Chapter 36 I also want to earn money to support you
Chapter 36
With the start of the school year fast approaching, it would be a lie to say Yu Pan isn't anxious.
He agreed to go to school himself, but when the crucial moment arrived, Yu Pan couldn't sleep well for several days in a row.
Every time he closes his eyes, those deeply buried memories float up. Several blurry figures surround him, their mouths opening and closing, mimicking his inability to speak, pointing at him and laughing.
She couldn't eat or sleep well, and in just a few days, Yu Pan's face visibly lost its previous rosy glow, and her chin even became a bit pointed.
Shen Yanzhou felt heartbroken seeing this, but he never said anything. Starting from the end of August, whenever he had free time in the afternoon, he would drive Yu Pan to the high school she was going to attend to familiarize her with the environment.
The school gate is very grand, with a tall wrought iron gate and stone pillars on both sides that three people cannot encircle. Inside, there is a slope, with a wall on the left at the top of the slope and a five-story teaching building on the right.
The first floor of the teaching building has a passageway in the middle, through which there is a large lawn, with a pavilion and a rockery in the middle.
This is a completely different world from the mud-brick school in Xishan Village that Yu Pan remembers, where the playground was made of yellow earth and the mud houses were full of mud when it rained.
Yu Pan looked most closely at the dormitory building, wondering if it was like the large dormitory-style room Shen Yanzhou used to live in during high school. Unfortunately, school hadn't started yet, and the dormitory doors and windows were tightly closed, so she couldn't see anything.
Seeing his curious look, Shen Yanzhou teased him, "Panpan, you're looking so closely, do you want to experience communal living? How about I arrange accommodation for you?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Pan immediately shook her head vigorously, grabbing Shen Yanzhou's arm, "No! Absolutely not!"
Why would he give up his comfortable bed at home to squeeze into a dorm? No way. At home, he could watch TV and had Shen Yanzhou; what was there in the dorm?
What's meant to happen will happen. On the first day of school, Yu Pan woke up before the alarm clock rang. She lay in bed hugging her blanket, gritting her teeth and sighing. She was filled with regret.
He even considered whether he could back out at the last minute, plead with Shen Yanzhou, and cry his eyes out that he wouldn't go. But he only thought about it and didn't say it out loud.
Yu Pan ate breakfast slowly, got into Shen Yanzhou's car, and went to school with Tan Bai, who was yawning next to her.
As soon as I arrived at the school gate, a man wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt came up to me.
"Mr. Shen." The man's attitude was very polite.
Shen Yanzhou nodded in response. He turned around, straightened Yu Pan's collar (which wasn't too disheveled), and instructed, "This is Director Liu. You should follow him... Panpan."
Shen Yanzhou paused, then lowered his voice, "Remember what I said. If you don't feel well at school, ask your teacher to call me, and I'll come pick you up right away."
Yu Pan nodded vigorously, "Brother, remember to pick me up after school."
"I'll definitely remember." Shen Yanzhou ruffled his hair.
Seeing Yu Pan's pitiful figure, turning back every few steps, Shen Yanzhou felt bad too.
If Yu Pan were to throw a tantrum right now and say she wasn't going, he'd probably take her home without a second thought.
-
As he walked further and further away, Yu Pan gradually lost sight of Shen Yanzhou behind him, and felt a sense of emptiness in his heart. He could only look at Tan Bai, who was walking beside him, and saw that Tan Bai also had a tense face, his lips were tightly pursed, and his eyes were somewhat blank.
Yu Pan was a little confused about her own feelings. Seeing Tan Bai like this, she felt inexplicably relaxed.
They were eventually taken to the senior two teachers' office by Director Liu and handed over to their homeroom teacher, Teacher Mao.
Ms. Mao is a female teacher with a neat short haircut and a very cheerful smile.
Looking at the two tall, long-legged young men in front of her, who were clearly nervous, Mao Qin smiled and said, "Yu Pan, Tan Bai, right? Don't be nervous. Our classmates are all easy to get along with. Come on, I'll take you to the classroom."
The classroom was the first one near the stairwell on the third floor. Yu Pan and Tan Bai followed Mao Qin like tails.
Upon entering the classroom, dozens of curious eyes turned to look at her. Yu Pan's palms sweated and her heart raced.
Mao Qin asked them to give a brief self-introduction. Tan Bai said, "My name is Tan Bai," and then fell silent.
Yu Pan took a deep breath, trying to ignore the stares that were scrutinizing her, and told herself to speak slowly and not to rush, "Hello everyone, my name is Yu Pan."
Although her voice wasn't loud, she managed to finish speaking smoothly without stuttering. Yu Pan gave herself a score of 99 out of 100.
He and Tan Bai naturally became deskmates, sitting in the middle group towards the back. This was perfect for Yu Pan, at least he had an acquaintance next to him.
The first class was a class meeting, where Mao Qin mainly talked about the arrangements for the new semester, the division of cleaning duties, and class goals.
Yu Pan was a little confused, but she still carefully wrote down what the teacher said.
As soon as the bell rang, several outgoing students gathered around and started talking to them.
Yu Pan had never experienced such a scene before, and her face immediately tightened. Under the table, she tugged hard at Tan Bai's clothes.
Although Tan Bai was also awkward, he managed to maintain the composure and answered with a forced smile.
"Hey, are you two from the same place?"
"Um."
"Where are they all from?"
Baixi Town.
"Oh...never heard of it, is it far away?"
"Um."
Do you live nearby?
"..."
At noon, the two were relieved and walked quickly to the school gate. Sure enough, Shen Yanzhou's car was already parked where they had gotten off that morning.
On the way back, Shen Yanzhou occasionally glanced at Yu Pan and saw that he was just a little listless and his expression was relatively calm. He didn't seem to have cried or be particularly sad, so he was a little relieved.
After lunch, Yu Pan took his usual short nap. Shen Yanzhou watched him go into the bedroom, then caught Tan Bai, who was about to sneak home, and asked in a low voice, "Xiao Bai, how was the morning? Is Panpan alright?"
Tan Bai frowned and seriously recalled the events of the morning. Apart from tugging at his clothes, Yu Pan did not show any unusual behavior, so he said with certainty, "No difference, just the same."
Shen Yanzhou: "...Alright, as long as nothing's wrong."
-
The first few days of school were pure torture for Yu Pan. He could manage to concentrate during class, but as soon as class ended, he would become restless.
She dared not leave her seat, and had to drag Tan Bai along to the toilet, fearing everything that she had to face alone.
Although Tan Bai felt awkward, he tolerated it because Yu Pan was even more timid than him.
The school bell that rang every day became the sound Yu Pan looked forward to the most, like heavenly music.
He had even thought about not going more than once, figuring that Shen Yanzhou wouldn't blame him and would even comfort and coax him. But every time he saw Shen Yanzhou's smiling eyes after school, he just couldn't bring himself to say it.
Tan Bai adapted much faster, making friends in less than a week and occasionally running out to play during breaks.
Sometimes, when Yu Pan looked at Tan Bai's back as he walked arm in arm with others, she didn't know whether she felt envious or disappointed, or perhaps both.
As he was gazing at the clouds in the sky, lost in thought, he suddenly felt someone touch his arm.
Yu Pan was startled and suddenly came to her senses. She saw the boy in the front seat, who always wore glasses and was quiet, turn around and look at her a little embarrassedly.
His heart was still pounding, and his voice trembled slightly. "Is...is something wrong?"
Xu Rui pushed up his glasses and said softly, "Yu Pan, can I borrow your eraser? I think I forgot to bring mine."
"Yes, yes, that's fine." Yu Pan quickly rummaged through her pencil case, took out an eraser, and handed it over.
"Thanks." Xu Rui took the eraser, smiled shyly, and turned back.
Perhaps it was this brief but successful exchange that finally made Yu Pan, the snail who always stayed in his shell, try to extend his antennae a little bit.
Xu Rui was a quiet boy like him, but he was a bit forgetful. After that, they would occasionally discuss their homework, go to the hot water room together during breaks, and sometimes stand quietly side by side in the corridor to enjoy the scenery.
Both of them were quiet and unassuming, making it effortless for Yu Pan to get along with them, yet Yu Pan experienced a feeling she had never felt before.
In this campus, he now has someone, besides Tan Bai, he can talk to for a little while.
-
Shen Yanzhou keenly noticed that Yu Pan seemed to have changed recently. It wasn't that her personality had changed, but rather that she was preparing for school much faster.
Before, his dawdling in the mornings made it obvious he didn't want to go to school. Now, although he still sometimes lingers in bed, he packs his schoolbag, puts on his shoes, and leaves the house much more quickly. That visibly strong resistance to school has also diminished considerably.
Yu Pan would often talk to Shen Yanzhou about school, but he preferred to only share good news and not bad news. He didn't want Shen Yanzhou to worry, and most of the things he talked about were unrelated to himself.
Shen Yanzhou listened without asking any questions.
Soon, on a Monday evening, the two were snuggled on the sofa watching TV. Yu Pan leaned against Shen Yanzhou's chest and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. "Brother, I made friends at school."
"Mmm." Shen Yanzhou kissed the corner of his lips. "Great, you've made a friend. Panpan is really amazing."
-
School time always flies by, and they are about to have their first monthly exam of the first semester of their second year of high school.
The exam results were a mixed bag for Yu Pan, a rollercoaster of emotions.
The good thing is that Yu Pan achieved first place in her class and third place in the grade in Chinese, and her composition was even used as a model essay by the teacher and posted in the study corner.
The bad thing is that his combined scores in math, physics, and chemistry didn't even exceed 100, and he even ranked last in math among all students.
The math teacher was a short-tempered old man. Looking at the report card, he angrily called out Yu Pan's name in class, "Yu Pan! Stand up! Tell me, what's wrong with you? Huh? You did so well in Chinese, but you only got 28 points in math? Is that acceptable?"
At this moment, the eyes of the whole class were focused on him, but they were no longer all curiosity and goodwill. They were mixed with all sorts of ambiguous scrutiny, and even a few sneers.
Yu Pan's face instantly turned bright red, and all the blood rushed to his head. He lowered his head tightly, wishing he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
For Yu Pan, he could accept his terrible grades, but he couldn't bear the embarrassment of being publicly questioned by the teacher.
That day after school, with Tan Bai in the car, Yu Pan forced back her tears and remained silent all the way home. As soon as the door closed, Yu Pan could no longer hold back and hugged Shen Yanzhou, crying her heart out.
“Mathematics is so hard… those formulas… they recognize me… but I don’t recognize them… I really can’t remember them…” Yu Pan’s tears flowed like a faucet being turned on, “How can I be so stupid…”
Shen Yanzhou felt incredibly sorry for him, hugging him and patting his back to comfort him, "Okay, okay, don't cry, don't cry. Then we won't study anymore, we won't study math anymore, okay?"
"No..." Yu Pan cried even harder, tears and snot streaming down her face, "The college entrance exam has math... Waaah... But I really can't learn it..."
Shen Yanzhou held her in his arms and patiently coaxed, "You can definitely learn it. Our Panpan is so good at Chinese, and she's so smart, she can definitely do math too. She just hasn't found the right method yet. Don't worry, we'll take it slowly. I'll teach you, I'll teach you from the beginning, okay?"
"Mmm..." Yu Pan sobbed, hiccuping, and nodded haphazardly in Shen Yanzhou's arms, still managing to sob as she made a condition, "First, you can't scold me... you can't say I'm stupid..."
"I won't scold you, absolutely not. When have I ever scolded you?" Shen Yanzhou wiped away his tears. "Our Panpan is the smartest."
-
In the blink of an eye, Yu Pan has been in school for almost two months, and nearly half of the semester has passed.
Before the midterm exams, the city held an essay competition for all high school students on the theme of "I Love My Family". Winning entries will receive corresponding rewards, and one winning entry will be published in the education section of the city newspaper every week.
This pattern inexplicably touched Yu Pan, reminding him of the thick stack of rejection letters he had accumulated in Baixi Town. He hesitated for a long time, but finally wrote one and submitted it.
Perhaps because she had submitted so many articles in the past, Yu Pan didn't take this too seriously.
Until one ordinary Friday afternoon, during the class meeting before the holiday, Mao Qin walked into the classroom with an award certificate and a small envelope. "Classmates, quiet down, I have some good news to announce!"
The classroom fell silent instantly, and everyone stared curiously at the homeroom teacher on the podium.
Mao Qin's gaze swept across the classroom, finally landing on Yu Pan. "Congratulations to Yu Pan of our class for winning first prize in the city's essay competition!"
The classroom was silent for a second, then erupted in enthusiastic applause and gasps of amazement.
All the students turned to look at Yu Pan, who was stunned and took several seconds to react.
Mao Qin called him to the podium and handed him an award certificate with gold lettering and a thin envelope. "This is your prize money and certificate."
Yu Pan held the thin envelope, her hands trembling involuntarily.
This was the first time he had earned money entirely through his own abilities and through the words he wrote.
Yu Pan couldn't describe this feeling. He only knew that he really wanted to see Shen Yanzhou right now, really, really wanted to!
For the rest of the class, Yu Pan was already distracted; her body was in the classroom, but her mind had already wandered outside the school gate.
As soon as the bell rang, Yu Pan grabbed her schoolbag and rushed out, even forgetting to wait for Tan Bai.
He rushed down the stairs and ran down the slope at the school gate. As soon as he stepped out of the school gate, he saw Shen Yanzhou sitting in the car, looking down at something.
Yu Pan ran even faster.
He opened the car door and climbed in. Before he could catch his breath, he only had time to call out "Brother!" before presenting the award certificate and the small envelope containing the thirty yuan prize money to Shen Yanzhou like a precious treasure.
Shen Yanzhou was wondering why Yu Pan was in such a hurry today, and before he could say anything, he instantly understood when he saw what Yu Pan presented to him.
"Oh my," Shen Yanzhou drawled, picking up the award certificate and looking at it repeatedly with feigned surprise. "Whose is this? So amazing? Hmm? Let me see, it's an essay, and it's even the first prize in the city!"
“It’s me! It’s me!” Yu Pan shouted.
Shen Yanzhou put down the certificate, took out the three brand-new ten-yuan bills from the envelope, waved them in front of Yu Pan, and teased him: "Tsk tsk, thirty yuan is a huge sum of money! It was all earned by our Panpan."
Yu Pan nodded vigorously, "I earned it!"
"Okay, you earned it." Shen Yanzhou stuffed the money back into the envelope. "You should keep your own money safe."
“No, you accept it,” Yu Pan suddenly said.
"Oh, so you little money-grubber are going to give your money to your brother?" Shen Yanzhou found this quite intriguing.
“It was originally meant for you,” Yu Pan said seriously. “You earn money to support me, and I will earn money to support you.”
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A note from the author: We are gathered here today.
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