At the end of August, Haicheng ushered in the last storm, with dark clouds pressing down, the sky was darker than before.
The door of the second bedroom was pushed open, and Jiuma, [1] Wu Yinghua complained loudly while wiping the water droplets with a towel: "You still don't know how to go to the rooftop to get the quilts in such heavy rain? Shutting yourself up in your room all day long, aren't you afraid of becoming moldy?!"
(TL Note [1]: Maternal uncle's wife)
Qi Ying sat motionless in front of the window, and even her posture has not changed.
Yu Zhao, half-lying on the sofa, said lazily: "She can't hear you. What's the use of shouting at her?"
Wu Yinghua walked over and slapped his head: "She is deaf, but are you also deaf? You only know how to play games! You're going to be a freshman in senior high school now. Can you still play leisurely like you did in junior high? "
Yu Zhao was unhappy after being slapped on his head. He rubbed his head and ran back to his room before he locked the door.
Wu Yinghua was angry. Looking back at Qi Ying, she was still in the same posture sitting in front of the window. Her delicate silhouette stood still against the heavy rain backdrop outside the window, it suddenly gave birth to a feeling of deserted loneliness. Thinking of her niece's bitter experience, the anger in her heart reduced greatly.
She walked over and knocked on the table.
Qi Ying turned around and saw that it was her Jiuma. Her clear and soft pupils flashed, her thin lips pursed slightly, and a cautious and solemn smile appeared.
Wu Yinghua's heart was stung by her smile. She sighed silently, took out her mobile phone to type, and handed it to her after she finished typing.
Qi Ying's gaze fell on the glowing screen: It's raining heavily. Your Jiujiu [2] won't come back tonight. Go to bed early.
(TL Note [2]: Mother's brother; maternal uncle)
The previous Qi Ying was illiterate.
After accepting this body's memory, the knowledge that she once couldn't reach seemed to be self-taught, which gave her a new understanding of this world.
It's just that every time she sees a mobile phone, she still thinks it's a novelty. It's amazing how such a small thing not only can shine, but also have very vivid and clear pictures. It was truly mystical.
Qi Ying cleverly nodded at her aunt.
Wu Yinghua then closed the door and left.
Qi Ying continued to look out of the window. The wind and rain were gradually getting stronger, and the trees on the street swayed side to side unsteadily. The vehicles driving in the rain frequently flashed their lights, and drove slowly.
It must be noisy outside, but she couldn't hear anything.
Only an occasional buzzing.
She has been in this world for more than two months.
At first, Qi Ying thought it was a dream. On the day when she learned that the General had died on the battlefield, she hung a white silk on the roof beam and followed the General.
She still remembers the suffocation and pain before death, and even the golden light of the sunset that fell on the Persian silk tree in the courtyard. But when she woke up again, she became this seventeen-year-old deaf girl. She's alive once again.
Unfamiliar memories swept her like a tide.
This girl, also called Qi Ying, lost her parents six months ago and swallowed sleeping pills in desperation. After she was rescued, the core soul was replaced.
Probably because of this body's instinct, whenever she tried to recall the memories of the original owner's parents, her heart hurt like it was like being pricked by thousands of needles. This forced her to stop trying to remember them.
Qi Ying thought, "That young girl must be sad."
Because of her memory's instinct, this world, which was originally strange to her, became full of familiarity.
When she watched the TV for the first time, unexpectedly she was not surprised at all. Only when she finally went to bed, did she realize afterwards that she felt magical.
She resembled a person living in this era. The only thing she can't adapt to was the deafness and loss of sound caused by the accident. And this accident was also the main cause of the original owner's parents death.
The father of the original owner was an anti drug trafficking police officer. After cracking down on a drug trafficking case, the criminal gang retaliated against him by kidnapping the original owner and her mother. During the rescue process, the deranged criminal detonated the bomb. Although all of the criminal gangs were killed, the parents of the original owner were also seriously injured and died. She was the only one who survived.
After handling the aftermath, the original owner was brought to Haicheng by her Jiujiu, Yu Cheng, but the girl who couldn't accept the death of her parents finally chose to leave.
When Qi Ying woke up, her Jiujiu and Jiuma were guarding her for almost 24 hours for fear that she would do stupid things again. Only recently did the tests performed by her psychologist showed that she was in good health, and Qi Ying was taken home from the sanatorium by her Jiujiu.
Her Jiujiu was very kind to her, and although her Jiuma was hot-tempered, she was also a sharp-tongued-but-soft-heart kind of person. Even the rebellious younger brother, Yu Zhao, knocked on her door every hour to check on her condition.
This was an affection Qi Ying has never experienced before.
She was an orphan in troubled times. She grew up in the horror of the chaos of the war. When she fled at the age of fourteen, she was abducted by the bandits to their stronghold in the mountains. She wanted to knock her head on the wall and die to protect her innocence. However, the General descended like a heavenly deity and rescued her.
The General, dressed in black armor, sat on the back of a black-maned horse and asked her in a low voice: "Where can I go?"
She tearfully shook her head, and the general leaned over and stretched his hands to grab her waist and held her in his arms on top of the horse. Since then, the General's Manor had become her home.
The General has yet to marry a wife, and she was the only one in the huge General's Manor. The General accepted her as his concubine. Although he seldom came back from the war all year round, he still instructed the people in the mansion to treat her well.
She gave her whole heart and whole person to the powerful and mighty general. She heard how people all over the world praised and revered the God of War in her heart. But unexpectedly, that same God of War died on the battlefield that day.
Has the general ever loved her?
Qi Ying didn't know.
But she loves the General.
Her life was given by the General. When the General died, she had no concerns or worries in that world anymore. Her only wish was to be buried with him after her death. It would be her greatest honor to die in the same place as the General.
Unexpectedly, not only would the Heavens not allow her to die, but she was also sent to a peaceful and beautiful world without war and chaos. Everything here was fine, but there was no General.
...
The storm lasted for several days, and when it was completely sunny and cloudless, it was only two days before school started.
Some time ago, her Jiujiu, Yu Cheng, had already completed the transfer formalities for Qi Ying, and transferred her as a sophomore this year to Haicheng First High School, the senior high school that Yu Zhao had just recently been promoted to.
Qi Ying didn't know how to live in this new life. Facing this new and strange world, she was hesitant and indecisive.
But she didn't want to disappoint her family, and she was willing to listen to her Jiujiu's words and do what she can in order to reassure them.
As a rule, Qi Ying was not suitable for normal high school classes.
She can neither hear nor speak, so the deaf-mute school was more suitable for her. But her psychologist suggested that a normal environment was more suitable for Qi Ying's recovery and healing. She needed to be in touch with people, and more importantly, have friends the same age as her.
Her deafness was a traumatic injury caused by the explosion, and after a few more medical treatments, she will recover completely. However, her aphasia [3] was a psychological trauma caused by fright. Medical treatment doesn't help much, and it can only be recovered slowly.
(TL Note [3]: Aphasia is a condition that robs you of the ability to communicate. It can affect your ability to speak, write, and understand language, both verbal and written. In a nutshell, muteness.)
After the accident, Qi Ying's father was named a self-sacrificing hero, and Qi Ying became the hero's daughter. With the intervention of the police, Qi Ying's admission procedures went very smoothly. The principal also received a special instruction from the leader of the Municipal Bureau. He hoped that the daughter of the hero can feel respect and friendship here, and physical and emotional bullying must never happen.
The principal also knew the seriousness of this matter. He selected the head teacher of the sophomore year of senior high school to go back and forth between the classes and finally chose Class Two. Good performance, good atmosphere, few thorny students, excellent class body and an advanced class teacher for two consecutive years, it's right to choose Class Two!
The head teacher, Liu Qinghua, was called by the principal to his office to have a long talk for an hour. Finally, Liu Qinghua clenched his fists to guarantee that Qi Ying's classmates would let her feel the warmth of a family here!
On the day of the school opening, Yu Cheng drove Yu Zhao and Qi Ying to the school gate.
Yu Cheng had been nagging Yu Zhao for several days already that he must protect his older sister at school. Even after class, he had to go to Class Two to see if his older sister had been bullied.
The father and son pair knew that Qi Ying couldn't hear, thus they didn't care too much about the words that they spoke of.
Yu Cheng said: "Your older sister is good looking, but can not speak, and her temper is also introverted. Those boys like to bully this kind of good girl. You can not be intimidated, or what's the use of letting you learn taekwondo these past few years?"
Yu Zhao: "So, the reason I learned taekwondo was just to fight? But the last time I fought and was called by other parents, you still beat me in front of the teacher."
Yu Cheng: "For the sake of your older sister, you can fight. Any other reasons are out of the question."
Yu Zhao: "???"
At the school gate, Yu Cheng pulled the door open. Qi Ying was carrying a school bag, and her school uniform was an alternating shade of blue and white colors. Her black hair was tied behind her head, and she had big cheeks, a pair of clear and bright eyes, thin lips curved in a shallow arc, and a pretty jaw. She was as beautiful as a budding rose in bloom .
Yu Cheng took out his cell phone and typed: If someone bullies you, find a teacher first, and then ask the teacher to call me. Do you remember my phone number?
Qi Ying nodded.
Yu Cheng typed again: Xiao [4] Zhao is in Year 1, Class 7. His classroom is just around the corner of the first floor. Look for him if there's any matter.
(TL Note [4]: Used as an affectionate way of calling someone's name)
Qi Ying continued to nod.
Yu Cheng still wanted to type something, but Yu Zhao impatiently grabbed Qi Ying's bag and said, "Go, go, we're going to be late. Dad, you should go back now, you're like an old hen."
Qi Ying was dragged by Yu Zhao for a few steps, but she turned around and waved her hand towards Yu Cheng.
Yu Cheng stood worriedly at the same place, looking at his niece's beautiful face, he was reminded of his older sister. He sighed for quite a few times until Qi Ying disappeared and he finally returned to his car.
As soon as the car door was closed, an ear-piercing rumbling sound can be heard nearby followed by an emergency brake and it stopped right in front of the school.
The braking sound was so loud that passersby thought something had happened and looked at it one after another. Even the school security guard was alarmed and hurriedly rushed over.
A young man, wearing a black T-shirt, jumped off a dark red motorcycle. He was very tall and his messy hair was blown by the wind. He put his uniform on his shoulder. With a chewing gum in his mouth, he tilted his head and greeted the security guard with a whistle.
His whole face was unruly and he had an aura of a ruffian.
The security guard seemed to recognize who he was, thus didn't dare to block him, and returned to his post.
The youngster nonchalantly walked into the school gate with his uniform.
Yu Cheng frowned.
How can there be such a student who looked like a delinquent attend this school?
Several girls passed by the car and screamed.
"Boss and his motorcycle are both so handsome! I want to touch….."
"Touch the person or the motorcycle?"
"… Everything."
"Shut up! If Xue Manqing heard you, you'll be beaten to death."
"Qi [5], Ji Rang also doesn't like her. I saw the anonymous grade group say that during summer vacation, Xue Manqing held a big birthday party for Ji Rang, but Ji Rang didn't show up at all."
(TL Note [5]: Whispering sound)
"The anonymous group also said that Ji Rang and a group motorcyclists were arrested because of street racing. Isn't he very good now? He even dares to ride the bike to school, this proved that the anonymous group were unreliable!"
"That doesn't necessarily have to be true, Boss's family is wealthy. As long as it's not murder and arson, what problems can't be solved?"
...
The girls gradually got further away, and Yu Cheng's frowned so much that the wrinkle on his brow can hold a pencil. What's this all about? Are the children here to study or to date?
He has to let Yu Zhao pay more attention and not let Qi Ying be eyed by these bad students!
He is not worried too much about Qi Ying.
Ying Ying is so good, she'll definitely stay far away from these bad boys!