116 Growing Pains
The first person to approach Li Wei and start complaining was Princess Ding Anni, who lived closest to her home.
On Wednesday at noon, just as Li Wei stepped out of the classroom after the fourth period, Ding Anni from next door rushed up to her and hugged her, saying, "My dear Weiwei, let's elope! I can't take it anymore, I'm going to drop out of school!"
Li Wei quickly pulled her off her body. Ding Anni's weight was not something she could handle, and besides, it felt too mushy to say.
Fearing she might say something shocking again, Li Wei quickly grabbed Ding Anni's arm and lowered her voice, saying, "It's not convenient to talk here, let's go to my house to talk." It was as if she were lying in wait.
Ding Anni followed Li Wei home grumbling all the way, where Li Lianhui was already sitting at the dining table waiting to eat.
Aunt Gao saw that another person had arrived. She was now used to adding extra people to the meal service on short notice, and she had contingency plans in place. Besides, girls don't eat too much. There was basically enough rice; she just needed to add a dish.
Li Lin usually eats lunch at school because there isn't enough time to go back and forth.
While they were eating, Ding Anni couldn't stop complaining: "Xiao Weiwei, why wasn't I assigned to your class? Why am I so unlucky? You don't know, my teacher is so cruel. She makes us like boarding students, we have to come to study at 6:30. You don't know how painful it is for me to get up in the morning. I have no appetite for breakfast at all, and I'm so hungry in class in the morning. Look at me, look at me, I've lost so much weight these past two days..."
Because she had to go to school too early in the morning, Ding Anni complained about her meal, but she didn't miss lunch. In fact, she ate more than Li Lianhui, probably because she was really hungry.
Li Lianhui, annoyed by her nagging, finished his meal early and went to his room to play games.
Li Wei finished eating first and sat there to keep Ding Anni company while listening to her mutter. Seeing Ding Anni put down her chopsticks, she said, "Didn't I tell you? My class has to be at school before 6:40 for self-study." You're not the only one who goes to school early.
Ding Anni shook her head: "You didn't say that. But you guys are still better off than us. Ten minutes later." Ten minutes is enough time for her to eat breakfast, if she has an appetite.
Li Wei was too lazy to persuade her. Aren't we all in the same boat? So she suggested, "Why don't you ask your dad to pull some strings and get you transferred to our class?"
Ding Anni replied without hesitation, "What's the use? It's only ten minutes late."
It's good that you know.
Finally, Ding Anni revealed the ultimate purpose of her visit: to come to Li Wei's house for a midday nap and to freeload a meal.
That's not a problem. Li Wei told her to sleep in Li Lin's room. Aren't they close friends? Although Li Lin has her own personality, she won't mind. As for Li Wei's own room, she needs to rest a bit.
Thus, Ding Anni began to come back with Li Wei to freeload meals and bed until winter came and she was too lazy to go out.
The second person to seek comfort was Zhou Xiaoyan, who was in a better position than Ding Anni. She came over on Thursday of the second week after the fourth period.
The little brat probably had a sore throat; she had a bright red boil on her forehead. Her PE class ended early, so she arrived early and waited outside Li Wei's classroom. As soon as she saw Li Wei come out, she pounced on her.
Li Wei initially thought it was Princess Ding. She even cleverly dodged away, but then she realized it was Zhou Xiaoyan. Seeing that Zhou Xiaoyan seemed to be in a bad mood, she quickly asked, "What's wrong? What happened?" Could it be that you were bullied by your classmates? No way, Zhou Xiaoyan is not someone to be trifled with.
Zhou Xiaoyan looked at Li Wei with a mournful expression: "Are you unhappy to see me? Why are you avoiding me? Am I that annoying?" You've already changed your mind after only a few days apart. This is outrageous.
Li Wei guessed that Zhou Xiaoyan was in a new and unfamiliar environment and hadn't fully adjusted yet, so she was in a bad mood. It was best to go along with her then, so she quickly explained, "I didn't think you were that person..." Looking next door, it seemed that Ding Anni's teacher had gone overtime and hadn't dismissed the class.
He continued, "You know that guy who follows me around every day, right? Why don't you come to my house for lunch? We can talk then."
Zhou Xiaoyan had long wanted to go back with Li Wei like Ding Anni did. So she immediately nodded and went back for dinner as well. Li Wei didn't wait for Ding Anni, assuming that the girl knew the way and could get there without being led.
Sure enough, Ding Anni returned as soon as they sat down at the dinner table. As soon as she entered, she complained, "Xiao Wei, why didn't you wait for me? I was worried about you for ages, but when I came out, I found you had already slipped away. That's so unfair of you."
Li Wei ignored her. The more you pay attention to her, the more energetic she becomes.
Zhou Xiaoyan had a grudge against Ding Anni since junior high school. She didn't say a word.
After lunch, Zhou Xiaoyan and Li Wei went into her room for a private talk.
Actually, Zhou Xiaoyan didn't have anything serious to say. After rambling on for a while, Li Wei summarized it into three main points.
First, the food in the school cafeteria was unbearable. Second, her classmates were difficult to get along with, especially her deskmate, who, being a city girl, considered herself superior and constantly found fault with Zhou Xiaoyan's words and actions, making Zhou Xiaoyan, who always thought she had good manners, very depressed. Third, she couldn't sleep well in the dormitory; her classmates would always chat at night, leaving her feeling tired and listless in the morning.
Li Wei could only offer her some comfort, as it was impossible for Zhou Xiaoyan to come and stay. Li Wei suggested that if Zhou Xiaoyan was really too embarrassed to ask her classmates to shut up, she should use the earphones of a small tape recorder to plug her ears and listen to music or English tapes. She said she would fall asleep while listening and that it was very effective.
I don't like the school food, but it's not a problem for me to come here for a meal often.
As for the classmate relationship, there might be some misunderstanding. I believe that as time goes by and they get to know each other better, the problem should be resolved. If all else fails, they can just change deskmates. Even marriages end in divorce, let alone a deskmate.
Regardless of how much Zhou Xiaoyan listened to, she felt quite relaxed when she returned to school at noon. Having someone to comfort her made her feel better.
Li Lianhui was a man of few words, but he never seemed to have any problems. He went to school, ate, and played games quietly every day. Occasionally, classmates would come over to eat or play for a while. He didn't seem to have any issues with being aloof or having interpersonal relationships. Although he wasn't particularly outstanding, there was nothing to worry about. He was just an ordinary high school student.
Of course, since it was his first time living alone, some daily chores that his mother used to take care of, such as reminding him to change clothes, get a haircut, and fold blankets, still needed Li Wei to keep an eye on things, otherwise he wouldn't know what a mess it was.
As for Li Lin, she was an outstanding representative of normal high school students, adapting well. As the class monitor, she was quite talented, good at reading people and speaking eloquently. Teachers liked her and classmates envied her, and she was enjoying unparalleled success for a time.
Even Zhou Xiaoyan and Ding Anni were filled with envy, completely losing their smugness after getting into a top university.
The National Day holiday is just around the corner, and after the holiday, the first unified monthly exam for the first-year high school students will be held since they entered the school.
Li Wei was uncertain. A place like No. 1 High School was full of hidden talents, and she didn't want to get off to a bad start and be defeated by a bunch of smart guys right away. Even if her teacher, Mr. Cao, didn't arrange the seating according to grades, she couldn't afford to lose face like that.
So when her father came to pick up the three siblings, Li Wei didn't leave. She planned to stay and quietly prepare. Li Zhaoxing was still worried, but Li Wei had to agree to stay at her aunt's house that night to persuade her father. After giving him a few more instructions, she drove away.
After seeing her father and sister-in-law off, Li Wei tidied up her room briefly, then took the books she wanted to read, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and went to her aunt's house.
Li Wei had just stepped out of the building when she ran into Geng Xinyang.
It's quite a coincidence that Geng Xinyang's house is very close to Li Wei's, located on opposite sides of the entrance to a university. Li Wei had been to Geng Xinyang's house with Luo Da, so she naturally already knew about this.
Not long ago, Li Wei and Li Lin met Geng Xinyang, who was playing basketball, while playing badminton on the school playground. They got along very well with Li Lin and learned that Li Wei and her two siblings lived next to the school, so close to his home.
When Geng Xinyang saw Li Wei, he greeted her with a big smile: "Li Wei, you didn't go home? Did you go to see Luo Jianhua? Oh, why are you alone? Where's your sister?"
Upon hearing that Li Lin was being asked, Li Wei immediately became wary: "Why are you asking so many questions! What's it to you?"
Seeing Li Wei's wary expression, Geng Xinyang stroked his chin and chuckled awkwardly, "I was just asking, just asking casually, nothing more, hehe..."
Li Wei continued to stare at the guy, her face not looking friendly: "Stop chuckling, don't think I don't know what you're up to. You better behave yourself and stop trying to take advantage of Li Lin!"
During that trip, Li Wei heard from the women who went with her that Geng Xinyang was no pushover. They said he had booked a hotel room with a girl in junior high school, and when a classmate saw him, they told the teacher, the teacher contacted his parents, and that was the end of it. But this guy is still the same; his behavior hasn't changed at all.
Therefore, Li Wei was very wary of him mentioning Li Lin. When he said Li Lin's name in that roguish way, Li Wei felt very uncomfortable, as if he had desecrated her, so she didn't give him a good look.
When Geng Xinyang saw that Li Wei had a problem with him, he was a little confused. At school, he hadn't gotten too close to Li Wei because of Luo Jianhua's influence. Now that he saw that Li Wei really didn't like him, he didn't say anything and left with good manners.
Looking at the guy's back, Li Wei thought that she should take Li Lin to No. 1 High School less often in the future. Although Geng Xinyang was only sixteen or seventeen years old, after being in the same class for so many days, Li Wei could tell that this guy could say whatever he wanted to people.
The worst part is that he's really good at making girls happy, he's good-looking, and comes from a good family and has good grades. It's hard to find a reason why girls wouldn't like him. If he were to actually put some effort into a girl, it would be a real problem.
Li Wei can't control others, but Li Lin is within her sphere of influence. She must guard her territory strictly and not let any bandits, especially lecherous thieves, infiltrate.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
