Early in the morning, Qin Qin ran along the road for two hours before returning home.
Qin An had already prepared breakfast, and seeing Qin Qin come home, he gave her a smile, "Go wash up, eat breakfast, and after a little rest, Dad will take you to catch a ride."
Qin Qin nodded and went back to her room to get clean clothes before heading to the simple bathroom for a shower.
It was still the modest Xiaomi porridge and pickled vegetables, but Qin Qin enjoyed the meal immensely.
At that moment, noises came from outside, and Qin Qin wiped her mouth and put down her chopsticks.
Qin An looked toward the door with some confusion, only to see three men entering from outside.
Seeing the newcomers, Qin An's expression changed, and he quickly stood up to shield Qin Qin, "You... get out, don't..."
How did these three find their way here?!
The three men cautiously glanced at Qin Qin, who was behind Qin An, and seeing her indifferent expression, they turned pale and knelt down.
"Uncle, we were wrong, please have a big heart and forgive us three."
"Uncle, we were at fault before, we came here today to apologize specifically, you must forgive us."
Qin An stood still, not quite understanding what was going on.
"You... get up, please!"
Qin An said uneasily, still unable to grasp why the men who had been so fierce a few days ago were now begging for his forgiveness.
"Uncle, if you don't forgive us, we won't get up!" The red-haired ruffian carefully glanced at Qin Qin, and with tears and snot, pleaded for forgiveness.
Qin An was stunned, gently supporting the hand of the red-haired ruffian, "I... Just don't do those things again, be good people, I forgive you."
Hearing Qin An's forgiveness, the three ruffians hurriedly expressed their thanks.
"Thank you, uncle, we won't disturb you any longer." The three jostled each other to leave.
A loud cough wafted through the air, causing the backs of the three to stiffen.
The red-haired ruffian hastily pulled out neatly stacked one thousand yuan from his pocket and respectfully handed it to Qin An, "Uncle, this is our apology, please accept it."
"No, no, I can't take it, you keep it, I understand your apology, and I can't accept this money," Qin An hurriedly waved his hands, afraid to take the money.
Overtaking Qin An, the red-haired ruffian turned to look at Qin Qin, seeing her calm face, he difficultly swallowed and quickly placed the one thousand yuan on the table. Ignoring Qin An's shouts from behind, the three fled as if something were chasing them and soon disappeared without a trace.
Qin An withdrew his gaze to the money on the table, "Qinqin, this money..."
Qin Qin picked up the money and placed it in Qin An's hand, "Take it."
After a long time, Qin An reluctantly nodded, holding the money in his hand. He then took out two hundred yuan and gave it to Qin Qin, "Take this money, if there is something you want to buy, go buy it."
Qin Qin shook her head and pushed the money back into Qin An's hand, "I don't want it, I still have some. You forgot, last time I saved someone and she insisted on giving me two thousand yuan."
The five hundred yuan obtained from the young woman minus three hundred given to Lee Shuhua, plus over a thousand yuan robbed from those three ruffians the previous night, and including the two thousand yuan she had on her.
She took out the one thousand yuan she had prepared for Qin An from her bag, "Dad, keep this money."
Qin An, looking at the two thousand yuan in his hand, was stunned, "Qinqin."
"Keep it, I have money on me."
Qin An nodded with difficulty, secretly planning to use the money to improve their food at home. His daughter was growing up, and this money could be used to buy some good things.
…
First High School, where Qin Qin studied, was located in the county town of Peng County. It took just over ten minutes to go from Qin Qin's home to Peng County, and by the time she arrived at the school, it was already half-past seven.
The first class at First High School started at seven fifty.
Qin Qin looked at the high school before her and sorted through the memories in her mind. Beside her, a female student wearing First High School's uniform glanced at Qin Qin with a look of surprise, followed by a malicious smile as she quickened her pace into the school.
Qin Qin entered the high school and went to the head teacher's office to report back from her leave, then headed to the second floor of the teaching building, to the senior year (class three).
"She's here, she's here!"
"Quiet down, don't let her notice."
Qin Qin's ears twitched slightly, and her lips curled into a slight arc. She seemed not to notice the commotion in class three, but instead, she stopped in front of the half-open classroom door, her eyes fixated on the green door panel.
"Hey, Qin Qin, why aren't you coming in? Class is about to start."
Apparently a bit anxious, a girl sitting in the front row of class three asked urgently.
Qin Qin's gaze, through the glass, looked towards the girl, her eyes indifferent and waveless, yet causing the words that the girl was about to say to choke in her throat.
Nobody knew that before Qin Qin, a scene was unfolding—a bucket of water placed atop the half-open classroom door by the whole class, laughing, waiting just for Qin Qin to enter and drench her.
Good, very good! Excellent!
In her mind, memories of being bullied gradually surfaced, bringing a series of painful sensations from her heart—it was the pain that belonged to Qin Qin, buried deep in her memory.
There was no such thing as classmates' love in Qin Qin's heart, not now nor ever before.
"Qin Qin, why are you still at the door?" A middle-aged man approached from not far away—it was class three's head teacher, Lee Xing.
"Teacher Lee, please go in first," Qin Qin said to Lee Xing, taking a step back.
Lee Xing smiled and pushed the door open, and in the next moment, a bucket of cold water was poured directly onto his head, soaking his entire body.
"Who did this? Who did it?!"
Lee Xing wiped the cold water off his face, walked into the classroom, and angrily threw the wet books onto the lectern.
A moment of silence fell over the classroom; all the students guiltily bowed their heads, some pretending to do homework, others pretending to read, but no one admitted to the act.
Ignoring this bizarre scene, Qin Qin went directly to the back of the classroom to a spot near the trash can. This was the seat everyone had ostracized. A shadow crossed her eyes as she put down her schoolbag with a sinister smile and sat down as if it was none of her business.
Lee Xing stood on the platform, saw that nobody was speaking, and in a fit of anger slapped the desk, "Who did this? Nobody's admitting it, right? Class representative."
The class representative, a boy named Tian Feng, stood up fearfully, glanced at a certain spot, and stammered, "I... I don't know, Teacher."
"You don't know?! If you don't know, then you'll take responsibility. And while you're at it, have your parents come to the school," Lee Xing said coldly.
Tian Feng's face turned pale, and he shook his head fearfully, "No, please, no. Teacher Lee, it was Lili and Feng Xin."
Lan Lili and Feng Xin quickly stood up in fright, "Tea... Teacher, we were wrong."
"Wrong, you realize it now? Such venom at such a young age. Lan Lili, Feng Xin, stand outside the classroom immediately to reflect, and have your parents come to the school. As for the rest of the class, I want a written reflection of five hundred words from each of you."
"Ah, no way!"
"This is bad!"
Qin Qin ignored the class's wailing and took out her textbooks, beginning to read page by page.
Qin Qin's grades were neither very good nor very bad in her class. Now that her soul had become her, looking at these books was still somewhat difficult, but it didn't hinder her astonishing memory. In no time at all, she combined what she read with the memories in her mind, making everything much clearer to her.