With the guilt of forging her mother’s signature, Hua Jie diligently studied, previewed her lessons, listened attentively, efficiently completed her assignments, and focused on tutoring her junior high school courses.
Striving to be an exemplary student, all her teachers and classmates thought she was so well-behaved—
Even though her grades were poor, she looked every bit the diligent student.
After a week of classes, Hua Jie gradually regained the feeling of being a student, mastering the rhythm of her studies. Though still anxious about the future, she was filled with strength.
It wasn’t until Saturday, her day off, that Hua Jie went to the youth center to learn painting, finally setting aside her textbooks.
Her painting tools were left in the art room of the youth center when she first reincarnated, so she went out empty-handed in the afternoon.
The late autumn sun was still bright, but the temperature was not high.
Wearing a thick woolen coat and clean, albeit old, light pink sneakers, she walked for an hour under the sun to reach the youth center.
She could have taken the bus, but she wanted to take a closer look at this small hometown in the year 2000.
The sky was a deep blue, adorned with thick, fluffy white clouds.
Rough bicycles, roaring motorcycles, men talking on their pagers, cool boys with short haircuts and Jay Chou’s “Male Tears Are Not a Crime” posters outside internet cafes…
When she arrived, she was a bit out of breath, with sweat on her forehead and nose.
But she had a smile on her face. It’s really nice, everything is just like in her memories, lighting up her recollections, and the unfamiliar city became familiar again.
With a hint of nostalgia and a touch of happiness.
Today, the art teacher at the youth center, Zhang Xiangyang, set up three sets of still life:
- The most difficult: two apples, a deformed Coke can, a glass of water filled halfway, 2 eggs, 2 cherries, a copper teapot (with the other objects’ reflections on its convex body), three books pressed underneath the still life, a dark-colored scarf, with a white tablecloth at the bottom layer.
- Moderate difficulty: a three-clawed pottery jar, a tomato, an apple, a white porcelain plate, a small knife, with overlapping dark and light-colored scarves underneath the still life, and a white tablecloth at the bottom layer.
- Simple: a pottery jar, a gypsum cone, a pear, an apple, with a drooping tablecloth pressed underneath.
Hua Jie found her painting tools from the studio cabinet, holding them in her arms as she stood in the middle of the studio, surveying the three sets of still life.
At that moment, the studio door was pushed open, and two students walked in—
One was a delicate-looking girl with shoulder-length hair, and the other was a girl with a high ponytail wearing a red sweater. Both were seniors in high school, but they were not from the same school as Hua Jie.
They were from No. 2 High School High School, which was Shen Mo’s former school before he transferred.
No. 2 High School’s teaching standards had always been on par with No. 1 High School, but this year, its enrollment rate surpassed No. 1 High School’s, suddenly becoming the top high school in Jinsong City.
For Hua Jie now, these two girls were strangers. How many years had passed since she graduated before her rebirth, these lively childhood acquaintances had long been faded and sealed in her memories.
The two girls carried their drawing boards and stood beside Hua Jie with their pockets, also inspecting the three sets of still life.
The girl in the red sweater glanced at Hua Jie and smiled, saying:
“Hua Jie, why did you leave without finishing your painting last week?”
“…I suddenly remembered something at home last week.” Hua Jie casually made up an excuse.
What were these two girls called again
“Bai Lu, which one are you going to draw?” the girl with shoulder-length hair asked the girl in the red sweater.
“I’ll choose the simple set, haha. With my skills, that’s about all I can manage.” Although Bai Lu in the red sweater said this, her expression showed no trace of humility.
She was quite sturdy, with even a hint of ferocity when she smiled.
After answering the girl with shoulder-length hair’s question, she suddenly turned to Hua Jie and asked with a smile, “Did you bring your paper today?”
Hua Jie was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered who this girl was.
This girl named Bai Lu used to bully the easy targets in the art class. Before every class, she would demand a sheet of A4 sketch paper or watercolor paper.
It wasn’t anything valuable, but if you didn’t give it to her, she would pick on you continuously, even lightly slap the back of your head or shoulder.
The person wearing a red sweater next to Bai Lu is her accomplice named Tang Yang.
Instantly, memories from her childhood flooded Hua Jie’s mind—scenes like groups of boys fighting in school from elementary to high school, where you couldn’t even make eye contact with them while passing by in the schoolyard, or you might get cursed at or even beaten;
Or how there were also dominant girls among the female students, who would even gang up on their girlfriends’ scumbag ex-boyfriends;
Or how among friends who often played together, there might be a vague distinction between who was the central figure and who was on the periphery.
There were also classmates who bullied the weaker ones to run errands, or would vent their frustrations on those who were easy targets.
In the early years, there were even sayings like “drinking leads to fighting”, although it wasn’t as serious as that, but in the old millennium era, the people’s spirits were indeed tough.
People like Bai Lu were considered minor troublemakers, many of whom, along with similar children, would gradually be influenced by the new social environment after graduating from high school and undergo a transformation.
Some would be polished by society and forced to change.
Hua Jie didn’t remember what happened to Bai Lu later, but she still remembered a time when she really didn’t want to go to art class because she always had to give Bai Lu paper or pens. Although she had never actually been hit, she still felt scared.
Turning to face Bai Lu, who was indeed taller and sturdier than herself, possibly with plenty of fighting experience.
If it came to a fight, she probably wouldn’t stand a chance, but this adult soul residing in her body would never yield to a real child.
“I didn’t bring it, and I won’t bring it in the future. If you ask me for paper or pens again, I’ll report you to the teacher.”
“If the teacher doesn’t care, I’ll go to your school and find your class teacher.”
“If your class teacher doesn’t care either, I’ll ask for your home address and wait for your parents at your doorstep, to make them discipline you.”
“If your parents don’t care either, I’ll call the police.”
“If you dare touch a hair on me, I’ll fall to the ground and refuse to get up, making your parents pay for me to get a medical examination in Beijing. If they don’t take out tens of thousands from their pockets, I won’t call myself Hua Jie!”
Actually, the atmosphere in the northern regions had greatly improved in later years, with fights and bullying incidents becoming rare. But memories of these incidents from her early years still made Hua Jie feel like she was facing a great enemy. When she ran into Bai Lu asking for paper, all her pent-up resentment from the past came pouring out.
She stood tall, her eyes glaring like copper bells, her tone stern and imposing, as if she were a mother hen protecting her chick, about to pounce and bite Bai Lu’s carotid artery in the next moment. It was quite intimidating.
Bai Lu only chuckled and said a word, but then Hua Jie interrupted her, leaving her speechless for a while.
Why did she suddenly explode like that?
She never expected that asking for something from Hua Jie, who usually seemed timid, would meet with such fierce resistance.
She usually relied on her tall and sturdy build to intimidate people, but she had never really been in many fights. The last time she had a physical altercation was in junior high when she got into a fight with a male classmate, slapping each other and scratching each other’s faces…
“Who… who are you talking to?” It took Tang Li a while to react and realize that she couldn’t lose her momentum. Instantly, she widened her eyes, furrowed her brows, and glared back fiercely.
“What’s wrong? Didn’t you understand what I just said?” Hua Jie refused to show any weakness, her voice louder, and she stared back fearlessly.
Although she didn’t look fierce at all, Hua Jie was convinced that she must be exuding a threatening aura right now.
This confidence helped her mask the fact that she was actually quite scared inside.
With her hand gripping the drawing board and her head held high, she seemed ready to swing the board at the other girl’s face at any moment.
Girls in this world sometimes overreact to vague threats for a reason.
As the weaker party, if they don’t immediately react and show their claws, they could really end up being bullied badly.
This sensitivity is something that the stronger party cannot understand.
As an adult, Hua Jie deeply understood this principle. At this moment, only by showing no fear could she possibly scare the other person away.
If she showed fear, it would only invite conflicts like shoving.
Sure enough, Bai Lu glanced around and seemed wary that the teacher might come at any moment. Although she felt embarrassed and annoyed, she still didn’t resort to physical violence.
She snorted and turned to the girl with shoulder-length hair, saying, “Is she crazy? What’s with all the yelling? It’s like she’s got a problem with everyone.”
Hua Jie still held onto her drawing board until the other girl walked away and was no longer facing her, then she relaxed.
One point for resisting the forces of evil.
Her palms were sweaty; she was still a bit scared that it might escalate into a physical fight.
Luckily, the other party was also putting on a brave front, phew…
Another male classmate next to them finished organizing his drawing board and asked Hua Jie, “Which set of still life are you choosing?”
“I’ll go for that set.” Taking a deep breath, Hua Jie relaxed from the tension just now and pointed to the most difficult set of still life.
“Wow! So daring!” The male student raised his eyebrows in admiration.
After hearing this, Bai Lu turned her head to stare at Hua Jie and sneered at the girl with shoulder-length hair, saying, “For the difficult set, isn’t Tang Yang the only one in our studio who can handle it? Others really dare to choose it, not afraid of embarrassing themselves.”
It turned out that the girl with the proud expression was named Tang Yang.
“Those seniors in Grade 12 should definitely be able to handle it, right? They’ll be preparing for the art entrance exam in December. But I can give it a try too.” Tang Yang smiled in response to Bai Lu’s praise, glanced at Hua Jie with a proud smile, then carried her drawing board towards the most difficult set of still life.
“I think those seniors in Grade 12 are not as good as you.” Bai Lu said to Tang Yang, “I always thought the still life sets arranged by the teacher were too simple for you.”
“Maybe.” Tang Yang accepted Bai Lu’s praise without hesitation, extremely confident in herself.
Hua Jie’s eyes flickered subtly, and she whispered to her classmate beside her, who had also been blackmailed by Bai Lu for pencils, “They both draw with their mouths.”
“Haha…” The classmate couldn’t help but chuckle, but quickly stopped when Bai Lu and Tang Yang turned to look, maintaining a serious expression and avoiding trouble.
At that moment, Teacher Zhang walked in carrying a cardboard box. Taking a glance at the students already in the art studio, she remarked, “Quite early arrivals,” then turned to the wall to start unpacking the plaster casts from the box.
Other students began to trickle into the studio as well.
Teacher Zhang arranged the newly bought plaster casts and brushed off the chalk dust from her hands, strolling around to see which students had chosen which still life sets.
While Bai Lu sharpened pencils, she occasionally glanced at Hua Jie’s figure.
This girl, who had always been obedient to her, suddenly lost control. Bai Lu couldn’t quite accept it.
Seeing Teacher Zhang’s gaze seemingly falling on Hua Jie, a flash of insight struck Bai Lu, and she suddenly spoke up, “Teacher Zhang, considering Hua Jie’s level, shouldn’t she choose a simpler still life?”
“She’s attempting the hardest set. Isn’t she just taking up space? She won’t be able to finish it anyway.”
Bai Lu’s loud voice drew everyone’s attention in the studio to Hua Jie.
Many students with strong social perceptiveness couldn’t help but feel embarrassed for Hua Jie.
If Teacher Zhang were to say that Hua Jie couldn’t handle the most difficult set, indirectly pointing out her overestimation of her abilities and asking her to switch to the simpler set… the process of Hua Jie standing up and moving her drawing board and materials to a different place, under everyone’s watchful eyes, would be so humiliating!
Bai Lu sensed the awkward atmosphere and a sense of satisfaction gleamed in her small eyes.
She wanted to see if Hua Jie would still dare to act arrogantly.
Hua Jie’s brow furrowed gradually, her expression turning serious as she looked at Teacher Zhang.
Tang Yang has always colluded with Bai Lu. She held the brush and looked at Hua Jie, calmly waiting to see the excitement.
What surprised everyone was that Teacher Zhang paused but didn’t ask Hua Jie to switch groups.
Zhang Xiangyang remembered the sketch Hua Jie left behind when she hurriedly left last week.
That piece of excellent sketch, perfectly balanced, was definitely beyond the level of all the other students in the studio.
He also wanted to see if Hua Jie could produce another good piece intentionally, or if her last performance was just a fluke.
“Hua Jie, sit there and draw.” Zhang Xiangyang said seriously.
Bai Lu stared at the teacher in disbelief.
Teacher Zhang always insisted that students should draw according to their level. When students wanted to draw something beyond their capability, he would firmly stop them.
Not only to prevent students from getting frustrated but also to avoid disrupting their drawing rhythm by rushing for results.
Teacher Zhang often said, “If the foundation is not solid, the skyscraper cannot be built and will collapse.”
But today… why did she let Hua Jie tackle a still life group that even senior high school students find challenging?
Does the teacher think Hua Jie can handle it?
Not only Bai Lu, but other classmates were also somewhat surprised. Hua Jie, who used to be unknown, suddenly seemed different.
Hua Jie held the drawing board, glanced at Bai Lu, and smiled triumphantly.
The smile was meaningful, making Bai Lu’s face flush with a mix of frustration and embarrassment.