The Silent World And Him - Chapter 27

Every morning at 6:20 a.m. became the most ritualistic time for Qin Yu. He appeared in the alley on time, waiting calmly for Pu Chen to come downstairs. After Pu Chen finished washing up, she would quietly open the balcony window and wave to him from upstairs.

Qin Yu smiled at her, repeating the same message every day: [“No rush, take your time eating.”]

As she watched him, Pu Chen blindly typed messages on her phone, checking for typos before sending: [“I’m not in a hurry, eating very slowly, really.”]

Through the French window, Qin Yu saw the potted plants on the balcony and asked: [“Are those flowers and plants you’re taking care of?”]

Pu Chen replied: [“I bought them, but my dad takes care of them.”]

Qin Yu asked: [“Can you give me one? I’ll take care of it.”]

Pu Chen was willing to give it to him. She took photos of all the potted plants on the balcony and sent them to him, saying: [“You pick one.”]

Qin Yu didn’t know the names of some of the plants, but he could tell they were well cared for and thriving. He chose the smallest succulent: [“Let’s go with this small succulent.”] It looked easy to take care of. It was also her favorite, maybe because she and Qin Yu had a tacit understanding.

During dinner, Pu Chen told her father that she wanted to bring a potted succulent to school to rest her eyes after studying. Pu Wanli said: [“Wait until the weekend, and I’ll go to the flower market to pick out a few green plants for you. They’re more soothing to the eyes.”] Pu Chen smiled: [“Thank you, Dad.”]

Before 6:30 a.m., she carried Qin Yu’s breakfast and the potted succulent in her other hand, heading straight for Qin Yu. Qin Yu didn’t have time to eat breakfast, he took the potted succulent first.

Pu Chen told him: [“All my potted plants have names. When I was in junior high school, I had no friends and didn’t want to study. It was too boring, so I named each one.”]

Qin Yu asked: “What’s this one’s name?”

Pu Chen replied: [“Little Simi.”]

Qin Yu laughed at her serious expression, “That’s a nice name.”

Pu Chen also smiled: [“Right, I think it’s nice.”]

Qin Yu looked at her and suddenly wanted to kiss her. But time and place didn’t allow it. He changed the subject: “You still have dark circles today. Did you stay up late again last night?”

Pu Chen blinked guiltily: [“No, I didn’t.”]

Qin Yu, with no other options, reassured her again, “Don’t worry. With my tutoring, you won’t fail to get into the Political and Law University, and you don’t need to worry about us not being in the same class in our second year of high school.”

How could Pu Chen not worry? She wasn’t lucky enough to be in the same class with him again.

Early in the morning, she didn’t want to bring up unpleasant topics. She gave him breakfast and held the pot of small cacti for him, “Hurry and eat. It won’t taste good if it gets cold.”

Qin Yu nodded, his mind preoccupied with her concerns.

* * *

Qin Yu was particularly attentive to the small cacti. During the break, he took it out to the corridor to get some sun and even looked up some information on how to care for it properly.

Zhao Shu came over. She also liked the cactus, or more accurately, the delicate pot it was in. She tried to negotiate with him, “This cactus belongs to Chen Chen, right? You’re tutoring her every day now, and you don’t have enough energy to take care of it at school. Let me take care of it for her.”

“Thank you, but that’s not necessary.”

Afraid that Zhao Shu might take it, Qin Yu quickly picked it up and held it in his hands.

Zhao Shu was both amused and exasperated by his actions, “Come on, why do you see me as a thief?”

Qin Yu didn’t argue with her and took the cactus back to the classroom.

Pu Chen was drinking milk at her desk. He handed the cactus to her temporarily, “I’m going to find Teacher Lu.”

Pu Chen: “Are you asking for leave again?”

“No, it’s something else.”

As for what it was, he didn’t say.

In the office, Lu Bosheng had just returned from a meeting and was about to get some water. Qin Yu took the cup from him without giving him a choice, “Let me do it. You sit and rest.”

Lu Bosheng looked at Qin Yu. Someone who usually never came unless necessary was now actively offering to help. “What’s the matter? Just say it.” He knew it wasn’t something trivial like unfinished homework.

Qin Yu handed the water cup to Lu Bosheng. He had already planned his speech, “I heard that we’ll be divided into different subjects soon.”

“Yes.”

Lu Bosheng started drinking water, not giving him an opening to speak further.

Qin Yu had to state his intention, “I know you’ll continue to be Pu Chen’s homeroom teacher. I want to be in the same class as her. It’s a small favor for you.”

Lu Bosheng looked up, “Why do you insist on being in the same class as Pu Chen? What’s the reason?”

Qin Yu: “The reason is that I might become a part of your family in the future, and I’ll have to call you ‘Uncle.’ I can start calling you that now if you’d like.”

Lu Bosheng: “…”

He almost choked.

He collected his thoughts, connecting the dots of Qin Yu’s unusual behavior recently. It turned out he liked Pu Chen.

“Qin Yu, I won’t arrange for you to sit with Pu Chen just because…”

Qin Yu interrupted him, “I know. It’s not to affect her studies. I also know how much effort you’ve put into helping her come out of her shell. You’re worried that if Pu Chen gets hurt because of me, you won’t be able to face my aunt. If I were to make lofty promises now, you wouldn’t believe me either. So, how about I prove myself through my actions? You won’t find another tutor who understands her learning situation and knows her weak points like I do. That’s why I want to be in the same class with her.”

Lu Bosheng looked at him, “Since when did this start?”

Qin Yu: “From the first day I transferred here. I’ve liked her since then. This has nothing to do with you; it was the school’s decision to place me in Class Ten.”

Lu Bosheng: “…”

Qin Yu continued, “You used to wonder why I wanted to be a top student. It’s because of Pu Chen. I wanted to help her with her studies.”

Other teachers came into the office. Qin Yu stood up straight, returning to his obedient student demeanor, “Thank you, Teacher Lu. I’ll be going back now.”

Lu Bosheng was speechless. He waved his hand, dismissing him.

Over the next week, Qin Yu didn’t wait for Lu Bosheng to call him in for a “heart-to-heart” talk. The days passed quietly. Even during English class, Lu Bosheng didn’t look at him and Pu Chen any differently, maintaining a calm and indifferent demeanor.

Lu Bosheng must have agreed to his request, but not without conditions. The condition was that Qin Yu had to maintain top grades, and Pu Chen’s grades had to steadily improve. Otherwise, Lu Bosheng might put them in different classes or even break them up.

Before they knew it, May 20th arrived—a seemingly ordinary day to many students.

At noon, Qin Yu received a message from his father: “Your mother has been very upset lately, angry at you and at me.”

Qin Yu: “Did my mom call you again?”

He Junshuo didn’t hide it: “Yes, she originally wanted me to talk to you properly, but I misunderstood and thought she wanted me to pay more attention to your love life.”

Qin Yu asked, “Are you now on the same side as my mom, planning to wait until I graduate high school to cut off my relationship with Pu Chen?”

He Junshuo replied, “Not at all. Who you like is your business. After all, you’re the one in a relationship with Pu Chen. If you can accept that she can’t speak, why can’t I? I’m different from your mother. I never care about others’ opinions, otherwise, I wouldn’t have been indifferent to which surname you took, right?”

That’s true.

He Junshuo continued, “Dad wants to ask you, do you feel pity for Pu Chen?”

Qin Yu replied, “When I first liked her, I didn’t know she couldn’t speak.”

He Junshuo said, “That’s good.”

He reminded his son, “Don’t just focus on studying; today is May 20th.”

Qin Yu was speechless for a moment. He realized that despite He Junshuo being an incompetent father, interacting with him was rather pleasant.

“Got it. I’ve already prepared a gift.”

He glanced out the window. Pu Chen was chatting with Zhao Shu on the corridor’s railing. Zhao Shu lamented that time was flying by and they were almost at their monthly exams, yet she hadn’t moved on from the last novel she read.

To her, an open ending was the same as a bad ending.

Propping her cheeks with her hands, she muttered, “I used to look down on people who had secret crushes. I thought if you like someone, just pursue them. Why have a secret crush? It’s cowardly! But now…” She trailed off.

Now that it was her turn, she realized that having a secret crush was because she knew the gap between her and the other person was too big, and she didn’t dare confess. Even if she did, it would end in rejection. Why put herself through that humiliation?

Pu Chen waited for half a minute without Zhao Shu finishing her sentence, so she asked, “‘Now that it’s’ what?”

Zhao Shu smiled, “Now that it’s May 20th, confessions are in order.”

Her response was completely off-topic.

Pu Chen guessed, “Do you have someone you like?”

Zhao Shu replied, “Yeah, the male lead from the novel. Unfortunately, he went abroad.”

Pu Chen laughed and told her she was too immersed in the story.

Zhao Shu, feeling melancholic, noted that the monthly exams were soon. She was in the last exam room, but Peng Jingyang was in the first, a vast distance apart.

After chatting a bit more, the two returned to their seats.

Pu Chen sat down, and Qin Yu whispered to her, “Hold out your hand.”

“Huh?”

“I have a small gift for you.”

Pu Chen extended her hand under the desk, and he took out a prepared gift from his desk drawer, placing it in her palm. “Happy 520.”

It was a bracelet made of candy folded into paper cranes, in various colors, strung together with colored rubber bands, vibrant and dreamy.

Qin Yu, afraid that an expensive gift would burden her, made it himself. He spent all last night making it, and it took three tries to get it right.

He promised her, “When I earn money, I’ll buy you the best and most expensive bracelet.”

Pu Chen replied, “This is already the best and most expensive bracelet.”

Qin Yu smiled at her and said, “There are nine candies in total. Don’t eat them.”

Pu Chen carefully wore the bracelet on her wrist and stared at it, turning it over and over. When she looked up, Qin Yu was watching her intently, causing her to quickly turn away.

That afternoon, everything—the weather, the early summer breeze through the window, and his gaze—was soft and gentle.

Later, no matter how many years passed, whenever she saw that bracelet, she clearly remembered every moment of that afternoon and every glance Qin Yu gave her.

He said there were nine candies and not to eat them, but she couldn’t bear to. She kept it in the fridge.

Two spring and summer cycles passed quietly. Qin Yu walked with her countless times down that alley, picking her up in the morning and dropping her off in the evening.

One day, he told her, “Chen Chen, you’ve grown a few centimeters.”

Yes, she had grown taller and matured, and they were nearing a crossroads.

At sixteen, they first met.
At seventeen, they accompanied each other.
At eighteen, they grew.
By October of their nineteenth year, both Qin Yu and Pu Chen were in their first year of college.

During the National Day holiday, she went home and saw the little girl from the neighboring dry cleaner’s. The girl had graduated from kindergarten and was now in first grade. She still treasured the toy bears Pu Chen had given her.

The girl asked, “Sister, where is Brother Qin Yu?”

She replied, “He went abroad.”

Qin Yu had successfully applied to his desired Ivy League school and major. She did well in her exams and got into her dream law university. Peng Jingyang was in Beijing too, having been recommended to Tsinghua. Zhao Shu was studying at a local university in Suzhou.

Mr. Lu had started teaching first-year students again, and according to her father, he still visited the repair shop two or three times a week. Over the years, he had become proficient in sign language to communicate with her father.

Her aunt was still abroad working on a project expected to finish by the end of the year.

As the holiday ended and she prepared to return to school, her father made some marinated snacks for her to share with her roommates, who would always ask for more during their video calls, greeting him in sign language and asking, “Uncle Pu, more delicious food?”

Her roommates, being food lovers, had learned only this one phrase in sign language over the past month.

Pu Wanli saw the bracelet in the fridge, sealed in a bag for almost two and a half years. He asked, “Chen Chen, this candy bracelet, has it expired? Can it still be eaten?”

Pu Chen replied, “Dad, this won’t expire. Just leave it there.”

Qin’s gifts never come with a warranty period; they’re always fresh.

The next morning, after breakfast, Pu Wanli escorted Pu Chen to the high-speed rail station. Before leaving, he checked his daughter’s luggage multiple times, fearing he might have forgotten something.

Pu Chen stuffed the charger into her backpack and said, “Dad, it’s okay. If I forget anything, you can send it to me later.”

This time, sending his daughter to the station felt a bit easier than when he sent her to school before. During the start of the summer vacation, he couldn’t sleep all night, worried about his daughter being far from home and possibly mistreated at school.

Seeing his daughter getting along well with her roommate, both of them taking special care of her, put his mind at ease.

At the station, just before parting, Pu Wanli asked his daughter, “Is Mr. Lu coming to pick you up?”

Pu Chen nodded, “Mr. Lu said his ticket back to Sucheng is tomorrow, so he has time to pick me up and take me to school. Dad, don’t worry.”

She waved goodbye to her father, not daring to look back after turning around, feeling a bit teary-eyed. She blinked hard.

The high-speed train departed from Sucheng, heading north.

Pu Chen put on her eye mask, leaned back in her seat, and rested. Her thoughts wandered aimlessly, drowsiness creeping in. It felt like she was dreaming, yet she knew she was on a train to Beijing.

In her dream, she dreamt of the first day Qin Yu transferred. A classmate from the next class called her at the classroom door, “Pu Chen, Mr. Lu is calling you.”

Then the dream shifted to the office, where Lu Baisheng received a phone call about a transfer student.

Next, she saw the new transfer student, knowing his name was Qin Yu.

“Class monitor, where’s the homeroom teacher’s office?” Suddenly, Qin Yu blurted out.

The dream scene became a bit chaotic.

She tried to speak but couldn’t, and in her panic, she woke up.

Pu Chen sighed. She had dreamt this scene several times before. She took off her eye mask, checked her phone for the time, and realized they were halfway through the journey.

Suddenly, she missed Qin Yu terribly; it must be late where he was.

Meanwhile, at the Lu family villa.

“Buzz buzz buzz…” The alarm vibrated.

Lu Baisheng took out his phone; it was the alarm he set to go pick up Pu Chen from the station. He turned it off.

“Did you hear anything I said?” Mr. Lu tapped the coffee table with the newspaper, displeased with Lu Baisheng’s absent-mindedness.

“I heard,” Lu Baisheng stood up, “Grandpa, I have something to do.”

“Company matters?”

“Going to pick someone up.”

Mr. Lu couldn’t be bothered to beat around the bush anymore. “To pick up Pu Chen, right?”

Lu Baisheng’s steps halted, he looked at his grandfather intently for a moment; it seemed like his grandfather knew everything.

He didn’t deny going to pick up Pu Chen and asked, “Have you told anyone else in the family?”

Mr. Lu snorted coldly, not responding.

Lu Baisheng admitted it; his grandfather temporarily kept it from his mother.

Mr. Lu had known for a month that Lu Baisheng was working as a substitute teacher in Sucheng. The class he taught had achieved a record high pass rate. When he heard this from others, he was both angry and amused; his grandson was finally making something of himself.

“Tell me, with your class doing so well, how much bonus will you get?”

Lu Baisheng didn’t expect the conversation to go this way; he suddenly felt a bit at a loss.

“Grandpa, if you have something to say, just say it.”

Mr. Lu’s expression turned stern, “Sort out the school matters when you’re back in Sucheng this time. Hurry back to Beijing. You act like you’re still in your twenties, doing everything according to your own temperament.”

Lu Baisheng cut off his grandfather’s thoughts, “It’s impossible to come back. I’ll be living in Sucheng from now on.”

He knew saying this would definitely make his grandfather furious.

Afraid of his grandfather’s blood pressure rising, Lu Baisheng didn’t give him a chance to speak, “Why don’t you come with me to Sucheng? It’s much better suited for retirement there, pleasant air, and in the cold weather, you won’t need to apply your snowflake cream. And the food in the alley downstairs from Wenzin Family Building, you’ll want to go again after you’ve eaten. I’m familiar with the shop owners now; whatever you buy, it’s the cheapest.”

Mr. Lu pointed at him a few times in the air, “You’re trying to kill me with anger!” He took a deep breath, “Save these words for your father next time, okay? He’s been angering me for half of my life, and in the end, you’re doing it again.”

Lu Baisheng poured hot tea for his grandfather, not intending to anger him, but his words just kept flowing.

Grandpa Lu was too upset to enjoy his tea leisurely and advised kindly, “Don’t even think about remarrying with Pu Wenxin. Your mother will never agree. With her temper, no one can persuade her.”

“I don’t need her agreement for anything. Right now, it’s Wenxin who hasn’t forgiven me, it has nothing to do with anyone else.” To appease his grandfather, Lu Baisheng had the steward bring a chessboard, “I’ll play chess with you when I come back with the guests.”

Grandpa Lu addressed him by his full name, “Lu Baisheng, can you stop being careless? I’m talking about serious matters, and you’re setting up a chessboard?”

“Grandpa, don’t worry about my affairs, I know what I’m doing. As for the suggestion I made earlier about retiring in Sucheng, you should really consider it. If I do remarry Wenxin, you’ll definitely have my support, but no one at home will treat you well. Why stay here and be a bother to yourself?” Grandpa Lu remained silent.

Still needing to rush to the station to pick someone up, Lu Baisheng finished speaking and left hurriedly.