Diagnosis: Friend [Rebirth] - Chapter 33.2

Chapter 33.2

Seeing Gu Yining walking toward the Class 1 classroom, Chen Yiyi asked, “Are you looking for Jiang Qing?”

Gu Yining, hands tucked into her school uniform pockets, nodded slightly. “Yeah.”

“She shouldn’t be in the classroom,” Chen Yiyi said. “I saw her go downstairs just now. Not sure if she went to the teacher’s office. Maybe check back in a bit.”

In fact, half a minute ago, Jiang Qing had descended the stairs from the other side, but her destination was not the office.

Hidden behind the school library was a two-meter-wide alleyway. Tall, slender bamboo lined both sides. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, cascading down like golden silk threads due to the Tyndall effect, casting dappled light onto the aged, moss-covered stone slabs.

As a breeze rustled the bamboo, Jiang Qing stopped. She looked ahead at a girl squatting with her back turned, teasing something on the ground. Bamboo leaves of various sizes flickered like agile scales in the wind. Light shimmered in Jiang Qing’s eyes as mottled shadows danced over the two girls, the air thick with the fresh scent of bamboo.

A single leaf drifted down, spiraling through the air before landing softly. A small, well-fed cat licked its chops and arched its neck to accept a rub from its feeder, its golden pupils narrowing into thin slits under the sun. Sensing a large presence moving nearby and seeing the feeder had run out of cat treats, the kitten stood on its tiptoes, feigned a nudge into the feeder’s palm, and happily trotted away with its tail held high.

Shhh, shhh.

The dancing spots of light vanished. Tan Baozhu turned around and caught sight of Jiang Qing in her uniform. Her eyebrows arched as her gaze landed on the crumpled piece of paper in Jiang Qing’s hand.

She quirked her lips into a smile and stood up gracefully. “Student Jiang, long time no see.”

Despite being in the same grade and on the same floor, it had indeed been a long time since she had seen Jiang Qing. She sat sideways on the edge of a flower bed, much like their first meeting. Jiang Qing walked slowly toward her.

The sun was brilliant today, and Jiang Qing looked lovely with her high ponytail. As the ponytail swayed to a halt in front of her, Jiang Qing pursed her lips. “Thank you for finding my book. Can you return it to me now?”

Ten minutes ago, Jiang Qing had entered her classroom to find a note stuffed into her desk. It was a printed photo of a book with a black cover—clearly worn and old. Below the photo was a line of text telling her to come to the alley behind the library.

Jiang Qing had realized the book was missing one day last semester, along with the photo tucked inside. After much thought, she remembered she might have brought it to the playground during the sports meet; that was likely when it was lost. She had hoped a cleaning lady had thrown it away rather than it falling into the hands of a student.

But now, the reality was the latter—and even worse, it was in Tan Baozhu’s hands.

Tan Baozhu tilted her head and corrected her with blunt honesty: “I didn’t ‘find’ it. I stole it.”

Jiang Qing’s expression stiffened. She said seriously, “Whether stolen or found, it’s my property. Please return it.”

Her eyes inadvertently swept over the backpack Tan Baozhu had placed beside her. Suddenly, a familiar corner of a book came into view—the very one she had lost. Jiang Qing’s gaze turned sharp, and she reached out to grab it without hesitation.

Anticipating the move, Tan Baozhu swiftly snatched the bag and hugged it tightly. She was already perched on the flower bed; in the scuffle, she lost her balance. Jiang Qing gave her a shove, and as Tan Baozhu fell backward, she instinctively let go of the bag to grab Jiang Qing’s arm.

Jiang Qing seized the opportunity, pulled the book from the bag, stepped back, and clutched it to her chest, breathing heavily. She immediately flipped it open. It was empty. Just the book.

The photo was gone.

Tan Baozhu lay disheveled against the flower bed, coughing repeatedly. Seeing Jiang Qing about to step closer, she raised a hand to call a truce. “Stop! Stop! No more fighting.” She tossed the backpack toward Jiang Qing and panted, clutching her chest as she watched Jiang Qing frantically search the bag.

The bag yielded nothing. Jiang Qing looked up. Tan Baozhu had pulled out a phone from somewhere. She smiled at Jiang Qing and tapped the play button on the screen.

“I like Ms. Jian.”

Jiang Qing’s voice came through the speaker.

“I like Ms. Jian.”

“I like Ms. Jian.”

After playing it three times, Tan Baozhu paused the recording.

Jiang Qing recognized the audio from the May Fourth activity. She narrowed her eyes, picked up Tan Baozhu’s bag, and set it back on the flower bed. “This is an audio clip you’ve taken out of context. Many students witnessed that moment.”

It was the truth. This audio carried little weight.

What mattered most were the photos and the writing on the back. Jiang Qing’s answer sheets had been posted on the honor roll many times; half the teachers and students in school recognized her handwriting. After her rebirth, she had completely forgotten about the book until it was too late to dispose of it.

Tan Baozhu rested her chin in her hand. “What about the photos? The words written on them?”

Jiang Qing’s gray eyes darkened. “What do you want?”

“Nothing much.” Tan Baozhu giggled. She reached out, intending to touch Jiang Qing’s face, but Jiang Qing tilted her head back to avoid it. Tan Baozhu retracted her hand and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “I just really envy you.”

“You’re so smart, so beautiful, and so many people are good to you. Every time you’re in a desperate situation, someone always reaches out their hand to you.”

Jiang Qing didn’t know what to say, so she tried to placate Tan Baozhu in hopes of getting the photos back. “Student Tan, you are very beautiful, smart, and very wealthy.”

Tan Baozhu suddenly looked up at her. “Who is prettier, me or Gu Yining?”

Jiang Qing paused. “You are different types of beautiful. Both are very pretty.”

It was an honest answer, but Tan Baozhu interpreted it differently. She smiled and looked up at Jiang Qing. “I’ve discovered you have a fatal flaw.”

She narrowed her eyes:

“You’re too cowardly. You clearly want to coax me into giving you the photos, yet you still don’t dare to lie and praise me boldly. You clearly like Jian Wenxin, yet you do nothing. Even with the advantage of being close—living in her house—you were so terrified you moved out just to avoid suspicion.”

“You’re so timid, you don’t dare to do anything. If it were me, I would ruin things between her and her boyfriend so I could keep living there. I would drive everyone away from her until she only had me to rely on.” Tan Baozhu shrugged. “Even if my intentions were discovered, it wouldn’t matter. I’m a minor, top of the class, always ‘well-behaved.’ Everyone would say the teacher lacked boundaries and used her position to lead me astray. When she lost her job, she would have no choice but to depend on me.”

Jiang Qing stared at Tan Baozhu, her lips pressed thin.

This was exactly why Jiang Qing was determined to get the photos back and destroy them. The unsightly feelings she harbored years ago must never become a weapon to harm Jian Wenxin.

Tan Baozhu’s words were terrifying and repulsive. Jiang Qing instinctively took a step back. “Liking Ms. Jian is a thing of the past. Now I only have respect for her. I moved out not to avoid suspicion, but because I didn’t want to cause her any more trouble.”

Tan Baozhu tilted her head and gave a light laugh, clearly unconvinced.

Jiang Qing bit her lip. “What will it take for you to return the photos to me?”

Golden spots of light shifted at their feet. A few small ants crawled across the tiles of the flower bed.

Tan Baozhu said, “Tutor me over the summer break. If I get into the top 500 in the school, I’ll give them to you.”

Jiang Qing had expected an outrageous demand, not something so simple and academic. She expressed her confusion: “Why would you suddenly…”

Whether at No. 9 Middle School or No. 2 Middle School, the word “studying” never seemed to be associated with Tan Baozhu.

“Someone promised me that if I break into the top 500, she’ll take me out for a whole day.” The corners of Tan Baozhu’s lips curled up slightly. She stood up lazily, pulled a crumpled photo from her uniform pocket, and held it out to Jiang Qing. “This is the deposit.”

Jiang Qing glanced at it; it was indeed one of the photos from the book. As she took it, Tan Baozhu added, “I’ll return the rest bit by bit as your grades improve, until you make the top 500. As for payment, don’t worry—I’ll pay you double the market rate.”

She took a step forward, her body almost pressing against Jiang Qing’s, her breath fanning against Jiang Qing’s neck. “Top student, this shouldn’t be hard for you, right?”

Tan Baozhu must have been waiting there for a long time; she smelled of bamboo and cats. Jiang Qing frowned, but Tan Baozhu backed away first. She walked past Jiang Qing, waving cheerfully. “See you in the summer, Student Jiang.”

In the blink of an eye, final exams arrived. While busy with revision, Jiang Qing also had to find a guesthouse for the summer. Students weren’t allowed to stay at the school during breaks. Last year, she stayed with Jian Wenxin; this summer, she planned to stay at Ms. Yu’s guesthouse.

She asked Ms. Yu on WeChat if there were any vacancies for a month. Ms. Yu, currently eating watermelon and watching TV, saw the message and realized her “little golden benefactor” was back. One room’s rent for three people’s profit? She didn’t care what Jiang Qing’s background was as long as there was money to be made. She immediately replied that there was a room.

She happily scooped out more watermelon, laughing at a variety show. But not long after, Jiang Qing messaged her again saying she no longer needed the room. Within a minute, Ms. Yu went from joy to sorrow. She chewed her watermelon with a blank expression, found the TV celebrities annoying, and turned it off.

Back at school.

Jian Wenxin asked curiously, “If the school leadership hadn’t approved this application, were you planning to find a guesthouse again instead of coming to stay with me?”

Jian Wenxin had discovered after the New Year that Jiang Qing had stayed at a guesthouse during the winter break. One day, while taking the bus home from the supermarket, she had spotted a familiar figure entering a guesthouse. It was Jiang Qing.

Perhaps Jiang Qing had overheard her argument with her boyfriend and, being a sensible girl, didn’t want to make things difficult for her. So, she had found an excuse to move out. Fortunately, Gu Yining had visited her often, and the guesthouse owner was kind, so Jian Wenxin had let it be. She had even verified through Zhou Xuening that the rent was being covered by a charitable “Ms. Zhou.”

But staying out was never as safe as staying at school. If anything happened, Jian Wenxin wouldn’t be able to find her immediately. So, a month before the summer break, Jian Wenxin applied to the school leadership again, laying out Jiang Qing’s family situation in hopes of letting her stay in the dormitory. Although students would be gone, the faculty housing area was still active, and security at the gates was strict.

The application was finally approved.

Hearing Jian Wenxin’s question, Jiang Qing lowered her head shyly and retracted her room reservation on her phone. She looked up and smiled softly at her teacher.

“Thank you, Ms. Jian. You’re so good to me.”

Jian Wenxin reached out and patted the girl’s head. “If you know I’m good to you, don’t hide things from me next time. You are my student; of course I will find a way for you.”