After the Lantern Festival, an oxcart carried Zuo Daya and her daughter, clip-clopping back to the county town. A few days later, school started, and everything returned to normal.
Perhaps because the new year hadn't gotten off to a good start, this year was destined to be a turbulent one.
Right after school started, Yuan Si found herself the target of large-character posters. It was a Monday, and Yuan Si was heading to school on Xiao Furen's bicycle as usual. But as soon as she entered the campus, she felt something was off. Many students were sizing her up, some overtly, others subtly.
At first, Yuan Si thought maybe she'd put her clothes on wrong. She looked down to check. 'They look fine.'
"Li Yuansi, you should hurry to your classroom," a female classmate who was on good terms with her kindly warned. "There are large-character posters about you on every class's blackboard, and the things they say are awful."
