Chapter 1: Warm Eyes (Part 1)

  Autumn in W City is never like the autumn described in books, it's very hot and dry.

  Today is the second month after Donghu High School started, just after the eleventh holiday. The sky was gloomy and overcast, with dark clouds pressing in step by step, like a thousand troops gathered, ready to unleash a disaster at any moment.

  The weather forecast said it would rain heavily today, but it hasn't rained yet.

  The first class of high school didn't turn on the air conditioner, so the classroom felt a bit stuffy and hot. All the classmates were drowsy, but their teacher, Ms. Qin, was speaking enthusiastically from the podium. Tang Sugar stared blankly at Ms. Qin, who looked really beautiful with her curly long hair casually draped over her shoulders. Time had left no deep marks on her face, instead it had settled into a mature and elegant demeanor, just like a bottle of French red wine that had been stored for many years, exuding the rich aroma of age and a profound luster.

  If mom were still alive, it should be like this.

  Tang Sugar thought of this and couldn't help but secretly take a look at the only photo of her mother in the pen holder.

  At this moment, a sudden clap of thunder sounded outside the window, shaking like a landslide, and instantly pulled Tang Sugar's thoughts back. She turned her head to look out the window, where it had unknowingly darkened like night, with strong winds howling, sand and stones flying about, and a torrential rain was approaching. Tang Sugar immediately became restless, constantly shifting in her chair, frowning anxiously as she stared out the window.

  "Tang Su! Stand up for me!" Qin teacher's severe and annoyed voice exploded mercilessly in the classroom.

  Tang Sugar, who was walking in a daze, was startled by the sudden shout and shook all over, hastily withdrawing his gaze. His eyes accidentally met Qin teacher's sharp gaze, which was like a knife, and he felt a chill run down his spine. He lowered his head in embarrassment and stood up shakily.

  Her plump body had already filled the space between her desk and chair to the brim, leaving no gap at all. Now that she stood up, her fat body pushed against the furniture, making it creak and groan loudly. The class erupted in a chorus of snickering and malicious laughter, each sound piercing Tang Sugar's heart like a needle. She felt her face burning with shame, hot and scorching.

  Teacher Qin's gaze never left her chubby round face. To be honest, Tang Sugar's big and clear eyes, slightly upturned lips, and delicate white skin would have made her a beautiful girl if she weren't so fat. Unfortunately, being fat seemed to ruin her looks, making people uncomfortable no matter how they looked at her. Moreover, she wasn't even paying attention in class!

  Even with Qin teacher's good upbringing, there was no way to remain calm at this time. His whole face turned green with rage, and his eyes revealed too many emotions: frustration, disappointment, disgust, annoyance... all of which were negative.

  "What's wrong with you? Your grades are poor, your brain is dull, and you don't listen carefully. You're either spacing out or can't sit still. Is it that my teaching level is too low to attract you, or do you simply not want to study?" Teacher Qin said in exasperation.

  Tang sugar hung her head even lower, she felt that even her ears were getting hot now. If the ground could crack open at this moment, she would definitely dive in and not want to see anyone. She stood alone in the classroom, helplessly accepting the cold arrow-like criticism from the podium until the end of class.

  When she heard the cheerful bell, Tang sugar's tightly strung heartstrings relaxed a little, and her face showed some expression of relief that the suffering was about to end. Her head wasn't lowered as much as before, and she flipped up her eyelids to sneak a peek at Qin teacher's appearance through the gap in her bangs that covered half her face.

  She still looked very angry, her eyes hiding a trace of disgust. "Get out! Stand in the corridor and reflect!" Teacher Qin threw down these words, then huffily gathered up his own lecture notes and walked out of the classroom with lingering anger.

  Tang sugar's heart sank to the bottom, standing still like a statue in its own position.

  A loud slap was suddenly given from behind, and a very unfriendly voice came from the back of the head: "The teacher told you to stand in the corridor as an example, are you deaf?"

  Tang sugar didn't need to turn around to know it was Deputy Monitor Du Juan, who had always looked down on herself.

  Tang sugar was hit by this sudden palm, and his center of gravity became unstable. His fat body stumbled forward, although the table blocked him from falling to the ground, but everything on the table fell to the ground with a crash as the table tilted.

  Tang Sugar was flustered and wanted to get up from her seat to pick it up, but her body was stuck. Her awkwardness immediately triggered a mocking laughter from the whole classroom. Those laughs were like venomous snakes wrapped around her neck, making her feel suffocated. But she tried hard to remain calm.

  "Get out quickly!"

  Another palm came from behind, with even greater force than the previous one, and she was ruthlessly pushed out of the stuck table and chair.

  Tang Sugar's body involuntarily stumbled and fell into a boy's arms, triggering another burst of malicious laughter.

  Someone jeered: "Chen Xiong, beautiful girl in your arms, hold on tight!"

  That boy named Chen Xiong was both embarrassed and annoyed, and with great force, he pushed Tang Su out of his arms, as if eager to get rid of a pile of stinky dog shit.

  "Get out! Fatty!" Chen Xiong shouted loudly at her.

  Tang Sugar felt that his self-esteem was crushed by someone with a large iron hammer, and the sound of shattering echoed in his heart for a long time.

  Her body was like a rubber ball being pushed around randomly, stumbling and bumping into the wall with a "thud", immediately followed by the whole class bursting into laughter.

  Tang Sugar suddenly felt like her eyes were about to burst, she hurriedly bit her lip tightly, biting until it bled, and finally held back her tears. She tried to pretend to be calm, knowing that everyone wanted to see her cry, but she just wouldn't! Wouldn't!

  She dragged her stiff legs and slowly walked to the corridor outside the classroom, standing quietly, not protesting, not crying, or else... it would be even more humiliating!

  It was just after class, and the corridor was bustling with people. As they passed by Tang Sugar, the students whispered to each other in hushed tones, their voices not loud but just audible enough to reach her ears.

  "Look! Liu Hai's fringe covers his entire face, just like Kayako, it's too scary!"

  "Haha, where is there such a fat Sadako?"

  Tang Sugar felt like he had transformed from a human to an animal on display for everyone to see in just one second, feeling extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed, probably even his hair turned red.

  She stood for two classes and finally made it to the end of school, Tang Sugar hurriedly dragged her two sore legs into the classroom. She was worried about something that had fallen on the ground.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, all her stationery had been deliberately trampled on and even her textbooks and exercise books, which couldn't be trampled flat, were covered in dirty footprints.

  But she didn't have time to care about those things, her eyes scanned the entire classroom, and finally, her gaze fell on a corner, where she excitedly rushed over, picked up a photo, the only one left by her mother.