Chapter 25: Some Words Can’t Be Said

Chapter 25: Some Things You Just Don't Say

When she saw Lu Yu and Cheng Miao walking over, she immediately stood up straight and trotted over, saying happily, "I can come over to your place to do homework over winter break."

Cheng Miao noticed her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and asked, "Did your mom and dad say it was okay?"

Lin Jinrui nodded. "Dad said no, but Mom said I could sneak over when he's gone."

Cheng Miao figured Lin Jinrui's mom wasn't so bad after all. "So then why were you crying?"

Lin Jinrui rubbed her eyes awkwardly. "It's nothing. It's just that my dad yelled at me at lunchtime. He's always like that. I'm pretty used to it by now."

"Where's your dad headed?" Lu Yu's voice suddenly came through. Cheng Miao was curious too—it was almost New Year's, and folks usually didn't head out anywhere until after the holiday.

"I don't know either. Mom said the factory's sending him out of town for work, I guess." Lin Jinrui thought to herself that this was actually a good thing. Her dad didn't hit her much, but when he got drunk, he'd curse up a storm. And whenever her mom got yelled at, she'd take it out on Lin Jinrui.

She added, "So when should I come over during break? Is the morning good?"

Lin Jinrui looked very happy, speaking with a bright smile, her puffy eyes looking out of place on her smiling face.

Cheng Miao tilted his head. "Whenever's fine. I'll be home."

Lin Jinrui nodded happily. "Once Mom and I pick a time, I'll tell you. Can I come every day?"

Cheng Miao definitely wanted her to come every day, but he was a little confused about why Lin Shun would just up and leave the village. Had it been like this in his past life?

He mulled it over for a while but couldn't figure it out. At least he'd still see Lin Jinrui over break, so he could take his time.

The days leading up to the exams flew by. Every day, Lu Yu woke him up. He ate, brought Lin Jinrui breakfast, ate lunch, ate dinner, slept. Three meals a day, one after another, from sunrise to sunset—and just like that, another day was gone.

It had been half a month since he arrived in this world. Cheng Miao clutched his test paper, full of ambition, vowing to himself to get first place for the first time in his life, so Ms. Ma Lianhua could brag a little when she went visiting relatives over New Year's.

The math test went smoothly, English was a bit rough, but Chinese totally stumped him.

Cheng Miao realized a big problem: the economy shapes everything above it. His main problem was that all the knowledge in his head was useless for elementary school fill-in-the-blank questions.

Cheng Miao dejectedly gave up on the fill-in-the-blank sections, like the "recite the text" ones. Once he realized first place was out of reach, he totally phoned it in.

He doodled lazily with his pen, then snuck a glance at Lu Yu, who was writing intently, while Lin Jinrui next to him was frowning, deep in thought.

He turned back, bored, and flipped his paper to the last page. The last page was a half-open essay prompt: "If..."

Cheng Miao looked at the title and immediately perked up. He scribbled away, ideas pouring out. Before long, the page was full—first a metaphor, then a parallel structure, and finally an exclamation.

A perfect exclamation point ended Cheng Miao's final exam. Finally done. Time to enjoy a nice break. The test results probably wouldn't come back until after New Year's.

Cheng Miao shoved all the books from his desk into his backpack to take home. They'd get new books when school started again anyway.

The three of them walked slowly down the road, each lugging a big backpack.

"Cheng Miao, when are we gonna start homework?" Lin Jinrui asked eagerly. She'd never done homework at someone else's place before, and she was excited about it.

Cheng Miao thought for a moment. "Tomorrow's good. You can come over in the mornings, but not before nine."

"Okay," Lin Jinrui nodded. That way she could brew her mom's medicine first, then head to Cheng Miao's house to do homework. But where was Cheng Miao's house?

She added, "Where do you live?"

Cheng Miao smacked his forehead. "I forgot to tell you. Leave your bag at home, and I'll show you where I live."

The three walked to the front of Lin Jinrui's house. The whole yard was quiet. Cheng Miao whispered, "Your dad's not home?"

"Yeah, he left yesterday and won't be back till New Year's Eve." Lin Jinrui lowered her voice. "My mom's probably still asleep. I'll drop my bag off and come right back."

Cheng Miao nodded. Lin Jinrui tiptoed inside and quickly ran back out. "Let's go."

Her steps were noticeably bouncier. She let out a long sigh of relief. "That was close. My mom didn't wake up. If she had, she'd have beaten me for sure."

"Does your mom sleep in a lot?" Cheng Miao asked curiously. It was already past eleven, and most families were starting to cook lunch.

Lin Jinrui nodded. "Mom stays up late." Once, she woke up in the middle of the night and heard her parents fighting next door. Thinking about it, she got a little confused. "What does 'soft goods' mean—'can't hide two ounces of oil in his pants'?" Her mom used that phrase on her dad all the time. And every time, her dad—who usually had a short fuse—would just take it quietly without getting mad. That was rare.

Cheng Miao was shocked. He quickly clamped his hand over Lin Jinrui's mouth and looked around nervously. When he saw no one was around, he relaxed. "You can't just say stuff like that out loud!"

"Why not?" Lin Jinrui was puzzled.

"It's just not a nice thing to say. Girls shouldn't talk like that." Cheng Miao didn't know how to explain it, so he just dropped it.

Lin Jinrui nodded.

Cheng Miao shot Lu Yu a meaningful look and swallowed everything he wanted to say.

When they got to Cheng Miao's house, they ran into Father Cheng and Mother Cheng just coming home. When Ms. Ma Lianhua—who'd been dying for a daughter—saw Cheng Miao bring a girl home, she got super excited and grabbed Lin Jinrui's hand and pulled her straight inside.

Cheng Miao sidled up to Lu Yu with a sly grin. "Looks like little Lu Yu's fallen out of favor! You're not Ms. Ma Lianhua's favorite baby anymore."

Lu Yu gave him a deadpan look. Father Cheng poked his son in the head, then scooped Lu Yu up and gave him a bounce. "You've put on some weight!"

Lu Yu instinctively wrapped his arms around Father Cheng's neck, looking all sweet and obedient, which made Father Cheng unable to resist kissing him on the forehead.

Lu Yu pushed down the faint unease he felt, turned his head casually, and caught Cheng Miao staring at him with puppy-dog eyes. He suddenly felt like this wasn't so bad after all. He slowly smiled and shot Cheng Miao a smug look.

Poor Cheng Miao—his face visibly fell. In an instant, he'd lost the parents who loved him the most.

Father Cheng held Lu Yu in one arm and dragged his own good-for-nothing son along with the other. "Ha, that's what you get for being a smartass."

When the three went inside, Mother Cheng had already pulled out her prized cookie tin for her little guest. "Ruirui's such a good girl. Here, try one of auntie's cookies—are they good?"

She took the chance to pat Lin Jinrui's head. Lin Jinrui took a cookie and nibbled it obediently. "Thanks, auntie."

Mother Cheng couldn't help pinching Lin Jinrui's cheek too. "Such a good girl. If only I had a daughter like her." She added, "Ruirui, stay for lunch at auntie's place!"

Lin Jinrui quickly shook her head. "I have to go home for lunch. My mom's waiting for me."

Mother Cheng reluctantly stuffed a few more cookies into Lin Jinrui's pocket before letting her go.