Chapter 35
As night fell completely, Song Qiuxuan had cried enough. She wiped the tears from between her fingers and on her face. In order not to let Xu Yanzhen notice anything unusual about her, she stood in the corridor and waited for the redness around her eyes to fade.
The lights in the hallway came on.
Song Qiuxuan stared blankly at the ground. Now that she had come to her senses, she felt a pang of regret. She felt that she had been defeated, while Cheng Xun had won decisively.
She should have questioned him, mocked his escapism and cowardice, accused him of the emotional abuse he had inflicted over the past month, and blamed him for provoking her in the first place by stuffing love letters into her bag.
A surge of hatred welled up in Song Qiuxuan's heart.
Back in her bedroom, she took out all the things Cheng Xun had given her and packed them into a cardboard box.
Since Cheng Xun doesn't care, she shouldn't care either.
To appear more resolute, she took a picture and sent it to Cheng Xun, along with a message: "These things were given to me by you, so there's no need to keep them now. I'll return them to you sometime."
Cheng Xun replied quickly this time: You don't need to return it to me, just throw it away.
Song Qiuxuan sat on the bed and laughed self-deprecatingly; she had been defeated once again.
She stood up, pushed the cardboard box under the bed, and her gaze inadvertently fell on the fluffy scarf, causing Song Qiuxuan to pause.
"Liar," Song Qiuxuan cursed Cheng Xun in her heart. Then she found the old paper bag in the room and put the neatly folded scarf inside—she didn't want the scarf to get dusty.
*
During the holiday, Song Qiuxuan made up an excuse to avoid going to the library and instead stayed home to study.
She didn't want to recall any memories related to Cheng Xun, but just being at home made her think of him, so she couldn't go to places where the two of them had left their mark, at least not for the next few days.
Perhaps not wanting Xu Yanzhen to notice her emotional changes and worry, Song Qiuxuan tried her best to maintain her original state in front of her. She used to love to smile, so she always showed a smile in front of her. She used to like to help out in the kitchen, and recently, whenever she saw her busy figure in the kitchen, Song Qiuxuan would go in to help.
He Zhimian was the first to notice something strange. She noticed that Song Qiuxuan often seemed lost in thought while walking. This wouldn't happen if she was chatting with her, but as soon as the surroundings quieted down, Song Qiuxuan's eyes would involuntarily dim, her brows and eyes would seem shrouded in melancholy, and she would look preoccupied.
"Why haven't you and Cheng Xun been talking lately?" He Zhimian's intuition told her that this change was related to Cheng Xun, so when the two of them went downstairs to do exercises together, she asked directly.
Upon hearing the name, Song Qiuxuan paused for a second, then her expression turned somewhat serious: "Our relationship wasn't very good to begin with, so naturally we stopped talking after we were seated separately."
Her tone carried a hint of annoyance, as if that proved her indifference.
Song Qiuxuan didn't want to hide the truth from He Zhimian, but she really didn't know how to talk about their past. It was too ridiculous. Perhaps if she told others, they would also think, "It's too ridiculous. This relationship was simply inexplicable."
The ending was inexplicable.
Song Qiuxuan's mood sombered, and she lowered her eyelashes.
The students on the playground hadn't yet lined up for their exercises, and there was a lot of chattering around them. Just then, a gust of wind swept past Song Qiuxuan, and a tall figure passed by.
She looked up and saw that the person was Cheng Xun.
A sense of panic welled up in Song Qiuxuan's heart. Did he hear the heartless words she had just said?
Cheng Xun was being put on the shoulder by a boy from another class. The wind was strong on the playground, making her hair messy. The boy was laughing and joking, and he leaned down to say something to Cheng Xun, which made Cheng Xun smile.
Looking at his smiling profile, Song Qiuxuan felt a wave of mockery. It seemed he was completely unaffected, had already let go of her, and had returned to his usual indifferent and nonchalant demeanor.
At this moment, Song Qiuxuan hoped he would hear those words, hoping that those words would, at some point, pierce his cold and hard heart.
Before they even reached the area where their class was doing exercises, Song Qiuxuan suddenly stopped. He Zhimian looked in the direction of her gaze with suspicion.
“Actually…” He Zhimian looked at Fang Xun’s back and hesitated before speaking.
"What?" Song Qiuxuan realized she had lost control of her gaze and immediately looked away. She looked at He Zhimian, who seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
Actually, I witnessed Cheng Xun arguing with several girls in the class for your sake. I could tell he was very protective of you. Is your relationship really not that good?
He Zhimian should have said that, but she was a cautious and introverted person who always considered her words carefully. She was worried that she might say something too much or reveal something, so she shook her head and said it was nothing.
*
With two weeks left until the final exams, the class has a tense and intense learning atmosphere.
During the afternoon self-study period, as soon as the bell rang, the students in Class 20 immediately began to study diligently.
Before we could concentrate for more than a few minutes, the loudspeaker suddenly blared twice in the quiet classroom, startling everyone so much that they threw down their pens and complained that the school always did things out of the blue.
Even more unexpectedly, the head of the teaching department announced over the loudspeaker that all students must immediately stop classes and conduct a thorough cleaning of the school because leaders from the Education Bureau would be coming to inspect the school that afternoon.
The class monitor divided the students into two groups: one group stayed in the classroom to clean, and the other group went back to the dormitory to tidy up their belongings.
This matter was rather sudden and urgent. When the class monitor divided the students into two groups, there was no time to distinguish between boarding students and off-campus students, so Song Qiuxuan, an off-campus student, was assigned to the dormitory.
The girls' dormitory is usually kept clean and tidy, so there is basically no need to do much. Simply mopping the floor, wiping the windows, cleaning the doors, and tidying up the clutter piled up by the bed is enough.
After mopping the floor, Song Qiuxuan took the mop to the bathroom to rinse it clean, and then put it on the balcony.
She drank too much water before the self-study class and felt the need to use the restroom. She greeted her roommates and, after receiving their permission, went into the bathroom and locked the door.
Song Qiuxuan had never lived in a dormitory before. After looking around for a while, she awkwardly found the flush switch.
"It takes you this long to go to the bathroom?" Xia Yingjia leaned against the bedpost with her arms crossed, her eyes showing a slight displeasure. The other girls in the dormitory were resting on the lower bunks at this time. Hearing this, they all looked at Song Qiuxuan who came out of the bathroom.
Song Qiuxuan keenly sensed that Xia Yingjia didn't like her very much. She didn't know how her action of delaying for several tens of seconds by looking for the drain switch had offended Xia Yingjia.
"Mm," Song Qiuxuan finally replied, trying to avoid an awkward atmosphere.
"Song Qiuxuan, come and sit down." Seeing this scene, He Zhimian patted her bed and beckoned Song Qiuxuan over.
The girls in Class 20 have two dormitories. The other dormitory is still being cleaned, which is taking longer. Song Qiuxuan thought that her deskmate was in the next dormitory. After sitting for a while, she went out to help.
*
"Finally finished cleaning, I'm exhausted. Can't the school give advance notice next time?" My deskmate exaggeratedly slumped his shoulders, looking like he was working himself to death.
"I also think it's too sudden." Song Qiuxuan followed her to wash the dirty rag.
After completing their assigned tasks, the girls gradually left the dormitory and returned to the classroom.
Song Qiuxuan hung up the rag and went to the next dormitory to find He Zhimian. Just as she reached the door, she heard a commotion coming from the next dormitory.
"It's really painful, a bracelet worth two thousand yuan has disappeared without a trace."
"I was worried I might accidentally scratch it while cleaning, so I hung the bracelet on the hook in the bathroom. How could it have disappeared in just a short while?" Xia Yingjia's voice was full of incomprehension and panic. She kicked open the bathroom door with a bang and then scratched her hair in frustration. "It's really gone."
"Don't worry, think back, did you put it back in your bag or in the closet?"
"Exactly, it wouldn't just disappear for no reason, it wasn't lost on the street."
“If the two thousand yuan bracelet really goes missing, I’ll be worried to death, Xia Yingjia. I understand how you feel.”
"Who went into the bathroom just now?" Xia Yingjia suddenly calmed down, her sharp eyes scanning the girls in the dormitory.
One of the girls hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "He Zhimian, I think I saw you go in just now."
He Zhimian said, "I just went to the balcony to put the basins and buckets back in place; I didn't go inside."
Xia Yingjia said angrily, "Who went into the bathroom?!"
"I remember now, Song Qiuxuan!"
“That’s right, I remember now,” the girl said, guiding the conversation. “Didn’t you notice that she was lurking around inside for quite a while?”
"It really is true!" another girl exclaimed excitedly, as if she had solved a puzzle.
"I knew she was in a hurry to hide in the next dormitory. Turns out she was feeling guilty." Xia Yingjia squinted her eyes in sudden realization.
"Yingjia, what do you plan to do?"
Before Xia Yingjia could respond, there was a knock on the door. Xia Yingjia was annoyed: "Who is it? Just open the door. Do you expect us to personally open the door and welcome you in?"
Song Qiuxuan reached out and pushed open the door. She didn't go in but stood at the doorway, asking He Zhimian if she wanted to go back to the classroom together.
Her appearance silenced the dormitory. Song Qiuxuan looked at her strangely. She had heard some noise outside the door, but she hadn't heard what they were talking about.
He Zhimian sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the girls in the dormitory with complicated expressions. She wondered if Xia Yingjia would tell them to their faces that Song Qiuxuan had stolen her bracelet.
After a few seconds of silence, He Zhimian stood up, lowered her eyes, and walked to Song Qiuxuan's side.
He Zhimian said softly, "Let's go."
On the way back, He Zhimian hesitated for a long time before telling Song Qiuxuan everything that had happened a few minutes earlier.
"Don't tell anyone I told you." He Zhimian felt a little scared when she thought of Xia Yingjia, who was always angry over trivial matters and had an aggressive demeanor.
Song Qiuxuan was stunned. She had gone into the restroom once, and without warning, she was falsely accused of stealing the bracelet.
“Okay, if she doesn’t contact me first, I won’t make a fuss,” Song Qiuxuan replied.
After a thorough cleaning, the classroom was neatly arranged with desks and the blackboard was sparkling clean, making it a pleasant sight.
However, Song Qiuxuan had no interest in observing any of this; she lowered her head and walked back to her seat.
After the class finished cleaning, the homeroom teacher arrived to maintain discipline, and the last class proceeded as scheduled.
Song Qiuxuan was distracted several times, and the teacher couldn't stand it anymore, so she criticized her in front of the whole class.
Xia Yingjia, who was a few rows away from her, laughed gloatingly.
Taking advantage of the break, her deskmate lowered her voice and asked Xia Yingjia, "How do you plan to resolve this? Are you going to confront her face to face?"
Xia Yingjia scoffed lightly: "No rush."
*
"I'm tired of eating around the school, there's really nothing else to eat." Zhao Tonghong put his arm around Liang Shizhe's shoulder, his gaze sweeping over the shops in the alley.
"Hey, Liang Sicheng and Xun, what do you two want to eat?"
Liang Si shrugged: "I don't care. I have to go back to evening self-study later, so I don't have time for a big meal."
Liang Shizhe looked up and patted Cheng Xun on the back: "What are you doing, Cheng Xun, spacing out?"
"Hmm?" Cheng Xun slowly raised his eyes.
Liang Si rolled her eyes speechlessly: "What do you want to eat?"
Cheng Xun said calmly, "Whatever."
Liang Shizhe glanced at Cheng Xun thoughtfully.
In the end, they randomly chose a noodle shop, and the four of them sat around a table, chatting enthusiastically.
Cheng Xun remained silent throughout the entire process. He leaned back in his chair with a calm expression, his head slightly lowered as he fiddled with his phone, exuding an air of composure and aloofness.
After the noodles were served, Liang Si poured in three spoonfuls of chili oil, then stirred it evenly with his chopsticks. He slurped up a couple of mouthfuls of noodles and started talking about the game he played last night. Liang Shizhe and Zhao Tonghong got excited when they heard about the game and started chatting while they ate.
After finishing his noodles, Liang Si's mouth was glistening with red oil. He glanced at Cheng Xun sitting opposite him, frowned, and said with displeasure, "Cheng Xun, why do you look so unhappy? You've been sitting here for half an hour without saying a word. You seem out of place with us!"
Zhao Tonghong continued the conversation, saying, "What's wrong lately? I've noticed you've become less talkative."
Cheng Xun didn't say anything; he put down his chopsticks.
Liang Shizhe, who was used to it, said, "Isn't he always the quietest one among us? And it's only because of your two big mouths that he stands out."
That's true, but it's undeniable that Cheng Xun has changed a bit during this time. In the past, he would occasionally crack a humorous joke, and if he was attacked with words, he would retort with a sharp tongue. Now, if he deliberately says something to you, you'll laugh along if you're in a good mood, but if you're in a bad mood, you'll simply ignore him.
Zhao Tonghong scratched his head and guessed, "I heard you mention before that you wanted to get into the honors class. Are you going crazy because of the upcoming final exams?"
Liang Si shook his head: "Don't even think about it. There's only one top class. If we count fifty people in a class, it's impossible for us to get into the top fifty in the grade. It's just wishful thinking."
Cheng Xun seemed to remember something, his expression froze for a moment, and his voice was somewhat deep: "I just said it casually at the time, I don't have that thought anymore."
The four of them walked out of the alley next to the school. Liang Si and Zhao Tonghong walked in front, while Liang Shizhe followed Cheng Xun a few meters behind them.
Although Liang Shizhe just said that Cheng Xun's personality has always been like this, he is actually the one who knows Cheng Xun's changes the most.
Liang Shizhe initially thought that the fight a while ago had affected Cheng Xun, but when he tried to comfort Cheng Xun from that perspective, he found that Cheng Xun didn't care about the fight at all.
Then Liang Shizhe recalled Cheng Xun's parents' unusual reaction at the police station that night. He guessed that Cheng Xun might have been severely criticized and blamed after returning home, even though Cheng Xun was the victim in that incident from any perspective.
Based on this idea, Liang Shizhe tested Cheng Xun, but Cheng Xun remained silent about anything related to that night. However, Liang Shizhe was still secretly certain that he had been reprimanded.
Cheng Xun wondered if her parents didn't believe in her and if she harbored any resentment towards them.
Liang Shizhe naturally dared not ask this question, mainly because he did not want to touch Cheng Xun's sore spot.
Later, Liang Shizhe accidentally learned about Cheng Xun's breakup, and to his shock, it was Cheng Xun who initiated it. Liang Shizhe could tell that Cheng Xun genuinely liked the girl named Song Qiuxuan, but when he asked Cheng Xun why, he only received the response that they were not suitable for each other.
How could it be unsuitable? Liang Shizhe wondered. Before they were together, Cheng Xun was willing to make changes for him. During that time, she would go to internet cafes to watch online classes, rarely play games, and even drag him to practice badminton. Later, it got even more outrageous; they couldn't even meet up on weekends.
If there's anything truly unsuitable, Cheng Xun will definitely adjust it or back down. He'll insist on changing anything unsuitable to something suitable, just to match his initial fervent affection.
"Are you still heartbroken because of your breakup?" Liang Shizhe asked directly, without beating around the bush.
Cheng Xun paused for a moment before saying, "Who told you I was sad?"
"Stop pretending. I've known you for years, and I know you better than anyone else," Liang Shizhe said definitively. "Your recent state is most likely related to this."
An indescribable emotion flickered in Cheng Xun's dark eyes as he slowly spoke, "I've always been like this."
"Okay, let's not talk about that. Let's talk about the reason you broke up." Liang Shizhe still firmly believes that Cheng Xun concealed the real reason for the breakup, and that the inappropriate wording was just a way to appease him.
Cheng Xun said in a flat tone, "It's not appropriate."
"I don't believe it." Knowing that he wouldn't tell, Liang Shizhe turned to observe Cheng Xun's expression and probed step by step: "Did the homeroom teacher find out that you two are dating and threaten you to break up?"
Seeing the speechless smile on Cheng Xun's face, Liang Shizhe stroked his chin and continued to guess: "Did your parents find out? Or did her parents find out?"
Cheng Xun narrowed her eyes slightly, tilted her head and glanced at him: "Don't make wild guesses."
Liang Shizhe clapped his hands in surprise: "Your reaction means you've really been discovered? Tell me, who is it?"
Cheng Xun turned her head away as if she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him, and stared straight ahead.
Liang Shizhe recalled Cheng Xun saying earlier that he no longer had any intention of getting into the top class. Why was that? He had clearly been studying hard all this time.
Liang Shizhe thought of an impossible guess: "You don't think you're too bad for her, so you broke up with her."
Liang Shizhe dismissed the guess, saying to himself, "But that doesn't make much sense."
After a moment of silence, just as Liang Shizhe was about to continue speculating, Cheng Xun suddenly said out of the blue, "I don't understand why either."
Liang Shizhe looked puzzled and kept asking, "What do you mean? Don't just say half of what you mean, leaving things unclear."
Cheng Xun didn't respond. He quickened his pace and walked towards the school gate, leaving Liang Shizhe no choice but to chase after him.
The winter wind, carrying a biting chill, swept through the alley, making Cheng Xun's ears turn red. He looked up at the pale gray sky.
The unique, opaque, and always grayish sky of winter made Cheng Xun's heart sink, as if a hand was gripping his heart and pulling it down, and his mood gradually declined.
With only two weeks left, after the final exams, he and Song Qiuxuan would be assigned to different classes, and he would no longer be able to see her back whenever he looked up.
Cheng Xun lowered her eyelids dejectedly and entered the school with the flow of students returning one after another.
Liang Shizhe stopped at a small supermarket halfway there to buy a drink, while Cheng Xun walked alone towards the teaching building.
Most diligent students hope to squeeze out more time to study, so they choose to eat dinner hastily between the end of the evening and the beginning of evening self-study, and then rush back to the classroom to study. Therefore, only a few students like Cheng Xun leisurely walk towards the teaching building at this time.
"Can't you watch where you're going?" Cheng Xun had just turned around and stepped into the stairwell when she bumped into a girl walking in a hurry. The girl didn't even look up as she angrily said this.
Cheng Xun stopped silently, his expression indifferent as he lowered his eyelids. He saw the girl crouch down, clutching her forehead where she had been bumped, and searching for something on the ground.
There was indeed a crisp sound of something falling to the ground just now.
Cheng Xun's gaze casually swept across the ground, where he saw a silver bracelet lying at his feet.
Cheng Xun bent down and picked it up. He glanced at it casually as he held it up; it was a bracelet inlaid with stars. He said calmly to the girl who was still anxiously searching, "Is this what you're looking for?"
She looked up at the sound, adjusted her thin-rimmed silver glasses, glanced at the long, slender, pale hand, and said excitedly, "Yes."
It was only then that Cheng Xun saw the girl's face clearly; he recognized her as Xia Yingjia, a female classmate.
Cheng Xun frowned slightly: "It's you?"
Xia Yingjia took her things from his hand. Hearing a slightly deep voice, she looked up and was stunned when she met Cheng Xun's deep eyes.
She suddenly and hurriedly stuffed the bracelet into her pocket, her eyes darting around: "Thank you."
Cheng Xun was puzzled by her reaction, but he didn't show it. He walked past her and up the stairs with a blank expression.
Xia Yingjia breathed a sigh of relief after he left.
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