She had classes on Monday mornings. As much as Xu Ai did not wish to go back to school, she had no other choice.
She spent Sunday night sleeping at her home. She woke up early on Monday morning and hurried back to school.
Albeit morning hours, she received myriads of looks the second she showed up. She braced herself and entered her classroom. When she sat down, she somehow got even more looks than before, so much that she wished to put a steel helmet over her head. She cursed Su Xuan hundreds and thousands of times while listening in class.
When the bell rang, Violet and Autumn rushed to her side.
Xu Ai covered her head with her face and pretended she didn't know them.
Violet beat her hands away and stared at her with beaming eyes,
"Aiai, is the news for real?"
Xu Ai blinked, "What news?"
"Pfft, don't try me!" Violet hit her head, "You're asking what you already knew!"
"Exactly, tell us now." Autumn urged.
Their questions alerted the students around them. Some people moved closer to join the fun, some people kept a close ear on their conversation when there wasn't any more space to huddle around.
Xu Ai's head ached, "How much tabloid gossip is real? You guys actually believe those?"
Violet was shocked, "Seriously?"
Autumn didn't believe her, "There is no smoke without fire. If it isn't true then it's probably not that fake."
Xu Ai wanted to cover her head with her hands again, but Violet held them down and stared at her. Xu Ai glanced around and realized the students around them were not going to quit without getting some hot gossip from her. She answered vaguely, "I'm not too sure, it's just he went to the hospital with me the other day…"
"To get an abortion?" Violet gasped.
Everyone else around them also gasped.
Xu Ai froze for a second, then smacked Violet's head very hard and scowled at her, "What the hell? He went to visit a patient with me. An old grandma."
Violet's head hurt from the smack so she held her hand to her head, "Aiai, you hit way too hard. I've always been gentle when I hit you."
"That was for the bullcrap!" Xu Ai scared himself. She didn't realize she had the power to deliver a sharp-tongued counter-argument.
Violet felt relieved, "You almost scared me to death…"
"It's good that it wasn't!" Autumn was also relieved, "I knew it, you two had only started dating for a couple of days, why would you get an abortion?"
Xu Ai's face was livid.
"He actually went to the hospital with you to visit a patient, so you two really are boyfriend and girlfriend? It's not just a rumor?" One of their classmates said suddenly.
"Of course they are, or else why would he go with her!" Another classmate chimed in.
"Empyrean's Su Xuan, it's really hard to imagine."
"Yeah, it's Empyrean's Su Xuan, is he super-duper handsome in person?"
…
Xu Ai was bombarded with questions in a short amount of time. She looked at them helplessly.
Naturally, she wouldn't answer any of the questions, such as whether Su Xuan was really her boyfriend. Would anyone believe her even if she said no? She wouldn't answer if he was really handsome in person, either. Would anyone believe her if she said he wasn't?
Time finally passed by amid the chitter-chatter. Everyone went back to their seats unwillingly when the bell rang.
Xu Ai breathed out a long sigh of relief. She reminded herself that the person who sabotaged her was probably sitting languorously in a huge office waiting for time to pass, yet she was drowning in gossip and rumors. She started feeling resentment at the thought of that.
As soon as the second period was over and the bell rang, Xu Ai took her bag and dashed out of the classroom immediately.
Violet and Autumn yelled out her name but she ignored them and left the building.
When she stepped out of the building, another person had come out from another classroom building. He saw her and shouted, "Xu Ai!"
Xu Ai turned her head around and realized it was Zhao Yang. She turned her head back and kept on walking.
Zhao Yang caught up with her and walked with her side by side. "I saw you just as soon as I came out of the building." He was particularly happy.
Xu Ai felt a little blue and didn't want to pay him any attention.
"What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood?" Zhao Yang realized she was silent when he kept on talking and asked cautiously.
Xu Ai let out an "Mm-hmm" under her breath.
Zhao Yang looked at her, "Then tell me about it. I have comedy talents, perhaps I can make you feel instantly better."
Xu Ai came to a sudden stop and stared at him with a serious look on her face, "Can you drop a bomb and blow up the Empyrean Corp?"
Zhao Yang was shocked.
Xu Ai ignored him and kept on walking.
Zhao Yang froze for a little while but then caught up with her again. He snickered and said, "Xu Ai, was that supposed to be a bad joke? I don't have the guts to blow up Empyrean," he stared at her, "Did you get into a fight with Su Xuan? You are thinking about blowing up the Empyrean Corporation."
Xu Ai rolled her eyes.
Zhao Yang finally realized, "Ah, I get it, it's because of the news!"
Xu Ai didn't speak.
"Tsk, tsk," Zhao Yang continued, "Su Xuan sure is ballsy, he can throw away a few billion just like that. After all, he's bloody rich, but he shouldn't throw that much money away even if he's rich. But anyway, a woman's heart is worth a lot more than a few billion. Ah, nope, on top of the commercial values…"
"Nobody would assume you are a mute if you simply keep your mouth shut!" Xu Ai interrupted him aggressively.
Zhao Yang shut up immediately.
"Just stand here and don't move, and don't follow me. Or, you can take the other route." Xu Ai pointed to the side and kept on walking her own way.
Zhao Yang realized that she was on the verge of a breakdown and didn't dare to follow her. He shouted, "Xu Ai, are you not going to eat? The cafeteria is the other way." He was worried that she couldn't even find the cafeteria in that mood.
Xu Ai pretended like she didn't hear that. Did she have the nerve to go to the cafeteria? She would be flayed to death by all those piercing eyes.
Zhao Yang continued to look at her as she headed toward her dorm building. He scratched his head and proceeded to go to the cafeteria. Suddenly, Cheng Yanyan's sarcastic voice came up from behind, "Why, Zhao Yang, you're still chasing after Xu Ai! Her boyfriend is Empyrean's Su Xuan, who can give up a few billion for her. Would she even care about you?"
A startled Zhao Yang turned around to look at Cheng Yanyan in confusion, "Great Beauty Cheng, did you take the wrong meds today? Why are you being so sarcastic?"
Cheng Yanyan's face gradually became livid as she watched Xu Ai walking away, "How am I being sarcastic? I'm simply telling the truth."
Zhao Yang studied Cheng Yanyan carefully. He noticed she had a bad vibe today and her emotions were even more disturbing than Xu Ai's. He wondered, "Are you on your period?"
Cheng Yanyan gave him the dirtiest look possible. She didn't say anything and headed to the dorm building.
Zhao Yang rolled his eyes and made a face behind Cheng Yanyan's back, then he turned around to go to the cafeteria.
Although she had gotten a few looks from people on her way back, she didn't see any familiar faces and didn't have anyone come up to her to gossip. Some people tried to snap a few pictures of her but she ignored them.
Her three roommates have yet to return when she came back to their dorm room. She threw her bag away and laid down on her bed, and began to think how she couldn't survive anymore.
Half an hour later, Violet and Autumn came back with take-out lunches. They put their lunches on the table and hollered at Xu Ai, "Get up and eat something. We knew you didn't want to go to the cafeteria, so we brought you take-outs."
Xu Ai opened her eyes and got up, "You two still have some conscience left. You remembered I'm still hungry after all the crap you've put me through."
Violet burst out in laughter, "I didn't do that on purpose. You said you went to the hospital with Su Xuan, it was a much too sensitive topic."
Xu Ai scoffed.
Autumn pointed at Violet, "Dirty-minded."
"And you're not dirty-minded? Who sprained her ankle and asked a cute guy to carry her back yesterday when we went hiking? The guy was so exhausted that his face turned green." Violet mocked Autumn.
Autumn coughed, then said coyly, "I didn't ask him to carry me."
Violet rolled her eyes, "Then how else were you supposed to come back? Call an ambulance? Even if you did, it wouldn't be able to go up to the narrow mountain trails. You'd probably still be up in the mountains if it weren't for him. You really have no morals for talking about him like that. I'm gonna go tell him."
Then, she pretended to head out the door.
Autumn grabbed her, "You can't get your avenge on just because I have a boyfriend and you don't…"
Xu Ai stopped opening the take-out box when she heard that and asked curiously, "Autumn has a boyfriend now? Who is it?"
"He's a computer science major sophomore. His name is Wu Xiting." Violet answered quickly, "they moved super fast, they were friends before they climbed up the mountain and lovers after they came down the mountain. It's almost like how comrades developed feelings during the Long March."
"What kind of a metaphor is that!" Autumn blushed and punched Violet.
Violet dodged and said, "How was it not like the camaraderie during the Long March? Wu Xiting carried you the entire time, he was exhausted when we came down."
"If a beautiful girl decided to let me carry her down a mountain and be my girlfriend, then I'd agree to it, too," Xu Ai banged her hands against the desk, "this Wu Xiting guy sure has a high EQ!" Suddenly, it hit her, "wait a second, sophomore, he's younger than us? Autumn, are you a cougar?"
Autumn replied immediately, "He's the same age as me, he took a gap year so he's one year behind."
Xu Ai nodded, "in that case, you don't count as a cougar."
"He's a nice guy, but he's got a wack body. He was completely exhausted when we came down the mountains. I heard he didn't even go to class today and slept in his dorm," Violet poked Autumn, "He did it for you. You, as his new girlfriend, should pay him a visit, see if anyone got lunch for him."
Autumn shook her head, "I'm not going."
Violet peered at her, "Careful that he doesn't get worn out, or else your sex life in the future…"
Autumn picked up a pillow to whack Violet. Violet caught the pillow and whacked it back. Those two found themselves in a catfight instantly and made fun of each other.
Xu Ai watched them fight while eating.
After a while, they stopped fighting each other and began to fight for air.
"How come Lil' Wen hasn't come back yet?" Xu Ai looked at the time and Lil' Wen's empty bed, then felt the urge to ask.
"She went home!" Violet said.
Xu Ai was shocked, "She went home? When?"
"I believe she took the flight yesterday afternoon. She's home already." Violet got up and brushed her hair.
"Why?" Xu Ai thought it was strange, "her home isn't near, did she have a family emergency?"
"Nope, she probably just wanted to stay away from He Tao! He Tao got very ill a while ago, and when he recovered, he came back to our building trying to find her. She couldn't stand it and requested an academic break from our school for half a month, then she bought a plane ticket and went home." Violet stood up and poured herself a cup of water, "We didn't see her when we came back from hiking last night. We called her and that's how we know."
"Lil' Wen really didn't have to break up with him, it doesn't matter whether he's going to study abroad or not. He looked so ghastly when we ran into him yesterday, I almost didn't recognize him." Autumn whined, "Lil' Wen is so cruel."
"Exactly, you had to see it to believe it. When we heard she went home yesterday, I thought I should probably tell him to quit waiting on her so I went downstairs to tell him. I didn't even dare to look at him, he was a mess." Violet put her hand on her chest.
Xu Ai sighed. He Tao was indeed a good man, but Lil' Wen didn't do anything wrong, either. Women are seldom rational in love. Lil' Wen, on the other hand, was rational enough to think about the future, as well as all other factors and aspects that could affect the future. She was determined and decisive because she couldn't bear to have the love they had to get worn down till there's nothing left.
Xu Ai supported her after listening to her logic and her thoughts. Or else she wouldn't have gone to the hospital with her.
You can lose love, but you can't lose your dignity.
Gym class was scheduled in the afternoon, but Xu Ai was too lazy to attend. She said she was on her period and asked Violet and Autumn to inform the teacher.
Violet was confused, "I thought your Aunt Flo just went away?"
"Yeah, but she came back again." Xu Ai threw away the take-out box and lied back down on her bed.
Violet was dumbfounded, "Your Aunt Flo actually listens to you, she comes and goes whenever you ask her to."
Autumn covered her stomach with her hands, "Violet, my Aunt Flo is here, too. Help me to get an absence note, please!"
"F**k off! Su Xuan ain't your boyfriend, do you need to hide from the public?" Violet reached over and grabbed her by the arm.
Autumn was bitter, "Even though my boyfriend isn't Su Xuan, but does that mean I won't have to buy lunch for everyone anymore?"
"Ha," Violet laughed, "Of course, you have to. Just this Saturday, then." Then, she dragged her out of the door and told Xu Ai, "Aiai, even though your boyfriend is Su Xuan, but you still have to buy everyone dinner. Pick a date and ask him to invite us for dinner."
Then, they closed the door and walked away.
Xu Ai dragged the blanket over her head and buried herself underneath. Why the hell was Su Xuan omnipresent? Could she also petition for an academic break of half a month?
Just as her mind wandered, her phone started to ring. She reached for her phone and saw Lin Shen's name on the caller ID and immediately decided to ignore his call. But after her phone kept on ringing for a few minutes, she took a deep breath in and picked it up.
She didn't speak. She was waiting for Lin Shen to initiate the talking.
After a long silence, Lin Shen finally opened his mouth, "Why didn't you show up in gym class this afternoon?"
Xu Ai was a little shocked. She had no idea how he knew that. Her nervousness faded away as she asked confusingly, "What's up?"
"Are you in your dorm?" Lin Shen didn't answer her question but asked another question.
Xu Ai bit her bottom lip, "Mm-hmm, I wasn't feeling well so I skipped." Suddenly, she realized there was no point for her to explain herself because it didn't matter to him how she was feeling.
"Why aren't you feeling well? Did you see a doctor?" Lin Shen asked.
Xu Ai coughed, "You know, every month women have… ahem, a few days."
Lin Shen went silent again.
Xu Ai put down her phone and banged her head. In the past, she never would have said those kinds of stuff to Lin Shen, now it is apparent that she is hopeless. Therefore, subconsciously, her brain no longer filtered her words?
"Fine, if you're not feeling well, then forget about it. Give me back my phone another time!" Lin Shen spoke again.
Suddenly, Xu Ai felt the cellphone burning in her hand. She stayed silent for a moment and realized he didn't hang up right away like he used to as soon as he finished talking on the phone. She braced herself, "That phone was manufactured in the stone age, and you can't use it anymore, so what's the point of keeping it? Just get rid of it!"
Lin Shen's voice dropped an octave, "Just give it back to me."
"Well…" Xu Ai didn't want to give it back to him so she tried to search up an excuse, "I feel like..."
Lin Shen didn't wait for her to finish and hung up right away.
Great, she didn't have to try so damned hard to finish the excuse that she was still working on. She stared blankly at her cellphone and realized Lin Shen and her were drifting further and further apart. It didn't matter how hard she tried, she couldn't reach him anymore. Not to mention, she had given up and didn't want to try anymore.
She continued to stare at her phone, and just as she was about to put it down, her phone started ringing again. The two words "Su Xuan" appeared on her phone, making her eyes widen with shock.
Su Xuan?
He still had the guts to call her?
That swept away all the emotions she felt for Lin Shen right away as she answered immediately.