Chapter 20: Qi Xin

Qi Xin stood in front of the blackboard, sleeves rolled up, holding the eraser, her thoughts drifting aimlessly.

The dim, golden sunset filtered through the thin windows, seeping into the classroom. The orange-red light made the room bright and warm. The grand light gradually sank westward, its afterglow sprinkling every nook and cranny like a gentle curtain.

“Qi Xin?”

A girl’s voice came from outside the door. Qi Xin turned to look at the classroom’s front entrance.

“Do you remember me? We met in the cafeteria at noon today. You helped me stop someone from cutting in line… I don’t think I told you my name. I’m Lu Changya. I have something very important to discuss with you.”

Qi Xin looked at the pretty girl standing somewhat awkwardly at the door. She actually already knew her name was Lu Changya. The girl had made a name for herself during the talent show at the end of high school military training with a very beautiful cello performance. Qi Xin didn’t know much about the cello, but even she could tell that level of skill required a tremendous amount of effort and sweat. What made her famous, however, wasn’t her masterful skill, but the cello she brought on stage, reportedly worth four hundred thousand yuan, and her delicate, fair face that was like a cool, clear spring. In less than a year, she had practically become a regular fixture on the school’s confession wall.

Beauty didn’t seem to be much of a convenience for her, because the other bright spots on her were already dazzling enough. Good grades, good personality, good family background, a special skill, and poised even when performing on stage. The double-edged sword of her looks instead attracted considerable jealousy and harassment. Qi Xin had heard many rumors about her, some seeming half-true, half-false, and some outright fabricated nonsense. But there were always people willing to believe them, willing to spread them around.

“There are only three months until the new school anniversary performance. I heard you’re very good at piano and violin, Qi Xin, so I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to perform on stage with me… Am I interrupting your cleaning?”

The girl noticed the eraser in her hand. The courage she had mustered suddenly deflated like a punctured balloon, vanishing without a trace. Her voice grew smaller and smaller, finally as thin as a mosquito’s buzz.

Qi Xin snapped out of her daze. The corners of her mouth subconsciously curved upward into a gentle smile. She shook her head. “Don’t mind it. Of course, I’m willing. I was just a little surprised that you would come to me, Lu. I still remember your cello performance from military training; it left a deep impression on me.”

Lu Changya’s cheeks flushed slightly, as if overwhelmed by the unexpected praise. She stammered a little. “Th-thank you. So it’s settled, then? Can we exchange contact info?”

Qi Xin smiled apologetically. “Sorry, I don’t have my own cell phone. Can I come find you in your class tomorrow at noon?”

Lu Changya paused, not expecting the answer “no cell phone.” How could a high school student not have her own phone? But she quickly recovered and nodded a bit forcefully. With a cheerful expression, she extended her pinky finger and waggled it in the air.

“It’s a promise then!”

Qi Xin chuckled softly and made the same pinky-swear gesture. “It’s a promise.”

After the girl left, the corners of Qi Xin’s mouth slowly flattened. Her expression returned to calm. She turned her head back to the half-erased blackboard, raised the eraser, stood slightly on her tiptoes, and wiped downwards methodically, from left to right, top to bottom.

After going over it once with the eraser, she picked up a cloth dampened with water, ran it across the blackboard, and wiped it down carefully.

No one ever wanted to do the blackboard cleaning part. Some found it too much trouble, needing to wash their hands full of chalk dust afterward. Others couldn’t do it, coughing violently at the mere smell of chalk dust. In the end, she was the only one willing to do this task. It wasn’t for any other reason; she just liked the feeling of focusing entirely on one thing without having to think.

Most importantly, it meant she could go home a little later.

She would never voice that last reason, of course. So teachers always used her as a role model in class, praising her by saying that Qi Xin embodied a spirit of self-discipline worthy of all students to learn from—not just in her studies, but in every aspect of life. Constant dripping wears away a stone, accumulated over time. That was why she could consistently rank in the top ten of her grade, and so on.

Every time Qi Xin heard these words, she felt a headache coming on. Because her friend, Lian Hui, would inevitably, indignantly tell her the next day about which small clique in some group chat had been saying nasty things about her again. This girl with an overflowing sense of justice couldn’t help but argue with the students who had bad grades and problematic behavior. But she was clumsy with words and couldn’t out-argue them. In the end, it was Qi Xin who would end up comforting her, advising her not to bother with all that nonsense. Yet this somewhat stubborn girl just couldn’t let it go, fighting battle after battle and losing battle after battle. The worst time was when a girl cursed her, calling her a good dog protecting its master, Qi Xin. That made her cry through the entire noon break. The teacher caught her secretly playing on her phone at the perfect moment, but before even scolding her, seeing her red, swollen eyes and learning the reason, couldn’t decide whether to be angry or amused. The teacher told Qi Xin to take her to the infirmary to ice her eyes—naturally, Qi Xin had the key to the infirmary, given to her by the infirmary teacher.

Qi Xin knew that those small cliques of students saying bad things about her in the groups probably didn’t even truly dislike her. They were just complaining about the teachers and cursing the teachers’ favorite student for the rebellious thrill of it. In reality, if Lian Hui hadn’t told her about these things, based solely on real-life interactions, she felt absolutely no problems in her interpersonal relationships. Every teacher liked her; some would even share their snacks with her when she went to the Teachers’ Office. It was the same with the students. After Lian Hui posted the scolding records on the Campus Wall, the situation reversed in an instant. Those small cliques seemed not even half as resilient as Lian Hui and immediately crumbled.

Besides, what those student cliques said wasn’t actually wrong. She, Qi Xin, did deliberately suck up to the teachers and classmates. She acted diligent and hardworking in front of the teachers, sometimes even deliberately seeking out questions to ask them to showcase her studiousness. She acted gentle and empathetic in front of the girls, listening attentively, never being perfunctory, which was why all the girls were willing to share and confide in her. She acted quiet and polite in front of the boys, maintaining a very appropriate distance, neither warm nor cold. To many adolescent boys, not being cold already meant she gave them plenty of room for fantasy. She truly did cater to everyone’s preferences with ulterior motives, so being found out and cursed was only to be expected, Qi Xin thought.

After scrubbing the blackboard trough clean, she took the cloth to the sink again, washed it meticulously, and hung it back on its hook. After confirming that all the windows, doors, and lights were closed, she carefully locked the classroom door.

Aside from her house keys, her keyring also held keys to the classroom, the Teachers’ Office, the infirmary… No one would suspect this earnest, responsible girl of doing anything unreliable.

She went to the Guardhouse and politely knocked on the glass window. “Hello, Grandpa. Can I borrow the phone to call my mother to come pick me up?”

The old man wearing a security uniform, holding a large teacup, saw her. He liked this well-behaved, polite student from the bottom of his heart. She always reminded him of his own obedient little granddaughter. The wrinkles beside his eyes crinkled with a smile. “Little Qi Xin, late from doing your cleaning duties again today?”

Qi Xin smiled, a bit embarrassed. “I was chatting with a friend and lost track of time.”

He opened the window and handed Qi Xin the large red telephone set on the desk. Qi Xin thanked him and pressed the numbers from memory.

After pressing the numbers, she silently took a breath and held it.

“Xiao Xin, you’re out of school? Just go home by yourself today, Mom’s a little busy here… Mahjong! Your Godmother’s come to play with me again, hahaha. Here, Xiao Xin, say hello to your Godmother—”

Holding the phone, Qi Xin nodded, injecting a hint of laughter into her voice. “Hello, Godmother.”

“Aiyo, Little Qi Xin is becoming more and more polite, much better than that boy of mine. Daughters are just more sensible.”

The woman’s voice on the other end of the line was somewhat shrill, sounding like she was laughing exuberantly. Qi Xin suppressed the urge to frown. She didn’t like this so-called godmother, and she liked even less how she frequently invited Li Wanying out to play, saying they should bring the kids for family gatherings, when her real intention was to instigate and set her up with her son. The woman seemed to thoroughly enjoy seeing awkward, speechless situations like that.