Chapter 3 Bitterness Galore

  Excessive

  As soon as she dragged her tired body into the classroom, Xiao Yi and Zhang Chongyu were already seated. Lan's face, which was originally a bit chubby, had become even more swollen due to Du Hongyi's punch. The noisy crowd in the classroom suddenly stopped, staring at the disheveled girl, Lan could only lower her head and force herself to walk to her seat.

  Xiao Yi hastily took out a boiled egg from her backpack and handed it to Lan Yu, "Quickly take it."

  "I've just eaten, you can have it." Lan shook her head and put down her school bag on the table.

  "Glutton, who told you to eat so much, now go and wipe your fat pig head." Zhang Chongyu said with a smile, pointing at Lan's swollen face with his book.

  Xiao Yi covered her mouth and nodded with a smile, Lan took the egg from her hand and applied it to her face, "Ah-----" The stinging sensation became more intense, her face hurt so much that it scrunched up.

  Zhang Chongyu helplessly threw the book in his hand onto the table, stretched out his hand to help, and said, "What else can you do?" Zhang Chongyu snatched the egg from his hand, pinched the shell to reveal the smooth egg white inside, then lowered his body, carefully wrapped around the swollen face, gently turning the egg. The familiar scent on him was sucked into his lungs, looking at the clean and handsome face close at hand, Lan couldn't help but feel a little shy.

  "Look up," his chin was held by his warm and large hands, Lan Zhi glared at him with a scowl on her face, "What are you looking at? Your face is swollen and you're still acting like a fool."

  Xiao Yi chuckled beside him, "Zhang Chongyu, can't you say something nice for once? Blue is already like this."

  "Is that all you want to do, stir up hatred?" Lan Yu rolled her eyes at Zhang Chongyu.

  Zhang Chongyu smiled and shrugged his shoulders, throwing the egg into the trash can under the table. "Put away your white eyes, it's making me nervous."

  "Cut it out!" Lan slapped the table and stood up, laughing as he tried to dodge Zhang Chongyu's hand reaching out to ruffle his hair.

  "Blue! Someone is looking for you!" A voice came from the entrance.

  The big smile had not yet faded, and the two people's tussle was still stuck in a strange posture. They looked at each other in confusion, looking towards the door, Du Hong stood straight at the classroom door, wearing only a thin red sweater, as eye-catching as his flaxen hair, but his lips were frozen purple, with a slightly sickly handsome look.

  Lan Yu looked at him hesitantly, not daring to take a step forward. He stared back at her without evasion, as more and more people began to gather outside the door. Lan Yu turned around and glanced at Xiao Yi, whose eyes were filled with confusion.

  Lan slowly sat down, opened the textbook placed beside her hand, and tried to make herself look calm.

  "What's going on between you and Du Hongyi?" Xiao Yi's icy hand tightly grasped Lan Caihe's fingers exposed outside the cotton-padded jacket, looking out the door, but Du Hongyi was already gone. The short and stout English teacher walked into the classroom with a stack of lesson plans, "Classmates, let's begin our lesson."

  Today's class was just like what I had expected, nothing sank in. Zhang Chongyu and Xiao Yi also tactfully stopped asking about Du Hongyi, occasionally turning around to borrow a pencil or exchange one or two uninteresting jokes with Xiao Yi.

  "Alright guys, I'll say it. Du Hongyi and I were classmates for six years in elementary school, and he's been chasing me for three years."

  Xiao Yi handed the homework to the class representative and turned around, looking at her, "How come I've never heard you mention it," then smiled faintly, "If I didn't ask you, were you not planning on telling me?"

  "I think it's all in the past now." Tensely looking at Xiao Yi's bitter face.

  "But now Du Hongyi is after me, why didn't you tell me anything? I asked you if you knew Du Hongyi and you said no, I actually believed you." Xiao Yi looked at Lan with a hurt face, then turned away to wipe away her tears.

  "Xiao Yi, no need for this." Zhang Chongyu said in a hoarse voice, he stood up and walked to Xiao Yi's side, squatting down beside her.

  "What's going on here? Are you also bullying me, Zhang Chongyu?" Xiao Yi shook off Zhang Chongyu's outstretched hand, her tears falling like broken threads.

  Lan's heart tightened, feeling a lump in her throat, "Sorry Xiao Yi, if I had known this would hurt you so much, I wouldn't have said it even if you killed me. It's just that Du Hongyi likes you now, and it has nothing to do with who he liked before."

  "Do you think I'm an idiot? I really can't understand why Du Hongyi would like you, and why he likes us two people who are at opposite extremes. And every time you hear me talk about my feelings towards Du Hongyi, you laugh at me as if I'm particularly silly?" Xiao Yi stretched out her hand to grab Lan's arm, her long fingernails digging deep into the flesh of her arm.

  Zhang Chongyu saw Lan's painful expression and hastily stopped Xiao Yi in a low voice, "Xiao Yi! This isn't like you at all! It's not Lan's fault, let go quickly!"

  "Sorry." Lan's line of sight began to blur, the world in front of him became a misty haze, and he didn't know if it was because of the pain from his arm or the sorrow at the bottom of his heart.

  The sharp pressure on her arm suddenly disappeared, leaving a burning pain and the wounds on her face challenging her nerve endings. Wiping away the mist in front of her eyes, Xiao Yi faced Lan Yu, her tears not yet dry, her shocked expression still not retracted, when she was tightly hugged by Zhang Chongyu, his warm palms firmly grasping her hands that had just been clenched into fists.

  "Don't be like this, Xiao Yi!" Zhang Chongyu held her hand and didn't let go.

  Not only Xiao Yi was stunned, but also Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan looked at Zhang Chongyu's downcast eyes in disbelief, he didn't raise his head. Unspoken sorrow surged up, Lan Zhan forced out a smile, "Xiao Yi, at least you still have us."

  Xiao Yi lifted her tear-stained face, and her clear eyes stared into Lan's. "What right do you have? Why does everyone treat you well, when we're such different people? You're not as beautiful or intelligent as me. So why does Zhang Chongyu always buy delicious food for me but ends up sharing it with you? And why did Du Hongyi stop coming to see me because of you? You've taken everything that belongs to me! What more do you want?"

  At this time, the classmates in the classroom heard the sound and looked over here with suspicion. "Sorry to disturb everyone, it's just a small misunderstanding." Zhang Chongyu stood up and sincerely apologized to his classmates.

  Lan looked silently at Xiao Yi's delicate face, which was filled with tears. For the first time when facing her, he felt a sense of alienation and sadness. The sour tears were suppressed in his eyes, reluctant to fall, perhaps not wanting to show weakness at this moment, or perhaps because there was a warm corner in his heart that was slowly freezing. He was stunned and speechless at this moment.