Love Square

The rain hitting the tiles made a dull sound, the trees were blown to and fro by the wind, and Xiao Xiaoyu's bangs and thoughts were also messed up by the wind.

What a bloody plot, a little bitch dragged three people from their Liuliu Dashun into the water, so dark and shady, oh, and also dragged this Yao something Yao into it.

"Are you sick? How could you be so sure that Sister Zhou was the one who did it? You even have the nerve to say you two have been together for a few years and are still best friends? Bah! You're jealous because of a man!"

Xiao Xiaoyu was so angry that she put her hands on her hips and, relying on her experience in quarreling and her loud voice, she started to rant with confidence.

"Is that Lin Lin a good person? Why did she ask Sister Zhou out? I don't think she has good intentions. What about you? You were there at the time, so why didn't you see what happened? You just relied on your imagination to think it was man-made. Why didn't you say it was an accident? You have an ugly heart and therefore think bad things of others!"

Xiao Xiaoyu couldn't help but stand up, clenched her fists, suppressed the urge to fight, and kicked the stone bench.

"You're still bullying Yuanyuan! You're a parentless bastard. You're such a school bully! Why don't you just die? You're such a vicious person! You deserve to be hit by a car and killed on New Year's Day!"

"You still like Chen Yu, bah! I'm really ashamed for Chen Yu if he likes someone like you!"

"A poisonous mushroom with a heart as vicious as you, are you worthy of liking me? I'm a model student, and you look at me, you smell like a little gangster, and you're still pursuing me. I think you want to force your love on me, aren't you disgusting? How shameless! Do you have any shame?"

Yao Yao straightened the hem of her skirt that had fallen to the ground and suddenly burst into laughter.

"Good scolding, wonderful scolding, it seems that the effect I want has been achieved, haha! Hahaha! Want to hit me? You can't beat me, you know, it was Zhou Xi who taught me to protect myself!"

"I never said I was a good person. Yeah, I can't bear to see Zhou Xi, Gao Yuanyuan, and Chen Yu forget about those things. How can they just write them off? Lin Lin is still lying in the hospital bed. How can Zhou Xi have a clear conscience? How can she enjoy her new life with peace of mind?"

Yao Yao's eyes turned red and tears blurred her vision. Finally, finally, it wasn't just her secret, there were other people who shared the same secret as her.

She had seen Zhou Xi smiling countless times on this campus, and his smile was so beautiful. In the years that she had played with Zhou Xi, she had never seen Zhou Xi smile so happily.

So many people's eyes lingered on Zhou Xi, admiring, liking, and envying her. It was as if she had once been the rose among the crowd. When had Zhou Xi become like this? Why was she so much like before, yet so unfamiliar?

"They're not wrong! It's obviously you! You're jealous! Are you blaming Sister Zhou for Chen Yu not liking you? Relationships are always consensual. It's you who's forcing it. A forced melon isn't sweet. I think if you force it, it'll be stinky!"

"Why did Lin Lin ask Sister Zhou out? It's obviously because of you. Isn't Sister Zhou injured? Lin Lin is lying in bed because of bad luck!"

Xiao Xiaoyu pushed Yao Yao away with force and staggered back a few steps, her face flushed with emotion.

"What's wrong with Yuanyuan speaking out? You can't stand it yourself and you blame her. You are the abuser, but in the end you feel so at ease and without a trace of guilt. Aren't you afraid that demons will haunt you at night?"

Yao Yao had a cold face and scratched her nails across the smooth stone table. With a scratching sound, she gave off goose bumps and a corner of her curved nail was broken.

"Sowing discord? Don't worry, I believe them! They are my best friends, and I won't repeat the hurt they suffered at your hands." Xiao Xiaoyu glanced outside at the heavy rain, wishing she could leave now, immediately, right away, with just her back to him.

Yao Yao felt a stinging pain in front of her eyes. Xiao Xiaoyu's eyes were full of determination. She had never been so determined to make a choice because of such a look.

She stared at the heavy rain outside for a long time, her arms bent, her fingers wiping her eyelashes, her eyes stained with liquid, and looked up. The roof was painted red with intricate carvings.

"Then I wish you two a lasting friendship, and preferably a lifetime of togetherness. Anyway, I've achieved my goal, so it doesn't matter. Bye."

Yao Yao scoffed lightly, then raised one of her thin eyebrows as if she had thought of something, and picked up the umbrella on the ground: "Don't worry, Lei Yueyue's words about the whole school seeing it are fake. I'm not that despicable, and I don't care."

"Come to think of it, it was she who instigated me to tell you. I, being a person who can't stand excitement, actually came."

"Idiot! I don't care who said that, it's incomprehensible!"

"Yeah, it's inexplicable..."

Xiao Xiaoyu watched the person turn around, hold up the umbrella, and trip while going down the stairs. The umbrella tilted, and her black skirt got wet. Why was the white umbrella so dazzling in the rain curtain?

Why don't you throw her to the ground and beat her to a pulp?

"Oh! This is life. It's like thunder everywhere. Everything is piled up at once. I'm already exhausted from studying in the dark all day. How about blowing up the school? Everyone should just go home and die at home instead of going to school!"

Xiao Xiaoyu sat on the stone bench without any energy: "Fuck you! Why did you ask me out today? Damn it, it's raining and you still know to bring an umbrella, you idiot, I didn't bring an umbrella, and I had a black skirt with a white umbrella, I was going to a funeral!"

"You know you can't win an argument, so you run away. What should I do? You dare to wear a skirt in school? You think you have a great figure? I wear a school uniform every day!"

“Oh my god—”

"I should have known not to use so much force. Woohoo! My feet hurt, and my heart hurts too. Someone come and comfort me!"

…

"What do you think the four of them are plotting in there? They even locked the two of us out. That's really going too far!"

Lu Zisheng put his ear to the door and said, "Whose door is this, the quality is really good. I can't hear anything."

"Hey, Yangyang, aren't you curious? I wouldn't be surprised if it was just the three girls putting on a show together, but why drag Chen Yu into it? Are you trying to stir up trouble?"

Gao Liyang yawned, his eyes aching. "If they want to tell you, they will. Why are you so anxious? If they don't know, then they don't know. Are you still afraid?"

"What am I afraid of? What's there to be afraid of? I'm just curious! Curious!"

"Be careful, curiosity kills the cat, you know Xiao Xiaoyu." Gao Liyang looked at the time. It was half past one. He should be lying in bed and sleeping at this time.

I turned off my phone in frustration and tapped the screen with my fingers. It stared at the screen and lit up, then went off after thirty seconds. I tapped it again slowly and it lit up again.

"That's the way it is. Sister Zhou, Yuanyuan, I trust you 100%, but you know me. I can't just pretend nothing happened. So, I want to hear you tell me your past stories in person. Is that okay?"

Xiao Xiaoyu dejectedly repeated what had happened. She had endured five days of not disturbing everyone's studies, and invited six people to get together on the weekend, just in time to tell them everything. But when she thought about what she was going to say later, her heart sank and she couldn't help but want to cry.

Gao Yuanyuan lowered her head and wrung her hands together: "I, what she said about me is true. I don't know much about Sister Zhou and the others."

"Zhou Xi, I still want to tell you I'm sorry. I should have said it right away. I was too scared. I'm sorry."

"You are right. I should thank you. Besides, you told me before. You are very brave." Zhou Xi hugged Gao Yuanyuan. She felt Gao Yuanyuan trembling.

"Yao Yao, she didn't do anything. She just found someone to say some unpleasant things to me and isolate me. I'm fine. Don't worry. It's all over." Gao Yuanyuan forced a smile, wiped away her tears, and avoided Xiao Xiaoyu's gaze.

In fact, if she were given another chance to choose, she would still say it. Perhaps it was fate that she met Zhou Xi, Yao Yao, and Chen Yu again in high school, and even became good friends with Zhou Xi and Chen Yu.

If she didn't speak out, she would never be able to raise her head in front of Zhou Xi, and she would have a guilty conscience for the rest of her life, and she would be haunted by nightmares, unable to forget that bloody scream. Even though what Yao Yao did plunged her into a brief period of darkness, wasn't it good now? She was changing, getting better and better.

"Really? Don't lie to us. Just tell us what's going on. Yuanyuan, I'm sorry. I didn't know you had suffered so much before. I should have scolded her to death at that time. Why did she bully our Yuanyuan?"

Xiao Xiaoyu didn't want to, and didn't dare to, believe that Gao Yuanyuan had actually been bullied at school. So is this why Gao Yuanyuan is always gentle, but sometimes does things that even she wouldn't dare to do?

"Really, it's okay." Gao Yuanyuan supported Xiao Xiaoyu, her eyes still wet. "It's all in the past. I don't want to dwell on it anymore. I don't want to say anything or make sure she receives any punishment. I just want to be fine."

"I definitely will." Zhou Xi patted Gao Yuanyuan.

Chen Yu sat by and watched the three girls hugging each other. He felt very uncomfortable. How could he not feel guilty? If it weren't for him, those things that happened later would not have happened.

"Sister Zhou, what's going on between you and Lin Lin? And Yao Yao said Chen Yu liked you, so why did you lie to her?"

Gao Yuanyuan also looked up at Zhou Xi. She had heard some gossip about these things, but had never heard the real answer.

"She wasn't lying, it was true. It's just that there were things she didn't know, so they became the facts in her eyes." Zhou Xi hugged Gao Yuanyuan again, "I'm still very grateful that you stood up for me, otherwise everyone in school would have blamed me."

Zhou Xi took a deep breath, exhaled gently, and looked at the only boy present: "Chen Yu, Lin Lin likes you."

"Oh my god! You two are in a love triangle? No, you were already doing this kind of thing in junior high school!" Xiao Xiaoyu and Gao Yuanyuan hugged each other and looked at each other in disbelief.

"No, Miss, it's Gao Yuanyuan. I don't like Zhou Xi. It's a misunderstanding, it's just a misunderstanding. And this Chen Lin, I really don't know. I don't have any impression of her."

Chen Yu held his forehead in his hand. This misunderstanding was really baffling. He had clearly just asked a few questions, wanting to thank Zhou Xi for her selfless sharing, and had cared for her when she was sick. However, the story spread throughout the junior high school, and it was also spread in the third middle school last semester. Le Cheng even used this incident to frame him.

"Wow, Chen Yu, even if Sister Zhou doesn't like you, all the other girls like you. You're such a charmer! It turns out that girls only care about looks."

"I couldn't do anything when people looked at my face, so I hid, really hid, but as I kept hiding, people in No. 3 Middle School started saying that I liked boys." Chen Yu remembered when he was in No. 3 Middle School, he asked Le Cheng to cover for him, but it almost got him into trouble, and he was humiliated to death. Some things were cleared up, and some things were completely discredited, even though there was indeed something fishy going on.

"What! Hahahaha, hey, Chen Yu, it's not that I'm unkind, it's just that you're such a romantic attraction. Don't tell me you're really pretty and handsome!"

"Xiao Xiaoyu! Stop talking nonsense and get back to the point."

"Oh oh oh."

After being interrupted by Xiao Xiaoyu, the atmosphere became much better and Zhou Xi felt less heavy-hearted.

"To be precise, Yao Yao and Lin Lin liked Chen Yu, and then they misunderstood that Chen Yu liked me. But I am probably the second person in the world who knows the secret that Lin Lin likes Chen Yu." Zhou Xi took a sip of water and told the whole story that happened more than two years ago as if he was telling a story.

Zhou Xi discovered by accident that Lin Lin liked Chen Yu. She thought it was not a secret, she thought Yao Yao knew it, she thought Lin Lin was just confused about the boy because of the girl's love for her. All these assumptions led to the final outcome.

Until that day, she and Lin Lin fell from the building one after another, and they looked at each other for the last time before they fell into coma.

It was when she saw Lin Lin's eyes, glaring with resentment in the pool of blood, that she finally realized that Lin Lin was paranoid about Chen Yu, jealous of Yao Yao, and hated herself. She was the second person in the world to know this secret, and the last person to know it.

When Zhou Xi was lying in the hospital recuperating from her injuries, she often stared blankly at her arm covered in a thick layer of plaster. She began to regret whether the outcome would be different if she had told Yao Yao earlier. She underestimated the ugliness of human nature and paid the price for it.

"So, it was clearly that bitch Lin Lin who was behind this! I've finally figured it out. She's mad with jealousy, and she's like a maggot inside, so she wants to destroy you."

"That Yao Yao is such a fool. She can't see that she's been fooled around and sold out. She even has to count money for others!" Xiao Xiaoyu exerted force and crushed the paper cup and threw it into the trash can.

Zhou Xi propped up his head, chin slightly raised, eyes downcast, and noticed a small black mole on the left side of his nose. He seemed to be trying to recall the details of what happened. "What happened that day was probably fate. Lin Lin deliberately asked me out. At first, she told me her secret, then started saying incomprehensible things, not letting me leave, stalling for time, probably waiting for Yao Yao to hear."

"And then?"

"In her excitement, she missed a step on the edge of the stairs and was about to fall. I reached out to pull her back, but I twisted my ankle and fell down. I didn't expect that she couldn't stand firmly or something, so she fell down the next second. This is retribution, she..." Zhou Xi calmly told this ridiculous truth that was unknown to others, and the shackles in his heart seemed to be broken at this moment.

"Hug! Sister Zhou has suffered!" Xiao Xiaoyu suddenly couldn't bear to listen any longer. She knew the result would be bad. Such a good sister Zhou must have suffered a lot of grievances.

"It's okay, just like Yuanyuan said, it's all in the past."

"Zhou Xi, everything will be fine. You're right." Gao Yuanyuan looked at Zhou Xi, her eyes showing the best comfort. She understood the hurt, pain, and helplessness they both suffered...

Zhou Xi listened to the ticking of the clock on the wall and suddenly realized that her memory of those things seemed to have become blurred. It was her brain telling her that she should forget them. These were bad memories and bad things should not be remembered.

She was not a saint, and did not think that it was all her fault. She did not owe them anything. Later, she even wondered if it was unnecessary to lend a hand to Lin Lin. Even though she dreamed of countless questioning and screaming, she was never afraid. She was just bored and tired. When she woke up, she was still Zhou Xi.

"You don't have to look at me like that. Don't worry, I'm fine. I hope you won't be scared." Zhou Xi joked in a relaxed manner. She didn't want her friends to worry.

"No, no, this is nothing. I, Xiao Xiaoyu, have seen all sorts of storms and waves. It's you who have suffered, encountering these two weirdos!"

"Okay, the matter is resolved. Let's move on from this and not talk about these unhappy things. I'll go call them both in."

Gao Yuanyuan breathed a sigh of relief and laughed again: "Yeah, wait, Lu Zisheng is going to explode."

"Chen Yu, don't blame yourself. You did nothing wrong. Why are you so sad? This is not like you." Zhou Xi threw a book over and said, "I think you are more suitable for doing homework."

"Okay, those who understand understand, I won't say anything more. If you have something to say, just tell me. Do your homework, that's fine too. I'll surpass you in time."

"There's no chance." Zhou Xi stared at the math problems in the book and subconsciously began to scan the questions and think.

The three of them formed a triangle. Gao Yuanyuan tilted her head to look left and right, then lowered her head and smiled. She was the one who had been stuck in a rut, curled up like a hedgehog, thinking she was protecting herself. In fact, the so-called problem was nothing at all.

"Oh, we're done talking. Come on, leniency to those who confess, severity to those who resist." Lu Zisheng squeezed next to Chen Yu, wanting to touch shoulders like a good brother, but Chen Yu kept a distance from him with a book.

"Hey, what little secret do you have with them that I can't even know? You managed to sneak in so quickly, you're really good at studying! You're a real learner!

Xiao Xiaoyu shook her hair and pretended to be profound: "It's a secret! I won't tell you. If you ask them, no one will tell you two, hahahaha!"

"Wow, you guys are going too far. Yangyang and I are so sad. Didn't you really not tell us?"

"Don't drag me into this, I'm not that curious." Gao Liyang hugged a round pillow and huddled into the small single sofa.

"Okay, okay, if you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me. One day, I'll make you tell me, humph!" Lu Zisheng pulled the book out of Chen Yu's hand. "You're not allowed to study. Come, let's play games. You actually beat me to death last time. Don't run away this time. I want to see what else you can do!"

"No, it's boring. I'm doing my homework."

"Hey, let's call Hotpot and get a big room together. We can play together. I guess you and Hotpot haven't forgotten about it. It's a good opportunity for him to see the apprentice I taught."

Chen Yu snatched it back with all his strength, stepped back, and lowered his eyes: "I don't want to play with him. I'll write it for you to copy."

Xiao Xiaoyu winked at Gao Liyang frantically. Gao Liyang looked down and exchanged glances with her several times before finally replying with a "Got it".

"Well, well, since you're so sincere, I can't refuse you." Lu Zisheng glanced at the people present and stretched out his arms. "Come on, Gao Yuanyuan, let's..."

"I'm leaving!"