Lin Qingle’s outward appearance gave others the impression of a soft, gentle girl—obedient and easy to get along with.
But deep inside, she had another side.
Like the time when her father’s actions dragged their family down, throwing her mother into the storm of public criticism and even subjecting her to abuse. At such a young age, Lin Qingle had dared to pick up a knife and force everyone away in her own way.
And now, when someone she cared deeply about was trapped in the darkness of blindness, she was determined to do whatever it took to pull him out of it.
She was a person of firm resolve and stubbornness.
So, after deciding to join the competition, Lin Qingle borrowed books and past exam papers from her physics teacher and started practicing relentlessly.
Her physics teacher, initially hesitant about students participating in such competitions, eventually became supportive after seeing her enthusiasm and passion for physics. He even made time before evening self-study sessions or on weekends to give her extra coaching.
Lin Qingle was naturally overjoyed to receive this guidance. However, this also meant she had much less time to visit Xu Tingbai.
Though she felt a bit disappointed, she reminded herself that helping Xu Tingbai’s eyesight was far more important.
Time ticked away, and soon it was the Friday before the competition, two days out.
That evening, instead of staying to solve problems, Lin Qingle decided to visit Xu Tingbai.
The two of them hadn’t seen each other for quite some time. The last meeting had been two Sundays ago, when she brought him some fruit but left in a hurry without even stepping inside.
So, when Xu Tingbai heard her voice at the door, he was taken aback.
“Have you eaten yet?” She stood at the doorway, smiling brightly.
It had been a long time since she had come to see him at this hour.
Xu Tingbai nodded.
“I haven’t eaten yet,” she said as she walked in, placing her dinner on the table. “I was hoping we could eat together.”
“What brings you here?”
Lin Qingle gave him a puzzled look. “To eat with you, of course.”
“Oh.”
But… you haven’t been coming by.
Xu Tingbai didn’t want to overthink things, but over the past few weeks, a part of him had started to wonder: did she not want to come anymore?
“I have a competition tomorrow,” Lin Qingle said, breaking apart a pair of chopsticks.
Xu Tingbai was stunned. “What kind of competition?”
“A physics competition. Our class sent me because my physics grades are the best,” she said while eating. “Once it’s over, I won’t have to attend those extra classes anymore, so I can come visit you more often.”
Xu Tingbai stood there, listening to her voice at the table, and suddenly felt a wave of relief. “You’ve been busy with extra classes lately?”
“Yeah, the competition questions are hard, and we don’t cover most of them in regular class.”
He took a few steps toward her, the tension in his chest easing. “I thought…”
“Thought what?”
“Nothing,” Xu Tingbai said, unable to hide the smile spreading across his face.
“This food is so good. Want some?” Lin Qingle asked.
Xu Tingbai chuckled. “No, you go ahead, shorty.”
“…Who are you calling short? I’m not short anymore.”
“Really?” Xu Tingbai raised his hand to compare heights. “Doesn’t look that way.”
“I— I’m sitting right now! Stand up, and I’ll show you!”
The chair screeched against the floor as she stood up indignantly. Xu Tingbai laughed helplessly. “I was just joking. Sit back down and finish your food.”
“I’m not short, okay? I’m 163 cm now…”
“Oh, then you’re really tall.”
“You—”
“Alright, eat up, or you’ll be late.”
Lin Qingle glared at him discreetly before sitting back down.
Because she only had a short break before evening self-study, she couldn’t stay long and hurried back to school after finishing her meal.
Truthfully, she didn’t have to come today. But for some reason, she superstitiously believed that seeing Xu Tingbai before the competition would give her more strength.
Who knew… she’d end up being teased for her height!
She was still growing, okay?
The physics competition was scheduled for 9 a.m. Sunday. That morning, Lin Yufen went to work, sparing Lin Qingle the trouble of coming up with an excuse to go to the library.
She hadn’t told Lin Yufen about signing up for the competition, knowing that it wouldn’t help with the college entrance exam. If her mother found out, she’d certainly try to stop her.
She hadn’t eaten and headed straight for Yueqian Road.
She felt she had done well in the exam and walked with a light heart.
“Xu Tingbai!” She spotted a familiar figure at the intersection ahead and ran over.
Xu Tingbai had gone out to buy lunch and was surprised to bump into her.
“You’re done with your test?” he asked.
“Yep, half an hour ago.”
“How did it go?”
“Hmm… I think it went well! The teacher predicted a lot of the questions correctly!”
“Then congratulations.”
“Why are you congratulating me? You should be congratulating yourself—”
“Me? Why?”
Lin Qingle paused for a moment. The results hadn’t come out yet…
What if she didn’t win a prize and didn’t get the reward? That would mean he’d be disappointed for nothing.
After thinking this through, Lin Qingle said, “Of course I should congratulate you, because… because I think I did okay in the exam, and I’m in a good mood, so I’ll treat you to a meal.”
Xu Tingbai smiled slightly at her words. “You’re already thinking about treating someone to a meal before the results are even out?”
“Yes, aren’t you happy? You’re in for a treat,” Lin Qingle said as she grabbed his wrist. “Let’s go, we’re going to eat.”
Xu Tingbai allowed her to pull him along. “Where are we going?”
“I’m thinking… oh right, Shu Yi mentioned a new restaurant nearby that’s really good. I want to try it. Will you come with me?”
Xu Tingbai hadn’t gone to a restaurant directly for a long time and was generally against it. But hearing the hopeful tone in her voice, he nodded.
“Okay.”
The restaurant that Jiang Shu Yi mentioned was near the school. Since it was a bit pricey for Lin Qingle, she had never gone despite hearing good things about it.
But today she was in a good mood and wanted to bring Xu Tingbai to try it.
“You sit next to me, I’ll look at the menu,” she said.
“Mm.”
Lin Qingle opened the menu and scanned it: cheese pumpkin, stir-fried beef, sweet and sour pork… These were the dishes Shu Yi had recommended. What else was there?
She carefully ticked off the options.
“Hey, hello, classmate.”
Just then, someone greeted them from the side. Lin Qingle looked up and noticed that a girl was standing by their table, and the greeting wasn’t directed at her, but at Xu Tingbai.
Lin Qingle quietly put down the menu. At the same time, she noticed a table of girls not far away, whispering and staring at their table, watching Xu Tingbai and the girl.
Lin Qingle quickly realized that the girl was likely trying to strike up a conversation.
“Excuse me, are you from the Fourth High School? Or Thirteenth High School?” the girl asked boldly.
The nearby schools were Fourth and Thirteenth High, which was why she asked.
Lin Qingle saw that Xu Tingbai might not have realized the question was aimed at him, so she quickly asked, “Is there something you need?”
The girl paused, as if realizing Lin Qingle was addressing her. “Ah… are you… his?”
The girl pointed at Xu Tingbai, clearly implying something, and it was obvious she had misunderstood.
Lin Qingle was stunned and waved her hand. “No, no, we’re… just friends. Is there something you need?”
The girl sighed in relief. “Oh, it’s nothing. I was just asking. By the way, can we be friends? I’m from Thirteenth High, I’m Du Lingling.”
Her last words were directed at Xu Tingbai. Lin Qingle glanced at him, wondering how to explain, when Xu Tingbai spoke up.
“No.”
“…”
“…”
The girl’s face froze for a moment. “W-why?”
Xu Tingbai replied, “I have friends.”
The girl blinked. “Huh?”
“My friend is still sitting here. Please don’t disturb us,” Xu Tingbai added after a pause, then added, “Thank you.”
“…”
The girl left, casting a side glance at Lin Qingle before she went.
Lin Qingle, bewildered, picked up the menu again and whispered to Xu Tingbai, “She seemed mad, and she glared at me when she left.”
“Oh.”
Xu Tingbai replied, “Because you’re stupid.”
“…”
“Did you order the dishes?”
Lin Qingle muttered under her breath as she listed the dishes. Afterward, she added, “These are all the ones I ordered. Do you want anything else?”
Xu Tingbai replied, “No, anything you like is fine.”
“Then it’s settled. I’m afraid we’ll have too much food and won’t be able to finish.”
“Mm.”
Lin Qingle called the waiter over and placed the order.
Afterward, she glanced at Xu Tingbai.
Honestly, when Xu Tingbai wasn’t holding his cane, he didn’t look like someone who couldn’t see at all. He looked quite nice sitting there quietly.
No wonder the girls over there wanted to come and talk to him…
“Lin Qingle.”
“What?”
“Why are you so quiet?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re usually the one who talks the most.”
Lin Qingle protested, “I’m not!”
Xu Tingbai smiled slightly.
“Stop laughing,” Lin Qingle said, staring at his face.
Xu Tingbai’s expression froze for a moment. “Hm?”
Lin Qingle turned her body slightly and whispered, “You’re smiling too well. Be careful, someone might come over to be friends with you again.”
Xu Tingbai fell silent for a while, then said, “Didn’t I already say? I have friends.”
“You mean me, but friends aren’t just one person.”
“I only need one.”
Lin Qingle froze, staring at him.
Xu Tingbai seemed to realize his words sounded odd. He turned his head away and awkwardly added, “I mean, if there were more, they’d probably be just as noisy as you.”
Lin Qingle’s face turned red, and she stammered, “I-I’m not noisy! You’re the one who said I am.”
Xu Tingbai replied, “I wasn’t insulting you.”
“What was it then?”
“Complimenting you.”
“…?”
Xu Tingbai smiled. “Alright, where’s the water? I’m thirsty.”
Lin Qingle shot him a sideways glance and passed him the water glass.
“Thanks.”
“Hmph…”
After a while, the dishes arrived.
The presentation was beautiful, and just looking at them made Lin Qingle hungry. She picked up some food for Xu Tingbai, ready to offer it to him, when she saw a few familiar faces walk in.
She hadn’t expected to run into them on the weekend, and they, too, seemed surprised to see her and Xu Tingbai sitting together.
“Qingle! Aren’t you in a competition today? What are you doing here?” Yu Tingting came running over when she saw her.
Lin Qingle replied, “I finished the exam and came out for lunch.”
“Ah… so that’s how it is.” Yu Tingting glanced at Xu Tingbai next to her. “What a coincidence.”
Lin Qingle nodded. “What about you guys? Did you plan to eat here?”
Yu Tingting looked behind her and whispered, “Not really. I was shopping with Shu Yi just now, and we ran into Yu Jiayou on the way. So we thought of inviting him to have lunch with us. But then, his cousin Yan Dairong was also here, so… we had no choice but to all eat together.”
“Oh…”
Lin Qingle turned to look at the group walking toward them, or more specifically, at Yan Dairong.
She had argued with Xu Tingbai right in front of her house last time. It must be a bit awkward to run into her now…
Lin Qingle thought this, but to her surprise, when Yan Dairong approached, she actually smiled at her.
“It’s really a coincidence that we’d run into you here. Qingle, if you don’t mind, let’s eat together.”