Yu He didn’t return home until seven in the morning and collapsed straight into bed, sleeping until noon.
The irregular sleep schedule left her with a splitting headache, which only slightly eased after a shower. The harsh glare from her phone screen stung her eyes, making her feel dizzy.
She blinked and clicked on one of the links. Due to her outdated phone, the loading circle spun for a long time before the page finally appeared.
Who knew where this person dug up so many bizarre articles?
Yu He lowered her lashes, stared at the screen for a moment, then gave a faint smile.
In the end, she replied simply:
[Yu He: Ate.]
After finishing her bread, she pulled out a chair and sat at her desk, retrieving books and test papers from her bag.
At two in the afternoon, Yu He heard noise outside and looked up.
There were multiple voices, both men and women. Without even guessing, she knew Yu Liang had invited another crowd over to play cards.
She took out a pair of earplugs from her drawer, stuffed them into her ears to block out the raucous laughter, isolating herself from the outside world as she focused on solving problems.
Until a loud bang came from the door.
Yu He set down her pen and walked out of her bedroom with a cold expression.
The living room was packed with people gathered around a card table. Two or three of them held cigarettes, wisps of smoke curling in the air, filling the space with a choking stench.
Yu He’s brows furrowed involuntarily.
The whole place was a filthy mess.
Yu Liang tossed down his cards and spared her a glance. “Oh, you’re awake. Perfect, go boil some water for your dad.”
Yu He said, “How many times have I told you not to smoke in the house?”
“Three of a kind.” Yu Liang dismissed her, eyes fixed on his cards. “This is my house. Since when do you get to order me around? I’ll smoke if I damn well please.”
Yu He replied impassively, “One last time. You can bring people over, but no smoking. And keep the noise down.”
Yu Liang waved her off irritably. “Yeah, yeah. So damn naggy.”
A middle-aged man at the table eyed Yu He up and down, his fleshy face squeezing into a grin. “Lao Yu, you sure listen to your daughter.”
Yu He looked at him, a flicker of disgust flashing in her eyes.
“I’m just humoring her. Otherwise, she’d never shut up,” Yu Liang snapped, his face dark with impatience.
Another woman chimed in, “Gotta say, your girl’s got looks. Takes after her mom.”
Yu Liang’s hands stilled for a second before he scoffed. “Don’t bring that woman up. Bad luck.”
At that, Yu He’s expression turned icy. “Don’t talk about my mother. You don’t have the right.”
The woman chuckled, enjoying the drama. “Your daughter’s got quite the temper.”
Humiliated and unable to back down, Yu Liang flushed red and barked at her, “I’ll talk about her if I want! Get the hell back to your room!”
Without hesitation, Yu He turned and left. As the door clicked shut, Yu Liang’s voice slithered through the gap:
“Ungrateful brat. If she weren’t my own flesh and blood, I’d have tossed her out long ago…”
Yu He’s fingers trembled around the doorknob. She took a moment to steady herself, then lifted a hand to cover her eyes, forcing back the rising wetness.
Her palm came away damp.
Ningxia experiences frequent rain during summer and autumn, with light drizzles persisting for days while the temperature stubbornly refuses to drop, leaving the outdoors unbearably humid. On Wednesday afternoon, another light rain began outside the window under a leaden sky that threatened heavier showers.
The PE teacher came straight to the classroom, announcing that the sports period would become self-study time.
A chorus of disappointed sighs rose from the students.
The teacher chuckled, “You should be grateful I didn’t give this period to your core subject teachers.”
Lu Shinian leaned her arm against the tiled wall, her desk occupied by “Frenzy of Practice Questions.” She scribbled calculations on scratch paper, head bowed.
The book was indeed fundamental, focusing on key knowledge points, but its answers were frustratingly brief sometimes just a final solution with no working shown, leaving students to figure out the steps themselves.
Whenever she couldn’t understand the solutions, she’d trot off to math teacher Shi Zhuang for help. He’d always scrutinize her first, saying her middle school and first-year knowledge must have been “eaten by dogs” if she needed this explained, before reluctantly teaching her. His patience wore thin if she asked follow-up questions, inevitably earning her scoldings. Fortunately, living her second life had given Lu Shinian thick skin against such criticism.
By comparison, Yu He’s teaching was meticulous and patient though Lu Shinian didn’t want to bother her too often, maintaining just the right amount of pestering.
Glancing ahead, Lu Shinian noticed Yu He’s seat had been empty since class began.
“Shinian, let’s go to Back Street after school,” Yu Jingjing said.
Pulling her gaze back, Lu Shinian rubbed her face. “Sure, but wait for me, I need to ask about a problem after class.”
“Ugh, brave soul,” Yu Jingjing remarked. “Want me to look first? I could explain it.”
Lu Shinian pushed the workbook and answer key over, grimacing. “See? They just give the answer and expect me to magically derive the steps.”
Yu Jingjing studied the question, doodling on scratch paper. “Hmm, this problem…”
“You get it?” If Yu Jingjing understood, she wouldn’t need to face the “Thunder God.”
With an awkward laugh, Yu Jingjing said, “Good luck. I’ll wait in class.”
“Someone’s got to walk through hell,” Lu Shinian sighed.
When class ended, she headed straight to the office with her workbook.
The nearly empty staff room at dismissal time found Shi Zhuang just returning from teaching. “Busy now. Wait! I’ll be back,” he said, dropping books on his desk.
“Okay,” Lu Shinian nodded.
Desks faced each other with partitions between them. Scanning the room, Lu Shinian spotted Yu He at a front workstation mostly hidden behind dividers and a monitor, but recognizable by her unmistakable aura.
Leaning on the desk edge, Lu Shinian said, “So you’ve been here the whole period.”
Yu He continued writing without looking up, merely humming acknowledgment.
“What homework is this?” Lu Shinian leaned closer to examine each character and number perfectly legible, yet collectively incomprehensible. The paper’s header read “National High School Mathematics Competition” in bold font.
Quietly retracting her “Frenzy of Practice Questions,” Lu Shinian thought better of interrupting.
Noticing this, Yu He glanced up. “Need help with something?”
Lu Shinian nodded, “Yes, I’ll wait for Teacher Shi to come back.”
Yu He put down her pen and glanced at the exercise book in Lu Shinian’s hands. “Is it helpful?”
“It’s good, but the answers are too brief. Sometimes I can’t understand them.” Lu Shinian blinked and tentatively asked, “Can I ask you for help?”
Yu He replied, “Sure.”
Lu Shinian beamed and handed her the exercise book, pointing at a problem. “This one.”
Instead of directly solving it, Yu He explained the thought process to her and then gestured for her to try it again herself.
“Let me give it a shot.” Lu Shinian leaned forward, half her body sprawled across the desk as she started calculating.
Yu He leaned back slightly, lowering her gaze to watch the girl work on the problem.
Lu Shinian had a habit of tugging at her hair when deep in thought. Her fair fingers lingered in her soft strands, occasionally scratching lightly.
Her fingers were lovely, her hair looked silky, it seemed like it would feel nice to touch.
“Oh, I get it now.” Lu Shinian chuckled and turned her head toward Yu He. “I figured it out. Is the answer 2√3?”
Yu He averted her eyes and answered in a low, calm voice, “Mm, correct.”
Lu Shinian raised her eyebrows proudly. “I’m pretty good at this.”
Yu He picked up her pen, her expression unusually relaxed. “Well done.”
Her voice was deep, carrying a slight upward lilt.
“You’re praising me?” Lu Shinian froze for a moment before unconsciously shifting closer to her.
Yu He paused briefly before responding, “Is there a problem?”
Lu Shinian shook her head, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed. “No problem.”
The two of them just looked at each other for a few seconds until the office door was pushed open from outside. Shi Zhuang walked in and said to Lu Shinian, “Come ask your question.”
Lu Shinian replied, “No need. Yu already taught me.”
“Good. Keep asking more questions.” Shi Zhuang turned to Yu He. “Finished?”
Yu He handed over the test paper on the desk. Shi Zhuang took it, skimmed through it, and nodded with satisfaction. “Not bad. Even if we don’t count the accuracy rate, just finishing this entire paper is impressive. You have a real shot at advancing in the citywide competition.”
Lu Shinian clicked her tongue beside them. “Impressive.”
Shi Zhuang glanced at her, his attitude doing a complete 180 as he sighed. “Learn from her. The homework you handed in was so atrocious I’m almost embarrassed to even mention it…”
Here we go again.
Lu Shinian thought silently to herself. I should’ve left earlier, now I’m in for another lecture.
Yu He spoke up. “Teacher Shi, could you check my test paper? I want to see how many I got wrong.”
Distracted, Shi Zhuang paused. “Sure, let me take a look.”
Seizing the chance, Lu Shinian quickly made her escape. “Teacher, I’ll head out first.”
Shi Zhuang replied, “Mm.”
Lu Shinian rushed back to the classroom, where Yu Jingjing had already packed up and was waiting for her. Seeing her flustered state, Yu Jingjing asked, “Got lectured again?”
Lu Shinian stuffed the exercise book into her desk. “Don’t even ask. Thankfully, Yu distracted Old Shi, or I wouldn’t have escaped.”
“I grabbed the umbrella,” Yu Jingjing said. “Let’s go to Backstreet.”
“Sure thing.”
Just as Lu Shinian was about to put the umbrella away, she suddenly remembered something. She pulled it back out from the side of her bag, walked to the front row, and placed it on Yu He’s desk.
Seeing this, Yu Jingjing laughed and said, “So thoughtful? How did you know Yu He didn’t have an umbrella?”
Lu Shinian shook her head playfully, “Better safe than sorry. I was afraid she might have forgotten her umbrella, getting soaked wouldn’t be good.”
Looking at Yu He’s slender figure, she thought catching a cold would be all too easy if she got drenched in the rain.
“Anyway, kind-hearted as you are, you’d share your umbrella with me, right?”