CH 27

Chapter 27

Fu Jia stared at the report card before him, completely stunned.

After a while, he patted the nearby Big Head and said: “Big Head, come here and look at what this word says…”

Tilting his head, he saw Fu Jia staring at his report card in a daze. Finding it weirdly funny, he said: “There are so many words on this piece of paper, which word are you talking about?”

Fu Jia pointed to the word ‘ninth’ in ‘Ninth Place’ and said: "This one."

Big Head rolled his eyes.

On the fourth weekly test of No. 6 High School, Fu Jia ranked ninth place in the class. The moment he got the report card, he almost jumped out of his seat.

Was he this powerful? Was he really this powerful?

This was the top tenth!

It had been a month since school started, and tomorrow would be October 1st, which signalled the long-awaited holiday for students. After class, surrounding classmates were all talking about where they were going for the National Day holiday, and how to take full advantage of this holiday that was earned through extra remedial classes. Fu Jia didn't pay attention to these things and happily looked at his report card. 

I really want to show this to Lu Qi’an, he thought. 

But… It wasn't a good time right now.

Ever since he was explicitly rejected, Fu Jia’s life became a three-stop circuit: dormitory, classroom, and cafeteria. It was as if he had completely given up on pursuing Lu Qi'an. 

Now, he planned to hold back his enthusiasm but prove his determination to Lu Qi’an by preparing a secret gift. 

During lunch, Fu Jia rejected his friends’ invitation to eat together and hurried back to the dormitory while it was empty, took out a small bag, and then quickly left with the small bag to find an obscure corner of the campus.

He looked around in all four directions, and only upon concluding that the coast was clear did he open the small bag. He took out two long wooden knitting needles, and trailing along the needles was a woven piece of…

Scarf.

That’s right, he wanted to knit a scarf for Lu Qi’an!

After he ran away that day, he began to search for a more exciting and impactful way to pursue Lu Qi'an, and then he thought of this.

This idea originated from Cen Mengke, who at the time said: “If writing love letters doesn’t work, it probably means that the other party is a practical person who doesn’t appreciate superfluous things. Then let’s talk practical with him by handweaving gloves and a scarf. And if this doesn’t move him, then he’s just inhumane.” 

Fu Jia thought this made sense, but at the time he thought scarf-knitting was overly feminine and difficult to learn, so he ignored this idea. 

The most important thing was, how could anyone gift scarves in September and October? It was usually a gift reserved for Christmas or New Year’s.

But now, Fu Jia was out of options.

In the bag was also a yellowed book titled “Encyclopedia of Wool Weaving” that Fu Jia found in the library. 

He spread the book open and placed it on his lap, delicately picked up the knitting needle, adjusted the wool, then positioned his hands according to the pictures in the book, muttering silently: “Weave through it… pull it over, twist it here, then loosen it…”

His hands followed clumsily as he read.

He chose dark grey wool, which was quite pricey. In contrast, the knitting needles he used were cheap. When he first started, Fu Jia didn't even know where to put his hands, nor did he examine his equipment; as a result, a splinter from the cheap needles was poked into his palm. He almost gave up then. 

The splinter was too teeny to see under broad daylight, yet it still hurts when touched. It was completely aggravating. Under the lamp light, Fu Jia picked up a knife and broke two layers of skin before he managed to pick out the splinter. 

After so many days, Fu Jia became more and more efficient, and the barbed knitting needles were smoothened by his hands, no longer poking him with splinters. 

Fu Jia continued to knit until the end of the lunch break, during which he ate a bun he bought early in the morning. He tore off the small section he had woven and repeatedly examined it; feeling like his entire day’s work had hardly made any progress, he couldn’t help but sigh. 

He put everything back in the bag and returned to the dormitory as if nothing had happened. 

His roommates had all woken up from their nap. While packing for their next class, one saw Fu Jia carrying in a bag and smiled: “Went to the woods to recite books again?”

Fu Jia hid the small bag well and said: “Yeah.”

Another roommate also found it funny: “Just recite inside the dormitory next time. Even thunder wouldn’t wake the three of us up, so you can recite whatever you want.”

Fu Jia shook his head: "That's so embarrassing.”

They left the dormitory together and each went to their respective classes. 

The afternoon was the same. As soon as Fu Jia heard the bell that signalled the end of class, he readied himself to burst out of the classroom. Beside him was Big Head, who noticed how tense he was and thought about how strangely he’d been behaving recently, so he hurriedly stopped him: “Ai, ai, ai. What are you rushing off for?”

Fu Jia had long thought of an excuse: “Going to the cafeteria.”

Big Head clicked his tongue, completely disdainful: “The holiday’s starting tomorrow, so who cares if you miss a meal? Don’t rush, don’t rush, there’s something I want to discuss with you. My treat this time.”

Fu Jia looked troubled and said: “Do you have to treat me?”

Big Head’s face immediately fell: “You don’t even want to be treated?”

Fu Jia had no choice left. He nodded and said: “Okay, okay.”

Big Head gestured a victory hand sign behind his back and a group of boys hooted and whooped, then gathered towards Big Head. 

Fu Jia was startled. He asked Big Head: "Why are there so many people?"

“Hehe, everyone wants to ask you for a favour.” Big Head put an arm over his shoulders, and then others also rushed up, half-pulling as they dragged Fu Jia off to the cafeteria. 

On the way, Fu Jia struggled repeatedly but failed. His face was already turning a bit ugly, but his tone was still friendly: “Say what you want clearly, I can’t eat a free meal off you without knowing first.”

Big Head comforted him: “Simple, simple, just one little thing. It’s the National holiday coming up, right? Some of us brothers got a driver’s license and wanna go on a road trip out of town.”

Fu Jia grunted and nodded, then said: “I got it, but I don’t know how to drive?”

Big Head was completely speechless, then patted his head: “Am I the sort of person to fool others into becoming a kuli?# I want to invite you along, as well as any of your friends.”

Fu Jia understood, and felt a little embarrassed: “So it’s like that…I misunderstood. But I don’t have time during the break, I have to…”

Seeing that he was about to refuse, Big Head quickly interrupted him: “Boss, Boss Fu, just treat this as a small favour to us brothers. Wouldn’t it be fun to hang out together? A road trip, how freeing is that? Aren’t you friends with Lu-xuezhang? Can you help invite him too?”

Fu Jia was startled, he halted his footsteps and stopped in place.

“No,” he said without hesitation.

Listening to his firm tone without room for negotiation, Big Head became anxious: “Don’t refuse so quickly. Just help me ask, and see whether he wants to come.”

Fu Jia was about to get mad: “I can’t do something like this.”

Big Head persuaded patiently: “Don’t, don’t. Let’s go to the cafeteria first and talk it over. Let’s go eat first. Let’s get stir-fry instead of deep-fry, okay?”

They were about to enter the cafeteria but Fu Jia refused to move, leaving them stuck at the cafeteria door to their embarrassment.

“No means no. I’m leaving,” Fu Jia said.

Big Head lowered his tone and gripped his arm: “Boss Fu, why don’t you think it over? You’re close with Lu-xuezhang anyways, something this insignificant shouldn’t matter too much.”

Fu Jia’s temper skyrocketed once he heard the word ‘familiarity’, so he said loudly: “Who said I’m close with Lu Qi’an? We’re not close– he’ll get mad if I pull something like this!"

Big Head’s expression stiffened, and he felt put on the spot.

Anyone could see that Fu Jia was genuinely angry.

The mood was in a deadlock, and Big Head’s friends looked at each other; none knew what to say. Suddenly, someone sharp-eyed saw two figures approaching and said with excitement: “Isn’t that the dean and Lu-xuezhang?”

Everyone turned their heads and looked over, it really was Liu-laoshi and Lu Qi'an. They were walking towards the cafeteria, but in a different direction than the ordinary students, heading to the staff canteen instead.

The boy’s voice was high and clear. With so many years of experience, she was extremely sensitive to the word ‘dean’. She immediately turned in their direction. 

The boys weren’t afraid of being discovered, they all shouted at her in unison: “Hello, dean!”

Liu-laoshi shook her head in distress, and said to Lu Qi'an: “Sorry, these little brats really are…”

She finally managed to catch Lu Qi’an for a meal and really didn’t want to be disturbed by others as it would negatively impact Lu Qi’an.

"It's okay, you can go ahead," Lu Qi'an said as he turned to look at the group of boys. Fu Jia was stuck in the middle with lowered eyes and a face full of discomfort. It wasn’t clear why he seemed so evasive. Then there were others rubbing against him, grabbing his arm. 

Grabbing his arm.

"Why are you guys blocking the cafeteria entrance? If you want to eat, then eat properly. If you’re not eating, then leave!” Liu-laoshi scolded.

The boys snickered and said, "We know!"

Teacher Liu sighed and said to Lu Qi'an: "Alright, let's go.”

Lu Qi’an didn’t move. He slightly lowered his head, then whispered something to her.

After listening, Liu-laoshi was very surprised: "Really?"

She carefully examined the boys and sure enough, she saw a boy who looked familiar to her.

“Fu Jia, you haven’t eaten dinner yet, have you? Since we bumped into each other, why don’t you come eat with us?” Liu-laoshi invited.

Before the specially-selected Fu Jia could react, he was pushed to the front by the jeering boys. 

“I…” He frightfully peeked at Lu Qi’an from the corner of his eyes, subconsciously wanting to step back. 

Behind him, Big Head smiled at him with eyes full of meaning: "Bro, I'm counting on you!"

Liu-laoshi smiled amicably and waved: “Come here.”

Fu Jia knew that it didn’t matter whether or not he wanted to go, the choice was no longer his. Gritting his teeth, he moved towards Lu Qi’an and Liu-laoshi step by step. 

When the boys behind him saw this scene, they smiled in satisfaction, then went into the student cafeteria together. 

Fu Jia: “...”

Lu Qi’an: “...”

Liu-laoshi: “...”

“Huh?” She stared at the two children who seemed like they were wooden stakes as they stood face to face with each other; they didn’t talk or look at each other, both refusing to move. In the end, she said: “What are you doing standing there? Let’s go.”

Lu Qi’an let out an “en”, then stepped to the front. After that, Fu Jia moved as well.

Liu-laoshi followed them, feeling like there was something odd going on.

With previous experience in mind, this time Liu-laoshi took the initiative to order a sumptuous meal for Fu Jia. By comparison, the meat dish Fu Jia grudgingly ordered last time was like a relief ration for refugees. 

Fu Jia couldn't refuse and kept saying thank you as he accepted Liu-laoshi's well intentions.

“No need to thank me. If you have to thank anyone, then thank Lu Qi’an,” Liu-laoshi said with a smile. 

Fu Jia pinched the chopsticks and acted bashful for a long minute before whispering: "Thank... Thank you, xuezhang.”#

After speaking, he quickly fed himself a mouthful of white rice. 

With an indifferent attitude, Lu Qi’an said: “No need to thank me.”

This tone made Teacher Liu feel chilly just by listening to it. She couldn't help verbalizing her guess aloud: “What happened? Did you guys have an argument?”

Fu Jia frantically shook his head. 

How dare he have an argument with Lu Qi’an?

The most argumentative and easy-to-anger person here was Lu Qi’an. Angry all day every day, without even a reason behind his anger. Those who didn’t know him would even think that he was the one who was rejected. 

Seeing that Lu Qi’an didn’t respond, Liu-laoshi gave up and switched topics. 

“Oh right, today happens to be Monday. The weekly test results should be out, right? Fu Jia, how did you do?”

When this topic got brought up, Fu Jia’s spirits instantly soared. He quickly swallowed whatever was in his mouth and said: “Nothing too great. I placed ninth in the class.”

After saying this, Fu Jia’s whole body felt comfortable.

Who’d have thought that there’d come a day when Fu Jia could do so well on a test and still pretentiously say that he didn’t do great?  

Liu-laoshi had once been involved in Fu Jia’s transfer process and was well aware of Fu Jia’s circumstances. Hearing of his ability to get such a result within four weeks was a pleasant surprise: “That’s quite good. It looks like you’ve been working hard.”

Fu Jia gave a modest smile. He was filled with hope as he looked at Lu Qi’an, trying to wring out even a smidgen of admiration from his eyes. 

But there was none.

Fu Jia took a deep breath and told himself not to be disappointed; the future is long.

Liu-laoshi also glanced at Lu Qi’an. Seeing that he had no desire to speak, she helplessly relied on herself to liven the atmosphere. She said to Fu Jia: “Since you did so well in the exam, have you made any plans for the holidays? Are you going to reward yourself by going somewhere to play?”

Fu Jia instinctively shook his head, but then thought of something.

Holiday…

Although he wasn’t going to invite Lu Qi’an on a road trip for Big Head, going on a trip together really was a good idea.

He could invite Lu Qi’an for himself!

Fu Jia put down his chopsticks and said earnestly: “I did have some thoughts about it. Actually… I really want to invite Lu-xuezhang on a trip together.”

Liu-laoshi raised her eyebrows in surprise, and then said with great support: “That’s great. You two can walk around and relax. It’d be beneficial to both your studies and health.”

Fu Jia and her both looked at Lu Qi’an once she finished speaking, waiting for his reply.

Lu Qi'an clenched his chopsticks tightly and didn’t speak.

After a few seconds, he relaxed the strength in his hand, put down his chopsticks, and then said: “I’m done eating. Apologies, I’ll head out first.”

Liu-laoshi didn't expect it would turn out like this: “Qi’an?”

Fu Jia was caught even more off guard by Lu Qi’an’s reaction. He thought he would reject the proposal or open his mouth to lecture him, but he never thought that he’d find it unbearable enough to leave immediately. 

His heart ached. He immediately stood up and said: “Don’t be like this. I take back what I said before. How about…how about I leave instead.”

Lu Qi’an left his seat, then raised his eyes to look at Fu Jia. Upon looking at each other again after such a long separation, Lu Qi'an's eyes didn't seem to possess any emotions that a human ought to have. He pushed the chair in and said, "I'll head out first.”

He turned around, his back figure clear-cut. 

“Qi’an, are you okay?” Liu-laoshi called out, but Lu Qi’an didn’t look back.

Her heart full of worries, she wanted to chase after Lu Qi’an. But Lu Qi'an's expression was full of rejection, so in the end she stayed still.

She invited Lu Qi’an for dinner for the sake of helping him to loosen up, and didn’t expect that it’d turn out so tumultuous. Recently, Lu Qi’an was in bad shape. Not only was he gloomier than before, even his carefully maintained grades were suffering; in the past two weeks, Lu Qi’an’s weekly test score had dropped at an unbelievable rate. For Lu Qi’an, who was strict with himself, this was completely abnormal. 

Liu-laoshi checked his test papers and discovered that while there was nothing wrong with Lu Qi’an’s problem-solving ability, careless mistakes were made in unreasonable areas and some questions were even left blank. His psychological state was clearly the issue. 

She let out a heavy sigh. Seeing that Fu Jia had yet to recover and was staring blankly into the direction Lu Qi’an had left in, she tried to comfort him and lift his spirits up: “It’s okay. Qi’an has been unstable lately. It’s not your fault.”

Fu Jia nodded and forced himself to cheer up. The two of them worked together and managed to finish the meal. 

After saying goodbye to Liu-laoshi, Fu Jia left the canteen and gradually recovered his spirits.

He’d been scared off by the angry Lu Qi’an again. 

Dammit!

He cussed to himself to boost his courage.

He must finish knitting the scarf within the three-day National holiday. If he doesn’t do a good job of it, then his surname isn’t Fu!