“Alright, alright, big sis, you’re really something. Can’t rely on you to get things done anymore,” I muttered to myself, remembering what the Old fortune-teller had told me: never use dark magic to harm others, not even to scare people. That lesson really taught me a bitter lesson that night.

Luckily, none of those soldiers actually died; they’d only been knocked unconscious by Menma. After I snuck back, I found a chance to ask her what happened. Turns out that Yue Yue hadn’t even been in the dorm at the time. Menma looked for him for a long time without success, got irritated, and her frustration kept building until she lost control.

The next day, with over half the drill instructors knocked out and laid up in the hospital, our military training was suddenly cut short. When we got the news, everyone was thrilled. Looking around at my cheerful classmates, I thought to myself, “If it weren’t for me, you guys wouldn’t be getting out of this early.”

But thinking about it, if I had the chance to do it all over again, I definitely wouldn’t pull a stunt like that. Last night was really too risky. If anyone innocent had gotten hurt, I’d feel guilty for the rest of my life. Brother Xiang took that instructor to the infirmary, saying he’d just happened to see him on a nighttime walk. With all the ghost rumors swirling around the camp, no one looked into it further.

The next day, we headed back with Uncle Liu. This time, he actually showed some conscience and arranged twelve buses to take us home. I remember when we got on the bus, the girls were all hugging their drill instructor, saying they’d miss him, and the guys were putting on a show, saying they’d miss their instructors who were in the hospital. But I knew, deep down, they had probably a million curses running through their heads. I didn’t feel the same way, though; Ye Ling Tian had been decent to us, and after almost causing those instructors harm, I still felt a bit guilty and wasn’t in the mood to badmouth them.

Anyway, however it happened, cutting our gruelling military training down to less than ten days was definitely a cause for celebration. Oh, and then there was one major incident that happened as soon as Brother Xiang and I got back to school.

A bus had just dropped us off, and Uncle Liu told everyone to go back to their dorms to rest. The four of us were just thinking about finding a place to have a drink when, out of nowhere, someone slapped me on the back and said, “Hey, you kid, you’re at this school too?”

I was a bit puzzled at first—who’d know me at this police academy?

I turned around and, of all people, it was Han Si Fan herself. This girl was wearing black sunglasses, a loose red T-shirt, and a miniskirt. Gorgeous! I couldn’t help but swallow when I saw her. She greeted me, then noticed Brother Xiang beside me. She clapped him on the shoulder and said, “Xiang-zi, you’re here studying too? Why didn’t you tell me earlier? If anyone messes with you two, just tell them Sis Fan has your back.”

Tai Long and Little Fatty practically bulged their eyes out when they saw Han Si Fan. Little Fatty, being his usual sleazy self, blurted out, “I want Sis Fan to cover me too!”

As expected, Han Si Fan gave Little Fatty a kick that sent him flying three meters back. He lay on the ground, practically throwing up, and I felt a shiver down my spine just watching. She probably just kicked his dinner from last night right out of him.

“Messing with my bro, huh?” Tai Long wasn’t having it, it didn’t matter if she was a guy or a girl. He went right at Han Si Fan with a punch. I wanted to step in, but on one side was my buddy, and on the other, a beauty. Tai Long was no joke at Muay Thai, and regular people usually couldn’t handle him. If he really hit her, it’d be awkward for her.

But, clearly, I’d overthought it. Han Si Fan caught his fist with her left hand, then hit his chest three times with her right, making Tai Long wince and grit his teeth in pain. She smiled at him and said, “Not bad! If it were Chen Hui and Xiao Xiang, they probably couldn’t even take one punch between the two of them.”

“Big sis, that’s a personal attack,” Brother Xiang quipped, but Han Si Fan couldn’t be bothered to respond and just socked him, knocking him to the ground.

“Ha! You’re all hilarious. Make sure to come find me often!” Han Si Fan said, and started to leave. But as she passed me, she suddenly leaned in and whispered, “You’d better not use that little ghost anymore. You can’t control her.” With that, she headed off toward a snack street next to the school.

Our plan to have some fun was ruined. We ended up grabbing two packs of instant noodles and heading back to the dorm. Once there, Little Fatty was still swearing, “That girl is way too harsh. Brother Xiang, Brother Hui, Brother Long, let’s find a chance to get her back.”

“Don’t,” Brother Xiang warned. “If you want to, go ahead on your own, but make sure to move out of our dorm first and cut ties with us, or she’ll definitely come after all of us too.” Brother Xiang seemed to know Han Si Fan pretty well. Little Fatty nodded, then suddenly sighed, “You’re right. I can’t betray my bros. I guess the only way is to sacrifice myself, charm her, make her fall head over heels for me, then dump her to break her fragile heart.”

I was eating noodles and nearly choked laughing. Little Fatty actually looked kind of cute, with a couple of pimples and a K-pop hairstyle—gave off a bit of a sleazy piggy vibe. Hardly what you’d call handsome. I sighed and said, “Go for it. I’m rooting for you, Fatty Bro.”

“Me too,” Brother Xiang chipped in, giving him a thumbs-up. Little Fatty grinned and asked, “Since you guys know her, tell me what that girl likes, so Fatty Bro here can plan accordingly.”

We didn’t have a clue, but Brother Xiang smirked evilly and said, “She’s super into romance. Listen, Fatty Bro, bring her some roses tomorrow and confess in front of her whole class. She’ll be so moved, she’ll definitely throw herself at you.”

“Got it!” Little Fatty ran off to buy roses right after that. I figured he must be either desperate or nuts to be doing something this reckless. That day, he spent his entire month’s allowance on ninety-nine red roses, which actually looked pretty romantic.

Early the next morning, Little Fatty dragged Brother Xiang, Tai Long, and me to back him up. But, conveniently, both Brother Xiang and I suddenly got stomachaches and ran to the bathroom, leaving him and Tai Long to go alone. We both knew that whoever went was definitely not coming back unscathed. Chances are, he’d return with half his bones broken.