Chapter 8: Campus Life

6:20 in the morning.

The alarm hadn’t even gone off yet.

Outside the window, the sky was just beginning to lighten, with only a few birds chirping. Lin Wan yawned, stretched lazily, and turned off the 6:30 alarm on her phone ahead of time.

She tiptoed down from her bed, making not a sound.

Her brother was probably still asleep.

Lin Wan recalled that when she finished her homework at eleven last night, her brother’s room light was still on. She wondered what he was busy with.

She decided not to wake him.

After quietly finishing her morning routine, Lin Wan headed into the kitchen.

Lin Luan had already prepared breakfast for her the night before. All she had to do now was heat it up. Today’s breakfast was an egg and a homemade sandwich.

Lin Wan sat silently at the dining table, eating in small bites. She placed the eggshells she peeled into a plastic bag; later, those eggshells could be used as fertilizer for her flowers.

When everything was tidied up, the clock pointed exactly to 6:50. Lin Wan slung her heavy backpack over her shoulders and got ready to leave.

She paused at her brother’s bedroom door.

The door was slightly ajar. Lin Wan quietly pushed it open a crack and saw her brother sleeping on his side, his brows furrowed.

Her eyes fell on the phone placed at the head of his bed. The screen was dark, but she knew that he’d been studying late into the night for something, only going to bed very late.

She didn’t go in, just stood quietly at the door for a few seconds.

“Brother, I’m off to school. Sleep well.”

Then, she quietly closed the front door and locked it behind her.

The walk to school took about ten minutes. Their home was close enough that walking was all she needed.

The cool morning air rushed to greet her. Lin Wan took a deep breath, trying to clear her mind.

She hopped along the sidewalk, making sure her feet didn’t touch the gaps between the bricks.

Today, she felt especially happy—because yesterday her brother promised to come to her Parent-Teacher Conference.

That meant she could prove to those classmates who gossiped about her that she wasn’t some unwanted child.

More importantly, she wanted those people to know that her brother, Lin Luan, was better than any of their parents!

***

Ten minutes later.

Lin Wan arrived at the classroom a bit earlier than usual. As she sat down and took out her textbook to start morning reading, someone called out to her.

“Yo, what’s got you so happy?” A shrill voice rang out nearby.

Lin Wan looked up. It was Li Shasha from her class, flanked by two other girls.

Li Shasha’s family was well-off. She loved showing off the latest phone models and other things to feel superior among her classmates.

Girls like Lin Wan, who were honest and well-behaved, were exactly the kind of people they liked to bully.

“N-nothing…” Lin Wan reflexively hid her smile and lowered her head.

She didn’t want any trouble—she was here to study, not to argue.

“Nothing?” Li Shasha wasn’t about to let her go. “I heard… there’s a Parent-Teacher Conference the day after tomorrow. Are your parents coming?”

One of the girls at her side sneered, “Shasha, did you forget? Didn’t her parents leave a long time ago…”

“Oh!” Li Shasha covered her mouth in fake realization. “Sorry, my memory’s so bad… If your brother doesn’t show, does that mean you’ll be alone at the Parent-Teacher Conference? So pitiful.”

She said “sorry,” but her face was full of malice.

Lin Wan clenched the book in her hands. She took a deep breath, suppressing her anger. “My brother will come—he promised me.”

“Hmph, promised?” Li Shasha crossed her arms, not believing a word. “What’s your brother, some big shot businessman? So busy? Or maybe he’s just… working as a waiter somewhere and can’t get the day off?”

That sentence instantly doused Lin Wan’s good mood from earlier. She felt uncomfortable.

She wanted to retort, to say her brother had a good job now, that he wore a sharp suit… but she knew that arguing with these people would only drag her deeper in.

Seeing Lin Wan fall silent, Li Shasha grew even more pleased.

“Forget it, let’s not talk about it. Once the Parent-Teacher Conference comes, we’ll see if you’re lying. But Lin Wan, don’t get your hopes up too much—the higher the hope, the harder the disappointment…”

“Li Shasha, did you finish your homework yesterday? Still got time to worry about other people’s family affairs?”

A lazy voice interrupted Li Shasha’s smug speech.

Everyone turned to look. A girl with short, neat hair was walking over with her backpack slung over one shoulder.

Her school jacket was tied loosely around her waist, and she wore a crisp white T-shirt. She looked every bit the sporty type.

“Qin Qing!” Lin Wan brightened instantly at the sight of her.

Qin Qing was the only friend Lin Wan could really talk to in class—straightforward, average grades, but amazing at sports. No one dared mess with her.

Vegetable leaf? Li Shasha’s face changed and she instinctively covered her mouth.

She shot her lackeys a look—probably “Is there really something on me?” or something like that.

Her lackeys shook their heads timidly.

Li Shasha realized she’d been played and grew furious. “Qin Qing! What nonsense are you spouting!”

Qin Qing ignored her, walked straight to Lin Wan, and slammed her backpack down on the desk with a thud.

She crossed one leg over the other, slung an arm around Lin Wan’s shoulders, and gave Li Shasha’s group a mocking look.

“Whether her brother comes to the Parent-Teacher Conference is none of your business. Do you live by the sea? Why are you so nosy?” Qin Qing’s words cut deep.

“If you have time to gossip, why not memorize a few more vocab words? Otherwise, you’ll end up at the bottom again in the next test, and your parents won’t be able to show their faces at the Parent-Teacher Conference.”

“You…!” Li Shasha was hit where it hurt. Her face turned red, but she didn’t dare go up against Qin Qing.

Because even the three of them together probably couldn’t take her.

Qin Qing rolled her eyes and stopped looking at them.

Instead, she hugged Lin Wan’s shoulder tightly and lowered her voice, “Don’t mind them, just a bunch of gossipy busybodies. If your brother promised, he’ll come. When has he ever lied to you?”

Lin Wan’s nose tingled.

“You!”

“What about me?” Qin Qing raised her brows, eyes sharp as knives.

Li Shasha froze, her bravado instantly vanishing, and the group had no choice but to leave, disgruntled.

When they were gone, Qin Qing leaned in and whispered to Lin Wan, “Don’t worry. If your brother really can’t make it to the Parent-Teacher Conference… I’ll get my mom to go as your stand-in. She’ll totally show them up and drive them crazy!”

Lin Wan burst into tears and laughter.

“Won’t your mom need to go to your Parent-Teacher Conference?”

“Eh?” Qin Qing blinked, suddenly realizing the lack of logic in what she’d just said. “Don’t worry about the details! I can always ask my dad to go!”

“Hahaha…” Lin Wan wiped away the tears that hadn’t yet fallen. “Thank you, Qin Qing.”

“No need to be so polite!”

Qin Qing waved her hand carelessly. “Come on, let me copy your homework—I played games way too late last night…”

“So you didn’t do it either… and you still had the nerve to scold others.”

“Aiya! That’s what I have you for!”