Lin Yingtao left a message, "I'll pour you some water," and left. Jiang Qiaoxi lowered his head and touched the cat in his hand. The kitten had seen him before, and it called out softly when it saw him, making people feel reluctant to leave.
Lin Yingtao's bedroom was indeed much tidier than when she was a child. Jiang Qiaoxi raised his eyes and saw at first glance that it was a simple white wall with no wallpaper. It was also not covered with cartoon characters and celebrity posters like when he was a child in the mountains.
Lin Yingtao's bed was not big, and the quilt was folded into a round square. Jiang Qiaoxi's hands were not comfortable, so he let the kitten jump onto the bed sheet.
Behind him was a desk. Apart from the desk lamp and the box of sundries, there were a bunch of messy books piled together. Jiang Qiaoxi's mind was very confused and agitated, as if a woman's screaming would come out at any time, accompanied by crying. He saw a thick leather book on Lin Yingtao's desk. He seemed to have seen the cover before. It was a group of pink and white rabbits living with pink and white elephants. There was a pen in the book, and Jiang Qiaoxi opened the book with his bandaged hand.
"I don't want to think about Jiang Qiaoxi anymore!"
A sentence suddenly appeared before his eyes.
"Jiang Qiaoxi kissed me. November 1, 2006."
Jiang Qiaoxi closed the notebook instantly. At this time, the door behind him opened, and Lin Yingtao came in with two bottles of red Coke. The aroma of hot pot came in from outside the door, and Jiang Zheng could be heard whispering: "I have been to many construction sites since then, and I have never eaten anything better than Juanzi's jujube flour buns..."
Lin Yingtao used her back to push the door shut, with a smile on her face, as if she was proud of Uncle Jiang's praise for her mother's good craftsmanship. She didn't notice the change in Jiang Qiaoxi's expression, stuffed a bottle of Coke into his hand, and then sat on the bed and opened her own can.
Snow-white foam popped up and she immediately lowered her head and took a sip. Looking at her licking her lips, she still loved drinking sweet soda like when she was a child.
But she would no longer exaggerate and shout in front of Jiang Qiaoxi like she did when she was a child: "Ah! Coke tastes so good!"
Jiang Qiaoxi lowered his head and looked at her silently.
Why, he couldn't help but wonder, why every time "Jiang Qiaoxi" hurt her, he could always quickly get warm, almost selfless feedback from her.
Lin Qile's cherry eyes suddenly met Jiang Qiaoxi's gaze.
"I'll open it for you," she said.
She thought Jiang Qiaoxi's hand was injured, so he couldn't even open a Coke.
"Why don't you put those pictures on the wall anymore?" Jiang Qiaoxi suddenly asked.
Lin Qile also raised his head and looked.
“It was torn by the workers when we moved,” she said, handing the Coke back to him, “and I haven’t bought a new one since.”
"Why don't you buy it?" Jiang Qiaoxi said.
Lin Qile pursed her lips. "Studying is important," she said, "Besides, I don't have any favorite stars..."
The little girl who always complained about the headache of doing exercises and cried for his homework to be copied has become a "good student" who can be admitted to the provincial enrollment of Experimental South School. What kind of changes have taken place in Lin Qile? For Jiang Qiaoxi, this is probably a mystery that is more difficult to estimate than the puberty development of girls.
Mother Lin came in from outside and took another bowl, which looked like some freshly cooked hot pot dishes. She brought it over and said, "Why aren't you two eating yet? It's getting cold!"
Jiang Qiaoxi suddenly lowered his head. He felt ashamed in front of Aunt Juanzi.
Lin Qile took the bowl from her mother and whispered, "Jiang Qiaoxi's hands are wrapped up. Why not give him a spoon?"
"Okay, I'll get it." said Mother Lin.
"No need, Auntie," Jiang Qiaoxi raised his head and said, "I'm fine."
Mother Lin went out, and the two children sat together to eat the hot pot dishes.
"What's wrong with you?" Lin Qile asked tentatively.
Jiang Qiaoxi lowered his head and held the bowl with his injured hand, and used the other hand to pick up a fish ball that kept slipping away with chopsticks.
"Your parents... are unhappy again?" Lin Qile asked.
"They are never happy." Jiang Qiaoxi said.
Lin Qile said: "Didn't you do very well in the exam?"
"What's the point of doing well in the exam?"
"What's the meaning?"
"Maybe when I'm thirty or forty years old," Jiang Qiaoxi raised his eyes, his eyes were filled with a moist luster that was rarely seen, "They will still think that I'm not good enough here, not good enough there, and not as good as my brother, Jiang Mengchu, who might not be dead."
He had a face that drew one to gaze upon, and was unrealistically handsome.
Lin Qile put down his bowl and chopsticks and asked nervously, "Do you want to read comics?"
She walked around Jiang Qiaoxi, squatted down and quickly searched the lower shelf of the bookcase: "Duchamp bought it last time, they all like to read it."
A crumpled comic book called "Pirate Luffy" was stuffed into Jiang Qiaoxi's hands.
Jiang Qiaoxi put down his bowl and chopsticks, picked it up and flipped through it. The words on this comic book were very small, and one page was cut into four pages. Jiang Qiaoxi pulled over the cover and took a look: Xinjiang Youth Publishing House.
"Du Shang and Yu Qiao all burst into tears after watching it!" Lin Qile said exaggeratedly.
Jiang Qiaoxi said: "Then why do you want to show it to me?"
Lin Qile stood in front of him and smiled: "Duchamp said that when you are in a bad mood, you can watch this and cry and forget everything!"
Jiang Qiaoxi was silent for two seconds.
"Cherry," he swallowed and raised his eyes, "Have you cried a lot?"
Lin Qile grabbed his pajamas with his hands and suddenly didn't know how to answer.
Mother Lin pushed open the door from outside and saw two children standing and sitting, neither of them talking. She whispered, "Qiaoxi, have you finished your meal?"
Jiang Zheng put on his coat and walked to the door of Lin Qile's bedroom. He frowned and saw through the crack of the door that Lin Haifeng's daughter was standing there, while his own son Jiang Qiaoxi was sitting on someone else's chair, looking like he was stealing the show.
"I'm going to go back first," he said to the door, putting the cigarette in his pocket, "finish your meal and help uncle and aunt clean the table before you leave."
Jiang Zheng walked down the stairs and lit a cigarette. He had never received a text message from Liang Hongfei. After so many years of marriage, he knew exactly when Liang Hongfei would curse at him, what time she would call him, and what time she would text him.
He had an inexplicable bad feeling.
When he reached the bottom of Building 23, Jiang Zheng still had the newly lit cigarette in his mouth. He opened the door to the corridor. There was no light in the staircase, so he sniffed.
He hurriedly stamped out the cigarette and went upstairs by the handrail. Jiang Zheng entered the house and turned to look at the kitchen. "Liang Hongfei!" he called. His wife was lying on the sofa in the living room, motionless.
Liang Hongfei's long hair was scattered on her shoulders, the front of her cashmere sweater was covered with tear marks, and her wrinkled eyes were tightly closed. Jiang Zheng felt dizzy, and he pulled the woman's arms and dragged her out of the living room, out of the house, and dragged her from the fourth floor to the third floor along the stairs outside the door.
"Liang Hongfei..." he said hysterically, "Xiaofei... Xiaofei!!"
Everyone in the school heard about it.
Jiang Qiaoxi, a national award winner in Mathematical Olympiad, was admitted to Tsinghua University and was included in the national training team. There was only one person like him in the whole school, and with his talent, he might even become a world champion.
"But he didn't know why he didn't want to do Mathematical Olympiad anymore."
He had not come to school for many days. There were rumors that something had happened at home. Others said that the school leaders and the city and provincial education bureau leaders had all gone to his home and were taking turns to do ideological work on Jiang Qiaoxi.
Geniuses are always willful and stubborn. In the eyes of outsiders, it is too easy for them to get what they want. That is why they give up easily.
Lin Qile was still working on her physics test paper during the break. She finished the last question, put down her pen, and finally felt relieved. She unscrewed the water cup to drink water. She had a severe headache and her temples were throbbing. She wanted to wait until the last self-study class to check her answers and correct her mistakes.
Qin Yeyun ran upstairs to find her. Lin Qile went out with her. The two of them walked through the campus, through the square with the statue of Confucius, and walked past the small white building.
Qin Yeyun fiddled with her pigtails and said, "I heard that Jiang Qiaoxi's mother is paralyzed."
Lin Qile's face changed: "What? Don't scare me!"
Qin Yeyun lowered his voice: "Really, I heard it from the people who came to my house to buy things."
Lin Qile felt flustered, and she and Qin Yeyun went into the school supermarket together. Qin Yeyun found some new magazines on the bookshelf outside, such as "Cool Light Music" or "Xinlei Story 100". Qin Yeyun spent all her pocket money on these. Of course, she would also buy a copy of "Contemporary Sports" or even the latest issue of Sports Weekly to give to Yu Qiao in advance.
Lin Qile took out her cell phone from her pocket, stood at the door of the supermarket, lowered her head and sent a text message.
After a while, Dad replied to her.
"Qiaoxi's mother is fine. She has been discharged from the hospital and returned home. Yingtao, there are a lot of rumors in the headquarters recently. Don't listen to them or spread them. It will be bad for Qiaoxi's family."
Lin Qile suddenly breathed a sigh of relief.
For the first time, she felt fortunate that this was just another "rumor".
One day in late November, Jiang Qiaoxi suddenly came to school. The class was in its first period when he came in from the back door without making any noise, put down his schoolbag, pulled out a chair and sat down.
Lin Qile was listening to the class at the front when Yu Qiao kicked her chair from behind, so she turned around.
Jiang Qiaoxi's desk was clean, with only a conspicuous water cup on it. Jiang Qiaoxi sat in the chair for a while, staring at the cup. He took the cup, unscrewed it, and the water inside was steaming.
Jiang Qiaoxi lowered his head, blew gently, and took a big sip.
As soon as the get out of class was over, before Felinger stood up, the class physical education teacher Yu Qiao suddenly left his seat and walked straight to Jiang Qiaoxi's desk.
Jiang Qiaoxi had always been interested in competitions, so his desk was in the last row, and he had no deskmate. Yu Qiao pulled up a chair and sat next to him.
"How did you get here this morning?" Yu Qiao asked.
Jiang Qiaoxi blinked and saw Cai Fangyuan coming over. "I took a taxi," he said.
Yu Qiao smiled.
"You've never taken a bus before?"
Jiang Qiaoxi also laughed: "I was too anxious this morning."
When Felinger heard that Jiang Qiaoxi gave up the opportunity to join the national training team, he already found it unbelievable - after all, he and Jiang Qiaoxi had been in competition classes since elementary school, and they had worked so hard for countless winters and summers, and countless weekends, and had continued to study until now.
Now, he was watching Jiang Qiaoxi and Yu Qiao, who hardly ever spoke, chatting and laughing quietly in the class.
"Then let's go together after school." Cai Fangyuan suggested, standing beside his desk.
Jiang Qiaoxi was stunned for a moment and said, "I have something else to do today."
"What's the matter?" Yu Qiao said.
"I want to... go to the bookstore." Jiang Qiaoxi said.
The largest Xinhua Bookstore in the provincial capital was built on a pedestrian street in the city center. Lin Qile, carrying her schoolbag, threw away the empty milk tea in her hand. She and Qin Yeyun ran in front, while Yu Qiao and other boys walked behind.
Du Shang was in the team, looking a little embarrassed. Unlike Cai Fangyuan and Yu Qiao, he and Jiang Qiaoxi really couldn't say a word.
"Let's go." Yu Qiao turned back from time to time to urge him.
Qin Yeyun was going to browse the bookshelf of youth romance novels on the first floor, while Yu Qiao, Jiang Qiaoxi and others were going upstairs to buy reference books and teaching materials.
Lin Qile was downstairs with Qin Yeyun. She picked up "Summer's Desire" and read it, then put it down again. Qin Yeyun mentioned that a novel was very popular among the girls in the liberal arts class recently. It was passed on in Wenquxing: "It's called "Phoenix in the Ninth Heaven"! It doesn't seem to be available in the bookstore. Do you want to read it? I'll pass it on to you!"
Lin Qile was a little absent-minded. She leaned against the bookshelf, looking at the dazzling array of things, but she just wanted to go upstairs quickly.
Yu Qiao sat cross-legged in the aisle, flipping through a newly published thick-covered military aircraft illustration book. As soon as Qin Yeyun came upstairs, he immediately jumped to his side and sat next to him to make trouble for him.
Lin Qile turned around and searched for the man's shadow above the countless bookshelves.
He is tall and easy to find.
Jiang Qiaoxi would take a book off the shelf from time to time, look through the catalog, and put it back. Cai Fangyuan said from the side: "You can just buy some SAT books, why do you still need to study for TOEFL?"
Jiang Qiaoxi said softly, "Take a quick look." He took another book from the bookshelf and just opened it with his fingers.
In the gap behind the book, Lin Yingtao opened her big eyes and stood on tiptoe behind the bookshelf to look at him.
Cai Fangyuan noticed that Jiang Qiaoxi was no longer reading and looked up at the bookshelf. Jiang Qiaoxi suddenly smiled, no longer looking like a math genius.
Du Shang sat cross-legged in the aisle, holding his face, listening to Qin Yeyun's bullshit to Yu Qiao in boredom. Then he saw Cai Fangyuan with a look of despair, rolling his eyes, walking towards him with his schoolbag on his back.
Jiang Qiaoxi bought quite a lot of books, some in his schoolbag and some in his bag. He wanted to go back to school first, perhaps because he didn't want to bring the books home, so he said on the bus, "You guys go back first."
Yu Qiao sat in the seat next to him and thought for a moment: "Let's go together. It's on the way anyway."
Jiang Qiaoxi pushed open the classroom door and turned on the light. He sat down at his desk and took out the piles of books and papers in the drawer. Papers filled with math solutions wrapped around math handouts like a bag of sweat and blood. Among these handouts, there was a novel with a black cover.
Under the Wheel.
Jiang Qiaoxi lowered his head, took out the book, placed it on the lecture notes, and opened it casually.
He remembered that he had never finished the book. A photo was tucked inside like a bookmark.
It was 1996, when Jiang Qiaoxi was six years old. He won the gold medal in the provincial elementary school Olympic mathematics competition. His mother cried with joy, hugged the happy Jiang Qiaoxi, and took this photo face to face on the podium.
Jiang Qiaoxi threw all the paper rolls and handouts into the trash can in the corner of the classroom, then took the newly bought books out of the bag and put them in his drawer.
He turned off the lights, and the classroom suddenly became dark. Jiang Qiaoxi left the classroom and saw Yu Qiao and the others waiting for him at the stairs. Qin Yeyun was pulling Lin Qile to read her newly bought novel, called "Years Are Invalid Letters". Jiang Qiaoxi walked to Lin Qile, he lowered his head to look at her, and they went downstairs together.
The author has something to say: －－－－－－－－－－－－－－
Notes to this chapter:
＊"Pirate Luffy": Also known as "One Piece", a youth comic drawn by Japanese cartoonist Eiichiro Oda, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump No. 34, 1997. Xinjiang Youth Publishing House was stolen by a pirated comic book dealer.
* "Cool Light Music": A Japanese and Korean entertainment magazine, priced at 10 yuan, it was revised and ceased publication on March 25, 2013.
＊"Xinlei Story100": A youth literature magazine, priced at 8.8 yuan, which ceased publication in June 2013.
＊"Summer's Desire": a romance novel written by writer Ming Xiaoxi and published by New World Publishing House in 2006.
＊《Phoenix in the Ninth Heaven》: A BL novel written by Feng Nong, published by Weixiang Culture in 2004. Qin Yeyun's use of Wenquxing to read and input txt is limited by the times, so don't learn from her.
＊Under the Wheel: A novel about education written by German writer Hermann Hesse, with a strong pessimistic tone. The title of the book is taken from a sentence in the book where the principal warns the young protagonist Gibbonrath: Study hard to avoid being crushed under the wheels.
＊"Years Are Invalid Letters": A youth novel written by the writer Luo Luo, first published in February 2005.