Chapter 6 She's lying. She's made of flesh and blood too...

Yu Kui looked at the badge on her wrist, her eyes stinging even more.

"Do you need to go to the infirmary?" the squad leader asked, a little worried. "I'll take you there."

"No need, I just need some rest." Yu Kui hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you know where Tao Jiang went?"

"She left with Qin You," Sun Shuya said, having somehow come down from the observation platform. She looked at Yu Kui with a hint of disdain. "Are you stupid?"

Yu Kui looked blank, not understanding why she would say that. Sun Shuya sat down next to her and lowered her voice, saying, "You just do whatever Tao Jiang tells you to do? Are you stupid? You've made yourself into this mess."

“No,” Yu Kui hurriedly explained, afraid that Tao Jiang would misunderstand, “She just had her period and couldn’t run, so I…” “Period?” Sun Shuya was amused by this explanation. “Why did she have her period just two minutes before the race? That’s really timely.”

Yu Kui froze, and Sun Shuya snorted coldly, "Don't you know when you have your period every month? Besides, someone as smart as her, would she really forget her period? But she chose to participate in the competition during her period. Do you think she did it on purpose, or is she lying?"

Sun Shuya spoke softly, but it was a thunderous blow to Yu Kui.

That's not how it is, she denied in her heart. Tao Jiang was her good friend, how could she lie to her? She didn't believe it!

“Only a fool like you would believe her,” Sun Shuya sighed. “Don’t blame me for not warning you. With your intelligence, you can’t outsmart such a smart girl. You can’t keep what she wants. Break up with her as soon as possible.” After saying that, Sun Shuya stood up and walked back to the observation seat.

Yu Kui sat there, watching her lazy and carefree back, her eyelashes slowly drooping. What exactly did Sun Shuya mean by that?

Her words left a deep mark on Yu Kui's heart. Whether it was Qin You leaving her alone on the playground or whether Tao Jiang had her period, it was a battle in Yu Kui's heart: whether to trust her friends or to suspect that they were hiding something from her.

She sat on the chair for a long time, until all the sports events were over, and Tao Jiang and Qin You still hadn't returned. She was like a forgotten doll gathering dust in a corner; none of them cared whether she felt unwell after running.

So, she's not that important after all...

Yu Kui looked up at the slightly gloomy autumn sky, tears welling up in her eyes. She sniffed, got up, and went back to the classroom.

She packed her schoolbag, looked at Tao Jiang's empty chair, and left the school gate on her own.

That night, Qin You called her, but she didn't answer or reply to his messages for the first time. Instead, she quietly finished her homework and practiced her spoken English by watching videos.

Seeing that she was ignoring him, Qin You knocked on the door. Yu's mother was a little surprised to see him and asked with a smile, "Why did you decide to come over today? Didn't you say you were very busy lately?"

Qin You's expression changed slightly, and she said in a low voice, "Auntie, I need to talk to Yu Kui about something. Is she resting?"

“She’s already rested,” Yu’s mother said, her smile fading as she recalled her daughter’s distracted appearance upon returning home. “Qin You, was Yu Kui bullied at school? She didn’t seem happy when she came home today, and she wouldn’t tell me when I asked. You’re her best friend, you know…”

Although there was no suspicion in Yu's mother's eyes, Qin You's heart skipped a beat. He didn't dare to look Yu's mother in the eye. "I'm sorry, Auntie, I'm not really sure either."

"I see," Mrs. Yu nodded, a smile returning to her face. "Go back and rest first. If you need anything, come find Yu Kui tomorrow. She's been studying very hard lately and is tired now."

"Okay." Qin You turned around, and the door closed gently behind him.

He opened his phone and looked at the messages on the screen; they were all from Tao Jiang.

Normally, Qin You would reply to her messages immediately, but this time he didn't move. He stared blankly at Yu Kui's profile picture. Her profile picture was of a character from a comic that Qin You used to like very much. Yu Kui changed it to this so that he would be happy to see the profile picture and wouldn't be annoyed by her always sending him messages.

Qin You opened the message box, and it was full of messages from him asking her questions, but she didn't reply.

He stood in the dark stairwell, unable to imagine how he could have left her alone on the playground. He knew she would feel terrible after running, but he stayed by Tao Jiang's side until it got dark before he remembered her.

The next day, when Qin You went to school, he went upstairs to wait for Yu Kui, but Yu's mother told him that Yu Kui was not feeling well and needed to take the morning off, so he should go to school first.

"How could she be sick?" Qin You asked anxiously. "Can I go in and see her?"

“No need,” Mrs. Yu waved her hand. “You go to school first, don’t be late.”

Qin You paused, his gaze sweeping across the living room to the tightly closed bedroom door. Though it was so close, it seemed he could never enter without Yu Kui's permission.

Qin You went to school alone. As soon as he entered the teaching building, he saw Tao Jiang. She was wearing a loose school uniform, and her long hair was styled into a pretty ponytail, making her look exceptionally youthful and beautiful. She seemed to have been waiting for Qin You at the entrance. When he came to her side, she asked softly, "Why didn't you reply to my messages yesterday? Did you go to see Yu Kui?"

“Yu Kui is sick,” Qin You asked her, “Did you know that?”

Tao Jiang was stunned for a moment. "How could I possibly..." She didn't finish her sentence. She hadn't contacted Yu Kui at all yesterday, so how could she have known about her illness?

"What do you mean?" Tao Jiang immediately realized what she meant, her eyes reddening as she asked, "Are you blaming me?"

Qin You didn't speak, but Tao Jiang said aggrievedly, "But I wasn't feeling well yesterday, you know how uncomfortable I was..."

Seeing that her eyes were very red, Qin You realized he had said the wrong thing. "I'm sorry, I'm not blaming you." He was blaming himself for not noticing that Yu Kui was not in a good mood, not for taking his anger out on her.

Tao Jiang's eyes flickered upon hearing this, "Then isn't she coming to class today?"

"I only asked for leave this morning."

Seeing that he knew so much about Yu Kui's leave schedule, a hint of ambiguity flashed in Tao Jiang's eyes. He didn't reply to messages last night, so it was indeed because of Yu Kui.

Yu Kui, her childhood sweetheart, is much more important than she imagined.

“I’m also worried about Yu Kui. I’ll send her a message to ask her.” Tao Jiang took out her phone and slowly sent a message to Yu Kui: “I heard from Qin You that you are sick. It’s all my fault. I insisted on asking you for help yesterday and dragged you into this mess.”

Yu Kui did not reply to her message.

Last night, Yu Kui tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. The result of her insomnia in the middle of the night was that she caught a cold. She had a headache and a stuffy nose and couldn't get out of bed. Her mother took her to see a doctor early this morning, and the visit didn't end until noon.

In the afternoon, Yu's mother dropped her off at the school gate, raised her hand and touched her daughter's face, "Mom will pick you up after school, come out early."

"Um."

Yu Kui walked into the classroom and immediately saw Tao Jiang, who was looking down at an extracurricular book, her expression cold and indifferent, no different from usual.

"Yu Kui," a hint of surprise welled up in her eyes as she noticed Yu Kui's gaze, "Are you feeling any better?"

Yu Kui nodded and sat down, her attitude noticeably less enthusiastic than before. Tao Jiang's eyes changed slightly. She stood up and walked towards her, raising her hand to take her arm, but Yu Kui subtly avoided it.

Tao Jiang froze, never expecting her to treat her like this.

"Are you still angry about yesterday?" she asked in a low voice.

Yu Kui didn't speak, but her eyes were filled with sadness.

"I'm so sorry," Tao Jiang said, her eyes reddening, seemingly a little anxious. "I really didn't mean to. I apologize to you, okay? It was my fault." She even tried to take Yu Kui's hand.

"Class is about to start," Sun Shuya said, looking at her with a half-smile. "Can you go back to your seat?"

Tao Jiang and she exchanged a glance. The girl had long, narrow eyes, but her gaze was sharp. "We can talk about it after class."

Upon hearing this, Tao Jiang decided not to press the matter further and turned back to her seat.

"You're in such poor health, yet you're participating in the sports meet," Sun Shuya rolled her eyes at Yu Kui. "If you're not sick, who is?"

Yu Kui: "..."

After school, Yu Kui packed her schoolbag and was about to go up to the third floor to wait for Qin You when she reached the stairwell. Only then did she realize that she didn't actually have to go.

Just like Qin You didn't wait for her yesterday.

But her heart, which loved the boy, did not die; it still beat stubbornly, letting her know clearly that she would continue to love him.

That's really pathetic.

Yu Kui wanted to slap herself a couple of times. In the moment when her emotions were about to overwhelm her reason, she quickly ran downstairs. That's it. She couldn't bring herself to say those accusatory words, afraid that if she did, she would completely destroy two friendships.

But she is also made of flesh and blood; she also feels sadness and grievances, and cannot pretend nothing is wrong.

Qin You arrived at the classroom door and, seeing Tao Jiang packing her schoolbag inside, immediately frowned and asked, "Where's Yu Kui?"

“Of course she’s going home.” Sun Shuya said with a smile, “She wasn’t feeling well today, so her mother came to pick her up. What, she didn’t tell you about something so important? I thought her mother would pick you up too.”

Qin You's pupils contracted slightly, and he turned to walk downstairs.

Tao Jiang had already packed her schoolbag and walked over. Her fair and delicate face showed a hint of displeasure as she said with dissatisfaction, "I talked to Yu Kui, but she ignored me. She doesn't treat me as a real friend at all."

She has two faces in front of Yu Kui and Qin You.

In front of Yu Kui, she was aloof and melancholy, a new classmate who needed to be taken care of, which made Yu Kui willing to wholeheartedly accept and help her.

But in front of Qin You, she was like a clingy and willful little princess, using her emotions to the extreme, making Qin You extremely accommodating to her.

“She’s sick,” Qin You said. “She didn’t do it on purpose.”

"As for me," Tao Jiang said, "I'm not feeling well either. Did I do it on purpose?"