And so, on Qing’s first day of school, a campus-wide brawl erupted. Though to say she started it wouldn’t be quite accurate, as everyone from the Dean of Students down to Old Yang personally consoled her, encouraging her to focus on her studies and not let those female classmates influence her. They all seemed to view Qing as a victim in the dispute between the two classes’ female students.
The school had initially planned to issue her another math textbook, but when they learned that the torn book was Xing Wu’s that she had mistakenly taken, the teachers seemed to drop the matter of replacing it.
The story then became that Cao Fan from Class 4 had torn up Class 2 student Xing Wu’s book, and when the Class 2 girls couldn’t stand it, they started a fight with the Class 4 girls. After Cao Fan learned that the book she had torn belonged to Xing Wu, she avoided passing by Class 2’s doorway for an entire week. If she accidentally encountered Xing Wu at school, she would run away immediately, terrified of being questioned by him.
But for Xing Wu, having or not having a math textbook made absolutely no difference. If he opened it ten times throughout the entire semester, that would be as rare as the sun rising from the west.
He didn’t come to school every day, and being late or leaving early was his norm. He was always zipping around on his self-balancing scooter, appearing and disappearing like a phantom.
In class, he never spoke to Qing, and usually left before school ended – not that he would go home anyway.
These days, even Yellow Hair would only glance at Qing from afar when they met at school, acting like a stranger.
Qing felt somewhat annoyed – they had shared meals together, yet now they were all acting like ungrateful wolves.
So several days later at noon, when Yellow Hair had just returned from smoking at the playground with his buddies, he saw Qing leaning against a distant pillar, watching him. When one of his friends playfully waved at Qing, Yellow Hair immediately smacked him on the head. The group had already turned away when Yellow Hair made an excuse about buying a lighter and circled back.
Qing was still standing there waiting for him. He looked around before approaching her and scratched his head, saying, “Cousin.”
Qing gave him a cold look: “Who’s your cousin? Since school started, you’ve all been acting so aloof. Tell me, what did Xing Wu say to you all?”
Yellow Hair maintained an innocent expression: “Big Brother Wu didn’t say anything.”
Qing scoffed, clearly not believing him: “Won’t talk? Fine. Next time you speak to me, see if I’ll even acknowledge you.”
As Qing turned to leave, Yellow Hair anxiously called out to her retreating figure: “Big Brother Wu said to let you focus on school.”
Qing stopped and turned back to look at him. Yellow Hair explained helplessly: “You know we’re not good people. There are lots of people at school, teachers and students all watching. Big Brother Wu just doesn’t want to cause trouble for you.”
Qing raised her eyes slightly to study Yellow Hair deeply for a moment, then left without another word.
That evening, she heard from Li Lanfang that Wu Er’s injuries had healed and he’d gone to work outside of town. Qing asked where he went.
Li Lanfang told her that a few days ago, Wuzi mentioned one of his older brothers needed some workers. Though it was far away, room and board were provided. Wu Er’s mother happened to be cracking melon seeds in the courtyard at the time and must have overheard. That afternoon, she came to Li Lanfang with eggs, asking if she could help recommend her second son for the job.
Considering how badly Xing Wu had beaten Wu Er last time, Li Lanfang worried he might refuse. She accepted the eggs but said she needed to ask her son first. Unexpectedly, Xing Wu agreed readily.
And so the elderly couple finally managed to send their good-for-nothing second son off to work.
As Qing ate dinner while listening to Li Lanfang talk about this, she suddenly remembered Xing Wu’s words: “I won’t give him that chance again. If I say I can guarantee it, I have my ways.”
Qing never would have guessed that Xing Wu’s solution was to simply send Wu Er away. Come to think of it, Xing Wu could be quite ruthless when needed – he showed no mercy when beating Wu Er. On the other hand, he also showed humanity by finding a job for the Wu family’s good-for-nothing son, resolving a major concern for the elderly couple, and finally allowing Qing to breathe easier.
When she went inside after dinner, Xing Wu had just returned, wearing a black baseball cap and a tight black t-shirt, exuding an air of athleticism.
Since Xing Wu had blocked her, Qing had been treating him like air whenever they met at home these past few days. Even when he occasionally tried to make conversation, she would look right past him as if he didn’t exist. The two were in a state of cold war.
Xing Wu had realized that this young lady could hold quite a grudge when offended. These past few days, she had started piling her study materials on his bed, clearly intending to deny him access to the room.
So when he returned today, Xing Wu wasn’t expecting any warmth from her and merely glanced at her before heading toward the backyard.
Unexpectedly, Qing suddenly blocked his path. He stepped left, she stepped left; he stepped right, she stepped right.
Xing Wu revealed his sharp eyes from under the cap’s brim and stared at her. Qing crossed her arms and asked casually: “Where’s your wind-fire wheel?”
Xing Wu raised an eyebrow, realizing she meant the self-balancing scooter, and replied flatly: “At Shunyi. Why?”
“Let me try it sometime.”
Xing Wu asked expressionlessly: “Do you know how?”
“You can teach me.”
Looking at her matter-of-fact expression, Xing Wu’s lips curved slightly: “I’ll bring it back another day.”
But Qing tilted her head slightly and looked at him: “Why not teach me at school? Bringing it back is so troublesome.” Her gaze held a hint of inquiry.
Xing Wu’s thick black eyelashes lowered halfway, his eyes narrowing. Qing raised her chin, her eyes showing faint mockery. As their gazes met, neither spoke further. Xing Wu simply looked away and walked toward the backyard. Qing turned to watch his retreating figure, her lips curving slightly.
…
Fang Lei almost received a warning from school over the incident, and her temper had been much more subdued lately. She was no longer bossy in class, and after borrowing homework from Qing to copy – which Qing had lent without hesitation – she suddenly felt that this transfer student wasn’t so difficult to get along with. Sometimes she would even deliberately chat with Qing between classes.
When one day the girls noticed that Qing’s pearl-decorated lambskin shoes were from Chanel, the class exploded with excitement.
Qing had never considered these things as luxury items because she had worn them since childhood, and none of her classmates had ever worn inexpensive things. Initially, her mother bought whatever she wore, but after her mother’s health declined and her high school workload increased, her father’s female secretary would regularly purchase batches of clothes for her.
Qing had long suspected that the secretary was having an affair with her father, but she had to admit the woman had good taste – everything she chose suited Qing well.
Although Qing had never cared about designer brands, in this small county that didn’t even have a Chanel boutique, the girls’ gazes toward her took on a hint of admiration.
Afterward, the girls in Class 2 seemed to have a collective epiphany. Their original non-mainstream hairstyles with loose, messy hair were gradually all tied up, and they even started wearing light blue hairclips on the right side like Qing. While Qing’s small clip that held back her loose strands was from Alexandre de Paris, delicate and exquisite, the others had found who-knows-what knock-offs from night markets. The effect was quite ridiculous like Xi Shi imitating beauty. Even girls with foreheads as wide as door panels and covered in acne boldly pinned up their bangs.
Moreover, Qing’s independent behavior left everyone astounded. For example, she never attended evening self-study sessions. Even students like Fang Lei, whose grades weren’t great, knew to stay for evening study after entering senior year. However, as soon as the dismissal bell rang, Qing would leave promptly – opposite to how good students typically behaved.
Regarding this, her deskmate Shi Min couldn’t help but ask why she didn’t stay for evening study. Qing asked her in return what the purpose of the evening study was.
Then she explained: “It’s to save time and improve study efficiency. Rather than staying and being disturbed by others, it’s more efficient to go home early.” Shi Min was dumbfounded.
Qing had attended evening study sessions at her previous school because she was surrounded by studious, ambitious people, and that learning atmosphere motivated everyone to stay focused. However, after transferring to An Zhong, she realized after one day that staying for evening study wasn’t very meaningful – the noisy environment would affect her study efficiency.
But obviously, others didn’t understand. In their minds, only one type of person would skip evening study – marginalized academic failures like Xing Wu and his group. Therefore, Qing became a unique existence in the entire school.
Whether it was her appearance, grades, or behavior, everything about her stood out conspicuously, causing controversy.
Tall trees catch the wind – where there is admiration, there is also jealousy. For instance, several days later when Cao Fan finally processed what had happened on the playground, she couldn’t swallow her anger. She had originally wanted to suppress this transfer student’s arrogance, but days later, Qing was still doing as she pleased while Cao Fan herself had been lectured by the Dean all afternoon.
So one week later, just as Qing was packing up her things after class, Fang Lei rushed in and said: “Qing, Qing, you’d better climb over the wall to get home.”
“???” Qing looked at her with confusion.
Fang Lei explained: “Cao Fan, the one from Class 4 who tore the book, called her brother and brought a bunch of people to ambush you.”
The “Little Phone” sitting in front of Qing immediately turned around: “Damn? Qing, you should run and climb over the wall. Cao Fan’s brother is the boss at An Vocational School. You’re done for if they catch you.”
Shi Min listened to their conversation with horror, anxiously watching Qing, who expressionlessly turned to look at Panghu’s seat and asked: “Where’s the class monitor?”
Little Phone said: “He must be at the fried noodle stand by the back gate right now, but looking for the monitor won’t help. Those vocational school people are all gangsters, and Fan Tong doesn’t know you well enough to help anyway.”
“Fried noodle stand?” Qing withdrew her gaze and asked Little Phone: “What’s he doing there?”
“There are two slot machines there. They usually eat and play a bit before an evening study session.”
Qing’s eyes moved slightly, and she picked up her backpack, telling Fang Lei: “Let Cao Fan know I’m going through the back gate.”
Fang Lei was startled: “You might not make it through the back gate, and why deliberately tell them?”
But they saw Qing stand up casually, swing her backpack over her shoulder, and say lightly: “To meet them, of course. I can’t climb over the wall to get home every day, can I? Besides, do I look like someone who could climb over it?”
With that, she adjusted her bag strap and walked out unhurriedly, leaving the others breaking out in cold sweat as they watched her calm departure.
Many people at school already knew that the vocational school students were waiting to ambush Qing at the gate, so from the moment she left the classroom, everyone was pointing and whispering. Many wanted to get to the school gate early to find prime spots to watch the scene unfold.
Yet Qing walked straight toward the back gate without a sideways glance. Even without Fang Lei spreading the news, with so many eyes watching, Qing’s movements were reported to Cao Fan within minutes.
So when Qing reached the back gate, a group of delinquents in various outfits, both male and female, were already standing in the alley across from her, their eyes predatory.