Diagnosis: Friend [Rebirth] - Chapter 24.2

Chapter 24.2

She slowly smoothed the smile lines on her face, sensing the heavy, unvoiced emotion of the woman before her.

Finally, the woman reached down, picked up the cigarette butt, and left after saying only one sentence: “If this applies to you, correct it; if not, take it as an encouragement. Smoking is not allowed in school. Please keep that in mind, students.”

Under the lights, that straight-backed figure moved further away, merging into the crowd of students heading to their classrooms for evening self-study.

Tan Baozhu gave a light huff and muttered a curse word.

The boy was startled by her words and whispered a reminder: “Don’t say things like that.”

Tan Baozhu looked back at him, her voice mocking. “I didn’t realize you were such a person who ‘respects teachers and honors the Way’.”

“Ms. Jian is a very good person,” the boy said. “If any other teacher had caught you just now, they would have called your parents. Ms. Jian only gave us a warning; that’s already very kind.”

Tan Baozhu couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “You’ve got a lighter in your pocket—don’t tell me you’ve never smoked in school. Stop pretending.”

She continued grumbling, but then her brow twitched as she said meaningfully, “I see Jian Wenxin still has quite the charm herself.”

“You…” The boy stood up in shock. “That’s a teacher. Don’t start having crooked ideas.”

“Oh,” Tan Baozhu responded indifferently, not understanding why the boy seemed so indignant.

However, by Monday night, the indignant one became Tan Baozhu.

A loud slap landed on Tan Baozhu’s cheek, making her ears ring. This was followed by the crashing sound of beer bottles being smashed. A man pointed at the glass shards on the floor, stepped back, and sat on the sofa.

Tasting blood on her teeth with the tip of her tongue, Tan Baozhu’s face reddened rapidly as a searing pain burned across her cheek. She glared at the man with tear-filled eyes, her knees buckling as she knelt down.

The man’s curses followed one after another. Tan Baozhu filtered out the meaningless nonsense, but gathered the gist of it. Someone had snitched to her father, saying she hadn’t changed at all—that she was dating, smoking, and talking back to teachers at school.

Tan Baozhu’s first thought was Jian Wenxin.

Even if it might not have been Jian Wenxin who snitched, she was the only one Tan Baozhu could think of at the moment, so she naturally projected her hatred onto the young female teacher.

Fine beads of blood seeped from her skin. Tan Baozhu sighed, her peripheral vision catching the fruit knife on the coffee table. What were the odds of stabbing him to death? Not high. The odds of her being beaten to death were much higher.

For the next few days, Tan Baozhu took leave on the grounds of injury, lying on the soft bed in her room for a week. On Saturday, she finally felt an urge to soak up some sun, so she took a long-overdue bath, changed her clothes, and went out.

Somehow, she found herself at the entrance of a certain residential complex. Slipping in by following someone with an access card, Tan Baozhu entered the complex fully disguised in a hat and mask. It was the weekend; that woman should be home.

As expected, it wasn’t long before Tan Baozhu spotted the woman at the complex’s children’s play area. She was slightly hunched over, holding a little girl on a swing, while a man gently pushed them from behind.

A harmonious scene of a family of three.

Her gaze fell on the woman’s arms wrapped around the girl, and she thought with utter malice: Fall off, fall off, fall off…

In reality, she had once put such thoughts into action. The child had fallen and wailed; the woman had rushed over, slapped her, and hurried the child to the hospital.

Hiding in the greenery, Tan Baozhu heard the little girl’s giggles. She wished the world would explode right then. Her gaze was like a venomous snake hidden in the dark—chilling, cold, and slimy. After watching for who knows how long, the family left hand-in-hand. Tan Baozhu crouched in the corner, feeling she had come here specifically to seek out misery.

She pushed herself up on numb legs and limped toward the exit. After a few steps, she saw someone interesting and stopped, pressing herself against the bushes to peek over.

On the other side of the greenery, Jian Wenxin and Jiang Qing were walking in carrying groceries. A fish in Jian Wenxin’s bag flopped, splashing water on both of them. Jiang Qing reached out to take the other grocery bag. “Ms. Jian, let me take this. You just hold the fish.”

The two of them entered a building.

Out of some strange impulse, Tan Baozhu followed them in. She knew Jiang Qing had good grades and that teachers favored top students, but she didn’t expect Jian Wenxin to bring her home and act so close—almost like a daughter.

Tan Baozhu was annoyed. Jian Wenxin really lacked professional ethics. She was angry. Why was she the only one who wasn’t loved?

Winter arrived quickly. The last leaves finally fell from the trees behind the school gate, leaving only bare branches standing in the cold wind like guardian gods watching the students entering and leaving the cafeteria.

Gu Yining held Jiang Qing’s arm, shrinking her shoulders against the biting wind. “Jiang Qing, did you sign up for any events in the sports meet?”

The winter sports meet was in a few days. Because of her recent head injury, Gu Yining hadn’t wanted to join, but the class was short on participants. The sports representative, hearing she was athletic, had begged her in tears to sign up. Since the girl had helped her bring breakfast a few days ago, Gu Yining found it hard to refuse and let herself be coaxed into signing her name.

She’d just do what she could when the time came.

Jiang Qing was wrapped in a gray padded coat over her uniform, with a vibrant raspberry-colored scarf around her neck. Her chin was tucked into the wool. She shook her head, a puff of white vapor escaping her nose. “I’m only participating in the class opening ceremony performance.”

Jian Wenxin required everyone to join the opening ceremony. They had been practicing hard lately, even skipping math class to let the sports representative lead them in dance practice on the field. At the news of no math class, the previously lethargic students suddenly acted like they’d been injected with chicken blood, jumping from their chairs to celebrate.

“I signed up for the 800-meter dash.” Gu Yining’s hand was tucked into Jiang Qing’s pocket, resting against Jiang Qing’s slightly cool skin. A long-lost sense of security surged within her. She looked at Jiang Qing with a smile. “You have to be at the finish line to catch me.”

Below the teaching building, the bulletin board had been updated with the latest rankings. Jiang Qing was in first place, her photo posted at the very front. Gu Yining looked at the board, then at the person beside her, squeezing her fingertips. “So you really did poorly last time because of me.”

Gu Yining’s hands, much like her personality, were always warm. Jiang Qing pulled her hand out of the pocket and led her up the steps. “Not necessarily.” She suddenly remembered something and asked with a light laugh, “What about you? Doing so poorly? You’re at the bottom of your class. I saw Gu Xi laughing at you the other day.”

Gu Yining leaned in, covering her mouth with her hand as she whispered, “I’m a transmigrator—I’ve forgotten almost everything from high school. It’s lucky I’m not dead last.” She pouted. “As for Gu Xi, who cares? Let her laugh if she wants.”

Entering the corridor from the stairs, Gu Yining nearly collided with someone.

“Sorry!” The boy was tall and apologized immediately before shifting his gaze. “Jiang Qing, I was looking for you.”

“Hmm? What’s up?”

The boy was Jiang Qing’s classmate, Wang Jiexie. Due to his good vocal quality, he and Jiang Qing had been chosen by the Chinese teacher for the city’s “Duo Recitation Competition.” They had just competed in the finals a few days ago.

Gu Yining held onto Jiang Qing, looking at the boy with a playful but sharp smile. “Classmate Wang, isn’t the competition over? Why are you still looking for our Jiang Qing?”

The sarcasm in her tone clearly displeased the boy. Hmph, Gu Yining thought. She wasn’t even the one who was unhappy yet—he didn’t get to be first. Over the past week, Wang Jiexie had constantly pulled Jiang Qing away to practice. In the freezing weather, he made her warm up her voice on the tree-lined path, forcing Gu Yining to shiver in the cold wind while following them. It was madness.

That “madman” had even tried to invite Jiang Qing to lunch in the cafeteria. He acted so solemn about it; if you didn’t know better, you’d think they were going to a Michelin restaurant instead of the canteen. Fortunately, with Gu Yining there, Jiang Qing was able to decline with the excuse of “Sorry, my friend is waiting for me.”

She could tell the boy liked Jiang Qing, which made Gu Yining dislike him even more. He looks like a rat; a toad lusting after swan meat. Besides, this was high school—trying to lure Jiang Qing into an early romance? Not on her watch.

Now that the competition was over, she wondered what excuse he was using now. Wang Jiexie knew this Gu student from Class 8 held a deep grudge against him, so he ignored her and smiled at Jiang Qing. “Jiang Qing, Mr. Wang called us to the office. The results must be out.”

“Now?” Jiang Qing asked.

The boy nodded. “Mhm.” He glanced at the hand gripping Jiang Qing’s arm. Gu Yining slowly let go.

The two of them went downstairs. On the way to the office, Wang Jiexie slowed down to wait for Jiang Qing, saying casually, “You and that Classmate Gu are very close. Every time I see you outside the classroom, it seems you’re with her.”

It was more than that. That Gu girl waited at their classroom door almost every break—to eat together, or to walk back to the dorms after self-study. It was as if Jiang Qing were her designated compass; she couldn’t eat or find her way home without her. If Gu Yining weren’t a girl, he would absolutely suspect she was pursuing Jiang Qing.

Jiang Qing adjusted her scarf as she walked. “Just… friends.”

The sports meet approached, but the weather remained drizzly for days. The fine rain dampened the students’ spirits as they worried if the event would be held. Even the night before, a misty rain was still falling.

During the second half of evening self-study, the students couldn’t sit still. The sound of talking rose in waves. Jiang Qing rested her chin on her hand, looking out the window. Raindrops with long tails slid down the glass; she touched it, finding it cold.

The bell rang, and students rushed out. Jiang Qing packed her things and went to the door of Class 8. Inside, several students were excitedly trying on mascot costumes. Before the performance, each class had to enter in a formation. Some classes had people in mascot suits; others, like Jiang Qing’s, preferred less trouble and would mostly wear uniforms, though those with their own costumes could wear them in the front row.

A girl saw Jiang Qing at the door and told her, “Gu Yining went to the restroom. Wait a bit.”

Just then, someone tapped Jiang Qing on the shoulder. She turned to find a giant, grayish-brown bear head inches from her face. The bear had large eyes and a downturned mouth, giving it a look of “bold cowardice.” Even though Jiang Qing didn’t browse social media much, she knew this was the “sad bear” that had recently gone viral.

Below the bear head was a slender body in a school uniform. Jiang Qing smiled, staring at the bear’s mouth. “Are we going?”

The headpiece was lifted, revealing Gu Yining’s familiar smiling face, with a few beads of sweat on her forehead from the heat. “Hold on, leaving now.” Gu Yining dashed into the room, stowed the headpiece, and came back with her backpack.

The rain stopped once the ground was wet. The night wind was still cool. Gu Yining habitually took Jiang Qing’s arm, and Jiang Qing asked, “Will you be wearing that headpiece the whole time tomorrow? Won’t it be hot?”

Gu Yining instinctively slid her hand down to hold Jiang Qing’s. “Only for the entrance parade. It should be fine outdoors. This weather doesn’t look like it’ll improve anytime soon.”

Students ahead were also talking about the meet, expressing the collective hope of the school: “I hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow.”

Perhaps the heavens heard them. On the day of the sports meet, the days of drizzling actually stopped. Jiang Qing looked out the window; the ground was dry, and a beam of bright light broke through the clouds. It looked like the sun might come out.

The parade began at 9:30 AM. Jian Wenxin required everyone to gather in the classroom at 9:00 AM. Seeing it was only 7:10 AM, Jiang Qing went to the cafeteria first. Usually packed, it was nearly empty. She sat near a window with soy milk and a bun.

9:00 AM. The class gathered. Jian Wenxin gave instructions: no sneaking out of school, no littering, etc.

9:30 AM. Over fifty classes lined up outside the stadium, entering as scheduled. Jiang Qing was in the second row; the first row consisted of students in formal wear, hanfu, and cosplay.

“Jiang Qing! Jiang Qing!”

Jiang Qing snapped out of her daze and looked at Wang Jiexie in front of her. He was wearing a black tuxedo and holding a small bouquet. “What’s wrong?”

Wang Jiexie gestured with his chin and smiled. “Hold these flowers for a second? I need to go to the restroom.”

“Oh, okay.” Jiang Qing took the flowers, and the boy left the line. She looked down at the pink and yellow petals and took a sniff; the fragrance was rich and refreshing.

The school grounds were massive, and the PA system was poor. Those waiting outside could only hear muffled sounds and sharp static. With several classes still ahead of the sophomores, Jiang Qing boredly counted the flowers in the bouquet.

After a while, she felt a chill as a heavy shadow fell at her feet. A giant, unhappy Brown Bear was standing in front of her. Its mouth was drooping; compared to the bear she saw last night, this one seemed even unhappier. It didn’t speak, just stood there staring at her. Finally, it raised a hand and pointed at the flowers in Jiang Qing’s hand.

The girls nearby noticed the mascot and crowded around. Zhang Zixi, seeing it pointing angrily at the flowers, thought it wanted them and laughed. “No way! These were given to Jiang Qing; you can’t have them.”

Jiang Qing nudged Zhang Zixi. “They weren’t given to me. He went to the restroom and asked me to hold them.”

As soon as she said it, the bear suddenly stepped forward, threw its arms open, and hugged Jiang Qing tightly.

Jiang Qing laughed softly, letting the giant bear head rest on her shoulder while the coarse fur brushed her cheek. “They really aren’t mine. I can’t give them to you.” She lifted the flowers toward the bear’s head. “But I can let you smell them. They’re very fragrant.”

From a very close distance, Gu Yining’s muffled voice came from inside the headpiece.

“Not fragrant.”