Chapter 28: Unraveling

Old Jiao was the head teacher of Class Four, and when Lin Qiao took over, it meant she also took on the responsibilities of the head teacher. Noticing Vice Principal Qi’s unusual expression, she put down her pen and followed him out. As soon as she stepped out of the office, she saw Vice Principal Qi already at the door of Class Four, “Qi Huaiwen, come out!”

Due to the heat, the classroom’s front and back doors were open, and the students were self-studying. Even though Vice Principal Qi’s voice wasn’t loud, it was still clearly heard.

Everyone looked at Qi Huaiwen, who walked over from the back row with a calm expression, “What’s the matter?”

“You still ask what’s the matter?” Vice Principal Qi thrust the exam paper in front of him, “Why did you submit a blank paper?”

“I didn’t want to write.” The boy didn’t even look at him, turning his head to the side, almost making Vice Principal Qi explode with anger.

Seeing the situation, Lin Qiao quickly intervened, “Let’s discuss this in your office. The class is still in session.”

Whether it’s a parent or a teacher, scolding a child in public is a blow to their self-esteem. Many people who teachers or parents publicly reprimand during their school years still carry that shame into adulthood, becoming a psychological shadow. Her intervention successfully eased the tension between the two.

The boy glanced at her, and Vice Principal Qi reluctantly calmed down, “Come to my office.”

Both father and son were tall and thin, and they looked quite similar from behind.

Lin Qiao didn’t follow them but returned to the office.

In the science office, everyone had resumed grading papers, but the topic was still about the father and son, “What’s going on with Old Qi and his son? Always at odds.”

“Kids are hard to manage when they grow up. We have a few like that in our class too.”

“There’s probably some unresolved issue. Huaiwen wasn’t like this when he was younger. He used to sit quietly and do his homework whenever he came to school with Old Qi.”

This was said by Group Leader Gao. Lin Qiao wanted to listen more but felt a sudden rush of heat. She quickly grabbed her things and went to the restroom, realizing her period had indeed started. Now, she didn’t have to make up an excuse; she could honestly say it had come this month.

On her way back, she passed by Vice Principal Qi’s office and saw a tall, thin figure standing straight at the door, like a lightning rod. The boy still held his head high, clearly defiant. When he saw Lin Qiao, his gaze instinctively avoided hers.

For some reason, Lin Qiao sensed some unease in that avoidance. She wondered if he felt any satisfaction from successfully angering Vice Principal Qi by submitting a blank paper.

When she returned to the office, Vice Principal Qi was already grading papers, his anger seemingly gone. However, when he went to pick up his water cup, he fumbled twice and accidentally knocked it over, spilling most of the water on the desk.

People around him quickly helped move the papers and books, and his lips were already turning a bit purple.

“Is this a heart attack?” someone remarked.

Vice Principal Qi remained relatively calm, weakly feeling his pockets but finding nothing. He tried to stand up and said, “I’ll go get my medicine.”

He didn’t look like he could make it back to get his medicine, so Lin Qiao offered, “Where do you keep it? I’ll get it.”

Vice Principal Qi, indeed lacking strength, slumped back into his chair, “In the first drawer on the right side of my desk.”

Lin Qiao turned and left. When she reached Vice Principal Qi’s office, the boy was still standing there, not having moved an inch. Sensing someone approaching, he quickly raised his face, full of defiance. Seeing it was Lin Qiao, his gaze dropped again.

Lin Qiao took out the key Vice Principal Qi had given her. “Do you know your father has a heart condition?”

The air around them seemed to freeze.

Lin Qiao said nothing more. She went inside, opened the drawer, and quickly found a bottle of emergency heart medication. As she turned to leave, she met the boy’s gaze.

Noticing her look, he quickly turned away, but his clenched fists betrayed his unease.

Lin Qiao paused at the door, waiting for him to speak. But he kept his lips tightly shut, not intending to say anything. It seemed there was indeed a deep-seated issue, perhaps mixed with youthful stubbornness.

Lin Qiao didn’t wait any longer. She locked the door and walked away. Only after she was out of sight did the boy’s straight back suddenly slump as if weighed down by something heavy.

Vice Principal Qi didn’t seem to take his heart condition seriously. After taking the medication and feeling a bit better, he continued grading papers, ignoring everyone’s advice to rest.

Another physics teacher in the first year had no choice but to speed up grading, hoping to finish quickly and help share the workload. They left work carrying papers, clearly planning to grade them at home even without evening self-study.

Vice Principal Qi also wanted to stay, but Group Leader Gao finally persuaded him to leave.

Seeing Group Leader Gao’s helpless expression, Lin Qiao couldn’t help but ask, “What’s going on between Vice Principal Qi and Qi Huaiwen?”

Group Leader Gao paused, and Lin Qiao explained about getting the medication earlier. “I don’t think Qi Huaiwen doesn’t care about his father, so why are they at odds?”

By this time, most people had left the office, and those remaining were long-time staff who knew about Vice Principal Qi and Qi Huaiwen’s situation. Group Leader Gao didn’t hide it from her, “I don’t know the specifics, but it probably has to do with Huaiwen’s mother’s death. He wasn’t like this before.”

“How did his mother pass away?” Lin Qiao asked.

“She was probably ill,” Group Leader Gao said. “We were all under scrutiny at the time, and Old Qi didn’t go into details.”

But if it was an illness, it shouldn’t be blamed on Vice Principal Qi. Why was Qi Huaiwen still so estranged from him?

Group Leader Gao, clearly familiar with Vice Principal Qi, didn’t know the details, and others knew even less. Lin Qiao didn’t ask further.

When she got home, the sunset was just climbing over the courtyard wall, casting long shadows of the lush jujube tree. Ji Duo should have returned earlier; the gate was open. As Lin Qiao walked in, she could hear the man’s voice from the open doors and windows of the living room.

“This big box should be enough for you to choose from, right? I dare say there’s nothing more complete than this in the entire military district.”

It wasn’t Ji Duo speaking, so it seemed there was a guest at home.

Sure enough, Ji Duo and another man were sitting on the living room sofa, both in military uniforms, with an open box of books at their feet.

Lin Qiao recognized the visitor from the wedding banquet. He wasn’t much older than Ji Duo, but because of his premature gray hair, everyone called him Old Zhou.

“What’s going on here?” she asked as she walked over and greeted them.

“You’re back, sister-in-law,” Old Zhou pointed to the box of books. “Your Ji Duo said he wanted to find some handwritten books, so I brought over my entire collection.” He picked up a book, “This is ‘The Plum Blossom Party,’ about counter-espionage.” Another one, “This is ‘An Embroidered Shoe,’ also about counter-espionage, and it’s quite well-written.”

Old Zhou clearly knew these books inside out, able to describe the contents just by looking at the titles, “And this one, ‘The Second Handshake,’ is about love. I remember the female protagonist is a physicist who studied abroad.”

Ji Duo took this book, checked its content, and, seeing that it was appropriate, handed it to Lin Qiao.

Old Zhou had preserved the books well; despite being stored for so many years, they didn’t have a musty smell. But Lin Qiao, holding the book, was still a bit puzzled.

Why did Ji Duo want books for her? Was he asking her to review them, or did he think she had too much free time and wanted her to copy them?

Seeing Lin Qiao’s confusion, Ji Duo flipped through a few more books and handed them to her, “Read these when you’re tired of studying.”

Previously, whether it was giving her the passbook or taking care of her, it was out of responsibility. Buying the watch was for the wedding. This was the first time he was giving her something, and not knowing what she wanted, he could only think of the book Lin Qiao had brought back, “Heart of a Young Girl.”

It just so happened that Old Zhou was a book enthusiast, and many of those books had originally come from him. When Ji Duo asked, Old Zhou indeed had them. However, he couldn’t let Lin Qiao read inappropriate books, so he had to check them first to ensure they were suitable.

However, if Lin Qiao liked reading novels, she wouldn’t have come here blindly without even flipping through the book when she found out she shared a name with the female supporting character.

That book, “Heart of a Young Girl,” wasn’t even read by her. She took it back to school the next day. Ji Duo didn’t show that he noticed, so she forgot about it. Seeing his serious attitude now, she felt it was more like he was assigning her homework rather than giving her novels.

Lin Qiao sincerely asked, “Do I need to write a book report?”

Before Ji Duo could respond, Old Zhou laughed, “So serious even at home, Ji Duo, are you raising a wife or a daughter?”

Ji Duo glanced at him and threw the notebook he was holding into the book box, “This one isn’t needed. Keep the others.”

“Don’t, this one is perfect for you now.” Old Zhou wanted to say more, but Ji Duo had already closed the book box, “Does your wife know you wrote poems for Nurse Wei?”

Old Zhou instantly fell silent, as if someone had grabbed his throat.

Seeing Lin Qiao looking over, he quickly explained, “Don’t listen to him. That was all before I got married.”

So he really did write them. Who would have thought that Old Zhou, who looked so mature, was so romantic when he was young?

Lin Qiao smiled, “Don’t worry, Brother Zhou, I don’t know any Nurse Wei, nor do I know your wife.”

The latter part was the key point, and Old Zhou relaxed, “Looks like I should keep you away from my wife, no, you should stay away from this guy.”

Lin Qiao found him quite easygoing and asked, “Did you write for your wife?”

“Of course, why wouldn’t I?” Old Zhou said, “My wife asked me what kind of nonsense it was and told me to get lost.”

A romantic met someone who didn’t understand romance—this time, Lin Qiao’s smile reached her eyes and brows.

Old Zhou sighed a few more times, declined Lin Qiao’s invitation to stay for dinner, and left with his precious book box. After all, everyone knew Ji Duo’s house didn’t cook, and they ate at the canteen.

But before leaving, he couldn’t help but point at Ji Duo, “You sly fox.”

Ji Duo had always given the impression of being serious, taciturn, and reliable. This was the first time Lin Qiao heard someone call him sly.

But that remark did hit Old Zhou’s weak spot. Old Zhou probably regretted his loose tongue as soon as he left their house.

Lin Qiao’s smile didn’t fade. In the sunset, her face looked even more radiant than usual—especially when she lowered her eyes to tidy up. Her long lashes slightly drooped, highlighting the small mole at the corner of her eye, making it look like a drop of rouge on snow-white skin.

Ji Duo unconsciously slowed his movements. Seeing Lin Qiao look over, he resumed gathering the scattered handwritten books on the coffee table.

“I’ll take these upstairs,” he said, scooping up all the books.

Ji Duo always did things swiftly and decisively, never dragging his feet. He wouldn’t wait until evening to take the books upstairs. But the summer uniform wasn’t thick, and as he bent down, his shirt tucked into his belt, showing off his broad shoulders and long legs. Perhaps it was the hormones from her period, but Lin Qiao’s gaze instinctively lingered on him for a couple of seconds.

To be honest, if Ji Duo weren’t the original male protagonist, his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and long legs would definitely be Lin Qiao’s type. She never favored slender pretty boys.

Unfortunately, it only took two seconds for the man to notice. Before he could look up, Lin Qiao averted her gaze, “Go ahead. I have something to discuss with you.”

Ji Duo responded with a simple “Hmm” and went upstairs. He came back down shortly after and went to the kitchen to wash his hands, “What is it?”

“Next time they come for the family planning check, just say I’ve had my period,” Lin Qiao said directly.

Ji Duo paused, turning off the faucet, “You mean you’ve had it?”

Quickly grasping the key point, Lin Qiao didn’t beat around the bush, “You said I hadn’t, so they thought I might be pregnant. They came to verify it today.”

Only Lin Qiao could say, “I might be pregnant,” so straightforwardly without any embarrassment.

Ji Duo was just surprised that her response was different from his. He frowned, “Didn’t you say you hadn’t had it yet?”

“Yes, my periods have always been irregular. Last month, it didn’t come,” Lin Qiao explained, feeling this wasn’t the main point. “The key issue is that the family planning office thought I was pregnant when you said I hadn’t had it. It’s too much trouble. From now on, just say I’ve had it.”

“Irregular?” Ji Duo’s focus was clearly on the first part of her statement.

Having worked together for so long, this was the first time the man didn’t immediately understand her meaning. Lin Qiao couldn’t help but glance back.

Standing by the kitchen door, Ji Duo had already washed his hands and was looking at her with his deep, dark eyes, filled with an unclear meaning.

At that moment, Ji Duo thought of many things, but none were as significant as realizing Lin Qiao wasn’t completely naive about these matters. He had always thought of her as young, not realizing she had grown up and at least understood how pregnancy worked. She wouldn’t think that just sleeping next to a man for a night would result in a child. They had never consummated their marriage, and she didn’t even question it. Did she really think he was such a gentleman, marrying her and then not touching her? Or had she believed the rumors spread by those he had rejected, thinking he was impotent or even preferred men? Did it not matter to her who she married, as long as it wasn’t Ma Rongliang?

Ji Duo didn’t realize his eyes had darkened. Seeing Lin Qiao looking at him, he lowered his gaze and shook the water off his hands, “The trouble might already be here.”

Lin Qiao was stunned.

He picked up the towel on the rack, “I said you hadn’t had it, so our mom probably knows.”

But her understanding of “hadn’t had it” was clearly different from his.

Lin Qiao was genuinely surprised, “How does our mom know?”

“The director who asked me, Director Yin, is an old acquaintance of our mom. She used to teach her daughter.”

Lin Qiao was speechless. She had noticed Xu Li was kind to her but not overly attentive. Now she understood it was a misunderstanding.

What should she do now? If she told Xu Li directly, wouldn’t Xu Li be disappointed for nothing?

Moreover, to explain, she would have to clarify why their statements were inconsistent. She could say anything to Teacher Yang but found it hard to speak openly to Xu Li.

Lin Qiao leaned back into the sofa, not noticing the man behind her watching her, lost in thought.

After a while, Ji Duo walked over and glanced at her rare look of indecision, “How often do you usually get your period?”

“Every two or three months. It just came this month.” Lin Qiao was still thinking about Xu Li, but since Ji Duo rarely wasted words, she answered his question.

Ji Duo paused, “Then I’ll call our mom and ask her to find a doctor for you.”

His tone was calm, but Lin Qiao immediately understood, “Right, just say I have irregular periods and want to see a doctor.”

Xu Li was smart and would understand she wasn’t pregnant. She would be disappointed, but it was better than continuing to hope and then being let down.

With the problem solved, Lin Qiao remembered the previous issue, “You see, we should still align our statements to avoid these misunderstandings.”

Ji Duo didn’t respond, but his attitude suggested he agreed, “Let’s eat first.”

The next day, Ji Duo indeed called Xu Li. Before the morning was over, Xu Li called the security office at Lin Qiao’s school.

“I heard from Ji Duo that your periods are irregular. Do you have time tomorrow morning? I found a doctor for you.”

Having already been disappointed, Xu Li’s tone was only concerned, “It’s a good time to regulate your period.”

Lin Qiao pondered, “I have classes tomorrow morning. How about the afternoon? I can leave a bit early.”

“The afternoon is fine too. Just take the bus to the Chinese medicine hospital. I’ll be waiting for you there.”

Actually, if the papers weren’t almost finished and needed to be discussed tomorrow, it wouldn’t be impossible to reschedule classes. But the students in the two classes had been eagerly waiting, coming to the office three times a day with excuses to ask her questions, just to check the grading progress. She feared they would go crazy if they found out.

In the afternoon, the chemistry papers for several classes were finally graded. She and Group Leader Gao unsealed and unbound them to start calculating the scores.

Lin Qiao hadn’t calculated many before she came across Junzi’s. Comparing it to his previous exam results, the kid had made significant progress. Looking at the others, most had improved to some extent, and Qi Huaiwen even scored nearly eighty. With a full score of one hundred, nearly eighty was not low, especially considering Qi Huaiwen used to not pay attention in class or submit homework, always hovering around the passing line. With this effort, even if they didn’t meet the target this time, she was prepared to conduct the experiment.

Students need rewards too. It’s not like there aren’t those who make an effort and improve, but if no one cares, they feel their efforts don’t matter and eventually give up.

As for Qi Huaiwen’s paper, Lin Qiao hesitated but decided to show it to Vice Principal Qi. She didn’t want to tell Vice Principal Qi that his educational methods were problematic, causing his son to submit a blank paper. Instead, she wanted him to know that Qi Huaiwen could study seriously. This child wasn’t completely rebellious; there was still hope for him.

Vice Principal Qi silently looked at it for a while before saying, “Thank you.”

The next morning, when Lin Qiao went to discuss the papers, the results for each class were already out, and the teachers had the average scores for each subject.

As soon as Lin Qiao entered Class Four’s classroom, she said, “The papers were just graded, and the average scores aren’t out yet. Let’s go over the papers this period.”

“Ah?” There was a collective sigh of disappointment, and some didn’t believe it, “The papers were clearly graded yesterday.”

“Yeah, teacher, are you kidding us?”

Lin Qiao then smiled, handed the papers to the class representative to distribute, and took the top sheet with the average scores, “Let me read it out. This time, Class Two had the best chemistry scores in the grade, with an average of 70.3, nearly three points higher than the second place.”

Don’t think 70.3 is low; this was 1980, after the resumption of the college entrance examination, when scoring over 100 could get you into high school. 70.3 at least proves that most of the students in the class studied seriously.

However, Class Two’s score was similar to last time, while Class One, which ranked second, made a slight improvement to 67.5, closing the gap with Class Two by about 0.4 points.

“This time, the third place is still Class Three, with 66.8, closing the gap with the second place by 2.1 points.”

2.1, does that mean they can learn the new experiment?

The students in Class Four, already anxious, became even more nervous. After all, if Class Three advanced by 2.1 points, they would need to advance by at least 4.1 points to qualify.

Soon, Lin Qiao read out Class Four’s score, “Class Four, 62 point…”

She paused, and the students held their breath.

It had to be above 62.4; as long as it was above 62.4, they would win this time!

Lin Qiao looked at the eyes staring at her and suddenly smiled, “62.6, congratulations.”

62.6?

The students were stunned and then cheered.

Someone who had just received their paper even shouted, “Wow, I passed!” Realizing Lin Qiao was looking at him, he quickly buried his head.

Junzi also wanted to shout, but since Lin Qiao started teaching their class, he restrained himself. At noon, he went home with the paper stuck to his face.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you afraid of falling?” Commander Liang’s wife was startled by him.

Junzi lifted the paper slightly, revealing one eye, “Can’t you see? This is proof that our class can learn the new experiment.”

Commander Liang had already seen it but pretended to be stern, “Only 53 points, not even passing.”

Junzi protested, “I only scored 53 and didn’t reach our class average, but I made great progress. One of me is worth four others. Our teacher Lin said students like me have a lot of room for improvement. Maybe next time, the class will rely on me.”

“Teacher Lin said this, Teacher Lin said that. Every day it’s Teacher Lin.” Commander Liang’s wife complained, but still took the paper to look at it, “It really is better than last time.”

Seeing she didn’t say anything more, Commander Liang reminded her, “Aren’t you making dumplings tonight? Send some to Xiao Lin and the others; the canteen doesn’t make these often.”

Making dumplings was too much trouble, and the canteen indeed rarely made them. Commander Liang’s wife reluctantly agreed, but when she went to deliver them in the evening, Lin Qiao wasn’t home.

Xu Li had arranged for her to see an old doctor at the Chinese medicine hospital. She thought she was healthy, as she ate well, slept soundly, and didn’t have menstrual cramps. However, the old doctor said she had a weak constitution and should undergo some treatment. Since it was already the third day of her period, the doctor gave her a prescription and told her to come back during her next cycle.

While writing the prescription, Xu Li subtly asked if this would affect having children. The doctor advised against trying for a baby now, as it would be hard on both mother and child.

Xu Li didn’t say anything more. But when Lin Qiao returned home with the medicine, she felt like she had fallen into a big pit.

She hated taking medicine the most. As a child, she had a weak stomach and would vomit half a bowl after drinking it. She never expected that she would still have to drink it even after transmigrating into a book.

Lin Qiao was always decisive and straightforward, never experiencing decision paralysis. The only two times she struggled were related to her period: once when explaining to Xu Li that she wasn’t pregnant, and now.

Seeing this, Ji Duo went to the kitchen to prepare the medicine, “I’ll brew it for you.”

Not having to smell the medicine was better, and it was his idea in the first place.

Lin Qiao didn’t stand on ceremony, pinching her nose and drinking the three doses. Her period ended cleanly. She immediately went to the military bathhouse for a shower and threw her medicine-scented clothes into the washing machine.

Ji Duo noticed and only asked, “Is it completely over?”

That night, after turning off the lights, he suddenly pulled her into his arms. After more than a month of peace, Lin Qiao didn’t react in time, and her lips were suddenly covered.

T/N: Ahhh it’s here!