Chapter 42: Rain of Reflection

Yaqi walked out of the school gate and looked around. She didn’t see the familiar car, nor did she catch Aunt Zhao’s gentle smile. Her eyes suddenly felt sore.

Her heart was aching. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Gongyu, who looked a little worried. Yaqi forced herself to blink, took a deep breath, and pulled herself together.

“Are you okay, Yaqi?”

“Yeah… I’m fine.”

Yaqi turned and smiled. Gongyu didn’t press further, gave a slight smile, and led her toward the bookstore.

“Yaqi, do you live with Liu Ya?”

“Yeah. How did you know?”

“I kind of sensed it before. The past couple of days after school, I saw you get into their car, and you seem pretty close with their aunt.”

“Yeah, Aunt Zhao is really nice!”

“Mm. And then today, when you talked about how Liu Ya acts at night when she sleeps, I was sure.”

“Is that so…”

As she spoke, Yaqi slowly lowered her head and stopped. Gongyu noticed she hadn’t followed and stopped too, turning back.

“Gongyu, do you hate Liu Ya?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you resent her?”

“…Yeah.”

“You’re lying.”

Gongyu hesitated. The words stuck in her throat. Normally, with a question like this, she would have blurted it out without thinking. But now, all the accusations she’d rehearsed in her head, all the condemnations, had vanished.

“I… I don’t know…”

Gongyu frowned and turned away. Yaqi quickly walked up beside her and continued.

“Tell me the truth! Do you really believe Liu Ya bullied Xinyu into dropping out?”

“I… but the photos are right there. What else could it be? Isn’t she that kind of person?”

“Then why did you apologize to her?”

“I…”

Yaqi’s voice was very calm, without any emotion. But to Gongyu, those words felt like a pickaxe, digging at the uncomfortable parts of her heart.

Her thoughts, emotions, the words she wanted to say, all of it was churned up. A nameless anger rose inside her, wanting to explode.

But when she met Yaqi’s sincere, determined gaze, she could only let the fire burn silently inside.

“I did something wrong… It’s only natural to apologize…”

“But you didn’t even scold her.”

“You… didn’t you say it yourself, Yaqi? Being right isn’t about being loud… I was too impulsive!”

“Gongyu, I think if someone truly hates or resents a person, they wouldn’t give them a chance, let alone take the initiative to apologize.”

“This…”

“The fact that you chose to apologize shows you don’t hate Liu Ya that much. Haven’t you ever wondered if there might be a misunderstanding?”

“I… I don’t know…”

Gongyu slowly lowered her head and clenched her skirt tightly.

“You know perfectly well!”

“Alright, stop talking!”

Gongyu raised her voice and walked ahead quickly. Yaqi didn’t follow, just stood there quietly. But after a few steps, Gongyu turned around and came back.

“So… sorry, I don’t know either…”

“But maybe… you’re right, Yaqi. I’ll think about it…”

Hearing this, Yaqi nodded and gave a slight smile. Then they walked to the bookstore together.

The noise of the crowd on the street brought Yaqi back to that night when she first moved into Liu Ya’s house, the commotion she’d made in the bathroom. She let out a relieved smile.

‘Right. If you truly hate someone, you wouldn’t give them a chance. You’d just ignore them. You definitely wouldn’t go out of your way to apologize.’

‘Aunt Zhao was absolutely right. Liu Ya and I haven’t changed. That’s why, even though I hurt her so much, she’s still willing to give me a chance to make up for it. Because we’ve always been close sisters.’

‘Gongyu must be the same, right? Maybe she’s just trapped by some misunderstandings. Once they’re cleared up, she’ll definitely be a good friend again!’

‘But this time, I switched up on a whim again and upset Liu Ya… Seriously, I promised not to make her angry anymore… Sigh… I don’t know how to get her to forgive me this time…’

‘Sorry, Liu Ya! I messed up again…’

“We’re here.”

“Oh, oh, it’s here…”

At the bookstore entrance, they stood quietly. When someone entered, Gongyu quietly called Yaqi and followed them inside.

After wandering around for a bit to ease the tension, Gongyu led Yaqi to the study materials section. She carefully and thoroughly analyzed Yaqi’s current problems and recommended suitable books.

Yaqi listened intently, pulling out her phone to take notes.

Gongyu’s explanations were very detailed, not inferior to Liu Ya’s. The main difference was that Gongyu’s teaching style was much gentler.

To put it in a metaphor: Gongyu explained problems like a gentle bird, breaking the knowledge into pieces, softening it, and feeding it bit by bit.

Liu Ya, on the other hand, was more like an irritable cat. If you made too many mistakes, she’d fluff up and hiss constantly.

For example, with questions Yaqi didn’t quite understand, she asked again and again. Gongyu didn’t get angry. She just sighed a little helplessly, then patiently asked where the confusion lay and explained each point.

But if it were Liu Ya, Yaqi would probably already be kneeling by now.

Yaqi listened quietly beside her. The awkward and puzzled look on her face had been replaced by pure admiration.

Even though she felt a little sorry toward Liu Ya for some reason, at that moment she sincerely thought that maybe it wasn’t a bad idea to try a different approach once in a while.

“Gongyu! You explain so clearly!”

“Is… is that so…”

“Yeah! Like this part. I’ve been stuck on it for ages! I just can’t seem to find the entry point.”

“When I see the problem, I know which concept to use, but I feel like I can’t get started. After your explanation, I finally get it. Turns out I was missing one step, haha!”

“Mm. This is a common mistake.”

Gongyu twisted a strand of hair in embarrassment, her eyes darting around.

“But… Liu Ya probably explains it better than I do…”

Yaqi looked up, thought for a moment, and gave an awkward, bitter smile.

“Ahaha… well… Liu Ya does explain it very thoroughly. But… I don’t understand it.”

“No way?”

“Mm… how should I put it? Maybe Liu Ya understands it too well? She explains in great detail, but… precisely because it’s so detailed, it makes me even more confused.”

“Oh, I think I get your problem, Yaqi.”

“Yeah? How so?”

Yaqi tilted her head curiously. Just as Gongyu was about to explain, she noticed Yaqi shifting from foot to foot and realized she might be tired from standing. She led her to a chair by the window, and once they sat down, she continued.

“In class before, the teacher asked Liu Ya to come up and share her problem-solving approach.”

“But she listed every single step, even the principles behind the formulas she used.”

“Yes, yes! Exactly!” Yaqi chimed in excitedly.

“That night! It was about the same formula we just talked about. Liu Ya explained its entire history, past and present!”

“But… after listening, I still didn’t know how to start. I felt like what I needed wasn’t there.”

“Mm. To be honest, after listening, I think we might have similar learning styles. When I solve problems, I mainly rely on the approach. As long as I have the approach, I can do it.”

“But Liu Ya seems to dig out all the underlying logic. I don’t get it, anyway.”

“Yeah, me neither!”

The two exchanged smiles. Yaqi felt like she’d found an ally, but then she remembered that Gongyu was also in the top 50 of their grade. She drooped her head helplessly and muttered under her breath,

“Sigh… if only Liu Ya were as easy to get along with as you, Gongyu…”

“Huh. Is Liu Ya really strict?”

“Mm! Super strict! Because of the exams lately, she’s forbidden me from going anywhere! I feel like I’m in prison.”

“And with homework, she criticizes me for even the slightest mistake. If I make too many…”

“Too many? Then what?”

Yaqi choked up, her face turning red with embarrassment. She shook her head.

“Uh… nothing…”

“Does she hit you?!”

Gongyu asked, a little agitated. Yaqi waved her hands frantically.

“No, no! Don’t misunderstand! It’s just… she treats me like a little kid and gives me a talking-to.”

As she said this, Yaqi laughed awkwardly and silently covered her rear end with her hand. Gongyu thought for a moment and roughly guessed what she meant.

“Oh~”

“Ahaha…”

Gongyu covered her mouth and snickered. Yaqi, embarrassed, turned her head away.

“I never expected Liu Ya to have that kind of hobby.”

“Oh, come on… It’s because when I taught Liu Ya when we were kids, I used to do that when she didn’t listen. And then… I got retaliated against.”

“Huh? You used to do that too? Hehe.”

“Well… everyone has their wild years! Ahaha…”

Yaqi laughed awkwardly and quickly picked up a book to pretend to flip through. Gongyu watched her quietly, lost in thought.

‘I thought Liu Ya would definitely try to control Yaqi’s studies, lecture her about everything, and then act like a good person teaching her.’

‘But it seems… that’s not the case? Although it’s hard to say it’s not her own private desire…’

‘But according to Yaqi, Liu Ya is pretty strict with her. If Liu Ya wanted Yaqi to depend on her, wouldn’t that damage her image? It would be counterproductive.’

‘Yaqi doesn’t seem like the type to lie. Could it be… that I’ve been wrong all along?’

“Yaqi, one more thing…”

“Mm?”

“How did you end up living with Liu Ya?”

Yaqi was silent for a moment, furrowed her brows, and pursed her lips.

“Because…”

Suddenly, a flash of white light hit both of their faces, followed by a loud rumble.

Startled, they both turned to look out the window. Raindrops were pattering against the windowsill, faster and faster. The sky darkened, and rain poured down in sheets.

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