Chapter 25

◎I'll do the cleaning duty◎

The next day, when Zhan Xinyue arrived at the classroom, before she could even ask Xie Wanzhi about Shi Ziqian, Xie Wanzhi approached her and said, "Xinyue, why did you walk so fast after school last night? You even forgot your cleaning duty."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Xinyue turned her head and saw a weekly duty roster handwritten by Dai Yun in the corner of the blackboard at the back of the classroom. Sure enough, yesterday's box contained her and Xie Wanzhi's names.

She then remembered that the class seemed to have a rotating duty system. However, since only two people were assigned each day, it was a long time before it was her turn, so she barely remembered it. Zhou Yiyun seemed to have reminded her once after writing the duty roster, but she hadn't really paid attention.

“I forgot,” Zhan Xinyue said. “Were you the last one to do it?”

Xie Wanzhi paused for a moment, glanced at the empty seat next to Zhan Xinyue, and said, "There's not much work to do, I'll finish it in a bit."

Her nonchalant attitude only made Zhan Xinyue more reluctant to owe her such a favor. After thinking for a moment, she said, "How about this, next time it's our turn to do chores, you don't need to stay behind, I can do it all by myself."

"Let's not be so formal with each other," Xie Wanzhi said, putting his arm around her shoulder. "It's nothing, no big deal."

Lu Meng turned his head and looked at her with admiration: "You are truly a modern-day Lei Feng! Speaking of which, Comrade Lei Feng, I'm on duty tomorrow night, what do you think..."

"Get lost!" Xie Wanzhi picked up a book and tapped him on the head. "If you were a man, you would have said that you would take over all our cleaning duties from now on."

While dodging, Lu Meng shamelessly said, "When did I ever say I was a man? Comrade, I'm only 17 years old this year, still a boy."

"Ugh, how disgusting!" Xie Wanzhi and Xin Wenhua both gagged at the same time.

After a while of bickering, Xie Wanzhi glanced quickly at the seat next to Zhan Xinyue, her eyes somewhat unfocused.

Actually, she wasn't the only one doing her duty last night.

After class last night, Xie Wanzhi finally finished the last big question on her worksheet, biting her pen as she slowly worked. She stretched and then suddenly remembered something, turning around to call out, "Xinyue, don't forget today...wait, where is she?"

Every evening after class, two people are required to clean the classroom. That night, it was her and Zhan Xinyue's turn to clean. This arrangement was something they had secretly arranged with the class monitor beforehand, specifically to have the two of them do the same thing on the same day.

There weren't many people left in the classroom. Zhan Xinyue's seat was empty, not a soul in sight, except for Shi Ziqian sitting next to her.

Xie Wanzhi couldn't believe her eyes: "Where did this person go? Did he leave?"

She had originally thought that although Zhan Xinyue's right hand was not convenient, she could at least wipe the blackboard and sweep the floor to share some of the workload, and she could do other things, so the two of them could finish quickly. But if Zhan Xinyue wasn't there, she would have to do these tasks by herself for quite a while.

Undeterred, she walked toward Zhan Xinyue's seat. As she approached, she saw Shi Ziqian still in his seat, unusually seemingly lost in thought.

Xie Wanzhi slowed her pace and walked over somewhat awkwardly. Shi Ziqian rested his chin on one hand, his slightly lowered eyes with dark eyelashes, exuding a cold indifference that kept people at a distance.

She hesitated for a moment, then peeked at Zhan Xinyue's table again.

The books on Zhan Xinyue's desk were all closed, and her pencil case was pulled along; she had clearly really left.

In no time, the few people who had been lingering in the classroom had all left. Xie Wanzhi looked around the classroom and saw that Xin Wenhua and Lu Meng had also slipped away long ago. There wasn't a single strong person left to catch.

"Sigh, well, I can't rely on anyone." She muttered to herself, "I'd better do it myself, my life is so miserable."

After saying that, she looked at the desks scattered haphazardly across the classroom and couldn't help but feel annoyed. She reached out and angrily flipped over the books on Zhan Xinyue's desk, muttering under her breath, "I'm speechless. What kind of memory does she have? She even forgets her cleaning duty. How am I supposed to finish all this by myself..."

Beside her, Shi Ziqian, who had been reading a book, slowly turned his head and looked at her with an ambiguous expression.

Under the bright incandescent light, the features of an already stunning face became even clearer and more defined.

She instinctively fell silent.

He had already closed the book and stood up. He was tall, and his imposing presence when he stood up caused Xie Wanzhi to involuntarily lean back.

“I’ll do it,” Shi Ziqian said.

Xie Wanzhi opened her mouth and softly said "Ah".

The classroom was empty, with both the front and back doors wide open, and the cicadas outside chirping louder and louder in the summer night.

Shi Ziqian stood in front of her, looking down at her. His eyelashes were very dark, and when he gazed at something, he always gave people a feeling of extreme concentration.

"I'll do the duty," he said again.

Xie Wanzhi was a little dazed. She smoothed her hair and asked in a low voice, unsure, "You mean, you want to do chores with me?"

"Okay." Shi Ziqian was still looking at her. "What do you need to do? Let's divide it up."

Xie Wanzhi felt a little dazed until Shi Ziqian half-rolled up his sleeves and stood in front of the podium, ready to erase the blackboard.

Shi Ziqian actually offered to help her with her chores?

It sounds unbelievable.

Did Dai Yun assign him to the class duty roster before? She couldn't quite remember, but she really couldn't imagine what it would be like for someone like Shi Ziqian, who looked like he never lifted a finger, to be on duty.

There was no one else in the classroom. Shi Ziqian hadn't said a word since then and went to the podium. Xie Wanzhi stood at the back of the classroom, quietly observing his back.

Xie Wanzhi actually disliked erasing the blackboard. Every time, she would get covered in chalk dust, and she always had to move a chair and stand on it to reach the top edge of the blackboard.

Shi Ziqian, of course, didn't need to. He didn't even need to fully straighten his hand when holding the blackboard eraser, and he quickly wiped most of it off in a few strokes. She could see tiny specks of dust spreading from the front row in the air, and she wondered if he also subconsciously held his breath while erasing the blackboard.

When he put down the blackboard eraser and turned around, Xie Wanzhi quickly lowered her head. She had just said she was in charge of sweeping and mopping, but she hadn't moved an inch for a long time.

There was a small bucket at the back of the classroom. When she went to get the broom, she noticed that someone had been on duty yesterday and hadn't emptied the bucket of dirty water. The unwashed rags were floating on the water, looking like bloated corpses, and they gave off a disgusting vibe.

Shi Ziqian had already stepped down from the podium and was walking towards the back of the classroom.

Xie Wanzhi quickly wrinkled her nose and muttered under her breath, trying to hide her embarrassment at not having done any work in half a day: "Who is so rude? They used a rag but didn't wash it. So annoying."

After thinking for a moment, she said, "They definitely didn't do a good job yesterday. I'll let them wash it themselves tomorrow morning, and we'll just leave it to them."

Shi Ziqian didn't reply. As he passed by her, he reached out and pulled out the dirty rag, wrung it out a little, and then picked up the bucket and left the classroom.

"Ah, it's too dirty, let me do it..." Xie Wanzhi added in vain behind him, but received no response.

After he left, Xie Wanzhi looked around the empty classroom and suddenly felt a little lost about what to do.

The broom was left in the corner. She looked at it, then finally picked it up and started sweeping.

A few students were washing mops in the bathroom. Shi Ziqian stood at the very edge, first emptied the dirty water from the bucket, and then started washing the rag.

The dark rag took a long time to rinse under the tap before its original color could be slightly seen. It looked like it hadn't just been left unwashed yesterday; it had been sitting there soaking for who knows how many days.

A dull pain shot through Shi Ziqian's fingers after they touched the dirty black water on the rag. He wrung out the rag and draped it aside, then rinsed his hands under the running water.

The stinging pain from the burn marks on my fingers, washed away by the running water, rekindled memories of the rooftop and her nonchalant words from that time.

Shi Ziqian stared at the flowing water for a long time.

His reflection in the mirror, bathed in dim light, showed a deep, blank stare, just like his own.

After Shi Ziqian left, Xie Wanzhi had been in a daze, sweeping the floor half-heartedly. When she suddenly caught a glimpse of Shi Ziqian's figure flashing past the window, she quickly bent down and began to sweep the floor seriously.

Shi Ziqian carried clean water into the classroom and returned to the podium to wipe the blackboard a second time with a damp cloth.

Shi Ziqian's demeanor was far too refined, unlike someone who would do such menial tasks. Surprisingly, he worked incredibly fast, even quite efficiently. He finished wiping the blackboard in no time, and then quickly cleaned all the classroom windows, even the small panes of glass on the doors.

There were only the two of them in the classroom, and the surroundings were quiet, with only the soft sounds of them working being heard.

The two remained silent. Xie Wanzhi only dared to glance at Shi Ziqian's back a few times between sweeping, secretly pondering his words about helping her with her chores. She then worked even slower.

By the time she finally finished sweeping and was about to wash the mop, Shi Ziqian had already returned after washing the rag again, and was calling to her from afar at the front door:

"Is there anything else to do?"

He stood in the doorway, his posture as upright as a pine tree, his features cold and aloof. Behind him was the deep night, his voice still cold, yet the night breeze gave it a softer, almost ethereal quality.

Xie Wanzhi met his gaze, and when she opened her mouth, she felt as if her tongue was tied in knots, and she stammered, "It seems...it seems like nothing's wrong. I'll just mop the floor again in a bit, you can..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shi Ziqian nodded, turned around, and disappeared through the door.