They had explosive arguments before. Her father righteously said, “So what if I hit you? I even gave you money, and you’re still not satisfied? What more do you want?!”

What did she want? When she was a little younger, she wanted her dad to say, “It was Dad’s fault. Dad didn’t consider your feelings. Dad shouldn’t have hit you. It won’t happen again.”

But now, she didn’t want that anymore. Now she just wanted to grow up faster, even faster, to become an adult, to leave that home, the farther away the better.

For several days after the holiday, Thomas Reed didn’t go back. She stayed in the dorm, sometimes going to an internet café, while Henry Clark would regularly leave in the morning and return in the afternoon. Thomas Reed noticed she always took a math book with her when she went out. Once, she saw her heading toward the teachers’ residential area and guessed she was either going to be a student for someone or to be a teacher for someone.

They spoke occasionally. One night, Thomas Reed asked her, “Do you really not have money to buy a bra?”

Henry Clark didn’t avoid the question and said, “It’s not something I absolutely need right now, so I’m not buying it.”

Thomas Reed: “So how much is your weekly living allowance?”

Henry Clark: “Ten yuan.”

Thomas Reed: “???”

When a bottle of mineral water costs two yuan, how do you get through a week on ten yuan? Thomas Reed couldn’t believe it, but Henry Clark wasn’t lying.

She had never talked about her family situation in class. No matter how others joked or gossiped, she always stayed silent. But that night, she took the initiative to say a few things.

She said, “My family wouldn’t let me keep going to school. When I got into this school, my previous school gave me a twelve-hundred-yuan scholarship, and my teacher—she knew my family definitely wouldn’t give me money, so she gave me eight hundred as well. But in the end, all that money was taken away by my family.”

“When I ran here, I only had ten yuan on me, which I’d secretly saved. I borrowed two hundred from my teacher’s wife. When the holidays come, I’ll find a job to earn some money.”

Thomas Reed didn’t know what to say. She’d never faced such hardship. In front of a classmate with such a tragic story, she felt she should be sympathetic, but when Henry Clark spoke, the calmness and sincerity that came from deep inside her made it impossible to pity her—only to feel awe.

She was silent for so long that Henry Clark ended up comforting her: “Actually, I’m already very lucky. I can still study here. Things will only get better from now on.”

Thomas Reed thought, she’s not like me at all. She’s the complete opposite. Henry Clark has something solid in her heart, but I don’t.

Bunk beds, separated by a wooden board, separated by a layer of moonlight. Thomas Reed listened to the steady breathing below and suddenly felt so cowardly, she almost felt disgusted with herself.

“Actually, I’ve never met anyone like you,” Henry Clark suddenly said.

“That time with the love letter… a lot of people knew it wasn’t me who wrote it, but only you spoke up. You’re different from them.”

Thomas Reed opened her mouth, feeling like the onion in her heart had had a layer of rotten skin peeled away. She wanted to say something, but in the end, she just gave a soft hum, turned over, and ended the conversation.

Author’s note:

This is a story of mutual healing.

Everyone is born whole, but in the process of growing up, family and environment shatter them. Now they are piecing themselves back together, and piecing each other together too.

Chapter 8: Exams

The midterm exams were just around the corner, and everyone was caught up in a frenzy of studying. Even fewer people went to the bathroom between classes.

Thomas Reed’s grades weren’t bad. Even though she wasn’t as diligent as those classmates who always had their noses in books, a last-minute cram session was still enough for her to get good results every time. She had to admit, deep down, she was a little proud of herself. But this secret, barely acknowledged pride had disappeared ever since she became desk mates with Henry Clark.

—No one could feel smug about their little bit of cleverness when sitting next to such a top student.

They had to take nine subjects. Every student had their strengths and weaknesses, but not Henry Clark. She only had subjects she was good at, and subjects she was even better at. Math, physics, and chemistry went without saying, but even subjects like politics and history, which required memorizing long essays, she excelled at.

On the eve of the exams, Henry Clark was still calmly studying, her routine exactly the same as when there were no exams. She didn’t show any signs of nervousness, nor did she focus on reviewing any particular subject. This was normal—this top student was always steady during exams. Ever since she got first place once, she’d been consistently first.

As her desk mate, watching her entire review process up close, Thomas Reed had a question.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you memorize history or politics?”

Henry Clark looked at her. “I’ve already memorized them. No need to keep reviewing.”

“Memorized… How many times did you read them?”

“Twice.”

Thomas Reed pulled out her own history textbook, which was covered in random lines, picked a passage, and pointed to it. Henry Clark glanced at it, turned her head, and continued working on physics problems, reciting the passage word for word.

Thomas Reed: “……”