1 / Cinderella
Another sudden rainstorm.
After spring arrived, the rains in northern Suiyuan came one after another without stopping.
In an old residential building, on the second floor, from the half-open door of the room on the east side, the sounds of arguing could be heard.
"Chen Song, how much money have you earned? Is it enough for your daughter's tuition and fees? Even alcohol can't shut your stinking mouth."
"Say that again, you fucking idiot!"
"I'll say the same thing three times."
The heated argument stopped for a moment, followed by the sound of a woman's high heels. She walked a few steps before the sound of a bottle smashing on the ground drowned out the noise. The woman's scream turned on the motion-activated lights in the dimly lit corridor.
The girl, who was sitting on the stairs, holding her schoolbag and lost in thought, was suddenly revealed from the darkness. The neighbor next door was disturbed by the noise and opened the door to look out. He wanted to say something but was frightened by the man's fierce expression. As he hurriedly closed the door, he met the girl's clear black eyes.
She was wearing her spring school uniform, with a pair of long, straight legs beneath the skirt, covered by several lingering bruises. She was also very thin, with long hair covering half of her face. Even when people were looking at her, she didn't look away. She didn't look like a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl at all; her eyes were full of maturity.
The neighbor felt a little sorry for her, so she opened the door a little and called to her like she was calling a cat, "Mianmian, come in first."
Chen Mian picked up her schoolbag and went into her neighbor's house. As she closed the door, she heard a woman's heart-wrenching cries.
Does your dad still beat you at home?
My neighbor, Aunt Zhang, lives alone. She's a kind-hearted person who likes to meddle in other people's business. When she first moved in, she heard her neighbor beating a woman and even called the police. The police took the woman away for a talk, but when they came back, things were still chaotic.
The man, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, probably guessed that she was the one who called the police. He glanced at her sideways and chuckled dismissively, as if to say, "Is this any of your business?"
The woman who assaulted her was so arrogant that she didn't even give her a friendly look. She didn't thank her, let alone give her a proper greeting. She never greeted her when she came or went.
Of all the girls in the house, this little girl was the only normal one. She was good at her studies and well-behaved. Whenever there was trouble at home, she would sit in the stairwell and wait for things to calm down before tiptoeing inside.
Few people living in the building didn't feel sorry for this girl, and they would often invite her to their homes for a meal.
It's no different from a public-owned stray cat.
Chen Mian shook her head, holding the warm water Aunt Zhang had given her, her tone flat as if she were describing someone else's story, "He only hits Auntie now."
Aunt Zhang was at a loss for words. She wanted to say that would be good, but that would seem heartless to the person who had been beaten. Any advice would be superfluous. She just laughed twice, patted her shoulder, and took out the chocolate that her employer had given her when she got off work from the drawer.
It's a foreign brand with exquisite packaging.
Aunt Zhang has a son who is studying at a university in Suibei and is well past the age of eating chocolate.
This thing was originally intended to be given to a relative's child, but now that Chen Mian is here, seeing how pitiful the child is, she put the chocolate, which she herself wouldn't even eat, into the child's hand.
I hadn't heard the rain outside the window yet; it was pattering against the windowpane.
Chen Mian sat on the sofa, clutching the chocolate in her hand, her faded backpack lying beside her.
The sounds of beating coming from the crack in the door finally stopped. After waiting for a while, the time passed to nine o'clock in the evening, and the iron gate was slammed shut with a bang, followed by heavy footsteps.
Chen Mian picked up her schoolbag, said goodbye to Aunt Zhang who was watching TV, and headed home.
The room was a complete mess.
Her father, Chen Song, was no longer alive. Her stepmother, Song Ai, was lying on the sofa, her hair disheveled, her collar torn open to reveal half of her shoulder, and her bare legs covered in fresh bruises.
Chen Mian glanced at her only once before heading to her room expressionlessly.
"A big beast raises a little beast."
Song Ai spoke in a detached tone, the intensity of her earlier heart-wrenching argument and wailing gone, her voice still somewhat hoarse as she stated the facts.
Chen Mian neither confirmed nor denied this, but just as she was closing the door, she said to Song Ai, "If you hadn't argued with him, you wouldn't have gotten beaten up today."
Song Ai was married to Chen Song when she was in her first year of high school. When Chen Song wasn't drinking, his face was particularly deceptive. Moreover, he was determined to deceive someone. He put on a gentle and refined appearance and led Song Ai to say to her, "Mianmian, call me Auntie."
Back then, Chen Song and Song Ai were deeply in love. They said that their names were destined to be together. It was not easy for Chen Song's wine-bucket-like brain to come up with any romance. They said that his Song was the Song that knew he belonged to Song Ai from the moment he was born.
Chen Mian watched this love affair, which was tinged with deception, while enjoying the accompanying gentle fatherly services.
It wasn't until after their marriage that Chen Song gradually revealed his true nature.
At that time, Song Ai was already in despair and forgot her promise to Chen Mian before the marriage to be a good stepmother. She pointed at Chen Mian and cursed her as a little beast.
The door closed.
Chen Mian released her grip on the chocolate and threw it straight into the trash can.
The bag was placed on the ground and immediately tipped to the side, the loose zipper causing the contents to spill out in a clatter.
A box of chocolates exactly like the one Aunt Zhang had fell to the ground. Chen Mian glanced at it, then coldly looked away.
*
The next morning, when Chen Mian went to school, Chen Song had not yet returned home.
Song Ai was no longer home, and the house was still a mess, just like it was last night.
Chen Mian finished getting ready and left home, but there was no time to buy breakfast. She arrived at the classroom just as the morning reading bell rang.
Classmate Zhao Lili gave a thumbs up, "Wow, Chen Mian, you're a master of timing!"
Chen Mian chuckled, took out yesterday's homework from her schoolbag and handed it to Lin Lin, the group leader in front of her, but didn't move, lying on the table as if she were asleep.
Zhao Lili leaned closer and whispered to her, "You've broken up with your boyfriend."
Chen Mian withdrew her hand and had no choice but to take it and hand it to the class representative herself.
When they returned, the heartbroken group leader had already turned around and was slumped over Zhao Lili's desk, clutching a Chinese textbook, her eyes red.
Liu Junjie, who was sitting next to her, had already started to mock her, "You're just trying to extort money by saying you're heartbroken. At most, you just had a crush on someone you didn't get."
Lin Lin slammed a book down on his head.
Zhao Lili laughed so hard her shoulders shook. When Chen Mian returned, she told her the whole story.
"Our Sister Lin is so stubborn. Yesterday, she went straight to the entrance of the science lab to wait for someone, but she didn't even get a chance to say hello. She just watched that guy come out of the emergency exit with a beautiful girl from the music class. Her dream was shattered right at the gate."
Lin Lin wasn't exactly heartbroken, but she felt a little embarrassed by what she was being said. She frowned and quietly defended herself, "I've already come to my senses, haven't I? You're making me sound like a lovesick fool. Am I the only one in Suizhong who likes Shen Yu? I bet there are several people in our class who like Shen Yu."
Zhao Lili immediately raised her hand to show her innocence, saying, "That doesn't include me."
Liu Junjie also raised one hand, "I'm not gay either."
Lin Lin looked at Chen Mian, but before Chen Mian could speak, Zhao Lili defended her, saying, "I can guarantee that Chen Mian has never even paid attention to what Shen Yu looks like."
Lin Lin had no choice but to give up and lay on the table, letting out a weak groan.
The class monitor, who was supervising the self-study session on the platform, had been paying attention to the commotion. Hearing the sound, he tapped the table and said meaningfully, "Students who aren't focused on memorizing, don't disturb others."
Lin Lin knew immediately that the person was talking about her, and muttered a curse under her breath.
Liu Junjie muttered to himself, "Wood becomes straight when bound by a rope, and metal becomes sharp when honed on a whetstone," and said absentmindedly, "You really are something else. You have no sense of propriety at all, and you're always so stubborn. You're keeping our class monitor's sweetheart from reciting her lessons. How can she not be anxious?"
After speaking, he glanced at Chen Mian, who was engrossed in reading with her eyes down.
There are plenty of jokes like this in class. High school students who are about to step into adulthood but are still confined to the ivory tower are pretending to be mature while still retaining their childishness.
Suizhong is strictly disciplined. Whether students are day students or boarding students, they must hand in their mobile phones when entering the school gate, and then be checked again by a metal scanner. No one can escape the check.
Without a cell phone, I can only pass the time during boring study sessions by relying on relationships between men and women.
Chen Mian was used to being teased and didn't show any expression. She didn't even raise her eyes, as if the person talking about her wasn't her.
Zhao Lili was the first to object, "Don't tease your grandma. Hey Liu Junjie, can you even do this? You've been memorizing this one sentence for at least ten minutes, haven't you? Are you missing a cerebellum or do you not have a brain? Just stop memorizing it and I suggest you cheat."
Then another round of noise ensued.
The topic has completely strayed from the topic of heartbreak.
As the second period ended in the morning, the preparatory music for the morning exercises came from the speakers.
Zhao Lili linked arms with Chen Mian and walked towards the playground. Their class, Liberal Arts Class 3, was on the fifth floor of Xueya Building, and the stairwell was blocked like a mini Spring Festival travel rush.
"I've already done a workout on my way to the morning exercise every day." Zhao Lili had just finished complaining listlessly when the people in front of her went down a few steps. She pulled Chen Mian down as if she had been resurrected, but Chen Mian pulled her arm.
The two stopped so suddenly that the person following behind almost bumped into them. Just as they were about to ask what was going on, classmate, they saw that it was Chen Mian and immediately stopped talking.
Chen Mian pulled Zhao Lili out of the crowd and led her down the stairs to the art building.
Zhao Lili was a little surprised, "There's nobody here? Don't the art class students usually smoke here?"
The place was filled with smoke, and the teachers didn't really pay attention to it; in other words, they didn't intend to.
"I went to the art exam. I was just notified this morning." Chen Mian said softly as she walked down the steps.
Zhao Lili understood immediately and followed her downstairs, asking, "You're not still helping Chen Yin, are you?"
"That's a rather vague statement," Chen Mian corrected, "Taking money doesn't count as helping."
Chen Yin was in the music class. Before they were separated into different classes, she was Chen Mian's classmate. She was a spoiled rich girl who was too lazy to do anything herself because her family was rich. She had been asking Chen Mian to do her homework since the first year of high school, charging her by the hundred. Chen Mian's living expenses and pocket money all came from her.
Logically, it should have been a good deal, but Zhao Lili was dissatisfied. "It's not that she doesn't want to do her homework; she just spends all her time playing. You know, about that incident yesterday when Lin Lin went to confess to Shen Yu, Shen Yu was in the emergency exit with Chen Yin. Who knows what they were doing there?"
"But Chen Yin is truly amazing; she even managed to get her hands on Shen Yu. I thought—"
He was halfway through his sentence when Chen Mian tugged at his arm.
She was somewhat confused and trying to figure out what was wrong.
Then I smelled smoke.
Looking down, a group of people stood in a blind spot, some squatting, some standing, and scattered around, each with a cigarette between their fingers.
One of the students, who was from a science class, was sitting on the steps, spraying deodorant on himself while laughing, "How come we can hear all the gossip about Brother Chen everywhere?"
Others chimed in, "What do you know about being a controversial figure?"
"Damn it, are we green leaves just there to set off the red flowers?"
The boys' teasing laughter immediately filled the entire stairwell, the sounds echoing back and forth in the enclosed space.
Zhao Lili was speechless with surprise. She never expected to be caught gossiping. Embarrassed, she gripped Chen Mian's arm tightly, her face flushed red, and subconsciously asked Chen Mian, "W-what should we do?"
Chen Mian didn't speak. Her gaze went past the group of people and landed on the person standing by the window.
Everyone else was smoking, but he wasn't. He was playing with a chocolate bar in his hand. When he heard the teasing, he just laughed and said "get lost." He didn't seem angry at all; in fact, he was smiling. But the moment he stood there, he was impossible to ignore.
At first glance, the most eye-catching one is him.
As Shen Yu listened to the group's idle chatter, his gaze shifted upwards, landing on Chen Mian a few steps above.
The thick smoke seemed to have been ignited by a spark. Outside the window, the rain was misty and endless. In the corridor, a tall boy in a white shirt and black pants wore a school uniform that looked no different from others, but even more meticulously buttoned up to the top. The round button pressed against the edge of his Adam's apple, and when it rolled, the dark blue collar moved slightly.
He looked up at Chen Mian and around, his movements not slow at all. At least the people standing around didn't notice anything unusual between them, and were still laughing and calling out "A Yu" and "Brother Chen," more annoying than a parrot.
Chen Mian remained unmoved by Shen Yu's gaze, not even her eyelashes trembled.
Pulling the nervous, awkward Zhao Lili along, they walked down the street, the smell of smoke growing stronger.
Zhao Lili was unable to make any expression. She wondered if she should apologize, since she had been overheard gossiping about others behind their backs. Moreover, the science students got along quite well with Chen Yin and the others. If they complained, she wouldn't mind, but Chen Mian, who was caught in the middle, would probably suffer.
Thinking this, she decided to stop and whispered Chen Mian's name.
The science students also found Chen Mian interesting, although it was Zhao Lili who was talking about her behind her back.
But there's an unwritten rule: the one who shines brightest always attracts more attention, to the point that everyone around them becomes just an embellishment. It's similar to the idea of seeking help from a powerful figure when you've committed a crime. They all looked at Chen Mian without prior arrangement.
Suizhong has many famous people, including the group of beauties in the art class, Shen Yu, and Chen Mian from the liberal arts class.
She was beautiful, strong-willed, and cold as ice that could never be warmed. When she first entered the school, many people pursued her, but she ignored them all. She didn't even bother to give a reason for rejecting them, and simply asked indifferently, "Why should I talk to you?"
The question was thrown back directly, leaving the person confessing their feelings with a myriad of implications, feeling both humiliated and yet not quite.
It was only after he started doing odd jobs for Chen Yin that his aloofness diminished somewhat.
Once money gets involved, even a god becomes a person tainted by greed.
"Why did you just leave like that? Weren't you curious whether you did it or not? Aren't you going to ask?"
"Yeah, what a great opportunity! That guy from your humanities class, Zhao something, didn't he come to see our Brother Chen yesterday? Let's ask him together and help our classmate find an answer too."
These guys had no scruples; taking advantage of their numbers, they made fun of the girls.
They didn't think they had gone too far, and their words were full of laughter, always heading in the direction of a joke.
Zhao Lili usually jokes around with her classmates, but she's actually quite shy. Being surrounded by a bunch of people making fun of her like that made her lose face, and she even trembled as she held Chen Mian's arm.
Chen Mian grasped her hand, gave a curt "oh" amidst the joking chatter, and then asked the person in the middle of the crowd, "Chen Yu, are you and Chen Yin together?"
She actually asked.
Zhao Lili almost couldn't breathe.
But the person who was asked replied, "Guess."
Her tone was smiling, but her gaze lingered on Chen Mian's chest.
It was a profound meaning that only the two of them could understand.
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