You Must Be Good 12

Chapter 12

◎Growth.◎

“She’s really smart, don’t you think?”

When Chu Xinrou said this, her eyes and brows were tinged with an unconcealable pride, and even her voice was a few shades lighter than usual. Yang Feitang glanced at her, her gaze lingering on her face for a moment before she let out a “tsk.” “Whether she’s smart or not, I don’t know. But you—” she deliberately dragged out the sound, “Miss Chu, you’re acting very strange.”

Chu Xinrou tilted her head slightly. “How am I strange?”

Yang Feitang crossed her arms, her gaze as sharp as a torch. “Don’t think that just because you’re gentle with everyone, that smile of yours doesn’t hide a whole lot of distance.” She paused and added meaningfully, “You’re like an immortal banished to a shrine.”

Chu Xinrou blinked, her long lashes casting fine shadows in the sunlight. She didn’t refute it, just let the wind lift her long hair.

“You’re too invested in her. Also, don’t blame me for not reminding you, even though I’ve only met this child once.” Yang Feitang took half a step closer and lowered her voice. “But I’m definitely not wrong. That look in her eyes… don’t be fooled by her obedient act on the surface. She’s got a stubborn streak in her bones. She’s still young now. Wait until she grows up, she’ll definitely be someone you can’t mess with!”

Hearing this, Chu Xinrou nodded lightly, a faint smile gracing her lips. “That’s good. She’ll definitely get into a good school and achieve her dreams.”

She’ll also be able to escape that hellish home.

Yang Feitang was at a loss for words and rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’m just casting pearls before swine.”

No one expected that the “good child” Chu Xinrou spoke of would get into trouble on the very first afternoon of school.

The cause of the incident was ridiculously simple. The “treasures” Qiao Xiaoxiao had hidden in the storage room of the girls’ bathroom were discovered by the janitor, Wang Ying.

For Wang Ying, this was no different from snatching food from a tiger’s mouth. This dark-skinned, thin woman was already at a disadvantage in the “turf wars” among the school’s janitors. The plastic bottles she bent down to pick up were always the fewest, and the pent-up anger had long been churning in her chest. When she was cleaning the bathroom that day, the bulging woven plastic bag was particularly eye-catching.

At first, she thought it was the loot of a colleague and didn’t dare to act rashly. She staked it out for a whole class period and finally saw the owner of the bag—a shy girl with a ponytail.

From her appearance, it was clear she was a first-year high school student. This made things even easier.

“Classmate, what are you doing?”

Wang Ying rushed forward, her withered fingers tightly gripping a corner of the woven plastic bag. Qiao Xiaoxiao had just lifted the bag when she was pulled off balance by the sudden force. The moment the bag’s opening loosened, a dozen empty drink bottles rolled out with a clatter, making a crisp sound on the tiled floor.

Although Qiao Xiaoxiao was small, her “skills” from years of labor were not necessarily worse than Wang Ying’s. The moment they started to struggle, she heard Wang Ying’s sharp scolding. “Let go! What are you doing? Which class are you from? I’m going to find your head teacher!”

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s fingers froze in mid-air and slowly let go. She looked at Wang Ying’s face, flushed with anger, her throat moving, but she didn’t say a word.

Wang Ying squatted down, counting the scattered plastic bottles while muttering in a sharp voice, “Students these days are really something. They don’t study properly, but they’re stealing our livelihood.” Her rough fingers fiddled with the bottles, making a harsh scraping sound. “One, two… tsk tsk, you’ve collected quite a few.”

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s fists clenched silently at her sides, her nails digging deep into her palms. She looked at the bottles she had collected by running all over the campus during breaks, some still damp with morning dew, some stained with the dirt she had gotten on them while rummaging through trash cans. Now they were all someone else’s spoils. A sour feeling suddenly surged in her nose. She abruptly tilted her head back, forcing the hot tears back.

In the end, she was just a fifteen-year-old child. When Qiao Xiaoxiao stepped into the house, her red-rimmed eyes had already completely betrayed her grievances.

Chu Xinrou was arranging a newly bought bouquet of lisianthus in the entryway. Hearing the door open, she turned her head, her gaze lingering on Qiao Xiaoxiao’s slightly swollen eyelids for a moment. She didn’t ask anything, just gently placed the vase on the shoe cabinet, her fingertips still dotted with a few crystal-clear water droplets. “Let’s go.” She picked up a canvas shopping bag. “I suddenly feel like having hot pot. Will you come with me to the wet market?”

Qiao Xiaoxiao wouldn’t refuse Chu Xinrou. She nodded, walked over, and took the bag from her hand.

The wet market in the twilight was at its busiest. Vendors were hawking their goods everywhere.

School, perhaps for Qiao Xiaoxiao, was still a bit “out of reach,” but the wet market was her area of expertise. Qiao Xiaoxiao weaved through the stalls, avoiding the puddles on the ground. When picking vegetables, she always had to sniff them first. The green crown daisy was dewy, and the tender tofu quivered slightly in its plastic box.

“Spicy or mushroom broth?”

In previous years, during the New Year, her uncle’s family would also have hot pot. At that time, Qiao Banshan would rarely take a break from work to be at home, and Qiao Xiaoxiao was allowed to sit at the table. Although she had to constantly be mindful of her aunt’s unpredictable moods, it was one of the few times she could eat her fill. She would always shrink into a corner of the table, her chopsticks only daring to reach for the plate of frozen tofu closest to her.

Qiao Xiaoxiao held the plastic bag full of ingredients, standing on her tiptoes to bargain with the owner of the dried goods stall. She was well-versed in the prices of vegetables, and her haggling made Chu Xinrou, who was following behind her, gasp in amazement. She couldn’t help but ask, “You can bargain like that?”

Qiao Xiaoxiao nodded and explained seriously, “The price of bok choy is 4.2 yuan. I’ve calculated the wholesale market cost to be 3.5 yuan. Giving her a profit margin of 30 cents is very reasonable.” Qiao Xiaoxiao suddenly realized that she might be acting too “petty” in front of Chu Xinrou. Her voice lowered. “In the past… if I didn’t budget carefully, I’d have to go hungry at the end of the month.”

Chu Xinrou didn’t reply, just took the heavy bag from her hand. The streetlights happened to light up at that moment, the warm yellow glow dyeing the corners of her smiling eyes. “So clever.”

She leaned forward slightly as she said this, her gaze level with Qiao Xiaoxiao’s, her eyes filled with gentleness and praise.

Qiao Xiaoxiao was caught off guard by the praise, and her ears burned. The grievances that had been swirling in her mind all afternoon suddenly turned into the wilted bok choy in the plastic bag, gently shaken to the ground by these three simple words.

Chu Xinrou had that kind of magic. She never condescended to give pity but would squat down to look at the other person at eye level. This greatly protected Qiao Xiaoxiao’s self-esteem.

Back home, the rich aroma of beef tallow hot pot broth soon filled the kitchen. As Chu Xinrou placed the induction cooker on the coffee table, raindrops suddenly began to fall outside, tapping against the glass with a soft sound.

“The weather changes so quickly,” she said with a shake of her head, smiling as she put the frozen tofu into the bubbling red broth.

Qiao Xiaoxiao sat obediently to the side. She was the same as always; if others didn’t pick up their chopsticks, she wouldn’t dare to move.

Chu Xinrou used the serving chopsticks to scoop a full bowl of beef slices for her, the meat coated in a thick layer of sesame sauce. “Hurry up and eat. Don’t you have to study tonight? Be careful, it’s hot.”

The sound of the rain grew heavier, and the hot pot bubbled.

Qiao Xiaoxiao suddenly found that the grievances stuck in her throat had, at some point, been slowly cooked away by the hot broth, along with the tripe.

Soon, her stomach was full, and her whole body warmed up.

After the ferocious meal, Qiao Xiaoxiao’s tense mind seemed to relax. Chu Xinrou leaned back in her chair and asked softly, “How was school today?”

In the past, Qiao Xiaoxiao would have swallowed all her grievances. But at this moment, Chu Xinrou’s gaze was warmer than the hot pot, and her voice was softer than the rain, causing the defenses she had built up to involuntarily begin to crumble.

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s fingertips unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes. She opened her mouth, her throat moving a few times, and finally, an almost inaudible “Not good” escaped her lips.

That day, Qiao Xiaoxiao wrote everything down in her diary.

She would always remember how gentle Chu Xinrou’s gaze was, as if she were an old friend, listening to her troubles without a hint of impatience.

In the end, Chu Xinrou just smiled faintly, raised her hand, and stroked her hair, saying, “Xiaoxiao, none of you are wrong. You all have your own standpoints.”

“You have to remember to consider things from the other person’s perspective, see what they care about, and aim for a win-win situation.”

“Win-win situation.” This was the first “word” Qiao Xiaoxiao had learned on her path to maturity, besides survival.

She was very smart and didn’t need Chu Xinrou to say more. She chewed on those words repeatedly in her heart.

In the following week, Chu Xinrou saw that Qiao Xiaoxiao’s state had improved significantly. Although she still rushed to do housework every day and stayed up late studying after school with the attitude of a third-year high school student in a first-year’s body, she smiled a lot more.

In the middle of it all, while they were painting, Chu Xinrou casually asked, “How are you getting along with the janitor?”

Qiao Xiaoxiao nodded, her eyes fixed on the canvas. “Very well.”

That “very well” made Chu Xinrou’s curiosity itch. She wasn’t usually a nosy person. As Yang Feitang had said, her heart was somewhat inclined towards “indifference.” But she just wanted to know how Qiao Xiaoxiao had managed to handle the janitor.

No one expected that three days later, Chu Xinrou would unexpectedly receive a call from Qiao Xiaoxiao. On the phone, Qiao Xiaoxiao sounded like a wilted eggplant. “Jiejie… can you come to the school? I did something wrong. The teacher said… they need to see my guardian.”

Chu Xinrou, who was slightly tipsy at the bar with Yang Feitang, immediately stood up. “Okay!”

Yang Feitang poked her cheek with one hand, her hair disheveled, her charming eyes looking at her. “What’s the rush?”

Chu Xinrou’s eyes were shining. “Xiaoxiao’s guardian has been called to the school!”

Yang Feitang was silent for a moment. She downed the drink in her hand. “Why are you so excited about someone else’s child’s guardian being called?”

The corners of Chu Xinrou’s lips lifted. “She’s so well-behaved, how could her guardian be called? Aren’t you curious?”

Yang Feitang: …

So what if you know a young person? Curious? What the hell is there to be curious about?

Seeing Chu Xinrou turn to leave, she quickly shouted, “If you find out the reason, let me know!”

…

When Chu Xinrou arrived at the school in her high heels, the sunlight at the end of the hallway was slanting on the mottled wooden door of the discipline office. Qiao Xiaoxiao’s thin figure was embedded in that light and shadow, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes. When she heard the sound and looked up to see her, she immediately lowered her head again, like a child who had done something wrong.

Chu Xinrou glanced at her and walked into the office. As soon as she entered, the head teacher, Song Yang, walked over and eagerly “complained.” “Are you Xiaoxiao’s guardian? Let me tell you, this child, you really need to discipline her. She’s something else!”

Chu Xinrou tried to keep her expression natural. “Teacher, what did she do wrong?”

She wondered to herself, What kind of trouble could Qiao Xiaoxiao get into? Her mind is only on studying. Could she be like the kids from before, putting a frog in the teacher’s teacup?

At the mention of this, Song Yang’s anger flared up. “It’s only been half a month, and she’s already famous in the school! I don’t know what method she used, but she’s won over all three janitors in the east wing of the school. They’re all collecting bottles and making money with her every day! And because she didn’t have enough manpower, she actually recruited two more assistants from her own class! Not only that, according to reliable information from the security guard at the gate, her business has also expanded! Aren’t students not allowed to order takeout? The students all secretly order it and have it delivered to the gate fence to pick it up. The school has always turned a blind eye. But her!!! She actually started a campus delivery service, one delivery for ten cents!!! The security guard said her business is so good that you have to book in advance now!!!”

【Author’s Note】

Qiao Xiaoxiao, twisting the hem of her clothes: …I couldn’t help it, Teacher Chu taught me too well…