Hopeless Romance (GL) - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

By the time Ye Du and Xu Jian walked back toward their classroom, it was already the latter half of the second self-study period. “That TV definitely hasn’t been turned on.” Xu Jian looked at the classroom full of classmates scribbling away; it looked no different from when they had left, as if she and Ye Du really had only gone for a quick bathroom break.

Hearing the sound of a chair dragging, Gu Nancheng turned to look at Ye Du’s side. Li Jiangang had come by at the start of this period and specifically instructed Gu Nancheng to bring Ye Du and Xu Jian to the office. Gu Nancheng found being the class monitor quite stifling. Although there were no discipline issues in Class 1, most students were difficult to get along with—their minds were entirely on their studies. They didn’t cooperate with any other activities, making many things hard to organize. Plus, since his grades were consistently behind Xu Jian and Ye Du’s, he always felt a bit timid when speaking to them.

When the note Gu Nancheng had written finally reached Ye Du’s desk after passing through several rows, she felt as if she could see time slipping away. After opening it, it was no longer the familiar notes she expected; the content made her focus instantly.

When Ye Du poked Xu Jian’s shoulder, Xu Jian thought Ye Du had become addicted to skipping class and was about to advise her to return to the righteous path when she heard Ye Du whisper three words: “Li Jiangang.” A series of expressions—frowning, staring, pursing lips—flashed across Xu Jian’s face in rapid succession. After all, this was the first time Xu Jian had been caught skipping class. She resolved in her heart never to take Ye Du skipping again; they had only done it once and got caught. Ye Du truly had no talent for skipping class; it was safer for her to fly solo in the future.

“What are you planning to say?” Seeing Ye Du’s calm expression, Xu Jian couldn’t help but ask.

“I haven’t thought of it yet.” Ye Du stopped walking and leaned against the wall.

“Looking at you, I thought you’d already made up a whole story.”

“Naturally, I haven’t. But we can’t lose our poise.” Despite her words, Ye Du was already imagining the frantic scene if Ye Sangshu found out she had skipped class. She probably wouldn’t even get dinner tonight. But since the storm hadn’t arrived yet, she stayed calm for now.

“Nice. That’s the kind of psychological resilience we need. In a bit, we’ll just say we went to ask Ms. Meng some questions.” Xu Jian threw an arm around Ye Du’s shoulder to show their newly forged camaraderie.

“Won’t we get found out?” Meng Qing was Class 1’s Chinese teacher and one of the more famous teachers. One reason was that her outfits never repeated, and another was that she taught exceptionally well. Crucially, she made the classroom interesting, saving many teenagers who tended to fall asleep during Chinese class. But a teacher was still a teacher, and Ye Du found it hard to imagine her helping students cover up a lie.

“How about this: I’ll go find Ms. Meng first. You wait for me outside Li Jiangang’s office.” Following the principle that those without experience have no say, Ye Du followed orders.

It wasn’t until Xu Jian sprinted downstairs that she realized she didn’t even know if Meng Qing had a class right now. But her actions were faster than her thoughts; before she could recall Meng Qing’s schedule, her hand was already raised to knock.

“Come in.” Meng Qing was leaning over her desk grading last weekend’s essays. Her waist-length hair was pinned up with a wooden hairpin. The air conditioning in the office was warm, so she wore only a white shirt. Fine strands of hair hung by her neck, making her skin look even paler. This silhouette reminded Xu Jian of the first time she saw Meng Qing. But right now, an emergency took priority. Since no other teachers were in the office, Xu Jian didn’t hold back.

“Ms. Meng, Ye Du and I just skipped a self-study period to watch the New Year’s Eve gala, and now we’ve been caught by Li Jiangang. Can you help us?” Xu Jian expertly pulled out a chair at the desk opposite Meng Qing and rested her chin on the table to make eye contact with the downward-looking Meng Qing.

“Help you? That would be a breach of professional ethics.” Meng Qing stopped grading and looked up, habitually twirling her pen.

“Every other class got to go, but our class can’t even watch the broadcast. It’s too tragic. Plus, Ye Du and I finished all our homework; we aren’t neglecting our studies.” If Meng Qing didn’t agree, Xu Jian was prepared to act spoiled—a skill she’d learned from a distant younger cousin.

“Then, what’s in it for me?” Teachers usually turn a blind eye to top students, and since Xu Jian visited her every few days, Meng Qing was more familiar with her than most. She knew Xu Jian was a sensible student, but she couldn’t let her be satisfied too easily, or she’d start taking liberties.

Hearing Meng Qing say this, Xu Jian felt victory was in sight, and her tone lightened. “You name it, anything goes.”

“Tell you what, you and Ye Du must take the top two spots in the grade for Chinese in the final exams.” Meng Qing was already envisioning the size of her year-end bonus. She suddenly thought Xu Jian looked quite auspicious.

“Top two?” Although Xu Jian was currently the top of her grade, that position was hard to maintain. Before her hesitation could last too long, Meng Qing’s gaze fell on her face. Her bright eyes held a hint of a smile, and Xu Jian felt an overwhelming sense of being seen through. Actually, Meng Qing wasn’t much older than Xu Jian, but those few extra years of life experience weren’t for nothing. Combined with her status as a teacher, even the usually fearless Xu Jian didn’t dare act out in front of her.

“Deal. It’s a promise.” Thinking of Ye Du, Xu Jian felt agreeing wasn’t that difficult. Only then did she head back upstairs.

“If you hadn’t come back, the self-study period would be over.” Heaven knew how many times Ye Du, waiting in the freezing corridor, had cursed Xu Jian.

“Isn’t there still time before class ends? It’s settled, let’s go in.” Xu Jian’s cheeks were slightly flushed, though it was unclear if it was from running up and down the stairs or something else.

Li Jiangang’s attitude was gentler than Ye Du had imagined. “Why weren’t you two here during the last period?”

“Mr. Li, we went to Ms. Meng’s office to ask some questions and got delayed.” After getting to know Xu Jian better, Ye Du could no longer look directly at the obedient facade Xu Jian put on in front of teachers.

“What kind of questions could there be in Chinese?” Li Jiangang picked up the stainless steel thermos on his desk, unscrewed the lid, and blew on the steam that billowed out. Because it was too hot, he only took a symbolic sip.

“Writing. I wanted to see how to stabilize my score above 55.” Xu Jian was momentarily annoyed she’d forgotten to coordinate their story and just made one up.

“You two are both top students. I can’t interfere too much with your study habits and methods, but you still need to follow the rules and set an example for your classmates. Don’t let this happen again.” In reality, as long as Xu Jian and Ye Du could maintain their current grades until senior year, he wouldn’t care if they skipped self-study or even math class; it would be two fewer students for him to worry about.

“Understood. Thank you for the guidance, teacher.” Xu Jian glanced at the decorative-looking Ye Du beside her and added, “Mr. Li, we’ll head back to class to study then.”

The tea in the cup must have cooled slightly; Li Jiangang nodded and blew on the white steam again.

“I’ll see what you do if you don’t score above 55 on your next essay,” Ye Du grumbled quietly to Xu Jian once they were out of the office.

“Don’t worry about that yet. The condition for Ms. Meng helping us is that we have to be the top two in the grade for Chinese in the finals.” After saying this, Xu Jian pointed at herself and Ye Du, giving her a look of shared misery.

In that flash of a moment, Ye Du’s mood went from wanting to curse to realizing this was her own fault. She knew Xu Jian’s Chinese grades; while they weren’t a drag, the point gaps between the top students were tiny, and Xu Jian’s ranking in Chinese had seemingly never broken the top twenty. Thinking of this, Ye Du could only let out a long sigh. Xu Jian, however, had already processed her frustration and began planning for Ye Du to help her—as the classmate in need.

“Du, you’re always first in Chinese, so I’ll just have to settle for second. For our common interest, you have to help me more.” Looking at Xu Jian’s natural yet slightly punchable face, the breath Ye Du had just drawn in got stuck in her throat again.

“Jian, the master leads you to the door, but the practice is up to the individual.” Before Xu Jian could reclaim the disadvantage in seniority, Ye Du had already stepped into the classroom and headed straight for her seat.

Xu Jian suddenly felt that people who were good at Chinese were not to be trifled with.

This afternoon was incredibly eventful for Ye Du. Skipping class, watching the gala, Chen Pupu’s performance, “Boundless Oceans, Vast Skies”—these keywords mixed together to form the most exciting day of Ye Du’s 2008. The bell had finished ringing, but Ye Du still hadn’t snapped out of it until Xu Jian slapped her on the back. Before Ye Du could get angry, Xu Jian pointed to Chen Pupu standing at the back door. “She’s been waiting for you for ages.” With these words, Xu Jian felt she was back on the moral high ground. “Don’t forget my Chinese notes. See you next week.” Leaving the classroom, Xu Jian didn’t forget to say goodbye to Chen Pupu.

“Sorry, I was too deep in thought just now.” Ye Du quickly packed the textbooks and assignments she needed to review over the holiday and hurried out. The classroom for Class 1 during the holidays looked quite like a normal high school class; everyone was leaving earlier than usual.

“Then you should treat me to milk tea.” Chen Pupu figured Ye Du probably hadn’t prepared a New Year’s gift for her, so she took the chance to ask for milk tea so Ye Du wouldn’t feel awkward receiving a gift later.

“Sure, we should drink something warm in this cold.” Ye Du took the performance costume from Chen Pupu’s hands so she could put them in her pockets.

“What do you want to drink? Still pearl milk tea?” Actually, Ye Du rarely came to milk tea shops herself. She didn’t like sweets much and even found milk tea a bit cloying, but she often accompanied Chen Pupu.

“Mhm, okay.” Chen Pupu looked at the menu again but still followed Ye Du’s suggestion.

“Hello, one pearl milk tea and one Yuan Yang milk tea, both hot.”

“You’re drinking one today too?” Chen Pupu couldn’t even remember the last time Ye Du had milk tea.

“Yeah, today is a holiday.” Ye Du was very happy today, and the name of this milk tea sounded more beautiful than usual.

“Here, a holiday gift.” Chen Pupu pulled a book of poetry from her bag that she had chosen for Ye Du, titled The Collected Poems of Hai Zi. Ye Du had quoted lines from it during her speech at the commendation ceremony, so Chen Pupu thought she would like it.

In front of Chen Pupu, Ye Du often felt like an inadequate friend—especially every time Chen Pupu waited for her at the back door, every time she received a thoughtfully prepared gift, and every time she was earnestly introduced to others. Ye Du would think she should be a bit better. Like right now, in a simply decorated milk tea shop, the heavy plastic door curtains blocked out the evening wind. Her feelings were magnified in this tiny space, crashing against Ye Du’s already unquiet heart.

“But…” Ye Du was interrupted before she could finish.

Chen Pupu pointed to the owner making the milk tea and said, “You’re treating me to milk tea!”

Ye Du looked at the cup of milk tea, thought for a moment, and said, “When we get back from the holiday, I’ll treat you again.”

Sometimes Ye Du admired Ye Sangshu’s way of living, which hadn’t changed in over a decade; it was as if in her life, there were no holidays, nothing special, and no “new day.” She heard Chen Pupu say she was going home to watch the Hunan TV New Year’s Eve gala, which featured many stars she liked. For this, she had specifically asked Qin Wei to buy lots of snacks and drinks, and they were having her favorite braised pork for dinner. Ye Du couldn’t help but think that if she didn’t know Chen Pupu, she probably wouldn’t have known for a long time that there was another way to live—that the TV really did show all kinds of wonderful programs, and the so-called “lights of ten thousand homes” really could make one feel warm.

Although she had no entertainment planned, Ye Du decided to give herself a break. She opened the book of poetry Chen Pupu had given her. By the bedside lamp, warm yellow shadows were cast on the pages, covering lines of poetry. As she read, Ye Du suddenly felt that these poems, sparsely arranged on the paper to make a thick book, were a bit of a ripoff for the reader at that price. But then she thought that literature couldn’t be viewed in terms of money; the meaning of literature was inherently a bit ethereal.

Halfway through the book, the phone outside rang. Ye Du’s first thought was Chen Pupu. Before Ye Du started middle school, the home phone was mostly a decoration; only when cleaning would the handset be picked up.

“Ye Du, can you come out? Just for a bit.” When Chen Pupu called, it was already very late—twenty minutes until midnight.

“Wait a moment, I’ll see if my mom is asleep. If she is, I’ll sneak out.” Ye Du put the phone aside and tiptoed to Ye Sangshu’s room. Seeing no light through the crack in the door, Ye Du judged that Ye Sangshu had at least started preparing for sleep.

“I can come out. Where should I find you?” It was just stepping out of her front door, but to Ye Du, it felt like an adventure.

“I’m right downstairs at your place.” Hearing this, Ye Du looked toward the windowsill, as if trying to see the person through the deep night.

“Happy New Year!” Ye Du ran to Chen Pupu, panting heavily as she gave her blessing.

Turning around, Chen Pupu stared at Ye Du with bright eyes, sniffed, and asked, “Why did you run so fast?”

Ye Du mimicked her sniffing. “Afraid you’d catch a cold and have to keep doing that.” Seeing Ye Du like this, Chen Pupu couldn’t help but raise the sparkler in her hand as if to hit her.

“But why come over so late?” She didn’t know how Chen Pupu had gotten here; it felt a bit dangerous.

“My parents had to drive my cousin home, and I figured it was on the way, so I came to find you to set off fireworks. Otherwise, you’d be bored at home. They’ll come pick me up in a bit, don’t worry.” Chen Pupu would never tell Ye Du that Qin Wei had actually detoured two kilometers to drop her off. If it weren’t for the fact that Ye Du had tutored her so much, Qin Wei likely wouldn’t have agreed.

“Luckily you take pity on me.” Ye Du took the fireworks from Chen Pupu’s hand and opened them to find several different types. Although Ye Du rarely got to set off fireworks, she saw others playing with them every year and knew a bit about them. There were the ones that popped when thrown on the ground, and the long, thin silver ones that produced beautiful sparks when lit—those were Chen Pupu’s favorite.

Because it was a holiday, Chen Pupu had changed into new clothes. A pure white down jacket wrapped her up like a ball. It rarely snowed in the winters of Yun Chuan, but tonight, Chen Pupu standing in the night looked like a freshly made snowman—vibrant and precious. She pulled out a few silver sparklers and lit them with a lighter before handing them to Ye Du. In just a brief moment, the light traveled down from the tip of the sparkler, blooming with flame like tree branches along the way. In this tiny, grand firework display, Chen Pupu was so beautiful that Ye Du suddenly realized she really wanted to kiss her.

On such a deep, dark winter night, in a place with no one else around, there was only the flickering of weak light that would eventually go out. It was in this cold, dark moment that Ye Du confirmed her heart—or rather, was forced to face her love. All evasion and excuses were futile. That person in her heart was like a secret, but secrets are meant to be known eventually. As the fireworks filled the sky, Ye Du made a wish upon the scattered fireflies in the night with a very devout heart, praying that this irreplaceable beauty in her life could last longer than the fireworks.