Chapter 18: Encounter

Qiao Lan sat in the room in a daze for a good part of the day.

Qiao Lan is only 16 now!

Is it crazy to find an in-law at sixteen?

She had previously thought that the Qiao Family would treat her better if she did so well, but now she realises that for these people, getting into Tsinghua University Peking University is not as exciting as marrying a rich man.

Qiao Lan had a sudden sense of crisis.

A good reading is of no use to them at all.

If they did find Qiao Lan a so-called 'good family', and Qiao Lan did not agree, would Qiao's father Qiao's mother not allow her to study?

Quite possibly.

No, that should definitely be the case.

If Qiao Family cut off her tuition fees, there was nothing she could do even if she insisted.

Qiao Lan had previously thought that she would be able to make it through high school and then go away to university so she could get away, but now she heard Qiao's mother's plans.

Qiao Lan realised that she had to do something.

She had to make her plans in the quickest time possible.

That night, Qiao Lan struggled to sleep with Qiao's second aunt and Qiao's mother yelling at her.

When I went to school the next day, I walked into a classroom with only about ten residents and a few students actually offered to say hello to her.

After almost a month of exclusion, Qiao Lan had forgotten what it was like to talk to her classmates.

After returning well and sitting in my seat, I took out my politics textbook and went outside to memorise it as usual and then ran the morning exercises.

When I came back to the classroom, I took a glass of water and went to the bottom of the building to get some water. When I came back from the water, I looked back and saw Tan Mo rolling slowly in his wheelchair.

A habit that has been forming for almost a month, Qiao Lan subconsciously wants to say good morning to Tan Mo again, but the words slip out of her mouth.

On the way home after talking to Tan Mo that day, Qiao Lan tried to put herself in Tan Mo's shoes to see how her initiative would feel to Tan Mo.

Someone who has not been in contact with outsiders for a long time will be afraid of someone taking the initiative to greet her and will be very resistant when the phone rings.

Tan Mo, who has suffered from Asperger's syndrome since childhood, is only more severely affected, so Tan Mo may be very repulsed and overwhelmed by what seems to her to be the mildest of greetings.

Tan Mo also saw Qiao Lan.

He was sure that Qiao Lan had just seen him.

Tan Mo's hands moved a little faster, without even noticing it, but when he looked up again, the girl who would have stopped to talk to him at the sight of him was gone.

Tan Mo's grip on the wheelchair froze for a moment.

No one knew that Tan Mo, at this moment, was actually trying to say good morning to Qiao Lan.

Tan Mo hung his head, and after a long moment re-rolled his wheelchair and entered the classroom, returning to the patch of shadows where he had been sitting for over two months.

And Qiao Lan is sitting in the doorway, furthest away from him.

Tan Mo's light brown eyes look steadily in Qiao Lan's direction, and he sees Qiao Lan, who, like him, has never spoken to anyone before, talking to her new desk mate.

What did they say? They talked for a long time, maybe a minute, maybe two minutes.

How many words can you say in two minutes? Tan Mo doesn't know.

After his mother's death, he never had more than two minutes of communication with anyone.

Qiao Lan has spoken to him for more than maybe two minutes in all the days combined.

The sour feeling that had come over him that day came back again, and more than that day Tan Mo couldn't say what it felt like, he just knew that he didn't want to see Qiao Lan talking so much to anyone else.

And it was words he could never have guessed.

Tan Mo has been in this seat for over two months and he has never felt bad about it, but now he is discontented.

It's too far away.

So far away that you can't even hear a bit of Qiao Lan's voice.

Qiao Lan's new tablemate, Pei Ning, is a boy about the same size as Qiao Lan, with a very introverted personality.

It's either Tan Mo's kind of aloofness, or timidity, or just introversion.

Moreover, Qiao Lan suspected that Pei Ning might have liked Song Yao.

Qiao Lan feels a little guilty that Pei Ning's table would have been Song Yao's if she hadn't been so determined not to sit at the same table as Chen Yaoyang.

Pei Ning is an introvert, but if you ask him a question, he'll tell you anything.

Qiao Lan is now talking to Pei Ning about bursaries and scholarships for the secondary school.

Yesterday, Qiao's mother and Qiao's second aunt said something which kept Qiao Lan awake all night and she came to class a few days later to find out more about it.

Pei Ning didn't know much either, but was much better than Qiao Lan, who had a general idea by the time Pei Ning had finished talking.

Qiao Lan herself is a poor student, so she gets a two hundred dollar grant every month, which is put on her meal card, and a small percentage of the students in her class have the grant.

But scholarships are different. The scholarship system in the Annexe is private to the school and the criteria for first class scholarships are very simple and brutal, the highest final marks in the top and bottom semesters.

It is rated once a year at five thousand dollars a time.

The second prize is three thousand dollars for students whose final marks are in the top four and who do not qualify for the first prize.

Qiao Lan is a fool's errand.

If she can get a scholarship, she should not have to worry about tuition fees, and even if Qiao's father Qiao's mother does not let her go to school, she will still be able to afford tuition fees and accommodation.

Of course, it is not certain that the money will be available, and even if it is, it will be towards the end of the first year of high school, so Qiao Lan will have to find a way to save up again in addition to the scholarship.

Qiao Lan decided to go to work as soon as possible.

There is still plenty of time while you are in your first year of high school, and when you start your second year of high school with evening study, you will have absolutely no time.

When the weekend comes, Qiao Lan is planning to go out to work and save some money, otherwise she won't even have money to live on.

With her plans in place, Qiao Lan was able to rest easier and to free up her free time, Qiao Lan became more and more attentive in class and did not waste any time after class.

Pei Ning had been studying hard, but after sitting at the same table as Qiao Lan and seeing Qiao Lan's energy in studying, she had a sudden feeling that I was not working hard enough.

So inexplicably, he started to follow suit and work harder and harder.

Class 13 was already at the top of its age group, but since the mid-term exams, the energy of Class 13 has increased.

Even Qiao Lan, with such a poor background, is now at the top of her grade, so what else is impossible?

Chen Yaoyang, who is already very smart, doesn't want to be under Qiao Lan's thumb next time, and has recently learned to memorise books.

Mr. Liu was very interested in such a strong learning atmosphere in the class and was happy all day long. The class teacher of the next classes, who was standing on the podium every day h scolded his own class.

"People in Class 13 came first last time and are still working so hard, so who are you to not work hard!"

So, when Qiao Lan woke up early to memorise her books, she noticed that there were many more students around her than before.

The last class of the afternoon was again physical education.

Again, we were in Class 5, which was Hao Ying's class.

Qiao Lan actually likes to play sports and doesn't reject PE classes. When she was in high school, she had close classmates who used to sit and talk together during PE classes.

But now, although there are gradually people in the class who have taken the initiative to talk to her since the mid-term results came out, it is only to talk.

This kind of PE class is no fun at all for Qiao Lan.

As usual, Qiao Lan was ready to go back to class and read as usual after dismissal.

However, today the PE teacher suddenly got excited and instead of dismissing the class when they had finished doing the activity, she organised the whole class to do it together.

A bunch of boys who had brought basketballs and were ready to play with Class 5, wailed in unison.

The PE teacher was completely unimpressed and took the class to the large playground with great enthusiasm, and "played games" with the students.

The boys looked at the Class 5 students on the pitch and the girls looked at the girls sitting on the lawn listening to music and chatting, all protesting with cells throughout their bodies.

But the protest was ineffective.

I don't know what's wrong with the PE teacher today, but the class lasts for forty-five minutes, and when the activity is finally finished, there are only five minutes left.

The fifth class next door finished a game of football.

Qiao Lan wanted to go back to class to read, but after checking the time, she didn't go back and waited for the bell.

With just five minutes left, there was nowhere for everyone to go and walk and talk, especially now at this time of year when there were several star names on campus on the pitch.

For example, Song Yao, a favourite of many of the boys, and Chen Yaoyang and Hao Ying, who were almost universally watched by the girls, drew attention to everywhere they went, who they were talking to and how they moved.

But since the mid-term exams, there has been another Qiao Lan.

First in the year, a name that always intrigues people, at first a number of students came straight to the class to watch, now that we are in PE and know Qiao Lan is there, a number of students are watching Qiao Lan as well.

"Qiao Lan , just that high ponytail over there."

"108 points short of a perfect score, really bullish, just not very good."

"It's enough that they study well, why do they need to be so good looking", someone retorted, glancing over at Qiao Lan, "they're not bad looking either, they have good features, and if they were whiter they'd be absolutely beautiful."

"So tall, over 5'7", I think, with long legs..."

"It's too thin..."

"God made me so thin, I guess..."

The crowd chattered and chattered until the teacher called for dismissal and then slowly made their way to class.

Qiao Lan was moving into the classroom with the crowd, when suddenly a man leapt up behind her, steaming hot, Qiao Lan ducked out of the way and turned around to meet Hao Ying with a big smile on her face.

Looking at his white, straight teeth, Qiao Lan's first thought was that this boy could be in a toothpaste commercial.

Hao Ying, who was still very familiar with the game, had just finished playing and was wearing only a sleeveless T-shirt with his school jacket off, clutching the ball in his hand, and ignoring the surprised looks of the people around him, said to Qiao Lan, "Thanks."

Thank you?

Thanks for what?

Qiao Lan was baffled, "You've got the wrong person, haven't you?"

"How is it possible", Hao Ying said, thinking that Qiao Lan had lied to him last time, so he even looked up Qiao Lan's name, and this time Qiao Lan had topped the grade, so how could he be wrong?

When I think of it, Hao Ying is in a better mood. He scored 123 in maths, his dad gave him a lot of pocket money and his mum gave him the latest Apple phone.

Li Fan Qin Yang gave Chen Yaoyang a few pats, " When did Qiao Lan meet Hao Ying?"

"I don't know", Chen Yaoyang frowned, surprised too, after all, Hao Ying and Qiao Lan were not even in the same league, and Chen Yaoyang could not have imagined the opportunity for these two to meet.

Some people were talking, others were playing with their mobile phones, and no one noticed the teenager sitting in a wheelchair on the ground floor of the school building a few minutes earlier.

The pale teenager looked at the smile on Qiao Lan's face and at the tall, handsome boy next to her.

The boy was smiling, sunny, lively and healthy, nothing like the communication-impaired, gloomy, disabled man he was.

No one knows how long Tan Mo, who never ventures out of the classroom, has been there, or what he has been looking at and seeing.

The sun is setting and the sun is pouring down on Tan Mo's empty table.

Qiao Lan returned to the classroom and even though she had decided not to bother Tan Mo anymore, she subconsciously glanced at Tan Mo's place.

A silent frown crept over his brow.

Tan Mo is not in the classroom.

But Qiao Lan didn't think much of it, and Tan Mo probably left early in PE class today when it was less crowded.

When she got home, Qiao's mother kept glancing at Qiao Lan, looking her up and down, and chanting discontentedly, "Our children are all quite white, why are you the only one who is dark?"

Qiao's mother was worried because Qiao's second aunt had said she would introduce Qiao Lan to someone, and what if they thought Qiao Lan was ugly?

Qiao Lan: ......

She's just not white, but she's not dark either.

Besides, she must be yellow and skinny because she is malnourished every day. If she is allowed to eat and drink well, she might be whiter than Qiao Yuan, the little white fatty.

However, Qiao's mother suddenly started paying attention to Qiao Lan's looks, which was not a good thing for Qiao Lan, who couldn't wait for the weekend and was going to see if there were any vacancies after school on Friday.

When he went to school the next day, Qiao Lan looked back several times until the first class was over, but he didn't see Tan Mo.

Tan Mo did not come today.

Why didn't you come?

Sick?

Or is there something going on at home?

The next day, Tan Mo still didn't show up and no one in the class thought it was strange.

Tan Mo is different from other students in that he does not have to take time off from school.

Qiao Lan went home, had a quick bite to eat, put down her school bag and left the house to find a place to work.

In the past, Qiao Lan's high school was sponsored by a good samaritan and she did not have to worry about tuition fees, but if she had free time she would still work to earn some money, as it would be insecure not to have a source of livelihood.

Later, when she went to university, she even worked several jobs to support her tuition and living expenses.

After university, Qiao Lan was able to find a better job as a tutor because of her good grades in the entrance exams and the fact that she was at the highest financial university in the country.

Now Qiao Lan, who is only in her first year of high school, can only work in the evenings and on weekends, and it is too difficult to find a permanent job.

Qiao Lan went from 7pm to 10pm, with a pile of job listings in her hand and many addresses and phone numbers in her notebook, before returning home at nearly 11pm.

The next day we were out again at dawn.

Take out the jobs selected yesterday and ask them one by one.

Qiao Lan, now a high school student, was really inconvenienced, and after a morning of searching, she was not 18 years old and only had a junior high school education or above. After wandering around for nearly a day with no luck, and as the day wore on and the lights came on, Qiao Lan went to the shop to buy a loaf of bread and sat on a chair next to an alleyway on a gravel road, surveying the area.

Nearly ten minutes later, a western restaurant that had been left unlit finally turned on its lights belatedly, and the breezy owner gathered her hair and hung up an open sign, and a moment later put a job listing on the glass.

Qiao Lan finishes his bread in two bites, wipes his hands and walks in.

The two-storey restaurant, which I saw when I was passing by, is exquisitely decorated, and now when the lights are switched on it's even more chic.

After a day of searching, even the worst jobs were not available, so Qiao Lan simply asked for something better, as it was difficult anyway.

Part of the reason is that Qiao Lan has worked in a Western restaurant, learned to make coffee, and has a good command of English.

When Qiao Lan walked in, the owner looked at Qiao Lan for a moment, "What's for dinner."

Qiao Lan pointed to the window, "I've come to apply for a job."

......

After a long day's work, Qiao Lan has finally come to the light of day.

The boss said she didn't want anyone underage, but Qiao Lan said she was 16 years old.

Qiao Lan volunteered to make her own coffee, and the owner was convinced to let Qiao Lan try it out, and she worked all night.

The boss's wife didn't expect the young girl to be very handy and, most importantly, very skilled, whether she was making coffee or ordering, and she finally believed Qiao Lan's claim that she had worked in a Western restaurant before.

But Qiao Lan's time was a problem. Qiao Lan could only come in the evenings on weekends and Qiao Lan said he could pay less.

After staring at Qiao Lan for a long time, the owner, probably out of compassion, agreed and asked her to come to the shop at eleven o'clock tomorrow morning.

Qiao Lan went out for a day of shopping and finally found a job. Although it's only a thousand dollars a month, I'm satisfied!

When she started work the next day, Qiao Lan realised that although the location was quite remote and the food was expensive, the shop was full of people and many of them were regulars.

Tan Mo doesn't like to go out, especially these two days, but Tan Father himself came to pick him up and Tan Mo finally went out.

Tan Mo and his mother had been abroad, and Tan Father thought that Tan Mo might like Western food, so he took him to a Western restaurant that he usually went to, which was not very big, but the environment and the taste were first class.

Tan Father said to Tan Mo that something here tasted excellent, but Tan Mo looked pale and didn't react at all.

Tan Father asked Tan Mo why he hadn't been to school for the past two days, and the teacher called to ask him specifically.

Tan Father frowned.

He had managed to persuade Tan Mo to go to school, but then, without knowing what had happened, Tan Mo suddenly stopped going.

Tan Father had some free time today, so he took Tan Mo out for dinner and wanted to talk to Tan Mo.

Tan Father is used to being a leader and when he talks to Tan Mo, he is fine at first, but as he talks to Tan Mo, he turns into talking to his subordinates.