Chapter 59: Softer than he thought

He was unwilling to even acknowledge his own prayers, but God heard them.

Su Xia didn't wake up, she just rubbed her cheek against her palm and smacked her lips unconsciously.

He clearly didn't intend to touch her again, but Su Xia's head was shaking more and more violently. Her elbow tilted and her forehead was about to hit the table. Xu Jiqing quickly cushioned it with his hand.

The ring finger and little finger of his right hand could not be straightened, and the maximum bending range of his wrist was only 30 degrees, which was no match for a normal person.

The girl's face was chubby, but the weight did not provide any cushioning, causing Xu Jiqing to frown in pain.

After a while, Su Xia struggled to open his eyes a little.

Confused but serious, as if trying to identify something, he asked vaguely, "...Xu Jiqing?"

Xu Jiqing looked at her, his hands still there, and whispered, "Yeah."

Her eyelashes trembled slightly for so long that Xu Jiqing thought she was about to wake up, but she just adjusted her posture, hugged his arms loosely with both hands, closed her eyes and continued to sleep.

The new seat was in the back row against the wall. The boy facing the aisle used a tall bookend to block his view, his school uniform covering his head, and he slept even more soundly than Su Xia.

Occasionally someone coughed, and the classroom was so quiet that the only sound was the turning of pages.

No one's paying attention here.

A half-written physics problem was pressed under the girl's furry pencil case. Xu Jiqing reached around her head with his left hand, gently pulled out the study plan, placed it in front of himself, wrote it line by line, and then put it back intact.

It was a little chilly indoors in early winter. Perhaps it was because he was wearing thin clothes, and the body temperature that came through made Su Xia linger on him. She breathed steadily and almost instinctively moved closer and closer until her cheek was pressed against Xu Jiqing's palm.

Like a defenseless little rabbit.

She rubbed the thin calluses on the palm of his hand, and in an instant the cheek flesh turned red.

Xu Jiqing looked at it for a long time, his Adam's apple rolled slightly, but he couldn't help it. He raised his thumb lightly and touched the earlobe that looked like a jade bead.

Warm.

Softer than he thought.

Xu Jiqing's arm remained there for the entire class.

It was a very awkward angle for him, and the sharp pain caused his forearm to spasm uncontrollably, and cold sweat ran down his back.

But he didn't move until the bell rang and Su Xia opened her eyes.

-

In the last monthly exam of the previous semester, Su Xia's grades had made a significant improvement:

She got 80 points in math.

It was the first time in the history of the world, and it was even a very auspicious number of 88, just two points away from the threshold of 90 points.

After getting her report card home, Su Xiaojuan was so happy that she didn't know what to do. She held it in her hands and touched it left and right, wishing she could frame it and hang it above her bed. "You're so amazing, my girl! If you keep up your current momentum, I think you can even get into a top 985 university!"

"Christmas is coming soon. If you want any reward, Mom will go buy it for you this weekend."

"We can go traveling after the holidays," Su Xiaojuan paused, "I remember you said at the beginning of the year that you wanted to go to a resort hotel in the Maldives to lie down for a few days and wear a nice swimsuit to take some photos."

Su Xiaojuan continued to recall.

Su Xia shook her head and said, "Mom, I don't want to go play anymore."

The living room sofa was huge. She crossed her legs and moved to sit next to Su Xiaojuan. "I signed up for the National Youth Cello Competition. The preliminary rounds are about to start during the winter break. I can't think of anything else right now."

"Teacher Li said that the Central Conservatory of Music will be holding a closed master class soon. The principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic will be attending the class. It will start next Tuesday, and the class will be for two weeks with food and accommodation at the school."

"I want to go."

Su Xiaojuan didn't react for a moment, "Isn't Yangyin in Beijing?"

"It's in Beijing," Su Xia said, "but it's not far. The high-speed rail can get there in five and a half hours."

"Teacher Li is going on a business trip and is taking us with him. Two of the college students that Teacher Li teaches at the Conservatory of Music have already confirmed that they will be going. The three of us can look after each other and it will be safe."

"The price is also reasonable. The public price is 18,000, but from Teacher Li, it only costs—"

"It's not about money," Su Xiaojuan interrupted her, feeling a little bewildered for a moment. "It's almost the end of the semester..."

"If Teacher Ding doesn't agree, I can come back by myself and leave after I finish the exam."

Su Xia's eyes were filled with longing. "Please, Mom, let me go."

From summer vacation to now, she is like a completely different girl.

From studying to practicing, Su Xiaojuan was shocked by her enthusiasm time and time again, not knowing what to say. "You've already made it to the provincial troupe, is this competition that important?"

"Mom doesn't mean to discourage you, but I talked to the teachers at school before. Not only Jiang Normal University, but even Jiangda University doesn't dare to include national competition results in the self-enrollment requirements."

Although Su Xiaojuan dotes on Su Xia, she also knows Su Xia's capabilities.

Jiangda is the best way out she can think of. Everyone knows that the universities above that are good, but the requirements are more difficult than the other. How can her daughter reach them?

Su Xia used to think so too.

There will always be food for her at home, so no matter which university she goes to, she can just have fun for four years and then she can just lay back and relax.

But her past life experience told her that nothing is constant.

If she had an empty head, even if she had a pretty face, even if she was lucky enough to get a golden thigh and marry Xu Jiqing, she could only wait for others to rescue her.

Once you encounter wind and rain, you don’t even have an umbrella with you, which makes you feel helpless.

She took Su Xiaojuan's hand and shook it gently, "But I want to see a wider world, Mom."

"Don't you believe I can get into a 985 university? Then I'll give it a try. What if Su Xia really gets into the best 985 university?"

A winter night after a cold wave passes.

The north wind was blowing fiercely outside the window, the lights inside were soft and warm, and the girl's almond-shaped eyes were dark and moist, reflecting a light she had never seen before.

Su Xiaojuan couldn't bear to pour cold water on her daughter after all, so she pinched her face and said, "Hey... you just calculated that I'm soft-hearted."

"I'll go talk to Teacher Ding. When you return to school on Monday, ask the teacher for all the information and pack your things."

"If you want to go, stay in school. Go wherever Teacher Li tells you to go. Stay close to those two sisters and don't leave them. What do you mean by coming back on your own? You just do whatever you want! What if you get kidnapped by bad guys? I think you'll find a way to piss me off."

"Mom is so nice," Su Xia hugged her neck, nuzzling her warmly like a puppy, sticky as a piece of candy, "I love mom the most. Do you love me?"

She is good at coaxing people.

"You told me whether I love you or not," Su Xiaojuan pinched her chubby little arm, "You're asking me questions even though you already know the answer. Don't try to play tricks on me."