Bad Kids Read online

  “Oh, so you need to take a picture so your dad can see how you’re doing?” Chaoyang wanted to make sure he understood her correctly.

  “Yeah. Burning stuff is the easiest way to communicate with dead family members, everybody knows that,” she noted with exasperation.

  Chaoyang bit his lip. “I don’t have a camera. We might have to go to a photography studio.”

  “How much is that gonna cost?” Ding Hao asked anxiously.

  “Maybe… fifteen yuan?”

  “Fifteen yuan…” Ding Hao frowned as he thought about it. Then he became resolute. “We have to take a photo, I know it’s important. Fifteen yuan is not that bad. Don’t worry, Pupu, I have a little money.”

  She nodded.

  Everyone finished their noodles. They stayed at the table and kept talking; it didn’t take long before they were comfortable with each other. The visitors were envious when they heard about Chaoyang’s top scores at school. Then they described the journey from Beijing to Ningbo, although they clearly did not enjoy sharing some parts. Zhu Chaoyang couldn’t begin to imagine how difficult it was to get by as runaways. Sometimes they had had to charm people into giving them money; when that didn’t work, they had shoplifted. When they told him about that, Chaoyang felt his stomach tie into knots again. He looked involuntarily towards his mother’s room, where he knew a few thousand yuan were lying in an unlocked drawer. He resolved to move the money to a safer place when they weren’t looking. The two didn’t seem to be suspicious about him, which was reassuring.

  The phone rang and Chaoyang went to his mother’s room to answer it. After he hung up, he hesitated for a few seconds, hid the cash between the wall and the back of the bedside table, and placed a short piece of yarn between the door and frame before he closed it. If he discovered the yarn on the floor, he would know that the door had been opened. “My dad just called,” he said. “He wants me to go see him at his office. Um… where will you guys hang out in the meantime?”

  Ding Hao looked surprised but then smiled, “No worries. We can just walk around your neighbourhood until you come back.”

  Zhu Chaoyang felt relieved. They didn’t seem to have bad intentions—perhaps he should trust them more.

  7

  YONGPING SEAFOOD OFFICE

  About twenty miles east of the city centre was an industrial estate, where several seafood cold-storage facilities were located. A fair-sized building on the western side had a large sign: “Yongping Seafood”. Its main office was hazy with smoke, as the owner Zhu Yongping played cards with five other wealthy men who owned businesses nearby. The table was a mess of snacks and cigarettes.

  “That’s a clean sweep!” Zhu shouted gleefully. He collected the 4,000 yuan and put it in a neat pile.

  “It must be your lucky day, Yongping. How many times have you been dealer?” Yang Genchang asked.

  “This makes up for last time when I kept losing,” Zhu laughed. He shuffled the cards.

  “You ought to give some of it to your son,” Fang Jianping reprimanded him.

  “I give him money, sometimes,” Zhu Yongping said defensively, dealing the cards.

  “Bullshit!” Fang said. “The other day I took Lina to the bookstore to buy some books and we ran into your son, reading on the floor. I asked him what he was doing there and do you know what he said? He said it was hot and the bookstore had air-conditioning. He has to go to the bookstore just to keep cool.”

  Zhu Yongping’s face turned a delicate shade of pink. “I give him money, but he and his mother are frugal.”

  Fang arranged his cards as he spoke. “You’re not giving him much. Lina sits next to him in class, and she says the boy wears the same three or four shirts all the time. You’re here flashing your luxury brands and buying the prettiest clothes for your wife and your daughter. Meanwhile your son is dressed like a beggar. Just because you divorced your first wife, doesn’t mean you should forget that he exists.”

  “I heard he’s the best student in his school. He’s the kind of kid any father would be proud of. He’s actually doing really well at school unlike our kids,” Yang Genchang added.

  “Best in the whole school?” Zhu sounded genuinely surprised.

  “Are you kidding me? You didn’t even know that he had the best exam scores in the whole damn school?” Fang said contemptuously. “Your little princess Jingjing was held back a year, but you still kiss the ground she walks on. You don’t even give your son the time of day. I would kill to have a kid half as smart as your son.”

  The others all took Fang’s side.

  “I’ll call him in a few days and give him money,” Zhu said in an attempt to save face.

  “Why wait?” Fang replied. “Your wife is at the zoo with your daughter, right? Call him and tell him to come by, then I can ask him to tutor my daughter so she can get her grades up.”

  “We know your wife won’t let you contact him, and they’re always around so you can’t see him much. Isn’t this the perfect day?” Yang said. “Maybe during those tutoring sessions, they’ll develop feelings for each other, and in a few years you and Fang will be in-laws. Your son will drive the family Bentley and you’ll have a stake in Fang’s factory. You’ll be loaded.”

  Everyone laughed. Ashamed, Zhu called his son.

  8

  “Hello, Father. Uncle Fang, Uncle Yang, everyone,” Zhu Chaoyang greeted the men when he entered his father’s office.

  “Look at how polite your son is! He’s a little gentleman, unlike my good-for-nothing son,” Yang Genchang joked.

  “Pour them tea,” Zhu Yongping said, ruffling his son’s hair with pride.

  Chaoyang did what he was told.

  Fang Jianping rearranged his cards as he spoke. “Chaoyang, my daughter is ranked twentieth in the class. With her grades, I’m worried she won’t be able to get into a good high school. You two sit next to each other, so can you help her out next time she needs it?”

  “Sure, of course,” he agreed.

  “Thank you, Chaoyang.”

  “That’s all right, Uncle Fang.”

  The others were deeply impressed by how polite he was. It was rare to find such a respectful teenager these days.

  “Your dad doesn’t give you money very often, does he?” Fang continued his attack.

  “He does… sometimes.”

  “How much did he give you this time?”

  “This time?” Chaoyang was confused. He looked at his father.

  “The summer break just started, I didn’t give him anything yet,” Zhu Yongping explained hastily.

  “When was the last time your dad gave you money?” Fang was not letting it go.

  Chaoyang looked at his feet. “Lunar New Year.”

  “How much?”

  “Two thousand.”

  It was a pitiful sum. Laughter rang out in the room.

  Zhu studied his cards but failed to hide his embarrassment. “Money was tight then, I gave a little less than normal.”

  “Your dad won over ten thousand playing cards today you know. He’s going to give it all to you. Remember, Yongping, your wife isn’t here, and she doesn’t even know this money exists. We promise we won’t tell her,” Fang announced.

  The others murmured, liking Fang’s plan.

  “You’re right. Son, sit over here. Let’s see how much your dad wins today,” Zhu said, caving in to the pressure.

  Yang was the dealer for the next round. As he shuffled the deck, a well-dressed woman in her early thirties entered, followed by her grumpy nine-year-old daughter. A jade bracelet dangled on Wang Yao’s wrist and a platinum necklace adorned her neck. She had the keys to a BMW in her hand.

  “I’m exhausted,” she exclaimed, throwing her keys on the table and making a show of massaging her arms.

  “You’re back!” Zhu Yongping exclaimed, standing up to hide Zhu Chaoyang behind him.

  “This camera is old and the battery doesn’t hold a charge. We took a few photos and then it stopped working. There
wasn’t any point in staying at the zoo. Buy me a new camera tomorrow, honey, this is a relic.” Wang Yao dumped the camera on the table with a look of disdain.

  “Sure, sure. How about you go home, then? We’re going to play for a few more hours,” Zhu said quickly.

  She wasn’t interested in card games, but noticed her husband was acting strangely and fixed her gaze on the boy sitting behind him. It only took her a second to recognize it was Zhu Chaoyang, the boy from his first marriage. She glowered at Zhu Yongping.

  Chaoyang was just as quick to recognize her: the woman who stole his father away. He could easily guess who the girl was, but he pretended not to notice her.

  The card game had stopped. Everyone was watching Wang Yao’s face.

  The little girl spotted Zhu Chaoyang and pointed at him. “Daddy, who’s that back there?”

  “It’s…” Zhu Yongping looked more pained than ever, “… it’s Uncle Fang’s nephew.”

  The men laughed at his clumsy lie.

  “Brilliant, just brilliant. From now on, you’re Mr Brilliant,” Yang said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “Don’t laugh!” Fang said, with a deadpan expression. “It’s true. Chaoyang calls me Uncle, so that makes him my nephew.”

  Wang Yao was surprised, but her face quickly returned to its habitual sneer.

  Yang had an unpleasant look on his face as he got the child’s attention. “Little Jingjing, I heard you failed your final exams.”

  “I woulda passed…” she murmured, moving to hide behind her father.

  “You should learn from your older brother here. He got the best scores in his whole school,” Yang said, suggesting Chaoyang was a good role model.

  Wang Yao pulled her daughter towards her. “That’s right, Jingjing, you need to study hard to beat your brother,” she urged, emphasizing the last three words.

  “OK, OK!” the girl whined, not liking the kind of attention everyone was paying. She was oblivious of the fact that she had a half-brother—nobody had told her.

  “My poor nephew, his clothes have been washed so much that they’ve faded. Yongping, would you take him to buy some new clothes? Just tell me how much I owe you later,” Fang said to the room. He gave a wink to Chaoyang, who did not know what to do.

  “Um—” Zhu began.

  “Go on, A-Jie will take your place,” Yang urged. “This boy’s clothes are in tatters. Make sure to buy him plenty of new things. Don’t you agree, Mrs Wang?” Yang said, looking at her.

  It would have been unseemly to disagree, so she said, “Of course. We were planning on buying clothes anyway. Yongping, we should take Chaoyang shopping. Jingjing and I will wait for you in the car.”

  The girl’s face brightened. “Yay! Daddy, take me to Jinguang Department Store!”

  The woman shot a look at Zhu Chaoyang, smiled theatrically and led her daughter away.

  Once they had left, the teasing resumed in earnest. Zhu finally looked at his son and said, “Come on, I’m going to take you to buy some new clothes.”

  Chaoyang stood up, but then faltered. “Dad? Maybe I should just go home.”

  But the other men were not having any of it. “You already agreed, so you can’t back out now! It won’t take long and your father can drop you off afterwards.”

  Chaoyang nodded, still wishing there was a way to get out of this.

  Zhu Yongping stepped away from the table, out of earshot of the others. He leaned towards his son. “Your sister doesn’t know that she has a half-brother; she’s only nine years old, and we didn’t want to confuse her about my previous marriage. So you’re Uncle Fang’s nephew for today and eventually I’ll tell her the truth. Got it?”

  “OK,” Chaoyang said in a small voice. He was utterly shocked that Jingjing did not even know he existed.

  Zhu counted out 5,000 yuan of his winnings and handed it over. “Put this in your bag, and don’t let anyone see. I don’t want her knowing that I gave you money,” he said. He didn’t have to explain who “she” was.

  “OK.”

  Zhu Yongping patted his son on the shoulder in an apologetic way. He tried to appear casual as he picked up the camera, “I should probably get rid of this old thing.”

  Chaoyang suddenly remembered that Pupu wanted to take a photo, and said, “Dad! You really don’t want the camera?”

  “Of course not. It’s useless.”

  “Um, can I have it?”

  “Oh, I’ll get you a new one sometime.”

  Chaoyang knew there was zero chance that his father would buy him a new camera. “If you don’t want it, I could just take some pictures for fun,” he said.

  Zhu was easily persuaded. “You’re still in school anyway, so you don’t need a fancy camera. Take it.”

  Zhu Chaoyang was uncomfortable throughout the ride in the BMW.

  He was sitting in the front passenger seat and he kept his head bowed to avoid interacting with his father or his stepfamily. They laughed and talked like he wasn’t even there. Every time he raised his head and looked in the rear-view mirror, he saw Mrs Wang smirking at him, and he quickly looked down again. He felt completely excluded.

  When they arrived at the shopping centre, Zhu Yongping walked alongside Zhu Chaoyang and the other two followed behind. The mother and daughter seemed to be sharing a secret.

  Chaoyang stopped in front of a sportswear shop.

  “Do you want to buy some sports clothes?” Zhu Yongping asked.

  “I… want to look at trainers,” Zhu Chaoyang stammered.

  Trainers from one of the big brands were extremely popular, as all of the kids were aware. Chaoyang had never owned a proper pair in his life.

  He spotted a brand that a lot of his classmates talked about. “Dad—” he exclaimed. It wasn’t until his dad coughed that he remembered he was supposed to call him Uncle.

  “Uncle, I would like to try on this pair,” Chaoyang said.

  An employee appeared and asked for his size. Zhu Chaoyang took the shoes and tried them on. Zhu Yongping watched. The boy had barely tightened the laces when a young voice cried for attention. “Daddy! Come quickly, I want to buy something!”

  “Just a minute, let’s wait until Chaoyang has tried on his shoes.”

  “No! You have to come now! Come right NOW!” the girl screeched.

  Zhu sighed. “You’re a lot of work, sweetie! I’ll be right there.”

  Chaoyang looked up and saw the woman next to her spoiled daughter. He couldn’t stand the victorious expression on her face and quickly looked down again.

  “Daddy! Hurry! Hurry!” the girl said, in a tone that her father never refused.

  “OK, I’m coming,” Zhu called. “All set? Are they the right size?” he asked Chaoyang impatiently.

  “Yeah, just right.”

  “Then you don’t need to try any others on,” Zhu said. He looked to the salesperson. “We’ll take these. How much?”

  Chaoyang stood up as his father pulled out his wallet. He couldn’t believe that the mere suggestion of a tantrum from Jingjing was enough to make his father impatient. Zhu Chaoyang pursed his lips and said, “Thanks for the shoes. We can buy clothes some other time. I should go.”

  “I can drive you home in a little while,” Zhu said.

  “I can take the bus. It’s fine.”

  “Well, all right.” Zhu Yongping looked relieved. The sooner he could put this awkward situation behind him, the better.

  Chaoyang took the box with his old shoes under one arm as he stood up. He walked slowly to the shopping centre exit as Zhu told his wife and daughter that something came up and the boy had to go home. Chaoyang took a last look at them. Wang Yao gave him another smug smile, while little Jingjing stuck out her tongue. Chaoyang gripped the shoebox tightly, gritted his teeth and left without a backward glance.

  9

  When Zhu Chaoyang arrived home, he saw Ding Hao and Pupu leaning against a wall and chatting. Ding Hao looked dejected while Pupu was cool and detached. Ding Hao s
miled at the sight of Chaoyang and pulled Pupu along to meet him.

  “Back already?” Ding Hao said.

  “Ahh, there was nothing to do,” Chaoyang said.

  Pupu observed him carefully. “You look sad.”

  “I’m fine,” Chaoyang said, forcing a smile.

  “He’s sad? How can you tell?” Ding Hao asked curiously.

  Pupu looked right into Chaoyang’s eyes. “Have you been crying?” she asked him.

  “Me? Crying? No way!”

  Now it was Ding Hao’s turn to look. “Chaoyang, you were crying, weren’t you?”

  “If it’s because we came out of the blue, you can tell us. We won’t hold it against you,” Pupu said, her voice level.

  That had not occurred to Ding Hao and he decided an apology was in order. “Sorry, I didn’t tell you I was coming. I just showed up at your house with Pupu. We make trouble everywhere we go. Come on, Pupu, we should leave.”

  Just like that, the two turned to go. Chaoyang felt lost. “Wait!” he called. “You don’t understand. It’s not because of you at all.”

  Pupu looked doubtful. “It’s not because of us? If someone else is bullying you, just tell Ding Hao; he fights like a pro. Nobody could beat him at the orphanage.”

  “Yeah, I’m a good fighter. If they wanna mess with you, they have to get through me first!” Ding Hao went on to boast about all the times he bested someone in a fight. He then promised that anyone who was mean to Chaoyang would hear from Ding Hao. He would give those bullies a taste of his fists.

  Chaoyang was introverted and only had one person he might call a friend since Ding Hao moved away. But he never expected these two to care about him, and warmth flooded him. So he told them everything, everything except the fact that his dad had given him 5,000 in cash. He did not trust them fully and the money would just be a temptation.

  “You’re his son. Why does he care about his daughter and not you?” Ding Hao asked. He corrected himself when he saw the look on Pupu’s face. “I mean, boys and girls should be treated the same, but most adults care more about boys. How come it’s the other way around with your dad?”