Chapter Ten: Let's Settle It This Way

Ren Jie’s voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but as soon as she finished reading, a sudden silence fell around Lin Xia. Lin Xia snatched the manuscript from her hands; with a sharp rip, she tore it in two, and then, with several more swift tears, reduced the paper to tiny shreds. Her movements were so quick that by the time Ren Jie realized what had happened, the poem was nothing but fragments—impossible to piece together, even with glue. Stamping her foot in frustration, Ren Jie looked at Lin Xia and protested, “It was such a beautiful poem—why did you have to tear it up?”

Glancing around, Lin Xia saw that her classmates were staring at her. Hastily, she pressed Ren Jie back into her seat and whispered in a lowered voice, “Why did you have to read it out so loudly? I was just scribbling for fun, and you had to read it in front of everyone. I’m mortified.”

Ren Jie’s eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at Lin Xia. “You wrote those lines? You’re not pulling my leg, are you?” Her tone was full of incredulity.

Lin Xia found her expression amusing and nodded. “I was just doodling a few lines. Why are you making such a fuss?”

Ren Jie scrutinized Lin Xia from head to toe. Of course, since they were both seated, she couldn’t see Lin Xia’s legs, but her gaze made her meaning clear enough. Seeing her like this, Lin Xia silently chuckled to herself. She’d never noticed before how endearing Ren Jie could be.

Lost in these thoughts, she heard Ren Jie, still unable to believe it, exclaim, “I can’t believe I have a real literary genius as a friend. Lin Xia, if you can write such beautiful lines, why not develop your talent and become a writer? My goodness—a writer! I’m actually friends with a future writer. It’s incredible just to think about. I don’t care, Lin Xia, you have to become a writer, or else your talent will go to waste.”

Lin Xia laughed. “It was just a few random lines, with no structure or substance. It’s far too empty to deserve the title of ‘literary genius.’ Don’t exaggerate.”

“Pfft,” Ren Jie scoffed, rolling her eyes. “You’re not some old man—why worry so much? We’re young; we have plenty of time. No structure? Just write an outline. Can’t do that? Try stream-of-consciousness. Isn’t there a famous book in that style? What’s it called, ‘Remembrance of Bygone Years’ or something?”

“It’s ‘In Search of Lost Time’ by the famous French author Marcel Proust,” Lin Xia corrected her.

“Yes, yes, that ‘something Proust’ fellow. Look, that book doesn’t even have a central character, let alone a complete story or dramatic plotline, but the author still became famous. You’re so young; just write a few stories over the next few years and you’ll have your material. I’m sure your writing would be even better than Proust’s,” Ren Jie said enthusiastically.

Lin Xia understood: Ren Jie was currently obsessed with “The Story of a Noble Family,” and these days the TV series often featured the character Leng Qingqiu reading poetry. Inspired by the heroine, Ren Jie had taken to dabbling in poetry herself, borrowing many books but rarely reading more than a few pages before losing interest.

It was Lin Xia who copied down all the beautiful poems and, in her spare time, savored them, learning much along the way.

Lin Xia had always loved classical things, especially literature. But because her father valued the sciences over the humanities, she eventually chose the science track. Though she didn’t dislike it, her real passion was always for the arts.

She loved the gentle flow of words, like a stream running clear; she loved poetry, which used the most subtle and restrained language to express all the beauty in the world. Unfortunately, later circumstances forced her to give up her dreams, and she spent her life working in mediocrity, until her days ran out.

At this thought, Lin Xia clenched her fist. Ren Jie was right: she was still young, with many opportunities and challenges ahead. The dream she failed to realize in her previous life—why couldn’t she make it come true this time? If she started planning now, she still had a real chance.

But it was something that required careful thought. She was no longer a child; she needed to plan thoroughly. After all, if she simply relived her past as before, then what was the point of being reborn?

Lin Xia pondered deeply, made her decision, but outwardly remained as calm as ever.

When she got home, she wrote down her thoughts one by one, elaborating on each point.

First, her academic performance had to be excellent. Only with top grades would she have the leverage to negotiate with her father. Although he usually seemed easy-going, on important matters he never wavered. If she couldn’t convince him, all her plans would be for naught.

Second, she needed to increase her literary knowledge and attainments. In her previous life, she was a science student, and ever since the division of arts and sciences in the first year of high school, she hadn’t systematically studied Chinese. Since universities had dedicated departments for Chinese literature, it was clear that literature required systematic study. Therefore, she needed to read as many extracurricular books as possible and write as much as she could; it would only benefit her.

Lastly, she had to turn her literary knowledge into real, tangible money. Money isn’t everything, but without money, nothing is possible. Only by transforming her words into income could she prove to her parents that she could support herself with her pen.

Only then would her father truly feel at ease with her decision to pursue the arts and her future.

With this general plan in mind, Lin Xia felt a little more settled. Fortunately, in the next decade or so, her family wouldn’t have any major expenses, apart from her and her younger brother’s entrance exams for high school and college. But Lin Hui, her brother, was smarter than she was and had gotten into the county’s top high school on his own, saving the family a significant sum. So there was no urgent need to make money yet; she still had time to plan.

With these thoughts, most things seemed sorted out, except for one matter that she still needed to clarify.

Lin Xia put down her pen and closely examined the index finger of her left hand. There was no trace of anything unusual—it looked just like anyone else’s.

After a moment’s reflection, she made up her mind and, with a swift movement, entered the mysterious space.

After all, time was frozen inside; no matter how long she stayed, not a second would pass outside, so she didn’t have to worry about being interrupted.

The space was still the same size, a dozen or so square meters, glowing with a gentle luster, but no longer as eerily unsettling as the first time she’d entered.

Looking at the pool not far away, Lin Xia resolved that if anything strange appeared, she would leave at once.

She edged slowly toward the pool, and when she reached it, she breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground.

There was nothing in the pool—just clear, clean water, sparkling to the bottom.

It was only because the entire pool was made of the same material as the walls, and the reflected light intensified, that the pool seemed chilling and uncanny from a distance.

She looked around and realized the whole room was made of the same material. Lin Xia knocked on the floor; she didn’t know what it was made of. It looked somewhat like white jade, yet there was a faint warmth emanating from it.

Could it be “warm jade”?

Lin Xia was astonished. She wasn’t an expert in jade, but ordinary stones outside were nothing compared to this. Besides, with such a large room and no seams in between, it would be impossible to remove any of it. Even if she managed to chip off a piece, her family had no power or influence—their ability to protect such a treasure would be nonexistent.

She understood well the saying, “An innocent man gets into trouble because of his treasure.”

Looking at the pool, Lin Xia felt calm.

She was just an ordinary person, wishing for nothing more than an ordinary life. She had no grand ambitions—she didn’t want to be a business tycoon or a political player.

Content with modest wealth.

Having made up her mind, Lin Xia began to examine the pool, which glowed with a gentle white light.