Chapter 14: The Chalkboard Incident

In a blink, the calendar had turned to late September, and Nanan City’s heat reached its peak. Even with the ceiling fans in the classroom whirring at their highest setting, Lin Duo still found herself constantly reaching for tissues to wipe away beads of sweat.

After school that day, Lin Duo, as usual, intended to wait for Gu Xuexuan outside Class 5. Unexpectedly, a tall boy stopped her halfway there.

“Lin Duo, I have something to tell you.”

Lin Duo looked up to see a rather sturdy boy, at least 175 centimeters tall, with a square face that exuded a certain heroic charm. Yet, despite her best efforts, Lin Duo couldn’t recall who he was, prompting her to ask, “Who are you?”

“My name is Fang Yuwen, from Class 3 next door.”

The boy seemed a little nervous and uneasy as he handed her an envelope. “Please open this when you get back. And whatever you do, don’t tell your teachers or parents!”

Though curious about the letter’s contents, Lin Duo, ever the honest student, tucked the envelope into her schoolbag for the time being.

On their way home, Lin Duo recounted the incident to Gu Xuexuan, who immediately perked up. “I can’t believe Dodo received a love letter just a few days after arriving! Quick, open it!”

“A love letter?” Lin Duo gasped, her mouth forming a small O of surprise.

“Oh, come on, take it out and let me see! I’m so curious what he wrote!”

Yielding to Gu Xuexuan’s persistent coaxing, Lin Duo dutifully pulled the envelope from her schoolbag. Gu Xuexuan promptly snatched it, tearing it open as they walked and reading aloud:

“Lin Duo, I love you! Only after meeting you did I learn there’s a feeling called attachment, an emotion called **. It turns out waiting can be so beautiful, all because I love you—”

“Stop, stop, stop!” Lin Duo exclaimed, snapping back to reality. She snatched the letter away and casually tossed it into a roadside trash can.

“Mmmph, I hadn’t finished reading it yet!” Gu Xuexuan pouted, her face etched with regret.

After a moment of hesitation, Lin Duo posed a rather naive question: “Am I really that attractive to boys?”

“Pfft, little beauty, what do you think?” Gu Xuexuan chuckled, gently rubbing Lin Duo’s smooth, tender cheek. “Still, this is our review period for the high school entrance exams, so we should focus on studying. Romance can wait until high school!”

As they chatted, the two passed a small accessories and gift shop. Gu Xuexuan pulled Lin Duo inside and bought herself a new backpack charm.

Her gaze then fell upon Lin Duo’s beautiful hair, and she suggested, “Dodo, your hair’s gotten a bit long. Why don’t you try tying it into pigtails?”

Lin Duo had been away from home for over three months, and her hair had begun to fall past her neck and collar. Before she could even respond, Gu Xuexuan, without waiting, picked up a hair tie and fashioned Lin Duo’s back hair into two small pigtails.

She didn’t forget to instruct, “The way it was before, the hair at the back would stick up, which doesn’t look good. It’s best to tie it up. When it gets even longer, you can go to a salon to have it straightened.”

Lin Duo glanced at her reflection in the shop mirror. The two small pigtails surprisingly made her look much cuter, and she couldn’t help but fantasize about trying out all sorts of adorable hairstyles once her hair grew longer.

****

The next day, as Lin Duo went to school as usual, she found the tall boy who had given her the love letter yesterday already waiting by the classroom door. She tried to duck her head and slip into the classroom, but he blocked her path, anxiously asking, “Lin Duo, did you read the letter yesterday? What did you think of it?”

“I’m sorry! Right now, I just want to focus on my studies!”

Lin Duo’s reply clearly left Fang Yuwen feeling somewhat hurt. Taking advantage of his momentary shock, she swiftly slipped into the classroom.

After morning self-study came the daily morning exercises; by rule, all students had to participate. Although Lin Duo wasn’t particularly fond of such group activities, she was compelled to join due to the regulations.

What Lin Duo never expected was that upon returning to the classroom after morning exercises, several students were curiously gathered around her desk, pointing and whispering. Seeing the rightful owner return, they parted like the Red Sea for Moses, creating a path.

It was then that Lin Duo saw it: on her previously clean desk, someone had scrawled two large characters in chalk: ‘Whore’.

Lin Duo stood frozen, utterly bewildered. She couldn’t comprehend why someone would target her, a person who had always sought to avoid trouble and live peacefully. Why couldn’t people simply respect each other and maintain their distance? Why would anyone use such vicious words to attack her?

For a moment, she stood blankly before her desk, at a complete loss for what to do.

Just then, her deskmate, Wang Linshu, returned to the classroom. Upon witnessing the scene, the veins on his face throbbed as he slammed his hand down on the desk, roaring, “Who did this?!”

Wang Linshu was typically a rather honest and quiet boy, well-liked by his classmates. Thus, his two-year peers had never seen him so enraged, and the classroom fell into an eerie silence.

Wang Linshu’s chest heaved violently, taking a long moment to calm slightly. He then stared earnestly at Lin Duo. “Come on, let’s go tell the teacher. We have to find out who did this!”

“But… let’s just forget about it…” Lin Duo hesitated, accustomed to being bullied in her previous school and always preferring to avoid conflict.

“No! We absolutely cannot let this go!” Wang Linshu’s stance was unusually firm. “If we let this slide, there will be a next time. Your inaction will only fuel the growth of evil!”

Perhaps it was his fondness for fantasy novels that made his words sound so formal. Seeing Lin Duo still wavering, Wang Linshu steeled his resolve, grabbed her slender wrist, and pulled her out of the classroom.

Firstly, Lin Duo wasn’t as strong as the slightly plump boy, and secondly, she was at a loss for what to do. So, she was dragged all the way to their homeroom teacher, Teacher Su Ming’s office, where she reluctantly recounted the incident.

The homeroom teacher was also furious and went to the classroom to investigate the situation.

Since all students had been out for morning exercises at the time, it was unclear who had slipped back into the classroom to commit the act. Nevertheless, the homeroom teacher promised Lin Duo that she would contact the security office to retrieve surveillance footage and identify the culprit.

The incident was temporarily resolved. Back at her seat, Lin Duo hesitated before speaking in a very soft voice, “Um, Wang Linshu, thank you.”

“It’s nothing, it’s nothing. I just can’t believe such a malicious person was lurking among us!” Wang Linshu’s anger still seemed to simmer.

“But this was clearly my problem; there was no reason for you to trouble yourself…”

“Don’t say that! You’re very important to me!”

“Important? Why?” Lin Duo blinked, her eyes wide with curiosity.

“Well…” Wang Linshu had been on the verge of blurting out his true feelings in a moment of impulse. But as his gaze met Lin Duo’s clear, lake-like eyes, his sudden urge slowly receded. “We’re still deskmates for another year, so it’s only right that we care for each other.”

“That’s true!” Lin Duo suddenly realized she had been too cold toward her deskmate in the past. At the very least, he seemed like a good person, and his math skills were exceptional. She resolved to interact with him more often in the future.