Chapter 16: I Want to Blend In, Is That Okay?

  In the evening, I took Cao Na to have a spicy hot pot. Cao Na asked me how my studies were going lately? If I didn't do well on the mid-term exam, then she wouldn't go out to eat or hang out with me anymore.

  This sentence undoubtedly brought a thunderstorm to my mind, recently it can be said that troubles have been constant around me, where do I have the time and energy to 'waste' on learning such trivial things?

  "What's wrong, didn't you study well?" Cao Na asked worriedly, seeing that I looked unhappy.

  I hastily laughed and shook my head, saying: I haven't come to accompany you these few days, just focusing on dealing with the college entrance exam! After finishing speaking, countless grass mud horses galloped through my heart, what about the college entrance exam?!

  Cao Nami smiled and opened her eyes, not bad, thank you for bringing me to eat Wu Dajie's mala hot pot today, every time I'm in a bad mood, I'll come and have a bowl.

  "If you have any more troubles in the future, tell me, don't hide them." I said with a smile.

  "Sun Yunyun" Cao Na stared at me for a while before saying with an unpleasant expression.

  Cao Na continued: "These past few days, I've been feeling that Yun is acting strange. I always feel like she knows about the two of us."

  "It will be known sooner or later" My heart is complicated, but the implicit meaning of Cao Na's words undoubtedly equals acknowledging the relationship between us two. It seems that my efforts for so many days have not been in vain.

  "Sun Yun still likes you, those few days after you broke up, she talked about you every day. Recently, she hasn't mentioned you and I feel uncomfortable." Cao Na said expressionlessly. "Actually, the reason why I accepted your pursuit is largely because of Sun Yun. She used to say how great you are, and I was really envious of her back then."

  "Hehe" I chuckled a bit, looking somewhat amusing.

  I opened my mouth to say to Cao Na, with a hint of grievance "If Sun Yun really liked me, why would she still be together with Liu Gang behind my back? And also..."

  I paused for a moment "And don't you know that Liu Gang and Sun Yunyun have already gone to bed? Don't you know, now you say she likes me, do you think this is funny?"

  "Ah?" Cao Na's mouth dropped open in disbelief "You're saying that Sun Yunyun and Liu Gang slept together, how is this possible?"

  "I saw it with my own eyes, and Sun Yunyun also acknowledged it." I lowered my head and said "I believe that you and Sun Yunyun were together for so long, it's impossible that you didn't know anything about him"

  "Liu Gang is Sun Yunyun's ex-boyfriend, and Liu Gang often came to find her during our junior high school days, you just didn't know about it. Liu Gang threatened Sun Yunyun that if she refused to go out with him at night for dinner or drinks, he would cause trouble for you and break up the two of you. Actually, Sun Yunyun was also forced into it." Cao Na explained on behalf of Sun Yunyun.

  "Coerced? You're too naive, Sun Yunyun has had relationships before, is that something to be ashamed of? Liu Gang just says a couple of words and I'll break up with Sun Yunyun? Let me tell you, Sun Yunyun and Liu Gang must have done something shady in the past, that's why Liu Gang has been threatening her all along." I said coldly. "Alright, let's not mention her again, it's getting more and more unpleasant."

  "Alright, let's not mention it again. There are only a few days left until the college entrance exam. You should do your best then. If you can get into the top ten of our class, I'll give you a reward." Cao Na said with a smile "Let's head back to school now".

  "Wait a minute, what's the reward?" I looked at Cao Na with some expectation.

  "It's no fun if I tell you"

  "Don't tell me, where's my motivation? What if I end up ranking in the top ten and you invite me to eat a bowl of spicy hot pot for six bucks, wouldn't I be losing out?" I pressed Cao Na for an answer.

  "It's definitely not hot pot, I guarantee you'll like it!" Cao Na said with a mysterious tone.

  "Six yuan for a bowl of noodles is also unacceptable!" I said firmly and solemnly.

  When I sent Cao Na back to class, I saw Wang Jian again. Wang Jian and Gao Tianwei were smoking by the window. Gao Tianwei saw me, smiled at me, and waved his hand "Isn't this Li Jie? Come over and chat"

  I originally wanted to leave, after all we are not people who get along, and there's nothing to talk about. But I always feel that if I ignore Gaotianwei, it would be a bit inappropriate.

  In life, sometimes we clearly dislike each other, but still have to smile and greet each other as if they were brothers, constantly asking how the other is doing. This is very common, because we are all hypocritical enough.

  I am like this, how can he be otherwise?

  I smiled and walked up to them, saying, "You two really have the leisure time to smoke here and watch the little couples strolling downstairs!"

  Passersby who don't know us must think we're all good friends.

  "Li Jie, you've been doing pretty well these days, I heard you even recruited some younger brothers and beat up Liu Gang and a few others in the dormitory corridor, how impressive!" Gao Tianwei smiled slyly at me, with a somewhat sinister tone.

  "How could those people be my younger brothers? They were all good friends I knew from junior high school, and we went to the same school. I heard that someone was bullying me, so they helped me out that evening. Who's more awesome, you or Wei Ge? You're the one who's awesome! When I first came to high school, I saw them gather at the back of the cafeteria with so many people, it even startled the school leaders, there were almost a hundred people!" We flattered each other like this.

  Gao Tianwei became our senior in high school after that fight at Cao's place, basically everyone in our grade knew about it, even the bookworms had heard rumors.

  "Haha, alright, I won't beat around the bush with you either. You should know that I'm the big brother of our high school's first year class, it's a well-known fact." Gao Tianwei's face turned serious in an instant, truly faster than flipping through a book. "I know you and Xu Long have met at Cao's place before, I don't want to know what you two talked about, but I must warn you, you'd best not listen to Xu Long's nonsense. Xu Long is ruthless and cunning, doesn't recognize his own family, let alone others, and he's also good at using people."

  "Is Wei Ge scolding me for being stupid?" I dryly smiled "Don't worry, even if I'm stupid again, I won't be used by others as a gun."

  "That's good" Gaotian Wei smiled "What, you come out to mix and don't even give me a greeting? Although you are San Jie's younger brother, this is High School No. 1, even if it's just going through the motions, we have to follow the rules." Although the thugs in our schoolyard are looked down upon by society, there are still many of them.

  For example, each level has a big brother, this big brother is not only the most powerful, but also knows how to handle problems. For instance, when two groups of people are fighting and come to you for mediation, you must make both sides convinced and satisfied, without being too biased.

  People like me who think they can just waltz in and gather followers are usually called flag-bearers. In our circles, you need to get the approval and permission of the big boss; otherwise, you'll have to fight a tough battle to make a name for yourself.

  For example, the later Cao Yu's game created a high-profile Wei.

  Gao Tianwei's words seemed to carry a hint of blame, as if he was indirectly saying: Don't think that just because you have San Jie backing you up, you can be reckless and lawless in high school.

  I smiled and said, "Wei Ge, you also said it, I'm a newcomer, I don't understand anything. Don't newcomers get forgiven for not knowing? So now I'll tell you, I want to slack off in high school, is that okay?"

  I changed "you" to "You", showing my sufficient sincerity.