With the windows covered, Tong Xiangyu couldn’t tell whether it was day or night when she woke. The basement lights were on, and Song Ge seemed to be sharpening something with a small knife.
When Song Ge heard her stirring, she asked, “How are you feeling? Are you sick?”
Tong Xiangyu touched her forehead. She felt all right, though sleeping so long had left her a little groggy. “I’m not sick.”
“Then we’ll do two rounds of exercises, and then we’ll eat.”
“What exercises?”
“Jumping jacks and high knees.” Song Ge didn’t look up. “They’ll build your stamina and strengthen your legs. If we run into monsters, you’ll be able to run. If you can’t get away, you’ll at least be able to kick back. Both are useful.”
“All right…” Tong Xiangyu figured there wasn’t anything else to do down here, so she might as well train.
The basement was small.
Song Ge moved the table into a corner to clear some space, but she hadn’t expected the young miss to give up after only a few rounds.
“What do you mean, you can’t?” Song Ge asked.
Tong Xiangyu didn’t answer. She blushed and turned her eyes away, stammering.
“Don’t be so delicate,” Song Ge said. “Getting in shape could save your life when it matters.”
“I’m hungry.”
“Then eat first.” Song Ge saw Tong Xiangyu visibly relax, and added, “We’ll continue after.”
Tong Xiangyu’s pretty face fell.
She opened a shopping bag full of snacks.
Song Ge took a bottle of water and two small packets of meat jerky from a box and handed them to her.
Tong Xiangyu stared at them, then looked up at Song Ge. “I’m eating these.”
“The snacks in your bag won’t last long. You need to get used to instant noodles, ration biscuits, and jerky. For now, mix in a little of this and fool your stomach. Just pretend it’s fifty-yuan-a-pack beef jerky.”
Tong Xiangyu had no answer.
She looked from her bag of snacks to the jerky, hesitating. She didn’t want to get diarrhea again. The discomfort and embarrassment were one thing; she also didn’t want to be a burden to Song Ge.
“But I think this whole bag could last me more than a week.”
“What if the rescue team hasn’t come by then?”
“Then I’ll eat your stuff.”
Song Ge looked at her.
Tong Xiangyu knew she sounded spoiled, but she still wanted to try. She gazed up at Song Ge with pleading, pretty eyes. “Please?”
Song Ge pressed her lips together, then gave in. “Suit yourself.”
Tong Xiangyu brightened at once. “Thank you!”
What’s there to thank me for? Song Ge thought. The young miss was smiling so brightly that Song Ge had to look away. She tore open a packet of jerky. “Hurry up and eat. Then we’re training again.”
Tong Xiangyu’s smile faded. “Oh…”
After eating, she waited a little to let her food settle before they started again.
But the second round didn’t last long, either.
After three or four rounds, Tong Xiangyu began dragging her feet and quietly said she couldn’t do any more.
“You need to practice because you’re bad at it,” Song Ge said. “You won’t improve if you don’t meet the target. You’ve only done two. Is your stamina really that terrible?”
“It’s not my stamina…”
“Then what is it?”
“It’s, it’s…”
Tong Xiangyu said “it’s” several times without finishing. Song Ge frowned and clicked her tongue. “Forget it. If you don’t want to train, don’t.”
She started moving the table back.
Seeing Song Ge get angry, Tong Xiangyu pushed through her embarrassment. Her face turned bright red as she blurted out, “It’s my chest! It hurts when I jump. I—I’m not wearing a bra. The one you gave me doesn’t fit…”
Song Ge turned to look directly at her chest.
Tong Xiangyu’s face burned to the roots of her hair. She didn’t know whether to cover herself. In the end, she told herself they were both girls and it was fine, then forced herself to stand there and let Song Ge look.
Only then did Song Ge notice how “sexy” and “alluring” her ordinary T-shirt looked on the young miss. She looked away. “Sorry. I’ve never had that problem, so I didn’t think of it.”
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Tong Xiangyu said quickly. “I washed my bra. Once it dries, I’ll train properly.”
“Mm.”
With training postponed, she couldn’t get back to sleep.
Tong Xiangyu sat on the bed, watching Song Ge fiddle with her military folding knife again.
The knife was huge. It didn’t seem like the kind of thing a girl would use.
Tong Xiangyu rested her chin in her hand, watching. Her gaze drifted from the knife to Song Ge’s intent face.
They hadn’t known each other long, but Tong Xiangyu already knew Song Ge wasn’t at all like the twisted, gloomy person their classmates made her out to be. Song Ge did have her flaws. She could be unfeeling and sometimes said things that rubbed people the wrong way. But who didn’t have flaws?
The basement was so quiet.
Tong Xiangyu watched Song Ge for a long time, then suddenly asked, “By the way, do you even know my name?”
Song Ge raised her eyes.
Was the young miss suddenly being stupid?
From Tong Xiangyu’s perspective, Song Ge seemed not to care about anyone or anything. They were in the same class, but they’d never spoken before—no, that wasn’t quite right. They’d exchanged a couple of words when Tong Xiangyu brought Song Ge a cake yesterday morning.
But that had been the first time they’d ever talked.
Song Ge looked at her but didn’t answer. Tong Xiangyu took that as confirmation and said, “My name is Tong Xiangyu.”
Song Ge deliberately said, “Oh, like taro milk tea?”
Tong Xiangyu patiently explained, “Not the ‘yu’ in taro. Mine has the jade radical, like the character for a jade pendant. It means a precious treasure.”
“Never heard of it. I’m uncultured.”
Tong Xiangyu had no response.
To spare Song Ge the embarrassment of not knowing her name, Tong Xiangyu kindly asked, “I know your name is Song Ge. But what does your ‘ge’ mean?”
“The ‘ge’ in ‘out of place.’”
Tong Xiangyu blinked, then rushed to correct her. “No! It can mean bearing, style, form, character…”
“All right, are you practicing vocabulary words?”
“I’m giving you options so you can choose one. Next time you introduce yourself, you don’t have to say the one you just said.”
Song Ge privately scoffed. As if I’m going to introduce myself to anyone. But she didn’t say it aloud. She looked away and went back to sharpening the knife.
Tong Xiangyu asked, “That knife isn’t yours, is it?”
Song Ge’s hand stopped.
