Three Plum Blossoms: Moon-Shocking Thunder

October 24, 2005, was an unforgettable day. From now on, she will be the one in the column’s profile. Every time I come in, I curse once. At least this is my home, and at least I’m not like certain people who, whenever something happens, can only make a racket on the forums or in group chats. I just hope you’ll stop playing games by sending a threatening email to my inbox whenever you feel like it!!! If you can’t stand me, just kick me off Jinjiang. Otherwise, this letter stays pinned from now on. Zhi Zhi is but a little loach in the mighty Jinjiang River. Qiang Jiang Xiao is a humble servant of the forum. One day, Zhi Zhi had nothing to do and sent a letter to the Jinjiang Pollution Control Committee, offering a few suggestions. In it, she also expressed her love for Jinjiang. Nothing came of it, but with so many trivial things to worry about, she didn’t think much of it. A few days later, Zhi Zhi had forgotten all about it. Then one day, on a whim, Zhi Zhi went to browse the 163 fishing net she had bought for herself and took a break there. She saw an unfamiliar ID, and curiosity got the better of her. She clicked in and was appalled. The post said: Zhi Zhi is, first, an author of plain-text stories. Second, she badmouths Jinjiang elsewhere, then has the nerve to claim she “loves Jinjiang.” Her motives are suspicious, and I want nothing to do with her. Zhi Zhi was furious. A loach may be small, but it is still a living creature. It may have nothing to boast about, but it still has its self-respect. A public servant is supposed to be fair and impartial, not swayed by personal feelings. Those words were full of barbs and malice. Worse, they were thrown at the loach without a second thought. The loach was badly hurt, so it threw a lump of mud back. Then it said, “You don’t like me? Good. I dislike you even more. Now that this letter has been sent, we’re even. From now on, let’s live our lives without ever crossing paths again.” That should have been the end of it, but the so-called public servant sent another letter the next day, and its words were even more vicious. The loach was horrified. After thinking it over, it decided to reason with them. I said: Back when Jinjiang was slandered by a petty troublemaker, who stole my ID and stirred up a huge commotion, accusations about vote-rigging and demanding points swept through the place like a storm. I was at a loss for words and heartbroken, so I went to Mo Yin Ge to vent. I complained first about the person who slandered me, and second about the people who blindly joined in without caring about right or wrong. That’s only natural. Who wouldn’t hate someone like that? But the petty troublemakers banded together and became a pack of wolves and tigers, claiming I was slandering Jinjiang on Mo Yin Ge and that I deserved to die! Alas! When right and wrong are turned upside down like this, there’s nothing I can do to fight it. I decided to withdraw. First, I left the forum and stopped getting involved. Second, I quit the ranking board. From then on, only one child would look up at the sky as if there were three. I kept my grievance to myself and never spoke of the matter again. I didn’t want to sully the name of the person who had wronged me. But after this incident, my competitive spirit only grew stronger. I decided to prove my innocence with facts, so I buried myself in updating and stopped paying attention to anything else. After a year, no one dared accuse me of rigging votes or getting anyone else to do it for me. No one dared bring it up again, either. I was secretly pleased. Heaven has eyes, after all, and had cleared my name. More than that, I had proved my innocence through my own actions. But petty people never let things go. They never admitted they were wrong to make baseless accusations that day. Instead, they sneered at me coldly: One moment, “People like you...” The next, “I can’t be bothered with you.” First, “I never said that.” Then, “You know perfectly well what you did.” First, “So what if I’m like this?” Then, “I don’t need you to indulge me.” Then they said: “I’ve never written plain-text stories.” (Hee hee, kiddo, have you ever written anything that isn’t the opposite of a plain-text story?) “I’ve never made the monthly or annual rankings.” (That’s when I finally understood: making the rankings had somehow become a crime?! #-# Sigh, if only I’d known, I wouldn’t have made the rankings. It was so much work, and now not making them is something to brag about.) “I’ve never once said I was quitting □□.” (Of course you wouldn’t quit, you jerk. You only know how to bully people; you’d never let anyone leave.) “I’ve never made a huge, dramatic scene crying on Bishui.” (I don’t know when I ever made a huge, dramatic scene crying there. If I did cry, it was because you people drove me to it. Even a robber, vile as he is, wouldn’t keep trampling on his victim’s pain and say, “I stole your things because I thought highly of you, and now you’re making a huge, dramatic scene crying?!”) “I’ve never thought too highly of myself.” (If you don’t think so highly of yourself, then why, when I was living my life just fine, did you send a snide letter to my inbox? With a whole pile of contemptuous remarks?) “I’ve never thought my education was impressive.” (Now I get it. I was wrong. I shouldn’t have compared my education with yours. How could I possibly compare? You’re a public servant and I’m a loach. I graduated from Loach University, and when I went to the university for public servants, I was naturally demoted to kindergarten level.) “I don’t use ‘damn it’ to show how angry I am.” (I admit it: studying mechanical engineering can make a girl rough around the edges. Naturally, I wouldn’t use fancy phrases like “people like you” and “I can’t be bothered with you” to show just how different I am from someone like you, as different as clouds in the sky and mud in the river.) “I’m very modest.” (The biggest, funniest joke I’ve ever heard in my life was Qiang Jiang Xiao saying this. I have to thank Qiang Jiang Xiao: the next time I’m feeling down, bored, and listless... I’ll have something to cheer me up.) Finally, to borrow Qiang Jiang Xiao’s words, I never said that about her. I didn’t say who was who, did I? Of course, you know perfectly well who you are, don’t you! But I’ll add one more thing: If you think I’m talking about you, then I am! One more thing: Damn it, let me tell you, you could insult me a thousand times and I still wouldn’t do this. But that last letter made me so angry. People are stubborn, and after being prodded by you from every side, I have to let this anger out today. Otherwise, how can I ever be rid of it? Anyway, from now on, Qiang Jiang Xiao and I are done with each other. Theme: