How about I call you Sister Xiaoqing?

No one had ever paid attention to Jiang Xu's little thoughts; sometimes even she herself overlooked them. But there was one person who noticed every single detail.

Jiang Xu had new clothes now, the style just right for her age. The shirt and pants fit well and kept her warm, and her shoes were the same kind of sports shoes her classmates often wore.

The girl who had been covered in dust from head to toe looked brand new the moment she stepped into school.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Xu had temporarily settled into Liang Xiaoqing's home. Jiang Daguo hadn't come to make trouble, and Jiang Xu hadn't seen Wang Cai either.

She still had the money Wang Cai had given her. For food, drink, clothing, and school fees, Liang Xiaoqing never asked her to pay a single cent. Sometimes Jiang Xu couldn't understand what Liang Xiaoqing was thinking, or perhaps when someone was too kind, you had to wonder why they were doing it.

She thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure it out. She accepted Liang Xiaoqing's warmth with caution, quietly observing what she was really after.

Several months had passed. Yes, before she knew it, she had been living at Liang Xiaoqing's house for this long. Even a demon in a supernatural tale should have shown its true face by now. But Liang Xiaoqing still treated her the same as always. If anything, because they had been eating and living together for two months, their relationship had grown even more harmonious.

The small room kept acquiring new things: towels, slippers, a small desk someone had brought over, a desk lamp. The wardrobe was filled with many of her new clothes... These seemingly trivial items instantly made Liang Xiaoqing's room feel cramped.

Jiang Xu had gone from her initial restraint to feeling somewhat accustomed to it now. However, she still hadn't fully adjusted to school life.

Two months ago, she had been brought to Class 5, Grade 7, her original class. She had almost dropped in out of nowhere. Liang Xiaoqing handed her over to Yang Man, the homeroom teacher of Class 5, Grade 7. Yang Man smiled and said something to Liang Xiaoqing in a soft voice.

Jiang Xu stood to the side while Yang Man spoke with Liang Xiaoqing, glancing at her and nodding, letting out a sigh before her gaze returned to Liang Xiaoqing.

"Xiaoqing, I'm not telling you what to do, but it's better not to interfere in something like this. Her parents might come after you later. Why put yourself through this?"

"Don't worry, Sister Yang. I've handled everything," Liang Xiaoqing said with a smile. "Besides, Jiang Xu is a good kid. I'll help as much as I can."

The adults were having a roundabout conversation, and at her age, Jiang Xu couldn't understand what it meant.

A familiar, soft palm patted her on both shoulders.

Liang Xiaoqing walked over, bent down slightly, and said to her, "Xiao Xu, just focus on school. Don't worry about anything else."

Her voice was gentle, her face carrying a faint smile. Just looking at Liang Xiaoqing's calm expression, Jiang Xu felt that even the biggest problems were small ones. Some people were instinctively reliable, and Jiang Xu, who had been struggling on her own, had come to depend on Liang Xiaoqing almost without realizing it.

"Okay, Sister Xiaoqing." Compared to her initial silence, she could now exchange a few words with Liang Xiaoqing, and even her form of address had changed.

The intimate nickname brought them closer together.

Liang Xiaoqing smiled. "Mm... I'm off now. If you need anything, just tell Teacher Yang. Be good~"

Liang Xiaoqing was much older than her. One night, Liang Xiaoqing said that calling her "Teacher Liang" felt too formal and told her to use a different name. Jiang Xu listened to her half-joking tone and suddenly asked seriously, "Then what should I call you?"

Liang Xiaoqing was lounging on the sofa watching TV. By then, the two had grown quite familiar, and Liang Xiaoqing made herself comfortable however she pleased. She just smiled and didn't say anything, then after a moment said, "Whatever you want, just don't call me Teacher Liang anymore."

Jiang Xu racked her brain, but even after lying down to sleep, she hadn't figured it out. Liang Xiaoqing hadn't bought a new bed yet, and she heard the sound of rustling as someone turned over on the floor mat.

Liang Xiaoqing mumbled sleepily, "Go to sleep, Xiao Xu. It's late."

The next morning, the alarm didn't wake Liang Xiaoqing, but it woke Jiang Xu. She got out of bed, turned off the alarm, hesitated for a moment, then knelt on the blanket spread on the floor, facing Liang Xiaoqing. She bent down and whispered softly into her ear, "...Sister Xiaoqing, can I call you Sister Xiaoqing?... Sister Xiaoqing, wake up, we have to go to school..."

Faint morning light filtered through the crack in the curtains, falling onto Liang Xiaoqing's face as she slept soundly, her scattered hair shimmering by the pillow. The mound of blankets shifted slightly. Jiang Xu thought Liang Xiaoqing was about to wake up and pulled back a little. But Liang Xiaoqing only let out a soft murmur and raised her arm to shield her eyes from the light.

One minute, two minutes, three minutes...

Tick tock, tick tock.

The clock's hands moved with a steady rhythm.

The person under the covers was quiet again.

Jiang Xu moved a little closer, quietly watching Liang Xiaoqing. This was the name she had come up with after thinking all night. Liang Xiaoqing didn't look that much older than her; calling her "aunt" wouldn't be right, and "Sister Xiaoqing" fit just perfectly.

She didn't know why Liang Xiaoqing slept so deeply—maybe she was just too tired.

She nervously counted the time, not rushing to wake her again. Her gaze swept back and forth across Liang Xiaoqing's face. Her skin was taut and glowing. Perhaps the sunlight was stinging her eyes, but the heavy sleepiness won out. Liang Xiaoqing frowned slightly, seeming a bit irritated.

Jiang Xu shifted her eyes and moved to the side.

The shadow of her body fell across Liang Xiaoqing's face, blocking the sunlight. Jiang Xu's gaze drifted back to the alarm clock, thinking she'd have to call Liang Xiaoqing again in five minutes, until she woke her up.

But then she wondered what she'd do if Liang Xiaoqing still didn't wake.

Then, she met Liang Xiaoqing's eyes, which had just opened, still hazy.

"Xiao Xu," Liang Xiaoqing's voice sounded a bit hoarse. "What are you doing here?"

She had only meant to wake Liang Xiaoqing up, yet her heart raced as if she'd been caught doing something wrong.

"Sister Xiaoqing." The name slipped out, no longer "Teacher Liang." After thinking it over for so long, saying it felt rude, so she explained with feigned composure, "If you don't get up, you'll be late."

Liang Xiaoqing, her hair a mess, quickly threw off the covers and got up, dragging Jiang Xu along to the bathroom to wash up. "Ah, it's all because I went to bed too late. Xiao Xu, wash your face quickly, we're going to be late!"

And so, Jiang Xu's address for Liang Xiaoqing changed from "Teacher Liang" to "Sister Xiaoqing."

A few cool breezes blew in from the window, and Jiang Xu shrank her neck in her seat, snapping back to reality.

Life at school was long and drawn-out. Jiang Xu had once thought that after escaping home, the days would pass like flowing water. But being back at school proved just as hard to endure.

The faint joy that had risen when she was sent back to school by Liang Xiaoqing had already faded. She could barely remember her classmates' faces. When she returned to the classroom, her original seat had been removed, and a desk and chair stood alone in the back corner.

Luckily, each student had their own desk, so Jiang Xu avoided the awkwardness of having no deskmate. Homeroom teacher Yang Man had asked two male classmates to help move her desk, but in fact, Jiang Xu had moved it herself after class. Her seat was by the window, in the last row.

She didn't talk much, and no one in the class played with her. Jiang Xu sometimes cared, but most of the time she just tilted her head and quietly looked out the window. From the last row, she could see the main road of Qing Middle. During breaks, it was crowded with students; during class, more teachers walked by.

Occasionally, she caught a glimpse of Liang Xiaoqing. After a while, she had a rough idea of Liang Xiaoqing's daily schedule and could always spot her figure at just the right time.

Having missed months of school, Jiang Xu could barely understand the lessons. She had fallen behind, and even copying notes felt unfamiliar. Her mind felt foggy, but she still tried her best to listen to every word the teacher said, all to no avail.

"Jiang Xu." The math teacher, standing at the podium, noticed her zoning out from across the room.

Her notebook was full of messy math notes, completely disorganized.

"You've fallen far behind everyone else. If you're not going to pay attention, how will you ever catch up!"

The math teacher was a stern-looking woman with black-rimmed glasses. The students were all afraid of her, and if she assigned homework, math was always the first to be done.

While reprimanding the students with gusto, Jin Xiao suddenly stopped.

Jiang Xu, publicly criticized, stood up silently. Her classmates turned to look at her, their expressions saying "good luck."

Jin Xiao adjusted her glasses. "Go stand in the back and listen!"

Jiang Xu's face flushed red as she picked up her textbook and stood by the back door.

She was just a brief interruption; the teacher on the podium continued teaching with enthusiasm.

"A cylinder is two circular bases plus a rectangular side..."

Jiang Xu listened to the concepts, half understanding. She tried to focus, her thin, dense eyebrows furrowing slightly. She felt like she might be letting Liang Xiaoqing down. Liang Xiaoqing had said she was a good student, even smarter than Jiang Lun. In truth, if Liang Xiaoqing saw her like this now, she would definitely be disappointed.

At some point, she had started to care about Liang Xiaoqing's opinion of her. Whenever those eyes, always full of laughter, quietly looked at her, with that smile on her face and that calm tone when speaking to her, she felt as though she carried a mission to live up to her expectations.

Good thing she was usually well-behaved. Liang Xiaoqing wouldn't see her like this.

The ringing of the bell cut off Jin Xiao's passionate voice.

After the second period in the morning, during the morning recess, students headed to the playground in groups, passing by Jiang Xu in twos and threes.

She overheard them talking about what class they had next, what they'd eat for lunch, who was going to the school shop... By the time the crowd had thinned out, Jiang Xu was still standing at the door, then walked back into the classroom against the flow.

She didn't fit in well and had no one to walk with. As for exercise, Jiang Xu had grown tired of that breathless exhaustion. It came from having to work nonstop at home, never relaxing without fear. Besides, her absence wouldn't matter to the class; no one would notice her.

Quietly, she shut herself off from the noisy chatter. She planned to stay in the classroom.

"Xiao Xu."

Only one person called her that. Jiang Xu's heart raced, and she felt a bit flustered.

She turned around and saw Liang Xiaoqing walking toward her against the crowd. She wore a thick corduroy jacket over light-colored jeans. Jiang Xu had the same jacket; Liang Xiaoqing had said it looked nice and bought it for her.

Her gaze swept from the top down, then from the bottom up, landing on her face over her slender neck. That face always carried a faint smile. Maybe it was because the weather was fine today and the corridor was brightly lit, casting light on Liang Xiaoqing's smiling face. Jiang Xu's nerves relaxed a little. She stood still, waiting for Liang Xiaoqing.

When Liang Xiaoqing got close enough that she could see the pink flush on her cheeks, she was slightly out of breath, perhaps from hurrying.

"Why didn't you go to morning exercises?"

"...Sister Xiaoqing." Jiang Xu's voice was so soft it was barely audible.

Liang Xiaoqing caught her breath and patted her head. "...Never mind." With that, she reached into her pocket, pulled out a prepackaged bag of nuts that could be eaten straight out, a rare treat in Shuiqing Town where goods rarely circulated.

Liang Xiaoqing pressed the snack into Jiang Xu's hand. "Hungry?"

Living together day and night had shown Jiang Xu many of Liang Xiaoqing's habits, both good and bad. For instance, when she left in the morning, she'd habitually tuck a few packs of snacks into her coat pocket and take them out to eat whenever she had a moment.

Jiang Xu tilted her head and looked at the snack in her hand. She remembered they had bought it when she and Liang Xiaoqing visited a dried goods shop in Qing Town last time. It was expensive—a small pack cost one or two yuan. She shook her head and said, "I'm not hungry," trying to hand it back to Liang Xiaoqing. Even though she was only in the first year of middle school, reading people's moods to survive had been carved into her bones.

After all these days, she had been eating and sleeping at Liang Xiaoqing's place for free, and she felt terribly guilty about it.

Laughter and playful shouts echoed from the hallway. Morning exercises were over, and students were filing back into the classroom. Jiang Xu found it noisy. Whenever she was with Liang Xiaoqing, time always seemed to fly.

"No time to chat, Xiao Xu. I have a class soon. This will hold you over." Liang Xiaoqing hurried back, squeezing Jiang Xu's hand.

Jiang Xu didn't manage to return the pack of nuts.

"Xiao..." Her voice was easily drowned out. Liang Xiaoqing had already walked away. After taking a few steps, she remembered something and turned around. "Oh, right. Let's have lunch together."

Qing Middle's facilities were relatively outdated. Teachers and students ate in the same cafeteria, just in different sections, and teachers' meals were cheaper.

There were so many people eating lunch that Jiang Xu didn't know how she'd find Liang Xiaoqing, let alone why she suddenly wanted to eat with her. Since deciding to continue her education, Jiang Xu had taken a portion of her money to pay for school meals. Except for breakfast, when Liang Xiaoqing would make congee or soy milk to share with her, Jiang Xu ate lunch and dinner at school.

Of course, she knew Liang Xiaoqing also ate at school. Even though they lived under the same roof, Jiang Xu always felt like a temporary guest, and she had never eaten at school with Liang Xiaoqing before.

Jiang Xu watched Liang Xiaoqing's back until she was completely out of sight, then slowly shuffled back to the classroom, wondering what could have made Liang Xiaoqing want to have lunch with her.

Some classmates had already returned, chatting idly in the last minutes before class. Girls always buzzed and chattered when they gathered, and compared to them, Jiang Xu was practically an oddity.

She sat in her seat, unaffected by them, looking at the snack Liang Xiaoqing had stuffed into her hand. She tore open the packaging and popped a nut into her mouth. It was fragrant and crunchy—she'd never tasted anything like it. One after another, she popped them in. The small bag of nuts was quickly finished.

The faint sense of loss and loneliness in her heart quietly melted away.