"Qing Qing, Mom made you some egg soup. Drink it before you study."
Su Rao always felt that Su Qing wasn't getting enough rest. She saw her daughter's efforts, but there was nothing she could do. She could only use this method to relieve her stress.
Su Rao was always worried that Su Qing's frail back wouldn't be able to handle it. After knocking on the door and entering, she brought the chicken soup and placed it on Su Qing's desk. Seeing that the girl was still doing her homework, she didn't dare to interrupt. She gave a few instructions and left.
Su Qing had gathered herself together, and the moment Su Rao left, she completely relaxed.
The warm soup on the table, still steaming, seeped into her eyes, bringing a sour, unpleasant feeling.
Su Qing bit her lip as her vibrating phone lit up a few times.
She clicked on it and saw it was a text from Jiang Sui. The boy's words were crisp and clear.
[Good night]
He seemed a little unhappy, but Su Qing couldn't ask any more questions. She was really worried Jiang Sui would notice something was wrong, so she could only reply with a single message, also "Good night."
The next day, Su Qing went to school and didn't go anywhere except to the restroom.
She even had Su Rao prepare a lunch box for her, even though she usually ate in the cafeteria. Su Qing, who usually took a nap in the classroom after finishing her homework, didn't even dare to rest.
She occasionally felt a little sluggish in the afternoon, and even returned home exhausted every night, but she forced herself to do a set of papers.
For several days, a faint sense of dread had settled over Su Qing.
Even while walking peacefully, she would occasionally look back, turning her head to gaze around.
She hoped to discover something, but found nothing.
She had stashed all the photos under her bed, never daring to look at them again. But they were like a red flag.
She needed to be constantly vigilant.
It was time for another weekend break. Su Qing lay on bed, staring at the ceiling, racking her brains for how to refuse the offer to go to Jiang Sui's house this weekend.
Especially since the break was so close. Last night, they had been on the phone discussing how to review their recent exams the following afternoon.
The boy's voice was slightly heavy. He asked her several times if she was hiding something from him, but after much deliberation, Su Qing decided to keep it a secret.
Because she still didn't know where that person in the behind was.
When her cell phone rang, she dazedly rose from the bed, thinking it was Jiang Sui calling, an unfamiliar number. She picked up the phone and slumped over the chair.
"Su Qing?"
The electric sound of the voice changer sent Su Qing's mind into a frenzy. Every nerve in her brain tensed, and her fingers gripped the phone tightly.
She bit her lips together, her face pale.
"I suppose you received the photos."
As expected.
Su Qing clenched her left hand into a fist and placed it on the table. She tried to distinguish the voice, and at the first moment, she pressed the recording button on her phone.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
The girl's voice was clear, but it was inevitably trembling. Her throat was dry, and her palms were covered with cold sweat.
"I don't want anything, but of course I want you to leave Jiang Sui."
Because of the voice changer, she couldn't tell the other person's emotions at all. She could only hear the other person's breathing was very rapid, and she spoke with a sense of urgency.
Su Qing's fears had indeed come true.
"Are you Xu Miaoran?"
Su Qing speculated, trying to calm herself. Her mind searched for people, faces playing frame by frame in her mind.
"Stop guessing! If you don't break up with Jiang Sui, I'll send these photos to the principal's mailbox. Not only that, I'll also send them to the Education Bureau and your home!"
The voice on the other end spoke anxiously, as if irritated out of shame.
Su Qing's brows drooped slightly, her fingers gripping the phone lightly.
"Do you realize you're breaking the law? Jiang Sui and I are just ordinary classmates."
Su Qing bit her lip, her eyes brimming with anger, but she was well-controlled. Her shoulders trembled slightly as she suppressed her emotions.
Leaning back on her chair, Su Qing couldn't imagine how many people she had offended, having only been in Wuzhen for a little over two months.
She had been bullied more than once. She already knew who the one in the toilet was, but she hadn't expected...
Who was that person under the sycamore tree?
Su Qing pinched her slender fingers.
"Don't scare me! I'm waiting for your good news."
After saying that, the other party hung up the phone with a click. Su Qing bit her lip, her eyes dark as she stared out the window. The sky outside was so blue and clear, and amidst the somewhat hot air, she could actually sense a slight chill.
Bent over the desk for a long time, Su Qing didn't regain consciousness.
The time bomb was already giving warning of exploding, and Su Qing's eyelashes fluttered.
The other party told her that Jiang Sui was powerful, but who was that person? She didn't know, but she had a feeling it wasn't Xu Miaoran. But if it wasn't Xu Miaoran, who else could it be?
Her scholarship, and the matter of the Wutong tree, was this person the cause?
Su Qing's mind was in a turmoil when the phone rang again.
It was Jiang Sui. Su Qing hesitated, taking several deep breaths before answering.
The boy's voice was heavy.
"Qing Qing, I'm afraid we won't be able to review together tomorrow. I have something urgent to attend to."
As Jiang Sui's words reached Su Qing's ears, she let out a sigh of relief, though a slight sense of disappointment remained.
Even though the boy's help had solved her immediate problem, she still felt a little unhappy.
"Okay."
The girl's voice was as sweet as ever.
Jiang Sui pursed his lips but didn't say anything else. He simply said he'd send her a few more sets of questions to her email, asking her to finish them tomorrow and send them back to him on Monday.
Su Qing obediently agreed.
After hanging up the phone, Su Qing felt a little melancholy.
She didn't know what to do.
Should I distance myself from Jiang Sui? The voice in her head told her no.
Su Qing held her phone, swiping the screen. The unfamiliar number below Jiang Sui's name had been dialed from a public phone booth.
How could she find this person?
Su Qing's mind was a jumble of thoughts, but at a certain moment, a thought struck her. Pursing her lips, she opened her phone and made a call.
It was the number for locating a public phone booth.
After a long ping, Su Qing typed in a series of numbers and received an address.
She had made up her mind to do something.