Chapter 41
In the living room, Chu Xinrou sat upright. Hearing the sound, she stood up and looked at Qiao Xiaoxiao. “You’re back?”
Her expression was as usual, and even her tone was calm, with no trace of anger.
Qiao Xiaoxiao nervously clutched the hem of her clothes and nodded gently, her eyes fixed on her sister.
“Have you eaten?” Chu Xinrou didn’t look at her and said slowly, “I made noodles in the kitchen. If you’re hungry, you can go eat.”
After speaking, she turned and walked towards the bedroom without a moment’s hesitation.
This seemingly ordinary concern made Qiao Xiaoxiao more upset than any scolding. Her sister had never been so distant with her before.
She mechanically walked into the kitchen, opened the insulated container, and ate the bowl of slightly swollen noodles until it was clean.
As the night deepened, Chu Xinrou’s room door remained tightly shut. Usually, at this time, the two of them would be together, one painting and the other chatting and laughing. But tonight, only Qiao Xiaoxiao’s lonely figure was in the living room.
On the open workbook, the dense handwriting seemed to have turned into Chu Xinrou’s disappointed gaze, flashing before her eyes.
Qiao Xiaoxiao didn’t want this either. Her grades had always been her everything, her support and pride. But… the moment she thought of her sister leaving, Qiao Xiaoxiao felt as if she could give up everything. She just wanted Chu Xinrou not to leave.
This was a feeling she had never had before, strange and impulsive.
In the middle of it all, Yang Feitang came to visit with some pastries, pretending to be casual. After she came in and saw Qiao Xiaoxiao alone, she sized her up and down.
Qiao Xiaoxiao said in a voice tinged with a faint sense of death, “Stop looking. I wasn’t beaten. She didn’t even scold me.”
She’s ignoring her.
Yang Feitang first let out a sigh of relief, then her face fell again. “Xiaoxiao, tell your Sister Yang the truth. Were you influenced by what I said that day?”
She was dying of self-blame.
Qiao Xiaoxiao shook her head. “No, I really didn’t perform well.”
Stubborn as a mule.
Yang Feitang gritted her teeth. “Even a fool knows what your studies are like. If you’re going to fool people, at least come up with a reasonable excuse.”
Does she really think I’m an idiot? When she was bored, she would come to watch Xiaoxiao study. She had seen that she had almost finished reviewing the second-year high school knowledge. How could she have done so badly in a placement test?
Qiao Xiaoxiao pressed her lips together, lowered her head, and fell silent.
Seeing her dejected look, for a moment, Yang Feitang felt as if she were seeing the Qiao Xiaoxiao from when she had first arrived. Her heart felt heavy. She wanted to say something to comfort her but swallowed the words back down.
The person who tied the bell must be the one to untie it. Yang Feitang tiptoed to Chu Xinrou’s room door. Just as she was about to raise her hand to knock, she found that the door was not completely closed, leaving a narrow gap.
Her fingertips paused, and a thought suddenly flashed in her mind—could this gap have been left for the little brat on purpose?
After a moment’s hesitation, she still pushed the door open.
Under the dim yellow light, Chu Xinrou was sitting on the edge of the bed, holding a book, but she was clearly not reading it seriously. Hearing the noise, she looked up slightly. The moment her gaze met Yang Feitang’s, she was first stunned, then a faint, almost imperceptible trace of disappointment flashed in her eyes, followed by a slight frown, revealing a hint of annoyance.
Yang Feitang, who had just put on a smiling face: …
What, she’s already annoying before she even opens her mouth?
“Xinrou, what are you doing?” Yang Feitang said with a smile. Chu Xinrou waved the book in her hand, the annoyance on her face growing stronger. Although she didn’t speak, the simple gesture was a powerful question—are you blind?
Yang Feitang: …
Alright, she could really tell that Chu Xinrou was angry, and very angry at that.
It seems that Xinrou really cares about the brat. Otherwise, how could a usually gentle person be so angry?
How could she not be angry?
Chu Xinrou knew Qiao Xiaoxiao. She knew how much effort she had put into this placement test. No matter what the reason, what she had done was unacceptable.
Yang Feitang looked at her cautiously. “Xiaoxiao is not at ease reading outside.”
She was trying to move the heart of this sister who usually doted on Qiao Xiaoxiao the most.
Chu Xinrou looked at her coldly, her eyes clearly saying—she’s already in Class 10. How can she be at ease? Is that right?
Yang Feitang: …
She hadn’t even said a word, and Sister Yang was already defeated.
On the way back to the music room, she kept rubbing her arms. Scary, scary, too scary. She could now particularly feel the little brat’s mood. She would really rather be beaten! She remembered that when she had gone to the South Pole to see penguins before, she had met an old friend of Chu Xinrou’s from the business world. When they mentioned CEO Chu, the other person had a look of fear, saying that she was the “Jade-faced Shura” of the business world, with an intimidating presence that no one was not afraid of. Yang Feitang hadn’t believed it at that time. How could her gentle and amiable Xinrou be some kind of Shura? Now that she saw it, it was true!
Chu Xinrou didn’t want to be like this either. The inner conflict and torment had turned her suppressed anger into silence.
She really couldn’t understand what could have made the usually well-behaved Qiao Xiaoxiao do such a rebellious thing.
She was waiting for a reason.
The next day, Qiao Xiaoxiao woke up in a daze.
Even after she had finished making breakfast, her sister still hadn’t come out to eat. She hadn’t even glanced at her.
Qiao Xiaoxiao’s heart felt as if it were soaked in ice water. Usually, at this time, her sister would be holding a cup of hot milk, listening to her chatter about her training plan for the day. The light touch on the top of her head before she left, the smiling “be careful on the road,” was the ritual she cherished most every day.
But now, it was all gone.
She even thought, should I tell my sister everything I’m thinking? But… she was afraid, afraid that this “entanglement” would add to Chu Xinrou’s burden.
The familiar feeling of suffocation rose from the soles of her feet. In the past, at times like this, she would always have to curl up in the dark and endure a long period of self-loathing.
But at this moment, there was no room for escape. She mechanically took a step forward, her heart a blank.
In the morning light, Wang Tiantian was on her tiptoes, looking around at the school gate. When the familiar figure with a huge schoolbag appeared, she frowned. Qiao Xiaoxiao’s head was so low it was almost buried in her chest, and every step she took was as if she were dragging a thousand-pound weight.
“Hey!” Wang Tiantian rushed forward, her long arm stretching out and directly putting Qiao Xiaoxiao in a chokehold. “What are you acting like a melancholic young girl for so early in the morning?” Her arm tightened, almost making Xiaoxiao choke on her breakfast.
Seeing that Qiao Xiaoxiao was still listless, Wang Tiantian slapped the back of her head with a smack. “Wake up! So what if you didn’t do well in the test? It’s okay, little comrade. Youth is for making mistakes!” She suddenly struck an exaggerated pose, her right fist against her chest, her gaze fixed on the distance. “Remember, you and me—”
“Are the whole world!” Before she could finish, she nimbly dodged the fist Qiao Xiaoxiao swung at her, running and turning back to make a face. “Come and chase me, sister! Once you start running, all your troubles will be gone!”
Qiao Xiaoxiao gritted her teeth. “Wang Tiantian!!!”
She’s going to hit someone!
Tiantian ran with high spirits. “Xiaoxiao, life is not just about studying. You did the right thing. You are the hero of our students!”
“You defied the school’s authority and challenged it with your strength—so what about the placement test? Qiao Xiaoxiao just doesn’t believe in evil!”
…
That morning, it was rumored among the first-year high school students that classmate Qiao Xiaoxiao, who had “tested the law with her own body” to criticize the unfair placement test, had chased a senior sister around the school.
What kind of youthful and unrestrained spirit was this!
So much so that when Qiao Xiaoxiao walked into Class 10 with a dark face, the whole class burst into thunderous applause for her!
“Wow!”
“Qiao Xiaoxiao! You’re the best!”
“You’re the most awesome!”
…
Qiao Xiaoxiao: …
For no reason at all.
Qiao Xiaoxiao had become popular among her classmates. In fact, even though she was at the bottom of Class 10 this time, she was elected class president with an absolute advantage.
Qiao Xiaoxiao was silent for a long time after knowing the result. She was warmly invited by her head teacher, Song Yang, to give a speech on the stage.
She was very uncooperative, her hands in her pockets, her head down, not saying a word.
But just by standing there, it was enough for the fans below to cheer.
“Amazing!”
“Cool!!!”
“Class President Qiao, I love you!!!”
The cheers echoed in the classroom.
Although Song Yang didn’t show it on the surface, the approval in her eyes couldn’t be hidden. As a head teacher, she had always had reservations about the school’s class assignment system. This method of judging heroes by their grades was more harmful than beneficial to both the students’ mental health and their academic progress.
At that time, every class had a parent contact group.
When Song Yang announced that Qiao Xiaoxiao had been elected class president of Class 4 with 80% of the votes, the parent group of Class 10 also cheered.
When they had come for the parent-teacher conference, they had all heard of this girl who excelled in both character and academics. They had always thought that she would get into one of the top classes in this exam. But when their children came back and said that she had “tested the law with her own body” to challenge the unreasonable placement test and had stayed in Class 10.
“This child has personality!”
“That’s right. I’ve long said that this placement test is unreasonable. Isn’t it just dividing the children into different classes?”
“It’s good, it’s good. Everyone is fighting for a breath of fresh air. The children have to follow the class president and study hard!”
…
Chu Xinrou’s brush had been paused for a long time and had not yet been put to paper. She had been absent-minded all day and couldn’t paint. Especially after seeing the information in the class group, she fell into a deep silence and doubt.
Is Xiaoxiao the type of person who… challenges authority?
This “rebellion” had made Qiao Xiaoxiao see a different scenery. Even the school’s press club wanted to interview her.
She was on the sports field for her morning run at that time.
The hood of her gray hoodie was loosely covering her head, and the earphone cord swayed gently with her steps. The hair on her forehead was soaked with sweat, and a few strands were stuck to the red corners of her eyes. The moment she turned, she inadvertently looked up and was captured by a young reporter.
That photo quickly went viral on the campus forum—against the light, the line of her slightly raised chin was as sharp as a knife, and sweat trickled down her neck into her collar. The morning light plated her profile in a golden light, and the arc of her long legs carried an undeniable sense of power. What was most eye-catching were her eyes, like amber dipped in ice, cold and bright.
In this campus, which was suffocated by test papers and scores, Qiao Xiaoxiao’s appearance was like a dancing flame. The teenagers who were buried in a sea of practice problems suddenly found that there was another way to live out their youth.
Her rise to fame was sudden and unexpected. People started to pretend to bump into her in the hallway, and there were always intentional or unintentional gazes following her in the cafeteria. The most exaggerated was after lunch the next day, the cashier called out to her, “Classmate, someone just paid for you!” Qiao Xiaoxiao stood there in a daze with her tray, only seeing the backs of a few girls who were blushing and running away in a hurry.
Qiao Xiaoxiao: ???
The most outrageous was that some fans had even chased her to her stall at the night market.
Yang Feitang was afraid that Chu Xinrou would be depressed and get sick, so she had dragged her out to Fumin Street.
At first, Chu Xinrou had refused to go, but after she was dragged out, she fell silent, her steps even more hurried than hers.
She hadn’t spoken to Xiaoxiao for two days, and she had seen that the child’s eyes were red this morning.
Her heart had been in a turmoil for a long time.
She thought that this couldn’t go on. Today, when Xiaoxiao came home, she would have a good talk with her and ask her what she was really thinking.
Seeing her hurried appearance, Yang Feitang was amused. Weren’t you angry? Weren’t you ignoring the brat? It hasn’t even been two days, and you can’t take it anymore? You’re really doting on her. And, how come she found that after having a tiff with the brat, Chu Xinrou’s mind was no longer stuck on the trivial matters at home?
Fumin Street at this time was bustling with people.
Yang Feitang added fuel to the fire, “You don’t know. That child has been listless these past few days. It’s said that her bracelet sales have also dropped. She can’t provide service with a smile, so customers are not coming.”
Hearing this, Chu Xinrou felt even more guilty. She didn’t know what was wrong with her, that she would actually get angry with a child.
She was always calm and composed about everything, but when it came to Qiao Xiaoxiao, she was extremely serious.
She felt that Xiaoxiao shouldn’t have, no matter what the reason, joked with her future.
As they walked, they would hear girls’ “wow” screams from time to time. Yang Feitang looked around with a smile. “Is there some event today? Did a celebrity come?”
Before she could finish, she saw Chu Xinrou staring ahead in a daze, her eyes full of disbelief.
Yang Feitang followed her gaze, and her jaw almost dropped to the ground with a “holy shit.”
The night market in the twilight was dimly lit, but Qiao Xiaoxiao’s stall was unexpectedly crowded with people. She stood by the simple shelf with her arms crossed, her brows furrowed under the brim of her hat, her lips pressed into a straight line. This “stay away” look actually made the onlookers even more excited.
“Xiaoxiao, look at the camera!”
“I’ll take this bracelet!”
“Do you still have this blue one? Three more, please. Can you sign it?”
…
Amidst the constant clicking of shutters, a boy named Zi Sheng suddenly squeezed to the front. The tips of his ears were red, but he very solemnly took out his wallet. “These… I’ll take them all.” Because of his nervousness, his voice was trembling. “It’s so cold. You… should go home and rest early.”
He had just read the hot post on the campus network last night—”Class 10’s Qiao Xiaoxiao: The Light Chaser Under the Streetlamp.” The post detailed her daily life of collecting scraps after school, selling phone cards, and setting up a stall at the night market. The accompanying picture of the figure who had practiced late into the night on the track and field now perfectly overlapped with the cold-faced girl before him.
Qiao Xiaoxiao raised an eyebrow and looked at her. Just as everyone was holding their breath, thinking that this boy who had rashly struck up a conversation was about to be rejected, Qiao Xiaoxiao asked lightly, “Are these on the stall enough? I still have some in stock at home.”
…
Yang Feitang had already “holy shitted” thousands of times. When she turned to look at Chu Xinrou’s cold and beautiful face, the big stone in her heart finally fell to the ground.
Alright! Perfect!
This time, her Sister Chu is really worried about this brat!
