Chapter Nine: Entwined Persuasion

What did that mean? Ye Mian couldn’t understand, but combined with the dream, a wild and absurd thought surfaced in her mind. She feared it was just wishful thinking, and dared not speak it aloud, nor did she know how to express it. There was no reason for it—why would this boy fight for her?

For the first time, her feelings grew tangled and complicated, emotions swirling in her mind and rising to her lips, but she found herself unable to utter a single word.

Looking ahead, the trees lining the avenue stretched their green branches askew, shards of light and shadow scattered across Jiang Chen’s brow. He ignored the curious glances of others, his long legs slowing their stride, seemingly on purpose.

He remained silent, and Ye Mian wisely followed without a word.

By now, the sunlight had grown faint. Near the towering locust tree of the old town, Jiang Chen came to a stop.

Ye Mian stopped as well.

The sunset cast a somber orange glow, making his gaze seem gentle and kind. A subtle smile lingered at the corner of his lips as his eyes fell on the dryness of the girl’s lips.

He pulled out a bottle of orange soda from his bag. “Ye Mian.”

Ye Mian took the soda in a daze, her gaze crashing into the clarity of the boy’s eyes.

All along the way, her chaotic heartbeat was drowned by the scattered footsteps echoing on the road.

That evening, after returning home, Ye Mian sat at her small desk studying deep into the night, a desk lamp spilling light across her books.

She gnawed at the tip of her pen, only stopping when her mind protested against the endless stream of problems.

The boundless moonlight flowed like water.

Her eyes drifted to the desk, where a bottle of orange soda sat beside the kettle, pressed beneath a fifty-yuan note.

She truly didn’t wish to dwell on it.

But she found that Jiang Chen wasn’t so frightening after all.

And she realized she seemed to treat Jiang Chen especially well.

Perhaps…

She cherished talent.

Thinking of Jiang Chen, orphaned and bullied by his stepmother, abused by the men she brought home, often forced to endure hunger, her heart felt crushed by a heavy stone.

She wondered, if Jiang Chen hadn’t lived through such hardships, would he have been gentle and pure?

The breeze stirred the white curtains. Ye Mian propped her chin in her small hand, a glimmer flashing in her wide eyes.

She wanted to help Jiang Chen become better.

The first step: she had to get close to him.

This goal gradually transformed into a secret fermenting in Ye Mian’s heart, one she could not share with anyone.

That night, Ye Mian slept unusually well.

In the latter half of the night, rain fell, tapping against the window glass, relentless until daylight filled the sky.

The sudden chill in the air made for restful sleep, yet left her mind sluggish.

Ye Mian crawled slowly out of her covers.

Her long hair draped behind her ears, then she carelessly twisted it into a messy bun.

She couldn’t even be bothered to fully open her eyes.

While brushing her teeth, mouth full of foam, she recited the vocabulary she’d memorized the night before.

For the next half month, Ye Mian wished she could spread out all the books from the previous two semesters and devour them whole.

She worked so hard that Jiang Yuan didn’t dare interrupt her progress, though she wanted to ask how Ye Mian had resolved the trouble with Class Six that day. Sadly, the opportunity never came.

Ye Mian was amazed to discover her study pace was swift; the knowledge she’d long forgotten returned to her mind alongside her rebirth.

She could review what she’d previously neglected without any obstacles.

Whenever she encountered tough math or physics problems, she would seek out the teachers again and again for guidance.

The teachers at First High were truly responsible. Seeing students passionate about learning brought them genuine joy.

Her tranquil high school life became busy, but Ye Mian didn’t feel tired at all.