Epilogue
I met Zhou Xiaoning in the first grade. Her family had just moved in on the same floor as mine.
She was in the same class as me too.
Every morning when my mom took me to school, we would run into her mom taking her.
No one in our class talked to Zhou Xiaoning. She was different. She wore something that looked like a headphone on her ear. The teacher said it was a Hearing Aid.
We all whispered behind her back that Zhou Xiaoning was deaf.
We looked at her with strange eyes.
On the way to and from school, my mom and her mom would chat the whole way back. That meant I had to walk with Zhou Xiaoning every single day, and it annoyed me to death.
I didn't want to walk with her. It was embarrassing. So I always walked very fast on purpose, pulling far ahead of her.
But my mom still told me that if anyone bullied Zhou Xiaoning at school, I had to help her.
I grumbled inside—who wants to help a deaf girl? Did my mom want her son to lose face at school?
Zhou Xiaoning's mom sold vegetables every day and came home very late. So my mom let Zhou Xiaoning come to our house to do homework and even eat dinner with us.
It irritated me so much.
I wanted to shout it out loud—Mom, stop letting Zhou Xiaoning come to our house.
But I was too young back then and still afraid of adults.
In the end, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I followed my mom into the kitchen and complained.
"Mom, stop letting Zhou Xiaoning come to our house. I get annoyed just looking at her."
My mom immediately told me to shut up and scolded me. She said Zhou Xiaoning was quiet and well-behaved, never caused trouble, so why did I hate her?
My mom said Zhou Xiaoning's ears were bad and she suffered the most. We should show more care.
After I complained that day, I came out to do homework again. I saw Zhou Xiaoning wipe her eyes. At dinner that night, she barely ate anything and said she was full.
She was always very quiet at my house. She would either do homework or watch TV with me.
But I watched things she didn't like.
After I complained, Zhou Xiaoning stopped coming to my house.
She started going to school and coming home alone. I rarely saw her on the road anymore.
She was deliberately avoiding me.
During PE class, after exercises, the teacher let everyone play freely. The girls gathered in groups to jump rope and play around. Zhou Xiaoning could only sit alone by the flower bed and watch them.
She always looked so lonely. Sometimes I secretly felt sorry for her.
Sometimes when I came home and saw her carrying big and small bags while opening her own door, I felt a little guilty.
Later, we entered junior high. Zhou Xiaoning was still that unlucky girl no one liked.
"Qin Chi, what are you looking at?"
My teammate's ball hit me and snapped me out of it.
I pulled my gaze away from Zhou Xiaoning who was walking past the court. She still couldn't make any friends.
She was always thin and small, looking weak. Every time I passed her class, other students were messing around while she sat alone staring at her books.
Such a nerd.
Then we entered high school. As expected, we ended up at the same school again, and our classes were even next to each other.
There was a girl in her class who was quite famous in school. Her name was Liu Tian. Her family seemed to have some money.
But I didn't really pay attention to any of that. Compared to Zhou Xiaoning's monotonous life, my high school life was way too exciting.
I had my own group of brothers. We played soccer, ate, drank, and fought. There was always someone who didn't like me and wanted to set up a fight.
But I never expected that Zhou Xiaoning, who was practically invisible in high school, would get bullied.
It was during the school sports meet. The night before, I snuck out of school and played games all night. The next day I was sleeping in the classroom.
After waking up, I went to the bathroom to smoke a cigarette and saw Zhou Xiaoning walking out from nearby, completely soaked.
She looked miserable.
I remembered bumping into three girls coming out of the girls' bathroom in the hallway earlier. They were muttering about beating her up again next time. I guessed what had happened.
I called out Zhou Xiaoning's name. She ignored me and walked faster.
That pissed me off.
Every time she saw me, she ran faster than a rabbit.
I threw away the cigarette, took a few quick steps, and grabbed her.
I confirmed she had been bullied.
Her eyes were stubborn but red.
I asked who did it. She gritted her teeth and wouldn't speak. But I had already guessed it was the three girls I met earlier, led by Liu Tian.
At that moment, I made up my mind. I was going to stand up for her.
What the hell!
Even though they were bullying Zhou Xiaoning, it felt like they were stepping on my territory.
After all, Zhou Xiaoning had always lived next door to me. Wasn't there a term for that—childhood sweethearts?
Zhou Xiaoning finally spoke. She asked if I could get revenge for her. I smiled. She was finally willing to talk to me.
Silly girl, of course I would get revenge for you.
I even asked her on impulse—what would she give me in return for getting revenge?
She was stunned, then said she would give me all her monthly allowance.
That wasn't what I meant at all. Who wanted her allowance?
The three girls came out of the classroom. They were heading to the sports field. They were chatting and laughing. When they saw me, they immediately stopped, froze for a second, then walked away quickly.
Zhou Xiaoning's hair was completely wet. I took off my jacket and gave it to her to dry her hair.
I kept asking about her grudge with Liu Tian.
Liu Tian had already beaten her before over class rankings. Reporting it to the teacher didn't help much. There was also the baseless Meal Card incident that turned her into a thief instead.
After listening, I clenched my back teeth.
She even foolishly promised me that she really hadn't stolen Liu Tian's Meal Card. If she was lying, she would be struck by retribution.
My heart ached so much at that moment.
That night after evening self-study, I walked into Zhou Xiaoning's class and stopped in front of Liu Tian's desk.
The usually arrogant Liu Tian didn't even dare to breathe loudly in front of me.
I grabbed a few books from her desk and dumped them over her head.
First, I needed to clear Zhou Xiaoning's name regarding the Meal Card.
I asked Liu Tian if Zhou Xiaoning had really taken her Meal Card.
She stayed silent.
So I changed my approach. Basically, her silence meant Zhou Xiaoning had never taken her Meal Card.
She really didn't make a sound. In front of the whole class, the matter of Zhou Xiaoning stealing her Meal Card was cleared.
Finally, I left one last sentence: "Try touching her again in the future?"
After that, she never dared to bully Zhou Xiaoning again.
That night, I walked Zhou Xiaoning back to the Dorm Room. She asked me a silly question.
Didn't I hate her? Why was I helping her?
It left me stunned.
So she had always thought I hated her?
Only then did I understand. The things I said and did when I was too young had left a huge shadow on Zhou Xiaoning.
She avoided me, shrinking back every time I came near.
I finally said what had been hidden in my heart for so long.
"Zhou Xiaoning, let me protect you from now on."
"Stop being alone. It hurts me to watch."
That night, we made up. I also began to see her cute and persistent side.
From then on, every morning when I entered the classroom, there would already be a neatly packed breakfast waiting in my desk, still warm. She was such a thoughtful girl.
She was good at cooking and cleaning and incredibly diligent.
Even when my brothers messed up the house, she could clean it up quickly.
During long holidays when my mom went traveling for a while, she quietly cooked for me, washed all the dirty clothes I had piled up, and hung them to dry.
But all of this stopped after I met Lin Yuanyuan. Zhou Xiaoning became invisible again and disappeared from my sight.
The first time I met Lin Yuanyuan, I accidentally hit her with a soccer ball. I took her to the infirmary.
Lin Yuanyuan was very cute and playful, but after her heart pain attacks, she became fragile, making people want to protect her. I was attracted to her.
But she was also very suspicious and had many rules. She kept a tight watch on me.
During that time, all my attention was on Lin Yuanyuan. I didn't believe that such a seemingly wonderful girl could have so many schemes.
Before the truth came out, I always sided with Lin Yuanyuan.
The way Lin Yuanyuan looked so fragile after her heart pain made me feel she was pure.
Until the day Zhou Xiaoning fell from the stairwell covered in injuries. Everyone rushed over to watch. Liu Tian, Lin Yuanyuan, and the other perpetrators huddled together in fear. My heart trembled violently.
Zhou Xiaoning lay on the ground with her eyes closed.
I immediately took off my clothes to cover her. At the same time, another jacket was placed over her.
As I picked Zhou Xiaoning up, the unfamiliar boy who had taken off his jacket with me was on the phone.
"Hello, 120? Please come to No.1 High School quickly. A female student fell down the stairs. She was severely beaten before falling. She's currently unresponsive..."
That boy also went with us to send Zhou Xiaoning to the hospital and helped with the admission procedures.
After the procedures were done, Zhou Xiaoning was in emergency treatment. I saw the boy talk to the school teacher for a bit before leaving.
I asked the teacher who he was.
It turned out he was from the previous year. He came back to visit the teacher and happened to encounter this.
His name was Cai Yixing.
Soon after, Zhou Xiaoning's incident was anonymously posted online, causing an uproar. The school felt immense pressure, and the police got involved.
Liu Tian, Lin Yuanyuan, and the others were caught red-handed the moment Zhou Xiaoning fell because students had witnessed it. They were directly taken away by the police.
Zhou Xiaoning had multiple fractures, external injuries, and a concussion. Fortunately, no vital areas were damaged. She woke up strongly.
But unfortunately, I had already been pushed out of her world by her.
When I went to the hospital to see her, she was always very silent, preferring to bury her head in practice questions rather than acknowledge me.
I was very anxious.
One evening during self-study, the school broadcast announced that Zhou Xiaoning's Disciplinary Action had been revoked. I was stunned.
Lin Yuanyuan had really played a good game. How could someone with such an obedient appearance have such a dark heart?
After the college entrance exam scores came out, I told Zhou Xiaoning I had applied to the school we had once talked about.
She said congratulations.
"Zhou Xiaoning, can you tell me which one you applied to?"
She shook her head. "I haven't decided yet."
"Then tell me when you decide, okay?"
She didn't respond.
I asked Aunt Lin if she knew which school Zhou Xiaoning had chosen.
Aunt Lin said Zhou Xiaoning had selected three universities, but she hadn't decided which one to attend yet.
From what Aunt Lin said, none of those three schools was the one we had originally agreed on.
It wasn't until registration ended that I learned from my mom that Zhou Xiaoning's first choice was N University.
During university, I traveled from another city to Zhou Xiaoning's school many times, but she refused to see me.
On the last day of National Day, on the bus back to school, I kept staring at the message Zhou Xiaoning had sent.
"Qin Chi, let's not be friends anymore."
I gripped my phone tightly and closed my eyes.
But I didn't give up.
During the Spring Festival of my junior year, I rushed back from my hometown and deliberately waited in the hallway, hoping to have New Year's Eve dinner at Zhou Xiaoning's house.
I got my wish. When they came back from buying groceries and saw me, Aunt Lin invited me to her house for the New Year's Eve meal.
I kept trying to talk to Zhou Xiaoning, but she always responded coldly.
Sometimes I felt Zhou Xiaoning was really heartless. Life is still long. Could she forgive me just once?
I wanted to give her the bracelet, but she wouldn't take it.
Later, when Aunt Lin came in, I had to leave the kitchen.
After dinner, she was on the balcony looking up at the fireworks. I took a shawl from the sofa, went to the balcony, and gently placed it over her shoulders.
She finally spoke to me first.
"Qin Chi, what is your dream?"
Before I could happily answer, a blessing message came for her.
I glanced over. The sender was Cai Yixing.
My heart stalled for a moment.
Cai Yixing—the person who anonymously posted Zhou Xiaoning's bullying incident online. If he hadn't put it on the internet and let netizens pressure the School, maybe Zhou Xiaoning's case wouldn't have been handled so well.
I knew it was him because I saw him take out his phone and photograph Zhou Xiaoning's miserable state. But the photos he posted online were well edited to protect her privacy.
Zhou Xiaoning looked at the message and the corners of her lips curved up into a gentle smile.
I knew I no longer had a chance.
A firework exploded in the sky. I said softly:
"My dream probably won't come true in this lifetime. Zhou Xiaoning, you must be happy."
(End)