Chapter 13

After school, Su Xiaoxiao walked out of the classroom with Dai Lainan and Wang Xiaoxia, laughing along the way. At the school gate, she separated from them, pretending they weren’t familiar.
Dai Lainan ran into her mother’s arms.
“Has Su Xiaoxiao come out? What does she look like? Show me,” asked Dai’s mother.
Dai Lainan pointed toward Su Xiaoxiao: “The one with the pink backpack.”
Her mother looked and thought the little girl was beautiful. Thick bangs, big eyes, fair skin, and well-chosen clothes, she stood out immediately among the scruffy, dark-skinned kids around her.
Dai’s mother murmured: “Pretty cute, doesn’t look like a bad student.”
Dai Lainan quickly added: “Yeah! Xiaoxiao’s amazing, she knows everything.”
“Knows everything but still has bad grades? That transfer student you mentioned is her, right? Flown on a plane, clothes all nice?” Dai’s mother glared at Dai Lainan: “That means she’s spending her energy on clothes and food, not studying. I told you not to play with her, why argue? Teacher Yao’s words aren’t false, are they?”
Dai Lainan lowered her head and reluctantly said, “Mm.”
“Not playing with her today, right?” her mother asked.
Dai Lainan nervously kept her head down.
Dai’s mother rode a tricycle with a big frame, Dai Lainan sitting on the back, secretly envious of Su Xiaoxiao.
Even if Su Xiaoxiao’s grades weren’t great, her parents and grandparents treated her so well, buying her nice school supplies and clothes, making her look lovely, and giving her pocket money. Meanwhile, Dai Lainan’s mom preferred her to be plain,
Su Xiaoxiao sat upright on the tricycle, proud, like a princess in a carriage, while Dai Lainan could only hunch on the back, not even allowed the privilege of riding properly.
Jin Qishan watched Su Xiaoxiao and Dai Lainan pretend to separate, unable to understand why Su Xiaoxiao did it. Who was she putting on a show for?
Su Xiaoxiao noticed Jin Qishan and waved cheerfully at him.
He awkwardly turned his face away, and when he looked back, Grandma Su’s tricycle was already gone.
Seated on the tricycle, Su Xiaoxiao thought about how to change Jin Qishan’s fate. The key was to eliminate the main factors driving his bitterness.
There were three main factors:
Dong Xiaohong’s abuse;
Bullying from classmates;
Teachers’ indifference or disdain.
Typically, victims of school bullying were weak, short, introverted, quiet, had few friends, average grades, and parents who didn’t care much.
Jin Qishan fit all of these perfectly.
For Su Xiaoxiao, though, this was manageable. Kids this age were still young, she could handle them. And if it got too difficult, Grandma Su could step in; she loved managing these kinds of situations.
A teacher’s indifference or disdain was actually fairly easy to deal with. Yao Yulian cared deeply about her reputation and loved high-achieving students the most.
If Jin Qishan could raise his grades to an average level, Yao Yulian probably wouldn’t target him anymore. As for improving his grades, Su Xiaoxiao could help, though she wasn’t sure if Jin Qishan would agree.
Dong Xiaohong’s abuse, however, was trickier. After all, it happened behind closed doors at her home, and Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t watch over him all the time. Should she try to drive Dong Xiaohong away?
Chasing someone else’s wife out wouldn’t be proper. It would be better to expose her true nature publicly instead.
But how?
Back at home, Su Xiaoxiao kept thinking about a plan to expose Dong Xiaohong’s real face.
Not long after, she heard the sound of the door opening and peeked through a crack. Sure enough, it was Jin Qishan.
She jumped up and smiled: “Qishan, why are you walking so slowly? Come have dinner! Grandma made braised crucian carp, cold kelp salad, soy-braised beef, steamed eggs,”
Jin Qishan opened the door, back to Su Xiaoxiao: “Not going.”
Su Xiaoxiao: “But you promised me yesterday!”
Jin Qishan lightly floated a reply: “Don’t remember.”
Then he entered and shut the door.
This kid, a bit arrogant.
Su Xiaoxiao pretended to slap the air twice.
Suddenly, the door opened again, and a hand reached out: “Not good to drink, here, take this.”
Then the door slammed shut again.
Su Xiaoxiao looked at the bottle of milk in her arms, feeling both exasperated and amused.
She comforted herself: she couldn’t be angry, after all, he was just a little kid!
Patience, generosity!
When Su Xiaoxiao got home, Grandma Su noticed the extra bottle in her hand: “Why do you come back with a drink in your hand?”
Su Xiaoxiao: “Qishan gave it to me.”
Grandma Su could hardly believe it, the boy usually ignored everyone.
Grandma Su: “Qishan gave it to you?”
Su Xiaoxiao: “Mm.”
“Oh, what a good boy,” Grandma Su laughed, growing a little fonder of Jin Qishan. Grandma Su’s affection was fair, she liked anyone who treated her granddaughter well.
…
That evening, someone knocked at the Jin family’s door. Grandma Su was watching TV in the living room, puzzled about who would visit Dong Xiaohong’s house so late.
Knock, knock, knock, The knocking was urgent and strong.
Jin Qishan was washing dishes. Hearing the knocks, he perked up nervously. Dong Xiaohong was at home, he didn’t dare open the door.
Dong Xiaohong also heard the knocks and assumed it was Su Xiaoxiao, so she deliberately didn’t open it.
The knocking paused after a few tries.
Soon, just as Dong Xiaohong thought Su Xiaoxiao had left, the knocking started again, each time louder than before.
Dong Xiaohong wanted to teach Su Xiaoxiao a lesson, so she kept the door closed.
Unexpectedly, Grandma Su couldn’t resist curiosity and opened the door. Upon seeing the visitor, she gasped: “Oh my, you’re back!”
The visitor held a finger to his lips, whispering: “Hmm? No one home?”
Grandma Su quickly whispered: “Someone’s here, someone’s here, they’re all home. Maybe busy and didn’t hear you. Why didn’t you call out?”
The visitor smiled: “I was planning a surprise for Qishan.”
“Oh,” Grandma Su smiled. “Then knock again.”
“Mm. You go back now, Aunt Tian.”
“All right, all right,” Grandma Su said, closing the door.
Inside, Dong Xiaohong only heard Grandma Su say, “Oh my, you’re back,” and nothing else. She couldn’t help but wonder who it was.
Knock, knock, knock, the knocking started again.
Dong Xiaohong had just opened the door when a tall, dark figure burst in, scooping her up around the waist.
“Ah!” Dong Xiaohong screamed.
“It’s me, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
“Ah, Yongzhong, you’re back!” Seeing it was Jin Yongzhong, Dong Xiaohong’s face fell and tears started to well up.
Jin Yongzhong played along perfectly, holding her gently and soothing her with soft words.
Jin Qishan stood in the kitchen, watching, letting dishwater drip onto the floor.