I often think back to that night—three men who broke into my house, clumsy as sketch actors, but said the most serious words I had ever heard in my life.
The leader was a fat man, his belly stretching his ill-fitting black suit tight, like a meatball that might explode at any moment. Next to him was a tall, thin man, as thin as an undergrown bamboo pole. At the back was a bald man, his head shining under the light, a natural spotlight.
I moved the folding chair forward a little: "Did you get the wrong place? There's nothing valuable in my house except expired instant noodles."
The fat man looked around my rental room, his face filled with disbelief: "This place? It's so shabby."
The tall, thin man hung his head and counted on his fingers: "One, two, three, four, five, six—yes, this is the place."
The bald man whispered a correction: "You counted two extra."
The fat man glared at them, then turned to me, lowered his voice, and suddenly became solemn: "Li Puru, do you know what that candy you ate tonight is?"
"A lemon candy? The kind that costs five yuan a pack in the supermarket?"
"Wrong!" The fat man frowned severely, "That's the activation token of our 'Puru Organization'!"
Me: "...Are you filming a short video?"
"Was the woman who gave you the candy wearing a business suit? Was her high-heel strap broken and wrapped with transparent tape? Did she say 'Have a candy to sweeten your mood'? And secretly slipped you a second one?"
My fingers gripping the folding chair tightened: "Yes."
"That's our Sugar Brother! She's chosen you!"
The fat man pulled an identical lemon candy out of his pocket and slapped it into my hand: "Eat it, and you'll be a probationary member of Puru. Sugar Brother said that when you were in the third grade of primary school, you gave a transferred girl a candy and told her 'Have a candy, and you won't be afraid anymore.' That girl has remembered you for fifteen years."
The candy in my hand suddenly felt heavy.
Third grade of primary school... There really was such a thing. A girl transferred to our class, was bullied by the boys, and cried her heart out outside the toilet. I happened to have a lemon candy that my mom gave me, so I handed it to her.
She was crying so hard then, and said a strange thing—"I don't remember who I am, but I remember this taste."
"Eat it, and we'll be one of us." The fat man stared at me.
I didn't hesitate anymore, peeled off the wrapper and put the candy in my mouth. Lemon flavor, sour with a hint of sweetness. Exactly the same taste as fifteen years ago.
"Great!" The fat man shook my hand hard, "From today on, you are member No. 1147 of Puru! Code name——"
"I'll choose it myself. Call me 'Flea'."
The three men fell silent.
Fat man: "Are you serious? We all have cool names like Iron Fist Man and Light Bulb Man, and you choose Flea?"
"My name is Li Puru. 'Puru' means 'flea' in Latin. You be the heroes, I'll keep a low profile."
The bald man nodded sincerely: "It's better than my 'Light Bulb Man'."
The fat man took a deep breath and accepted the reality: "Okay! Comrade Flea, your first mission——"
He didn't finish his sentence.
Footsteps came from outside the door. Heavy, steady, accompanied by the rustling of plastic bags.
Completely different from the sneaky, stumbling movements of the three of them just now.
The door opened.
A hand holding a plastic bag stretched in first. The handle of a spatula was faintly visible in the bag.
And I noticed—that there was an old scar on the tiger's mouth of this hand.
That night, I thought this was just an absurd misunderstanding. Later, I realized that absurdity was just its shell. Inside, there were the most serious group of people in this city.