Lin Meng Qiu

Biodata

Background / History

Lin Meng Qiu lost her mother early in life. With her father frequently occupied by work, she became independent from childhood. Lin Ming worries that her routine consists almost entirely of reading and practice questions, leaving her with few friends or other interests 15.

As a child, she visited her father’s rural hometown. He introduced her to local birds, trees, wild berries, and cattle—memories that later resurface while she talks with Chen Shi’an about the countryside 46.

At school, she lives in her father’s assigned dormitory room because his workload leaves him little time to cook for her. He brings over things she needs 15. She initially sits alone by the classroom window, until Lin Ming arranges for Chen Shi’an to become her deskmate so she can help him study 13 14.

Appearance

Lin Meng Qiu has a slender figure and wears the school’s ordinary blue-and-white uniform, with an upright posture and restrained movements 13 24 26.

• Height: Estimated at around 167 cm; taller than Wen Zhixia 25.
• Hair: Long, smooth, and worn loose without ornaments. It is described as pale flaxen in her introduction, but black in a later passage 13 24.
• Distinguishing features: Long legs, fair skin, clear eyes, and slender fingers 13 25.
• Voice: Quiet and clearly articulated, with a cool tone and little unnecessary inflection 13.

Personality

Lin Meng Qiu is reserved, efficient, and protective of her personal space. She initially objects to having a deskmate because another person’s presence disrupts her work, not because she particularly dislikes Chen Shi’an. Her intimidating manner discourages casual interruptions, and she sometimes ignores people simply because she does not feel like responding 13 14 29.

Her father describes her as having “a sharp tongue and a soft heart.” Although she claims she is not good at teaching and dislikes trouble, she lends Chen Shi’an annotated materials, explains problems, and sacrifices her lunchtime nap to retrieve old workbooks for him. She also insists on doing her fair share of cleaning rather than letting him handle everything 15 24 27 36 49.

She conceals vulnerability rather than expressing it openly. Finding an old crying-bunny sketch embarrasses her because it exposes feelings she now keeps buried: frustration over difficult problems and grief for her mother. She associates maturity with never appearing vulnerable or making others worry 38.

Chen Shi’an increasingly unsettles her composure. She watches him secretly, enjoys his sincere praise, becomes jealous of his unnamed study buddy, and grows flustered when their handwriting lesson brings them close together 27 31 47 48. Privately, she maintains a “Deskmate evaluation: book of life and death,” deducting points for perceived faults; she intends to request another deskmate if his score falls below sixty 15 25 27.

Abilities & Skills

Academic Performance

Mathematics and Tutoring

She can explain efficient mathematical methods and identify gaps in a learner’s foundations 27 28.

• Tests Chen Shi’an’s arithmetic and equation-solving before agreeing to teach him 27.
• Distinguishes his strong numerical ability from his underdeveloped mathematical reasoning 27.
• Advises him to return to middle-school basics when he cannot follow high-school mathematics 28.
• Explains that correct answers still lose marks when required solution steps are omitted 29.
• Demonstrates three approaches to a workbook problem 39.
• Limit: Her mental arithmetic is slower than Chen Shi’an’s; she privately checks one of his multiplication answers 27.

Handwriting

Her Chinese handwriting is delicate and sharp, while her English lettering is slender, upright, and evenly spaced 24 48.

• Teaches English letter strokes, spacing, and the use of ruled guide lines 48.
• Can explain the distinction between ordinary handwriting and styles such as print, italic, and Gothic 48.

Concentration

Years of study have made her highly resistant to classroom distractions 13 24.

• Has experienced flow, during which reading, writing, and problem-solving become unusually smooth and efficient 29.
• Limit: She has entered this state only a handful of times and cannot summon it on demand 29.

Class Authority

Her principal role as monitor is enforcing order when ordinary classroom management fails 28.

• A single word from her can end objections that deputy monitor Qiu Yufu cannot resolve 28.
• Her authority is reinforced by her connection to the principal’s office 28.
• Qiu Yufu handles most routine duties, calling on her when necessary 28.

Equipment / Items

• Annotated Chinese memorization materials — Exam-essential passages marked in red, with handwritten explanations; she offers to photocopy a set for Chen Shi’an 24.
• Old seventh-grade mathematics materials — Nearly ten workbooks and a bundle of test papers covering both semesters, retrieved from home for Chen Shi’an to borrow 36.
• English handwriting exercise book — Uses four guide lines per row to help Chen Shi’an form and space letters correctly 48.

Relationships

• Chen Shi’an — Deskmate, mathematics pupil, and cleaning-duty partner. His considerate behavior gradually makes sharing a desk less uncomfortable for her, while his unusual abilities repeatedly challenge her expectations 27 29 45. She also offers help with English after becoming jealous of his study buddy 47.
• Lin Ming / Principal Lin — Father. He provides for her dormitory life, worries about her isolation, and arranges her seating with Chen Shi’an 13 15. His unusually generous treatment of Chen Shi’an leaves her puzzled about his connection to the young Taoist’s master 31.
• Her mother — Deceased. Lin Meng Qiu still misses her, although she no longer openly expresses that grief 15 38.
• Wen Zhixia — Former deskmate. Wen reveals their past seating arrangement when Chen Shi’an mentions Lin Meng Qiu’s help with mathematics 50.
• Qiu Yufu — Deputy class monitor. Handles daily class administration and relies on Lin Meng Qiu’s authority for difficult situations 28.
• Zheng Yining and Xie Mengxuan — Girls seated in front of her; her usual cleaning-duty partners before Chen Shi’an’s arrival 37.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Becoming Chen Shi’an’s Deskmate

• Teacher Liang places Chen Shi’an beside her at Principal Lin’s request. Their classmates immediately begin betting on how long he will last in that seat 13.
• Despite her cold delivery, she offers to answer questions about school and studies 14.
• She doubts whether a newcomer without conventional schooling can compete academically, especially when he expresses interest in taking first place 24 25.

Helping Rebuild His Foundations

• Chen Shi’an’s rapid arithmetic surprises her enough to reconsider his potential and agree to teach mathematics 27.
• Her borrowed workbooks expose traces of her younger self, including the crying-bunny sketch she hurriedly erases 36 37 38.
• During evening study, she helps him with a problem; he later leaves two lollipops as that day’s “deskmate fee” 39.

Shared Duties and Growing Familiarity

• She accepts a normal cleaning-duty assignment with Chen Shi’an rather than retaining her former partners 37.
• Their first trip to empty the classroom bin is awkwardly coordinated, but the quiet walk leads to an unusually relaxed conversation about birds and childhood memories 45 46.
• After encountering discarded noodle broth in the bin, she posts a warning against dumping soup into the classroom trash 46 47.

The Study-Buddy Question

• Learning that someone else supplied Chen Shi’an’s English notes prompts her to offer English help herself 47.
• Their handwriting lesson gives her unexpected satisfaction, but they lose track of time and are caught still in the classroom after morning exercises begin 48.
• She watches Chen Shi’an leave for lunch with Wen Zhixia, who subsequently reveals that she and Lin Meng Qiu were once deskmates 49 50.