Hidden poisonous stings
Chen Ningyi laid her Chinese textbook open on the table, silently reading the poems line by line with her fingertips, her lips moving slightly. She had always been good at memorizing, even those difficult classical poems, which she could memorize smoothly after reading them a few times. She was the kind of student her teachers often said "reads into her heart." In no time, she finished the memorization task assigned during morning reading. She closed the book, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the cover. Just as she was about to take a breath, her gaze was drawn to the figure diagonally in front of her.
Wang Zhitao entered the classroom just as the morning reading bell rang, his backpack strap slung haphazardly over his shoulder, and his school uniform zipper undone. Instead of chatting and laughing with his classmates as usual, he walked straight to his seat with his head drooping and a dark expression, slamming his backpack onto the corner of the desk with a "thud." His heavy movement as he sat down made the desk shake. His usually bright eyes were now as dark as ink, radiating a menacing aura.
Chen Ningyi frowned. Wang Zhitao, usually a radiant little sun, would chatter away as soon as he entered the classroom, even his walk was energetic and bouncy. But today, he seemed to have been doused with cold water, radiating impatience. She hesitated for a few seconds, then leaned forward slightly, her voice softening, "Wang Zhitao, are you alright?"
"What's it to you? What's it to you?" Wang Zhitao didn't even look up, burying his face in his arms, his voice muffled by the fabric, filled with irritating anger, not even sparing her a glance.
Chen Ningyi's hand froze in mid-air, her face instantly filled with embarrassment. She clenched the hem of her school uniform with her fingertips but didn't move it away. She added softly, "I just noticed you weren't acting right... If you're not feeling well, you could have just asked the teacher for leave."
Wang Zhitao gave a muffled "hmm" from within his arms, remaining silent for a long time. But after a few seconds, he suddenly looked up, his eyes initially blank, then flashing with a sinister light, like a sharp spike suddenly appearing from the shadows. He abruptly turned to Chen Ningyi, his voice low: "Hey, deskmate, you know Xiao Fuzhou, right? The one you always played with when you were little—you've heard of him and Xu Yanchi from the next class, haven't you?"
Chen Ningyi paused, a look of doubt appearing in her eyes. Although she had never heard of "Xu Yanchi," she nodded in agreement, signaling him to continue.
Wang Zhitao quickly glanced around and saw that his classmates were packing up their books. He then moved closer to her, lowering his voice and speaking with a deliberate air of mystery: "Xu Yanchi and Xiao Fuzhou, they're dating!"
"What?" Chen Ningyi's mouth gaped open, her eyes filled with astonishment, and her fingertips trembled. "Are you sure? Xiao Fuzhou isn't that kind of person, he wouldn't..."
“I saw it with my own eyes, how could it be fake?” Wang Zhitao interrupted her, his tone filled with certain malice, deliberately leaning closer to her ear, “Yesterday after school, I bumped into them at the back gate of the school. They were standing very close, and they were even kissing! Afterwards, Xiao Fuzhou even walked Xu Yanchi home, and their arms were practically linked.” As he spoke, he deliberately frowned, moved to the side, and shrugged, making a disgusted face.
Before Chen Ningyi could recover, Wang Zhitao leaned forward again, lowering his voice even further, but with an urgent tone that added fuel to the fire: "Don't you believe me? They've been together for a while now! That Xu Yanchi is so flirtatious, always clinging to Xiao Fuzhou. You have to remind him quickly, don't let him be bewitched by this unknown woman. The two of them are so lovey-dovey it's disgusting. We can't let him go astray!"
He talked on and on, his eyes blazing with malice, yet his tone feigned genuine concern for Xiao Fuzhou, even his subtle expressions conveying "sincerity." The naive Chen Ningyi panicked completely, her eyes instantly clouded with worry. Her fingers gripped the hem of her school uniform tightly as she murmured, "Uncle, Auntie, and Grandma specifically told me to keep an eye on Xiao Fuzhou..." She looked up at Wang Zhitao, her voice urgent and earnest, "Don't worry, I'll go talk to him after school today, I definitely won't let him be confused!"
As Wang Zhitao listened, a barely perceptible smile appeared on his lips, which he quickly suppressed. He simply nodded in satisfaction at Chen Ningyi, said nothing more, buried his face in his arms again, seemingly continuing to sleep, but his ears were secretly listening to the movements around him, his eyes filled with a triumphant gloom.
As soon as the school bell rang, Chen Ningyi grabbed her schoolbag strap and ran towards the next classroom. Just as she reached the corner of the corridor, she bumped into Xiao Fuzhou—he was walking out with his schoolbag on his back and a workbook tucked between his fingers. Chen Ningyi rushed forward to stop him, her face tense and serious: "Xiao Fuzhou, wait a minute! I have something to tell you!"
Xiao Fuzhou stopped and raised an eyebrow at her, a hint of confusion in his eyes: "What's wrong?"
"Are you having a puppy love?" Chen Ningyi didn't beat around the bush and asked directly, her tone urgent and stern. "Let me tell you, the most important thing right now is your studies. You can't let something like this interfere with your studies! Your aunt, uncle, and grandma all specifically told me to keep an eye on you. You absolutely mustn't do anything foolish!"
Xiao Fuzhou's confusion instantly turned into astonishment, followed by a wry smile. He looked at her as if she were a child throwing a tantrum, his tone tinged with helplessness: "Early love? Where did you hear such nonsense?"
"Don't deny it!" Chen Ningyi leaned forward anxiously, her voice rising slightly. "I know you've been bewitched by someone named Xu Yanchi. Don't think you can hide it from me!"
The smile vanished instantly upon hearing this. He stared at Chen Ningyi's tense face, his brows slowly furrowing—he had never mentioned the name Xu Yanchi to Chen Ningyi before. Chen Ningyi was simple-minded and would never fabricate such a story, much less associate "Xu Yanchi" with herself. His tone turned cold, his gaze sharpening as he looked directly at her: "Who told you these things?"
Chen Ningyi was startled by his sudden cold tone and subconsciously tightened her grip on her backpack strap, but still stubbornly said, "Anyway, someone saw it... Don't worry about who said it, just don't associate with that Xu Yanchi anymore!"
"Spreading rumors comes with consequences, especially fabricating baseless rumors like this." Xiao Fuzhou's voice grew colder, his gaze carrying a hint of pressure. "Chen Ningyi, you and I grew up together, you know I wouldn't do something so absurd. Who told you? Tell me their name."
Chen Ningyi choked on her words, her fingertips unconsciously fidgeting with her backpack strap, not daring to look up for a long time—she only remembered her deskmate's "absolute certainty" that morning, but she hadn't expected Xiao Fuzhou to press her for answers so closely. After hesitating for a while, she stammered, "It's...it's my deskmate. He said he saw it with his own eyes and wouldn't lie to me..."
Xiao Fuzhou frowned even more, a hint of doubt in his eyes—he only knew Chen Ningyi had a deskmate, but had never asked her name, let alone knew who she was. However, the fact that she knew the name "Xu Yanchi" and deliberately fabricated a rumor clearly meant she knew them. He hesitated for a few seconds, softened his tone, and didn't press her further, instead following her lead: "Your deskmate said he saw it with his own eyes, but did he specify where and when he saw it? Was it on the way home from school, or somewhere else?"
This question caught Chen Ningyi off guard. She looked up abruptly, her eyes filled with confusion—Wang Zhitao had only said that morning, "School ended at the back gate yesterday," without specifying the exact time or providing any details. In her panic and worry, she hadn't given it much thought. Looking at Xiao Fuzhou's calm gaze, the certainty in her heart slowly crumbled, and her fingers loosened their grip.
Xiao Fuzhou understood from her expression, and his tone softened: "Think about it, if you really saw it with your own eyes, how could you not even be able to explain the specifics? Xu Yanchi and I are just ordinary friends. We did run into each other after school yesterday, but we only exchanged a few words and then parted ways. Where did this 'puppy love' or 'kissing' come from?"
The corridor dwindled, and the setting sun cast long shadows of the two girls. Chen Ningyi gripped her backpack strap, staring down at the ground, her ears slowly turning red—she suddenly remembered Wang Zhitao's dark face and harsh words that morning, and comparing them to Xiao Fuzhou's words, a pang of guilt welled up inside her. After a long while, she whispered, "...Then I'll ask him again tomorrow."
Xiao Fuzhou nodded, saying nothing more. He watched her tense shoulders relax before turning and walking towards the stairwell. After taking a couple of steps, he turned back and added, "Don't believe everything people say, especially things that are unsubstantiated."
Chen Ningyi didn't respond, only giving a soft "hmm". Only after Xiao Fuzhou's figure disappeared at the top of the stairs did she slowly squat down, hugging her knees – what she had taken as a "reminder" now seemed full of loopholes; she had actually been foolish enough to come and question Xiao Fuzhou, and the thought made her feel annoyed.
In the shadows behind the classroom door, Wang Zhitao watched this scene, his face darkening further. He hadn't expected Xiao Fuzhou to not directly ask for her name, but instead to get Chen Ningyi to relent with just a few words. The gloom in his eyes deepened, and he gritted his teeth—even if it didn't work out this time, as long as Chen Ningyi harbored doubts, there would be plenty of opportunities to smear this mess even more severely in the future.
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