Chi Tang didn’t move after waking up in a strange room. She remained still for a while, staring at the ceiling, before remembering that this was her new home.
Outside the window, it was raining. Nanlin City was a place where it rained a lot. She’d only been here a week, and it had rained virtually every day. Chi Tang disliked rain. Her mood was especially bad when it rained.
Her headphones were hooked into her ears, but there was no sound. She ripped out the earbuds with one hand, rubbed her painful ears, and sat on the bed for a long time without moving. Until the door rattled and banged, her father attempted and failed to unlock her door and yelled furiously outside: “Why is the door is locked? Hurry up and get ready for class! I have to leave right away.”
“Did you hear what I said, Chi Tang?” The door handle twisted, and the door made a strange noise as if it was about to be smashed.
Chi Tang lied down, put the earbuds back on, and turned on the phone to listen to music. The music became louder and louder, blocking out the outside noise, much as she put music in her earbuds to drown out her parents’ incessant squabbles.
The sound has ceased, but the rain has not, and there is no one in the house; it was quite silent. Chi Tang walked out of the house with her bag on her back. She hated using an umbrella so as she went out into the wind and rain, she put up her hat and covered her head.
Nanlin No. 1 High School Class two, one month after school started, almost everyone in the 50 people class knew each other, almost everyone found friends to play with, and almost everyone had established small groups. However, with so many individuals in a class, it was unavoidable that there will be certain lonely freaks or aliens who are admired by others.
Chi Tang was a member of the former. She transferred to the school a week ago and she was uninterested in making new friends and sat in the back row indifferently and distantly. She had narrow eyelashes, thin lips, a high nasal bridge, and a world-weary sluggishness when she lowered her eyes.
The majority of Class two students were good kids. Because the instructor banned students from bringing mobile phones, few individuals dared to bring them, but Chi Tang had them every day, and she frequently wore headphones to listen to music. It made no difference if she was late for class.
In general, she was a mixed-day student with mediocre grades, but in the first month of the monthly exam, she was in the top ten of the class, and in the top fifty, which was well above the group of fellow residents surrounding her.
In addition to her, there was an outlier in Class 2 who was well-liked by others whose name is You Yu. She joined the school with the second-highest grade in the school at the time of enrollment, and this time became the first in the monthly exam. The opposite of her dazzling achievement was her poverty.
Of course, not all of her classmates came from wealthy households, and some were pretty poor, but it was incredible that she was as poor as she was. Even Chi Tang, who was unconcerned with everything around her, had overheard a lot of the gossip around You Yu.
You Yu was from a small mountain village and being accepted into Nanlin No. 1 High School was nothing short of a miracle. She had a scholarship granting her free tuition and housing.
You Yu wore a round-neck t-shirt that had been washed until its colors faded and curled up the fringe in the school uniform. It had been worn for a long time. A pair of cloth shoes—in this environment where everyone else was using running shoes and leather shoes, just that pair of out-of-date shoes made her wholly distinct from the others.
You Yu was seated near the third row of windows. She was not petite but quite slim. Her long black hair was beautifully braided and tucked behind her ear.
“Oh my God, I can’t handle the thought of living in a dorm with her. I wouldn’t say anything all day. Everyone else in our dorm is the same. When I see her, I don’t want to say anything. There is a pair of fabric shoes that have not been cleaned after being used for so long. You’re aware that she doesn’t even have shampoo, only a bar of soap. She uses soap to wash her hair!”
“Isn’t it awful? How much does it cost to buy a dress, a bottle of shower gel, and a pair of shoes? I can’t believe there are still people who are that poor nowadays. I heard that the school did not provide her with any financial support.”
The girls continued to complain, and Chi Tang became irritated. She lifted her eyes and stared at the two girls close before getting up and going to the restroom.
On their floor, there were far too many people in the restrooms. She disliked standing in line. She would rather travel a little farther south of the classroom building to the restroom, where there were fewer people.
When she walked in, she noticed You Yu washing her hands, the person who had been dissed by her roommate just now. Chi Tang didn’t approach her, nor did she take a close look at her. She unexpectedly bumped into her here, and perhaps because of what she had just heard, she gave her a second glance.
You Yu happened to raise her head, and the two locked eyes. That was the first time Chi Tang had seen You Yu.
You Yu had a set of pretty eyes, very black and well-shaped, but they were too narrow. She was silent and unflinching, just engrossed in her world, doing her silent things.
They didn’t say anything and just walked past.
Chi Tang was a day student who returned home every night. The school experienced a power outage, and the third year of high school was forced to study with candles and lights. Chi Tang rode the bus home, her bag strapped on her back. She was a little motion sick, leaning on the bus seat and closing her eyes to sleep.
A boisterous middle-aged woman was crammed into the vehicle and sat alongside her. Soon after, she coughed and blasted Sang Huai, saying, “The young people don’t know what’s going on now, they’re not courteous, and they won’t give up their seats when the old stand next to them.”
Chi Tang didn’t move as she glanced up at her. She didn’t even move when she arrived at the station where she was supposed to exit. She waited till the woman got out of the car before following her out of the vehicle. Then she shook her bag and walked back slowly.
Her new home was still alien to her. She found the correct house after searching for similar houses for a while and took out the key to unlock the door.
As she inserted the key into the door, she heard the laughter and groans of a woman in the room, as well as her own father’s roaring laughter.
Her father brought a woman home again, and she couldn’t tell if it was the new girlfriend or the young woman. Chi Tang turned around and walked away after retracting the key.
She returned in the dead of night. Even though there was no one in the room, there was always a weird smell in the living room. Chi Tang stood there and vomited, feeling extremely sick and disgusted.
“It’s been a while since school began and y ou’ve just decided you want to live on campus?” Lao Fang, the headteacher, took the application form in his hand. “Are you experiencing any problems? Did your parents agree?”
“I suddenly want to live,” Chi Tang said as he sat back in his chair.
Chi Tang returned to the classroom, this time with the key to Dormitory 501 in his hand.
The girl who had previously made disparaging remarks about the You Yu showed up, “you’ll live in 501, which is my dorm. Unfortunately, there is just one empty bed remaining in our dormitory .”
Her displeasure was palpable as she pointed to You Yu in the front row.
The girl was waiting for her to speak, but Chi Tang didn’t have anything to say. Sh e leaned back in her chair and put in her earbuds.
The girl’s look was a little bleak, and she returned to her seat, only to hear the same girl’s voice, “What are you hoping to do? Is it because your family is wealthy, you don’t look at people all day, and you’re a lady?”
Chi Tang opened the textbook and randomly picked a pen to doodle on it while listening to music through her earbuds.
She wanted to go to the dorms and was not stopped by her father. She only cursed a couple times a day. He most likely thought that his daughter was not present so that he could enjoy the joys of life.
He instantly transferred a sum of money to her, “Go to school to live in. You decide what you want.”
Chi Tang walked to school alone, carrying a luggage. She has lived at the school previously, albeit not for long, and the school dormitory was familiar.
Upper and lower beds, desk drawers, a separate bathroom, laundry area, and a huge bathroom on both sides of the floor are all included in this six-person accommodation.
501, indeed, had one open bed. There was an extra. Her bed was too gloomy in comparison to other people’s Caixin blankets, and there were few objects on it.
Chi Tang merely gave it a cursory glance before arranging her bed and putting the items in the cabinet.
Someone had placed something in her cabinet.
“Whose things are these?” Chi Tang asked.
There was only one person in the dormitory at the time, You Yu, who was carrying her lunch box and eating calmly at the table. She returned her gaze, “It’s Luo Zhengli’s thing,” she said.
Luo Zhengli, the girl who liked to gossip about others behind their backs.
Youyu’s voice was low and somewhat hoarse, and she continued to eat after speaking with no additional emotion.
Chi Tang took everything out and flung it on the table, then put her stuff back in, closed them, and turned around to go eat in the cafeteria. When she returned, she happened to hear Luo Zhengli complaining about her.
“Just toss my things on the table! We used to have a spare in our dorm, but now we have another girl.”
Chi Tang pulled the door open and entered the dormitory, making it quieter. The atmosphere in this dormitory isn’t nice, but it’s better than facing the awful father again.
Chi Tang walked out with the rest after the nighttime self-study. Chi Tang first went to the small shop to buy a bottle of water, unscrewing the cap and taking two swallows. The drink she’d just pulled out of the freezer chilled her stomach all the way to her heart.
As she walked around the field, she noticed that the lights in the classroom windows of the teaching building were progressively going out, until just a few classrooms had lights on.
Their classroom lights were turned on, and a shadow near the window bowed their heads. Chi Tang gave it two glances before realizing it was You Yu. She averted her look and proceeded to the dorm.
The dormitory was buzzing with activity, with people conversing and playing on their phones. Someone had just exited the restroom and was ready to blow dry their hair using a hairdryer.
“First, I’ll take a bath.” When Luo Zhengli saw her walk in, she abruptly terminated the talk, rose up, and said, as if she was scared she would run to take a shower.
Chi Tang took another sip of water and sat on the higher bed and closed her eyes.
At eleven o’clock, the lights in the dormitory were turned off, and she entered the toilet bath at ten forty. Bathing in hot water necessitates the use of a card. Her new campus card, a little bluecard, was loaded with cash.
You Yu returned shortly after having a shower. She set down the book and the exam paper she distributed today and went to the toilet to take a bath. Chi Tang noticed a change of clothes in her hand, an old round-neck T-shirt and a pair of school uniform slacks.
She didn’t pay much attention, but before turning out the lights, she walked back inside the toilet and saw that the floor and walls were moist.
She didn’t pay much attention, but before turning off the lights, she walked back inside the toilet and saw that the floor and walls were damp, there was no heat, and even the nozzle poles were chilly.
You Yu, did you just take a cold shower?
The light had been turned off. Chi Tang returned to her bed with her phone and noticed Yu Yu on the bottom bunk facing the wall. Her hair was still damp.
She laid in an unfamiliar bed, suffering from sleeplessness once more. She put down her phone in a stupor about three o’clock and dozed off over to the relaxing music.
Chi Tang didn’t move after waking up in a strange room. She remained still for a while, staring at the ceiling, before remembering that this was her new home.
Outside the window, it was raining. Nanlin City was a place where it rained a lot. She’d only been here a week, and it had rained virtually every day. Chi Tang disliked rain. Her mood was especially bad when it rained.
Her headphones were hooked into her ears, but there was no sound. She ripped out the earbuds with one hand, rubbed her painful ears, and sat on the bed for a long time without moving. Until the door rattled and banged, her father attempted and failed to unlock her door and yelled furiously outside: “Why is the door is locked? Hurry up and get ready for class! I have to leave right away.”
“Did you hear what I said, Chi Tang?” The door handle twisted, and the door made a strange noise as if it was about to be smashed.
Chi Tang lied down, put the earbuds back on, and turned on the phone to listen to music. The music became louder and louder, blocking out the outside noise, much as she put music in her earbuds to drown out her parents’ incessant squabbles.
The sound has ceased, but the rain has not, and there is no one in the house; it was quite silent. Chi Tang walked out of the house with her bag on her back. She hated using an umbrella so as she went out into the wind and rain, she put up her hat and covered her head.
Nanlin No. 1 High School Class two, one month after school started, almost everyone in the 50 people class knew each other, almost everyone found friends to play with, and almost everyone had established small groups. However, with so many individuals in a class, it was unavoidable that there will be certain lonely freaks or aliens who are admired by others.
Chi Tang was a member of the former. She transferred to the school a week ago and she was uninterested in making new friends and sat in the back row indifferently and distantly. She had narrow eyelashes, thin lips, a high nasal bridge, and a world-weary sluggishness when she lowered her eyes.
The majority of Class two students were good kids. Because the instructor banned students from bringing mobile phones, few individuals dared to bring them, but Chi Tang had them every day, and she frequently wore headphones to listen to music. It made no difference if she was late for class.
In general, she was a mixed-day student with mediocre grades, but in the first month of the monthly exam, she was in the top ten of the class, and in the top fifty, which was well above the group of fellow residents surrounding her.
In addition to her, there was an outlier in Class 2 who was well-liked by others whose name is You Yu. She joined the school with the second-highest grade in the school at the time of enrollment, and this time became the first in the monthly exam. The opposite of her dazzling achievement was her poverty.
Of course, not all of her classmates came from wealthy households, and some were pretty poor, but it was incredible that she was as poor as she was. Even Chi Tang, who was unconcerned with everything around her, had overheard a lot of the gossip around You Yu.
You Yu was from a small mountain village and being accepted into Nanlin No. 1 High School was nothing short of a miracle. She had a scholarship granting her free tuition and housing.
You Yu wore a round-neck t-shirt that had been washed until its colors faded and curled up the fringe in the school uniform. It had been worn for a long time. A pair of cloth shoes—in this environment where everyone else was using running shoes and leather shoes, just that pair of out-of-date shoes made her wholly distinct from the others.
You Yu was seated near the third row of windows. She was not petite but quite slim. Her long black hair was beautifully braided and tucked behind her ear.
“Oh my God, I can’t handle the thought of living in a dorm with her. I wouldn’t say anything all day. Everyone else in our dorm is the same. When I see her, I don’t want to say anything. There is a pair of fabric shoes that have not been cleaned after being used for so long. You’re aware that she doesn’t even have shampoo, only a bar of soap. She uses soap to wash her hair!”
“Isn’t it awful? How much does it cost to buy a dress, a bottle of shower gel, and a pair of shoes? I can’t believe there are still people who are that poor nowadays. I heard that the school did not provide her with any financial support.”
The girls continued to complain, and Chi Tang became irritated. She lifted her eyes and stared at the two girls close before getting up and going to the restroom.
On their floor, there were far too many people in the restrooms. She disliked standing in line. She would rather travel a little farther south of the classroom building to the restroom, where there were fewer people.
When she walked in, she noticed You Yu washing her hands, the person who had been dissed by her roommate just now. Chi Tang didn’t approach her, nor did she take a close look at her. She unexpectedly bumped into her here, and perhaps because of what she had just heard, she gave her a second glance.
You Yu happened to raise her head, and the two locked eyes. That was the first time Chi Tang had seen You Yu.
You Yu had a set of pretty eyes, very black and well-shaped, but they were too narrow. She was silent and unflinching, just engrossed in her world, doing her silent things.
They didn’t say anything and just walked past.
Chi Tang was a day student who returned home every night. The school experienced a power outage, and the third year of high school was forced to study with candles and lights. Chi Tang rode the bus home, her bag strapped on her back. She was a little motion sick, leaning on the bus seat and closing her eyes to sleep.
A boisterous middle-aged woman was crammed into the vehicle and sat alongside her. Soon after, she coughed and blasted Sang Huai, saying, “The young people don’t know what’s going on now, they’re not courteous, and they won’t give up their seats when the old stand next to them.”
Chi Tang didn’t move as she glanced up at her. She didn’t even move when she arrived at the station where she was supposed to exit. She waited till the woman got out of the car before following her out of the vehicle. Then she shook her bag and walked back slowly.
Her new home was still alien to her. She found the correct house after searching for similar houses for a while and took out the key to unlock the door.
As she inserted the key into the door, she heard the laughter and groans of a woman in the room, as well as her own father’s roaring laughter.
Her father brought a woman home again, and she couldn’t tell if it was the new girlfriend or the young woman. Chi Tang turned around and walked away after retracting the key.
She returned in the dead of night. Even though there was no one in the room, there was always a weird smell in the living room. Chi Tang stood there and vomited, feeling extremely sick and disgusted.
“It’s been a while since school began and y ou’ve just decided you want to live on campus?” Lao Fang, the headteacher, took the application form in his hand. “Are you experiencing any problems? Did your parents agree?”
“I suddenly want to live,” Chi Tang said as he sat back in his chair.
Chi Tang returned to the classroom, this time with the key to Dormitory 501 in his hand.
The girl who had previously made disparaging remarks about the You Yu showed up, “you’ll live in 501, which is my dorm. Unfortunately, there is just one empty bed remaining in our dormitory .”
Her displeasure was palpable as she pointed to You Yu in the front row.
The girl was waiting for her to speak, but Chi Tang didn’t have anything to say. Sh e leaned back in her chair and put in her earbuds.
The girl’s look was a little bleak, and she returned to her seat, only to hear the same girl’s voice, “What are you hoping to do? Is it because your family is wealthy, you don’t look at people all day, and you’re a lady?”
Chi Tang opened the textbook and randomly picked a pen to doodle on it while listening to music through her earbuds.
She wanted to go to the dorms and was not stopped by her father. She only cursed a couple times a day. He most likely thought that his daughter was not present so that he could enjoy the joys of life.
He instantly transferred a sum of money to her, “Go to school to live in. You decide what you want.”
Chi Tang walked to school alone, carrying a luggage. She has lived at the school previously, albeit not for long, and the school dormitory was familiar.
Upper and lower beds, desk drawers, a separate bathroom, laundry area, and a huge bathroom on both sides of the floor are all included in this six-person accommodation.
501, indeed, had one open bed. There was an extra. Her bed was too gloomy in comparison to other people’s Caixin blankets, and there were few objects on it.
Chi Tang merely gave it a cursory glance before arranging her bed and putting the items in the cabinet.
Someone had placed something in her cabinet.
“Whose things are these?” Chi Tang asked.
There was only one person in the dormitory at the time, You Yu, who was carrying her lunch box and eating calmly at the table. She returned her gaze, “It’s Luo Zhengli’s thing,” she said.
Luo Zhengli, the girl who liked to gossip about others behind their backs.
Youyu’s voice was low and somewhat hoarse, and she continued to eat after speaking with no additional emotion.
Chi Tang took everything out and flung it on the table, then put her stuff back in, closed them, and turned around to go eat in the cafeteria. When she returned, she happened to hear Luo Zhengli complaining about her.
“Just toss my things on the table! We used to have a spare in our dorm, but now we have another girl.”
Chi Tang pulled the door open and entered the dormitory, making it quieter. The atmosphere in this dormitory isn’t nice, but it’s better than facing the awful father again.
Chi Tang walked out with the rest after the nighttime self-study. Chi Tang first went to the small shop to buy a bottle of water, unscrewing the cap and taking two swallows. The drink she’d just pulled out of the freezer chilled her stomach all the way to her heart.
As she walked around the field, she noticed that the lights in the classroom windows of the teaching building were progressively going out, until just a few classrooms had lights on.
Their classroom lights were turned on, and a shadow near the window bowed their heads. Chi Tang gave it two glances before realizing it was You Yu. She averted her look and proceeded to the dorm.
The dormitory was buzzing with activity, with people conversing and playing on their phones. Someone had just exited the restroom and was ready to blow dry their hair using a hairdryer.
“First, I’ll take a bath.” When Luo Zhengli saw her walk in, she abruptly terminated the talk, rose up, and said, as if she was scared she would run to take a shower.
Chi Tang took another sip of water and sat on the higher bed and closed her eyes.
At eleven o’clock, the lights in the dormitory were turned off, and she entered the toilet bath at ten forty. Bathing in hot water necessitates the use of a card. Her new campus card, a little bluecard, was loaded with cash.
You Yu returned shortly after having a shower. She set down the book and the exam paper she distributed today and went to the toilet to take a bath. Chi Tang noticed a change of clothes in her hand, an old round-neck T-shirt and a pair of school uniform slacks.
She didn’t pay much attention, but before turning out the lights, she walked back inside the toilet and saw that the floor and walls were moist.
She didn’t pay much attention, but before turning off the lights, she walked back inside the toilet and saw that the floor and walls were damp, there was no heat, and even the nozzle poles were chilly.
You Yu, did you just take a cold shower?
The light had been turned off. Chi Tang returned to her bed with her phone and noticed Yu Yu on the bottom bunk facing the wall. Her hair was still damp.
She laid in an unfamiliar bed, suffering from sleeplessness once more. She put down her phone in a stupor about three o’clock and dozed off over to the relaxing music.
