Chapter 9: Erase You

However, Xu Yannuo had already grown accustomed to such minor injuries in terms of pain, though psychologically, she still felt a reflexive fear.

After finishing her shower, the house remained quiet as ever. Yet, even in the silence, she would inexplicably startle at sudden, ordinary sounds—like the fridge stopping and restarting or a burst of conversation from the neighbors—leaving her heart racing.

She took a deep breath to calm herself, then turned on the desk lamp, pulled out her workbook from the backpack, and finished the remaining homework for the day.

After completing it, neither her mother nor Xu Cheng had returned. Xu Yannuo packed up her schoolbag and went to bed early. In the middle of the night, a faint metallic clinking sound came from outside the door—barely audible, yet it instantly jolted her awake, drenched in cold sweat.

Then, she heard the sound of a key turning in the lock, followed by the door opening, and then the soft footsteps of someone changing into slippers. The footsteps grew closer, paused for a few seconds outside her room, and then faded away again… It was her mother, Cheng Yun, returning home.

She probably came by to check on her, saw that her bedroom light was off, and didn’t come in.

Xu Yannuo lay down again but suddenly couldn’t sleep—though it wasn’t really sudden. Being able to sleep soundly in this house would have been a miracle.

She closed her eyes, trying to summon sleep, but instead of drowsiness, memories of countless similar nights from the past came unbidden to her mind.

Xu Cheng, drunk and fumbling with the keys, couldn’t align them properly to unlock the door. Frustrated, he would pound on it relentlessly until it opened. She still remembered one time when she was very young—terrified by the noise, she cried uncontrollably. Cheng Yun sat by the bed, holding her and covering her ears, soothing her over and over, telling her not to be afraid, that Mommy was there. But she was too scared, too overwhelmed by the sound, and she pleaded with Cheng Yun, “Mommy, let’s open the door for Daddy. If we do, he’ll stop knocking.”

She would never forget the hesitation and fear in Cheng Yun’s eyes that time, but unable to resist her tearful pleas again and again, Cheng Yun hesitated before finally getting out of bed to open the door.

The terrifying knocking sound had stopped, and Xu Yannuo thought she could finally breathe a sigh of relief. But then, she heard several loud “bang” sounds, followed by an even more horrifying dull thud of something hitting the ground. Terrified, she burst into loud sobs and walked out of the bedroom.

Before her eyes, in the living room, her mother lay on the floor, while her father was slurring and shouting obscenities at her, “Damn you for not opening the door! Don’t want me back, huh? Thinking of divorce? You must’ve already found someone else now that I’m nothing, right? Fuck you, Cheng Yun! You’ll never leave this place in your lifetime—you’ll die here!”

He cursed while kicking her body over and over…

Her mother’s frail body curled up helplessly, pleading for mercy again and again, making promises repeatedly, but her voice grew weaker and weaker…

She didn’t know what to do. Fear and despair had completely overwhelmed her. She couldn’t move—dared not move—and just stood there, watching helplessly as her mother was beaten. Yet her thoughts remained clear: if only she hadn’t selfishly and cowardly urged her mother to open the door, if Cheng Yun hadn’t opened it, her mother wouldn’t be suffering like this now. It was all her fault!

Xu Yannuo took a deep breath, but a chill still ran down her spine. She tried to inhale slowly, one breath at a time, doing her best not to dwell on these thoughts.

Xu Yannuo didn’t know when she fell asleep at night. When she woke up again, it was already bright outside the window. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table and glanced at it—it was already 6:30, time to get up.

She got up to wash up, then changed into her school uniform and went to the living room. No one was there, but there were sounds of cooking coming from the kitchen—Cheng Yun was already preparing breakfast for her.

Seeing her come out, Cheng Yun called her over for breakfast. Since the last time he hit them both, Xu Cheng hadn’t come home for three days, which was a rare moment of peace for the mother and daughter at home.

After having breakfast with Cheng Yun, Cheng Yun asked about her recent studies. After chatting for a while, Xu Yannuo picked up her schoolbag and left for school.

Xu Yannuo only mentioned that she had done fairly well in the recent small exams at school. She didn’t tell Cheng Yun about her new deskmate, thinking it was unimportant, though that Chen or whatever was indeed a nuisance.

And trouble, indeed it was trouble.

Xu Yannuo entered the classroom. The class was having morning self-study. Although the teacher wasn’t present and the room was a bit noisy, Xu Yannuo still conscientiously took out her English book and quietly started memorizing vocabulary. Cheng Yun had already endured enough hardship in life—she didn’t want to add more trouble to her already stressful existence.

Xu Yannuo was quietly reciting when the chair beside her was pulled open, followed by the fresh scent of laundry detergent and a bright, pleasant male voice saying, “Good morning, desk mate.”

It was Chen Ciyi who had arrived.

Xu Yannuo ignored him and continued memorizing vocabulary with her head down. First, she found him quite annoying—each encounter left her more irritated than the last, as he constantly managed to exceed her expectations of frustration. Second, she genuinely had nothing to say to him.

What was there to discuss? Why the top student and the goody-two-shoes weren’t home late at night, only to coincidentally meet at a shady internet café?

As soon as Chen Ci sat down, he casually pulled out the book needed for the first class, then took out his phone and played for a while. Xu Yannuo glanced over—it was a simple and undemanding match-three game, and he was still on the early levels.

After playing for a bit, he put his phone down, leaned back in his chair, and lazily gazed out the window. Then, seemingly out of sheer boredom, he scooted closer and slumped onto the desk, nudging Xu Yannuo with his elbow. “Deskmate, why are you pretending to be a good student?”

Here we go again.

Xu Yannuo sighed. She hadn’t wanted to pay him any attention, but she was afraid he might say something even more shocking that others might overhear. Although his voice wasn’t loud, Xu Yannuo felt guilty.

She quickly grabbed a piece of paper and wrote on it: [If you’re such a top student, why are you at an underground internet cafe?]

She thought this would finally shut him up, but soon enough, he took the note, scribbled something on it, and handed it back to her.

Chen Ciyi: [“Do you have some misunderstanding about top students? Aside from being timid, easily bullied, and cowardly, which part of me resembles a good student?”]. The handwriting was free-flowing and unrestrained, forming its own unique style—but one had to admit, his calligraphy was quite beautiful.

Xu Yannuo thought to herself, she wasn’t sure if she had any misunderstandings about top students, but she certainly had quite a few about him. She had mistakenly believed he was actually a good student.

Seeing Xu Yannuo continue memorizing vocabulary without responding to him, Chen Ci glanced at her profile for a moment. His gaze held no emotion, only brimming with curiosity. Then, he raised an eyebrow and said, “Deskmate, lend me your eraser.”