The patron, Gu Lingluo (the Junior Student), truly lived up to her title as a top student; the reading passage she assigned was incredibly tricky!
In short, Liu Xia (the protagonist) recognized every single word, but when put together, she had no idea what the sentences actually meant.
She forced herself to translate it.
Just as she finished half the translation, swoosh, the paper was yanked away from her.
Liu Xia was stunned: “I haven’t finished writing yet.”
Gu Lingluo replied: “Time is up.”
Liu Xia looked at her phone; only 42 minutes had passed.
Liu Xia insisted: “It’s still early.”
Gu Lingluo countered: “This is a 40-point reading comprehension; I’ve already given you two extra minutes.”
Liu Xia twitched the corner of her mouth. Wow, you’re so generous.
Liu Xia pressed: “Isn’t this just practice? At least let me finish answering.”
Gu Lingluo stated: “It’s not practice. It’s an in-class quiz.”
Liu Xia was speechless.
Was her one-on-one tutoring this formal?
Gu Lingluo uncapped her pen and began grading.
First sentence of the translation: Wrong!
Second sentence: Wrong!
Third sentence: Wrong!
Liu Xia had already given up trying to peek.
Whether by coincidence or not, she had scored 14 points, and there were exactly 14 reading sentences here. Aside from the ones she hadn’t answered, everything was wrong!
Gu Lingluo capped her pen, gathered her books and the quiz paper, and stood up.
Gu Lingluo commanded: “Go.”
Liu Xia looked up at her from below, in despair: “Where are we going?”
Was she going to give up on her?
No! Don’t! She had just barely managed to improve her relationship with her patron; she couldn’t let all that effort go to waste!!!
Gu Lingluo did not answer, walking straight toward the exit. Liu Xia quickly gathered her things and ran to catch up.
“Listen to my explanation! I really didn’t mean to score so low. I don’t know why my brain went blank. I clearly memorized the words before, but as soon as the test started, my mind was totally empty! I must have been nervous. I promise I’ll definitely overcome it in the future! Please just give me one more chance!”
“Shut up!”
Fine, shut up, shut up. Her patron’s word was like a royal decree; she wouldn’t dare defy it even if it killed her.
Liu Xia covered her mouth, following miserably behind Gu Lingluo. They left the library and circled toward the small track field.
Why did she have an ominous premonition?
Gu Lingluo walked to the spectator stands, pulled out a tissue to place on the bench, and sat down. “Go,” she said.
Liu Xia looked at the dim, dark track field. Only the distant dormitory lights and a half-crescent moon hung in the sky.
“Go… go where?”
“14 times 3. Calculate it yourself.”
“F-forty-two?”
“Go.”
Liu Xia looked up to the heavens tragically.
She was wrong, truly wrong. She had thought that biting her arm and memorizing five hours of vocabulary was the limit of her patron’s sadism, but now she realized how ridiculously naïve she had been!
Liu Xia spoke pitifully: “Can we round it off?”
“Yes, 40 laps.”
What Liu Xia actually wanted to suggest was… to round off the leading ‘4’…
Throwing down her bag and taking off her delicate jacket, Liu Xia reluctantly stretched to warm up, then started running with tears in her eyes.
She had to thank the large track for locking its gates at night; otherwise, the cruel patron would definitely have punished her to run the big loop, which was about three times the distance of the small one. 40 big laps would certainly kill her…
Wait a minute!
Why did her patron say 3 laps for one mistake? Why was it exactly 3? Why not 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6?
Three small laps equal one big lap…
Heh, hehe…
Indeed, she was still Too young, too simple!
Liu Xia grumbled internally while huffing and puffing as she ran.
One lap, two laps, three laps…
Three and a half laps was already her absolute limit.
She couldn’t do it. She was going to die…
One more step and she’d probably collapse and bleed on the spot.
Liu Xia was soaked in sweat, breathing heavily like an ox. As for any lady-like image, she’d never had one to begin with.
She panted! She panted! She panted with all her might!
Patron, please look at me! I’m about to get asthma and emphysema! How can you be so heartless?
Running into the fourth lap, Gu Lingluo finally called her over mercifully.
“Give up.”
“Huff! Huff!” Liu Xia was truly bad at exercise. She leaned over, hands on her knees, gasping, unable to utter a single word. After a long while, she managed to squeeze out: “Wha-what?”
“Whatever your objective is, give up. Don’t waste your energy on crooked paths.”
“Wh-what crooked paths?”
Her legs felt like jelly from running, so Liu Xia simply squatted down. After calming her breathing for a while, she spoke again.
“You’re not talking about yourself, are you? How could you be a crooked path? You are my most precious and beloved idol, whom I hold at the tip of my heart! The star I’ll never stop being a fan of for life! You are my life’s goal, my guiding light, the highway I’ll never finish walking! You will always be number one! Nothing is more important than you!”
Hao Yan (another student) had said that no matter what, either play up the misery or resort to awkward flattery; one of them was bound to touch the patron’s heart!
She highly agreed with Hao Yan’s opinion.
Yet, for some reason, after hearing her words, her patron’s expression suddenly darkened. Her eyes were deep and somber, more complex and inscrutable than her previous cold face.
What was wrong with her? Was she doubting her sincerity?
It was understandable, she supposed. She usually seemed so eager to please her patron, but she kept dropping the ball at crucial moments. No wonder the patron was suspicious.
As the saying goes, one shouldn’t keep repeating the same mistake.
The regular score only accounted for twenty points in total. She had failed twice and missed an assignment once, causing Gu Lingluo to lose points three times in a row. There weren’t many points left. For a top student like Gu Lingluo, this was probably the greatest stain on her academic career.
Thinking this, her sense of guilt doubled.
Liu Xia sighed softly, sincerely daring not to complain anymore.
She squatted for a while longer, then struggled to stand up, staggering toward the track.
Gu Lingluo frowned: “What are you doing?”
Liu Xia turned back. The distant dormitory lights shimmered behind her, outlining her sweat-soaked figure. Her deeply affectionate-looking ‘peach-blossom’ eyes (a Chinese term for a charming eye shape) were not clearly visible in the dim light, only a faint, scattered luster, along with a tired but brilliant smile on her lips.
“Running laps. I promised you, and I have to do what I promised, even if the heavens strike me down.”
Liu Xia really started running. Although her legs felt heavy as if filled with lead, and she was running so slow she wouldn’t step on an ant, she persisted.
The night in early winter was cold as frost, yet she was drenched in sweat. Even though breathing was an effort due to exhaustion, looking at that ethereal figure that remained in the spectator stands, it didn’t seem so unbearable anymore.
On what might have been the tenth or eleventh lap, she ran past the spectator stands with her back turned. When she circled back, the figure was gone.
Gu Lingluo?
Had she left?
She had told her she would complete the task even if the heavens struck her down. Why wouldn’t she forgive her?
Liu Xia instantly lost heart. Her feet stumbled, and she pitched forward!
If she were the heroine in a novel or idol drama, she would definitely fall into the arms of the male lead or a supporting male character, successfully sparking a little flame of love.
Unfortunately, she was just a tragic, unlucky person in the three-dimensional world. The fact that she only fell flat on her face like a dog eating mud and didn’t coincidentally knock out her two front teeth was already considered good luck.
Liu Xia winced, lying sprawled on the ground, completely weak. She had no energy to get up, nor did she feel like moving. Taking advantage of the empty small track field, she just threw caution to the wind and shouted twice: “It hurts so much! I’m dying of pain!”
Immediately, this was followed by uncontrollable laughter.
“Heh, hehe… Heheheh…”
The laughter carried a suppressed sob. She felt aggrieved, an indescribable sense of grievance.
Who wasn’t a little princess pampered and doted on by her parents? Since childhood, she had never had to try so hard to please anyone. Only Gu Lingluo, only Gu Lingluo!
Even if her motivation was to save her own life, she was still putting her heart into it.
Every time they met, she racked her brain to make her happy. The Yunwu tea (a type of green tea) was the best her father could buy, the chocolate cake was from the place with the best reputation, and she never dared to question a thing Gu Lingluo said. No matter how bad her mood was, she never showed it in front of her…
She just wanted to make friends with her and save her life; it wasn’t like she was going to harm any of Gu Lingluo’s interests. She might even be able to change her destiny of being robbed. Why was it so difficult?
The more Liu Xia thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt. She blurted out: “Gu Lingluo, you pig’s trotter! Do you think you’re so great? Who even cares?!”
The words were barely out when a shush sound was heard next to her ear. A pair of black Dr. Martens boots stopped right in front of her.