After the National Day holiday, Lu Shinian limped back to school. Yu Jingjing looked at her with concern, “What happened to your leg? Did someone break it?”
“It’s nothing,” Lu Shinian replied as she set down her backpack. “I accidentally bumped my knee against a cabinet.”
Yu Jingjing still seemed worried, “Really?”
“Really,” Lu Shinian nodded. There was no way she could admit she had knelt her way into this statenthat was just too embarrassing to say out loud.
When it came to disciplining wrongdoers, Mrs. Chai rarely resorted to physical punishment. Instead, she preferred methods like enforced kneeling, calligraphy practice, or copying Buddhist scriptures. Regarding kneeling, Mrs. Chai believed that just as “a man’s knees bear gold,” so did a woman’s, one should never kneel casually except to heaven, earth, or one’s parents.
But the family rule about kneeling wasn’t just empty words. That night, Lu Shinian was dragged to the Lu family’s prayer room and made to kneel. She knelt for as many hours as she had been late four in total until dawn finally broke, and she had to lean against the wall to stand up and leave.
Lu Zhenhong had tried to intervene, but Mrs. Chai had said, “If she isn’t punished severely this time, she’ll do it again.”
After that, Lu Shinian was confined and forced to copy Buddhist scriptures. The last two days of her holiday were spent in the scent of sandalwood, eating nothing but bland, watery meals in the prayer room. By midnight, she was so hungry she saw stars or rather, the Buddha himself and briefly wondered if she was about to achieve enlightenment.
Remembering the misery of those two days, Lu Shinian patted Yu Jingjing’s shoulder solemnly and declared, “The moment school lets out for lunch today, we’re heading straight to the cafeteria. I need meat, and no one’s stopping me.”
“But your leg…”
“It’s fine. It can handle it.”
“Damn.”
During morning classes, Lu Shinian found it hard to focus. Her gaze kept drifting, intentionally or not, toward Yu He’s seat.
She wondered how Yu He’s hand injury was doing, whether her mood had improved, if she had stopped crying. And when they ran into each other later, what expression should she use to greet her?
Tch.
If only she could think this thoroughly when solving math problems.
The English teacher stood at the podium. “Let’s have someone read this passage aloud.”
Usually, even when Liang Hongying called on someone to read a Chinese text, few were eager to comply, let alone a passage full of English letters.
Most of the class instinctively lowered their heads in perfect unison, leaving only a few top English students sitting upright, unafraid to meet the teacher’s gaze.
The teacher’s eyes swept over them but didn’t settle on anyone. She continued scanning the room until her gaze landed on a student by the window, propping her chin up and staring blankly into space, completely unabashed.
A perfect target for a daydreamer.
She cleared her throat. “Lu Shinian, what are you looking at? Is someone in this class really that good-looking?”
Students nearby turned to look, and Yu He also glanced over.
She really was quite good-looking.
Lu Shinian silently agreed before lifting her head. “I wasn’t looking at anyone.”
“Whoever you were looking at, stand up now and read this passage.”
Yu Jingjing whispered a prompt beside her, “Second paragraph.”
Lu Shinian picked up her textbook, glanced at the first line, and cleared her throat. “Customs play a significant role in festivals…”
Her pace was steady, her pronunciation crisp, flawless British English.
The English teacher nodded, her frown easing noticeably. She looked pleased.
After Lu Shinian finished reading, the English teacher motioned for her to sit down. “Don’t space out during class next time.”
“Okay, thank you, teacher.”
Lu Shinian sat down and let out a sigh of relief. That was terrifying.
After class, Yu Jingjing asked her, “Your English pronunciation is so good?”
“Not bad,” Lu Shinian said. “It’s the result of attending oral English classes since childhood.”
Yu Jingjing clicked her tongue. “By the way, who were you looking at during class?”
Lu Shinian casually flipped through her book. “Wasn’t looking at anyone, just daydreaming.”
When the noon dismissal bell rang, Lu Shinian and Yu Jingjing rushed out of the classroom immediately.
Students had an unusual enthusiasm for grabbing food, and the stairwell was soon packed with people. Amidst the noisy chatter around them, they could only follow the flow of the crowd downstairs.
Yu Jingjing walked ahead, complaining, “Why does our classroom have to be on the fourth floor?”
“I declare lunch-grabbing a failure.”
Lu Shinian held onto the railing, carefully taking each step down. The person behind her was in a hurry to descend and said, “Excuse me, could you move aside?”
She shifted to the side, but the person’s arm accidentally bumped her shoulder. Her already sore foot suddenly gave way, and she nearly kneeled down to pay homage to the ground.
In that instant, a hand firmly grasped her wrist, steadying her.
Amidst the surrounding clamor, Yu He’s voice sounded gentle by her ear. “Take it slow.”
Lu Shinian was a bit dazed as she reached for the railing again. “Thanks.”
Yu He asked, “What’s wrong with your leg?”
Yu Jingjing, who was walking ahead, turned back. “She bumped into a cabinet.”
Yu He tilted her head to look at her.
Lu Shinian nodded. “Bumped into a cabinet.”
Yu He suddenly pulled out two red bills from her pocket and handed them to Lu Shinian. “This is for the medicine.”
Lu Shinian’s eyelid twitched as she refused. “I don’t want it.”
Yu He insisted, “Take it. I owe you.”
“I don’t want it.”
“You should.”
Lu Shinian finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Was that medicine? That was genuine affection! Genuine affection can’t be measured with money. What you owe me is affection, and you’re trying to repay me with cash?”
“……”
Yu Jingjing looked at them with an indescribable expression. “What kind of game are you two playing?”
Lu Shinian took a deep breath. “By ‘affection,’ I meant friendship. I was talking about friendship.”
Yu He stared at her for a few seconds, as if contemplating something.
Then she asked, “How should I repay it?”
Lu Shinian made a heart shape with her fingers. “Genuine affection should be repaid with genuine affection.”
Yu He raised an eyebrow slightly. Though her face remained impassive, one could see the confusion and bewilderment hidden beneath.
That one expression of yours conveys quite a range of emotions.
“Think about it yourself. For now, come eat with us.”
Lu Shinian made a move to take Yu He’s hand, but the moment her fingers barely brushed against Yu He’s, the latter recoiled as if touching something shocking, quickly withdrawing her hand behind her back.
“……”
That’s not how you play the game.
What’s wrong with good friends holding hands?
Lu Shinian pressed her tongue against her teeth, gritting out, “I washed my hands.”
Yu He said, “Let’s eat.”
“Hahahaha!” Yu Jingjing, who had been listening nearby, suddenly burst into laughter.
The aloof top student and the bristling lion, this duo’s interactions were just too hilarious.
“Fine, let’s eat.” Lu Shinian reached out to grab Yu Jingjing’s hand instead. “I won’t hold yours then.”
All the love and affection these past days were clearly misplaced.
She needed to reconsider her relationship with Yu He. Originally, after the National Day incident, their friendship could have upgraded from version 2.0 basic edition to 3.0. But instead, it had regressed, the system had crashed.
Yu He lagged half a step behind, watching the two people holding hands ahead, her brows furrowing slightly.
“Hey genius, keep up or we won’t make it for lunch,” Yu Jingjing turned around and suddenly met a pair of dark, inky eyes.
Yu He’s eyelids lowered slightly, her voice carrying a faint edge as she replied, “Mm.”
Yu Jingjing: “???”
Did the genius just grind her teeth?
Did I just get glared at by the genius?