Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
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Wu Yinghua was so angry she couldn’t eat. She immediately put down her chopsticks and went to call her old classmate. A short while later, she returned, furious: “I’ve arranged to meet her tomorrow to talk! This contract has a cooling-off period; it’s refundable. Tomorrow I’ll get that three thousand yuan back and buy Zhuo’er a computer!”
Yu Zhuo, who had always wanted a laptop, chimed in, “Refund! It has to be refunded!”
Why didn’t his mother buy for six or seven thousand? If they got that money back, a gaming laptop would be a sure thing.
Yu Zhuo was overjoyed, thinking it was all thanks to his sister. He even bought Qi Ying an ice cream when he went downstairs to take out the trash. When he got to her room, he saw Qi Ying writing her ancient novel again.
Yu Zhuo thought to himself, maybe in a few years his sister will become a big name on a certain website.
He’d definitely throw landmines at her then.
….
After finishing her diary, Qi Ying closed her notebook, remembered the English vocabulary dictation for tomorrow, and took out her English book to continue reviewing. Halfway through reading, Qi Ying received a WeChat message from Yue Li: Ying Ying! I just saw Ji Rang!
Before Qi Ying could reply, another message popped up: He was arguing with a really pretty girl! His expression was so fierce! Did I witness a breakup?! But that girl must be around twenty-five or twenty-six, so old.
Qi Ying deleted the text she had typed and retyped: Twenty-five or twenty-six isn’t that old.
Yue Li: So Ji Rang likes this mature, sophisticated type?! No wonder Xue Manqing didn’t get a chance.
Qi Ying didn’t want to continue this topic and asked her: Weren’t you at home memorizing vocabulary? Why are you still out so late?
Yue Li sent a striving emoji: I was in tutoring class, just finished, now I’m going home to continue memorizing.
Qi Ying was instantly impressed by her classmate’s diligent and studious spirit.
She replied: Keep it up!
The next morning when she arrived at the classroom, Yue Li was already in her seat.
She was always late because every morning she had to take a detour to the new market to buy a bowl of noodles from a famous beef noodle shop. In Yue Li’s own words, “Old Chen’s Beef Noodles” was her motivation to get up early and her source of energy for studying all day.
As a result, she arrived even earlier than Qi Ying today, munching on a pork floss bread while memorizing vocabulary.
Seeing Qi Ying enter, her expression immediately brightened, but remembering the dictation in the first English class after morning self-study, she suppressed her gossipy enthusiasm and continued immersing herself in the sea of words.
After morning self-study ended, during the ten-minute break, the English teacher entered the classroom as the bell rang and stood on the podium, saying, “Put away your textbooks, it’s time for a dictation test.”
Qi Ying couldn’t hear, but seeing everyone’s uniform movements, she obediently put her books back in her desk and took out her dictation notebook to begin writing down the words.
Beside her, Yue Li looked very focused, poised to start.
Qi Ying thought to herself, “My homeroom teacher is so good to me, arranging such a hardworking and diligent top student as my deskmate. I must work even harder to catch up with everyone!”
Five minutes later, the dictation ended, and the English teacher signaled for deskmates to exchange notebooks and check their answers.
Qi Ying took Yue Li’s vocabulary notebook and glanced at it.
“Hey, what happened? You only got five out of twenty words right? Either you’re missing an ‘r’ or you’re adding an ‘e’.”
Faced with Qi Ying’s questioning gaze, Yue Li thought, “…TT I didn’t want this result either! I study hard, I work hard, I go to tutoring classes, but I’m still a terrible student! What can I do?! I’m so desperate!”
Yue Li, who got fifteen words wrong, was punished by having to copy each wrong word twenty times before school ended. Used to this, she wasn’t affected at all. As soon as class ended, she excitedly gossiped with Qi Ying about her encounter with Ji Rang last night.
She typed on WeChat, her phone tucked between her legs, and sent a message to Qi Ying: “Ji Rang got out of the car, and he slammed the door so fiercely. That short-haired, mature woman even parked her car on the side of the road and chased after him. I couldn’t hear what they were saying across the street, but I heard Ji Rang curse, ‘What the hell is it to me? Whoever wants to go can go.’ Then he took a taxi and left!”
Qi Ying replied with a string of ellipses.
Yue Li: “What’s their relationship?”
Qi Ying: “I don’t know.”
Yue Li gave her a strange look: “Ying Ying, aren’t you curious at all? You’re someone who has entanglements with the big boss!”
Qi Ying typed slowly, taking a long time to finish a sentence: “That’s his private matter; we shouldn’t pry.”
Whether in the past or present, there were many things she didn’t know about the General.
For example, how the General politely declined His Majesty’s bestowed marriage without offending the Emperor, and how he turned away all the invitations to the banquets for noble ladies in the capital.
She didn’t need to know too much; her only wish was to be by the General’s side when he needed her, and to wish him peace and good health.
Yue Li looked at her gentle eyes and thought to herself, “Maybe that’s why Ying Ying can spell all the words correctly even if she can’t hear them. She’s focused! She doesn’t listen to gossip; she only focuses on memorizing politics, history, and geography!”
Yue Li replied resolutely: “You’re right! I’ll never gossip again; I’ll use that energy for studying!”
Qi Ying clenched her little fist and made a cheering gesture.
Yue Li turned off her phone, stuffed it into her bag, and took out her math book for the next class to begin her serious pre-class preparation.
Halfway through math class, Qi Ying, who was diligently taking notes, received a secret note from Yue Li: “Ying Ying, I have one last question. Are you sitting with Ji Rang for lunch today?”
Qi Ying: …
She shook her head.
She wouldn’t do anything the General disliked.
Yue Li smiled, revealing two dimples: “Then let’s run faster after school! We must get the sweet and sour pork ribs today!”
Qi Ying nodded with a smile.
Before school was even over, after the second period, the homeroom teacher, Liu Qinghua, came to the classroom and called Qi Ying away. In the office, Yu Zhuo was also there, showing her a completed memo.
It turned out that her uncle, Yu Cheng, had just called Liu Qinghua.
Qi Ying had been receiving treatment for her hearing loss at the city hospital. Her attending physician had contacted Yu Cheng this morning, saying that a very famous ENT doctor was at the city hospital that morning attending an exchange meeting and would be returning to Beijing afterward.
If it was convenient, the doctor hoped Yu Cheng could take Qi Ying to see this doctor so she could get a check-up; it might help her recover sooner.
So without delay, Yu Cheng immediately called Liu Qinghua to ask for leave and request a leave slip for Qi Ying.
Worried about having Qi Ying leave alone, he also called Yu Zhuo’s homeroom teacher, asking for leave for Yu Zhuo as well, asking him to accompany Qi Ying and wait at the school gate; he would be there soon.
Liu Qinghua handed the leave slip to Yu Zhuo, gave him a few more instructions, and then let him take Qi Ying away.
The school bell had already rung, and the campus was deserted. Yu Zhuo led Qi Ying straight to the school gate, and after showing the leave slip, the security guards let them through.
The sun grew stronger, and Yu Zhuo looked left and right, then took Qi Ying’s sleeve and led her to the shade of a tree outside the wall. He then called Yu Cheng: “How much longer until you arrive? The sun is so strong, it’s so hot.”
Yu Cheng said: “Seven or eight minutes, we’re stuck here.”
Qi Ying stood obediently, curiously watching a sparrow perched on the wall.
Suddenly, a hand gripped the wall from below. The sparrow was startled and flew away. Qi Ying’s eyes widened, and the next second, a slender figure leaped down from the wall, landing steadily on his hands.
Looking up, she met a pair of eyes very close to hers, and her previously cold expression instantly cracked.
The curiosity in Qi Ying’s eyes turned into joy.
She took two steps forward, seemingly intending to help him. Ji Rang, as if facing a formidable enemy, abruptly stepped back, stretching out his hand: “Don’t come any closer! Just stand there!”
Qi Ying couldn’t hear him, but she understood his gesture and stopped.
Yu Zhuo had just hung up the phone, when he turned around, and looked on incredulously.
The three stared at each other for a long while before Yu Zhuo said, “You skipped class, huh?”
Ji Rang: “…”
Yu Zhuo rarely saw the school bully look so defeated. Knowing that Qi Ying couldn’t hear him, he deliberately mocked Ji Rang: “Sis, look, this is what a bad student is like.”
Ji Rang: “…”
He slowly stood up, looking like he was about to come over and hit him.
Yu Zhuo shouted loudly, “The security office is over there! I’m calling for help!”
Ji Rang smiled insincerely: “I’m so scared.”
Yu Zhuo: “…”
He quickly came up with a plan.
It didn’t matter if he softened his tone verbally, since his sister couldn’t hear him anyway, it wouldn’t affect his imposing image. He absolutely couldn’t let himself be at a disadvantage in action! If he really got beaten up by Ji Rang in front of his sister, how could he ever face anyone again?
Yu Zhuo immediately said, “Boss, your wall-jumping move was so cool! Can you teach me?”
Ji Rang: “?”
His tone was particularly sincere.
Ji Rang looked at him for a while, then dusted off the corner of his clothes: “Don’t run into me next time.”
He turned and walked away, his black and red mountain bike parked not far away.
Qi Ying suddenly chased after him.
Yu Zhuo hurriedly called out “Sister!” But Qi Ying had already caught up with him, her fingertips tugging at the corner of his clothes.
Ji Rang paused.
Qi Ying quickly let go and handed him a tissue.
It had rained last night, and the ground wasn’t dry yet; so his trouser legs and palms were covered in mud.
Her fair and delicate wrist was outstretched in mid-air, trembling slightly as he hesitated to take it.
Ji Rang looked at it for a while, then reached out and took it. The tissue was very soft, with small blue floral patterns on the edges, and had a faint fragrance.
Qi Ying smiled obediently at him, her eyes crinkling, as she waved, and turned to walk back to Yu Zhuo’s side.
Ji Rang lowered his head, his face expressionless, wiped the mud off his hands with a tissue, then walked to his mountain bike, straddled it, and sat down.
A deafening roar echoed down the street.
Yu Cheng drove by at that time, just missing the speeding mountain bike.
He frowned, and as Yu Cheng and Qi Ying got into the car, he turned the car around and said, “Was that guy on the motorcycle a student from your school? Why aren’t the teachers doing anything about it? It’s really affecting the other students’ studies!”
Yu Zhuo seized the opportunity to vent his grievances from being suppressed by the boss’s aura earlier: “Exactly! And they don’t even do anything about it! It’s really affecting my studies! Dad, you don’t know, that guy is awful, smoking, fighting, dating, he’s a scoundrel, I heard he even beat up an upperclassman last semester and sent him to the ICU! Sigh, the world is going to the dogs.”
Yu Cheng: “…You’re no better than him.”
Yu Zhuo: “?”
Halfway there, Yu Cheng received a call from the attending physician at the city hospital, saying that the doctor had ended the conference early and was now at a private hospital for a consultation. The attending physician had made arrangements for them, and the private hospital had agreed to give them an hour.
Yu Cheng had no choice but to turn the car around and speed towards the private hospital.
When he arrived, the doctor had just finished his private consultation, leaving the rest of the time for Qi Ying.
Six months had passed since the explosion, and her ear injury had begun to heal during treatment. Initially, she had tinnitus, but now it was gradually disappearing, a sign of improvement.
The doctor examined her and adjusted her medication based on her previous treatment records. Before leaving, the doctor told Yu Cheng that Qi Ying would regain her hearing in about four or five months.
Yu Cheng was overjoyed and excitedly told Yu Zhuo, “I’ll take you two to that Italian restaurant we just passed!”
The private hospital was located in the suburbs, in what was considered an affluent area with high prices. The Italian restaurant’s decor clearly indicated it wasn’t cheap, and Yu Zhuo felt a pang of envy. Even when he was incredibly lucky to get into Shanghai No. 1 High School, he didn’t have this kind of treatment.
Before leaving, Qi Ying went to the restroom.
The private hospital’s restroom was also very well-maintained, without any odor or dirt. While washing her hands, Qi Ying suddenly smelled smoke in the air.
She brushed the water off her fingers and went outside. As soon as she stepped out, she saw Ji Rang standing in a corner smoking in the unisex restroom.
Their eyes met, and Ji Rang felt like dying.
First, she caught him skipping class, and now she saw him smoking. Was today an inopportune day for him to go out?
Ji Rang threw the cigarette butt on the ground and stomped it out.
He walked towards Qi Ying.
The smell of smoke drew closer.
But she didn’t find it unpleasant.
Ji Rang stopped in front of her, only three fingers’ width away, the scent of soap and smoke from his clothes enveloping her.
He asked her fiercely, “Were you following me?”
Qi Ying tilted her head slightly, her eyelashes fluttering, and suddenly reached out and wiped his left cheek.
There was some ash he had picked up when he climbed in through the window.
Ji Rang froze, and without thinking, slapped her hand away.
With a loud crack, he hit the back of her hand.
Her fair skin immediately turned red.
Qi Ying hadn’t anticipated this turn of events, and even forgot to put her hand down, staring blankly at him.
Ji Rang: …
A hint of panic flashed across his fierce expression.
Would she cry?
Before Qi Ying could react, Ji Rang suddenly grabbed her hand and slapped it hard against the back of his own hand.
Another loud slap.
The previous slap hadn’t actually hurt, but this one really hurt; her palm burned.
Qi Ying’s eyes reddened.
Ji Rang glared at her and said fiercely, “Didn’t I tell you to hit back!”
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