Chapter 10: Rong Xuan's Estrangement

  Back home, Mom cooked a lot of her favorite dishes. At the dinner table, although Mom smiled and brought up many topics to chat about, Mo Xi Yu just couldn't muster up any energy.

  Today, Father's words deeply hurt her heart. Getting into college had been Mo Xiuyu's motivation all along, and she had studied hard to defend her life. But today, Father unexpectedly didn't want to let her go to college. From the bottom of her heart, Mo Xiuyu began to drift away from Father and could no longer act spoiled in front of him like before.

  So after dinner, Mo Xi Wu locked herself in her room under the pretext of the upcoming final exams.

  It was a day off, from Saturday night after school to Sunday night self-study. The next day, after lunch, Mo Xi Wu quietly put on his backpack, carrying the new clothes his mother had bought for him. He looked up at this home, which was a rented house with no decent furniture, very simple. In the past, he didn't often see his parents, and their emotional bond wasn't strong either. Now, there was even more estrangement between them.

  Clutching the handbag tightly in her hand, it was filled with warmth. She closed the door and walked to school through the evening fog. The school was not too far from home, but not close either.

  Mo Xi Wu didn't want to go to school so early, so she walked slowly towards the school. As she passed by a barber shop, she stood outside the glass door and looked inside. The glass mirror reflected her appearance, with her face almost hidden under her bangs, and her large glasses frames making her eyes shine brightly.

  Suddenly, the person inside looked over at her, she was startled and immediately turned around to leave hastily. When she arrived at school it was already 3 pm. After returning to the dormitory, Chen Qian had already arrived.

  Chen Qian seemed to have just arrived, and was busy unpacking the things she had brought from home. She saw Mo Xi Wu standing still at the door, not coming in, and stopped what she was doing, looking at her.

  Mo Xi Yu's eyes were sour, she walked to Chen Qian's front, and hugged Chen Qian crying. She wasn't a weak person, on the contrary, she was too stubborn and strong, this was her first time crying in front of someone since she grew up.

  Qian Chen gently patted her back, saw the garment bag in her hand, and without saying a word, she knew that this might be the last straw to crush the camel.

  Mo Xi Yu cried like a child in front of Chen Qian, telling her all the secrets she had been suppressing in her heart: the actual situation at home, what happened yesterday, and the person she couldn't forget, as well as the fundamental reason why she studied hard.

  "Is that what he gave you?" stroking Mo Xi Wu's wrist, which was extended to her, a silver chain wrapped around Mo Xi Wu's slender wrist, visible through her pale skin and connecting with her bluish-colored veins.

  Mo Xi Wu nodded, touching the chain in her hand. It had accompanied her through many a lonely and desolate night, helping her persevere no matter how great the difficulties she faced. With it by her side, Mo Xi Wu could grit her teeth and endure anything.

  After crying and talking, the turbid air that had been pent up in her heart was finally poured out. Mo Xi Yu felt much lighter afterwards. From now on, she would have Chen Qian to share with her the pain of hiding her family background, and she would no longer be fighting alone.

  Before evening self-study, everyone was like old friends who had not seen each other for a long time, talking non-stop. Mo Xi Wu walked through the corridor with his head down, and there were a group of boys standing in the corridor, chatting loudly. Mo Xi Wu heard Rong Xuan's voice, he laughed very loudly, laughed without any restraint, laughed very piercingly, Mo Xi Wu just felt that his laugh was different today.

  She quickly walked past them, Mo Xi Wu returned to the classroom and sat down, lowering her head as if seriously reading a book. In reality, only she herself understood that her mind was not focused, thinking about Rong Xuan's overly exaggerated smile. Was he intentionally smiling like this? What did he want to do again? Didn't they say they were making up?

  She couldn't solve the problem, so she didn't think about it. However, until the end of self-study, Rong Xuan still didn't make a move, which was unthinkable in the past. Mo Xi Wu thought that the agreement must have taken effect, and Rong Xuan, the person she disliked, finally stopped disturbing her. Amidst the celebration, she felt a little lost for some reason.

  Mo Xi wiped away her own contradictory emotions, laughing at herself mockingly. Others didn't come to bother her, but she wasn't used to it; was this what they meant by "guilty" and "worthless"?

  Seeing Chen Qian standing at the door waiting for her, Mo Xi Wu hastily picked up a book and walked towards Chen Qian. As she passed by Jiang Xiangya, she coldly snorted, "What's so great about that."

  Mo Xi Yu's feet came to a sudden stop, Jiang Xue Ya was kind and gentle when interacting with others, her sweet smile left a deep impression on people. What had she ever done to offend Jiang Xue Ya? Why did Jiang Xue Ya want to mock her, looking at her with disdainful eyes?

  Mo Xi Yu pursed her lips and lowered her head, quickly leaving with Chen Qian.

  Another week passed in a daze, and Rong Xuan seemed to have vanished into thin air, no longer bothering her. Even when passing by her, he would take a detour to leave. The classmates were all discussing how Rong Xuan, the top student and arch-nemesis of Mo Xi Wu, was suddenly avoiding Mo Xi Wu like the plague. It seemed that Rong Xuan had finally lost interest in Mo Xi Wu as a plaything.

  Although the rumors were unpleasant, Rong Xuan really disappeared like the rumors said. Mo Xi Wu quietly prepared for the exam, but in recent days, she felt that something was wrong, and couldn't quite put her finger on it. Occasionally, Mo Xi Wu would receive Jiang Xiangya's cold glances and ridicule. Being sensitive as she was, she suddenly thought of a possibility.

  The words spoken at the school gate on the day of the holiday were known to Dad and Mom! Mo Xi Wu's hands were trembling, her head buried, her mind in a mess, thinking of Jiang Xiangya's disdainful eyes, which further confirmed her own thoughts.

  She thought of Chen Qian in a daze and didn't care about others looking at her, for the first time leaving her seat during evening self-study to find Chen Qian.

  Chen Qian was solving a math problem, feeling someone tugging at her clothes. She looked up to see Mo Xi's pale face. Without saying another word, she stood up and told the teacher something, then pulled Mo Xi to an empty corridor. "What happened?"

  "Qian Chen, what's going on? What should I do?" Mo Xi Wu grabbed Qian Chen's hand, "You said someone has already done something to my family, didn't you?"

  In the darkness, Chen Qian's expression couldn't be seen, but her voice was still calm and steady, which also calmed Mo Xi Wu's panicked heart. "No one will know about it," she said. "That day was a rare holiday, you were the last to leave, and it was so late that there was no one at the school gate. If someone really knew, wouldn't something have happened by now? It's already been a week."

  After hearing Chen Qian's words, Mo Xi Wu's hanging heart finally fell to the ground. Thinking about it, it made sense. If someone really knew, she would have been exposed long ago.

  "Maybe it's because the exam is approaching and you're putting too much pressure on yourself, so you're thinking too much."

  Mo Xi Wu felt that Chen Qian's analysis was reasonable. Under Chen Qian's comfort, she returned to the classroom and quietly did her homework.

  Evening self-study wasn't everyone studying hard like Mo Xi Wu, Rong Xuan was listlessly lying on the desk, holding a pen and randomly drawing on paper, his eyes intentionally or unintentionally staring at the front, his heart struggling in pain.

  The fastest and greatest ruler