The room was pitch-dark, and a single glance was enough to take in all its furnishings.
An old bed that had been slept in for countless years, a desk salvaged from a garbage dump, and a crooked wardrobe squeezed into the corner.
These were everything Jiang Xu currently possessed. Even though she considered her room quite nice all things considered, she still couldn’t help worrying that she might look too wretched and poverty-stricken. Middle school students had the most fragile self-esteem; even the slightest glance from someone else could linger in their minds for a long time.
Jiang Xu tried her best to carry herself with a maturity far beyond her years.
The bed wasn’t large, covered with a faded, washed-out sheet. Jiang Xu stood by the doorway for a moment before reaching out to flip the switch of the old-fashioned light.
“Teacher Liang, this is my room.”
Click.
The room instantly lit up.
Under the glare of the bulb, all the furnishings in the room looked even more shabby, creating an awkward feeling as if a secret had been brutally exposed to the light of day.
Liang Xiaoqing let out an “oh” and stepped inside.
Her thoughts, however, were entirely different from Jiang Xu’s.
Perhaps due to the rain, the room felt rather damp. Liang Xiaoqing sniffed, catching the sticky, dusty scent lingering in the air. Looking around, she actually felt that Jiang Xu’s room was the cleanest-kept space she had seen so far.
It was just a bit dilapidated, and the drafts whistling through made it quite cold.
Rubbing her arms, Liang Xiaoqing casually sat down on the edge of Jiang Xu’s small bed. The wooden frame creaked loudly, making her fear she might collapse it on the spot; startled, she quickly stood back up. If she actually broke it, the embarrassment would be unbearable.
Fortunately, nothing happened. Seeing Jiang Xu watching her, she offered an awkward, sheepish smile before slowly sitting back down. The aged bed boards let out another creak, but this time Liang Xiaoqing was mentally prepared. Once she was settled securely, she put on a serious face and waved at Jiang Xu.
“Jiang Xu, come here.”
Jiang Xu walked over and stood right in front of her.
Liang Xiaoqing gently grasped her shoulders, looking somewhat apologetic. “I’m sorry to be troubling you tonight, Jiang Xu.”
Not only was Liang Xiaoqing vastly different from the women Jiang Xu usually saw, but her voice sounded different too—so soft and gentle. Jiang Xu blinked, gazing up at Liang Xiaoqing, and replied obediently, “It’s no trouble at all.”
Unable to resist, Liang Xiaoqing reached out to pat Jiang Xu’s head with a smile. “Alright then, let’s get to sleep.”
As she spoke, Liang Xiaoqing glanced at the neatly folded bedding stacked at the corner of the bed, and the smile on her face slowly faded. That couldn’t even be called proper bedding; it was merely a thin blanket meant for sleeping during summer nights, its color and pattern matching the faded sheets.
Liang Xiaoqing leaned sideways to reach for the thin blanket, causing her form-fitting short-sleeved top to ride up and expose a patch of fair, slender waist—all of which was caught entirely in Jiang Xu’s field of vision.
Unfolding the thin blanket, Liang Xiaoqing pulled a corner over herself to cover up and asked Jiang Xu, “It’s gotten so much colder these past few days. Aren’t you freezing sleeping with just this…?”
Jiang Xu shook her head and suddenly bolted away.
“Jiang Xu…”
Liang Xiaoqing instinctively called out her name. Ignoring her, Jiang Xu ran over to the wardrobe—a peeling, pitch-black cabinet standing in the dim light, its details obscured. Liang Xiaoqing could only hear the creaking sound of the door opening as every piece of furniture in the room emitted an aged, groaning wheeze.
Standing on her tiptoes, Jiang Xu’s small figure busied itself in front of the unit.
Her entire upper body was buried inside the wardrobe.
Unsure of what the girl was up to, Liang Xiaoqing sat on the edge of the bed and waited.
After a clattering ruckus of rummaging through boxes and cabinets for quite a while, Jiang Xu finally poked her head out. The little girl hurried back to Liang Xiaoqing, clutching two very thick, heavy garments in her arms.
Only then did Liang Xiaoqing catch a clear view of Jiang Xu: her hair was draped in a tangled mess across her shoulders, and Liang Xiaoqing instinctively reached out to brush a stray lock from her face.
Jiang Xu’s entire face was hidden behind the heavy clothes she cradled, leaving only a pair of bright, sparkling eyes staring intently at her.
“Teacher Liang, if we put these padded jackets on top, it won’t be cold anymore.”
“…”
Seeing that she didn’t speak, Jiang Xu piled all the jackets onto the bed on her own initiative. Then she hopped up onto the edge of the bed, wiggled her feet to kick off her sandals, and crawled under the covers on the inside, tilting her head to look at Liang Xiaoqing.
“Teacher Liang, is it okay if I sleep on the inside? I’m afraid I’ll roll off the bed if I sleep on the edge.”
Liang Xiaoqing paused slightly. She had assumed Jiang Xu was a rather introverted child, but that clearly wasn’t the case.
The old clothes piled onto the bed obviously weren’t meant for Jiang Xu’s size. For a moment, she didn’t know what to say, but meeting Jiang Xu’s gaze, she simply uttered an “okay” and lay down to sleep just like the girl.
Deep into the night, the sound of slightly uneven breathing echoed quietly by Liang Xiaoqing’s ear. Before long, a warm body inched closer to her side, curling up and pressing against her like a small cat.
Pushed toward the edge of the bed, Liang Xiaoqing found that the previously freezing mattress instantly grew warm with the addition of another body. She hadn’t fallen asleep yet; her mind remained completely preoccupied with thoughts of Jiang Xu.
The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart felt. She knew students like Jiang Xu were far from rare, and her own help was a mere drop in the bucket, but if Jiang Xu were left to her fate…
Staring up at the pitch-black ceiling, Liang Xiaoqing let out a soft sigh.
The rain showed no signs of stopping. Living on the second floor made the sound of raindrops pattering against the tiles even more distinct, only further driving away any hope of sleep for Liang Xiaoqing.
Jiang Xu’s sleeping posture was indeed somewhat restless; Liang Xiaoqing was already on the verge of being pushed off the edge of the bed. With no other choice, she reached out to gently stroke Jiang Xu’s head. Jiang Xu seemed fast asleep, burying her small head right against Liang Xiaoqing’s chest.
Although it felt a bit cramped, huddling together like this definitely provided much more warmth.
Liang Xiaoqing was genuinely sensitive to the cold. As a true southerner, her decision to enthusiastically respond to the national policy to teach in Shuiqing Township stemmed partly from personal reasons, and partly from a genuine desire to do something meaningful for these children.
Yet ideals were beautiful while reality was always harsh. In the year and a half she had spent in Shuiqing Township, she hadn’t accomplished any grand feats. To begin with, she hadn’t even successfully persuaded many dropouts to return to school.
Helplessly, she had watched young children time and again walk down entirely different paths in life.
Pulling Jiang Xu closer as she shifted inward, Liang Xiaoqing felt Jiang Xu nuzzle against her chest. Liang Xiaoqing’s body stiffened for a second, but then Jiang Xu inched a bit further toward the inside of the bed and relaxed her grip on Liang Xiaoqing.
The warmth provided by the thin blanket combined with the old jackets was virtually negligible; the only real source of comfort was the heat radiating from Jiang Xu’s body.
As her tense muscles finally relaxed, Liang Xiaoqing’s shallow breathing paused for a brief second. Thinking Jiang Xu had woken up, she waited, but the girl’s breathing soon steadied again, blending seamlessly with the sound of the rain outside to reach Liang Xiaoqing’s ears.
Liang Xiaoqing gently turned over to face Jiang Xu sideways. Having taken off her glasses, she couldn’t make out a single thing in the dark.
Through the old glass of the window, the distant mountains loomed in a continuous, dark expanse against the night. The mountains were so deeply shrouded in black that not a single speck of light could be seen.
Liang Xiaoqing wasn’t used to this kind of absolute darkness. When sleeping, she was accustomed to keeping a small wall lamp on by her bedside table; after coming to Shuiqing Township, lacking such luxuries in her school-assigned dormitory, she would always light a desk lamp before going to bed.
Feeling her way forward in the dark, her fingers brushed against Jiang Xu’s arm. She groped around in the darkness until she felt the thin blanket, pulled it upward to cover Jiang Xu’s arms, and then inched closer to the girl’s side.
Her movements were extremely gentle. Feeling the returning warmth, she lay quietly for a moment, and accompanied by the pattering sound of the rain, a few fragments of sleepiness finally crept in.
“Teacher Liang…”
The hushed voice chased away every last trace of sleepiness in Liang Xiaoqing’s mind. Blinking sleepily, she opened her eyes and looked toward the sound. A woman with a slightly hunched spine stood by the doorway, holding a kerosene lamp with a gently flickering flame. As the woman drew closer, the room brightened considerably.
“Teacher Liang, are you sleeping okay?”
The visitor was none other than Wang Cai. She carried the kerosene lamp in one hand and clutched a rolled-up bedding set tightly under her armpit.
“You and Jiang Xu are sharing a bed, so I came to see if you two need an extra quilt.”
“Sorry to trouble you, Sister Wang.” Rubbing her eyes, Liang Xiaoqing sat up on the bed with a polite, welcoming smile on her face. It was still freezing cold when leaving the covers, so she slipped on the jacket Jiang Xu had found for her.
The bedding Wang Cai brought was an old quilt. She placed the kerosene lamp on the bedside table, and Liang Xiaoqing quick-witted and eager to help got out of bed to take the quilt from Wang Cai’s hands. It looked quite thick and felt heavy in her arms. Whether due to lingering dampness or age, it carried a faint, dusty scent.
Wang Cai meant well, and Liang Xiaoqing thanked her sincerely before unfolding the quilt and spreading it across the bed. She made sure to tuck it properly around Jiang Xu as well, though Jiang Xu remained fast asleep, dead to the world.
As Liang Xiaoqing smoothed it out, she discovered a bundle of dry rice straw rolled up inside the bedding. Pausing for a moment, Wang Cai explained, “Spread this underneath the bed, and it’ll be much warmer. Teacher Liang, please don’t mind the roughness.”
Wang Cai possessed the simple, unpretentious, yet awkward nature of a rural woman. Facing a pretty city girl like Liang Xiaoqing, it was hard not to feel a bit nervous especially since Liang Xiaoqing was a respected teacher, held in high esteem by everyone in Shuiqing Township.
“How could I?” Liang Xiaoqing said with a warm smile, her hands moving briskly to line the bottom of the bed with the straw. No matter how quietly she tried to move, it was bound to make some noise. Wang Cai stepped in to help, laying out the straw only on the outer edge of the bed so as not to disturb Jiang Xu, who was still fast asleep.
The firelight swayed and flickered while the rain outside continued unabated.
With the bed made, both women paused.
Wang Cai didn’t rush off right away. She rested her hands on her knees and sat down on the edge of the bed. Decades of exhausting physical labor had taken a heavy toll on her body, but beneath her wrinkled face, the elegance of her youth was still faintly discernible, though her dark hair was threaded with a generous amount of silver.
The woman sat there in a posture of utter defeat.
“What’s wrong?” Liang Xiaoqing asked, sitting down beside her and leaning close.
The kerosene lamp cast a warm glow across the tiny room, painting their shadows against the blackened mud-brick wall.
“Teacher Liang,” Wang Cai began, “I heard Jiang Xu’s grades are really good. Is that true?”
The corners of Wang Cai’s mouth bore a fresh bruise that was still seeping blood—undoubtedly a parting gift from Jiang Dagao.
Instead of answering right away, Liang Xiaoqing turned her head to look at Jiang Xu.
Though the young girl had just entered middle school, an aura of childish innocence still lingered about her. Yet even in sleep, the profound exhaustion etched onto her face could not be hidden.
Following her gaze, Wang Cai looked at her own daughter.
Nailed to the mud wall by the head of the bed was row after row of bright orange certificates of merit, stretching all the way from elementary school to the present.
Reflected across the surface of those certificates were the blurry, swaying silhouettes of Liang Xiaoqing and Wang Cai.
“Jiang Xu definitely has a talent for studying,” Liang Xiaoqing said softly. “If she keeps going, who knows? She might even test into a university one day.”
“A university…” Wang Cai stared blankly, a look of utter incomprehension flickering in her eyes at the mention of those two words.
“That’s right, university. Once she goes to university, Jiang Xu will have a bright future and be able to stand on her own two feet with her diploma. Sister Wang, I know you truly want what’s best for Jiang Xu deep down. If Shuiqing Township can produce one university student, it can produce another. If Jiang Lun could make it to university, why can’t Jiang Xu? The country is progressing, and there will be more and more university students in the future. Sister Wang, Jiang Xu is a wonderful girl; studying is the absolute best path for her right now.”
Perhaps Wang Cai would never truly understand the point of a girl reading so many books. From her own lived experience, a girl’s destiny was essentially to marry into a good family, serve her husband, raise children, toil through a peaceful lifetime of domestic labor, and eventually reach old age surrounded by children and grandchildren.
Yet she knew that Liang Xiaoqing who had gone to university was different. There was an air about her that set her apart from other women. Wang Cai couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was, but it was undeniably captivating and full of aspiration.
With a heavy sigh, Wang Cai said, “Teacher Liang, this is actually what I wanted to talk to you about. Jiang Xu is still so young; what could she possibly do out in the world right now… I’ve thought about it carefully, and I was hoping… could you take Jiang Xu in and look after her for a while? As for her old man, I’ll find a way to talk some sense into him. I don’t know if you’d be willing to—”
Liang Xiaoqing never expected Wang Cai to suggest such a thing. To her, this felt like an absolute windfall.
“Of course!” Too excited, she accidentally raised her voice before quickly catching herself and lowering it back down.
She grabbed Wang Cai’s hand and gave it a reassuring pat. “Don’t worry, Sister Wang. I’ll take good care of Jiang Xu.”
Wang Cai opened her mouth as if she wanted to say more, but ultimately swallowed the words and nodded. “Thank you so much, Teacher Liang.”