yuejiin: Please bear with me this chapter because there are A LOT of cultural references and therefore A LOT of translator notes.
Author: Shi Ding Rou
Translator: yuejiin
Please do not steal my translations!
The road next to the subway station entrance just happened to pass through C city’s first school.*
*T/N: In China, cities with more than one middle/high school name usually their schools first school, second school, etc. In this case, the middle and high school should be on the same campus.
It was a dark and gloomy morning. The several enormous chimneys in the distance weren’t even smoking. They were simply the historical remains of an industrial city.
However, Pipi still thought that the wind carried some sort of unexplainable dust and that this dust had entered the subway and been heated by the central heating system. It suddenly felt like the sensation of choking from inhaling smoke.
Although she passed by her own school every day, Pipi always purposely looked towards the TV tower in the distance or the Jin’an building that was even farther. She would rather look at the advertisement on the building a thousand times than to take a look at C city’s first school.
But Pipi’s feet hurt the entire night, so she didn’t sleep well and couldn’t quite lift up her eyelids. Plus the fact that Jialin came over last night made her feel somewhat nostalgic, so she looked a little more at the long-overlooked school building.
The administration building upstairs had been retiled, and the new teaching building had completed construction. Several huge banners hung from the outstanding gymnasium, the first two words reading “Warm welcome……” The school’s PA system could be heard with eyes closed. Senior 2 – Class 7’s classroom was on the side near a street corner, the last room on the right. Tian Xin said the tables and chairs had not been changed, the 38 lines on the table were still there. More lines of nonsensical poetry had been added, one line being an old work by her and Pipi. The rhyme and style were both excellent, and it was also very humorous. Someone had even drawn a matching cartoon beside it. Tian Xin had taken a picture of it with her phone and sent it to Pipi, making her laugh for several days.
The liberal arts class back then was also called the scum class, a combination of academically/morally poor students coming from all walks of life. Pipi was one of those students. She hadn’t passed the math section of the high school entrance exam, and even her physics score was below 40. Only her Chinese was good, always in the top ten within that subject. Thus the teacher said that Pipi was a liberal arts talent, and only by entering the liberal arts class would she be successful. Pipi’s parents weren’t scholars, so the teacher’s words were like an imperial edict. That was how Pipi had entered Class 7 of Senior 2.
After a year, Pipi hadn’t reaped results, but she had made three good friends in her class. They were Wang Yumin at rank 30, Dong Xiaoqian at rank 35, and Zhang Peipei at rank 41. Pipi’s own rank fluctuated from 38 to 39.*
*T/N: In Chinese schools, everyone’s rank is posted outside for everyone in the school to see as per how they did on their midterms/finals (horrible, I know). Pipi differentiates her friends for us based on their rank. Btw, STEM and liberal arts rankings are posted separately so these should be their rankings for the entire liberal arts department of their grade level.
The four girls named their little group “Peach Blossom Island,” creating all sorts of code names. They would get together after class to chat and play rubber band skipping.* Among the four, Peipei’s looks were the most outstanding and her family the most well-off, but no one could hold her in contempt over these things. For a key high school like C city’s first school, 30th was one level, 40th was another level. In a big class of fifty students, those under 40th were bad students, and no one was willing to play with bad students. If truly looking to play with them, it somewhat held implications of charity. Zhang Peipei profoundly understood the subculture of Senior 2 – Class 7, so she admired and fawned on these few good friends. Every morning she would buy a big bag of fried buns, only keeping one for herself and bringing the rest to school to share with her friends.
*T/N: Here is a good demonstration of rubber band skipping (skip to 1:36 time) for anyone who is interested.
That year, eating fried buns every day was a type of luxury. Pipi had thin skin, so she would only eat a few times before stopping. By the time she craved them again, it was too embarrassing to ask for more. Wang Yumin and Dong Xiaoqian both deemed this as natural. When they did their homework, they would copy it for Peipei. When rubber-band skipping and playing games, they would willingly call her over to play. When someone bullied her, they would attack that person as a group…… Hence there was nearly an entire year where they didn’t buy breakfast, leaving their breakfast money spent on buying manhua. If there was a day where they didn’t eat Peipei’s buns, Peipei would be very scared, thinking that she offended them.
Pipi thought it was quite pitiful to lower oneself to that state. However, she had to admit that Peipei’s approach to interpersonal relations was very sly. Sure enough, Yumin and Xiaoqian’s attitude towards Peipei was more enthusiastic than with herself. For example, on the spring trip for the Double Third Festival, the teacher allowed students to freely separate into groups of three. Yumin and Xiaoqian rushed to be with Peipei, leaving Pipi with no choice but to partner with two other girls she wasn’t so close with. On the way, they even argued over how to split the tasks and ultimately parted on bad terms. A spring break that only happens once a year was ruined just like that. Afterward, she told this matter to Peipei, but Peipei only laughed with pursed lips, “You even complain about this? You didn’t even think, who is it that walks home with you every day after school? Do you know how many girls in our grade envy you? That Wang Xuan, as long as Tao Jialin smiles towards her she would even be willing to fall back twenty spots. Where there are gains, there will surely be losses, right? Now look at me. For a little pitiful friendship, I didn’t properly eat breakfast for two whole years and even developed stomach problems.”
“And you still call that friendship. It was nothing more than an exchange for fried buns.”
“That’s why I knew early on that friendship is not pure, it can be bought and sold. It’s not like you and Jialin who have a young and innocent friendship developed from childhood.”
For some reason — be it Peipei, Yumin, or Xiaoqian — they all liked to mention Jialin in front of her. He was a star who everyone wanted to associate with. On the other hand, Pipi’s relationship with Jialin truly made many girls jealous. At least Yumin and Xiaoqian exerted maximum ardency to ask Pipi here for gossip on Jialin.
There are two paths from Pipi’s house’s subdivision to the school. Starting from middle school, their parents talked over having the two children walk to school together. One, the children would have a companion. Two, it was also a bit safer. This persisted throughout the years regardless of wind or rain. After growing up — not because they were neighbors and not because they went to the same school — they still agreed to go home together every day. After all, the two families did not live far apart. When the weather was nice, they would walk instead of taking the bus.
“The road back is so long. What sort of things do you talk about?” Yumin and Xiaoqian often asked.
Pipi made light of it, “Nothing much, just walk with him and talk about homework and stuff. ——We’re neighbors, and our parents are colleagues. My mom is afraid I’ll encounter dangers on the road and asked him to take care of me.”
“You’re already old enough, yet he still needs to care for you?”
“It can’t be helped. The security in our area isn’t good, so my mom worries a lot.” She quoted, “Did you read the newspaper yesterday? Our factory had a gang fight. Bricks were flying everywhere, and two people died just like that. Even pedestrians were accidentally injured.”
“Oh my god,” Yumin and Xiaoqian who were born in a designer household were both frightened, “So it’s like that!”
Actually, there definitely had to be stuff to say when walking on that long road after school.
Pipi would tell stories, and Jialin would be the most faithful listener.
The two years nearing the college entrance exams, Jialin’s nerves were always wound tight. Listening to Pipi tell stories was the most relaxing moment of his day.
Jialin’s mom was very strict. If he got an 80 in math, she would grab the ruler, hitting while scolding, “I said you’re careless! I said you’re not serious! If you don’t score 100 next time then don’t come back to see me! If you see me, you’ll be kneeling on the washboard!” Anything in the house that could cause distractions was banned. The Four Great Classics of China, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, The Family, Spring, Autumn,* were all locked in the glass cabinet. He had never read Legend of the Condor Heroes. He wasn’t allowed to buy an MP3. Even though Jialin and Pipi walked together every day, she never worried about puppy love. Jialin’s views were not that superficial. Pipi was too ordinary, her features too generic, her grades too poor, her parents also not cultured nor driven, so she was an unpromising daughter of an unpromising household.
*T/N: The Four Great Classics are the works of literature Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Journey to the West, Water Margin, and Dream of the Red Chamber. The Family, Spring, and Autumn are from the Turbulent Stream Trilogy by Chinese author Ba Jin.
But Jialin also couldn’t understand his mom. His mom graduated from Tsinghua University, so how could she beat a child more barbarously than uneducated factory workers?
Pipi, who had no talent for mathematics, had a talent for storytelling.
Her stories included novels, magazines, gossip, and various plots and teachings from TV. One after another, the length was even longer than The Generals of the Yang Family. A seemingly inconspicuous matter would be elaborated by her just like pulling open a dimensional curtain to see the continuous patter of raindrops during the May monsoon season. Actually, Pipi’s stories were all trivial love stories, taking into account Jialin’s interests while mixing in martial arts and suspense. Like this, an affectionate romance and a troubled hero* were all included, making it very lively. She would also cut off at an important place, leaving the rest to be explained in the next chapter.
*T/N: referencing the saying 英雄气短, 儿女情长 // Brief is the spirit of a hero, but love between man and woman is long (said of a man who turns from duty for the sake of love) — taken from Pleco app.
Thus, every time they walked out the school gates after school, Pipi would see Jialin standing next to the advertisement board pretending to look at the posters. After chatting a bit about homework, he couldn’t wait to get to the point and ask, “What happens next?”
Jialin never admitted that Pipi was his girlfriend. It was called puppy love back then. However, he never failed to walk her home regardless of what others said. They would even sneak to the glass factory by the road-side to pick up discarded glass bottles, washing them in the gutter and bringing them back home to raise little turtles.
In the second semester of Senior 2, Pipi got a different desk mate, which was Tian Xin.
Tian Xin was the student in charge of class studies as well as the only student who was in the top three prior to entering the liberal arts class. On their first day as deskmates, Tian Xin took the initiative to introduce her learning experience to Pipi and seriously answered all of Pipi’s questions. For example: how many hours per day she studies, when she wakes up and goes to bed, how frequently she does practice problems, the amount of time she spends on each subject, even questions like what nutriments to drink and whether or not to do (traditional Chinese) shadow boxing were all answered crystal clear. Pipi was very happy, feeling that her luck was better than Peipei’s.
Peipei’s deskmate was Wang Xuan who was ranked in second place. Wang Xuan was a good friend of Tian Xin, but she was arrogant and usually didn’t acknowledge Peipei. She also deliberately turned her body during exams lest Peipei sneaks a look at her paper. She even protested to the teacher countless times, saying Peipei loved to eat snacks which interfered with her studies, then asking why a bad student was arranged to sit with her. In contrast, Tian Xin was generous and amiable. Knowing Pipi’s mom would scold her for not testing well, she would share her answers during math tests to let Pipi at least pass. As long as she asked, all the exercise problems Pipi couldn’t comprehend would be patiently explained, over and over again, until she could understand. No wonder she’s been named the city’s ‘Triple-A’ student* every year! Pipi sincerely admired her and was deeply grateful for her kindness, engraving it into her memory. Pipi spared no expense in spending all her pocket money for Tian Xin’s birthday, buying her a very expensive Garfield.**
*T/N: Literally translates as ‘three good’ student; a student good in study, attitude, and health.
**T/N: doesn’t say what Garfield, but I think it’s a stuffed toy and not the comic.
By the time it was Pipi’s birthday, there just happened to be the torrential rains of June. Suddenly, C city would become a vast ocean. The radio would say there’s lightning and thunder outside, that there’s a pedestrian who got struck by lightning. It would also warn everyone not to trek in the water as the streets in C city had some sewer drains with loose covers and there was once a teenager who had lost their footing and fell into the water channel. To this day, their corpse has not been found. However, as early as a week in advance, Tian Xin promised Pipi she would come over to celebrate her birthday. That day, Pipi’s mom already bought the cake and invited some friends. It was raining cats and dogs so none of the Peach Blossom Island sisters showed up, but Tian Xin arrived on time. She was carrying an empty basket when she entered and wore an incomparably difficult expression, saying she was scared by the thunder and dropped all the fruits and gifts in the basket when her hand trembled. Pipi was perfectly content with her birthday. For this reason, Tian Xin became seriously ill and got pneumonia. She had to stay in the hospital for a month to get better, almost unable to enter the examination room.
It’s enough to have one bosom friend to make one’s life feel meaningful. Pipi believes that whether a person is kind or not depends on how she treats the weak rather than the strong. Everyone will flatter the strong. Only by treating the weak kindly can true qualities of kindheartedness be shown. Therefore, Tian Xin is one worth becoming intimate friends with.
At C city’s first school, the college entrance exam is definitely the most dramatic moment. But Pipi felt that the drama was not embodied on the actual day of the college entrance exam or the moment when the scores were announced, but in the class reunion many years later.
Although every student refuses to define themselves with scores, most of them are actually devout believers of scores. Ah, yes. At that age, their name was from their parents, their wealth was from their parents, and all the bags they wore were from their parents. Only their scores were their own.
Among Pipi’s classmates, there was Tian Xin and Wang Xuan who had a consistently good performance, played a steady role during the college entrance exam, and were even persistently outstanding after entering college. There was Zhang Peipei who had a consistently bad performance, always garnered contemptuous looks, did poorly on the college entrance exam, and later worked all over the place, having little reputation in C city. There was even another kind, Xin Xiaoju, whose performance has always been decent but suddenly failed the college entrance exam, didn’t get into a single college, and became an unemployed job-seeking youth.
The auction that Pipi went to today is across from a huge central park.
In the throng of morning joggers, she saw a trembling old man in a thin jacket sitting on a stone bench immersed in writing something. The old man’s hair was very messy, his clothes very worn, and the tight crease in his brows strikingly dignified.
“Morning, Uncle Xin!”
The old man turned and looked at her, “Morning, Pipi.”
“How is proving Goldbach’s conjecture coming along?”
“Almost there.”
“Uncle, are you cold?” Pipi asked.
“No.” The old man smilingly rolled up his pant legs to reveal a tightly wrapped plastic bag taped around with stickers, “Very warm. Pipi, could you lend me some cash?”
“Here’s 50 yuan.* I owed Xiaoju last time, so you don’t have to return it.” Pipi fished out her wallet, handing him a banknote.
*T/N: Yuan is the basic unit of money in China. 50 yuan = 7.14 USD.
“Thanks,” the old man took the money, solemnly taking a stack of papers out of his bag and handing it over, “This is my original manuscript. You keep it. Back in the day, I won the Fields Medal. You can sell this for money.”
Pipi took it with both hands, “OK, I’ll definitely cherish it.”
Who says adults are more practical than children?
This old man with a face full of dirt was Xin Xiaoju’s dad, Xin Zhiqiang.
Ten years ago, he was the shop assistant of the Xinhua bookstore. He had never gone to college. Because he had read Mr. Xu Chi’s Goldbach’s Conjecture*, he decided to devote his entire life to proving Goldbach’s conjecture. He worked at it for five years and couldn’t prove it, so his wife left him. He worked at it for another five years and still couldn’t prove it, so he was sent to a mental hospital. After getting out, he began to wander and sleep in the streets, occasionally returning home to ask his daughter for pencils and paper, continuing to find his dream in every nook and cranny of the city.
*T/N: Xu Chi is a Chinese writer widely known for his biography of mathematician Chen Jingrun titled Goldbach’s Conjecture.
Xiaoju had always worshiped her dad, always thought of him as a genius mathematician, until one day she mustered the courage to take her father’s manuscript to a provincial mathematics authority. After reading carefully, the authority told her very seriously, “Your father is a genius, but he doesn’t know mathematics.”
Xiaoju’s world thus collapsed.
She was the top math student in their class, but her behavior was strange and she liked to make rebuttals, so the teachers didn’t like her. They wouldn’t even call her name in class if she raised her hand.
In addition, she had a very hot temper and loved to fight all the time. She was also very loyal, often taken advantage of by others.
Most importantly, she lived quite close to the crematorium and martyr’s grave. Everyone thought she brought bad luck.
Pipi originally wasn’t that familiar with Xiaoju. Because although Xiaoju dressed shabbily, she was very pretty; ranked at seventh place, she was considered a top student. But normally, they did not come into contact with one another. Moreover, Pipi was even a little scared of her. Xiaoju always carried around a big umbrella and fought with others if there were even just three words of disagreement. Her main rivals were boys, and she was often hit by boys. Girls would be scared to death when they saw her. Thus Xiaoju had a nickname: “Wrathful Xiaoju”.* Everyone secretly regarded her as a sort of unstable factor. In school, she would fight. If she married, she would commit adultery. If she got a job, she would embezzle. If she succeeded, she would commit crimes. If she failed, she would take drugs. She would have a very lively and thrilling life.
*T/N: could be translated as Angry/Wrathful/Raging Xiaoju. I chose wrathful because it sounds more colorful than angry.
The first time Pipi interacted with Xiaoju was on the way back from school one time. That day, Jialin was at basketball practice so she walked home alone. She ended up coming across Zhang Peipei taking a beating in the small alleyway outside the school gates. The person beating her was Wang Xuan. The two were holding and tearing each other’s hair. Wang Xuan, who was taller, clearly had the upper hand.
Pipi immediately charged over.
She had originally only wanted to stop the fighting, but then Wang Xuan punched her. She got angry, helping Peipei to fight together. But Wang Xuan knew martial arts, so the two were not her opponents. Wang Xuan sent a kick right into Pipi’s stomach, and she fell straight down. Peipei pulled her with the intention of fleeing, but a foot sweep from Wang Xuan also brought her down. At the moment of defeat, a black shadow suddenly appeared before their eyes. Xin Xiaoju charged over with her big umbrella in hand. Seeing that Wang Xuan had no weapons, she placed the umbrella on the ground. Then, she fought bare-handed with her.
However, it was not a fierce fight. Because Xiaoju was too strong, Wang Xuan was quickly beaten by her with no strength left to fight back. But her mouth was still very strong, and she made it known that she would be reporting to the teacher. This report wasn’t important. As a member of the publicity committee, Pipi’s great efforts over the year towards the “Outstanding Student Leader” title fell through.
Afterward, Xiaoju let Wang Xuan go. She cursed and cried as she ran away. Pipi only knew after carefully inquiring that it was actually Peipei who made the first move because she really could no longer endure Wang Xuan’s “mental tormenting”, “behavioral insults”, and “verbal violence”. She decided to fight with her against all odds*, but she did not expect that she was completely not her opponent. Then Pipi asked Xiaoju, “Why did you fight with Wang Xuan?” As far as she knew, there was no enmity between them. Xiaoju coldly spoke one line, “I always thought she was annoying whenever I saw her, so I just wanted to beat her.” When the matter concluded, she brushed her clothes and left, leaving only Pipi and Peipei holding one another for support, limping crookedly back home, and thinking of how to deal with the situation in the future.
*T/N: 以卵扑石 // lit. to throw an egg against a rock, to court defeat by fighting against overwhelming odds.
When she ran into Jialin in the corridor in the evening, Pipi recounted the event to him with a bitter face while sighing about the “Outstanding Student Leader” title that was nearly in her grasp.
Jialin listened, not making a sound for a long time, then lightly saying, “Don’t worry, she won’t snitch. I’ll settle this matter for you.”
Sure enough, nothing happened for more than a month. Then, Pipi got the certificate for Outstanding Student Leader.
Pipi treated Jialin to a popsicle, anxiously asking him, “How did you settle the matter with Wang Xuan?”
“Mm, that,” Jialin said, “I took her out to play at Zhongshan Park.”*
*T/N: The name of numerous parks in China honoring Sun Yat-sen (Sun Zhongshan), first president of the Republic of China
Pipi got angry, “You sacrificed your sex appeal ah.”
“Mm, sacrificed it.”
“Say it, what did you do? Did you kiss?”*
*T/N: She says kiss in English
“What’re you saying.”
“Last time you played basketball and fell, she even ran to the infirmary to get you medicine.”
“There was such a thing?”
“Do you like her?”
“No.”
Because of this matter, Pipi was very grateful to Xiaoju. She thought she was mysterious and loyal, and she somewhat worshipped her. Afterward, Xiaoju failed her college entrance exam, scoring even lower than Pipi. She didn’t attend college and mingled into society, working all over the place. They didn’t contact one another until Pipi had joined the newspaper company and occasionally ate at the McDonald’s across the street. That was when she discovered that Xiaoju worked there, sometimes working as the cashier, sometimes wrapping hamburgers. The two gradually became closer.
Passing a garden, she came face to face with a magnificent white building with marble steps and white marble balustrades. There were even two lions erected in front of the door.
Pipi checked the shop sign. It was precisely this province’s famous “Peach Orchard Commercial Building.” The winter jade auction that Helan Jingting would be attending was going to be held here.
In the subway, Pipi had already looked through the brochure that Wei Qingtan had prepared for her. Inside was a Late Neolithic animal head jade tablet, twin jade plates from the Song Dynasty, and quite a few jade sculptures and ornaments from the Qianlong period. Of course, there was also the Warring States jade tiger that Helan Jingting was interested in.
Regardless of the piece, the starting prices were all above 100,000.
She took out a voice recorder and interview notebook from her leather bag. Limping into the lobby, she was about to enter when a staff member wearing well-ironed Western-style clothing blocked her, “Miss, please show me your invitation letter.”
“I’m a journalist.” Pipi took out her press card.
“Sorry, this is a private club. This time, the auction will strictly regulate the number of people. Journalists also need an invitation.” He expressionlessly looked at Pipi, “Concurrently, we also require formal wear. These have already been explained in the invitation letter.”
Pipi had thought the meaning of “formal wear” was that she should wear leather shoes. She originally didn’t want to wear leather shoes because her feet were swollen and could only wear a pair of somewhat spacious but old sneakers. In a sense, reporters can handle arguments to get in by every opening, always considering themselves uncrowned kings. Pipi also consciously adhered to these guild regulations, thinking no one would block her, so she dressed very casually: jeans on the bottom, and a white sweater plus thick down coat on top.
She awkwardly looked around, wanting to see if Helan Jingting had arrived yet.
She didn’t see Helan, but saw someone she hadn’t seen in ages and didn’t want to see.
Wang Xuan.
After graduation, bits and pieces of information were passed on. It turned out that Wang Xuan’s dad was in charge of the economy and had powerful connections in the local political circles. Her boyfriend was the eldest son of some rich family, ten years older than her. It was heard that he had already proposed to her. Pipi only knew that after Wang Xuan graduated from university she entered a bank branch, but she didn’t know what exactly she was doing.
Pulling along a middle-aged talent, Wang Xuan was brilliantly dressed and leisurely ascending the stairs — noble and befitting of the occasion. The handsome man beside her took off her fur coat in a very gentlemanly manner, revealing an aquamarine hand-embroidered silk gown with light yellow edging wrapped around a not quite rounded body. It was elegant and charming.
Pipi lowered her head, pretending to look elsewhere.
Unexpectedly, Wang Xuan just had to notice her, leaving her companion and walking straight towards her. She smiled at her, which could be considered a greeting. Then, half-placating and half-provoking, she said to the staff member, “Some pocket money. You turn a blind eye and just let her in, alright. ——She’s definitely a young lady, just not from a prominent household.”*
*T/N: she’s a young lady, but not a well-bred young lady from a rich household (like an ojou-san in Japan).
Pipi lifted her head, looking straight into Wang Xuan’s face and also smiled, “I was also invited by someone, of course. ——Otherwise, how could I come charging in here when I’m not from an influential family.”
The author has something to say:
Requesting everyone to point out mistakes ha, whether it’s typos or logic. Sigh, when everyone mentioned Tian Xin, I then remembered that I had previously written a long segment about school matters that mentioned her. Afterward, I left it out for the sake of a compact plot. Then, I forgot that I had left it out.
Now, I found the old draft and rushed to fix it just in time.
Of course, I didn’t want to toss this section. I only wanted to pull apart the story and stick it in somewhere. After all, there will be many stories about school life recollections in here. That’s the content I like.
The author’s note explains how she added in the long flashback in this chapter mentioning Tian Xin (which she had already written but left out) because Chinese readers in the comments section last chapter were asking who this Tian Xin girl was.
ALSO, just like the author requested, please feel free to point out any typos in my translations (even if it’s a small one)! I’ll try to go back and fix any mistakes. After translating sentence by sentence to give you guys an accurate translation I honestly don’t have the energy to go back and check for mistakes myself (yep, sorry). Anyways I think this chapter was the longest one yet, almost 5k words! Usually the chapters are only 2k words at most 😳 I guess it’s because she added in all these high school flashbacks this chapter eek. This is also the last chapter I had pre-translated, but I’ll try to stick with this schedule!
Yuenme Translations 