A night of haziness left Su Qing's eyes darkening. Splashing cold water on her face, she felt a little better.
After breakfast and gathering, she and her fellow students boarded the bus.
Some eyes seemed to be darting towards Su Qing, but she felt tired, so she leaned against the bus window and stared out.
Rubbing her brow, her mind was clear, her eyes were serene, her thoughts wandering.
But she noticed something, because she hadn't seen Jiang Sui until the bus started moving.
If Jiang Sui were here, he'd definitely be huddled next to her right now.
Su Qing shook her head, clearing the thoughts from her mind. She pulled headphones from her bag and listened to an English passage. She then took out a few papers and looked at them.
Along the way, Li Ran, the team leader, came over several times, asking how Su Qing was doing. Her eyes couldn't hide her worry, and partly because she was worried about the competition. She sat down in a seat nearby.
"Su Qing, don't stress yourself out. Just perform normally."
"Also, since you didn't go to Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School that day, I'll take you to your classroom door."
At this moment, Tian Shasha, who was sitting in the back row, poked her head out and leaned against the backrest.
"Teacher, Su Qing and I are in the same exam room. We can go in together later."
Li Ran nodded and said "OK." However, this interruption made Li Ran, who had been hesitant to speak, look at Su Qing several times. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she said nothing and asked nothing. She just told her to do well in the exam.
Su Qing pursed her lips and said nothing, but nodded. Her mind was completely focused on the exam, and half of her attention was divided. She didn't care about other people's emotions, words, or expressions.
Only she knew that, though she hadn't visited Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School, no one knew she knew the place better than anyone else in the bus.
She knew Jiang Sui wasn't in the bus, but as she got out, she couldn't help but glance around inside, even outside the school gate.
She also looked around, finding the surroundings both familiar and unfamiliar. Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School's gate used to have two rows of poplar trees, but they were gone now. The gate itself seemed to have been renovated, becoming more imposing and impressive, more reminiscent of a key high school.
Students were coming and going on the street, and she didn't recognize any of them.
This realization seemed to instantly lighten the burden on Su Qing's heart. It was just an exam, not something everyone could encounter. Su Qing told herself not to be nervous, but she couldn't help but clench her fingers and lick her lower lip.
Entering the school gate, she didn't see Jiang Sui among the students accompanying her.
He had promised her to participate in the competition. In fact, she seemed to have heard of him when she was at Jiangcheng No. 1 Middle School. He seemed quite impressive, but how impressive was he?
Su Qing wanted to see it for herself.
Subconsciously, she believed the young man wouldn't break his promise. She felt he would come, so she couldn't help but turn her head and look back halfway through the journey.
However, at this moment, Tian Shasha tugged at her arm.
"Su Qing, what are you looking for?"
Tian Shasha, pushing up her glasses, eyes gleaming, a smile on her lips as she leaned closer to Su Qing. This inexplicable closeness always made people feel a little uncomfortable.
Su Qing was about to move away when her fingers gripped her arm.
"Su Qing, you're not looking for Jiang Sui, are you?"
"I heard there was a disturbance downstairs in the hotel last night, and the police took the troublemakers away."
"There was quite a commotion last night. You didn't hear it, did you?"
Su Qing's eyes flickered as she turned to look at Tian Shasha, a look of confusion in them.
Tian Shasha sneered.
"What? You really didn't hear it? When we were being taken away, it seemed like everyone heard your name being called, Su Qing, but I don't know who called it."
Su Qing bit her lip and said nothing. She vaguely remembered hearing Jiang Sui's voice on Li Xu's phone call before going to bed last night, but she had thought it was hallucination. She never imagined...
Su Qing's eyelashes trembled, a hint of struggle in her eyes.
"Su Qing, I heard Jiang Sui took you to the hospital. Was it because of you that he couldn't take the exam..."
Seeing Su Qing so unmoved, Tian Shasha couldn't help but take a drastic measure.
Then, releasing Su Qing's arm, Tian Shasha walked back into the competition classroom without looking back.
After walking a few steps, she turned her head slightly. Seeing Su Qing still there, she felt a slight sense of relief.
In this English competition, her biggest competitors were Jiang Sui and Su Qing.
Thinking of Jiang Sui, she couldn't really compete with him, but she had to win over Su Qing.
Tian Shasha clutched her pencil case and quickened her pace toward the classroom.
After the teacher's inspection, the classroom gradually quieted down. Cell phones, school bags, and everything else had been handed in. Tian Shasha raised her watch.
There was a good chance that in ten minutes, no one would be allowed into the classroom.
She had to get the prize money this time.
Tian Shasha boasted that she had Su Qing's heart in her grasp, believing she definitely wouldn't be able to make it.
Just as she reached for her water cup to drink and prepare for the exam, Su Qing's voice reached the classroom doorway.
The girl neatly placed her backpack by the doorway, her hand lightly clasped around a few pens. Her fingers spread wide, her delicate, frail form now undergoing scrutiny from the invigilator.
Perhaps feeling they were late, the invigilator's gaze remained scrutinizing, but he was also concerned that a reprimand would put undue pressure on the students. Furthermore, the girl in front him, with her ponytail, school uniform, head drooping, and small, looked like she was going to be incredibly vulnerable.
So the invigilator said nothing.
After checking Su Qing's information, he told her to find her seat and sit down.
Tian Shasha watched Su Qing take her seat and put her pen away.
However, when she looked toward the door again…
Jiang Sui also appeared. The young man also underwent the inspection and, as the bell rang, took his seat.
The young man wore a black T-shirt. Purple-red marks adorned the corners of his mouth and the bridge of his nose, and a large, bloody wound etched across his arm.
It looked bloody and brutal.
Tian Shasha's gaze followed Jiang Sui's figure.
In a flash, she saw it.
The moment the girl and the boy locked eyes, it was like a beam of intense light descending.
So blinding, it couldn't hold anyone else.