You Must Be Good 2

Chapter 2

◎Several purplish-red bruises coiled around her arm, like hideous centipedes.◎

On the way back, the village chief was so excited his voice rose several pitches. He steered with one hand, gesturing with the other. “I told you our girl would make it! She’s an educated person, after all. Her perspective is just different!”

Qiao Wanshan’s face was also wreathed in smiles, but his heart was pounding like a trapped rabbit. “We really owe her for her help this time. Shouldn’t we show our appreciation somehow?”

Song Qiu laughed, seeing right through his worries. “She doesn’t lack for anything.” He turned to look at Qiao Xiaoxiao, who was sitting primly in the back seat, and his tone softened. “Xiaoxiao, you have to study hard.”

Qiao Xiaoxiao leaned quietly against the seat, her mind replaying the image of the figure under the locust tree who had made the falling blossoms seem like rain. She felt as if she were in a dream.

Sure enough, when Qiao Wanshan told Huang Sulan the good news about finding a place to stay, the house immediately erupted.

The arguments raged on all day. Fortunately, Nuonuo had been picked up by her maternal grandmother for a short stay that morning, sparing her from being caught in the crossfire.

Qiao Xiaoxiao was long accustomed to it. As usual, she deftly cleaned the pigsty, fed the chickens and ducks, and then turned and walked toward the neighbor Wang Ning’s house.

Wang Ning was already prepared. Seeing Qiao Xiaoxiao enter, she patted the bulging cardboard box beside her. “I’ve already asked around. Even though the schools are different, the textbooks are the same.” The box was neatly packed with a full set of first-year high school textbooks.

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s eyes lit up instantly. She squatted down and carefully opened the top Chinese textbook. The paper gave off a faint scent of ink, and the pages were so flat they were almost uncreased.

“Ning-jie, how much for all these books?” Qiao Xiaoxiao looked up, her voice filled with unconcealable excitement.

Over the years, she had worked odd jobs and saved up more than five hundred yuan by scrimping and saving.

Wang Ning smiled and waved her hand. “What money! Once you’ve done well in your studies, just find some time to tutor me, and we’ll be even.” She said this with sincerity. Qiao Xiaoxiao’s diligence was famous in the village. The lamps that burned late into the night, the old textbooks with their dog-eared pages—all were the best proof.

Qiao Xiaoxiao refused no matter what and ended up leaving twenty yuan for Wang Ning.

The two girls had been neighbors since childhood. Wang Ning knew Qiao Xiaoxiao’s family situation best, and she was well aware of the stubborn streak in her bones. After a few back-and-forths, she finally accepted the money with a smile but couldn’t help adding, “I’ll save the second-year books for you too, if I can even take the college entrance exam…” Her words trailed off, her gaze drifting into the distance.

Wang Ning’s grades were mediocre. Her parents worked away from home all year round, and having been raised by her grandmother, it was already a stretch for her to get into high school. She was unlike Qiao Xiaoxiao, who excelled in both character and academics and had a bright future ahead.

“You definitely can. We’ll work hard together,” Qiao Xiaoxiao said with a rare smile, the corners of her eyes curving into crescents.

Seeing her so happy for once, Wang Ning pulled her into a long chat about high school life—how much heavier the coursework was than in middle school, how much pressure there was, and how late they had to stay up every night. Qiao Xiaoxiao listened with exceptional focus, paying no mind to the word “tiring.” Instead, she asked detailed questions about tuition, living expenses, and other costs.

Wang Ning hesitated for a moment, choosing her words carefully. “You can apply for financial aid for the tuition. As for the other expenses… your uncle…”

“I’ll pay for them myself,” Qiao Xiaoxiao cut her off decisively. Thinking of Qiao Wanshan’s weary figure and Nuonuo’s regular hospital expenses, she couldn’t bear to add another burden to the family.

Wang Ning pursed her lips. “I know you’ve saved some money over the years, but Xiaoxiao…” She trailed off, finally letting out a soft sigh. “The cost of studying isn’t just a one or two-day thing.”

Qiao Xiaoxiao lowered her eyes, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the title page of a textbook. She wasn’t like her peers who lived in a greenhouse. Her experience of struggling through the mud from a young age had made her understand the weight of life better than anyone. These past few days, she had already studied the rules and regulations of the No. 3 High School over and over. If she could get a full scholarship, it would barely cover her daily expenses. With her savings, she should be able to get through the first semester of her first year. If she worked desperately during the summer vacation, she could keep going, one step at a time…

But when did life ever go according to plan? The memories of hardship etched into her bones made her sense of crisis particularly sharp. Only by constantly earning and saving money could she slightly appease the bottomless black hole in her heart.

“Right,” Wang Ning said, quickly changing the subject when she saw her grave expression. “I heard you’re going to live at Sister Xinrou’s house?”

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s head shot up, a flame suddenly igniting in her eyes. “You know her?”

Startled by this sudden intensity, Wang Ning nodded instinctively. “Of course I do. So many kids in the village have been helped by her.”

She said she knew her, but most of what she knew came from the village adults.

There were many rumors in the village about that woman. Some said she came from a big city, though no one could say which one. City folks always liked to run off to the countryside, saying it was to relax and de-stress, but it was rare for someone like her to come alone to a place as remote as Wuliu Village.

“I heard she was bitten by a poisonous snake while sketching, and Uncle Zhang and the others saved her. My grandma said the village chief said the jade bracelet she was wearing at the time looked very expensive.” Wang Ning lowered her voice as if telling a mysterious story. “Later, she opened an art studio in town. She usually paints by herself and occasionally teaches students.”

What the villagers found most fascinating was her detached demeanor. They said that when poor children came to learn painting, she wouldn’t charge a cent. If she met someone from a struggling family, she would even provide financial support. But most of the time, people saw her carrying her drawing board alone to the village to sketch, sitting for an entire day.

“As for anything else—” Wang Ning shook her head. “I don’t really know.”

The afternoon sun filtered through the window lattice, casting fragmented shadows on the mottled wall. After listening, Qiao Xiaoxiao simply nodded lightly, her long eyelashes casting a shadow on her face.

The midday sun streamed into the small courtyard as Wang Ning’s grandmother pushed open the door with a bamboo basket. The wild vegetables in the basket, still dotted with dew, were a vibrant green. “Xiaoxiao, don’t be in a hurry to leave.” The wrinkles on the old woman’s face smoothed out. “Grandma is making dumplings with your favorite wild vegetable filling today.”

Qiao Xiaoxiao smiled faintly. She deftly helped the grandmother bundle the bupleurum, her movements skilled.

Wang Ning, standing to the side, also wanted to help, but having been spoiled by her grandmother since she was little, she was clumsy. In a moment of carelessness, a sharp thorn from the bupleurum pricked her finger.

Wang Ning hissed in pain. Her grandmother quickly grabbed her by the ear and dragged her inside. “When I was your age, I was already handling all the chores for the family. Look at you!”

Though her words were a reprimand, her tone was full of affection.

“But I have Grandma~” Wang Ning whined, rubbing against her grandmother’s shoulder. “Grandma, it hurts~”

Qiao Xiaoxiao’s hands paused for a moment, a flicker of imperceptible envy in her eyes. She quickened her pace and finished the remaining work in one go. As she was leaving, the plate of steaming dumplings on the stove emitted an enticing aroma. She swallowed silently, shaking her head at the old woman’s repeated invitations to stay. “Thank you, Grandma, but they’re waiting for me at home.”

Her fragile self-esteem was like a thin layer of ice, preventing her from ever staying for a meal at someone else’s house.

As she turned, she straightened her back, as if that could prop up her crumbling pride.

The courtyard gate closed softly behind her, shutting out the tempting aroma and Grandma Wang’s sigh.

Qiao Xiaoxiao pushed open the creaking wooden door. The house was empty, not a soul in sight. The stove was cold, without a hint of warmth. She actually felt a sense of relief, her tense shoulders finally relaxing.

She carefully stacked the new textbooks on the edge of the kang bed, pulled a hard steamed bun from a bamboo basket, casually brushed off the flour, and took a large bite. The dry bun crumbs made her cough twice, but she still finished it in two or three bites, washing it down with water. Then she slung a bamboo basket over her shoulder and headed out.

The mountain forest was particularly damp after the rain, the air filled with the fresh scent of earth and plants.

The mountain path was steep and slippery with mud.

Normally, villagers wouldn’t choose this time to gather herbs, but Qiao Xiaoxiao couldn’t miss this opportunity. The more slippery the path, the fewer people there would be, and the more likely she was to find valuable medicinal herbs.

She expertly navigated the muddy mountain path, frequently bending down to pick stalks of bupleurum.

Seeing the basket gradually fill, Qiao Xiaoxiao was happy. But in a moment of distraction, her foot slipped, and she fell heavily into the mud.

“Ouch—”

A sharp stone cut her palm, and a searing pain shot through her knee as it hit a rock. She bit down hard on her lower lip, forcing back a cry of pain, and curled up in the mud for a good while. Only when the piercing pain became bearable did she push herself up with a trembling arm. The slick mud caused her to slip twice more before she finally stood firm.

Looking down at her mud-caked clothes, Qiao Xiaoxiao’s heart clenched. She tremblingly took off her jacket and carefully inspected every inch of the fabric. The cuffs weren’t torn, the collar was intact, and the mud stains would wash out. Only then did her racing heart settle back into place. She let out a long sigh of relief.

The mountain wind, carrying a damp chill, scraped against Qiao Xiaoxiao’s thin frame like a knife. She instinctively wrapped her arms around herself. Her faded sleeves slid down, revealing a section of her arm so pale it was almost translucent. Several purplish-red bruises coiled around her arm, like hideous centipedes, looking particularly stark against her overly fair skin.

With no one around, Qiao Xiaoxiao tied her jacket around her waist, leaving the bruises exposed to the cool air. She bent down to pick up the scattered herb basket and continued her trek up the mountain, one deep step after another, completely unaware of the unusual presence in the shadows of the trees not far away.

And in the pine forest a dozen steps away, Chu Xinrou stood in a simple white linen dress, the hem gently stirred by the mountain wind, as still as a figure in a meticulous painting. The paintbrush in her hand hung suspended in mid-air, hesitating to fall.

On the easel, the mountain landscape she had intended to paint was now set aside. She frowned slightly, her gaze following the stumbling figure, her fingers holding the brush unconsciously tightening.

【Author’s Note】

PS: Everyone, please note that the timeline in this story is 2012