Chapter 44: Who’s Bullying Whom? ④
Nie Qiu tidied her mood and suddenly smiled. This space was actually just a world purer than the outside world! The trees here would sprout in spring, flowers would bloom in summer, leaves would fall in autumn, and it would be covered in snow in winter… The plants here could grow so well, which could only mean that there was indeed spiritual energy as mentioned. It could also be said that this space had no modern air pollution, no water pollution, and no garbage pollution. That’s why the plants here grew better than those in the outside world.
“What you said reminds me of a poem.” Nie Qiu found a lawn and lay down, smiling as she watched the little white rabbit hop over and nestle adorably in her arms.
“What poem?”
“Vast sorrow, the sun slants westward; my whip points east, and the horizon is at hand. Falling flowers are not unfeeling things; they turn into spring mud to protect the blossoms.” Plants, like people, would age and die, but their descendants would continue their lives. In the end, whether it was animals, plants, or microorganisms, no one could do anything about physiological changes.
“Falling flowers are not unfeeling things; they turn into spring mud to protect the blossoms?” Ai Si Yuan murmured doubtfully, then said loudly, “Nie Qiu, I like that sentence.”
“Yes! Many people would like that sentence when they read this poem.” Nie Qiu stood up. “Ai Si Yuan, I’m going to sleep now. Goodnight.”
Ai Si Yuan smiled. “Goodnight, Nie Qiu. Sweet dreams.”
Nie Qiu returned to her room, pulled open the quilt, and lay down. While in the space, she didn’t feel tired at all; the space eliminated some of her fatigue. However, her biological clock still made her fall asleep.
Although this day had many unpleasant moments, what Nie Qiu remembered was receiving a gift from an elder for the first time. She was very happy, very pleased. The first time always held a special meaning. Nie Qiu even smiled in her sleep, as if her dreams were sweet.
After waking up, Nie Qiu found that Nie Aifang was still sewing plastic flowers early in the morning. She sighed helplessly. She only earned a little over a hundred yuan a day. Nie Aifang was reluctant to let Nie Qiu get too tired, so she only made four catties of pan-fried dumplings daily. Although Nie Qiu had it easier, her income decreased. But this meant Nie Aifang had to work even harder.
What to do? What to do? How can I sell the vegetables from the space to lighten Nie Aifang’s burden?
Arriving at school, Nie Qiu walked towards her classroom as usual, only to see a boy blocking the doorway, stopping her. “Classmate, do you know who Nie Qiu is?”
Nie Qiu looked up. This boy was very tall, a full head taller than Nie Qiu. His hair was neatly black, neither too long nor too short, not conspicuous nor flamboyant. His face was unadorned, without exaggerated accessories, and his ears weren’t pierced. He was a fresh and clean-looking boy, wearing his school uniform neatly and tidily, yet it couldn’t hide his well-developed chest muscles. He held a third-year junior high Chinese textbook in his arms.
Nie Qiu was sure she didn’t know this person, but… could it be someone the previous Nie Qiu knew?
“What do you need from me?” Nie Qiu asked hesitantly.
“You are Nie Qiu?” The boy seemed a little stunned. To be honest, before coming to Class 10, he had inquired about Nie Qiu. From what he heard from others, she was a girl who always kept her head down, had no sense of presence, was very untidy, and was always bullied by the students in Class 10. But now, it didn’t seem like it. The contrast was quite significant, so he became a little excited. “Hello, I am the class monitor of Class 1. My name is Ai Si Yuan. It’s like this, I saw your composition on the notice board, and I really liked that article. Your character portrayals were very delicate, and the expression of various emotions was very well done. In our class, the first period this afternoon is a self-study class, and I’d like to invite you to our class to talk about your insights and writing methods for your composition. You…”
“Class is about to start.” Nie Qiu glanced at the clock hanging in the classroom and interrupted Ai Si Yuan’s words.
“Ah, okay.” Ai Si Yuan responded reflexively. He looked at Nie Qiu and continued his previous topic. “Classmate Nie Qiu, I know that your class doesn’t really attend classes much. I want… for you to come to our class and tell us how you write compositions, and how to write compositions to truly get high scores.” Teacher Yang is also our Chinese teacher in Class 1, but even he hasn’t achieved such high scores. The printed composition had Teacher Yang’s comments on the score. The more he read, the more he felt it made sense, and the more he felt that someone who could write such an article must be a very good student.
He had pestered Teacher Yang in the office for a long time before Teacher Yang told him that Nie Qiu was in Class 10. Honestly, he was very surprised when he heard it was Class 10. But it couldn’t stop his desire to learn! So what if it was Class 10? Someone who could write such a good composition must also be a very serious student. He had also searched online, and this composition was absolutely not plagiarized; it was absolutely original.
If that’s the case, if someone can learn so well, wouldn’t exchanging ideas lead to mutual progress?
Nie Qiu knew that this person genuinely wanted to learn. Judging by the fact that he was blocking her classroom door so early and holding a book, this person was clearly a bookworm. However, Nie Qiu happened to really like people who loved to study. She tightened the strap of her schoolbag and smiled, “If I can get leave from the teacher who is teaching this afternoon, I will definitely come.”
Ai Si Yuan smiled. “You can, you definitely can. Then, then… I’ll go first. Nie… Nie Qiu, don’t forget.”
“Okay.” Nie Qiu smiled at the boy. This boy should be very shy, but when it came to knowledge, he became spirited. She liked such people, people who loved to study and loved knowledge.
“Get out of the way, a good dog doesn’t block the road.” Li Kai, seeing Nie Qiu and Ai Si Yuan chatting and laughing at the classroom doorway, felt inexplicably annoyed as he had just arrived at school.
Ai Si Yuan glanced at Li Kai and smiled at Nie Qiu. “I’m leaving now. I hope you do well on the next monthly exam. Class 1 welcomes you.” He had already heard from Teacher Yang that this girl wanted to apply for a class transfer.
Nie Qiu smiled at Ai Si Yuan, not even looking at Li Kai, and turned into the classroom.
As Ai Si Yuan turned to leave, Li Kai frowned, looking at Nie Qiu’s back view, and grabbed Ai Si Yuan’s arm. “I say…”
