《An Impossible to Reject Confession》


 CH 1.1

    Chapter 1.1:


    HongLuo No. 7 High School


    In the August September heat, Xu Youyou was bundled up in a fleece jacket as she stood dejectedly in the teacher¡¯s office. Her mother was currently talking to her future homeroom teacher as she discussed the matters of her transfer.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen her file, Student Xu Youyou grew up abroad. How is her Chinese, can she recognize Chinese characters?¡± The homeroom teacher¡¯s name was Song You and looked to be a little older than 30 and very kind.


    ¡°She can recognize them, Youyou grew up with a bilingual education. She shouldn¡¯t have an issue with communicating or recognizing characters. However, of course, her Chinese cannot compare with students here,¡± Li LeYao said.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Otherwise, she may not be able to take this class.¡± Teacher Song let out a breath of relief. He paused slightly before asking, ¡°How about her other grades? Does she have a subject she excels at?¡±


    ¡°Teacher Song, I don¡¯t have many requests regarding Youyou¡¯s grades. After the Gaokao, I plan to send her abroad.¡± Before returning to the country, Li Leyao had already discussed this with her ex-husband.


    Since she was little, Xu Youyou had grown up in Y Country and received her education in Y Country. Since she returned to finish high school in the country, of course the Gaokao would be a harder for her. So, before returning she and her ex-husband discussed it and planned to send their daughter to study abroad for college after the Gaokao.


    ¡°I see.¡± Teacher Song nodded his head showing his understanding. He turned his head to look at the girl who stood to the side and hadn¡¯t yet said a word. His gaze landed on the girl¡¯s fuzzy jacket, ¡°Student Xu Youyou¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡± Xu Youyou looked up, her delicate face was colored with a sickly pale white.


    ¡°Do you feel sick?¡± No matter how one looked at it, wearing a winter fleece jacket in the 20 something degree Celsius heat must mean something is wrong with the body.


    ¡°She is just unaccustomed to the new environment, the past two days she had a fever¡± Li Leyao answered for her daughter.


    ¡°Then are you sure she should go to school today? She doesn¡¯t need to rest for a few more days?¡± Teacher Song saw that the girl¡¯s lips were not even a bit red, and asked worriedly.


    Li Leyao did not answer the teacher¡¯s question right away, but rather turned towards her daughter and said, ¡°Youyou, go explore the school. I need to talk to your teacher about a few things,¡±


    Xu Youyou nodded her head, exited the office and looked around. She saw that no far away under the sun was a bench, and she began walking towards it.


    Li Leyao watched through the window as her daughter sat down in the sun again and could not help but let out a sigh.


    ¡°Teacher Song, Xu Youyou actually has psychological issue,¡± Li Leyao told Teacher Song.


    ¡°Psychological issue?¡±


    ¡°Not long after my ex-husband and I divorced, he got married again. Youyou could not take the stimulus and got sick. After waking up, she always felt cold.¡± Li Leyao felt it was a bit awkward and tried to remedy it by adding a sentence, ¡°Our divorce was not very amiable.¡±


    Teacher Song had a sudden epiphany. Getting married right after a divorce, 80% of the time is because of an affair that leads to divorce.


    ¡°Then what did the doctor say?¡±


    ¡°The doctor said only she could unravel the issues in her heart and suggested I change her environment. This is also the reason I brought her back. But, she does not have any friends yet in the country and staying home isn¡¯t good. So I thought she could just start school early to make friends, participate in group activities, and maybe this will help her healing process ¡° Li Leyao said.


    ¡°I see, then are her emotions unstable? Is there anything I should be aware of? Like things that could trigger her?¡± Engaging with sensitive kids is always the hardest.


    ¡°No need to worry. Youyou just feels cold and likes sitting in the sun. As for her triggers¡­since coming here there should be none. Otherwise I would not feel comfortable letting her attend school¡± Li Leyao said.


    =


    On the bench, Xu Youyou closed her eyes and sat in the sun for awhile. After waiting till her body was warmed by the warmth of the sun, she finally looked up towards the direction of the office.


    Just now when her mother had her come out, she could guess what her mother and the homeroom teacher were talking about. It couldn¡¯t be anything but her having some sort of psychological issue triggered by her parent¡¯s divorce. Before coming back to the country, she had spent half a month seeing psychologists abroad. And she almost got depression from it.


    Ai, there really is no explanation for it.


    Xu Youyou could not help but let out a sigh. Although her asshole father, Xu WenGuang, got married after half a year and even brought back a 13 year old illegitimate daughter¡ªexposing the truth of his ten-plus years of cheating, it should not have triggered her illness. The reason she always felt cold was because the after effects of rebirth.


    Yes, she was reborn.

 CH 1.2

    Chapter 1.2:


    About a month ago, the day her asshole father brought his mistress and illegitimate daughter home, her brain was suddenly filled with a ten year long memory. Thinking about the memory from ten years ago, especially the past relating to what she did after the mistress and illegitimate came home, Xu Youyou grew worried. But rather than thinking about whether to worry or not, she first thought about her past life. After the shock, she just rebelled for a few years and it didn¡¯t hinder her college application. How could being reborn cause yourself to get sick out of thin air?


    While the moment of her rebirth was a coincidence, her mother had mistakenly thought she had been triggered by the divorce. And the chill in her body could not be explained by science, so she could only use the excuse of a mysterious psychological issue.


    It wasn¡¯t that Xu Youyou hadn¡¯t thought about explaining, but if she ran to her mother to tell her the truth ¡ª that she was like this because she was reborn, then Li Leyao would believe even more that she had a psychological issue. If it went wrong and she was sent to a psych ward then what?


    She had miraculously been able to be reborn, she did not want to try spending her life in a place like that.


    As soon as a gust of wind blew, Xu Youyou¡¯s whole body would feel cold and she would subconsciously pull her thick jacket tighter around her body. Her face was full of worry: ¡°Right now it is only mid September and I¡¯m already like this. When it becomes winter in a few months, I won¡¯t freeze to death again, right?¡±


    Why ¡°again?¡±


    Because in her last life she froze to death.


    Sixteen year old Xu Youyou really could not understand herself in ten years, why would she randomly go climb Mt. Everest? What else is up there besides thin air and disastrous snow and ice?


    So hungry, let¡¯s first eat something.


    Xu Youyou didn¡¯t know if it was the cause of her whole body feeling cold, but recently she was always hungry. Everyday she would eat four to five meals and when she went out she would have to prepare snacks. She stuck her hand into her pocket and fished around, pulling out a small cake. But just as she was about to open the packet and eat two bites, a gust of wind passed. Xu Youyou shivered, her hand shook, and the cake fell to the ground with a ¡°pa¡± sound and rolled rapidly away from her.


    Xu Youyou stared at the cake which had rolled far away from her for awhile, and suddenly did not feel like eating.


    It was so cold, she felt like eating a steaming hot bowl of noodles, or even just a cup of hot tap water was fine, the type that just finished boiling.


    ¡°Student, your cake.¡±


    Suddenly, a light youthful sound rang in Xu Youyou¡¯s ear, and she snapped out of her thoughts. She saw a fair hand holding the cake that she had just dropped right in front of her eyes. She did not know when it started but the air now had a smell of ink, light and pleasant to smell, emitted from the body of the youth.


    ¡°Student?¡± The youth saw that Xu Youyou had no reaction and could not help but call out again.


    Xu Youyou lifted her head, her gaze fell into a pair of kind eyes and became dazed.


    This pair of eyes, why were they so familiar?


    The youth¡¯s eyes were beautiful ¡ª the smooth arc encompassed the ink like pupil, which had a thin halo and the face of the stunned girl.


    The youth saw that Xu Youyou was still distracted and helplessly repeated once again, ¡°Your cake, I saw you drop it earlier. Here.¡±


    He was going to the teacher¡¯s office to turn in the homework booklets when he walked by and saw the girl holding the cake unsteadily and drop it on the ground. He watched as the girl didn¡¯t pick it for a long time and decided to conveniently help her pick it up.


    ¡°Oh, thanks,¡± Xu Youyou answered, but did not grab the cake and continued to stare at the youth.


    Why did she feel she had seen him before? How strange.


    The youth saw the girl had no reaction and blinked uncertainty. And the girl just blinked back at him, her expression even more confused than him.


    ¡°Then, I give it back to you?¡± The youth took the initiative to pass the cake forward.


    ¡°Can you help me open it? I cannot tear the package open.¡± Xu Youyou¡¯s voice was soft and weak. She really could not open the package, the two gusts of wind from earlier made her fingers feel numb.


    The youth stared blankly for a few seconds. He was a bit suspicious that the girl was purposely teasing him, but he noticed the girl¡¯s heavy jacket along with her deathly pale face and understood something.


    Does she not have the strength because she is sick?


    The youth put down the homework booklets he was carrying on the other side of the bench, freeing his hands so he can help the girl tear open the cake¡¯s packaging. And he passed it back over, ¡°here.¡±


    ¡°Thanks¡±


    Xu Youyou lifted her hand to retrieve it. Her fingers accidentally brushed against the back of the youth¡¯s hand and the ice-cold touch surprised the youth. There was currently a hot spell this autumn and she is wearing such a thick jacket, why was her hands so cold?


    But they were strangers and the youth did not feel comfortable asking. He began to gather up the homework booklets getting ready to leave. But just as he was turning to go,  his arm was suddenly pulled, catching him off guard and the books he was carrying fell to the ground with a ¡°pa la la¡± sound. Immediately after, something icy cold grasped his palm.


    The youth glanced back in surprise at the two palms tightly clasped together. Almost instinctively, the youth shook off the girl holding his hand.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    The youth crouched down to pick up the fallen homework booklets one by one. There was only a 15 minute break between classes, if he didn¡¯t deliver them to the office soon he would be late to class.


    Xu Youyou looked down at her hand which was just shaken off, her expression was one of disbelief.


    It was finally nice and warm, not a bit cold.


    It wasn¡¯t her own delusion.


    Earlier when she went to grab the cake from the youth, her fingertips accidentally touched the back of the youth¡¯s hand and she then felt a warm current flow through her fingers through her body. The feeling was so warm, so when the youth was leaving, without thinking she grabbed onto the youth¡¯s hand. And when she held the hand, the warm feeling returned again, fiercely and strongly dispersing the chill in her body.


    ¡°What is your name?¡± Xu Youyou squatted down and asked excitedly.


    The youth looked at her and did not respond, continuing to pick up the homework booklets.


    ¡°Let me help you¡± Xu Youyou helped pick up some books. When handing them to the youth she couldn¡¯t help but seize the opportunity to touch the back of his hand again.


    How warm! (#^.^#)


    The youth looked at the girl suspiciously.


    Completely unaware, Xu Youyou happily announced, ¡°Classmate, your hands are so warm.¡±


    Warm? Soft? *


    Is she¡­flirting with him?


    ¡°My name is Xu Youyou, the ¡°You¡± from the word pomelo. I¡¯m a transfer student that is reporting in today. I lived abroad most of my life. What is your name? What class are you in? Are you also a tenth grader?¡± Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes scanned over the tops of the homework booklets, reading the words ¡°Grade 10, Class 8.¡±


    Grade 10, Class 8. Which class was she in? Xu Youyou was a bit annoyed, earlier in the office she just stared off into space not paying close attention to the conversation.


    ¡°Youyou,¡± Li Leyao came out of the office calling her daughter over.


    Teacher Song stood beside Li Leyao, saw the youth and also called out, ¡°Qiao Mu, come over here.¡±


    ¡°Qiao Mu? Your name is Qiao Mu?¡± Xu Youyou was startled when she heard the youth¡¯s name, immediately her expression looked as if she had seen a ghost. She held onto his arm not letting go, ¡°Which ¡®Qiao?¡¯ Which ¡®Mu?¡¯¡±


    Qiao Mu frowned, extracting his arm and quickly walked towards Teacher Song.


    Xu Youyou did not follow and just stood in place staring blankly, her heart tumbling in terrified waves.


    She seemed to know where this strange chill came from.


    It was most likely the debt from her previous life.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªTranslator¡¯s Note¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    * ¡°Warm¡± and ¡°Soft¡± in Mandarin rhyme  ¡ª nu¨£n vs ru¨£n

 CH 2.1

    An Impossible to Reject Confession by Grumpy Crab


    Chapter 2.1:


    Qiao Mu had been her online friend.


    In her previous life, Xu Youyou did not follow Li Leyao back to China, but rather stayed in Country Y. Since I did not live comfortably, the mistress should not think about living comfortably. She lived in the house for three years, jumping around doing things that pushed the limits of humanity. Mountain climbing and photography were her hobbies at the time. She enjoyed the process of climbing to the top, she enjoyed the scenery at the top even more.


    She and Qiao Mu met in a mountain climbing group chat. Because they were both Chinese and around the same age, they quickly grew close. They always said they were going to arrange a time to climb together, but there was never a suitable time until the year she turned 26. Xu Youyou decided to climb Mount Everest.


    Waiting for the perfect time frame, Xu Youyou spent around three months in China. During these three months, Qiao Mu led her sightseeing around most of China, trying all the local delicacies. And in the fastest time possible, she fell in love with the place. Before heading off to Mount Everest, Xu Youyou told Qiao Mu that after returning from their climb she was going to settle down in China. At the time Qiao Mu had a complicated expression and worriedly told her, ¡°Setting your goal like this is not auspicious, you have to pray in a temple.¡± *


    ¡°But we are about to set off, what do we do?¡± Xu Youyou grew up abroad and did not believe in such things.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll set a goal too. If we die, we die together,¡± Qiao Mu smiled.


    ¡°What goal are you setting?¡± Xu Youyou immediately became interested.


    ¡°After we get back, I¡¯ll tell you a secret,¡± Qiao Mu said.


    The memory ended here and Xu Youyou could not help but beat her chest in sorrow.


    Why did the inauspicious goal setting come true?


    After setting their goals, they set off to climb the mountain together. Not mentioning the dangerous journey, they were very lucky in reaching the top.


    There are no adjectives that accurately describe the joy of climbing to the top. Xu Youyou could only remember excitedly screaming, it was as if she owned the entire world. But just as they were getting ready to go back down, the weather suddenly changed. A whirlwind suddenly came out of nowhere and dispersed the group. Xu Youyou was the only girl in the group and her body was the lightest. When the whirlwind came, she was unprepared and could not react in time. And just as her body tumbled towards the cliff, Qiao Mu was the one who reacted just in time to pull the rope around her waist and out of the whirlwind.


    While they avoided the whirlwind, they could not avoid the blizzard. While she and Qiao Mu were wrapped up in a thermal blanket, as the winds grew bigger they were unable to persevere. What she was feeling at the time, Xu Youyou can¡¯t remember anymore, just that it was cold ¡ª the cold that pierces the bone marrow, freezing the blood. Maybe it was the final adrenaline before death, the last moments of life, the two recovered a bit of energy and joked with each other.


    Xu Youyou: ¡°Looks like we won¡¯t make it down¡±


    Qiao Mu: ¡°The inauspicious goal setting came true?¡±


    Xu Youyou: ¡°It definitely came true¡±


    At that moment, if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that her face was frozen stiff, Xu Youyou would have laughed.


    Qiao Mu: ¡°Say, since we are going to die here, this counts as ¡®living in the same quilt, dying in the same grave (like a married couple)¡¯ right?¡± **


    Xu Youyou: ¡°You said that so warmly, you like me?¡±


    Qiao Mu: ¡°Yeah¡±


    Xu Youyou: ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    Qiao Mu: ¡°So, in the next life, if I chase you, don¡¯t reject me.¡±


    After her rebirth, Xu Youyou never took these words seriously, after all who would have the heart to confess at a time like that? Besides, she and Qiao Mu meet ten years later, even if in this life they meet earlier it would have to be after four to five years. So during this time, she never even thought about it.


    But¡­


    Facing the youth in the blue and white school uniform walking away, Xu Youyou couldn¡¯t help but think about it.


    ¡°Youyou¡± A warm hand carefully touched her forehead.


    Li Leyao watched as her daughter had no reaction after a while and worriedly walked over.


    ¡°Mom?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?¡±


    ¡°No, I was just thinking about something. You finished talking with the teacher?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°We finished.¡±


    ¡°Oh right. Mom, what class am I in?¡±


    ¡°You weren¡¯t listening earlier?¡±


    Xu Youyou¡¯s lips cracked open, revealing eight pearly white teeth. She smiled innocently.


    Li Leyao speechlessly glanced at her daughter: ¡°Grade 10, Class 18.¡±


    ¡°What a coincidence!¡± Xu Youyou had a look of surprise.


    ¡°What is a coincidence?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    Li Leyao didn¡¯t ask further: ¡°I have to go back and watch the store, I¡¯ll pick you up after school. If you feel sick during class, you must tell the teacher or call me.¡±


    ¡°Mom, have you ever seen a parent pick up their kid from high school?¡± Xu Youyou dumbfoundedly asked.


    ¡°You are unique.¡±


    ¡°You want the whole school to know I have a unique condition?¡±


    Li Leyao was stunned, teenagers were perceptive. Xu Youyou¡¯s condition was not suitable for everyone to know, otherwise she might get labeled as an outsider.


    ¡°Fine, after school you can walk home by yourself. Are you familiar with the roads?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Youyou¡¯s mother, please come over¡± Teacher Song called them over from far away.


    The two turned and walked towards him.


    As they got closer, Xu Youyou¡¯s line of sight could not help but move towards the youth. Is this person really Qiao Mu? But other than their eyes being similar, the person¡¯s entire body was different from the Qiao Mu in her memory.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Translator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    * ¡°Á¢flag¡° is internet slang which is about when someone says an inspiration sentence or sets a goal but ends up slapping their own face. It similar to setting yourself up for failure.


    ** ¡°ÉúͬôÀËÀͬѨ¡± literally means ¡°Live in the same quilt, die in the same grave¡± which is an idiom for a deep loving relationship between couples.

 CH 2.2

    Chapter 2.2:


    In her memory, Qiao Mu clearly was clearly a pretty youth with a sunny disposition and a cheerful handsomeness to him. This person, at fifteen or sixteen should have been a tall and slender, happy youth. How could he be a fatty? And his height was at most 5ft 7in.


    When will the rest of the 6 inches grow? Being frank, she would never like the Qiao Mu with this appearance.


    Under the unwavering, unashamed staring, Qiao Mu felt awkward: ¡°Teacher, I¡¯ll head to class now.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    With his permission, Qiao Mu ran off without looking back. His footsteps were flying as if there was something after him.


    ¡°Youyou¡¯s mother, the next class is starting shortly. I¡¯ll take Xu Youyou over,¡± Teacher Song said.


    ¡°Okay¡± Li Leyao said a couple more sentences to her daughter before leaving.


    Teacher Song was the homeroom teacher for Class 18. He taught math which coincidentally was the next class. He carried his teaching materials and led Xu Youyou towards the classroom. Walking and talking, he told Xu Youyou: ¡°Earlier, that boy was called Qiao Mu. He¡¯s also in Class 18, in charge of the class¡¯ studies. His grades are good, and his personality is good as well. There is actually an empty seat next to him, so I arranged for you two to sit together. If there is anything you feel uncomfortable talking about with a teacher, you can find him.¡±


    Same school, same class, and now same desk. What a coincidence. It¡¯s God¡¯s will.


    After her rebirth, Xu Youyou always pondered the reasons for why she would be reborn. The only reason she could think of is because she died young. However, many people die young, why is it only her that was reborn? And at this moment, she suddenly had a very daring speculation.


    Maybe she was reborn because of Qiao Mu.


    Before going to Mount Everest, Qiao Mu had shared a lot of Tibetan mysterious legends with her. He said that every generation of the Buddha incarnate is the continuous reincarnation of the same person. He also said that Tibet is the place closest to the sky and if you devoutly pray, your wish can come true.


    If this legend is real, then at the peak of Mount Everest ¡ª the spot closest to the sky ¡ª without a doubt would be the spot where wishes come true. And Qiao Mu¡¯s last wish was¡­¡­


    ¡°So, in the next life, if I chase you, don¡¯t reject me.¡±


    Was it because of Qiao Mu¡¯s wish that I was reborn?


    Xu Youyou¡¯s thoughts were a mess and when she came back to reality she found herself standing on the platform in front of Grade 10 Class 18.


    School had been in session for half a month already, the students in the class were pretty much all familiar with each other now. Now suddenly on this hot day there was this beautiful girl wearing a fleece jacket following the homeroom teacher into the classroom, everyone could not help but begin talking.


    ¡°Who¡¯s that? A new transfer student?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s only been half a month since school started. Maybe a late registration?¡±


    ¡°It is such a hot day, how is she wearing such a thick jacket?¡±


    ¡°Her face is as white as the wall, it is clear that she is sick. But her eyes are black and bright.¡±


    ¡°The class gained an extra beauty.¡±


    ¡­¡­


    ¡°Quiet down.¡±


    Teacher Song hit the podium with his ruler a couple times, waiting for the class to stop their small discussions before saying: ¡°This is our class¡¯ new transfer student who arrived today, Student Xu Youyou. Xu Youyou, please introduce yourself.¡±


    Xu Youyou¡¯s gaze fell downward, and saw Qiao Mu sitting in the last row beside the window. Qiao Mu was also watching her and as he saw her look in his direction, not knowing what to think, avoided her gaze.


    ¡°Hello everyone, I¡¯m Xu Youyou, the ¡°You¡± from the word pomelo. I arrived from Country Y. In the future, please take care of me¡± Xu Youyou gave a simple introduction.


    The Grade 10, Class 18 students all wanted to ask a few more questions, but because of the homeroom teacher they could only suppress their curiosity.


    ¡°Okay, you can sit next to Qiao Mu¡± Teacher Song said as he pointed towards Qiao Mu¡¯s seat.


    Xu Youyou made a sound of acknowledgement and made her way through the classroom to Qiao Mu¡¯s side.


    Just as Xu Youyou sat down, a math book appeared in front of her.


    Xu Youyou¡¯s gaze shifted from the book to the book¡¯s owner.


    ¡°After this class I¡¯ll take you to get your own book, you can first use this one¡± The youth¡¯s voice was gentle and polite.


    ¡°What about you?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°I previewed the lesson, I already know the key points,¡± After answering, Qiao Mu did not explain further. He flipped open the practice booklet and lowered his head as he began working.


    Xu Youyou randomly flipped the page and saw Qiao Mu¡¯s signature.


    ¡°Your handwriting is so nice!¡± In the previous life, the first time Xu Youyou saw Qiao Mu¡¯s handwriting, she was captivated by his elegant, unrestrained characters.


    ¡°When I was little, I learned calligraphy for a bit with my grandfather.¡±


    People can look similar, but handwriting definitely cannot.


    Drawn from her reverie, Xu Youyou could not help but ask: ¡°Have you learned calligraphy before?¡±


    Qiao Mu, who had suddenly been asked a question, was shocked until he saw his signature on the book and understood.


    ¡°Learned before.¡± When he was five, he learned calligraphy with his grandfather. And since young, his handwriting was better than most.


    That¡¯s it? Wasn¡¯t his response too short? It was a surprise. In the past, the one who had been such a smooth talker, was apparently cold and aloof during his youth.


    ¡°Okay, please flip to page 46.¡± Standing on the podium, Teacher Song began his lecture.


    Xu Youyou was entirely unaware, just staring at the book in a daze. Her thoughts were flying.


    Qiao Mu originally didn¡¯t want to meddle in other people¡¯s business, but because of his talk with the homeroom teacher earlier, he eventually gave a reminder: ¡°Page 46.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Xu Youyou lifted her gaze, her long eyelashes quivered slightly like the sudden flutter of a black feather fan.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s eyelid twitched and he shifted his attention: ¡°Today, the content on page 46 will be taught.¡±


    Qiao Mu might as well just helped Xu Youyou flip to page 46.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Xu Youyou gave a beaming smile.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Qiao Mu continued to do practice exercises with his head down.


    ¡°Um¡­Let¡¯s reintroduce ourselves. I¡¯m Xu Youyou.¡± The pale hand stuck out towards Qiao Mu¡¯s.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s eyes fell towards the soft and white fingers, hesitantly remaining motionless.


    ¡°Due to Student Xu Youyou¡¯s parents¡¯ divorce, she has some psychological issues. You¡¯ve already seen how she wears a winter coat on such a top day. She says she feels cold. I wanted to arrange for you to sit at the same desk with her. Please comfort her, afterall in this class, you can understand her best.


    Qiao Mu pursed his lips and reached his hand over lightly tapping the other hand: ¡°Qiao Mu.¡±


    Just as Qiao Mu was about to retract his hand, it was suddenly grabbed.


    ¡°!!¡± Qiao Mu silently looked at the girl.


    ¡°Sorry, your hand is just too warm. I could not resist.¡± Xi Youyou reluctantly let go.


    Qiao Mu looked at the girl¡¯s heavy jacket and did not say a word.

 CH 3.1

    Chapter 3.1:


    ¡°Let¡¯s first review the key points from the last lesson. I¡¯ll give a problem, you guys have five minutes to think about it. Later I will call someone up to answer.


    A collective groan sounded from the class, but they quickly quieted down. Each student pulled out scratch paper and began furiously writing. Teacher Song wanted to bask in this moment as he watched the entire classroom. He got ready to call on the student who looked the most unprepared to answer the question, wanting them to earnestly take this opportunity to learn the concept. As he scanned the group of furiously writing students, he noticed a figure snoring as they slept.


    It was Xu Youyou.


    Song You knit his eyebrows, but considering that it was the girl¡¯s first day of school and she was feeling unwell, he decided to not go over and yell at her to wake up.


    This nap was particularly sound for Xu Youyou. Ever since her rebirth, she was mysteriously always cold and a couple times per night would be woken up due to the chill. In the past month, there hadn¡¯t been a single restful night. It was rare that she felt warm and if she could she would sleep till the end of the world.


    The period passed by quickly, Qiao Mu had originally wanted to take Xu Youyou to retrieve her books after class but she was in such a deep sleep that she didn¡¯t even hear the bell ring, let alone his voice. So, he went by himself to the academic affairs office.


    Around five minutes after Qiao Mu left, Xu Youyou who had been sleeping so soundly was once again woken up from a chill flooding through her body.  She unconsciously looked towards the side looking for the cozy figure which she could warm her hands.


    Where was he?


    ¡°Classmate.¡± Xu Youyou reached out a hand to tap the desk in front of her.


    The person at the desk in front of her was a cute doll-faced youth, who looked back in surprise after hearing Xu Youyou calling him, ¡°Classmate Xu Youyou?¡±


    Xu Youyou instantly responded, ¡°Do you know where Qiao Mu went?¡±


    ¡°He went to the academic affairs office to pick up your books,¡± The youth replied.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t he wake me if he was going to help retrieve my books?¡±


    ¡°Maybe it was because you were sleeping so well¡± Speaking of, the youth suddenly had a look of admiration as he stuck his thumb out towards her, ¡°But really, you are very brave. Daring to fall asleep on the first day of school, not to mention in the homeroom teacher¡¯s own class. Earlier during class, the homeroom teacher looked towards this direction at least seven or eight times. You should be careful, he might get his revenge later.¡±


    Afraid of being implicated, the entire period he didn¡¯t dare let his mind wander.


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t.¡± Xu Youyou¡¯s face remained calm.


    ¡°Why? You have a secret trick to counter him?¡± The youth excitedly asked.


    ¡°No special trick, I just have an illness, ¡± Xu Youyou said. .


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Um¡­I still don¡¯t know what your name is?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°Bai Yi. The Bai Yi as in Bai Juyi.¡±


    ¡°Ohh~~¡± Xu Youyou, who didn¡¯t actually know who Bai Juyi was, put on a look of admiration. ¡°Classmate Bai Yi, can I ask you to do me a favor?¡±


    ¡°Okay, just say it¡± Student Bai Yi was a good youth who always loved helping out others.


    ¡°I want to drink water.¡±


    ¡°That is nothing, wait for me.¡± Bai Yi turned back towards his desk and felt around for a bottle of spring water. After finding it, he generously held it out: ¡°Here.¡±


    ¡°I want to drink hot water,¡± Xu Youyou didn¡¯t grab it. Since Qiao Mu wasn¡¯t there, she could only rely on hot water to stay warm.


    Bai Yi couldn¡¯t hide his stupefaction: ¡°Oh right, you are sick and can¡¯t drink cold water. Let me help you get it.¡±


    About two to three minutes later, Bai Yi returned with a single use cup filled with warm water. After grabbing it, Xu Youyou drained the cup in one sip.


    ¡°Do you need more?¡± Xu Youyou¡¯s action of drinking was so bold and urgent that it seemed as if she hadn¡¯t drank anything in three days and three nights.


    ¡°How much longer till class starts?¡±


    ¡°Three minutes.¡±


    ¡°Then there¡¯s no need. I can tolerate it.¡±


    You can tolerate it? Tolerate what? Tolerate the thirst? Wouldn¡¯t a normal person take advantage of the time left and hurry to get another cup of water?


    At this moment, Qiao Mu came into the classroom carrying a pile of books. Xu Youyou rushed over to help hold some, and of course, most importantly to take the opportunity to touch his hand a couple times.


    So nice, she was warm again.


    Her touch was so natural, even Qiao Mu didn¡¯t know if she was purposely doing it or not.


    ¡°This many books?¡± Xu Youyou looked at the pile of books on her desk and her face turned green. The education system in China was so terrifying, they were supposed to learn all these books in one semester?


    Wait a minute, she has to attend high school again?


    Xu Youyou, who had already attended one period of class, suddenly realized the tragic truth.


    SHIT!


    ¡°Class is starting soon, you should put away your books,¡± Qiao Mu reminded.


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡±


    The next class was chemistry class, Xu Youyou scanned the blackboard¡¯s chemistry equation and her eyes became blurry. After yawning, she fell asleep once more. How could her sleep deprivation be fixed after only one period?


    Qiao Mu watched her use her books as a cushion and fall asleep in an instant. At the corner of her mouth, a faint drop of liquid could be seen sliding. In his heart, there was a sense of foreboding. Clutching onto hope, he withdrew the book he let Xu Youyou borrow for the previous class from her desk and flipped to page 46. There¡­


    He closed his eyes in despair.


    The saliva had dried, what else could he do?

 CH 3.2

    In a blink of an eye, the class period passed.


    This time, Xu Youyou was awakened by Qiao Mu. Earlier¡¯s chemistry class was the last period of the morning and after class was lunch. Qiao Mu was afraid that if he didn¡¯t wake Xu Youyou then she would sleep through the lunch period.


    ¡°What?¡± Xu Youyou had slept even better in this period compared to the last, her body was nice and warm. The color had begun returning to her face, her cheeks becoming rosy. Because she had just been woken up, her empty eyes had a faint bit of glistening water.


    ¡°It¡¯s time to eat.¡± Qiao Mu awkwardly avoided the girl¡¯s gaze.


    When she heard the word ¡°eat,¡± Xu Youyou¡¯s mind cleared immediately: ¡°Where do we go to eat?¡±


    ¡°The cafeteria¡±


    Hongluo No.7 Secondary School was a combination of high school and middle school, which the middle school fed directly into the high school. It had four cafeterias, the middle school and high school both had two each. However, between the middle school and high school was an iron gate that separated them making it impossible to intercommunicate between the two. Qiao Mu to Xu Youyou to the second cafeteria further away from the classroom. They had left late, if they went to the first one there would have been no seats.


    The cafeteria required a special meal card. And since it was Xu Youyou¡¯s first day, of course she wouldn¡¯t have one so Qiao Mu treated her.


    ¡°They only handle meal card transactions on Monday. Today is Thursday, next Monday you can go to the first cafeteria to get it,¡± The entire time Qiao Mu was talking his face remained emotionless. He spoke in a dull tone, without even a thread of cordiality,  Xu Youyou was really unaccustomed to it.


    How did the current Qiao Mu become the talkative, knowledgeable one from her memory?


    ¡°Why are you looking at me?¡± After getting her food and sitting down, Xu Youyou kept staring at him, making Qiao Mu uncomfortable.


    ¡°I was seeing what you were eating,¡± as she said, Xu Youyou specifically looked towards Qiao Mu¡¯s tray of food and was shocked. Qiao Mu had gotten two big bowls of rice. ¡°This, you can finish it all?¡±


    Qiao Mu nodded.


    ¡°I finally know where all the fat on your body came from¡± It would be weird if one didn¡¯t have fat after eating so much carbohydrates.


    Qiao Mu gripped his chopsticks tightly, lowering his head to continue eating.


    After eating lunch, Xu Youyou wanted to buy an insulated water bottle so Qiao Mu brought her to the school¡¯s only store. Xu Youyou randomly picked one to use temporarily as there wasn¡¯t much selection in the store and planned to go buy another during the weekend.


    After paying the bill and leaving, Xu Youyou walked up to Qiao Mu¡¯s side. Her arm encompassed in her jacket¡¯s furry sleeve held out a carton of milk to Qiao Mu: ¡°This is for you, thank you for taking care of me today.¡±


    Qiao Mu, shocked, did not immediately reach out to receive the gift.


    ¡°Hurry and take it, it is freezing,¡± Xu Youyou urged.


    Remembering that the girl¡¯s hands were as cold as ice, Qiao Mu hurried to take the cold milk: ¡°Thank you.¡±


    ¡°In the past month, I haven¡¯t even gotten close to a refrigerator. For you, I sacrificed a lot,¡± Xu Youyou said shivering and shoved her hands into her pocket.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s heart warmed a bit. The girl was so afraid of the cold going to the refrigerator to get this milk really showed her care.


    ¡°Drink up,¡± Xu Youyou pressed.


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll drink it in a bit,¡± Qiao Mu was lactose intolerant, drinking milk would cause diarrhea. Cold milk was even worse. ¡°But, why did you choose milk?¡±


    In these situations,  typically doesn¡¯t one buy coke or something similar?


    ¡°Drinking milk helps you grow taller,¡± Xu Youyou subconsciously replied.


    Qiao Mu silently looked at Xu Youyou.


    ¡°I¡­I didn¡¯t mean that. I was just thinking that you are still in your growth period, drinking milk will help you grow taller. Aiya, I didn¡¯t mean you were short. I just think in the future you¡¯ll be taller,¡± The more Xu Youyou talked, the more her heartache. At the end she almost cried.


    Qiao Mu silently listened to her finish, then raised his arms up to put the cold milk on the store¡¯s window ledge. Afterwards, he turned and left. His actions expressed his discontent.


    ¡°He¡¯s angry? If you don¡¯t have the ability, then don¡¯t grow taller.¡± Xu Youyou mumbled and threw the milk in the trash before running to catch up.


    She didn¡¯t know if she felt wrong but when she was closer to Qiao Mu, the chill would lessen.


    After the milk incident, Xu Youyou understood something. To boys, saying ¡°short¡± this word was forbidden. Because the rest of the afternoon, Qiao Mu ignored her.


    Xu Youyou also never had experience coaxing someone. After being at a loss for a while, she figured it was better just to sleep. Honestly, it was so easy to fall asleep by Qiao Mu¡¯s side.


    Maybe because the homeroom teacher had talked to the other teachers, but Xu Youyou slept the entire afternoon and none of the teachers came to yell at her. Thus, the first day of her classes, Xu Youyou gained a resounding nickname.


    The Sleeping God.


    In the afternoon when school let out, Xu Youyou was again woken up by Qiao Mu. He had originally not wanted to wake her up but Xu Youyou¡¯s phone kept ringing. So he couldn¡¯t help but reach over to push her awake.


    ¡°Your phone,¡± Qiao Mu coldly said.


    Xu Youyou muddle-headed, answered the phone, ¡°What? School¡¯s out?¡±


    The call was from Li Leyao. She called after school to remind Xu Youyou to come home. Xu Youyou then realized half the class had already left and the rest were packing their bags.


    ¡°Oh, Okay. I¡¯ll head back now. Yes, I know. I know the route. Don¡¯t worry, if I get lost I¡¯ll call the police and have them send me home, okay?¡± Xu Youyou helplessly ended the call.


    Just as she was putting away her phone and getting ready to leave, Xu Youyou looked around and then sat back down. It was like she had forgotten about their conflict during lunch, and casually asked: ¡°Qiao Mu, I see that everyone carries a lot of books back. Do I have to as well?¡±


    ¡°You only need the assigned homework books.¡± She had already asked, if he didn¡¯t answer he would look petty.


    Qiao Mu was going to finish the good deed and tell Xu Youyou which classes assigned homework when he heard the girl happily say: ¡°Then I don¡¯t need to carry them then, I didn¡¯t listen anyway.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Forget it, I should bring one book back. If my mom asks, I can pretend for a bit,¡± Xu Youyou lowered her head and flipped through her desk. She finally pulled out a language book.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± The language teacher did not assign any homework.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes swept the ground, by the chair leg was an open homework booklet. On the page were a lot of points, circles, and numbers. It looked particularly complex, but it seemed to also have a pattern.


    ¡°It¡¯s mine,¡± Qiao Mu grabbed the homework booklet and hid it away.


    Xu Youyou was startled.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be leaving first,¡± Qiao Mu roughly shoved the book into his book bag and picked it up, turning to leave. His figure revealed his panic.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a diary. Why is he so panicked?¡± Xu Youyou muttered the two sentences. Afraid that Dear Mother Madam Li would worry, she carried her bag that only had a single language book and left the classroom.

 CH 4.1

    Li Leyao was born in J City. Hongluo Town was an old town in J City and was also one of China¡¯s famous old town tourist spots. Every year there would be large amounts of tourists from all over the country visiting this tourist location.


    Although, 15 years earlier Hongluo Town didn¡¯t actually have much popularity. It was only a typical old town, until J City had a new mayor who invested a lot into the tourist industry. After one inspection, roads were fixed and bridges were built. There was a focus on maintenance and slowly Hongluo Town became how it is now.


    When Li Leyao arrived back from abroad, she was shocked by Hongluo Town¡¯s transformation. Li Leyao¡¯s father was a ceramist. In the old town, he opened a handcrafted pottery shop and while it did not earn much money, since he owned it there was no pressure for rent so it remained operating. After Li Leyao came back, she ran this little shop.


    After stepping out of the school¡¯s gate,  Xu Youyou pondered whether to go home and wait for Madam Li to get off work or to go to the pottery studio. She had initially wanted to go home but when she thought about the winding alley near her house, her head began to hurt. Earlier, Li Leyao had suggested that she pick her up after school not only because she was worried about Xu Youyou¡¯s condition, but also because the second day they came back from abroad, Xu Youyou had gotten lost in the alley after trying to buy salt.


    Even now, when she still thinks about it, she feels embarrassed.


    Forget it, she¡¯ll wait until the weekend to get more familiarized with the alley. Today she will go pick Madam Li up from work.


    After making the decision, Xu Youyou headed towards the bus stop.


    Hongluo Town wasn¡¯t big, after ten minutes the bus arrived at the entrance of the old town. From the entrance, Xu Youyou followed the road inside for another twenty-or-so minutes and arrived at her family¡¯s pottery studio.


    When Xu Youyou entered the shop, she noticed there were customers. So she sat down by a window and waited as she didn¡¯t want to interrupt.


    After a few minutes, Li Leyao finished up and came to check up on her daughter¡¯s condition. She was pleased: ¡°It seems making you go to school was the right decision, you look a lot better.¡±


    She looked a lot better because she slept better.


    ¡°Did you meet any new friends?¡± Li Leyao asked.


    ¡°Yep¡± Xu Youyou nodded her head.


    ¡°Who? Boy or girl?¡±


    ¡°Boy, my deskmate¡±


    ¡°Oh a boy,¡± Li Leyao was taken a bit by surprise. She had assumed Teacher Song would arrange for her to sit next to a scrupulous girl.


    ¡°What, afraid I¡¯ll start dating young?¡± Xu Youyou picked up that Madam Li¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t quite right and laughingly said.


    ¡°What is there to be afraid of? In Y Country, many girls your age have already had multiple boyfriends. Li Leyao sat down across from Xu Youyou, ¡°I don¡¯t have any big wishes for you, I only want you to be happy and healthy.¡±


    Xu Youyou knew that Madam Li was worried about her health, and comfortingly said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get better soon. Today I wasn¡¯t as cold.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t as cold?¡± Li Leyao¡¯s gave fell to the thick jacket her daughter was wearing, her eyes were full of skepticism.


    ¡°It¡¯s true, you can feel my hand,¡± Xu Youyou took the initiative and reached out her hand.


    Still a little doubtful, Li Leyao touched her hand. Xu Youyou¡¯s hand was still cold, but rather than being icy cold, it was just cold.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t lying, it¡¯s a lot better compared to this morning.¡±


    ¡°I told you.¡± After the afternoon, Xu Youyou seemed to confirm one thing. It was that even if she and Qiao Mu were directly touching, as long as they were near each other, her body would slowly warm up. Although if they had physical contact, the result would be much better.


    HeHe, after sleeping with Qiao Mu tomorrow ¡ª AhPei*, after sleeping by Qiao Mu¡¯s side, she probably won¡¯t need her thick fleece jacket and can wear a thin one instead.


    ¡°It seems like letting you go to walk around outside was the right idea, not letting you rest at home,¡± Li Leyao said.


    ¡°It was always a good idea.¡± When she had gotten sick a month ago, Madam Li wished she would only lie on the bed and rest. It was only after consulting a psychologist that she was finally able to go out and get fresh air.


    ¡°Then you should help me run an errand.¡± Li Leyao got up and walked to a cupboard on the side. She pulled out an already wrapped box, ¡°This is the tea set that Teacher Wang from the ritual center behind our shop ordered. Please help me deliver it.¡±


    ¡°Ritual center? Are there Taoist priests?¡± Most of Xu Youyou¡¯s understanding of China came from TV shows. When hearing the word ¡°ritual center¡± her mind thought of the Taoists priests from XianXia dramas.


    ¡°No, it is a Weiqi** ritual center.¡± Li Leyao saw the confusion on her daughter¡¯s face. ¡°To put it simpler, it is a Weiqi school. It is just that the name is different.¡±


    Xu Youyou knew of Weiqi. She had grown up abroad, but since she was young she enjoyed watching Chinese costume and period dramas. And Weiqi was a common prop found in Chinese costume and period dramas, and often the person playing was a very intelligent person. For example, immortal masters and seniors or grand tutors.


    Xu Youyou was suddenly filled with interest, ¡°Where is the ritual center?¡±


    ¡°In the left alley if you keep walking for a few minutes you¡¯ll arrive. There is a placard at the entrance. Hongluo Ritual Center.¡± Li Leyao handed the box to Xu Youyou.


    ¡°Alley? Does it have turns?¡± Xu Youyou couldn¡¯t help but ask.


    ¡°No. As long as you walk straight, you won¡¯t get lost.¡± Li Leyao laughed and especially emphasized the word ¡°lost.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean getting lost? I was just making sure of the directions, okay? I¡¯m leaving now.¡± Xu Youyou¡¯s face had turned red and she hugged the box as she rushed out.


    Xu Youyou followed the alley for about five to six minutes and at the end of the alley she found a set of red wooden doors. The big red wooden doors were halfway open and on the left was an old plaque. On the plaque, written in ink with powerful strokes were three words.


    Hongluo Ritual Center.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Translator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    * °¡ÅÞ ¨C AhPei is a spitting noise


    ** ΧÆå ¨C Weiqi also known as Go

 CH 4.2

    ¡°It must be here.¡±


    Xu Youyou walked up and knocked on the door. After a while with no reaction, she decided just to go in. Behind the door was an empty vast yard. It was incredibly quiet and all four sides had multiple rooms. From inside the rooms an occasional ¡°Pada, pada¡± could be heard. Xu Youyou guessed that it was the sound of people playing Weiqi. The sound was often on the TV and it was rather familiar.


    Just as Xu Youyou was hesitating to go into a random room to ask someone, she saw a youth wearing a white shirt come out from one of the rooms. When he saw Xu Youyou, he walked over, ¡°Who are you?¡±


    ¡°I have come to deliver something, I¡¯m looking for Teacher Wang,¡± Xu Youyou hurriedly said.


    ¡°Teacher Wang? What are you delivering to him?¡± The youth asked.


    ¡°He ordered a tea set from our family shop, my mom asked me to deliver it,¡± Xu Youyou said and held up the gift box she was carrying.


    ¡°Oh, from Teacher Li¡¯s pottery studio?¡± The youth realized, ¡°Teacher Wang is in the examination room. You can first wait in his office, I¡¯ll go get him.¡±


    Examination room?


    Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°For Weiqi examinations?¡±


    ¡°Yes, do you play Weiqi?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how, I am curious about it. I¡¯ve seen people play it often in TV shows, and I think it is awesome. And it seemed like only incredibly smart people would know how to play Weiqi.¡± Xu Youyou grew up abroad. She knew how to speak Chinese, but only conversational language. Her knowledge of adjectives were lacking and could only use ¡°awesome¡± to describe Weiqi.


    Only half understanding, Xu Youyou nodded her head. She followed the youth through the winding corridor towards the backyard. As she walked, she looked at the engraved signs on the rooms.


    ¡°Youth class, potential class, Chongduan class¡­¡­¡± As Xu Youyou passed, she curiously asked, ¡°The first two I can generally guess what they mean, but the last one, ¡®Chongduan¡¯ what does that mean?¡±


    ¡°Do you know what a Chongduan youth is?¡±


    Xu Youyou shook her head.


    ¡°Let me give you an analogy, Chongduan is actually like the Gaokao of the Weiqi world. After successfully completing Chongduan, you become a professional Weiqi player and can participate in competitions. You can even represent the country and attend competitions abroad,¡± The youth explained.


    ¡°That sounds very awesome.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    After talking, the two arrived at the office doors.


    ¡°We¡¯re here. This is Teacher Wang¡¯s office. You can wait here and I¡¯ll go fetch him.¡± The youth left Xu Youyou and turned to get Teacher Wang.


    The office wasn¡¯t big, around 10 square meters, with two desks. Xu Youyou didn¡¯t no know which was Teacher Wang¡¯s, so she held the gift box and sat on the couch. Just as she was about to pull out her phone to play, in the corner of her eye she spotted something very familiar.


    On the coffee table, there was an open book randomly left on the table. The book contained a lot of numbers and black dots, and it was like Qiao Mu¡¯s practice book that she picked up at the end of class. The only difference was that the vertical and horizontal lines in Qiao Mu¡¯s book were hand drawn in and the book on the table was printed. And the numbers at the end of the lines seemed to be more standard.


    ¡°What is this?¡± Curious, Xu Youyou looked at the cover. The cover neatly printed three words in black ink.


    Weiqi Record Book.


    Weiqi Record Book? Is it a Weiqi manual?


    ¡°You must be Yaoyao¡¯s daughter.¡±


    Xu Youyou lifted her voice to the sound and saw that a man of around 50 years of age, wearing a long white magua* had come in. The uncle held a fan in one hand, had a big belly, and his mouth carried a smile.


    ¡°You are Teacher Wang?¡± Xu Youyou rushed to stand up, ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I saw that there was something on the table so I was curious and flipped through it. I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it is not some secret. It is just a Weiqi manual that students use to play sometimes.¡± Not minding, Teacher Wang waved his hand. ¡°You probably can¡¯t understand it too.¡±


    ¡°This is a Weiqi manual?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°I had thought it was a numerical puzzle.¡±


    Teacher Wang seemed to remember something, and laughingly said: ¡°When your mom was younger she also though the manual was a numerical puzzle.¡±


    ¡°You knew my mom when you were young?¡± Xu Youyou asked surprised.


    ¡°Before Hongluo Town wasn¡¯t this big, everyone knew each other.¡± Teacher Wang said.


    ¡°Oh, right. Your tea set. Have a look.¡± Xu Youyou remembered her official business, and hurriedly brought the tea set infront of Teacher Wang.


    Teacher Wang opened the box, the tea set with deep blue base and black and white embellishments appeared before their eyes.


    ¡°Your mom has loved drawing since she was young, this set is beautiful,¡± Teacher Wang highly praised, and took out a tea cup. In his hands, he carefully examined it.


    ¡°Is the drawing of Weiqi?¡± In the box, the entire set was like black and white stars dispersed amongst the starry sky, distant and mysterious.


    ¡°Twenty years ago, this was a game my teacher and I played. Next month is my teacher¡¯s 70th birthday and this is the gift I¡¯ve prepared. Please thank your mom for me. This tea set has exceeded my expectations.¡± Teacher Wang carefully placed the tea cup back in the box and rearranged the image, setting each piece on the board in its correct place.


    ¡°I will let her know. I¡¯ll take my leave now.¡±


    ¡°If you are interested in Weiqi, feel free to come and play.¡± Teacher Wang said.


    ¡°Thank you, I will.¡±


    Xu Youyou turned towards the path she had come. Along the path, people began to continuously leave the rooms.


    ¡°Was the examination over?¡±


    Some were wearing uniforms that were a bit weird, like ancient Chinese garments. However, the exact dynasty which it was from, Xu Youyou could not place. And among the majority, were students similar to her age.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s bag hid a Weiqi manual, was he a student here too?


    Maybe he is in the potential class? She could not help but look towards the direction of the potential class.


    Xu Youyou did not pay attention to the Chongduan class, afterall people who attend Weiqi competitions would not have time to attend school. Besides, in the past life, Qiao Mu was not a professional player. She had not even heard Qiao Mu say he knew how to play.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªTranslator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    * A Chinese style garment

 CH 5.1

    That night, Xu Youyou could not sleep well.


    The first half of the night was because she had slept during the day so she couldn¡¯t fall asleep. The second half of the night, when she finally got tired, would constantly be woken up due to the cold. Thinking about how it would be morning and she could go to school and see Qiao Mu, she decided not to sleep. She wrapped herself up in blankets on her bed, and played on her phone all night. She planned to make up the lost sleep the next day at school. Her lack of sleep was so extremely that when she walked into the classroom, it was as if the color that had taken so long to appear in her face was never there and she was just as


    Beside Qiao Mu, the only person Xu Youyou knew was Bai Yi who had helped her get water yesterday. When Bai Yi saw Xu Youyou expression as if one foot was in the grave, he was shocked, ¡°Are you okay? Why is your face so pale?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t sleep well.¡± Xu Youyou sat down and asked about Qiao Mu, ¡°Did Qiao Mu arrive yet?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, Qiao Mu always arrives just in time.¡± Bai Yi looked to the back of the classroom at the clock hanging on the wall and said, ¡°There¡¯s still ten minutes.¡±


    Is arriving just in time what the student in charge of the class¡¯ studies is supposed to do? It was a shame she arrived to school so early.


    ¡°Bai Yi, did you do yesterday¡¯s chemistry homework? Can I borrow and copy it?¡± A classmate from another group came to ask for Bai Yi¡¯s homework booklet.


    ¡°Then you lend me your math booklet.¡± Bai Yi quickly brought out his homework booklet and stated his own request.


    That classmate also came prepared, bringing out a homework booklet for Bai Yi. It seemed these two have been in cahoots for a while.


    ¡°I¡¯ll copy the homework, we¡¯ll exchange it later during the morning study period,¡± Bai Yi said as he leaned forward on his desk and began copying.


    Qiao Mu still hadn¡¯t arrived and Xu Youyou was freezing. When a gust of wind blew through the door and into the class, she was so cold her head hurt. But she couldn¡¯t run and close the door, after all while she was cold, the other classmates were hot.


    Xu Youyou felt extremely uncomfortable. She pulled her sweatshirt¡¯s hoodie over her head just to feel a bit better. She sat like this until who knows how long when her body slowly warmed up. Xu Youyou¡¯s heart lept and she turned towards the door.


    At the door, Qiao Mu carried his backpack on one shoulder and stepped in just as the bell rang for class.


    The younger Qiao Mu looked like a chubby youth with an average height and was not very eye-catching. However, at this moment, Xu Youyou felt like he was tall beyond compare and against the light walked towards her carrying all the warmth in the world.


    He had finally arrived.


    ¡°Good morning.¡± Xu Youyou energetically waved her hand, her watery eyes were like an afternoon lake with gleaming reflections of sunlight.


    The girl¡¯s joyful expressed was a bit too direct and stunned Qiao Mu. He didn¡¯t know how to react.


    ¡°Sit down, the study period has started.¡± Xu Youyou got up to let him get past.


    Qiao Mu sulkily made a sound in response and sat down in his seat. He mechanically brought out the books he took home yesterday one by one.


    The morning study period had started. Each subject¡¯s representative began to collect homework, each one came to Xu Youyou side and was responded with the same ¡°I didn¡¯t do it.¡± The subject representatives were not close with Xu Youyou and left without saying anything.


    Even Qiao Mu who was also the math representative did not push for her to turn in her homework booklet.


    ¡°I just finished copying it, here.¡± Bai Yi didn¡¯t even try to cover it up and boldly in broad daylight turned around to give Qiao Mu the homework.


    Qiao Mu didn¡¯t say anything and silently retrieved the booklet, stacking it together and putting it to the side. He was planning to wait for the other two students who had not turned it in before delivering it to Teacher Song.


    ¡°Hey, why is there a language book here?¡± Bai Yi picked up a book from the ground and flipped through it. He turned around and asked Xu Youyou, ¡°This language book is yours, right?¡±


    Xu Youyou took it and flipped through it, and responded unsure, ¡°It should be.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean ¡®it should be?¡¯ You can¡¯t recognize your own book?¡±  In all the years that Bai Yi has studied, he had seen hundreds if not thousands of slacker students, but this was the first time he had seen one not recognize their own book.


    ¡°I only got them yesterday, I have gotten the chance to look through them.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true, your books are the only ones in the class that are completely new. But how come you haven¡¯t written your name?¡± Bai Yi asked.


    ¡°You guys write your names?¡±


    ¡°Of course, everyone¡¯s book is the same. If they get mixed up that would be bad. Why? Do you guys not have this habit abroad?¡± Bai Yi thought Xu Youyou didn¡¯t understand, and gladly helped her flip open the book. He wanted to tell her where to write her name, but his fingertip accidentally touched Xu Youyou¡¯s hand and said in suprise, ¡°Why are your hands so cold? Do you need to the nurse¡¯s office?¡±


    On such a hot day, who would have such a cold hand? No wonder she wore so much. He had wanted to ask her yesterday, but since they just got to know each other he felt it wouldn¡¯t be right.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just came back from abroad, so I¡¯m accustomed to the new environment yet.¡± Xu Youyou randomly found an excuse.


    ¡°New environments can cause this type of symptoms?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s different for each person.¡± Xu Youyou didn¡¯t want to continue this topic, ¡°So, I write my name here?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Bai Yi nodded his head.


    ¡°I¡¯ll write it, you can study.¡± Xu Youyou picked up pen and dismissed Bai Yi. She unconsciously began writing her English name, but as soon as she wrote the first letter she stopped. After hesitating, she shifted over an inch and began writing her Chinese name.


    She was now in China, of course she should write her name in Chinese.


    She wrote her name one stroke at a time, and was very concentrated. But when Xu Youyou¡¯s three characters were finished, she wanted to cry from how ugly they were.


    It was so ugly looking!

 CH 5.2

    An Impossible to Reject Confession by Grumpy Crab


    Chapter 5.2:


    After turning seven, the opportunities Xu Youyou had to practice writing Chinese became scarce. So although she knew how to read and speak, her writing was stuck at a seven year-old level.


    Before Xu Youyou didn¡¯t worry about it, after all people in Country Y didn¡¯t care whether or not her Chinese characters looked good. But now it was totally different. She would be continuing her education in China, how would she write in the future? Before when she wrote her name it was clearly nice looking.


    Thinking of a certain someone, Xu Youyou silently turned her head.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s attention had long been captured once Bai Yi had asked about her condition. He was the only one in the class who knew the real reason of her condition. Besides, the headroom teacher had asked him to take care of the new student.


    Thinking about Xu Youyou¡¯s past, Qiao Mu¡¯s heart softened. He turned his head towards Xu Youyou and quietly asked: ¡°Do you need anything?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Xu Youyou immediately nodded her head.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Can you help me write my name?¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°What?!¡± Qiao Mu didn¡¯t quite understand, what did helping her write her name mean?


    Xu Youyou immediately brought her textbook that she had just written her name in front of Qiao Mu: ¡°Look.¡±


    Qiao Mu looked down, and his eyelids fluttered. These crooked characters weren¡¯t written by a five year old?


    ¡°You wrote this?¡± Qiao Mu could not help but confirm.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xu Youyou sadly said, ¡°So can you help me write my name? My handwriting is too ugly.¡±


    If he was just supposed to write a few characters, Qiao Mu would not have any objections. His handwriting was nice, and since young he had been the one to write reports on the black board. However, writing her name¡­¡­


    Qiao Mu felt that it was weird: ¡°The name is written on your textbook, typically no one else looks at it.¡±


    Is he rejecting me? Does this brat not remember that ten years in the future he wanted to write her name for her?


    Fine, you don¡¯t remember.


    ¡°Before someone had told me that my handwriting was really nice, but when I write it looks very ugly.¡±


    It was very ugly.


    ¡°Your handwriting is very nice, can you help me write it? This way, I can look at it more often and practice.¡± Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes quivered as if she would cry if Qiao Mu rejected her.


    ¡°You want me to write it here?¡± Qiao Mu¡¯s gaze shifted and he held Xu Youyou¡¯s textbook.


    ¡°Yes, you can write it right here.¡± Xu Youyou was afraid he¡¯d take it back and refuse so she responded immediately.


    Qiao Mu grabbed his own pen, didn¡¯t even think and just started writing. But the difference between the same three characters was like heaven and earth. If someone who didn¡¯t know how to read Chinese characters looked at it they would think it were two separate languages.


    Xu Youyou looked at the three familiar characters. Although one was written with a ballpoint pen and the other a brush, the character looked the same except for one small part.


    ¡°There is a small part not right,¡± Xu Youyou unconsciously said.


    ¡°What¡¯s not right?¡± Qiao Mu asked.


    ¡°It might be because of the difference in pens¡± Xu Youyou pointed to the character ¡°You¡± and a small stroke on the right of the lateral radical. ¡°Before when someone wrote my name, they used a brush and made a mark here like this.¡±


    Xu Youyou got her pencil and began draw it. When she was younger she had learned to sketch. While she was not good at writing Chinese characters, she could easily draw some simple pictures. With a few strokes, she brought the extra bit the previous life¡¯s Qiao Mu had drawn to life.


    After she finished drawing, Xu Youyou compared it. It actually wasn¡¯t quite different, it was just that the Qiao Mu ten years later had an extra stroke crossing back.


    Maybe it really was because of the difference in writing utensils.


    Qiao Mu had begun learning calligraphy at a young age. He knew every stroke to make for different Chinese characters. But from one look he could tell that this extra part was a bit weird.  Because when you brought the brush back to retrace a bit, it would never be for so long. It was a short stroke yet there was an extra part. If it weren¡¯t a mistake, it could only have some special meaning.


    ¡°Was he just learning calligraphy?¡± Qiao Mu asked.


    ¡°He had learned for around ten years¡± Xu Youyou said.


    That long? Qiao Mu looked at the picture Xu Youyou had drawn again, and he unexpectedly noticed a faint heart shape: ¡°Did that person like you?¡±


    ¡°How did you know?¡± Xu Youyou lifted her eyes excitedly, her soul was shaking.


    Was he going to recover the previous life¡¯s memory?


    ¡°This here is in the shape of a heart. The person must have purposely drawn it in.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    Xu Youyou was stupified and she looked down towards the spot. Before she hadn¡¯t thought so, but with Qiao Mu¡¯s comment, the more she looked at it the more it looked right.


    That was the first time Qiao Mu had shown Xu Youyou his calligraphy. Qiao Mu had said her name looked pretty and wrote her name on a piece of Xuan paper.


    ¡°This is so pretty, can you give it to me?¡± Xu Youyou liked it and wanted to take it home.


    ¡°Of course, but when you take it home you have to look at it often¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll hang it up in the living room and look at it everyday.¡± Xu Youyou promised.


    ¡°Good.¡±


    This scene wasn¡¯t long before Xu Youyou¡¯s rebirth. It happened two months ago, when they were packing a week before they left for Tibet. In the end she never hung it up in her living room¡­¡­


    ¡°Ah¡­¡­Maybe I saw it wrong. Or maybe it is just a habit of the person.¡± Qiao Mu saw that Xu Youyou hadn¡¯t said anything for a while and feared he said something wrong.


    Xu Youyou looked towards Qiao Mu and asked: ¡°Do you have this habit?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Qiao Mu shook his head.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you don¡¯t,¡± Xu Youyou replied.


    Qiao Mu frowned, not understanding.

 CH 6.1

    Chapter 6.1:


    Qiao Mu didn¡¯t ask any further and handed the textbook he had written her name in back to her. He then turned back around to continue studying. However, just as he lowered his head, another textbook appeared in his peripheral vision. Curious, Qiao Mu looked towards the owner of the book.


    ¡°Can you also write it for me in this one?¡± Xu Youyou asked quietly.


    ¡°Write it yourself¡± Writing the name once means she could use it as a reference. Writing it once more would be a bit weird.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you write my name in all of my textbooks? I like how you write my name.¡±


    Qiao Mu felt suffocated and helplessly looked towards the young girl.


    ¡°If you write it in every book, then it doesn¡¯t matter which book I flip open. I can practice with each one. Xu Youyou watched as Qiao Mu didn¡¯t move and shoved a pen into his hand with confidence as if she wasn¡¯t bothering him. After all, in her subconsciousness, she and Qiao Mu were good friends who lived and died together.


    Qiao Mu panicked and moved away: ¡°You don¡¯t need to think consciously to practice writing.¡±


    After talking, Qiao Mu carefully pushed the pen Xu Youyou had shoved into his hand towards the end of his desk. He also proceeded to push the books back as well. No matter what Xu Youyou said, he would ignore her.


    Xu Youyou had no choice but to put away her books and pen.


    Earlier when shoving the pen into his hand, she had used the opportunity to touch Qiao Mu again. Her body was nice and warm, and she began to feel tired. She piled up a few books and fell asleep again.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s back remained straightened and didn¡¯t relax until Xu Youyou had fallen asleep. He cast sidelong glances at her, Xu Youyou¡¯s head rested upon her arms with her face facing him. Light shone through the window and the cracks of the leaves onto her face, giving her porcelain white and delicate face a faint gold glow. However, the bags under her eyes were pretty obvious, it seemed she hadn¡¯t slept well for a long time.


    Qiao Mu couldn¡¯t help but think of himself from a while ago, when his parents had just divorced.


    Suddenly a gust of wind blew past, blowing the leaves and the sunlight fell directly on the girl¡¯s eyes. The girl was startled and her eyelashes quivered as if her eyes were about to open.


    Scared, Qiao Mu hurried to duck his head down.


    But the girl did not wake up and just moved uncomfortably, before burying her head back into her arms.


    Qiao Mu thought about it and brought out all the books in his desk. One by one, he began stacking them blocking the light from the window. He also blocked his line of sight which he unconsciously kept looking towards.


    Xu Youyou slept the whole morning again and Qiao Mu woke her up again for lunch. Since Xu Youyou still hadn¡¯t gotten her meal card, Qiao Mu was responsible for her meals.


    When Xu Youyou had woken up, she only thought about lunch and did not see the ten plus books between her and Qiao Mu until after she came back.


    Xu Youyou sat down in her seat, when she turned she could only see half of Qiao Mu¡¯s face and was in the light. She could not help but ask: ¡°Why did you suddenly stack so many books here?¡±


    Qiao Mu was stupefied: ¡°It is more convenient to grab books this way.¡±


    Xu Youyou had a half-believing expression.


    ¡°It must have been that you sleeping was disturbing Qiao Mu.¡± Bai Yi came inside carrying a bottle of Coke, just in time to hear the two¡¯s conversation.


    ¡°Was I bothering you by sleeping?¡± Xu Youyou asked Qiao Mu.


    Qiao Mu didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know, but you sleeping in class is gaining haters. If it were me, I would also try to find a way to block you from my sight. Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t be able to learn.¡± Bai Yi said with exaggeration.


    ¡°What does ¡®gaining haters¡¯ mean?¡± Xu Youyou did not understand.


    ¡°To put it simply, when we are in class we are all tired, but only you can sleep,¡± Bai Yi explained.


    ¡°So, you are envious that I can sleep?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not that¡± Qiao Mu did not say anything else and put the stacked textbooks back into his desk to show that he was not envious.


    Although she didn¡¯t know the reason, when Qiao Mu took down the books, Xu Youyou was indescribably happy.


    ¡°By the way, Classmate Youyou, do you have WeChat?¡± Bai Yi suddenly asked.


    ¡°No.¡± Xu Youyou shook her head.


    Before she had used WeChat before, but after rebirth, 16 year old Xu Youyou did not need WeChat to communicate with her friends so she didn¡¯t create one.


    ¡°Hurry and make one. After we friend each other, I¡¯ll add you to the class group chat. Do you know how to use it? Do you need me to teach you?¡± Bai Yi asked enthusiastically.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°Okay, after you create one. I¡¯ll add you.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Youyou took out her phone and began downloading and creating her account. After ten minutes, her account was ready. She had also added the credit card Xu Wenguang had arranged for her. Looking at her empty address book, Xu Youyou used her finger to poke Qiao Mu who had his head buried into his work.


    Qiao Mu looked up with uncertainty.


    ¡°Classmate, can I add you on WeChat?¡± Xu Youyou shook her phone with the QR code as she asked.


    Qiao Mu was dumbfounded for a while before pulling out his phone and adding Xu Youyou¡¯s WeChat.


    After adding Qiao Mu, Xu Youyou then added Bai Yi.


    ¡°I finished creating my account. Give me your QR code, I¡¯ll scan you.¡±  Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°Okay.¡± The two quickly added each other and Bai Yi blurted out, ¡°I must be your first friend you added right?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Xu Youyou shook her head.


    ¡°I¡¯m not? Didn¡¯t you just make your account? Who else did you add?¡±


    ¡°Qiao Mu.¡±

 CH 6.2

    ¡°You added Qiao Mu before you added me? I clearly was the one who told you to make an account.¡± Bai Yi said, unsatisfied. ¡°Everyone says foreigners have weird tastes, do you like Qiao Mu¡¯s type?¡±


    ¡°Bai Yi, don¡¯t spout nonsense.¡± Before Xu Youyou had a chance to speak, Qiao Mu hurriedly cut in, his ears turning red.


    Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes narrowed as she found the situation entertaining.


    ¡°Why are you so anxious? I was just making a joke. I know you two are deskmates. It¡¯s normal that she would add your first. Not to call you out, but, Qiao Mu you are so serious. That¡¯s why no one in the class is willing to hangout with you,¡± Bai Yi said.


    Don¡¯t hangout with Qiao Mu? Xu Youyou¡¯s brows furrowed.


    Qiao Mu did not refute and lowered his head to continue doing his homework.


    ¡°Nerd.¡± Bai Yi quietly muffled, then turned towards Xu Youyou, ¡°Your WeChat username is YOYO, is that your English name?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Xu Youyou responded indifferently.


    Bai Yi was stunned. He wasn¡¯t sure he misinterpreted it but he felt Xu Youyou¡¯s temperament was different than before: ¡°I¡¯ll add you in a bit. After you join the group chat, you should take the initiative to say hi to everyone and say a bit more about yourself. Everyone wants to get to know you.¡±


    The past two days Xu Youyou has been sleeping continuously and her classmates had no opportunity to talk to her.


    While talking, Bai Yi added Xu Youyou to the Class 18 group chat. And @ed Xu Youyou to introduce her.


    Bai Yi: Give a warm welcome to our new classmate @YOYO


    It was the afternoon rest period and many students were on their phones. When Bai Yi¡¯s message came through, it aroused a bunch of students and a wave of welcomes came rushing through.


    Xu Youyou wasn¡¯t a real high school student and had no energy to interact with her fellow classmates. So, she crudely sent a red envelope into the group chat.


    A round of thank you memes rushed through the chat. Bai Yi was also able to grab one and when he opened it he received £¤101.5.


    The extravagance of the red envelope almost blinded him.


    ¡°My goodness, a nouveau riche. What a large red envelope.¡± Bai Yi had gotten £¤100 and he turned around to thank the nouveau riche in person but found that she was once again lying down.


    The Sleeping God was indeed the Sleeping God.


    Bai Yi resentfully closed his mouth and turned towards Qiao Mu who was doing his homework. Bai Yi nudged him: ¡°Your deskmate sent a red envelope in the group chat, hurry and grab one.¡±


    Qiao Mu opened his phone to look and found the class group chat had over hundred of messages, many of those messages were to hug Xu Youyou¡¯s leg*.


    Liu Lang: I did the math. There were a total of 35, which was sent based on the number of students in our class. There are still three students who haven¡¯t received theirs. So far the biggest red envelope was £¤160 and the smallest was £¤30. My preliminary guess would be that the red envelope was a total of £¤1000.


    Huang Ming: It seems our new classmate is a nouveau riche. leghugging.JPG


    Shen Lili: I want to be friends with the nouveau riche.


    Li Haobo: Nouveau Riche, I can provide you with a free homework copying service.


    Bai Yi: Class Monitor, where is your integrity?


    Li Haobo: I have a lot of integrity. Haven¡¯t you realized I only let people copy me once?


    Bai Yi: Scram, if she were to copy someone it wouldn¡¯t be you. Her deskmate is a subject representative.


    Huang Ming: After sending the red envelope, the nouveau riche fell asleep. @Bai Yi, you know the nouveau rich more, what is up with her?


    Bai Yi: She said she isn¡¯t used to the environment yet.


    Li Haobo: Then we must take care of the new student more, let her feel the warm welcome.


    Shen Lili: Class Monitor, your look so much better after receiving the money.


    It should be said that in a new environment, money always opens the door.


    Qiao Mu opened the red envelope and found he was the last one and received the biggest red envelope of £¤180. He raised his eyebrows in surprise and his eyes scanned across the string of numbers unconsciously. He quickly did the math. It was like Liu Lang said, Xu Youyou sent a big red envelope of £¤1000.


    Didn¡¯t she just make her account? How did she have so much money?


    Xu Youyou did not sleep the entire afternoon, she woke up during the last period and with head down played on her phone the rest of class. She was not fully of energy. The English teacher finally saw the new student ¡°become alive,¡± and called Xu Youyou to answer a few questions. But for Xu Youyou, English class was not difficult and was able to answer very fluently, shocking the English teacher.


    After class, a few extroverted students came to thank Xu Youyou for the red envelope. They also invited Xu Youyou out for the weekend.


    Today was Friday, Hongluo No. 7 High School wasn¡¯t the main draw of the city. The principal answered the nation¡¯s call to action and lesson the burden for students. First years and second years didn¡¯t have to attend class on the weekend so starting tomorrow they could go out and play for two days.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m still a bit unaccustomed to the environment here and want to rest over the weekend.¡± Xu Youyou rejected them.


    ¡°In the future, we can go out together.¡± The students conveyed their understanding, and grabbed their backpacks and left.


    Xu Youyou randomly grabbed a book and tossed it into her backpack. She saw that Qiao Mu hadn¡¯t yet left, and couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°School¡¯s over, aren¡¯t you leaving?¡±


    ¡°Today I¡¯m on duty.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°On duty?¡± Xu Youyou did not understand.


    ¡°To clean the classroom.¡± Qiao Mu wasn¡¯t sure if they did it abroad so he explained, ¡°Monday through Friday there would be a group assigned to clean the classroom. When it¡¯s your turn we call it ¡®on duty.¡¯¡±


    A group?


    Xu Youyou scanned the classroom¡¯s arrangement of desks and understood: ¡°Deskmates are a group?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then today I¡¯m also on duty?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    Qiao Mu was stunned and seemed to just realize he had a deskmate: ¡°You just transferred yesterday. You don¡¯t need to be on duty.¡±


    ¡°How is that okay?¡± Xu Youyou placed her backpack back on her desk, ¡°what do we do? Sweep the floor?¡±


    Qiao Mu saw Xu Youyou¡¯s determination and didn¡¯t reject her. The two worked together and were able to clean the classroom in no time.


    With their backpacks on their back, the two left and locked the classroom carrying a bag of trash each.


    ¡°Later I¡¯ll return the money to you.¡± Qiao Mu suddenly said.


    ¡°What money?¡± Xu Youyou didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°The red envelope you sent in the group chat. I was able to get £¤180,¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°Your skill isn¡¯t bad,¡± Xu Youyou laughed. ¡°But why do you want to return it?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s too much. And in the future you shouldn¡¯t send such big red envelopes.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I have money. Every month my dad gives me an allowance, and it¡¯s quite a bit. His money is useless. Anyway, besides giving money, he doesn¡¯t have any other uses.¡±


    Qiao Mu, shocked, could not help but ask, ¡°Does your mom know?¡±


    Xu Youyou looked at Qiao Mu surprised.


    Qiao Mu was brought back to reality and realized he slipped up: ¡°Sorry, the homeroom teacher told me a little bit about your situation, so I know¡­¡±


    ¡°Know that my parents are divorced? Or know that I have a psychological issue?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    Qiao Mu did not expect that Xu Youyou would ask so bluntly and was speechless again.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªTranslator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    * It means to suck up to someone.

 CH 7.1

    ¡°Do I look like someone who is sick?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s gaze fell on Xu Youyou¡¯s thick coat.


    ¡°It has nothing to do with my parents getting divorced.¡±


    ¡°Then why do you feel cold on such a hot day?¡± Qiao Mu asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s because of¡­¡­¡± The last ¡°you¡± word was caught in her throat and she nearly spit it out.


    ¡°Because of what? Is it really because you are unaccustomed to the environment?¡±


    Being unaccustomed to the environment was just a random excuse she had fed to Bai Yi, but Qiao Mu did not believe it.


    ¡°Because of a dream¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°A dream?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xu Youyou nodded her head, ¡°I often dream that I am on the peak of Mount Everest and there is a blizzard. I can come down and I freeze to death. After I wake up, I feel cold no matter how hot it is outside. So I think in my previous life I froze to death. I actually told my mom and my psychologist this but they don¡¯t believe me. They just think I was triggered by the divorce.¡±


    After finishing, Xu Youyou secretly watched Qiao Mu¡¯s expression. The expected unconvinced expression or something equivalent didn¡¯t appear, but rather on Qiao Mu¡¯s face was a frightened look. Although it was just for moment, Xu Youyou was certain she saw it.


    What was he scared of?


    ¡°You¡­you seen a psychologist?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xu Youyou nodded her head.


    ¡°Did it help?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already said that it wasn¡¯t because of my parent¡¯s divorce. Since I wasn¡¯t triggered by it, of course it wouldn¡¯t help. If it did help, then I really do have a shadow in my heart.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    Shadow?


    ¡°How could you make this wrong move? How did you lose the game of Go? Out of thirty practice Go questions you missed two¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Qiao Mu?!¡±


    Qiao Mu snapped back to reality but his eyes still carried a frightened look.


    Xu Youyou looked at him with worry, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°Nothing,¡± Qiao Mu shook his head and quickly walked forward, his face expressing an unwillingness to explain.


    Xu Youyou noticed that Qiao Mu was acting a bit strange and didn¡¯t ask further. After all, in Qiao Mu¡¯s mind, they were just deskmates who met two days ago.


    Xu Youyou had a lens into Qiao Mu¡¯s previous life, but Qiao Mu did not have one into hers.


    =


    On Saturday, Xu Youyou slept until 10:00. It¡¯s rare that she woke up in good spirits. Last night she actually hadn¡¯t been woken up by the cold and when she woke up she didn¡¯t feel that cold either.


    It seemed her guess was correct, as long as she stayed with Qiao Mu for a while, the cold effect would lessen.


    In order to test her cold sickness, Xu Youyou tried and took off her thick jacket and only wore a white sweatshirt. She walked a circle in the yard and didn¡¯t feel cool.


    ¡°Yes! Yes! With this speed, after one or two days I¡¯ll fully recover from the cold sickness. It is only a pity that today is the weekend.¡± Xu Youyou wished that she could run to find Qiao Mu right now, but she stopped herself. Now her body temperature had gone from winter to late autumn. Although is still wasn¡¯t normal, it was at least bearable.


    After being excited for a while, Xu Youyou felt a bit hungry. Right when she was looking for something to eat, the phone rang. It was a call from Madam Li.


    ¡°Mom, did you leave any breakfast for me?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°I left the house at 8:00 in the morning, if I left any it would be cold by now. You wouldn¡¯t be able to eat it.¡± Li Leyao said.


    ¡°Oh, then I¡¯ll go out to buy something.¡± Xu Youyou grabbed her keys and began to walk towards the door.


    ¡°Oh right, did you buy anything recently?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yesterday I bought some snacks from Taobao, but I filled in the house address.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°It was sent from Country Y¡± Li Leyao said.


    ¡°My camera arrived?¡± Xu Youyou excitedly asked. ¡°Mom, don¡¯t touch it. Be careful with it. I¡¯ll come over now to pick it up.¡±


    In the previous life, besides climbing mountains Xu Youyou also enjoyed photography. When leaving Country Y, Xu Wenguang felt incredibly remorseful as he watched his daughter suddenly get sick. Not only did he generously give Xu Youyou a credit card to represent the monthly allowance that he would send, he also said that he would get her anything she couldn¡¯t find while in China.


    Of course Xu Youyou wasn¡¯t polite with him and in the airport lounge she picked an expensive camera for herself. And she sent her request to Xu Wenguang before the plane took off.


    It had only been one week and the camera had already arrived. It seemed that Xu Wenguang still had a bit of conscience. In comparison, the treatment in this lifetime was a lot better. In the previous life, if she wanted to buy something they would get in a fight. Now in this life, one text will have it settled.


    Was this what people called ¡°asfjdalksjflkajfklasjf¡±


    Xu Youyou¡¯s house was not far from Hongluo¡¯s main road, it only required a ten minute walk. However the route had many intricate turns. Xu Youyou had followed Madam Li twice and thought that she knew the way. But halfway through, she couldn¡¯t find her way out.


    Shit, I¡¯m not lost again, am I?


    This time, Li Leyao seemed to predict that her daughter would get lost and sent a voice recording: ¡°Did you get lost again?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Xu Youyou refused to admit it.


    ¡°Almost all the alleys lead to Hongluo¡¯s main road. Just find someone to ask.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that Xu Youyou didn¡¯t ask anyone, but the intricate and complex alley in her eyes did not look complex in the local¡¯s eyes. Each time they helped direct her they would say something along the lines of ¡°You go out this turn, make a left turn, then a right turn, then another left turn¡­¡­¡±


    Xu Youyou felt dizzy just listening and it only made her feel more lost.

 CH 7.2

    ¡°Young Lady, are you trying to get to Hongluo¡¯s main road?¡± Just then, a pleasant sounding voice rang out from behind Xu Youyou.


    Xu Youyou turned around and saw an elegant old lady in a Qipao carrying a food container behind her. Not a single one of the old grandmother¡¯s silver hair was out of place and although she was old, her facial features remained soft and graceful. During her youth she must have been an unrivaled beauty.


    ¡°Hello Grandmother, are you talking to me?¡± Xu Youyou.


    ¡°Yes, earlier I heard you say you were going to the Hongluo main road. Is that right?¡± The old grandmother asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Xu Youyou nodded.


    ¡°I am also heading there, you can come with me.¡± The old grandmother said kindly.


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡± With someone to lead her, Xu Youyou eagerly went over to help grab the food container in the old grandmother¡¯s hand, ¡°Grandmother, let me help you carry it.¡±


    The old grandmother didn¡¯t reject her and walked happily out. To Xu Youyou it was like walking in a maze, but for the old woman, she only took 5 minutes to lead Xu Youyou out.


    Xu Youyou had actually been on the edge of the main road, but she just couldn¡¯t figure out how to get out.


    ¡°We¡¯re here. Young Lady, you have fun. I¡¯ll be going to the Ritual Center.¡± The old grandmother was a local and seeing Xu Youyou, she would naturally think she was a tourist.


    ¡°Grandmother, you are going to the Ritual Center? Hongluo Ritual Center?¡± Xu Youyou went there two days prior, so she felt a bit sensitive to it.


    ¡°Yes, you know the Hongluo Ritual Center?¡± The grandmother asked surprised.


    ¡°My family¡¯s shop is near Hongluo Ritual Center. Grandmother, do you have a relative learning Weiqi there?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°My grandson is learning there. He¡¯s very smart. He always gets first place at the Ritual Center.¡± When mentioning her grandson, there was pride in the grandmother¡¯s eyes, ¡°He will soon be taking the professional test. He practices there everyday. He works very hard. I am going to send him some food.¡±


    ¡°There is food inside here?¡± Speaking of food, Xu Youyou still hadn¡¯t eaten breakfast and her stomach unconsciously grumbled.


    ¡°Are you hungry?¡± The old grandmother lovingly asked, ¡°the ritual center is just up ahead. Why don¡¯t we go together and you can get something to eat?¡±


    ¡°Then I won¡¯t be polite then, thank you.¡± Xu Youoyou wasn¡¯t a glutton. She just felt that the grandmother was quite old and since she had brought Xu Youyou to the main road, she should send her to the ritual center. Besides, the ritual center was near the pottery studio.


    The old grandmother clearly often went to the ritual center and led Xu Youyou through the alley and through a couple turns to the Hongluo Ritual Center.


    It was different from two days ago, inside were a bunch of youths in uniforms. They were gathered around a long covered corridor. It seemed that they were looking at something.


    ¡°Did the rankings come out?¡± The old grandmother seemed to be very familiar with this scene and walked straight towards the group of people. Xu Youyou naturally followed her over. The two walked slowly, by the time they reached the corridor many had already dispersed. There were only two seventeen year old youths.


    ¡°Wenbin, it¡¯s fine. This isn¡¯t the final ranking. You still have a chance.¡±


    ¡°Twelfth place. The director won¡¯t let me participate in the professional exam this year.¡±


    ¡°You just didn¡¯t play at your best this time.¡± The friend comforted.


    Xu Youyou scanned the ranking poster posted on the wall. 55 people, twelfth place, this rank wasn¡¯t bad.


    ¡°Xiao Bin¡± The old grandmother seemed to know the youth called Wenbin.


    ¡°Grandmother Qiao?¡± The two youths looked at the old lady with a look of astonishment, ¡°Why are you here again?¡±


    Xu Youyou felt something was off, what do you mean ¡°again¡±?


    ¡°I¡¯ve come to give Mumu something to eat. That¡¯s right, you guys should have some too.¡± As she talked, Grandmother Qiao turned towards Xu Youyou. Xu Youyou understood her meaning, she quickly opened the food container and brought out a pile of pastries.¡±


    ¡°Xiao Bin, it¡¯s fine if you didn¡¯t do well this time. Don¡¯t lose heart. Have one of Grandmother¡¯s chestnut cakes. Later you can let Mumu return the plate. Oh right, our Mumu, what place did he get this time?¡±


    The two youths remained silent, no one spoke up.


    The grandmother had seemed to say that her grandson was always first place. Xu Youyou subconsciously looked towards the first place spot. First place was a person named Li Xiuran.


    Was Mumu a nickname?


    As the old woman talked, she handed the chestnut pastry to the youths¡¯ hands, but they did not take it.


    ¡°Eat. Even if you didn¡¯t test well you still need to eat. When our Mumu didn¡¯t test well, I would always make chestnut pastries for him to eat. Every time he ate it, the next test he would always get first place.¡± Grandmother Qiao lifted the chestnut pastry towards them.


    ¡°First place, first place. You grandson hasn¡¯t been first place for a while. He already left the ritual center years ago, He doesn¡¯t play Weiqi anymore.¡± The youth suddenly erupted, scaring the old woman.


    ¡°Grandmother.¡± Xu Youyou was also scared and hurried to steady Grandmother Qiao.


    ¡°You are spouting nonsense. Our Mumu is a Weiqi genius. He is always first place. You are speaking nonsense.¡± Grandmother Qiao¡¯s emotions were suddenly agitated as she raised her voice to argue with the other person.


    ¡°I¡¯m not spouting nonsense. Can you not see? On the ranking board, can you see Qiao Mu¡¯s name?¡± Liu Wenbin said.


    Qiao Mu?!


    ¡°Wenbin, are you crazy? Grandmother cannot take such a shock.¡± The youth who had been standing with Liu Wenbin named Hu Xiao said. He looked at his roommate, not understanding.


    ¡°You are speaking nonsense. I will find it. I will find it for you. Our Mumu always gets first place.¡± As she talked, Grandmother Qiao tottered towards the ranking board.


    Xu Youyou could clearly tell something was wrong with Grandmother Qiao and without thinking, stepped forward and ripped the ranking poster off the wall. She quickly balled it up and grasped it in her palm.


    ¡°Where is the ranking poster? Our Mumu? Where¡¯s Mumu?¡± Qiao Mu¡¯s grandmother didn¡¯t see the poster and turned in all directions to look for someone to grab and ask. She turned to ask Xu Youyou then turned to ask someone from the crowd, she gradually became dazed.


    ¡°Wenbin, what exactly are you trying to do?¡± Hu Xiao questioned.


    ¡°What am I doing? I am helping Qiao Mu¡¯s grandmother cure her sickness. I should let her know that Qiao Mu hasn¡¯t been here in a while. That genius that she praises has become useless. Only this way will she finally stop coming to the ritual center. She is so old and confused. Everyday she leaves home on her own, what if something happens?¡± Liu Wenbin said.


    A ¡°Peng¡± suddenly sounded. A figure from behind Xu Youyou flew across and violently smacked Liu Wenbin¡¯s face.


    Qiao Mu?


    Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes widened in shock watching the two people quickly fight. But in this situation, Qiao Mu was indeed weaker. The fat on his body was useless. Besides the first strike which was imposing due to the unexpectedness, the guy named Liu Wenbin quickly gained the upper hand.


    My goodness, you dare bully my deskmate in front of me? Do you think I can hold back?


    Xu Youyou randomly handed the food container to an unknown student who she didn¡¯t know if they had come to intervene or watch the scene. She rolled up her sleeves preparing to help, but just at this moment Teacher Wang heard the commotion and ran over.


    ¡°Stop!¡±

 CH 8.1

    Teacher Wang had originally wanted to bring them to his office to deal with them, but Qiao Mu¡¯s grandmother had been triggered and refused to move. She was simultaneously trying to look for Qiao Mu¡¯s name on the ranking board and ask him whether or not he was still playing Weiqi.


    ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve always been playing here. If you don¡¯t believe me, ask Teacher Wang.¡± Qiao Mu looked towards Teacher Wang for help.


    Teacher Wang looked at Qiao Mu and nodded his head, saying ¡°Yes, Qiao Mu has always been here playing chess.¡±


    ¡°Then why did Xiaobin say that Mumu doesn¡¯t play here anymore?¡± Grandmother Qiao pointed towards Liu Wenbin and asked.


    All the spectators¡¯ gaze fell on Liu Wenbin, many had looks of disapproval. After all, no matter what the reason was, triggering an old lady was too much.


    Liu Wenbin looked embarrassed, he lowered his head and didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°He lost a round of chess to Qiao Mu and felt indignant.¡± Teacher Wang helped him find an excuse.


    ¡°I see. So that is what happened.¡± Grandmother Qiao accepted the explanation and her agitation slowly began to die down.


    ¡°Liu Wenbin, apologize to Grandmother Qiao¡± Teacher Wang stared at Liu Wenbin.


    Liu Wenbin was defiant but had to bow his head: ¡°I apologize.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s fine. You are still a child. Feeling indignant after losing is understandable. It¡¯s understandable.¡± Grandmother Qiao comforted Liu Wenbin with a face of kindness.


    ¡°Grandmother, let me send you back¡± Qiao Mu didn¡¯t dare let his grandmother say there longer. He was afraid that she would get triggered again.


    ¡°There¡¯s no need. I came here to deliver chestnut cakes. Right, where are my chestnut cakes?¡± Grandmother Qiao began to look for the chestnut cakes.


    Xu Youyou also didn¡¯t know who she handed the food container too. Then a youth carrying the food container stepped forward: ¡°It¡¯s here. I have it¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°You have it. Then you can share it. I brought it here so you guys can eat it.¡± Grandmother Qiao said with a smile.


    ¡°Thank you, Grandmother Qiao.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Grandmother Qiao.¡±


    Besides Liu Wenbin, the youths all said their thanks. It was clear that Grandmother Qiao didn¡¯t just come once or twice/


    ¡°Grandmother, let¡¯s go back.¡± Qiao Mu supported his grandmother and began walking towards the entrance.


    ¡°I can go back myself. You stay here and practice.¡±


    ¡°Grandmother, if you don¡¯t let me send you back I won¡¯t feel at each and I wouldn¡¯t be able to concentrate on playing.¡± Qiao Mu said with a soft voice.


    ¡°Fine, I can¡¯t do anything about you.¡± Grandmother Qiao let out a sigh.


    ¡°Qiao Mu, play a round with me.¡± Qiao Mu was about to leave with his grandmother, when Liu Wenbin suddenly called out. His heart was raging and he could not just let Qiao Mu leave like this.


    Qiao Mu stoped, turned, and looked towards Liu Wenbin. His gaze was cold.


    Not wanting to be outdone, Liu Wenbin, glared back at him.


    Why did everyone have to feel that he was in the wrong? Qiao Mu had clearly already left the training center, could he not say the truth? Did everyone have to coax his grandmother just because she had gone insane? If she is sick then send her to a psychiatric hospital, why let her bother others?


    Liu Wenbin looked towards Qiao Mu, provoking him: ¡°Didn¡¯t you win a round against me? Do you dare compete again?¡±


    ¡°Liu Wenbin, follow me to my office.¡± Teacher Wang was extremely angry. He had said that Qiao Mu won a round against him as a random excuse. He didn¡¯t expect Liu Wenbin would use this as a chance to fight with Qiao Mu.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Right when the audience thought Liu Wenbin was going to Teacher Wang¡¯s office, Qiao Mu agreed.


    Qiao Mu actually agreed?


    Even Teacher Wang had an expression of shock, the only people who were not shocked were probably just Grandmother Qiao and Xu Youyou. Xu Youyou was purely curious and wanted to see Qiao Mu play Weiqi. Grandmother Qiao on the other hand believed that Qiao Mu and classmates competing was a common occurrence.


    This situation was already at this point and Teacher Wang could not do anything to stop it.


    The competition was arranged in the Chongduan classroom.


    Before entering the classroom, Qiao Mu didn¡¯t feel at ease leaving his Grandmother and wanted to find someone to look after her. He looked up and saw Xu Youyou. He finally saw Xu Youyou for the first time and his eyes widened in shock.


    ¡°Focus on playing, I¡¯ll help you watch Grandmother.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    Qiao Mu had already left the training center for six years now. Although there were people he was once classmates with, during the six years they hadn¡¯t kept in contact. In comparison, he was more familiar with Xu Youyou.


    ¡°Thanks¡± Qiao Mu didn¡¯t immediately hand his grandmother over to his care, but helped his grandmother into the classroom. Xu Youyou slowed down a step and heard some students in the back of the training center talk about Qiao Mu.


    ¡°Qiao Mu hasn¡¯t played in six years, he really isn¡¯t Liu Wenbin¡¯s opponent.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s hard to say, Qiao Mu was a genius before. I¡¯ve seen his chess records, he¡¯s very impressive.¡±


    ¡°You also said that it was before¡­¡­¡±


    Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes dimmed and she quickly went into the classroom. Inside the classroom, people had already moved the extra tables in the middle out of the way. Qiao Mu was helping his grandmother into a seat on the side. Xu Youyou walked over and stood by Grandmother Qiao¡¯s side.


    Qiao Mu looked at her and nodded his head.


    Xu Youyou understood what he meant and smiled an ¡°okay¡± back at him.


    The game officially started and Qiao Mu removed the cover next to his hand, grabbing a few pieces.


    The two had used a guessing game to determine who would play first. Liu Wenbin played black and Qiao Mu played white.


    When exchanging the chess baskets, Qiao Mu suddenly asked: ¡°What was your rank this past exam?¡±


    Liu Wenbin¡¯s face twitches thinking about his unsatisfactory rank made him feel worse: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what I ranked. It¡¯s enough to beat you.¡±


    ¡°Twelfth¡± Xu Youyou knew this, as soon as she entered she had heard he ranked twelfth. It was a very memorable experience.


    Liu Wenbin glared at Xu Youyou. Xu Youyou wasn¡¯t scared of him and glared fiercer back at him.


    Damn child. If the teacher had arrived so fast, she would have taught him a lesson.


    ¡°Twelfth?¡± Qiao Mu laughed and sconfully said, ¡°You¡¯ve been training at the training center for over ten plus years and you are still at this level?¡±


    Xu Youyou looked at Qiao Mu in surprise. It didn¡¯t matter if it was this life or the previous one, the Qiao Mu she remembered was not a harsh person. It seemed that he was really angry this time.

 CH 8.2

    ¡°If you want to see my level then we¡¯ll play and find out.¡± After speaking, Liu Wenbin placed down a piece with a ¡°pa.¡± He was playing black and in Weiqi, black went first.


    And when his piece hit the board, Qiao Mu¡¯s white piece quickly followed. There was only a second between when the two pieces were placed, it might have even been less than a second. It was as if he didn¡¯t think and just waited until Liu Wenbin placed down his piece to place his.


    Liu Wenbin was one of the people who knew Qiao Mu the longest in the training center. After Qiao Mu gave up playing Weiqi six years ago, he never played with Qiao Mu again. But he was familiar with Qiao Mu¡¯s playing style. Qiao Mu¡¯s playing style was never drastic and was considered mild. He tended to play defensively in the beginning then later attack, like a spider. Before capturing his enemy, he would first create a trap. But that play was only the first move and Liu Wenbin could already feel Qiao Mu¡¯s deadly energy.


    Qiao Mu wanted to defeat him head on.


    Was he worried?! Was Qiao Mu triggered by him or was he afraid that in the later game his mentality would be unstable? Liu Wenbin didn¡¯t think too much and took a deep breath. He silently told himself no matter what Qiao Mu was planning to do he needed to maintain a stable mindset. Winning against Qiao Mu had been a long time wish of his.


    Liu Wenbin did not hastily place his piece after Qiao Mu¡¯s attack. The more Qiao Mu rushed, the more he should stay calm and carefully think. He leisurely placed his second piece, but as soon as his second piece was placed, Qiao Mu¡¯s second piece also came to the board.


    Clearly it was following his placement.


    The ¡°pa¡± sound resonated as the chess piece hit the board, and everyone felt it in their heart. The anxiety rose.


    Xu Youyou looked at Qiao Mu at this moment and felt the imposing air coming off him. She was in a trance. This moment¡¯s  Qiao Mu was like the previous life¡¯s Qiao Mu when he pulled her back from the edge of the cliff. It was the same indomitable spirit and fearlessness. It was as if he could conquer the entire world if he wanted to.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, you won¡¯t die before me.¡±


    At that moment her foot was on the edge of the cliff, he thought there was no time between the verge of life and death. Thinking about that moment, she felt a bit of palpitation.


    Xu Youyou covered her chest and all she heard was the sound of her heart beating. When she finally came back to her senses, there were already quite a few pieces on the board. ¡°Qiao Mu is playing so fast, is he even thinking his moves beforehand?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that nonsense? If he wasn¡¯t thinking, could he be forcing Liu Wenbin like this?¡±


    ¡°He plays fast not because he¡¯s not thinking but because he already calculates his next move when Liu Wenbin is thinking. He has thought further ahead than Liu Wenbin.¡±


    ¡°I heard Qiao Mu¡¯s chess skill at ten years old was at the professional level. His speed of thinking plays cannot be compared to a typical person.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s that incredible?¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t he become a professional player?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because¡­¡­¡±


    Just as the person was going to say it, Teacher Wang shot daggers at them, stopping the conversation.


    Xu Youyou did not hear the reason and her face had a pitiful expression. She lowered her head to continue watching the match. She didn¡¯t understand Weiqi, but she could read the players¡¯ expressions. From the moment Qiao Mu sat down in front of the board he had the same expression, the atmosphere was heavy and his eyes were fierce. Whereas Liu Wenbin on the other hand had started out imposing with his provoking, but now his forehead was covered in sweat and he looked panicked. It was evident who was going to win.


    ¡°I lost¡± Qiao Mu once again played another piece chasing after the one he placed. Liu Wenbin had lost his fighting spirit and lowered his head, admitting defeat. Those two words used up his entire body¡¯s energy and his hands shook that he could not even hold a small Weiqi piece.


    ¡°Admitting defeat in the middle of a game? Qiao Mu is too strong.¡±


    ¡°Liu Wenbin hasn¡¯t been in the best state lately.¡±


    ¡°But he lost so fast, how long have they even been playing for? Last time Liu Wenbin played Lin Liuduan, he didn¡¯t lose this fast.¡±


    ¡°It seems the rumors weren¡¯t fake. Qiao Mu can really play at the professional level.¡±


    The students talked in surprise about Qiao Mu¡¯s skill and the discussion rose again. The more they talked, the more Liu Wenbin¡¯s hands shook.


    ¡°Alright, disperse¡± Teacher Wang broke up the students.


    The students were dispersed and Qiao Mu also stood up from his seat. He didn¡¯t look at Liu Wenbin and didn¡¯t say any attack words, he only apologized to Teacher Wang: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Teacher Wang for causing you trouble.¡±


    ¡°You¡­¡­send your grandmother back first.¡± Teacher Wang had a complex expression as he looked at Qiao Mu. His eyes held a deep regret yet he eventually just let out a deep sign and didn¡¯t say anything.


    ¡°Grandmother, let¡¯s go.¡± Qiao Mu reached out his hand to stable his grandmother.


    Grandmother Qiao didn¡¯t leave immediately, but reached a hand out and gently patted Liu Wenbin¡¯s hand.


    Liu Wenbin blankly raised his head, his face didn¡¯t have his previous arrogant attitude. His eyes were red and were blank and filled with regret.


    Qiao Mu hadn¡¯t played in six whole years and was still able to beat him in the middle of a game, could he really become a professional player? Or should he quit?


    ¡°Xiaobin don¡¯t feel sad. Losing and winning is common when playing. Keep up the good work. Next time grandmother will bring you some snacks.¡±


    Liu Wenbin looked at the old woman¡¯s kind face and tears began to cascade down his face. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of regret or sadness. He dazedly got up and left without turning back.


    Qiao Mu supported his grandmother out of the training center and Xu Youyou slowly followed behind them.


    Inside the classroom, Teacher Wang looked down at the final chess board. His eyes were serene with a deep regret. Such a good child, such good talent. It was such a pity.


    ¡°Mumu, why did you play so fiercely?¡± After leaving the training center, Grandmother Qiao began to scold her grandson. ¡°You are all classmates. It isn¡¯t good to be like that, you can easily hurt someone¡¯s enthusiasm.


    Qiao Mu purposely did it. His grandmother was someone he cared about and Liu Wenbin triggered her. He had been so furious, his whole demeanor changed. He decided to use the most crude method to defeat Liu Wenbin, just to let Liu Wenbin see just how big their difference in skills were. He even thought that after his brutal defeat he would say another cruel sentence like ¡°with a skill like yours, you would never be able to reach the professional level.¡±


    But after Liu Wenbin admitted defeat, he couldn¡¯t bring himself to say it.


    To a person who worked hard to study Weiqi for ten years and not give up, other people do not have the right to say that line. And more importantly he knew that if he said it, Liu Wenbin¡¯s mentality would break and he would completely give up Weiqi.


    ¡°It¡¯s my fault, I won¡¯t do it again.¡± Qiao Mu admitted his wrongdoing.

 CH 9.1

    ¡°Why were you here?¡± Qiao Mu turned to ask Xu Youyou who had followed them out of the training center.


    ¡°I came with Grandmother.¡± Knowing the old lady was Qiao Mu¡¯s grandmother, Xu Youyou naturally let the word slip out.


    Qiao Mu looked inquisitive towards his grandmother.


    Grandmother Qiao laughed and said: ¡°This young lady got lost in the alley and I helped her out.¡±


    Qiao Mu looked at Xu Youyou in surprise as if he was saying, ¡°you are already this old and you can still get lost?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s because I just came back from abroad. I¡¯m not familiar with the area yet. If I had a bit more time, I would have found my way out.¡± Xu Youyou didn¡¯t have the confidence to continue arguing.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Qiao Mu knew that girls cared about their appearance and didn¡¯t say anything, but his lowered eyes could not hide the mirth within them.


    ¡°What are you laughing at? I¡¯m telling the truth.¡±


    Qiao Mu restrained his smile and sighed.


    ¡°Could you act any more perfunctory?¡± Xu Youyou was upset and vowed that in the next two days she would understand the layout of Hongluo Town¡¯s alleys.


    ¡°You two¡­¡­know each other?¡± Grandmother Qiao looked at the two people.


    ¡°She is our class¡¯s new transfer student, named Xu Youyou.¡± Qiao Mu introduced.


    ¡°Grandmother, we are also deskmates.¡± Xu Youyou added.


    ¡°Ah, deskmates. Then do you want to come over to our house to eat? Grandmother can cook delicious food for you guys.¡± Grandmother Qiao enthusiastically invited.


    Qiao Mu was introverted and it was rare that friends or classmates would come to their house to visit, so Grandmother Qiao was very excited.


    ¡°Next time maybe¡± Qiao Mu said as he looked at Xu Youyou, his eyes hinting a very clear message.


    Xu Youyou stared blankly, then her eyes fell on Grandmother Qiao who looked at her in earnest. Right now she was kind and elegant and it almost made Xu Youyou forget the state she was in earlier at the training center after being triggered. But Grandmother Qiao¡¯s mental state clearly wasn¡¯t good otherwise she would not have forgotten that Qiao Mu had stopped going to the training center six years ago. Although Xu Youyou was curious, she didn¡¯t ask any further.


    ¡°Thank you, Grandmother, but my mom is waiting for me. Next time I¡¯ll come to your house, just have Qiao Mu call me.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°Then that¡¯s settled, next time I¡¯ll have Mumu call you over.¡± Grandmother Qiao said.


    ¡°Yes, goodbye, Grandmother¡± After speaking, Xu Youyou waved her hand and took the initiative to leave through an alleyway.


    ¡°This young lady is very pretty¡± said with a smile as Grandmother Qiao watched Xu Youyou¡¯s retreating figure.


    Qiao Mu grunted in acknowledgement and helped his grandmother leave.


    =


    The Hongluo training center wasn¡¯t far from the pottery studio, Xu Youyou successfully made it to the main road. But she didn¡¯t go directly to Madam Li¡¯s pottery studio but instead went to a stall next door to buy a juan bing* and scarfed half of it down, before going into the store.


    From the moment she woke up till now, she hadn¡¯t drank a single sip of water. She felt her eyesight blurring and an incoming headache due to the lack of food.


    ¡°Mom, where is my package?¡± Xu Youyou asked as she went in.


    ¡°Inside on the table. Why did you just arrive? I almost submitted a missing person¡¯s report¡­¡­¡± Li Leyao was about to scold her daughter but was stunned when she saw her daughter wearing only a white jacket. Her heart trembled and she excitedly rush out from behind the counter, ¡°Are you cured now? Do you not feel cold anymore?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m almost better.¡± Xu Youyou lowered her head and played with the package.


    ¡°It¡¯s only been a few days and you are already better? If I had known I would have sent you to school earlier.¡± If she had known that school could cure her daughter¡¯s illness, she would not have sent her to see a psychologist in the first palace and waste half a month¡¯s time.


    ¡°Mom, do you have a box cutter? I want to open the package.¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go grab it¡± Li Leyao gave the blade to her daughter and Xu Youyou cut open the package in a few strokes.


    In the past life, cameras were Xu Youyou¡¯s indulgence. The one she had chosen was a classic model, meaning she didn¡¯t have to look at the manual and could assemble it in a few actions, and could adeptly use it.


    Upon watching, Li Leyao grew curious and asked: ¡°When did you learn to do this?¡±


    She had no memory of Xu Youyou playing around with this sort of thing.


    ¡°Just recently.¡± Xu Youyou froze and randomly made up an excuse.


    Recently? Was that referring to the beginning of the year after the divorce and moving here? Because of the sensitivity of time and afraid of triggering her daughter, Li Leyao did not ask any further.


    Xu Youyou let out a sign and fixed the camera, she hands began to itch: ¡°Mom, I¡¯m going out to take some photos. I¡¯ll come back for dinner.¡±


    Afterwards she ran off.


    Xu Youyou was gifted in photography. In the past life, she had gotten bored and entered some big photography competitions and had won some awards. However, she was very spontaneous with photo taking. She took photos of whatever she liked and never made photography her profession.


    In the past life, she climbed mountains and took photos of the scenery around the world. However, she did not come to China very often. In this life she just so happened to be living in an ancient town filled with Chinese culture. Xu Youyou couldn¡¯t pass it up and lifted her camera to begin taking photos of Hongluo Town through her eyes.


    She took photos of pedestrians, limestone plaques, Hongluo training center, and even the black and white tiles and stones of the buildings. The photos had different compositions, lighting and angles¡­¡­and the afternoon passed without her realizing it. The sun was beginning to set and Xu Youyou found an ideal pavilion out on a hillside. She planned to stay and take photos of the lingering glow of the setting sun and the daily mundane life of the people below *.


    After waiting for a while, the daily mundane life arrived, but the lingering glow of the setting sun was chased away by the rain.


    How could the weather change so fast?


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª-Translator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    * referring to the smoke as people cook food, a symbol of people¡¯s daily life

 CH 9.2

    Chapter 9.2:


    Xu Youyou gloomily sought shelter under the pavilion. Although the rain wasn¡¯t heavy, it was able to block the winds slightly and it wasn¡¯t as cold. Although her sickness had gotten better because of her relationship with Qiao Mu, she still wasn¡¯t fully cured. Besides today she was only wearing a light jacket. During the day when under the sun, she didn¡¯t feel cold but now it was raining, her body temperature had lowered.


    Xu Youyou had originally thought the rain would stop after a short while and she could wait it out. But when the wind blew through she felt that would not be able to last.


    She could only have Madam Li send her an umbrella, but she first had to figure out where she was.


    Although it was Madam Li¡¯s hometown, she hadn¡¯t been back in a long time and Hongluo Town had changed significantly. Madam Li may not be able to recognize the way.


    After thinking, Xu Youyou took out her phone and took a photo of the scenery at the bottom of the hill. She sent the photo to the group chat.


    YOYO: I¡¯m stuck in the rain, does anyone know where this is?


    This was Xu Youyou¡¯s first message sent to the group chat, although she was not familiar with them but they had all received a red envelope from Xu Youyou. Each of their responses were very positive.


    Bai Yi: Isn¡¯t this the pavilion on the hill?


    YOYO: Can you be more detailed?


    Bai Yi: Detailed how?


    YOYO: Detailed so that a person who just came from abroad would be able to find the way.


    Bai Yi: Then you want the name of the place. I always called it the small hill, I don¡¯t remember the exact location. Does anyone else in the group chat know?


    Li Haobo: It seems to be the path off of Hongyang road you can take up.


    Huang Ming: You can also take Liuzhou road up too.


    YOYO: ¡­¡­


    It seemed it would have been better if they didn¡¯t say anything at all.


    A lot of the group were local people from Hongluo Town. They were able to take one look at the photo and recognize the location but the exact location no one could explain clearly.


    Shen Lili: Why don¡¯t you wait for the rain to stop? I think the rain will continue for 20 minutes at most.


    It seemed this was the only way. The rain would stop in 20 minutes and even if they knew the location, by the time Madam Li found her way the rain would have stopped.


    =


    Qiao Mu was in the study practicing calligraphy. In the courtyard, Grandmother Qiao was calling her son and the two have been talking for a while. Grandmother Qiao thought her son talked too much. She used the excuse of needing to cook and told him to call another time.


    After a while, Grandmother Qiao came inside and brought the phone over to Qiao Mu: ¡°Here, your uncle wants to talk to you.¡±


    Qiao Mu received the phone and waited for Grandmother Qiao to leave before looking at his uncle through the phone¡¯s screen.


    ¡°Has your grandmother¡¯s illness acted up recently?¡± Qiao Mu¡¯s uncle asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay. This past month she was only triggered once.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°That¡¯s good, please watch over her. My work requires me to go on business trips often and your aunt is accompanying your cousin in his film shooting. We can only rely on you. But next month your cousin will go back to school, at that time I¡¯ll have your aunt go more often.¡± Qiao Mu¡¯s uncle said.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    Qiao Mu¡¯s uncle did say anything further, he nodded his head and hung up. The screen returned to the main page and Qiao Mu saw the group chat had many notifications. He opened the notifications to look.


    Xu Youyou was stuck in the rain?


    Qiao Mu walked to the window and saw the falling rain outside. Although it wasn¡¯t raining for long, Xu Youyou was afraid of the cold. When they had met earlier that morning, she seemed to only be wearing a thin jacket. And even in the autumn rain, a typical person who got wet would feel cold, not to mention her.


    Thinking about it, Qiao Mu grabbed an umbrella and said goodbye to Grandmother before leaving.


    Hongluo Town wasn¡¯t big and Qiao Mu had grown up here. He was familiar with the alleyways and took a seven to eight minute shortcut up the hill. When he got there the sky was not yet completely dark and in the distance he could see a curled up figure in the pavilion.


    Qiao Mu hurried over.


    Xu Youyou was cold and bored, she lowered her head to count the ants when suddenly a pair of black sports shoes appeared in her peripheral. She looked up and saw a familiar person.


    ¡°Qiao Mu?¡± Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes were filled with surprise.


    Without her thick jacket and her head raised up, her fair and slender neck was exposed. From Qiao Mu¡¯s angle looking down, he was even able to see her collarbone between her collar.


    ¡°Here.¡± Qiao Mu silently held out the umbrella he was carrying


    ¡°You specifically came to pick me up?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°My house is nearby.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    It didn¡¯t matter if his house was closeby, he specifically came to pick her up.


    ¡°Thanks¡± Xu Youyou stood up and took the initiative to stand under the umbrella. Because the umbrella wasn¡¯t big and she was afraid of getting wet, Xu Youyou was practically glued to Qiao Mu¡¯s side.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s heart leapt and he panically moved to the side, ¡°I brought two umbrellas.¡±


    Xu Youyou finally realized in Qiao Mu¡¯s left hand there was another umbrella. It was because its color was the same as his clothes, she did not realize it earlier.


    ¡°Oh¡± Xu Youyou reached out her hand to take the umbrella in Qiao Mu¡¯s outreached hand. Qiao Mu then finally let out a breath of relief and opened the umbrella in his other hand. The two then walked into the rain.


    ¡°Where is your house? I¡¯ll send you home¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°The main road.¡± She had promised to eat dinner with Madam Li.


    From here to the main road, it would take about 20 minutes. Qiao Mu looked at the girl¡¯s pale face. If they continued to walk it would be the same as if they were to wait at the pavilion. Since he decided to help he would help her to the end.


    ¡°Do you want to come to my house?¡± Qiao Mu asked.


    Xu Youyou froze and looked at Qiao Mu.


    ¡°To seek shelter from the rain.¡±


    Maybe it was because the light in the girl¡¯s eyes was too bright, but Qiao Mu couldn¡¯t help but explain it a bit further.

 CH 10.1

    Qiao Mu¡¯s house was very elegant. From the yard one could tell that the owner put in a lot of effort. In the same four corner courtyard, Xu Youyou¡¯s house only planted a simple grapefruit tree and placed a bench and table beneath it. But Qiao Mu¡¯s yard was meticulously decorated Her eyesight was filled with flowers and grass, and delicate rockery. It was as if she stepped into a Suzhou garden* which she had seen in dramas.


    White cobblestone lined a winding path from the yard¡¯s entrance to the main house which was lit up by lanterns. Xu Youyou raised her umbrella walking infront as if the drops of rain just passed right through her body.


    Qiao Mu quickly walked through the courtyard and into the main house and closed the umbrella. When he saw the girl had walked halfway and remained frozen, he felt it was a bit weird:  ¡°Why are you standing there?¡±


    Xu Youyou laughed as she raised her gaze, her eyes reflected the main house¡¯s yellow light: ¡°I like your yard.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to sand in the rain to admire it. Aren¡¯t you cold?¡± Qiao Mu asked.


    If he didn¡¯t worry about Xu Youyou¡¯s weird sickness of fearing the cold, he would not have brought Xu Youyou back to his house.


    Xu Youyou made a ¡°oh¡± sound and ran over.


    ¡°Take off your shoes.¡± Qiao Mu used one hand to remove his shoes and the other to take the umbrella in Xu Youyou¡¯s hand. He closed the umbrella and placed it in the corner of the wall with the other umbrella.


    ¡°Mumu, who arrived?¡± Grandmother Qiao heard their movement and came out from the kitchen.


    ¡°Hello Grandmother.¡± Xu Youyou smiled and waved at Grandmother Qiao.


    ¡°Hello. Mumu, is this your classmate?¡± Grandmother Qiao looked towards Xu Youyou and without recognition and a sense of unfamiliarity.


    Xu Youyou was shocked and unconsciously looked towards Qiao Mu.


    ¡°Yes, she is my classmate. Her name is Xu Youyou.¡± Qiao Mu turned to look at Xu Youyou and his expression carried a bit of worry. ¡°Classmate Xu Youyou, this is my grandmother.¡±


    ¡°Hello Grandmother, I¡¯m Xu Youyou. The ¡°You¡± is from grapefruit. Because it started raining, I¡¯ve come to your house to seek shelter from the rain.¡± Xu Youyou did ask the thoughts running through her mind.


    ¡°Welcome, welcome. You came just in time, I just finished cooking. Youyou, right? Why don¡¯t you stay and eat with us?¡± Grandmother Qiao excitedly invited.


    ¡°Um¡­¡­¡± Xu Youyou looked at Qiao Mu.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t look down on the food¡­¡±


    ¡°No I don¡¯t. How could I? Thank you Grandmother¡± Xu Youyou accepted the invitation.


    If she returned to the main road, she and Madam Li would just be having takeout. Between home cooked food and takeout, every normal person would know what to pick.


    ¡°Good, Mumu be a good host to your classmate. I¡¯ll go make another dish.¡± This was Qiao Mu¡¯s first time bringing home a classmate and it was a pretty female classmate. Grandmother Qiao of course had to help her grandson.


    In the main room, there was only the two of them left. Although Xu Youyou thought it was weird that Grandmother Qiao did not recognize her, she did not ask about it: ¡°Then I¡¯ll send my mom a WeChat message and tell her I¡¯m not coming back for dinner.¡±


    Xu Youyou pulled out her phone and quickly wrote a text to send to Madam Li.


    ¡°My grandmother¡¯s state is not the best. Sometimes she is a her memory gets blurred. This morning¡­¡­as long as she sleeps she will recover back to normal. So she does not remember what happened this warning.¡± Qiao Mu explained.


    ¡°Oh¡± Xu Youyou did not expect that Qiao Mu would take the initiative to explain and she didn¡¯t know how to respond.


    ¡°So¡­¡­this morning¡¯s event, can you¡­¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t bring it up.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Qiao Mu paused and then said, ¡°Also don¡¯t mention me playing Weiqi.¡±


    ¡°Did you start learning Weiqi when you were young? Why can¡¯t we mention it?¡± Xu Youyou was surprised.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s brows furrowed and an expression of not wanting to continue the conversation grew on his face.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Youyou responded.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    Qiao Mu brought Xu Youyou to the dining room and went to the kitchen to help Grandmother serve the dishes. Soon after the three were eating steaming hot food. It was the first time Xu Youyou ate home cooked food since she came back from abroad. .


    Xu Youyou¡¯s mother was only slightly better than Xu Youyou who only know how to make ramen and toast. Madam Li would stir fry some vegetables and make egg and tomato. However, the taste was only okay. Despite coming back from abroad a while ago, Xu Youyou¡¯s three meals relied on takeout. It was good that mainland food was significantly better than food abroad, even if it was takeout. But compared to Grandmother Qiao¡¯s cooking skills, there was a large gap.


    ¡°Grandmother, the food is delicious. No wonder Qiao Mu is this fat. If I could eat food like this everyday, it would also be worth it to get fat.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Qiao Mu.


    ¡°Eat slowly. Look at you, this is just typical home cooked dishes. If you really like them that much, come over more often.¡± Grandmother Qiao¡¯s eyes brightened with the praise. She loved excitement, her own grandson was very filial, but his personality was too quiet.


    ¡°Then you must have Qiao Mu invite me, otherwise I would feel bad.¡± Xu Youyou took advantage.


    Qiao Mu could not believe it and looked at Xu Youyou. Did people who come back from abroad not know common quest courtesy?


    ¡°Good, good, good. Qiao Mu, in the future, invite Youyou over to eat.¡± Grandmother Qiao said ¡°good¡± three times. Ever since she started eating, the smile never left her face.


    Seeing his grandmother this happy, Qiao Mu didn¡¯t say anything and just nodded his head with a sound of acknowledgement.


    ¡°Here, have a bowl of soup¡± Grandmother Qiao held out a bowl of spare rib soup to Xu Youyou.


    ¡°Thank you Grandmother.¡± Xu Youyou received it and took a sip, ¡°Oh right, Grandmother. Did you decorate the yard?


    ¡°Yes¡±


    ¡°You are very impressive, this is my first time seeing such a beautiful courtyard. It is like those on TV.¡±


    ¡°Look at you, I just randomly decorate when I¡¯m bored.¡±


    ¡°Grandmother, your clothes are also really pretty. It is very elegant.¡±


    ¡°What elegance? I¡¯ve been wearing this for years.¡±


    ¡°Grandmother, your figure hasn¡¯t changed one bit over the years. That¡¯s very impressive¡­¡­¡±


    Qiao Mu looked down and pushed his food around, silently watching Xu Youyou praise his grandmother till she was laughing aloud. This meal¡¯s laughter was more than the whole half a year combined. If those didn¡¯t know, they would have thought he was the guest receiving food.


    ¡°You child, your mouth is so sweet and you look so pretty.¡± Grandmother Qiao praised.


    Sweet mouth, Xu Youyou could guess what it means, but what did you look pretty** mean?


    After eating, the rain had stopped. Grandmother Qiao had Qiao Mu send Xu Youyou home.


    On the way, Xu Youyou could not help but ask: ¡°Grandmother said I look pretty, is that a compliment saying I am good looking?¡±


    Although she did not know the detailed meaning of the word, she could make the inference that it was a compliment.


    Qiao Mu was stunned and looked at the girl, how should he answer?


    ¡°Does it mean I am good looking?¡± Xu Youyou saw that Qiao Mu didn¡¯t respond and could not help but ask again.


    ¡°Yes¡± Qiao Mu couldn¡¯t resist and gloomily made a sound of acknowledgement. Although he was just confirming what his grandmother had said, the way Xu Youyou phrased it made it seem as if he was the one praising Xu Youyou that she looked pretty.


    ¡°I was born lucky¡± Xu Youyou quickly was filled with satisfaction.


    Qiao Mu glanced at her and could not resist: ¡°Does everyone who grows up abroad have so much self confidence?¡±


    ¡°Is self confidence bad?¡± Xu Youyou responded.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± He overestimated Xu Youyou¡¯s Chinese skills, it was obvious his sarcastic retort flew over her head.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªTranslator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    * Suzhou and Hangzhou are sometimes referred to heaven on Earth due to their beautiful natural scenery. ÉÏÓÐÌìÌà ÏÂÓÐËÕº¼ ¨C ¡°Above the sky is heavem and below is Suzhou and Hangzhou¡±


    ** I¡¯m not honestly sure why she would not know the the character ¡°pretty¡± ¿¡. But possibly abroad she probably would have only learned ƯÁÁ (pi¨¤o liang) ¡°pretty¡± or ˧ (shu¨¤i) ¡°handsome¡± which are the basic terms.

 CH 10.2

    ¡°Let¡¯s go. After walking along this path for a while, you¡¯ll arrive at the main road.¡± Qiao Mu began leading the way.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Youyou hastened her steps to catch up. Suddenly her phone sounded and Qiao Mu¡¯s eyes blinked, her expression changing.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to take this call.¡± Xu Youyou waited for Qiao Mu¡¯s response before answering.


    ¡°Mr. Xu, why are you calling me?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    The person who was calling was Xu Youyou¡¯s father, Xu Wenguang. Listening to his daughter call him Mr. Xu, he froze before responding: ¡°I¡¯m your father.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Xu Youyou was indifferent. It was as if she was a completely different person from the one who was so narcissistic that they got others to praise her.


    The alley was quiet at night. Qiao Mu could even hear the sounds of the microphone. He unconsciously wanted to move away but the alley was only so big and so he didn¡¯t dare move too far away. He could only awkwardly stand in place and pretend he could not hear.


    ¡°Did you receive the camera?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°I heard from your mom that you have gotten a bit better.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°Be good and listen to your mom. If you need anything, call me.¡±


    ¡°I still need a computer to photoshop my pictures.¡± Xu Youyou took the opportunity to make the demand.


    ¡°Okay, got it. Tomorrow, I¡¯ll have someone buy it for you.¡± After talking, Xu Wenguang hung up.


    Xu Youyou turned off her phone and saw Qiao Mu standing not far from her by himself. She explained in a sentence: ¡°It was my dad, asking if I was better.¡±


    Qiao Mu was surprised. When it came to children of divorced parents, often this topic was something that they wouldn¡¯t want to mention or talk about, but Xu Youyou on the other hand, already did not care at all.


    ¡°Him and my mom both think that their divorce triggered me. And both want to make it up to me, so I take the opportunity to get everything that I want to buy.¡± Xu Youyou, laughed as she looked quite pleased with herself.


    Qiao Mu was suddenly a bit envious: ¡°I believe you.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°That you weren¡¯t triggered by your parent¡¯s divorce.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    While talking, the two already arrived at the Town¡¯s main street. It was only past 8:00 and the main road was already bustling with people. Because it was almost mid-autumn, the road was lined with rows of red lanterns on both sides making the ancient town¡¯s scenery look particularly beautiful


    Xu Youyou could not help but raise her camera, face the street and take a photo.


    ¡°Look, is there anything in common with all the people in the photo?¡± Xu Youyou raised the camera to Qiao Mu¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°They¡¯re all happy.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    Xu Youyou used her right hand and brought out her phone. She faced Qiao Mu and ¡°ka cha¡± took a photo. She raised it to show Qiao Mu a picture of himself: ¡°But what about you?¡±


    Qiao Mu looked at himself in the photo and was silent.


    ¡°Student, your current dejected appearance won¡¯t give you extra points. Unless you grow up to look like that.¡± Xu Youyou raised her finger towards the main road¡¯s advertising board. The advertisement had a youth playing the violin with his eyes closed. The youth was exquisite with slightly knit eyebrows. His face showed a melancholy dispirited beauty.


    Qiao Mu looked over his eyes, wavering slightly.


    ¡°You can just drop me off here. I know the road up ahead. You can go back and accompany Grandmother.¡± Xu Youyou waved at Qiao Mu and turned to walk into the crowd of people,


    Qiao Mu waited until he could not see Xu Youyou¡¯s figure before walking back. Just before he reached his house, his phone suddenly rang.


    Qiao Mu looked at the incoming call, smiling as he answered: ¡°I just saw your advertisement board.¡±


    The incoming call just happened to be the youth on the advertisement board. His name was Lu Shi, it was Qiao Mu¡¯s Uncle¡¯s son. He was older than Qiao Mu by 3 months and was a youth actor.


    ¡°The one of me playing the violin?¡± Lu Shi asked.


    ¡°Yes, your acting has improved. I almost didn¡¯t recognize you.¡± Qiao Mu praised.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you feel it was a bit familiar?¡± the other person asked.


    ¡°It was completely different from how you are in person.¡± Qiao Mu confirmed the other¡¯s acting.


    ¡°I was acting as you.¡± Lu Shi said.


    Qiao Mu froze.


    ¡°Was it not like you?¡± Lu Shi asked.


    ¡°Someone just said my melancholy appearance won¡¯t give me any points.¡±


    ¡°Hahaha~~~¡± A string of laughter rang through the phone. ¡°Now you finally understand how handsome I am. When I go back I can help you diet. We are brothers, if you skim down you can at least have 5% of my handsomeness.¡±


    ¡°Get lost.¡± Qiao Mu scolded with a smile.

 CH 11.1

    Monday.


    Xu Youyou finally stopped wearing the thick down jacket to class. Although she still wore a sweater different from everyone else in the classroom, she wasn¡¯t bundled up because she was afraid of the cold. Her pale face finally has some color and when she walked into the classroom it brightened.


    During the morning study period, Qiao Mu even saw quite a few male classmates look at Xu Youyou. However, Xu Youyou did not notice at all, she continued to just lazily sleep.


    The second period of the morning was the homeroom teacher¡¯s math class. As soon as Teacher Song entered the classroom and saw the recovered Xu Youyou, he had someone call her into his office the next class. Aftering showing a bit of care, he began to talk about Xu Youyou¡¯s studies.


    Xu Youyou actually had already mentally prepared for this. Since she had rebirthed to her first year of high school, it of course meant she would have to go through high school all over again. And after the homeroom teacher confirmed that she had recovered well, he went to find the other subject teachers. From now on Xu Youyou could not sleep peacefully in class anymore.


    Luckily Madam Ji and the homeroom teacher did not have much expectations for her grades, she just needed to maintain a decent grade. There wasn¡¯t too much pressure on her.


    And so another week passed and Xu Youyou slowly adjusted. In the end she was in a sixteen year old body, her memory and learning ability was a lot stronger than her twenty six year old self. After reading or listening to the facts a couple times, she slowly began to understand it. Sometimes, she would even remember key points which she had learned before.


    ¡°Qiao Mu, will Grandmother be home tomorrow?¡± Friday was a day off, Xu Youyou has asked Qiao Mu as she began to pack her bag.


    Qiao Mu looked at Xu Youyou in surprise.


    ¡°Grandmother Qiao helped me find my way last time, and even treated me to delicious food. I prepared a gift for her and want to give it to her this weekend.¡± Xu Youyou explained.


    ¡°Thank you, but it¡¯s alright.¡± Qiao Mu declined.


    ¡°It¡¯s not for you, why are you thanking me?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Qiao Mu¡¯s lips curled and could not find a response.


    ¡°It¡¯s settled then. I¡¯ll go around dinner time so I can also get a meal. I¡¯ve been eating take out all week, I¡¯ve gotten tired of it.¡± Xu Youyou complained quietly.


    Qiao Mu was speechless, wanting to give a gift was fake, wanting a free meal was real.


    But if she were to go, Grandmother would probably be happy. And thinking about it, Qiao Mu didn¡¯t have any further objections. He grabbed his backpack and began to walk away.


    The two of them, one in front and one behind walked outside. Just as they got to the entrance of the school, they heard an uproar far away in front of them. It seemed as if something had happened.


    ¡°That is No. 1 High School¡¯s most handsome student, Li Xiuran¡±


    ¡°This is my first time seeing him in person. He really does have the aura of an ancient figure. He¡¯s like a fairy.¡±


    ¡°I heard that his grades are not only excellent but he is good at playing Weiqi as well. He may compete in the dan* competition this year.¡±


    ¡°What is a dan competition?¡±


    ¡°Only by successfully completing a dan competition can you become a professional Weiqi player. And you won¡¯t need to take the Gaokao.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to take the Gaokao? That¡¯s great.¡±


    ¡°Why did he come to our school?¡±


    When Xu Youyou heard the word ¡°Weiqi¡± she could not help but look at Qiao Mu. But Qiao Mu seemed as if he didn¡¯t hear a thing, his head was down and he continued walking forward. Seeing that he had no reaction, Xu Youyou didn¡¯t say anything. Except when they exited through the school gate she curiously took a peak towards Li Xiuran¡¯s direction.


    No. 1 High School and No. 7 High School¡¯s uniforms were different. No. 1 High School¡¯s style and cut were significantly better than theirs. Not to mention Li Xiuran¡¯s figure was already quite good. Looking at him, he was pretty handsome even Xu Youyou felt that her eyes brightened when she saw him.


    Although he wasn¡¯t her type, everyone loves beauty.


    Right as Xu Youyou saw him, Li Xiuran¡¯s eyesight wandered in their direction. His eyes brightened and his face lit up with excitement. He quickly made his way over.


    My goodness, there were so many people watching him, why is he coming in my direction?

 CH 11.2

    Right as Xu Youyou was debating whether or not the other person had fallen in love at first sight, Li Xiuran passed her and grabbed onto Qiao Mu who was beside her.


    ¡°Qiao Mu.¡± Li Xiuran¡¯s eyes blazed into Qiao Mu.


    Qiao Mu looked at Li Xiuran without any emotion.


    ¡°Play a round with me.¡± Li Xiuran said straightforwardly.


    When he said this, those around them were shocked. Much of the audience¡¯s attention now turned to focus on Qiao Mu.


    ¡°Who is he? Why did Li Xiuran find him to play Weiqi?¡±


    ¡°No way, he isn¡¯t in our school¡¯s Weiqi club.¡±


    Qiao Mu frowned as if he wasn¡¯t used to being watched: ¡°I stopped playing Weiqi.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just play Liu Wenbin last week?¡± Li Xiuran said.


    ¡°That was a special circumstance.¡±


    ¡°Qiao Mu, don¡¯t be a bully. The chess records say everything. Was that round something a person who had given up playing could play?¡± Li Xiuran said, ¡°From the starting board, from Liu Wenbin¡¯s first piece, you had already calculated his last move. You slowly trapped him until all his paths lead to death. Can a person who hasn¡¯t played Weiqi in six years be able to calculate that far?¡±


    Qiao Mu¡¯s face paled. He frowned and didn¡¯t say anything.


    Xu Youyou watched Qiao Mu and suddenly thought of the chess records she had picked up last Friday. Li Xiuran was right, Qiao Mu had indeed not given up Weiqi. At the very least, he has been training by himself secretly.


    ¡°You can fool other people, but you can¡¯t fool me. We grew up playing together. I am familiar with your skill level.¡± Li Xiuran took a deep breath and warmly said, ¡°I will be participating in the dan competition this year. You know that my parents don¡¯t support me learning Weiqi so they never approved for me to just focus on playing Weiqi. I finally was able to get this opportunity to participate in the competition. If I cannot pass on my first try, I would have to give up playing Weiqi and focus on getting into college.¡±


    ¡°Qiao Mu, this dan competition is very important to me so I would like to play a round with you.¡± Li Xiuran said.


    Qiao Mu was silent for a while. And right when Xu Youyou thought he wouldn¡¯t respond, he finally opened his mouth: ¡°Playing with me won¡¯t mean anything. I did not pass the competition.¡±


    ¡°But I have never won against you.¡± Li Xiuran said, ¡°If I can¡¯t even beat you, how can I have the confidence to participate in the competition?¡±


    Qiao Mu frowned, his eyes showing his disagreement.


    ¡°You played with Liu Wenbin, why can¡¯t you play with me? Am I not better than Liu Wenbin?¡± Li Xiuran was upset. ¡°Do I have to wait until the next time Grandmother becomes unstable? Or should I learn from Liu Wenbin and trigger her?


    Qiao Mu lifted his head, his eyes flashed a warning.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to do that either so don¡¯t force me.¡± Li Xiuran said.


    Qiao Mu was convinced. When Li Xiuran suggested a place to play, he did not object. The most suitable place to play Weiqi in Hongluo Town was the training center. Sometimes in the park along the road or the tea shop you could also find elders playing chess. But Hongluo Town wasn¡¯t big and all the older generation all knew each other. Qiao Mu didn¡¯t want Grandmother to find out and eventually the two decided to book a hotel room. They were going to borrow a Weiqi set from the training center.


    The corner of Xu Youyou¡¯s lips lifted after hearing them and she said: ¡°That is such a hassle. My family has a shop on the main road, inside there is a cheese set my grandfather left behind.¡±


    Li Xiuran did not know Xu Youyou, but since she and Qiao Mu walked out together and she had followed them, he naturally thought they were friends and so he agreed: ¡°Okay, thank you.¡±


    Qiao Mu didn¡¯t want to continue to delay this event and agreed.


    The three of them sat on the bus going to the main road, following Xu Youyou to her family pottery shop.


    The pottery studio wasn¡¯t far from the training center and when they arrived Li Xiuran recognized it: ¡°This is Grandfather Ji¡¯s pottery shop, Grandfather Ji is your grandfather?¡±


    Qiao Mu learned to play chess at the training center when he was younger and also naturally knew Xu Youyou¡¯s grandfather. Thinking about it he wanted to retreat: ¡°Is Grandfather Ji at the shop?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My grandfather took my grandmother to travel around the world. They won¡¯t come back for another half a year.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    Qiao Mu then finally walked in.


    Ji Leyao saw her daughter bring two boys of similar age back and her eyes lit up. Her eyes scanned over the two faces and they settled upon Li Xiuran.


    ¡°Hello Auntie.¡± Qiao Mu and Li Xiuran politely greeted Ji Leyao.


    ¡°Hello, hello. Are you guys Youyou¡¯s classmates?¡± Ji Leyao asked?


    ¡°Mom. can¡¯t you see the school uniform?¡± Xu Youyou mainly introduced Qiao Mu, ¡°This is Qiao Mu, the other is Qiao Mu¡¯s friend, from the No. 1 High School.¡±


    Ji Leyao heard Qiao Mu¡¯s name and she quickly became excited: ¡°You are Qiao Mu, I¡¯ve been wanting to meet you. I heard Youyou say that you have been taking care of her.¡±


    Qiao Mu wasn¡¯t accustomed to responding to other¡¯s enthusiasm and had temporarily froze not knowing how to respond. Luckily Xu Youyou had already become familiar with Qiao Mu¡¯s personality and noticed the situation. She quickly cut in: ¡°Mom, didn¡¯t you say that Grandfather had a Weiqi set? Where is it?¡±


    ¡°It is stored in the cupboard. Why do you want it?¡± Ji Leyao asked.


    ¡°They are going to play. I specifically invited them here.¡±


    Hearing that her daughter specifically invited them here, Ji Leyao hurriedly brought out the Weiqi board and pieces to give to Xu Youyou: ¡°You can go sit by the window, it¡¯s quiet over there.¡±


    Xu Youyou received the board and shoved it towards Qiao Mu.


    Qiao Mu abruptly grabbed hold of the board. He was a bit muddle headed but subconsciously tightly hugged it. His eyesight did not stray from the board. He had once had a board like this, but six years ago Grandmother had chopped it up and used it as firewood.


    ¡°This board is quite heavy.¡± Xu Youyou shook out her hands.


    ¡°It¡¯s wooden. Of course it is heavy.¡± Li Xiuran said.


    ¡°You guys can go inside, I¡¯ll go get you guys something to eat.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to bother.¡± Li Xiuran politely said.


    Xu Youyou waved her hand ignoring him and went to go get some snacks.


    Li Xiuran turned back and saw Qiao Mu¡¯s eyes still on the Weiqi board. His eyes were full of nostalgia: ¡°I remember you used to love cleaning your board.¡±


    Qiao Mu came back to his senses and looked at Li Xiuran. He hugged the board and walked inside.


    The two took off their backpacks and sat down by the window. They each grabbed a basket of pieces and placed it by their hand. Qiao Mu habitually lifted his hand to wipe the board and his hand turned gray.


    Li Xiuran saw. He grabbed a cleaning cloth and handed it towards Qiao Mu.


    Qiao Mu didn¡¯t grab it.


    Li Xiuran didn¡¯t mind and used the cloth himself to wipe the board.


    ¡°We¡¯re only playing one round.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it after playing.¡± Li Xiuran opened up the basket of pieces by his hand. It happened to be black. He picked up a piece and placed it on the board, ¡°I play black.¡±


    Qiao Mu¡¯s hand froze just as he was about to play first when he suddenly let go. He then grabbed a white piece and placed it on the board.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ªTranslator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª


    *ΧÆ嶨¶ÎÈü ¨C Weiqi rank determining competition. The ranks are called dans derived from ¶Î (duan).

 CH 12.1

    Xu Youyou did not understand Weiqi. After watching for a little while, she went to help Madam Ji with the customers. After Madam Ji took over the pottery studio, she made a bunch of reforms to the store¡¯s products. She tried combining popular elements to create a beautiful porcelain design. Plus, there were a lot of tourists in the ancient town, so business had been pretty good.


    ¡°Your deskmate, Qiao Mu, is different from what you described.¡± Madam Ji said to her daughter as she wrapped up the sold product.


    ¡°How is he different?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°Last time you were stuck in the rain, he specifically went to pick you up. I thought he would be a warm, kindhearted person, but looking at him I get a sense of coldness.¡± Madam Ji said.


    ¡°Mom, you are judging his appearance.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°Is your mom really that superficial of a person? I¡¯m talking about his demeanor, it¡¯s cold.¡± Madam Ji said. ¡°Besides, if we were really talking about appearance, Qiao Mu doesn¡¯t look too bad.¡±


    Xu Youyou looked at Madam Ji in surprise: ¡°Why do you say that?¡±


    ¡°I studied art, when I look at one¡¯s appearance I am not as shallow as you. Qiao Mu¡¯s five facial organs are very pretty. If he were skinnier, he would absolutely be a beautiful youth.¡± Madam Ji said with certainty.


    Xu Youyou curled her lip and smiled. She then returned to take care of two waves of customers, until the two finished playing their game. She hurried over.


    ¡°Who won?¡± Xu Youyou had a look of curiosity as she asked.


    ¡°I lost.¡± Qiao Mu said, he grabbed his backpack off the ground and got ready to leave.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to replay the game*?¡±


    ¡°No, I wish you¡­¡­success in getting your rank,¡± Qiao Mu nodded and turned to leave. Before leaving the pottery studio, he went to say goodbye to Ji Leyao, very politely.


    Xu Youyou stared at the board for a while. She didn¡¯t understand Weiqi and could only see the board was densely packed with black and white chess pieces almost covering the entire board: ¡°Did Qiao Mu lose by a lot?¡±


    ¡°No, just by one piece¡± Li Xiuran said.


    This Li Xiuran was first in the training center and was about to participate in the rank competition. If Qiao Mu only lost to him by one piece, then that means Qiao Mu¡¯s skills could be compared to a professional player?


    Xu Youyou silently assessed Qiao Mu¡¯s playing skills and sat down in Qiao Mu¡¯s spot wanting to clean up the board.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Li Xiuran hurried to grab Xu Youyou, ¡°My teacher wants to come here to see the game. I will clean it up after he has seen it. Can you leave it out for a bit?¡±


    ¡°Teacher?¡± Xu Youyou asked curiously.


    ¡°My teacher teaches in the training center behind here. I already sent him a message. He will be here soon.¡± Li Xiuran said.


    Around four to five minutes later, a familiar person walked into the pottery studio. The teacher Li Xiuran mentioned was Teacher Wang who had bought a tea set from the pottery studio.


    Teacher Wang entered and went straight to where Li Xiuran was. He stared at the board for a moment and said: ¡°Qiao Mu lost by one piece?¡±


    ¡°Teacher, do you also find it weird? I think Qiao Mu purposely lost to me.¡± Li Xiuran said.


    Xu Youyou brought Teacher Wang a cup of tea, and arrived just in time to hear those words.


    Teacher Wang didn¡¯t drink the tea and gestured for Li Xiuran to continue speaking.


    ¡°When Qiao Mu and I were playing, there wasn¡¯t much difference from when we had played previously. The time it took to place each piece was very well-distributed and stable, until this piece.¡± Li Xiuran pointed to a white piece as he said, ¡°Here Qiao Mu pause for a bit and then placed this piece down. And after this piece, I slowly gained the upper hand. To force Qiao Mu to play with me, I said that if I could not win against him I would not have the confidence to win at the rank competition.¡±


    ¡°So Qiao Mu purposely left a flaw here.¡± Teacher Wang realized.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, it doesn¡¯t make sense that during the entire game, the only move he deeply considered was a losing one.¡± Li Xiuran said confidently. ¡°Besides Teacher look, does this look like a board which a person who hasn¡¯t played for six can play? Although growing up I have never been able to beat Qiao Mu, now I have skills close to a professional player and if I were to play Qiao Mu from six years ago I would definitely be able to win. So, Teacher, Qiao Mu has still been playing Weiqi.¡±


    When he said the last line, Li Xiuran had a look of excitement.


    Teacher Wang was silent for a while, then he finally said: ¡°Return to the training center, let me look at it again.¡±


    After Li Xiuran left, Teacher Wang sat by the window staring at the chessboard. He didn¡¯t leave even after staring at it for an hour.


    After hearing the two¡¯s conversation, Xu Youyou could infer that that Li Xiuran purposely went to find Qiao Mu today not because if he couldn¡¯t beat Qiao Mu he wouldn¡¯t be able to pass the rank competition like he¡¯d said, but because he wanted to test if Qiao Mu really gave up playing Weiqi.


    Honestly, Xu Youyou didn¡¯t care where Qiao Mu continued playing Weiqi or not. In the past life, Qiao Mu wasn¡¯t a professional Weiqi player, but was warm and openhearted. So from her understanding, Weiqi wasn¡¯t that important to Qiao Mu. But from Qiao Mu¡¯s unwavering stare at the Weiqi board and the light in his eyes when holding the chess piece, Xu Youyou knew Qiao Mu liked playing Weiqi.


    Or perhaps, this reason is why Qiao Mu¡¯s personality change. Although she knew Qiao Mu would later untangle the knot in his heart, if he were able to do it a few years earlier, he would have more happiness and less sadness in his life.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CTranslator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    * Meant to analyze the game, move by move

 CH 12.2

    ¡°Mom, help me find out more.¡± Xu Youyou moved to Madam Ji¡¯s side, her eyes shifting to the window.


    ¡°Why do you like gossip so much?¡±


    ¡°How is this gossip? This is caring for my classmate. When I first transferred here, Qiao Mu was my first friend. I also hope to go to his house to get free food.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    Although Ji Leyao said she didn¡¯t want her daughter to gossip, she still took a plate of fruit over. The past few weeks when Xu Youyou went to school, she recovered from her cold illness very fast and Qiao Mu must have played a big part.


    Xu Youyou hurried to follow, pretending to rearrange the order shelf as she listened.


    ¡°Senior Brother, were those two your students?¡± Ji Leyao and Teacher Wang were students at the same high school.


    ¡°Thank you¡± Teacher Wang received the plate and nodded his head, ¡°Yes, they both are.¡±


    ¡°One of them is Youyou¡¯s classmate, named Qiao Mu. I remember that Hongluo Middle-High School only takes in local people from Hongluo Town. Whose family is he from?¡± Qiao Mu and Xu Youyou were the same age, so Ji Leyao may know his parents.


    ¡°He is Yinghua¡¯s child.¡± Teacher Wang said.


    ¡°Senior Sister Lu?¡± Ji Leyao was shocked. ¡°I thought she got married and went to City B. How come Qiao Mu goes to school in Hongluo Town.¡±


    ¡°She got divorced and later remarried. She left her child with Teacher Chen.¡± Qiao Mu¡¯s grandmother¡¯s surname is Chen, and before retirement was an elementary school art teacher.


    ¡°Qiao Mu is Teacher Chen¡¯s grandson?¡± Ji Leyao was surprised and said, ¡°But they are both your students, why didn¡¯t they go to the training center to play instead of coming here?¡±


    ¡°Because he doesn¡¯t want me to know he still plays.¡± Teacher Wang sighed again.


    ¡°What is there to hide about playing Weiqi?¡± Ji Leyao asked curiously.


    ¡°It is probably because he¡¯s afraid I¡¯d ask him to continue playing.¡± Teacher Wang let out another sign, ¡°Qiao Mu is incredibly talented, his ability far surpassed those of his classmates. At ten years old, he had achieved Chongduan. Six year ago, I shouldn¡¯t have let him attend the ranking competition.¡±


    Teacher Wang¡¯s tone was full of regret.


    ¡°He lost? If he lost, he could just try again. I remember you had to attend twice before you passed, right?¡± Ji Leyao asked.


    ¡°Qiao Mu had the skills, but at the time he was still just a ten year old child. His psychological state wasn¡¯t mature enough and there was a lot of pressure. In the end¡­¡­


    Teacher Wang closed his eyes and sighed once more, ¡°In the end, it¡¯s all my fault.¡±


    Ji Leyao saw Teacher Wang¡¯s pain and didn¡¯t dare ask any further. She comforted him with a few sentences.


    ¡°But perhaps there is still hope. In his heart he likes Weiqi.¡± Teacher Wang looked at the chess board and said with delight, ¡°As long as he still likes it there is still hope.¡±


    Because of a single failure at a rank competition, he had given up on Weiqi? Xu Youyou did not believe it. With her understanding of Qiao Mu, Qiao Mu wasn¡¯t the type of person who was that weak.


    But Xu Youyou did not go immediately to ask Qiao Mu because with their current relationship, asking about this situation without having a connection would result in an adverse reaction. Besides respecting another¡¯s choice is another basic respect. Even if the current Qiao Mu is only a sixteen year old youth. It was like what Teacher Wang, as long as he still liked it, Qiao Mu would not give it up.


    Perhaps it was because of Xu Youyou¡¯s attitude, Qiao Mu was able to relaxed in front of her. Afterwards, Xu Youyou sometimes could see Qiao Mu burying his head drawing chess plays during their self study period.


    Today, Xu Youyou had just returned from the cafeteria and a bunch of girls in the class suddenly surrounded her.


    ¡°You want me to help you take a picture?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°Yes, we saw your photo that you posted in WeChat Moments. Your photo of the ancient town looked even better than the one on the ancient town¡¯s publicity website.¡± The group of girls were led by a girl named Shen Lili.


    Xu Youyou suddenly understood, the first day she received her camera she had taken pictures of the ancient town¡¯s scenery and had randomly posted it to WeChat Moments: ¡°But I haven¡¯t really taken photos of people.¡±


    ¡°But it will at least be better than us.¡±


    ¡°How do you want me to take the photo? If it is too troublesome, I won¡¯t do it.¡± It was the first time her classmates asked her for help, if she directly rejected them it would be clear they weren¡¯t friends, but she also didn¡¯t want to tire herself out.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t troublesome. In two days is the Mid-Autumn Festival and there is an event in the ancient town. We bought a couple Hanfus and planned to wear them in the ancient town as we have fun. During that time, you can bring your camera and take a few photos for us. It¡¯s very simple.¡±


    ¡°Yes, and we will post it on Weibo. Lili¡¯s Weibo has over ten thousand fans. Doesn¡¯t your family own a pottery studio in the ancient town? We can take a few photos at your shop, and help publicize it.¡± Another girl said.


    ¡°That¡¯s no problem.¡± Shen Lili immediately showed her cooperation.


    She didn¡¯t expect that nowadays, high school students had a business mind. And over ten thousand followers was more than the followers she had on Facebook in her previous life.


    ¡°Okay. But I will help you guys for two hours at most. So you guys should find a location beforehand.¡± When Madam Ji divorced, she received a lot of Xu Youyou¡¯s scumbag father¡¯s money. Now her networth was pretty high, but if the pottery studio had good business, it would probably also make her happy.


    In a blink of an eye it was the Mid-Autumn Festival. Today there were a lot more tourists at the ancient town. Xu Youyou woke up at 10:00 and in the afternoon helped Madam Ji with the customers.


    ¡°Youyou, send this box of mooncakes to Qiao Mu¡¯s family.¡± Around 4:00, Madam Ji gave her daughter a box of mooncakes. ¡°Hurry back after you send them. Today is the Mid-Autumn festival, do not stay over for free food.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Xu Youyou nodded and took the mooncakes, preparing to leave.


    ¡°While you are there, help me ask Teacher Chen if she considered my proposal. ¡°


    ¡°What proposal?¡±


    ¡°A design.¡± Madam Ji said, ¡°Didn¡¯t you take a set of plates to Qiao Mu before? The next day, Teacher Chen came and asked me if she could make her own sketch. I saw that Teacher Chen looked quite happy when she was drawing and I coincidently have been so busy, so I thought about having her come and help.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Xu Youyou thought that Madam Ji¡¯s idea wasn¡¯t bad, if Grandmother Qiao had something to do, perhaps she would get better.


    During this period of time, she became familiar and Xu Youyou was now completely familiar with the alleyways of Hongluo town. Carrying the gift box ten minutes, she arrived at Qiao Mu¡¯s house. At the entrance was a black car, according to the license plate it must have been from another city.


    A guest arrived?


    Xu Youyou quickly walked in and found the door to the yard was open. As soon as she stepped in she could hear the sound of something shattering from inside.


    ¡°Leave.¡±


    It was Grandmother Qiao¡¯s voice, besides the time at the training center when she was triggered, Xu Youyou had never seen Grandmother Qiao lose control of herself like this.


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯m doing this for Qiao Mu.¡± A young woman¡¯s voice carried through from inside.


    ¡°Qiao Mu has become like this and it still isn¡¯t enough? You still want to insult him?¡± Grandmother Qiao angrily said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m making Qiao Mu play Weiqi, I just want him to take back what¡¯s his.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s his? The little money that Qiao Dongyuan has? Lu Yinghua, you¡¯ve been divorced for many years now. You are still concerned about your ex-husband¡¯s money. Since you couldn¡¯t get it, you are having your son get it. You clearly know that now Qiao Mu cannot touch anything related to Weiqi. Must you kill Qiao Mu before you are satisfied?¡±


    ¡°Mom, I gave birth to Qiao Mu. How could I harm him? Qiao Dongyuan is his father. Qiao Mu has a share of Yuanfang Chess Hall.¡± Lu Yinghua said, ¡°I just hope he has financial security in the future.¡±


    ¡°Leave and don¡¯t come back. Leave.¡± As the words were said, another round of the sound of shattering pottery was heard.


    After a while, an exquisitely dressed beautiful woman came out and Xu Youyou bushed passed the woman without saying anything.


    Xu Youyou saw that the woman ignored her and she let out a sigh of relief. As soon as she arrived she was met with a hostile environment. She felt very awkward. Xu Youyou originally wanted to retreat and go in later, but after Lu Yinghua left she did not drive away but continued to stand at the entrance of house. Xu Youyou was caught between a rock and a hard place. Finally she hugged the mooncakes and went in. To be honest, she was also a bit worried about Grandmother Qiao.


    Xu Youyou entered the main house, Grandmother Qiao was seated and covered her chest. She was clearly angry. When Xu Youyou entered, Grandmother Qiao had thought her daughter had returned until she clearly saw it was Xu Youyou. The color of her face cleared a bit: ¡°Youyou, it¡¯s you. Why are you here? Be careful, earlier I wasn¡¯t careful and broke a few glasses. Don¡¯t step on them.¡±


    Xu Youyou pretended she didn¡¯t hear the argument and laughed as she said: ¡°My mom had me send some mooncakes over and wanted me to ask you if you finished considering her proposal.¡±


    ¡°You can return and tell your mom that I retired and don¡¯t have anything to do, if she likes my drawings I¡¯d be happy to help of course.¡± Grandmother Qiao smiled as she received the mooncakes, ¡°I also made a few Mid-Autumn Festival snacks. Later I¡¯ll have Qiao Mu send them over.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± While Grandmother Qiao turned around to place down the mooncakes, Xu Youyou took the opportunity to grab a small broom from the yard to help sweep up the broken glass.


    Grandmother Qiao saw her but didn¡¯t stop her. She smiled and said: ¡°Youyou, tonight the ancient town is having a lantern festival, will you go watch it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll have Qiao Mu take you,¡± Grandmother Qiao immediately said.


    Xu Youyou heard and understood Grandmother Qiao¡¯s meaning. With the snacks, she could obviously take them back now, but Grandmother specifically kept them to have Qiao Mu send them later so that she could accompany Qiao Mu as they watched the lantern festival.


    ¡°I was thinking about calling him. I just came back from abroad and haven¡¯t been to a lantern festival and wanted someone to accompany me.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll have him accompany you to guess the lantern riddles.¡± Grandmother Qiao beamed with joy.


    Xu Youyou swept up the broken glass and talked with Grandmother Qiao for a while. After confirming that Grandmother Qiao¡¯s emotions weren¡¯t affected by the situation earlier, she left. When she came out, the car outside had already left. Xu Youyou turned into a nearby alleyway, preparing to head home.


    But as she turned the corner, she lifted her eyes to see a familiar shadow. Qiao Mu¡¯s back was against the wall, slightly bent over. He looked strange.


    ¡°Qiao Mu, why are you here? Qiao Mu?!¡± Xu Youyou just got closer when Qiao Mu whose back was against the wall fell. Xu Youyou was frightened and hurried over as she reached out a hand to hold him. But Qiao Mu fell suddenly and Xu Youyou was not prepared. She wasn¡¯t standing steady and they fell down together.


    Xu Youyou not caring about the pain turned over to check on Qiao Mu¡¯s condition. She could only see that Qiao Mu¡¯s hand was on his throat. His face was turning red and his eyes were tightly shut. An asphyxiated appearance.


    ¡°Qiao Mu, Qiao Mu?¡± Xu Youyou hurried to lay Qiao Mu flat on the ground. The first step was to see if Qiao Mu had choked on something. She tried to pry open Qiao Mu¡¯s sealed lips, but Qiao Mu was biting down with all his might and wouldn¡¯t relax.


    If someone lost their consciousness, they would not be able to bite down so hard.


    Xu Youyou¡¯s heart lurched. She lifted her hand and violently slapped Qiao Mu¡¯s face. After the ¡°Pa,¡± Qiao Mu¡¯s tightly sealed lips suddenly released. His bent over body began violently gasping for breath and coughing on the ground. After a while, the color began to return to his face after the red from the asphyxiation.


    ¡°What happened to you?¡± Xu Youyou waited until he calmed down before asking. ¡°If it weren¡¯t for me, you would have suffocated yourself to death.¡±


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have died.¡± Qiao Mu sat up with his back against the wall, his voice was faint, ¡°After passing out, I¡¯d be able to breathe again.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so experienced with this?¡± Xu Youyou squatted by his side.


    ¡°Qiao Mu lowered his head and didn¡¯t say anything.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t say, I¡¯ll go ask Grandmother.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell Grandmother.¡± Qiao Mu held onto Xu Youyou, his face full of anxiety.


    Xu Youyou waited a while for him, but Qiao Mu just held onto her and did not explain. He opened and closed his mouth but no words came out, his eyes showed his struggle.


    ¡°Let go.¡± After a long time, Xu Youyou let out a sigh and pulled on Qiao Mu¡¯s hand that was holding her.


    Qiao Mu didn¡¯t let go, but instead held on tighter.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go home.¡± Xu Youyou rolled her eyes.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s eyes brightened and stared at Xu Youyou for a while as if he were confirming that Xu Youyou was not tricking him. After around five seconds, he finally let go.


    ¡°I think you should lose weight. You almost crushed me to death.¡± Xu Youyou ridiculed.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Qiao Mu.

 CH 13.1

    Qiao Mu followed his grandmother¡¯s orders and brought Xu Youyou some snacks. When he arrived, Xu Youyou was in the middle of taking photos for Shen Lili and the girls. The girls all wore pretty hanfu and held various ancient props in their hands. As they head to the pottery studio, they attracted a lot of tourists¡¯ attention.


    Xu Youyou was in the middle of adjusting the camera, Shen Lili and a few of the girls went to find a suitable place to take photos. They even held some of the pottery studio¡¯s products as they planned to give Xu Youyou¡¯s family pottery studio some promotional photos.


    ¡°Qiao Mu?¡± Shen Lili was watching the door when she saw Qiao Mu and called out in surprise.


    Xu Youyou turned to look and her eyes caught Qiao Mu¡¯s. Qiao Mu was carrying a wooden food container similar to the once Grandmother Qiao carried when Xu Youyou met her for the first time. Qiao Mu had changed his clothes. He was clean and calm as if he was a totally different person from the youth she had seen in the alley a few hours earlier.


    But it was good that he was conscious again.


    ¡°Grandmother had you bring snacks?¡± Xu Youyou walked over with a smile as she asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Qiao Mu held out the food container, ¡°The snacks should be eaten soon. There are no preservatives so they only last three days.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m helping Shen Lili and the girls take photos,  you can put the snacks on the table. The one that you played chess at.¡± Xu Youyou turned around and continued adjusting the lens.


    Qiao Mu was dumbfounded. He saw that the shop was full of people and took the initiative to walk inside and place the food container on the table.


    Outside the window was a peaceful river and it reflected the ancient town¡¯s lights. The shore was full of foot travelers each carrying a smile on their face. Every year the ancient town would be very lively for the Mid-Autumn Festival, but it didn¡¯t seem to have much to do with him.


    ¡°Qiao Mu.¡± Xu Youyou called to him from outside.


    Qiao Mu turned around and saw Xu Youyou stand not too far away beckoning him with her hand.


    Qiao Mu quickly walked over, as he got closer he lifted his arms to receive Xu Youyou¡¯s backpack which she handed over: ¡°We are going to take pictures of the street scenery, Help me carry my bag.¡±


    ¡°You want me to go with you guys?¡± Qiao Mu¡¯s brows furrowed.


    ¡°Of course. Didn¡¯t Grandmother tell you to take me to see the lanterns? We happen to be going to take pictures with the lanterns. After I finished taking photos, you can take me around.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°You guys can look at the lanterns together.¡± The lanterns were where the most people in the ancient town gathered. If he could, he would not go.


    Xu Youyou shot a glance at her female classmates by the door fixing their clothes. After confirming they weren¡¯t paying attention to them, she turned and got close to Qiao Mu¡¯s ear and whispered: ¡°They are crazy with pictures. If I join to to see the lanterns, they will make me take pictures the entire time.¡±


    Qiao Mu knew Shen Lili and the girls better than Xu Youyou, they were quite crazy with taking photos. Often times during their noon break, they wouldn¡¯t sleep but instead use their phone to take selfies. Looking at the prayer in Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes, Qiao Mu unconsciously nodded.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Xu Youyou excited turned around, her long hair swooshed and brought a faint shampoo smell.


    Qiao Mu stared.


    ¡°Qiao Mu, come on.¡±  Xu Youyou walked to the door and saw that Qiao Mu hadn¡¯t taken a step so she urged him again.


    Qiao Mu hurried to catch up and entered the ancient town¡¯s lively scene with the girls.


    Xu Youyou didn¡¯t like that Shen Lili and the girls¡¯ poses were stiff so she had them just casually walk around the ancient town. She would just follow and take a few photos. At first Shen Lili and the girls were worried but after seeing Xu Youyou take a few photos, they immediately were rest assured. Not only did they look natural in the photos, but the composition was amazing and every photo had its own beauty.


    They followed the main road in the direction of the lantern festival, waiting for the lanterns to appear. Xu Youyou checked the scenery and planning to swap her lens so she turned to ask Qiao Mu: ¡°Hand me the lens in the bag.¡±


    As she said it, Xu Youyou was also taking off the lens of the camera.


    Qiao Mu listen and opened the bag. Just as he took out the lens, a flow of people came through. Xu Youyou whose head was down taking off the lens was bumped into. Surprised, Qiao Mu moved without letting go as he used his body to steady Xu Youyou: ¡°Be careful.¡±


    When Xu Youyou came to her senses, she had already fallen into a soft chest. Her nose smelled a faint fragrance of soap. In the lively lantern festival, it had a mind calming effect.


    ¡°Are you all right?¡± Qiao Mu waited until Xu Youyou was standing steady, before taking a step back and creating a distance between them.


    Xu Youyou looked at the worried youth and then looked at the camera in her hand. She smiled and said: ¡°Thanks, you just saved me 50,000.¡±


    ¡°50,000?¡± Qiao Mu was stunned.


    ¡°Change the lens, 50,000.¡± Xu Youyou held the lens she just removed and waved it in front of Qiao Mu.


    Qiao Mu was surprised at how expensive a lens was and then began to think about what to do. He hurried to look down at his own right hand and realized the lens in his right hand hadn¡¯t dropped. He finally then let out a breath of relief.


    ¡°This is so expensive, how come you didn¡¯t warn me?¡± During their entire walk, he was very casual with the back. If it had accidentally hit something, just thinking about it, Qiao Mu felt scared.


    ¡°Youyou, Qiao Mu. Are you guys okay?¡± Shen Lili and a few girls ran back over.


    ¡°We¡¯re okay. Earlier there were too many people and it was crowded.¡± Xu Youyou smiled and said. ¡°The light here is too bright, so I¡¯m swapping my lens.¡±


    Xu Youyou swapped the lens and said: ¡°This is the last spot right? After I finish taking the photos, I want to see the lantern festival.¡±


    ¡°This is the last spot. Xu Youyou, can you make us look a bit prettier?¡± After Shen Lili finished speaking, a few other girls echoed the words.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Good looking people won¡¯t look ugly no matter how you take their picture.¡± If a high resolution camera took an unflattering photo of a sixteen-seventeen year old girl¡¯s face with makeup of the average age, it would still have a youthful energy to it.


    As the girls listen, their smiles became flowers: ¡°Youyou, if you were a boy, I would be your girlfriend.¡±


    ¡°No thanks, I want to be someone¡¯s girlfriend.¡± Xu Youyou laughed.


    ¡°What type of boy do you like?¡± The girls gossiped.


    ¡°Handsome ones.¡±


    ¡°We are both shallow, hahaha¡±


    In their light hearted conversation, Xu Youyou finished swapping out the lens and adjusted it for a bit. The photoshoot then began again. The grounds of the lantern festival weren¡¯t big and he didn¡¯t have to follow them around the entire time so Qiao Mu used his advantage of being a local to find a higher spot with a good field of vision as he waited for Xu Youyou to finish.

 CH 13.2

    Looking down at the overcrowded sea of people, Qiao Mu was overcome with boredom when a phone call suddenly came through.


    ¡°Grandmother said you went to the lantern festival?¡± A joyful and youthful voice rang from the phone, it was Qiao Mu¡¯s elder cousin Lu Shi.


    ¡°Yes¡±


    ¡°What is different about this year?¡±


    ¡°Nothing¡¯s different. It is still just filled with people.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°Ai, filled with people is fine. It¡¯s lively. At least you¡¯re not like me spending the Mid-Autumn festival with the filming staff.


    Qiao Mu was about to say something when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate. He opened it and saw that Lu Shi had sent him a photo. The photo was of a bitten mooncake


    ¡°The filming staff just sent it. It tastes terrible, I want to have some of Grandmother¡¯s Mid-Autumn snacks.¡± Lu Shi complained.


    ¡°When you come, Grandmother can make some for you.¡±


    ¡°If I wait till when I go back, the Mid-Autumn Festival would be over. The feeling won¡¯t be the same.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t understand.¡± Wasn¡¯t it all just Grandmother¡¯s snacks? What was the different? Qiao Mu conveyed that he didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Us artists feel more rich and abundant emotions. Even if I told you, you wouldn¡¯t understand. Oh right, take some photos of the hometown delicacies. Console my homesickness.¡± Lu Shi requested.


    Qiao Mu wouldn¡¯t go out of his way to take a picture for him so he just opened his camera and randomly took a photo of the crowd of people below and sent it.


    ¡°This will do. There are lots of people and it¡¯s lively.¡± It was all the hometown anyway.


    The otherside of the phone had quieted, Lu Shi was probably examining the photo. After a pit he exclaimed: ¡°Yo, this photo is pretty artistic.¡±


    Artistic? He had randomly taken the picture.


    Qiao Mu wanted to see what was artistic about it and so he curiously opened up the photo. He had indeed taken a photo of the interactions between people below at the lantern festival, but right in the middle of the photo was a girl in a lake blue jacket staring up at the sky as if she were looking for something. The camera had self-focused and the background was blurred. When looking upon it, it gave an artistic sense that while there was a sea of people, I only see you.


    ¡°Do you know her? She seems quite beautiful¡­Ai, why did you unsend it?¡± Lu Shi hadn¡¯t finished talking before the picture in WeChat was unsent.


    ¡°You have infringed upon picture privilege¡± Qiao Mu said stiffly.


    ¡°Brother, are you joking?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m hanging up.¡± Qiao Mu could not be bothered to talk to Lu Shi and immediately hung up the phone. He then stared at the photo on his phone.


    Qiao Mu once more looked down at the sea of people, turning his gaze he very easily found Xu Youyou among the crowd.


    That¡¯s right, he was waiting for her to finish taking the pictures. So naturally his gaze would draw towards her direction and accidentally take a photo of her.


    Right then, Xu Youyou felt as if someone was watching her and not long after her eyes settled on Qiao Mu¡¯s location. Her pitch black eyes suddenly lit up for a few moments and from afar she gestured to him wanting him to come over.


    Qiao Mu rose and ran over, by the time he got through the crowd to Xu Youyou¡¯s side the girls gathered under the wishing tree trying to look at the photos on the camera. No long after sounds of surprise were heard.


    ¡°Wow, this looks so good. It doesn¡¯t need any editing.¡±


    ¡°This photo is so artistic. It is as if it was taken out of a movie. Youyou, are you able to transfer them to us now?¡± Some of the girls could not wait to post them to their WeChat moments and Weibo.


    ¡°Are you guys not going to check out the lantern festival?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°No, no. We want to go back and look through the photos.¡±


    Xu Youyou saw that Qiao Mu have arrived and grabbed the bag in Qiao Mu¡¯s hand and handed it to the girls: ¡°The cord is in here. You guys can transfer the photos yourself. Just return the camera to me tomorrow.¡±


    Then the girls heard, they carried the camera and excitedly left.


    Qiao Mu was stunned and unconsciously said: ¡°You just gave the camera to them just like that?¡±


    ¡°If I don¡¯t give it to them, how can I free myself from them?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t a single lens worth 50,000? What happens if it breaks¡­¡± Shen Lili and the rest did not know the value of the camera, if they accidentally broke it, well everyone was still students¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The camera won¡¯t break so easily. Besides, the warranty period is not yet over.¡± Xu Youyou pinched her arm and shook it twice, ¡°Let¡¯s go check out the lantern festival.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to check out?¡± Qiao Mu asked.


    ¡°What is fun?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°The ancient town¡¯s lantern festival is basically the same every year. When you play a game, you win a lantern or if you guess the lantern riddle, you win a lantern.¡±


    ¡°How come the only prize is a lantern?¡± Xu Youyou was surprised.


    ¡°Lanterns are not the only prize. It is just that the lantern is the most popular one.¡± Qiao Mu saw Xu Youyou¡¯s questioning gaze and pointed to the wishing tree that Xu Youyou had spent so long taking photos. He explained, ¡°That is the ancient town¡¯s wishing tree, typically you can hang colored ribbons to represent wishes but during the Mid-Autumn Festival, you are only allowed to hang lanterns. To be honest, it is just a marketing trick.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Xu Youyou nodded her head, ¡°I also want a lantern.¡±


    Qiao Mu was dumbfounded: ¡°I already said it was a marketing trick.¡±


    ¡°But its marketing is very successful.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Qiao Mu.


    ¡°Anyway, today¡¯s lantern can make me happy. Let¡¯s go win one¡­¡­¡± Xu Youyou raised her hand and pointed to the tree top, her eyes reflected countless lights as if it were the flowing Milky Way.

 CH 14.1

    Qiao Mu followed Xu Youyou location after location to the different places they could win a lantern. But because they had wasted quite a bit of time earlier taking photos, by now all the easy games have finished and the hard games were the only ones left. If you couldn¡¯t win one you would have to pay for a lantern. One lantern was 200 £¤ and while it was pretty, it was quite expensive.


    Xu Youyou had been jostled through the crowd as she made her way in a circle. Due to the jostling, she had begun sweating. She was surprised that she couldn¡¯t find a game to line up for. Everyone who came to the lantern festival would of course love the liveliness. Whether you could win the game was secondary, the feeling of participation mattered more. But she wanted to line up for the shooting game which requires 91 rings with ten shots. She felt that she could win that one.


    ¡°Do you have to play this one? Looking at the current line, it would be about an hour before it¡¯s your turn.¡± Qiao Mu calculated the time of the line after his observations.


    ¡°Forget t. It is already 10:00. By the time I get to the front, the Mid-Autumn festival would be over.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    Qiao Mu didn¡¯t say anything, he had originally thought it was meaningless anyway.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just buy a lantern. After making my wish, we¡¯ll go eat out front. After running around all night, I¡¯m famished.¡± Xu Youyou has a resolute personality, since she could not win a lantern, she would just buy one. The ancient town was Madam Ji¡¯s hometown after all, and in the future it would be hers. Spending a money for the ancient town could also be thought of as establishing it as her hometown.


    The two walked in a line towards the stall where they were selling lanterns. When they got in front of it, XuYouyou¡¯s eyes accidentally swept accross and saw a Hongluo Training Center uniform. Over there seemed to be another stand and above there was a hanging lantern. An octagonal lantern that was incredibly exquisite.


    ¡°What is that?¡± Xu Youyou curiously asked.


    Qiao Mu silently glanced over and his dark eyes lowered. He didn¡¯t respond.


    ¡°That is Eighth Duan Shi¡¯s Weiqi stall.¡± The lantern seller was a middle aged uncle wearing Hanfu and he explained with passion. For this year¡¯s Mid-Autumn festivities, almost all the organizer¡¯s workers were weakening ancient apparel.


    ¡°I know about that. Eight Duan is a Weiqi rank.¡± During this time, Xu Youyou had gained a bit of understanding and knowledge about Weiqi. She knew that the duans were Weiqi¡¯s ranking divisions. The higher the duan meant the more impressive their skills were.


    ¡°You know about Weiqi, Miss?¡±


    ¡°I know a little bit about it. Oh, right. Who is Eighth Duan Shi? Is he from Hongluo Town?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°Eighth Duan Shi is our Hongluo Ancient Town¡¯s celebrity. He is an incredible professional Weiqi player. When he was younger he even went abroad to represent the country in competitions. Every Mid-Autumn Festival, the town¡¯s mayor would specifically save him a stall and hang the ancient town¡¯s best flower lantern. But it is rare that someone would win and get to take it home.¡± The uncle had a look of pride.


    ¡°Would tourists go there?¡± Now there weren¡¯t many people who knew how to play Weiqi. And there probably weren¡¯t a lot of tourists who would want to play Weiqi.


    ¡°Of course, this is our ancient town¡¯s biggest selling point.¡± The uncle was with pride, ¡°There are a lot of Chinese people who enjoy Weiqi. It is just that there are few professional players and even less events like this that we are holding here at the ancient town. Because of this, every year there would be quite a bit of amateur who would come to try and solve the riddle. They would even bring their kids along to try and use this as an opportunity to become a disciple if they solve it.


    You could even become a disciple? No wonder there were so many Hongluo Training Center kids surrounding the stall that was what they were all trying to do.


    Xu Youyou thought it over for a while and suddenly turned towards Qiao Mu with a smile of flattery.


    Qiao Mu knew immediately what she meant and didn¡¯t even wait for Xu Youyou to speak before he rejected her: ¡°I¡¯m not going.¡±


    ¡°I haven¡¯t even said anything.¡± Xu Youyou said angrily.


    Qiao Mu frowned: ¡°I¡¯m not going no matter what.¡±


    Xu Youyou looked at Qiao Mu for a bit before suddenly turning and running away.


    Qiao Mu watched Xu Youyou run towards the Weiqi stall and agilely squeezed her way in. He could not understand what she was thinking.


    She didn¡¯t know how to play Weiqi, why did she squeeze her way in?


    ¡°Student, you know how to play Weiqi?¡± The uncle watched with mirth as the girl left the youth behind.


    ¡°What? Yes.¡± Qiao Mu hesitantly nodded his head.


    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you go? Your young girlfriend is mad.¡±


    ¡°She is my classmate, not my¡­you know.¡± Qiao Mu explained in a hurry.


    ¡°Makes sense. If this is how you are, you will not succeed in pursuing her.¡± The uncle pitifully shook his head. The young lady was pretty and this young student was dumb. ¡°She already left with anger, why do you chase after him? Don¡¯t you know how to coax her?¡±


    Qiao Mu awkwardly stood in the same place, wanting to leave, but also afraid that Xu Youyou would come back and not be able to find him.


    ¡°Shopkeeper, I¡¯ll take a lantern please.¡± After hesitating for a moment, Qiao Mu decided to buy a lantern from the shopkeeper.


    ¡° You came to your senses? That means you can still salvage the situation.¡± The uncle¡¯s face was full of gratification.


    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Qiao Mu.


    The uncle handed a lantern to Qiao Mu: ¡°On the side there is paper and pens, you can write down your wish and take it to the wishing tree. Over there, there will be people who can help you hang it.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Qiao Mu held the lantern and was hesitating where or not to go over and call to Xu Youyou when Xu Youyou suddenly came out from the crowd of people and rushed towards him in a sprint.


    ¡°Ai, you fought a lantern?¡± Xu Youyou was surprised to see a lantern in Qiao Mu¡¯s hand.


    ¡°You can go hang it.¡± Qiao Mu said awkwardly.


    He definitely wasn¡¯t coaxing Xu Youyou and didn¡¯t feel like he was in the wrong for rejecting Xu Youyou earlier, he only felt that because they were deskmates, their relationship shouldn¡¯t be strained.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want this one.¡± Xu Youyou rejected.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s gaze darkened, the awkwardness receded and embarrassment began to grow.


    ¡°You can keep this lantern for your own wish. I want that octagonal lantern. Help me figure out this life and death question.¡± Xu Youyou raised her phone and showed a picture of the chess board that she saw earlier in crowd to Qiao Mu.


    It was too late for Qiao Mu to hide, the chess board was already in front of his eyes. Instinctively, the gears in his brain began turning.


    About ten seconds later, Qiao Mu finally came to his senses and pushed Xu Youyou¡¯s hand away. With a sad tone he said: ¡°I already said I¡¯m not going.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say you had to go. You solve it, I¡¯ll go. As long as you tell me where to place it, that will work. Don¡¯t you use all your study periods to secretly study Weiqi anyway?¡± Xu Youyou said.


    Qiao Mu was sildent and didn¡¯t reject the argument.


    ¡°Hurry, this questions has a 20 minute time limit. When I got there five minutes had already passed. There are still 15 minutes, wait no, now it is 13 minutes before they switch questions.¡± Xu Youyou clasped her hands together and said cutely: ¡°Please, please. It is just this question. If you can¡¯t solve it, I¡¯ll just go buy myself a lantern.¡±


    Qiao Mu still felt a bit conflicted.


    ¡°Ai, I specifically came to accompany you to the lantern festival, can¡¯t you help me this once?¡±


    ¡°You specifically came? Clearly I was¡­¡­¡± Qiao Mu was stupefied like he suddenly thought of something and suddenly went quiet.


    Xu Youyou saw that Qiao Mu really didn¡¯t seem willing and didn¡¯t want to force him but just as she was about to let it go, Qiao Mu suddenly stuck his hand out: ¡°Give it to me.¡±


    Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes brightened. She immediately unlocked her phone and passed it over right as an announcement said: ¡°There are still 12 minutes left.¡±


    Qiao Mu didn¡¯t say anything and just lowered his head looking at the life and death question as he thought. After five or six minutes Qiao Mu raised his hand to open the picture¡¯s editing feature. After writing for a bit, he handed the phone back to Xu Youyou.


    Xu Youyou received it and took a look. She discovered that the photo she had taken had an extra three pieces, the color and steps were marked out.


    ¡°Wait for me, I¡¯m going to win the lantern.¡± Xu Youyou didn¡¯t waste a second. She excitedly turned around and ran into towards the stall. Like a nimble fish, she agilely made her way through.


    She hadn¡¯t even tried it. How would she know that I definitely got it correct? Qiao Mu thought it over and could not help but smile slightly.


    After a while, a sound of surprise erupted from around the Weiqi stall. And a couple minutes later, a girl carrying an octagonal palace lantern walked out through the group of people. The girl walked towards him, eagerly waving her hand and her body was moving up and down in excitement. Even her hair seemed jumping for joy and delight.

 CH 14.2

    ¡°Let¡¯s go, we can write the wishes over there.¡± Qiao Mu waited until Xu Youyou got closer and led her to the side where there were paper and pens.


    Both grabbed their own strip of ribbon and their favorite color pen as the prepared to write.


    Qiao Mu had originally not planned to make a wish. Now that he suddenly had to make a wish, he didn¡¯t know what to write. On the other hand, Xu Youyou had already thought of hers and buried her head to write it down. She concentrated for a while as she wrote each stroke.


    Theses wishes were hung for people to see and Xu Youyou did not cover hers, so Qiao Mu¡¯s eyes swept across to see the contents of her wish.


    [I wish Madam Ji¡¯s second spring* will quickly arrive]


    Qiao Mu was stunned, if he remembered correctly Xu Youyou¡¯s parents had just recently gotten divorced. And because of it, she had even become ill and returned with her mother back to China. Why would she wish for her mother to get married again?


    ¡°I¡¯m done. Can you understand it?¡± Xu Youyou showed Qiao Mu the wish she had written.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Qiao Mu couldn¡¯t pretend he hadn¡¯t seen it anymore, and could only reign in his curiosity and not ask.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. I don¡¯t have any big wishes, I just want it to be understandable.¡± Xu Youyou said with satisfaction.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you write it in English?¡± Qiao Mu had seen Xu Youyou write in English before. Her handwriting was nice.


    ¡°What happens if a god sees my wish on the wishing tree but is unable to read English?¡± Before Xu Youyou was an atheist. However after rebirth, she had a newfound reverence and acceptance in ghosts and gods.


    ¡°Are you serious?¡± Qiao Mu said surprised.


    ¡°Of course. Have you finished writing yours?¡± Xu Youyou turned her head to look at his strip of paper.


    ¡°I haven¡¯t written it yet.¡± As he said it, he lowered his head and began writing his own wish. His wish was simple, it was just 3 words.


    [Grandmother, stay healthy]


    The two hung their strips of paper under the lantern and carried their lantern to the wishing tree. They handed them to the stationed workers who helped hang their lanterns. Inside the lanterns was a special little light switch. It wasn¡¯t a candle. So even if the tree was filled with lanterns, it wouldn¡¯t pose a threat to safety.


    ¡°Come one, let¡¯s go get something to eat up ahead. I¡¯ll treat you.¡± Xu Youyou grabbed Qiao Mu as they left the lantern festival. The two found a little food stall and bought some snacks. They walked as they ate.


    ¡°It¡¯s already 11:30, why do we still have school tomorrow?¡± They had three days off for the Mid-Autumn festival, yet it was the last day which was the actual holiday so they would have to return to school the next day.


    ¡°In two more days, we¡¯ll have another break.¡± It was soon National Day.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll have to endure the next two days.¡± As long as one has hopes for the future, people¡¯s endurance is far greater than one imagines.


    ¡°Um¡­thank you.¡± Qiao Mu suddenly thanked her.


    Xu Youyou didn¡¯t understand and looked at Qiao Mu. The youth¡¯s expression was a bit complicated as if he wasn¡¯t used to directly expressing his emotions.


    ¡°It was Grandmother who asked you to accompany me to the lantern festival right?¡± Qiao Mu said.


    Grandmother¡¯s treats were clearly ready earlier that morning, yet when Xu Youyou went in the afternoon to deliver mooncakes, Grandmother did not give them to her then. Instead she had him send it over himself that night. Grandmother had also said Xu Youyou wanted someone to accompany her to the lantern festival, but Xu Youyou had previously already arranged to go and take photos with some of the girls in the class. Besides, with Xu Youyou¡¯s personality, if she really wanted help with something she would have asked herself and not used Grandmother as an intermediate.


    Therefore, he could only guess that Grandmother knew he was feeling down and specifically asked Xu Youyou to do this for him.


    ¡°You guessed it?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Qiao Mu nodded his head.


    ¡°So you suddenly changed your mind and decided to help me with the lantern because of this?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Qiao Mu nodded his head again.


    ¡°So it was because of Grandmother, not because you wanted to help me then.¡± Xu Youyou looked a little devastated and used a bamboo pick to poke at a rice cake in the bowl. She was disappointed in her own unreciprocated feelings.


    Qiao Mu wanted to explain himself, yet he didn¡¯t know what to say. Was he supposed to say ¡°I also did it because of you?¡± It didn¡¯t quite seem appropriate, it was rather ambiguous.


    ¡°Ai, forget it.¡± Xu Youyou waved her hand and cleared the complicated expression on her face.


    Qiao Mu looked at Xu Youyou, seeing that she wasn¡¯t going to pursue it anymore, he let out a soft sigh.


    ¡°Oh right, since you guessed it. There is something else that I¡¯ll just say directly.¡± Xu Youyou suddenly said.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Grandmother wants me to help you lose weight.¡± Xu Youyou said seriously.


    Qiao Mu¡¯s eyes fixed upon Xu Youyou for a few seconds, and when he say Xu Youyou was unable to hold it in anymore, he suddenly pointed to the fried rice cake in his hand and also said seriously: ¡°Then can I still eat this rice cake?¡±


    ¡°Pu~~**¡± Xu Youyou couldn¡¯t help but laugh out loud.


    Qiao Mu also couldn¡¯t help it and laughed happily. The corners of his lips were flying and slowly revealed two dimples.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CTranslator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    * Second love/marriage


    ** Sound one makes when letting out a puff of laughte

 CH 15.1

    Two days of class after the Mid-Autumn Festival was the National Holiday. For the entire 7 day period, the students in the class had basically all already planned out where they were going for vacation. Even Qiao Mu was ready to leave.


    ¡°Where are you planning on going?¡± Xu Youyou asked Qiao Mu.


    To City B*.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°Are you going to climb the great wall?¡±


    ¡°Probably not.¡± Qiao Mu shook his head, ¡°Actually this trip is mainly to bring Grandmother to get a check up. Afterwards, we¡¯ll probably walk around the city a little bit before coming back.¡±


    Grandmother Qiao was not in great health. Recently her illness had erupted again and Qiao Mu wanted to take Grandmother to the big city to get checked.


    ¡°I also plan on visiting Qingbei* along the way.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°Qingbei?¡± Xu Youyou thought it sounded familiar, ¡°Qingbei University?¡±


    She then remembered, in the past life she seemed to have heard Qiao Mu say that he graduated from Qingbei.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Are you taking a look now because you want to apply to Qingbei?¡±  In her previous life, she had also visited a bunch of universities before applying.


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan, but it still depends on what I score on the Gaokao.¡± Qiao Mu didn¡¯t say too much.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll definitely get in.¡±


    ¡°Why do you sound like you have more confidence than me?¡± Hongluo High School was not the best high school. If one or two could get admitted that was pretty good. Although Qiao Mu¡¯s grades weren¡¯t bad, he wasn¡¯t certain.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t have confidence, why would you bother applying?¡± Of course, it was because she met you ten years in the future.


    Qiao Mu nodded in agreement: ¡°You¡¯re right. ¡®Enhance the aspirations of the moral, do not belittle yourself.¡¯ The battle has not yet been fought. It is true that I shouldn¡¯t lose confidence yet.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Besides, you don¡¯t need to pay for confidence.¡± Xu Youyou nodded as well and asked another question, ¡°But, what does enhance the aspirations mean?


    Qiao Mu was stunned, and reacted a little late: ¡°That¡¯s right, you never read ¡®Chu Shi Biao¡¯**¡±


    Xu Youyou had a look of surprise.


    Qiao Mu laughed, and patiently explained: ¡°¡®Chu Shi Biao¡± was our first middle school lesson. One sentence was ¡®Enhance the aspirations of the moral, do not belittle yourself.¡¯ Basically it means that people should not belittle themselves and should have confidence. Since you came back from abroad, you didn¡¯t learn about it.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Xu Youyou understood.


    For the National Holiday, Xu Youyou had no plans. One, because she had no particular place she wanted to visit and two, because Madam Ji was afraid of letting her travel by herself. So during the entire break, she stayed cooped up in the pottery studio looking over the shop or doing homework.


    Speaking of homework, Xu Youyou was going insane. She had finished college in her past life, yet she had never seen any teacher or school assign as much homework as she had now.


    In the afternoon, taking a moment of leisure, Madam Ji went to the milk tea shop across the street and bought a cup for her studious daughter: ¡°Have a milk tea and rest for a bit.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Mom.¡± Xu Youyou put away the practice paper, afraid she would accidentally get it wet.


    ¡°How many more papers do you have?¡±


    ¡°Five.¡± Xu Youyou could not help but complain, ¡°How can this be considered a break? This is just taking a break to do homework at home. And the rest of the class even went on vacation, I don¡¯t know how they are able to finish it all.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have that much, do you know the High School No. 1 next to your school?¡±


    ¡°I know, the major high school.¡± Xu Youyou knew about High School No. 1. Li Xiuran was from there and their uniforms were much nicer. The girls in her class were very envious of them and would talk about it a lot.


    ¡°Their homework is at least three times the amount you have.¡± Ji Leyao laughed.


    Xu Youyou¡¯s eyes widen in surprise.


    ¡°When I was choosing your high school, I specific chose High School No. 7 because their homework load was the lightest and the nighttime self study was only for Grade 3.¡±


    ¡°Ke!¡± Xu Youyou almost choked on her milk tea. After hearing about it, it seemed even scarier than climbing Mount Everest.


    ¡°Although there is a lot of homework, the effort put in and the result are equal. No. 1 has the highest college acceptance rate in City J. But I don¡¯t have much requirements for you, you can apply to universities abroad. You have a foundation in English so it shouldn¡¯t be too hard.¡± Ji Leyao said.


    Xu Youyou wasn¡¯t worried about college, she had experience. If she prepared a few months ahead of time she could definitely get into a pretty decent university in Country Y. However, the issue was her cold illness. Although recently she hasn¡¯t feld cold to the point of shivering as she did when she was first reborn, her body was still colder than a normal person. She had to be close to Qiao Mu to get warm. If she were to study abroad and Qiao Mu went to Qingbei, what would happen if the cold illness got worse?


    Before her cold illness is fully cured, Xu Youyou thought it would be best if she stayed with Qiao Mu to avoid anything bad from happening.


    ¡°Mom, what score is required for Qingbei?¡±


    ¡°Qingbei? Why are you thinking about them?¡±


    ¡°I was just randomly asking.¡± Xu Youyou wanted to calculate the difference to see if she would have a chance if she worked hard the next three years.


    ¡°About the exact score, I am not sure. But it should be around the score of the best in your class.¡± Ji Leyao said.


    ¡°Best in the class?¡±


    ¡°Yes, in last year¡¯s Gaokao, I believe only one student was admitted from Hongluo No. 7 High School.


    Then what was the use in working hard.


    Xu Youyou threw down her pencil and thoroughly admitted defeat: ¡°I¡¯m going out for a walk.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CTranslator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    * Qingbei is Tsinghua and Peking Univerity


    **Chu Shi Biao is the name of a memorial by Zhuge Liang, a famous strategist during the Three Kingdoms.

 CH 15.2

    B City.


    Qiao Mu was accompanying his grandmother as they toured around Qingbei.


    ¡°Your grandfather always wanted to study here. It¡¯s a pity because his Gaokao score was off by just a point and because of it he spent his entire life complaining about it to me.¡± Grandmother Qiao grew tired from the walking and the two found a bench to rest on.


    ¡°I heard Uncle tell me that Grandfather forced him to apply here.¡± Qiao Mu brought out a thermos from his backpack and poured a cup of water.


    ¡°How can he force your Uncle? With his grades, getting into a first tier university would have been extraordinary.


    ¡°Have some water.¡± Qiao Mu smiled and handed over the cup.


    After drinking the water, Grandmother Qiao handed back the cup. While passing it she noticed Qiao Mu¡¯s hand trembling. Grandmother Qiao¡¯s face was fully of worry: ¡°What happened to your hand?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, I accidentally sprained my wrist earlier. It happens sometimes.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°Your body is calcium deficient yet you don¡¯t drink milk. Why don¡¯t you have your aunt buy you so calcium tablets later?¡± Qiao Mu couldn¡¯t drink milk, each time he drinks it he would get diarrhea.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s probably because we¡¯ve been out and I haven¡¯t had your bone broth that¡¯s why I accidently sprained it.¡±


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get a pot on our way back to the hotel. I¡¯ll heat it up for you.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going back tomorrow. I¡¯m not in a rush. For dinner, I just order a sparerib soup,¡± Qiao Mu coaxed.


    The two rested for around 20 minutes before continuing to stroll around. They came in through the west entrance and walked to the east. They planned to walk through the campus to the east gate. When they were just about to reach the east entrance, they saw two workers carrying a giant promotional poster. On the poster was half a figure with writing next to it.


    Which professor has come to Qingbei to give a lecture?


    Qiao Mu¡¯s gaze scanned across the poster and his footsteps came to a halt.


    [Welcome famous Weiqi player Mr. Qiao Dongyuan to Qingbei]


    Next to it was a large paragraph giving a detailed introduction describing Qiao Dongyuan¡¯s personal background and the honors he has received. Qiao Mu didn¡¯t need to see it to be able to recite it. He had heard it growing up and had even made it his goal.


    Grandmother Qiao also saw the face on the poster, the joyful mood suddenly disappeared: ¡°Let¡¯s head back to the hotel.¡±


    Qiao Mu made a sound of acknowledgement and they took a taxi back to the hotel.


    After dinner, Grandmother Qiao talked about buying souvenirs the next day. She insisted Qiao Mu call Xu Youyou and ask what she liked so they could bring it back tomorrow. His grandmother¡¯s intentions were very clear, Qiao Mu guessed that she had already contacted Xu Youyou secretly. Despite knowing, Qiao Mu still obediently called her.


    ¡°Grandmother asked me to call you. What type of souvenir would you like?¡± Qiao Mu asked straight to the point.


    ¡°What a coincidence. Grandmother just asked me to ask, why are you in a bad mood again?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    Qiao Mu laughed, ¡°You sure asked that very tactfully.¡±


    ¡°If you are willing to let me copy your papers when you come back, I can spend more time asking you more tactfully.¡±


    ¡°You are rushing to finish your papers?¡±


    ¡°Yes. You¡¯ve been out of town for so long, have you finished them?¡± Xu Youyou asked.


    ¡°Not yet. I remember that there were a total of eight papers. I would be able to finish them after spending some time tomorrow afternooon.¡±


    ¡°I am suddenly not in a good mood.¡± Xu Youyou said sourly. She has been doing the test papers for a couple days now, yet he was able to do it in an afternoon?


    Qiao Mu could not hold back his laughter.


    ¡°You dare laugh?!¡± Xu Youyou said in anger. ¡°It seems it¡¯s true that one¡¯s happiness comes from other¡¯s pain. I¡¯m warning you, tell me your pain now and make me happy. Otherwise, I will tell on you to Grandmother. I was trying to comfort you, yet you instead bully me.¡±


    Qiao Mu restrained his laughter and look at his reflection in the window and slowly said: ¡°I¡¯m actually not in a bad moon, I just thought of someone I didn¡¯t like.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve experienced that before.¡± Xu Youyou said.


    ¡°You have experienced it before?¡± Qiao Mu asked in surprise.


    ¡°I also have someone I particularly hate. Wait, no, it is two people. Every time I think of them I get in a bad mood. When I¡¯m in a bad moon, I go and annoy them until they are not happy. Afterwards, my mood becomes better.¡± In the last life, she never came back to China. Her scumbag father and mistress got married. The illegitimate child Tiantian would call her ¡°Sister.¡± She didn¡¯t have the virtue of Virgin Mary and could not put up with it.


    ¡°You are pretty domineering.¡± Qiao Mu said somewhat unexpectedly.


    ¡°Between being unhappy yourself and the person you hate being unhappy, of course I¡¯d choose the second.¡±


    ¡°But others would have a bad impression of you.¡±


    ¡°Since it is others, why would I care what they think?¡±


    Qiao Mu listened to the girl¡¯s clear-cut explanation and could not help but envy her. If only he could be like her.


    ¡°Do you know about qiaomu (arbor)*?¡± Qiao Mu suddenly asked.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t ¡°Qiao Mu¡± your name?¡±


    ¡°Arbor is a classification of plants. They are tall, upright trees with a trunk. They are sturdy and can give shelter from the wind and rain.¡± Qiao Mu said wryly. ¡°That person who named me said they¡¯d hoped grow into an arbor, but I¡­¡­disappointed them.


    He learned to play chess since he was young and threw himself into learning. Under his mom¡¯s encouragement, he worked hard to catch up. All just to earn his father¡¯s approval. But his years of hard work were exchanged for a single sentence of disappointment.


    ¡°I gave you that name hoping you would grow to become a tall and straight arbor. It was just a ranking match, yet you got nervous and passed out. With this personality, how can you play Weiqi?¡±


    Xu Youyou was sildent. Person who named him, that means it is most likely either his mom or dad. Xu Youyou responded with a sentence: ¡°Why must you become an arbor?¡±


    Qiao Mu froze from the question.


    ¡°To me, ¡°qiaomu¡± isn¡¯t a giant tree that can shelter others from the wind or rain. It¡¯s just your name. It¡¯s your life, why should others define it for you?¡±


    The girl¡¯s voice was like a gust of wind, scattering the clouds outside the window.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CTranslator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    *Arbor in Chinese is ¡°qiaomu¡±, the exact characters of his name

 CH 16.1

    After the holiday break, the students of Class 18 excitedly shared the places they had been. Some students even brought gifts back. The classroom was lively and filled with a simple happiness.


    Xu Youyou was part of it as if she had really returned to the age of sixteen. Like she was still pure and hadn¡¯t yet experienced the bitterness of life.


    ¡°Youyou, this is for you.¡± Shen Lili walked towards Xu Youyou¡¯s side and handed her a beautifully wrapped box.


    ¡°For me?¡¯ Xu Youyou was surprised. She never expected that she would also get a gift.


    ¡°Thank you for taking our photos last time. Because of the pictures you took, I gained over ten thousand followers.¡± Shen Lili eagerly said. ¡°Hongluo Town¡¯s tourist account even shared my Weibo.¡±


    ¡°I was just casually taking the photos. The main reason is because you are good looking.¡± Xu Youyou herself didn¡¯t expect the photos she took to have such a good result.


    ¡°I feel complicated being praised as ¡®good looking¡¯ by someone even more good looking than me.¡± Shen Lili said.


    ¡°Is this business praise*?¡±


    ¡°Wow, you even know how to use the phrase ¡®business praise.¡¯ Your Chinese is really improving.¡±


    ¡°I keep seeing you guys use it in the group chat so I learned it.¡± Xu Youyou laughed.


    ¡°Hurry and see the gift I got you. Check if you like it or not.¡±


    Xu Youyou followed her words and opened the box. Inside was a simple, yet exquisitely crafted hairpin with tiny beads hanging on the end.


    ¡°It¡¯s beautiful,¡± When Xu Youyou saw it, her eyes didn¡¯t light up.


    ¡°This is a hairpin made from one of my favorite antique shops. It¡¯s said that it an exact replica of one worn by concubines during the Han Dynasty. During the holiday, I specifically went to their physical store to pick it.¡± Shen Lili introduced.


    ¡°Thank you. Although, I won¡¯t really have any suitable opportunities to wear it, I will definitely keep it safe.¡± Xu Youyou said in appreciation.


    ¡°What do you mean you won¡¯t have any opportunities to wear it? Even if you don¡¯t enjoy wearing Hanfu like us, you can still use it to wear your hair up, like I am.¡± Shen Lili turned around as she talked, showing Xu Youyou her hairstyle.


    Shen Lili was a loyal fan of the ancient style. Outside of wearing the uniform for school, privately she would dress in the ancient style. Even though she was wearing the school uniform, she would always have an ancient element, typically it was in the form on a hairpin to tie up her hair.


    ¡°How can you put it up?¡± Xu Youyou asked curiously.


    ¡°I¡¯ll teach you.¡± Shen Lili took the hairpin out of the box and her fingers skillfully helped Xu Youyou tie a half ponytail. The entire process took less than a minute.


    Xu Youyou curiously touched her tied up hair and shook her head. The hairpin remained unmoved on her head and not a single hair came loose: ¡°It really won¡¯t fall.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t lying, right?¡± Shen Lili smuggly smiled.


    ¡°Can you put it up for me one more time? When you were doing it for me I could not see.¡± Xu Youyou became excited.


    ¡°I¡¯ll use my hairpin to show you. That way you can see it more clearly.¡± As she talked, Shen Lili pulled out her own hairpin and her long hair fell with the removal of the hairpin. Shen then used the hairpin gently to pick it back up and with a flip of her fingers she easily pinned it back up again.


    ¡°It¡¯s that simple?¡± Xu Youyou originally thought it would be hard.


    ¡°It¡¯s really easy.¡±


    Xu Youyou was just about to try putting it up herself when the bell for class rang. Xu Youyou could only give up and quietly wait for class to start.


    After rebirth, Xu Youyou had no intention to study hard and get into a prestigious school, but her deskmate wanted to get into Qingbei. She only found out two days ago exactly how hard Qingbei was to get into. Although she did not know who Qiao Mu¡¯s deskmate was in the previous life, she did not want him to not be admitted into Qingbei because she was his deskmate in this life. So even though Xu Youyou found the lectures boring, she still tried her best to be quiet and not bother Qiao Mu.


    In the blink of an eye, the classes were over. Qiao Mu had planned to go home with Xu Youyou: ¡°The souvenirs Grandmother bought are at home, do you want to go pick them up?¡±


    Originally he was going to bring them to school, but Grandmother insisted on giving it to Xu Youyou in person. In reality, it was to give Xu Youyou a chance to eat a free meal at their house.


    ¡°Really? Does that mean I can eat at your house again?¡± Xu Youyou said surprised.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Qiao Mu nodded his head.


    It had to be said that in some way, the two had a tacit understanding.


    ¡°Then what are you waiting for? Let¡¯s hurry up.¡± Xu Youyou efficiently packed up her backpack and pulled Qiao Mu as she ran out the classroom. The two of them sat on the bus and got off ten minutes later in the ancient town.


    From the bus stop and through the alleys, it took another seven to eight minutes to arrive at Qiao Mu¡¯s house. The two walked side by side, because it had just rained heavily, green moss had grown between the limestone slabs and the ground was a bit slippery. As she walked, Xu Youyou fiddled with her hair that had gotten messed up in the bus ride and accidentally slipped.


    ¡°Be careful.¡± Qiao Mu quickly helped her up.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Xu Youyou quickly stabilized herself.


    ¡°What are you doing not walking properly?¡± Qiao Mu asked


    ¡°Earlier when we were getting off the bus, my hair got messed up. I want to put it up again.¡± Xu Youyou said as she grabbed her backpack off her shoulder and handed it to Qiao Mu. The backpack was too heavy and her hands didn¡¯t have the strength, ¡°Help me hold it for now, I am going to put it up again.¡±


    Xu Youyou quite liked this new hairstyle, especially the chain of beads that hung at the end of the hairpin. As she walked it shook, it was very unique.


    Qiao Mu held the backpack and stood in place as he waited for the girl to tie up her hair. However, it seemed that Xu Youyou didn¡¯t quite know how and tried many times, but her hair would still end up a mess. The hairpin just wouldn¡¯t stay in. It was embarrassing.


    ¡°That¡¯s weird. This is clearly how Shen Lili did it. Could it be that I remembered it wrong?¡± Xu Youyou was very annoyed, her actions demonstrated the phrase ¡°the eyes understand but the hands don¡¯t.¡±


    Qiao Mu patiently waited seven to eight minutes as he watched Xu Youyou try countless times without giving up, before he finally couldn¡¯t take it and said: ¡°Why don¡¯t you wait till tomorrow and have Shen Lili teach you?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe that I can¡¯t do it.¡± Xu Youyou suddenly became angry and her expression was one of determination as if she would not give up until she figured it out.


    Qiao Mu was stunned for a moment and continued waiting with a good temperament. But time slowly passed and he watched as she continued. It seemed Xu Youyou would go crazy to the point where she wouldn¡¯t even be in the mood to eat a free meal. Finally he could not watch any longer and placed his own backpack on the green stone boards, carrying only Xu Youyou¡¯s backpack on his shoulders. He then held the unruly hair atop the girl¡¯s head.


    ¡°You stick it in here with the hair, then do this, then this. Twirl it twice and stick it in again.¡± Qiao Mu guided the girl¡¯s hand to help her put up her hair.


    After it was finished, Xu Youyou tried shaking her head and found that the hair really did not fall out. She turned in surprise towards Qiao Mu: ¡°How do you know how to do it?¡±


    ¡°When Shen Lili was teaching you, I saw it for a moment.¡± When Shen Lili was teaching Xu Youyou, he was sitting right beside them. Not seeing them would have been hard.


    ¡°You only saw it for a moment?¡±


    Qiao Mu suddenly felt a little guilty and looked away. He mumbled a sound of acknowledgement.


    ¡°You are so impressive.¡± Xu Youyou excitedly punched Qiao Mu¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Then later can you teach me?¡±


    Qiao Mu awkwardly made a ¡°ke¡± sound and didn¡¯t agree. He just gave Xu Youyou¡¯s backpack to her: ¡°Let¡¯s eat first, Grandmother is probably waiting for us.¡±


    ¡°Oh right. Grandmother made delicious food and is waiting for me.¡± Thinking of the good food, Xu Youyou grabbed her backpack and hurriedly walked.


    Qiao Mu let out a breath of relief before grabbing his own backpack and patting away the slight damp moss on it.


    ¡°Hurry up, didn¡¯t you say Grandmother was waiting for us?¡± Xu Youyou ran towards the alley¡¯s entrance and saw that Qiao Mu was still behind her. She could not help but rush him.


    ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡± Qiao Mu smiled and quickened his steps.


    ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨CTranslator¡¯s Note ¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¡ª¨C


    *Internet word

 CH 16.2

    The two walked and laughed as they made their way to the entrance of the house. From a distance they saw a familiar figure. It was Li Xiuran wearing the uniform of the training center. When they spotted Li Xiuran, he also saw them and walked straight towards them.


    ¡°You returned a bit later than I had anticipated.¡± Li Xiuran had arrived on time, but waited at the door for more than ten minutes.


    ¡°Why have you come?¡± Qiao Mu frowned.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I didn¡¯t go in. Grandmother doesn¡¯t know I¡¯ve come to look for you.¡± Li Xiuran seemed to know what Qiao Mu was worried about and hurried to explain, ¡°Originally I wanted to wait for you at the school¡¯s entrance but because lately I have been preparing for the rank competition, I haven¡¯t been at school.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Li Xiuran seemed used to Qiao Mu¡¯s cold temperament and was not angry. Instead, he just looked at Xu Youyou suddenly and said, ¡°I saw the lantern you hung on the wishing tree.¡±


    ¡°Why did you look at my lantern?¡± Although the lanterns hung on the wishing tree were for people to look at, no one would deliberately go to look at them, especially locals like Li Xiuran.


    ¡°Perhaps I should say I saw the lantern, then later I coincidently found out that you were the one who won it.¡± Li Xiuran laughed and looked towards Qiao Mu, ¡°You solved the life-death problem?¡±


    Qiao Mu remained silent and did not answer.


    ¡°Even if you don¡¯t say it, I still know it was you.¡± Li Xiuran¡¯s face was determined.


    ¡°Why have you come here? You wanted to beat me and you already have.¡± Qiao Mu said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve just come by to see you. Now that I¡¯ve seen you, I¡¯m leaving.¡± Li Xiuran finished talking and waved his hand as he passed the two of them, walking out of the alley. It was as if he had really only come to take a look.


    ¡°Why is he so neurotic?¡± Xu Youyou was confused, they were all sixteen year olds, but their Class 18 students were so simple, why was Li Xiuran so strange.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother about him¡± The two of them did not worry about Liu Xiuran and walked into the courtyard together.


    Grandmother was afraid the dishes would get cold so she waited until the two came back before cooking. Xu Youyou made a mess in the kitchen before being chased out. She then calmly went to the yard to watch the scenery.


    After the rain, the ancient town had a special charm. Raindrops dripped down from the old styled roofs. Xu Youyou noticed an ant under a flower pot in the corner. The ant was carrying a large grain of rice it had stolen and struggled to crawl. When it reached the bottom of the flower pot, it was hit by a water droplet that had fallen from a flower petal.


    Xu Youyou had a sudden thought and turned around to grab the camera in her backpack. She then hurried back into the house.


    ¡°Qiao Mu.¡± Xu Youyou turned her head towards the kitchen and called out.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Qiao Mu stuck his head out.


    ¡°Give me two grains of rice.¡±


    What in the world?


    Although he was hesitant, Qiao Mu still used a pair of chopsticks to grab two grains of rice and brought it over: ¡°What are you trying to do?¡±


    ¡°Throw the rice on the ground, over here.¡± Xu Youyou pointed in a direction.


    Qiao Mu followed her instructions and placed it down. He then watched as a crowd of ants came surrounding it before finally understanding what Xu Youyou was doing.


    Qiao Mu thought it was pretty fun. She was already this old, yet she was still playing with ants. After telling her that the food would be ready soon, Qiao Mu returned to the kitchen to help Grandmother Qiao.


    11:00 PM.


    Qiao Mu was just about to go to sleep when his phone suddenly rang with a notification. He held it up to look and found that Li Xiuran had sent him a WeChat message.


    After he decided to give up on Weiqi, Qiao Mu and Li Xiuran hardly contacted each other. However, they still had each other¡¯s WeChat contacts, they just didn¡¯t communicate. Thinking about Li Xiuran¡¯s weird words before dinner, Qiao Mu opened up the message.


    The message was a poster, it could have also been called a sign up sheet for a national amateur Weiqi competition.


    Besides the photo, Li Xiuran did not send anything more. However, Qiao Mu felt as if he had been seen through. During the past six years, Li Xiuran and him have never talked about anything related to Weiqi. Even in his WeChat Moments, Li Xiuran never shared anything related to Weiqi as if Li Xiuran had blocked Qiao Mu. But now, he directly sent a sign up sheet to Qiao Mu.


    Every year for the Professional Weiqi Rank Competition, there were two sign up notices. One was for those directly selected by qualified training centers around the country and the other was for the general public. The Rank Competition had qualifications for the amateur players, typically only amateur players that were in the province¡¯s top 20 list could be qualified as a professional chess player. The amateur competition is held once a year and the top 20 of the province could directly participate in that year¡¯s professional rank competition.


    Come on, let¡¯s become professional chess players together.


    Li Xiuran almost sent this sentence.


    By the time Qiao Mu regained his senses, he realized he had been staring at the photo for more than ten minutes. Surprised, he exited the chat but could not calm his emotions down. He casually swiped through WeChat Moments and suddenly came across Xu Youyou¡¯s Moment that she posted an hour ago.


    It was a picture captioned with the words ¡°Hardworking ant.¡±


    The small ant was carrying a grain of rice that was bigger than its body as it struggled to break through a water droplet.  Perhaps it was because the composition of Xu Youyou¡¯s photo was exquisite, but Qiao Mu could even see the perseverance on its indistinguishable face.


    At that moment, Qiao Mu suddenly felt that he wasn¡¯t even as good as this ant.


    Could he try one more time?