The Silent World And Him - Chapter 07
Pu Chen couldn’t refuse Qin Yu’s request to add WeChat. After adding him, she found herself distracted three times in the afternoon. She had never experienced this during class before.
Evening self-study proceeded as usual. After the last class in the afternoon, Zhao Shu began her cleaning duties again. Pu Chen didn’t go to the cafeteria for dinner; her dinner was always simple, a bottle of yogurt and an apple, which she finished in the classroom.
Seeing Zhao Shu alone cleaning the windows, Pu Chen put down her half-empty yogurt and went to help. Zhao Shu turned around to see Pu Chen approaching with a cloth, « Chenchen, you don’t need to clean, I can finish this in minutes. »
Pu Chen smiled and ignored her, standing in front of the window carefully wiping it. Zhao Shu chatted with her, « Did Qin Yu apologize to you, that careless kid? » Pu Chen nodded, taking out her phone from her pocket: [He apologized to me at noon.]
Zhao Shu said with a smile, « Well, don’t take it to heart, he’s probably just a big mouth at times, not malicious. We’re generous and beautiful kids, we shouldn’t bother with him. » Pu Chen replied, [I wasn’t angry before he apologized. I guessed he didn’t mean it intentionally. Peng Jingyang can be friends with him, so he shouldn’t be the unreliable type who talks nonsense.]
After reading, Zhao Shu laughed and said, « It seems that Qin Yu has benefited from Peng Jingyang, in terms of the importance of making friends. »
« What benefit did I get from him? » Pu Chen turned around to see Qin Yu, who had entered the classroom at some point, leaning back in his chair leisurely watching them.
Since they hadn’t said anything bad about him, Zhao Shu calmly said, « You’ve benefited from his good reputation card. Peng Jingyang left a good impression on us, people tend to be judged by the company they keep, so you’re not bad either. »
Qin Yu hadn’t expected his character to be proven by Peng Jingyang. He asked Zhao Shu, « Is the class monitor on duty today? » Zhao Shu raised her eyebrows proudly, « No, Chenchen saw that I’m kind and beautiful, so she’s helping me. »
Qin Yu said nothing, stood up and walked to Pu Chen’s side, reaching out, « Give me the cloth. » Pu Chen looked puzzled. Qin Yu said, « You can’t reach the top windows, you need to stand on a stool. »
After a slight pause, he added, « Today, I’m on duty. » Pu Chen handed him the cloth and stood next to him for more than ten seconds before returning to her seat. She then continued drinking the remaining half bottle of yogurt. She didn’t know what was happening behind the classroom, or if the windows were cleaned properly. She felt embarrassed to keep turning her head.
* * *
After evening self-study, Pu Chen stood up to pack her bag and casually glanced back. Qin Yu’s seat was already empty.
Back home, Pu Chen took a hot shower and started doing her homework. Just past ten o’clock, Qin Yu reminded her in the chat box to send him the completed homework. Qin Yu adding her on WeChat wasn’t to ask about English questions she didn’t understand; he genuinely wanted to copy the homework.
Pu Chen wasn’t confident in her grades, so she tactfully said, [I’m not sure about many questions in math and physics, you study better than me.] Although it was just text chatting, when Qin Yu typed these words on the keyboard, his fingertips were very light, as if corresponding to the tone of speech, [Didn’t you say you’re not angry with me anymore? Then give me the homework to copy.]
Pu Chen sucked on her straw, explaining, [That’s not what I meant. I won’t refuse to let you copy.] Qin Yu asked, [Are you eating something?]
The topic jumped too much, and Pu Chen almost didn’t react. She exclaimed, [Huh? How did you know?] Qin Yu guessed and looked at the message she replied with on the screen; he could imagine her current expression.
Leaning on his chin, he typed with one hand, [What are you eating?] Pu Chen obediently replied, [Drinking milk.] She felt like a child, drinking so much milk in a day.
Qin Yu asked, [Which subjects have you finished? Send them all to me.] Pu Chen took pictures of all the completed homework and sent them to him; she hadn’t done her math homework yet.
Qin Yu opened the screenshots she sent and casually copied her answers with a pen against the computer screen. He had just copied half of the test paper when there was a knock on the door.
« Qin Yu? » Qin Mingyi had just returned and stood at the door of his bedroom, calling him softly. Qin Yu replied indifferently, « Doing homework. »
With a « click, » Qin Mingyi pushed open the door. Qin Yu didn’t even lift his head. If it were any other student caught copying homework when their mother came in, they would be flustered and hurriedly close the page, but he acted as if nothing was wrong, copying as he pleased.
Qin Mingyi held a fruit tray in her hand, casually washed a few fruits and put them in. She didn’t know what Qin Yu liked to eat, so she picked the most expensive ones when passing by the fruit shop. « Have some fruit before you continue. » She placed the fruit tray on the desk, trying to find something to talk about.
Qin Yu didn’t respond, treating the fruit as if it didn’t exist. Qin Mingyi moved a chair to sit beside the desk, feeling the awkward atmosphere. She could only look at the computer screen with Qin Yu and ask, « Do you have a lot of homework? »
Sure, here it is with space between paragraphs:
—
« Convenient? » He Jinshuo asked, « At the law firm. »
Qin Mingyi inquired, « Regarding the case? »
He Jinshuo put down his work and rubbed his brow, « Go on. »
Qin Mingyi stood by the French window, arms crossed, and asked him, « You said a few days ago that you wanted to come to Sucheng to see Qin Yu. Are you… getting married again? »
He Jinshuo paused in his actions, « Since when did you start caring about my personal matters? Don’t worry, whether I get married or not in the future, I won’t have any more children, which won’t affect Qin Yu’s inheritance. »
Qin Mingyi wasn’t surprised by his blunt statement. After divorcing He Jinshuo, nine out of ten conversations they had were related to the interests of the law firm. However, He Jinshuo’s explicit statement that he wouldn’t have any more children caught her off guard. Their property wasn’t just the shares in the law firm; that was only a small part. Qin’s family belonged to her, and He’s family belonged to He Jinshuo. That was the main part of the property. Of course, it was best that he didn’t have any more children, so Qin Yu wouldn’t be shortchanged in terms of money.
Sometimes she wondered how she and He Jinshuo could end up like this from first love to today, except for sadness, there was nothing else.
« Asking whether you’re getting married isn’t about caring for your private matters, and I don’t have that much free time. If you’re planning your fourth marriage, » Qin Mingyi emphasized the word ‘fourth,’ « don’t tell your son yet. He’s not in a good mood right now. I’m reflecting on it. Apart from giving him money over the years, what else have I given him? »
He Jinshuo said, « You don’t need to reflect. Qin Yu’s habit of being dramatic doesn’t stem from a lack of money. You go and ask those children who work hard in society, ask them if they want money or their parents’ nagging. »
Qin Mingyi didn’t want to argue with him, suppressing her anger, she said, « Then maybe you shouldn’t come over for now. Qin Yu still has over a month of winter vacation. You can pick him up back to Beijing then. »
« What about you? » He Jinshuo asked.
Qin Mingyi replied, « I have a project overseas. I need to go on a business trip. »
He Jinshuo asked, « Won’t you be back for the New Year? »
Qin Mingyi responded with a sound of affirmation.
He Jinshuo guessed that she didn’t want to come back to face relatives and friends at home. Qin Yu was injured before, and it caused quite a stir. Everyone thought she had intervened in someone else’s marriage and successfully replaced the former wife. But that wasn’t the truth. Others didn’t believe it, but he believed her. If she were the kind of person who could take the initiative and put aside her face, their marriage wouldn’t have reached such a deadlock.
He comforted her, « That’s a good time to clear your mind. Don’t worry about what others say, you don’t expect them to give you money, don’t bother putting on a good face for them. »
Qin Mingyi said, « Thank you. »
This was their first non-work-related phone call in six months. He Jinshuo chatted with her a little more, « How’s our son doing now? »
« He hardly talks to me, » Qin Mingyi felt guilty, « I don’t plan on getting married again. I’ll spend more time with him. If you have time, please also pay more attention to him. »
He Jinshuo fell silent for a moment, « Mingyi, is it necessary for you to do this? »
Qin Mingyi said, « I didn’t ask you not to get married, just to spend some time with our son. »
He Jinshuo felt that Qin Mingyi was making a fuss over nothing, « He’s almost as tall as me, does he still need me to accompany him? If you don’t watch him for two days, he’ll start to find you annoying. If you have that time, you might as well relax. »
Qin Mingyi had nothing to say. If they continued, they would definitely argue. She was angry that he had time to accompany his girlfriend but not to inquire about his son. When the conversation wasn’t going well, she said angrily, « I’m hanging up! »
He Jinshuo was most annoyed when she threatened to hang up, « Why are you giving me attitude and showing me your displeasure? »
Qin Mingyi couldn’t bear it any longer, « He Jinshuo, are you kidding me? Do I dare to give you attitude? »
Apologies for the misunderstanding. Here’s the revised version with « Qin Yu » as a boy:
« What temper you have, always throwing your attitude in my face. »
Qin Yu couldn’t take it anymore: « He Junshuo, are you kidding me? Have I ever thrown my attitude at you? »
His skill at turning the tables was just as good as it was in the beginning. It sounded like all those years were spent with him throwing his attitude at her.
He drank half a cup of coffee to calm himself down.
« I won’t argue with you, »
He Junshuo controlled his tone, trying to sound calm and composed:
« Yu, can you stop blaming yourself for everything? Our son was injured, I didn’t blame you. You don’t want that kind of thing to happen either. Don’t be so cautious just because our son is like this now. Remember, it’s not your fault, you don’t need to please anyone. »
Qin Yu opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. The incident of their son being stabbed a few months ago had become a taboo in the family, and no one wanted to mention it.
The person who stabbed Qin was Chen Zhilun’s ex-wife. Half a year ago, Chen Zhilun was still her fiancé. If it weren’t for this incident, she and Chen Zhilun would have already registered for marriage and started her third marriage. But now, she and Chen Zhilun were like strangers.
When Chen Zhilun divorced his ex-wife, his career was at a low point, his funds were cut off, and his company was in debt crisis. They argued every two days and fought every three days, and it ended in a breakup.
In the following years, Chen Zhilun made a comeback. At the end of last year, his company went public in two places. Their relationship had been good over the past few years, he was particularly tolerant of her, and he had planned to marry her this year.
Just before they got their marriage certificate, Chen Zhilun’s ex-wife somehow found out that Chen Zhilun’s company had never been in debt crisis in the first place. The so-called debt was actually owed by his other company, which was registered in the Cayman Islands and controlled by Chen Zhilun himself.
His ex-wife also heard from someone that she, as a lawyer, was the third party in their marriage. It was her idea that allowed Chen Zhilun to divorce smoothly without dividing his property. It was true that she had met Chen Zhilun during his marriage, but only because Chen Zhilun’s company had business dealings with her law firm. After the cooperation ended, she had no contact with Chen Zhilun, and they only reconnected after his divorce, when he actively pursued her. But who would believe that?
In his ex-wife’s eyes, now that Chen Zhilun owned so many assets and rarely cared about his daughter, there was a high probability that his daughter would not inherit much in the future. Chen Zhilun was in his early forties now, and having another child was very normal.
His ex-wife became more and more resentful as she thought about it, and coupled with her dissatisfaction with her own life, she went to settle scores with Chen Zhilun, with predictable results.
His ex-wife lost her temper and vented all her anger on Qin. She had never intended to let Qin live, even stabbing him twice. The incident happened at the school gate just after school, and Qin was talking to his classmates at the time, completely unaware.
The car from Qin’s family, which was supposed to pick him up after school, was parked across the street, tens of meters away. The driver couldn’t react in time, and by the time he rushed out of the car, it was too late.
Fortunately, Qin survived.
He was supposed to participate in a math competition the next day, but missed the opportunity. At that time, rumors were rife in the school that he had been a third party in someone else’s marriage, so that woman went to retaliate against Qin. It wasn’t spread by the students; the woman blurted it out while stabbing Qin.
Later, she found out that Chen Zhilun had indeed transferred the joint property before the divorce. Who would have thought that under that good-looking appearance, there was such a despicable heart.
After his ex-wife was arrested, when Chen Zhilun heard that his ex-wife might be sentenced to life imprisonment, he burst into tears. What was he crying for, who knows.
Chen Zhilun’s daughter would take the high school entrance examination next year. Since her mother’s incident, she had been on leave at home, unwilling to go out, and had developed serious psychological problems.
However, during this period, she went to the hospital once and went to see Qin, apologizing to her mother. Qin resented them, saying that a good girl had been ruined by them adults.
Qin lay in the hospital for more than a month, and later stayed at home to recuperate. When his health recovered almost, she brought him to Sucheng, hoping to give him a quiet learning environment. However, even though she and her son were in the same city and had more time together, their mother-son relationship had reached an unprecedented deadlock.
« Yu? »
Seeing that there was no response on the other end of the phone, He Junshuo called out to him.
Of course, here it is with spaces between paragraphs:
« Ming Yi? » He Guanshuo called out to her when there was still no response on the other end of the phone.
Qin Mingyi snapped out of her thoughts and replied, « I’m listening. »
He Guanshuo, still worried about his son, said, « Baisheng is now with Qin and the homeroom teacher. Talk to him about what to do. I won’t chat with you anymore, I have another call coming in. »
Before hanging up, He Guanshuo explained, « It’s a call from a client. » He didn’t want Qin Mingyi to think he wasn’t concerned about his son’s studies because he was answering a call from another woman.
After the call ended, Qin Mingyi remained calm for a moment, realizing that He Guanshuo’s words weren’t entirely meaningless.
She first messaged Lu Baisheng to ask if he was available.
Lu Baisheng then called her back.
Qin Mingyi asked, « Is Qin still behaving the same in class? »
Lu Baisheng didn’t hide it, « Yeah, except for math class, he sleeps through all the other classes. I’m planning to adjust the seating arrangement, and I’ll seat Qin with Pu Chen. »
Qin Mingyi asked, « Is that the pretty girl who doesn’t speak? » She remembered seeing Pu Chen’s test paper in the office and remembered the name.
Lu Baisheng replied, « Yeah. »
Qin Mingyi asked, « How are her grades? »
Lu Baisheng honestly replied, « They’re quite average. She had a car accident and her throat got damaged, so she fell behind for several years. She hasn’t caught up since and doesn’t communicate with others. »
Following his lead, Qin Mingyi said, « Having those grades is already good. »
Qin Mingyi didn’t ask much more. Since Lu Baisheng arranged the seating, he had his reasons, and she didn’t want to say much more.
Perhaps if Qin sat with Pu Chen and saw how hard the girl was working despite her difficulties, it might touch him.
Thinking this way, Qin Mingyi felt slightly relieved and hoped her son would recover soon.
After finishing the call with Lu Baisheng, she had nothing else to do, so she knocked on Qin’s door again.
Qin asked from inside, « What’s up? »
Qin Mingyi pushed the door open and found something to say, « Do you have enough fruit? Do you want me to wash some more for you? » She glanced at the fruit plate, which remained untouched.
Qin replied, « I’m not hungry. »
Qin Mingyi had to take the fruit plate away.
Qin spent an hour copying all the test papers. He only had the math test paper left to write, and Pu Chen hadn’t sent the answers yet, so he messaged her: [Where are you?]
Pu Chen replied anxiously: [Just wait a bit longer, I haven’t solved the last math problem yet.]
Qin turned over the math test paper to the last question. This question was so easy for him that he didn’t even need to think about it; he knew how to solve it at a glance.
He found a piece of scrap paper and carefully wrote down the solution step by step, with neat handwriting. He had never been so serious about writing out the steps, not even in elementary school.
Qin finished the question in a few minutes. He checked the time on the computer below; it was still early. He played a game leisurely before finally taking a picture of the scrap paper and sending it to Pu Chen, [I asked Peng Jingyang for you.]
Pu Chen was surprised: [Did he really do it?]
Qin replied: [Would it be me instead?]
Pu Chen didn’t expect Peng Jingyang, who had the aura of a top student and campus heartthrob, to be so patient. There were several steps he could have skipped, but he still wrote them down meticulously, even indicating the relevant knowledge points beside them.
She replied to Qin: [I’ve never interacted with a top student like Peng Jingyang before. He’s even more patient and humble than I imagined. Please thank him for me.]
Qin said, [If you encounter any problems in the future, tell me, and I’ll ask him for you.]
Pu Chen thanked him and began to carefully study the answers.
At eleven thirty, Qin sent a message: [I just finished copying. Please do your homework faster in the future, or I’ll be copying until midnight, affecting my sleep.]
It was rare to see someone copying homework so confidently.
Pu Chen kindly advised him: [For the homework assigned by the teacher, you should still do some of it in the future, at least the parts you know how to do.]
Certainly, here’s the translated paragraph with spaces between each paragraph:
Qin looked at the computer screen, and he could even imagine Pu Chen, with a serious expression, typing and teaching him at this moment. It was strange; he always had endless patience with her: « Okay, I’ll listen to you. The class representative’s lecture is right. I’ll try to do some homework in the future. »
Pu Chen continued to advise him, « There’s still a month before the final exam. Set a target score for yourself, not too high. For example, in English, set a goal of 70 points for yourself. When you achieve that score, you’ll be very happy. »
Qin’s fingers paused on the keyboard for a few seconds before replying, « Alright, I’ll set it at 70 points. If I score 70 points in English at the end of the term, you’ll help me with all the winter vacation assignments. » Pu Chen was puzzled, wondering if she was making things difficult for herself.
She asked him, « How are your scores in other subjects? » Qin replied, « Other subjects are not as good as English. » Pu Chen sighed slightly, wondering how poor his grades were. Qin said, « It’s a deal. If I score 70 points in English at the end of the term, you’ll do my winter vacation assignments. »
Pu Chen wanted to give Qin some motivation without dampening his enthusiasm, so she set a threshold that was neither too high nor too low: « Let’s make it 80 points. If you score 80 points in every subject, I’ll do all your winter vacation assignments. If you fail to score 80 points in one subject, I’ll only do your English homework. Is that okay? »
Qin suddenly smiled; she knew how to negotiate with him. He asked, « Can we exclude Chinese? After all, I’m not good at controlling the score in Chinese; I can’t just score exactly 80. » The two reached a friendly agreement.
Pu Chen was just curious, « If I don’t let you copy homework, are you really going to tell Teacher Lu that I bought candy? » Qin replied, « Of course. If you don’t let me copy homework, why wouldn’t I tell the teacher you eat candy? » Pu Chen thought for a moment, then deleted the ‘good night’ she typed in the chat box.
