NOVEL WEB chapter 6 - Homework
Did you catch a cold?" Chen Qianqian asked, placing food in Bai Tingzhi's bowl.
"Uh... maybe," Bai Tingzhi replied hesitantly. She was also curious if her voice felt a little different. The change was too subtle for her classmates to notice — only her mom would pick up on such a small detail.
"Did you kick off the covers last night?"
"No."
"Then you must have caught a chill in the shower. You need to be more careful — don't take such long showers every time," Bai Pushan chimed in, helping himself to some food.
"I know," she mumbled, focusing on her meal.
After dinner, she had just started helping with the dishes when her mom shooed her out of the kitchen. She took a quick shower and hurried back to her room.
Bai Tingzhi flopped onto her stomach on the bed, her black shorts accentuating her smooth, slender, and well-proportioned legs.
She buried her face in her pillow, her feet drumming restlessly against the blanket.
The memory of the steam-filled bathroom returned, and with it, an undeniable, strange sensation that spread through her entire body. A conflicting mix of resistance and excitement momentarily overwhelmed her. By the time she came to her senses, the feeling had already passed in a hasty conclusion. [1]
She had planned to go to the general store with Lao Lin in the afternoon, but he was off doing who-knows-what. She could walk to his house in a few minutes, and calling would be even faster — yet for some reason, Bai Tingzhi found herself hesitating to ask him about it.
It was such a simple thing, so why —
Bai Tingzhi rolled over, staring blankly at the snow-white ceiling bathed in the hazy glow of the lamp.
"I still have homework to do..."
After procrastinating for a long time, she finally got out of bed and found a few books and some of Lao Lin's worksheets in her schoolbag. It wasn't like he couldn't just rush them the next morning, but the thought of not bringing them over still felt wrong to her.
She gathered Lao Lin's things, put on a jacket, and headed downstairs.
Chen Qianqian was just coming out of the kitchen with a cup of hot water.
"Where are you going?"
"To give Lin Yunian his homework."
Her mother stopped her. "Take your cold medicine first. Shouldn't you put on another layer?"
Bai Tingzhi took the cup and quickly drank the medicine.
"It's summer, Mom. It's not cold out, and I'll be right back." Even so, she zipped up her jacket — the early summer nights were still a bit chilly.
Holding a few folded worksheets in one hand and her phone in the other, Bai Tingzhi said goodbye to her mother and quietly closed the door.
The streetlights, spaced dozens of meters apart, cast pools of light on the road, leaving patches of darkness in between.
She sent a message to Lin Yunian about the homework.
The evening breeze carried the fresh scent of someone's body wash, mingled with the first hints of summer. The air was slightly cool but refreshing — not cold at all.
The unadorned girl possessed a pristine quality for her age, a natural purity like the glow of white jade that drew the gazes of passersby — though she herself was oblivious. [2]
Even with a dazed look in her eyes, they still shone with a vibrant light, lost in her own thoughts.
A moment later, her phone vibrated, and the notification light flashed green.
A reply appeared from Lin Yunian's account — an "OK" hand gesture emoji. It hadn't even been thirty seconds since she sent the message. She hadn't even given him the homework yet, so what was he "OK"-ing?
She fumed silently but continued walking toward Lin Yunian's house.
Snapping out of her thoughts, she again became aware of the stares. Right — "he" is a girl now, isn't she? Even if it was all a dream, the sensations felt too real to ignore.
As a girl, she hadn't yet grown accustomed to being looked at this way. Bai Tingzhi quickened her pace, ducking into the shadows on the inner edge of the sidewalk, only to step back into the lamplight a moment later.
Though the short walk felt like an ordeal, she arrived quickly.
The light in Lin Yunian's room was on, but the curtains were drawn tight, making it impossible to see if anyone was inside.
She stepped up and knocked on the door, then took a small step back. A moment later, she heard footsteps, and a woman called out, "Who is it?" as she opened the door.
"Hello, Auntie," Bai Tingzhi greeted.
"Xiaobai! Come in, come in! Yunian just got back himself!" the woman greeted Bai Tingzhi enthusiastically.
"I'm just here to drop off his homework. Is he in his room?"
"He just hopped in the shower. Go on into his room and wait for him — I've got something to do."
Bai Tingzhi nodded and went inside. Their families had been neighbors for years, and she and Lin Yunian had been friends since childhood. Aunt Lin always told her to make herself at home, so she wasn't just being polite.
She pushed the door open. The neat room was just as she remembered it, with only the blanket on the bed slightly askew.
She sat on the edge of Lin Yunian's bed, bracing herself with her hands, and tossed the crumpled worksheets onto Lao Lin's desk.
She had seen everything in Lin Yunian's room a hundred times over. Aside from his computer games, there was nothing interesting to play with. She didn't care for most of the books on his shelf, and the self-help books in the corner were probably gifts from his parents.
The computer on the desk was off, and aside from the worksheets she'd just thrown down, the desk held only its usual decorations. It looked like he really had just gotten back.
He only got back close to seven — should I ask him about it? About what happened today, or about the general store?
As she mulled it over, her face suddenly flushed. Here she was, a girl, alone in a boy's room... The thought that Lin Yunian might walk in shirtless sent a strange, flustered thrill through her.
But we're brothers! [3]
The door burst open, and Lin Yunian walked in, pulling a T-shirt over his head.
Since when did my brother have abs? Bai Tingzhi thought. So he's been secretly working out behind my back, huh? Nice — very nice!
"What are you staring at?"
Lin Yunian looked at Bai Tingzhi, who was staring at him without a word, and found it very strange.
"Nothing... I was just spaced out!" Bai Tingzhi's flustered explanation wasn't the least bit convincing.
Lin Yunian just stared at her dazed expression and simple outfit — a plain white T-shirt and gray-black shorts — and couldn't help but laugh. "Good thing you came early. Any later and people might not be able to tell if you're a boy or a girl. They definitely wouldn't recognize you in the dark, right?"
Listening to Lin Yunian's teasing, ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Bai Tingzhi didn't argue this time. She just lowered her head and mumbled a soft reply.
Lin Yunian was curious about her reaction but didn't press the issue.
"Thanks for going out of your way to bring this over."
"Do we really need to thank each other?" Bai Tingzhi pursed her lips and frowned.
"I forgot to tell you this morning," Lin Yunian said, ignoring her complaint and answering the question she hadn't yet asked. "I had to get some materials for the competition and deal with a few other things, so I took the day off."
TL Notes:
[1] The original phrase here, 草草完事 (cǎocǎo wánshì), literally means something like “to finish the business hastily.” It’s a common phrase in web novels that acts as a censorship-friendly way of saying masturbation. This is why CN TS is peak.
[2] The author uses the word 干净 (gānjìng), or “clean,” here — which could be confusing. It’s not about her being literally dirty before. The context comes from the next phrase, 白玉 (white jade). In Chinese culture, white jade is a powerful symbol for inner purity and moral character — not just a pretty stone. So when the author talks about her newfound “cleanliness,” they’re describing this pure, jade-like quality.
[3] I’ve been translating it as “best friend” until now because in Chinese culture, people call close male friends “brother,” but I’ve kept it as “brother” this time to keep the sarcasm of her being gender-bent.