Chapter 30 Part 2: Dreams of Yellow Earth

As the Spring Festival approached, Yang Wei’s school was about to let out for break.

Since she had moved out mid-semester and both Yang Mao and Qianyang had been busy, some of her things were still in the dorm.

 

On the afternoon of the last day of finals, Qianyang and Yang Mao went to her school while streaming.

 

At the school gate’s notice board, Yang Mao stopped to look.

 

“Class 7, Grade 12… Class 7, Grade 12… Here!

Found it!”

Yang Mao exclaimed.

 

Qianyang asked curiously, “What?”

 

“Haha…

Yang Wei came in second in her class on last month’s exam, and seventh in the grade!”

 

“That good?”

 

– Wow!

Yang Wei is a top student!

– They said before that she’s smarter than her brother.

– Yes, the streamer said Wei Wei is more gifted in the occult than her brother.

– Looking at her total score, Qinghua and Peking might be a bit of a stretch, but she can basically choose any other university.

– And she still worked part-time on weekends!

Her grades are still this good.

– Hehe, they don’t have any financial pressure now, so she can focus entirely on next year’s college entrance exam, right?

– Hope Wei Wei gets a good score!

 

“Thank you!

Thank you, everyone!”

 

Yang Mao’s face lit up with pride.

“Yang Wei’s mentality is more stable than mine.

I was too nervous during the college entrance exam, couldn’t sleep all night, and ended up doing poorly.

I scored over fifty points less than my first practice exam!”

 

“Sigh, at the time, I couldn’t afford to repeat.

Thinking back, it’s a shame.”

 

– Sigh.

– The school looks nice.

Reminds me of my high school days.

– Makes me want to go back to high school.

I was so happy then, carefree.

– No!!!

I never want to go back to high school!!!

– My nightmare of junior year still haunts me!

Every day was tense and painful.

Too scary!

– Sigh, the pressure in junior year is really too much.

Last month, a senior from a nearby school jumped from the seventh floor.

He had good grades.

Such a shame.

With finals over, most students were packing up to go home.

There were many parents on campus, carrying large bags of bedding and clothes.

 

“Sister!”

 

Yang Wei finished her exam and ran over to them with her backpack.

 

Qianyang handed her the sausage she had bought at the school gate.

“How did you do?”

 

Yang Wei took a bite of the fragrant sausage and sighed.

“I didn’t do well on English.

I might drop out of the top twenty.”

 

Qianyang nodded.

“It’s okay.”

 

Yang Wei smiled.

“No big deal.

I know where I went wrong.

I’ll just review well at home.”

 

“That’s good, that’s good.”

Yang Mao immediately relaxed.

 

Yang Wei glanced at him.

“Why are you so nervous?”

 

“I’m worried about you.”

 

“I know what I’m doing.”

 

“Let’s go to your dorm.”

 

“Okay.”

 

On the way, Yang Wei seemed relaxed.

 

“Sister, actually, I’m not the only one who did poorly.

Zheng Ru’nan seems to have messed up too.

She was still crying at her seat when I came out.”

 

“Zheng Ru’nan?”

Yang Mao’s voice rose slightly.

“The number one in your class?

The girl who’s never dropped out of the top three?

The one you’ve never beaten?”

 

Yang Wei: “…”

“Do you have to add so many prefixes?”

 

– …So annoying.

– I want to crawl into the screen and kick him.

 

Yang Wei huffed.

“She just does better than me, okay?

Anyway, I didn’t do badly.”

 

– Hehe, the sister’s mindset is really good.

– Right.

How well others do has nothing to do with you.

– There’s always someone better.

 

Yang Mao gave an awkward smile.

“I was just trying to introduce her to the viewers.

Isn’t her score usually consistent?

Why did she do badly this time?”

 

Yang Wei shook her head.

“She hasn’t been doing well these past two weeks.

She often spaces out in class and gets called out by the teacher.

Maybe something happened at home?

I don’t know.

I’m not close to her.”

 

Entering the girls’ dormitory, there were many parents coming and going.

The dorm matron didn’t stop them but just reminded them to watch the camera.

Yang Mao simply turned off the camera and kept the audio live.

 

At the dorm room, Yang Wei knocked on the door.

After some rustling from inside, the door was pulled open ten seconds later.

 

“Who is it?”

A girl stood behind the door, looking at them impatiently.

 

Seeing Yang Wei outside, the girl rolled her eyes.

“What are you doing here?”

 

Yang Wei said, “Move.

I’m here to get my stuff.”

 

“Those things?

We thought you didn’t want them anymore.”

The girl blocked the doorway, glancing behind her, not seeming to intend to let them in.

 

Qianyang didn’t want to get involved in students’ affairs.

She took the phone from Yang Mao and turned on the camera, pointing it at her own face and the wall.

 

“They seem to have something to handle.

I’ll wait here.”

 

Next to the dorm was a window at the end of the hallway.

Qianyang leaned by the window and turned the camera to face outside.

 

– Is Wei Wei having friction with her roommates?

– Looks like it.

Kids are like that.

– Back in my school days, I had arch-rivals too.

– Honestly, looking back after entering society, I kind of miss it.

Back then, if we disliked someone, it showed on our faces.

In society, everyone’s a smiling snake.

– Not necessarily.

Some students’ bullying is pretty bad too.

 

“Move!”

Yang Wei was impatient.

Her face turned cold.

 

“This isn’t your room…”

Before she could finish, Yang Wei pushed her aside and walked in.

 

It was a girls’ room, so Yang Mao couldn’t go in.

He stood outside the door.

 

The girl rolled her eyes.

“So someone finally came to pick you up.

Big deal.”

 

Qianyang’s expression flickered.

She turned to look behind her.

“You haven’t come to pick her up before?”

 

Yang Mao’s eyes showed guilt and disappointment.

“No… I was usually working during her breaks.

I, I never…”

Qianyang nodded.

“I see.”

 

– Sigh.

My parents never picked me up either.

– We only realize when we grow up that the adult world isn’t any easier.

– But when everyone else’s parents came, Wei Wei must have been secretly sad too, right?

– Don’t feel guilty, Senior Disciple Brother!

You’ve worked hard to survive with your sister until now.

– Make sure to take her to university!

 

Qianyang turned off the phone camera and handed it back to Yang Mao.

 

– Everything went black.

– Correction: blackness upon blackness!

 

Since Yang Mao couldn’t enter, Qianyang had him wait outside.

She walked to the door and saw Yang Wei asking in a low voice, “Who told you to touch my things?”

 

Yang Wei stood in front of a cabinet, its contents in disarray.

 

“How were we supposed to know you’d come back?

We thought you didn’t want them anymore!”

 

Yang Wei took a deep breath, took her things out of the cabinet, and found some clothes piled on her bed.

She put down her things and tossed the clothes that weren’t hers onto the floor.

 

“Are you crazy!”

A roommate quickly picked up her things, glaring.

 

Qianyang paused at the door, then stepped back out.

Forget it.

The atmosphere was so tense.

Let them handle it themselves.

 

“Yang Wei, we’ll wait for you at the door.

No rush.

Take your time,” Qianyang reminded.

 

“Got it, Sister.”

Yang Wei busied herself organizing her things, answering loudly.

 

The other girls in the room glanced at her, muttered something, and picked up their clothes from the floor.

 

Yang Mao had said that Yang Wei was a bit mischievous as a child, more daring than him.

She could probably handle her own affairs.

 

She rummaged through her things but didn’t seem to find what she was looking for.

She turned and looked coldly at the three.

“Where are my things?”

 

The three muttered, “How should we know?

You didn’t come back for so long.

We threw some of them away.”

 

Yang Wei’s face darkened.

She went straight to the others’ lockers and started searching inside.

 

“What are you doing?

Why are you touching our things?”

 

“Yang Wei!”

 

Yang Wei ignored them entirely.

Soon, she found her things in their lockers.

 

“Threw them away?”

Yang Wei sneered.

She continued searching.

Many of her things were in their lockers.

 

The others turned pale.

“Maybe we made a mistake?

Who would want your stuff?

So poor…”

Qianyang looked at the few old clothes she had found.

“Don’t take the clothes.

We’ll buy new ones.”

 

Those clothes had probably been worn by them anyway, and they weren’t worth much.

No need.

 

Yang Wei said, “There’s a donation bin downstairs.

I’ll donate them all.”

 

“Donate?

Who wants your things?”

One girl sneered.

 

Yang Wei packed away the clothes and shot back, “Aren’t you pretty interested?

Want me to cut out the middleman and donate them directly to you?

Want them?”

 

The girl’s face flushed.

“Who wants your junk!!!”

 

Yang Wei couldn’t be bothered to waste more words.

She quickly packed her things and handed them to Yang Mao.

She picked up a blanket, and at the door, turned to look at the three, extended her middle finger, and made the internationally friendly gesture.

 

“Suckers.

Goodbye!”

 

“No, we won’t see each other after next June.

You won’t get into the same university as me.”

 

With that, Yang Wei turned and left.

 

“Sister, let’s go.”

 

“Yes.”

 

The three inside were seething but, with Qianyang and Yang Mao present, didn’t dare curse back.

Kids this age were still somewhat afraid of adults.

 

“What does ‘SB’ mean?”

Qianyang asked curiously.

She often saw those two letters in the comments too.

 

“Master, it’s a swear word,” Yang Mao said.

 

“And… this gesture?”

 

They were already outside the dorm building.

Yang Mao turned on the camera.

The first thing the viewers saw was Qianyang making the internationally friendly gesture.

 

– (Smirking) I suspect the streamer is swearing.

I have evidence.

– Ignorance is bliss!!!

– Dying of laughter.

The streamer looks so innocent.

– Haha, like her brain hasn’t been polluted.

 

Yang Mao said helplessly, “Master, this gesture and ‘SB’ have the same effect.”

 

Then he glared at the smiling Yang Wei.

“You’ve corrupted Master!”

 

“Oh… I see.”

Qianyang nodded vaguely.

 

– Haha, I’m cracking up.

– I’m worried the streamer might suddenly say ‘live and learn.’

– So cute.

– Finally on break!

Going home!

– Speaking of which, these past couple of days feel so calm.

– I feel it too.

The streamer’s connections have all been trivial things.

– Shut up!!!

– Shut up!!

Big idiot!

Don’t you know what we’re most afraid of in our line of work?!!

– You can’t even mention these things!

 

Qianyang looked at the comments.

“Why can’t you mention them?”

 

– Streamer, you don’t know.

There’s a strange superstition among us.

– The day would have passed peacefully, but as soon as you say that, something will definitely happen before it ends!

– Damn!

I’ve experienced it firsthand.

During my internship at the police station, I was dealing with trivial domestic stuff every day, no chance to prove myself.

One day, I casually said it was boring.

Big mistake!

That afternoon, a big case happened, and I didn’t sleep well for half a month!

– No comment.

As a medical student, I feel it.

Some superstitions, you just have to believe.

 

Qianyang, hearing them talk so mysteriously, muttered, “It’s that magical?”

 

– It is, it is.

– There are many such magical things.

– Better safe than sorry!

 

Just then, Qianyang noticed people around her walking faster and faster, some even running.

 

“What’s wrong?”

Yang Mao, carrying their things, looked curiously at the crowd gathering toward the teaching building.

 

Qianyang also sensed something unusual.

She looked toward where people were gathering.

 

Yang Mao quickened his pace, ran a few steps, and stopped a passerby.

“Sir, what’s happening over there?

Why is everyone going?”

 

The man, also there to help his child move, was out of breath.

“There’s a girl on the teaching building who wants to jump!”

 

Qianyang and the two Yangs froze.

The stream viewers also heard.

 

– Holy shit?!!

– Oh my god, that was fast?

– Damn!

Where?

Has anyone called the police?

Called 119?

– Why so sudden?

– Oh my god… I hope the kid is okay.

 

Just then, Yang Wei saw her homeroom teacher rushing past.

She threw her things at Yang Mao and chased after her.

“Teacher, what’s wrong?”

 

Qianyang hadn’t expected things to happen so suddenly.

She hurried after them.

 

The teacher was clearly panicked.

Seeing Yang Wei, she grabbed her arm.

“Zheng Ru’nan… she… she did badly… she wants to jump…”

Yang Wei’s expression changed.

“How could this happen…”

The teacher said, “You and Zheng Ru’nan are both good students.

You, come with me to talk to her!”

 

“Let’s go take a look,” Qianyang said from behind them.

 

Yang Wei nodded.

The three left Yang Mao, who was carrying a huge pile of things, and hurried away.

 

At the teaching building, a crowd had already gathered, packed tightly.

On the edge of the rooftop sat a girl in school uniform.

Her ponytail was messy in the wind, and she kept wiping her tears.

 

“What’s the situation?

Has anyone called the police?” the teacher asked.

 

“Yes, the firefighters are on the way…

But she locked the rooftop door from the inside.

We’re afraid to break it down.

She’ll jump if she hears noise…”

The teacher was frantic.

“What do we do… what do we do… It was all fine, how could she…”

Qianyang looked at the layout of the teaching building and noticed the balcony on the right side was very close to the rooftop where Zheng Ru’nan was sitting.

She patted Yang Wei.

“The balcony on the fifth floor over there is very close to her.

Does she have any friends who could talk to her?”

 

Yang Wei shook her head.

“She usually keeps to herself.

She doesn’t really talk to anyone in the class.”

 

Qianyang nodded.

“Then go up and talk to her.

I’ll go with you.”

 

The teacher took them to the fifth-floor balcony.

Firefighters and ambulances had arrived, inflating air cushions on the ground.

 

“Zheng Ru’nan, I did badly too!”

Yang Wei called out from the balcony.

“We’ll have another chance next year!

I’ve never beaten you in so many exams.

Doing badly once doesn’t matter!”

 

Zheng Ru’nan sat on the platform outside the rooftop railing, her hair whipping in the cold wind.

She seemed not to hear Yang Wei, just wiping her tears.

 

“Ru’nan!

Come down first.

Let’s talk slowly, okay?

Don’t joke with your life!” the teacher said anxiously.

 

“Wah wah wah…” Zheng Ru’nan couldn’t stop crying, ignoring them completely.

 

“Don’t do anything rash!

If something happens to you, what will your parents do?

How sad they would be!”

Just then, a well-meaning parent advised.

 

At these words, Zheng Ru’nan’s emotions suddenly became intense.

Her whole body trembled.

 

“Don’t mention them!!!”

---