She nodded, picked up a bag full of handouts and test papers, waved to her grandmother, and set off with her grandfather to catch the bus.
What she didn’t know was that not long after she left, Wang Jingjing’s mother came by, and sat with her grandmother in the living room talking.
“I kept saying I’d come visit, but I was afraid Jiang Du would feel awkward, so I didn’t dare come until now. Just as well that you said the child was going back to school today — so I finally dared to come have a look.” Wang Jingjing’s mother, Li Suhua, had brought a great many nutritional supplements, placing them on the coffee table.
Her grandmother poured water and cut up some watermelon, saying: “In this heat, how could I make you come all the way here.”
“Of course, of course.” Li Suhua didn’t know that Wang Jingjing and Jiang Du had grown distant. She only knew they were no longer in the same class and didn’t see each other as often as before. Having heard about the incident, she’d told Wang Jingjing not to rashly ask Jiang Du anything about it. Wang Jingjing had worn some strange expression at the time, simply saying she understood, then retreating into her own room without coming out.
“You see, we also didn’t dare to ask exactly what happened. Society is chaotic these days — all kinds of people about. Jiang Du must have been terribly frightened. You must guide her, help her not to take it to heart. She should do what she needs to do, study hard, and prepare for the university entrance exam — that’s what matters.” Li Suhua spoke and sighed, the way women sometimes do when they don’t know what else to say but accompany someone with sighs.
Her grandmother dabbed at her eyes and said: “This poor child Jiang Du — all these years, the two of us old people never let her suffer even half a grievance. I’ve been thinking about having her transfer schools, but she doesn’t want to. So I thought, let her go back first and see. If there’s no gossip, if she can stand to keep studying there, then she will. If not, we still have to transfer.”
Li Suhua slapped her thigh, her face full of righteous fury: “Transfer schools for what? That man is going to eat prison food! He had no grudge against us, and he beat our child black and blue. I’m telling you — don’t be afraid of the trouble, just sue him. Make him pay and go to prison. Why should our child be the one to transfer? Is there still justice in this world? That despicable creature — you have no idea how it nearly broke my heart when I heard about this. That despicable wretch — make him go to prison!”
Her grandmother’s tears streamed down. She said nothing — she had a belly full of bitterness and nowhere to put it. And so, in the midst of her old friend’s righteous outrage, she just kept letting the tears flow.
The school was short one year group and felt quite spacious. When Jiang Du arrived at the school gate, her grandfather stood in place. She told him to go home; he said it was all right, he’d watch until she went inside.
The security guards all recognized Jiang Du. Students passed in and out of the school gate from time to time. Jiang Du felt as though the whole world was filled with stares, prickling against her back like needles.
It won’t be like that — not so many people will recognize me. She pinched her own palm and walked into the school grounds.
She glanced back. Her grandfather, dressed neatly, was still standing there. Jiang Du’s nose stung. She turned away and walked quickly in the direction of the teaching building.
Along the way, because morning reading hadn’t ended yet, most students were still in their classrooms. There were very few people on the school grounds.
When she entered the classroom, the homeroom teacher was there. The moment everyone saw her, the sound of reading came to an abrupt stop — but quickly resumed as normal.
“You’re back, Jiang Du?” The homeroom teacher smiled and pointed to her seat. “Go read now.”
Zhu Yulong looked up as she came with her head bowed and said lightly: “I’ve wiped down your desk and stool.”
“Thank you.” Jiang Du hadn’t expected Zhu Yulong, though she seemed very aloof, to actually be such a considerate person. She didn’t quite dare look directly at her, quickly pulled out her English textbook, and started reading.
Zhu Yulong reached over and turned it forward several pages for her: “We’ve gotten to here. You can copy down my notes.”
“Thank you.” Jiang Du gave her a quick, grateful glance and buried herself in reading English.
That entire morning, Jiang Du never left her seat — she was either copying notes or reviewing handouts. Other than Zhu Yulong, the class monitor came over to ask if she needed help. Everyone else was as usual; nothing out of the ordinary. Jiang Du had never been much of a talker to begin with.
When the noon bell rang and people cleared out, Jiang Du was the last one to leave.
She was hesitating about how to get to the cafeteria. Before leaving, Zhu Yulong had asked if she wanted her to bring back food. Jiang Du had declined. There were many things on this first day that were difficult to take the first step through — once she crossed them, it would be all right. She couldn’t bury her head in the sand.
She had just stood up when a figure flashed past the doorway. Jiang Du flinched.
It was Wang Jingjing.
Wang Jingjing’s ponytail was tied very high. She’d had her hair done that weekend — straightened and very smooth, looking especially neat and put-together.
“Jiang Du, you haven’t left yet? Well, um — want to go to the cafeteria together?” The girl spoke a little awkwardly. It was the first time Jiang Du had seen her looking constrained — it felt a little unfamiliar.
“Sure.” Jiang Du smiled. She walked out, and Wang Jingjing kept glancing at her from the corner of her eye — wanting to look but not quite daring to look seriously.
“The cafeteria has a new window now — some Shanxi stir-fried flatbread thing. I tried it once. Not that great.” Wang Jingjing tried to talk the way she used to, grumbling away. “Do you want fried chicken? I want some fried chicken.”
“Thank you.” Jiang Du suddenly said quietly.
Wang Jingjing gave two dry laughs: “What are you doing? Are you crazy, saying thank you like that?”
Jiang Du pressed her lips together.
Walking along the path, the glances directed at her were obviously numerous. Jiang Du felt as though her insides were weighted with lead, unable to walk easily. She forced her expression to remain calm and asked Wang Jingjing trivial, inconsequential questions.
“Is science class hard?”
“Are you settling in? You wouldn’t transfer back to humanities, would you?”
“Did you get your hair straightened?”
The cafeteria was even more crowded — a dark mass of people.
The two of them queued at the fried chicken window, and after getting their food, found that everywhere was packed, with only scattered single seats, none of them adjacent.
“Should we go up to the second floor and see if there are seats?” Wang Jingjing suggested.
Jiang Du said sure. She turned around, and the tray in her hands bumped into someone. The person instinctively shrank back, and when they saw it was Jiang Du, their lip curled: “These clothes are ruined now.”
“I’m so sorry…” Only then did Jiang Du realize it was Chen Huiming. Her face flushed crimson. “I didn’t mean to — did it get on you? I have tissues here.”
She tried to free one hand to fish tissues from the pocket of her short-sleeved shirt.
“Don’t bother with tissues. I’m going home and throwing these clothes out anyway. How disgusting. What bad luck.” Chen Huiming said irritably.
Jiang Du understood the implication immediately. Her hand stiffened and dropped.
Wang Jingjing stood beside her, watching, and said nothing.
Jiang Du was so mortified she wished she could disappear on the spot. She stammered for a while, feeling that nothing she said would do any good.
“It’s not the first time something’s been thrown out anyway,” Chen Huiming said, staring at Jiang Du. “Your father is a disgusting predator — don’t you know? He’s always lurking around to assault girls. I’ve already told my father, and he said if this ever happens again, he’ll beat that person on sight.” She turned to the classmates who’d come to eat with her and complained: “Honestly — weren’t there rumors she was transferring? Why is she still here? Doesn’t she know how anxious it makes everyone? We’re all on edge, afraid of that predator.”
The girls wore expressions of deliberately concealed meaning, pulling Chen Huiming away, indicating she should keep her distance from Jiang Du.
“Some women are just shameless — getting violated, and then going and giving birth to a predator’s child. How disgraceful.” Chen Huiming cast a sidelong glance back, dragging out her words in a mocking tone. “What bad luck.”
Jiang Du lost her grip on the tray. It fell to the ground. Rice and food spilled everywhere.
Many people looked over. Chen Huiming jumped back further, shouting at Jiang Du: “Jiang Du, what’s wrong with you?”
“Let’s go,” Wang Jingjing pulled at Jiang Du’s arm, “forget about eating.”
“Wang Jingjing, you’re still hanging around her?” Chen Huiming left her words incomplete but glanced at Wang Jingjing meaningfully.
More and more people gathered, circling around like spectators.
All at once, Jiang Du felt sounds coming at her from every direction. Panic, helplessness, and her slight frame fought back and forth against each other. She stared blankly at the gazes being leveled at her, tried to make a sound, but it caught in her throat — like a wad of cotton stuffed inside.
“Jiang Du, last time your father pressed up against me and got filth all over me — boys all know what that means. Don’t look at me like that, with that wronged expression. My father not coming after your family about it was already being very generous.” Chen Huiming continued, speaking with complete self-righteous confidence. “I’m not holding it against you — so don’t play the pitiful victim.”
“Are you done?” came a cold voice from within the crowd.
Wei Qingyue reached directly into the crowd and pushed aside the girls blocking his view. The moment he appeared, the crowd became something miraculous — like Moses parting the Red Sea in the scriptures — immediately opening a path.
From the outer corner of his eye down to his jaw, there was a long, striking scar.
Everyone else was wearing summer uniforms. He alone was still in long sleeves.
“Done talking? Then shut up and get lost. Next time—” Wei Qingyue’s gaze swept over the girls standing alongside Chen Huiming — not a single one he recognized, but every single one of them recognized him. He spoke without any expression: “I don’t spare girls when I hit. As long as any of you dares to show up in front of Jiang Du again like flies, I’ll slap each of you across the face one by one.”
The girls stared at Wei Qingyue in utter astonishment.
Everyone in the crowd looked at him with equally complicated expressions. Wei Qingyue impatiently swept his gaze around, eyebrows raised high:
“What are you staring at? That day, didn’t you all just stand there and watch your own classmate nearly get beaten to death by a scoundrel without moving an inch? Still not had enough of watching?”
“Come on, Chen Huiming. Jiang Du has a boyfriend backing her up now — how can we compete?” Chen Huiming’s seatmate tugged Chen Huiming’s arm, casting a glance full of contempt at the ashen-faced Jiang Du.
Wei Qingyue’s brow furrowed as he looked at the girl who had spoken: “Watch your mouth. Jiang Du from the advanced humanities class and I are absolutely clean and proper acquaintances. I don’t like people spreading rumors about me. If you dare do it again, I’ll twist your mouth right off.”
At this, the onlookers were completely and utterly speechless.
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