Chapter 14
After the English class on Sunday morning, Tao Xi gently poked Lin Qinhe's arm with a pen while he was playing Candy Crush.
Lin Qinhe continued to touch the screen without turning his head, and said in a cold voice: "What's the matter?"
"I'm going to get some water. Do I need you to bring it for me?" Tao Xi stared eagerly at the black cup on Lin Qinhe's table with only half a cup of water left.
"Need not."
Tao Xi said "Oh" and did not go to get some water. Instead, she took out a wrinkled poster of the Art Club and, as if she had just received her college entrance examination results and was discussing with her parents which university to apply to, she blinked and whispered, "I plan to apply to the Art Club today."
Because last week Lin Qinhe told him that he could join the art club, he wanted to let Lin Qinhe know that he listened to him.
But Lin Qinhe's voice was still cold: "What does it have to do with me?"
Tao Xi said "Oh" again, put away the poster and shut up.
Ever since he met Lin Qinhe at the door of the milk tea shop that day, he has tried hard to take the initiative to talk to Lin Qinhe, and every morning he diligently asks Lin Qinhe if he needs help fetching water.
But Lin Qinhe was always indifferent like he was now, and he had never even touched Lin Qinhe's water cup.
Could it be that Lin Qinhe was afraid that he would poison the water?
Tao Xi reflected on himself for a long time, but couldn't figure out what he had done that day and why Lin Qinhe was like that.
But the moon waxes and wanes, and it is normal for Lin Qinhe to be intermittently moody and have personality defects.
Tao Xi told herself this.
As soon as the last class was over, the students packed up their bags and ran out. Tao Xi saw Lin Qinhe and Yang Duole going out together with the music scores. He hesitated in the classroom for a while and then ran to Qiushi Building.
He took the poster and followed the address for a while before finally finding the art club's large studio on the second floor. There were about thirty people in it, most of them girls, already drawing on the drawing board.
Although painting is a rare talent of his, Tao Xi still felt nervous when he entered, as if he had intruded into someone else's territory.
He was looking for the head of the society, but unexpectedly he bumped into two "acquaintances".
"Taoxi, are you here in the art club too? Are you here to look for Xinyun?" Zhang Mengtong was holding a paintbrush, and while speaking, he smiled and glanced at Jiang Xinyun who was standing beside him.
Jiang Xinyu was still wearing her pink apron. She looked up at Tao Xi, then glared at Zhang Mengtong, but there was a smile on her lips.
Tao Xi couldn't help but admire these two people. He thought he was good at acting, but he didn't expect that there were always people better than him.
If I hadn't heard their conversation in the milk tea shop with my own ears, I would definitely think that they were very friendly to me.
He smiled softly and said, "I heard from Lin Qinhe that this place is nice, so I came to take a look, but now I'm not interested anymore."
After saying that, he turned and left without looking at the very ugly expressions of the two people behind him.
Tao Xi is not going to join the art club anymore and has given himself a good excuse: he doesn't want to spend money on buying painting tools.
As a result, he had only taken a few steps out of the door when he was stopped by a tall girl: "Don't go, Junior Tao, our club will be short of talent if you leave."
Tao Xi was stunned. The girl in front of him was very tall, just a little shorter than him. She had long curly hair tied with a purple ribbon. Her bright eyes were full of smiles. She continued, "I'm Qiao Yitang, the president of the Art Club. I'm from Class 1, Grade 3. I heard about you from that fat boy Pan Yan, so I've been waiting for you to join our club."
Tao Xi was a little puzzled. He had never told Pan Yan that he wanted to join the art club. He suppressed his doubts and nodded, "Hello, senior sister, but I don't really want to join the club."
"Why?" Qiao Yitang was very confused and anxious, "Don't you like painting?"
Tao Xi felt that this person was more and more strange, and said frankly: "I didn't prepare any painting tools."
"What's the big deal? Would the president be short of a set of tools from you?" Qiao Yitang breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that, and casually took Tao Xi in his arms and walked into the studio. The students who were painting inside greeted them respectfully, and looked at Tao Xi in surprise. Only Jiang Xinyu and Zhang Mengtong had complicated expressions.
Qiao Yitang enthusiastically gave Tao Xi a new drawing board and a whole set of brand new brushes and paints, and said that they were public for the club, leaving him no room to refuse.
Tao Xi was pushed to the drawing board like a chicken and started drawing. Qiao Yitang finally let him go and told a boy to "take good care of junior brother Tao". Then he took his cell phone and left the studio, as if he was going to call someone.
The boy introduced himself as Gao Yang, a student in the art class of Grade 12. He said to Tao Xi with some envy: "How do you know our president? She is so enthusiastic about you."
Tao Xi thought to herself that I didn't know either, so she could only say, "Maybe my roommate Pan Yan told her about me."
Gao Yang muttered quietly: "Pan Yan? How can he reach the principal's daughter?"
He thought Tao Xi was deliberately not talking to him, so he thought this person was very boring, turned around to paint his own picture, and ignored Tao Xi.
The studio was very quiet, and Tao Xi also started to paint. The brushes and paints that Qiao Yitang gave him were very good. This was the first time that he could paint formally like this without using other people's tools.
When he was painting seriously, he would devote himself to it and didn't notice that more and more people were standing behind him to watch, and the president Qiao Yitong also came over.
The painting shows the moon on a snowy night. Above the snow-capped mountains, an icy moon is emitting cold silver light. Although the lines are simple, with the excellent colors, the snow and the moonlight form an unapproachable and lonely beauty.
When Tao Xi finished writing, he realized that he was being watched again. He saw Qiao Yitang looking at him with burning eyes, as if he was looking at some rare species.
"Junior, if you tell me that you have never learned to paint, I will not let you go today." Qiao Yitang's words were threatening, but his tone contained excitement.
The other members who were watching immediately looked at Tao Xi nervously. If the newcomer in front of them really had never learned it before, then were all the years of painting they had learned wasted?
Tao Xi nodded calmly and said, "I just draw it for fun when I'm bored."
"Depend on!"
Draw for fun.
A few people couldn't help but curse in a low voice, secretly hating themselves for having made a wrong choice. They looked at Tao Xi with sourness and solemnity. They originally thought that Tao Xi was some relative of the president.
Tao Xi couldn't help laughing. It was really fun to pretend to be cool. Lin Qinhe must have been happy too when he said "no need" and looked at the wrong questions.
Qiao Yitang was not surprised. Painting is like music. Perhaps 100% of hard work cannot match 1% of talent. She looked at the painting carefully and couldn't help but sighed: "Tao Xi, your painting style is similar to a painting I saw before."
Tao Xi was slightly startled and asked hurriedly: "Whose is it?" He wondered if it was his mother Fang Sui?
Qiao Yitang said, "He's a friend of my friend, but I don't think he's his friend." She shook her head, as if she didn't want to elaborate. "Forget it, my friend is very stingy, I just took a quick glance and didn't see it clearly, or maybe I remembered it wrongly."
Tao Xi was a little disappointed. Fang Sui had been gone for so many years and would not be friends with teenagers.
Gao Yang, who had been drawing next to Tao Xi, was already convinced. He pulled Tao Xi to ask for guidance on his painting. Tao Xi went over, and several members also came over.
Qiao Yitang was in a good mood looking at the scene in front of her. She turned around and prepared to look at other people's paintings, but inadvertently saw two girls who had not participated in the watching were looking at Tao Xi who was surrounded with complicated eyes.
Qiao Yitang narrowed his eyes, still with a smile on his face, and walked out of the studio leisurely.
The end of the club activities also meant that the school was on vacation. Tao Xi finally got rid of the enthusiasm. After dinner, she returned to the dormitory and found that Pan Yan had not gone home, so she asked about Qiao Yitang.
"What? The goddess and I only said two sentences, hello and goodbye. How could I introduce another man to her?!"
Wild man: “…”
"Do you know that she is Principal Qiao's youngest daughter, an art student, and a top student in Class 1 of Grade 3? It's so unfair that you got to know such a goddess so easily!" Pan Yan beat his chest and stamped his feet.
Tao Xi thought about it for a while but still couldn't figure out why Qiao Yitang knew him. After what happened to Jiang Xinyue and those girls, he was now very wary of other people's sudden kindness.
Forget it, I’ll only see him on club activity days anyway.
Tao Xi went out of school in the afternoon and finally found a relatively new listening book with tapes in a large bookstore in the city. After returning, he continued to study in the dormitory until midnight.
The next day, Monday, he came to the classroom early as usual. There was still only Huang Qing in the classroom. He greeted her, and Huang Qing nodded at him expressionlessly and continued to read with her head down.
Tao Xi couldn't help but wonder if those with top grades were silent. In that case, he would be willing to find the sea witch and trade his voice for excellent grades.
He also sat down and started writing the test paper. Soon, some people came into the classroom.
Suddenly there was some noise coming from the front. He didn't take it seriously at first until a girl's voice asked, "Could it be that someone in our class stole something?"
Tao Xi paused sensitively but did not look up.
"Xinyun, think carefully, did you really drop your headphones at school yesterday?" It was Jin Jing's voice.
"I'm sure. I put the headphones in the drawer before I went to the art club yesterday, planning to get them back after I finished painting. But then my mom called me to urge me, so I went straight home." Jiang Xinyu said anxiously, accompanied by the sound of rummaging through drawers.
"I did see Xinyun put her headphones in the drawer yesterday, and then I went to the art club with her." Zhang Mengtong, who was sitting next to Jiang Xinyun, testified.
"Xinyun's headphones must be very expensive. They are a birthday gift her father brought her from the United States." Chen Yachun added.
Tao Xi no longer needed to listen, as he was basically certain that it was a set, and he was certain that the earphones must be in his drawer now.
Wenhua No. 1 Middle School has a free school spirit. In order to protect the privacy of students, no surveillance cameras are installed in the classrooms. The cameras used for live broadcasts are only turned on during classes, so there is no way to prove oneself.
To be honest, he had seen this old-fashioned method many times when he was in junior high school.
The shabby junior high school he attended in Qingshui County was notoriously chaotic. If the students didn't like someone, they would stuff their things into that person's drawer and frame him or her the next day. Everyone in the class would follow suit and say they wanted to catch the thief, and from then on that person would be completely isolated.
He understood because he had been treated this way before, but his solution was brutal: fighting.
Fight with a reckless attitude, as long as you are ruthless enough to others and yourself, those people will be afraid.
Until he gained the protection of some teachers through his good grades, and his notoriety spread far and wide, gradually no one dared to bully him anymore.
But Tao Xi never thought that he would encounter such a thing in Wenhua No. 1 Middle School. He thought that everyone was as bright and cheerful as they seemed on the surface. He didn't understand why Jiang Xinyu hated him so much.
But he knew that he couldn't afford to offend the people from Wenhua No. 1 Middle School because no one would protect him.
He was not a student here to begin with. If this matter gets out of hand, he will not be able to stay here anymore and it will also bring shame to Qingshui No. 1 Middle School.
It will also make him roll out of Lin Qinhe's world in disgrace.
Lin Qinhe.
Tao Xi subconsciously glanced to the side. Fortunately, Lin Qinhe always came very late, and he didn't want Lin Qinhe to see it.
"How about we search the classroom now before class starts?" Chen Yachun began to suggest.
“I don’t think we need to search the whole class. After all, there were only a few people left in school after school yesterday, and most people don’t need a pair of headphones.” Zhang Mengtong began to take over.
Apart from one resident student, who else in Class 1 will stay in school on Sunday? Who else is too poor to own headphones?
The answer is obvious.
"Don't be like this. It would be very embarrassing if it turns out to be a misunderstanding." Jin Jing seemed unaware of her sisters' plan, but she came to her senses.
"Searching other people's desks is an invasion of privacy!" Huang Qing, who had been silent, stood up and said, her voice filled with anger.
"Oh, I forgot. Isn't it very likely that he is the first person to arrive in the classroom this morning?" Chen Yachun chuckled.
"You!" Huang Qing was obviously not at the same level as them.
Tao Xi heard footsteps gradually approaching the back row, and soon heard Jiang Xinyun smiling and asking him from above: "Tao Xi, did you see anyone go to my seat yesterday?"
Tao Xi stopped writing and looked up at Jiang Xinyue. This girl was indeed pretty. Her eyes were filled with malice yet she looked pitiful.
"I'm not your deskmate, how would I know?" Tao Xi looked calm, with a sarcastic smile in his eyes.
Jiang Xinyun's face darkened for a moment, and Zhang Mengtong sneered, "But you are the only one in our class who stayed at school overnight. Everyone else went home."
Jin Jing rushed over and glanced at Tao Xi, sighed and hesitated whether to speak. The other students in the classroom were all in their seats, looking over here quietly, no one said a word, and some were typing on their mobile phones, probably spreading gossip.
"I heard last time that your head teacher gave you a key to the classroom so that you can study on weekends?" Chen Yachun said with a clear hint.
Zhou Qiang did give Tao Xi a key, but Tao Xi usually studied in the dormitory on Sundays and rarely used it.
"Tao Xi, you see, this headset means a lot to me, and I really don't want to lose it." Jiang Xinyu frowned slightly, her voice soft, and she seemed to be in an awkward situation.
Tao Xi looked up at Jiang Xinyun and was about to retort, but suddenly heard a cold voice:
"You'd better think carefully whether the earphones are really lost."
Several people gathered in the back row immediately looked towards the back door.
Only Tao Xi did not move. His heart sank quickly, and all his forced calmness almost collapsed in an instant. He dug his nails into his palms tightly until he could clearly feel the pain.
He didn't dare turn his head to look at the person who was approaching, but his ears became extremely sensitive. He heard Lin Qinhe pulling out the chair as usual, but the sound of metal engraving on the floor was much sharper than usual.
Tao Xi didn't even dare to breathe hard. The calmness he had just shown in front of Jiang Xinyue disappeared completely. He bent his neck and lowered his eyes, looking as embarrassed as an ostrich burying its head in the sand.
With a "bang", a black cup filled with water was suddenly placed on the table where he was burying his head, and then the usual cold voice sounded: "Go get me some water."
Tao Xi's stiff body trembled subconsciously. After two seconds of hesitation, he stood up, took Lin Qinhe's water cup with both hands and walked towards the drinking room. His fingers were shaking a little, and he could only control it by holding the black water cup tightly.
The classroom was very quiet, and he could hear all the movements behind him from the water room.
Jin Jing broke the stagnant atmosphere and took the initiative to explain to Lin Qinhe: "Xinyun said that she dropped her headphones in the classroom yesterday and couldn't find them today, so she asked Taoxi at school if she saw them. This may be a misunderstanding."
She had already guessed that Jiang Xinyu was behind this, but Jiang Xinyu was her friend after all, so she wanted to give Jiang Xinyu a way out and let her go.
But Lin Qinhe ignored her. He leaned back in a relaxed manner, with one hand on the desk, tapping the table with his slender index finger. He raised his head slightly and looked at Jiang Xinyun. His voice was cold:
"Let me ask you again, is it really lost?"
Jiang Xinyu's face was pale, and she subconsciously took half a step back. Lin Qinhe was clearly sitting and looking up at her. His expression and eyes were calm, but she felt a strong oppression, as if if she nodded and said yes, that gaze would turn into a sharp weapon and stab her.
Obviously, Chen Yachun and Zhang Mengtong had not expected that the matter would develop like this. They looked at each other in a panic, and Chen Yachun's face turned pale. She seemed to suddenly understand why there was disgust in Lin Qinhe's eyes when he looked at her in the milk tea shop that day.
Jiang Xinyun clenched her hands tightly. She didn't know why Lin Qinhe, who always came in at the sound of the bell, suddenly arrived early, and she couldn't figure out why he cared about this matter. But she knew she couldn't afford to offend Lin Qinhe. She didn't dare to look into Lin Qinhe's eyes again, and lowered her eyes and stammered:
"I...I might have dropped it at home. I'll go back and look for it tonight."
Zhang Mengtong also hurriedly said, "Yes, I might have remembered it wrong yesterday. Xinyun, you might have really taken the headphones back."
Jiang Xinyun heard the sound of fingers tapping on the table suddenly become heavier and paused. Her heart shrank and she subconsciously looked at Lin Qinhe, only to see that Lin Qinhe actually raised the corner of his lips slightly. He was still looking at her, with a very light smile, but his voice was very cold:
"Then I hope you can find it."
Jiang Xinyun tried hard to suppress the shock that suddenly welled up in her heart, forced out an ugly smile, and whispered, "Thank you, I will look carefully when I get back."
She really didn't want to stay here any longer, but Lin Qinhe still didn't let her go. He reached out and pulled the slightly crooked desk towards him, then looked at her and asked slowly:
"What happens after you find it?"
Jiang Xinyun was about to cry. There were some people in the classroom who were watching the show silently. She had never been so embarrassed before, but she still said in a trembling voice: "I, I will apologize to Tao Xi."
Chen Yachun, who had been trying hard to reduce her presence, thought that the interrogation was finally over, but suddenly she saw Lin Qinhe looking at her, his beautiful eyes were like frost and snow, and his gaze was sharp.
She understood Lin Qinhe's meaning almost instantly, clenching her fingers and said hurriedly: "I, I will also apologize to Tao Xi. I lied to him last time and made him late. It was my fault."
Zhang Mengtong didn't even dare to breathe and quickly apologized.
The three of them watched anxiously as Lin Qinhe finally withdrew his gaze, as if he had ignored them again. He took out a thick book from his schoolbag, which seemed to be English listening from the cover, and a brand new tape, and lowered his head to put them in his drawer.
Jin Jing quickly winked at Jiang Xinyu and the others, and the three of them walked back to their seats with sweat on their hands as if they had escaped from heaven.
Jin Jing hadn't left yet. She patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. In her opinion, the matter should be perfectly resolved. She couldn't help but sigh to Lin Qinhe: "It's finally okay! I was scared to death just now!"
She was indeed almost scared to death, scared by Lin Qinhe. She was in the same class with Lin Qinhe in junior high school, and she had never seen Lin Qinhe like this.
But she saw Lin Qinhe looked at her coldly and asked, "Are you okay?"
Jin Jing was stunned.
She felt that the way Lin Qinhe looked at her seemed to be no different from the way he looked at Jiang Xinyu just now.
The author has something to say:
I wish all the children a happy Children's Day. Today I updated two chapters with less than 10,000 words, so my manuscripts are exhausted. I don't know if I can update tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. qaq
The application deadline is coming soon, ballball everyone please vote for the little stars orz
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