Chapter 9: The Training Manual

Liu Ya stood up, rinsed off the foam, wrung out her hair, and walked to the bathroom door. She paused.

“I’m done… Take your time if you want to soak.”

“Ah, I’m done too…”

Yaqi was about to get up when Liu Ya added,

“Stay a little longer! I’m going first…”

“Oh… okay.”

Just as she was about to open the door, Liu Ya hesitated again. She said softly,

“I know it’s the same as before, but calling you ‘Qiqijie’ is too childish… I’ll call you Yaqijie from now on, is that okay?”

“Mm, sure. It doesn’t really matter…”

“Then it’s settled!”

With that, Liu Ya walked out and gently closed the door behind her.

She put on her pajamas, then turned to stare at the pink bra on the shelf. She pursed her lips and fell silent. Only when she heard Yaqi getting out of the bath did she reluctantly leave.

As soon as she came out, she saw Aunt Zhao waiting at the door with a smile. Liu Ya blushed and lowered her head, her hands tightly gripping her pajamas.

“Auntie, you…”

“Mm… Although I said nothing has changed, Liu Ya has still grown a lot. Liu Ya is great!”

“Hmm… Did you hear everything, Auntie?”

“Huh? Hear what?”

Aunt Zhao looked at Liu Ya with a smile, and Liu Ya knew the answer was yes. Her mind went blank, her face reddened to the tips of her ears, and she let out a shy whimper.

Liu Ya was like a pot of boiling water, the sound of steam almost audible. Aunt Zhao sighed with a smile, reached out to brush the hair from Liu Ya’s cheek, gently lifted her face, and looked into those lively, loving eyes.

“This is Liu Ya’s secret. Auntie knows nothing, so don’t worry!”

“But… you still heard it, didn’t you…”

“Yes, I heard it.”

“Then tell me the truth, Auntie… Am I too useless?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because… I’m completely unfit. I can’t control my emotions like a child, shouting at Yaqijie…”

Liu Ya’s voice grew softer, like a mosquito.

“Mm… But I think Liu Ya said it well. Maybe the way was a bit extreme and not straightforward, but every word made sense. It’s fine!”

“Really?”

“Mm!”

Aunt Zhao nodded affirmatively. Liu Ya’s tightly wound heart relaxed, and she let out a sigh. Then Aunt Zhao took her hand and led her to the sofa to sit down. She spoke earnestly:

“Liu Ya, what I’m about to say might be meddling, but I still want to tell you.”

“Mm. Go ahead.”

“Mm. Liu Ya, are you satisfied like this?”

“Me? Satisfied with what…”

Liu Ya’s gaze was already distant, and she silently turned her head aside. Aunt Zhao didn’t rush to continue; instead, she caressed her face affectionately.

“Auntie knows how you feel. Why not try to express your feelings more directly?”

“…I can’t. I just treated Yaqijie like that earlier, and I even made her cry… How dare I say anything now…”

“What if she hates me… I…”

As Liu Ya spoke, her expression gradually tensed, and her clenched hands trembled slightly. Seeing this, Aunt Zhao gently embraced her.

“Don’t… Auntie was just saying. Take it at your own pace. No matter what, Auntie supports you!”

“Auntie… Am I weird?”

“No! And some things… can’t be explained…”

“But Auntie thinks the heart doesn’t lie. There’s no need to be too constrained. Just follow your heart, Liu Ya!”

“Mm…”

Liu Ya tugged at Aunt Zhao’s clothes anxiously, pursed her lips, frowned slightly, and her face reddened. She asked softly:

“Auntie… Why do you support me? Isn’t it weird for a girl to like a girl?”

“…”

Aunt Zhao didn’t respond. She was silent for a moment, lost in thought. Liu Ya looked up in confusion, only to see Aunt Zhao smiling at her. The smile was slightly complicated, but still warm.

“Auntie?”

“Ah… You ask why? It’s nothing really…”

“It’s just… because you and Yaqi are Auntie’s most precious girls!”

With that, Aunt Zhao lovingly and gently tousled Liu Ya’s hair.

Liu Ya shyly leaned into Aunt Zhao’s embrace. Although Auntie’s answer wasn’t satisfying, her gentle expression was genuine. Compared to that, the answer wasn’t that important. After all, everyone has reasons they don’t want to share.

“Really… Auntie, saying that…”

“Haha. Embarrassed?”

“Hmm…”

“Hehe. Well, Liu Ya, go back to your room first. You don’t want Yaqi to see you clinging to Auntie, do you?”

“Uh… Okay. Thanks, Auntie.”

“No problem!”

Liu Ya smiled and gave her a firm hug, then picked up her bag and went upstairs. Aunt Zhao stared at the empty staircase and let out a silent sigh.

After a while, Yaqi finished bathing and came out of the bathroom.

“Wow! Yaqi, you look so cute in that outfit!”

Yaqi was wearing a light pink pajama set with little rabbit prints, full of girlish charm. The bra underneath was also pink.

“Does it look good, Auntie?”

Yaqi slightly opened her arms, twisted her waist, and looked at Aunt Zhao with anticipation.

“Mm, it looks good! Yaqi is still the same as before. Even though you’re a grown girl, you still like this cute style.”

“Oh… one thing at a time.”

They smiled at each other, and Aunt Zhao said:

“See? Didn’t I tell you?”

“Mm. Liu Ya seems… not angry anymore? But I’m not sure… Auntie, how was Liu Ya’s mood when she came out?”

“Pretty good, quite happy!”

“Really? That’s great!”

“Don’t worry. Some things get better once they’re talked out. Liu Ya isn’t a child anymore; she can understand.”

“Mm.”

Yaqi smiled happily, but then she smiled wryly and gently touched her red left cheek. Aunt Zhao felt a bit awkward and said:

“Uh, haha… Even though I said that earlier, Liu Ya is still not mature enough.”

“Ah, no, no! I’m the immature one! Thanks to Liu Ya, I realized my own problems! I need to work hard from now on!”

Aunt Zhao smiled approvingly and stroked Yaqi’s head.

“I see! Then I won’t say much! By the way, does your face still hurt? Want me to get an ice pack?”

“No, no… Huh? Auntie, did you hear that?”

“I heard it.”

“Hmm…”

“But my memory is bad, I’ve forgotten it all! Haha!”

“Auntie…”

Yaqi looked at her with a hint of complaint, puffing out her cheeks. Seeing Yaqi like that, Aunt Zhao could not resist poking this little pufferfish. As expected, after just a few pokes, the pufferfish deflated, and Yaqi said softly:

“Then Auntie… you have to completely forget, okay?”

“Mm. Don’t worry!”

Aunt Zhao nodded, and Yaqi trusted her completely. She smiled shyly and was about to leave, but Aunt Zhao stopped her.

“Oh, right! Yaqi, your desk hasn’t arrived yet. Do you have homework today? I’ve cleared the dining table, so you can write here, okay?”

“Mm, okay.”

“Good. Then I’ll go clean up.”

“Okay.”

With that, Aunt Zhao picked up some trash and went out. Yaqi grabbed a thick stack of exam papers from the sofa, sat down, and scanned them over and over. She sighed helplessly, picked up a pen lazily, and began to write with effort.

Half an hour later, Yaqi picked up the papers. There were some black pen marks on them, but only a few strokes.

She fell onto the table in despair, closed her eyes, and groaned.

‘Ah… This is so hard… I’ve heard that the teaching progress abroad is different from back home, but the gap is too big…’

‘I used to be the top of my school… But now I can’t even handle these daily assignments… There are so many questions I’ve never seen… Wuwu… What am I going to do…’

Just as she was feeling completely hopeless, she heard a rustling sound in front of her. She looked up and met Liu Ya’s gaze.

Liu Ya paused, put down the books and papers she was holding, glanced at Yaqi, pulled out a chair, closed her eyes, pursed her lips, and slowly sat down.

Liu Ya opened her eyes and spread out her papers. Neat, careful handwriting covered the pages, with every step clearly laid out. Yaqi’s eyes widened in envy; her jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

“Wow… Liu Ya, did you finish all this? In such a short time?”

“How is that possible? I did it during evening study, while you were sleeping…”

“Hmm, that… I didn’t mean to. I felt dizzy at the time, so…”

Yaqi hung her head in shame and slowly covered the blank paper beneath her arm. Then she lifted her head, her eyes full of hope as she looked at Liu Ya!

Liu Ya glanced at her. She naturally knew what that look meant, but pretended not to see. She looked back at her own papers, flipping through them as if checking.

‘Hehe, as expected, Qiqijie can’t do it! I’ve heard that education abroad is much looser than in China, and this is a provincial key high school with a fast pace.’

‘Hehe, what do you think, Qiqijie? Now in front of you is the top student of Xingcheng High! So, what will you do now?’

Seeing no reaction from Liu Ya, Yaqi dejectedly lowered her head, scribbling with her pen feigning busyness, but still casting worshipful glances at her from time to time.

Seeing that, Liu Ya lifted her papers slightly to cover her uncontrollably twitching lips. She was in no hurry; she just quietly stared at her papers, enjoying those stolen glances.

—

Some time earlier:

After showering, Liu Ya returned to her room, turned on the light, and pounced straight onto the bed, onto “Xiaoqi.”

“Xiaoqi” was a fluffy pink rabbit plushie, quite big, half of Liu Ya’s height. It felt very nice, and burying her face in it provided unparalleled stress relief.

She had given it that name so she could forever “hate” the person who had heartlessly abandoned her.

Liu Ya buried her face in Xiaoqi and twisted vigorously until she had no strength left. Then she slowly lifted her head and said softly:

“Xiaoqi… The real ‘Xiaoqi’ is back. Maybe you can’t sleep with me anymore…”

“But I’m not abandoning you! It’s just…”

Liu Ya tugged Xiaoqi’s ear and gently bit a tuft of fur on its belly.

“Xiaoqi, I don’t want Qiqijie to leave me again.”

“I really don’t understand. She’s alone now, so why not stay by my side? She insists on moving out for college!”

“Otherwise, we could be like before…”

“But… I don’t want it to be completely the same as before. I want to… do many bad things with Qiqijie… You know that, right?”

Liu Ya shook Xiaoqi’s rabbit ears and stared into its black bead eyes. Her face turned completely red.

“Hmm… So embarrassing… What am I saying!”

Liu Ya bit Xiaoqi tightly, buried her face in it, and rolled back and forth on the bed.

When she stopped, she stared blankly at the dark ceiling.

“But… I can’t say I like her…”

“I made the reunion so awkward, shouted at Qiqijie, and even… slapped her…”

Liu Ya sighed weakly.

“Qiqijie has always indulged me… Even after I hit her, she wasn’t angry. She thought it was her fault…”

“But honestly, Xiaoqi, I feel like in other people’s eyes, I’m already no different from those shrewish harpies…”

“Aunt Zhao said nothing has changed, but I want her to see some changes in me too… She told me to follow my heart, but I can already imagine the outcome…”

“It’ll end up one of two ways: either she plays along like when we were kids, humoring me like a child; or she thinks I’m weird and hates me…”

“How am I supposed to solve this?”

“One year… so short… What should I do…”

Liu Ya slowly sat up, staring blankly at the soft wool carpet.

“Back then, when Qiqijie came over after school, it was the highlight of my day. Sigh…”

In a daze, the navy blue carpet gradually turned pink, then gold. She lifted her head slightly and saw her younger self, a dirty kid who used to drag Qiqijie to play video games after school.

‘…As long as I make her unable to leave me, isn’t that enough?’

‘Right… Haha! Exactly! I don’t have to make Qiqijie like me right now. As long as she doesn’t leave, everything else will come!’

‘I just need to become what Qiqijie was to me back then. That way, she won’t be able to leave me! Her world will only have me!’

‘That’s right! I’ll eliminate all the unsettling factors around her!’

Just as Liu Ya was passionately declaring this, she suddenly thought of something. Her face instantly flushed.

‘Speaking of which… I once came across something called ‘training’ online…’

‘Is this… that? And earlier in the bath, I really wanted Qiqijie to… Am I a little… perverted?’

While still confused, Liu Ya shook her head repeatedly, shaking off the yellow thoughts, and refocused.

‘Forget it… That’s not important!’

‘Anyway! Qiqijie…’

‘This time, I won’t let you go!’

With that, Liu Ya jumped off the bed.

‘So, step one…’

Liu Ya turned to look at the bookshelf, searched through it, and pulled out a brand-new notebook the size of a palm. She went to the door and locked it.

She turned and sat at her desk. She wanted to start writing but hesitated for a moment. After thinking, she wrote four big characters on it: ‘Training Manual.’

‘A sharp worker must first sharpen his tools. I can’t be reckless this time. I need to calmly plan, then act, step by step.’

‘…Well, since I’m writing it for myself, I can be bold, right? Yeah!’

After writing, Liu Ya happily admired her masterpiece. She closed the notebook, looked up, and let out a long, satisfied breath.

“Phew… Done!”

Liu Ya gently stroked the small notebook, unable to suppress the smile on her lips. She stood up, looked around the room, and eventually fixed her gaze on Xiaoqi.

She walked over, picked it up, pulled open the side zipper, and stuffed the notebook deep inside.

“Xiaoqi, you have to keep this secret for me! This is the key to my happiness!”

She zipped it up, smoothed it out, then turned to look at her schoolbag. A mischievous smile spread across her face.

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