The Silent World And Him - Chapter 05

Pu Chen didn’t sleep well at night. She turned off the alarm clock and stayed in bed for an extra half hour. Her dad made sushi for her early in the morning, but she didn’t have time to eat at home. Her dad packed the sliced sushi in a bag and put it in her backpack along with a box of warm milk, and he also washed dozens of cherries for her to take.

Pu Chen ran all the way from home to school, breathing a sigh of relief when she entered the school gate. As long as she arrived before seven o’clock, even if it was right on the dot of seven, it wouldn’t be considered late. She checked her phone for the time: 6:55. At this time, there were many students rushing into the school like her. Having run so fast just now, she slowed down and caught her breath. Today was still cloudy, and the snow from the past few days hadn’t completely melted yet.

Pu Chen walked along the roadside bushes, playing with the snowflakes on the bushes with her fingers, leaving a trail as she went. Qin Yu, who was not far behind her, watched her quietly all the way. He couldn’t understand what was so fun about the ice chips frozen like grains of salt. Pu Chen didn’t look back and didn’t know Qin Yu was behind her.

When she arrived at the classroom, almost everyone was there except for Qin Yu, who was sitting in the second-to-last row. Today was Qin Yu’s third day at this school, and Pu Chen noticed he was the first to arrive and the last to leave. Some classmates said he no longer slept in math class, but he didn’t pay attention either. Some said he read English original novels in class, reading them very seriously. She also heard female classmates in the class gossiping, saying Qin Yu didn’t even have a pen and relied on borrowing one every day. She didn’t know if it was true.

After the morning exercise ended, Qin Yu didn’t follow the classmates upstairs but took a detour to the school shop to buy several boxes of neutral pens. There were plenty of pens at home, but he always forgot to bring them. After buying the pens, Qin Yu walked into the classroom through the front door and saw Puyan drinking a box of milk as soon as he approached her desk. Just as he was about to walk to her side, she happened to look up, completely unguarded, and their eyes met directly. After a brief moment of eye contact, she lowered her gaze.

Qin Yu noticed she had been eating all morning—eating sushi during morning self-study, eating fruit during the break between classes, and now drinking milk. He hadn’t even reached his seat when Zhao Shu, who sat behind him, came over. Zhao Shu said to him, « Qin Yu, you’re in my group today. It’s our turn for duty. Don’t forget to mop the floor after school. » Qin Yu nodded in acknowledgment.

Zhao Shu was responsible for erasing the blackboard. She walked up to the platform with a wet cloth and an entertainment newspaper, humming a song. Puyan felt that Zhao Shu was the most optimistic girl in the class, never seeming to know what worry was. Even though she was one of the two students who failed in English and ranked last in the class, it never affected her mood. « Starry, I’m going to erase the blackboard. » Zhao Shu always called her so affectionately.

Zhao Shu didn’t like to study, but she never slacked off during duty. She was the most conscientious one in the class during duty, always bringing her own cloth and an entertainment newspaper. Puyan’s desk was close to the blackboard, so chalk dust would always settle on her desk. Every time Zhao Shu was on duty, she would cover her desk with a newspaper, completely shielding all the books. With the newspaper, the small annoyance of chalk dust was completely resolved.

Zhao Shu considerately said, « Starry, you go out first. I’ll erase the blackboard and call you back. » Pu Chen smiled lightly, took her phone and water bottle, and went to the tea room to pour water. These days, Qin Yu had become like a celebrity, and you could hear girls discussing him wherever you went. In the tea room, a few girls were lining up to pour water, and the conversation revolved around various gossip topics, until someone mentioned Qin Yu.

« I heard from my friend that Qin Yu is from Beijing, with a household registration in Beijing. » « Is it true? » « What’s there to lie about? My friend changed seats and sat in front of Peng Jingyang. » Their expressions instantly changed to one of understanding. However, what puzzled them was, « Then why didn’t he take the college entrance exam in Beijing? »

« Maybe they’ll go abroad during their senior year of high school, so it doesn’t matter where they study. »

« That’s possible, anyway, Qin Yu’s family is wealthy. »

« Oh, you even know about that. »

« I heard from the boys in our class that the car they used to bring him to school for registration cost at least seven or eight million, and the license plate is also valuable. »

They whispered, but even if they spoke softly, the tea room was small, and Pu Chen heard every word.

In the classroom, Zhao Shu was still erasing the blackboard, chalk dust flying everywhere, while Pu Chen went to the corridor after fetching water.

« Zhao, someone’s calling for you! » A girl peeked in at the door.

Pu Chen often saw this pretty girl coming to find Zhao Shu, apparently from Class 6.

Zhao Shu had given herself the nickname « Zhao Uncle. » When some classmates teased her by calling her « Uncle Zhao » at the beginning of the school year, Zhao Shu didn’t like it, feeling it lacked authority, so she changed it to « Zhao Uncle. »

Zhao Shu, wearing a mask, was erasing the blackboard with narrowed eyes. « Why are you calling me uncle? »

« Come here. » The girl motioned for her to come closer.

Then, Pu Chen heard the girl behind her speak to Zhao Shu in a not-so-soft voice, « Could you help ask Qin Yu from your class for his WeChat ID? »

Zhao Shu had a look of disdain. « Look at you, so timid. You can’t even ask for a WeChat ID. Are you really planning to have a secret crush? Let me tell you, based on my sixteen years of rich life experience, few secret crushes by girls have good outcomes, just a waste of time. If you like someone, confess your feelings. If it doesn’t work out, move on to the next one. »

The pretty girl from Class 6 acted coquettishly, « Oh, please help. »

Zhao Shu replied, « Can’t you see I’m busy erasing the blackboard? »

Pu Chen thought to herself…

She wasn’t intentionally eavesdropping, but they were chatting so openly, and the tea room was so small that it was hard not to overhear.

Pu Chen didn’t want to listen to other people’s secrets, so she moved toward the back door and leaned against the railing, looking downstairs.

In less than two minutes, a tall figure approached beside her. She turned her head, and the person approaching was Qin Yu, barely a meter away from her.

Qin Yu lazily leaned against the railing, openly playing with his phone. His hand belonged to the type that was exceptionally beautiful, with slender fingers and distinct joints.

Qin Yu typed with both hands, his fingers moving quickly on the keyboard.

Pu Chen just glanced over there and quickly looked away.

« Qin Yu. » The pretty girl from Class 6 walked over.

Pu Chen didn’t hear how the girl asked Qin Yu for his WeChat ID; she quickly left the corridor.

The girl looked at Qin Yu, feeling nervous. She tried to remain calm: « Hi, I’m Zhao Shu’s friend. Can I add you on WeChat? »

Qin Yu replied, « Sorry, I don’t have a SIM card in my phone. »

No SIM card, so no WeChat.

He added, « My family is strict, so I can only play small games like ‘连连看’. »

The girl: « … »

While she was distracted, Qin Yu had already entered the classroom.

* * *

The fourth period was English class, and during the break before the third period, Pu Chen went to Mr. Lu Baisheng’s office to get her test paper. They had another English test yesterday afternoon.

Mr. Lu Baisheng was talking to a parent, saying something about the performance being acceptable, take it slowly.

Pu Chen knocked on the door.

Mr. Lu Baisheng gestured for her to come in and handed her the test paper.

The top test paper was hers, scoring 122, four points higher than last time.

« In the next class, these students will discuss their test papers, let them prepare. » With that, Mr. Lu Baisheng handed her a note.

It was a list of students to discuss the questions on stage, and Qin Yu’s name was prominently listed.

Mr. Lu Baisheng often asked students to discuss their test papers, and where they missed points, he supplemented them. Except for her, everyone in the class had a chance to go up and discuss, even Zhao Shu, who failed the test, had discussed it before. Mr. Lu asked her to choose the questions she was confident about.

Mr. Lu didn’t have time to go over her mistakes today, so Pu Chen left with the test paper.

Qin Mingyi’s gaze had followed Pu Chen since she entered the office. Rarely was there someone whose natural beauty stunned her at first sight, and this girl was one of them.

There was a hint of coldness in her gentleness.

Like the softest and clearest lake water, but this lake was on a snowy mountain.

As Pu Chen walked away, Qin Mingyi couldn’t help but praise, « This girl is really beautiful, just a bit cold and doesn’t talk much. »

Mr. Lu said, « She’s not that she doesn’t like talking, but she can’t. She’s very sensible. »

« Huh? » Qin Mingyi didn’t understand for a moment.

Lu Baisheng said, « During elementary school, my voice was so bad that I couldn’t speak at all. »

Qin Mingyi was stunned and couldn’t help but feel sorry for the little girl, even envying her, « It would be great if Qin Yu could be as sensible as her. »

Lu Baisheng glanced at Qin Mingyi without saying anything, thinking to himself: With the way you and He Erge are being raised by your parents, you’re not even one-tenth as good as Pu Wanli, so don’t expect so much.

Qin Mingyi had a little over an hour of free time this morning, the law firm was nearby, so she took the opportunity to come over, and she still had a case to attend in the afternoon. On the day Qin Yu came to report, all the tricky cases in the Shanghai branch were assigned to her, so she hurried over early in the morning and had to ask the driver to bring Qin Yu to school.

Coming over today was to make up for Qin Yu.

Qin Mingyi felt inadequate towards her son. « I don’t know what Qin Yu is thinking in his heart. Whatever I say to him, he just brushes it off. »

Lu Baisheng glanced at his watch, getting ready to go to class.

As for what Qin Yu was thinking, he couldn’t know. Without experiencing it, he couldn’t empathize. « Let him indulge himself for now. When he finds it meaningless, he’ll naturally come back on track. »

I hope so.

Qin Mingyi walked out of the office with Lu Baisheng, worried, « I’m afraid he’ll completely give up on himself. »

As the two walked to the second-floor staircase landing, Lu Baisheng added, « Sis, spend more time with Qin Yu. »

« Where… I have time. » Qin Mingyi was silent for a few seconds before saying, « Even at home, I don’t know what to say to him. When I talk about studying, he doesn’t like to listen. »

Sometimes she felt absent-minded; her son had grown so tall, taller than his father.

Lu Baisheng didn’t comment, but before leaving, he asked Qin Mingyi for one thing, « Sis, don’t tell anyone about my affairs in Sucheng. »

« Don’t worry, I understand the boundaries. » Qin Mingyi waved to Lu Baisheng and went downstairs.

In the classroom, Pu Chen was handing out test papers. Qin Yu’s test paper was on the last page and scored 49 points. Zhao Shu finally didn’t have to be last.

During the break, Qin Yu didn’t leave the classroom. Instead, he was reading a novel in English with his head down. Pu Chen gently placed his test paper on the table. Qin Yu, sitting beside her, didn’t seem like he was going to leave. He looked up and asked, « Is there anything else? »

Pu Chen handed him a line of text that had been prepared earlier: « Teacher Lu wants you to come to the podium to discuss the topics for the next class, » along with the topics to be discussed. After reading it, Qin Yu leaned back in his seat and stared at her, puzzled by why she held such a prejudice against him, unwilling to speak to him.

Pu Chen, feeling awkward under his gaze, reminded him, « Don’t forget to prepare. » Qin Yu understood and explained to her, « When I threw the chalk that day, it wasn’t to deliberately hit you. I helped you clean it up afterwards and even apologized to you. Why are you so narrow-minded that you can’t even have a proper conversation with me? » Pu Chen remained silent.

She typed: « My vocal cords are damaged. I can’t speak. » Qin Yu thought she had a sore throat, so he corrected her, « It’s not damaged, it’s just uncomfortable. » Pu Chen responded, « It’s not just uncomfortable. My vocal cords are really damaged. I’m mute and can’t speak. » Qin Yu looked at her helplessly. Her temperament was quite strong. How much did she not want to talk to him that she even argued about being mute?

Clearly, yesterday when Lu Baisong brought her oden, she was chatting and laughing with him, speaking as if he were Teacher Lu. He saw it all from outside the oden shop. At first, he didn’t understand why Lu Baisong was heading in that direction, but then he saw Pu Chen, realizing that Lu Baisong was delivering oden to her.

He didn’t know how long Pu Chen talked with Lu Baisong, but as soon as he got his oden, he headed home. Qin Yu didn’t care whether she wanted to talk to him or not, but for some reason, he really didn’t like her saying she was mute, even if she was just arguing with him. He didn’t want to hear it. He inexplicably wanted to confront her:

« Sorry, I have severe myopia. It’s hard for me to see your phone. From now on, just talk to me directly if you have something to say. » Pu Chen pursed her lips and turned back to her seat. Qin Yu kept looking at her. For the first time in his life, someone had given him such an attitude.

The bell rang, and Zhao Shu, from the nearby desk, and the one behind, entered through the back door. Qin Yu turned to Zhao Shu and asked, « Is Pu Chen always like this with everyone? » Zhao Shu was puzzled, « Like what? »

Qin Yu replied, « Not fond of talking to people, » or rather, just not fond of talking to him. Zhao Shu said, « You’ve misunderstood. » Qin Yu wasn’t surprised that Pu Chen couldn’t speak. In the three days since he arrived, he had only greeted his desk mate on the first day.

When asked which high school he attended in Beijing, he just said he studied in Beijing without specifying the school. His desk mate was an honest kid who usually spoke little. They didn’t interact, nor did he actively talk about class matters. The words she said to him didn’t exceed three sentences in total.

After class, Qin Yu either slept or played games alone in the corridor, always leaving earlier than her after school. These past two days, the teacher hadn’t asked Pu Chen any questions, and except for collecting and distributing English assignments, Pu Chen never communicated with her classmates.

Because Pu Chen couldn’t speak, there was nothing important to discuss, so nobody bothered her. Zhao Shu explained, « Starry can’t speak. Her vocal cords were damaged since elementary school. Haven’t you noticed she always carries her phone? She can only communicate by typing. » Qin Yu was stunned.