The Silent World And Him - Chapter 06

Pu Chen pretended to be looking at her English test paper, but her gaze was unfocused. She had almost forgotten what she sounded like when she spoke. Sometimes, she struggled to remember her own voice. There were many videos in the family computer of her participating in the children’s choir before, but she never dared to watch them.

When she was young, her aunt loved to hear her speak in dialect. Her aunt would say, « When our little Chen Bao speaks in Wu dialect, she can melt people’s hearts. »

« Knock, knock. » Lu Baisheng passed by her and lightly tapped twice on her desk, reminding her to pay attention to the lesson. Lu Baisheng didn’t stop and continued walking to the back of the classroom.

Pu Chen sat up straight, came to her senses, and earnestly corrected her test paper.

Qin Yu, who also didn’t pay attention to the lesson, sat beside her. After half of the English class, whether it was what Lu Baisheng said or the summary of the knowledge points by the student at the podium, Qin Yu didn’t absorb a single word. Unprecedentedly, he didn’t read extracurricular books during this English class. He played with the neutral pen he had just bought from the convenience store. Occasionally, he glanced at Pu Chen sitting beside the podium. She was very focused, using a red pen to correct her test paper.

At the podium, a classmate was explaining the reading comprehension section. It was soon Qin Yu’s turn to go up and explain a reading comprehension passage.

His desk mate, Cheng Qiang, exchanged his own test paper with Qin Yu’s and whispered, « You won’t have time to read the passage again on the podium. Just follow my translation. »

He briefly summarized the main idea of ​​the reading comprehension passage and prepared all the relevant points. Qin Yu just needed to follow what he wrote, and he wouldn’t go wrong.

Qin Yu then looked at Cheng Qiang’s score: 131 points.
« Thank you. »
Cheng Qiang replied, « You’re welcome. If you take the test seriously, you’ll definitely score higher than me. »

Qin Yu could read the original English text without difficulty, so his English wasn’t bad. During yesterday’s English test, Qin Yu was distracted while looking at the test paper. Later, when it was almost time to hand in the paper, Qin Yu randomly filled in the answers, and the whole test paper was filled with guesses.

Of course, there was another possibility: Qin Yu really couldn’t understand. He might have just pretended to read the English original text. But this probability was extremely low.

Soon, Lu Baisheng called Qin Yu to the front. Countless eyes focused on him, knowing that he had scored the lowest in the class, wondering how he would explain.

Lu Baisheng put his hands in his pockets and stood in front of the blackboard at the back of the classroom. He knew Qin Yu’s character. The 49 points were probably filled out with his eyes half closed. Qin Yu definitely didn’t know what the passage was about.

Lu Baisheng gestured to him, « Read the passage once. »

No matter how arrogant Qin Yu was, he wouldn’t be disrespectful in this situation. This was the classroom, and whatever Lu Baisheng said, he would do.

As he read aloud, everyone, except for Lu Baisheng, was shocked. It felt like listening to an original English movie soundtrack, and this pronunciation wasn’t something one could achieve overnight.

If they hadn’t seen Qin Yu reading it, they wouldn’t believe that it was Qin Yu, who scored 49 points, pronouncing it like this.

Listening to him read was an auditory delight. Even Zhao Shu, who didn’t understand anything, hoped that Qin Yu would continue reading.

Pu Chen kept her head down, only seeing his school uniform in her peripheral vision. Then she covered her forehead with her hand, not even looking at his school uniform.

Soon, the passage was finished. Qin Yu explained the summarized content on his paper, while Lu Baisheng walked around the classroom, supplementing the knowledge points and solving the problems Qin Yu missed.

After all the papers were reviewed, there were three minutes left before class ended.

Lu Baisheng, who was always easygoing, said, « Tidy up your desks. As soon as the bell rings, you can head to the cafeteria. Our class may not be the top in studies, but we can’t fall behind in eating. »

Laughter filled the classroom.

Lu Baisheng called Qin Yu out, and Zhao Shu gave him a sympathetic look. It used to be her who Lu Baisheng talked to most of the time, but now that Qin Yu was here, she was completely relieved.

This time, she improved by one rank in the English test and ranked second from the bottom. She hurriedly sent a message to her dad to share the good news.

Outside the classroom, Lu Baisheng closed the back door and said softly, « Your mom sat in my office this morning. »

Qin Yu remained silent, as if it had nothing to do with him.

« How long do you plan to keep this up? Give me some idea. » In the quiet corridor, Lu Baisheng’s voice didn’t sound like questioning at all. It was calm and gentle.

« Qin Yu, respect works both ways. If you tell me, ‘Teacher Lu, for the next two months, I don’t want to do anything, just leave me alone,’ I’ll definitely respect your thoughts, because everyone needs an outlet. But venting doesn’t mean you can behave recklessly. »

With his current attitude, Qin Yu also spoke a few words from his heart, « I haven’t given up. »

« I can’t get excited for the time being. »

« I don’t want to do anything. »

« It’s boring. »

He spoke intermittently.

« I won’t mention my issues. » Qin Yu looked at Lu Baisheng and said, « Now I finally understand why you can remember every mistake Pu Chen makes. »

Lu Baisheng paused for a moment and then continued without changing his expression, « Hmm, why do you think so? »

Qin Yu said, « I only found out today that her vocal cords are damaged. »

The last word coincided with the end-of-class bell.

« Let’s go eat. » Lu Baisheng left first.

Qin Yu leaned against the railing, waiting for most of the people in the classroom to leave before preparing to go to the cafeteria.

Zhao Shu hummed a cheerful tune and came out of the classroom carrying a mop bucket.

Qin Yu looked at her, « Why are you mopping at noon? »

Zhao Shu smiled, « I’m happy. » She stood in front of Qin Yu, shaking the bucket in her hand. « You don’t have to mop today. I’ll do all your chores. It’s a bit unfair for me, the one who ranked second from the bottom, to ask the one who ranked last to mop. You study well, and I’ll take care of your chores. »

Qin Yu: « … »

« Oh, by the way. » Zhao Shu took a few steps, then turned back. « Now that you know Chen Chen can’t speak, don’t make fun of her shortcomings in the future, or you’ll bear the consequences yourself. You can go ask around. The whole freshman year knows that I’m backing her up. »

Qin Yu was speechless, took his phone, and went downstairs to have lunch with Peng

« Oh, by the way. » Zhao Shu took a few steps and then turned back, « Now you know that Chenchen can’t speak. In the future, you’re not allowed to make fun of her disability, otherwise, you’ll bear the consequences. You can go and inquire, the entire freshman year knows that I’m protecting Chenchen. »

Qin Yu remained silent, grabbed his phone, and went downstairs to find Peng Jingyang for lunch.

In the long queue at the cafeteria window, Pu Chen stood in the middle. She hesitated while deleting and selecting dishes on her phone for lunch today, a bit picky due to being spoiled by her father.

When it was her turn, the cafeteria auntie smiled and asked, « What would Chenchen like for lunch today? » Pu Chen queued at this window every day, and the auntie knew her. She handed her phone to the auntie to see.

After ordering, Pu Chen carried her tray to find a seat. At that moment, there was a commotion around, with many girls looking in the direction of the cafeteria entrance as if they had made an appointment. Qin Yu and Peng Jingyang appeared in the cafeteria, attracting the attention of many girls who whispered and discussed them.

Pu Chen first saw Peng Jingyang, then looked to his side, and her eyes met Qin Yu’s unexpectedly. She quickly turned her head away and walked to the empty table at the far end.

Qin Yu didn’t retract his gaze and kept looking at her. He didn’t feel it in the classroom before, but now, in the lively cafeteria, seeing her sitting alone in the corner, he felt even more guilty for the thoughtless words he had said in the morning.

He didn’t have a meal card, so Peng Jingyang asked him what dishes he wanted. Qin Yu replied, « Anything except fish and shrimp. » During the meal, Qin Yu glanced several times in Pu Chen’s direction.

Peng Jingyang also noticed his distraction and asked, « What are you looking at? » Qin Yu replied, « I’m looking at Pu Chen. I didn’t know she couldn’t speak before. »

He asked Peng Jingyang, « Does she always eat alone? » « Yeah, » Peng Jingyang added, « Pu Chen has no friends. There’s a classmate in our class who went to the same primary school as Pu Chen. She said Pu Chen was often teased by mischievous classmates in fifth and sixth grade. Many boys even played pranks, imitating her inability to speak and mimicking her father’s way of walking and hand gestures. There was a time when she didn’t want to go to school. »

Now in high school, maybe because she’s a few years older, no one teases her anymore. Perhaps she has psychological shadows, or maybe she’s afraid that playing with others will be boring. Over time, she got used to being alone.

Qin Yu asked, « What about her dad? » Peng Jingyang explained, « Her dad is deaf and mute. He runs a repair shop in the alley downstairs from your apartment building. Her mom died in a car accident a few years ago, and her dad’s leg was injured in the accident. Anyway, Pu Chen has had it tough. »

Suddenly, Qin Yu lost his appetite. After returning from the cafeteria, Qin Yu checked his phone in the corridor outside the classroom.

Twenty minutes passed, and Pu Chen arrived late. She had her hands in her school uniform pockets, occasionally licking her lips, as if eating something. When Pu Chen turned the corner of the stairs and saw Qin Yu, on such a cold day, only he was standing alone in the corridor, feeling the cold wind.

« Pu Chen, » Qin Yu called out to her as she was about to touch the classroom door handle. Pu Chen looked over. Qin Yu gestured to her, « Come here, I want to talk to you, I’m really sorry about this morning’s incident. »

After hesitating for a moment, Pu Chen walked over. « I didn’t mean it. Last night, I saw you talking to Teacher Lu, and I thought you… » Qin Yu paused and didn’t continue. He apologized to her, « I’m sorry, are you okay? » Pu Chen shook her head and typed a message for him to read: [It’s okay, as long as we clear it up, you don’t have to worry, I’m not angry, I know you didn’t mean it.]

Qin Yu asked her, « Are you really not angry at all? » Pu Chen blinked, not used to lying, and told him the truth: [I was only mad for one class, but after eating, I wasn’t mad anymore.]

Qin Yu was amused by her, realizing that lunch saved him. Pu Chen added, [Not being mad means, there must have been a misunderstanding.]

They were close, and there was a faint fruity sweetness about her. Qin Yu was sure she was eating something. He had been waiting for her here for nearly twenty minutes, but the journey from the cafeteria to the teaching building took only five or six minutes, indicating she had gone to the school store in between.

He asked, « What are you eating? » Pu Chen replied, « … » She told him: [Thousand Paper Crane candy.] So she went to the school store to buy candy.

Qin Yu didn’t know what candy it was, and he was impatient: « Show me what it looks like. » Pu Chen took out a few from her pocket to show him. Small, colorful. Before Qin Yu could see clearly, Pu Chen put the candy back in her pocket.

Qin Yu was sure she wasn’t angry anymore and asked her, « Class monitor, can I add you on WeChat? I didn’t pay attention in class and don’t know how to do the homework. Can you send it to me after you finish? » This was the first time he had actively asked for someone’s contact information.

Pu Chen was still eating candy and enjoying it. Suddenly, he wanted to tease her, « If you don’t let me copy your homework, I’ll tell Teacher Lu that you eat candy in class too. »

Pu Chen: « … »

Her eyes widened involuntarily, filled with incredulity. Qin Yu, seeing her amusing expression, chuckled to himself. He opened his own QR code and handed his phone screen to her, his voice unconsciously softened, « Add me, okay? »