Chapter 9: Bottom Line
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“Hm?” He Ying was puzzled at first, but then she followed her gaze to the panda cub in Jing Dan’s arms. After a moment of thought, she smiled gently. “Of course.”
She then led Bei Queting into the kitchen and began to carefully explain the ratios and water temperature. In the living room, He Jingsu seemed to sense something and looked toward the kitchen, wanting to see what they were doing, but Jing Dan was holding her too tightly for her to break free.
“Be good and don’t move,” Jing Dan mumbled, stroking the small wings on her little cub’s back. Even after all these years, she still found them precious.
The tuft of fur on the panda cub’s head twitched. Every time her mommy touched her wings, she felt like she wanted to claim them for herself!
When the two came out of the kitchen, they saw the panda cub looking utterly resigned in Jing Dan’s arms, her gaze seeming to plead, Save me!
He Ying couldn’t help but laugh. Seeing the hand on the little wings, she knew what was going on. After all these years, this one still hadn’t given up on the idea of flying.
She lifted the little cub from Jing Dan’s arms, ruffled her head, and then handed her to Bei Queting. “It’s time to go back to school. If you don’t leave now, you’ll be late.”
“Okay, we’ll head back then.” With that, she held He Jingsu and teleported back to He Jingsu’s dorm room. Qiu Si was already back, reading a book. She wasn’t surprised by their sudden appearance.
“Si Si, do you want to come home for dinner tonight?” He Jingsu asked Qiu Si. Hai Yuesheng probably wouldn’t be clinging to her in the evening, right?
It would be best if I could bring Si Si home. That way, Hai Yuesheng won’t be able to find her, and if she can’t find her, she can’t cling to her!
“Huh?” Qiu Si looked at He Jingsu, thought for a moment, and then nodded eagerly. Daidai’s mom’s cooking was super delicious!
Seeing her nod, He Jingsu was satisfied.
Bei Queting chuckled to herself, feeling a fleeting moment of pity for Hai Yuesheng. Of course, it was only for a moment.
She returned to her own dorm, tidied up a bit, and then climbed into bed. He Jingsu was already lying in her covers, her dark eyes looking up at her.
Bei Queting ruffled the fluffy panda head and held her as she fell asleep.
**
The plan for Bei Queting’s event was quickly approved. The students were full of enthusiasm for the novel activity, all wondering what interesting things they should write in their letters.
Seeing the students’ reaction, He Jingsu breathed a sigh of relief. She had been prepared to get into a lot of fights!
Time flew by amidst the busy preparations, and the “A Letter for You” event was held as scheduled. On the first day, several large boxes were placed on the school’s sports field for students to drop their letters into. On the second day, the student council members sorted the letters and randomly distributed them back to the classes according to their numbers.
As the students opened the letters, they saw the handwriting of strangers and heard their stories. It was as if this simple letter had connected them all in a web of countless threads, bringing everyone a step closer.
The school forum also lit up because of the event, with students sharing the interesting things they had received in their letters. The school’s broadcasting room became busy, receiving many submissions from students, which they would read out during the breaks.
Due to the large number of submissions, the event had a long-lasting impact. It gradually became a unique feature of Xingzhi High—a way to listen to the students’ voices—and this tradition was preserved in the years to come.
However, after the event, Bei Queting did something that no one expected.
She chose to resign from her position in the student council.
Not only were the members of the student council stunned, but even He Jingsu was surprised.
“Beibei, why are you quitting the student council?” He Jingsu asked, not understanding. Bei Queting had put in a lot of effort to get into the student council in the first place.
Bei Queting looked at He Jingsu and said softly, “This way, I’ll have more time to spend with you. Isn’t that good?”
She had made this decision after careful consideration. Before, when she and He Jingsu were deskmates, it was fine for her to be busy with student council matters, as she still spent most of her time with her. But now that they were in different classes, the only time they could meet was during the few minutes between classes, and it was always He Jingsu who had to run over to find her. Sometimes, if she was busy, He Jingsu might even miss her.
Bei Queting didn’t want this to continue. She wanted to always be there whenever He Jingsu came looking for her.
Hearing this, He Jingsu thought for a moment. It was good, but, “Are you quitting because of me?”
He Jingsu didn’t want to be the reason she was held back.
“Of course not.” Bei Queting’s eyes curved into a smile. She cupped He Jingsu’s soft little face and rubbed it, her eyes full of mirth. “It’s also because I feel that student council matters take up a lot of my time, and I want to focus more on my studies. You know I want to get into medical school, and grades are very important for that.”
Hearing this, He Jingsu was relieved. She let her rub her face and said with wide, innocent eyes, “Grandma was so happy to hear you want to go to medical school!”
The white crane clan was naturally skilled in medicine, but her mom, He Ying, had no interest in it, and neither did He Jingsu. In contrast, Bei Queting, this little bird, had a strong interest in medicine. Over the years, she had learned to identify many medicinal herbs with her grandma, He Yuan.
“Really? She was happy?” Bei Queting recalled her grandma’s usual calm and composed demeanor. It was hard to imagine what she looked like when she was very happy.
He Jingsu nodded repeatedly. “Grandma even made a study plan for your future!”
Bei Queting was speechless. Well, in that case, she must have been very happy indeed.
But Bei Queting felt that it was probably because she was the only one in this generation interested in medicine that her grandma was so excited, as if she were afraid she would run off halfway.
After completely quitting the student council, Bei Queting did feel a lot more relaxed. Sometimes, she would even take the initiative to go to He Jingsu’s classroom to find her. After she had gone a few times, the students in class 16 gradually became bolder. With an academic goddess right there, of course, they would seize the opportunity to ask for help. This led to a situation where He Jingsu could barely get a few words in with Bei Queting!
In the end, He Jingsu insisted that Bei Queting stop coming to find her. Instead, she would run to class 6 the moment the bell rang.
It had been over a month since school started, but in comparison, the atmosphere for Bei Queting was better in class 16 than in her own class 6. The students in her class, apart from necessary communication, still wouldn’t initiate conversations with her, creating a subtle sense of isolation.
Bei Queting didn’t mind. People are always wary and suspicious of things they don’t understand.
After visiting Bei Queting’s class so many times, even someone as slow as He Jingsu began to sense that something was wrong. She looked at Bei Queting’s classmates, not quite understanding their attitude.
Once, when Bei Queting went to get water, someone asked He Jingsu, “Don’t you get tired being with Bei Queting? You’re the one who’s always accommodating her.”
“Tired? Why would I be tired?” He Jingsu looked at the person, confused. “I’m not the one accommodating her.”
Besides, did they even need to use the word “accommodate” when they were together? Since they were little, Bei Queting had been so good to her, wiping her tears and even secretly helping her with her punishment copy work. Why did these people think Beibei was not good to her?
“Really? We just see that she’s so cold and doesn’t like to talk to us. She seems very unapproachable,” they muttered. Although they felt Bei Queting was different around He Jingsu, wasn’t the differential treatment a bit too much?
“You don’t talk to her, yet you blame her for not talking to you.” He Jingsu’s brow furrowed. She didn’t want to talk to them anymore. They were the ones who isolated someone first, and then they blamed that person for not being sociable. She wasn’t a fool; she wouldn’t let their words create a rift between her and Beibei.
When Bei Queting returned with the water, she keenly sensed that the atmosphere was off. Seeing He Jingsu looking like she was sulking, she was a little puzzled. She poured a cup of water and held it to He Jingsu’s lips, asking softly, “Why are you suddenly unhappy?”
The students behind her heard her words and all looked away unnaturally.
He Jingsu drank the water Bei Queting offered her, then shot a soft huff at the students behind them, but she didn’t say what had happened.
Seeing this, Bei Queting had a vague idea of what had occurred. She sighed inwardly but didn’t press further. After that male student had failed to approach He Jingsu, his group of friends had started to lead the others in isolating her, and many nasty rumors had been spread behind her back.
Bei Queting didn’t want those words to reach He Jingsu’s ears. She felt that such filth should be kept far away from He Jingsu.
After He Jingsu left, she turned to the students behind her, then looked around at the others, her voice a little heavy. “I don’t care what you say behind my back, but one thing is very important. If those words reach He Jingsu’s ears, I won’t be polite to you either.”
Teenagers were like that, their impression of a person could be swayed by a few baseless rumors. They would choose to isolate an innocent person for the sake of so-called friendship.
Bei Queting understood the fickle nature of teenagers.
But understanding didn’t mean she would let them cross her bottom line.
He Jingsu was her bottom line.
***
Author’s Note:
Little Daidai: I will beat people up! I’m super fierce!
