Green Plum, Green Plum (3)
“Do you like this?”
Xu Jiao looked at the 50 cents in her hand, her expression extraordinarily complicated.
Now that Shen Yelan knew about her big sister persona who collects protection fees, this 50 cents had become particularly hot to handle.
Returning it would make her seem like she was mocking her poverty.
Not returning it would make her look like a bully who wouldn’t even spare 50 cents.
The key issue was, before she could resolve her dilemma, Shen Yelan left, leaving her to reminisce about this long-forgotten small-denomination banknote. Honestly, it was quite nostalgic.
Xu Jiao folded the thin banknote neatly and put it into her pocket. She then touched the edge of the injury on her forehead and began walking towards the edge of the street, planning to find a pharmacy to buy some supplies and properly treat her wound.
As for Shen Yelan’s impression of her—
Positive or negative, it didn’t seem to matter much in the end. Whatever.
She lazily said to the system in her mind, “Give me the original owner’s memories.”
……
“Hiss.”
In the brightly lit bathroom, Xu Jiao dabbed iodine on her forehead while looking into the large mirror.
The wound wasn’t big, but it had turned a bit green and purple.
From the memories, Xu Jiao learned that this was a detail automatically filled in by the novel’s setting: Xu Jiao went out without her gang, went to a bar, spoke too arrogantly, and caught the attention of some thugs.
Initially, those guys just wanted to make friends and have some fun, nothing too harmful.
Unfortunately, the original owner inherited the author’s temper and had no interest in making friends from the trash heap. She rolled up her sleeves and fought, ultimately paying the price of having her head smashed against a wall, but she managed to leave three guys with bruised and swollen faces.
Thinking about this, Xu Jiao brushed aside her bangs with her fingers, looked at her wound in the mirror, then opened the bag in front of her and pulled out a Hello Kitty band-aid.
Scarred or childish, she chose the latter.
Just as Xu Jiao tore open the packaging and was figuring out how to apply it, a rhythmic knocking sounded at the door: “Knock, knock.”
“Xiaoxu, I’ve prepared your meal and left it on the table. Is there anything else you need me to do? If not, I’ll be leaving now.” This was the hired housekeeper responsible for her meals and household chores, but recently, she was busy taking care of her own child at home.
Originally, Xu’s parents thought she couldn’t take care of herself and wanted to hire someone else, but Xu Jiao disliked constantly meeting new people, so she refused and allowed the housekeeper to leave early every day after finishing her tasks.
Hearing the sound, Xu Jiao poked her head out of the bathroom and called out, “Nothing else, Auntie, you can go.”
After applying the band-aid, she left her room and went to the living room. Looking at the three dishes and soup on the table, along with an empty bowl and a pair of chopsticks, she quietly picked up the bowl to serve herself some rice.
Both the original owner and she had become very accustomed to eating alone. She ate slowly, enjoying the rice with fish-flavored eggplant, braised sea bass, and blanched greens, then went to the kitchen to get the soup.
After finishing her meal, Xu Jiao only needed to leave the dishes in the sink, and the housekeeper would clean up the mess the next morning.
……
By the time she left the dining table, the sky outside the balcony had turned a deep blue. The heat in the air had dissipated a bit.
It was late September, just after the start of the new school year. Though not invaded by the cold chill, it was not as hot as midsummer either. Especially at night, there was occasionally a refreshing breeze, quite pleasant.
Xu Jiao sat on the sofa and saw a plate of washed grapes on the table. She picked one up and put it in her mouth. As she peeled it with her tongue, a mix of sweet and slightly sour flavor spread in her mouth.
She spat out the grape skin and seeds, stopped eating, and went into her room. She saw the comic book spread out on the table, the colorful romance novels on the shelf, and the screen of the Windows 2000 computer turned on. She walked around twice and couldn’t help but ask the system:
“Where are my textbooks and homework?”
Was she expected to pass the evening with these junk novels, read comics, and a slow-as-a-turtle computer?
The system asked her back, “Does a school bully need to do homework?”
Xu Jiao was stunned for a second. “That makes sense.”
But! She would rather do homework than deal with these outdated novels, comics, and computers!
No choice, this novel was one of her early works, filled with her teenage disdain for exam-oriented education. So, she specifically created a “paradise” growth environment for the novel’s Xu Jiao—
The most popular series of comics, the hottest novels, and a computer that could log on to QQ and chat with friends without ever being disciplined.
However.
Time had passed.
Now, the 22-year-old Xu Jiao couldn’t muster any interest in these outdated things.
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But the academically poor supporting character Xu Jiao indeed didn’t even bring a test paper home.
In the end, Xu Jiao fell asleep reading those old, sweet school romance novels, not even nine o’clock, with the book opened and only the first few pages read.
Because she slept early, she woke up around 6 the next morning, grabbed some pocket money, went out to buy breakfast, and headed to the classroom. She was bored enough to need textbooks to pass the time.
……
Class 20, 10th grade.
The health committee member, following routine, arrived early, thinking he was the first one there. But he almost jumped seeing someone sitting by the window in the back row.
The person sensed the movement, looked up, and the delicate features reflected in the morning light outside the window had a sort of pure and clean look like the girl next door.
Meeting that person’s gaze, the health committee member recognized her and shivered, saying, “Why… why are you at school so early today?”
He thought she wouldn’t answer, scratched his head, and was ready to start cleaning the classroom. Unexpectedly, Xu Jiao responded slowly, “I was bored, so I came.”
Health committee member: “……” Sure enough, you’re the big sister.
He didn’t dare to say anything further. Silently, he picked up the broom to sweep the floor and cleaned the blackboard. Finally, more students started trickling into the classroom.
Some students arrived in pairs, still chatting loudly at the classroom door:
“When school ends at noon—”
Halfway through the sentence, they suddenly saw the person in the last row, and their voices abruptly got stuck in their throats, causing them to cough twice.
There were about 10 students in the classroom, but it was as quiet as a graveyard, without a sound. All communication was done through eye contact.
‘Why did Xu Jiao come so early today? Did she cause trouble again?’
‘How would I know? I’m puzzled too.’
‘Did someone provoke her again? I remember the last time she came early was to deal with a love rival. Damn, she even broke a chair leg, scared the hell out of me, wawawa.’
‘Sigh, hopefully, the unlucky person this time isn’t from our class.’
……
Xu Jiao was oblivious to her classmates’ fear of her, focused on solving math problems on a scratch paper, accidentally working into the early reading session.
A new language teacher, named Chu Xiutian, was introduced by the homeroom teacher and had everyone introduce themselves. Then, he asked the class representative to lead the reading, while he patrolled the room, wanting to see what the students were up to.
His gaze quickly landed on Xu Jiao doing math problems.
“You there, have you memorized all the ancient poems? Doing math during my early reading session,” he felt he should discipline this student.
Upon hearing his words, the class representative’s voice inexplicably stopped, and all the students turned to look, their gazes filled with admiration for him and a sort of sorrowful farewell.
Xu Jiao raised her head to see him and, in the moment she opened her mouth, the entire class was on edge.
She asked, “If I’ve memorized all the ancient poems, can I then do math problems?”
Teacher Chu was taken aback for a moment, then after a pause, he said, “Yes.”
So Xu Jiao nodded, “I’ve memorized them. Can I continue with my problems now?”
Teacher Chu: “…Okay.”
Silence. The whole class inwardly sighed: these two really are…
One dares to ask, and the other dares to believe.
Teacher Chu took a couple of steps forward, meeting the eyes of the other students, thinking they were dissatisfied, so he suddenly turned back and randomly quizzed, “I was bidding a guest farewell, at night on the Xunyang River?”
Xu Jiao didn’t even lift her head, “Where maple-leaves and full-grown rushes rustled in the autumn.“1
“Clear wind blew gently, the water was calm. The previous line?”
“In the autumn of 1082, on the 16th of the seventh month, Master Su and his guests sailed in a boat below the Red Cliffs.”2
“The heart of an individual, essentially had no difference with other people. The next line?”
“Qin’s King was attracted at objects that were luxurious and fanciful, while commoners were willing to live with family and remain peaceful. So why took those things without anything left but used them as mud and sand?” 3
……
The entire class of 10th Grade, Class 20: “……”
The class monitor, trembling, took out his phone and furiously typed to share the story with his friends: “It’s over, our big sister is acting crazy again.”
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A student from another class asked, “Oh my, did she get dumped again? Got cheated on again? Chasing another mistress?”
Class monitor: “No.”
Other student: “Just tell me, who is she going to fight now?”
Class monitor: “She… recited poetry.” And it was full recitations of ancient poems! Is this Xu Jiao? Could it be her twin sister?
Other student: “???”
During that early reading session, “Xu Jiao reciting poetry” became the hottest news in the entire 10th grade, spreading to every class.
Downstairs, in another class.
Shen Yelan was memorizing English vocabulary when she suddenly caught a snippet of “Oh my god, Sister Jiaojiao can actually recite poetry.” She tilted her book slightly, instinctively looking towards where the voice came from.
The image from yesterday flashed in her mind.
At that moment, her deskmate, a chubby guy munching on potato chips, noticed her movement and turned his head to ask, “What’s wrong, did she beat you up?”
Shen Yelan pursed her lips and said, “No.”
The chubby classmate chuckled, his small, beady eyes narrowing to slits, making him look even more mischievous. He teased her, “With your luck, you’d better pray you never run into her, especially when she’s fighting. Otherwise…”
He didn’t finish, deliberately creating a sense of dread.
Shen Yelan didn’t ask further, just withdrew her gaze, thinking, was yesterday not even her fiercest?
Unexpected.
Such a pretty girl, how could she do such awful things?
……
Shen Yelan didn’t expect her chubby deskmate’s ominous words to come true so quickly.
After school in the evening, she and her cousin were waiting for their uncle’s car to take them home, when they saw a few girls in uniforms from another school walking with Xu Jiao and her gang towards a small alley.
At that moment, her cousin Lu Pei, who was sitting next to her, suddenly spoke up: “Sister, I suddenly want to drink coconut juice. Can you get out of the car and buy a can for me?”
The only convenience store around was in the direction Xu Jiao and her group had just gone.
Shen Yelan remained silent, but her uncle stopped the car, unlocked the doors, and impatiently said, “Then Yelan, you get off here. The road ahead is a bit congested, so walk back yourself, and remember to be home early.”
Shen Yelan had no choice but to push open the car door and get out.
She stood at the entrance of the alley with her backpack for a while, thinking to wait until the people inside had gone further away before going in. Unexpectedly, two lookouts suddenly emerged from the alley, and upon seeing her, their eyes widened!
……
“Shen Yelan is being mistaken by your subordinates as a tattletale. To make her feel the power of justice, please help clear her of suspicion and avoid doing anything that might disrupt social peace in front of her.”
In the alley, on a chair.
Xu Jiao was wearing her school uniform trousers, head down, playing with some memo paper, shuffling it like cards, making a rustling sound. She pulled out a pink sheet and began to fold it slowly.
In her mind, she answered the system, “Folding paper doesn’t disrupt social peace.”
“Sister Jiaojiao, we found a sneaky student from our school nearby. She’s from the same grade! She’s definitely going to tattle tomorrow. What should we do?” A girl pushed Shen Yelan towards Xu Jiao.
The girls from the other school, seeing this, immediately glared at Xu Jiao: “Xu Jiao, this is your territory. You can’t be planning to use such a disgusting tattling method, right?”
Xu Jiao, draped in her school uniform jacket, sat focused on folding paper on the chair. Her foot rested on some discarded wood nearby, and her expression was especially indifferent. Stray hair fell across her face, making her look very delicate, like a doll in a cabinet.
Without raising her head, she replied calmly, “If you’re scared, then leave.”
The opposing girls stomped their feet in anger but, fearing repercussions at school, left while pointing at her, saying, “Just wait. I’m going to get my brother to deal with you.”
The group fight dissipated.
Only Xu Jiao’s group and Shen Yelan, who had been pushed over, remained.
Shen Yelan looked at Xu Jiao’s profile, noticing the Hello Kitty band-aid peeking out from under her bangs. She couldn’t reconcile this person with anything angelic, only one thought remained in her mind:
Getting beaten again.
“Sister Jiaojiao, it’s all her fault. Shouldn’t we give her a warning?” A girl suggested, pushing Shen Yelan forcefully from behind when Xu Jiao remained silent.
Shen Yelan almost lost her balance, her attention fixed on Xu Jiao, naturally seeing what she was folding.
Xu Jiao carefully folded the edges of the paper, then used her fingertips to adjust the petal edges, creating a lifelike pink rose that lay in her palm—
Small and delicate, extremely cute.
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She finally looked up at Shen Yelan, who had been pushed in front of her.
“It’s you again.” Xu Jiao’s black eyes met Shen Yelan’s, and she spoke calmly.
Shen Yelan swallowed hard, staring back at her, the anticipation of a beating making her unable to speak.
Unexpectedly, Xu Jiao continued to fiddle with the paper rose, bending the petals to make them look even more realistic, and casually said:
“She won’t tattle. Let her go.”
The surrounding girls exchanged glances, one of them discontentedly said, “Sister Jiaojiao, this isn’t right, is it?”
“Does Sister Jiaojiao know her?”
Xu Jiao responded with a casual and indifferent “Hmm.”
The area fell silent for a few seconds. The person who had pushed Shen Yelan earlier now pushed her outward, speaking harshly, “You’re lucky this time. Hurry up and leave. Next time, if you come snooping around, you’ll definitely get a lesson.”
Shen Yelan didn’t dare to relax. She turned to leave immediately but had barely taken a step when she heard a voice behind her:
“Wait.”
She thought Xu Jiao had changed her mind and turned around stiffly.
Unexpectedly, she saw Xu Jiao raise her hand, revealing the small pink rose in her palm, and coolly asked:
“Do you like this?”
She said, “It’s yours.”
Footnotes
- 《Song of a Guitar》 – Bai Chuyi
- 《Former Ode on the Red Cliffs》 – Su Dongpo
- 《Ode to the Palace of the King of Qin》 – Du Mu
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