Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Xiao Yunzhou’s rejection did not discourage Wei Xiaoyun.

Every morning after that, Wei Xiaoyun would place a spicy tofu bun and a cup of soy milk on Xiao Yunzhou’s desk. The buns were from a shop at the school gate that required a long wait in line.

Those spicy tofu buns were made with the owner’s secret recipe. Even the elderly residents from the nearby apartment buildings would come to queue for them. They sold out early every morning, so one had to get up very early to stand in line.

It was a touching gesture.

Unfortunately, because both Xiao Yunzhou and I had families that owned their own farms, all the ingredients for our three daily meals were organic and curated by nutritionists with national first-class certifications.

At first, Xiao Yunzhou tried to communicate with Wei Xiaoyun. He found her while she was gnawing on a corn cob she had brought herself to save money and said tactfully, “You don’t need to do these things anymore. I really don’t need them.”

Wei Xiaoyun looked at Xiao Yunzhou with soft eyes and nodded repeatedly.

But the next day, breakfast appeared on Xiao Yunzhou’s desk again.

Eventually, Xiao Yunzhou gave up.

He would hand the breakfast to the student sitting in front of him and say indifferently, “Let her be.”

Perhaps because of this, many people in school began to dislike Wei Xiaoyun more and more.

Some said Wei Xiaoyun was just repaying a debt of gratitude, while others mocked her, saying the way she looked at Xiao Yunzhou was like Ximen Qing being struck by the pole in Pan Jinlian’s hand-her intentions were written all over her face.

Everyone would burst into laughter, and the conversation would veer off into banter like, “You’re too bold, comparing Young Master Xiao to Pan Jinlian,” or “It’s not strange for Young Master Xiao to be Pan Jinlian, but doesn’t that make Huaishan Wu Dalang? The School Belle is Wu Dalang? That’s too ridiculous. Wei Xiaoyun is the real Wu Dalang here.”

The turning point happened in the third week of the semester.

During the second week, we had an essay assignment: write about the person who had the greatest influence on your life or growth.

Many people wrote about Stephen Hawking, Eileen Chang, Elon Reeve Musk… in short, famous figures.

Wei Xiaoyun wrote about Xiao Yunzhou.

Her writing was excellent and filled with genuine emotion. In her essay, she wrote about the current situation of girls in her remote mountainous area, Xiao Yunzhou’s financial aid to her, and how he had changed her life.

She said that if it hadn’t been for Xiao Yunzhou’s financial support, she might have already been married off to the butcher in the neighboring village.

Finally, she wrote of her gratitude toward Xiao Yunzhou. She wrote about how long she had worked to meet this Benefactor who had changed the trajectory of her life, just so she could stand before him carrying those two snake-skin bags that everyone despised.

In the final paragraph, she wrote: “Xiao Yunzhou, you surely don’t know how far I walked or how much hardship I endured just to stand before you. Everyone has an idol they admire and worship in their heart, but you are the hero who changed my life.

“You are my hero.”

This essay moved the Chinese teacher to tears. In the end, it stood out as an exemplary essay, mainly because it touched on many points that could be used for promotion: “The Current Situation of Impoverished Students in Modern Mountainous Areas,” “The Girl Who Walked Out of the Mountains,” “The Development of Quality Education for Modern Students at No. 1 High School”…

Of course, these evaluations happened among the teachers. We only found out about the essay during the school-wide assembly on Monday of the third week, when the teacher had Wei Xiaoyun read it aloud.

It was obvious she was nervous; her reading was stumbling. But when she reached the last paragraph, her eyes shimmered with a thin veil of tears. Her gaze pierced through the crowd and landed accurately on Xiao Yunzhou, who was standing beside me.

She said, “Xiao Yunzhou, you are my hero.”

I saw Xiao Yunzhou’s body stiffen. His gaze met Wei Xiaoyun’s on the stage. I could only see his profile and couldn’t read the emotions in his eyes.

I don’t know if the essay moved Xiao Yunzhou, but it moved some of the people in school who had previously disliked her.

“Oh my god, I’m literally crying.”

“Me too. Even though she seems silent and calculating, it really is touching. If Xiao Yunzhou hadn’t sponsored her, she’d be quite miserable.”

“Exactly. In this situation, it’s not strange to fall for the person who saved you, right?”

“We seem to have been too harsh on her.”

“True. Heavens, I’m actually starting to want her to get Xiao Yunzhou. Even though it’s immoral, Song Huaishan has everything-a good family, looks, grades, popularity. But Wei Xiaoyun only has Xiao Yunzhou. This is a fairy tale of salvation.”

“Wake up. Gratitude is one thing, but this essay is a blatant love letter. Especially since everyone knows Song Huaishan is Xiao Yunzhou’s girlfriend. Even if Wei Xiaoyun comes from a backward environment, her calculating ‘green tea’ methods aren’t backward at all.”

“…”

I walked past these gossiping voices with a composed expression. Wei Xiaoyun, who had been standing at the entrance listening, gave me a small smile.

This was the first time I had seen her smile at me. Except when she was in front of Xiao Yunzhou, she always maintained a quiet and taciturn image.

To be honest, I didn’t actually hate Wei Xiaoyun. There was a certain resilience in this habitually silent girl. Although this resilience infringed upon my interests, I still admired her persistence in having a clear goal and working toward it.

I don’t hate people who work hard for their lives and goals.

She looked at me as if to remind me, saying each word deliberately, “Song Huaishan, they aren’t wrong about me. I do have impure motives.” She paused before continuing, “I came here specifically for Xiao Yunzhou.”

I stopped in my tracks and finally turned my head to give her a cold glance. I smiled, devoid of much emotion, and asked her softly with a hint of pity, “Is that so? And here I thought you came here to study.”

This was our first confrontation.