The Silent World And Him - Chapter 09

All the seats were adjusted, and the bell for the end of school rang, and the classmates in the class filed out. Puzhen saw that others were waiting to move their seats until after lunch, so she didn’t want to move early either. After organizing the books on her desk, she took out her campus card from her backpack and grabbed her phone to join the crowd surging towards the cafeteria. Puzhen had never liked squeezing with others and couldn’t run faster than her classmates. In the past, she could usually avoid the peak lunch queue when she went to the cafeteria, but some of her classmates who ate quickly would already be finished by the time she reached the line. Today was the earliest she had ever gone to the cafeteria since starting high school. The corridors and stairs were crowded with people.

« I also want to sit with Qin Yu. Sigh, I’m just not that lucky. »

« How did Teacher Lu let Puzhen and Qin Yu sit together? »

« Pu Chen doesn’t talk, so others feel awkward asking her questions. You don’t know how tough it’s been for Cheng Qiang and Qin Yu to sit together these days. During break, our class girls dragged Cheng Qiang out to ask him about Qin Yu’s situation, and after school, he was surrounded by girls from other classes asking for Qin Yu’s WeChat. Poor Cheng Qiang, he just wants to study, he doesn’t have time to gossip with girls. Yesterday I saw Cheng Qiang going to see Teacher Lu, he probably wanted to change seats. »

« Oh, I see now. »

« Let me sit with Qin Yu, I won’t mind at all. I promise to tell anyone everything they want to know. »

« Yeah, right. »

Several girls laughed and joked.

Pu Chen was used to going to the cafeteria late, and subconsciously, they thought she would still be in the classroom at this time, so they spoke without restraint. She followed behind them, unnoticed, as the stairs were crowded with people in front and behind her, she couldn’t move. Finally, when she reached the bottom of the stairs, Pu Chen turned a corner to avoid them. Not being able to speak turned out to be an advantage when it came to sitting with Qin Yu, for whatever reason. Being able to sit with Qin Yu was already enough for her to feel content. Puzhen ate faster than usual today. Ever since her vocal cords had become damaged and she couldn’t speak anymore, everything she did was done quietly. She never imagined that one day she would feel so impatient again. And it was just a trivial matter of moving seats.

It wasn’t until she was almost finished eating that she didn’t see Qin Yu come to the cafeteria. Peng Jingyang came instead, sitting at a table near the door with several other classmates, but Qin Yu was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he went to eat at a restaurant outside the school, she thought. As Pu Chen walked out of the cafeteria after finishing her meal, she received a message from Qin Yu:

[Help me buy a bottle of water and another loaf of bread, thank you.]

She asked: [Why didn’t you come to the cafeteria for lunch?]

Qin Yu quickly replied: [No time.]

Pu Chen didn’t ask any more questions, unable to figure out if his mood was good or bad.

Originally, she didn’t plan to go to the convenience store today, but she still had some candy and chocolate she bought a few days ago. Coming down the steps from the cafeteria, she turned and headed to the convenience store. The convenience store was crowded with girls who had finished their meals and came to buy snacks. Although Principal Sun had repeatedly stated that snacks were not allowed to be brought into the classroom, few actually followed the rule. They would quietly eat them and then throw away the packaging outside the school. On the shelves, there were many types of bread piled neatly. Pu Chen didn’t like bread and didn’t know which one was good, so she took a picture and sent it to Qin Yu:

[What flavor do you want?]

There were too many varieties, and she felt overwhelmed. Qin Yu replied:

[I’ve never tried it, I don’t know which one is good, just pick one for yourself.]

Pu Chen was a bit picky about appearance, so she picked two packages of bread that looked good. When she was close to the teaching building, Pu Chen was afraid of running into the students on duty and the teachers, so she stuffed the two loaves of bread into her school uniform pockets, and the bottle of water she held in her hand was tucked back into her sleeve. Her loose uniform came in handy at times like this.

When she reached the classroom door, Pu Chen’s steps faltered. Her desk was empty. She quickly entered the classroom, but there was not a single piece of paper in the desk hole.

« Your things have been moved to the fifth row, » a classmate who was cleaning up desks behind her told her.

Pu Chen nodded and looked back, seeing her water bottle on the fifth row seat, a row of textbooks neatly arranged on the bookshelf, and her new desk mate, Qin Yu, leaning against the wall, reading a novel with one hand on his chin. Pu Chen walked over, and Qin Yu looked up,

« Where’s my lunch? » Pu Chen reached out her hand from her school uniform sleeve and gave him the water, then took out the two loaves of bread. Qin Yu hesitated for a moment before taking the things she handed him. He definitely wouldn’t eat something that someone else took out of their sleeve.

Pu Chen asked, « Did you help me move? »

Qin Yu nodded, explaining why he helped her move the books, « I’m going to take a nap later, so waiting for you to finish eating and move the books would have affected me. »

Pu Chen hadn’t expected him to help for this reason, but she still said, « Thank you. »

She pulled out a chair and sat down gently. Why she had to move the chair so carefully, she herself couldn’t understand. Qin Yu ate half a loaf of bread and drank a bottle of water with mediocre taste, making do for lunch.

« How much in total? » he asked Pu Chen.

Pu Chen: [12] She was about to continue typing, saying it was on her, thanking him for helping her move the books and delaying his lunch, but before she could finish,

Qin Yu said, « I’ll owe you for now. Next time, I’ll treat you, don’t refuse then. »

Pu Chen: [No need to be so polite.]

Pu Chen: « No need to be so polite. »

For some reason, Qin Yu always felt her tone when reading the texts she edited, soft and gentle. There was silence for about half a minute.

Qin Yu asked her, « Which breakfast place is good on the street in front of your house? »

Pu Chen: « I don’t know, I never have breakfast outside, my dad always makes it for me. »

Qin Yu nodded. Besides being good at marriage and divorce, he couldn’t think of any other impressive qualities his dad had.

Pu Chen quickly added, « When I come back from school, I’ll ask my dad to ask around the neighbors to see which breakfast place is good. »

Qin Yu finished reading her phone, glanced at her, « Thank you. » He took out a sleep mask from his bag and lay his head on the table to nap.

Pu Chen took out a practice book from the bookshelf, randomly opened a page, unable to calm her mind, and scribbled aimlessly. She turned the pages and wrote lightly, afraid of disturbing Qin Yu. This cautiousness continued until the next morning.

Pu Chen never initiated conversation with Qin Yu during breaks, while Qin Yu was always engrossed in reading English original novels with his forehead resting on the table. Sometimes she heard the rustling sound, and when she looked over, she found Qin Yu flipping through several pages in a row. Did he really understand this novel?

She also noticed that after changing seats, he never went to the corridor outside during breaks to play games anymore. She didn’t know if it was because it was inconvenient for him to go out.

Pu Chen took her small hand warmer and stood up to give him space, so it would be convenient for him to come and go. She wandered outside the classroom for a while before returning.

Qin Yu looked at her, « Where did you go? »

Pu Chen: « Just outside the corridor to get some fresh air. »

Qin Yu asked, « Isn’t it cold? »

Pu Chen: « A little, but it’s okay. »

Qin Yu: « Don’t go out in such cold weather. »

With that, he lowered his head to read his novel. Pu Chen didn’t know how to reply, so she just opened her water bottle and took a sip.

The bell rang for the last class of the morning, and Qin Yu squeezed past her and headed straight to the cafeteria. Without the motivation to change seats, Puzhen went to the cafeteria today at her own pace.

« Pu Chen. » Someone called her name in the noisy cafeteria. At first, Puzhen thought she had misheard; how could Qin Yu be calling her at this time? She followed the voice and found Qin Yu gesturing for her to come over and sit with him and Peng Jingyang.

Amidst numerous curious or envious glances, Pu Chen walked over to their table.

« Sit. » Qin Yu nodded toward the empty seat in front of him.

Pu Chen sat opposite Qin Yu, feeling awkward, regretting her decision to come over. Not only did she have to endure the curious gazes of the people around her, but her tray was also uncomfortably close to Qin Yu’s. Her heartbeat quickened involuntarily.

Qin Yu and Peng Jingyang, afraid that she might feel uncomfortable, continued their previous conversation. After listening for half a minute, Pu Chen finally understood that they were talking about games. She didn’t expect someone like Peng Jingyang, a top student, to play games.

Qin Yu looked at Pu Chen’s tray, two vegetarian dishes and a braised shrimp, while Peng Jingyang had ordered two vegetarian dishes and half a braised fish for lunch today. These two matched quite well in terms of dietary preferences.

Qin Yu asked Pu Chen, « Is the shrimp tasty? »

Puzhen nodded, the braised shrimp in the cafeteria was her favorite.

Qin Yu picked up a braised shrimp from Pu Chen’s plate with his chopsticks, frowned slightly, and ate it. Peng Jingyang looked at Qin Yu inexplicably. Wasn’t this person someone who never ate fish or shrimp?

Qin Yu picked out two of the best sweet and sour ribs from his own plate and gave them to Pu Chen, « You can have these. The shrimp tastes good, try the ribs. » At this moment, the noise in the cafeteria seemed to be blocked by something, and Pu Chen couldn’t hear it. She could only hear her own pounding heartbeat.

At this moment, in the cafeteria, the noisy voices seemed to be blocked out by something, she couldn’t hear them, only the « thump thump » of her heartbeat.

* * *

That evening after the evening self-study, Qin Yu sent her a message:

[Do you have any questions about today’s math, physics, and chemistry homework?]

Pu Chen thought he was urging for answers, [I haven’t finished yet. For the ones I don’t know, I’ll search online for the answers. If I can’t find them, I’ll ask Peng Jingyang.]

Qin Yu didn’t reply. He opened his computer and played a few games, winning each time, which wasn’t fun. He went to the bookshelf to find math competition papers to practice.

In the following days, at exactly half past nine every evening, Pu Chen would receive a message from Qin Yu urging her to send him the homework answers. A month later, the final exams arrived. Pu Chen and Qin Yu were assigned to different exam rooms, far apart, in two different teaching buildings. During the exams, there was no evening self-study, no homework after class. She didn’t contact Qin Yu for three days in a row, and their WeChat messages remained as they were the night before the exam.

When the last exam ended and the bell rang, the campus was more lively than usual. After the exams, they each returned to their classrooms. Lu Baisheng waited for a while, but Qin Yu didn’t show up. He asked, « Who was Qin Yu in the same exam room with? » Zhao Shu raised her hand. She saw Qin Yu leaving the exam room and heading towards the east gate of the school, where the school supermarket was also located. It seemed he wasn’t going to buy anything.

As both were not good at studying, she lied for Qin Yu: « Mr. Lu, Qin Yu must have had something urgent come up. After the exam, he received a call and hurriedly left. » Lu Baisheng nodded. He was always concise in his speech. He informed them to rest at home for a few days, return to school on the weekend, and then announced the end of the school day.

Just as Pu Chen left the classroom, she received a message from her aunt. Her aunt was coming to pick her up after class today. She felt like she had a motor under her feet and dashed towards the school gate.

« Pu Chen, » someone called from behind her. Pu Chen stopped and turned around. She silently called out, « Mr. Lu. »

Lu Baisheng caught up with her from behind, smiling, « Why are you walking so fast? »

Pu Chen typed on her phone: [My aunt is waiting for me at the school gate.]

Lu Baisheng glanced at her phone, a little puzzled. He said, « Then go quickly. »

Pu Chen walked towards the main gate, while he headed towards the parking lot.

When Lu Baisheng drove to the school gate, he happened to see the affectionate aunt and niece on the roadside. Pu Wenxin had an elegant temperament, with delicate makeup, looking bright and sexy. Passersby couldn’t help but take a second look at her. From afar, Lu Baisheng looked at Pu Wenxin. She seemed thinner than before. It had been a long time since Pu Wenxin had seen her niece. She lifted Pu Chen up. Pu Chen was almost as tall as her, so it was quite difficult to lift her up.

« Let’s see if our little morning treasure has gained weight. » Pu Chen smiled silently, feeling a bit embarrassed as students passing by stared at her.

Pu Wenxin put her down and said, « You’ve lost weight compared to the summer vacation. Is it because of the pressure of exams recently? »

Pu Chen shook her head, indicating she hadn’t lost weight. She linked arms with her aunt to cross the street: [Aunt, why do you have time to come back today?]

Pu Wenxin replied, « I’m here to discuss a project. I’ll return to Shanghai tomorrow morning. »

Just staying at home for a day.

Pu Chen felt reluctant and hugged her aunt’s arm tightly.

Pu Wenxin promised her niece, « I’ll take consecutive days off during the Chinese New Year, and spend more time with you at home then. »

As they talked, the two walked into an alley. Pu Chen saw someone at the entrance of a restaurant, and her footsteps halted. Qin Yu was facing her direction, sitting near the wall at the entrance of the restaurant, where there was a row of chairs for customers to queue. This restaurant was popular on the internet and was quite famous in this area. Whether it was the dishes, the service, or the dining environment, there was nothing to complain about, except that it was crowded, and you had to wait in line for a long time. After finishing the exam, he didn’t go to the classroom for the meeting. She thought he had something important to do, but it turned out he came to queue for dinner.