Once, this matter troubled her greatly, for witnessing a commotion that didn’t belong to her meant an unspeakable loneliness, a loneliness that tormented her over and over for more than ten years, to the point where she even began to doubt herself.
But now, after clearly understanding the reasons behind it, her heart suddenly opened up.
‘It was all because someone was playing tricks. Anyway, the problem definitely wasn’t with me! There must be some invisible big hand at work.’
‘Even if I don’t know whose strawberry cake, cheese, or KFC Family Bucket got disturbed… in short, I was set up!’
Luckily, Su Mu was not the type for internal friction.
Although she wasn’t an ultimate externalizer demon like Tang Nai, she also wouldn’t just swallow all her anger.
Online, she was like a cyber historian, writing chronicles for everyone every day, and then handing them out to targeted groups.
The meticulously compiled fine articles received no attention; everyone was busy watching Dafan.
It was just too odd, but some things truly were irresistible.
Even if she got scolded for sharing history, it was still a shortcut to gaining attention.
If weirdos aren’t making trouble for society, that’s already good enough.
If even sharing history isn’t allowed, then how is anyone supposed to live?
While thinking, Su Mu smoothly caught her online ride; this time, she wouldn’t be overlooked.
Even for a nobody, there would always be a car that was there just for her.
If the driver turned out to be the quiet type, that would be even better.
However, the moment Su Mu got in the car and saw the driver’s face in the rearview mirror, her expression froze.
‘Hey, wait, uncle, haven’t we just met?’
“Eh, what a coincidence, we meet again.”
Lu Shan’s Father clearly hadn’t figured out how to address Su Mu, so he simply ignored it.
He truly wasn’t good with words, but under these circumstances, it was impossible to pretend not to recognize her.
Besides, judging from Lu Shan’s attitude, she seemed to rely on Su Mu quite a bit, and as a father, it was important to make a good impression on his daughter’s friends.
‘But, uh, this classmate, what’s your name again?’
Maybe there wasn’t some invisible big hand at work—maybe Lu Shan’s Father simply had a poor memory.
In contrast, things were much easier for Su Mu, since she could straightforwardly call him “Uncle.”
But Su Mu squeezed her legs together nervously, stammering and barely managing a simple reply.
She was never good at dealing with elders, especially in such embarrassingly awkward one-on-one situations.
In the cramped space of the taxi, you were forced to make small talk all the way to your destination; such torture seemed endless, just like traveling somewhere and encountering a super chatty but heavily-accented local taxi driver—completely talking at cross purposes and forced to respond, truly a headache.
‘Headache? Does a headache make you want to pretend to be mute? Of course not.’
Fortunately, Lu Shan’s Father was very quiet and drove with complete focus, without asking any further questions.
This made Su Mu breathe a sigh of relief.
‘Saved.’
She just hadn’t expected that after all this time—after becoming a Magical Girl, after going through so much, after thinking she’d grown up a lot—she’d still find herself unable to get past these long-standing shortcomings.
It wasn’t that she wanted to be a social butterfly, but she really didn’t want to freeze up and stammer whenever she saw someone.
What difference was there between her and a mouse caught in someone’s grip?
Scenery flashed outside the window.
After ten or so minutes, familiar street corners and neon signs finally slipped past her vision, stirring a faint ripple in Su Mu’s eyes.
Not exactly beautiful inner thoughts.
‘Tch, why do I have to go back to this stupid school for class again.’
Su Mu tried to distract herself.
In the back seat, there were some very ugly wood carvings, the messy chisel marks clearly hand-carved.
You could barely tell it was supposed to be a doll.
If you ignored the “Little Shan” tag hanging on it, you’d never recognize that it was supposed to be Lu Shan.
To say it looked inhuman might be an exaggeration, but you really couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl.
Su Mu could easily guess who made it, and that brought a complicated feeling to her heart.
It was ugly, yes, but it was a gift filled with heartfelt intention—something she herself had never received.
Or maybe she’d just forgotten?
Just treat it that way, don’t always think the worst.
‘Still, it really is ugly. If it were me, I’d definitely dislike it.’
Just then, a hoarse voice came from the driver’s seat, “This… classmate, you and Shan Shan met online, right? I seem to recall her mentioning you. I’ve never seen her get so excited talking about anyone before.”
“…Is that so?”
“She’s a very good kid. Not very sharp, but at least she never has any bad intentions. I’ve noticed she hasn’t been in great spirits lately, but she seems a lot happier than before. I guess that’s because of you.”
That wasn’t wrong.
After some twists and turns, it really did have something to do with Su Mu, indirectly.
“Maybe… I’m not too sure either, but I’ll take good care of her.”
Instinctively, Su Mu already regarded Lu Shan as a junior who needed her careful care.
Being admired so simply felt strange, but not bad at all.
“Thank you so much. If she ever causes any trouble, just tell me directly and we’ll take care of it.”
Let others feel that being friends with our Shan Shan isn’t a bad thing.
Upon hearing this, Su Mu nodded, and for some reason, Su Ya flashed through her mind.
‘When I’m not around, does she ever talk about me to others too?’
In a daze, a force pressed her forward against the front seat, nearly making her bump her nose.
The car had stopped, right in front of the East Gate.
There weren’t many people, and it felt very fresh and clean.
“We’re here. No need to pay, come by our house more often.”
“How could I…”
Su Mu wasn’t the type to take advantage of others.
Last time, she’d already taken a huge benefit from Lu Shan—a few hundred steamed buns, and just thinking about it made her feel guilty.
She quickly tried to pay through the app but when Su Mu opened her phone, she was stunned to find that Lu Shan’s Father had already unilaterally canceled the order.
Taking advantage of her moment of distraction, he’d already driven far away.
From this angle, Su Mu could still see that wooden Lu Shan carving—so ugly it really caught the eye.
But it looked like it was smiling happily.
‘Why would a girl who’s been protected so well awaken powers of darkness? Did she have some hidden split personality? Forget it, I don’t care about things like that.’
Su Mu forced herself to focus on something else.
Otherwise, she’d just remember those long-forgotten feelings.
No one noticed Su Mu; even though she was a minute late, no teacher caught her.
Too bad she was feeling irritable and had no mind for the class, though even if she’d been in a better mood, she probably couldn’t have paid full attention for the entire period.
Political theory class was just like that.
Back when Luo Jialan was still around, she’d been in the same lecture hall as Su Mu, so it hadn’t been boring, although at first she’d always been pretty reserved.
As for now, Su Mu could sit however she liked.
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