A Cold and Aloof Top Student Is Relied Upon - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Morning Reading

◎An Interlude◎

As they returned to the dorm, Gu Zhu was about to enter her room when she heard the person behind her say in a very cheerful tone, “Goodnight, Gu Zhu. Hope you have sweet dreams.”

Gu Zhu’s hand on the doorknob paused. She turned her head slightly to see Bai Tan smiling and waiting for her. “I’ll be leaving at 6:50 tomorrow morning,” she said. Without waiting for a response, she pushed the door open, went in, and closed it behind her.

Bai Tan was stunned for a moment, then the curve of her smile grew wider. She shifted her weight on her feet. That was an invitation to go together tomorrow, wasn’t it?!

She was secretly happy for a long while before turning to go back to her own dorm. As soon as she entered, her roommates asked if her problem had been solved. Bai Tan nodded, her beautiful face beaming. “An unexpectedly good outcome!”

The dorm instantly became cheerful, and they all started chatting aimlessly.

From her room, Gu Zhu could occasionally hear snippets of their laughter. For a moment, she thought Bai Tan was a very strange person. She could be so outgoing, chatting and laughing freely with others, yet she would rather go hungry than ask her new roommates for help, choosing instead to seek out Gu Zhu, someone she had barely spoken to.

This was the first time someone had clung to her like this. It was a very peculiar feeling. It was like no matter how much you disliked clingy kittens, a gentle touch from their soft little paws would make you stop in your tracks.

As usual, Gu Zhu finished tidying up and sat at her desk. She turned on her lamp and began to review the steps and data from today’s experiment. Some of the experiments were things taught in college, but they were also part of the national competition curriculum, so she had to be very familiar with them. One wrong step could skew the results. Gu Zhu wouldn’t allow herself to make a mistake in a competition, so she was especially careful even during practice.

She calculated the data while watching the clock. As the hands moved to 11:10, she listened carefully. After catching the faint sound of footsteps, she turned off her lamp.

She closed her eyes in the darkness, resting quietly. Only after a long time had passed did she turn the lamp back on. The soft glow of the lamp illuminated the dense scribbles on her desk.

At 12:30, she got into bed on time. Hiding in her clean, warm blankets, she suddenly remembered the “goodnight” from earlier.

It had been many years since anyone had said goodnight to her. The last time she could remember was when she was very, very young, from the aunt next door.

Gu Baozhi never said it and never had the habit. Her work was too busy. Sometimes she would come home very late, when Gu Zhu was already asleep. As she got older, there seemed to be a new layer between them, like a protective, transparent gel membrane created by some chemical reaction that required certain conditions to form.

“Goodnight,” she mouthed silently, her quiet response finally given.

…

The next day, the door to dorm 512 opened softly. Bai Tan, in her school uniform, was yawning, her eyes narrowed from a sleep that even cold water couldn’t wash away. She swayed slightly as she walked across the hall.

Bai Tan had almost never gotten up this early. To be honest, her old school had one enviable thing: no morning exercises and no morning reading. As a master of punctuality, she would usually wake up and make a mad dash for class just before the bell rang.

It was 6:45. Bai Tan looked at the digital watch she had bought at the convenience store yesterday. It only had two functions—telling time and setting an alarm—and was cheap. The style and color were very plain. She had chosen a fluorescent green one, and the watch face was so big it took up her entire wrist.

There were five minutes until their agreed-upon time. She leaned her head against the wall, hoping to close her eyes for another five minutes, but a sound from inside made her open her eyelids slightly.

“‘aspect'”

“‘aspec’.”

The recording played once, and the person inside repeated it. It sounded like they were correcting their pronunciation, repeating one word many times. Bai Tan remembered that in most schools, English tests focused more on writing and reading because of their weight in the final score, so listening and speaking were often neglected. Gu Zhu seemed to have the same problem, with an inaccurate pronunciation of stressed syllables and similar-sounding phonetics.

The person inside was very patient and serious.

She’s probably a very hard-working student. Their demeanor and aura were similar to that.

Bai Tan’s thoughts flickered. What should I do? I just find her more and more endearing.

“Beep, beep—” Just then, her watch alarm went off. The time had come. The person inside must have heard it, because after some quiet tidying up, the door opened.

Gu Zhu looked at the person standing at the door on time, nodded slightly to her. “Morning. Let’s go.”

Bai Tan, on the other hand, was momentarily frozen. Gu Zhu just initiated saying “Good morning” to me! Did this mean she was finally being accepted by her? Her mood instantly brightened, as bright as the rising red sun.

Bai Tan jogged two steps to catch up. “Good morning, Gu Zhu!”

Gu Zhu glanced at her, wondering why she was saying something so simple with such a serious tone. Bai Tan had an involuntary smile on her face. As they walked down the stairs, she was facing the sun hanging diagonally outside. The morning sunlight was clear and warm, covering her pale face in a layer of radiance. Her nose was small, her nose bridge was straight, and her skin was smooth and flawless.

Gu Zhu couldn’t help but look at her a few more times. The transfer student had long, brownish-auburn wavy hair, which was currently tied back in a high ponytail. It swayed back and forth, the end of it falling on her waist, just like the person herself—it seemed to have infinite vitality.

They went to the cafeteria together. Gu Zhu led Bai Tan to her usual window and ordered a bowl of plain porridge and a steamed bun. Bai Tan also ordered a bowl of porridge, but she added a portion of stir-fried rice noodles.

Gu Zhu took out a plastic-wrapped container of her homemade side dishes. As she opened the lid, a sour and savory aroma filled the air. She inadvertently looked up and saw Bai Tan swallowing, her eyes fixed on the dish. Using her disposable chopsticks, she put some of it into Bai Tan’s bowl.

“Bam—boo—!”

Just then, a voice rang out, full of dread. Gu Zhu looked over to see Luo Minmin carrying her tray, her face a mask of disbelief, her eyebrows knitted together. “You’re eating with the transfer student behind my back?! I was here first! Why does she get to swoop in and steal my spot?!”

Gu Zhu immediately lowered her eyes and went back to eating.

Bai Tan looked back and forth between them. She was actually able to read a “this is too much” expression on Gu Zhu’s usually blank face. Seeing that Gu Zhu wasn’t going to respond, she quietly went back to eating. She mixed the rice noodles into the porridge and added some pickled radish. The breakfast tasted surprisingly good.

Seeing that the two of them were completely ignoring her, Luo Minmin snorted and sat down next to Gu Zhu, as if to declare ownership. “Tell me, what tricks did you use to hook our beautiful and adorable Bamboo? I admit you’re pretty, but that’s no excuse.” With that, she took a big sip of soymilk and slammed the paper carton onto the table with a “Pah!” “Confess now, and you’ll get a light sentence! Resist, and it’ll be severe!”

Bai Tan almost choked. What on earth is this dramatic buffoon? She finally understood why Gu Zhu kept quiet. She could talk this much without a single word of encouragement. If she had responded, wouldn’t the drama have escalated from a palace intrigue to an idol drama, a crime thriller, and then a mystery?

But she still tried to explain, hoping to stop the raging theatrical fire. “I forgot to bring my meal card, so I have to bother Gu Zhu for a few days.”

“Ohhh~ so that’s what it is!” Luo Minmin nodded knowingly, but then her expression changed again. “Is our Bamboo really that enthusiastic and nice? There must be some other untold method. Quick, tell me, how did you manage to melt that big of an iceberg?” As she said “iceberg,” she gestured with her hands toward Gu Zhu, her eyes full of accusation.

“Five minutes. English reading today,” Gu Zhu reminded her flatly. In the time it took Luo Minmin to perform, Gu Zhu had already finished her breakfast. Her single sentence shattered Luo Minmin’s dramatic spirit.

“Waaaah!” Luo Minmin cried in mock sadness. She buried her head and finished a small plate of rice noodles in a few bites. “It’s just reciting the text! I refuse to believe I’ll get picked again this time!” Luo Minmin’s English grades were actually pretty good, but her spoken English was subpar. The person who spoke loudly all day would automatically quiet down for this. Unfortunately, she had bad luck. Eight out of ten times, the number-picking game on the screen would land on her student number.

Bai Tan looked at Gu Zhu. This person is so quiet, yet the moment she speaks, she hits the nail on the head. Amazing!

Because time was short, they all finished and rushed to the classroom. They saw the English teacher entering through the front door and managed to slip into their seats through the back just as the bell rang.

The English class rep, Qin Tian’ai, who was also Bai Tan’s roommate, took attendance and then led the class in a recitation. Ten minutes before the end of class, she opened the multimedia program and pulled up the random number generator, ready to start today’s drawing.

“Student number 57.”

Hearing “57,” Gu Zhu subconsciously looked back to see Bai Tan’s bewildered expression. It seemed she hadn’t expected to be so “lucky” as to be chosen on her very first day of English reading.

Bai Tan had only opened her textbook during morning reading and realized that the version was different from the one she had used at her old school. Even with her good English, she couldn’t recite a text from scratch. As she was just getting to her feet, Qin Tian’ai on the podium spoke up for her. “Ms. Wu, Bai Tan is a new transfer student, and this is her first time in our reading class. Should we draw another student?”

After the English teacher nodded, she clicked the button again. The numbers on the screen spun and slowly stopped at “32.”

Luo Minmin stood up in tragic indignation.

“Pfft.” Someone below couldn’t hold back their laughter. Even Gu Zhu was stunned. She turned her face to the wall, unable to bear Luo Minmin’s accusing stare.

Bai Tan also couldn’t help but laugh. Her seat was directly behind Gu Zhu. When she inadvertently saw the girl’s slightly curved lips, her laughter stopped. As everyone’s attention was drawn to Luo Minmin, who was stumbling through her recitation, Bai Tan stared intently at Gu Zhu’s profile. The moment Gu Zhu’s eyes suddenly flickered over, Bai Tan quickly looked away like a thief.

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