Chapter 8: Little Dumpling

After school, the driver only took Jiang Mingzhi home. Pei Jinyang, being in his second year of high school, had evening self-study sessions and wouldn’t return home until 9 PM.

Jiang Mingzhi went straight upstairs to study as soon as she got home. The exams were just a few days away, and she needed to push herself to do even better.

Even the extracurricular classes that Qiu Tang was planning to enroll her in were postponed.

The next day, when Jiang Mingzhi came downstairs for breakfast, she didn’t see Pei Jinyang. She heard that he had already gone out with his friends.

Jiang Mingzhi felt happy to enjoy some quiet time on her own. It was a perfect opportunity to learn more.

In the afternoon, Teacher Li informed her that the evaluation exam for skipping grades would be the day after tomorrow.

The test papers were specially created by the school, combining the final exam papers from the second semester of the first year and the first semester of the second year, with questions in Chinese, math, English, and integrated science.

The school couldn’t set up a separate exam room just for Jiang Mingzhi, nor could they assign a teacher to supervise her alone.

Therefore, Jiang Mingzhi would take the exam with the third-year students.

It was the first mock exam of the third year, and she squeezed into a desk with the others while teachers supervised the exam.

When Jiang Mingzhi entered the third-year (Class 1), many people sneaked glances at her, with curiosity clearly written on their faces.

The class teacher briefly explained the situation, but that didn’t alleviate the students’ curiosity about the new student.

However, the intense study atmosphere in the third-year class made the curiosity fade, as everyone focused on their own nervousness about the mock exam.

The first exam was Chinese. After quickly scanning the paper, Jiang Mingzhi felt more confident.

She proceeded with the questions in order. The essay section was her weakest area.

It had been so long since her graduation that she had forgotten most of what she had learned. Although she had recently been trying to accumulate some material, she still felt unsure when she saw the essay prompt.

The essay was about a dialectic of noise versus tranquility.

Jiang Mingzhi thought for a long time before starting with a line from an ancient poem: “Build a hut in the human world, where there is no noise of carriages or horses.”

After finishing the Chinese exam, Jiang Mingzhi took her bag and returned to her first-year classroom.

In the afternoon, she had the English exam, which she wasn’t worried about at all. The test went smoothly, and the listening part was done in the teacher’s office.

The math and integrated science exams the next day gave her more trouble, as it had been years since she last worked with these formulas.

Math was all about problem-solving strategies, and the questions often contained traps. Jiang Mingzhi worked slowly on the math exam.

After finishing one paper, there were only eighteen minutes left until the end of the exam. She quickly checked over the earlier questions, making sure she didn’t make any careless mistakes. As for the final bonus question, she didn’t even look at it. She just wrote down a solution and moved on.

After the integrated science exam in the afternoon, Jiang Mingzhi felt like a tired old ox, working in the fields nonstop. Her energy was completely drained, leaving her barely able to keep going, with no strength left for anything more.

The teachers collected the papers. “Alright, I’ll work with the other subject teachers to grade these. Here’s the parental consent form; take it home for your parents to sign.”

“Thank you, Teacher,” Jiang Mingzhi said as she put away the grade-skipping consent form. “Teacher, may I switch to Class 9 in the second year?”

Teacher Li looked surprised and asked uncertainly, “Class 9 would have a lot of pressure. Are you sure about that?”

Jiang Mingzhi nodded. “I’m sure, Teacher. I won’t take on anything I’m not confident about.”

Teacher Li was taken aback by her determination but still said, “Let’s wait and see your exam results first.”

If she ended up near the bottom in a top-tier class, it would probably discourage her from studying, and as a teacher, he didn’t want to see that happen.

The news about Jiang Mingzhi wanting to skip grades to enter the second-year class spread somehow.

She hadn’t been to class for the past two days, which made her seem mysterious.

After the exams, it was the weekend, and Jiang Mingzhi was briefly freed from the pile of questions.

Friday evening was the most beautiful time, with the sky a mysterious dark blue and the dusk settling in.

Jiang Mingzhi relaxed and squinted her eyes, enjoying the peace.

Qiu Tang brought a plate of fruit over to her. “Zhi Zhi, you’ve been studying hard lately. Why not relax a bit this weekend?”

“Thanks, Mom,” Jiang Mingzhi took the plate, popped a grape into her mouth, and mumbled, “Sure, I want to play tennis or badminton.”

Exercising and sweating made her feel refreshed.

Qiu Tang asked, “That’s fine. Do you want to invite a friend to play, or would you like me to find a sparring partner for you?”

Her daughter had just come to Beijing, so Qiu Tang guessed her daughter might not have anyone to play with yet.

“Find a sparring partner.”

Saturday afternoon, Jiang Mingzhi left the house dressed in a comfortable sports outfit. As she passed Pei Jinyang’s room, she noticed the door was open, and the room was empty. He must have already gone out to play with his childhood friends.

Sun Shiyao and Sheng Qiaoxi were from an international school, and on weekends, they usually gathered around Pei Jinyang to hang out.

The badminton court was located on the first floor, indoors, with a transparent curtain blocking the entrance.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sound of the shuttlecock hitting the racket was strangely relieving.

Jiang Mingzhi was decent at badminton, but her physical fitness didn’t quite keep up.

She hadn’t exercised much while in Nanshi. Her teachers often took up her physical education classes, and she hadn’t bothered to exercise on her own.

After forty minutes, she raised her hand to call for a break.

She walked over to the vending machine to buy a sports drink.

As she bent down to retrieve the bottle from the dispenser, she heard a familiar voice behind her.

She twisted the bottle cap and turned around, only to see the familiar faces of a few childhood friends.

Sun Shiyao and Pei Jinyang’s group had come together to buy water.

Jiang Mingzhi casually glanced at them, took a sip of her drink, and left without a change in expression.

Sun Shiyao gave a surprised “Eh?” and turned his head to look at her.

“Isn’t that her?” he asked.

Sheng Qiaoxi followed his gaze and saw Jiang Mingzhi’s back. “Who is she? Do you know her?”

Chen Zhanbei shook his head. “I don’t know her, but Brother Chacha wants to.”

Sun Shiyao shoved him. “Go to hell. Stop grinning like that.”

He hated being called “Chacha.”

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At 6 PM, in the small restaurant of the Mingyue Pei residence.

Pei Zhaohua stopped Pei Jinyang, who was about to leave after dinner. “Since it’s the weekend, take your sister out and introduce her to some friends.”

Pei Jinyang pretended to be confused. “My sister? Is there anyone with the Pei surname here?”

“Pei Jinyang!” Pei Zhaohua’s voice raised by two tones. “Zhi Zhi is part of our family!”

Pei Jinyang shoved his chair back, the legs scraping noisily against the ceramic tiles, making an unpleasant sound.

“With the two big characters ‘Pei Fu’ hanging at the door, what’s her surname?” he retorted.

Pei Zhaohua angrily threw his chopsticks at him. The chopsticks hit his back and fell to the floor.

Jiang Mingzhi glanced at Qiu Tang, then lowered her head, almost burying it in her bowl.

With the culprit gone, Pei Zhaohua had no way of handling his son. Pei Jinyang had his own opinions and wasn’t very close to him.

He could only try to comfort Jiang Mingzhi, his tone softening. “Zhi Zhi, Jinyang didn’t mean it that way. He might just not be used to it. Give him some more time, okay?”

Qiu Tang wrapped her arm around her daughter’s shoulder, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Zhi Zhi, don’t be upset. Mommy is here.”

Jiang Mingzhi rested her head on her mother’s shoulder and whispered, “Mm, wherever Mom is, I’ll be there.”

Qiu Tang looked at Pei Zhaohua and said gently, “It took Jinyang two years to accept me. Why are you in such a hurry now? Don’t be too harsh. Adolescents can be rebellious.”

Pei Zhaohua patted her shoulder. “Alright, thankfully, I still have you.”

Jiang Mingzhi thought to herself that this would be how it would stay for her whole life. She wouldn’t give up everything for a man.

She thought that after all this, Pei Jinyang wouldn’t want to take her out to any more gatherings.

However, to her surprise, the next day, he invited her himself.

He said to Pei Zhaohua, “Tomorrow, I’m going out with Sheng Qiaoxi and the others. Should I take Jiang Mingzhi with me?”