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Jin Ling wheezed into the playground foam, sprawled out and held down in the spot his older cousin and two of his friends had knocked and pinned him, conveniently out of sight of teachers. Jin Ling vaguely wished he would learn not to come this way; he had stopped bringing lunch money for them to steal weeks ago. Now they simply took pleasure in stealing or breaking his toys.
Jin Zhou laughed, holding Jin Ling's favorite stuffed dog above his head, beginning to tear the leg from her shoulder socket, "Leave Fairy alone!" he yelled and struggled harder.
"Make me" his cousin--who knew how they were related--laughed. Then promptly got knocked onto his own butt by a well delivered roundhouse kick.
Jin Ling stared up at the boy who now held his Fairy safe in his arms. His crisp white shirt and light blue shorts were hardly even creased from everything. "It is against the rules to fight," he said, "But I can't let you pick on someone smaller than you. Let go of him and let's go play something we can all enjoy together." the boy said in the calmest voice Jin Ling had ever heard.
One of the boys holding Jin Ling down did let go, only to get up and charge the new kid. Jin Ling had never seen anybody but his Jiujiu knock another person down so fast, but then the third boy was rushing in and Sizhui side stepped the punch, giving a gentle shove to the kids back and letting the momentum spill him forward in a jumble of third grade limbs.
"Are you okay?" the new boy spun around and reached a hand toward Jin Ling. "Do you need to go see the nurse?" he asked.
"Fairy!" Jin Ling gasped, hauling himself up with help and making grabby hands at his dog. He inspected her all over and saw the stuffing bleeding out from her half-amputated shoulder, "Fairy!!" he sobbed, bursting into tears.
"Oh no, are you hurt?" The boy panicked, looking him up and down for scraped knees and bruises.Jin Ling thrust out his dog to show the older boy, lip wobbling all the while. "Ah! Your dog was hurt! It's okay. My dad can fix it!" the boy smiled at him, "My baba says he can fix anything!"
"You promise?" Jin Ling sniffled. He still wasn't sure what to make of this boy, but Fairy needed help.
"I promise!" he said, "My dad always helps people! He'd be happy to help my friend!"
Jin Ling sniffled again, a fresh wave of tears spilling over his bottom lashes, "But I don't have any friends!" he sobbed, "Fairy is hurt and if I can't help her ill never get a real dog!" all because he didn't have any friends!
"Ah!" the boy held his hands in front of him, still trying to calm Jin Ling down from the full on melt-down he couldn't pull himself back from. "I'll be your friend!" the boy shouted.
Jin Ling came to a full stop, "But..."
"My names Lan Sishui. But I'm also Wei Yuan? My parents gave me two names." he explained. "You can call me Shizhui or A-Yuan."
"Mine did too!!" Jin Ling gasped, "I'm Jin Ling! My da-jiu named me Jin Rulan, but nobody Calls me that but my mom. And only when she's really REALLY MAD." he wrinkled his nose.
Sizhui smiled at him, "Then it's settled! We're friends."
Jin Ling smiled back, wiping the tears from his cheeks. Then movement behind Sizhui caught his eye, "A-Yuan, look ou--"
He'd barely gotten the words out before another boy bodily threw himself at Jin Zhou, tackling the his cousin in a way that any rugby team would envy.
"And stay down!" Screamed the newcomer as he stood. He turned his mega-watt grin at Sizhui and Jin Ling, "Always wanted to say that." he chirped.
"A-yi!" Sizhui scolded, "You didn't need to fight too, now you might get in trouble."
"And let you get detention without me?" he grinned, slinging an arm around Sizhui's neck, "No way! Wei-ge would be so disappointed! And then Lan-ge won't give me the good snacks when I come over."
Jin Ling looked at the boy a good head and a half taller than himself with a chipped front tooth and rampant bed head like he was an alien. The guy was didn't seem like he was slowing down to breathe!
"A-Yuan, who've we got here?"
"A-Ling. This is my friend Lan Jingyi. A-Yi, this is my friend Jin Ling." Sizhui said.
"Any friend of A-Yuan's is a friend of mine!" Jingyi declared, tugging Jin Ling into himself by one arm to ruffle his hair with his free hand.
Jin Ling didn't know how to feel about this jingyi boy. But having two friends was already worlds better than having none.
_______________________________________________
Six boys sat in bright orange chairs on opposite sides of the hall outside the principal's office. Half of them were nursing ice packs to themselves. Jingyi and Sizhui were passing the time by sticking their favorite cartoon bandaids to Jin Ling's scraped elbows, knees, and any parts of him they felt needed decorating. Fairy was valiantly awaiting emergency services in a tournequit crated from shoelace and washable marker.
Two very tall men, maybe even taller than Jin Ling's Dad and Uncle which Jin Ling did not think was possible, walked in followed by a very stern-looking woman. They were the first parents to arrive. Jin Ling was even more nervous when he learned that they were Sizhui's dads and Jingyi's mom.
"What did my son do this time?" the lady said, then she turned to the two men, "I am so, so sorry. My brat is such a terrible influence on A-Yuan!"
"Nonsense, our little turnip is lucky to have such a good friend as A-Yi!" said one of the men--he did look a little familiar didn't he?
"Your sons," the principal began, "Were fighting with other students. Given the degree of the incident, they are going to be suspended. We do not tolerate bullying and violence in my school."
Sizhui's dads frowned. Jin Ling reached over and squeezed his first friend's hand for comfort. "A-Yuan, what happened? I'll believe whatever you tell us." The slightly familiar dad said in a calm soothing voice that could almost match Jin Ling's mother.
"Your child-" the principal started
"Quiet". The second dad glared at the principal, "Our Sizhui does not lie. We will believe whatever he tells us."
"They were bullying A-Ling. They broke his Fairy. I told him you can fix him, dad!" Sizhui said, "I know it's against the rules to fight. But it's also bad to be a bystander and do nothing. The family motto is to stand against injustice."
"And is that what you felt you did?" the scarry dad asked.
"Yes." Sizhui nodded.
"Good." His dad's agreed, one of them reaching out to ruffle his hair "We are so proud of you. Standing up to bullies. But there were only three of them. Why did Jingyi get involved?"
"I tackled the one that was gonna hit Sizhui when he was helping Jin Ling stop crying." the boy declared proudly.
"Jingyi!!" Jin Ling shrieks.
Sizhui's dad grinned. "See, I told you Jingyi was a good friend! Lan Zhan! Looks like we have to apologize for our Sizhui's influence this time. How did we end up with such good kids?? Ah! There's a third now, see A-Yuan I told you! Friends sprout up like turnips! So, little turnip, what's your name?"
"Jin Ling." he said, wide-eyed and suddenly very wary of the man whose tongue must be more tornado than organ.
"Jin Ling a fine name! Why I've got a nephew by the same.... Now that I look at you...." the man was suddenly frowning.
"Regardless of the circumstances," the principal butted in, "We will be suspending your sons for fighting in school. One week for each child they harmed. We cannot condone such violence."
"And what punishment will the other boys receive?" The quiet, scary dad-Lan zhan?- asked.
"Detention." The principal said, "For bullying this other student. Surely Jin Zhou and these boys' current injuries are punishment enough."
"If you think for one second we are going to stand here and let you punish our child for doing the right thing, you've got another thing coming." The more animated father growled and the lights began to flicker. "Where were your teachers? Why didn't they stop these acts of violence against Jin Ling? What, are you afraid that their parents are going to pull funding if you punish their precious entitled assholes in the making?" the Principal flinched.
"Mr. Wei--"
"Did I LOOK like I was finished?"the dad Jin Ling was reassessing might be scarier, Mr Wei snapped."You think you can make an example of our son because his family background isn't affluent? Because he's from a common, middle class family you can ignore the way three older, larger kids were violently abusing a small child? If my son lais his hands on another student, it will only ever be in defense of himself or another. And the injuries you claim those children possess? I don't see them waiting for emergency services. Sizhui is testing for his black belt next month. He would have put them in the ER if he wasn't carefully aware of the fact that he could. My son will not be treated like this. And I will see you lose your job over this level of negligence and abuse of power."
" A-Ling!" Jin Ling's mom rushed in, barely faster than her dad as she skidded to a stop, sliding on her knees in front of him. Her hands were patting him down, "Baobei what have they done to you! Oh, look at all these bruises!"
"Momma!" Jin Ling let go of Sizhui's hand and threw himself into his mother's hug. "Don't let A-Yuan and Jingyi get into trouble! Jin Zhou hurt Fairy! They were only helping me!" he sniffled.
"How long has this been going on A-Ling?" Jin Zixuan asked, coming to stop behind his wife.
"August?" he admitted.
"Two Months? All at school?" Yanli asked. Jin Ling nodded.
And now it was Jiang Yanli's turn to step around the small crowd of parents and stare down the principal. "A-Zuan," she said calm as steel.
"Yes. A-Li?" he said
"Get the district manager on the phone." She said without breaking eye contact from the principal. "You are going to lose your job. These two are not going to be punished, and those three are going to be punished properly." Jin Ling sat straighter in his chair, hearing the cold sharp steel in his mother's voice.
"Hold on miss!" the Principal said, "This is all a misunderstanding. This boy's family is very influential, and it will be difficult for you if you do this. I don't want to cause any trouble for you, and I really shouldn't say this. Surely you don't want to offend the Jins! They're a very old and influential family."
Jin Ling watched his cousin sink further into his chair as Mr. Wei burst out laughing uncontrollably. He himself was sure he was about to see more of his mother's cold-fire temper.
"I expect my brother thought the same way upon enrolling his son here, that all students should be treated equally regardless of their family backgrounds. However, since you insist that pedigree play a role here, I don't suppose cousins from a distant branch family should outrank members of the main family in importance?" she smiled. "And surely, our distant cousin's son won't hold more clout than the child of the second heir of Lan? A-Xian, don't think I didn't see you back there."
"Jiejie!" the scarry-animated Mr Wei chirped. "Peacock." he added.
"Gremlin," his dad turned to nod at Sizhui's other dad then nodded, "Hanguang Jun."
"Jin Zixuan" Sizhui's slightly less terrifying dad greeted.
"Jin... Zixuan? Han... Hanguang Jun?" The Principal wheezed.
"I see you do know who we are." Yanli's smile never left her face. " My child has been harassed by three of your students for--how long, Baobei?"
"August." Jin Ling supplied.
"Two months." She continued, "And your administration has done absolutely nothing to stop it, only encouraging this type of unacceptable behavior from students you seek to protect by bending rules and punishments. And disciplining the efforts of other students to intervene by punishing them how?"
"Three weeks suspension." Mr. Wei said this time. He now looked equally pissed and delighted.
"Under different circumstances, this is where I would ask how you were going to fix this. But given your egregious level of bias and incompetence, I am simply going to inform you that you should pack your office before the hour is up." She said.
"I.... I...." the soon-to-be-former principal fainted on the spot.
"Oh dear." Jin Ling's mom shook her head and turned around "A-Xian!" she beamed, holding her arms out to Sizhui's Mr. Wei.
"Jiejie!" he cheered, diving into her hug, "I missed you!"
When his mother was finished squeezing the man, she pinched his nozw between her fingers, "Then you shouldn't have stayed away for so long! When did you get back to town?"
"Eh-heh. Three days ago? Surprise?" he scratched his nose and laughed uncomfortable.
"A-Xian" his mother said with what wasn't an unkind smile and a shake of her head, "You have to let A-Cheng know you're here? "
"XianXian is only three. He isn't old enough to use the phone. Pretty Jiejie will have to get Lan Zhan to do it." the man whined.
She patted the man's cheek and shook her head. "A-Zhan", she said to Sizhui's other dad.
"Yanli-jie." the man's mouth ticked up slightly at the end. Jin Ling thought it might have been a smile? Or at least it wanted to be one when it grows up.
"Yanli-jiejie?" Sizhui asked, mouth hanging open as he turned to stare at Jin Ling.
"A-Xian?" Jin Ling said, turning his own shocked face to his first ever friend.
"Oh, You must be A-Yuan!" his mother called, "I have waited so long to meet you! I'm so glad you've made friends with my A-Ling. This is wonderful!" she sighed. "A-Ling. This is my brother, A-Xian." She pointed at Mr. Wei who waved.
"A-Rulan! I haven't seen you since you were thiiiis big." his uncle--THiS was his da-jiu?--grinned, squishing his cheeks and refusing to move as Jin Ling shoved at his wrists. "I'm the one who gave you that name, you know."
"Yanli Yi-ma?" Sizhui asked, looking up with wide eyes as she patted his head. "Can I try your lotus root and rib soup? Please?"
"Of course, A-Yuan! When you come over tomorrow. I'll make anything you want to eat! Oh, I can't believe you two found eachother like this! Family always finds a way."
"I'll bet you didn't even know you're cousins, did you, A-Yuan?" Uncle Wei asked
"Cousins!" Jin Ling shouted, anxious fear churning up and bubbling out of his stomach. He thought he might throw up. He couldn't stop the tears from starting in the corners of his eyes. "He can't be my cousin! He's my friend!"
Sizhui scooted closer to Jin Ling, patting him on his shoulder. "Hey! I already said we were friends, right? I still want to be your friend. I'll be your cousin, too."
"But my cousins are all mean to me! If you're my cousin you'll be mean to me too." He sniffled.
"Oh, A-Ling." Yanli she said gently.
"I can be your cousin and your friend." Sizhui decided. "I'll beat up any cousins who hurt you, and if I'm ever mean to you, I can stop being your cousin and just be your friend."
"Does it work like that?" Jin Ling asked
"Sure it does, I'm adopted." Sizhui grinned. (It definitely does not work like that. But not even Jin Zixuan was going to tell either of them that. He often wished it did work like that with his own cousins.)
"You are not! I birthed you myself! I carried you in my own body for months--" uncle Wei argued.
"Qing gu-gu says that isn't medically possible." Sizhui said.
"Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan do you see how unfilial our son is?" His new uncle whined.
Da-jius husband simply said "Mn" and pulled Wei-jiu in to kiss his forehead.
"Lan Zhaaaan" Uncle Wei pouted.
"Oh right, dad!" Suzhui reached over Jin Ling to grab Fairy from where she was squished between him and Jingyi, "They hurt Fairy. I told A-Ling you can fix anything! So you can help!" he held up the toy dog.
His Uncle jerked back, looked at Jin Ling. Then took a deep breath before leaning in to inspect Fairy's arm. "I see all the first aid lessons have paid off. You even put the time and date on the tournequit! Lan Zhan, look how smart our son is! Hmm. This does look pretty serious. But! Thanks to A-Yuan's very quick thinking, I'm sure I'll be able to save her."
"Thank you!" Jin Ling nearly fell over in his rush to salute properly like his grandpa showed him.
"You're welcome, kid." Wei-jiu patted his head for a moment then said,"Aiya, enough of that, come here, come here!" and scooped Jin Ling up into a hug.
"So. How are you all related?" Jingyi whined. "How come A-Yuan isn't my cousin? We even have the same last name! Not fair."
"Did you help our A-Ling as well?" Yanli asked.
"Auntie, this is Lan Jingyi. He's my best friend." Sizhui said.
"I tackled a kid." Jingyi informed them. "It was pretty cool. Not as cool as Sizhui's roundhouse. But it was up there."
"Thank you for your help." Yanli said. "Are you his mother?"
"Yes ma'am. I'm Lan Mei." she said "It's an honor to meet you, really Madam Jin." The poor woman looked a little overwhelmed. Like she just realized her friends were somebody important. Jin Ling wasnt sure he would ever want to know what that meant.
"Please, call me Yanli. It's a pleasure to meet you! You must be so proud of your son. He seems like a young man with a good head on his shoulders."
"Im sure it would roll right off if it wasn't attached!" Jingyi's mom laughed.
"Since we all had to leave work for this, would anyone mind if I treated your sons to some icecream to thank them for their very brave and altruistic actions?" Jin Ling's mom asked.
"A-Xian wants icecream too, Jiejie" his Uncle pouted.
"Get your husband to buy it for you."his dad said.
Uncle Wei turned to look at Sizhui's dad. "I will purchase a store." he said.
"My husband is so good to me." his uncle swooned, falling right into Sizhui's dads arms.
"Looks like you tow never change." his dad sighed, pulling Jin Ling out of his brother-in-law's grasp.
Jin Ling wrapped his arms around his father's neck. He had his parents. He had a strange new uncle who could fix anything, and an uncle-in-law. He was getting icecream! And somehow, maybe because of how things started out, he was leaving the day with two new friends. His first friends! And mayb even a cousin who wouldn't knock him over and take his toys. He looked at Jingyi whose easy grin covered his face and at A-Yuan who had a smile too steady and reassuring for any eight year old to possess. Jin Ling found that his own cheeks were burning, not from the press of bruises and scrapes, but from his own lips stretched up hard into a crescent that he could not break for all the bullies in the world.