Chapter 23 Guessing the Secret
Zhou Yanchuan's deep, resonant voice rang out from above.
Wen Jiu clenched her fists.
Two seconds later, she heard herself say, "I'm apologizing to you."
Zhou Yanchuan's eyes darkened.
At this moment, the person who had been keeping their head down raised their face.
Her eyes, like a doe's, stared straight at him.
"Zhou Yanchuan."
"Um."
"I'm sorry."
I know perfectly well that she's the best at lying and pretending to be innocent.
But looking into her aggrieved eyes and the fingers that had been quietly hooking onto his clothes, all the words that had been raging in his chest vanished in an instant.
Everything culminated in a restrained question: "Am I really that shameful?"
Wen Jiu's pupils trembled slightly, and she avoided his gaze, her emotions hard to describe at that moment.
How could Zhou Yanchuan be something that can't be seen by others?
She was just scared.
They feared that rumors would spread, and that their relationship wouldn't be able to withstand the rumors.
Zhou Yanchuan couldn't quite describe the feeling he got from seeing people who fell silent every time this topic came up.
To outsiders, she appears docile and obedient.
But only he knew that the word "docile" had absolutely nothing to do with her.
He still remembers the first time he saw her. She was hiding behind the door in the stairwell, clinging to the door frame with both hands. Her eyes, shining brightly in the dim light, were gazing at him.
My first impression of her was that she was thin.
How can she be so thin?
She didn't say anything, she just stared at him, or rather, at the roast chicken he was carrying.
Zhou Yanchuan thought she was a little beggar who couldn't speak.
He glanced at her, then at the roast chicken his mother had asked him to give to Grandma Wang, and handed it over.
He thought she would at least hesitate before accepting, but to his surprise, she accepted it without even thinking.
Zhou Yanchuan asked her, "Aren't you afraid I'll poison you?"
The girl, her mouth stuffed full, looked up at him.
He was startled by those big eyes, and suddenly remembered that she couldn't speak.
Before I could even say "I'm sorry," a mumbled, innocent voice rang in my ears: "Will it be poisonous and I die if I eat it?"
He was surprised that she could speak, and after a few seconds of hesitation, he replied, "My mother said she can."
The girl blinked at him.
He thought she was scared and was about to say, "There's no poison."
Then I heard her say, "Then I'll eat more."
Wen Jiu was six years old that year.
Later, he learned from the neighbors that she was not a little beggar, but a neighbor who lived across the hall from his grandmother's house.
However, her mother left home last year, leaving her and her father behind.
My dad is fine when he's normal, but he can't drink alcohol. He hits people when he drinks.
The little girl was tiny, but her whole body was covered in injuries.
The other children wouldn't play with her; they called her unlucky.
Every time Zhou Yanchuan saw her, she was wearing that oversized dress.
His whole body was covered in dust, except for his two eyes, which always sparkled.
Her father liked to beat her when he was drunk, so she set up "traps" at the door of her house to trip him up.
When the children insulted or bullied her, she would secretly take their schoolbags and hide them when they weren't looking, and then watch them being chased and beaten by their parents, who would ask where their schoolbags went.
And then there were the neighbors, who, while sympathizing with her, couldn't help but gossip about her behind her back.
Once, she overheard them, and the group turned around and greeted her as if nothing had happened. She smiled sweetly and said to one of the women, "Aunt Wang, I saw Uncle Lin holding your hand yesterday. Are you good friends too?"
The woman's expression immediately changed, because she had a husband, but his surname wasn't Lin.
A big yellow dog came out of the alley behind.
Everyone around her was afraid of this stray dog that had appeared out of nowhere, but she was the only one who never flinched when she saw this dog, which was almost as tall as her.
Even their eyes are bright.
Later, Dahuang died; it was poisoned.
She never walked down that alley again after that.
A few days later, a white wreath appeared at the door of the family at the end of the alley.
The man yelled in the alley, cursing whoever put it there.
In Zhou Yanchuan's view, Wen Jiu was never a weak and easily manipulated girl.
She is like grass growing in a crack in a rock.
No matter how harsh the growing environment, it grows with all its might.
In a society where rumors can be deadly, she is not even afraid of rumors.
So he couldn't understand why someone who wasn't afraid of anything would avoid him at school; it made no sense at all.
As Zhou Yanchuan pondered the reason, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the three furtive figures outside the window.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, straightened up, and walked towards the window.
"Is this the room?" Wu Feng asked, craning his neck to look while brushing the grass off his body.
Chen Yu wasn't quite sure: "Right? I just saw him go into this room."
As the two were whispering to each other, Su Shun looked up and saw the person standing by the window.
He flinched in fright and started patting the two people next to him, whispering a warning: "Brother Chuan, if you see this, back up."
"What?" Wu Feng didn't hear clearly.
“Step back,” he said again.
Wu Feng still asked, "Huh?"
"..."
"Idiot," Su Shun cursed.
As soon as he finished speaking, the other two people who walked to the window also saw Zhou Yanchuan behind the glass.
At first, I was taken aback, but then I got busy.
"Oops, my shoelace is undone."
"I didn't lose my money here."
Zhou Yanchuan ignored the three people and simply pulled the curtains shut.
He turned around to ask the girl why, but seeing her weak appearance, he ultimately said nothing.
Oh well, let her be.
*
As soon as Wen Jiu came out of the infirmary, the three boys who were squatting on the steps stood up abruptly.
She was intimidated by the men's posture.
"What's wrong?"
“You and,” they had just seen Zhou Yanchuan follow her into a room.
Judging from their reactions, Wen Jiu guessed they had seen something.
Her expression remained unchanged: "Me and Zhou Yanchuan?"
The group was surprised by her frankness and directness. They paused for a moment, then nodded, their eyes filled with a desire for gossip.
Wen Jiu explained casually, "I left my wallet in that room."
Seeing the person suddenly fall silent after saying that, Wu Feng asked curiously, "And then?"
"It's gone."
"Why did Brother Chuan get arrested too...?"
"You'll have to ask him about that."
Wen Jiu calmly uttered these words and walked away without looking back.
Her nonchalant demeanor left the three of them bewildered.
I thought I'd stumbled upon some juicy gossip, but it seems like there's nothing going on between these two.
*
Su Shun turned around and looked at the figure walking forward, her gaze falling on the empty hands of the woman.
"What are you looking at?" Just as Chen Yu was about to look, the door beside him was suddenly pushed open.
Upon seeing the person who came out, he blurted out, "Wow!"
Without saying a word, he grabbed the two people next to him and ran.
Zhou Yanchuan glanced at it, too lazy to pay attention, and walked forward.
Su Shun remained lost in his own thoughts. After running a few steps, he suddenly realized something and abruptly stopped.
"What's wrong?" Chen Yu asked.
"I think I know."
Su Shun threw down those words, turned around, and ran back, leaving Chen Yu and Wu Feng standing there staring at each other in bewilderment: "What do you know?"
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