Chapter 10

At the end of May and the beginning of June, the sweltering summer was about to arrive.

In his previous life, Li Qian was a busy person, shuttling between different film sets, one after another, or taking on multiple roles such as production assistant, prop handler, and minor character in a single production. After being transported to this new world, he initially thought he wouldn't be able to adapt to the idle life, but reality proved him wrong.

As the initial tension, excitement, restlessness, and eagerness of arriving in a strange new world gradually faded with each passing day, and even as he began to set his short-term goals, he suddenly realized that sitting in the classroom, reading books, attending classes, and doing homework was actually quite enjoyable!

Well, being idle was just one part of it; the key was that he found himself starting to enjoy the feeling of studying!

This was a rather bizarre thing to think about.

In his previous life, although Li Qian's academic performance was decent, he could hardly be considered a good student because he wasn't particularly diligent, merely getting by. At that time, his only interests were the guitar and music.

But now, he truly felt that being able to sit quietly in the classroom, free from worries and distractions, and focus on reading and studying was a rare and beautiful experience.

Of course, he loved music and the guitar, and that would never change.

However, without realizing it, his heart, which had always been tense, gradually became lighter and more cheerful.

He didn't arrive late, didn't leave early, didn't sleep in class, listened attentively, and completed his homework on time. Following the principle of starting with the easier subjects and moving to the more difficult ones, he began to review and consolidate his knowledge in Chinese, English, history, philosophy, natural science, mathematics, and Russian.

Apart from studying, there was music.

The rooftop of the school's teaching building had become his fixed practice base. In recent days, he would go up there to practice for about an hour every afternoon after school, including Saturdays and Sundays. Although the time wasn't long and the number of songs he practiced was limited, at his current age of seventeen, he didn't dare to overuse his voice. So, it was more accurate to say that he was practicing the guitar and his breathing.

Of course, he didn't know that his singing wasn't going unnoticed. In the office at the far end of the third floor, a girl would often sit and read while listening to the guitar music floating from the rooftop—though to her, it was just background music for her reading.

Before they knew it, the end of May had arrived.

The monthly exam at No. 13 High School was also approaching.

On Thursday, the subjects were mathematics, English, history, and philosophy.

On Friday, the subjects were natural science, Russian, and Chinese.

Although he might not have considered the exam particularly important, Li Qian, like every other student, felt a bit anxious during these two days. After dinner each day, he would go to the rooftop to check his answers with Wang Jinglu—this was a task, no bargaining allowed, and it had to be completed.

After checking the answers for the four subjects on the first day, Wang Jinglu was pleasantly surprised.

After checking the answers for the three subjects on the second day, Wang Jinglu was overjoyed.

Her academic performance had always been excellent, with a total score of around 650 out of 700, consistently ranking in the top three of the entire grade and often competing for the top spot. Therefore, her answers were almost like the standard answers. Wang Jinglu estimated her own score to be around 650, while she estimated Li Qian's score to be 540.

For Li Qian, this was an excellent score!

After all, in the previous monthly exam, Li Qian had only scored 433, and despite his repeated assurances, Wang Jinglu's highest expectation for him was to score above 460.

So, Wang Jinglu was ecstatic, more so than if she had been accepted into the Beijing Film Academy.

...

On a Saturday afternoon, on the third floor of the teaching building, in the Chinese department for the second year of high school.

There were twelve classes in the second year, and six Chinese teachers, who shared a not-so-large office.

This weekend, while the students could take a normal break, the teachers had to work hard in the office, grading the exam papers. For the science subjects, it was relatively straightforward, as there were standard answers. However, for the humanities, it was more complex, with analysis and essay questions requiring careful reading. Even with guidance, if a student's answer was off but still had substance, they couldn't be given a zero. Among the humanities, grading Chinese exam papers was the most time-consuming and labor-intensive, especially because there was a 1000-word essay.

It was already 5:30 PM, and the grading was mostly completed in the morning. In the afternoon, the teachers were busy tallying the scores and ranking the students. By around 4:00 PM, all the work was done, and the exam papers were distributed to the respective teachers. By around 5:00 PM, even the class advisors had finished tallying the scores and ranking the students, and were packing up to leave.

Soon, the entire building was left with only Qi Jie.

She had no novel to read today and stayed in the office instead of going home, simply because she didn't want to go home.

After the KTV incident, she and Lu Liang had not been in touch for several days. Then, Lu Liang's parents came to visit, claiming they wanted to gather with old friends and have a drink.

Then—

"Xiaoliang is a bit confused. We know what kind of person Liu is, and others might not, but we do. Singing with him, why would he call you over? That's just asking for trouble!" Lu Liang's father said.

"Of course, Xiaoliang was in the wrong, but Xiaojie, you've known each other since childhood. You know Xiaoliang is stubborn and values his face a lot. Even if he knows he's wrong, he won't admit it. Xiaojie, can you do me a favor and give him some face? It'll make things easier for him. I promise, I'll find a way to let you vent your frustration. We're in the same boat, facing a strong-willed man. But on the bright side, a strong-willed man, though he may have many flaws, has one good quality: he'll take care of everything outside and won't let you suffer..." Lu Liang's mother said.

"Ah, young couples fight and make up. It's just a small disagreement. There's no right or wrong in such matters. Xiaojie, give Xiaoliang a call. You don't have to apologize. Just a call will do. It's no big deal, and we can just move on," said Qi Jie's father.

"Yes, Xiaojie, don't be stubborn. Go, make the call! Ah, go, this child, your aunt and I will take care of the kitchen. Go!" said Qi Jie's mother.

Then, Qi Jie and Lu Liang reconciled, pretending nothing had happened. However, Qi Jie's mood was even worse than that night, so bad that she didn't even want to go home.

So, she found herself busy with work.

For example, she decided to read through all the exam essays of the two classes she taught.

Then, in the quiet campus, she suddenly heard the pleasant guitar music again.

She shook her head and sighed with a bitter smile.

"This person is really dedicated to practicing the guitar, even on weekends!" she thought.

Flipping through another essay, the bright red "50 points" caught her eye, shocking her.

A perfect essay!

The exam papers were sealed before grading, so no one knew which class they were grading. Only after grading did they exchange key information.

For example, Teacher Zhao Hongmin said he had graded a perfect essay.

And that was the only perfect essay in the entire second year of high school.

It turned out to be from her class!

Her first instinct was to check the student's name.

Li Qian!

"Wow, impressive! He wrote a perfect essay!"

Giving a perfect score in an exam meant the teacher believed the essay was flawless.

As his teacher, Qi Jie knew Li Qian's Chinese level well. His essays were always quite good, typically scoring around 40 points, not outstanding but definitely excellent. But a perfect score... that was a bit unexpected.

This made Qi Jie even more curious. She flipped back to the essay page and read it carefully, word by word.

The essay topic was "Hope," a broad and somewhat cliché topic. The title was self-proposed, the genre was free, and the requirement was 1000 words, with poetry needing at least 40 lines.

Li Qian's essay was titled "Hope."

Because the teacher had given it a perfect score, Qi Jie had high expectations from the start.

But... she was still shocked.

Hope?

In this essay, there was laughter, anger, and a mix of seriousness and frivolity. On the surface, it seemed full of youthful vigor, but upon closer inspection, there was an unmistakable air of world-weariness in the words.

In short, this didn't seem like the work of a high school sophomore. It was more like the ramblings of a middle-aged man after a drinking binge—yet, every word was heartfelt.

Qi Jie finished reading and flipped back to the cover of the exam paper—yes, it was Li Qian's.

For a moment, Qi Jie didn't know what to say.

The essay was undoubtedly excellent and deserved a perfect score, but... the change in Li Qian's writing style was too drastic.

"Did he break up with Wang Jinglu? Did he get a shock?" she wondered.

Then, she found Wang Jinglu's essay—46 points, a very high score, but it was Wang Jinglu's normal level. The problem was, Wang Jinglu's writing style hadn't changed, still as meticulous as ever.

"Looks like... they didn't break up?"

Qi Jie sat at her desk, holding both essays, frowning in thought.

...

It was 6:30 PM, the sky wasn't dark yet, but the sun was setting, and it would be dark soon.

Qi Jie had roughly read through the exam essays of the two classes and reread Li Qian's essay, but she still couldn't figure out what had happened. However, she knew it was time to go home, so she packed up her things, locked the door, and prepared to leave.

Walking to the stairs on the third floor, she heard the distant guitar music from the rooftop. She paused, stood there for a moment, and then walked up the stairs.

She sat on the same spot on the stairs leading to the rooftop, wiped her hands with a handkerchief, and sat down.

The previous song had just ended, and after a few closing chords, the guitar music started again, accompanied by the familiar voice she had heard before—

"Quietly, the village is covered in white snow,

Under the gloomy sky, doves are flying,

The birch tree is carved with two names,

They vowed to love each other for life.

One day, war came to their hometown,

The young man took up arms and went to the front,

My love, don't worry about me,

Wait for me to return in the birch forest.

The sky is still gloomy,

Doves are still flying,

Who can prove the love and life

Without a tombstone?

The snow is still falling,

The village is still peaceful,

The young people

Have disappeared in the birch forest.

The bad news came in the afternoon,

My love died on a distant battlefield.

She silently came to the birch forest,

Looking for him every day.

She said he was just lost far away,

He will come,

To the birch forest.

The sky is still gloomy,

Doves are still flying,

..."

Qi Jie sat on the stairs, her chin resting on her hands, listening and slowly closing her eyes.

"What a touching and sad story!" she thought.