Pu Chen didn't sleep well at night. She turned off the alarm and stayed in bed for half an hour longer.
Her father got up early in the morning and made sushi for her, but she didn't have time to eat it at home, so her father packed the cut sushi in a plastic bag and put it in her schoolbag along with a box of warm milk. He also washed dozens of cherries for her to take away.
Pu Chen ran all the way from home to school, and when she stepped into the school gate, she breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as you arrive before 7 o'clock, you are not considered late even if you enter school at the exact time the bell rings at 7 o'clock.
She took out her cell phone to check the time. It was six fifty-five.
At this time, there were many students rushing into the school like her.
She had been running so fast just now, so she slowed down and calmed her breathing.
It is still cloudy today and the snow from the previous two days has not completely melted.
Pu Chen walked along the bushes on the side of the road, playing with the snow on the bushes with his fingers, doing this as he walked.
Qin Yu, who was walking not far behind her, just watched her quietly all the way. He really didn't understand what was so interesting about the ice chips that were frozen like salt grains.
Pu Chen didn't look back and didn't know Qin Yu was behind him.
When we arrived at the classroom, almost everyone was there, except Qin Yu who was sitting in the second to last row.
Today is the third day since Qin Yu transferred here. Pu Chen discovered that he was the one who left the earliest and came the latest in the class. He heard from classmates in the back row that he no longer slept in math class, but he didn't listen to the class well either.
A classmate said that he read original English novels in class very seriously.
She also heard the girls in the class talking about how Qin Yu didn't even have a pen and had to rely on borrowing pens to get by.
I don’t know whether it is true or not.
After today's break, Qin Yumei followed his classmates upstairs and took a detour to the school canteen to buy a few boxes of gel pens. There were plenty of pens at home, but he always forgot to bring them.
After buying a pen, Qin Yu walked into the classroom from the front door. As soon as he came in, he saw Pu Chen drinking a box of milk. When he was about to walk to her desk, she happened to look up, and he was caught off guard and their eyes met directly.
After staring at each other for just a second, she lowered her eyes.
Qin Yu found that she had been eating all morning. She ate sushi after the morning reading class, ate fruit during the break of the first class, and now she was drinking milk.
Before he reached his seat, Zhao Shu, who was sitting in the seat behind him, came towards him.
Zhao Shu said to him, "Qin Yu, you and I are in the same group. Today is our group's duty day. Don't forget to mop the floor after school this afternoon."
Qin Yu nodded to show that he understood.
Zhao Shu was responsible for wiping the blackboard. She walked up to the podium with a wet rag and an entertainment newspaper, humming a song.
Pu Chen felt that Zhao Shu was the most optimistic girl in the class. She never knew what worries were. Even though she was the only one who failed English and her total score was the last in the class, it never affected her mood.
"Chenchen, I need to wipe the blackboard." Zhao Shu always spoke so kindly to her.
Zhao Shu doesn't like studying, but she is never perfunctory about her duties. She is the one who takes her duties most seriously in the class. Every time it is her turn to be on duty, she brings a rag and an entertainment newspaper.
Pu Chen's desk is close to the blackboard, so a layer of chalk dust always falls on the desk.
Every time Zhao Shu was on duty, she would cover her desk with newspapers, covering all the books tightly.
With newspapers, the little trouble of chalk dust is completely solved.
Zhao Shu said considerately, "Chenchen, go out first. I'll call you back after I've wiped the blackboard."
Pu Chen smiled, took his phone and cup, and went to the tea room to pour some water.
Qin Yu has become a celebrity these days. No matter where you go, you can hear girls talking about him. There were several girls queuing up to get water in the tea room. The topic was all about gossip. Then someone mentioned Qin Yu.
"I heard from my best friend that Qin Yu is from Beijing and has a Beijing hukou."
"Is it true or false?"
"What's so deceptive about this? My best friend changed seats and sat in front of Peng Jingyang."
They all instantly had an 'I understand' expression on their faces.
However, what puzzled them was: "Why didn't he take the college entrance examination in Beijing?"
"Who knows? Peng Jingyang didn't say."
"Maybe they will go abroad in their senior year of high school, so it doesn't matter where they go."
"That's possible. Qin Yu's family is rich anyway."
"Oh, you even know this."
"I heard from a boy in my class that the car that brought him to school to register that day was worth at least 7-8 million, and the license plate was also valuable."
They spoke in a low voice, but no matter how softly they spoke, the tea room was so small that Pu Chen heard every word.
In the classroom, Zhao Shu was still wiping the blackboard, and chalk dust was flying everywhere. Pu Chen came back with some water and waited in the corridor.
"Uncle Zhao!" A girl poked her head inside the door.
Pu Chen often saw this beautiful girl coming to see Zhao Shu. She seemed to be a student in Class 6.
Uncle Zhao is the nickname Zhao Shu gave herself. When the school started, some classmates teased her and called her Uncle Zhao. Zhao Shu was not happy about it and felt that it was not domineering enough, so she changed the name to Uncle Zhao.
Zhao Shu was wearing a mask and cleaning the blackboard, her eyes narrowed slightly, "Why are you calling me uncle?"
"Come here." The girl hooked her finger at her.
Then, Pu Chen heard the girl behind him say to Zhao Shu in a loud voice: "Please ask Qin Yu from your class for his WeChat ID."
Zhao Shu had a look of disappointment on her face: "Look at how cowardly you are. You don't even dare to ask for WeChat, and you really want to have a secret crush on someone. Let me tell you, based on your uncle's 16 years of rich life experience, few secret crushes of girls have good results. It's just a waste of time. If you like someone, confess to him. If not, forget it. Let's go find another tree."
The pretty girl from Class 6 said coquettishly: "Hey, help me."
Zhao Shu: "Can't you see I'm busy cleaning the blackboard?"
Pu Chen: “…”
She didn't mean to listen to what they said, but they chatted so openly and so loudly that it was hard not to hear.
Pu Chen didn't want to hear other people's secrets, so she moved towards the back door. She lay on the railing and looked downstairs.
Within two minutes, a tall figure came over. She turned around and saw that the person was Qin Yu, who was only one meter away from her.
Qin Yu lazily lay on the guardrail, blatantly playing with his phone. His hands were very beautiful, with long and slender fingers and distinct joints.
Qin Yu was typing with both hands, his fingers moving quickly on the keyboard.
Pu Chen just glanced over there and quickly looked away.
"Qin Yu." The beautiful girl from Class 6 came over.
Pu Chen didn't hear how the girl asked Qin Yu for his WeChat ID, she quickly left the corridor.
The girl looked at Qin Yu, her heart was in turmoil. She could only pretend to be calm: "Hello, I am Zhao Shu's friend, can you add me on WeChat?"
After saying this, the girl's ears turned red. This was the first time she asked a boy for his contact information. She had always been confident about her looks, but when she stood in front of Qin Yu, who was so tall and a little cold, she suddenly lost her confidence.
Qin Yu: "Sorry, I don't have a SIM card in my phone."
No card, so no WeChat.
He said: "My family is very strict and I can only play small games like connect the dots."
girl:"... ... "
While she was distracted, Qin Yu had already entered the classroom.
--
The fourth class was English class. During the break of the third class, Pu Chen went to Lu Bosheng's office to get the test paper. They had another English test yesterday afternoon.
Lu Bosheng was talking to a parent, saying that the performance was just okay and they should take it slow.
Pu Chen knocked on the door.
Lu Baisheng motioned her over and handed her the test paper.
The test paper at the top is hers, and she scored 4 points more than last time, 122.
"It's these people's turn to review the test papers in the next class. Let them prepare." After he finished speaking, Lu Baisheng handed her a note.
It was a list of students who were going to give presentations on the podium, and Qin Yu's name was on the list.
Lu Bosheng often asked students to explain the test papers, and he would supplement the parts that were not fully explained. Except for her, everyone in the class had the opportunity to explain, even Zhao Shu, who failed the test. Teacher Lu asked her to choose the topics she knew how to explain.
Lu Bosheng didn't have time to explain the wrong questions to her alone today, so Pu Chen left with the test paper.
Qin Mingyi's gaze has been following Pu Chen since the moment she entered the office. There are very few people whose bare faces can amaze her at first sight, and this little girl is one of them.
There is a hint of coldness in the softness.
It's like a pool of the softest and clearest lake water, but this lake is on the snow-capped mountains.
After Pu Chen walked away, Qin Mingyi praised her generously: "This girl is really pretty, but she is cold and doesn't like to talk."
Lu Bosheng: "It's not that she doesn't like to talk, it's that she can't speak. She is very sensible."
"Ah?" Qin Mingyi didn't understand what it meant for a moment.
Lu Bosheng said: "My voice got damaged when I was in primary school and I couldn't make any sound at all."
Qin Mingyi was stunned, feeling that it was not easy for the little girl, and even more envious: "I wish Qin Yu could be as sensible as her."
Lu Baisheng glanced at Qin Mingyi and didn't respond. He thought to himself: You and He Erge are not even one-tenth as good parents as Pu Wanli, so don't have such high expectations.
Qin Mingyi had more than an hour of free time this morning. The law firm was nearby, so she took the opportunity to come over. She had a case to go to court in the afternoon. On the day Qin Yu came to report, there was a difficult case in the Shanghai branch, so she rushed there early in the morning and had to ask the driver to take Qin Yu to school.
I came here today to make up to Qin Yu.
Qin Mingyi is willing to help his son but unable to do anything about it. "I don't know what Qin Yu is thinking. He just perfunctorily responds to whatever I say to him."
Lu Baisheng glanced at his watch and prepared to go to class.
As for what Qin Yu was thinking, he had no way of knowing. He couldn't empathize with him if he hadn't experienced it. "Let him indulge himself first. When he finds it boring, he will naturally get back on track."
I hope so.
Qin Mingyi walked out of the office with Lu Bosheng and said worriedly, "I'm afraid he will completely give up on himself."
The two walked to the second floor staircase, and Lu Bosheng said, "Sister, please spend more time with Qin Yu."
"How can I..." Qin Mingyi was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Even at home, I don't know what to say to him. He doesn't like to hear about studying."
Sometimes she was in a daze, thinking that her son had grown so tall, almost as tall as his father.
Lu Bosheng did not comment. At the end, he asked Qin Mingyi for a favor: "Sister, don't tell anyone else about my time in Sucheng."
"Don't worry, I know my limits." Qin Mingyi waved to Lu Baisheng and went downstairs.
--
In the classroom, Pu Chen was handing out test papers. Qin Yu's paper was the last one, and he scored 49 points.
Zhao Shu finally doesn't have to be last anymore.
Qin Yu did not go out during the break. He was reading a novel, all in English.
Pu Chen gently placed his test paper on the table.
The figure next to him showed no sign of leaving, so Qin Yu looked up and asked, "Anything else?"
Pu Chen handed Qin Yu a line of words that he had already typed, "Teacher Lu asked you to go to the podium to talk about the questions in the next class." He also attached the questions he was going to talk about.
After reading it, Qin Yu leaned on the desk in the back row and stared at her. He didn't understand how he had offended her, which made her have such a deep prejudice against him and unwilling to talk to him.
Pu Chen was at a loss what to do after being looked at by him, and reminded him: Don't forget to prepare.
Qin Yu knew what was going on and explained to her: "I didn't throw the chalk at you on purpose that day. I wiped it off for you later and apologized to you. Why are you so petty that you can't even talk to me nicely."
Pu Chen: “…”
She typed: My vocal cords are broken, I can't speak.
Qin Yu thought she had a cold and her voice was hoarse, so he corrected her, "It's not broken, it's just uncomfortable."
Pu Chen: It’s not that I feel uncomfortable, my throat is really broken. I’m mute and can’t speak.
Qin Yu looked at her helplessly. She had a really bad temper.
How much did she not want to talk to him, she even said the word "dumb". When Lu Bosheng brought her oden yesterday, she was still talking and laughing with Lu Bosheng, as if he was Teacher Lu.
He was at the door of the oden restaurant at the time and saw it clearly.
At first he didn't understand why Lu Bosheng was walking in that direction, but then he saw Pu Chen and realized that Lu Bosheng was bringing her a bowl of oden.
He didn’t know how long Pu Chen talked with Lu Bosheng. He just got his oden and went home.
Qin Yu didn't care whether she was willing to talk to him or not. For some reason, he particularly didn't like her saying that she was mute. Even if she was just angry with him, he didn't want to hear it.
Inexplicably, he wanted to compete with her: "Sorry, I have severe myopia and it's hard for me to read your phone. If you have anything to say next time, just tell me directly."
Pu Chen pursed his lips and turned back to his seat.
Qin Yu kept looking at her. It was the first time in his life that someone gave him a cold look.
The bell rang for class, and my deskmate and Zhao Shu, who sat in the back seat, came in slowly from the back door.
Qin Yu turned around and asked Zhao Shu: "Is Pu Chen like this to everyone?"
Zhao Shu was puzzled: "What?"
Qin Yu: "I don't like talking to people." Or rather, I just don't like talking to him alone.
Zhao Shu: "It was a misunderstanding."
Qin Yu didn't know it was no surprise that Pu Chen couldn't speak. All in all, he had been here for three days, and only on the first day did he greet his deskmate. The deskmate asked him which high school he had attended before, and he said he studied in Beijing.
But he didn’t say which school in Beijing.
His deskmate was an honest kid who didn't talk much. The two of them didn't communicate, and he would never take the initiative to talk to Qin Yu about things in the class.
The total number of sentences she spoke to Qin Yu was no more than three. After class, Qin Yu either slept or played games alone in the corridor outside. He was the first one to leave after school and came later than her.
The teacher happened to have not asked Pu Chen any questions during these two days, and Pu Chen never communicated with her classmates except for sending and receiving English homework. Because Pu Chen could not speak, no one bothered her unless there was something important.
Zhao Shu: "Chenchen can't speak. Her vocal cords were damaged when she was in elementary school. Didn't you see that she always carries a cell phone with her? She can only communicate with people by typing."
Qin Yu was stunned.