Chapter 27

Determination gleamed in Qiao Zhenzhen's eyes as she lowered her head and walked into the classroom. Zhao Lianqiao snorted and slapped the attendance book down on the desk with a loud clap, but the room was filled with the murmur of recitations; no one noticed her little triumphant gesture.
Qiao Zhenzhen returned to her seat and Chi Shen sat down beside her. He took out the Chinese textbook and made a few marks, then said, "Memorize this before the end of class."
"That much?" Qiao Zhenzhen instantly felt a twinge of unease.
Chi Shen looked at her earnestly. "You're smart."
Qiao Zhenzhen: "…Fine."
Not wanting to disappoint him, she immediately threw herself into memorizing. Chi Shen kept his head down, scribbling and sketching in his notebook. Qiao Zhenzhen glanced over and saw he'd prepared a revision plan tailored just for her; curiosity rose up, "You've been helping me with this, won't it get in the way of your own studying?"
Chi Shen looked at her calmly.
Qiao Zhenzhen: "…I knew it wouldn't."
There really was a gap in people's intellects, she couldn't fathom how that pair of blockheaded parents had produced such a remarkable son… Suddenly she remembered what the snack-street owner had said, and her heart gave a sharp jolt.
She'd actually forgotten something so important! But then again, it wasn't surprising: after she dug up the information she had rushed to find Chi Shen, then her mother and Qiao Jian had argued, and one thing after another happened. Even if she'd remembered it earlier, she wouldn't have had time to look into it properly.
The most important thing now was to deal with Zhao Lianqiao and her mother and with Qiao Jian first, help her mother create a new life. As for Chi Shen… he was safe for the moment, so that matter could be set aside. She had to be sure before she told him, otherwise he might start worrying unnecessarily.
"Don't zone out," Chi Shen reminded her.
Qiao Zhenzhen paused, then quietly resumed memorizing.
The morning self-study flew by. When the bell rang, the students who hadn't eaten rushed off to the canteen and the classroom soon emptied. Qiao Zhenzhen, having spent the whole morning cramming, finished her task and felt exhausted, so she laid her head down for a nap.
Chi Shen sat quietly at his desk, his eyes calm as he gazed toward Zhao Lianqiao's seat. The attendance book lay neatly on the desk, and beside it stood Zhao's thermos.
The half-hour break passed quickly and the classroom grew lively again.
Zhao Lianqiao, buoyed by her good mood, came back into class laughing with a few friends. In the roughhousing they accidentally knocked a desk; the thermos toppled and the hot water splashed across the table.
Zhao Lianqiao screamed, grabbed the attendance book and tried to fling the water off it, but it was too late, the cheap book was soaked through, the ink bled and the pages were a messy blur.
"We only have this one attendance book; it records a lot and we'll need it for the end-of-term summary," Zhao Lianqiao 's deskmate frowned. "Why didn't you tighten the thermos lid when you left?"
"I tightened it, I did!" Zhao Lianqiao snapped in frustration.
"If you had tightened it properly, how would the water have leaked?" her deskmate said, wiping at the wet desk, clearly annoyed.
"Well if you hadn't bumped the desk, my cup wouldn't have fallen!" Zhao Lianqiao shot back angrily.
"How do you even know it was me who bumped it?!"
Tempers flared and it looked like they were about to come to blows. A few classmates hurried to mediate, but to little effect; it wasn't until the homeroom teacher walked in that the situation was finally contained.
After hearing what happened, the teacher frowned and reprimanded Zhao Lianqiao, "You're on duty today; protecting the attendance book is your responsibility. Now your mistake has caused loss to the whole class. If you feel no shame for that that's one thing, but why are you arguing with your deskmate?"
Zhao Lianqiao, who would normally lower her head and apologize, felt a streak of resentment flash in her eyes at the teacher's words.
"You're not convinced?" the teacher asked sternly.
Zhao Lianqiao gritted her teeth, thinking this was a sensitive time and she couldn't afford any slip-ups on her side, so she bit back and conceded, "…Fine."
Only then did the teacher glance at her and walk away with the soaked book.
Zhao Lianqiao scowled. When she looked up and saw Qiao Zhenzhen still lying with her head on the desk, a fresh surge of envy flashed across her face. Don't think she didn't notice, the teacher always acted fair and upright but never picked on Qiao Zhenzhen. If Qiao Zhenzhen made a mistake, the teacher would at most call her out quietly, never publicly scold her like this.
She was smarter than Qiao Zhenzhen, got better grades, and knew more about the plot. Someone chosen by fate like her, why should she be treated worse than Qiao Zhenzhen? Fortunately everything had turned around. In another month, once Zhao Ying goes abroad to determine the baby’s sex, she’ll be able to snatch everything that should have been hers.
Qiao Zhenzhen was half-asleep and was woken by the class bell. When she looked up she met Zhao Lianqiao’s jealous stare. Zhao Lianqiao hadn’t expected to be caught; she froze for a moment, then quickly turned her face away.
Qiao Zhenzhen was speechless for a beat, then turned to Chi Shen. “What’s wrong with her?”
“The teacher scolded her,” Chi Shen answered.
Qiao Zhenzhen: “...The teacher yelled at her and I get blamed for it? Crazy.”
Chi Shen silently looked away. The first period was chemistry. Everyone was limp from holiday syndrome; the teacher didn’t introduce anything new, only reviewed last month’s material. To Qiao Zhenzhen’s surprise, she actually understood it.
“To prepare for the college entrance exam, Chengde High compresses the three years of material into the first two; senior year is mostly review. The month of review at the start of term covers roughly half of the first-year, first-semester textbook, and you already had a week of systematic tutoring from Chi Shen over the holiday, so it makes sense you can follow along,” Xiao Ba analyzed.
“You’re smart,” Chi Shen said simply.
Qiao Zhenzhen still preferred Chi Shen’s answer.
Once she could follow the lessons, class time wasn’t so dull. Having lived two lives, this was the first time Qiao Zhenzhen had ever been this focused. By the end of the day she was exhausted, but both body and mind felt full.
Before school let out, Qiao Zhenzhen texted Qin Jing and then told Chi Shen, “I’m going to grandpa’s tonight, so I won’t have tutoring.”
Chi Shen nodded.
“I’m going with Mom, so I won’t bring you. You should go home and rest early,” she added.
Chi Shen nodded again. After he’d nodded she caught him staring and a rough little sound edged out of his throat: “Okay.”
Getting that response, Qiao Zhenzhen rubbed his head in satisfaction, still no extra affection gained.
...He really had gotten used to it.
Qiao Zhenzhen clicked her tongue, waited impatiently for dismissal, and after parting with him climbed into Qin Jing’s car. “Let’s go, Mom.”
Qin Jing shot her a sharp look. “Why insist I pick you up today?”
“Because we’re going to grandpa’s,” Qiao Zhenzhen replied.
Qin Jing blinked. “You’re still going?”
“For a late-night snack,” Qiao Zhenzhen said earnestly.
“...Does your grandpa know?”
“Hurry up and drive!” Qiao Zhenzhen dodged the question.
Qin Jing frowned, ready to ask more, but Qiao Zhenzhen kept urging her, so she could only start the car and go.
When the car pulled away, Qiao Zhenzhen leaned out the window and waved to Chi Shen. Only after she saw him wave back did she sit down.
“Does Chi Shen always watch you leave like that before he goes?” Qin Jing asked.
Qiao Zhenzhen nodded. “Yeah.”
Qin Jing tugged at the corner of her mouth. “Still claiming there’s no early romance.”
Qiao Zhenzhen paused, then chuckled, “Really, there isn’t.”
“Then it’s the flirting stage,” Qin Jing said, glancing at her in the rearview.
Qiao Zhenzhen blinked, thought the term was oddly fitting, and didn’t deny it.
Qin Jing’s fingers drummed the steering wheel absentmindedly; the car was quiet for a long while.
Feeling a little anxious, Qiao Zhenzhen asked, “Mom, are you mad?”
“Hm?” Qin Jing came back to herself. “Why would I be mad?”
“Because of... the flirting stage?” Qiao Zhenzhen hesitated. Qin Jing was a bit naggy and hot-tempered, but generally open-minded, which was why Qiao Zhenzhen had been bold enough to admit it. When Qin Jing didn’t respond right away she felt a little uneasy.
Qin Jing glanced at her, then couldn’t help laughing when she saw Qiao Zhenzhen’s nervousness. “What would I be mad about? They’re seventeen or eighteen, first crushes are normal. Chi Shen is a good kid; just don’t pick on him.”
“I wouldn’t,” Qiao Zhenzhen promised at once.
Qin Jing smiled and the mother and daughter dropped the subject.
It took half an hour to get home from school, but only twenty minutes to grandpa’s. They were soon at the gate of the compound and Qiao Zhenzhen immediately called Qin Sheng.
The phone was answered after a single ring and Qin Sheng’s hearty scolding came through: “Why are you calling?! Don’t you have anything better to do?!”
Before he finished, Qin Zhao’s small voice mumbled from the line, “Weren’t you supposed to be waiting for Zhenzhen to video-call…”
Qin Sheng started scolding him right away.
Qiao Zhenzhen couldn’t help laughing. Rubbing her eyes, she said, “Grandpa, I’m at the gate, come pick me up.”
Qin Sheng went quiet for a moment. “You’re here?!”
“Yep, I came for a late-night snack,” Qiao Zhenzhen replied.
Qin Sheng spat out another round of curses. Qiao Zhenzhen rubbed her ears and gave Qin Jing an aggrieved smile. Qin Jing smiled silently in return; there was a flash of envy in her eyes for her daughter that made Qiao Zhenzhen ache with tenderness.
After scolding and arranging for Qin Zhao to fetch her, Qin Sheng finally came out grumbling. Qiao Zhenzhen quickly put on a coaxing tone and wore him down until he shuffled out, muttering.
She hung up the phone and warned her mother, “If he scolds you later, don’t you dare talk back.”
Qin Jing: “?”
Ten minutes later Qin Sheng appeared. Seeing Qin Jing in the car startled him for a second, but before he could react Qiao Zhenzhen lunged at him. “Grandpa!”
Seeing his soft, squishy granddaughter, Qin Sheng gave a cold snort but couldn’t keep a stern face. “What are you doing here eating late-night snacks?”
“My mom didn’t cook, so I had to come here,” Qiao Zhenzhen protested.
Qin Sheng immediately widened his eyes.
“My mom hasn’t eaten properly in ages, look how skinny she’s gotten,” Qiao Zhenzhen piled it on. Old people always had their own aesthetics: as long as the younger generation hadn’t grown a few love-handles, they were “too thin” in the elders’ eyes.
Sure enough, Qin Sheng glanced at Qin Jing again and immediately flew into a rage. Qin Jing, bewildered, got out of the car and was met with a barrage of scolding. By the time it ended she was dazed and could only nod and apologize.
After finishing his tirade, Qin Sheng grabbed Qiao Zhenzhen’s hand and hauled her away. “If she won’t give you any, I will!”
“Thanks, Grandpa,” Qiao Zhenzhen said as she was dragged along. After a few steps she added, “Look at Mom, she’s so pitiful!”
Qin Sheng stopped dead. He turned and saw Qin Jing standing alone outside the complex, looking like an abandoned kitten. He went speechless for a moment, then mumbled, “...can she not be so obvious?”
“Mom! Grandpa’s calling you back for dinner!” Qiao Zhenzhen called out cheerfully.
Qin Jing brightened and, without hesitation, locked the car and ran back into the complex.
Qin Sheng: “...Did I really say that?”
Qiao Zhenzhen ignored him and happily led Qin Jing toward the house. Qin Sheng fell silent for a moment, then sighed in resignation.