Time flew, and two years passed in the blink of an eye.
The once little girl had now blossomed into a charming young woman. Her figure was more graceful, and her demeanor exuded an elegant poise.
If sixteen-year-old Lin Wanwan was a bud waiting to bloom, then eighteen-year-old her was a rose in full splendor, acknowledged as the school belle and many boys' dream girl in the prestigious school.
But Lin Wanwan paid no heed to all this, her heart only had room for two people: her best friend Qu Xinyi, and her beloved uncle, Zhou Shen.
Qu Xinyi was a lively, star-chasing girl, quite obsessed with looks. When Lin Wanwan introduced herself in class, Qu Xinyi's gaze was instantly captivated. She not only chose to sit next to her but also shared various entertainment gossips with her.
Although Lin Wanwan was not interested, she always listened with a smile, never interrupting. Gradually, the two girls became inseparable best friends.
"Xinyi, hurry up, we're going to be late!" Lin Wanwan called anxiously at the school gate.
A girl rushed towards her, "Here, Wanwan, let's go," grabbing Lin Wanwan's hand and running towards the classroom.
"Hey, wait a minute," a gentle and scholarly male voice called from behind.
Qu Xinyi turned to see it was Li Zeyu, the student council president, a year their senior and a prominent figure at school. Handsome, academically excellent, and always polite, he was well-liked by teachers and students alike.
"It's you again, Qu Xinyi. How many times has it been now?" Li Zeyu asked, pretending to be stern.
"Senior, it's not just me, but also Wanwan!" Qu Jiayi panted, grinning as she
pulled Lin Wanwan out from behind, trying to use her as a shield.
"Hello, senior." Lin Wanwan shyly greeted him.
Li Zeyu's gaze fell on Lin Wanwan, and his expression instantly softened. "Wanwan is
here too. Alright, you two hurry to the classroom, don't be late for real."
Qu Xinyi looked at Lin Wan, then at Li Zeyu, thinking to herself: "This is such a gentle
big brother and cute little sister setting. Good-looking guys and beautiful girls really make the best couples."
Qu Xinyi wanted to say something more, but the class bell had already rung, so she had to pull Lin Wanwan and run to the classroom.
As soon as they sat down, Lin Wanwan heard a few girls behind her whispering and mocking her.
"Look at Lin Wanwan just now, pretending to be so pure. I think she just wants to seduce boys, deliberately putting on a pitiful look..."
The girl speaking was Zhang Xuefei, the daughter of the school board director.
She had always considered herself the school beauty, but Lin Wan's appearance instantly stole her limelight. Moreover, Lin Wan was always low-key, so Zhang Xuefei determined that her family background must be ordinary, and kept finding fault with her everywhere.
"Exactly, being so close with the student council president, I bet she wants to marry into a rich family," Zhang Xuefei's follower echoed.
Qu Xinyi couldn't stand it anymore. She turned around and glared at Zhang Xuefei, "Can't you say less? Your mouth is so vicious every day, didn't your mom teach you how to speak?"
As soon as Qu Xinyi said this, the boys who liked Lin Wanwan also couldn't sit still.
"Yeah, say less. I don't know how you can talk so much."
"I bet you're just jealous of Lin Wanwan..."
"Me, jealous of her? You just wait and see, I'll let you see her true colors!" Zhang Xuefei said viciously, her eyes full of malice.
Before she finished speaking, Zhang Xuefei suddenly grabbed a book beside her and threw it hard at Lin Wanwan!
Lin Wanwan didn't dodge in time, and the book hit her face heavily. She cried out in pain, covering her face.
Qu Xinyi immediately stood up, walked to Zhang Xuefei, and slapped her.
"You... you bitch, how dare you hit me," Zhang Xuefei covered her face, trembling.
The next second, she was about to rush over, grab Qu Xinyi's hair, and fight with her.
But Qu Xinyi twisted her arm behind her back and pressed her on the desk.
"Who are you calling a bitch? You're the bitch, and you still want to slander Wanwan."
"I'm telling you, Wanwan has a good temper, but I don't."
"If you piss me off, I'll beat you up in front of the whole school and see what you can do about it."
Zhang Xuefei's face was flushed red, but she didn't dare to refute a single word,
because Qu Xinyi was from one of the three biggest families in B City, and she was the only daughter of the Qu family head, much better than her family.
"Apologize!" Qu Xinyi said sternly, squeezing Zhang Xuefei's arm so hard that she almost crushed her bones.
Zhang Xuefei grimaced in pain, but still stubbornly raised her head and glared at Lin Wanwan, "Why? Why should I apologize to her?"
"You're still asking why?" Qu Xinyi laughed angrily, "You threw a book at Wanwan in front of so many classmates and slandered her. Don't you think these are enough reasons for you to apologize?"
Seeing this, Zhang Xuefei's face turned pale with anger. She didn't expect Qu Xin'an to protect Lin Wan like this, and instantly felt that she had lost all face.
"So... sorry... Lin Wanwan..." Zhang Xuefei reluctantly dropped this sentence, glared at Lin Wan hatefully, turned her head, and ran out of the classroom.
The classmates all expressed sympathy for Lin Wanwan and criticized Zhang Xuefei's behavior. But some of Zhang Xuefei's followers were whispering something, seemingly saying that Lin Wanwan deserved it.
Lin Wanwan covered her face, silently listening to the discussions around her. She felt incredibly wronged and sad, but was powerless to argue anything.
Qu Xinyi looked at Lin Wanwan distressingly and gently patted her back, "Don't be sad anymore, let's go to the infirmary and have a look."
Lin Wanwan nodded and followed Zhang Xin'an out of the classroom.