If the World Had No Daylight - Chapter 12

In the end, Lin Qiao still accepted Ye Wan’s suggestion and, with Ye Wan’s help, obtained an exchange student slot ahead of time.

The school was very happy to see this happen. In fact, even earlier than that, Principal Ye had considered having Lin Qiao transfer schools, but for various reasons, it had never been carried out.

After announcing to the class that she would be going to England for short-term English training, Lin Qiao took leave completely and stayed home, no longer coming to school.

Fortunately, Lin Qiao’s English had always been among the best in class. Although her classmates were somewhat envious, they did not make any other guesses. After all, a long time had already passed since that incident. Aside from the victim herself, who else would still remember?

In private, Principal Ye sponsored the expenses Lin Qiao would need in England, which could also be considered making amends after the damage was done. Ye Wan had no comment on this.

As the year gradually approached its end, Ye Wan received a message from Lin Qiao in the warm classroom.

[Thank you for everything you did for me. Whether it was when you were softhearted, or when you were ruthless.]

Sitting in the noisy afternoon classroom, Ye Wan smiled and deleted the message.

She looked out at the gray, overcast sky beyond the window. Then, while the person beside her was not paying attention, she sneak-attacked that messy head.

Before the little shorty could be angered, Ye Wan tossed her a mint candy, barely stabilizing the other party’s mood.

Ruthless?

As long as the goal could be achieved, what did the process matter?

Bai Tian tore open the candy wrapper and stuffed the hard candy into her mouth. The cool sensation stimulated her brain, finally giving her a little energy.

Recently, she might have entered hibernation. She was listless all day long, and no amount of scolding worked.

Not only was she arriving later and later every day, sometimes she even slept on her desk until she snored, affecting the people around her and making them sleepy too. This infuriated Old Baldy Li. More than once, he secretly cursed Principal Ye for having nothing better to do than install air conditioners in the classrooms, raising a herd of lazy pigs.

But no matter what, at least Bai Tian had not skipped school again. Whether Old Baldy Li was satisfied with this remained unknown, but Ye Wan was very satisfied.

Once she was satisfied, she took first place nationwide in the Math Olympiad. Principal Ye was so happy that he hung banners around the school, put up enormous posters, and made a grand show of it for an entire month. He even wanted to arrange a press interview, only giving up after Ye Wan lost her temper.

New Year’s Day came after the monthly exam, but before that came Christmas.

Zhao Yuelan began receiving all kinds of Christmas gifts very early on. Every day, she came to school empty-handed and went home carrying several bags. Bai Tian offered a small opinion on this: “Open a secondhand shop. Guaranteed profit, no loss.”

But Zhao Yuelan was not short on money, so this proposal was ruthlessly rejected.

“Tch.”

Bai Tian sucked on the already-empty milk tea carton, making one noisy sound after another. Only when there was truly nothing left to suck did she finally spare the empty carton. With one perfect arc of her hand, she tossed it into the trash can at the entrance of the small shop.

“Nice!” Zhao Yuelan shouted dramatically. She reached out, patted Bai Tian’s shoulder, and said solemnly, “Join the school basketball team, young lady. The nation needs you.”

“Crazy.” Bai Tian could not be bothered with her occasional fits of nonsense.

Zhao Yuelan instantly clutched her chest like Xi Shi and began wailing, “My child’s rebellion has broken my heart.”

Bai Tian walked quickly ahead, not even turning her head.

Once Zhao Yuelan had acted enough, she hurriedly caught up and wrapped an arm around Bai Tian’s shoulder, asking with a smile, “Does our Tiantian have any Christmas present she wants?”

“Presents are so tacky. Send me a red envelope,” Bai Tian said seriously.

Zhao Yuelan finally could not help rolling her eyes. Before anyone could see, she quickly managed her expression, then said mysteriously, “How about I give you a new way to grow taller?”

Bai Tian had to admit, she was tempted.

“What way?” On the surface, however, she still acted casual, her tone flat.

Zhao Yuelan rubbed her dog head, then swiftly withdrew her hand before Bai Tian could slap it away. She answered, “Saturday afternoon. I’ll take you somewhere.”

“You’re not going to trick me into going somewhere and sell me, are you? I don’t have much meat on me.”

“Is that the kind of person I am in your eyes?”

“Ah. What else?”

Zhao Yuelan endured and endured, but in the end, she still could not hold back. She pinched Bai Tian’s face and rubbed it back and forth, then was chased across three teaching buildings by the enraged Bai Tian.

Joking was joking, but on Saturday, Bai Tian still painfully gave up the arcade and took the bus to the place Zhao Yuelan had specified.

Today happened to be Christmas Eve, and the streets were full of Christmas atmosphere. Bai Tian got off the bus wearing a black down jacket, then shivered as she ducked into a milk tea shop by the street.

“Boss, two cups of pearl milk tea. Make them the hottest kind.”

Bai Tian had arrived quite early. The agreed time was one o’clock, and it was only twelve-thirty now.

She had just bought the milk tea and had not yet had time to insert the straw and take a sip when Zhao Yuelan pushed open the door and walked in.

Very naturally taking the other cup of milk tea, Zhao Yuelan glanced at the clock on the wall and asked, “When did you get here?”

Bai Tian inserted the straw and took a sip. Only after letting out a satisfied breath of warmth did she feel as if she had come back to life.

“Just a few minutes ago. Let’s go. Where are you taking me?”

Zhao Yuelan waved her hand grandly and pointed at the elevator apartment building across the street. “There.”

“…Your place?”

Five minutes later, Bai Tian followed Zhao Yuelan out of the elevator.

This elevator apartment building was a very new commercial residence. It was in a bustling area, expensive, and there were only two households on each floor.

The hallway had good natural light and was fairly spacious. It seemed that even three or four people walking side by side would not feel crowded.

Not understanding what was going on, Bai Tian watched as Zhao Yuelan turned a corner and walked for two or three minutes before stopping in front of a glass door.

“We’re here.” Holding her milk tea, Zhao Yuelan said this to Bai Tian.

And so Bai Tian looked over.

“…Lanming Dance Studio?”

Zhao Yuelan winked at her and pushed open the glass door first. Bai Tian could only follow.

Unexpectedly, the inside was not exactly empty. At the end of a somewhat narrow corridor was a simply decorated front desk. Behind it, several rooms with closed doors could be seen. Looking farther in, there seemed to be even more space around the corner to the right.

There was no one at the front desk. Zhao Yuelan shook the bell hanging nearby, and before long, a tall man walked out.

He wore fitted yoga clothes, with a white towel around his neck. As he walked, he wiped the sweat from his face. After seeing Zhao Yuelan and Bai Tian, he smiled and asked, “This is the classmate you mentioned?”

Bai Tian was still completely confused. Zhao Yuelan walked over and stood beside the man, turning to say to Bai Tian, “Zhao Yiming. My eldest brother.”

Then she introduced her to the man. “Bai Tian, my classmate.”

Bai Tian somewhat stiffly greeted him. Even now, she still did not understand why Zhao Yuelan had brought her here.

The other party quickly gave her the answer.

“My brother’s dance studio is about to open. He asked me to help introduce some customers,” Zhao Yuelan very honestly explained.

Bai Tian pointed at herself and asked, utterly bewildered, “Me? Learn dance?”

“Since you’re Xiao Lan’s classmate and also the first customer, I can give you half off the tuition.” Zhao Yiming was very handsome, and when he smiled, he gave people a warm and approachable feeling. But that did not mean Bai Tian would be easily fooled.

“But I never wanted to learn dance?” She and the words “learn dance” were separated by eight bamboo poles. They had nothing to do with each other.

Zhao Yuelan blinked and suddenly asked, “Do you know how tall I am?”

Without waiting for Bai Tian to answer, she continued, “One hundred sixty-eight centimeters, and I’m still growing.”

Then Zhao Yuelan pointed at Zhao Yiming and said, “My eldest brother, one hundred eighty-nine centimeters.”

Bai Tian did not understand.

Zhao Yuelan added, “I also have a second older sister. She’s one hundred seventy-six centimeters tall.”

“…Your family’s genes are really good,” Bai Tian sighed sincerely.

But Zhao Yiming, who stood nearby, smiled and shook his head. He had the two of them sit on the sofa beside them, brought over two glasses of water, and then said, “Actually, our parents aren’t tall. Especially my father. He’s even a little shorter than average.”

Zhao Yuelan took the water and placed it in front of Bai Tian, continuing, “But the three of us siblings learned dance from childhood. My second sister is now a professional ballet dancer, and my eldest brother just retired from a dance troupe.”

Bai Tian finally understood.

“So, you want me to learn dance?”

Zhao Yuelan shrugged and smiled. “I’m just giving you a new idea. You don’t have to be too nervous. Just treat it as finding yourself another bit of fun and give it a try.”

“Can this really make me grow taller? But I’m already sixteen…” Bai Tian did not hold much hope.

Zhao Yiming sat to the side and answered, “As long as you start before nineteen, there’s still a chance of growing taller.”

“You know exercise can help height development. For example, people who play basketball are usually very tall. But in fact, excessive exercise can have the opposite effect. Dance is different. It can apply a certain amount of vertical pressure to the bones and lengthen the muscle bundles.”

Zhao Yuelan looked exactly like an expert, explaining the theory in a clear and logical way. Bai Tian felt that she had the potential to become the leader of a pyramid scheme.

Because she really had been convinced, even though she still did not quite understand those professional terms.

“…If it’s half off,” Bai Tian said slowly.

Zhao Yiming revealed a smile and confirmed, “Half off.”

Just like that, Bai Tian was fooled by Zhao Yuelan into the huge pit known as dance.

She calculated the tuition and felt that her private savings were still enough. The lessons were not intensive either. She still had time to come twice a week. Holding this thought, Bai Tian paid the money and began developing expectations for her future height.

At this moment, the still very innocent Bai Tian did not know that what Zhao Yuelan had given her was a grand gift that others might not receive even if they spent a fortune.

Only when she truly stepped into the dance world would she understand what kind of status the name “Zhao Yiming” held, and how high a threshold one had to cross to become his personal disciple.

Even the tuition she had paid was merely a symbolic fraction.

Many years later, Zhao Yiming would occasionally think of this money-losing deal he had made for his younger sister’s sake, and he would smile faintly.

Because he knew that the one who had profited was himself.

But at this moment, Bai Tian was still a complete outsider.

She said goodbye to Zhao Yuelan and returned home before it grew dark.

Toward something completely unknown, Bai Tian was actually filled with curiosity. Her life was very simple: going back and forth between home, school, and the restaurant. But whether it was cooking or academics, Bai Tian was already skilled at both. Dance, without a doubt, was an entirely new challenge.

After showering, Bai Tian lay on the bed, full of anticipation for this unknown and fresh new thing.

Maybe one day, she could be as tall as Ye Wan. No, maybe even taller than Ye Wan.

Then she would never be called “little shorty” again!

Perhaps some people really could not withstand being thought of. The moment you thought of them, they appeared.

Bai Tian answered the phone and put it to her ear, lazily responding, “What business does Your Excellency have?”

Ye Wan’s voice came through the phone. Although distorted, Bai Tian could still hear some emotion contained within it.

“Tomorrow night, I want to eat sweet-and-sour fish.”