The teacher waited while the other students were watching the scene unfold. Some were even laughing.
Xu Die also raised her head and looked around. Her classmates looked like they were watching a show. This made Xu Die stop crying. She couldn't cry anymore, but she had to put on a show. She wiped away her tears and began to complain again. "Qian Shuishui, what do you mean by that? I didn't like you before, but I have never caused you trouble for no reason. Most of the time, I just wanted to be quiet. Why did you let the other students isolate me? This is what Lili said. She said that you were the one who made everyone isolate me."
The teacher looked at Lili. "Lili, tell me. There's nothing to be afraid of. Just tell me the truth."
Lili was stunned. What did it have to do with her? She had never said that Qian Shuishui was the one who instigated it. She said in a cold tone, "What? Xu Die, I never said that it was Qian Shuishui who instigated it. As for why you were ostracized, although it was because you always mocked and gossiped about Qian Shuishui, it was really because we disliked your character. I advise you to stop slandering Shuishui. I don't know why, but you still continue to look for trouble. Shuishui didn't even have much to do with you, yet you provoke her and want her to get involved."
When the teacher heard this, she felt troubled. What exactly did Xu Die do?
Shuishui scratched her head. "Xu Die, don't treat everyone like fools. They all have eyes and ears. Everyone clearly saw what you did. They are not saying that they are on my side, but that you are simply lying."
Shuishui didn't want to say anything, but she felt that the matter was getting out of hand. What was going on in Xu Die's mind? Did she really want to make people hate her? People did not only dislike Xu Die, they also loathed her horrid personality. Shuishui didn't think that everyone in the class liked her, but she believed that even if they didn't like her, they had treated her rationally in spite of her cold and indifferent personality. She didn't force everyone to like her, but Xu Die simply wanted to show her that she disliked Shuishui. She was acting up for no reason.
Everyone in the class laughed. Shuishui was brutally frank. Although Xu Die had originally planned for things to turn out in her favor, it was clear she was to blame.
Xu Die heard their laughter and felt very angry. She grasped the pencil tightly in her hand and suddenly threw it at Shuishui.
Shuishui reacted very quickly and dodged it. "You cannot just throw things around. It is a crime to hurt someone with a sharp weapon. Are you so angry after hearing the truth?"
Shuishui helplessly shook her head and smiled. Xu Die's personality was unpredictably scary.
Mu Zilin stood up and knocked his fist on his desk. He said to Xu Die, "Be careful. Did you really just throw a pen at Shuishui? The pen didn't have a lid."
The teacher's expression changed. "Sit down. There's no need to continue talking about this. Xu Die, I think that you should reflect on what you did and not blame it on someone else."
Xu Die ignored her teacher's words and stormed out of the classroom.
Mu Zilin said in an amused tone, "She's really amazing. She ran away just like that."
"Zilin, don't gloat over her misfortune. She's quite pitiful too. Forget it." Shuishui didn't want to say anything more about Xu Die. She thought about her family's situation. She had seen her act that way with her father. Xu Die also engaged in illicit relationships with older men. Shuishui sighed as she recalled how Xu Die behaved around older men. She promised herself she would not talk about it to others and that she would keep it to herself.
Everyone ignored Xu Die's behavior. The teacher proceeded with the lesson awkwardly. The matter was more serious than she had expected, but there was nothing she could do about it.
The others treated this as a farce and didn't take it to heart.
The class went on as usual, but Xu Die didn't return to the classroom for the next few classes. Everyone told the homeroom teacher, and the teacher could only look for Xu Die. They didn't expect her to be so fond of causing trouble.
After school, Shuishui, Zilin, and Mu Qing went to the club event. Shuishui sent a text message to Qian Anzhi: "I'll be back later than usual. I will attend a club event."
Qian Anzhi replied: "Then I'll go buy some daily necessities."
Shuishui had read Anzhi's message when they were already at the club's headquarters.
Mu Zilin was disgusted when he entered the room. "These shelves are so dusty. Aren't they going to clean it up?"
Mu Zilin continued to criticize the place. "It's so basic. How many chairs and tables are there?"
Shuishui tugged at Mu Zilin forcefully. "Don't say too much. If you don't like it, I won't force you to come. All right?"
Zilin sighed. "I'm just teasing you. Why do you care so much about this?" Mu Zilin stay silent afterwards. He did not want to offend others.
The other club members were a little embarrassed because they didn't have time to clean up. As time passed, the bookshelves became very dusty.
"We'll clean it up when we have time. This must be Mu Zilin. Hello, and welcome to the club." The three members began to introduce themselves.
Mu Zilin also introduced himself politely.
When they had discussed the time of the competition and the things to pay attention to, Shuishui generally understood what kind of club it really was. She originally thought that she could just play around as a member. She soon came to realize that she wanted to take it seriously. She wanted to help the club become better. To improve their reputation and to become more prestigious, the club president aimed for joining more competitions to gain prestige. It wasn't really a good strategy, since the club could be dissolved at any time given that it had very few members.
For the school, the Book Club was useless. They though it was simply a waste of space and time.
Of course, Shuishui wasn't obligated to do her best for the club. After all, she had a lot of things to do. She had to take care of her own concerns before she could handle other people's concerns.
That afternoon, Mu Qing was also very proactive. She revealed a little bit of her love for Gao Haiming.
Gao Haiming did not react at all. He always maintained a gentle attitude. Mu Qing always volunteered to do small things for him, such as buying water and cleaning up for him. Gao Haiming did not refuse and was full of gratitude.
However, there was something wrong. Shuishui did not know what exactly. She looked at Gao Haiming and listened to what he said.
"Mu Qing, if it wasn't for you, our club would have been hopeless. Thank you," Gao Haiming said gratefully. He looked at Mu Qing and was full of a sense of accomplishment.
Mu Qing lowered her head and smiled faintly. "That's not the case. Besides, I also quite like reading. Only recently did I discover that a club like this existed."
"Then it's very fortunate that we got to know each other." Gao Haiming smiled, his eyes flickering.
Shuishui finally understood. Gao Haiming felt that Mu Qing was infatuated with him, but he had to pretend that he didn't know.
The corners of Gao Haiming's mouth curled up into a smug smile. 'Little boys. How vain,' Shuishui thought. Of course, Gao Haiming didn't do anything wrong. It was Mu Qing who flirted with him, so Shuishui didn't say anything. Shuishui didn't really like boys like Gao Haiming.
Mu Zilin pushed Shuishui's hand and said in a low voice, "Anyone can see that Mu Qing likes this boy."
Shuishui nodded. "Yes, yes. She has a good impression of him."
Mu Zilin thought that Gao Haiming had average looks and character and was not as good as he imagined. "Oh my god. Like him? He doesn't have looks or talent. I wonder what he has."
"Shuishui, if you want to find a boyfriend, find someone like me!" Mu Zilin said narcissistically.
Shuihui looked disdainful. "You?"
"Don't look at me like that. Aren't I both handsome and warm-hearted? Then tell me, what type do you like?" Mu Zilin's voice was slightly louder, and the others heard it too.
Shuishui giggled and punched Mu Zilin lightly. "Why are you talking with such a loud voice?"
"Aiya, I was wrong." Mu Zilin put on a bitter face and touched his arm. "You've been getting stronger recently. Awesome!"
Gao Haiming looked at Shuishui. "You're so beautiful. You must have a lot of suitors."
"Shuishui is admired by many people, but not one had professed their admiration for her. I don't know why." Mu Qing felt that this was miraculous. She remembered that someone had once taken the initiative to strike up a conversation with Shuishui. However, nothing happened after that. It didn't make sense.
"Someone wrote a love letter to Shuishui. I saw it. I put it away and answered for her," Mu Zilin suddenly said.
Even Shuishui was surprised. "What happened?"
"I arrived quite early that day. I found a love letter in your drawer. When I saw the envelope in your drawer, I picked it up and read it. Shuishui, look, I helped you get rid of it. How great is that? They did not dare to write anymore. No one dared to write anything if word got out. Those who did not know about our friendship thought that I was your boyfriend. Those who knew, did not dare to take the initiative. Besides, you are usually quite cold." Mu Zilin felt that it was obligation to do so as Shuishui's friend.
Shuishui facepalmed. This was really an awkward thing, but it did save her a lot of trouble. It was actually a good favor for her. In that aspect, Zilin was quite good at taking matters into his own hands.
Mu Qing exploded. "So it was you. You shouldn't have. Wouldn't that make Shuishui's high school life very lonely? Would she spend Valentine's Day alone? That would be very sad."
"It's all right. It's not bad to spend it with friends. You don't need to have a boyfriend." Little did they know that Shuishui already had a boyfriend.
"Eh, you win." Mu Qing didn't have much to say because Shuishui herself didn't mind.
Mu Qing knew that Shuishui and Mu Zilin were like that. She couldn't get involved in their affairs. Sometimes, she did mind. However, Shuishui had always been considerate of her feelings.
However, after they all graduate from high school, they would definitely become good friends.
Mu Qing was a very meticulous person. Although she looked carefree, she actually thought a lot. Her former classmates from junior high suddenly invited her to a party. She hadn't gone out with her old friends for half a year. Someone had called her on the morning of the day of the party, but she rejected the invitation because there were too many unhappy memories. Anyway, she didn't have to go. She had new friends, and she was happy to be with them.