Chapter 47
Lin Wan's fingertips trembled constantly. She tightly grasped a corner of the report card until wrinkles appeared on the white paper, and then she belatedly let go.
The sunlight shone into the classroom through the gaps in the curtains, leaving streaks on the mottled marble floor. There was no one in the classroom during lunch time.
Lin Wan stood in front of the podium with her head down for a long time, until the first pair of students who had dinner returned to the classroom, and then she left belatedly.
She was not hungry, but her stomach was churning and a feeling of self-abandonment was rising in her heart.
Lin Wan held his stomach as he sat down at the desk and began to work on the big physics problem.
She has been through this before, and she will definitely be able to get through this time too.
"Hey, Lin Wan, don't work so hard all the time. It's putting a lot of pressure on us."
The sound was very sweet, like ice cream melting in the summer, with the sticky liquid flowing down the cone.
Lin Wan paused the movement of her pen and continued to write the topic. The winter sun shone through the window, illuminating most of her face, and the light was very dazzling.
She blinked a little uncomfortably.
Laughter came from all around, gradually spreading out like ripples.
The book in his hand was half-jokingly snatched away. Lin Wan subconsciously reached out to grab his exercise papers, but found nothing.
He raised his head and met Qiu Siqi's eyes, which were frivolous and even provocative.
"Lin Daxueba, can you leave me a way out?"
Qiu Siqi raised an eyebrow at Lin Wan, clutched her exercises behind her, and spoke in a joking tone.
Lin Wan looked at her directly, unable to understand the motive behind Qiu Siqi's actions.
Jiang Nuo often joked with her like this, but Jiang Nuo's ultimate goal was just to hope that Lin Wan would not sit in her seat all the time, and hoped that Lin Wan could go out more often, breathe fresh air, and meet more friends.
But Lin Wan couldn't understand Qiu Siqi's purpose. Was she trying to get close to her and make friends with her, or was it just a simple provocation?
Lin Wan had just seen Qiu Siqi's physics results. She ranked first in the class, so there should be no reason for her to target him.
Lin Wan tightened her grip on the pen and tilted her head slightly.
"Classmate, I don't like this joke, give it back to me."
Lin Wan spoke restrainedly, pressing the pen tightly against the table with her fingertips, rolling it slightly, a sign of her uneasiness.
Jiang Huan went to Beijing, leaving her alone in school. There was no one to accompany Lin Wan for lunch at noon.
Lin Wan was unwilling to waste too much time on such social activities. For her, studying always came first.
This also caused her to be in an awkward position in the class. She was often mentioned by the teacher but deliberately ignored by her classmates.
"Give it back to you? Of course I can." Qiu Siqi smiled and said in a long tone: "But you have to answer a question for us first."
Her eyes rolled around, and she was obviously thinking about something.
Lin Wan was a little speechless and looked at Qiu Siqi, wanting to see what she could ask.
The students nearby obviously smelled the gossip and swarmed over, with mysterious lights flickering in their eyes, as if they knew exactly what questions Qiu Siqi was going to ask.
Lin Wan frowned: "What's the problem?"
The test paper was still in Qiu Siqi's hands. If her questions were too extreme, she could just ask the teacher to resolve the issue and get a new test paper. Even though she had already finished most of the previous one.
"Yesterday I saw you and—"
Qiu Siqi deliberately dragged out the words, her eyes darting around the classmates who gathered around her, trying her best to set the atmosphere, as if the curtain was about to open and the actors were about to appear.
Someone in the crowd immediately responded by knocking on the table, gradually pushing the atmosphere to its highest point.
A round-faced boy was unhappy and spoke up for Lin Wan, "Why don't you just tell me now? Stop keeping people in suspense. If they leave halfway through, it'll lead to misunderstandings."
Lin Wan looked at the boy. Lin Wan knew him. He was Zhou Wangjing's good brother Jiang Yuan, who often asked him math questions.
Lin Wan nodded to express her gratitude. Jiang Yuan scratched his head with his chubby hands and smiled shyly.
"Yuanzi, don't be so disappointing. Doesn't anyone ask?" A girl next to her immediately joined in.
"Yes, that's what I was going to say. Yuanzi, you are really troublesome." Qiu Siqi glanced at Jiang Yuan with dissatisfaction.
Jiang Yuan shrank his neck and suddenly dared not speak.
Qiu Siqi glanced at the students who were listening attentively nearby, and then, satisfied, continued, "I'll just say it straight. I'm a straightforward person, and I won't do anything bewildering."
"What is your relationship with Junior Chen Yu?"
When the question was raised, it was like fireworks blooming in the sky. The students in the class were instantly excited, with whistles, cheers, and clapping of tables one after another.
It was like a sudden celebration broke out. The high school students might have been too suppressed.
Lin Wan was not used to this kind of environment. She frowned. The question was a bit offensive.
For a moment, Lin Wan thought he was a prisoner being interrogated, not a student whose relationship was being gossiped about by his classmates.
She shook her head and held out her hand: "Give me back the paper."
"Hey, no! You haven't answered the question yet!" Qiu Siqi put the test paper in the hands of a male classmate who was farther away from Lin Wan, and quickly gave him a wink.
The male student smiled and shook the test paper in his hand: "Hurry up and tell me."
Amid the cheering crowd, Lin Wan felt for a moment that he should smile as well. It was just a joke between classmates, and it would pass with a smile.
She tried to curl her lips, but failed.
The crowd was still noisy.
"Yes, yes. Tell me, so many people failed in confessing to that Chen Yu, how did you succeed?" She asked with a smile, mixed with subtle malice between girls.
Lin Wan didn't respond to them. She stood up and clenched the pen in her hand. "I don't want to answer this question. Give me back the test paper."
She emphasized her tone and her expression became serious.
Lin Wan never takes the initiative to provoke others, nor does she like to be in the spotlight, but this does not mean that she is a soft persimmon that can be squeezed at will.
Some people noticed her displeasure, suppressed their laughter, and put on human skins, while others continued to make noises fearlessly, as if they were really curious about other people's relationships.
"It's just a joke. Why take it so seriously? It can't be what we think." Jiang Yuan shook his deskmate's shoulders desperately, hoping that he would calm down a little.
But the guy with the flat head seemed to have no idea how to spell the word "restraint" and continued to talk without restraint: "There are so many small hotels over there, it can't be..."
He glanced at Qiu Siqi with a look that you understand, ambiguous and greasy.
The whole room burst into laughter.
Everyone's expression was extremely happy.
"Hey, does anyone have Chen Yu's contact information? I want to ask him for some strategies."
It was getting more and more outrageous. Lin Wan clenched his fists gradually, but the corners of his lips curled up.
She had a tried-and-true method of protecting herself from harm: when she was about to rebel, she would imagine herself as someone else.
That person is fearless, has a strong sense of justice, and can say no to anything that is unbearable and embarrassing.
As long as she immerses herself in such a role, Lin Wan often has infinite power. This power enables her to stand up and is enough to face all the malice alone.
"Raiders, your self-filter is too thick, isn't it?"
Lin Wan scoffed, squinting at the boy. "It's no use making a hundred strategy guides. Listen to me, go home and have a shower. Dreaming is more realistic."
The boy's face flushed red, then turned purple. He stammered awkwardly, "How can you be so disrespectful to your classmates? It was just a joke."
"A joke?" Lin Wan's voice was rich, like the most outstanding stage actor.
The mise-en-scene, the lighting, the opposite actors… everything was perfect.
"I was just joking. Aren't you happy?" Lin Wan asked back.
The boy said nothing, staring at Lin Wan with resentment.
Lin Wan was a little scared, but she forced herself to stand. If she couldn't hold on, those malicious questions would surround her again.
Some people around were whispering that she was overreacting.
Lin Wan got excited and said directly, "If you have the guts, speak up louder. I'd love to hear what others think of me."
The classroom suddenly fell silent. Most of the students looked at each other with innocent expressions, observing the classmates around them, trying to find the real murderer.
No one stood up.
Qiu Siqi immediately came to the rescue: "I was just joking, Lin Daxueba, you're too sensitive. Everyone is just saying whatever they want, don't be so angry."
Lin Wan stared at Qiu Siqi's expression without saying a word, her eyes cold.
Qiu Siqi rolled her eyes at her subtly, and Lin Wan instantly bit her lower lip to hold back her tears.
Past experience tells me that if you show vulnerability at this time, you will become the target of public attack.
Lin Wan opened her eyes wide and glared back at Qiu Siqi.
The sun was so bright that it was blinding, as if there had never been a day in my life where the sun was as blinding as that day.
Qiu Siqi curled her lips, smiling, and said to the boy holding Lin Wan's workbook, "Brother Jian, please give me some face and return the paper to Lin Wan."
She winked at the boy.
The boy called Brother Jian's eyes widened instantly: "You're not willing to answer a question, how pretentious!"
As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Wan with an uneasy look on his face. But at least he returned the test paper to Lin Wan.
Lin Wan finally got back her already wrinkled test paper.
The audience left the theater with regret, and the lead actor Lin Wan won a great victory!
Although no one cared about her victory, only Jiang Yuan came over and patted her on the shoulder.
This was the beginning of her being isolated by the class. Perhaps it cannot be called isolation, it was more of just being ignored.
She seemed to have become transparent. Except for Jiang Yuan saying a few words to her when no one was around, Lin Wan was alone at other times.
This situation was actually not bad. At least it allowed her to remain calm when facing the long, endless night in the UK alone, and laid a solid foundation.
Lin Wan turned over in bed, unable to fall asleep. It was almost dawn outside.
She thought of Chen Yu and his appearance, and felt that this kind of life could last a few more days.
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