Chapter 22

Because of that, Lin Baixin and Zhou Jin didn’t actually suffer much, but Yu Min ended up on bad terms with Zhou Jin, and the two of them stayed cold toward each other for several days.

Lin Baixin hadn’t broken her promise on purpose. It wasn’t just that Yu Min couldn’t go; something had come up on her end too. An employee at the shop had quit, and she simply couldn’t get away. The end of the year and the beginning of the next were peak season for secondhand luxury goods; both incoming stock and outgoing shipments were heavy. The shop had only just gotten on its feet, so she’d definitely have to spend more time there from now on. If a big order came in, she might even have to travel for work; by then she’d be flying all over the country and might not even be in Kyoto. What was Zhou Jin supposed to do there then?

Zhou Jin was used to getting his own way. For all that he was already so grown, his thinking was still childish. He wanted to go; his rebellious phase still hadn’t passed, and after high school his family had only tightened the reins on him more and more. He’d finally gotten a chance to get out and catch his breath, only for it to come to nothing. To say he wasn’t stifled and annoyed would have been a lie. The more he thought about it, the more irritated he became.

Yu Min couldn’t understand Zhou Jin’s fussiness. She thought he was full of problems, never putting his heart into studying all day and always the first one to pick a fight.

Besides, Lin Baixin was always so good to Zhou Jin, giving him money and gifts without stint. How could Zhou Jin talk badly about Yu Min? He was just heartless, immature, and ungrateful.

Yu Min had always been gentle and easygoing, not fond of arguing. In the past, even when she had disagreements with others, she rarely said much to their face. This time was an exception.

She traded words with Zhou Jin for a few rounds and refused to let him speak ill of Lin Baixin.

Zhou Jin was already angry and couldn’t take criticism. He felt wronged to begin with, and now he’d been scolded again. Thinking she was meddling, he snapped, “You’re the one talking from the sidelines. Anyway, you don’t want to go, so it’s easy for you to stand there and say that.”

Yu Min shot back, “I’m not. That’s not the same thing.”

“Of course it’s not the same thing,” Zhou Jin said, his mouth as sharp as ever, blurting out whatever came to mind. “She’s my sister, not your sister. It has nothing to do with you!”

That was hurtful; more than that, it was true. Yu Min felt as if her throat had been suddenly seized. A flush of heat rushed to her face and the top of her head, and she wilted.

Zhou Jin said, “This is between me and my sister. It’s none of your business.”

Yu Min held it in for a long time, but all she could say was, “Don’t badmouth her.”

“It’s not badmouthing. That’s just how it is. Don’t think I don’t know—you’re helping my sister because she’s always biased toward you. You two are on the same side, ganging up on me.”

“We’re not on the same side. She didn’t bully you.”

Zhou Jin wouldn’t budge and only got angrier. “Yes, she did. Yes, she did. If not, then what? And you, you... it’s because you came that you stole my sister away!”

Zhou Jin was being absurd and unreasonable, petty beyond saving. Yu Min couldn’t argue with him, so she simply ignored him and couldn’t be bothered to explain any further.

Lin Baixin had never bullied anyone. If she really had been bullying Zhou Jin, he wouldn’t have been so presumptuous and pushed his luck. Zhou Jin was only acting like this because Lin Baixin wasn’t home; otherwise he wouldn’t dare say such nonsense.

And she certainly hadn’t stolen Lin Baixin away. Lin Baixin wasn’t an object; she had never belonged to anyone in the first place. If she wasn’t Zhou Jin’s, what was there to steal?

In short, Zhou Jin was simply too much, immature and unreasonable, making a mountain out of a molehill.

The adults ignored the two teenagers’ “fight.” Anyone with eyes could see something was off between them, but neither Aunt nor Uncle Xiao intended to step in and mediate.

This time, Yu Min was absolutely stubborn. In the past, because the family often taught her to get along with others, she had developed the habit of backing down over and over, no matter who was right or wrong, preferring to make a big issue small and a small issue disappear. If this had happened before, she probably would have patched things up with Zhou Jin that same night; she might even have apologized first and coaxed him first. But this time she held out through the entire holiday. Even after returning to school, she still ignored Zhou Jin.

Even when Zhou Jin, embarrassed, came looking for her later and felt that what he’d said had gone too far, thinking they should both step back and let it go.

Yu Min had principles. On the day they returned to school, Zhou Jin had gotten up early, packed his things, and waited to go with her, but she still refused to go with him. She walked the whole way on her own. No matter how many times Zhou Jin caught up from behind and called her name, she paid him no mind.

“What’s wrong with you? Is it really that serious? You’ve been mad for days. It’s not like I committed some unforgivable sin. Do you have to be like this?” Zhou Jin sounded even more aggrieved than Sister Xianglin. “Hey, wait for me. Why are you walking faster and faster? Let’s talk this out. I’ll admit defeat, okay? Let’s stop fighting. You’re my sister too. I was just too angry that day. Pretend I’m sick and let it go this time.”

Yu Min said nothing. She stayed silent the whole way, and after entering the school, she shook him off and walked away decisively.

Their argument reached Lin Baixin’s ears; it was Uncle Xiao who tattled. He meant it as a way of saying that both children missed Lin Baixin, hoping that if she had time, she would keep in touch with them more. But after hearing it, Lin Baixin didn’t take the hint. She said nothing at the time.

The countdown beside the blackboard flipped page after page. Class 32 was the first class among all the senior-year classes to enter full review. By this stage, management at No. 1 High had gradually relaxed quite a bit for the class and even for the entire senior year. The most obvious change was that the discipline office no longer nitpicked appearances during morning exercises. In first and second year, forgetting a school badge would get you points deducted and a lecture; by the final stretch of senior year, they didn’t care even if boys’ hair covered their ears and girls’ bangs brushed their eyebrows. It was fine not to wear a uniform; things were so loose that they no longer even collected mobile phones.

At the once-a-week homeroom meeting, Teacher Qi stressed the importance of balancing work and rest and ordered everyone not to sit in their seats motionless all day.

“If you’re tired of studying, go play for a bit. I see you all brought your phones, didn’t you? As long as you don’t take them out in class, I won’t care what you do after class.”

Li Xue Ting secretly passed along gossip. Last week their school had had a big incident: there was a boy in Class 17 who had gone a little crazy from studying. Probably under too much mental pressure, he came back from the holiday acting very strangely, and his parents had already taken him home.

“Sigh, who knows if he’ll recover before the college entrance exam. If he can’t, then that’s really awful.”

Yu Min was out of the loop; something the whole school had already heard about, and she had no idea. Li Xue Ting, the walking encyclopedia, added, “You don’t know a lot of things. Not just this one. In the grade above ours, there was a girl who jumped into a river. She jumped before the scores even came out after the exam. It’s not just our school; the school next door is the same. Lots of schools have this kind of thing.”

When something happened to a student, it became a big deal. A lot of people at school were discussing it; even at lunch, people at the neighboring tables were talking about it.

Yu Min felt sorry for them, but that was all. She didn’t join the discussion. Dead or driven mad was tragic enough; spreading the story further would just be another round of harm.

“Under a lot of pressure?”

In the next video call, Lin Baixin suddenly asked.

Yu Min shook her head. “Not really. It’s okay.”

After saying that, worried Lin Baixin might not believe her, she turned slightly and added, “I write so many test papers every day that I can barely finish them. I don’t even have time to feel pressured. If I don’t think about it so much, then I won’t feel pressured.”

“That’s good then. I was afraid you might be under a lot of pressure.” Lin Baixin said, casually bringing up Zhou Jin. Zhou Jin was under a lot of pressure right now too. For an average student at this stage, the real test wasn’t exam ability but mentality. Zhou Jin’s mentality was poor; he was so worried he was practically going bald.

They talked about Zhou Jin for a while, saying this and that. In front of Lin Baixin, Yu Min didn’t show the slightest sign of anything unusual; she never mentioned that she and Zhou Jin had fought, keeping it from Lin Baixin.

Lin Baixin didn’t deliberately say that she knew. She only paused at the end, then said softly, “I let you be wronged.”

Yu Min didn’t look at the camera. On the screen, she remained calm from beginning to end, as if it had already passed and she didn’t care about it. She was tidying her desk; after finishing, she turned on the lamp and then took out her test papers to do homework. It wasn’t until the video call ended that her busy hands finally stopped, frozen in midair, no longer moving.

The next week, Yu Min and Zhou Jin made up; rather, they reconciled, though not exactly all right again. In view of Zhou Jin’s sincere apology and his apology to Lin Baixin, Yu Min, being magnanimous, didn’t bother to hold it against him.

“I promise, absolutely no next time. My sister already gave me a serious talking-to. I know I was wrong; it won’t happen again.” Zhou Jin raised a hand to swear it. “I was just in a hurry; that’s not what I meant. Don’t take it to heart.”

“Mm.” This time Yu Min finally let it go. However, she didn’t eat the snacks Zhou Jin bought for her. When Zhou Jin came to her with a math problem, she generously taught him. Afterward, she hesitated before saying, “I don’t care about anything else, but from now on don’t badmouth Sister Baixin again. She’s not that kind of person.”

Zhou Jin nodded repeatedly. “I won’t, I won’t. Don’t worry.”

In the second semester of senior year, they took more exams than they had in the previous two and a half years combined. Monthly exams became weekly exams, and between weekly exams there were extra tests, mock exams, and all kinds of other messy assessments.

Yu Min’s grades had always been stable. She couldn’t make the top two in the grade every time, but she could consistently stay within the top three without slipping out. She and two other students in the class took turns occupying those spots; the three of them were Class 32’s unbeatable trio.

Teacher Qi thought highly of Yu Min. By this stage, he was even more concerned about her than before. Sometimes he would even treat her to cafeteria food. Once, while chatting, the conversation turned to Lu An, and from Lu An it shifted to Lin Baixin.

Teacher Qi kept in touch with Lin Baixin often. The other adults in the Yu family were unreliable, but Lin Baixin was dependable, and that put Teacher Qi a little more at ease. He truly worried that a promising student like Yu Min would be delayed by her family.

Silently picking up a piece of spare rib and putting it in her mouth, Yu Min listened to Teacher Qi praise Lin Baixin. For some reason, her heart stirred. It was as if an invisible thread had tugged at it; something seemed to tighten, bringing with it a faint, sour ache.

Early May.

Running alongside the feverish cycle of exams and review was the divorce case between Zheng Qing and Yu Shengyu. At last, the war between the married couple had come to its final end. After fighting each other with all they had, to the point of blood and grit, they had somehow still reached an outcome that each side could barely accept.

The court ruled that more than half of the couple’s savings under their names would go to Zheng Qing, while the factory would belong to Yu Shengyu. From then on, Zheng Qing would withdraw from operating the factory and only take dividends. As compensation, the other company they had built together would belong to Zheng Qing alone. In addition, other property, such as real estate, including the house and shop in Siping County and multiple properties in Jincheng, would all be split fifty-fifty.

Yu Min, fully focused on exam prep, didn’t bother with their broken-up mess. She didn’t care how they divided things; it was only because Zheng Qing insisted on coming to the school to see her that she was forced to learn all this.

As expected, in the final stage the two of them had actually reached a tacit agreement not to fight over her custody anymore. They agreed that after Yu Min graduated, they would continue to raise her together, but Zheng Qing no longer insisted on taking her away. She had to stay in the Yu family.

Zheng Qing said it very plainly. She had the will but not the ability. If she forced Yu Min away, Yu Shengyu would definitely not make such a large concession. That was her biggest bargaining chip; she couldn’t possibly not fight for it.

“Don’t blame me. I have no choice.” She had said this countless times already. Zheng Qing was cold; this was just a transaction, and a very worthwhile one at that.

Yu Min asked, “What about him?”

Zheng Qing said, “After you finish your exams, your dad will come pick you up and take you back. I told him not to come; I was afraid he’d affect your exams. You know how he is. He has a bad temper. Better that he not come.”

Yu Min sat still, no expression on her face.

Zheng Qing went on, “You’re eighteen now, an adult. You should know how to take care of yourself. I can’t take care of you for a lifetime, and neither can he. One day, you’ll have to plan for yourself. It’s just happening sooner now... You should grow up, understand?”

When words don’t meet, there’s no point in talking further. Yu Min had nothing to discuss with Zheng Qing. Almost everything was Zheng Qing doing the talking. Zheng Qing still had a flight to catch; she didn’t even have time to stay much longer in Siping County. She was leaving the country again. Now that she’d gotten the money in hand, staying behind would only be a bad thing. Leaving early was the smartest choice. She was afraid Yu Shengyu would change his mind; now, in turn, she was afraid of being entangled by Yu Shengyu.

Yu Min still had test papers left unfinished. She watched Zheng Qing walk toward the school gate. Only when the figure was completely out of sight did she stand rooted in place for a full two minutes before going back.

No one knew Zheng Qing had come looking for Yu Min. Only the two people involved knew about it; not even Lin Baixin was told. Yu Min acted as if nothing had happened. Every day she focused on reviewing, doing problems over and over, memorizing over and over... Li Xue Ting leaned over and asked quietly, “Are you okay?”

Yu Min asked her back, “What’s wrong?”

“You seem kind of unhappy.”

“Do I?”

Li Xue Ting said yes.

Yu Min didn’t admit it. She wasn’t unhappy.

“But you look—” Li Xue Ting trailed off. When her eyes met Yu Min’s face, the words faded back down her throat.

That was when Lin Baixin came back again; she hadn’t given advance notice and had simply shown up at No. 1 High out of nowhere. Teacher Qi came to the class to look for Yu Min and told her someone was here to see her, so she should go outside.

Lin Baixin was waiting at the stairwell. Yu Min didn’t know it was her and thought it might be Yu Shengyu or someone from the Yu family. When she saw that it was Lin Baixin, Yu Min stood there wordlessly, keeping her distance. After a while, she dared to step forward; her nose stung, and her eyes slowly turned red.

“It’s okay, it’s okay...” Lin Baixin held her and gently patted her back. “I’m sorry. I’m late.”