It was unclear who was talking to whom, but the conversation went like this:
“When Meng Meng got back, she was so angry she almost threw the table over.”
“I saw . . . what on earth happened to get her so angry?”
“Looks like she wasn’t able to give him the love letter.”
“Rong Si didn’t accept it?”
“It wasn’t that.”
“. . . then, what was it?”
“Ah.” That single syllable conveyed absolute indignation. “Li Erqin refused to give it to him.”
“It wasn’t meant for her anyway. Who does she think she is?”
Silence.
Someone muttered, “Hate her.”
“She thinks Rong Si is hers just because she stood next to him a couple of days?”
“Shameless.”
Ruan Mingxian turned to look at Li Erqin’s reaction. If listening to such talk made him angry, he couldn’t imagine how Li Erqin, who was being dragged through the mud, would feel.
He saw it for himself.
She had no expression. Poker-faced.
Or, this could be said to truly be the most ‘Li Erqin-esque’ expression.
When she realised Ruan Mingxian was looking at her, Li Erqin directed her gaze at him and even pulled a funny face. “You see.”
“You’re not angry?”
Li Erqin felt that this question was somewhat familiar, as if someone had asked the same thing a long time ago. Ah, it was Peng Zige. He had asked her a similar question but had not asked her again afterwards.
“Not angry.”
“Why not?”
Looking awkward, Li Erqin replied, “Otherwise, I’d be angry so often during the day that I wouldn’t be able to get anything done.”
Ruan Mingxian laughed in spite of himself.
The gossiping girls slowly drifted off, and Li Erqin emerged from the corner. “Let’s go.”
“You’re really ok?” Ruan Mingxian asked to confirm.
“Yeah.”
“Do you often hear such talk?” Ruan Mingxian pointed his thumb at his neck and drew a horizontal line across. “Would you like me to make them shut up?”
“It doesn’t matter. If I’m not angry, then they are the only ones who are upset.”
Ruan Mingxian did not know what to do.
Li Erqin remained unperturbed. “Anyway, no matter what they say, Rong Si is already mine.”
Ruan Mingxian said, “Oh.”
When Li Erqin returned to the classroom, Peng Zige rushed over with a concerned face. “Why are you back so late?”
“I was in the broadcast room sheltering from the rain.”
Peng Zige didn’t suspect anything. He continued, “I thought that girl went looking for you to cause you trouble.”
Li Erqin said disdainfully, “How much trouble can she cause?”
“Gossip can be fearsome! Erqin!” Peng Zige lamented, “You cannot allow gossip to flourish! You never know what kind of situation will result.”
Li Erqin still refused to take it seriously.
“You know, Erqin,” said Su Zi, putting down her pen, “I think what Peng Zige says makes sense.”
“But I can’t control what others say, either.”
Peng Zige said, “Well, that makes sense, too.”
＊＊＊
There was still no news from Rong Si on the second day of his competition. During class, Li Erqin kept stealing glances at her silent cell phone, feeling as if there was no difference between her current ‘status’ and the time before she was in a relationship.
What’s more, due to Rong Si’s competition, the basic interaction between the two of them had disappeared.
The more she thought about it, the harder it was to escape the maelstrom of anxious thoughts that stemmed from her personal misgivings. Having gotten close to Rong Si, it would be that much more difficult to have it taken away.
— Did he really like her?
— Was it only a fleeting infatuation? Maybe he was currently racking his brain trying to figure out how to retract the words he had said.
— Why would someone who could score full marks in physics like someone who was struggling to even pass the subject?
She flicked on the screen once more, only to be met by an absence of notifications.
Bored out of her mind, Li Erqin sprawled on the table and seized a pen to doodle idly.
“Erqin!” Peng Zige, who had gone out to buy a drink, ran in by the back door, sweating profusely. He stood in front of her and panted heavily.
“What’s the matter?”
Peng Zige took a big gulp of water, then swatted Su Zi on the shoulder. “Stop writing. You guys, guess what I just overheard.”
Su Zi looked up with disapproval on her face. “What?”
Peng Zige frowned as he flicked a glance at Li Erqin. “They’re saying Li Erqin was with a male student under the stairs at noon . . .”
Peng Zige didn’t continue as he just couldn’t get the words out. He observed Li Erqin’s expression worriedly.
Li Erqin’s eyes were as devoid of expression as a body of clear water. “It was Ruan Mingxian.”
Peng Zige was really angry. All this while, because of Li Erqin’s indifferent attitude, they had turned a blind eye to the gossip that made its way around the school. They had never once thought of explaining the actual situation or of stopping the rumours.
Among the four of them, he was the one who was most friendly with students from other classes. Thus, the male students from other classes would often say to him, half in jest and half out of pure gossipy curiosity, “Hey, your good friend, Li Erqin, is really something else!”
The first time Peng Zige heard such words, he was inquisitive enough to ask, “What about her?”
The male student had laughed maliciously and said with contempt, “I’ve heard her skills are really good, huh? What is that term they use to describe her . . . ‘green tea’ . . .”
(T/N He was probably going to say ‘绿茶婊’ (lü cha biao) literally, ‘green tea bi**h’ – Chinese netizen slang for a woman who looks pure and innocent, but is in fact manipulative and cunning, often with a sexual implication. Have a look at: https://www.echinacities.com/expat-corner/Exploring-Netizen-Slang-What-is-a-Green-Tea-Bitch)
“Shut up!”
The student was surprised to see how ugly Peng Zige’s face had become. “Ok, I won’t say anymore, that’s it.”
Peng Zige thought of explaining the situation, but, since it had escalated to this stage, it was clear that it would be impossible to clarify the situation with a simple explanation.
The student looked at Peng Zige, who clearly looked as if he wanted to say something but was hesitating, and sniggered, “Look at you. You’re so shocked, it looks as if she’s pulled the wool over your eyes, too.”
What happened after that?
Peng Zige remembered hitting him. Thereafter, he no longer had any dealings with this student again.
Peng Zige had sometimes thought, if Li Erqin had not returned to their group, would those negative rumours about her have also disappeared accordingly? He suddenly understood a little better why Li Erqin had wanted to leave them.
He came back to present awareness and saw Li Erqin biting her lower lip with a blank look on her face. “What did they say?”
“Just some crazy, random lies.” Peng Zige gritted his teeth. “The next time I hear such things myself, whether it’s from a guy or a girl, I’ll beat them black and blue before they can say it again.”
With Peng Zige reacting in this manner, Li Erqin could more or less guess at the nature of the rumours he was so unwilling to disclose.
It didn’t matter to her what other people were saying, but she had to explain the situation to her friends. Thus, she said, “Ruan Mingxian and I were soaked by the rain, and we were only waiting till we dried off.”
Peng Zige didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “You don’t have to explain. If I don’t believe you, who am I going to believe? Them? Su Zi, don’t you think so?”
“Absolutely right!” Like Peng Zige, Su Zi was so angry that she felt like hitting someone. “Some people are so useless and have so much free time that, apart from talking behind people’s backs, there’s nothing else they can do.”
Li Erqin tried to smile at them, but the smile did not come out.
It was unclear who was talking to whom, but the conversation went like this:
“When Meng Meng got back, she was so angry she almost threw the table over.”
“I saw . . . what on earth happened to get her so angry?”
“Looks like she wasn’t able to give him the love letter.”
“Rong Si didn’t accept it?”
“It wasn’t that.”
“. . . then, what was it?”
“Ah.” That single syllable conveyed absolute indignation. “Li Erqin refused to give it to him.”
“It wasn’t meant for her anyway. Who does she think she is?”
Silence.
Someone muttered, “Hate her.”
“She thinks Rong Si is hers just because she stood next to him a couple of days?”
“Shameless.”
Ruan Mingxian turned to look at Li Erqin’s reaction. If listening to such talk made him angry, he couldn’t imagine how Li Erqin, who was being dragged through the mud, would feel.
He saw it for himself.
She had no expression. Poker-faced.
Or, this could be said to truly be the most ‘Li Erqin-esque’ expression.
When she realised Ruan Mingxian was looking at her, Li Erqin directed her gaze at him and even pulled a funny face. “You see.”
“You’re not angry?”
Li Erqin felt that this question was somewhat familiar, as if someone had asked the same thing a long time ago. Ah, it was Peng Zige. He had asked her a similar question but had not asked her again afterwards.
“Not angry.”
“Why not?”
Looking awkward, Li Erqin replied, “Otherwise, I’d be angry so often during the day that I wouldn’t be able to get anything done.”
Ruan Mingxian laughed in spite of himself.
The gossiping girls slowly drifted off, and Li Erqin emerged from the corner. “Let’s go.”
“You’re really ok?” Ruan Mingxian asked to confirm.
“Yeah.”
“Do you often hear such talk?” Ruan Mingxian pointed his thumb at his neck and drew a horizontal line across. “Would you like me to make them shut up?”
“It doesn’t matter. If I’m not angry, then they are the only ones who are upset.”
Ruan Mingxian did not know what to do.
Li Erqin remained unperturbed. “Anyway, no matter what they say, Rong Si is already mine.”
Ruan Mingxian said, “Oh.”
When Li Erqin returned to the classroom, Peng Zige rushed over with a concerned face. “Why are you back so late?”
“I was in the broadcast room sheltering from the rain.”
Peng Zige didn’t suspect anything. He continued, “I thought that girl went looking for you to cause you trouble.”
Li Erqin said disdainfully, “How much trouble can she cause?”
“Gossip can be fearsome! Erqin!” Peng Zige lamented, “You cannot allow gossip to flourish! You never know what kind of situation will result.”
Li Erqin still refused to take it seriously.
“You know, Erqin,” said Su Zi, putting down her pen, “I think what Peng Zige says makes sense.”
“But I can’t control what others say, either.”
Peng Zige said, “Well, that makes sense, too.”
＊＊＊
There was still no news from Rong Si on the second day of his competition. During class, Li Erqin kept stealing glances at her silent cell phone, feeling as if there was no difference between her current ‘status’ and the time before she was in a relationship.
What’s more, due to Rong Si’s competition, the basic interaction between the two of them had disappeared.
The more she thought about it, the harder it was to escape the maelstrom of anxious thoughts that stemmed from her personal misgivings. Having gotten close to Rong Si, it would be that much more difficult to have it taken away.
— Did he really like her?
— Was it only a fleeting infatuation? Maybe he was currently racking his brain trying to figure out how to retract the words he had said.
— Why would someone who could score full marks in physics like someone who was struggling to even pass the subject?
She flicked on the screen once more, only to be met by an absence of notifications.
Bored out of her mind, Li Erqin sprawled on the table and seized a pen to doodle idly.
“Erqin!” Peng Zige, who had gone out to buy a drink, ran in by the back door, sweating profusely. He stood in front of her and panted heavily.
“What’s the matter?”
Peng Zige took a big gulp of water, then swatted Su Zi on the shoulder. “Stop writing. You guys, guess what I just overheard.”
Su Zi looked up with disapproval on her face. “What?”
Peng Zige frowned as he flicked a glance at Li Erqin. “They’re saying Li Erqin was with a male student under the stairs at noon . . .”
Peng Zige didn’t continue as he just couldn’t get the words out. He observed Li Erqin’s expression worriedly.
Li Erqin’s eyes were as devoid of expression as a body of clear water. “It was Ruan Mingxian.”
Peng Zige was really angry. All this while, because of Li Erqin’s indifferent attitude, they had turned a blind eye to the gossip that made its way around the school. They had never once thought of explaining the actual situation or of stopping the rumours.
Among the four of them, he was the one who was most friendly with students from other classes. Thus, the male students from other classes would often say to him, half in jest and half out of pure gossipy curiosity, “Hey, your good friend, Li Erqin, is really something else!”
The first time Peng Zige heard such words, he was inquisitive enough to ask, “What about her?”
The male student had laughed maliciously and said with contempt, “I’ve heard her skills are really good, huh? What is that term they use to describe her . . . ‘green tea’ . . .”
(T/N He was probably going to say ‘绿茶婊’ (lü cha biao) literally, ‘green tea bi**h’ – Chinese netizen slang for a woman who looks pure and innocent, but is in fact manipulative and cunning, often with a sexual implication. Have a look at: https://www.echinacities.com/expat-corner/Exploring-Netizen-Slang-What-is-a-Green-Tea-Bitch)
“Shut up!”
The student was surprised to see how ugly Peng Zige’s face had become. “Ok, I won’t say anymore, that’s it.”
Peng Zige thought of explaining the situation, but, since it had escalated to this stage, it was clear that it would be impossible to clarify the situation with a simple explanation.
The student looked at Peng Zige, who clearly looked as if he wanted to say something but was hesitating, and sniggered, “Look at you. You’re so shocked, it looks as if she’s pulled the wool over your eyes, too.”
What happened after that?
Peng Zige remembered hitting him. Thereafter, he no longer had any dealings with this student again.
Peng Zige had sometimes thought, if Li Erqin had not returned to their group, would those negative rumours about her have also disappeared accordingly? He suddenly understood a little better why Li Erqin had wanted to leave them.
He came back to present awareness and saw Li Erqin biting her lower lip with a blank look on her face. “What did they say?”
“Just some crazy, random lies.” Peng Zige gritted his teeth. “The next time I hear such things myself, whether it’s from a guy or a girl, I’ll beat them black and blue before they can say it again.”
With Peng Zige reacting in this manner, Li Erqin could more or less guess at the nature of the rumours he was so unwilling to disclose.
It didn’t matter to her what other people were saying, but she had to explain the situation to her friends. Thus, she said, “Ruan Mingxian and I were soaked by the rain, and we were only waiting till we dried off.”
Peng Zige didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “You don’t have to explain. If I don’t believe you, who am I going to believe? Them? Su Zi, don’t you think so?”
“Absolutely right!” Like Peng Zige, Su Zi was so angry that she felt like hitting someone. “Some people are so useless and have so much free time that, apart from talking behind people’s backs, there’s nothing else they can do.”
Li Erqin tried to smile at them, but the smile did not come out.
