Jiang Qi Huai had actually just written down Tao Zhi’s name without much thought. He had no interest in running for class monitor, nor did he plan to get closer to his classmates during the remaining two years of high school. After a week of school, he had barely spoken to anyone in Class 1, and he didn’t care what their names were. The only name he remembered was Tao Zhi’s, and that was only because she was too good at causing trouble.
Teacher Wang hadn’t noticed the small interaction between the two in the back, and after giving another enthusiastic speech at the podium, he finally turned around: “Come on, would our new class monitor like to say a few words?”
He even deliberately stepped aside so the whole class could see them without any blind spots.
Very thoughtful.
The classroom suddenly fell silent, with no one speaking. Jiang Qi Huai stood to the side with a lifeless expression, showing no intention of speaking.
Tao Zhi hadn’t expected him to actually say anything. Standing at the podium, looking at the rows of heads below, she suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu.
It had been a while.
The last time she faced so many heads was last semester when she got into a fight and had to read her self-criticism speech at Monday’s flag-raising ceremony.
Two months had passed in a flash, but the scene still felt vivid in her memory.
Tao Zhi suddenly felt nostalgic.
She stepped forward, placed both hands on the podium desk, first looked around the room, then slowly opened her mouth: “Fellow students.”
Tao Zhi paused.
Everyone was waiting intently for what she would say next. Li Shuang Jiang even held his breath.
“Time waits for no one,” in the complete silence, Tao Zhi waved her hand and said, “It’s time, don’t just sit there, class dismissed.”
The entire Class 1: “…”
Teacher Wang: “…”
When Tao Zhi got home that evening, she immediately shared this good news with her caretaker.
Tao Xiu Ping had spent a few days at home with her, but today he had gone out of town for work. He had just gotten off the plane when he received her call.
As soon as the call connected, Tao Zhi got straight to the point: “Boss Tao, I became a class monitor.”
Tao Xiu Ping was silent for five seconds: “…You became what?”
“Class monitor,” Tao Zhi threw her backpack on the ground, “I was elected class monitor.”
She heard Tao Xiu Ping take a sharp breath on the other end.
“You were elected as your class’s monitor?” Tao Xiu Ping confirmed.
Tao Zhi didn’t speak, implicitly confirming.
“Daughter,” Tao Xiu Ping said, “Daddy didn’t pay any money to pull strings for this, does your school give out class monitor positions with good class placements?”
Tao Zhi held the phone with one hand, took off her school uniform jacket and casually threw it aside, saying dissatisfied: “What do you mean? I was elected based on my own abilities.”
“Which abilities?” Tao Xiu Ping paused, asking uncertainly, “You didn’t threaten your teacher, did you?”
His tone suggested he wouldn’t be surprised at all if Tao Zhi actually did such a thing.
Tao Zhi was unhappy: “Comrade Tao Xiu Ping, talking like this really hurts our father-daughter relationship. I was elected class monitor by my classmates, vote by vote.”
Tao Xiu Ping: “You intimidated your whole class?”
“…”
Tao Zhi decided to give him the silent treatment.
When she stopped talking, Tao Xiu Ping laughed on the other end, no longer teasing her: “Daddy was just joking. Come on, tell me the details, how many votes did you get? Let me know how popular our princess is.”
Tao Zhi: “One vote.”
Tao Xiu Ping: “…”
Tao Zhi sat cross-legged on the carpet, just about to tell him about Teacher Wang’s bizarre actions today. Her mouth was open but before any sound came out, Tao Xiu Ping suddenly said: “Zhi Zhi, daddy needs to take a work call, I’ll call you back later.”
Tao Zhi blinked: “Then you—”
Before she could finish, the call had already ended.
The busy signal beeped twice in her ear, and Tao Zhi blinked, finishing her half-sentence: “Go ahead with your work.”
No response.
The phone screen had already gone black.
Tao Zhi knew that no matter how long she waited, this “call you back later” wouldn’t come today.
She carelessly tossed her phone on the ground and got up to go downstairs for something to eat.
The housekeeper had already prepared dinner, but worried it would get cold if left too long, she only started serving when she saw Tao Zhi come down. Four dishes and a soup, all things she liked to eat.
Tao Zhi pulled out a chair and sat down, picking up her chopsticks and habitually poking at the rice in front of her: “Auntie Zhang.”
Auntie Zhang was ladling soup for her, the white porcelain bowl filled with round, plump meatballs and thinly sliced tomatoes in fragrant broth. She looked up at the sound.
“Did Mr. Tao say when he’s coming back?”
“He didn’t say,” Auntie Zhang’s movements paused as she placed the soup bowl beside her, “Mr. Tao is busy with work, but he still cares very much for Zhi Zhi. When he left today he was very reluctant, but work was urgent, there was no choice.”
“I know,” Tao Zhi picked up a meatball with her chopsticks and took a bite, speaking unclearly with her leg crossed, “He actually stayed home for five whole days this time, five whole days.” Tao Zhi emphasized, “That’s already a record, probably won’t see him for months now.”
After thinking, Tao Zhi added: “Though months might be asking too much of him, let’s bet on before New Year’s.”
Auntie Zhang: “…”
After dinner, Tao Zhi went upstairs to watch a movie.
The Robert Downey Jr. version of Sherlock Holmes, both parts. By the time she finished watching, it was already past midnight. Tao Zhi felt more awake the more she watched, with no sleepiness at all, and even felt a bit hungry.
She lay in bed staring at the ceiling for half an hour, then gave up, pulled her phone out from under her pillow, and sent Song Jiang a message.
Song Jiang didn’t reply.
Tao Zhi waited a while, then directly called him.
After ringing several times, the other end picked up, yelling in the middle of the night accompanied by the clacking of keyboard keys: “Can we engage? Can we engage? Can we engage? I have my ultimate— Hey! What is it, Your Highness— I pressed R, RRRRRR!”
Gamer boys never surrender.
Tao Zhi: “…”
Tao Zhi turned on the bedside lamp and got up from bed: “Timely Rain, come out for a late-night snack.”
Song Jiang: “What time is it and you want to eat— ADADADAD hit the AD first, cut to the backline you idiot!”
Tao Zhi’s ears hurt from his shouting: “What time is it and you’re still playing League of Legends, even pro players don’t practice as hard as you, hurry up.”
“Fine,” Song Jiang’s team had just been wiped out and it looked unwinnable anyway, so he surrendered directly, “I’ll change and head out.”
Song Jiang lived very close by. By the time Tao Zhi got dressed and went downstairs, he was already waiting at the yard gate. Hearing sounds, he looked up: “Did I owe you something in my past life? You’re always calling me out for late-night snacks. You might not gain weight, but what if I get fat and no one wants to date me?”
“It’s good to know your place, no one wants to date you now either,” Tao Zhi reminded him.
Song Jiang thought about it and agreed: “Fair enough, what are we eating?”
“Let’s get tripe,” Tao Zhi said as she walked forward, “from that place on Wangu Street, haven’t been there in a while.”
Wangu Street was a famous food street, a holy land for late-night street food. Almost every store had good food, operating from afternoon until late at night. The street lamps along the entire street glowed a boisterous red, cutting a clear line through the thick night.
They took a taxi there, since cars couldn’t enter the food street itself. The taxi stopped at the roadside, and it was about a five-minute walk from there.
As they leisurely walked that way, Tao Zhi took the chance to ask Song Jiang about the fight with the scene kid from before.
“Same old stuff, wrote a self-criticism, promise to be good and reform,” Song Jiang said. “But that deskmate of yours was pretty amazing. As soon as your Teacher Wang called her over, she started crying, tears streaming down like a faucet, couldn’t stop at all. With three class teachers there, she just kept crying and saying how that scene kid had harassed her, right in front of his parents.”
Song Jiang gleefully continued: “You should have seen the expression on the scene kid’s parents’ faces. I bet if there had been a crack in the ground, they would have wanted to jump in and seal it with super glue.”
As he was speaking, he suddenly realized no one was beside him anymore.
Song Jiang looked back and saw Tao Zhi standing not far away, head tilted, motionless.
He followed her line of sight.
It was a 24-hour convenience store, bright white light shining through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows. The cashier guy was scanning items, his profile quite handsome.
Song Jiang whistled, about to tease Tao Zhi about being attracted to a pretty face, but as he got closer and looked more carefully, he felt the face looked familiar.
Just then, the cashier guy looked up.
Song Jiang stroked his chin, trying to place him: “Doesn’t he look a bit like that guy you mentioned before, the one who transferred from the affiliated school?”
He had seen Jiang Qi Huai once when he went to Class 1 to find Tao Zhi, and because this guy had made Tao Zhi angry on the first day of school, he had taken a closer look.
Song Jiang turned his head to confirm: “It’s him, right? Why is he working here?”
“How would I know,” Tao Zhi withdrew her gaze and turned to walk forward, “Come on, let’s get tripe.”
Song Jiang didn’t know these two had already called a truce: “Don’t you hate him? Didn’t you ask me to take care of him before?”
Tao Zhi rolled her eyes: “When did I ever ask you to take care of him? Besides, we’ve already signed a peace—”
Before she could finish speaking, Song Jiang had already charged toward the store.
The glass automatic door opened with a ding, and Song Jiang swaggered in. Tao Zhi couldn’t stop him in time, swallowed a curse, and froze at the entrance.
What the fuck!!!
Tao Zhi’s expression froze, several times wanting to go in, taking a step forward then pulling back.
After much hesitation, she finally chose to hide in a corner and observe secretly.
For some reason, she suddenly felt inexplicably guilty.
It felt like being caught red-handed peeking at someone’s secret.
Inside the convenience store.
Song Jiang was standing at the checkout counter, shamelessly sizing up his target: “Jiang Qi Huai?”
He already didn’t look like a good person to begin with, and now malicious intent was practically oozing from him. He might as well have written “I’m here to cause trouble” on his face with a marker.
Jiang Qi Huai lifted his eyelids to look at him once.
Song Jiang stepped forward two steps, leaning over the counter with both hands: “I hear you’re quite arrogant, huh? Transferred from being number one at the affiliated school and it went to your head, you don’t even know your place and dare to mess with anyone?”
Jiang Qi Huai didn’t respond, disinterestedly lowering his eyes again, his black lashes like raven wings casting shadows below.
Song Jiang’s one-man show wasn’t lonely, as he continued diligently playing his role and delivering his bully lines.
He said contemptuously: “Tell me, how do you want to die?”
“If you’re buying something, go get it yourself,” Jiang Qi Huai spoke emotionlessly, his voice low and flat with a trace of casual coldness, “If you want to fight, I get off work in four hours.”
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