DXXZL - 21

Shu Xian didn’t expect Jiang Jinhui to have such an imagination. Thinking about how Jiang Tu had given up the physics competition because of this family made her angry, and she glared at Jiang Jinhui: “So what if it’s true? I’ll divorce you as soon as the demolition is over.”

Jiang Jinhui laughed in anger, “Then why don’t you divorce me now if you’re so capable?”

“Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Let me tell you, even after the demolition, you won’t be able to divorce! You think you can find a second spring after divorcing? Never! If I catch you fooling around with any man, I’ll break your legs!”

“You… get out of here!”

...

The two continued their endless argument, their voices drifting into the room. After a while, they heard Jiang Jinhui slam the door and leave. Jiang Tu, expressionless, put on his headphones and turned the volume up to the maximum. The deep, slow cello melody gradually calmed him down, and when he finally heard Zhu Xingyao’s closing performance, he was completely healed.

Whenever he was in a bad mood, listening to her performances had become a kind of dependency and therapy for him—somewhat pathological.

The next morning, Jiang Tu arrived very early. As he approached the classroom door, someone called out behind him: “Jiang Tu.”

He turned around to see a somewhat familiar girl—a striking beauty named Xia Jin from his class. He asked indifferently: “What is it?”

If there wasn’t anything important, no one would usually call him.

Xia Jin hadn’t expected him to be so cold, and her smile stiffened slightly: “Nothing, just saying hi.”

Jiang Tu didn’t say anything further and walked into the classroom, pulling out his chair and sitting down.

Xia Jin had never been treated so coldly by anyone before. Frowning, she returned to her seat and glanced over at him several times. The more she looked at Jiang Tu’s indifferent profile, the more upset she became, feeling that her good mood from the morning had been completely ruined. Why was Jiang Tu so cold to her but smiled at Zhu Xingyao?

Zhu Xingyao and Li Xixi entered the classroom just three minutes before the morning reading session started. Cao Shujun and Teacher Xie Ya were already standing in the corridor, chatting casually. Observant eyes would notice that it was mostly Cao Shujun initiating the conversation.

Li Xixi leaned over and whispered mysteriously: “From what I’ve observed, I think Old Cao is pursuing Teacher Xie.”

“Teacher Xie is only about 30, right? Don’t call her ‘Master.’” Without looking up, Zhu Xingyao pulled out several newly purchased German oral practice books from her bag. “Besides, she’s not married, so if Old Cao wants to pursue her, let him. They’re both single, which is fine.”

“I think Teacher Xie might be three or four years older than Old Cao, and it’s obvious she’s not interested in him.” Li Xixi turned to look at Zhu Xingyao, picking up a book from her desk and flipping through it casually. “Hey, if you go to Germany, does that mean I’ll only get to see you once a year?”

“Not necessarily. I can come back during holidays.”

Ding Xiang, who had been copying homework nearby, overheard and immediately looked up in shock: “Germany?! Goddess, are you going to Germany?!”

His voice was so loud that everyone around turned to look at Zhu Xingyao.

Jiang Tu paused and slowly raised his eyes.

Zhu Xingyao glanced up and smiled, speaking confidently: “I’m preparing for the exams. They’re next year, and there will be an interview afterward, so nothing is certain yet. But I’ll do my best—it should… be fine!”

“There’s also an interview?” Ding Xiang scratched his head, suddenly thinking of the goddess and the cello. “Are you applying to a music school?”

“Mm-hmm.”

Zhu Xingyao’s plan to apply to a music conservatory had been decided long ago. As long as she completed high school normally and followed the process to apply for studying abroad, Zhu Yunping and Ding Yu wouldn’t oppose her choice anymore, which was why she had refused to participate in the physics competition—she didn’t need any recommendation slots.

Someone asked: “Which school are you applying to?”

Zhu Xingyao: “Berlin University of the Arts.”

“Wow, even though I don’t fully understand, it sounds amazing. Truly our goddess.”

“Yeah, but… aren’t you an art candidate? Are you auditioning with the cello?”

“Obviously, it’s the cello! She’s already held her own solo recital—why would she care about whether it’s an art exam or not? Idiot.”

The crowd burst into noisy arguments, but Zhu Xingyao simply smiled and let it go. Soon, the bell for morning reading saved her, and Cao Shujun walked in: “What’s all this noise? Everyone, take out your books and start reading.”

Cao Ming turned back and shouted: “We’re talking about Zhu Xingyao applying to Berlin University of the Arts in Germany!”

Zhu Xingyao: “…”

This big mouth—did he have to announce it to the whole class?

Cao Shujun glanced at Zhu Xingyao and quickly understood why she had refused to participate in the competition earlier. He grinned broadly: “Applying to Berlin University of the Arts? That’s wonderful! A performing artist suits our school goddess perfectly. In the future, you’ll be a famous figure of our First High School. It’ll make me, your homeroom teacher, proud to mention it.”

One boy laughed: “What if it’s her boyfriend? Wouldn’t that be even more impressive?”

“Exactly! A boyfriend would double the prestige!”

Zhu Xingyao’s face froze. Were these people trying to push her onto the chair of early romance?

Sure enough, Cao Shujun quickly adopted a serious expression: “No nonsense! Let me tell you all—no early romance is allowed at school. The consequences of being caught are severe, even for male or female deities like her.”

Zhu Xingyao pouted pitifully: “Teacher, I haven’t done anything.”

Cao Shujun coughed: “I’m warning everyone, not just you.”

Zhu Xingyao pursed her lips. Hadn’t he almost used her as a negative example just now? What had she done wrong?

After Cao Shujun left the classroom, Cao Ming patted Zhang Sheng on the shoulder and whispered: “Why are you sulking? Zhu Xingyao isn’t going to be easy to win over. She’s going abroad for university, and she might become a celebrity in the future. Exaggerating a bit, her admirers might line up all the way to Germany…”

Zhang Sheng’s expression darkened: “Do you think she looks like someone who plays around or has a wandering heart?”

Cao Ming glanced back: “Definitely not now. If she were, she’d be like the class flower of Class 5, changing boyfriends every other day. Isn’t Lu Ji also pursuing Zhu Xingyao? Even he hasn’t succeeded yet… Cough, I mean, Zhu Xingyao isn’t frivolous, doesn’t act casually, and doesn’t fall in love easily.”

“So, if I can win Zhu Xingyao over in high school, wouldn’t that mean I’ve won?” Zhang Sheng said smugly. “Even if Lu Ji is also pursuing her, so what? He has so many girls chasing him—what if one of them suddenly wins him over? We still have two years left, so don’t rush to discourage me.”

Cao Ming was truly impressed. He gave a thumbs-up: “Good luck to you.”

Because of the morning reading incident, Zhu Xingyao felt a bit down. She didn’t want to talk about studying abroad anymore, and to make matters worse, she was on her period. Her stomach hurt badly, and she lay listlessly on the desk.

In the corner of the blackboard, the names of duty students were written: Zhu Xingyao, Li Xixi, Ding Xiang, and Jiang Tu.

It was their turn to clean today.

Erasing the blackboard was always the boys’ job. Ding Xiang went to erase it, while Jiang Tu stood up to fetch water. Li Xixi quickly turned around and handed him two cups—one colorful with various stickers, and a custom-made thermos with a relief design of a cello and musical notes.

It seemed that many of her daily items featured cello or music note patterns.

Li Xixi said: “Tu Ge, please help me with this.”

Jiang Tu had lost count of how many times he had fetched water for them. The water dispenser was located in a public area at the corridor’s corner, shared by several classes, and required a card to draw water. Sometimes there would be a queue. Boys could be lazy at times, preferring to buy bottled water rather than wait in line. Moreover, teenage boys weren’t exactly known for their attentiveness or patience. Usually, as soon as someone went to fetch water, they’d hand over all their bottles, asking you to fill them on the way.

When Jiang Tu went this time, class was about to start, so there was no need to queue.

Soon, he returned with the water and placed the cups in front of Zhu Xingyao. She was resting her head on the desk, her cheek pressed against it, lips slightly parted. She blinked slowly, her pupils glistening like they had been washed clean—black, clear, and incredibly bright.

Jiang Tu lowered his gaze, silently observing her for a few seconds before turning back to his seat.

Zhu Xingyao sat up dazedly, her pale face flushed faintly on the side that had been pressed against the desk, making her look livelier than usual. She turned to look at him, her expression enough to make the little figure inside Jiang Tu’s heart clutch his liver in frustration. He wanted her to stop looking at him like that—he couldn’t handle it.

A second later…

Jiang Tu gave in.

He stared at her, his voice low: “Is German… hard to learn?”

Zhu Xingyao blinked, then quickly smiled. “Not really. I’ve actually been studying since summer vacation—it’s been a few months now, and I’ve already gotten the basics down. It feels similar to learning English.”

Zhu Yunping had hired a private tutor for one-on-one lessons, which made her progress much faster.

“Is that so?” Jiang Tu gave a faint smile. “Your English is also very good.”

In truth, Zhu Xingyao excelled in only three subjects: English, Chinese, and physics. Her math wasn’t quite as strong.

Since the division into arts and sciences, Jiang Tu’s grades had become outstanding because of his exceptional performance in理科 (science). It was as if he were naturally gifted, learning things exceptionally quickly. His English was also solid, though he rarely spoke it. Zhu Xingyao didn’t know how fluent his spoken English was, but based on the few instances during classroom exercises or when the teacher called on him, his accent was pure British English.

Zhu Xingyao grinned: “Your English is great too! You just need to practice more. Learning a foreign language requires lots of reading and practice—you can’t stay silent!”

Li Xixi chimed in from behind: “Exactly! Tu Ge’s English is super nice to listen to!”

Li Xixi wasn’t just obsessed with looks; she was also a sucker for voices.

Many teenage boys were still going through puberty, and most of their voices weren’t particularly pleasant. But Jiang Tu was older, and his vocal cords were more stable. His tone was cool and detached, yet strangely captivating. Li Xixi had praised Jiang Tu’s voice to Zhu Xingyao more than once.

“My voice isn’t nice?” Ding Xiang interjected shamelessly.

Li Xixi rolled her eyes: “With your duck voice, can you not have a little self-awareness?”

Ding Xiang: “….”

He clutched his chest, another day wounded by Li Xixi’s words.

The first bell rang, and Teacher Xie Ya was already waiting in the corridor with her lesson plan, perfectly punctual. Just like that, break time passed. Jiang Tu had intended to say something, but their interruptions made it impossible to bring up again.

In the evening, after the four of them finished their cleaning duties, Jiang Tu was responsible for taking out the trash. By the time he returned, the classroom was empty.

He pulled out an intricately folded card from his bag. He stared at it for a long time, suddenly unsure of what to say to her. He could guess that girls from families like hers wouldn’t typically attend university domestically, especially since she played the cello. There were plenty of prestigious schools abroad, so today’s news hadn’t surprised him much.

But guessing was one thing; hearing it confirmed was another.

Zhu Xingyao…

Thankfully, she was growing further and further away. After graduation, it would be difficult to even see her once.

The young man twirled his pen in his left hand.

Suddenly, he pressed it down.

And began writing.

He wrote only her name.

Jiang Tu slipped the card into her newly purchased German textbook. He glanced down at it briefly, realizing he didn’t recognize a single one of the German words inside.

He closed the book and returned it to its place before heading back to his seat. After a moment, he pulled a lighter and cigarette pack from a hidden pocket in his bag and lit one. This was his first time smoking at school. By this hour, there were few people left—only the senior three students, the school team practicing, and some boys lingering to play basketball.

Occasionally, cheers erupted when someone scored, but otherwise, the entire teaching building felt somewhat desolate.

When the cigarette burned down to two-thirds, Jiang Tu slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the classroom with an impassive expression. Reaching the stairwell, lively footsteps approached from below. Instinctively, he hid the cigarette behind his back and glanced downward.

Zhou Yuan, sweaty from playing basketball, was running up the stairs. As soon as he looked up and saw Jiang Tu’s icy gaze, he nearly buckled: “Holy crap! What are you doing standing here?! You scared the hell out of me!”

Jiang Tu replied indifferently: “Cleaning duty.”

He hurried down the stairs, his hand hanging slightly loose.

Zhou Yuan continued upward but paused abruptly as he passed by, turning to look back with wide eyes: “Holy crap! You smoke?!”

There was a trash bin nearby. Jiang Tu walked over, extinguished the cigarette, tossed it in, and turned to face Zhou Yuan’s shocked expression. Zhou Yuan suddenly felt like he was overreacting—boys smoking seemed pretty normal. He smoked himself, and Lu Ji occasionally joined in too. Scratching his head, he raised his hands: “I’m not trying to tattle or anything. I just didn’t expect you to have the guts to smoke here. There aren’t any teachers around right now… yeah, no teachers, so who cares?”

Besides, Jiang Tu’s life was full of stress. Smoking a few cigarettes to relieve tension was completely understandable!

Jiang Tu didn’t bother engaging with someone who spent his days scheming ways to help Lu Ji pursue Zhu Xingyao. He simply turned and walked away.

Zhou Yuan: “….”

His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, pointing a finger. This guy was seriously aloof.

Jiang Tu kept his eyes forward, walking briskly. He didn’t pay attention to a vaguely familiar girl passing by. Xia Jin felt the boy breeze past her, sharp and decisive, not sparing her even half a glance.

She froze where she stood, staring at his retreating figure before stomping her foot lightly.

Did he have eyes in the back of his head? How could he ignore her, someone as beautiful as her, standing right there—and a classmate at that? How could he repeatedly treat her like she was invisible?

The senior beside Xia Jin patted her shoulder: “What’s wrong? Do you know that boy?”

Xia Jin frowned unhappily: “He’s from my class. He wears glasses, yet every time, it’s like he doesn’t even see me.”

This senior’s family business depended on the Xia family, and their families were having dinner together tonight. Senior year was tough, and classes often ran late. Her math teacher had taken nearly half an hour of dismissal time explaining a problem, but luckily Xia Jin had waited for her. In an attempt to flatter her, the senior said: “Maybe he’s blind? How could he miss seeing someone as beautiful as you? Personally, I think you’re prettier than Zhu Xingyao. Guys like her type now, but as they grow older, they’ll realize men prefer someone like you—bright, stunning, and with a touch of sexiness…”

Xia Jin forced a smile, her voice soft: “Really?”

“Of course! Even the boys in our grade say you’re prettier.”