The foreigners were arranged in the first two rows, with students from all classes seated in rows behind them. The principal, a middle-aged man around fifty, wore an unconvincing wig and stood in the center of the podium with his round belly and waist.

By this time, Qing Ye had taken her position beside the podium, holding the microphone and stepping into her polished black leather shoes.

Originally, she had been standing below the podium where no one paid much attention to her. However, when she began simultaneous translation in crisp, standard British English after the principal finished his first section, “whoosh”—all eyes focused on this poised and graceful female student, whether teachers, students, or the inspection group.

She stood there, gazing straight ahead with a smile, neither humble nor arrogant, wearing a sweet, well-tailored apricot dress paired with a burgundy fitted knit vest—elegant and appropriate. The breeze from the playground gently lifted her wispy bangs, and as they danced softly, her eyes sparkled like stars.

What drew even more attention was that while the principal read from his script, glancing down at every sentence, Qing Ye translated everything from memory. Her perfect pronunciation sounded melodious even to those who couldn’t understand English.

After the entire speech, everyone’s gaze remained fixed on Qing Ye—after all, she was much more pleasing to the eye than the principal. After putting down the microphone, she casually brushed back her curls, her long hair complementing her features in a very fashionable way. At least in this county town, you couldn’t find another girl with such a stylish hairstyle.

Yellow Hair behind her stared straight ahead, asking dazedly, “Did Qing Ye get a perm? Damn, she looks different, just like a TV star.”

Xing Wu leaned back on the vaulting box, supporting himself with both hands, his narrow eyes squinting into lines against the light, his gaze firmly fixed on her.

She stood there, radiating brilliance within his field of vision, yet Xing Wu’s mind echoed with her words from before bedtime last night. She wouldn’t stop, wouldn’t halt her steps for anything. Someday, she would fly away from this dark place, back to the world where she belonged. Then, everyone would return to their proper places. Xing Wu suddenly felt the Qing Ye before him seemed somewhat unreal.

Just then, several foreigners raised their hands, apparently having questions for the principal, though they were asking if it would be convenient since this segment hadn’t been planned.

Since the questions would involve some teaching plan arrangements and cultural coexistence issues, some quite professional, the principal wasn’t sure if Qing Ye could translate his answers on the spot, so he first queried her with his eyes. Qing Ye nodded to the principal.

Then the principal puffed up his big belly and gracefully answered these foreign parents’ concerns. And since Principal Zhong had a literature background, his speech was quite refined. Whether trying to demonstrate his level in front of the whole school or whatever, he even quoted from the Analects.

Led by Miss Yu, the English department teachers instantly broke into a cold sweat for Qing Ye, but she quickly absorbed Principal Zhong’s words and translated them for the foreign parents almost simultaneously, even cleverly translating his quote “They who know the truth are not equal to those who love it, and they who love it are not equal to those who delight in it.”

Several teachers beside them looked at Miss Yu in surprise, while Miss Yu let out a long breath and smiled with satisfaction.

After the event, the principal personally saw off the foreign visitors, with Qing Ye accompanying them until the end as a responsible interpreter.

Back at school, the principal said earnestly, “Qing Ye, you performed extremely well today. The school will consider giving you a commendation.”

Qing Ye smiled and said, “It was nothing, I don’t care about commendations—is there a scholarship?”

The principal was taken aback—what a refreshingly practical student. He immediately smiled and said to Director Gu, “You and Vice Principal Pan should arrange this semester’s subsidy.”

Then he told Qing Ye, “It’s not much money, but with your grades, this academic year’s tuition can be waived. The college entrance exam is getting closer, keep working hard!”

“Thank you, Principal.”

Ever since that day when Xing Wu asked about her study abroad expenses, Qing Ye suddenly felt nothing was more practical than RMB.

After saying goodbye to the school leaders, Qing Ye turned toward the high school section. Passing the cement road by the playground, suddenly a car flashed its headlights at her. She turned her head and saw a black Audi A6L parked in the spot, with a young man getting out of the back seat—it was Ye Jingjian, the one who had called the gymnasium a brothel.

He walked up to Qing Ye, his pointed face topped with that hurricane-proof hairstyle, tugging at his little suit, and said very haughtily, “Classmate, add me on WeChat.”

For some reason, looking at his mysteriously confident appearance, Qing Ye’s mind kept flashing to Hanawa from “Chibi Maruko-chan,” but the key difference was that at least Hanawa’s bangs were flowing—what was that thing on his head? Super glue?

Qing Ye chuckled lightly: “Why should I add you on WeChat?”

Ye Jingjian said seriously, “I want to invite you to my house this weekend to practice spoken English.”

“???” Qing Ye looked utterly bewildered, not even knowing what kind of oddball this guy was.

Meanwhile, behind Qing Ye, Yellow Hair’s group had just finished playing basketball and were wandering over from the playground.

Seeing Qing Ye’s look of disdain, Ye Jingjian said irritably, “This is my family’s car. I can have the driver pick you up.”

Qing Ye glanced at the Audi, getting his meaning now. He probably wanted to show off his family’s wealth to her. Indeed, Qing Ye hadn’t seen many good cars since coming here, but this model didn’t count as anything special in her eyes, let alone luxury.

She coolly turned her gaze away and walked off, dropping a “Not free.”

Unexpectedly, Ye Jingjian got agitated and directly blocked Qing Ye’s path, saying anxiously, “What’s wrong with you?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Xing Wu directly hurled his basketball at him without mercy. The ball hit Ye Jingjian’s shoulder hard, making him stumble back a big step. Qing Ye turned around as Yellow Hair walked over noisily, cursing at Ye Jingjian: “Want to die? What level do you think you are to come cause trouble at our Anzhong!”

Ye Jingjian patted the dust off his shoulder and angrily pointed at Xing Wu’s group who had walked over: “You, do you know who I am?”

Yellow Hair glared at him: “Are you the Queen Mother from the Western Paradise Temple?”

“My father is the director of the Target Factory!!!” He pointed his thumb at himself, speaking with overwhelming arrogance.

Xing Wu raised an eyebrow, glancing at him: “Your surname is Ye?”

“I’m Ye Jingjian.” That answer came with the pride of someone who thought they were Steve Jobs.

Qing Ye rolled her eyes internally. At her former school, any random classmate’s family would be embarrassed to claim wealth without owning several presentable companies, let alone this guy who was just the son of a plastic factory director, yet he spoke with the air of a billionaire—quite remarkable.

Qing Ye said to him in a flat tone: “I don’t care if your dad is a factory director or Li Gang, so you have plastic, well, my family has mine, weirdo.”

She then turned directly toward Xing Wu, looking up to say, “I want a Coke, ice cold.”

So the group ignored Ye Jingjian and walked away. Xing Wu glanced at her: “What time of year is it to drink iced drinks?”

Qing Ye said matter-of-factly: “I’m afraid I’ll get sleepy later, need to stimulate my brain.”

Yellow Hair immediately came over: “I’ll go buy it for you.”

“No.” She tugged at Xing Wu’s sleeve: “You buy it.”

Yellow Hair became indignant: “Why? Is there any difference between me and Brother Wu buying it?”

Qing Ye smiled: “It’s different, he smells better.” Xing Wu gave her a meaningful side glance.

Qing Ye waved to them: “I’m heading back to class first.”

Qing Ye just didn’t want to trouble Yellow Hair—they were just friends after all, so how could she keep letting him spend money buying her drinks? But why could she shamelessly trouble Xing Wu? Well, they were family.

Before class started, Xing Wu wandered back and placed an ice-cold Coke on Qing Ye’s desk. Although it was just a small gesture, with so many classmates watching, the relationship between Xing Wu and Qing Ye remained a mystery to other students. To say they were siblings—neither their looks nor their grades had anything in common. To say they weren’t siblings—in two years of school, no one had ever seen Xing Wu bring drinks for any other girl. Well, let it remain a mystery, no one dared to ask anyway.

After school, several junior high school girls called out together: “Senior Qing.”

Qing Ye turned around, and they said somewhat shyly: “Your new hairstyle looks very nice.”

Qing Ye smiled, her eyes curving into charming crescents: “Got it done at Xuandao, they’re having a promotion now, Zhazha Pavilion No. 38.” The young girls suddenly felt like they’d learned some amazing secret.

That evening, Xing Wu made a round at Shunyi and came back. When he entered the room, he saw Qing Ye holding a pen in her right hand, clutching her stomach with her left, curled up by the desk with furrowed brows.

He poured a cup of hot water and placed it beside her: “Stomach ache?”

When Qing Ye looked up, Xing Wu was startled to see her face was deathly pale: “What’s wrong?”

Qing Ye held the hot water cup and opened her mouth but didn’t speak.

Xing Wu frowned and asked her: “Where are you uncomfortable?”

Qing Ye remained silent. Xing Wu was spooked and pulled away the practice paper she was crumpling: “Say something.”

Qing Ye said in a very low voice: “Do you… know where your mom keeps those things?”

“What things?”

Qing Ye looked up and glared at him. Xing Wu suddenly realized: “You mean…”

“I’ll go look.”

He then rushed into Li Langfang’s room and soon brought back a pack of sanitary pads, handing them to her. Qing Ye grabbed them without daring to look at Xing Wu and rushed downstairs, not coming back for a long time.

Xing Wu finished an entire game, checked the time, went downstairs, and knocked on the bathroom door. When Qing Ye opened the door, she looked completely drained, like someone who had just been fished out of water. Xing Wu asked, “How are you?”

“Not feeling well.”

“Told you not to drink cold stuff.” His tone carried a hint of anger.

Qing Ye had no energy to argue with him now, so she just quietly followed him into the room. Xing Wu felt uncomfortable with this and turned back to glance at her. Rarely seeing her so docile and obedient, he couldn’t help but tug at her hair.

Qing Ye finally looked up and glared at him with kitten-like fierceness: “Itchy hands?”

Xing Wu just smiled at her without speaking. The dim light on the stairs fell into his deep-set eyes, like a whirlpool drawing people in endlessly. Qing Ye quickly withdrew her gaze.

As soon as she entered the room, she got into bed and wrapped herself up tightly, saying to Xing Wu: “Are you free?”

Xing Wu leaned on the bed next to her and made a questioning sound.

“Can you help me copy some problems?”

“…”

Originally, Xing Wu thought copying problems, rather than solving them, shouldn’t be a big deal—just a small favor. But he realized he was being too naive.

What Qing Ye meant by copying problems was the key problems from the entire practice book, and she had eight such books, all completed—practice papers from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Henan, Guangdong, Sichuan, and other provinces’ past exam collections. He didn’t know if she was collecting all these books to summon Shenron with the Dragon Balls or what.

But he had already agreed, what could he do? Throw down the pen and quit? Make her get up and copy them herself in her condition?

In the end, Xing Wu couldn’t bear to do that. Well, let’s get to it!