Chapter 26: The Great Person, Qi Ze

It had rained the previous day, and today the sky was a clear, bright blue, with not a cloud in sight.

The sunlight poured through the window and landed on Jiang Mingyue’s body.

The Chinese Language Teacher was on the stage, passionately explaining Classical Chinese literature.

She tried her best to hold her body up and listen to the lesson, but the cramping pain in her abdomen kept her from focusing.

It must be her period.

She looked up at the clock on the blackboard; there were still more than twenty minutes left until the class would end.

She was worried that she might stain her pants before class finished.

“Deskmate, do you have a pad?” she gently tapped Liu Wenqi’s arm and asked in a low voice.

Liu Wenqi shook her head. “My period just ended, I didn’t bring any.”

Jiang Mingyue wrote a small note and poked it toward Chen Xiangyi’s back to pass it to her.

Soon, Chen Xiangyi took advantage of the teacher’s inattention to throw it back. Jiang Mingyue opened it to read.

“Sis, do you have a pad?”

“None, but Zhao Rulan probably has one. I saw her buy some at the supermarket this morning.”

Zhao Rulan.

She sat in front of Qi Ze, in the same group.

She had eaten with her and chatted when Jiang Mingyue had gone to hang out with Qi Ze before. Zhao Rulan was a very enthusiastic and lively person.

Jiang Mingyue was in group four, on the left side of the classroom, while Zhao Rulan was on the right side.

This made passing notes difficult.

After thinking for a moment, she wrote another small note: “Beauty Xiao Rulan, could you lend me a pad?”

Then she raised her hand and stood up. “Teacher, I’m not feeling well in my stomach. Can I go to the bathroom?”

The Chinese Language Teacher was a stern middle-aged woman, and when her sharp eyes glanced over, Jiang Mingyue still felt a bit uneasy.

The teacher observed Jiang Mingyue’s slightly pale face and nodded. “Go ahead.”

Jiang Mingyue exited through the back door, walked out of the teacher’s line of sight, and then crouched down.

Bending down, she walked to the window next to the back door, where Qi Ze was sitting.

She quietly peeked out, and before she could speak, Qi Ze had already looked over at her.

Jiang Mingyue curved her eyes into a smile and handed him the note she had been holding. In a low voice, she said: “Please pass this to Zhao Rulan.”

Qi Ze hesitated for a moment, then took the note from her.

“Don’t peek.” Jiang Mingyue added.

Qi Ze glanced at her, saying nothing, before tossing the note onto Zhao Rulan’s desk.

Zhao Rulan read the note and turned to look at Qi Ze with a complex expression in her eyes.

“Poof, poof, it’s me.” Jiang Mingyue called her softly.

Zhao Rulan then saw her and understood that the note was from her. She gave her an “OK” hand gesture.

She turned back, took out a pad from the drawer, and placed it inside a book before handing it to Qi Ze.

Qi Ze took the book and passed it to Jiang Mingyue.

As Jiang Mingyue reached out to grab it, the pad slipped out and fell onto Qi Ze’s desk.

“…”

Jiang Mingyue’s face heated up. “…Sorry.”

Qi Ze, however, remained unfazed. He picked up the pad from the desk and handed it to her.

Jiang Mingyue quickly grabbed it, tossed the book onto his desk, and ran off.

It wasn’t until she reached the bathroom that the warmth on her face began to fade.

Jiang Mingyue checked and found that there were no stains on her pants, and she finally relaxed.

However, her stomach was getting worse, and she wondered why she hadn’t felt anything like this when her period had started before. Why was it so painful today?

Could it be because her shoes had gotten wet yesterday, and her feet had caught a chill?

She didn’t dare to delay too long, enduring the pain as she made her way back to the classroom.

When the bell for the last class of the day rang and the teacher left the classroom, Jiang Mingyue immediately slumped over her desk.

Weakly, she said: “Finally, I can rest for a bit.”

Chen Xiangyi turned around and quietly asked: “Is it period pain?”

“Yes~”

“Ah, well, why don’t you take the day off and go home to rest?” Chen Xiangyi asked with some concern.

Jiang Mingyue sighed in frustration, her voice faint. “Sigh, it’s fine, I can endure it. Besides, it hurts at home too. I just need to rest here for a while. You go eat.”

“Aren’t you going to eat?” Chen Xiangyi asked.

“I’m not hungry, I don’t feel like going.”

“Alright, then rest well. If you want anything, just text me, and I’ll bring it to you.”

“Mm-hmm, love you.”

Once Chen Xiangyi left, there were only a few people left in the classroom. Jiang Mingyue suddenly noticed that Qi Ze was still sitting at his desk.

He was looking seriously at his book.

Usually, she and Qi Ze would go eat together.

Although it had started with her shamelessly tagging along, over time, it had become a silent agreement that they ate together.

She should tell him that she wasn’t going today.

So, she called out to him: “Qi Ze.”

Qi Ze slowly looked up at her.

“I’m not going to lunch today. You can go ahead and eat.”

He looked at her for a few seconds, nodded, then closed his book and left the classroom.

Seeing him leave so decisively, Jiang Mingyue couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed.

She turned her head in frustration, resting it against the window, looking outside.

After all, they had eaten lunch together for so long. She told him she wasn’t going, yet he didn’t even say anything or ask if she was alright before just walking off. He was so cold-hearted.

She sighed and closed her eyes, thinking of taking a quick nap.

Not long after, just as she was about to drift off, she heard a sound beside her.

It sounded like something had been placed on the desk.

Then she felt someone gently nudge her arm, followed by a calm, clear voice coming from behind.

“Jiang Mingyue, don’t sleep just yet, eat something.”

Jiang Mingyue immediately turned her head, surprised to see Qi Ze standing beside her.

“You…”

She looked at the item placed on her desk—it was a container of red bean porridge from the school cafeteria.

“You brought me food?”

Qi Ze didn’t respond to her but instead took something else out of his pocket and placed it on the desk.

It was a box of brown sugar ginger jujube tea.

Jiang Mingyue’s eyes lit up in delight. “Wuwuwu, you’re too nice.”

Then she asked: “You came back so quickly. Have you eaten?”

“I’ve eaten. You should eat now.”

After saying that, Qi Ze was about to return to his seat.

Jiang Mingyue quickly grabbed his arm. “Wait, sit down and chat for a bit.”

Qi Ze glanced at her slightly pale face, thought for a moment, and then sat down at Chen Xiangyi’s seat. “Alright, you eat quickly.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Jiang Mingyue picked up the porridge and ate it spoon by spoon. Suddenly, she felt that her stomach wasn’t hurting as much anymore.

“What did you eat so quickly?” Jiang Mingyue asked, curious.

He had only been gone for about twenty minutes.

Qi Ze casually flipped through a textbook she had on her desk. “I had porridge as well.”

“Oh, did you eat enough?”

“Yes, I’m full.”

“Oh.”

Then, suddenly remembering something, Jiang Mingyue smiled slyly and said: “Was it boring eating alone without my company?”

Jiang Mingyue had expected him to either remain silent or sarcastically retort, but to her surprise, Qi Ze let out a light laugh, lifted his gaze from the book, and smiled at her. “Yes.”

However, his smile carried an unsettling chill.

Jiang Mingyue was taken aback. “…?”

Then Qi Ze turned the textbook around and showed her a page with a small drawing, pointing to it. “Is this supposed to be me?”

Jiang Mingyue focused her eyes on the drawing, and the spoonful of porridge she had just taken almost went down the wrong way.

The drawing depicted a small boy, bruised and battered with bumps on his head, kneeling before a proud, small girl. The boy was crying and admitting his mistakes.

Next to it, the text read:

“The beautiful, lovely, and kind Jiang Mingyue, I know I was wrong. I’ll never throw your backpack again. Wuwuwu.”

It was from the day when Qi Ze had tossed her backpack over the wall. She had been somewhat angry and had doodled this in frustration.

“…”

Qi Ze raised an eyebrow, looking at her.

Jiang Mingyue pressed her lips together, her gaze wandering. “This… this… I mean, if I say it’s not you, would you believe me?”

“Do you think I would believe you?” Qi Ze replied, pointing to the small text beneath the boy: The Big Villain Qi Ze.

“Heh heh, well… it’s just an artistic creation, don’t take it seriously. Heh heh.” Jiang Mingyue smiled awkwardly.

Then she buried her face in the porridge, trying to avoid the situation.

Her stomach started hurting again, so she rubbed her abdomen with her hand.

Suddenly, Qi Ze put down his textbook and stood up.

Jiang Mingyue thought he was angry and was about to apologize. “You…”

But instead of responding, Qi Ze opened the box of brown sugar ginger jujube tea, took out a small packet, and grabbed her cup, heading toward the water dispenser at the front of the classroom.