Mud beads

Yu Pandi stood at the door of Yuejian Che's room, her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes.

The clothes she was wearing were bought by Aunt Wang: a light blue sweatshirt, jeans, and white sneakers. The shoes were so white that she was afraid of getting them dirty with every step. But when Yue Jianche looked at her, it was as if he were looking at something that hadn't been placed in the right place.

"Is something the matter?" he asked.

Yu Pandi whispered, "I want to go to school."

Koshima Toru leaned against the door frame, seemingly only then realizing that he had brought back a person, not luggage left in the first-floor storage room.

"How old are you?"

"Thirteen."

"What grade are you in?"

She didn't speak.

Echizen Toru understood and smiled: "Didn't finish elementary school?"

Yu Pandi's face slowly warmed up.

She didn't feel ashamed of not being able to read in the mountains because no one asked her. But here, the food packaging was in Japanese, the appliance brands were in English, and Aunt Wang played Italian music. She lived each day in a state of semi-understanding.

Yuejian Che turned and went back to his room. Yu Pandi saw a pile of things spread out on the carpet in the middle of his room: a game controller, headphones, an English book, several sheets of sheet music, and a black violin case. She didn't recognize the violin, but she felt that the case was expensive and made of a material she had never seen before—a short-pile black one.

Everything in his life, no matter where he goes, is more substantial than all the things she owns in the village.

She stood outside the door, not even daring to let her shadow cross the threshold.

Koshima Toru turned around to get his phone and called Grandpa Koshima. His voice immediately softened after the call connected: "Grandpa, my sister hasn't started school yet. Hmm, I forgot. Right, junior high, I think. Have the teacher check her."

He said "I forgot" calmly.

Yu Pandi lowered her head.

She remembered him for seven days. He forgot her for seven days.

After hanging up the phone, Toru Etsuma looked at her, his face devoid of any smile: "There's something else."

She looked up.

"After you go to school, you are not allowed to say that you know me. You are not allowed to say that you live with me. And you are not allowed to talk to me in front of other people."

Yu Pandi was stunned.

Koshima Toru resumed his good-natured demeanor: "Did you understand?"

She nodded.

"Your surname is Yu, right?" He thought for a moment, "Don't use the name Pandi anymore, it sounds awful."

Yu Pandi opened her mouth.

She wanted to say that this is what's on the household registration book.

But Yu Dahai had already handed over her household registration booklet. That thin red booklet, like her last piece of proof, was also put into the Yue family's car. She had no right to say whether her name should remain.

That name really is awful. Many girls in the village have names like that: Zhaodi, Laidi, Pandi. It's like a well, with the bottom forever waiting for a boy to fall in.

But that's her name too.

Echizen Toru said, "Let's call her Yu Zhu."

Aunt Wang was just bringing up the fruit when she asked, "Which bead?"

Echizen Toru tilted his head and pondered for a moment, then smiled gently: "A pearl of rare rarity."

He spoke casually, like renaming a pet in a game, but Aunt Wang kept praising it. When Yu Pandi heard the words "rare pearl," she subconsciously lowered her head, her face burning again. But only Yuejian Tetsu knew that his first reaction was actually "pig."

Stupid as a pig.

The meaning remains the same even if the handwriting is neater.

Yu Zhu.

Yu Pandi repeated it in her mind. She had never seen real pearls before, only the fake headdresses in the window of the wedding dress shop in town, white and round, shining under the light.

She thought the name was good.

"Thank you, brother," she said.

Echizen Toru frowned.

She immediately changed her address: "Thank you, young master."

He said, "Don't call me that. Call me Yuejian Tetsu, or Yue-senpai."

The next day, Yu Pandi became Yu Zhu.

Aunt Wang took her to register for school.

Before leaving, Aunt Wang asked if he wanted the driver to give him a ride. Tetsuya Echizen came downstairs, his school uniform shirt buttoned up to the top, his jacket draped over his arm.

"It's not on my way," he said.

Aunt Wang was taken aback: "Young Master, aren't the junior high and senior high sections of the school together?"

Yuejian Tetsu looked at Yu Zhu and smiled broadly: "My car doesn't carry other people."

Later, Aunt Wang took Yu Zhu on the subway and saved her an electronic bus card on her phone. Yu Zhu clutched the new phone, listening to Aunt Wang tell her which stop to get off at and which way to go, her palms sweating. The city roads weren't as difficult as the mountain roads, but every intersection felt like it could swallow you up.

As she entered the school gate, she followed Aunt Wang to the turnstile. The students in front of her simply placed their phones on the sensor area, the green light illuminated, and they passed through. When it was Yu Zhu's turn, she placed her phone on the sensor like she would on the subway, but the turnstile didn't open, and someone behind her coughed softly.

Aunt Wang helped her retrieve the school's temporary code, and then she squeezed in sideways. The turnstile was very narrow, like a threshold in the city, specifically designed to stop people who shouldn't be there.

The school wasn't far from Yue's home; it was a private school offering junior and senior high education. Many cars were parked at the school gate. The students wore identical short skirts and suits, with ties around their necks instead of red scarves. Yu Zhu was led inside by the academic affairs teacher and first completed a test paper. She could only write her name, knew a little addition and subtraction in math, and could only write up to the letter D in English.

The teacher's expression wasn't good after reading the paper, but because she was a volunteer transfer student who had been given special treatment by higher authorities, the teacher didn't say anything harsh.

"Try it out with the first-year students first," the teacher said. "If their foundation is weak, we'll give them extra help."

Yu Zhu nodded.

The school uniform was a last-minute replacement, and the sleeves were too long. The academic affairs teacher told her to get her trousers altered that afternoon, and also said she didn't need to worry about tuition, meal fees, or accommodation fees. Yu Zhu's heart tightened when she heard the list of fees. She didn't know how much these fees amounted to, only that if there was a lot of money involved, someone would use her as a scapegoat.

The academic affairs teacher sent the electronic timetable to her phone, and a series of classroom numbers popped up on the screen: A-307, B-102, Lab. Yu Zhu stared at Lab for a long time, not realizing that it was also a classroom.

At the end of the corridor was her locker, a combination lock that required pressing the '#' key first. She tried three times without success, her palms growing sweatier with each attempt, and in the end, she only managed to carry her books back to the classroom.

When the teacher brought her into the classroom, the whole class was looking at her.

She walked to the last empty seat with her head down, the chair leg scraping against the floor. The whole class turned to look at her. She sat down, her back ramrod straight, as if afraid that if she sat crookedly she would be sent back to the mountains.

Her deskmate was a girl with short brown hair, a small face, and not much to talk about. She had a green star sticker on her chin, and her name was Zheng Nan.

After the first class, the class was changing classrooms. Yu Zhu looked at the electronic timetable on her phone, wondering what the difference was between Building A and Building B. Zheng Nan closed her book and whispered, "Come with me."

She spoke very softly, as if she didn't want others to hear. Someone called out "Nan Nan" in a drawn-out voice in the corridor. Her shoulders stiffened, she touched the green pimple patch on her chin, and didn't turn around.

At noon, Zheng Nan took her to the cafeteria.

It was called a canteen, but it felt more like one of those unnamed places outside the Yue family's living room. A row of silver stoves sat on a long table, serving Chinese and Western food, along with cut fruit. Among the Western dishes, she only recognized steak, salad, and borscht. There was also a section filled with raw, cold dishes, brightly colored, arranged in a way that made her hesitant to touch them.

Zheng Nan handed her the plate and pointed to the corner: "Put it over there when you're done." Yu Zhu nodded. She didn't even know if you could take a second serving of food from a buffet, and she was afraid of having to pay extra if she took too much.

Yu Zhu walked around with her plate, only taking what she recognized: white rice, corn pieces, and a boiled egg. She dared not touch the vegetables drizzled with sauce. The meat was cut into pieces too large, so she didn't dare touch it either.

Someone behind her said, "Are you the new volunteer student?"

She turned around.

Several girls stood together, their school uniform skirts neatly trimmed, their hair swaying and releasing a floral fragrance. The girl in the lead looked at her, her eyes not unkind, but filled with curiosity.

"You're from the mountains?" the girl asked. "The Qinling Mountains?"

Yu Zhu didn't know what "charity student" meant, only understanding the words "from the mountains." She hugged her plate tightly and nodded.

The girl looked at her shoes again: "German training shoes should be worn with slouch socks."

Yu Zhu lowered her head, her face flushed.

She didn't understand German boots or what slouch socks were, but she knew she must have gotten something wrong again.

Aunt Wang picked out these shoes for her. She said they were a trendy style right now, and she was very careful when wearing them.

Zheng Nan stood beside her, not saying a word, and silently lowered her head with her.

At that moment, the crowd suddenly quieted down a bit.

Toru Echizen and several high school boys entered through the door. He was wearing a school uniform shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and he was listening intently to the people next to him. Someone tossed him a ball, which he caught and then tossed back with a smile.

"Toru Koshima!" A pretty girl called his name loudly from a nearby table. "There's a seat here."

Echizen Toru raised his chin and naturally walked over to sit down among the girls.

A teacher passed by, stopped, and exchanged a few words with him, smiling kindly. The cafeteria manager personally cut open a freshly grilled steak and asked if he wanted a different one. He said thank you, no need, his tone as gentle as a sentence from a textbook.

Yu Zhu suddenly realized that Yue Jian Che was not only gentle to her.

He treats everyone the same way.

The girl sitting opposite Toru Echizen tossed her long, wavy hair and winked at him: "Toru Echizen, turn your head."

He stopped, still smiling, and asked, "What's wrong?"

The girl pointed her long fingernails at Yu Zhu: "Someone has been watching you."

Yu Zhu held the plate, her palms sweaty.

She forgot what he had told her.

Toru Echizen looked at her.

He neither exposed her nor helped her. He simply nodded politely, as if looking at a stranger, a lower-grade student.

"I don't know him," he said.

Several girls responded with an interested "oh," then opened their phones and started talking about other things.

Yu Zhu lowered her head, unsure whether to breathe a sigh of relief or feel sad.

When Eshima Toru passed by her after finishing his meal, he paused for a moment.

He said in a very low voice, "You're very well-behaved."

Yu Zhu gripped the spoon, nearly spilling the soup. She didn't know if it was a compliment or something else, but her heart skipped a beat at those two words.

After school, she went out through the small gate of the junior high school and followed the route Aunt Wang had taught her to take the subway. Cars drove away one after another at the school gate, their windows all black, like mirrors that refused to reflect anyone.

The subway station was crowded, and the route map was posted on the wall, with red, blue, and green lines intertwined. Yu Zhu stared at the voice message sent by Aunt Wang, listening to "take the train to the next station to transfer" over and over again, but she couldn't figure out where she was on the map.

She wanted to ask someone, but was afraid that if she opened her mouth, they would immediately tell she didn't know anything. The turnstile beeped, and the people behind her pushed forward, so she had no choice but to follow the flow of people into the station.

Yu Zhu got off at the wrong stop.

After getting out of the car, she walked back, her phone slippery from the sweat in her palm. She didn't turn on the navigation, afraid of making a mistake, afraid that the arrow on her phone would lead her in the wrong direction. By the time she got back to Yue's house, it was already dark. The living room light was on, and the water was still running in the kitchen sink.

Yu Zhu avoided eye contact.

Echizen was sitting in the living room watching TV. He didn't react much when she came in, as if he already knew she would do this.

"Did you see me in the cafeteria today?" he asked.

Yu Zhu stopped: "I'm sorry."

He looked up, his face still bearing that gentle, humble smile.

"Don't watch it again," Toru Echizen said. "It's too much trouble to explain."