"It was you who were wrong." The voice was soft yet firm, like a fish bone.
You could swallow it, but it would leave you feeling awful, scraping your throat until it bled.
Zhao Mingzhu spun around and shouted angrily, "Who said I was wrong—"
When she saw who had spoken, Zhao Mingzhu's attitude softened considerably. She smiled and said, "Cui Xiaoxin, what did you just say? This has nothing to do with you. Sit down."
Cui Xiaoxin was an excellent student, the top student in her class and the top student in the entire grade. If nothing unexpected happened, she would certainly be able to walk through the gates of Xifeng University.
Zhao Mingzhu liked her. She liked this hardworking and talented young girl.
Most importantly, she was so beautiful that she always reminded Zhao Mingzhu of her younger self.
"Teacher Zhao, I said you were wrong." Dressed in the Fuxing Middle School uniform, Cui Xiaoxin stood ramrod straight and spoke again.
Zhao Mingzhu's expression turned awkward. She said coldly and sternly, "Cui Xiaoxin, sit down."
"Teacher, you need to apologize to Li Mu Yang." Cui Xiaoxin showed no sign of backing down. She said, "This conflict has nothing to do with Li Mu Yang. He was a victim too."
Zhao Mingzhu suspiciously glanced at Cui Xiaoxin, then at Li Mu Yang. With a look of deep anguish, she said, "Cui Xiaoxin, how can you speak up for someone like Li Mu Yang?"
"Teacher, I'm not speaking up for anyone. I'm only saying what I should say—" Cui Xiaoxin's expression was cool and distant. She was not cowed by Zhao Mingzhu's imposing presence. She said, "I'm only saying what I saw. What I saw with my own eyes."
Cui Xiaoxin swept her gaze across the room. Everyone who met her eyes lowered their heads in shame.
"They don't dare speak, so someone has to stand up and say it. Otherwise, right and wrong, black and white, will never be sorted out. Zhang Chen was the one who came over and slapped Li Mu Yang's desk first, disturbing everyone's rest. Li Mu Yang never did anything to Zhang Chen—as for why Zhang Chen was crying, you'll have to ask Zhang Chen yourself."
Zhao Mingzhu fixed Cui Xiaoxin with a blazing stare and said, "Cui Xiaoxin, what's your relationship with Li Mu Yang?"
"We're classmates."
"Student Cui Xiaoxin, you need to be mindful of appearances." Zhao Mingzhu's eyes gleamed with meaning. "After we came back from the lake, someone told me that you and Li Mu Yang were very close. I didn't believe it then—Xiao Xin, Li Mu Yang has already given up on himself. With his current attitude toward studying, it's impossible for him to get into any university. You're different. You're going to Xifeng, the best school in the entire empire. The more critical the moment, the less room there is for even the slightest slackening. The other students are the same."
Zhao Mingzhu waved her hand and said, "Xiao Xin, sit down. Zhang Chen, go back to your seat. Li Mu Yang, go stand at the door as punishment."
"Teacher Zhao—" Cui Xiaoxin still wanted to argue on his behalf.
"Student Cui Xiaoxin." Li Mu Yang spoke up to stop her. He bared his teeth in a grin, pretending not to care in the slightest, and said, "It's fine. I can sleep outside too—class is starting, so I won't disturb everyone's precious time. I hope you all get good results on your exams."
With that, Li Mu Yang walked out of the classroom.
Li Mu Yang was simply that kind of person. He did not want his parents to worry, nor did he want Sinian to take risks, so he never told them when people bullied him.
He did not want Cui Xiaoxin to clash with Zhao Mingzhu because of him, so he could pretend not to care about any of this.
I'm just a pile of rotten mud. How could I affect someone else's future?
When Cui Xiaoxin saw Li Mu Yang give her a brilliant smile, then watched his lonely figure leave under the eyes of the entire class, she suddenly felt an unbearable ache in her heart.
The beginning and end of the matter had nothing to do with her, yet she felt as if she had suffered an enormous grievance herself.
Biting her lip, Cui Xiaoxin shoved her chair aside and ran outside.
"Cui Xiaoxin, what are you doing?" Zhao Mingzhu shouted from behind her.
"I'm going to tutor Li Mu Yang!" Cui Xiaoxin's voice drifted over from a distance.
At Beast-Faced Pavilion, Cui Xiaoxin ordered a cup of Bishui Tea. Li Mu Yang did not look at the menu. He said to the server, "Give me a cup of Bishui Tea too."
Then he crossed his hands on the table and looked brightly at Cui Xiaoxin, who sat across from him.
Even now, Li Mu Yang still could not believe what was happening before his eyes.
The darkest and stupidest "Pig" student in Fuxing Middle School was sitting together with the school goddess, Cui Xiaoxin, drinking Bishui Tea. This was a forbidden fantasy that even his spring dreams of old had never dared touch.
Li Mu Yang looked at Cui Xiaoxin and asked, "You really want to tutor me?"
Cui Xiaoxin raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Mu Yang. "If a person doesn't love himself, how can he hope for others to love him? If a person doesn't respect himself, how could anyone respect him? I know you aren't stupid. From our conversation that day, I know you're very clever—you just need to put in a little more effort. If you stopped sleeping in class, your grades wouldn't be like this, the teacher wouldn't be so prejudiced against you, and your classmates wouldn't think you were dragging them down—"
Li Mu Yang looked at Cui Xiaoxin and asked, "Don't you blame me for dragging the class down?"
"I have." Cui Xiaoxin answered without hesitation. "Several times, our class should have been first in the entire grade, but you dragged down the class average by too much. Otherwise, Teacher Zhao wouldn't have been so angry."
"..."
"Don't you think that, as a boy with no missing limbs or broken legs, and one who's still so young, spending every day muddleheaded and drifting along is incredibly irresponsible?"
Although Cui Xiaoxin was scolding Li Mu Yang and condemning him for refusing to strive upward, Li Mu Yang felt exceptionally happy at that moment. In Cui Xiaoxin's eyes, he saw concern, worry, and burning hope.
He had seen that look countless times in his parents' eyes, and in the eyes of his younger sister, Li Sinian.
At that moment, he saw it in the eyes of a girl who had originally had nothing to do with him.
"I was struck by lightning," Li Mu Yang said.
He decided to confess his experience to Cui Xiaoxin, although telling it made him feel unbearably embarrassed and humiliated. It might even invite ridicule from her.
Cui Xiaoxin's expression froze. Her snow-white face turned red, then purple. Her eyes filled with disappointment as she said angrily, "Li Mu Yang, you really are beyond saving."
After saying that, she prepared to get up and leave.
She was furious—more than that, she was disappointed. When she had chased after him, she had still harbored some hesitation. Now, all that remained was deep regret.
What did it have to do with her that he had been falsely accused and driven out? Why had she meddled in this matter and asked for trouble?
"Cui Xiaoxin, Cui Xiaoxin, you need to be more careful and cautious..."
Li Mu Yang was frantic. He had no idea what he had said or done wrong.
He had only wanted to tell Cui Xiaoxin that he was not unwilling to strive, that he was not content to make no progress, and that he did not want to live in a daze. On the contrary, he wanted to study more than anyone. He wanted to work harder than anyone.
It was just that—just that he had been struck by lightning—
Apart from his younger sister Li Sinian, Li Mu Yang had absolutely no experience interacting with girls his age. What was more, this was the goddess he had secretly admired all along.
Li Mu Yang rose as well and clumsily explained, "Student Cui Xiaoxin, don't misunderstand—I didn't mean that you were a thunderbolt—"
"..."
"No, I mean that what you said wasn't thunderbolt-like at all—"
"..."
The more anxious Li Mu Yang became, the more his explanation angered Cui Xiaoxin.
The angrier Cui Xiaoxin became, the more frantic Li Mu Yang grew.
Cui Xiaoxin had already reached the doorway. She reached out and grasped the brass handle on the door.
As long as she pushed open that great door, Li Mu Yang would never have anything to do with her again.
Just as she had said before.
Li Mu Yang could not bear it, because she was the first—and the only—girl of the opposite sex to care about him in this way.
It was a kind of care different from Li Sinian's.
His sister's was familial affection, while Cui Xiaoxin's was—friendship.
Li Mu Yang desperately wanted this friendship, because he had never had a friend in his entire life.
"Cui Xiaoxin—" Li Mu Yang called out.
Cui Xiaoxin hesitated, but in the end, she turned around and looked back.
Li Mu Yang's throat worked as he panted for breath. Even though he was only saying a few words, his emotions were so intense that he felt utterly exhausted.
He looked into Cui Xiaoxin's eyes. His voice was hoarse, carrying a trace of shyness, and he stammered, "I forgot to say just now—you look really beautiful wearing gardenias."
Before you continue