Chapter 08

As Grain Rain^[1]谷雨 (Gǔ Yǔ) = Grain Rain, is the 6th solar term in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. It signifies the end of cold weather and the arrival of rain beneficial for grain growth. passed, the last solar term of spring, the sun began rising earlier and earlier.

Qin Xiaoxiao arrived at the classroom ten minutes earlier than usual.

Inside the classroom, a few students were scattered about, already starting their morning self-study. Although Class 8 was an ordinary class, there were still hardworking and diligent students, albeit a rare few.

Gan Shuangxing was one of them.

She shared a dormitory with Qin Xiaoxiao. Every day, as soon as the wake-up bell rang, while the others were just getting out of bed, Gan Shuangxing had already quietly finished washing up and left the dormitory.

Qin Xiaoxiao lowered her head to take an English practice book from the desk compartment and saw a light-colored envelope and a box of chocolates inside. She wasn’t surprised at all.

She was just a bit curious—she came so early, yet the students leaving these things must have come even earlier?

Qin Xiaoxiao’s mind was still a bit foggy, and she pulled the English practice book with too much force, bumping into the desk, which caused the pen holder on top to fall to the ground.

“Sorry,” Qin Xiaoxiao apologized softly for the noise she accidentally made.

The ruler, eraser, and a few pens scattered across the floor. Qin Xiaoxiao leaned down to pick them up.

One of the pens rolled to the feet of Gan Shuangxing, who sat on the desk in front of her.

She noticed it and seemed to hesitate for two seconds before bending down to reach for it.

Qin Xiaoxiao’s pupils suddenly dilated.

With a soft “pa,” Gan Shuangxing placed the pen on Qin Xiaoxiao’s desk.

Qin Xiaoxiao exhaled lightly and picked up the rest of the stationery from the floor, one item at a time.

“Thank you,” Qin Xiaoxiao said as she straightened up.

Gan Shuangxing, who had already turned back, seemed not to hear her and kept her head down, focused on her studies.

Qin Xiaoxiao stared at the frail back of the girl in front of her and recalled the scene she had just witnessed: when Gan Shuangxing bent down to pick up the pen, her sleeve slid up, revealing thin wrists and forearms covered in scars. Red, blue, and purple marks, some old and some new, crisscrossed in a shocking display.

Having lived in this world for over a month, breathing its air and soaking in its cool breezes and warm sunlight, Qin Xiaoxiao found herself gradually shedding the mindset of being a “bystander” or “outsider.” It had become increasingly difficult for her to regard the vibrant people around her as mere characters in a book.

So, seeing such terrifying scars on a living, breathing classmate naturally stirred something in Qin Xiaoxiao.

Was it school bullying, or… something else? Qin Xiaoxiao regretfully realized that in the unfinished—or perhaps abandoned—novel 《The Cool and Arrogant School Bully Falls for Me》 there had never been any mention of someone named “Gan Shuangxing.”

Of course, as “Qin Xiaoxiao” was just a minor supporting character, why would any of her classmates have names or significance in the story?

Qin Xiaoxiao searched through the memories of the original owner. This proud and self-centered individual had rarely paid attention to inconspicuous classmates and only had a vague impression of Gan Shuangxing: introverted, quiet, with an extremely low sense of presence—even in the dormitory, she rarely spoke.

In her original world, Qin Xiaoxiao had been a teacher at an arts center for two years, teaching many students. Parents and the center’s leadership had often praised her for being responsible and warm-hearted.

Maybe she really did have a tendency to worry about others. Qin Xiaoxiao felt she couldn’t just turn a blind eye to Gan Shuangxing’s situation.

Should she ask Gan Shuangxing about what was going on?

Qin Xiaoxiao immediately dismissed the idea. Gan Shuangxing was such an introverted student and didn’t have a close relationship with her, so it was unlikely she would open up. Moreover, girls at seventeen or eighteen tend to have insecurities and sensitivities. If she asked rashly, it might embarrass Gan Shuangxing.

Qin Xiaoxiao unconsciously furrowed her delicate brows. She was just an ordinary high school student—what could she possibly do to help Gan Shuangxing?

“Xiaoxiao, you’re here so early?” Yang Min asked, sipping her milk. “Daydreaming, huh?”

“Is the physics homework going to be collected later?”

Qin Xiaoxiao uncapped her pen. “It will be.”

At the end of morning self-study, Qin Xiaoxiao carried the physics homework for Class 8 to the office.

Guo Hairuo wasn’t there.

After the second period, Qin Xiaoxiao went to the office again.

The homeroom teacher still wasn’t there.

Qin Xiaoxiao planned to quietly bring up the fact that she had noticed Gan Shuangxing’s injuries to Guo Hairuo. She was just a high school student with limited abilities, and after some consideration, she felt it would be better to report the matter to the homeroom teacher. She believed that Guo Hairuo, as a responsible teacher, was in a better position to address such issues.

In the afternoon, there was a physics class. During the break before class, Qin Xiaoxiao went to the office for the third time that day.

A few minutes later, as she walked out of the office, she felt slightly relieved.

At least she had done what she could and had a clear conscience. The rest was out of her hands, and she decided not to overthink it. For now, she needed to focus on the upcoming monthly exams.

When Qin Xiaoxiao reached the floor where her classroom was, she noticed that Wang Xin, the former vice president of the dance club, had come by again.

Recently, Wang Xin had been coming to see her frequently. At first, she came with Bai Yushi, but it wasn’t long before she started coming alone.

Qin Xiaoxiao really couldn’t figure out why this senior from the third year liked coming over so often.

If she had something important to discuss, it didn’t seem that way—every visit felt casual and without urgency.

Wearing a floral dress paired with a white sheer cardigan, Wang Xin’s outfit stood out brightly on the high school campus.

Whether it was due to poor eyesight or being preoccupied, Wang Xin didn’t notice Qin Xiaoxiao until she was almost right in front of her.

“Xiao, Xiaoxiao.”

“What do you need from me?”

“Well, how’s the dance for the school anniversary coming along?”

“We’ve practiced about two-thirds of it.” Qin Xiaoxiao replied casually, as Wang Xin always asked about the dance performance. “If Senior Wang is so concerned, you’re welcome to come watch our rehearsals more often.”

These words left Wang Xin momentarily speechless. The first- and second-year club members had been rehearsing for over half a month, and she hadn’t gone to watch even once.

“Class is about to start. Senior Wang, you should head back.”

“I…”

“Goodbye,” Qin Xiaoxiao said, walking toward the back door of the classroom.

***

For this April’s monthly exam, Qin Xiaoxiao was still assigned to the same exam room as before.

She hadn’t deliberately looked at the seating chart beforehand and didn’t pay much attention to her classmates in the room after entering. However, she knew that Ji Wenchen wasn’t assigned to this exam room this time.

The chatter among nearby students before the exam was rather loud, making it hard for Qin Xiaoxiao not to overhear.

“The school bully beat up that group from First High School yesterday… the scene was—” a hoarse, duck-like voice said.

“You were there to see it?”

“I’m such a good student; of course, I was in the classroom,” the duck-like voice replied. “But my buddy—you know, the school bully’s friend? He told me about it; he was there.”

A sharp, somewhat effeminate voice joined in: “I heard about it too. The school bully beat the First High School’s gang leader so badly—damn, his face was swollen, and his hands and feet were nearly broken.”

“First High School’s Brother Yu? Wow, why did he fight him?”

“Not entirely sure. Seems like it had something to do with Brother Yu’s girlfriend, Wu Lin. I heard she’s really pretty—maybe the school bully took a liking to her?” the duck-like voice eagerly added.

“What girlfriend! Brother Yu hasn’t even managed to win over Wu Lin yet! Wu Lin is probably his goddess. I’ve seen her, and yeah, she’s really pretty.”

“Is she that pretty? Prettier than the Qin from our school…”

The boys’ conversation quieted down, but Qin Xiaoxiao felt no ripple of emotion within her.

To be honest, if they hadn’t mentioned the word “girlfriend,” she might have completely forgotten that she was nominally Ji Wenchen’s girlfriend.

After finishing the first exam, Chinese, Qin Xiaoxiao grabbed her pencil case and walked out of the exam room, only to hear someone call her name.

She looked over and saw her dormmate, Wu Li. She stopped and asked, “You’re in this exam room?”

“Yeah, I’m in this exam room too.” Wu Li’s round face broke into a shy smile. “Are you heading straight to the cafeteria?”

Qin Xiaoxiao nodded. “Together?”

“Eh, sure!”

Normally, morning classes ended at 11:40, but during monthly exams, they ended at 11:30, allowing students to head straight to the cafeteria. For high school students, even getting to the cafeteria one minute earlier was cause for joy—especially when you could freely pick your dishes while students in other grades were still sitting in class, hungry and listening to lessons.

This was one reason why students liked monthly exams.

The cafeteria at Second High School had two floors. The second floor offered more diverse and flavorful dishes, though at slightly higher prices.

Qin Xiaoxiao saw Wu Li holding her lunchbox and glancing toward the stairs leading to the second floor. Assuming she wanted to go up, Qin Xiaoxiao stepped onto the stairs.

Wu Li followed behind, thinking, Of course someone like Xiaoxiao, a rich and beautiful girl, would prefer getting her meals on the second floor.

Both of them misunderstood each other.

In the past month, Qin Xiaoxiao had never eaten on the second floor. The original owner, however, frequently came here, thinking the first floor was too “low-class” and that eating there diminished her status.

She picked up a piece of braised eggplant and put it in her mouth but couldn’t taste any difference between this and the braised eggplant from the first floor.

I’ll stick to the affordable and practical first floor in the future, she thought.

Qin Xiaoxiao wasn’t the talkative type.

Sitting at the same table, Wu Li was visibly tense. It was her first time eating with such an outstanding classmate, and she was worried that if she stayed silent, Xiaoxiao might find her boring, yet she had no idea what to say.

After a long internal struggle, Wu Li finally blurted out a topic: “Xiaoxiao, the school bully’s exam room was even ahead of ours this time… Eh, the school bully is actually eating in the cafeteria?”

Qin Xiaoxiao also noticed him.

He seemed to have already finished eating. Alone, holding his phone in one hand, even his walking posture carried a casual, carefree arrogance.

He didn’t appear to have any injuries—yesterday’s fight clearly hadn’t left much of a mark on this skilled and formidable school bully.

Qin Xiaoxiao responded to Wu Li’s comment, “If he doesn’t eat in the cafeteria, where would he eat?”

“Eh… doesn’t the school bully rarely attend classes? I thought he always ate outside.”

Really? Qin Xiaoxiao thought to herself. She seemed to have run into him in the cafeteria more than once.

…

On the morning of the second day of the May Day holiday, Qin Xiaoxiao left home with a shoulder bag.

Yang Min, still reeling from the torment of the monthly exams, said she wanted to buy some supplementary study materials and asked Qin Xiaoxiao to join her.

Qin Xiaoxiao arrived a bit early. To pass the time while waiting, she browsed the extracurricular reading section on the first floor and picked up an interesting book to flip through.

After flipping through about twenty pages, Qin Xiaoxiao noticed a faint shadow cast in front of her. She frowned slightly, as this person had been standing there for a while.

After turning another page, she quietly took two steps back to the side.

Her right shoulder suddenly felt a weight.

Qin Xiaoxiao looked up and tilted her head. First, she saw Yang Min, who had finally arrived, and then someone she had met once before—most likely the person who had been standing next to her earlier, Yan Yangcan.

“Xiaoxiao, have you been waiting long?”

“Hi, what a coincidence.”

Yang Min and Yan Yangcan spoke to Qin Xiaoxiao almost simultaneously.

Qin Xiaoxiao first replied to Yang Min, “What do you think?” Then, she gave Yan Yangcan a polite smile.

“Don’t blame me! The bus was so slow!” Yang Min complained.

“Alright then, let’s go upstairs to look for books.”

“Wait!”

Qin Xiaoxiao walked forward as if she hadn’t heard anything.

“Damn, that handsome guy was calling you,” Yang Min whispered to Qin Xiaoxiao after glancing back.

“Really?” Qin Xiaoxiao replied softly, “I don’t know him.”

“Are you serious? He’s been staring at you. I noticed it even before I got here…”

Qin Xiaoxiao kept walking. “Aren’t you here to buy books?”

“Ah, come on, does buying books conflict with admiring a handsome guy?”

“Then you can admire him by yourself. I’m heading back.”

“Hey, no way!” Yang Min clung to Qin Xiaoxiao’s arm. “After buying books, I still want to go shopping with you!”

After buying their books and stepping out of the store, Qin Xiaoxiao and her friends ran into Yan Yangcan again—or rather, it seemed he had been deliberately waiting for them.

“Hi, I’m Yan Yangcan, the one who borrowed money from you at this bookstore last time.”

Qin Xiaoxiao nodded, waiting to see what he wanted.

“Could I add your QQ?” The boy’s handsome face lit up with a smile as warm as the spring sun. “I’m planning to transfer to Second High School and want to learn more about the school in advance.”

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Author’s Note:

A new year is just around the corner! Wishing all dear readers that all your wishes come true and your paths will be smooth!