The chapter title describes things well—life’s hidden billows. One of the storms of life struck Jì Chengyang in the previous few updates, and now, a storm is going to bombard Jǐ Yi.
Chapter 10.3 — Life’s Hidden Billows (3)This story was translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. All forms of reproduction, redistribution, or reposting are not authorized. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the copy is unauthorized and has been taken without consent of the translator.
Prior to the Lunar New Year, all senior-year high school students of Fuzhong returned to the school to take part in mock college entrance examinations.
The reason the head of their grade set the dates of the exams to be on these two days was so that all the senior-year students' nerves would be strung tight at all times, that even the Lunar New Year period would be spent buried in exam papers, and they would not let themselves be relaxed and undisciplined for even a moment. Her performance in this set of mock exams was completely out of form. Even during the English listening comprehension section, her mind had frequently wandered. With great difficulty, she managed to get through the morning of the last day. After her examination paper was handed in, she blew out a light breath and said to Zhao Xiaoying, who was sitting diagonally behind her, "I'll treat you to something to eat?"
Zhao Xiaoying's mood was down because she had performed poorly on her exams. Jǐ Yi, conversely, had performed poorly on her exams because her mood was down. Hence, when the two came together, there was no real dialogue between them. Walking side by side with her out the school's gates, Jǐ Yi assessed both sides of the road to see what there was to eat. As it was noon on Lunar New Year's Eve and the shops had all closed early to celebrate the New Year, they could only go eat at a fast food restaurant.
Jǐ Yi was still a little preoccupied. The next second later, though, a large basin of ice water was being whipped directly at her, and along with the chunks of ice that were in it, it struck her face. The water and ice completely drenched her entire upper body.
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com only.
The ice water that had suddenly dropped seemingly from the sky splashed not only herself but also Zhao Xiaoying beside her.
Before her mind even found its awareness to register anything, someone had shoved her aside roughly. She slammed into a student who was pushing a bicycle, slicing open her wrist on the front brake of the bike. Blood instantly streamed out. Because of her, confusion broke out in this place. At the same time, someone had sent a kick into Zhao Xiaoying, knocking her to the ground. "Zhao Xiaoying, f*ck your whole f*cking family! Your mom and you are a pair of cheap b*tches!"
Wang Xingyu, Zhao Xiaoying's arrogant, overbearing younger brother, spat on Zhao Xiaoying. "You cheap b*tch, spurring your mom on to find my dad. What, you want them to get married again? Just who do you think you are? You're just a daughter. You think my dad would want you? Or want your mom? Don't f*cking bother to dream!"
While Wang Xingyu was yelling this, he was about to pummel his fist down.
Jǐ Yi could not care about anything else right then. Rushing over, she shoved him fiercely away.
With the blood from her wrist, she left a bright crimson handprint on his body.
"Wang Xingyu"—Jǐ Yi took backward step, placing herself in front of Zhao Xiaoying—"if you dare hit anyone, I'll call the police."
"Call the police?" Wang Xingyu was actually entertained by this notion. "I'm just beating someone from my own family. The police won't care about that! Oh, I'm so sorry. You got splashed by the water, too. Well, who told you to always like protecting her since you were kids, huh? You can say you're sharing both life's joys and sufferings together—"
He took one step forward.
Jǐ Yi did not back down. Drop after drop, the blood from her wrist fell to the ground.
Behind them, group after group of senior-year high school students were walking out. The people in front had already halted their steps, but the ones at the back did not know what was going on and were still squeezing their way forward… She wanted to ask for help, but these people behind her all had evasive looks on their faces. She did not even hold out hope that one of them might be a good Samaritan and help Zhao Xiaoying up from the ground, much less think that someone would come help her.
"What? You even want to take a beating for her? You think it's still like when we were kids and I'm just going to let you off the hook after you jump in a sand pit?" Wang Xingyu began to laugh. "I really don't want to beat you. Why do you have to do this?" Wang Xingyu seemed to especially relish in this feeling of gazing down superiorly at them. He extended a hand to yank Jǐ Yi by the arm, but it happened to be her injured wrist that he grabbed.
Warm, sticky blood stained his hand. "Why is there all this blood—"
He flung Jǐ Yi away violently.
The students behind her all drew backwards. Jǐ Yi had no way out, no place to turn for help. Despair came over her.
But to everyone's surprise, before Wang Xingyu had even finished his display of power and superiority, a kick from someone who had rushed up from behind sent him toppling to the ground. That kick was vicious, and Wang Xingyu's entire body doubled over. Fu Xiaoning had somehow gotten wind of this situation from someone and, without even a word, had torn over here. His attacks were not at all like how Wang Xingyu had been bullying the two girls. He truly was pummeling Wang Xingyu all-out, as if to beat him to death. His black, military-style boots were slamming savagely only into Wang Xingyu's head.
The dozen or so people who soon came following behind him did not ask for any reasons either and also threw themselves into the group brawl. There was already Jǐ Yi's blood on the ground to begin with, and eventually, Wang Xingyu was beaten until blood poured from his nose as well. Blood blended together until everywhere, there was a horrifying red colour.
Shrieking. Panic. All the sounds intermixed. The students behind them no longer were trying to watch the excitement, and all retreated backwards like the tide.
Eventually, many of the senior-year high school teachers came rushing out, but with such a scene, even teachers did not dare jump in to try to stop things.
<>The authorized site of posting for this translation is hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. It would be greatly appreciated if you would support the translation over there.
Jǐ Yi was terrified. Several times, she tried to pull Fu Xiaoning back, but she was utterly unable to get close to the centre of the violence.
"Xixi, Xixi." Nuannuan shoved desperately at the schoolmates in front of her. Throwing her arms around Jǐ Yi's waist from behind, she dragged her backwards out of that circle of violence. "You must not go in to try to stop them. A lot of them don't know who you are, and they'll beat you, too. Do not go over there." Nuannuan's face was ashen with fear. "What is going on here? What's going on?"
Babbling confusedly, she towed Jǐ Yi back with all her might. At the same time, the class prefect of the advanced science stream class also thrust aside the layer upon layer of students and raced forward. His complexion pale, he grabbed Zhao Xiaoying and dragged her out of that place.
When Xiao Jun, who had arrived after everyone, took in this scene, he felt as well that this situation was going to blow up into something huge. Without caring whether it was his own people or not, he gave each person he encountered a punch as he pressed in from the outside of the circle to the inside, until he had beaten everyone aside and finally grabbed Fu Xiaoning out from there. "Have you gone crazy? You want to end up killing someone?!"
It was not known who, but someone had called the cops. Along the way, the police vehicle attracted the attention of all passersby who were hurrying home. When it finally stopped in front of Fuzhong's entrance, three or four police officers stepped out. Dragging Jǐ Yi with her, Nuannuan sprinted into the school, stopping when they reached the corner of the teaching building. Only then did Nuannuan turn around and pull Jǐ Yi into a hug. "It's okay, it's okay. What happened here? Why did they suddenly start fighting? Fu Xaioning has never gotten into a fight in his whole life…"
Jǐ Yi had genuinely received an extreme fright. All she could see before her eyes was blood.
Nuannuan was talking to herself, not looking for any response. Calling Class Prefect, she asked him to buy some rubbing alcohol and gauze and bring it to them. She helped Jǐ Yi treat the wound on her wrist. A scab had already formed over the wound. As the clear liquid ran over it, the deep crimson colour was gradually washed away. Nuannuan did not dare forcibly remove that scab of clotted blood. When she felt that it was disinfected well enough, she circled the gauze around Jǐ Yi's wrist a few times and then tied it. "We won't take the exam this afternoon. Let's go home, okay?"
Jǐ Yi turned her eyes vacantly on her. Her intuition was telling her, this time, there truly was going to be big trouble.
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com only.
Sure enough, when she was about to head back to her classroom to request the afternoon off, the head teacher from her old advanced science stream class hurried over to her, a complex expression on his face as he looked at her. "Jǐ Yi, come. Follow me to the office."
Jǐ Yi's heart sank. As she went with her previous head teacher, she heard him sigh beside her. "Your class's head teacher took a day off today, and we're unable to get ahold of her. She's going to get quite the shock when she comes back after the Lunar New Year. You say, you either don't get in any trouble or once you do, it's big trouble. You scared us all to death. This is the first time that Fuzhong has ever had such a big incident!"
The head teacher pushed open the office door. There were only two teachers inside, both of whom had taught her when she was in the advanced science stream class. Sitting inside the room were also two uniformed police officers. When those two teachers saw her step inside, they both eyed her over a couple extra times, and it seemed as if they had no intention of leaving.
Jǐ Yi's brain was in a chaotic state. She suddenly remembered that there was still a lot of her own blood on her clothes.
"You're Jǐ Yi?" One of the police officers assessed her with his eyes. "We're here just to ask you a few questions."
Not even knowing how to nod, she stared at those two officers.
"Is there any connection between you and the people who were fighting in front of your school earlier?"
Instinctively, she shook her head. "I didn't know… there would be a fight."
"You don't know them?"
She did not dare lie. "I know them."
"If you know them, then that should be right." Glancing at the gauze around her wrist, the other police officer's voice took on a slightly gentler tone. "Someone reported it to the police. We've already taken away the ones who were fighting. You still have to take an exam this afternoon, right? When you're done the exam, go to the police station in the city district and make a statement. Come with your guardian."
She did not know how to respond. The matter was already to the degree of seriousness that a police statement needed to be made?
"All right. You go ahead and leave first. Remember to come give a statement."
Jǐ Yi felt as if she had just been in a dream. By the time she returned to the classroom, the examination had already started. She remembered only that the police officer had told her to go make a police statement after she finished her exam, so picking up her pencil, she truly did begin taking the test. Her classmates all looked at her somewhat astonishedly, but quickly, their heads dropped back down. As she wrote and wrote, she felt her wrist beginning to hurt more and more. All her words seemed as if they were drifting, and she could not see them clearly…
Call her guardian? Make a police statement? Would she be expelled?
<>Please support the translation of this story at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com instead.
She did not know at all what she wrote on this examination paper.
What should she do? Did she need to tell Dad and Mom? Or should she tell Grandfather and Grandmother? In this particular time, she discovered that the term "guardian" was particularly difficult for her to define. She dared not tell any person in her family. She could not even imagine how they would react if they found out.
When she walked out of the examination room, she still had no idea what she should do. Nuannuan, on the other hand, had handed her own test paper in early, and once the dismissal bell rang, she rushed into Jǐ Yi's class. The teacher was still on the podium collecting exam papers, and seeing Nuannuan, her brows wordlessly creased together. Nuannuan did not care about anything else, and after grabbing Jǐ Yi's schoolbag, she headed straight outside again, not giving Zhou Xiaoying even a single glance.
"I told my little uncle. He said he's coming over right away." Nuannuan led her downstairs, telling her this as they walked.
"Your little uncle?" Only now did some awareness return to Jǐ Yi.
"Just now when I handed in my test paper early, our class head teacher specifically came to find me. He said the police want you to go make a statement and also want someone from your family to go. There's no one in your family who even cares what you do, and I don't dare tell my dad and mom either… so I called Little Uncle to come."
Before Jǐ Yi had accepted this reality, Jì Chengyang's car had already arrived outside the school gates.
The bloodstains on the ground had been washed clean, but some traces could still be seen.
Catching sight of them, Wang Haoran strode over, his expression tense. He examined Jǐ Yi for injuries, and when he saw her hand, his heart immediately ached. "What exactly happened? How did you get in a fight with a bunch of hooligans?"
Jǐ Yi did not utter a sound.
"Where's my little uncle?" Nuannuan was puzzled. At this time, the back door of the car was also pushed open from the inside. Nuannuan took one glimpse inside, and then the look on her face instantly changed. "Little Uncle, what's wrong?! What's wrong with your eyes?"
"Get into the car first." Jì Chengyang's tone was not kindly, but he betrayed nothing as he spoke an untruth. "My eyes were hurt by light. They just need to rest a few days and then they'll be fine."
He was wearing a black jacket and khaki-coloured sweatpants. Other than having a layer of gauze over his eyes, he truly did look as if he had a minor, temporary injury, and there was nothing serious. Jǐ Yi sat in the front passenger seat, her eyes on him in the rearview mirror. The feelings of missing him these last several days blended with the fright she had received today, melding together to become a very complex feeling.
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com only.
The police statement was not as horrible as she had imagined. The officers taking her statement were the two who had come looking for her at school.
They merely carried out routine business and asked a few questions. At the end, when they were seeing her out, they even said to Wang Haoran, the little girl only just turned sixteen years old. It would be best if she kept her distance from the likes of those types of people of society. Also, if they could personally apologize to the victim, that would be best. Otherwise, if he truly wanted to pursue the matter, things would be problematic.
<>Please read this translation at hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com instead. That is its actual site of posting, and the translator would greatly appreciate your support there. Thank you.
On this Lunar New Year's Eve, there was already a thick New Year's atmosphere in the city district.
After they had brought Jǐ Yi and Nuannuan into the military compound, Jì Chengyang surprisingly told Wang Haoran to drive his car back. "I'll be spending Lunar New Year's at the family home tonight." Wang Haoran wanted to say something, but casting a quick look at Nuannuan, who was still oblivious to everything, he decided to let it go.
Jì Chengyang walked to the downstairs of their building, then suddenly stopped. "Nuannuan, you go up first. I'm going to say a few words to Jǐ Yi. Remember, when you're back home, don't answer anything that your parents ask."
Nuannnuan had originally thought the matter was in the past already, but hearing him instruct her like this, she immediately was alarmed. Nodding, she ran upstairs.
"Is there any place here… where people won't be able see? Lead me there, okay?" Jì Chengyang had listened to Nuannuan's footsteps as they moved further away, and now he suddenly requested this of Jǐ Yi.
Jǐ Yi looked all around.
This building was the very last one in the military dependents' residence area and was directly adjacent to a landscaped park within the compound. It was the winter, so apart from pine trees and evergreen shrubs, the remainder of the flora in the park was already withered, and there was not really anyone around. Tonight was Lunar New Year's Eve, so even more so would there be no people. Taking Jì Chengyang's hand, she led him into that park that had no surrounding walls and stopped in front of a covered walkway.
The wind was especially strong today, its force at least 5 or 6, and the pine trees were being blown about such that they rocked to and fro continuously.
Releasing her hold on his hand, Jǐ Yi was finally able to say the words she had been holding in her heart. "I'm sorry. I just keep causing you trouble."
The sky was dark. There were no lights in this place. Only Jì Chengyang's voice was clear. "Is the injury on your hand serious?"
"It's okay," she answered softly. "It doesn't hurt that much."
Crouching down, Jì Chengyang faced her and extended his arms out. Jǐ Yi paused blankly. After a long while, she finally leaned in towards him. Her heart felt especially miserable, empty, so empty she did not know at all what she even needed to think. Holding her in his arms, Jì Chengyang tried in a low voice to gently comfort her. "Don't be scared. You've got me here. All of this will pass."
Her arms encircling his neck, Jǐ Yi gave a muffled "mm" and said, "Now… I'm not scared anymore."
Jì Chengyang continued, "I made a phone call and asked. That boy was beaten quite badly. When you get home, his parents may already be in your home. I am guessing your dad and mom will come back as well, or at the very least, a lot of your family's relatives will be there."
"They'll be going to my home?" Jǐ Yi suddenly grew panicked.
"It will more or less be something like that." He did not want to say nice-sounding words at this time just to console her. Very shortly, when she returned home, she would need to face a very unpleasant situation all alone. He absolutely needed to help her be prepared for it in advance. "Remember what I say: You only need to apologize. Everything else, I will handle."
<>Copyright of Fanatical, hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. Translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com only.
There was only blackness before Jì Chengyang's eyes, but his senses were very acute.
He could sense that, as Jǐ Yi hugged him tightly, she was holding back her dread, holding back the hurt she was feeling from being wronged.
His little lady truly was shaken with fear.
This story was translated with the express permission of the author for hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com. All forms of reproduction, redistribution, or reposting are not authorized. If you are not reading this from hui3r[dot]wordpress[dot]com, the copy is unauthorized and has been taken without consent of the translator.
Additional Comments:Notice Jì Chengyang never asked Jǐ Yi for the details of what happened. Nuannuan called him, but Nuannuan herself doesn’t know the details either. "Remember what I say: You only need to apologize. Everything else, I will handle." He is willing to side with her unconditionally. There is an inherent trust in her that she would not do anything wrong intentionally, but he doesn’t even care if she did something wrong unintentionally. No matter what, he is going to handle everything for her. No one else in Jǐ Yi’s life has ever been willing to show that type of love to her, that “I will be on your side, simply because it’s you.”
I know it’s something we can squeal over and get mushy about from a romance development perspective, but I am just touched on behalf of Jǐ Yi. Everyone wants to feel validated by someone that way, that you don’t need to perform in order to receive love and care. Finally, Jǐ Yi has had it demonstrated to her that someone is willing to offer that to her.
Completed:
24 of 69 Chapter segments
0 of 1 Epilogue