Nie Qingzhou was hospitalized, and his sick leave was extended again.
Changchuan was a small place, nothing could be kept secret. When Aunt Yang made a scene at Xia's house, it attracted a large group of onlookers, and many classmates posted about it on Renren. The rumor that Xia Yi's father was a murderer had originally only spread in a small circle, but after Aunt Yang's outburst, it became known to almost everyone in the grade. [Renren - Chinese social networking service used primarily by college students with just over 31 million monthly active users.]
Wherever Xia Yi went, the students' gazes would secretly turn to her, whispering and discussing about her. Even the teachers called her over, tentatively trying to show some concern.
But Xia Yi didn't seem to have changed at all.
She had always been a loner, coming and going by herself, as if she didn't need to interact with anyone else in this world. And it was still the same now.
Only after class, she would occasionally look towards the classroom across, where a seat was usually empty in the morning but piled with a mountain of homework by the afternoon.
When school ended in the evening, she would also habitually take a look at the Zhixing Building across. Ever since Nie Qingzhou's stunning midterm exam, many students in the other classes followed his example and stayed in the classroom after school for self-study, so the Zhixing Building was always lit up at this time.
But now, there was no light belonging to Nie Qingzhou in there.
Then Xia Yi slowly realized that the road home was so quiet and long without him, making her uncomfortable.
Habit is such a frightening thing.
The canteen was as noisy as boiling water during lunch break. Xia Yi found a seat with her tray. In the slightly crowded school canteen, the seats around her were all empty.
"I heard her dad is a murderer!"
"Go ask her to confirm!"
"I don't dare, look how fierce she is... Do you think this kind of thing might be hereditary? If she gets angry, she might also..."
"Dragon begets dragon, phoenix begets phoenix, pup of a mouse knows how to dig holes..."
Whispers came from time to time. Xia Yi didn't look around and quietly ate her meal as usual.
Suddenly there were shadows blocking her front. She looked up and saw Zhang Yukun and Lai Ning swagger over with their trays and deliberately cause a loud commotion by noisily pulling out the chairs across from her.
"Xia Yi, why do you always eat alone? Isn't it better to eat together?" Zhang Yukun's voice was loud. He also turned and shouted at the people looking their way, "What are you looking at? If you have the guts, come and say it to our faces!"
The people around them then resentfully withdrew their gazes.
Lai Ning picked up a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks and put it on Xia Yi's plate, saying softly, "Don't worry, we'll take care of you."
Zhang Yukun said playfully, "Seeing you eat alone looks so bleak. We've wanted to eat with you for a long time but Zhou Ge wouldn't let us. Back then Zhou Ge wasn't the top student yet, he said you were a good student and was afraid that getting too close to people like us would cause you trouble."
Pausing for a moment, he proudly added, "Now that Zhou Ge has given the green light, sister-in-law (sǎo)... Xia Yi, you can rest assured that with the two of us here, no one dares to bully you!"
Xia Yi looked at the braised pork in her bowl, then back at them, and calmly said, "No one bullies me."
Lai Ning smiled foolishly on the side and said, "You don't need to be polite with us. You even teach us math and physics on weekends, and we only got 2-3 questions wrong on the homework this time. Thank you, Teacher Xia!"
"...No need."
Xia Yi averted her gaze, and lowered her head to continue eating. Zhang Yukun's mouth didn't seem to stop as he chatted incessantly with Lai Ning, from basketball, comics to boring classes, making the atmosphere lively and noisy. From time to time he would say something to Xia Yi too. Seeing that although she didn't take initiative to speak, she would answer if asked, he suddenly put on a serious face and said, "Xia Yi, I have a question for you."
He deliberately lowered his voice, making it mysterious.
"What do you think, is our Zhou Ge good-looking?"
Xia Yi's chopsticks stopped moving. She looked up at Zhang Yukun to confirm, "Nie Qingzhou, good-looking or not?"
"Yeah yeah."
She fell silent for a moment, and the image of Nie Qingzhou in his ash-gray hoodie flashed through her mind. She answered, "Good-looking."
"Are Zhou Ge's grades good?"
"Good."
"Are his basketball skills high?"
Xia Yi looked at Zhang Yukun in silence. Zhang Yukun realized that Xia Yi had never seen Nie Qingzhou play basketball so he directly answered for her, "High! His level is really high! Zhou ge is the best guard I've ever seen!"
"Then honestly, does Zhou Ge treat you well?"
Many scenes flashed through Xia Yi's mind, settling on the pale faced Nie Qingzhou lying on the hospital bed.
"Mm."
"Then why did you reject him?"
"...What?"
Lai Ning tugged on Zhang Yukun's clothes, "Hey hey hey, why are you bringing this up again? Didn't Zhou Ge tell us not to mention it in front of her?"
"Ah, Zhou Ge is not here now anyway, so he won't know if we talk about it! How can you be so timid when chasing a girl? If I keep holding it in, I'm going to get sick."
Zhang Yukun shook Lai Ning's hand off and earnestly said to Xia Yi, "You see, guys as handsome, smart and righteous as Zhou Ge are really rare. If it wasn't for Zhou Ge looking a bit fierce, I'm telling you, the girls lining up to chase him would stretch from here to the school gate."
Xia Yi put down her chopsticks and frowned at Zhang Yukun. She didn't know if it was her own lack of comprehension skills or his communication skills, but she didn't understand what he was saying.
"What are you trying to say?"
"It's just that we all think you're quite nice, so you see..."
Zhang Yukun got carried away and Lai Ning couldn't hold him back, while Xia Yi just kept frowning in silence. Just then, a soft voice interrupted Zhang Yukun's enthusiastic speech.
"Can I sit here?"
Xia Yi turned her head to see Zheng Peiqi holding a tray, nervously pointing at the empty seat next to her looking a bit awkward. Her big eyes blinked anxiously, as if she was worried about being rejected.
"Sit down." Xia Yi nodded.
Zheng Peiqi breathed a sigh of relief. She pulled out a chair and sat down next to her. She glanced at the two unfamiliar people across from Xia Yi, gave a shy little nod as a greeting, then quickly turned to look at Xia Yi.
"Xia Yi, don't pay attention to what others say. You're not like that... You just don't like to talk, but I know you're a good person."
She seemed very nervous, speaking very quickly, and even broke into a sweat as she spoke. Though she was trying to comfort Xia Yi, compared to the calm Xia Yi, she seemed to be the one in need of comfort.
Xia Yi was taken aback, then said, "Thank you."
Zheng Peiqi fiddled with her chopsticks and carefully asked, "I was wondering...I..."
Zhang Yukun couldn't control his mouth and curiously interjected, "Why does your voice sound like this? It is so soft and coy. Is it natural?"
Zheng Peiqi was stunned. This question directly touched on the reason why she was isolated and her eyes instantly turned red. Lai Ning was so frightened that he reached out to hurriedly cover Zhang Yukun's oily mouth with his hands, "Hey hey hey, don't make her cry!"
Zhang Yukun pried Lai Ning's hand away and quickly tried to remedy the situation, "I just casually asked! I'm sorry. Ai, I talk too much, don't take it to heart. So, um, are you a friend of Xia Yi?"
Zheng Peiqi turned her head to look at Xia Yi, the pair of rabbit-like red eyes staring so hard that it made Xia Yi uncomfortable.
"Xia Yi, can I be your friend?" she asked softly.
Tears glistened in Zheng Peiqi's eyes, on the verge of falling.
Xia Yi tensed up and immediately answered, "Yes."
Zheng Peiqi's eyes lit up, and she eagerly said, "Then...can we have lunch together in the future?"
"Yes."
"Can I study with you during lunch breaks?"
"Yes."
"Can I ask you out to play on weekends?"
"Yes."
Now as long as Zheng Peiqi didn't cry, Xia Yi would agree to anything she asked for.
Zheng Peiqi's eyes were still red, but the corners of her eyes and mouth curved into a crescent moon shape as she smiled brightly, revealing a row of pearly white teeth, as if she couldn't contain her happiness. She wiped her eyes and turned to Zhang Yukun, sniffling, "This is just how I naturally talk."
"Okay, okay, I got it. I guess that's how fairies in the sky speak." Zhang Yukun hurriedly responded.
Zheng Peiqi couldn't help but laugh.
Nie Qingzhou's phone vibrated on the hospital bed. He put down the book he was reading, 'Jottings in Sickbed', and picked up his phone. Zhang Zihua had sent him a photo on QQ, but the unstable network jumping between 2G and 3G was struggling to load it.
Nie Qingzhou strenuously held up his phone near the window, trying to get a better signal.
"This ancient QQ interface looks so weird, It's about time we had 4G internet." He grumbled while waving his phone around.
He really missed the future when his phone was full of apps and provided smooth communication on the go. This phone now was no different from a glowing brick to him.
The photo finally loaded bit by bit - it seemed to be taken from the window of the teaching and research group of the first grade of high school.
Next to Xia Yi in the photo was Zheng Peiqi, with Lai Ning walking alongside them. Meanwhile, Zhang Yukun waved his arms, facing them and retreating while saying something. The winter sunlight bathed the white floor tiles, casting a warm golden glow that reflected back on the group.
Xia Yi's hands were in her pockets, seriously looking at Zhang Yukun. Her bangs were playfully blown up by the wind into a little horn, like a unicorn.
The scene was so vivid that it felt like one could hear Zhang Yukun's booming voice, making it very lively.
Nie Qingzhou couldn't help but smile as he looked at the photo. Zhang Zihua sent a message - [Did you help Lai Ning with his essay?]
He seriously replied - [No, I just gave some guidance.]
[Your personal style is too obvious. You went overboard with the guidance.]
After a pause, Zhang Zihua sent - [Just guide at the level you did for Zhang Yukun.]
Nie Qingzhou burst into laughter.
[Teacher has a keen eye.]
[Your friends seem to be doing well. They don't need your care.]
[Thank you, Teacher Zhang!]
He put down his phone in an excellent mood, so much so that his back didn't even hurt that much anymore. He picked up his book, twirled his pencil a few times, and drew a horizontal line under a sentence.
– Fate cannot be bribed, but hope is with you. This is the true meaning of faith, the path of the believers.
In the afternoon, Xia Yi brought Xia Yan back home and then returned to the hospital. Nie Qingzhou's ward room was already bustling. Standing at the doorway, she looked inside and saw Zhang Yukun and Lai Ning, as usual, bringing their homework and notes to Nie Qingzhou, chattering away by his bedside.
"Teacher Zhang specially praised me and Lai Ning for our essays. Zhou Ge you're so amazing!" Zhang Yukun said excitedly as he took out his notebook.
Nie Qingzhou just smiled without saying anything. Wearing a blue and white patient gown, he sat on the hospital bed, his complexion still a little pale. He had lost some weight, making the angles of his facial features seem even sharper.
He had a lollipop in his mouth, a small table on his lap. One hand was connected to an IV drip, the other resting on the table. The veins on that wrist were prominent as he twirled a black pen between his fingers.
Zhang Yukun and Lai Ning's notebooks were spread open on the table and he was carefully flipping through them.
"Zhou Ge, why isn't your aunt here?" Lai Ning asked.
"I barely managed to persuade her to go back. She won the preliminary round of the teaching competition, there's still the next round, she almost didn't want to go because of me. The competition results are important for her evaluation as a model teacher, so I spent the whole day persuading her today." Nie Qingzhou turned over a page and replied casually.
Zhang Yukun said in surprise, "Zhou Ge, that's your own aunt. Aren't you being too polite to your own family?"
Nie Qingzhou just smiled and didn't say anything.
Lai Ning also asked, "Zhou Ge, what did the person who pushed you say?"
Nie Qingzhou turned another page. "Injury was caused by negligence so there is no criminal liability but requires civil compensation. The police have already talked to the other party, but she refuses to compensate, saying that if we want compensation then we can sue her. My aunt was so angry that she couldn't eat lunch."
"Damn, that woman has no shame!"
"It was expected. People with shame wouldn't go to Xia Yi's house to cause trouble. I have a plan," Nie Qingzhou said lightly. He lifted his head from the notes and said to Zhang Yukun and Lai Ning, "Guys, the quality of your notes is not good."
He pointed to a few vague points in their notes and asked Zhang Yukun and Lai Ning. As expected, they stuttered and couldn't answer. It was clear that they were not paying attention in class and just jotted things down carelessly.
"Ah whatever, knowing the general idea is fine." Zhang Yukun tried to cover up, feeling guilty.
Nie Qingzhou propped his chin up and sighed, "Fine, I'll just casually look through them. Looks like I won't be able to do well in the finals this time, my ranking might even drop to 100 or 200. Wen Zhong will get to mock me again."
As soon as he said that, Zhang Yukun immediately became indignant, clenching his fist and saying, "That's impossible! Zhou Ge, we can't lose face in front of a love rival! Don't you know that!? I'll go ask the teacher tomorrow!"
"Zhou Ge, how should we take notes properly?" Lai Ning also joined in.
A barely noticeable smile appeared at the corner of Nie Qingzhou's mouth. He restrained himself and pursed his lips, taking out a pencil to draw on Lai Ning's notebook. "First, don't use just one color for your notes. Use at least three different colors of pens. Try to use symbols to represent logical relationships as much as possible, like arrows for cause and effect, brackets for inclusion..."
He explained while quickly writing on the paper.
Xia Yi withdrew her gaze. She leaned against the white wall by the ward door and pondered for a moment, murmuring, "Wen Zhong...love rival?"