Chapter 6
The school's annual application for financial aid for students from impoverished families has begun. At Wang Xiuqin's strong insistence, Xu Nianlei submitted her application.
When the list was posted on the bulletin board, the name "Xu Nianlei" was prominently featured. Although the amount was small, it served as a public label, announcing her family's poverty.
During recess, several mischievous boys deliberately talked loudly near her seat:
"Oh, so we have students from impoverished families in our class?"
"You can't tell usually, he acts all high and mighty."
"No wonder you're studying so hard, you're hoping to change your fate through education, right? Haha..."
The laughter lashed at her like whips. Xu Nianlei's face turned deathly pale instantly. She bit her lip so hard it almost bled. That overwhelming sense of inferiority almost drowned her. She felt all the gazes around her were filled with pity, curiosity, or contempt.
She glanced furtively at Lu Baiyan beside her. He was looking down at a book, his brows slightly furrowed, seemingly impatient with the surrounding noise, but he wasn't participating. This gave her a brief respite from her embarrassment.
What Xu Nianlei didn't know was that on the afternoon she felt ashamed because of those taunts, Lu Baiyan went to the homeroom teacher's office.
He reported the names of the boys who led the mockery of Xu Nianlei, as well as what they had said, to the homeroom teacher in a clear and organized manner.
“Teacher, this constitutes school bullying. Poverty is not a sin, and it should not be a reason for being ridiculed. This has caused great psychological harm to Xu Nianlei and has also affected the class atmosphere.” His tone was calm but firm.
The homeroom teacher took it very seriously. The testimony of class monitor Lu Baiyan carried considerable weight.
The next day, the homeroom teacher seriously criticized this behavior at the class meeting and announced that the boys would be given a warning, required to make a deep self-criticism in front of the whole class, and suspended from class for three days to reflect on their actions.
The class erupted in an uproar. Everyone assumed the teacher had discovered the incident and condemned the boys' behavior. No one knew that it was the usually quiet class monitor, focused solely on his studies, who had been quietly orchestrating everything.
After the disciplinary notice was posted, the mockery directed at Xu Nianlei in the class stopped abruptly. Those boys who returned also became much more subdued, even avoiding looking at her again.
Xu Nianlei felt an unprecedented sense of relief. Although she wondered why her teacher knew so much, she attributed it more to luck or her teacher's keen insight.
Lu Baiyan watched her less tense back, a barely perceptible hint of relaxation flashing deep in his eyes. He still sat next to her every day, occasionally explaining math problems she couldn't solve, and when she was embarrassed because she couldn't answer a question, he would quietly push a slip of paper with the answer written on it to her.
He never mentioned what he had done, nor did he ever look at her with pity or compassion. He treated her no differently than he treated his other classmates, except... perhaps with a touch more imperceptible patience.
This silent, albeit condescending, support, like a glimmer of light, quietly shone into Xu Nianlei's frozen heart.
In Chinese class, the teacher assigned a short essay with a self-chosen title.
Xu Nianlei bit her pen, thinking for a long time. Finally, in a brand-new, locked notebook, she wrote a very short poem:
Rainy Alley
The wet bluestone path,
Extending into the hazy distance.
A blue umbrella,
It divided the gloomy sky.
The footsteps were very light, very light.
As if afraid of disturbing,
That brief patch under the umbrella,
A dry dream.
After she finished writing, her cheeks felt slightly hot. She quickly closed the notebook and carefully locked it, as if locking away a huge secret.
She knew that this poem contained an unspeakable name and a humble yet passionate affection.
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