Bailian slightly raised her face, the slanting morning sun shone on her side profile, cold as jade.
She gave the three a slight nod, then turned around nonchalantly and walked out of the office.
It’s not about the business card.
She really didn’t care about this business card.
Ren Qian has always been able to control his emotions. Everything he does is to ensure his own interests first.
Covering up and hiding things is his survival principle.
This reshuffling in Xiangcheng inevitably affected him. He misjudged the situation, not expecting that Bailian could play the guzheng or that <Bai Yi Xing> was beyond his imagination.
But Ren Qian still has room to remedy the situation.
Now Ren Jiawei is desperately trying to find a guzheng teacher for Bailian. Ren Qian can see that Bailian also wants to seize this opportunity to leave an even better impression on Master Chen.
So he did his best to find one of the more well-known guzheng teachers in Xiangcheng, but didn’t expect Bailian to have this reaction.
Even Ren Wanxuan was very surprised.
“Principal Jian?” Ren Wanxuan reacted first. She looked back at the secretary, “Who’s this?”
Which Jian?
“There’s no such person in Xiangcheng,” the older secretary also came back to his senses. He bent down to pick up the business card on the ground, “Principal Ren, since she looks down on this, let’s find someone else…”
“Forget it,” Ren Qian stood up, his eyes were deep, “Since she looks down on it, let her find an even better teacher. After all, she’s from the Ji family. There will come a time when she runs into difficulties.”
No vision, high ambitions, low skills.
Ren Wanxuan apologized. He took out the business card…
In the adult world, there are no eternal enemies. They scorn each other, yet also flatter each other. It’s hypocritical and two-faced. The first step into society requires the ability to withstand this kind of pressure, to adapt to the rules of this world.
Ren Qian has seen people like Bailian before.
But in the end, even the hardest bones will be broken down inch by inch in this world.
She has the ability and is smart enough, it’s just—
Too stubborn.
Hearing Ren Qian say this, joy flashed in Ren Wanxuan’s eyes. Afraid of being seen, she quickly lowered her head, “But Teacher Yue won’t accept her either. Where else in Xiangcheng can she find a better teacher?”
As for Principal Jian…
The three people present, Ren Qian, Ren Wanxuan and the older secretary, none of them had heard of him before.
They didn’t know much about guzheng in the first place. Their circle was limited to Xiangcheng at most. They wouldn’t even think or guess that the person they looked down on had gotten an apprenticeship letter from Principal Jian—
That wasn’t someone from the four major cities, but a teacher from Jiangjing!
“Student Ren,” the principal said with a smile as he sent Ren Qian off and walked side by side with Ren Wanxuan back to school, “I saw in the news that Mr. Chou is back. Do you think he has time to give a talk to our senior high students?”
Mr. Chou mostly lived in Beicheng and didn’t come back to Xiangcheng often.
He was Xiangcheng’s cultural ambassador. He came from a poor family but now had profound attainments in calligraphy. Having him give a speech would definitely be the best role model.
Ren Wanxuan was Mr. Chou’s ‘closed door disciple’1.
This was not a secret.
“I’ll ask the teacher.” Ren Wanxuan replied.
“Then I’ll trouble you, Student Ren,” the principal was very happy. Ren Wanxuan was much easier to deal with than Bailian and Ning Xiao. “Also, next week there will be a tourism promotion event for our city. There will be reporters present. Come to school on Saturday to go through the process.”
**
When Bailian returned to class,
it was almost time for class to start.
“Everything okay?” Lu Xiaohan looked back at her. Zhang Shize behind also looked at her inquiringly.
Bailian took out her textbook and shook her head.
Her gaze fell on the schoolbag on the seat beside her. Bailian’s hand paused.
“Yang Lin is back,” Lu Xiaohan noticed her gaze. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed, “Principal Lu called her to the office.”
The office.
Lu Lingxi reached out, wanting to brush aside Yang Lin’s bangs to see if she was injured on her forehead. Yang Lin retreated a step back, “Teacher.”
Yang Lin’s voice was always very soft. Her eyes were very calm, almost no ripples.
Her whole person was like a high, high wall.
Shutting everyone out.
“You…” Lu Lingxi’s eyes turned red. “Come stay at teacher’s house.”
Yang Lin shook her head. “He’ll find me.”
Yang Lin’s hair was long, almost covering her eyes.
Only a little was revealed, but it should have been the pride and spirit of a young person. Now it was like a dead pool.
“Yang Lin,” Lu Lingxi wanted to pat her head but put her hand down again, “You must… test out of Xiangcheng.”
Hearing Lu Lingxi’s words, Yang Lin was a little distracted.
Yang Lin turned and left the office.
Lu Lingxi watched her limping away.
The class bell rang.
Yang Lin returned to her seat. Bailian only glanced at her as she stood up to give Yang Lin the seat, not asking anything more.
This made Yang Lin breathe a sigh of relief.
The rest of the class was already used to it. Yang Lin was inconspicuous enough that few paid attention here.
Yang Lin took out her test papers and a pen.
Bailian saw the purple-blue bruises on her wrists and her brows furrowed.
After one class, Yang Lin next to her was still doing test papers with her head lowered.
Bailian dragged her chair over with a “shua” sound and simply sat down. Then she took out the medicine box from her pocket and twisted open the lid.
Yang Lin was just writing a character when her left hand was suddenly grabbed.
Yang Lin looked up in surprise to see Bailian gazing down, grabbing her left wrist with one hand and smearing some brown medicated cream on the injured part of her arm with the other, slowly and methodically.
“You…” Yang Lin started to say.
Bailian lazily raised her head. She slowly hooked up one side of her lips, but there was no smile in her eyes. “Don’t talk, I want to commit murder in my heart.”
She said it lightly and breezily.
Her eyes glanced up, and her originally charming face was also dyed as if she had walked out of a sea of corpses and white bones.
Yang Lin very softly said, “…Oh.”
The bruise on her arm from yesterday was a large purplish area, looking very scary. Bailian’s strength was not too light or heavy, and even somewhat soothing.
Yang Lin was clearly already immune to this kind of pain. Her body had long become numb to it.
But at this moment, she felt that the place smeared with medicated cream stung a little.
After helping Yang Lin apply the visible medicine on her arm, Bailian took a tissue and carefully wiped her fingers clean one by one before screwing the lid back on the container.
“Here.” She stuffed the medicine box into Yang Lin’s hand and said lightly.
Yang Lin held the medicine box and looked at Bailian with her eyes, “This is…”
Bailian tilted her head. Her legs were crossed and she pointed at the green medicine box in Yang Lin’s hand. She gave a wicked grin, “See, this is an unlicensed product. Apply it for two more days and you can go see King Yama2.”
Yang Lin: “…”
After a long time, she seemed to explain in a small voice, “I…accidentally fell down the stairs.”
“Mm, be more careful next time.” Bailian lowered her eyes and took out a book.
Her tone was extremely calm, not knowing if she believed it or not.
**
The last class today was chemistry.
Usually the teacher would go over test papers, but today the chemistry teacher looked at Bailian and decided to take the students to the lab for the last period to experience the wonders of chemistry.
The lab was also in the general building, on the third floor. Because it wasn’t used often, it was always gloomy and cold.
The teacher opened the door with a key and went in. High school chemistry labs were practically decorative. No one really used them. Various apparatuses were laid out.
Bailian followed the others in and took a look around.
There was a glass cabinet next to them with glass bottles holding various chemical substances, most unrecognizable.
Two people per group.
The chemistry teacher put on gloves and took a beaker, then slowly poured in dilute sulfuric acid and added copper sulfate.
The transparent solution instantly turned green.
The chemistry teacher looked at Bailian, then slowly added aluminum foil, lit it on fire, and blue flames instantly leapt up, beautiful and magnificent.
Everyone watched the blue flames. The chemistry teacher was very satisfied with their reaction.
He leaned on the lectern, staring at Bailian, “Classmates, as long as you study diligently, chemistry is a very interesting subject, much simpler than physics or math…”
Next to him, Lu Xiaohan had his head lowered, on the verge of laughing to death.
Zhang Shize raised his hand: “Teacher, you can drop the ‘s’ in ‘classmates’.”
The others trying to hold in their laughter could no longer restrain themselves and laughed out loud.
Everyone knew Bailian got full marks in physics and was studying biology everyday these days.
She didn’t even glance at chemistry!
The chemistry teacher was left speechless by these students. He taught several classes and the atmosphere in Class 15 was the best: “Of course, we all know learning has no distinction between noble and lowly.”
While the teacher was lecturing above, Zhang Shize lowered his voice and said to Bailian, “Did Principal Lu tell you we have to come to school on Saturday to film promotional material? She said they want good-looking ones, so we two must show up.”
Bailian lazily propped up her chin watching the chemistry teacher’s performance. She calmly replied, “She mentioned it.”
“Are you going then?” Zhang Shize scratched his head.
“Going.” Bailian lazily answered.
Lu Xiaohan was a little excited, “Is Xiangcheng finally getting noticed? Are they going to promote tourism here?”
“Don’t get excited. This isn’t the first time,” Ning Xiao very calmly pointed out the problem. “Previous attempts all failed to attract businesses.”
Zhang Shize and Lu Xiaohan couldn’t help but glance at the study god, feeling he was too much of a wet blanket.
But they didn’t dare say anything.
Soon it was time to leave school.
The lab cleared out quickly, but Bailian didn’t leave. She was quite curious about the teacher’s earlier demonstration and asked to borrow the equipment to try it herself.
The chemistry teacher was overjoyed and left the lab for her to use. “No problem, feel free to use it. Let me know if you have any questions!”
He hummed a tune and left.
Zhang Shize and Lu Xiaohan stayed behind to help Bailian clean up.
**
After being holed up for two days,
Jiang He finally went out today.
He squatted on the left side of the milk tea shop, hugging his little bai cai2, looking in the direction of First High’s entrance.
Beside him, Jiang Fuli stood with one hand casually tucked into his coat pocket, aloof and remote.
The other hand held his phone as he browsed through emails.
His figure was tall and straight, even the light pouring down seemed to turn to ice and snow around him.
The usually packed milk tea shop miraculously had a bunch of people standing far away across the street today, jostling with each other but not daring to come closer.
Those who dared to go in practically sprinted past him.
When Bailian and Lu Xiaohan arrived, they happened to see a middle-aged man lower his head and charge into the milk tea shop.
Perhaps sensing Bailian and the others, Jiang Fuli lifted his head.
Maybe finding Jiang He annoying, his eyes were like cold mountains. His thin lips pressed tightly together. His light, icy eyes swept over Lu Xiaohan and Zhang Shize.
Zhang Shize handed Bailian the drink in his hand.
As if sensing the gaze, he raised his head and his footsteps halted.
It was like this—Zhang Shize usually didn’t like listening to his deskmate and the others talk because most of the time he couldn’t understand them. At these times Zhang Shize would feel he was just like the idiot Lu Xiaohan described.
But—
The one in front of them right now.
He didn’t even need to speak. Just one look, just one look from him, and Zhang Shize felt like an idiot.
“Ah,” Zhang Shize looked at Lu Xiaohan and Bailian, expressionless, “I’m going to play basketball.”
He swiftly fled the battlefield.
Lu Xiaohan steeled himself and greeted Jiang He, “Little bird brother.”
Hearing this address, Jiang Fuli’s eyebrow quirked up as he glanced down at Jiang He before stuffing his phone back into his pocket, cold laughter on his face.
Jiang He’s head was buried tightly in his knees, depressed and not speaking.
Bailian held the drink Zhang Shize had given her in one hand. With the other, she took out a folded paper from her pocket and handed it to Jiang He.
Only then did Jiang He slowly raise his head and reach out to take it.
Jiang He unfolded the paper slowly.
Instead of a cat, the blank paper had an elegant crane raising its slender leg, half spreading its wings as if flying to paradise.
Jiang He blinked. His eyes were filled with wonder again.
Even Lu Xiaohan next to him, who didn’t really dare move, spoke up, “Isn’t that too lifelike?”
Bailian had just handed the paper to Jiang He when she suddenly recalled someone snatching the little guy’s things. She lifted her head, about to say something to Jiang Fuli.
Her phone vibrated twice in her pocket.
Bailian took it out for a look. It was an unknown number.
She glanced at it before lazily pressing the green call button and answering, “Hello?”
The other end of the call probably didn’t expect her reaction and was silent, with only the faint sound of breathing coming through.
Bailian also didn’t speak.
The two sides seemed to be in a silent standoff.
After a long time, a woman’s voice finally came from the phone, “I’ll be in Xiangcheng tomorrow.”
Bailian wasn’t in a good mood today either.
Her eyebrow quirked up and she only responded coldly with two words, “Who are you?”
The woman on the other end finally couldn’t stand it and said, “Who am I? Have you become muddled to the point you can’t even recognize your own mother’s voice?”
“Oh.” Bailian still had that indifferent attitude. “Anything else?”
On the other end…
On the highway vehicle, Ji Mulan directly hung up the phone.
Next to her, an elegant man reviewing documents glanced at her. “You need to give the child some patience.”
“I only hope she doesn’t cause me trouble.” Ji Mulan pressed her forehead, extremely vexed. “She’s currently living with my dad… That old man…”
“She’s always been in Xiangcheng?” The man looked at Ji Mulan, contemplated for a bit, then said, “If she’s in Xiangcheng, you can actually bring her to Jiangjing too. She’s around the same age as Zhiyue right? They’ll definitely get along.”
Hearing him say this,
Ji Mulan lightly grasped her phone. Of course it would be better for Bailian’s development if she went to Jiangjing.
“Yes, she and Zhiyue are both seniors in high school. Zhiyue is smart but Bailian is a different type than her. You don’t know, her dad kicked her out,” Ji Mulan said with a sigh.
The man had been surrounded by extremely outstanding people since childhood.
Ji Mulan could only give him a heads up beforehand to lower his expectations.
That way, when he truly met Bailian later, he wouldn’t be too disappointed.
“A high school senior too,” the man was also surprised to learn that. “How are her grades?”
- ???? (guan men di zi): last disciple of a master, or literally translated as ‘closed door disciple’. The “closed-door” aspect implies that the training and teachings provided to this disciple are typically conducted in private, away from the public eye; and the significance of this is that the disciple is viewed highly by the master. ↩︎
- “King Yama” (???/Yan Luo Wang) is a deity in Hindu, Buddhist, and East Asian religions who is often regarded as the lord of death and the ruler of the afterlife. I.e., “you’ll die“. ↩︎
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