Whenever Qing Yu had to do something “out of line,” she would involuntarily think through all the consequences thoroughly to find the best escape route. But by copying Ming Sheng’s homework, she was destined to face consequences beyond her control regardless of what she did.
If she flatly refused, rumors about Bai Yu would instantly spread everywhere, eventually reaching Chaoyang New Village, destroying the peaceful life her parents had carefully built; accepting meant spending large amounts of time each night dealing with this task, inevitably affecting her studies; reporting it to teachers would lead to retaliation from Ming Sheng, who could force honor students to drop out, and he might still reveal Bai Yu’s story.
Opposing Ming Sheng would be miserable – Qing Yu did not doubt this. Over the weekend, while Jin Yu was home, she learned from Shun Yun No. 1’s forum about He Kai’s misfortunes over the past week: first, he was slapped by some street thugs at the school gate, then deliberately tripped while cycling home, injuring his right wrist, reportedly requiring three months to fully recover. Three months unable to write was undoubtedly “horrifying” for a senior-year student.
“Which class are you in?”
The person who initiated the conversation was Chen Ruo Yi, Qing Yu’s freshman class monitor at Shun Yun No. 1 and one of her few friends there.
After telling her she was in Class 5, Chen Ruo Yi got excited: “Oh my god! Same class as Ming Sheng!”
She then asked Qing Yu if she knew why Ming Sheng had it in for He Kai.
Her fingers hovering over the keyboard for several seconds, Qing Yu slowly typed “Not sure.” Explaining the cause and effect would require revealing all the details from that day, which was very difficult for her—actively mentioning He Kai walking her home made her uncomfortable. Moreover, she admitted her cowardice—in Shun Yun’s classmates’ eyes, she and He Kai were strangers, and she could already imagine how people would gossip about her if she explained the situation.
“Since you’re in his class, be careful not to offend him, especially since you’re new there. Just endure if anything happens,” Chen Ruo Yi didn’t pursue the question, “Though I’ve heard he won’t bully girls, especially those from No. 2, and he’ll protect everyone in his class, both boys and girls. Oh right! Since you’re in his class now, why don’t you talk to him about stopping his harassment of Senior He Kai? He’s going too far!”
Qing Yu simply replied, “mm, I know.”
“Is Huan Zhou even hotter than Shun Yun?” Chen Ruo Yi seemed to be deliberately searching for topics, “Have you been to Qing Lake? Is it not that impressive?”
“I haven’t had much chance to go out, just secretly glimpsed Qing Lake,” Qing Yu replied, “It’s about the same as in books.”
“Why don’t you go out?”
“My parents are strict, they won’t let me go out alone.”
Chen Ruo Yi made an “oh” sound: “Your parents probably don’t want to take you to Qing Lake, An Ling Garden is on North Mountain by Qing Lake, they’d be sad if they went there.”
Her tone, as if she were Qing Yu’s longtime friend, made Qing Yu somewhat uncomfortable.
“What’s An Ling Garden?”
“Huan Zhou’s public cemetery! How do you not even know that? Your sister must be buried there!”
Perhaps because she had gradually grown accustomed to life in Huan Zhou without mentioning Bai Yu, suddenly seeing the word “sister” made Qing Yu feel somewhat resistant.
“My sister is buried on the mountain in Nan Qiao Village, next to our ancestral graves,” Qing Yu replied. She was beginning to dislike Chen Ruo Yi’s inexplicable enthusiasm.
“Oh, I see, I was just guessing, don’t mind if I got it wrong,” Chen Ruo Yi said, “Mainly because my dad suddenly mentioned the other day that people should receive their last rites when they pass away, so I thought of your sister…”
“I rarely think about her now.”
As she typed these words, Qing Yu noticed her own deliberately hardened heart.
“Since you’re in Ming Sheng’s class, can you get his photo?”
“Aren’t there many online?”
“Those are all candid shots, no clear face shots!”
Qing Yu had completely lost interest in chatting. “No,” she replied stiffly while making her decision to defend her innocent, blameless family. Trading some of her study time for the family’s peaceful and serene life was worth it-
When her parents brought Qiao Jin Rui and his girlfriend home for a visit, Qing Yu was struggling with Ming Sheng’s English essay. Hearing the door open, she hurriedly stuffed Ming Sheng’s other homework into her desk drawer before going out to greet them.
“Brother Jin Rui,” she smiled and called out, then looked at the pretty girl with brown permed hair beside Qiao Jin Rui, “Sister-in-law.”
The girl covered her mouth and laughed, leaning against Qiao Jin Rui’s shoulder: “Your cousin is so sweet, I’m embarrassed~”
Li Fang Hao approvingly raised her chin at Qing Yu: “Qing Qing, haven’t finished your homework yet? Go back and write, we’ll keep our voices down out here, come out when you’re done.”
Back in her room, Qing Yu took out her phone and sent Ming Sheng the first two sentences of the English essay she had just painstakingly written with a dictionary—this was the third time, his response to her previous two attempts had both been “no good.”
During the wait, the adults’ conversation in the living room drifted in through the poorly soundproofed old fiberboard door. Catching bits and pieces of information, Qing Yu learned that Qiao Jin Rui had taken leave to travel with his girlfriend, and before leaving, they wanted to visit their hometown and bring some medicine to Aunt Qin, their grandparents’ next-door neighbor.
“Qin’s sister is still taking medicine?” Li Fang Hao’s voice was full of surprise, “Da Yong still has some conscience…”
“It’s just for comfort,” Qiao Lu Sheng continued, “She’s been mentally unstable for so many years, no medicine can cure her heart condition.”
“These past two years she’ll escape if she doesn’t take her medicine,” Qiao Jin Rui sighed, “Fortunately, Grandpa and Grandma have moved to my parents’ new house. Once she ran to their yard at midnight knocking on windows looking for rope, scared grandma half to death…”
“What are you all talking about?” Jin Rui’s girlfriend curiously interjected.
“Oh, nothing, just a crazy woman in my grandparents’ village,” Qiao Jin Rui quickly changed the subject, speaking gently, “It has nothing to do with us, don’t be afraid~”
“Yes, Jin Rui, is your apartment in Jiang Bin almost done with the renovation?” Qiao Lu Sheng asked with an approving smile, “Can you move in by year-end?”
“Almost,” Jin Rui replied.
Qiao Lu Sheng chuckled twice: “You’ve done well, very well.”
The tone wasn’t hard to detect – envious yet heartbroken. This made Qing Yu think of her good-for-nothing brother Jin Yu. With the family’s move to Huan Zhou, Jin Yu entered Huan Zhou Sports School, and their parents’ hopes for their son’s success seemed to have ended early. How could someone who couldn’t even get into high school talk about university? Sure enough, in the next sentence, Li Fang Hao started criticizing her son:
“If only Yu’er had half of Xiao Rui’s success… forget about being a civil servant, I’d thank heaven and earth if he could just support himself in the future…”
“But Qing Qing’s grades are very good, she even got into Huan No. 2, much better than I was,” Qiao Jin Rui said with a smile, “Uncle and Aunt can count on Qing Yu in the future.”
“She’s just a girl, good grades only benefit herself, how can we count on her?” Li Fang Hao laughed, “Come, have some fruit, Xiao Yun, right? Here…”
Qing Yu couldn’t tell if Li Fang Hao’s words were out of modesty or sincerity. She suddenly felt powerless, yet unwilling to accept it, with a strong urge to rush out and prove herself to her parents. What’s so great about being a civil servant? She thought defiantly, I’ll have better prospects than Brother Jin Rui in the future.
She was still waiting for a reply. Ming Sheng’s English exercise sheet spread before her looked hateful. Ming Sheng had dumped all his homework on her and wouldn’t allow any perfunctory work, forcing Qing Yu to waste most of her Sunday meeting his requirements. Wasting so much time on this meaningless task was a shame.
The clock showed nine-thirty, and Ming Sheng’s reply still hadn’t come—it had been an hour.
In the living room, Qiao Jin Rui and the others stood up. Li Fang Hao pushed open the door: “Qing Qing, you’re still not done with homework? Jin Rui’s leaving, come say goodbye!”
“Qing Qing, I brought some fruit for you and Xiao Yu…” Jin Rui came to the doorway, “Oh, so this is how the room is divided…”