TBTTSP - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Xu Wanqing Tells a Story (2)

She was, after all, a woman born and raised in ancient times. She was familiar with the ways of Confucius and Mencius, and she knew her own husband.

The only one she didn't know was Lei Feng.

The name "Lei Feng" sounded exceptionally cold and hard, as sharp as a blade drawn from its sheath amidst the ice and snow of deep winter.

How could a woman take such a name? But then she recalled that in a previous dynasty, there had been female generals who inherited their fathers' positions to resist foreign invaders. She supposed this woman, too, was one upon whom her parents had placed great hopes.

After returning, Xu Wanqing often found herself thinking of that woman.

She was open-minded and had an unconventional air, her face always bright with a lively smile. She had two attendants, a man and a woman, who were close and obedient to her.

She had the beauty of a bewitching consort, the kind who could bring ruin to a nation; she was the most beautiful woman Xu Wanqing had ever seen.

Even after experiencing the marvels of that world through Zhang Xu's body, seeing that woman still left her amazed. She would even look at her own reflection and lament her sorrowful appearance—her downcast eyes and submissive air made her look easy to bully, lacking that woman's bold and cheerful disposition.

If only she could see her again—

Oh, she feared they would never meet again.

She entered Zhang Xu's body again. After getting up, she opened the notebook as usual.

Beneath her previous conversation with the one called Shang Yi, two lines of words were scrawled messily.

She could vaguely make out her own name, but it had been scribbled out.

Below that, the three characters for "Xu Wanqing" were written with neat, proper strokes.

Each character occupied its own line, with every stroke written out separately, as if in a lesson.

The handwriting was too neat; for a moment, she couldn't tell whose it was. But thinking of Zhang Xu's lack of learning, she knew she couldn't write so beautifully. It was most likely Shang Yi.

Why would Shang Yi write her name for no reason? She pondered this, but couldn't resist tracing the strokes to write her own name again.

As a return gift, she followed the example and wrote the two characters for "Shang Yi" below, each on its own line.

She had heard that this was how young children practiced their characters. Finding it childishly charming, she couldn't help but write it one more time.

She was up early with nothing to do, so she turned on the light.

The lamp was overhead; it needed no oil and no flame, yet its brilliant light was like daylight.

All of this made her click her tongue in wonder. She was learning and experiencing new things, yet she had to force herself to remain calm and act as if it were all normal.

Yet the people who were accustomed to these magical objects hadn't changed much; they still ate, drank, and married.

She picked up a pen and sketched an outline.

She had wanted to draw the woman, but having only caught a fleeting glimpse, she hadn't dared to look for long. All she could manage were a few simple strokes. It captured the woman's essence and was recognizable, but it was by no means a good likeness, failing to capture even one ten-thousandth of her vibrant spirit.

Unable to sign it, she recalled the woman's name and lightly wrote: Lei Feng.

The paper in Zhang Xu's house was like coarse toilet paper, and the ink bled quickly, leaving snowflake-like patterns. The paper became soaked through, so she had no choice but to use a clothes hanger to hang the drawing to dry at the head of the kang.

It was time to go to school.

Zhang Xu usually packed the schoolbag, making it convenient for her and Shang Yi to just grab it and go, so she picked it up without looking inside.

Who would have thought that Zhang Xu would finally slip up? She opened the bag and pulled out a cup of braised beef noodles.

The Chinese class representative at the front of the class was loudly reciting classical poems for junior high when she suddenly heard a noise. She whipped her head around and stared at the red paper container. "Zhang Xu, you actually brought snacks to class! I'm telling the teacher."

Snacks?

She had seen this object before but didn't know it was food.

From the outside, it was just red paper, but the paper was dense and smooth. It had some weight to it and seemed to have a filling inside that rattled when shaken.

She was bewildered. She picked up the instant noodles and examined them, seeing no way to take a bite. She had to ask, "How do you eat this?"

"You add hot water! It's in a cup, you're not going to eat it dry, are you? Teacher—Teacher, Zhang Xu wants to eat instant noodles in the classroom!"

Since they had arrived early, no one else was around. The class representative couldn't get the message to the teacher, who was still at home on her kang. Seeing how clueless Zhang Xu was, and wanting to preserve the evidence of her crime, she pulled her to the hot water room. With a gush of water, she prepared the noodles, used a fork to hold down the paper lid, and presented the steaming cup.

"Here."

Xu Wanqing accepted it gracefully, marveling at its convenience. If one were traveling, one could bring a whole cart of these and still enjoy fragrant, hot noodle soup on the road.

How wonderful.

She waited for the noodles to soften, then turned her back to the little girl and took a small bite.

The aroma was indeed rich and the flavor intense. The noodles were very chewy, with a texture unlike anything she'd had before.

She wasn't used to eating like this—standing, with her back to someone in a dark corner, like a mouse gnawing on wood, furtive and uncivilized in the dead of night. But women, after all, were not permitted at the main table. She was grateful to be eating something ready-made. She turned around and saw the little girl staring at her. Caught in the act, the girl quickly looked away. "Is it good?"

"It is." She wanted to share, but thought it would be improper to offer food she had already eaten from.

The little girl was swallowing her saliva, her eyes full of longing. She craned her neck to check that no one was around, then held out her hand. "I… I made it for you. We should share. If you give me some, I won't tell the teacher."

The two of them shared the instant noodles, and the hot water room filled with the smell.

Xu Wanqing made a mental note of this item. It would be even better if she could bring some home to share with her little maidservant.

The girl, the monitor of Grade 6 Class 1, was young—a few years older than her own maidservant, but with the same childish innocence and clear eyes. Xu Wanqing felt a tender affection for her and began to subconsciously treat the child like her little maid. Besides, this little monitor was formidable. Her words carried weight at school, and she wasn't afraid to chase down the boys. She was also an excellent student who had helped Xu Wanqing a great deal, buying her ink and a dictionary, and now, covering for her.

Since arriving here, if it weren't for the little monitor, she feared she would have been driven out as an outcast.

Therefore, when the head teacher of the class—oh, people here call them the "homeroom teacher"—asked if she needed anything, she requested to sit with the little class monitor.

The little monitor sat in the front row, all alone. But she was proud; because of her good grades, the teachers treated her differently. She also held several positions, which gave her an air of authority. In private, however, no one really sought her out to play. Only when everyone was playing together would the little monitor force her way in, making her seem less solitary.

Xu Wanqing's action was born of sympathy. She didn't know what trouble she might cause for herself, but with someone to look out for and help her, learning about this world would be much easier.

She just hadn't expected that as soon as they became desk mates, the little monitor would prove so formidable.

Some boys in the back row were gathered around a book, and the little monitor charged over. "What are you looking at!"

Like a big goose charging into a flock of chicks, she scattered the boys with a great commotion. The exceptionally heroic goose snatched the book, tearing it with a loud rip that made Xu Wanqing's heart ache.

The little monitor glanced at it and her face immediately flushed bright red. "You! You hooligans!"

"Go on, tell the teacher! You looked too! You looked too!" The boys jeered from all sides, circling the little monitor, deliberately trying to bully her to tears.

Using both hands, the little monitor nearly ripped the book to shreds.

Xu Wanqing, who cherished books, hurried to save it. Before she could get a good look, the boys let out a sigh of relief. "Zhang Xu! Give it back! You're a true friend!"

Perhaps the original owner had been close with these boys, but Xu Wanqing couldn't bring herself to banter with them. Even tossing the book back felt improper to her.

She lowered her head, opened it, and glanced at a few pages.

…

"You should learn better." She softly chided the boys. As the only adult present, she felt she ought to lecture them. But she wasn't a teacher and could only manage that one sentence before her own face turned red.

The boys reacted as if they'd seen some rare sight. "Whoa, Zhang Xu is blushing! Holy shit, Zhang Xu is blushing!"

The little monitor, though small, shielded the tall Xu Wanqing behind her. "How could you look at this kind of stuff! I'm telling the teacher!"

The book was roughly about the bedroom exploits of a libertine and various women, with especially detailed descriptions of their sexual intercourse.

During class, she hid it under her math workbook and finished reading it. She found the language vulgar and overflowing with carnal desire, but devoid of any genuine affection, let alone anything enchanting or intoxicating.

When class ended, the little monitor rushed to the restroom, telling her to guard the book and reminding her of their plan to tell the teacher together.

As soon as the little girl left, the boys swarmed over. "Zhang Xu, you're the best. Give it back to us, please. We'll be doomed if the teacher finds out."

"The teacher won't find out," she said, deciding to meddle. Convinced that such filth shouldn't be allowed to poison the children, she declared, "I'm confiscating this."

"Tch, whatever. We've already read it anyway. Just don't you tell the teacher!"

Her face was as red as if she'd applied several extra layers of rouge. Not daring to get any closer, she just promised to keep their secret, hastily stuffed the filthy book into her bag, and when the little monitor returned, she simply said the boys had snatched it back.

In her era, people who wrote novels didn't dare use their real names. It was said that writing fiction and fabricating tales would bring karmic retribution. So, the readers were happy while the writers hid. Yet, writing ultimately offered a liberating pleasure, like roaming between heaven and earth, one's soul wandering the four seas. It was like being a creator, able to bring all things into existence and achieve great works.

But this kind of filth—who did it please? To describe it as "gaudy" would be a compliment. Every word was crude and poorly crafted. She couldn't imagine what the author was thinking.

No sooner had she criticized the book's author than she felt ashamed of herself.

These were sordid, unmentionable matters. Why was she examining them so closely? It was truly improper.

She hastily concealed her thoughts and continued with class, calculating the time. After a quick meal, she returned to the classroom to wait for Shang Yi to take over.

In a daze, she was back in her own residence. She slowly awoke to find her little maidservant squatting by the bed, seemingly having watched her for a long time.

Seeing her awake, the maidservant smiled joyfully. "Young Mistress, you're awake! I caught a little cat today. It's so soft. I caught it and gave it a bath, and now it's sleeping on the roof."

She was excitedly led to see the little orange cat. It was curled up on the roof tiles, sleeping peacefully.

Get instant access to all chapters now.

Previous Table of Contents Next