HMHS Chapter 2: The Letter

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After a seat rearrangement, a boy named Wang Jiaoyang ended up sitting behind Chi Tang. He was a typical troublemaker—constantly late, skipping classes, getting into fights—his grades ranked fourth from the bottom. His hairstyle was always singled out by teachers for correction, but no matter how many times he got it cut, it never seemed to change.

Previously, when there was still a seat between them, he would often swap seats with the person next to her just to talk to her. Now that he was directly behind her, he was even more annoying—constantly poking her shoulder and back with his pen, leaning in close to speak loudly in her ear, or deliberately bumping into her while joking around with his friends.

Everyone around them could see it—Wang Jiaoyang was obviously interested in her. Chi Tang saw it too, but she only found it irritating. Every time people teased her about it, she felt a sickening nausea, like something cold rising from her stomach.

One day, she went to the campus convenience store to buy something and happened to see Wang Jiaoyang and his group of friends playing basketball on the field. Wang Jiaoyang ran over with a grin and said, “Hey, Chi Tang, you’re buying something? Get me a bottle of water while you’re at it.”

Chi Tang replied, “If you want to drink, buy it yourself.”

One of his friends laughed loudly, “Come on, our Brother Yang doesn’t lack a bottle of water—he lacks someone to bring it to him!” The other boys erupted in laughter. Wang Jiaoyang smirked, bouncing the ball in his hands. “Come on, front-desk girl, help me out.”

Did these guys not understand what rejection meant? Chi Tang was usually irritable, and at this moment, she was especially annoyed. She looked at them, staring until they stopped laughing, then said, “When I say no, I really mean no. Do you think I’m joking?”

It wasn’t funny at all.

After that, she heard the rumors—those boys thought she was too arrogant, too hard to talk to. They started encouraging Wang Jiaoyang to find someone else. He cooled down a little toward her but still occasionally messed with her.

In the dormitory, the girls often chatted at night, though Chi Tang rarely joined in. Most of the time, she wore her headphones and listened to music. The dorm leader, Song Fangcao, seemed to feel a bit guilty about leaving her out and occasionally tried to include her in conversations. Chi Tang would respond half-heartedly, neither warm nor cold.

One girl, Luo Zhengli, usually ignored her on purpose, only talking to the others. But that night, she suddenly asked, “Wang Jiaoyang likes you, right? I heard Liu Bin and the others calling you ‘sister-in-law’ behind your back. Are you two together?”

Chi Tang lay on her bed, eyes closed, and mocked, “His family runs the civil affairs office or something? Decides who marries who without asking the person involved?”

“Pfft.” Song Fangcao couldn’t help laughing.

Luo Zhengli pressed further, “So you don’t like Wang Jiaoyang? But he’s pretty good-looking, isn’t he? He’s been chasing you for so long, and you don’t feel anything? No way.”

Chi Tang never found Wang Jiaoyang attractive, but she caught the underlying meaning in Luo Zhengli’s words. She opened her eyes and looked at her. “If you like him, go chase him yourself. No need to interrogate me.”

Luo Zhengli’s expression changed instantly. She threw a pillow at Chi Tang and snapped, “Who likes him? What nonsense are you talking about?”

Chi Tang snorted, too lazy to argue.

On Wednesday afternoon, the last class was P.E. It had rained that morning, but by the afternoon, the rain had stopped. As soon as math class ended, everyone cheered and ran downstairs for P.E. class.

Their P.E. teacher was easygoing and didn’t manage them too strictly. Most of the time, he just made them run a few laps before letting them do whatever they wanted.

The bell had been ringing for a while before the students finally gathered into a lazy, scattered line. The teacher blew his whistle. “Run your laps—boys, five; girls, two. After that, you can do whatever you want.”

Even though the requirement wasn’t heavy, everyone still groaned. Someone pleaded, “Sir, it just rained, the ground is wet—it’s hard to run! Can’t we reduce the laps?”

The teacher blew his whistle again. “No reductions! If you complain again, I’ll add one more lap! Hurry up and run! You kids are lazier than an old man like me!”

A few girls huddled together and whispered to the teacher. He nodded, and they happily went to sit on the side. Their “privilege” came from having their period.

Some girls did suffer real pain during their periods, but these particular ones showed no signs of discomfort. They had simply put on an exaggerated act to get out of running. It was obvious, but no one called them out.

Chi Tang, on the other hand, was genuinely in pain—her stomach cramping sharply, her face pale. But she didn’t say a word to the teacher. She followed the group and started running.

With every step, the dull ache in her lower abdomen worsened. Her pace slowed, and soon she fell to the back of the group. No one noticed her pain. They just thought she was being lazy and slacking off.

Up ahead, a group of boys suddenly got competitive, showing off like peacocks. Wang Jiaoyang and his friends were the fastest runners. They quickly finished their second lap and passed by Chi Tang.

Chi Tang jogged with her head down when suddenly, a loud slap rang out right next to her ear. Wang Jiaoyang had deliberately clapped his hands near her, startling her before sprinting ahead, laughing triumphantly.

A sharp ringing filled Chi Tang’s ears, and the sudden explosion of sound sent a throbbing pain through her head. She rubbed her ear and cursed, “F***.”

Chi Tang really disliked the weather in Nanlin—humid and hot, making her so irritable that she wished she could peel off her skin just to breathe freely.

She had already taken off her school jacket, yet sweat still formed a thin layer on her back. Someone ran past her lightly, and out of instinct, she tensed and moved aside—only to realize it wasn’t Wang Jiaoyang. It was You Yu.

Her dormmate, the top student of their grade, was running with her head down, completely focused, showing no signs of exhaustion. Unlike the other girls who treated the run perfunctorily and the boys who fooled around, she ran seriously, at her own steady pace.

No matter what she did, You Yu was always this serious. But in the eyes of teenagers, that kind of seriousness was laughable, something to be mocked.

Chi Tang noticed that You Yu hadn’t taken off her school jacket. She was the only one in the entire class still wearing it. No matter how hot it got, she never took it off—probably afraid someone would see the worn-out shirt underneath, Chi Tang thought.

Shaking off her thoughts about You Yu, Chi Tang finished her two laps and headed straight for the small campus store, buying a bottle of ice water.

Nearby, two girls were buying ice cream.

One asked, “You’re on your period, and you still dare to eat something cold?”

The other girl responded smugly, “I never get cramps, no matter how much cold or spicy food I eat.”

Chi Tang got cramps every time, but that didn’t stop her from drinking ice water whenever she wanted.

In the stifling heat, after a run, her back was damp with sweat, but her hands were freezing. Holding the ice-cold bottle, it felt more like clutching a block of ice.

This time, the pain was worse than usual. Chi Tang skipped dinner and lay in the dorm. The dormitory was quiet at this hour, with only You Yu there. She sat at the desk, eating from her lunchbox. She ate quickly, just like how she showered quickly.

The faint rustling sounds lulled Chi Tang into a drowsy state—until someone gently patted her through the blanket.

“Do you want some hot water?”

Chi Tang hadn’t expected You Yu to talk to her. The surprise lasted only a moment before the pain-induced irritation made her frown, not wanting to respond.

You Yu seemed to sense this and placed the cup down. “I left it on the desk.”

She packed up and hurried off to the classroom to study, not saying anything unnecessary, as always.

Chi Tang glanced at the steaming cup of hot water on the desk. Suddenly, she realized—throughout her life, no one had ever brought her a cup of hot water when she was in pain.

She turned over and closed her eyes.

But she didn’t need it.

It was only two days of pain. She was already used to it.

The results of the second monthly exam came out. As expected, You Yu was first place again, this time beating the second-ranked student by a full 30 points—10 points more than last time. Given how desperately she studied, Chi Tang wasn’t surprised at all.

In class, the teachers praised the "academic overlord" again, using her test paper as an example to explain concepts.

Grades mattered to some students, but to others, they didn’t matter at all.

In the back half of the classroom, no one cared about the test papers. Instead, they folded them into paper planes and threw them at each other.

Chi Tang ranked twelfth. She didn’t care much about grades either—she glanced at her paper once before shoving it under her books.

Before afternoon classes started, Wang Jiaoyang pulled a love letter out of his desk—a pink letter on scented paper.

“Wow, Brother Yang got a love letter! Who wrote it? Let me see!”

“Get lost,” Wang Jiaoyang pushed away the hands trying to grab the letter. He opened it, clicked his tongue, and waved the paper in the air. “I can’t accept this. I need to return it.”

Under the curious gazes of the whole class, he stood up and walked to the front, placing the letter in front of You Yu.

“Here, class rep. Your letter—returning it to you.”

You Yu paused in the middle of writing English vocabulary, then looked up at him.

Wang Jiaoyang’s eyes were filled with smug amusement, mixed with a hint of disdain.

The class erupted into laughter, some students slapping their desks, others whispering and giggling. The noise was almost unbearable.

Finally, You Yu spoke. “I didn’t write it.”

Wang Jiaoyang shrugged, one hand in his jacket pocket. “Your name is on it. It’s not like I wrote it myself.”

A few girls giggled, whispering, “This is so embarrassing. I can’t believe You Yu likes Wang Jiaoyang.”

Chi Tang sat at the back, wearing headphones, listening to an English song. The lyrics played:

“And you're standing on the edge, face up 'cause you're a—”

(Now you're standing on the edge, facing up because you're a—)

“Natural”

(Natural-born fighter)

“A beating heart of stone”

(A heart beating strong like stone)

In the midst of the song, the laughter, and the whispers, Chi Tang stood up, walked to You Yu’s desk, and pulled the letter from Wang Jiaoyang’s hand. She glanced at it before turning and tossing it onto Luo Zhengli’s desk.

“Your letter. Keep it yourself. Next time, don’t write someone else’s name on it.”

Luo Zhengli’s face flushed red in an instant. Enraged, she snapped, “I didn’t write that!”

Chi Tang replied flatly, “I saw you write it. You have the same stationery in your drawer. If you don’t want to admit it, we can compare the handwriting. Her handwriting is way better than yours, and she wouldn’t buy something this flashy. If you want to frame someone, at least use your brain.”

It was true. You Yu always wrote on notebook paper or the cheapest red-line letter paper. A pink-scented letter like this was completely unlike her.

Luo Zhengli couldn’t argue. Under the judgmental stares of the class, she suddenly stood up and ran out, crying.

Chi Tang, unconcerned, walked back to her seat and sat down.

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