Su Baixue's eyes lingered on Su Yang's name. She took out her phone and looked at her contact list. There were only a few names. Apart from seeing Su Yang on the day midterm results were posted, she hadn't spoken to him since.
Su Yang had asked for her phone number, but he never called.
Su Yang was very ill. He was always taking leaves of absence.
Even if Su Baixue didn't ask, she could hear the constant chatter among the girls. It seemed Su Yang had a bad heart, so he couldn't attend school normally.
Some classmates from Class 10 had asked the teachers about Su Yang's hospital, but the teachers didn't disclose it.
He wouldn't be back for the final exam either? His spirits seemed good during the entrance exam. Had his condition worsened?
Su Baixue tidied up the scattered rosters, put them aside, and handed her own class's roster back to the teacher.
She unconsciously walked up the stairs, stopped in front of Class 10 with her notebook in hand, and looked inside. Su Yang wasn't there. It was an unsurprising outcome, but still... strangely disappointing.
Su Baixue turned to go downstairs. Just then, a boy came up from below—it was Zheng Xiong.
Seeing him, Su Baixue was startled and immediately stepped back.
But to her surprise, Zheng Xiong's reaction was even stronger. He looked as if he'd seen a ghost. Covering his head, he leaped several steps at once, brushed past Su Baixue, and ran away.
Su Baixue: "...?"
Bewildered, Su Baixue went downstairs. Tian Ling followed closely behind after she descended, stepping forward.
"I saw you and Zheng Xiong," Tian Ling said, walking behind her.
Su Baixue stopped and turned around.
"What were you talking about on the stairs?" Tian Ling's smile was meaningful.
Su Baixue felt at a loss. She instinctively wanted to leave quickly. But just then, someone came out of Class 2—Shao Li.
Shao Li was carrying a stool and holding some Santa Claus stickers. She paused when she saw Su Baixue, then walked past her, placed the stool down, and stepped onto it to stick the Santa Claus on the bulletin board in the corridor.
Tian Ling continued to tease Su Baixue from behind, "Hey, Su Baixue, you and Zheng Xiong seem pretty close. You can help him with his homework, instead of gazing at each other on the stairs—so touching."
Su Baixue looked up at Shao Li, who wasn't looking at her.
Maybe because Shao Li had stood up for her before, or maybe because Shao Li was the only friend she had ever wanted, Su Baixue took a step forward, then drew back.
She turned to face Tian Ling.
"I..." Su Baixue spoke.
Her voice was very small.
"What?" Tian Ling smiled, seeing her cowering. Since the Zheng Xiong incident last time, she had realized that Su Baixue was easy to bully. Even if she copied her homework, Su Baixue wouldn't resist. According to Chen Baozhu, even if she kicked her stool, Su Baixue wouldn't get angry, but Tian Ling hadn't tried that yet.
Her heart pounded.
Su Baixue tightened her grip on her notebook, then suddenly thrust it out to Tian Ling.
She raised her voice a bit: "Tian Ling... you, you wanted to borrow my notes, didn't you? Here, take them."
Tian Ling's smug smile faltered slightly, then widened.
What the heck? She treasured her notebook so much, and after borrowing it a few times without success, now she was giving in after being caught? How sensible!
Tian Ling graciously took the notebook, saying, "Alright, thanks."
Before the words faded, Su Baixue clenched her fist and suddenly snatched her notebook back from Tian Ling!
Tian Ling: ???
While Tian Ling was stunned, Su Baixue said loudly, "I said I'd lend it to you, but I don't want to! Because you badmouthed me, said I was insincere!"
The loudness was only temporary. Soon Su Baixue's voice dropped, growing softer as Tian Ling glared angrily.
"Anyway, you said I was insincere, so I won't lend it to you! Even if I said I'd lend it, I won't..." Su Baixue started trembling. She didn't even know what she was saying.
After saying this, seeing Tian Ling step forward as if about to hit her, she shrunk her neck, hugged her notebook tightly, and ran back to the classroom with her head down.
"Huh?"
Tian Ling's eyes widened as she watched Su Baixue run away like a nimble rabbit. She looked up and met Shao Li's gaze, who had been watching them from somewhere.
"Fuck! That Su Baixue..." Tian Ling's chest heaved with anger. She was so furious she could choke.
"She's totally crazy!"
Shao Li: "...Pfft."
Shao Li faced the bulletin board, hiding her smile behind the Santa Claus sticker. Thinking of Su Baixue's recent behavior, her cheeks puffed as she laughed.
Tian Ling stormed back to the classroom. As the bell rang, she kicked Su Baixue's stool, then kicked it again out of frustration, drawing the attention of nearby classmates.
"Su Baixue, just wait," Tian Ling muttered darkly at the back of the head in front of her.
Su Baixue pressed her hand over her pounding heart, still not calm. She didn't understand why she had suddenly done something so bold. As soon as it was done, she was scared.
But alongside the fear... there was a tiny bit of pleasure.
Like a good child throwing a textbook for the first time, or a fledgling pecking open its shell for the first time. The feeling was novel, but not unpleasant.
[Author's Note]
Yun Wuyue's wife Feng Changqin 10 bottles; Shuimo Lianhua 1 bottle.