Bai Qingxia

Biodata

Background / History

Bai Qingxia’s parents met in an orphanage and grew up together before marrying and having two children. Her family photographs preserve an earlier, happier household: her mother in a ballet costume, her father at a construction site, and Qingxia laughing in her older brother’s arms. With both parents having grown up as orphans, she has no extended family to help shoulder her responsibilities 83.

Her mother died after a severe illness. Qingxia remembers celebrating her birthday at five years old beside her mother’s hospital bed, when her mother had already lost her hair. She later bought a wig with saved New Year’s gift money, but her mother died before receiving it. Her older brother also died, and her father, Bai Songzhe, became mentally unwell 34 76 87.

Qingxia attended Lucheng No. 65 Middle School for junior high. She knew Lu Yuanqiu during this period and remembered his protection of her father, although he did not initially recognize their shared history. Her neighbor Zhang Li recalls that Qingxia was once outgoing but became quieter, increasingly independent, and frequently injured after entering middle school 11 19 76 84.

By senior high school, she lives with her father in a rented room in a cramped neighborhood with shared facilities. She studies while managing their daily needs and eventually takes evening work to earn her living expenses. Lu Yuanqiu regards the Gaokao as her opportunity to change her circumstances, but recognizes that leaving for university conflicts with her father’s need for care 86 100 124.

Appearance

• Build and features: Tall and slender, with fair skin, long legs, an oval face, and long dark hair 10 13 39.
• Usual presentation: An ordinary ponytail, a concealing school uniform, and loose hair partly covering her face. These function as a protective shell against unwanted attention 33 38.
• Bearing: Walks with a poise that reminds Liu Wei of a trained dancer, though Qingxia denies having learned dance 36 37.
• Sports-day appearance: Wears her hair loose with a white shirt, dark-blue pleated skirt, black stockings, and the black leather shoes Lu Yuanqiu gave her. The change makes her the focus of attention during the class procession 37 38 39.

Personality

Qingxia’s cold reputation conceals shyness, insecurity, and a strong need for safety. She avoids strangers and prefers walking beside walls, which reduce the possibility of physical contact. At one point, her father and Lu Yuanqiu are the only people she trusts unconditionally enough to feel comfortable touching 66.

She is frugal and determined not to owe others. Even after Lu Yuanqiu replaces her damaged belongings, she adds them to an IOU and insists that it will remain valid. She also refuses an additional shop discount and promises to pay the outstanding balance on a notebook. Her reluctance to accept help extends to food, gifts, and a substantial cash reward 4 61 63 76.

Her reserve does not prevent fierce loyalty. She patiently feeds and reassures her father, defends him when Lu Yuanqiu misunderstands his situation, and becomes unusually brave when either of the two people she treasures is involved. Conversely, she conceals her own suffering to avoid burdening others and distances herself from Lu Yuanqiu when she fears his defense of her could get him punished 20 33 45 99.

In private with Lu Yuanqiu, she gradually becomes more expressive: smiling, teasing back, showing irritation, and playing basketball with him. Public attention remains difficult for her even after she grows comfortable walking beside him at school 51 96 97 102.

Abilities & Skills

Academic Excellence

Qingxia ranks first in her year and helps Lu Yuanqiu improve his studies 11 23.

• Explains physics problems during their tutoring sessions 30.
• Copies her chemistry notes into a thick notebook that Lu Yuanqiu asks to borrow 61.
• Solves both her own board problem and Lu Yuanqiu’s during mathematics class 110.
• Has enough academic impact that Liu Wei attributes a substantial portion of Class 28’s exam performance to her 40.

Sewing and Embroidery

Qingxia repairs clothing and produces neat embroidery 35 99.

• Mends Lu Yuanqiu’s trousers, an act that particularly impresses Lu Tian 35.
• Presents four neatly embroidered basketball jerseys to Lu Yuanqiu 99.

Household Care

Qingxia manages practical tasks while looking after her father 20 83 114.

• Feeds him, wipes his mouth, and patiently repeats reassurances when he forgets what she has said 19 20.
• Keeps both herself and her father clean and tidy 84.
• Prepares a meal for Lu Yuanqiu using the makeshift cooking area near her rented room 82 83.
• Leaves a small lamp beside her father’s bed because he fears the dark 21 114.

Personal Belongings

• Pink backpack and pencil case — Replacements supplied by Lu Yuanqiu after the supermarket incident; she records them as debts rather than accepting them without repayment 4.
• Pink Hello Kitty hair clip — Her first hair clip. After it is broken during bullying, she tries unsuccessfully to repair it with superglue; Lu Yuanqiu later gives her an identical replacement 10 44 56 63.
• Black leather shoes — A birthday present from Lu Yuanqiu, worn during the sports-day procession. They cost 500 yuan, although he claims they were inexpensive street-stall shoes 35 37.
• Borrowed Nokia phone — Accepted after Lu Yuanqiu explains that they need a way to contact her for work and homework. He also creates her first QQ account 56.
• Photo wall — Displays family photographs. She later places a framed amusement-park photograph of herself among flowers at its center 83 107.
• Wooden keepsake box — Contains a worn Doraemon toy, a broken pen, a preserved hair-clip fragment, a handwritten note, and her savings 114.

Relationships

• Lu Yuanqiu — Deskmate, employer’s son, trusted companion, and the object of her longstanding romantic feelings. She remembers him from middle school, secretly watches him play basketball, and casts the lone vote supporting him for PE representative. Their closeness grows through tutoring, work, and time with his family, though no formal relationship is established in the supplied chapters 4 11 13 23 89 113.
• Bai Songzhe — Her father, whom she calls the best person in the world. She cares for him devotedly and takes pride in seeing him work again after Lu Yuanqiu arranges a supermarket job for him 20 70 107.
• Lu Tian — Her supermarket employer and Lu Yuanqiu’s father. He helps organize her birthday celebration, exempts her from work before exams, and guides Bai Songzhe at work 35 51 107.
• Su Xiaoya — Lu Yuanqiu’s mother. She encourages Qingxia to regard the Lu family as her own and offers food, emotional support, and inclusion in family outings 66 67 77.
• Lu Yidong — Lu Yuanqiu’s younger sister. Her enthusiasm initially makes Qingxia awkward, but she includes Qingxia in photographs, rides, and the family outing 80 86 87 88.
• Liu Wei — Her homeroom teacher. Protects her study time, permits her early departure from evening study, and selects her as Class 28’s sign-bearer 7 30 34.
• Zhang Li — A supportive neighbor whom she calls “Sister Lili.” Lends her cooking facilities and clothes, and remembers her personality before years of hardship made her withdrawn 82 84 86.
• Xu Yan — A school bully who repeatedly targets her. Xu Yan attempts to injure her because she resents Qingxia being selected to carry the class placard 31 33.
• Liu Wangchun — A student who accidentally knocks her down, pays for treatment of her scraped palm, and exchanges QQ contacts with her 124.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Supermarket Incident and Becoming Deskmates

• Lu Yuanqiu records Qingxia taking three bread rolls, confronts her in the storeroom, and uses threats of exposing the theft to pressure her compliance. She acknowledges the wrongdoing and issues an IOU 1 2 3 4.
• He replaces her damaged supplies and promises that they can treat the incident as though it never happened. During the encounter, he realizes she—not Hu Caiwei—had supported him in the PE representative vote 4.
• Liu Wei subsequently seats them together at the back of the classroom. Qingxia later accepts evening cashier work at his family’s supermarket and offers to tutor him 7 18 23.

Bullying and Sports Day

• Her “Cold-Faced School Belle” reputation originates in an earlier confrontation: she cuts her own hair in front of bullying girls and frightens them into backing off. She subsequently withdraws into studying and avoids attention 12.
• After one girl pushes her down steps, Lu Yuanqiu carries her to the infirmary. He later intercepts another attempted attack, learning that Xu Yan wants to prevent her from appearing as the class sign-bearer 14 31 33.
• Encouraged by her surprise birthday celebration and Lu Yuanqiu’s insistence that youth comes only once, Qingxia decides to participate fully in the procession 35 37.
• Her appearance attracts school-wide attention. She openly brings Lu Yuanqiu drinks and supports his races, making their closeness visible to classmates 39 40 49.
• During the meet, she is locked in a broom closet and her hair clip is broken. Lu Yuanqiu comforts her and escapes over the partition to unlock the door 44 45.

Hospital Reunion and Their Shared Past

• Police take Qingxia to the hospital after her father carries the injured Lu Yuanqiu there. The Lu family learns that “Overalls Uncle” is her father 74 75.
• She refuses a 20,000-yuan reward, explaining that her father instinctively saved Lu Yuanqiu because of the kindness he had shown them years earlier. Lu Yuanqiu finally recognizes her connection to his middle-school memories 76.
• She stays overnight with her father in Lu Yuanqiu’s hospital room. Later, she and Lu Yuanqiu share a chair and listen to Jay Chou’s “Maple” through his earphones 78 80.

A Wider Life

• Qingxia welcomes Lu Yuanqiu into her home and prepares lunch for him, allowing him to see her living conditions and family photographs firsthand 82 83.
• On an amusement-park outing with his family, she poses for photographs, rides the carousel and pirate ship, and discusses university plans with him on the Ferris wheel 88 89.
• Lu Yuanqiu arranges work for her father, helping address the practical obstacle between Qingxia’s education and her caregiving responsibilities. She cries upon seeing Bai Songzhe helping support her again 100 107.
• She gradually tries more ordinary teenage experiences, including basketball, buying autumn clothes, and karaoke, while remaining anxious about public speaking and unfamiliar people 96 110 115 117.

Notable Quotes

“This IOU will always be valid.” 4

“Because you said youth only comes once, and I want to try working a little hard too... so I won't leave regrets for my future self.” 37

“My dad was willing to save Lu Yuanqiu because it was Lu Yuanqiu.” 76