Minodayz : Maripaz has come on as another of our translator, so give her your warm support too! I"ve been stuck with work so she has kindly covered me and what an awesome job she has done!
Anyway, physics seems to be a trying subject! A Triangle seems to be developing, although not sure how it will pan out at this point but some hints are creeping up.
*** Reminder: If anyone is interested in helping edit or translate, we are always looking to welcome more people to our community! No experience necessary, just a willingness to learn and try your best. The time commitment is up to you so there"s no pressure. If you"d like to help out, please email [email protected]. Look forward to hearing from some of you~~
Chapter 22.2 : Tacit understanding
Translated by Minodayz, maripaz
Edited by Librismuse, Miss Bookie
That night, the four of them were revising at the broadcasting studio when there came an unexpected guest.
Su Zi and Peng Zige were as usual debating over some (silly) unusual point. They were engaged in an epic battle over their working paper/rough draft. Both of them were jostling over a stroke here and a slash there when they suddenly stopped upon hearing someone knocking on the door. (TN :你一笔我一划 : you do a stroke, I"m doing a dash/slash. Chinese characters is written with strokes and slashes. By adding or subtracting dash or a slash, a whole new word can emerge. Great fun as it could change the meaning to something totally crazy or weird).
Li Erqin walked over and opened the door.
Standing at the doorway, in her white down jacket and blue wool cap, was a red-eyed Ruan Nuonuo.
Li Erqin pulled her inside. "What"s the matter?"
Everything was alright when no one had asked after her, but as soon as someone expressed even the tiniest bit of concern, Ruan Nuonuo"s tears began to fall down.
"Erqin…."
Peng Zige put down his pencil and stood up.
He and Su Zi were originally fighting over a piece of paper. The white sheet was densely packed with their vigorous arguments, and when Peng Zige suddenly let go, Su Zi, who was still lightly pulling on it, ended up ripping off a piece.
She stared at the other ripped section with a sense of disappointment and loss. Emptiness.
Then she subconsciously raised her head to look at Peng Zige. He had bounded a few steps to stand next to Li Erqin and asked, "Who"s been bullying you?"
Minodayz : Ooooo SZ – what"s this feeling!!!!
Li Erqin took Ruan Nuonuo, who was wiping her eyes, and pulled her towards a table. She saw Rong Si, who had also put down his pencil and was looking at the two of them, and she hesitated, wondering if they would bother him at this close distance.
Rong Si moved the books that were next to him and nodded at Li Erqin "Sit here."
Li Erqin pulled Ruan Nuonuo to the table to sit.
"What happened?"
This time, it was Rong Si who had asked.
Ruan Nuonuo"s face was red from trying to hold it in and keep herself together, and in the end, it was still with a choked-up voice that she said, "I didn"t pa.s.s the Physics test…"
Peng Zige: "……"
Su Zi, who had not moved from her original spot, picked up her pencil and resumed her calculations on the problem she and Peng Zige were originally fighting over.
Li Erqin"s expression was also a bit surprised. "Is not pa.s.sing Physics that hard for you?"
Ruan Nuonuo gave a big sniffle. "It"s the first time I didn"t pa.s.s."
Li Erqin attempted to console her, "I rarely pa.s.s Physics."
Rong Si smiled in spite of himself.
(Minodayz : On my LEQ & you"re just too too cute RS….)
At some point, Peng Zige had grabbed a carton of milk and placed it in front of Ruan Nuonuo. "It"s natural to get a bad grade once in awhile. Don"t feel so bad. Drink some milk."
"I don"t feel like drinking it …"
"Oh." Peng Zige had stuck the straw into the milk carton. He abruptly turned around and asked, "Su Zi, want to drink some milk?"
"No thanks."
Peng Zige looked at her suspiciously and muttered, "Didn"t you just say you wanted to drink some?"
Su Zi ignored him.
(Minodayz: SZ, SZ….I"m a wondering….)
Peng Zige moved his suspicious glance towards Rong Si, hoping to get a favorable response.
Rong Si also ignored him.
Ruan Nuonuo continued to cry.
Li Erqin felt like there was no solution so she looked pleadingly at Rong Si, who, in her heart, was omnipotent.
It almost seemed like Rong Si had let out a small sigh, and then he asked in a casual tone, "Want me to go over your test paper with you?"
Ruan Nuonuo stopped crying, and with teardrops still hanging from her eyes, she replied, "Can you? The teacher already went over the test in cla.s.s, but I still don"t understand."
"Mmm."
Li Erqin waited until Rong Si had agreed, and then she turned towards Ruan Nuonuo with a sincere expression and affirmed, "It was after I studied with Rong Si that I finally got pa.s.sing marks in Physics!"
"Thanks." The tip of Ruan Nuonuo"s nose was still red. After her crying spell, Ruan Nuonuo"s voice was softer and more vulnerable (literal: 粘糯 nian nuo – sticky glutinous rice. The nuo is the same nuo in her name and is a glutinous rice that is sticky, soft and pliable.) "Thank you, student Rong Si."
Rong Si pushed aside the books that were in front of him. "Bring your test paper here. I"ll take a look first."
In Peng Zige"s eyes, this emergency was now resolved. Thus, he leisurely walked back to his chair and saw that Su Zi had completely redone her calculations and was angrily writing them down on a new piece of paper. In a c.o.c.ky manner, he said, "See! I told you you were wrong, but you insisted on arguing with me!"
Su Zi glared at him.
Peng Zige gave a good-natured and hearty laugh. "I see you"re still being stubborn about it."
Rong Si was looking at the test paper with furrowed brows.
Li Erqin immediately asked, "Peng Zige, can you quiet down a bit, please?"
Peng Zige quieted down.
Satisfied, Li Erqin turned around and started to tidy up the seat next to Rong Si. She figured she would clear some room so that Rong Si could explain things to Ruan Nuonuo.
She was midway through her cleaning when two slender fingers pressed down on the blue corner of a workbook.
Rong Si"s voice followed, "Where are you going?"
"I"m going over there."
"Why?"
Li Erqin"s face was unreadable. "To do my worksheets."
Rong Si released his fingers and casually twirled his pen. "Did you fully understand everything that was on the last Physics exam?"
Li Erqin, naturally, shook her head.
He nodded towards the empty seat that was next to him. "Sit here. I"ll explain it to the both of you."
He waited until Li Erqin had sat down and then turned to Ruan Nuonuo and said, "Can you sit across from us?"
Ruan Nuonuo repeatedly nodded her head.
(Minodayz : well RS … I love it that you"re keeping LEQ close!)
Rong Si was an exceptionally patient tutor. If there was ever the slightest bit that they didn"t understand, he would use different methods to explain things clearly. He was even able to list out similar examples and related discussion points to clarify the subject further.
After they had gone through the whole test paper, Ruan Nuonuo felt that her comprehension of Physics far exceeded the scope of that small test. She suddenly felt completely recharged.
It was with a bit of envy that she looked at Li Erqin, who was still frowning and struggling. She asked in a small voice, "Student Rong Si, do you think you can keep tutoring me in Physics in the future?"
Rong Si was just looking at Li Erqin out of the corner of his eyes and could tell from her expression that she was mangling the concepts that he had just explained. (Literal: she took the knowledge that he had spoken and cooked it into a paste!) When he heard Ruan Nuonuo"s question, he turned around to face her. His expression was indifferent as he said, "I"m sorry. I don"t have the time."
Ruan Nuonuo had not antic.i.p.ated that Rong Si would so directly refuse her.
Luckily, Rong Si quickly added, "However, if there"s anything you don"t understand, you"re welcome to come ask me."
Finally, Ruan Nuonuo let out her first trace of a small smile that night. "Thank you."
"You"re welcome."
Now that she had settled what had been bothering her that night, Ruan Nuonuo walked over to see Peng Zige. She saw that he and Su Zi were head to head, both sprawled on the desk writing on their worksheets. The two of them were tense with the fierce determination of compet.i.tion.
Ruan Nuonuo walked over to Peng Zige"s side and sat down. "Peng Zige."
"Everything fine now?" Peng Zige asked as he covertly snuck a glance at Su Zi"s worksheet. When he saw that she was slower than he was, he tugged happily at his chin and once again turned to comfort Ruan Nuonuo. "It"s OK if you get one bad grade. Look at Erqin. When she finally pa.s.sed her Physics test one time, she was over the moon."
Ruan Nuonuo had a hard time picturing what an "over the moon" Li Erqin would look like. She simply felt like Li Erqin was a bit aloof and not at all like Su Zi, who she felt was easier to get close with.
She turned around to look at Li Erqin.
Li Erqin was sprawled on the desk. Her right hand was holding her pencil and pointing to some part of her paper. She tilted her head and glanced questioningly at Rong Si.
Rong Si shook his head.
She made some more scrawls on the paper and looked up again.
Rong Si was still shaking his head.
Li Erqin didn"t get it and grew distressed.
Rong Si picked up his own pencil and moved it close to where Li Erqin"s pencil was.
He made a few scribbles.
The two had not exchanged a single spoken word, and yet Li Erqin"s face suddenly become enlightened. Her admiration/adoration could hardly be concealed.
Ruan Nuonuo gave a small t.i.tter and said quietly, "I guess Li Erqin likes Rong Si?"
With this one comment, the other two people in the room were rendered completely dumbstruck/speechless.
Minodayz : Well… this happens to be quite a subdued chapter but those underlying currents seem to be charging…. SZ, PZG & RNN. Then there is LEQ and RS – so cute and yet so gradual that even those close by failed to see it except for RNN – wonder what SZ and PZG will response to that question…
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