Chapter 7

I changed my routine. No more studying under the covers with a flashlight at midnight.

Every afternoon I set aside half an hour to run or sit in the sun and strengthen my immunity.

I ate all three meals in the canteen, adding a meat dish every other day. I stopped losing myself in problems until I forgot to eat.

Day by day, my health improved. Perhaps I was better nourished: even my memory seemed much better.

Sun Heng still tried to bring extra meals every few days, but I politely refused.

I told him to concentrate on school and put his energy in the right place.

He lowered his head and eyes, as though restraining himself with difficulty.

After a long silence, he said, “I only want to be with you.”

I didn’t know what to say.

Finally I left him with, “Then let’s talk after the entrance exam.”

A smile rose on his face. He pushed the lunchbox into my hands and ran away, delighted.

From that day on, he came whenever he had time. During breaks and after school, he never left my side.

Only when the monthly results came, and I had fallen from first to tenth, did Ms. Qin realize something was wrong.

She called me to her office. Our conversation lasted the whole afternoon.

The next day, Sun Heng was transferred downstairs to Class Five.

All the teachers thought my marks would recover as soon as he was gone.

Instead, I grew despondent. They caught me reading Dream of the Red Chamber in mathematics and Yilin magazine in physics.

My marks slipped from the top toward the lower middle of the class.

At last I became an unremarkable speck of dust in the crowd.

Our physics teacher was heartbroken. He stamped his feet and cursed Sun Heng.

“When Sun gets back, I’m telling him what his son’s done! How often do we get a pupil with this much promise? His boy has led her astray!”

The teacher from the neighboring class sipped his tea, plainly enjoying himself. “What did I tell you? These little girls never stick at things. If you want staying power, look to the boys.”

Our physics teacher was so angry he tipped out the man’s tea leaves.

After winter break, there were fewer than six months until the entrance exam.

I packed for school, stacking the holiday exercise books with their great swaths of blank pages.

Then I noticed one of the Shanghai high school practice-paper books Mr. Sun had sent was missing.

I asked Erya whether she had used it for kindling.

She looked baffled. “I never dare touch your books.”

I searched again and again. Erya came out of Lin Wu’s room, holding the book, now thick with writing.

“Ha! Found it! My brother took it. See? You blamed the wrong person!”

Lin Wu followed her out, his expression dark. His stare made me uncomfortable.

He came over, pulled the book from her hands, and threw it on my table.

“Lin Huisheng, you’re quite the schemer,” he said quietly through clenched teeth.

I said nothing and continued packing.

I thought: I can’t stay in this house anymore.

Back at school after the holiday, the pressure of the entrance exam suddenly intensified.

Mrs. Sun’s surgery had gone well, and Mr. Sun was home.

Seeing how badly his son’s marks had fallen, he put everything else aside to concentrate on Sun Heng’s studies.

Sun Heng had his hands full, and we seldom met.

My marks stayed where they were. Mr. Sun sighed repeatedly.

The other teachers naturally felt too awkward to confront him.

Sun Heng said only that my health wasn’t good. Once I recovered, my marks would rise.

So for the next six months, Sun Heng brought me Yilin and collections of miscellaneous essays, while Mr. Sun brought practice papers and foreign periodicals.

I accepted them all.