Chapter 14 Tagore's Romance

Nan Xuqiu took it, smiled slightly, and said, "Thank you."

"No, no, you're welcome." Chi Jinjin said nervously, "I should be the one to say thank you. Thanks to you for helping me that day..."

"Thank you, senior!" Chi Jinjin bowed deeply to him.

"You're welcome, Junior Sister Xiaochi." Nan Xuqiu said with a smile.

Chi Jinjin looked up and was once again distracted by his smile.

Until the bell rang in my ears, I suddenly came back to my senses and said hurriedly, "Um, senior, class is about to start. I'm leaving now and won't disturb you anymore."

"Well, go ahead and attend class well." Nan Xuqiu nodded.

Chi Jinjin was overjoyed. She turned around and skipped downstairs.

Nan Xuqiu watched and murmured, "She was being bullied like a poor little thing just a few days ago, and now she's so happy after just a few days? What a forgetful little girl..."

He looked down at the school uniform in his hand.

At noon, Nan Xuqiu was doing math homework. A piece of draft paper was already full of new formulas, so densely packed that it looked like ants crawling on it.

He felt his eyes were a little tired, so he put down his pen and pinched his nose bridge. Then he took out the school uniform jacket from the desk, put it on the table and rested on it.

The clothes she washed had a faint scent of green apples, like the smell of some kind of soap.

This fragrance felt unfamiliar to Nan Xuqiu, but it was inexplicably pleasant. He gradually fell asleep while smelling the fragrance, and slept extremely soundly.

So much so that Nan Xuqiu fell asleep during class.

The teachers would never wake up Nan Xuqiu if he fell asleep in class. On the contrary, if Nan Xuqiu, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened them, the teachers would panic, worrying that they had said something wrong.

On Wednesday, all the teachers in the school had to attend a meeting, so we had half a day off in the afternoon, but we were not allowed to leave the school.

Chi Jinjin took the book and planned to go to the classroom to study.

Suddenly a girl called her.

"Classmate, can you help me move my things?"

The girl asked while holding two large cardboard boxes.

Chi Jinjin nodded, walked up and took one from her.

"Thank you so much, classmate." The girl said gratefully.

Chi Jinjin asked, "Where are these going to be moved to?"

"In the utility room of the Great Hall," the girl replied, adding, "I'll buy you a drink when we move there."

"No, no, no." Chi Jinjin refused embarrassedly.

But the girl said stubbornly, "No, I must treat you. You have helped me so much. If it weren't for you, I would have to move there alone. This drink must be treated to you."

As they were talking, they had already reached the door of the utility room in the Great Hall.

This was Chi Jinjin's first time here. The utility room was in the corner of the auditorium. There was only a small light on the way in, and it was very dim.

Chi Jinjin carried a cardboard box and walked in. The room was filled with basketballs, volleyballs, tables, performance costumes, and all kinds of other messy things. Fortunately, it was quite bright inside and not so dark.

"Classmate, just put your things on that shelf." The girl pointed to her.

"Okay." Chi Jinjin walked to the shelf and put the cardboard box on it.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of a door closing.

Chi Jinjin turned around and saw that the girl who was behind her just now suddenly disappeared.

"Classmate?" Chi Jinjin shouted.

But there was no response.

Instead, there was the sound of a door being locked.

Chi Jinjin suddenly realized something and quickly ran to the door, grabbed the door handle and pulled the door, but the door was locked tightly.

Chi Jinjin leaned on the door, saw the girl through the gap, and left without looking back.

"Hey, don't go, open the door for me! I'm still inside!" Chi Jinjin shouted anxiously, knocking on the door and turning the doorknob hard, but it was all in vain.

"Stop shouting."

Suddenly, a familiar voice came to my ears.

Chi Jinjin looked back and saw Nan Xuqiu coming out from behind a cargo rack. He leaned against the rack and said to her, "She locked you up here on purpose."

"Senior? Why are you here too?" Chi Jinjin was surprised.

Nan Xuqiu replied slowly, "The classroom is too noisy. I wanted to hide here for some peace and quiet. I didn't expect that thanks to you, my schoolmate, I'm now locked up here."

"I'm sorry, senior." Chi Jinjin apologized quickly, "I hurt you."

Nan Xuqiu chuckled and said, "It's okay, it's not your fault."

But Chi Jinjin still felt that it was her fault. If she hadn't trusted others too easily, she wouldn't have gotten him locked up here as well.

She tugged at the door again, trying to pry it open.

But it was no use, because there wasn't even a window here.

What should I do?

Chi Jinjin was extremely anxious.

Nan Xuqiu, however, was calm and said calmly, "Don't worry so much. Someone will definitely notice you're not here during evening study."

After hearing his words, Chi Jinjin thought so too, and her panicked heart gradually calmed down.

"Senior, you are right. I was so anxious that I accidentally forgot about this." Chi Jinjin scratched his head embarrassedly.

Nan Xuqiu smiled and said, "Come sit over here."

He turned and walked inside.

Chi Jinjin followed carefully.

There were a few benches inside and a large, broken blackboard.

Nan Xuqiu threw the book in his hand onto the table beside him, took out a piece of chalk from the chalk box next to him, walked to the blackboard and started writing.

It was very quiet all around, so quiet that the sound of chalk sliding on the blackboard was extremely obvious.

Chi Jinjin's eyes fell on the book on the table.

"Senior, is this a work by Tagore?" Chi Jinjin suddenly asked.

Nan Xuqiu stopped writing, turned his head to look at her, and asked, "Do you know Tagore?"

"I know a little about him. I only know that he is an Indian poet. His poetic style has had a significant impact on modern Chinese literature. He is the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He also inspired a generation of literary masters such as Guo Moruo, Xu Zhimo, and Xie Wanying." Chi Jinjin said cautiously, fearing that he would say something wrong and make a fool of himself.

Nan Xuqiu nodded and said with a smile, "You know, there are quite a lot. This is not just a little bit. Have you read his works?"

Chi Jinjin shook her head and said embarrassedly, "No, I just heard this from the teacher before."

"But, senior, do you like Tagore very much?" Chi Jinjin asked curiously.

Nan Xuqiu nodded.

"Then, senior, why do you like Tagore's poems?" Chi Jinjin was puzzled.

Nan Xuqiu sat down casually on the ground and said to her, "I like the distinct patriotism and democratic spirit in his poetry, as well as the optimism and romance it implies, and his unique understanding. He believes that the world is developing towards absolute goodness and firmly believes that evil will eventually transform into good. We suffer because we feel limited, but this is not fixed and not final. The same is true for joy. Good and evil are not absolute."

"No wonder he wrote the poem 'The world kisses me with pain, and I repay it with song.'" Chi Jinjin sighed and asked, "Tagore has so many poems. Which one is your favorite, senior?"

Nan Xuqiu stood up, picked up the book on the table, beckoned to her and said, "Come here."

Chi Jinjin came to his side.

Nan Xuqiu flipped the book open and pointed to a passage: "One night, I reclaimed all my memories, and from then on my dreams became transparent. One morning, I threw away all yesterdays, and from then on, my steps became light." As the long day draws near, I stand before you. You will see my scars, knowing that I have been hurt and healed.

"I like this sentence." Nan Xuqiu said.

Chi Jinjin carefully examined the words, then turned to ask him, "Senior, I know why you like his poetry. Is it because his words have a kind of power, a wisdom in their simplicity, which can bring out boundless strength in people's hearts and help them face the uncertainties of life?"

Nan Xuqiu nodded, smiled, and said happily, "That's right, his poems always make people feel hopeful."

"I heard that Tagore could compose long poems and hymn collections at the age of 13. Is that true?" Chi Jinjin asked excitedly like a curious student.

"Yes, he's amazing, a natural born poet." Nan Xuqiu said admiringly, but suddenly asked Chi Jinjin, "Don't you find it boring when I say this?"

"Boring? No? Why would it be boring?" Chi Jinjin was confused and puzzled. She found it very interesting.

Nan Xuqiu lowered his head to look at the book in his hands and said, "I told this to someone before, but she thought it was boring and had no interest in listening. To her, cosmetics, shoes, clothes, backpacks and wine seemed more interesting, so I thought you girls don't like this too much..."

Chi Jinjin explained to him carefully, "No, in fact, girls are more changeable than boys, just like flowers. There are millions of kinds of flowers in this world, they have different colors and shapes. Some are pure white, some are noble and elegant, some are blue and gentle, and some are red and gorgeous. They are all different, but no matter what color or shape they are, they are all beautiful."

Nan Xuqiu turned his head to look at her and suddenly asked, "Do you want to hear me... tell more stories about Tagore?"

"I do!" Chi Jinjin said immediately, but then realized that she seemed too eager and not reserved at all, so she hurriedly said, "If you are free, I would like to listen..."

"We're locked up here anyway." Nan Xuqiu sat down on the table, patted the seat next to him, and motioned her to sit over.

Chi Jinjin supported herself on the table, jumped onto it and sat down obediently.

Nan Xuqiu slowly told her the story about Tagore.

Chi Jinjin grabbed the edge of the table with both hands, turned her head to look at Nan Xuqiu, and listened with great interest.

After Nan Xuqiu finished talking to her, he asked Chi Jinjin to read his book.

Later, he even moved his seat and sat closer to Chi Jinjin. They both took the book and read together, discussing the mysteries in every sentence.

For a moment, the utility room was filled with the cheerful laughter of Chi Jinjin and Nan Xuqiu.

Chi Jinjin gradually forgot that she was locked up here. She carefully analyzed the poems and exchanged her views with Nan Xuqiu.

Nan Xuqiu nodded slightly while listening carefully to her opinions and ideas. He didn't even notice the smile on his face, it had been there for a long time.

Nan Xuqiu never expected that after all these years, the person who could discuss poetry with him so happily would be a girl, and a junior high school girl at that.

But he had to admit that this junior sister had her own ideas, and her thoughts on Tagore's poetry were strangely consistent with his own...

"Song Ci!"

Tang Shi stormed into Song Ci's classroom angrily, grabbed him by the collar, and demanded, "Where's Jin Jin? Where did you take my Jin Jin?"

"Are you sick? How do I know where she is?" Song Ci was puzzled.

Tang Shi cursed, "Stop pretending! Aren't you the one playing some shady trick again?"

"You're talking nonsense!" Song Ci pointed at her, but remembering what happened last time, he quickly withdrew his hand and said, "I didn't do anything. Don't blame me!"

"Um... that's right, Tang Xuemei." Ji Yang, who was standing by, looked at the two people arguing with each other and said, "I promise this time, he really didn't do anything and was just sleeping the whole time."

Tang Shi glared at Song Ci's face and really wanted to punch him, but thinking that Chi Jinjin's matter was more important, she had to let go of his hand and said to him, "It better not be you. If you let others bully my Jinjin again, I will never let you go!"

With that, Tang Shi slammed the door and left.

Song Ci said in shock and anger, "How dare this woman warn me?"

"Then...what do you want to do?" Ji Yang asked with a smile.

Song Ci thought of Tang Shi's look just now. She was angry but also anxious. It was the first time he saw anxiety on her face.

"Go and check if anyone was messing with that pool today, or if anyone has seen her." Song Ci said to Ji Yang.

Ji Yang asked curiously, "Are you...wanting to help Tang Xuemei find someone?"

"How could I help her!" Song Ci immediately retorted, muttering, "I'm just afraid of Lao Nan. Don't you think Lao Nan is a little protective of Na Chi?"

Ji Yang nodded, touched his chin, and said, "It seems so..."

Chi Jinjin and Nan Xuqiu didn't know how long they had been chatting when suddenly the door behind them was flung open.

Hearing the noise, Chi Jinjin and Nan Xuqiu looked back and saw Tang Shi rushing in, followed by Song Ci and Ji Yang.

When the three saw the two, all five of them were stunned for a moment.

Chi Jinjin didn't expect Tang Shi to come. Tang Shi was surprised to see Chi Jinjin and Nan Xuqiu together, and they were sitting so close to each other.

"Tang Shi!" Chi Jinjin jumped off the table and ran to her, saying in surprise, "Why are you here?"

"They found out that you were locked up here, so I came to save you. Are you okay?" Tang Shi thought of something and hurried to see if she was injured.

Chi Jinjin hurriedly shook her head and said, "I'm fine."

"Lao Nan, why are you here too?" Song Ci really didn't expect this. No wonder there was no one else in the classroom and he didn't even take his cell phone from the table.

Nan Xuqiu came over and said, "Like her, I'm locked up here."

The girl who lied to Chi Jinjin at the door turned pale when she saw Nan Xuqiu was there too.

She never thought that Nan Xuqiu would be locked up.