"Song Chenghao, someone is looking for you outside."
Upon seeing Su Meimei, Song Chenghao thought it was Song Yitang who had sent someone to find him, and the gloom in his heart was swept away.
Su Meimei's tone was affectionate, "Chenghao, what exactly happened to your sister during the winter break?"
"Ever since school started, she's been inexplicably angry with me, and now she looks down on people even more." As she spoke, tears were about to fall again.
"..."
Song Chenghao knew Su Meimei was not a good person, and her friendship with Song Yitang wasn't sincere, she just wanted a lackey.
It looked like the two of them had fallen out.
Song Chenghao felt a sense of relief inside, feeling glad that Song Yitang was finally no longer as weak and easily bullied like their mother.
"It's nothing, do you need something?"
"Really?" Su Meimei still wasn't giving up, and continued to ask, "Then why did her grades improve while you're still the same?"
Su Meimei didn't believe Song Chenghao.
How could the Song's house give all the good stuff to Song Yitang? Clearly, Song Chenghao hadn't told her the truth.
This comment also stabbed at Song Chenghao's pride.
Song Chenghao lifted his gaze, his eyes shining with a cold light, and retorted, "What's it to you?"
"You little brat!"
Indeed, like brother, like sister, both with nasty mouths that were exactly the same!
Su Meimei, frustrated and angry, could only give up and bitterly returned to the classroom.
Song Yitang heard the commotion and looked up to see Su Meimei seething with anger, then she withdrew her gaze and didn't waste any more time.
In order to enter her space without being noticed, Song Yitang had no choice but to get a bed curtain.
She found an excuse saying she needed to rest early because the dormitory lights were too glaring and she couldn't sleep.
Su Meimei, as usual, ridiculed her a few sentences and nobody else said anything.
Song Yitang was on duty today, so she would return late in the evening.
As she passed by the flower beds, she heard sobbing and stopped in her tracks.
"Jiang Chuan, why won't you stand up for me? Look at how badly I've been bullied."
Su Meimei was nestled in Jiang Chuan's arms, lamenting about how well she treated Song Yitang and how ungrateful she was.
Song Yitang, upon recognizing Su Meimei's voice, decisively left.
Other people's gossip could be entertaining, but listening to hers was just a burden on her own heart.
"You've changed, you weren't like this before. You used to care about me the most."
Su Meimei noticed that the boy wasn't listening carefully to her, but was rather distracted.
Jiang Chuan was also very curious about Song Yitang.
"How on earth did her grades improve so much?"
The entire senior year, apart from Su Meimei, everyone wanted to get into a good university, all with their heads sharpened and fighting for a spot.
"So you're that concerned about her, huh?" Su Meimei pouted angrily and then pushed Jiang Chuan away after speaking.
Jiang Chuan, in his haste, quickly grabbed her again, desperately consoling, "Not at all! I just find it really strange. I mean, she used to be not even as good as you."
Someone who wasn't even as good as Su Meimei, a fool, managed to make a comeback to the sixth in the entire year level over a short winter break.
He was filled with curiosity about Song Yitang.
Su Meimei, hearing the implication in his words, got even angrier and made a fuss about returning to the dormitory.
Before Jiang Chuan could even console her, they were interrupted by someone.
"Meimei?"
Cui Pingwei's face was iron blue, his fists clenched tightly; seeing the two of them hugging and cuddling, he felt like his cuckolding was glaringly obvious.
Su Meimei didn't expect to be caught by Cui Pingwei; she hastily pushed Jiang Chuan away, frantically trying to clear up the nature of their relationship.
"No, no, no, Pingwei, you've got it all wrong."
Cui Pingwei's fists cracked, he strode forward, grabbed Jiang Chuan by the collar, and landed a heavy punch on his face.
Jiang Chuan, not knowing why, fell to the ground with a punch. He clutched his face and shouted, "You're crazy, you dare to hit me?"
The two quickly scuffled, neither willing to let the other go.
In the end, a patrolling teacher broke up the fight, and it was only then that the three calmed down, but they were all taken to the dean's office.
The dormitory lights had already been turned off, and Su Meimei had not returned for the night.
When Song Yitang got up in the morning and saw her empty bed, she was amazed at how bold Su Meimei was to the extent that she didn't even return to the dormitory.
The other roommates were curious too, but no one knew her whereabouts.
By the afternoon, Su Meimei returned to the classroom with disheveled hair, a haggard look, and dark circles under her eyes.
Some boys in the class, concerned, asked her, "Su Meimei, what happened to you?"
She just shook her head and didn't speak—her eyes swollen and red, looking particularly like a fragile porcelain doll.
Song Yitang also looked up, and their gazes accidentally met.
Su Meimei suddenly raised her voice and questioned, "Was it you who told?"
"What?"
"Don't you know what?" Su Meimei's voice was also very hoarse.
Song Yitang thought to herself, could it be that she was discovered eavesdropping yesterday? But she hadn't done anything.
"It wasn't me."
Seeing Song Yitang acting like an innocent bystander, Su Meimei's emotions erupted.
She stretched out her hand and swept all of Song Yitang's books off the desk, and that wasn't enough—she also wanted to kick the desk over.
Just as the desk was about to hit Song Yitang, Xue Qing, who had been behind the whole time, quickly pulled Song Yitang up, helping her dodge a calamity.
"You're the only one who knew, why won't you admit it?" Su Meimei yelled, her voice torn with agony.
Song Yitang was startled but still thanked Xue Qing immediately.
"Thank you."
"No problem."
Seeing that something was not right, everyone tried to control Su Meimei, which only made her more agitated.
She broke free and lifted a stool, charging at Song Yitang.
Xue Qing wanted to block for Song Yitang again, but Song Yitang violently pulled him behind her.
She kicked out and hit Su Meimei in the stomach, knocking her down instantly. Su Meimei, in pain, clutched her stomach and rolled on the floor, with the stool landing on herself.
Song Yitang was still not satisfied and glanced back before picking up a nearby stool, ready to smash it down heavily.
The whole class gasped and didn't dare to look at the scene.
Su Meimei also closed her eyes in fear.
"Stop!"
Just a few centimeters from her, Song Yitang's movement halted.
"Try to frame me one more time?"
After she finished speaking, she put the stool down, her eyes filled with a cool glint, and spoke to the person on the floor, "Put my things back the way they were."
The boy who wanted to speak up for Su Meimei, after witnessing the fierce side of Song Yitang, promptly sat back down in his place.
Su Meimei was so scared that she couldn't regain her composure on the floor.
After this incident, even fewer people dared to speak to Song Yitang, all afraid of becoming the second Su Meimei.
Su Meimei, Jiang Chuan, and Cui Pingwei were given disciplinary marks, but the reasons were not expressly stated.
But everyone clearly understood.
Su Meimei's popularity with the opposite sex in the class dropped drastically, and the girls who already disliked her now were even less willing to associate with her.
Feeling happy, Song Yitang caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror while washing up in the morning, and suddenly noticed her skin looked much finer.
She hurriedly wiped the water from her face and looked closely.
Her face, which was originally dull and sallow, now looked much brighter, and the freckles had also diminished by half.
As she was surprised, she discovered the calluses on her palm had also become softer, hardly noticeable without close inspection.
It seemed that those Whitening Pills really were a good thing, but she had already consumed a third of them.
If only she could continue using them in the future!
Happy events boost one's spirits, and Song Yitang could always feel a burning gaze on her during class.
Finally, during one evening self-study session, that person burst out.
"Song Yitang, I want to compete with you."