Translated by: Queen Dei Mos
Ji Bai’s solo performance was very successful. Teacher Luo Qing held her in high regard and gave her the highest score in the entire group, securing her place in the city’s performance lineup.
That afternoon, Xie Sui and a few of his friends walked out of the school gate and heard the girls behind them chattering about——
“I just went to the rehearsal room to watch the talent competition. The young lady who played the cello was absolutely stunning. She was so different from everyone else and had such elegance.”
“Do you have any photos?”
“I took some.” The girl took out her phone and shared them with her friends.
“She sat there quietly, so elegant and graceful. I never noticed before that we had such a beautiful female student in our school.”
“I heard she’s Ji Feifei’s younger sister.”
“It goes without saying that Ji Feifei is already a goddess then her sister must be amazing too!”
“Not just amazing, I think she is more elegant than Ji Feifei. They’re not even in the same league.”
……
Cong Yuzhou clearly felt Xie Sui’s pace slowing down.
He sensed trouble. Sure enough, someone stopped in their tracks and turned around to look at the girl with the phone.
Cong Yuzhou knew that Xie Sui was extremely possessive and couldn’t stand hearing others mention Ji Bai. It was as if that girl was meant to belong to him alone, as if she had been born exclusively for him.
“Don’t act impulsively, Brother Sui. She’s just a girl…”
Before Cong Yuzhou could finish his sentence, Xie Sui said, “Classmate, let’s exchange WeChat.”
The girl’s mouth hung open as she stared at Xie Sui in a daze.
She repeatedly confirmed that the handsome young man before her was indeed Xie Sui, the same Xie Sui who was arrogant and domineering yet incredibly good-looking!
Xie Sui was actually taking the initiative to talk to her and ask for her WeChat!
Happiness came so suddenly ah!
“Can I add you?”
The corners of Xie Sui’s eyes rose, revealing a slight teasing smile.
The girl was almost electrified by his charm. “S-sure…sure.”
Her trembling hand opened the QR code, allowing Xie Sui to scan it.
After they added each other as friends, Xie Sui casually said, “Can I borrow your phone for a while?”
The girl hastily handed over her phone.
Xie Sui took her phone and sent himself a photo, precisely the photos of Ji Bai playing the cello from her photo album.
After sending the photo, Xie Sui returned the phone to the girl, softly murmuring a “thank you”, before turning to leave.
The girl watched Xie Sui’s figure from behind, staring blankly for a very long time. Xie Sui was truly…incredibly handsome.
Her friends quickly reminded her, “Quickly send your name to Xie Sui! You’ve just met!”
The girl excitedly lowered her head to send a message to Xie Sui, but her excitement was quickly dampened when she realized that he had already deleted himself from her contacts.
“……”
On the way, Cong Yuzhou and Jiang Zhongning strongly expressed their disdain and dissatisfaction towards Xie Sui’s behavior, feeling that he was using his charm to deceive the girl’s feelings.
Xie Sui completely didn’t care about their opinions. He was just that kind of person, stubborn and selfish, never caring about anyone’s feelings.
The world had always been unfair to him, as a result his heart was very small, just enough to hold one person. He would guard her tightly in a narrow corner1It means he is unwilling to let her explore or venture beyond the boundaries he sets for her., even if the outside world collapsed and crumbled, it had nothing to do with him.
As he walked, he lowered his head and looked at his phone. The girl in the photo was wearing a light blue plaid dress, sitting quietly in the corner under the classroom skylight. Her legs were apart, head bowed as she played the deep red cello.
The sunlight streamed in from a corner of the skylight, and faint dust particles danced in the air. Her cheeks were fair and translucent2translucent quality meaning her cheeks appeared clear and radiant, and with her eyes closed it reminded Xie Sui of a serene forest, where everything was still and silent. The evening breeze blew, a little deer drank from the mountain stream in the forest, while the sunlight bathed the wooden cabin, enveloping everything in a sense of tranquility and peace.
His restless and boiling blood suddenly calmed down the instant that he saw her.
Even his heartbeat slowed down, ever so slowly.
He carefully saved the photo.
Jiang Zhongning looked at Xie Sui’s soft expression and jabbed Cong Yuzhou with his elbow, whispering, “I think Brother Sui is serious this time.”
Cong Yuzhou shook his head helplessly and said, “That girl is in trouble.”
Xie Sui’s feelings were too deep and profound. To be loved by him would be the greatest blessing and also undoubtedly the greatest misfortune in her life.
**
Several times, Ji Bai went to the Academic Affairs Office to inquire whether the surveillance video captured the main culprit who stole the cello.
At first, the dean of Academic Affairs said they hadn’t figured it out yet. Later, they directly told her that the surveillance didn’t capture who stole the cello, but since the musical instrument had been found and she had participated in the competition, they considered the matter closed.
“How could there be no footage? Our school has so many surveillance cameras. From the rehearsal room to Chenghu Lake behind the mountain, there should have been footage of the thief along the way ah!”
“You student, why are you so stubborn? Could it be that you think that teacher is lying to you? Many of our school’s surveillance cameras are damaged. There really is no footage. Alright, let’s end it here.”
Ji Bai was unwilling to let the thief go so easily, but the dean of Academic Affairs wasn’t cooperating, She was helpless as well.
That afternoon, she was pushing her bike along the side of the tree-lined road in school when a small stone suddenly rolled to her feet.
Ji Bai looked up and saw Cong Yuzhou and a few others sitting by the sports field, with a few boys flashing friendly smiles at her.
Xie Sui leaned against the basketball pole, playing with a few stones in his hand, his gaze fixed on the far away mountain pass, his expression relaxed.
“Do you need something?” she asked.
Cong Yuzhou smiled and said, “With so many big brothers here, who are you asking?”
Ji Bai directed her gaze towards Xie Sui who was standing and asked, “Xie Sui, do you need something?”
He threw another small stone towards her feet and said, “Whether there’s something or not, you’ll know once you come over.”
“If you don’t need anything, then I’ll leave. I still have to go back and do my homework.”
After saying that, she pushed her bike and left directly.
Several brothers looked at Ji Bai’s back in astonishment.
This little sister-in-law3(嫂子) – sǎo zi – older brother’s wife / sister-in-law is quite tough!
They didn’t dare to look at Xie Sui’s expression. Without even looking, they knew it must be ugly4It means that his expression would be displeased or kinda angry..
But in reality, it wasn’t the case…
Surprisingly, Xie Sui actually laughed.
He caught up with Ji Bai, walked side by side with her on the campus, and said in a deep voice, “You really have no fear of death.”
Ji Bai turned her head and glanced at his clean sneakers. In her heart, she thought that she was actually afraid of death because she had died once.
But she knew that Xie Sui wouldn’t do anything to her.
Even if the whole world betrayed and hurt her, still Xie Sui would never be the one to harm her.
“Do you have something to tell me?”
“Can’t I find you if there’s nothing?”
“Why would you look for me if there’s nothing?”
“……”
She was really a conversation killer.
Xie Sui took out his phone and went straight to the point, “I managed to get hold of the school surveillance footage. Do you want to see who stole your cello?”
Ji Bai stopped in her tracks, looking at his phone in astonishment, “You…How did you manage to get it?!”
“Don’t worry about how I got it. I have my ways. Just tell me if you want to see.”
Ji Bai nodded, her pitch black deer-like eyes fixed on him, “I want to.”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Xie Sui’s lips, “There’s a condition.”
“What’s the condition?”
“Brother Sui wants you to kiss him.”
Behind them, Cong Yuzhou and others laughed and joked, saying, “Take a look and give him a smooch.”
Ji Bai:…
Then I won’t look.
Xie Sui threw the remaining small stones at Cong Yuzhou, dispersing the group.
Of course, he knew it wouldn’t be that easy, so he decided to say, “Agree to do something for me.”
“What is it?”
“I haven’t thought it through yet. Just agree for now, and I’ll think about it slowly. Anyway, you agree first.”
“I can’t…What if you…”
“Rest assured, I won’t ask you to do anything strange.”
Xie Sui was straightforward and upright, so it was unlikely for him to force her to do something she didn’t want to do. She decided to agree as the final decision would still be in her hands.
“See for yourself.”
Xie Sui handed her the phone. Ji Bai turned around, walked to a shady spot under a tree and opened the video.
It was a compilation of several videos. Although some parts were blurry, nevertheless, she was still able to clearly make out the figure struggling to move with a heavy object—it was Ji Feifei.
She had been very cautious throughout the whole journey, looking in all directions and avoiding students as much as possible during class time. However, she couldn’t avoid the surveillance cameras scattered throughout the school.
When Ji Bai saw the moment she threw her beloved cello into the lake, her heart suddenly clenched.
Just like the time when her parents had pushed her lifeless body into the cremation chamber back then, without a hint of mercy, as if they were discarding worthless trash.
She didn’t know how she was able to see it, but she held onto that suffocating memory. Of course, not all memories were cold. For example, there was the memory of Xie Sui desperately rushing into the funeral home and taking her body back.
He had red, teary eyes, but he didn’t cry out loud. He held her tightly, passionately and crazily kissing every inch of her body…
In Xie Sui’s burning embrace, for a brief moment, Ji Bai’s cold body felt a touch of warmth.
Xie Sui noticed that Ji Bai wasn’t alright and asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
“It’s nothing.” Ji Bai looked at the video and said with indifference, “I had a hunch.”
After losing the cello, Ji Feifei appeared even more excited than her. She hurriedly took Tang Xuanqi to the Academic Affairs Office to confront her, which made Ji Bai suspicious.
Most likely, Ji Feifei heard that Tang Xuanqi wanted to recruit Ji Bai into her own group and was worried that Ji Bai would betray her. Therefore, she went to great lengths to destroy Ji Bai’s cello and at the same time poured dirty water5(把污水) – bǎ wūshuǐ – metaphor like action to harm someone’s image or reputation. on Tang Xuanqi, killing two birds with one stone.6(一石二鸟) – yī shí èr niǎo – Metaphorically do one thing to get two.
In the past, Ji Bai always thought that her older sister’s tricks were very clever, however, now that she has been reborn, she discovered that these tricks were actually…quite childish.
If there was anything truly clever about her, it was that she had already anticipated that the school would protect her.
Ji Feifei was the school’s ambassador. Her identity as an aspiring internet celebrity has brought many benefits to the school. Her photos were even printed in the school’s admission brochures.
Ji Bai can’t imagine just how much the school has covered up things for Ji Feifei. In the previous incident with An Kerou, the school indulged Ji Feifei.
If it weren’t for the excessive pampering from their parents since childhood and the school’s repeated indulgence, perhaps Ji Feifei’s mentality wouldn’t have become so distorted.
Ji Bai felt scared just thinking about it.
“Xie Sui, don’t tell anyone about this.” Ji Bai handed the phone to Xie Sui and warned him seriously, “No one is allowed to talk about it.”
Xie Sui’s face showed a mix of confusion and a hint of disdain flickered in the corner of his eye. “Laozi went to great lengths to get this for you, don’t tell me, you want to be a coward?” he said with a mocking tone.
Ji Bai shook her head. “Xie Sui, do you know the difference between qualitative and quantitative change?”
The content in political books, however, has long been used by Xie Sui to wipe engine oil off cars.
Ji Bai, looked at the distant never ending mountains and calmly said, “I am waiting for a qualitative change.”
She wanted to release this evidence at the best possible moment and tear off Ji Feifei’s mask once and for all. She would bring her down so hard that she could never get back up again.
T/N: While translating this, it took all my strength not to pummel FeiBoich to the imaginary ground. Poor Bai Bai, all these people so greedy for fame/money. (＃￣0￣)
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