Notebook: A Name Befitting the Person

Jiang Erya was still sobbing uncontrollably, wiping her eyes with her dirty, pudgy hands. The figure before her gradually came into focus. Jiang Erya forgot to cry and stammered, "Jiang... Jiang Xu... why are you here..."

Jiang Xu said nothing, instead helping to pick up Jiang Erya's clothes and books. The mud in the yard was still wet, and Jiang Erya's clothes and books were covered in it. Jiang Xu didn't speak, and Jiang Erya felt too embarrassed to say anything either. "I... I..." she trailed off, unable to finish.

Jiang Xu had a cold demeanor, and most people wouldn't dare strike up a conversation with her. Normally, Jiang Erya wouldn't dare provoke someone like Jiang Xu, but she was so lonely that only the new girl, Jiang Xu, might be willing to blend in with her.

She followed Jiang Xu in picking up the clothes and books. She treasured those books dearly; with each one she picked up, she wiped the mud off with her sleeve while sighing, "Oh, my books..."

As she spoke, Jiang Erya watched Jiang Xu's expression. Jiang Xu still showed no reaction, so Jiang Erya clumsily changed the subject: "Have you eaten?"

Her heart was in her throat with every move Jiang Xu made, terrified she might say something horrifying. Her hands kept rubbing against her dirty clothes, trying to keep the conversation normal as if nothing had happened. But because of her guilty conscience, normalcy was hard to come by.

Jiang Xu still didn't speak. Jiang Erya wanted to go inside, but she immediately remembered that Wei Shufen had also thrown her out. She didn't dare look at Jiang Xu again. Gritting her teeth, she ran out of the yard, clutching her clothes and books tightly, and sprinted all the way up the mountain behind the house.

She knew why Jiang Xu had come. She couldn't face her. She knew she had done wrong... but who could blame her? She might not be as smart as Jiang Xu, but she still had a heart that wanted to study...

Jiang Erya slowly came to a stop. She'd never run that fast before. Her heart pounded wildly, her nose tingled, and she kept telling herself she hadn't meant to do it.

But she really had done wrong, and she even regretted it. If she could do it over, she'd never do it again. Jiang Xu probably didn't know that she hadn't slept a wink last night because of it.

Panting heavily, Jiang Erya plopped down on the ground covered in dry leaves, leaning against a tree trunk as she caught her breath and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"Crunch, crunch—"

The sound of leaves being stepped on.

Jiang Erya looked up and saw that Jiang Xu had actually followed her. Her eyes went wide, and she fidgeted as if she'd seen a ghost.

"Jiang... Jiang Xu..." She pushed herself up, using the tree trunk for support.

Jiang Xu had run over too. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her hair a mess, and she was holding a few books as well. "Jiang Erya."

Jiang Erya's whole body went stiff, staring at Jiang Xu nervously.

Jiang Xu caught her breath. "So you were telling the truth. You really can run fast."

"Ah..." Jiang Erya remained uneasy.

Jiang Xu took two steps toward her. "Your books." She held them out.

Jiang Erya seemed not to register what was happening at first, standing still. Jiang Xu let go of the books, but Jiang Erya caught them immediately.

"Oh..." she replied clumsily.

Jiang Xu pressed her lips together, her brows furrowed. She seemed to have grown taller lately, her field of vision broader, and there was a hint of maturity in her expression that made her seem more dependable. Her features were perfectly proportioned, nothing out of place, naturally drawing the eye. On closer look, her brows and eyes were always the most captivating.

They stood frozen like that, and under Jiang Xu's almost scrutinizing gaze, Jiang Erya didn't dare relax for a second. The sunlight was a bit stronger now, beating down right on Jiang Erya's head.

She was sweating all over from the heat.

Jiang Erya eventually lost the standoff and lowered her head submissively. "I'm sorry... Jiang Xu... I..."

The woods were utterly quiet, so even her small voice seemed amplified several times over. Jiang Erya was certain Jiang Xu had heard her, and she slumped against the tree trunk in defeat.

Jiang Xu's scrutinizing gaze gradually softened. The sunlight caught her eyes, refracting with a dazzling glow, and in those dark eyes, Jiang Erya saw calm.

Jiang Xu's eyes drooped slightly as she said softly, "I'm leaving. Erya, you should head home soon."

Jiang Erya was stunned.

By the time she came to her senses, Jiang Xu's figure was already out of sight.

But Jiang Erya seemed to understand something. The heavy stone in her heart slowly settled as she called out toward Jiang Xu's retreating back, "Jiang Xu, are you going to tell the teacher?"

Jiang Xu didn't answer.

When Jiang Xu got home, the sun was at its harshest. She'd worked up a sweat, tugged at her thin sweater, changed into slippers, and only when she was back in familiar surroundings did she finally relax a little.

The first thing she did was put the two exam papers back in place, rewriting her own name on the one that had originally belonged to Jiang Erya with her own pen.

As she wrote, Jiang Xu's brows arched slightly in a look of disdain.

How could Jiang Erya be so stupid? Did she really think the identical handwriting wouldn't be caught?

Once she finished, she smoothed the paper flat and tucked it back into the pile, separating them. Then she inevitably caught sight of Liang Xiaoqing's handwriting.

Liang Xiaoqing had a work notebook lying open on the desk. On the left side were two columns—the first labeled "Improvement," the second "Regression." Jiang Xu scanned them, seeing name after unfamiliar name. The red ink was delicate and graceful. For the first time, Jiang Xu understood what it meant for a name to fit the person. Looking at her handwriting, one could roughly imagine what kind of person she was.

Liang Xiaoqing had gone to bed in a hurry last night, so the desk was still a mess. Jiang Xu separated the graded papers from the ungraded ones, and then divided the graded ones into math and Chinese.

After tidying up, she cleaned the desk a bit more, then glanced at Liang Xiaoqing's work notebook. She straightened it and closed it.

The notebook was too thick, and the last few pages didn't lie flat. Jiang Xu caught a glimpse of a clearly hand-drawn table on one of them.

The header read: Jiang Xu's Personal Academic Analysis.

Below it were all sorts of exams, big and small, with columns for Chinese, math, English, and other subjects.

The 16-format notebook had been flipped through, with exams recorded through the end of the semester. The table was clear at a glance—English was the weakest of all subjects.

Jiang Xu read down row by row. The last column contained Liang Xiaoqing's attitude toward her grades: some said "not bad," some "average," and some "needs improvement." Toward the end, Liang Xiaoqing had used emoticons to express herself—smiling, frowning, angry...

Jiang Xu's heart inexplicably skipped a beat, rising and falling with those few casual emoticons. She'd thought Liang Xiaoqing didn't pay much attention to her grades, since she rarely asked about them.

It was only that time she'd said she was disappointed that Jiang Xu realized Liang Xiaoqing did care about her grades, and it had made her deeply regretful. But she'd never imagined Liang Xiaoqing would care this much.

The two characters of "Jiang Xu" in the header seemed to swell before her eyes. Stroke by stroke, she traced them with her gaze.

A name she was used to seeing every day unsettled her simply because it had been written by someone else.

She could even imagine how Liang Xiaoqing had written her name. Jiang Xu felt she was making too big a deal of this. She'd never truly been close to Liang Xiaoqing; more often than not, she'd placed her on a pedestal to look up to, like the moon, or a star, or a flower blooming high above—something to be admired from afar.

She admired her beauty, the faint glow about her, and her face full of vitality. When she smiled, it was as if flowers bloomed before her. She held a respectable job, carried justice and kindness in her heart, and was willing to use her own strength to help Jiang Xu finish her studies.

Jiang Xu had never met a woman like Liang Xiaoqing before. She seemed so wonderful, and being around her made one's heart light.

She never dared to look at her openly. Most of the time, she'd watch her quietly from behind, careful not to disturb her.

So right now, her feelings were indescribable, and it genuinely left her at a loss. Her fingers, pinching the paper, trembled slightly, like fine raindrops falling on her skin. Jiang Xu was no longer as calm as before. Ripples stirred in her dark eyes. She moved her fingers and closed the notebook.

Feeling that might not be appropriate, she flipped it back to that page, arranging it neatly so it looked untouched. Jiang Xu's face flushed. She bit her lip, raised her hand, didn't know where to put it, set it down, and hurried out of the bedroom.

She poured a glass of water. It was the enamel cup she'd grabbed in a rush that day she'd left with Liang Xiaoqing; otherwise, she wouldn't even know how to drink.

After finishing the cup of water, Jiang Xu gradually calmed down.

At noon, she cooked herself some noodles. She didn't touch anything else, just boiled a bowl of noodles in clear broth. After eating, she washed the dishes and tidied up. When she was nearly done, she inexplicably thought of the table Liang Xiaoqing had drawn. She tiptoed back into the bedroom, took out her books and exercise books, and buried herself in studying.

By the time she looked up again, the whole afternoon had passed.

The desk lamp was on, set to the dimmest level. The sky was slowly darkening, and the orange light cast faint shadows across Jiang Xu's cheeks as she stared out the window at the almost pitch-black sky.

A winding gray curve faded into blur.

Jiang Xu set down her pen, worrying about why Liang Xiaoqing hadn't come back yet. What if something had happened? If only she could call her, but she didn't have a phone. Then she thought Yang Man probably had one, but her brows gradually knit together as she agonized over whether to ask Yang Man to borrow it.

Liang Xiaoqing had said she could call her if anything came up, and she'd left her number.

Lost in thought, Jiang Xu got up from her chair.

After what happened this morning, she didn't dare touch Liang Xiaoqing's things anymore, and she'd even moved her chair a good distance away from Liang Xiaoqing's.

It was then that the door made a sound.

"Click—"

It was the sound of the lock turning, accompanied by a voice she knew well, one that clearly carried a cheerful mood: "Xiao Xu, I'm home!"