Chapter 4 Lamentation Land

  Land

  The arrival of New Year's Day brought unprecedented relaxation to students who were surrounded by heavy coursework all year round. The New Year's Eve party is the school's annual highlight, and the school will spend a lot of money on stage design. The students' enthusiasm was also at an all-time high. After multiple discussions, Xiao Yi and the class committee unanimously decided to change the program from dance to a full-class chorus "Tomorrow Will Be Better".

  "I think girls should all wear skirts, this can reflect the gentle side of girls, so we decided to make skirts as the performance attire for the evening party." Xiao Yi stood on the podium with her own design drawings in hand, and her smiling face was always so charming that everyone unknowingly agreed with her suggestion.

  Xiao Yi put away the design drafts with satisfaction, looking forward to the platform below, in a corner of the classroom, Zhang Chongyu was quietly lying on the windowsill, seemingly not paying attention to what he had just said, Xiao Yi felt a little unhappy and retracted his expectant gaze.

  There's a fierce basketball game going on downstairs, and the boy wearing a red jersey is laughing loudly as he freely showcases his youthfulness on the court. It's not hard to see that he has exceptional skills compared to others after just half of the game. For some reason, every time I see him, I feel an inexplicable sense of inferiority. Despite my efforts to improve my external conditions to protect the fragile self-esteem deep within me, whenever he appears, it feels like all my pretenses are seen through by him. His cleverness is like a sharp sword, shining with a mesmerizing light that's exceptionally dangerous. Du Hongyi, what kind of person are you?

  "What's so fascinating? You're completely absorbed." Xiao Yi gently patted Zhang Chongyu's shoulder and also leaned on the windowsill to look down, suddenly she pointed with her index finger at Du Hongyi who was jumping in the crowd, saying: "Huh? Isn't that Du Hongyi wearing a red jersey? Look at his smug expression!"

  Zhang Chongyu stood up and looked at the whirlpool on the girl's head, opening his mouth without speaking.

  Xiao Yi suddenly turned around, her nose hitting the boy's chest, "Ouch!" Xiao Yi rubbed her nose, tears welling up in her eyes. She looked up to scold the boy but fell silent when she saw his expression. Zhang Chongyu's deep eyes were gazing at her quietly, a faint blush on his face.

  Zhang Chongyu coughed awkwardly and looked down at her, "Is your nose okay?"

  "It hurts to death!" Xiao Yi licked her dry lips and shouted at the boy, Zhang Chongyu looked at the girl's angry face, and a smile kept rising on his cheeks.

  The back door of the classroom, Lan looked at the two people in the subtle atmosphere with a difficult expression. The grievances in her heart grew rapidly like bacteria. Her two best friends were developing in the direction she least expected, but the sadness in her heart was always more than hate. In the end, she even felt that she was as humble as the sand grains on the ground, keeping silent about all the pain that hit her body.

  Take a few steps back and lean against the railing in the corridor, staring blankly into the distance. Who says unrequited love is a beautiful thing? It's clearly painful to the point of heart palpitations. Was the last love letter just a prank? How can he act as if nothing happened, while I'm being driven crazy? Turning back to look at the two people fooling around in the classroom, my eyes suddenly welled up with tears. Suddenly, it feels really tough.

  "Idiot! Hey! I'm talking to you, the one with red eyes!" Lan C looked down at Du Hongyi who was jumping up and down on the floor below, waving a red sports jersey in his hand to get her attention.

  "It took you so long to react, and it's true when I say you're an idiot!"

  A sour feeling suddenly surged, Blue's eyes were hot, and tears fell without warning. "Du Hongyi, what are you doing?! Why did you scold me?!" Blue closed her eyes and shouted loudly, just letting herself be willful for once. Du Hongyi, can't you just be a scapegoat one more time?!

  Du Hongyi suddenly realized something was wrong and rushed upstairs, looking at the girl in front of him with tears in her eyes. He panicked and became flustered, "Hey! Not you... why are you crying?"

  "Mind your own business!" Blue hastily wiped away her tears.

  "Alright... I don't care..." Du Hongyi found his own voice had unconsciously weakened.

  Blue? C raised her head and glared at him, "How dare you ignore me?!"

  "I..." Du Hongyi didn't know how to continue the conversation either, his heart was tightly strung.

  "Du Hongyi, you're really annoying, do you know that?"

  "I know." Du Hong smiled softly and stroked her hair, saying, "But you really cry a lot, do you know that?"

  He glared at him with a blue face, puffed up his cheeks and looked like a small balloon.

  "Your face is already chubby and you still dare to puff it up, you really have the courage." Du Hongyi gently poked the girl's puffed-up cheek with his hand.

  "What's wrong with being fat? Do you guys like skinny girls? It's best to have long hair and a sweet smile." As he said this, his mind involuntarily wandered to Xiao Yi.

  "Yeah, right, best if it's a bit white too, haha." Du Hongyi didn't notice the girl's gradually darkening face.

  Blue? She pouted and shook her head, the uncomfortable feeling surged up again. She waved her hand at Du Hong and walked away, "Forget it, you men are all the same."

  Du Hongyi looked at Lan's back in dismay, "I'm afraid she's angry again?"

  Blue's footsteps didn't stop, and she didn't know when she became like this - inferior, petty, and sensitive. The feeling of wanting to escape was unprecedented, with a belly full of grievances that wanted to be spoken but had nowhere to vent, the tears on her face were blown dry and tightly stretched on her face. The evening sun shone obliquely across the campus, the gentle breeze sang softly in her ears, everything was so beautiful, yet it made people feel sad enough to cry. If things could develop in the direction she imagined, that would be great, then she wouldn't have to always think about how to deal with these things, or maybe, she simply couldn't face them at all.