Undercurrents
The morning sun had just climbed onto the windowsill when Qi Xu was woken up by the alarm clock on her bedside table. She quickly got up to wash and went to open the door, only to be stunned by the scene before her.
Hao Nan and Ting Yue turned to look at her simultaneously, exclaiming in unison, "Qi Xu!"
Judging from this situation, Tingyue is probably at odds with someone again. Qi Xu sighed helplessly.
Tingyue reacted the fastest, rushing over and grabbing Qixu's wrist: "Quick, quick, get in the car! Let's go to school together, we'll be late!"
“Let’s go, it’s getting late.” Ting Xubai, who was standing to the side, also smiled and agreed, his gaze gentle.
This scene inexplicably ignited a flame in Wan Xiaoyi's heart.
Why are these people so reluctant to talk to Qi Xu? She forced a smile and quickly walked to Qi Xu's other side: "Qi Xu, want to sit on the back of my bicycle? We haven't had a proper chat in ages."
Qi Xu was filled with doubt. "Don't we chat every day? What's going on?"
"Seven Xu," Xu Sheng chimed in at the opportune moment, "It's rare for the four of us to get together, why don't we go together?"
Wan Xiaoyi glanced at Xu Sheng with satisfaction; this guy finally had some sense.
Hao Nan ignored the others and walked straight to Qi Xu. Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, he tried to keep his voice calm: "Qi Xu, I promised to pick you up and drop you off at school. So, what's your decision?"
Behind them, the Ting siblings' eyes instantly turned cold, and their faces visibly darkened.
Qi Xu felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but shiver.
The next second, Tingyue pulled Qi Xu to her side with a forceful movement, saying decisively, "What are you hesitating for? Come with us!"
Without waiting for a reply, she urged, "Hurry up and get on the bus! We're going to be late!"
Almost instinctively, Qi Xu didn't think twice and obediently sat on the back of Ting Yue's bicycle.
Tingyue proudly raised her chin, and Tingxubai's lips curled into a victorious smile. The wheels turned, carrying the three of them quickly towards the school.
Hao Nan's outstretched hand froze in mid-air, eventually falling limply as he could only watch helplessly as Qi Xu was taken away.
This morning was destined to be turbulent.
Everyone's thoughts are like twining vines, quietly growing.
Qi Xu, sitting in the back seat, was preoccupied with other things. She was figuring out how to get Ting Xubai and Ting Yue to accept her new friends.
Judging from the tense atmosphere just now, this matter may take a long time.
Listening to Bai and Yue, however, they were in high spirits. The three of them were best friends, they were, they are, and they must always be.
The three people in front were chatting and laughing, even playfully teasing each other. Hao Nan, lagging behind, watched this glaring intimacy, his heart feeling like it was being scratched by something, both itchy and astringent.
The two people who suddenly appeared made him feel an unprecedented sense of crisis.
Wan Xiaoyi pedaled her bike angrily, thinking that these two were simply outrageous!
Xu Sheng, standing nearby, noticed her defiant expression. He thought to himself: "It seems that getting on good terms with Qi Xu would be a good way to appease Xiao Yi."
After arriving at the school, I parked the car.
Qi Xu wanted to wait for Hao Nan and the others, but Ting Yue grabbed her arm and asked, "We're in Class 2 of the second year of high school. What class are you in?"
"Class 8, Grade 11"
"Okay, I got it! We'll come find you to play after class!" Tingyue said cheerfully.
After taking a few steps, Xu Bai stopped and turned back, giving a brotherly remark: "Remember to attend class carefully."
“I will,” Qi Xu blinked and asked mischievously, “But you, Brother Xu Bai, will you pay attention in class?”
"Ahem, of course I can!" Ting Xubai cleared his throat, looking slightly embarrassed.
Qi Xu had a look on his face that said, "Do you believe me or not?", but he still obediently hummed in agreement.
Just as he sat down back in the classroom, Hao Nan, Wan Xiaoyi, and Xu Sheng entered one after the other. Qi Xu waved to them in greeting.
Wan Xiaoyi sat down in her seat and had just taken out her book when Hao Nan walked over. He tried to hide the turbulent emotions in his eyes and asked in a calm tone, "Qi Xu, who were those two people just now?" He was naturally referring to the Ting siblings.
Wan Xiaoyi also quietly pricked up her ears, waiting for Qi Xu's explanation.
“They are Tingyue and Tingxubai, a pair of twins,” Qi Xu’s eyes lit up instantly, and the corners of his mouth couldn’t help but turn up. “They were my best playmates when I was a child.”
The familiarity and joy in his tone were impossible to hide.
Hao Nan was slightly taken aback. He knew he couldn't compare to the childhood friendship he shared with his childhood. But so what? There was plenty of time.
The school bell rang. The teacher walked into the classroom, and the morning reading session began. Soon, the classroom was filled with the sounds of recitation.
To make room for other classmates to recite their lessons, Wan Xiaoyi consciously sat in the empty seat at the back, which also made it easier for her to be lazy.
Hao Nan seized the opportunity and immediately took the seat next to Qi Xu. He picked up a book and pretended to recite it, but his eyes kept glancing at the sleepy girl next to him.
Qi Xu hadn't slept well last night either. She forced herself to finish reciting the text to the teacher, and just as she was about to lie down for a nap, her classmates started crowding around. She had no choice but to stay awake and continue her work.
She tried to use the upright books as cover, pretending to watch someone recite, but her eyelids grew heavy and finally couldn't stay open any longer, so she quietly closed them.
A boy was reciting haltingly, trying to get away with it. Hao Nan noticed this and gently nudged Qi Xu's elbow.
Qi Xu jolted awake, looking at the boy with sleepy eyes. The boy thought he had given himself away, and after struggling for a long time, he couldn't utter a single word. He had no choice but to slink back to his seat, ready to memorize it all over again.
Qi Xu covered her face with her book again. But the next classmate's voice was so loud that it made her head ache. "Keep your voice down..." she muttered.
Suddenly, she had an idea. She turned to Hao Nan, her voice slightly nasal from just waking up, "Hao Nan... could you keep an eye on them while they memorize their lessons?"
"You trust me that much?" Hao Nan was a little surprised.
"Hmm...I believe you." Her voice grew softer and softer, like a feather brushing against the ground.
But this subtle sound clearly reached Hao Nan's ears, and his heart felt as if a pebble had been thrown into it, creating warm ripples.
This word of trust, like a silent encouragement, filled him with strength.
The atmosphere during morning reading in Class 2 of Grade 11 was completely different.
Tingyue was assigned to sit at the same table as Jiang Hui, while Tingxubai sat behind her.
While the whole class was diligently memorizing their lessons, the brother and sister were fast asleep, having stayed up all night playing games.
Ting Xubai simply lay face down on the table, while Ting Yue was slightly better, using her books to cover her face. However, their overly conspicuous postures had already been spotted by the teacher on the podium.
Jiang Hui looked at his new deskmates, who were fast asleep beside him, and wanted to wake them up, but the teacher's sharp gaze had already swept over him, so he had no choice but to give up.
The teacher walked to their desk and tapped the surface with her finger. There was no response. The brother and sister were fast asleep.
The teacher, expressionless, picked up the small megaphone on the podium, took out her phone, played a song with an upbeat, almost noisy rhythm, and pointed the phone's microphone at the megaphone.
The next second, deafening music exploded like thunder in the quiet classroom! All the recitation stopped abruptly, and the whole class focused their attention on the Tingjia siblings.
The sudden noise completely ignited the siblings' morning grumpiness! Tingyue irritably covered her ears with her textbook, curling up as if trying to continue sleeping, but the horrifying sound was truly piercing her brain.
She abruptly raised her head and yelled like a madwoman, "So annoying!"
Ting Xubai was also awakened, his face filled with irritation at being disturbed from his sleep. He glared fiercely at the source of the noise, even though the other party was a teacher, he and his sister had never been afraid.
The teacher coldly turned off the music, her tone calm yet carrying an invisible pressure: "Have you memorized all the words?"
The brother and sister ignored them completely, stood up, and walked out of the classroom through the back door as if no one else was there. The whole class was dumbfounded.
Jiang Hui thought to himself: Are these two newcomers really that fierce?
On the podium, Teacher Liu's face was ashen. This was practically a public slap in the face! "You've all memorized the text?" she raised her voice, her tone laced with suppressed anger.
The students immediately fell silent, burying their heads in their books, and the classroom instantly erupted with even louder recitations.
Jiang Hui shook his head inwardly: Oh no, Ms. Liu, the English teacher in Class 2, is notoriously strict. With this new student causing trouble, English class days are probably going to be tough from now on.
In a quiet corner behind the teaching building, under a large tree, Ting Xubai and Ting Yue leaned against the trunk. Almost as soon as they sat down, their heavy eyelids closed again.
It wasn't until the shrill school bell rang that the two of them snapped their eyes open as if a switch had been flipped, and rushed toward Class 8 of the second year of high school with a clear goal in mind.
Hearing this, Bai was clearly not fully awake yet, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he walked.
At the corner of the corridor, a girl holding a thick book was engrossed in flipping through the pages, not looking where she was going, and bumped straight into Tingxubai's arms.
"Sorry!" they both blurted out at the same time.
Han Xue quickly squatted down to pick up the scattered books, then left without looking up. Both of them assumed it was an accident and didn't pay any attention to the other.
Han Xue walked straight into the principal's office and carefully searched through a row of bookshelves.
She finally found the old bookmark that had been with her for many years in a book, carefully held it in her hand, and breathed a sigh of relief. She had carried this bookmark with her since she was a child, and had a deep affection for it.
She walked to the sofa, sat down, and opened a book. Just then, Han Cheng pushed open the door and came in. Seeing Han Xue on the sofa, he sat down at the computer desk and casually asked, "Qi Xu... you know?"
Han Xue nodded in response.
Han Cheng sighed softly, "Spend more time with Qi Xu and make some friends. It's good to like reading, but you can't always keep to yourself." His tone was full of concern.
Han Xue's gaze remained fixed on the pages of the book, offering no reply. The book was filled with dense text, yet not a single word caught her eye at that moment. It wasn't that she didn't want to make friends, but rather that she hadn't found any worthy companions.
If it were Qi Xu... maybe we could give it a try? But Qi Xu always seems to be surrounded by so many people, as if he never lacks friends.
At the entrance of Class 8, Grade 11, Tingyue peeked out and spotted Qi Xu slumped over his desk. She called out, "Xu Xu!"
In the classroom, Qi Xu was lying on the table like a lump of mud. The morning reading and memorization had exhausted her energy, and thinking about the morning exercises that followed, she really didn't want to move at all.
Hearing the shouts, she simply buried her face in her arms and pretended not to hear.
Wan Xiaoyi had just returned to her seat and was about to call Qi Xu to go to exercise. Tingyue, however, ignored her and rushed into the classroom, grabbed the limp Qi Xu, and reached out to rub her cheek: "Wake up! Xu Xu!"
Qi Xu struggled to escape her clutches, weakly pleading, "Stop it... I'm sick..."
After saying that, she slumped back down softly.
"Hey! Non-students are not allowed to enter!" Wan Xiaoyi looked at Tingyue with displeasure, her tone carrying a warning.
"And what about him?" Tingyue raised her chin and pointed to Xu Sheng, who was still standing in the classroom.
Xu Sheng met Wan Xiaoyi's gaze, shrank back, and wisely left the classroom, having already upset her again.
Ting Xubai followed him in and found it a bit funny to see Qi Xu acting so shamelessly. He bent down and asked in a soft voice, "Xu Xu, is your illness... real or fake?"
"Of...of course it's true!" Qi Xu's voice was muffled in his arms, revealing his guilty conscience.
When Hao Nan heard Xu Bai call Xu Xu so affectionately, a surge of anger rushed to his head, and he couldn't help but retort, "Didn't you see she didn't want to talk?"
"What business is it of yours if my brother is called Qi Xu?" Tingyue immediately defended him and retorted without any politeness.
Hao Nan paused, then remembered that the brother and sister and Qi Xu were childhood sweethearts, and realized that his reaction just now had crossed the line.
Tingyue didn't care about anything else. She secretly exerted force on her hands, trying to pull Qi Xu up: "Come on, let's go out for some fresh air, don't lie there."
"Ah? But we have to do morning exercises..." Qi Xu wailed, completely unwilling.
"I can help you ask your homeroom teacher for leave," Wan Xiaoyi quickly seized the opportunity to show her abilities.
"Really? Thank you so much, Xiao Yi!" Qi Xu's eyes lit up.
When Tingyue heard Qixu call her "Xiao Yi" so affectionately, she immediately turned into a pitiful little kitten, shaking Qixu's arm: "Xuxu~ We haven't seen each other for so long, don't you miss me?"
"Of course I miss her!" Qi Xu immediately softened and hugged Ting Yue tightly. "I miss our Yue Yue the most!"
The two girls hugged each other affectionately, oblivious to everyone else.
Looking at this sickeningly sweet scene, Ting Xubai turned to Hao Nan and Wan Xiaoyi and gave them a slightly provocative smile, as if silently declaring: Look, we are the people closest to her.
Just then, the head of student affairs' signature sharp whistle rang out in the corridor, accompanied by a stern urging: "What are you doing! Class 8 of Grade 11! Hurry up! Go to morning exercises!"
Startled by the whistle, the group walked out of the classroom together. Ting Xubai and Ting Yue exchanged a glance, instantly understanding each other's meaning.
Qi Xu doesn't want to do morning exercises? Easy! Ting Yue grabbed Qi Xu's arm, and Ting Xu Bai provided cover from the side. With a clear goal in mind, the three of them took advantage of the chaos and quickly broke away from the main group, sneaking towards the canteen where the tempting aroma was wafting.
Hao Nan and Wan Xiaoyi could only stand there, watching the three disappear around the corner of the teaching building. Hao Nan looked at the figures with complicated emotions.
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