Chapter 84
◎There's no saving someone who's obsessed with love.◎
Xu Shen's return was quite sudden. On an ordinary morning, the first person to enter the class found him already standing next to the podium, quietly organizing the mountain of test papers and study materials on his desk.
"Hey, Brother Shen! What's going on? You're back!" the other person exclaimed.
"Yes," Xu Shen smiled faintly, "I'm back."
As Zhan Xinyue entered the classroom, she suddenly saw him and paused. Xu Shen looked up, his eyes flickered for a moment, then quickly lowered his head again. Zhan Xinyue also looked away and continued walking to her seat.
After Xu Shen returned to school, although no one said it openly, many people were actually looking forward to what would happen between him and Zhan Xinyue. In everyone's opinion, Xu Shen had been wronged so badly by Zhan Xinyue, and now that they were back in the same class, the atmosphere between them was bound to be tense.
But nothing happened. Xu Shen remained remarkably low-key and silent. Although he and Zhan Xinyue were still in the same class, their seats were one in front of the other, and they hardly interacted at all. Whenever class ended, perhaps because he heard people mentioning that day again, he would always slip away as soon as the bell rang.
As for Zhan Xinyue, she did nothing but study in her seat, completely oblivious to everything else.
With no excitement to be seen, people gradually stopped paying attention.
When Zhan Xinyue returned from the restroom during break, she saw Xu Shen leaning against the railing, lost in thought. The class had just ended, and everyone was either catching up on sleep or finishing their homework; there weren't many people in the corridor.
Zhan Xinyue originally intended to go around from the other side, but before she could turn around, she suddenly saw Xie Wanzhi stroll out of the classroom. After looking at Xu Shen's back for a while, she naturally approached him.
With a thought, Zhan Xinyue slowly walked over there as well.
"Brother Shen, are you alright?" Xie Wanzhi leaned over and asked him as she knelt down beside him.
"Not bad." Xu Shen looked up, saw it was Xie Wanzhi, and then lowered his eyes again.
"It doesn't look like it at all; they're not joking with us anymore."
Xu Shen twitched the corner of his mouth: "It's not missing any arms or legs, so why can't it work? I think it's fine."
The two were talking without looking to the side. Zhan Xinyue walked to a pillar not far from them and quietly looked in that direction.
"What did the school say?" Xie Wanzhi asked again.
"They didn't say anything, just gave me a disciplinary record," Xu Shen said casually.
“What do you mean by ‘just’? You really don’t take this punishment seriously? I heard it goes into your file. What if it affects your future education?” Xie Wanzhi said.
“If it affects my college admission, the school won’t let me come back,” Xu Shen said. “I can apply to withdraw the application after six months.”
"Are you really indifferent or just pretending? Brother Shen, don't be shy about saying it. I know you probably also think Zhan Xinyue's actions are disgusting, but you're just keeping quiet because of our good relationship." Xie Wanzhi gave me a knowing look. "Don't worry, I'm not the kind of person who sides with family. I'm definitely on your side in this matter."
Xu Shen glanced at her: "Why?"
"What do you mean, why?" Xie Wanzhi said, "Everyone knows how outrageous Zhan Xinyue's actions were this time. Although no one said it to your face, they all sympathize with you behind your back."
Xu Shen turned his head and said calmly, "Don't pity me. Am I that pitiful?"
"Oh, it's not that I pity you, it's just that I feel indignant on your behalf. Everyone thinks you didn't do anything wrong, so it's really unfair that she treated you like this. It's not a big deal, just a love letter. If you don't want to accept it, just refuse. Why deliberately embarrass you like this? Isn't that just humiliating you?"
Xu Shen stared ahead, his lips pursed, remaining silent.
Although Xie Wanzhi had publicly expressed her dissatisfaction with her that night, Zhan Xinyue felt a different way about it now.
Could this be the same opportunity that brought them together in their past life? Although she and Xu Shen had a good relationship back then, after years of marriage and living together day and night, conflicts and arguments were inevitable. Zhan Xinyue would occasionally throw a tantrum at him. As for Xie Wanzhi, they had also had their share of bumps and cold wars.
In such situations, do the two of them secretly complain about each other in places she doesn't know, and eventually develop a mutual appreciation and an extraordinary bond?
Zhan Xinyue slowly clenched the hem of her clothes with her hands hanging at her sides.
Xie Wanzhi continued her incessant nagging: "Honestly, why did you fall for Zhan Xinyue in the first place? It was really not worth it. I advise you to come to your senses and change your ways as soon as possible. Don't be fooled by her seemingly indifferent attitude; she's actually the most vain person..."
Zhan Xinyue strongly suspected that after being reprimanded by Shi Ziqian that night, she had also taken the blame upon herself.
Xu Shen remained silent.
"You said you've been so good to her, done so much for her, do you think she'll remember all the good things you've done for her? No, not at all. She might even think she's very charming..."
"Alright." Xu Shen suddenly spoke, his gaze no longer friendly but sharp and scrutinizing. "This is between Zhan Xinyue and me, it has nothing to do with you."
Xie Wanzhi was taken aback: "I'm doing this for your own good."
Xu Shen said seriously, "I don't know what happened between you and Zhan Xinyue. I haven't seen you two together lately. But since you used to be friends, attacking your friend behind his back like this makes me look down on you."
After saying that, he ignored Xie Wanzhi and turned to go straight into the classroom.
Xie Wanzhi stood there, stunned for a long time. Similarly, not far from her, Zhan Xinyue was also lost in thought, her feelings inexplicably complicated.
After a long while, Xie Wanzhi kicked the tile on the railing in front of her, turned around sullenly, and saw Zhan Xinyue the moment she turned around. Her expression immediately became even more unpleasant.
Zhan Xinyue was no longer behind the pillar. After Xu Shen left, she no longer needed to hide and simply walked out.
They haven't spoken to each other for a long time since they had a falling out over changing seats.
"When did you get here?" Xie Wanzhi asked.
“It’s been quite a while,” Zhan Xinyue said.
Xie Wanzhi's eyes darted away for a moment: "Did you hear what we said?"
"Pretty much, I think I heard everything I should and shouldn't have heard."
Xie Wanzhi stared at her for a while, then suddenly sneered twice, her expression becoming calm: "I guess I'm just unlucky. I told you so, so what? If you're angry, then be angry. There's nothing I can do. After all, everything I said was the truth. Oh no, you shouldn't be angry. Hearing Xu Shen defend you like that, you must be feeling pretty good right now, right?"
"It was really fun." Zhan Xinyue smiled.
"Hehe," Xie Wanzhi said, "It's rare to see you not so hypocritical, daring to admit it directly."
"But I didn't hear him defending me. It seems like he just looks down on you, right?"
"You!" Xie Wanzhi gritted her teeth. "I'm too lazy to argue with you."
She turned to leave, but Zhan Xinyue stepped forward and blocked her way.
"Why are you in such a hurry to leave? Xie Wanzhi, why do you harbor such deep resentment towards me, to the point that you're even more anxious than Xu Shen, the person directly involved?"
Xie Wanzhi said coldly, "You find other people's actions disgusting, but you won't allow others to say it?"
"Since it's someone else, what does it have to do with you?" Zhan Xinyue stared at her. "I really want to ask you, we've been hanging out together for so long, have you ever considered me a friend? Why can you so naturally stand on the opposite side of me, while protecting someone you've only known for a short time?"
Xie Wanzhi was silent for a moment, then stared at her: "Why should I defend you? Other classmates may not know you, but don't I? You've always been so hypocritical, always doing things but never admitting them. At the beginning of the semester, you went straight to sit next to Shi Ziqian, but then told everyone you didn't notice him and that's why you sat there. You keep telling me you're nervous sitting next to Shi Ziqian and don't dare talk to him, but what's the reality? You're always asking him for help with problems, passing notes to him, and then there was that seat-changing thing..."
As Zhan Xinyue heard the name "Shi Ziqian" mentioned repeatedly, she suddenly lost the mood to ask any further questions.
In this life, when she looked at Xie Wan, she always felt a mixture of hatred and sorrow. They were friends since childhood, having spent so many days and nights together, sharing the most beautiful years of their youth. Zhan Xinyue hated her betrayal, yet she couldn't help but grieve for the loss of their friendship.
She couldn't understand when their friendship had started to deteriorate, rot, and eventually become unrecognizable. So, while she wanted to annoy her, she couldn't help but want to get an answer from her.
Now she suddenly understood that it seemed that she was the only one who had ever truly valued this friendship. And in Xie Wanzhi's eyes, there had always been someone else between them.
Despite being so love-struck, she actually fantasized that there had been a friendship between them.
After Xie Wanzhi finally finished speaking, Zhan Xinyue calmly asked, "Besides Shi Ziqian, you have nothing else to say? Since you've always disliked me so much, why did you ask me to be your friend?"
Xie Wanzhi was speechless for a moment, but quickly added, "Who knew who you were in the first place?"
"It's amazing that you still remember so many details about me and Shi Ziqian. Actually, you're the one who most wanted to sit at the same table as Shi Ziqian, right? You imagined what people would say about you and didn't dare to sit down, but you kept staring at him unwillingly, and in the end, you hated me for sitting down. Aren't you hypocritical?"
"What nonsense are you spouting!" Xie Wanzhi's face changed drastically, and she said angrily, "Are you crazy?"
"Whether I'm lying or not, you know in your heart." As Zhan Xinyue spoke, her mind gradually cleared, and many things began to connect. "You came to me to befriend me on the first day of class assignment, and you've been hanging around my seat every day. I don't know who you were actually looking at. Isn't that hypocritical? You have a crush on Shi Ziqian, but at the same time, you're worried that I'm having an affair with him. You've been making up baseless rumors about other people in the class to tell me every day. Isn't that hypocritical?..."
In her past life, Xie Wanzhi's actions had a significant effect. When she first began to have a crush on Shi Ziqian, it was because of the unintentional words and subtle, overt and covert suppression she received that she grew increasingly insecure. But what Xie Wanzhi didn't know was that if she liked Shi Ziqian, she didn't need to resort to such a troublesome method.
In Zhan Xinyue's heart during her teenage years, Xie Wanzhi, her only close friend, held a place no less important than her innocent first love. Therefore, if Xie Wanzhi had directly told her, she would never have developed any other feelings for Shi Ziqian in the first place.
Zhan Xinyue didn't continue, because there was no need to.
She finally realized that the friendship she had been so attached to had never existed in the first place. As for why she ended up getting involved with Xu Shen again, she no longer cared. The complex emotions she felt, mixed with hatred and sadness, vanished in an instant.
Such a person was never worthy of being her friend, much less worthy of being the object of her resentment. If she had to hate anyone, it was only herself for misjudging people and letting a wolf into her house.
"Xie Wanzhi, you will never deserve true friends in this life." Zhan Xinyue looked at the ever-changing expression on Xie Wanzhi's face. "Shi Ziqian was right after all. You are no different from a rat in the gutter."
Xie Wanzhi froze. "When did you hear that? Did he tell you?"
Zhan Xinyue did not intend to answer her, and turned and went into the classroom when she pressed her for an answer.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
