Ning Chuxue had a great time during the banquet. She had now completely integrated into this big family. The fear and anxiety before the banquet had all been washed away.
‘Maybe joining this society isn’t bad?’
Just as Ying had said. She had grown to like this place now.
Vice President Lin Wan had no airs. As a fellow Student Union member, the aloof Xiao Luo enjoyed making small talk and joking. Zhou Yu, who acted as the source of joy, livened up the atmosphere.
Ying, who had brought her here, was now a friend Ning Chuxue acknowledged. Finally, there was Su Tang, who, though she had no presence, was an indispensable part.
The desserts placed on the table had already been completely cleared. Counting the plates on the table, the ones in front of Ning Chuxue were the most numerous. Everyone was tacitly understanding, leaving the best portion for her.
Ning Chuxue turned her head and looked outside the window. Autumn was really short; now it was completely dark outside. If you looked closely, there were even a few stars twinkling.
“Starting today, Xiao Nuo is an indispensable part of the Eclectic Studies Society!”
Zhou Yu raised the cup by her hand. Inside the cup wasn’t alcohol, but juice. The others, out of respect, all followed Zhou Yu’s lead and raised their cups.
Ying, sitting next to Ning Chuxue, saw her staring out the window for a long time, so she gently patted her with her left hand.
Ning Chuxue noticed the sensation on her shoulder and turned her gaze back from outside the window.
Seeing everyone’s actions, she followed suit and extended her right hand to raise the cup in front of her.
Because Wen Yasheng had warned her many times not to drink juice, and if she really wanted a drink, she had to follow the doctor’s advice.
So, among the many cups, only Ning Chuxue’s contained plain water.
Until everyone had raised their cups high, Zhou Yu started first:
“Welcome Xiao Nuo to the Eclectic Studies Society, cheers!!!”
“Cheers!”
“C… cheers…”
Bang— Then, the sound of cups clashing. …
“I’ve rested enough. The President isn’t at the Student Union, so I need to go hold down the fort. See you all first.”
After cleaning up the trash on the table, Lin Wan said her goodbyes.
Xiao Luo followed closely behind, waving at Ning Chuxue before leaving.
Ning Chuxue was stunned for a moment, then quickly realized and waved back in response.
Even Ning Chuxue herself didn’t notice that the corners of her mouth were slightly lifting.
Zhou Yu tidied up the food crumbs on her clothes and washed her hands.
Then, she found Su Tang:
“There’s still class later, Xiao Nuo and I are heading back first.”
“Okay, see you later.”
Su Tang raised her hand and waved goodbye.
As the words fell, Ning Chuxue, Ying, and Zhou Yu, who had just greeted her, had already disappeared at the door.
The entire classroom was left with the loneliness after the lively party. Su Tang’s hand was still waving, only retracting after a few seconds. There were still remnants of cream on her clothes, and footprints on the floor.
And the somewhat dim lighting. Everything bore witness to the extraordinarily lively scene that had just occurred here.
“See you later…”
Endless emptiness completely enveloped Su Tang. Subconsciously, she thought of today’s main character, Ning Chuxue. Her rare silver hair and cute features seemed as if she was born to stand under the spotlight of thousands.
“I really want to be friends with her…”
Su Tang said to herself.
Anyway, there was no one in the club, so she didn’t care if anyone heard.
“Su Tang, who do you want to be friends with?”
Suddenly, a voice came from the club’s entrance.
Seeing Zhou Yu standing at the door, Su Tang was stunned for a few seconds.
“What? Su Tang feeling lonely all by herself?”
Zhou Yu mysteriously walked over next to her and teased.
“No, not at all!”
Su Tang retorted instinctively.
“But I think Su Tang looks like she’s about to drop little pearls. Really not?”
“Really not!”
“Then I’ll be going now.”
With that, Zhou Yu turned to leave.
Seeing that Zhou Yu really seemed to be leaving, Su Tang immediately stood up in a panic.
“Zhou Yu, you can’t leave!”
Zhou Yu revealed a triumphant smile, but the moment she turned around, it turned into a very helpless expression:
“Su Tang won’t tell the truth and won’t let me leave. What exactly do you want?”
Su Tang bit her lip, her clenched fists seeming to have made some kind of decision.
Then, she mustered her courage and shouted at Zhou Yu:
“I… I want you to stay with me. I don’t want to be alone…”
“If you had just said that earlier, it would have been fine. Su Tang, you’re still too timid.”
Zhou Yu turned back, her tone carrying a scolding.
“When will you have the awareness to go out more?”
Zhou Yu half-crouched beside Su Tang and sighed.
Su Tang remained silent. She didn’t know how to answer that question.
Zhou Yu had originally been about to leave, but thinking of Su Tang’s personality, she worried that without anyone to accompany her, Su Tang would wipe away tears by herself, so she stayed.
Sure enough, when she returned and saw Su Tang at first glance, the other’s eyes were already moist.
The scene turned calm again, the only difference being that the emptiness after the banquet had completely disappeared.
“It seems Zhou Yu really cares about Su Tang after all.”
Ning Chuxue and Ying walked side by side on the way back to the classroom. Now, just as Ying had said, she was gradually coming to like it here.
The feeling of being with friends was completely different from being with her elder sisters. With the former, she could set aside any worries and simply enjoy the interesting anecdotes shared between friends. This was an experience Ning Chuxue had never had with her elder sisters.
She didn’t know if it was an illusion, but now she no longer cared too much about others turning to look at her like before. There was also a gain in her mindset.
“No!!!”
At the staircase, Ning Chuxue suddenly stopped.
Ying, who had already stepped onto the stairs, also stopped, turned around, and asked doubtfully:
“What’s wrong?”
“You go back to the classroom first. I forgot something.”
“Be careful on the way. Call me if there’s danger.”
Although Ying was a bit curious, since it was almost time for evening self-study, she didn’t ask further.
Then, Ning Chuxue hurriedly ran in the opposite direction.
‘How could I forget what Sister Mu Wan said?’
Ning Chuxue couldn’t help but regret.
Back in the classroom, Mu Wannuo had instructed Ning Chuxue to go to her office. But she had had too much fun at the banquet and forgotten about it.
‘I’ll probably get scolded…’
Thinking of what might happen next, she shivered a few times. If she was found to still be running around outside, that would really add insult to injury.
Although Mu Wannuo was usually good-tempered, Ning Chuxue had figured out a pattern: whenever she disobeyed her orders, she would lose her temper. Although there were no abusive punishments like physical discipline or starvation.
But Mu Wannuo had her own form of punishment. For example, locking Ning Chuxue up and not allowing her to go out until she fully reflected on her actions.