The last class on Monday afternoon was the Class Advisor’s. Class Three’s Class Advisor, Wang Zhenming, was an old man with hair that had mostly turned white. His face was full of wrinkles and his frame was gaunt, yet he didn’t seem old or lethargic at all. Holding a test paper, he spoke eloquently and with great enthusiasm.
“This composition wasn’t hard, was it? As long as you didn’t stray from the topic and your viewpoints were correct, the scores I gave wouldn’t be low. The highest score was He Yu’s 57 points. You all can borrow it to take a look.” The Class Advisor put down the test paper, glanced at the time, cleared his throat, and continued, “It’s almost time for class to end. One more thing: there’s a parent-teacher meeting on Friday afternoon. This is the only parent-teacher meeting for Senior Three. Everyone, make sure to notify your parents that they must attend.”
Wang Zhenming was actually quite old and had long since reached retirement age, but he stubbornly insisted on teaching one last class of students. When people get old, they don’t have much desire for wealth or fame. He was always smiling, could take a joke, didn’t compete with others, and focused entirely on teaching and nurturing students, possessing the elegant air of a scholar.
He rarely participated in the various discussions among the teachers in the office, nor did he like to pay attention to his students’ family backgrounds. Naturally, he knew very little about many of the students’ home situations. Moreover, since Gu Yu had only recently transferred to Class Three, Wang Zhenming only remembered each student’s name and grades. He didn’t know much about the poor child’s family circumstances.
After he finished speaking, the dismissal bell happened to ring. He picked up his textbook and left immediately. Gu Yu packed his schoolbag numbly, his movements hesitant. He wanted to find the Class Advisor to explain his situation and was phrasing the words in his mind.
‘A child no one wants, an orphan, a jinx…’ Fortunately, no one had ever pointed at his brow and cursed him like that. Unfortunately… he could feel this pain from many inadvertent details in life.
Having lived alone for so many years, Gu Yu always thought that the wounds had already scabbed over and would no longer hurt. However, those unintentional collisions could always reveal the dripping blood beneath, bringing a bone-piercing pain.
“Gu Yu?” a girl patted his shoulder and reminded him in a low voice, “If you delay any longer, you’ll be late.”
“Oh, oh, I know.”
Gu Yu quickened his movements, put on his bag, and left the classroom with Luo Ming. They passed through the campus, which was exceptionally noisy at dismissal, and the bustling, vehicle-filled streets to go to the fast food restaurant.
On the way, Luo Ming tried to chat with him several times, intentionally avoiding any mention of the parent-teacher meeting the Class Advisor had just announced. He was slow, yet strangely sensitive to this, understanding that the girl wanted to help distract him and cheer him up.
But Gu Yu was still depressed. Sometimes he was like this; he could calmly accept the painful past when he spoke of it himself, but when others unexpectedly mentioned it, it was like a sharp blade, easily breaking through his defenses.
Time at work seemed to pass very quickly. With the full moon hanging high in the night sky, Gu Yu listlessly finished his work, and Yun Qianxin’s car arrived right on time.
They were silent all the way. As usual, Yun Qianxin first dropped Luo Ming off at home, then led the soul-less Gu Yu into the house. Noticing his absent-mindedness, she stroked the top of his head and said in a soft voice, “Older Sister can tolerate everything about you, Xiao Yu. No matter what unhappy things you have, you can always talk to me.”
Gu Yu looked up, seeing the woman’s gentle and intellectual expression. His nose felt stingy, and his voice was hoarse and dry, like a rabbit soaked by the rain. “Sister Qianxin… the Class Advisor said there’s a parent-teacher meeting on Friday, and every student’s parents must be present.”
“I see. Then, didn’t you tell the teacher, Xiao Yu?”
“Not yet. I don’t really want to say it.” Gu Yu’s voice carried a bit of a sob, and it was so weak that a puff of wind could scatter it.
This young man, who had been strong for so long, had actually always hidden a side of himself that he didn’t want to show others. His wounds had never healed. He was lucky to have a sister who showered him with tenderness, filling the love he had long sought that was missing from his mother, but then he suddenly lost her that day… ‘If I had never seen the light, I could have endured the darkness.’
Later, his father’s departure made matters even worse. He had broken down and cried several times during quiet, lonely nights, even if no one would notice. Now, even though the sister who had been gentle to him for years had returned, and he had a girl he liked and a best friend, those shadows still followed him like maggots on a bone. He had only wishfully thought that he was already better.
“Then let me go for you.”
Yun Qianxin pressed her forehead against Gu Yu’s and met his gaze. Their warm body temperatures touched. She looked into those eyes that could be seen through at a glance, pupils as bright and dark as obsidian. Her love, so intense it was twisted, became pure and doting because of his pitiful state.
“Xiao Yu, you have a sister. I will always stay with you. Haven’t you ever wondered why I would come back after being gone for so many years? It was actually for you, silly Xiao Yu. Your sister has been… thinking of you all along.”
“Sister Qianxin…”
Gu Yu suddenly realized that Yun Qianxin’s care for him went far beyond what he had imagined. She could still remember her unofficial younger brother after years of separation. She could have lived in a luxury mansion worth tens of thousands of dollars per square foot to enjoy life, yet she was willing to curl up in a small, old residential building and do all the housework.
He suddenly understood why he, who had been strong for years, would become so fragile and vulnerable today. It was because… someone could notice his crying now, and someone would stroke his head and tell him it was okay to cry.
“Thank you… Sister.”
A single word, “Sister.” He was all alone, and this was the only repayment he could give now.
“If you want to cry, you can hold me and cry for a while. But don’t cry for too long; I still have to cook for you.”
“There’s no need. You go cook, Sister Qianxin. I’m fine.”
Gu Yu wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes and regained his usual positive and sunny strength, his voice gaining vitality.
“Alright then, I’ll go cook. Sit for a bit, Xiao Yu.”
Sounds began to come from the kitchen, and the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar released a fresh fragrance. Gu Yu sat blankly on the sofa until Yun Qianxin finished cooking and ate with her. The warm food warmed his body, which had been frozen stiff on this winter night.
“Do you want to sleep with me again tonight? It’s so comfortable to hold you, I’m really reluctant to let go,” Yun Qianxin asked him gently, her face full of a charming and seductive smile as she cleared the dishes.
“Sure. As long as you like it, Sister Qianxin.”
Gu Yu agreed readily. Yun Qianxin gave him too much and asked for very little. Since he could give this, he certainly couldn’t refuse.
“Xiao Yu is so good. You’re my favorite.”
Yun Qianxin didn’t hide her joy at all. She knew the boy wouldn’t think of this as romantic love. She had to wait a little longer. One day, the boy would understand who truly loved him and who would snuggle with him for warmth on a cold winter night.
Tiny starlight flickered in the night sky, and the night veil shrouded the quiet city. That night, the boy curled up in her arms like an obedient child, trustingly revealing his most fragile and vulnerable side.
He was very good and obedient in many things, except for the most important point—he had chosen the wrong person.