Diagnosis: Friend [Rebirth] - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The second day of the sports meet featured long jump, rope skipping, shot put, and the 200-meter class relay.

Long jump, rope skipping, and shot put were all individual events, which Jiang Qing didn’t find very interesting. However, Jian Wenxin required all students without individual events to be present at the relay to cheer, as it was a matter of class honor. Consequently, Jiang Qing brought a book along; she sat in a corner reading quietly when things were dull and stood up to shout encouragement when needed.

Gu Yining was clearly much more interested in the competitions. Despite being a transfer student, she had excellent relations with her classmates and spent the day drifting between various venues to watch and cheer for her peers.

The weather today wasn’t as good as yesterday, but fortunately, it was only windy and not raining.

Jiang Qing pulled out her earphones, plugged them into her phone, and scrolled through her screen to pick a song she liked.

The phone was a recent purchase. Of the 500,000 yuan Zhou Xuening had given her, Jiang Qing had put half in the bank, used a third to buy stocks that were predicted to surge, and kept the rest as cash on hand. Her old second-hand “senior phone” had been in use for over a year and could only handle basic calls and texts; since some class announcements were sent via QQ groups, Jiang Qing had bought a smartphone for convenience.

She was halfway through a book borrowed from the library. She expected to finish it today, return it tomorrow, and find a new one. Holding her face in her hands, she began to read, her backpack resting by the leg of her stool.

Eventually, Yang Lei ran to the back to urge her: “Jiang Qing, stop reading! Our class relay is about to start. Let’s go to the front to cheer!”

Jiang Qing took off her earphones. Her legs felt a bit numb. She tilted her head back toward Yang Lei and nodded. “Mhm, I’m coming right now!”

She stood up abruptly. Facing the daylight, her vision suddenly went black, and her body began to topple. In her daze, she felt herself kick something over. The next second, someone caught her.

“Did you not eat breakfast?”

As her vision gradually returned, Jiang Qing noticed a scent of tea. She shook her head and looked at the person supporting her; Jian Wenxin’s face came into focus. Her consciousness fully returned.

Jiang Qing said, “I did. I probably just stood up too fast, causing a temporary interruption of blood supply to the brain…”

Jian Wenxin laughed before she could even finish. “If the biology teacher heard you say that, they’d be moved to tears.” She patted Jiang Qing’s back, checking again, “Are you really okay? If you feel unwell, sit down and rest a while.”

Jiang Qing shook her head and followed Jian Wenxin to the relay track, squeezing into the class’s cheerleading squad. She suddenly remembered kicking something over and looked back. She had knocked over the small stool; her backpack, which had been leaning against it, had fallen to the ground alongside the book she had been reading. Forget it, she thought, I’ll pick them up after the race.

Happy, relaxed days always pass quickly. The five-day sports meet vanished in the blink of an eye.

The blackboard was once again covered in chalk writing. Every teacher reminded the students to get their heads back in the game, as the third monthly exam was fast approaching.

The weather grew colder and colder. The school’s pigeons and cats stopped coming out. Students stuffed down jackets under their school uniforms; when they encountered “Zhou the Skinner” checking at the gate, they would pull their zippers down with the heroic flair of a swordsman drawing a blade, showing the uniform underneath before sauntering into school with their chins held high.

Due to the weather, there were far fewer street vendors behind the school. Students were too lazy to walk out for food, so the cafeteria entered its peak season once more. As the sun moved toward the Southern Hemisphere, the nights grew longer, and Jiang Qing’s internal clock began to change subtly.

Specifically, she couldn’t wake up in the morning. Even if she managed to run into the cafeteria ten minutes before morning study began, the sight of the massive breakfast crowds meant she wouldn’t be able to get a meal in time.

Going hungry in the morning lasted only two days. On the second day, Gu Yining discovered Jiang Qing hadn’t eaten. For some reason, she was exceptionally angry and ended up having a bizarre argument with Jiang Qing over the importance of breakfast. Of course, it was a one-sided argument from Gu Yining, who ended it by storming out and slamming the door.

On the third morning, Jiang Qing dragged her exhausted body into the classroom to find a box of milk and two buns on her desk. Assuming it was from a suitor and not thinking of Gu Yining, she didn’t dare eat them. She placed the food on the windowsill to signal her lack of interest to the anonymous admirer.

When Gu Yining passed by Class 1 and peered at Jiang Qing’s seat, she saw the unopened milk and the cold buns. Her anger flared again. Forgetting she was in another class’s room, she stomped in to confront her: “Jiang Qing, you… why aren’t you eating?”

“Huh?” Jiang Qing woke from a nap between classes. She looked at Gu Yining, confused by the situation, though she noticed the surrounding gazes were filled with faint concern.

Zhang Zixi stood in front of Jiang Qing’s seat, staring at the aggressive intruder. “Gu Yining, speak calmly.” If it weren’t for the fact that everyone knew Jiang Qing and Gu Yining were close, the class would have long since kicked her out.

Gu Yining realized the hostility of the onlookers and that her emotions were too intense. She took a deep breath and asked again, “Why aren’t you eating the breakfast I brought you?”

Zhang Zixi, standing between them: “…?” That’s it?

Jiang Qing rubbed her eyes, looked at Gu Yining, and then at the cold breakfast on the window. “I didn’t know you brought it. I didn’t dare eat it.” Having fought with her the day before, she hadn’t expected Gu Yining to bring her food today.

“Oh,” Gu Yining whispered. Her bristling anger was instantly smoothed by those words. She touched her hair awkwardly and pulled a chocolate bar from her pocket to give to Zhang Zixi. “Zixi, a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding.”

She then half-knelt, resting her chin on Jiang Qing’s desk. The classroom lights reflected as tiny white dots in her dark pupils. She said softly, “From now on, I’ll bring your breakfast. You can eat it without worry.”

Seeing Jiang Qing’s confused expression, Gu Yining explained, “I get up to run every day anyway. Bringing you breakfast is just ‘on the way’.”

“Oh,” Jiang Qing said expressionlessly. “Then can you bring some for my roommates too? They can’t wake up either.”

Gu Yining: “You…” I’m not that free! You actually believed ‘on the way’? I brought it specifically for you!

With a soft snort, Jiang Qing lightly tapped Gu Yining’s forehead. “Just kidding. My roommates don’t need you to bring anything. Don’t worry about becoming a campus delivery person.” She added, “Thank you for the breakfast.”

Though she didn’t know the reason for Gu Yining’s obsessive persistence on this matter, Jiang Qing was grateful. She truly struggled to wake up, and skipping breakfast did make her feel awful.

With Gu Yining’s breakfast delivery service, Jiang Qing naturally began waking up even later—from arriving minutes early, to arriving exactly on time, to finally being thirty seconds late and getting caught by the Dean, who posted her photo in the group chat for class teachers.

Before she could process it, Jian Wenxin came looking for her. Usually, Jian Wenxin would speak to her in the hallway, but today was different. Jiang Qing followed her out, down the stairs, and to a quiet corner.

Sensing something serious, Jiang Qing asked cautiously, “Ms. Jian, what… what’s wrong?”

The woman’s pitying gaze landed on her, and her lips parted slightly: “I received a call from your father this morning. He said…” She looked at Jiang Qing’s forced relaxed expression. “Your grandmother has passed away.”

The light in the girl’s eyes dropped and then scattered into a void. The wind whistled in her ears. After a long silence, Jian Wenxin heard her whisper a single word: “Mhm.”

Jian Wenxin stepped forward and hugged the girl gently. Not good at comforting people, she could only pat the girl’s back. When she had brought Jiang Qing out of Xiaoyang Village the previous year, she had learned about her family: a runaway mother, an alcoholic and abusive father, and the only person who had ever shown the girl love—her elderly grandmother.

When Jian Wenxin was driving out of the village, the white-haired old woman had blocked the path. Jian Wenxin thought it was another person trying to stop them, and the police behind were ready to get out, but the old woman had simply tapped tremulously on the window. When the window rolled down, the woman looked at the driver with a pleading smile: “Hello, Teacher.”

Her gaze skipped past the woman to the girl in the passenger seat, whose face was stained with tears from a recent scare. The grandmother smiled, her eyes welling up behind layers of wrinkled lids. She said, “Xiao Qing, once you leave, never come back.”

Xiaoyang Village was not a good place, especially for a woman. She was old; she couldn’t protect herself as a child, couldn’t protect her daughter later, and now couldn’t protect her granddaughter. She hoped this young teacher could take her granddaughter out of the mountains and away forever.

Later, Jiang Qing did exactly as the old woman wished and never returned.

The strong scent of gasoline filled the bus. Jiang Qing opened the window, letting in the wind scented with vegetation to suppress her urge to vomit. Her grandmother lived in Nanyang Village, a few kilometers from Xiaoyang Village. After transferring between several buses, she finally arrived.

Counting her time before rebirth, it had been eighteen years since she had been to Nanyang Village. Aside from the time she was taken away by Jian Wenxin, her last meeting with her grandmother had been when she was eleven.

Jiang Qing remembered it vividly. She had been beaten by the drunk Jiang Jinbao and had walked several kilometers to Nanyang Village in tears. Malnourished and small, the tiny child had pounded on the heavy door, crying for her grandmother. Her grandmother had let her in, but her uncle and aunt were inside. Their young son sat on the sofa, glancing at her: “A guest is here.”

Children of the poor are best at reading faces; young Jiang Qing immediately felt unwelcome. That night, her grandmother and uncle fought, their long-accumulated malice venting into a shouting match. Jiang Qing’s ears were sensitive; the noise made them ring. She slipped outside for air, only to hear a voice call out: “Little bastard!”

She turned to see the boy sticking his tongue out through a crack in the door. A second later, the door slammed shut. Jiang Qing crouched on the steps, thinking her grandmother would let her back in once they were done arguing. But she didn’t. After the shouting stopped, Jiang Qing heard the sound of the little boy crying. She heard her grandmother rush to comfort him, cooing “Darling,” “Baby,” and “Good grandson,” before saying, “Good grandson, let Grandma take you to sleep, okay?”

Jiang Qing had been forgotten. She looked up at the night sky, a wanderer with nowhere to go.

In her previous life, she had been devastated by the news of her grandmother’s death. The memories of her kindness were vivid, but the resentment had stung her constantly. Back then, she hated the world for not being black and white—hating that love and resentment could exist simultaneously for one person.

The reborn Jiang Qing followed her memory into the village. Mourning music blared. She looked up and saw the white cloth hanging high on a two-story house. It was 4:00 PM. A coffin sat in the middle of the main hall. A woman was loudly chanting laments into a microphone, singing and crying rhythmically.

Jiang Qing walked forward and was stopped by a woman in an apron. The woman glanced at her uniform. “Whose child are you?”

Jiang Qing pointed at the coffin. “The one lying in there is my grandmother.”

“Grandmother?” The woman thought for a moment. “Oh, you’re Jiang Jinbao’s daughter?”

“Jiang Qing?” Her aunt, entering the hall, looked surprised. She hugged Jiang Qing, saying, “Poor girl, from today on, you have no grandmother…” She wiped her tears and asked, “You rushed back from school, you haven’t eaten, right?”

She hadn’t, but she had no appetite. “No thanks, Aunt. Go back to your work.”

She found a stool in the hall and leaned against the gray wall, staring at the coffin. Soon, gongs and drums began to play, and the sound of the suona nearly extinguished the candles in front of the coffin. A boisterous funeral; the girl sat quietly in the corner like an unnoticed stray dog.

When it was time for the funeral feast, the suona players went to the yard to eat, and the kneeling relatives left. Jiang Qing stood up and moved to the coffin. It was open. Her grandmother lay there peacefully, her face ruddy and serene. She wore new clothes, her white hair was neatly combed, and she wore makeup—though strange-looking, she appeared like a spirited old lady.

A wooden table stood before the coffin with large candles and an ever-burning lamp. As night fell, the wind blew through the hall, making the flames flicker across Jiang Qing’s face. She smiled slightly, her voice a whisper: “Goodnight, Grandma.”

In the yard, about eight or nine tables were set up. A kind-looking middle-aged woman saw Jiang Qing standing awkwardly and pulled her into a seat. “Daughter, sit and eat. For an old person, this is a ‘joyous funeral.’ Don’t be too sad.”

Before she could take a few bites, trouble arrived. A bottle of liquor was slammed onto the table in front of her. The bottle was open, and the white spirits splashed onto the plastic tablecloth. Sitting low, Jiang Qing didn’t react in time as the liquid flowed over the edge and onto her school uniform.

She turned around as the stench of alcohol hit her. She stood up quickly to distance herself from the man. The man wiped the booze from his stubble and grinned at her, looking her up and down. “You’ve gotten prettier.” Seeing her wary, unfamiliar expression, he sat in her seat. “Little Jiang Qing, don’t remember me?”

The middle-aged woman pulled Jiang Qing closer, glaring at the man with disgust. The man spat on the ground. “Auntie Li, what business is this of yours? This is my future wife. Her old man already took my dowry money. I’m taking her back now!” He spoke unsteadily, getting more agitated as he tried to reach for her.

“I’ve recorded everything you just said. Since you didn’t listen to the police last time, I’ll just call them again.” Jiang Qing held her phone toward him. The screen showed “110” typed in, her thumb hovering over the call button.

His clouded eyes cleared for a moment. He stepped back, clutching the bottle. “Just a joke, sister.” He left, whistling and taking swigs from the bottle. He walked down the dark village road.

It was two kilometers from Nanyang to Xiaoyang. The man was in no rush; the alcohol numbed his brain as he thought of the girl and then of the fact that Jiang Jinbao hadn’t returned his dowry money. That old bastard—every time I ask, he says he has no money and tells me to find his daughter. His daughter is at school; if I go in there, I’ll end up in the station. He cursed as he walked, his drunk mind even considering going home for a cleaver to scare Jiang Jinbao. He couldn’t let tens of thousands of yuan go to waste.

He got more worked up and sped his pace. In the pitch black, he tripped over a stone and fell flat. The downside of the alcohol hit—his body was limp and his head heavy. He couldn’t get up and lay sprawled in the middle of the road.

Dazed, he saw headlights approaching. Before he could cry out, the car seemed to accelerate, rolling over his extended arm without hesitation. The man clutched his arm and screamed as the car sped away. In the freezing winter, he rolled on the ground. It was a Mercedes; he had seen the logo in the lights, but couldn’t catch the plate. He cursed as he stood up, clutching his arm. He couldn’t find his phone, so he gritted his teeth and searched the bushes by the road. Stumbling, he accidentally rolled down the embankment. It was a slope. He tumbled down, getting scratched and cut, until he hit the river with a splash. He died quietly in the icy water.

Back at the funeral, the mourning chants had resumed after dinner. Jiang Qing sat on a stool in the yard, counting stars. The sky was dark, but the stars were bright—unlike at school, where light pollution turned the night red. She sat quietly, ignoring the looks and whispers of the old women.

Her grandmother wouldn’t be buried for a few days, but Jiang Qing decided to return to school at dawn. The longer she stayed, the more gossip she attracted. Her uncle’s house had no spare room, so she would have to doze in the hall. The yard smelled of alcohol, tobacco, sweat, and bad breath.

She stepped out for air. By the light of a streetlamp, she watched the gnats. Even in winter, there were so many bugs. Her phone rang—it was Gu Yining.

“Hello?”

The voice on the other end was quiet, accompanied by the whistling wind. “Jiang Qing, are you okay?”

Jiang Qing waved away the bugs. “I’m okay.” This was her second time attending her grandmother’s funeral. It had been thirteen years since she last saw her in her previous life. Time had passed; she no longer felt the heart-wrenching pain she had felt then.

“Are you at your grandmother’s house?”

“Mhm.”

Hearing a rustling sound, Jiang Qing asked, “Isn’t it self-study time? Where are you?”

A soft laugh came from the phone. “Ran to the little woods to call you.”

“Aren’t you afraid of getting caught?”

“Quietly. My screen brightness is at the lowest, and I’m being very soft. They won’t find me.” After a moment, Gu Yining asked, “When is the burial?”

“Three days from now.”

“So you’ll be back in three days.”

“No,” Jiang Qing shook her head. “I’m coming back tomorrow.”

Gu Yining tucked her neck into her wind-blown scarf. “Okay.”

Jiang Qing crouched on the concrete, playing with pebbles. “I’m fine. Go back to study. You’ll get scolded if the director catches you.”

“Okay, I’m going back. Take care of yourself, don’t let people bully you.”

“Do I look that easy to bully?” Jiang Qing laughed. “Alright, alright, I know. Bye.”

After hanging up, Jiang Qing looked up and noticed a black car parked at the intersection. The Mercedes star shone under the streetlamp. The rear window rolled down, revealing the elegant profile of a woman in sunglasses. Jiang Qing’s heart skipped a beat. She checked to ensure no one was around and walked over.

Zhou Xuening took off her glasses and looked at Jiang Qing. “Go back and get your bag.”

“Okay.” Jiang Qing walked back a few steps, then turned. “Aren’t you coming in? The coffin isn’t closed yet.”

The woman massaged her temple. Under the light, she looked exhausted. She slowly shook her head at Jiang Qing.