Chapter 14

"A cell phone?" Xie's mother was taken aback at first, then laughed heartily, "Oh, I thought it was something serious! It's normal for students to have cell phones these days, it makes communication convenient. Sure, as long as you improve, Mom will buy you one!"

"What do you know!" Xie's father frowned, glanced disapprovingly at his wife, and turned to his son, his tone serious, "Xiao Yan, now is the most crucial time for the college entrance examination. Buy a cell phone? What if he gets addicted to that thing? So many children have been ruined by cell phones! You know our family's situation. Your mother and I work hard from dawn till dusk to support your studies. It's not easy. You can't be distracted at this critical juncture."

Xie Qingyan's eyes were earnest: "Dad, Mom, don't worry. I don't want the phone to play with. I promise you, it will never affect my studies."

He took a deep breath: "Now, a lot of study materials and past exam paper explanations are easily found online. Besides, once I'm in university, I'll need a mobile phone to contact teachers and classmates for many things. Most importantly..."

The image of Jiang Ci being taken away flashed through his mind again, and his tone became lower but more resolute: "Like today, Jiang Ci suddenly had something to do at home and left in a hurry. In the future, if any of my classmates have any emergencies or need to communicate urgently about their studies, having a mobile phone will always make things more timely. I don't want to wait passively like this anymore, unable to do anything."

The worry and helplessness in his last few words touched Xie's father. He silently ate a few mouthfuls of rice, and the image of his son returning home that evening, pretending to be fine but actually preoccupied, seemed to reappear before his eyes, as did the boy named Jiang Ci, whose melancholy eyes were incongruous with his age when he occasionally came to the house.

Mother Xie glanced at her husband, then at her son, and tried to smooth things over, saying, "What the child said makes sense. We've all seen how sensible and hardworking Xiao Yan has been lately. Since he made a promise, let's trust him this once. Besides, if it really interferes with his studies, we can take the phone back!"

Mr. Xie finally sighed, looking at his son with mixed feelings. His eyes held worry and expectation, and he finally realized that his son was growing up rapidly and had something he needed to protect.

"Alright. It's your decision." Mr. Xie finally nodded, making the final decision. "If you make a big improvement after the results and rankings of this mock exam come out, Dad will buy it for you."

"Thank you, Dad! Thank you, Mom!" His heart, which had been hanging in suspense, suddenly felt at ease, and a surge of warmth mixed with hope and responsibility coursed through his body. Xie Qingyan knew that he wanted more than just a phone; he wanted to pull Jiang Ci out of the mire.

After dinner, Xie Qingyan returned to his room. On his desk, the draft paper left by Jiang Ci lay quietly open. He ran his fingertips over the words, as if he could touch another lonely but outstanding soul through them.

In his past life, he was powerless to resist the dark forces behind his back. In this life, having foreseen the malice of fate, he will not allow it to succeed again. Not out of mere gratitude or sympathy, but because they are the same kind of people—those who still try to shine in the darkness.

——

The day after the mock exam was National Day.

This year, the National Day holiday is combined with the Mid-Autumn Festival, resulting in an 8-day holiday. However, the senior students at No. 9 Middle School only have a 5-day holiday.

Early in the morning, before dawn, Xie Qingyan went out with her parents.

The early autumn mornings were already chilly, but the vegetable garden was a hive of activity. Xie's parents worked swiftly, harvesting, bundling, and washing the vegetables, while Xie Qingyan was responsible for carrying and loading them onto the truck. He didn't complain at all; instead, he felt a sense of peace amidst the repetitive physical labor. Sweat soaked his clothes, and his fingertips were covered in mud—this was the most authentic part of life, the foundation that allowed him to focus on his studies.

After finishing her business at the morning market, it was already past eight o'clock. While wiping her sweat, Xie's mother took out a small cloth bag from her old cloth bag, opened it layer by layer, and inside was a neatly stacked wad of banknotes.

"Come on, Xiao Yan," Xie's mother said, pulling her son toward the bus stop. "Mom will take you to that electronics market in the city center, and we'll buy you a cell phone!"

Xie Qingyan stopped in her tracks, gently pushing her mother's hand back towards the money, her eyes clear and firm: "Mom, thank you. But we agreed last night that we'd buy it after the mock exam results came out and I really improved. The results haven't been released yet, so I can't take it first."

"This child, still being so particular about this with family!" Xie's mother scolded playfully, but her eyes were filled with satisfaction. "Mom believes you can definitely improve! What difference does it make whether we buy it sooner or later? You can use it first, and it will be more convenient for you to look up information."

“It’s different, Mom.” Xie Qingyan shook his head, his tone gentle but unwavering. “A promise is a promise. Besides, I want to use this result to prove to you and Dad that your son’s efforts deserve this reward. Can we wait a little longer?”

Listening from the side, Xie's father patted his son on the shoulder and said to his wife, "It's a good thing that our son has such ambition and principles. Let's do as he says."

Only then did Xie's mother give up. She carefully put the money away, but then took out a few coins and stuffed them into Xie Qingyan's hand: "Alright, whatever you say. You must be hungry after a busy morning. Take this money and go to the breakfast shop up ahead to get something good to eat. Also, buy some steamed buns and soy milk for the family. Your father and I will clean up these rotten vegetable leaves."

Xie Qingyan took the money, a warm feeling washing over him. He did as instructed and walked towards the popular breakfast shop not far away.

The shop was bustling with activity, filled with the aroma of food. Xie Qingyan packed breakfast for his parents, found a corner against the wall, and quietly ate his bowl of hot soy milk and fried dough sticks. The memories of the original owner of this body about the taste of this shop, mixed with his current tired yet fulfilled feeling, gave him a greater sense of belonging to this world.

Just then, the conversation between two boys at the next table drifted into his ears.

"...Finally, we've made it through! You wouldn't believe it, when Jiang Ci was around, that number one spot was practically glued to him, there was no way to shake it." A bespectacled boy munched on a steamed bun, his tone a mix of wistfulness and relief.

“Isn’t that right?” another boy with a buzz cut chimed in, his voice slightly louder and tinged with exaggerated mockery. “But it’s good that he’s gone now. You didn’t see how he was afterwards, all gloomy and creepy, the way he looked at people was terrifying. I heard he even got into a fight with people from outside the school? Tsk tsk, a top student turned into a school bully, what a disgrace.”

Xie Qingyan's fingers, gripping the chopsticks, suddenly tightened. Jiang Ci. This name instantly captured all his attention.

"Sigh, it's all his own fault." The bespectacled man lowered his voice, but couldn't hide the gossip in his words. "Such a good student, but he had to like men, and he made it known to the whole school. His father is such a proud man, it's already a favor that he didn't break his legs, and transferring him to another school is already saving face for him."

"I heard he likes that senior Chen from the student council? No way, doesn't senior Chen have a girlfriend? Jiang Ci is too..." The man with the buzz cut revealed an expression that was a mixture of disdain and curiosity. "No wonder senior Chen later publicly distanced himself from him, saying that he only gave him some pointers because he had good grades. He didn't expect that Jiang Ci would be misled... That's a slap in the face. Jiang Ci stopped coming to school altogether after that, probably because he was too ashamed to face anyone."

"That's why I said it's cleaner to leave," the bespectacled boy concluded. "The atmosphere in the class is so good now, and we have something to strive for in order to be number one."

"Do you know which school he transferred to?" the man with the buzz cut asked.

"I don't know. It's said that the Jiang family doesn't allow the school to disclose this information. I think so too. With such a scandal, the Jiang family would probably want to send him abroad. If Jiang Ci were still in the city, I'd sneak into my uncle's office to check his city ranking after the mock exam results come out."

"You're really resourceful, but I bet Jiang Ci wouldn't dare reveal his true grades, otherwise how would he have gotten through his senior year of high school?"

The two then started talking about new competition problems, and the topic gradually shifted.

Xie Qingyan sat there, the soy milk in the bowl had gone cold. He slowly put down his chopsticks, his fingertips icy cold.

Those words, like poisoned shards of ice, crashed into his heart. He seemed to see a clearer, yet more heartbreaking, Jiang Ci—

He once shone brightly, standing atop the clouds; but because he was exploited, publicly executed, and used as gossip and a stain by everyone, he fell from his pedestal and became stained with mud. His classmates were glad he left, as if a speck of dust had been brushed away.

So the truth behind his transfer was so unbearable. So the public pressure behind his transfer was far more cruel than imagined. So his prickly demeanor and the despair hidden deep in his eyes were built brick by brick.

Anger, heartache, and a profound, sympathetic sorrow welled up in Xie Qingyan's chest. In his past life, his talent and life were destroyed by the jealousy of his friend. In this life, Jiang Ci's purity and talent were almost ruined by the manipulation of others and the cold indifference of the world.

They were all pushed into the abyss by the people they trusted most, at the very age when they should have been blossoming.