Chapter 15: I Am Me
As Qin Min had said, during the large break the next day, Gu Qinghuan’s name came over the broadcast, “Gu Qinghuan from Class 3, Year 1, please go to the student council president’s office at noon today.”
The short sentence repeated three times. By the last announcement, the whole class was looking at Gu Qinghuan.
Qin Yue hadn’t forgotten yesterday’s conversation. He widened his eyes. “You didn’t actually barge into the student council yesterday to recommend yourself, did you?!”
Yu Xin was sitting in Jiang Chuchu’s seat, explaining the sample math problem the teacher had left from the last lesson — there was a small trick in it. When comparing answers, Gu Qinghuan had found she made a mistake, so she was asking Yu Xin to explain it.
Jiang Chuchu had gone with a classmate to buy snacks from the cafeteria and told Yu Xin to sit wherever.
Hearing Qin Yue’s question, Gu Qinghuan rubbed her cheek with the pen cap and said a little awkwardly, “I did go to the student council, but I didn’t get a chance to recommend myself…”
“Then why’s the president calling you now?” Qin Yue asked.
“I don’t know either. I’ll tell you when I get back at noon,” Gu Qinghuan shook her head.
Yu Xin didn’t speak much in the class group chat, but she read all the messages, so she’d also learned about the student council situation from yesterday’s chat logs.
She was a little worried. “There won’t be any trouble, right?”
“No,” Gu Qinghuan said with certainty on that point. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She changed the subject: “Anyway, where were you in the explanation just now…”
She was so calm that the other students quietly watching decided it wasn’t a big deal and went back to what they were doing.
At noon, Gu Qinghuan hesitated between “eat first” and “go to the student council first,” and chose the latter.
The broadcast hadn’t given details, and she wasn’t sure if the president would wait for her the whole time — if she made him miss lunch, that wouldn’t be good. Better to go first.
This was her second time at the student council, but again she didn’t run into anyone else. When she entered the president’s office, though, she saw Xia He and the “president” from yesterday.
Xia He was sitting on the reception sofa, a glass on the side table beside him — it looked like it was filled with cola.
When he saw her, his eyes lit up and he waved cheerfully. “Sister!”
You’re Year 2, I’m Year 1, so don’t call me that! Gu Qinghuan grumbled inwardly, but said properly, “Senior Xia He, you’re here too.”
Xia He widened his eyes. “Why call me senior? Just call me by my name!”
Not wanting to waste time on how to address him, she turned to the president.
The president coughed lightly and said seriously, “I forgot to introduce myself yesterday — I’m the vice president of the student council, Bai Hanshan.”
Vice president? Not the president? Gu Qinghuan was a little surprised, but still asked, “May I know why you called me here?”
Bai Hanshan took a form from the drawer on his desk, turned it toward her, and slid it across. “This is the student council application form. Fill it out.”
Gu Qinghuan walked to the desk, picked up the form, and asked uncertainly, “So I can join the student council just like this?”
“Yes,” Bai Hanshan replied firmly.
“I heard that after being recommended, you still have to pass an internal meeting and two tests, plus a one-month probation…” she ventured.
Bai Hanshan paused. “Actually, because of the president, the student council is very… casual and personal.”
He probably meant “willful,” right? Gu Qinghuan stared at him speechlessly.
Pretending not to notice, Bai Hanshan went on, “After all, Mingde is a private school — you know the student situation. If we really followed the rules to the letter, there’d be too many loopholes to exploit. Considering the council’s real power, you can probably guess this is basically a gathering place for capable but troublemaking students. The only reason they haven’t caused major disasters is because the members keep each other in check, and the president suppresses everything with sheer authority.”
This… did not sound good at all! Gu Qinghuan was stunned.
“The president already approved your entry, so all that formality can be ignored,” Bai Hanshan said, looking up at her. “But whether you can keep his protection, and whether you can earn the recognition of the other members and officers, is something you’ll need to think about.”
Gu Qinghuan nodded frankly. “Then I think I’d better hold on tightly to the president’s thigh.”
“Pfft!” Xia He laughed, leaning over the back of the sofa and grabbing the hem of her shirt. “Why just the president? Wouldn’t it be better to have more people helping you?”
She was about to shake off his arm, her elbow halfway up, when she noticed it was his injured right arm — so she put her arm down and pretended not to notice.
Xia He’s smile widened even more.
“Senior Bai should know I joined the council to find a backer. Honestly, I haven’t thought at all about what I’d do after joining,” Gu Qinghuan admitted. “I think people should know themselves and not expect too much.”
Bai Hanshan glanced at Xia He, then decided to ask, “I’m just curious — what do you need a backer for? You don’t have to answer.”
“It’s nothing big,” Gu Qinghuan had already prepared her answer, speaking calmly. “I know my personality — nicely put, I like to help others; bluntly put, I’m reckless. If someone I know is being bullied, I’ll rush in to defend them.
“But my own ability isn’t enough, so if I want to protect others and myself, the most direct way is to find someone strong to back me up.” She spread her hands.
Bai Hanshan seemed to disapprove. “Can’t you improve your own ability, or be selective about who you help?”
She wanted to shake her head but held back.
She couldn’t exactly say she was trying to save other people’s fates — even the world — so she had to act.
“Finding a backer is also a skill,” she said with a smile. “If Qin Yue didn’t trust me, he wouldn’t have recommended his brother to me; if his brother didn’t think well of me, he wouldn’t have introduced me here; if the president disliked me, he wouldn’t let me join.
“All of this is because I am me,” she concluded firmly. “I have outstanding ability — just a different kind of ability.”
Xia He withdrew his hand. If this kept up, he really would want to trap her under a glass dome like a star that only belonged to him.
Bai Hanshan was surprised, then said seriously, “Sorry, my thinking was too narrow.”
“It’s fine,” Gu Qinghuan accepted his apology readily.
She waved the form in her hand. “So I’ll fill this out now?”
“Of course.” Bai Hanshan handed her a pen.
She bent over the coffee table to fill out the form. Xia He leaned beside her, chatting and calling her “sister” while sneaking glances at what she wrote.
“By the way, Senior Xia, why are you here?” she asked without looking up.
“Oh,” Xia He’s eyes darted, “because I’m your work assignment.”
Gu Qinghuan slowly lifted her head, a giant question mark seeming to appear over it.
Xia He grinned brightly. “The president said your first job is to manage me — make sure I stop lying so I won’t cause misunderstandings.”
He pulled out his phone, eyes shining. “So, sister, let’s add each other as friends first!”
Bai Hanshan pressed a hand to his forehead. If the rest of the student council saw Xia He acting like this, they’d probably think they were seeing a ghost in broad daylight.
