Chapter 43 Selfishness
"Why not?" Chen Qiaoxi was stubborn and paranoid, but he couldn't come up with any convincing reasons.
Gao Tai didn't argue with him, and just asked, "So the name you said is mine?"
Chen Qiaoxi was incredibly thick-skinned. Even when exposed, he wasn't embarrassed. Instead, he was quite confident: "You say I'm talking about you, so we're even."
Gao Tai's expression was cold and gloomy, and he was trying his best to endure it. "I said you because you tricked Zhou Xiaoya into the equipment room. Why did you say I did that?"
Chen Qiaoxi rolled his eyes and said indifferently, "There's no reason... After all, there are only four of us dragged in, so we can just use the simplest and most brutal method of elimination."
"Ban Bieyi wasn't at school that day because he was participating in a competition. Chang Qiuqiu is stupid and has a bad temper, so she's been used as a shield. And it couldn't be me, so of course it must be you."
It was indeed quite simple and crude. Qing Bai glanced at Gaotai, who was so angry that he was about to breathe, and then glanced at Chang Qiuqiu, who was silently digging the soil. He felt that he could not let this emotional person continue to output, otherwise someone would really die.
So Qing Bai, who had been listening for a while, asked, "Why did you trick Zhou Xiaoya into the equipment room back then?"
Chen Qiaoxi, who was already emotionally unstable, became even more unstable upon hearing Qing Bai's words. He angrily said, "I'm not lying! I'm delivering a message for the teacher! Tell her to rest in the equipment room while other students are in class, and not to hang around outside..."
Qing Bai frowned, his voice cold and icy, "Just passing on a message?"
Qing Bai was tall, with a handsome face with clear outlines and deep features. When he smiled sincerely, he was as beautiful as a flower or the moon. But when he frowned, he looked like a cold branch in the dead of winter, carrying wind and snow, so sharp that it could cut through the sky. Therefore, even though he was thin and gaunt, he still gave people a sense of oppression when he stood up straight and looked down at them.
The oppressed Chen Qiaoxi sat on the ground, hunching his neck and nodding his head. "I just... just passed on the message... and then I left. I really don't know what happened in the equipment room afterwards..."
Seeing Qing Bai remained silent and looked indifferent, Chen Qiaoxi didn't know whether he believed it or not. For some reason, he suddenly felt tormented and eager to gain the trust of this person whom he had just met for the first time today.
But he also knew that he had said too much nonsense in his previous outburst, and it would be difficult to gain credibility if he said anything more now. He had no choice but to shift the blame onto Gao Tai: "Didn't you say that it was you, not Ban Bieyi, who first found Zhou Xiaoya? And she was still alive at that time, and didn't you tell you who locked her in the equipment room?"
Gao Tai saw through Chen Qiaoxi's thoughts at a glance, but didn't argue with him. He shook his head and said, "She didn't say it."
"...You didn't ask either?" Ban Bieyi asked drowsily.
Gao Tai turned to look at Ban Bieyi, and his peripheral vision happened to sweep past Zhou Xiaoya. He then noticed that her head, which had been lowered, had been raised. Although still stiff and sluggish, her entire face was exposed. The face that had appeared countless times in his deepest nightmares over the years was now facing the door, or rather, facing Ban Bieyi who was standing by the door...
Gao Tai's eyes darkened, and he looked away in panic: "...I didn't ask."
This was not logical, but Qing Bai watched for a long time and intuitively felt that there was something hidden, so he did not ask. However, if he did not ask, someone else would ask.
"You didn't ask?" Chen Qiaoxi was very angry. "You didn't ask about such a serious matter? If you had asked more, why would we be here today? You doubt me without asking anything clearly? You are deliberately trying to trick me—"
Gao Tai interrupted Chen Qiaoxi's complaints impatiently: "Being locked up in the equipment room is a big deal? I was locked up in the toilet, classroom, and equipment room countless times back then, and even locked up overnight at school. How come no one thought it was a big deal? You..."
Gao Tai suddenly stopped talking halfway through venting his anger, turned his head away uncomfortably, and whispered, "Sorry..."
This apology came suddenly, and it took everyone a while to realize that it was probably directed at Zhou Xiaoya.
"I really didn't think it was a serious matter at first," Gao Tai said, the gloom on his face fading a little, replaced by bitterness. "To me, this is all just normal. Seeing Zhou Xiaoya locked up inside, I wasn't too worried... I just asked her why she went to the equipment room. After all, she's physically unable to exercise and would never go to a place like this on her own initiative. She said the squad leader asked her to come."
At this point, Gao Tai gave a bitter laugh, his throat filled with iron sand. "Rather than being maliciously locked in the equipment room, she seemed more upset that the letter she sent hadn't received a reply... Through the locked door, she asked me why Ban Bieyi didn't reply to her..."
Gao Tai paused for a moment as Ban Bieyi coughed, and when the coughing died down, he continued, "At that moment, I really felt like a despicable thief... Just like Chen Qiaoxi said, a dog will always eat shit."
This guy is indeed a tough guy. He scolded himself mercilessly without any change in expression.
"I didn't dare tell her that I had stolen the letter she had left in Benbie's drawer, so I could only flee under the pretext of going to find someone to free her..."
Ban Bieyi could barely sit up straight. He half-leaned against the door, his burning eyes half-closed, and whispered, "Then, you went to the office to look for the physical education teacher, but couldn't find him. When you returned to the classroom, you happened to run into me... and gave me Zhou Xiaoya's letter..."
Gao Tai's expression was a bit complicated. After a long silence, he asked in a hoarse voice, "How did you know I went to find the teacher? When I wrote to you, I didn't tell you that Zhou Xiaoya was locked up in the gym equipment room. You still didn't tell me when you read the letter and wanted to go find her... How can you be sure that I really want to let him out? What if I just want to..."
"I thought about that possibility before, but not now."
Ban Bieyi's voice was soft and slow, and it was easy to miss it if you didn't listen carefully, but it had an indescribable power that made Gao Tai suddenly speechless, and then truly let go. Finally, in this illusory place, in front of these old people and things that he couldn't bear to look back on, he spoke out the words hidden deep in his heart.
"My selfish motive is that I want you to see Zhou Xiaoya later... and give her a reply later."
The gloom on the high platform disappeared. The man was thin and small, with big black eyes. Just as Ban Bieyi had said before, he looked like a little monkey. "I didn't expect her to have an accident. I didn't expect you to see it when you found her... I'm sorry."
This apology is for both Zhou Xiaoya and Ban Bieyi.
Ban Bieyi nodded and closed his eyes tiredly, while Zhou Xiaoya was still staring at the door blankly without any reaction.
The atmosphere was a little sad for a moment, but the sadness did not last long.
It was naturally Chen Qiaoxi who spoke out to ruin the atmosphere. He looked back and forth between Gaotai Ban Bieyi and 'Zhou Xiaoya' with a strange expression, then said in a strange tone, "Everyone, is now the time to relive the love and hate of our youth? You should think about how to get out. Otherwise, there's no need to apologize. We'll all stay here with her. It's so lively."
Qi Xiaopang: "..." You're really annoying! Will you die if you don't go crazy and act sarcastic?!
Not only did Qi Xiaopang find Chen Qiaoxi annoying, but even Gao Tai missed Chang Qiuqiu a little. At least she could compete with him in terms of sarcasm.
Qing Bai nodded in agreement, walked around the various human-shaped obstacles in two steps, came to Jiu Nian, gave him a wink, and extended his hand without hesitation.
Then, under Qi Xiaopang's bewildered gaze, Jiu Nian gave accurate feedback—he placed the school newspaper that Qing Bai had stuffed into his hand when he used it as a display stand into Qing Bai's outstretched hand.
Qi Xiaopang felt that he hadn't missed any other scenes except the trip to the office. He really couldn't understand when they had developed this tacit understanding between them, a glance that didn't require words. And after just taking a newspaper, his brother Qing seemed to smile briefly, or maybe not, because he quickly turned around and returned to the door. He then slapped the newspaper next to the head of the dead Chang Qiuqiu lying on the ground. Then, under their bewildered gazes, he said calmly, "Tonight I'll answer a question - the person who locked Zhou Xiaoya in the equipment room, causing her illness and death, was Li Nan, your physical education teacher... in the past."
Qi Xiaopang: "What the hell???"
Farewell to Gaotai Band Chen Qiaoxi: "..."
Except for Jiu Nian, everyone else was stunned. Even Ban Bieyi, who was drowsy and almost semi-conscious, struggled to raise his head.
They were not only shocked by the person Qing was talking about, but also by the person he was talking to.
Just answer the question, why do you have to answer to Chang Qiuqiu?!
Qing Bai also felt their surprise, but he was not in a hurry to explain. Instead, he waited patiently, confident that she would respond.
Just when several people were about to speak, Chang Qiuqiu, who was lying on the ground and had been unilaterally issued a death notice by Chen Qiaoxi and others, suddenly moved.
Just like a machine that had been abandoned for many years and was not used for a long time being started again, as Chang Qiuqiu slowly got up from the ground, her body kept making dull, teeth-grinding crackling sounds, as if dislocated bones were reorganizing, or as if rotten bones were constantly breaking under the weight.
Fortunately, she finally stood up. Although her upper body collapsed and her originally slender limbs were a little twisted, it was impossible that these limbs were formed by crawling on the ground just now... At this moment, several people finally realized that something was wrong with Chang Qiuqiu.
Gao Tai immediately helped Ban Bieyi back two steps, while Chen Qiaoxi even scrambled back to the corner he'd initially clung to. Fat Qi was secretly congratulating himself on his good position—he had Jiu Nian's thighs to cling to when he moved forward, and a solid wall to lean against when he retreated—when suddenly his eyes lit up—Jiu Nian's thighs had teleported to his brother Qing's side.
That position, that posture, is what allows one to attack or defend. The two of them stand side by side, with the same height and leg length, but different romantic temperaments. He, who is left alone and timidly standing there, looks like an unwanted burden.
At this moment, no one had the time to care about what a burden thought. Everyone's attention was on Chang Qiuqiu.
She stood by the door, facing Zhou Xiaoya in the center of the equipment room. With her red dress and fair skin, she no longer looked youthful but rather eerie.
Chang Qiuqiu opened her red lips slightly, and her voice echoed faintly in the room: "It's not dark yet...it's not evening yet."
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