Chapter 44: Qiao Qing's Radiance

  Before the car accident, Mu You's image in her classmates' minds was that of a gentle and lovely white lily, delicate and weak, easily pushed over.

  After the car accident, Mu You's image in his classmates' minds was that of a strong and silent black rose with excellent grades, mysterious and alluring yet hard to get close to.

  Such a huge contrast in the minds of classmates caused great confusion, and they all secretly speculated that something must have happened to Mu You during the summer vacation to become like this. As time passed, it naturally dissipated, and with Mu You's frequent "absence from class" recently, her presence in the class had thinned out a lot.

  Muyou hadn't noticed the situation in her class, to her, the current campus life was just a buffer, a place where her heart could be quiet, here she could put down all her worries and just be a simple student.

  However, when the long-lost Mu You returned to the class again, she lost even the last bit of joy, because as soon as she walked into the classroom, she suddenly saw Qiao Qing surrounded by people like a moon among stars.

  Her footsteps paused for a moment, and Mu Yu was somewhat unable to react to the situation in front of her. When did Qiao Qing arrive at school?

  Silently looking towards his own position, Cheng Ling was waving at him, with a look of excitement in his eyes.

  "Mu You, you finally came to school. If this continues, I thought you were going to drop out!" Mu You had just walked to her seat when Cheng Ling grabbed her hand and said urgently.

  "What's going on? Qiao Qing, when did you arrive?" Mu You didn't answer but instead asked back, feeling extremely uncomfortable in her heart. The only place where she could rest was now meaningless with her presence!

  Cheng Ling noticed that Mu Yu's mood was not good, so he didn't ask any more questions. He also glanced at Qiao Qing with disdain and said weakly, "She arrived at school a month ago. Mu Yu, I'm not saying you're wrong, but in this whole month, your people haven't appeared in school at all. Now that the semester is ending, what about the final exams if you've missed so many classes?"

  A month? It's been that long already? She herself was so busy with work and other things that she didn't notice, but surely Xiao Han must have known? Mu Yu thought to herself, her brow furrowing tighter.

  "Mei Jie, you can finally come to class!" Amidst her thoughts, Qiao Qing's voice suddenly sounded above her, with a soft tone and a sweet smile, anyone who saw it would think that she had a good relationship with her.

  "Sorry, I'm not familiar with you, please call me Mu You!" Mu You raised her eyes slightly and coldly threw out this sentence, then went back to doing her own thing, completely ignoring her presence.

  Qiao Qing still stood there motionless and speechless, as time passed, some people began to murmur in disapproval.

  "Xiao Qing, is Mu You the neighbor sister who's always been good to you? Are you kidding me? She treats you like this in front of us, how can she be good to you at home?" This loud and slightly sharp voice belonged to Zhao Hong, someone very familiar to Mu You.

  It's indeed true that birds of a feather flock together and people are divided into groups. My own enemies have stood on the same front line so quickly.

  "Xiao Qing, let's not stand here, look at her so arrogant, didn't she just get second place in the mock exam? But you're this time's first! What right does she have to give you attitude?" Another girl also complained on behalf of Qiao Qing.

  "Xiao Qing, are you free this weekend? Let's go out and have some fun!"

  "Hey, it was clearly me who mentioned it to Xiaoyu first, so don't argue with me about it!"

  "Hmph, it was obviously me!"

  As a few people left, the voices discussing also became smaller, but still faintly reached Mu You's side. Mu You didn't react much, but Cheng Ling had already jumped up and couldn't help but want to rush over and scold them!

  "Cheng Ling, what are you doing?" Mu You looked at Cheng Ling with a puzzled expression, truly not understanding the situation, and inadvertently extinguished Cheng Ling's ignited anger.

  "Mu You, aren't you angry?" Cheng Ling was truly stunned, looking at her with a gaze as if she were a strange creature.

  "Why should I be angry?" Mu Yu felt somewhat perplexed.

  "Because of Qiao Qing! She stole your thunder, scoring first in the exam and stunning everyone with a piano performance at the school anniversary celebration, becoming the goddess in many boys' hearts. And she's even better than you..." Cheng Ling said, glancing at Mu You, but didn't continue.

  What she actually meant to say was that Qiao Qing was even more beautiful than Mu You, but just as she said this, she suddenly realized that the current Mu You seemed... even more good-looking than before? Was it an illusion? An illusion! How could someone's appearance change in just over a month without seeing each other?

  "So?" Mu You looked at Cheng Ling with a smile, who was full of righteous indignation, and continued to wait for her next words.

  "So you shouldn't be sad? Angry? Unhappy? It's all because of her, she stole the spotlight. Before, all the boys in our class were so attentive to you, but now look, they're all surrounding her! And even the teacher! Now is extremely fond of her too, I suspect that even you can't compare to her status in the teacher's heart!"

  "Cheng Ling." Mu You listened, only smiled slightly and said in a low voice: "You think it's just these things, do you want to get angry? If I get angry about these things now, then there are only two possible results. One is that I'm like her, we both like being superior. The second is that I'm jealous of her because I can't have what she has. But neither of these applies to me!"

  "Mu You, are you really okay with this?" Cheng Ling still had some concerns.

  "Look, do you think it's that easy to be the center of attention? Men may be infatuated for a moment, but do you really think all girls will like her? The human heart is the most terrifying thing!"

  Looking at Qiao Qing's radiant smile in the distance, Mu You also smiled, with a deep meaning in her eyes.

  In the evening, the dinner table at the Mu's home was quiet.

  Every time this happens, the atmosphere in the Mu family reaches its lowest point, not for any other reason, but because Mu Cheng constantly serves dishes to Qiao Qing and shows concern.

  Nowadays, everyone can see that something is wrong. Several times, Mu You looked at her mother with a worried gaze, but each time, her mother continued eating as if nothing was wrong, seemingly unaware of anything. This made Mu You and Mu Han feel very uneasy, yet they couldn't do anything about it.

  "Uncle Mu, my piano teacher said I can take the level 9 exam now. Can I go sign up in a few days?" A soft voice rose from the dinner table, causing Mu You and Mu Han to pause momentarily.

  "Great! That's great news! Uncle Mu will help you report your name tomorrow, Xiao Qing is really impressive!" Mu Cheng smiled at Qiao Ying in praise, but his eyes sank when he saw Mu You.

  "Mu You, take a look at yourself. What's the difference between you and Xiao Qing? You're always out who-knows-where until late at night!"

  "I'm full!" Mu You heard that and slammed the bowl on the table, then turned around and went upstairs.

  Mujin, do you want to know what I'm doing? I'm doing everything in my power to make you regret it!

  The First Volume When I Was Young and Foolish