Chapter 8
At seven or eight years old, she didn’t yet understand the complexities and twists of life. Coupled with the inability to adapt to the new environment and the lack of genuine care from those around her, she had always been alone, holding in her grievances. A child’s world is simple, but ultimately, because of her sensitivity, no one could truly open up her world.
Many people are like this: not lacking in material things, but lonely, accustomed to holding themselves up.
Moreover, because both parties were so young, the parents treated it merely as play between children and didn’t pay too much attention. At most, they would express dissatisfaction privately, but on the surface, they didn’t take it seriously, nor would they blame anyone. Adults are always thoughtful in their considerations and wouldn’t tear up their friendly facades over this. However, “the crying child gets the milk” is an unchanging truth; whoever cries gains the upper hand.
Zhao Shihuan had brought snacks for Qiao Xi, but with one child crying in her arms, it wasn’t appropriate to take them out. She couldn’t pay attention to Qiao Xi in the front seat until she got out of the car.
Only after Zhao Shihuan and Zhou Jiaqi both got off and left did Qiao Xi stir in the passenger seat, turning sideways to look at the constantly changing scenery outside the window.
Upon arriving at the Qiao family’s gate, Qiao Xi said “Goodbye” to the driver, struggled to close the car door with both hands, and slowly walked into her home carrying her schoolbag.
Fu Bei sat in the back, ignoring it all.
For the next few days, Qiao Xi sat alone in the passenger seat every time. Upon arriving at school, she would walk silently toward the gate, ignoring everyone. Twice, Zhao Shihuan called out to her, but she pretended not to hear and tried to walk away without a word.
Zhao Shihuan grabbed her schoolbag, preventing her from leaving.
“Kid, are you angry?”
Qiao Xi said nonchalantly, “No.”
“Then why are you ignoring me?”
“I’m going to be late,” Qiao Xi said simply, pulling her schoolbag back into her arms and turning to leave.
Zhao Shihuan chuckled lightly, not taking it too much to heart. She turned back, draping her arm over Fu Bei’s shoulder as they headed toward the Middle School section, saying as they walked, “Qiao Xi has quite a temper, sulking without a word.”
Fu Bei’s expression was indifferent, revealing no deep emotion.
“Just don’t provoke her, and it’ll be fine.”
Zhao Shihuan raised an eyebrow. “How did I provoke her? I didn’t.”
Fu Bei didn’t explain.
Because of the pencil case incident, for a long time, no one in the class dared to interact with Qiao Xi. The teacher was in a difficult position; it was hard to manage, so she could only tactfully tell the young students to get along harmoniously and not isolate anyone. Some obedient children slowly started to exchange a few words with Qiao Xi.
The Qiao couple had been very busy recently, so busy they had no time to take care of their child, disappearing all day long.
After dinner, Qiao Xi would wait in the living room watching TV, and sometimes she would sit at the front door to wait.
Every time the old lady saw this, she would murmur, “Poor thing, sigh…”
Sometimes she would ask the helper to go call Qiao Xi, inviting her over to sit for a while, but for some reason, Qiao Xi was unwilling to come.
Fu Bei stood on the second-floor balcony. The summer night wind carried a lingering heat, blowing irritability into her heart and giving rise to an inexplicable anxiety.
**
The sun rose high, its light intense and blinding. The dew and mist hadn’t completely dissipated, creating a restless atmosphere. The weather in June was always alternating between cold and hot, not truly heating up until after ten in the morning.
There were still no customers in the shop. Qiao Xi guarded the front desk wearily, watching the clock and preparing to order takeout at eleven.
Qiao Xi felt a bit hot, but she didn’t dare wear a thin camisole like before. That person had been too vigorous last night, unceremoniously leaving quite a few marks. Her chest was covered in a large patch of them; fortunately, none were left on visible areas like her neck. Fu Bei was truly ruthless, deliberately ignoring Qiao Xi’s provoking words. Even though she knew exactly what kind of temper Fu Bei had, she still went her own way.
Qiao Xi was crooked to the core; she did whatever pleased her.
Back then, Fu Bei had left for abroad so decisively. Now, Qiao Xi was happy to torment her. She did whatever she wanted and didn’t feel like she was losing out—after all, she was the one being served and enjoying it. She didn’t care what Fu Bei thought. Her mind was unpredictable, as if she wasn’t comfortable unless she was causing trouble for others.
Fu Bei did care. Especially upon hearing those words, she wished she could dismantle Qiao Xi bone by bone and swallow her whole, devouring her completely.
After lunch, the shop finally welcomed a customer.
The person was very young, with a tender face and delicate, handsome features—clearly a minor at first glance. After entering, he threw a picture down, acting all high and mighty as he said, “Tattoo this on me.”
The picture showed a very “edgy” skull. Many people chose to tattoo skulls, as if that was the only way to show their dominance. Society misunderstood tattoos, and many people with tattoos misunderstood them too. Qiao Xi had her own principles in doing things. She lifted her eyes to look at the kid and asked leisurely, “Did you bring your ID?”
The boy was stunned and said discontentedly, “You need an ID for a tattoo?”
“How old are you?” She couldn’t be bothered to explain.
The boy pursed his lips, conflicted for a moment. “Eighteen.”
Qiao Xi found it amusing and asked again, “High school senior?”
The boy was a bit uncomfortable but answered truthfully, “Freshman in college.”
There was a university town nearby; she didn’t know which school he was from and wasn’t interested in asking more. She looked him over and replied, “This shop doesn’t serve minors. Come back when you’re an adult.”
The boy’s face instantly turned red. Perhaps feeling he had lost face, he said forcefully, “I just turned eighteen two days ago. I’m an adult!”
Qiao Xi didn’t want to engage further. Without even lifting her head, she said, “The door is over there. See yourself out.”
A customer had finally come, only to be driven away in anger.
In this line of work, one had to have professional ethics; money earned against one’s conscience shouldn’t be taken. Nowadays, with the internet so developed, everyone loved pursuing trends. The younger generation, especially minors, were particularly enthusiastic about tattoos, as if having a pattern on their body made them cooler. Young people were still studying and didn’t understand how prejudiced society was against tattoos, nor did they consider future job hunting issues. A pattern the size of a fingernail could become a huge obstacle to entering certain professions.
Her good friend Tang Yi called, asking her to go to the university town for dinner tonight.
Tang Yi was Qiao Xi’s university classmate and roommate for four years. She was now a teaching assistant at the University of Science and Technology and was the person Qiao Xi contacted most often.
Their relationship was solid; they had supported each other all these years.
Tang Yi was decent at studying, but she hadn’t done well in the college entrance examination back then. She only applied to the University of Science and Technology after her failure. Her target for postgraduate studies was set too high, and she failed to get in, so she ended up staying at her current school. She was doing pretty well now, working as a teaching assistant while pursuing her master’s degree, with the goal of staying on as faculty after graduation.
“A new Japanese restaurant opened at the school gate. I heard the food is pretty good. Come over tonight; I’ll wait for you at Gate 1.” Tang Yi was always in a hurry, probably busy. She hung up right after speaking.
With nothing to do and no business coming in, Qiao Xi simply went home to tidy up before heading out.
Fu Bei had left early. The room, which had been messy this morning, was now cleaned up completely; even the trash had been taken away.
Opening the drawer, she saw two left in the pink box of eight. Qiao Xi nonchalantly shook those two out into the drawer and threw the box into the trash can. She changed her clothes, putting on a bright red chiffon long dress. The color was particularly flamboyant. With eight-centimeter high heels, her figure looked curvaceous and tall. Afterward, she took a taxi to the gate of the University of Science and Technology in the university town.
Tang Yi still had some things to deal with, so Qiao Xi waited at the school gate for more than half an hour.
The university town was bustling with people, teeming with youthful university students coming and going. Her red dress was too eye-catching, and her beautiful appearance attracted a lot of inquisitive looks.
Students were shy and bashful, stealing glances at the beauty covertly.
Qiao Xi was long used to this. She had never been low-key. If people looked at her, she looked back, making the peeping toms feel embarrassed instead.
Someone wanted to come over and ask for her contact information but lacked the courage. After being egged on by companions for a long time, they finally took two steps forward, only for Tang Yi to come out.
“Qiao Qiao—” Tang Yi laughed, enthusiastically going in for a hug.
Seeing the oil stains from the experiment still on her hands, Qiao Xi immediately dodged. Tang Yi’s eyes curved in a smile, insisting on hugging her anyway.
Tang Yi was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, looking a bit grimy. Seeing Qiao Xi, she was very happy and dragged her to her rented apartment to wash up first. She also changed into a light blue midi dress.
They had both been busy recently—one running around at school, the other running a shop—so they rarely got together. Tang Yi had a lot to say, chattering endlessly while holding Qiao Xi’s arm all the way. Just as they were about to enter the Japanese restaurant, she suddenly said, “Your Master came to the school a few days ago to see Teacher Zhang. Did you know?”
Qiao Xi was startled and replied, “I didn’t know. I haven’t seen her for a long time.”
“Truly heartless,” Tang Yi said. “She worked so hard to teach you back then, and you just left once you learned the skills. That’s treasonous; you don’t understand respecting teachers and valuing morals.”
Her serious tone amused Qiao Xi.
“She went abroad a while ago and didn’t tell me when she came back. How would I know?”
Qiao Xi’s Master had always been unrestrained, disappearing every few days to run all over the country. Since completing her apprenticeship, the two hadn’t been in contact.
Tang Yi knew a bit about her Master and understood her nature. After a few words, she skipped the topic and moved on to school matters.
“Recently, the higher-ups plan to engage in some exchange construction with the neighboring Jiang University. It’s a mess. There’s a meeting to discuss it in two days, but it doesn’t concern us small fries. We’ll just see how the leaders arrange it then.”
“Not with Jiaotong University anymore?” Qiao Xi asked. Led by the waiter, they walked to a brighter spot in the middle to sit down. She took the menu and handed it to Tang Yi.
“We are; that’s a different project,” Tang Yi said, casually ordering two dishes before pushing the menu back. “You order a few too. Order whatever you want; I just got my bonus.”
Qiao Xi smiled and didn’t stand on ceremony.
The Japanese restaurant was quiet, perhaps because it had just opened and the prices weren’t cheap. There weren’t many customers inside, with only three scattered tables occupied.
Tang Yi was a chatterbox. As she spoke, she mentioned that Jiang University had recruited a new batch of people, several of whom were academic big shots poached with high salaries. She said mysteriously, “Did you know? Jiang University also directly hired a returnee in her twenties. She’s incredibly capable.”
Qiao Xi paused, pursing her red lips.
Unaware of the change in her, Tang Yi continued, “I think her surname is Fu. Her family is quite wealthy, with even deeper pockets than yours. I heard she graduated from Jiang University and donated a building to the university the year she graduated. What do you think of that background? Impressive, right?”
Schools were realistic too; everyone loved gossip. Qiao Xi lowered her eyelids and said softly, “No matter how impressive, it’s none of our business.”
