Chengxiu was even more uncomfortable hearing this laughter. After he put that stuff on, he felt that it was awkward and strange. Although he didn’t know why, subconsciously he still felt ashamed. But he didn’t dare to ask for other stuff to wear. It was given to him by Shao Qun. He felt that everything in that bag, including this set, was bought by other people. These weren’t his things, so he had no right to choose.
Shao Qun got really irritated when he saw that Li Chengxiu was dressed neither like a boy, nor like a girl[26]. He went up to him and grabbed his arm, “Come on. We’re going inside.”
Li Chengxiu being literally “pretty-woman-ed” by a bunch of 12-year olds who have nothing better to do than to take their bullying target shopping
