Back row of the classroom.
Three girls were sitting together playing a game.
But as they played, Wei Yanxi grew somewhat distracted.
“Tangtang, Caicai, do you think it’s really okay for us to ignore Chi Qingya for so long like this?”
“What’s not okay about it? If you pay attention to her, what then? Are you going to go to her house to take care of her?”
Caixiangxiang spoke as she watched herself die in the game again, also a bit absent-minded.
She kind of wanted to eat Sufulei, but Chi Qingya wasn’t around.
Otherwise, she could have asked Chi Qingya to help them donate a point.
“It does feel a bit uncomfortable without Chi Qingya around. No one’s saving us seats anymore, and she used to bring us breakfast too. Now that she’s not here, I haven’t eaten breakfast for days.”
Chen Tangguan echoed the sentiment, all of them gazing at the defeat screen in silence, not starting another round.
“Speaking of which, Su Li seems to be skipping class a lot lately, like she isn’t worried about the teachers finding out.”
“But it’s so strange. Every time Su Li comes to class, she looks so focused. If she really likes listening in class, why would she skip?”
Chen Tangguan’s gaze drifted to Su Li, who was sitting in the first row not far away.
Actually, it was easy to tell whether Su Li came to class or not.
If she was there, someone would be sitting in the front row and you could see her petite figure.
But if Su Li wasn’t there, the first row would be completely empty.
“Let me ask you, if she really likes coming to class, would she skip at all?”
Caixiangxiang spoke, also casting a dismissive look at Su Li.
“She’s just pretending. Who knows if she actually studies? When finals come, she might even flunk.”
“Or maybe her family is poor, and she can’t bear to miss out on part-time job opportunities, so she skips sometimes to work.”
“What’s the point of her going to college then? If she wants to study, just study properly.”
“If she wants to earn money, then work hard at a job. Doing both like she is—working and studying at the same time—she’s not really learning, and she’s not making money either. In the end, she won’t please anyone.”
She glanced at the phone in her hand, unable to start another game.
She just couldn’t stand people who tried so hard at university, making her feel like a failure by comparison.
Why not just study quietly in the classroom? Why make such a show of being a good student? Other than making people anxious, what else does it achieve?
“Speaking of which, Chi Qingya is actually pretty well-off. The two of them seemed really close before. Why doesn’t Su Li just hold onto Chi Qingya? Then she wouldn’t have to worry about money.”
Wei Yanxi whispered, recalling how every time they went out with Chi Qingya, she always picked up the tab.
Sometimes, when they wanted to eat at a place they couldn’t afford, they would call Chi Qingya along.
She would pay the bill without hesitation.
But spending time with Chi Qingya always left them with a strange feeling, so they didn’t like to hang out with her much.
“Who knows. Anyway, I can’t stand the way Chi Qingya looks at us like she’s giving us charity every time she pays the bill.”
“Just because she has money, huh…”
“Seriously…”
Caixiangxiang grumbled irritably and continued:
“Maybe Su Li used to be Chi Qingya’s pretty boy, and something happened between them, so they fell out.”
“Don’t talk about Su Li like that!”
A soft and sticky voice cut Caixiangxiang off, making her frown slightly, her face showing displeasure.
She turned toward the source of the voice and was stunned into silence.
The person who had spoken was sitting alone, taking up two seats by herself.
Caixiangxiang had thought the voice belonged to some frail little girl and had been ready to teach her a lesson.
But when she saw someone who looked like she could squash her flat, she swallowed her words.
She stared at the person in front of her, feeling somewhat unfamiliar.
She must be from another class.
That’s what Caixiangxiang thought.
Actually, Su Li was pretty appealing; plenty of people wanted to be friends with her.
But since Su Li was always coming and going mysteriously, even her classmates didn’t see her that often.
Some people, after noticing how cute Su Li was, would even post her photo on the Baibai qiang, hoping to get her contact info—only to come away empty-handed.
Even her own classmates had to remind Su Li in person if they wanted to add her as a friend.
Caixiangxiang had no idea what Su Li did every day to be so busy.
And now, seeing the figure in front of her—“burly” was the only way to describe her—she instinctively figured she was just another person who wanted Su Li’s contact info.
Seeing there were no books on her desk, only cola and chips, Caixiangxiang felt even more convinced.
The other two girls were also looking at the burly figure before them, their eyes betraying some worry as they glanced at Caixiangxiang.
“Apologize to Su Li for what you said!”
The burly figure demanded, her fists tightly clenched, breathing a little rapid.
“I’m not doing that!”
Caixiangxiang shot back at once. She had just talked behind someone’s back; there was no way she’d go apologize to their face.
Forget about being embarrassed—for all she cared, even if she had bad-mouthed Su Li, what did it have to do with this person in front of her?
Why should she listen to her?
“And who do you think you are?”
“You just want to use this chance to show off in front of Su Li, don’t you?”
“I’ve seen plenty of people like you, trying to get Su Li’s attention with this kind of behavior!”
“And besides, you say I was bad-mouthing Su Li—do you have proof?”
“Sis, mind your own business and maybe try losing some weight!”
Caixiangxiang looked disdainfully at the massive figure blocking out the light, speaking with utter contempt.
“You…”
Hearing this, the burly figure froze for a moment, her gaze drifting to the front row where Su Li sat like the Shengguang Nüshen, and suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of grievance in her heart.
“I don’t need Su Li’s contact info.”
Her voice trembled a bit, as if she wanted to show the chat logs between her and Su Li as proof.
But then she saw that Su Li still hadn’t replied to her latest message.
Xiao Yuyu fell silent again, looking over at Su Li’s seat.
She didn’t want Su Li to know she’d come to see her.
Especially now, when she was so fat and ugly…
A crushing sense of inferiority filled Xiao Yuyu’s heart, and in the end, she swallowed back what she wanted to say.