Chapter Seventeen: Not of My Kind

  Situ Xuan subconsciously felt that Yao Qiyun had a guilty conscience, and with her personality, she wouldn't let it go without getting to the bottom of it. After the "photo" incident, she came back to herself and asked Yao Qiyun several times in a roundabout way, essentially asking "What was your mindset when you looked at my photo? What were you thinking?" or "Which one looks better, the photo or the real person?" More often than not, she continued to press for the truth: "Why don't you just admit that you like me?"

  Yao Qiyun initially maintained a silent and embarrassed attitude, trying to avoid him whenever possible. However, as time went on, she became increasingly frustrated and numb from being pestered. Often, just as she was starting a conversation, he would interrupt her, saying "Situ Xuan, you self-absorbed freak, I've told you I don't like you, I don't like you, I don't like you..."

  Situ Xin didn't believe it, "Then why are you holding my photo with ulterior motives?"

  "When I hold your photo, there's only one thing on my mind - can your skin get any darker?"

  It's just that Yao Qiyun never mentioned returning the photo to its rightful owner, and Situ Xin didn't take the initiative to ask for it either. The photo disappeared from then on and was never seen by both of them at the same time again. Meanwhile, their quarrelsome and nagging days continued as usual.

  Cai Tuo Xin felt somewhat disgruntled in front of Yao Qi Yun, who was even more stubborn than a dead duck. She often said that even if Yao Qi Yun had no taste, there were still many people lining up to like her, and since Lian Quan had already left, she had plenty of choices.

  Yao Qiyun always seemed indifferent, with an air of "whoever loves whoever". But every time she got close to one of those "queue-ers", it wouldn't be long before you'd hear seemingly casual comments from him: A's way of speaking is really laughable, B's reputation is too bad, and as for any girl who looks a bit better than average, C likes her...

  Situ Xuan listened with a smile, making funny faces, and when she couldn't bear it anymore, she would pinch Yao Qiyun's palm hard while crossing the road.

  At that time, they all fell in love with crossing the road, a short distance of ten or so meters, looking left and right, fingers tightly clasped, no need for words, no need for promises, regardless of identity, regardless of the future, only the hand that can be held in the palm, wishing the zebra crossing would extend infinitely, never reaching the other side.

  The results of the college entrance examination were announced faster than the emotions. After the announcement, the scores of both children did not disappoint the adults, especially Si Tu Xuan, who thoroughly broke the stereotype that pretty girls are not good at studying and children from wealthy families do not perform well academically, greatly giving face to Mr. and Mrs. Si Tu Jiu An.

  Cui Jiuan ignored Xue Shaoping's advice and held a grand thank-you banquet for his children at the best restaurant in the city, inviting all their teachers and school leaders, as well as relatives, friends, colleagues, and clients. At that time, Cuijiuan Hall was developing rapidly and had become a well-known enterprise in the local area, a major taxpayer among private enterprises, and also made a name for itself in the domestic pharmaceutical industry. Many people came to congratulate him, including dignitaries, and Cui Jiuan specially chartered a car to bring his relatives from his hometown and Yao Qiyun's hometown to attend the banquet, with all expenses paid. The scene was unprecedentedly lively, and the way the Cuis educated their children became a model for many people.

  As one of the protagonists, Situ Xuan did not feel much excitement and interest. For her, no matter how well she scored, it was useless because Yao Qiyun did not follow her request to fill out a university application together in another city, hand in hand escaping their parents and rushing towards freedom. He honestly listened to Situ Jiu'an couple's suggestion and filled out his first choice as the clinical medicine major at a local medical university. Situ Xuan, who was disappointed, could only follow her family's arrangement and applied to the pharmacy school of the same university. As expected, both of them were successfully admitted.

  Xue Shaoping was delighted that they didn't have to leave home for school, and could continue to stay by her side. Especially Si Tu Jue, if she had let her go alone to another city, it would be like letting a wild horse run free, impossible to catch again. Now both children were admitted to good schools nearby, and there was someone to take care of them, it was simply a joyous occasion for everyone.

  Xīu Yuè's "dream of freedom" has thus become an illusion. The school is not too far from home, and it's likely that she won't even have the chance to live on campus, so she'll have to endure several more years of control under her parents' watchful eyes. Fortunately, putting aside her mother's grand plan for her to take over the family business after graduation, Xīu Yuè is actually interested in this major, and the school she got into has top-notch faculty and research capabilities among medical universities in the country, so it's not a bad deal. More importantly, Yáo Qǐyún is also there, and among her schoolmates are Wú Jiāng, who will be entering his sophomore year - truly a blessing in disguise.

  The summer vacation of the third year of high school is the most boring. The textbooks can be thrown aside, and there is no longer the shadow of promotion, but it's a bit listless. Xue Shaoping asked Sutu Jin to settle down during the holidays, in order to welcome the new university life, but Sutu Jin felt that she would become dregs if she settled down any further. Her favorite thing to do is attend all kinds of classmate reunions, but those reunions often mean saying goodbye, because many classmates and friends from the past have to go their separate ways.

  It was halfway through the summer vacation when Wu Jiang suddenly called her with great enthusiasm, inviting her to attend a summer camp. At first, Situ Xuan thought it was childish, as summer camps were just for kids, but Wu Jiang said this one was different. Firstly, the summer camp was organized by the university that she would be attending soon, in collaboration with the city's Communist Youth League, and was mainly targeted at new students, particularly those from poor families. The purpose of the camp was not only to socialize but also to provide "mutual assistance". However, Wu Jiang knew Situ Xuan's personality well - she wasn't a student from a poor family and had little interest in official activities. So, he quickly revealed the heavyweight reason that attracted her: the activity would be held on a small island in a reservoir over 70 kilometers away from the city, with an overnight camping trip, and he had something mysterious to show her at the time.

  As expected, the camping and Wu Jiang's "mysterious thing" piqued Si Tu Xuan's intense interest. Camping in the wilderness over 70 kilometers away from the city was something she had never experienced before. After Wu Jiang went to college, he would often describe various fun things to Si Tu Xuan with the advantage of being a college student facing a middle school student, but she wondered what could be so mysterious and intriguing.

  When Situ Xuan mentioned the camping plan to her parents, Xue Shaoping was a bit worried, but Situ Jiu'an thought it was a good thing that his daughter was interested in such a loving and mutual summer camp, and also had the opportunity to help more classmates who needed help, so he readily agreed, and also let Yao Qiyun go with her.

  After signing up, it was finally the day of departure. Si Tu Jue didn't oversleep for once and arrived early at the assembly square with Yao Qi Yun. After Wu Jiang arrived, they went to report to the main team. However, after getting off the bus, Yao Qi Yun suddenly realized that she had been rushed by Si Tu Jue before leaving home and hadn't even brought mosquito repellent. It's worth noting that Si Tu Jue was a magnet for mosquitoes, and if she stayed outdoors for more than a minute, she would definitely become a feast for them.

  It was just after dawn, and most of the nearby supermarkets had not yet opened. He looked at the time and decided to take a taxi back home to pick up some things. Si Tu Jie said it wasn't necessary, that going back and forth wouldn't be worth it. Yao Qi Yun shook his head and said: "Compared to you being bitten to death by mosquitoes and then annoying me to death, this is much more worth it. Wait until Wu Jiang arrives, you guys go report in first, I'll come right after." With that, he hailed a taxi and left.

  Xī Tù Jìn could only wait alone at the agreed place near the bus station for Wú Jiāng's arrival. Before long, someone patted her shoulder, she turned around, still thinking about when Wú Jiāng's hand became so gentle, but unexpectedly saw a girl dressed extremely plainly.

  The girl was a head shorter than Situ Xuan, carrying a homemade cloth bag, and timidly asked Situ Xuan for directions. Her accent was thicker than Yao Qiyun's at the time, and it was an out-of-province dialect. Situ Xuan had to ask her several times before he knew that she wanted to go to the Great Man statue near the square.

  That was the gathering place for this camping trip. Since the other person's age was roughly similar to his own, and she happened to appear at this time, he knew that she was probably also a companion participating in this camping trip. He happily gave her directions. Originally, he wanted to take her there himself, but thinking that he might miss Wu Jiang if he walked away, and the location of the sculpture was easy to find, he abandoned this idea and repeated the path and direction to the girl again in detail.

  The girl bowed her head in gratitude, and just as she walked away, Wu Jiang arrived. Si Tu Jue and he found the main force together, and after reporting for duty, they got on the car first. Si Tu Jue reserved a seat next to him for Yao Qi Yun, then chatted with Wu Jiang sitting in front of him.

  Almost an hour had passed, the sky was bright, and it was time to depart, but Yao Qiyun still hadn't appeared. Situ Xuan was getting worried, as at a normal pace, he should have already arrived with plenty of time to spare. The bus, which was now full of people, slowly started to get restless, with everyone asking why the bus wasn't moving yet. A senior student who looked like the leader, sitting in the front row, explained to those questioning him that there were still people missing and they had to wait a bit longer.

  Thinking that everyone was waiting for Yao Qiyun, Situ Xuan's heart couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy. She saw the senior boy repeatedly looking at his watch with anxiety and couldn't sit still either, so she walked up to him apologetically and said that her companion was late, would arrive soon, and had wasted everyone's time, really sorry about it.

  Situ Xuan was the center of attention from the moment she got on the bus. The boy saw her approaching and couldn't complain anymore, repeatedly saying "it's okay" while enthusiastically asking about her department and class. Situ Xuan was preoccupied with responding while anxiously looking out the window, another unbearable 15 minutes had passed, but the person who should have arrived still hadn't shown up, and the dissatisfaction of the people in the car grew bigger, the "it's okay" from the leader boy also sounded more and more forced. Situ Xuan's unease reached its peak, thinking that something might have happened to him on the way, her heart was racing with anxiety. Just as she was about to ignore Wu Jiang's advice and get off the bus to call home, Yao Qiyun finally rushed onto the bus.

  Xīu Xīn felt a huge stone fall from his heart, and in his anxiousness, as soon as he saw Yáo Qǐyún, he pulled him over and scolded in a low voice: "Where have you been? You've worried me to death."

  The team leader, who had just been anxiously accompanying Si Tu Jue to worry about her late companion, suddenly saw that her companion was a boy, and the two were extremely natural in their intimacy. Feeling lost, he strongly condemned the late-arriving Yao Qi Yun, saying loudly: "Classmate, I think your sense of time really needs to be strengthened. Lu Xun said that wasting others' time is equivalent to murder, you just murdered everyone on this bus."

  Yao Qiyun did not make any excuses in the face of this terrifying crime, he knew he was in the wrong and apologized softly before following Sutu to their position.

  Xīu Xīn sat down, only to discover that the latecomer was not just Yáo Qǐyún alone, but also a girl who quietly followed behind him, her eyes red, and her figure and attire seemed familiar. She took a closer look, and it turned out to be the same girl who had asked for directions at the bus stop. This made things even more inexplicable, as that girl should have arrived long ago, even if she had walked around the square three times. Why did she appear so late, and why was she with Yáo Qǐyún?

  Xī Tù Xīn knew that Yáo Qǐyún was a very cautious person, so it was unlikely that he would be late and keep everyone waiting. Although he didn't make excuses, there must have been a reason. So she asked impatiently: "You still haven't said what's going on."

  Yao Qiyun smiled and didn't answer, waiting until the car started moving. The girl also found a seat far away from them. He then explained to Sutu Xue in a low voice: "I went home to grab some mosquito repellent and left immediately. Everything was smooth on the way here. When I arrived at the square, I thought I'd take a shortcut through that alley. That's when I saw this girl crying, and two men ran away quickly after exchanging a glance. Since there was no one else around, I asked her what happened. Who knew she'd say she encountered scammers? One of them pretended to pick up a large stack of cash next to her and suggested they split it in the alley. Then another guy rushed over, claiming the money was his and demanding she return it. She said she didn't take anything, but those two guys teamed up and took all the cash from her bag."

  "No way, she shouldn't have taken advantage of such a small benefit. But people are rushing to grab it, what can you do?" Xīu Jīn only felt unbelievable, this square has a large floating population, the environment is complex, and there are people cheating here, but the trick of "dropping money" is really too low-level, she didn't believe that someone would fall for it in the past, unexpectedly today opened her eyes, it seems that her parents' repeated warnings that "there's no free lunch" is absolutely right.

  Yao Qiyun continued to lower his voice and said, "I thought so too, and told her that if the amount was large, we should report it to the police. But she pulled me back and asked me to accompany her to find those scammers..."

  "Are you out of your mind? You're willing to do it like this?"

  Yao Qiyun sighed with a bitter smile, "I'm also helpless. She's been crying and saying that even if she reports to the police, it won't be of any use. She lost over 60 yuan, the police won't help her find it."

  "Sixty bucks... the problem is can you find anyone, those are all local snakes, even if you found them, you'll still be at a disadvantage." Si Tu Jue's tone also became urgent, although he knew that Yao Qi Yun was fine, but thinking about the possible accidents that might happen, he still felt it wasn't worth it.

  "Don't be in a hurry, listen to me finish. I was cried at by her and had no way out, then heard that she also came to participate in this summer camp, so accompanied her to circle around the nearby area for two rounds, of course, the cheat wasn't found. Seeing we were about to be late, I privately gave her 60 yuan, after saying it for half a day, she finally agreed to accept it, then we rushed over immediately. That's what happened."

  Yao Qiyun finished speaking, only to find that Situ Xuan's face had turned cold. She gave him a fierce glare, "I think I understand now, when others are deceived, it's at least because of the word 'greed', but you, you fell because of the word 'lust'."

  Yao Qiyun stopped talking and turned his head to look out the window. After a while, Situ Xuan used her hand to turn his face back, only to discover that he was secretly smiling all over his face.

  "Alright, what's so funny?"

  "I'm laughing at you for being tricked by a 'pig' character." Yao Qiyun said with a suppressed smile, "Looking at her appearance, she must be struggling financially and can't help but take money seriously. I understand this, so I have some sympathy for her. Moreover, as an outsider, after getting off the bus, she walked for a while without anyone giving her directions. She went in the wrong direction and that's when she encountered those two swindlers..."

  "Wait a minute... didn't anyone give her directions? What did she say?" Si Tu Jue revealed an extremely strange and curious expression.

  "Really? Was it what I said?" Yao Qiyun asked back with a smile.

  "She's talking nonsense, am I not human? Clearly before meeting you, she asked me for directions, and I told her very clearly, short of drawing a map for her. How could she say such things!" Situ Xuan said as he was about to stand up, "I'll go ask her in person, and another thing, just now it was obviously her fault that made you miss the appointment, why didn't she speak up when you were being blamed? What kind of person is this?"

  Yao Qiyun hastily pulled back Xie Tuxin, who was straightforward and loved to argue, "Alright, it's just a small matter, why bother."

  "It's precisely because it's a small matter, an unimportant thing that she speaks carelessly, which shows that there's something wrong with her nature, making people dislike her even more."

  Situ Xuan held back with Yao Qiyun's persuasion, the car drove away from the city and stopped at a gas station for five minutes. Many people got off the bus, some went to the restroom, and others stretched their legs. Situ Xuan and Yao Qiyun, Wu Jiang stayed on the bus, talking about his mother's "wild survival rules" last night, everyone laughed. Just then, the girl got back on the bus, her line of sight was just opposite them, she smiled kindly at either Situ Xuan or Yao Qiyun, Situ Xuan pretended not to see and turned his face to another angle.

  After the bus was back on the road, everyone found out that this summer camp was not small in scale. Several 40-seat buses were opened, and they were all filled with people of the same age. In addition to local students and some specially invited students from poor families by the school, there were also new students from neighboring provinces who came to participate, making a grand scene.

  The camping destination is a beautiful island in the middle of a reservoir on the outskirts of the city. As soon as everyone landed, they felt the refreshing greenery and coolness coming towards them, calming their restless hearts in the midst of summer. Sutu Xuan closed her eyes to feel the wind blowing across the lake surface and the fresh air that was completely different from the city, exclaiming that this is a great place. Yao Qiyun, who grew up in the countryside, was used to such natural scenery and teased her for being inexperienced, but his own mood also involuntarily brightened up.

  After a brief rest, the person in charge gathered everyone together in the only open space in the center of the island and formed a large circle. After finishing the notices, it was time for procedures such as self-introductions. Everyone simply reported their names, anyway there were too many people, no one could remember anyone else.

  After the dissolution, the activity group entered the wild picnic session. The activity group rented a large number of cooking utensils from the reservoir and prepared ingredients, allowing everyone to freely form groups, with each group having one set of cooking utensils, and they cooked their own meals.

  Most of the people who came were freshmen, nobody knew each other, and the scene suddenly became chaotic, with everyone pulling and tugging at each other, like a collective rush to find relatives. Si Tu Jue naturally stuck together with Yao Qi Yun and Wu Jiang, and another boy who sat with Wu Jiang on the way there was also in their group.

  The boy's name was Wei Yougen, also a rural child, small in stature, a bit shy, but always smiling at everyone. When Situ Yue and Wu Jiang first heard his name, they almost burst out laughing, "Wei Yougen", which sounds the same as "not having roots". They didn't know if his parents had considered this when naming him. They all thought the name sounded a bit strange, so they simply called him "Xiao Gen" (Little Root). Xiao Gen quickly became familiar with them too.

  Situ Xuan rarely cooks at home, and even more so when it comes to outdoor cooking, so she feels very fresh and eager to do everything. As the only girl in the group, everyone lets her take charge, and Yao Qiyun accompanies her to wash and chop vegetables, teaching her a lot of tips before letting her take over the cooking.

  The first dish she cooked was the novice's essential tomato scrambled eggs, and the process from putting it in the pot to taking it out of the pot was still relatively smooth sailing, except that the tomatoes were a bit too mushy, but overall it was decent.

  Wu Jiang risked his life to take a sip first, and said it was too bland. He even joked: "With your cooking skills, Sutu, it's strange if someone dares to marry you."

  Situ Xin was heavily struck, and at this time, Yao Qiyun also planned to come over and try her "virgin tomato scrambled eggs". She refused to let him, turning her head to ask Xiaogen to add some salt to the dish first. Xiaogen was busy, just opening the paper bag of salt, when a gust of wind blew by, covering everything in salt powder. After a moment, except for Xiaogen's astonished expression, nothing was left. Situ Xin had no choice but to thicken her skin and borrow some salt from the neighboring group, until she adjusted the flavor to her satisfaction, then brought it back.

  This was the first time Yao Qiyun had eaten a dish she made herself, and although she knew it wasn't perfect, she had put her heart into it and couldn't bear to give him any reason to criticize her or make him uncomfortable, leaving an indelible psychological shadow.

  She was walking back and forth with a plate of tomato scrambled eggs, excitedly looking forward to seeing Yao Qiyun sitting in their campsite with a smile. Just then, someone rushed out from behind her and bumped into her, causing her to stumble. Sutu Xuan was startled, the tomatoes and scrambled eggs in his hand spilled all over, and his gray hoodie suddenly had a good fortune, red tomato sauce, yellow scrambled eggs... Sutu Xuan himself didn't even dare to look at his own body.

  The other person seemed to be even more frightened than her, and for a long time couldn't say a word. The words "I'm sorry" were muttered vaguely, and tears began to fall. Yao Qiyun and several others saw the situation and quickly gathered around.

  "What's wrong, Situ?" Wu Jiang saw Situ Xuan's miserable state and quickly turned back to look for paper towels.

  Yao Qiyun then looked at the girl who was crying.

  "Is it you again?"

  "It's all because I wasn't careful...I wanted to come and say thanks, thank you for helping me in the square."

  Situ Xuan sneered, the girl's "thank you" was directed at Yao Qiyun, it seemed that she really didn't consider Situ Xuan as a "person".

  However, these didn't matter to her; all she cared about was that plate of tomato scrambled eggs. For it, she even got a few drops of oil splattered on her hand, which still stung now. But Yao Qiyun hadn't even had a taste, not one bite!

  The girl turned to Situ Xin, with tears still swirling in her eyes, "I'm really sorry, Situ..."

  She was taken aback by her fluent pronunciation of his name, and without thinking, he replied: "My name is Situ Xin, but only my friends call me Situ."

  "Never mind, Ah Yue." Yao Qiyun feared that if she got angry, the situation would be even harder to control. "It's just one dish, you go change your clothes first."

  "You haven't eaten yet, I'll cook for you if you want. Take off your clothes first, I'll wash them for you."

  Situ Xuan heard this and took a deep breath, "just one dish" was all he said, but his tone was casual, hers even more so. Even if this suddenly appearing guy were to remake the tomato scrambled eggs a hundred times over, how could that make up for her feelings?

  Wu Jiang brought over a large stack of tissues and handed them to Sutong, who shook her head and didn't take them. She had already given up wiping away her tears. Fortunately, before they left the house, her mother reminded her to wear an extra layer in the suburbs, so she still had a small T-shirt under her hoodie. With great force, she pulled off her hoodie and flung it to the ground.

  The girl bent down to pick it up.

  Yao Qiyun stepped forward before her, "I'll go."

  His attitude of letting things go and being calm made Situ Xuan even more furious. If it were someone else, Situ Xuan would have let it go, although he was still angry in his heart. However, this time it was that person again, and after what had happened before, Situ Xuan was very suspicious of the girl's character. He hated people who were hypocritical the most, and to make matters worse, he was even protecting her!

  "What's it to you, Yao Qiyun? Did you dirty the clothes? One size fits one, if you want to be a Lei Feng, find another chance!"

  At this time, many classmates who were eating looked over, the girl held back her tears, bowed her head and snatched the clothes from Yao Qiyun's hand, squeezed out a smile, "Thank you, I'll do it myself."

  She walked away with her clothes, and Yao Qiyun looked at Sutu Xuan and sighed, also silently walking back to where she was sitting earlier.

  Situ Xin was furious to the extreme, but instead felt a bit amused. She pointed at the girl's back as she walked towards the water's edge and said to Wu Jiang beside her: "Look, doesn't she look like a wronged little servant girl? I'm the despicable landlady."

  Wu Jiang deliberately looked her up and down a few times, smiling and saying, "The landlady's figure is still pretty good."

  "You're going to die." Situ Ke gave him a slap, and the two of them laughed and joked, deliberately ignoring Yao Qiyun and Xiao Gen who had a puzzled expression.

  After a while, Yao Qiyun walked over and flipped open Si Tu Jue's hand, asking with a cold face: "Didn't get burned?"

  Situ Xuan still refused to speak to him in anger.

  Just as they had calmed down for a moment, a shout came from the direction of the water's edge. The peaceful atmosphere around them was suddenly broken, and many people rushed over to see what had happened. Yao Qiyun still held onto Si Tu Xuan's hand and pulled her along, "Come on, let's go take a look."

  Before even approaching, I heard the surrounding classmates discussing that a freshman who went to the water's edge to wash clothes accidentally stepped on glass in the water and cut the bottom of their foot.

  On the scene, all the people were either current or future medical students. Wu Jiang and several senior leaders squeezed in to do a simple wound treatment for the girl. Fortunately, the medicine box they brought was well-prepared with sufficient supplies. The girl's wound bled quite a bit, but it wasn't too serious, so everyone breathed a sigh of relief and dispersed.

  Afterwards, Wu Jiang told Si Tu that the girl was really not simple. At that time, he personally helped her remove the glass stuck to her foot. For a little thing earlier, the girl could cry until tears streamed down her face, and he almost thought she would faint at the moment of removing the glass. Who knew, she didn't even frown, and still smiled to thank the people around her.

  "I might not be able to do it even if I were in their shoes. Sometimes I think that people with different experiences may have different definitions and experiences of pain, and sweetness too. What do you think, Sze-to?"

  Situ Xuan couldn't help but think of Yao Qiyun's hands, which were once covered in scars.

  "Are you saying we're inferior or they're supermen?"

  Wu Jiang spread his hands and said, "I don't know, anyway, four words: Not of my kind."