“Si-Ying! If you have any good-looking cssmates, introduce them to us! They have to be pretty, okay?”

  Dajie Wang —who looked exactly like the actual Dajie Wang and even wore identical gsses—reminded me.

  (T/N: Great King Kai (大界王, Dajie Wang, or Dai Kaiō) is a character from Dragon Ball Z. He is the highest-ranking Kai in the universe, overseeing the four lesser Kais (North, South, East, and West Kai). Unlike the more well-known King Kai (North Kaiō), Great King Kai does py a major role in the story but is depicted as a wise yet somewhat carefree and humorous figure in the Dragon Ball universe.)

  “That wouldn't be a brilliant idea. I still need to make friends at school,” I joked.

  “Oof, savage! No wonder you helped A-Ta regain his manly pride! Impressive!”

  Gui Jiaqi—who looked just like the character from the movie Kung Fu Hustle—excimed loudly.

  “Speaking of regaining pride! Come on, let's cut the cake! A-Ta, today is October 7th—your official rebirth anniversary! You better remember it for life!”

  A-Bao roared as he lit every candle on the cake.

  A-Ta couldn't stop ughing and invited me to blow out the candles with him.

  “Hey, it is your rebirth, not mine!” I patted his shoulder.

  “Thank you! Thank you so much!” A-Ta grabbed my hands tightly—so tightly that I felt like my bones were being crushed again!

  We worked together to blow out all the candles in one breath, and everyone appuded.

  “A-Ta, I really owe you an apology! I never thought you were such a bold and mighty man!” A-Bao, the club president and probably the one who had mocked him the most, stood up, thumped his chest, and shouted, “Go ahead, punch me! Hit me until you're satisfied! Hit me until your hands cramp up! Don't hold back!”

  “No need for that. I made mistakes too,” A-Ta scratched his head and chuckled sheepishly.

  “And me! Forgive me too! You don't even have to return the adult videos I lent you—just punch me to death!”

  Fu Lizha stood up as well. Apparently, letting A-Ta keep those tapes was his version of a heartfelt apology.

  “Uh… thanks, I guess.” A-Ta awkwardly shook hands with Fu Liza, who immediately turned pale and sat back down.

  “Us too. We never really considered your feelings before. We're truly sorry!”

  Mei-Hua and Ke-Xin took out a plush Pao-Pao Bear and tied it to A-Ta's backpack.

  “May this sea breeze carry my sincerest regrets, drifting away with the fading memories of the past, yet binding us together once more.”

  It was only when Gann Ren started reciting poetry that I finally understood why he had that nickname—he spoke as if he had seven or eight olives stuffed in his mouth, making everything he said completely muffled. And judging by his nonsense poetry, his brain probably had a few olives rolling around in there too. It was absolute gibberish, even dumber than my brother.

  “We don't need to say anything more! Come on!” Grand Kai shouted—then proceeded to do absolutely nothing. No one knew exactly what he was trying to do.

  “A-Ta! Besides apologizing, seriously, if you ever meet more high school girls in the future, don't forget me!”

  Lu Houji bared his teeth and shouted, his nickname truly living up to its reputation.

  “You′re all cking sincerity! I′ll show you how it′s done—I′ll give him a kiss!”

  Gui Jiaqi, to the sound of roaring ughter, forced a kiss on A-Ta.

  Looking at A-Ta—someone who had been a complete stranger but was now a half-familiar new friend—I felt both overjoyed and honored. Just one loud public outburst from me had somehow helped him restore his social bance, and I couldn't stop smiling all night.

  Even though I didn't really know these people, their energy and quirks quickly pulled me into a world I had never seen in my all-girls school—a world full of wild ughter and loud, ridiculous antics. For a moment, I forgot I was an outsider.

  And then, fireworks filled the sky.

  A-Bao was incredible—he could hold a whistling butterfly firework in each hand and fling them at the perfect moment, sending streaks of spinning green light whistling across the night sky.

  Dajie Wang wasn't awful either. He actually dared to light a skyrocket with his mouth, nearly making everyone ugh themselves to death.

  But A-Ta was on another level—his skills were practically supernatural.

  “A-Ta! Catch!” Gui Jiaoqi hurled a dazzling golden diamond firework at him.

  “Piece of cake!”

  A-Ta effortlessly snatched the wildly zigzagging firework out of the air and hurled it skyward. It spun brilliantly as it shot up, bursting into a radiant dispy.

  I was completely stunned. A-Ta caught five diamond fireworks in a row without missing a single one.

  Seriously, what kind of insane training did he put himself through to master this kind of skill?!

  “Si-Ying! Do you dare to light a skyrocket with your hands?”

  Lu Huoji shrieked excitedly, sending a skyrocket whistling into the air.

  “Bring it on! Who's afraid?!”

  Not to be outdone, I grabbed several skyrockets. A-Ta ran over and used an incense stick to light them for me.

  I was definitely nervous, but the adrenaline rush was too strong to care!

  “Don't let go too soon! Wait until the fire shoots out of the base, then release it skyward!” A-Ta warned, watching me closely.

  “Remind me when it's time!” I was completely on edge.

  The tail of the skyrocket sparked to life, and my eyes widened.

  “Three, two, one—now!” A-Ta shouted.

  I let go. I felt a slight vibration in the handle as—

  Whoosh!

  The skyrocket shot cleanly from my hand, slicing through the air with a sharp, electric hiss.

  Boom!

  “Hah! I did it! There′s no trick to it at all!” I was ecstatic and immediately asked A-Ta to light another one for me.

  "Try adjusting the angle to 45 degrees this time—it'll shoot farther that way!" A-Ta said excitedly as he lit the skyrocket.

  A-Ta had been reborn.

  October 7, 2000, Saturday.

  A glorious night to be proud of.