Chapter 14: Pleasant coexistence

In elementary school, boys and girls had always kept to themselves, rarely playing together.

Even if someone wanted to play with the opposite s*x, they would be held back by the gazes of their classmates and wouldn’t dare take the initiative.

Therefore, when a little girl wanted to interact with a little boy, she would usually do it by deliberately provoking him, using this method to gain his attention.

Zhong Yuxiu had a very good upbringing; she wouldn’t resort to such annoying little tricks.

If she wanted to be friends with Lin You, she would express it openly.

Unfortunately, Lin You’s attitude was always one of refusal.

What should she do?

The girl tilted her head, pondering a strategy.

‘She’s probably given up, right?’

Seeing her quiet down, Lin You finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Beyond that, the boy also felt a little ashamed.

She was approaching him with goodwill, wanting to be friends. If it weren’t for the school setting, Lin You would have been more than happy to accept.

But there were too many peers at school. Rejecting Yuxiu was beneficial for both of them.

“Classmate Lin, you just wait!”

Zhong Yuxiu’s pretty face was serious as she made some unknown resolution.

“Huh?”

At this moment, the boy had no idea what trick Yuxiu had up her sleeve.

‘If I just cut my hair a little shorter, I’ll look almost like a boy. He’ll definitely have no reason to refuse being my friend then.’

So this was the solution Zhong Yuxiu had come up with.

‘Goodbye, my dear hair!’

She had beautiful hair that reached her waist, the result of growing it out for a long time.

“What do you want me to wait for?”

Lin You really couldn’t figure it out and couldn’t help but ask.

“You’ll know tomorrow.”

Zhong Yuxiu deliberately kept it a secret. She wanted to give the boy a big surprise.

“Alright.”

Lin You didn’t press the matter further. He quieted down, staring blankly at a small stone on the ground.

Actually, being with his deskmate was more relaxing than being with any other classmate.

If someone else were nearby, the boy would be tense and unable to rest.

“Is there something interesting to see on the ground?”

Zhong Yuxiu copied Lin You, also looking at the ground, but she found it quite boring.

“I’m thinking about something.”

Lin You answered instinctively.

“What are you thinking about? Your mom and dad?”

Zhong Yuxiu was a bit curious if the boy’s parents also had red marks on their faces.

“I don’t want to tell you.”

Lin You was thinking about his grandmother scavenging alone. What if she fell? Without him there to help her up, would she be able to get back on her feet?

These mature and sensitive matters were things the boy would not reveal to an outsider.

“Whoa, Classmate Lin, are you deliberately teasing me?”

Zhong Yuxiu’s heart itched with curiosity, and she pretended to be angry.

“No… By the way, why did you line up behind me? Also, when others say bad things about me, you don’t have to speak up for me.”

One sentence after another, Lin You’s floodgates were finally opened. He wasn’t a natural recluse; he just couldn’t find anyone to talk to.

“You found out?”

Zhong Yuxiu thought she had successfully hidden those things from Lin You, not expecting that he had noticed all along.

“Mhm, I knew.”

Lin You’s emotions were stirring. It was probably gratitude.

In just one short day, Zhong Yuxiu had stood up for him twice.

In the morning, when no one was willing to be his deskmate and he was at his most isolated and helpless, it was the girl who had volunteered to share a desk.

That event was enough for Lin You to remember for a lifetime.

And just a moment ago, when Zhang Chunli spoke ill of him, it was also Zhong Yuxiu who had defended him.

“Because we’re deskmates, so I thought it was fitting to line up behind you, Classmate Lin. Zhang Chunli was so rude. You were clearly learning so seriously and doing so well, much better than her, yet she had the nerve to laugh at you…”

Zhong Yuxiu explained both incidents in detail. When talking about Zhang Chunli’s behavior, the usually quiet girl even clenched her little fists.

After her mother’s educational talk, she knew this was a form of bullying and that she couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

“This Zhang Chunli, she’s your friend, right?”

Lin You remembered seeing his deskmate walking and chatting with Zhang Chunli that morning.

“Not anymore. I don’t associate with rude people like that.”

Yuxiu had long since decided to cut ties with that group of friends.

Her mother had said that one doesn’t need too many friends, and not everyone is worth befriending. One or two close friends are enough.

At first, Yuxiu didn’t quite agree, wanting to make a wide circle of friends.

Now, after witnessing this group of “friends” isolating and mocking the frail Lin You, she had finally come to her senses.

“Oh, I see.”

Hearing that Yuxiu had a falling out with Zhang Chunli, Lin You hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

He really wanted to ask, “Did you break off with Zhang Chunli because of me?”

But that would be too conceited. He was an ugly freak; why would a girl do something like that for him?

“Classmate Lin, do you often go for noodle soup at noon? Me too! My mom often takes me there for hot and sour noodles. They’re super delicious.”

Zhong Yuxiu deeply regretted not greeting her deskmate when she ran into him outside of school.

This was also something her mother had criticized her for after learning about it.

“I eat there once in a while.”

Lin You struggled to answer. He and his grandmother lived a frugal life. If his grandmother hadn’t insisted on celebrating his first day of school today, he wouldn’t have had the chance to run into the girl at the noodle shop.

“Then maybe we can see each other again next time. When we do, I will definitely say hello to you. I was so rude today, I’m sorry.”

Recalling her behavior of ignoring him, Zhong Yuxiu couldn’t hold it in and apologized to the boy face-to-face.

“I didn’t say hello to you either. It’s not your fault.”

Although Lin You was young, he could distinguish right from wrong and couldn’t accept her apology with a clear conscience.

“Then from now on, we’ll greet each other?”

Zhong Yuxiu felt even more that Lin You was different. Some of the boys she knew always felt that it was natural for girls to yield to them. If things didn’t go their way, they would tattle or throw a tantrum.

“Alright!”

With things having reached this point, the boy felt it was fair and readily agreed.

“It’s a promise then. No one is allowed to back out.”

They weren’t friends yet, but it was progress. Zhong Yuxiu felt a great sense of accomplishment.

This joy was even greater than the happiness she felt in the morning when she had made a whole group of “friends” at once.

The girl’s perspective on making friends was also gradually becoming clearer.

Cheap friendships could be shattered by a single word or a piece of candy.

Zhong Yuxiu wanted to find the like-minded friends her mother spoke of, to have a long and steadfast friendship.

A gentle breeze blew past, lifting Lin You’s bangs and stirring the strands of Yuxiu’s hair that fell down her back.

The two would exchange a few words from time to time. They didn’t talk much, but it was more comforting than being with their peers who were running and shouting on the sports field.

In the distance, a circle of little girls.

“Look, Zhong Yuxiu is talking to the red-face. I can’t believe she’s playing with a boy. What a disgrace to us girls.”

Zhang Chunli pointed in Yuxiu’s direction, where the boy and girl under the tree could be seen. She incited the friends around her, her voice laced with resentment.

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