CH 11

Hi everyone! Sorry for the delay, my finals are finally over. Tomorrow, I’ll update another chapter. Hope you enjoy!

By December, Haishi City finally entered the winter season.

Cheng Chu noticed that Gu Miao had changed.

The young man’s once impenetrable heart seemed to open a small crack.

He was willing to talk.

Although most of the time, what he said was still intermittent. He no longer replies with short phrases like “Um”, “Oh”, “Mhmm”, etc.

Cheng Chu knew that his life was difficult, so he was forced to build a high wall to protect his heart, wrapping himself with indifference and coldness to hide the softness of his heart.

But his soft side, only she knows.

For the bitter winter, everyone put on their winter school jacket and some people wore an extra layer of a winter coat.

But Gu Miao had nothing.

When class was over, Cheng Chu went to the nearby canteen. She bought two hot water heating bags, added boiling water, and handed one of them to Gu Miao.

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The girl’s school uniform was wrapped in a fleece jacket, and under the chunky scarf were her dewy face and her doe eyes.

Gu Miao lifted his hand, a little loss.

“Take it.” Cheng Chu saw that his hands were a little red from the cold and hurriedly stuffed the heating bag into his hands.

The heating bag has a light beige flannel cover; the same color as her coat.

The warmth slowly spread from the fingertips to the bottom of his heart. Gu Miao lowered his head and stared at the heating bag, his eyes growing moist.

His uncle’s family is not rich, and his cousin was hospitalized a few days ago, which further emptied their wallet.

As a teenager who’s still growing, the clothes from the previous years already don’t fit him. Still, his aunt and uncle would never buy him new ones.

He could only wear a thin winter jacket every day, hugging himself, hoping that winter will pass sooner.

This is the first time someone is willing to give him warmth.

Gu Miao held the hot-water bag tightly with both hands. His frigid red fingers were suddenly warmed from the cold, evoking a slight pain.

It was the end of class, Gu Miao raised his head slightly, looking at the girl’s back.

The warm winter sun dyed her waist-long hair into a comforting chestnut color, and a few mischievous strands fell on his desk.

The classroom was quiet; occasionally disrupted by the rustling sounds of students flipping through books.

Gu Miao love-strikingly stared at the hair on his desk. His eyes yearning.

A moment passed, he stretched out his trembling hands, and carefully touched the hair that was sprawled across the desk.

Suddenly, the girl moved her head, and the strands of hair slipped from his fingers.

Gu Miao withdrew his hand in a daze, but his fingertips were burning hot.

He rubbed his fingertips together, recalling the touch of her soft hair–

Warm, like the glow of spring, like her.

The school bell rang in the classroom, and the teacher walked in.

Gu Miao returned to his senses, stood up a moment later than everyone else, and hurriedly said, “Hello, teacher.”

When sitting down, he saw her stray hair laying in the corner of his table, faintly changing to a warm chestnut color because of the sunlight.

Gu Miao stretched out his hand, quietly picked up her hair, found a clean piece of paper, and carefully wrapped it in it.

***

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The current period was physics class, learning about electricity, which happened to be the topic that Cheng Chu was not good at.

Halfway through the period, the teacher asked everyone to divide into groups of four to discuss a circuit problem from the book.

Cheng Chu and Luo Qian Qian both turned around holding their textbook and saw Zhou Ran who was also frowning.

“Do you know this?” Luo Qian Qian asked him.

Zhou Ran shook his head. Luo Qian Qian was a standard academic dummy, except for a bit of chemistry, every other subject was a nightmare for her.

Cheng Chu wasn’t as good with electricity; therefore, also shook her head.

The three of them stared at each other in silence.

The classroom was full of noise, but only their group was silent.

Cheng Chu quietly raised her eyes and turned to Gu Miao.

The young man hung his head, his face chilly as if isolated from the noisy classroom.

Both Zhou Ran and Luo Qian Qian knew that he was always like that and never participated in any group discussions, so they didn’t plan to bother him at all.

But not Cheng Chu.

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In the past few days, she found that Gu Miao was willing to say a few more words to her, so she frequently talked to him.

Listening to her endless questions, the young man kept his eyes lowered. His ears were red, but he still stammered to answer her.

Cheng Chu thought that he was beginning to open up, at least better than before.

However, she didn’t know that the boy’s cold heart is only soft to her.

And he is only willing to open his heart to her alone.

The classroom was noisy so Cheng Chu moved her chair back a bit, raised her eyes slightly, and looked into the boy’s dark eyes.

She softly asked: “Gu Miao, do you know this?”

Gu Miao lowered his head and glanced at the problem, then nodded.

“Then can you help us? The teacher seems to be randomly calling students to talk about this topic.” Cheng Chu was a little embarrassed.

The boy hung his head and said nothing. His dark eyes were hidden under the dull glasses frame; his emotions were difficult to distinguish.

The air stagnated for a moment.

Luo Qian Qian laughed awkwardly and to pacify the situation, she said: “It’s alright, it’s alright. We won’t necessarily be chosen.”

“Yeah, if we stare at it for a long time, maybe we can figure it out.” Zhou Ran echoed.

They were afraid that Gu Miao’s silence would embarrass the girl.

A gust of cold wind penetrated through the window, and the book pages fluttered gently.

The boy’s fingers twitched. He hesitated for a moment, and said in a deep voice: “I can.”

He paused and continued: “I-I can help y-you.”

Luo Qian Qian and Zhou Ran eye’s were wide open. They stared at the normally silent young man who usually acts unlike a living person. In contrast, Gu Miao calmly took out his notebook from his desk, held a pen, and drew a circuit diagram.

The two hurriedly leaned over; four heads were brought together, listening intently.

The boy’s voice was low and heavy, a little husky. Although he stutters, it did not make people feel irritable or annoyed.

He spoke slowly but clearly, so everyone listened very carefully.

This time, no one interrupted him.

Gu Miao lay down his pen and breathed a sigh of relief.

“You are so amazing.” Luo Qian Qian looked at him with admiration.

She is stupid. In fact, she only understood the first minute of his explanation, if she were to encounter such questions on the test, she’ll just give up.

Zhou Ran on the side also nodded, and said: “Really amazing.”

These questions are difficult and are usually the last couple of questions on exams.

Gu Miao only pursed his lips and didn’t speak up.

Such straightforward and enthusiastic praise rarely appeared for him. He felt a little strange, a little lost.

[What would she think?] Gu Miao thought to himself.

In the end, he couldn’t suppress the curiosity and desire in his heart, Gu Miao secretly lifted his eyes.

Under the bright sunlight, the girl propped up her head. Joy was hidden in her bright doe-like eyes with a trace of faint admiration.

Gu Miao’s ears turned bright red instantly, and in secret, happiness filled up his heart.

For the first time, he felt that group discussions were no longer a burden, but were so lively and interesting.

The discussion in the classroom gradually quieted down, and the teacher patted the podium to signal everyone to be silent.

“Is anyone taking the initiative to talk about this topic?” the teacher asked.

No one spoke, most people bowed their heads, avoiding eye contact with the teacher, for fear that if one is not careful, they will be chosen and suffer.

“Well, if you don’t want to take the initiative, I will pick someone.” He paused and said casually: “Number three.”

Cheng Chu tremblingly stood up.

From the next aisle, she heard Yu Yin mockingly laughed.

“Oh, it’s a new student! Do you understand this question?” the teacher asked with a loving smile.

“Teacher, she can definitely solve this problem; after all, she was from the special class.” Yu Yin loudly shouted.

Seeing her hesitation, the teacher didn’t intend to embarrass her, but still raised her eyes and reconfirmed: “Can you solve it? If not, then sit down.”

He also knew that this question was a bit difficult, and most of the girls who came from the special class were bad at theoretical questions, so it is understandable if Cheng Chu couldn’t.

Cheng Chu looked down at the problem in the book, recalling Gu Miao’s stumbling explanation from just now, frantically struggling to gather her thoughts.

Actually, she could choose to sit down and say that she can’t do it, but the number three is followed by the number four. What if the teacher chose Gu Miao next?

If Gu Miao was forced to speak in front of so many people, it’s very likely that his stuttering condition will reactivate. Without a doubt, Yu Yin and his lackeys would definitely laugh at him and use the chance to bully him.

Cheng Chu hesitated in her heart, but after a while, she pursed her lips and said with difficulty, “Yes, I can.”

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“Okay, then come to the podium and explain while drawing the diagrams on the board.” The teacher happily said while looking at her expectantly and encouragingly.

Cheng Chu moved her chair, took her textbook, and was about to walk up to the podium when a ball of paper was stuffed into her hand.

She quietly gript the paper and walked.

Dozens of eyes in the classroom stared straight at her, some of them were malicious and some were curious.

Cheng Chu slowly took a piece of chalk and peeked at the paper tucked into the palm of her hand.

The paper was crumpled, so naturally, the words were harder to read.

On the wrinkled paper, a neat circuit diagram was drawn, with explanations written next to it.

There was a cold breeze blowing in the classroom, but Cheng Chu felt that the tattered paper in her hand seemed to be warm. Her cold fingertips quietly soothed her uneasy heart.

She heaved a sigh of relief, then turned around and copied the picture onto the blackboard, while explaining the steps as written on the paper.

The girl’s voice was clear and graceful, like the cleanest spring water in the summer. Just listening to her was a kind of enjoyment.

She combined her own understanding, coupled with Gu Miao’s clear pointers. What was originally a difficult question, was easily explained in a simple way.

The teacher nodded approvingly.

“Very good! Come on, everyone gives some applause.”

There was a roaring applause, and the students’ eyes in the audience were full of admiration.

The winter sun was shining brightly as she stood on the high podium, and immediately saw Gu Miao in the crowd.

The young man wore heavy black-rimmed glasses, but he couldn’t hide the shine in his eyes.

Cheng Chu’s heart suddenly felt sour.

She remembered that on the night they bid farewell forever, his eyes were equally bright.