Chapter Seven

  Wang Zhiqiao still ignored Li Hui as usual, and this time Li Hui didn't take the initiative to talk to her either. He didn't even write notes for her anymore. Their relationship went back to how it was in the beginning. Several times they ran into each other in the classroom corridor, but neither of them took the initiative to greet the other. One always kept his head down and immersed himself in his own world, while the other rushed outside as soon as class ended, as if the classroom were a large prison cell that restricted his freedom, making him so eager to breathe in some fresh air from outside.

  No matter how focused Wang Zijiao was on looking at or doing her homework, or doing exercises, her ears could always hear rumors about Li Hui. Even if she didn't want to listen, she could still hear some things about him. Where there are girls, there will always be gossip. This is an eternal truth.

  "I just ran into that new classmate who transferred to our class recently when I was heading back to the classroom."

  "You're talking about Li Hui, right? Where did you see him?" another classmate replied.

  "I saw him at the corner outside, chatting with those big shots from our school. They were laughing and talking, he's really gotten close to them quickly. Amazing, I've been in school for so long and haven't even said a word to them."

  "What's good about him, I heard that in his previous school, he was also mixed with a group of people who didn't like to study and didn't study well, idle all day, fighting and causing trouble. I knew long ago that he wouldn't be studying diligently."

  "It's easy to change the scenery but hard to alter one's nature!" someone sighed.

  His dad transferred him to our school, hoping he could change for the better in a new environment. Don't be like before, muddling along every day.

  "But good times didn't last long, just after a few days of calmness, he started to become his old self again." A classmate sighed.

  "But don't you think those people are so cool, each and every one of them is so free-spirited and uninhibited. Youth should be like that. Full of energy and passion, unlike us who spend every day in the classroom, reading books, reading books... later when we look back on our youth, it's all just books, and there's a sense of disappointment."

  "It's also true that sometimes I envy them, they are always the center of attention wherever they go, laughing loudly and living vibrantly, unlike me, who probably still has classmates who don't know me."

  Wang Zijiao looked at her classmates chatting in front of her, and she also remembered several times when she met him, there were many people around him, both men and women, laughing together at some funny story, a group of people shining brightly in the sunlight. Exuding youthful vitality, anyone passing by couldn't help but take a few glances, even if sometimes they mentioned them with disdain, but couldn't hide their inner envy. That feeling of smiling freely in the sunlight, that kind of carefree spirit. Like flowers blooming under the sun, like wild horses galloping freely on the grasslands, having a joy that greenhouse flowers and domesticated horses could never experience.

  When the bell rang, Li Hui just walked into the classroom from outside and was chatting with the boys in the last few rows. It's hard to tell that he had just arrived, they seemed so familiar. Not everyone has such social skills. His ability to adapt to the environment is very strong, always so confident.

  I'm actually quite envious of them, I'm just withering away in a corner where the sunlight can't reach, growing up in gloom. My whole body is emitting a decaying smell. I've already started rotting from the roots, and on the surface, I'm blooming like other flowers, but only I know how much longer I can hold on. I feel so tired, but no one helps me. She doesn't want anyone to hear her helpless voice, like a weakling's anguished wail.