Chapter 9
Lu Baiyan is going to the city to participate in a physics competition, which will last for three days.
In the days he was away, Xu Nianlei felt the seat next to her was empty, and it felt like a piece of her heart was missing. She had grown accustomed to the occasional whiff of his clean scent, to the notes he would occasionally push towards her with solutions to problems, and even to the subtle sense of security that came with his quiet presence.
Liu Yiduo seemed to be in a good mood, discussing with Wen Wanyu how to celebrate Lu Boyan's return.
Xu Nianlei listened silently, her heart aching with unspeakable sorrow. It seemed she didn't even have the right to care about him.
On the third night, she inexplicably logged into her rarely used social media account and found the class group chat discussing Lu Baiyan's first-prize win in the competition, with the group filled with congratulations. Looking at his grayed-out profile picture, she felt both happy for him and deeply disappointed.
He was so outstanding, destined to soar to a wider sky. But her sky was forever confined to the county town, and shrouded in gloom.
Lu Baiyan returned with honors. The class spontaneously organized a small celebration banquet at a small restaurant near the school.
Everyone surrounded Lu Baiyan, offering their congratulations. Liu Yiduo had even prepared a thoughtful gift—a brand-name fountain pen—which Lu Baiyan politely accepted amidst the cheers of the crowd.
Xu Nianlei sat in the corner, watching him surrounded by people, feeling like an outsider. She took out her meager allowance, chipped in to pay the bill, and then tried to leave quietly.
Just as she reached the door, she heard Lu Baiyan's voice behind her: "Xu Nianlei."
She paused, then turned around.
Lu Baiyan broke free of the crowd and walked up to her. He took a small box out of his bag and handed it to her: "This is for you."
Xu Nianlei was stunned. She took the box and opened it. Inside was an exquisite bookmark with a small dandelion facing the light engraved on it.
“I saw it over there and thought…it would suit you perfectly.” His voice remained calm, but there seemed to be some emotion in his eyes that she couldn’t understand.
Xu Nianlei almost burst into tears. She clutched the bookmark tightly, whispered "Thank you, congratulations," and hurriedly turned to leave. She was afraid that if she stayed even a second longer, she would lose her composure in front of him.
That tiny bookmark, like a pebble thrown into a still lake, created huge ripples in her otherwise lifeless heart.
Xu Nianlei thought that the birthday scarf and the competition bookmark were an unspoken secret between her and Lu Boyan, a little bit of sweetness stolen from her gloomy life.
However, one ordinary evening, when she returned home from school, she found the atmosphere at home unusually heavy. Wang Xiuqin sat on the sofa with a livid face, and on the floor lay the gray scarf she had knitted herself, along with the dandelion bookmark.
"Tell me! Where did this come from?!" Wang Xiuqin's voice was shrill with anger. "Was it given to you by that Lu Baiyan? Huh? How far have things progressed between you two? I knew you little slut were up to no good!"
It turned out that Xu Jianguo had been holding a grudge since he hadn't gotten the money he wanted last time. He somehow found out that his daughter seemed to have an "extraordinary relationship" with the class monitor, so he exaggerated the story and told it to Wang Xiuqin, hoping to cause trouble for the mother and daughter.
Wang Xiuqin refused to listen to any of Xu Nianlei's explanations, convinced that she had done something shameful. She picked up a pair of scissors and frantically cut the scarf to shreds, then smashed the bookmark on the ground and stomped on it.
"I'll teach you to accept things from men! I'll teach you to be shameless! You're just as despicable as your father!"
Watching the dandelion bookmark, a symbol of her tiny hope, shatter at her mother's feet, Xu Nianlei felt her heart break along with it. She didn't cry, nor did she argue; she simply stared blankly at the mess on the ground.
Finally, Wang Xiuqin dragged her into the room and locked the door, cursing viciously, "You're not going out this weekend! You better reflect on your actions! If I find out you two are in contact again, I'll go to the school and make a scene, letting everyone know what you've done!"
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