Chapter 56

  The bus stop downstairs from the dance studio is always crowded with people. When a bus approaches, those who don't follow rules rush over like crazy, reminding Youyou of her countryside grandmother feeding chickens. As soon as she scatters some rice, the chickens will flap their wings and chirp while gathering around.

  In the crowded bus, bursts of shouting and scolding could be heard from time to time, which was particularly jarring in this lush green summer. A few minutes later, the heavily loaded bus slowly pulled out from the station, emitting a long trail of dirty exhaust like an old man.

  It is in this crude and grand city that farcical and laughable episodes are being staged at all times.

  Youyou stood under the tree, waiting for the bus that came every twenty minutes. A sparse crowd of students wearing school uniforms walked down from the tutoring class upstairs. Youyou saw Du Jiajun and Hua Qizhen in the crowd, and when she thought about avoiding them, it was already too late.

  Huā Qízhēn, with a sly smile, pulled Dù Jiājūn to her side and said in a raised voice, "Hey, Jiājūn, do you still remember that fart bug we used to raise?"

  Du Jiajun said with a knowing smile: "Who are you talking about?"

  "Isn't she just that freeloader? Don't you remember? Every time we go out to eat, drink and have fun, it's always us who pays. She's great, doesn't spend a single cent, yet eats and takes everything. Aren't the handbags on her arm just the trash you didn't want? And isn't that phone one that you sold to her at half price?"

  "Never mind, just consider it a donation to the beggar! Anyway, my family has money, so it doesn't hurt to do some good deeds and help the poor masses."

  Du Jiajun said sarcastically.

  The passengers waiting for the bus cast curious glances, speculating who was the target of the two haughty girls' sarcastic remarks. Most people had already noticed that there was a girl next to them with her head hung very low, a shadow of shame spreading across her face, stretching from her eyebrows to the bridge of her nose.

  The girl's tears fell quietly down her chin and cheeks.

  Huā Qí Zhēn laughed even harder, her mouth painted with bright red lipstick opening wide like a clown's.

  "Oh my, you can't say that! Even if it's charity, it should be given to those poor people who know how to repay kindness! That ungrateful woman, she's always doing bad things behind people's backs and stealing other people's boyfriends..." Then, a string of foul language and insults poured out of her mouth.

  Tears streamed down her face. She couldn't refute it, just like she couldn't change the difficult circumstances of her family that were hard to speak of. She lived in an old and worn-out building; her father always managed to scrape together tuition fees on the last day before the deadline; her brother was always being laughed at by others as a lowlife... These were facts she was powerless to change.

  Tears flowed non-stop, accompanied by shame. The bus slowly drove over from the other side, and Youyou wanted to take out a tissue from her bag to wipe away her tears, so she wouldn't look so pitiful. She didn't want people to find out that she had cried. But as she opened the zipper with trembling hands, the bag slipped out of her grasp and fell to the ground.

  Hua Qizhen quickly picked it up with her quick eyes and hands.

  2

  "Oh no! Jiajun, take a look, this bag seems like the one you threw away."

  Du Jiajun maintained an elegant smile, "That's not necessarily true, maybe someone picked it up from the trash heap, it doesn't have to be mine."

  "But it really does look like that!" Hu Qi Zhen became more and more outrageous, actually opening her bag and dumping everything inside onto the ground. She exaggeratedly shouted like she was counting prisoners: "Ah, Jia Jun, isn't this your cell phone? This is your Ipod, and your makeup mirror too! Geez, all of these are trash you threw away!"

  Du Jiajun didn't make a sound, but coldly smiled. She enjoyed watching Youyou embarrass herself in front of everyone, but this couldn't dispel the anger in her heart. The resentment of being betrayed by friends still burst out at many moments, giving her an evil heart that reveled in deeply hurting others.

  The whole world seemed to have lost its color in front of her. She didn't know what to do, even the instinct to escape was gone, she just stood there, enduring the cold and sarcastic gazes from others.

  "That's enough of your nonsense!"

  Suddenly a voice cut in. Du Jiajun turned her head and saw Cheng Yitian walking over, pulling Hu Qiuzhen away. Hu Qiuzhen covered her sore wrist and returned to Du Jiajun's side with a humph.

  Cheng Yitian picked up the scattered items and put them back in his bag, then turned around to look at Du Jiajun with dissatisfaction. "I didn't expect you to be such a vicious person, fortunately I didn't walk together with you." The disdainful light in his eyes ignited Du Jiajun's resentment.

  Watching Cheng Yitian pull Youyou onto the bus, Du Jiajun clenched her fists tightly.

  The hatred that had been crushed was seeping into her skin.

  She couldn't help but laugh instead. It was a sinister figure watching the bus leave.