The Bright Moon CH2
"Hey, wait," Gu Yi called out, jogging a few steps to catch up, "are you heading to the cafeteria? Let me treat you to a meal."
Xu Can showed no expression, "no need."
She didn't pause her steps. As there were other students around, Gu Yi could only silently follow her for a while.
When they reached a deserted area, Gu Yi smiled, a teasing tone in her voice, "I just had my dad transfer money to you. It should arrive in about two hours. You really did rip me off a good sum huh, haha."
Upon hearing this, a dark, mouldy, rotten taste welled up in Xu Can's heart—self-loathing mixed with irritation. Her mood instantly turned for the worse.
Turning the corner, the adjacent building was the music academy's teaching building. Their exam times staggered from everyone else's. It was empty.
Xu Can said, "come over here for a moment."
"Huh?"
Gu Yi widened her eyes slightly but followed Xu Can into the other department's building.
Around the corner at the entrance was the stairwell leading to the basement level. It was dimly lit, with only a sliver of light coming through the half-open door.
Xu Can brought her here.
"What are you doing?"
Gu Yi blinked, looking at her strangely. She checked the time on her phone, "aren’t you gonna eat? I'm starving."
That year's exam management wasn't fully standardised yet. The signal blockers at best prevented some cheating but couldn't stop substitute examinees. The black-and-white photos on the exam IDs were so dark that every face looked almost the same.
And so, Gu Yi had reported her student card lost, while Xu Can had helped her replace it using her photo on the card.
Xu Can had taken Gu Yi’s admission ticket and student card, entered the exam hall smoothly, and completed the test for her. Meanwhile, she skipped her own exam because she needed the money. The scholarship wasn't nearly enough—nowhere close to 100,000 yuan.
She had thought it was a flawless plan.
Xu Can had confirmed in advance that no one in the exam hall knew either her or Gu Yi. There was also no way to tell apart her face from the identification.
Who would have thought that after successfully finishing the exam, when asked how she passed, Gu Yi, unable to resist showing off, told her friends. Her friends told their friends, and somehow it got reported.
Gu Yi was naive and simple, but not necessarily kind-hearted.
She couldn't withstand the pressure from the teachers and confessed everything from start to finish, hoping to shift the blame onto Xu Can for a lighter punishment.
Paying someone to take an exam and hiring a substitute were both serious offences. In the end, they were both expelled.
Gu Yi immediately went abroad after that.
Later, Xu Can, with the strong support of many teachers in the department, especially Tong Mingyue, received a lighter punishment. She was stripped of her eligibility for awards, honours, and any school-granted or school-recommended recognitions, including her degree certificate.
The teachers consoled her, saying that if she performed well and successfully got into their graduate program, she could still receive her degree certificate.
Fresh graduates could take the exam only once, Xu Can needed to pass as she couldn’t get her undergraduate degree anymore.
Xu Can quickly accepted the result and faced it calmly. For the next two years, besides attending classes, she worked part-time and prepared for the graduate entrance exams with all her might. Finally, she achieved high enough scores to be accepted into any school she chose.
The exam cheating scandal seemed to have no major impact on her.
Yet, every time Xu Can passed by the bulletin board, seeing her name listed for violating exam regulations and being placed on probation, she only felt shame and regret, like being pricked by needles.
The price of 100 000 yuan.
Xu Can no longer had the face to wander around the professors' offices.
Before the graduate exams, she occasionally ran into Tong Mingyue and would take a detour to avoid her. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. She had let her down.
__________________________________________________
"Why aren't you saying anything? What's wrong with you? Did you not do well in the exam? Impossible, you're Xu Can."
Xu Can snapped out of her memories, her mood was as terrible as it could be right now.
Seeing Gu Yi's carefree, innocent expression, she couldn't hold back. Grabbing her collar tightly, she said, "I'll only say this once: the 100 000 yuan is your voluntary tuition fee for tutoring, got it?"
"What are you doing?"
Gu Yi was surprised and a bit displeased, tried to brush off Xu Can's hand. But seeing Xu Can's fierce gaze, her tone weakened, "you're acting really strange today."
"I helped you take the exam, and I made sure there are no witnesses, no evidence."
Xu Can tightened her grip on Gu Yi's collar, her knuckles turning white with force, telling her, "I deliberately forged your handwriting. The teachers won't see any difference. Even if it’s appraised in forensics, the results can't be used as direct evidence."
"Ah... ah, I got it, okay?" Gu Yi was stunned, wanted to say something, but looking into Xu Can's fierce eyes, she forgot what she wanted to say.
She had never seen such a scary look in Xu Can's eyes—cold, like she was harbouring a grudge.
"If I hear anyone mention this cheating incident, I'll use the 100 000 yuan as legal fees to sue you for slander. From now on, you're on your own. Your dad got you in here as a special admittee, you should learn to cherish it."
Finishing her words, Xu Can released her collar. She stared into Gu Yi's confused eyes without saying another word and walked out of the stairwell.
The winter sun was bright and solemn, the number of students were gradually increasing, all heading toward the cafeteria.
Xu Can quickened her pace.
At the same time, she started counting down in her mind.
One, two, three seconds... counting to twenty, she took out her phone.
A moment later, she finally received a call.
Xu Can answered, "Hello."
"Hello, daughter, did you find a way to get the money? I'm hiding outside and can't go back. Those bastards are pressing too hard. Your grandma said they're ready to break down the door. You have to think of something..."
"Dad, I told you there's no way."
Xu Can sniffled in the cold wind, speaking softly, "I'm only a sophomore, not even an adult yet. What could I possibly do?"
"Daughter, you're my hope. I only have you left," the middle-aged man on the other end was clearly panicking. "You've always been smart... you must have a way. Think again, think of something, my daughter..."
"Dad, just stay out of town and don't come back. If they come to the door, let grandma call the police. The police will handle it."
Xu Can wasn't too worried.
Her grandma was more capable of making a scene than anyone, she could see her pushing her wheelchair-bound grandpa to extort the debt collectors in retaliation. Plus, they were so poor that even if they searched the house, they wouldn't find anything valuable.
Her dad was a gambler and a debtor; everyone in a ten mile radius knew.
If Xu Can hadn't been a student at a prestigious university, a rare talent in their province, her dad would never have been able to borrow this much money. She now vaguely understood how he kept falling into debt.
Because it was always like this: there’s nothing I can do, she would say, but in the end, she still managed to come up with the money to pay off his gambling debt.
Xu Can's mother had abandoned this family that had no future shortly after giving birth to her, running away with someone else. She was raised by her dad. Seeing her dad have a finger cut off by debt collectors, how could she remain unmoved?
And she was scared.
Every time her dad got emotional, he would say he wanted to come to her, to hide by her side, to see her at school.
Xu Can was really afraid of losing face.
In her previous life, she worked so hard to maintain a hopeless family, to keep up appearances, putting in all her effort. In the end, it still pushed her to a dead end.
In this life, she didn't want to be strong anymore.
"Daughter, ah, forget it... then I'll come to you to hide for a while. I can’t stay at home anymore...can you find a place for me to stay?" On the other end, the middle-aged man lowered his voice, "I'm heading to the train station now, okay?"
Xu Can's tone was calm, "I have no money. Renting a place here is several times more expensive than back home. Dad, find a small city to hide in, start fresh and find a job, then slowly pay back the debt."
"Xu Can!" Xu Qingguo interrupted her, "Where do you want me to go?"
"Anywhere. You don't have a job anyway, moving to a new city will let you earn again." Xu Can's tone was dispassionate.
After speaking, she paused, feeling a bit aggrieved and angry, "Dad, you don't know. My roommates laugh at me, saying I'm a bastard with no one giving me pocket money. I need to prepare for exams here, they're extremely difficult. If I can't keep up, I'll get expelled! Dad!"
After saying that, she hung up the phone.
Her dad was not very smart, easily angered, and believed in male superiority. After hearing this, he wouldn't bother her studies for a while. He also knew that if his daughter was "expelled," it meant he would be finished too.
Xu Can sighed, not knowing what the future would hold.
This debt of just under 100 000 yuan wouldn’t be able to drive them into a corner.
She would never help again. Would her dad continue gambling and owing money? She didn't know.
For now, she had to settle her dad down. After graduating, whether she went to grad school or got a job, she would cut off all contact with her family, disappearing from their world completely. She had to leave without a trace.
Since she was reborn, her family's matters had nothing to do with her anymore.
Xu Can lowered her eyelids, hot tears rolling down her cheeks, a bit itchy and prickly. She quickly wiped them away.
Even though she had decided that, her heart still aches as if twisted together. Today, she had truly become an orphan.
After all, she... had already died once.
Xu Can continued walking.
Passing through the music academy, she saw the cafeteria. Suddenly, snowflakes began to fall from the sky. Many people looked up as snow was rare in the south. Xu Can couldn't help but catch some on her sleeve. Against her dark coat, the different shapes of the snowflakes stood out, each unique.
Despite her troubled heart, she still felt the crisp, fresh air, the crystal-clear snowflakes reflected light, they were beautifully simple.
As the saying goes, there is great beauty in nature, but nature does not speak. (TN: it says 天地有大美而不言 here so I just translated it literally, but it means that nature does not need others to speak of it to show its beauty.)
It felt good being alive.
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