It seemed that the other person hadn't expected Xie Xiao to speak so bluntly, but he didn't get angry; instead, he replied with a voice message, sounding irritable, "What game? I haven't finished my homework, and school starts the day after tomorrow! We can play when I have time later!"
After speaking, he pushed a WeChat contact card along.
[Luo Yanran's WeChat! Even though you were once in the same club, you don't have her contact?]
Xie Xiao sent back a 'thanks, dad' emoticon.
Then he opened the contact card, only to find out that the person was already his friend.
Xie Xiao paused for a moment, entered the chat box, and noticed there was already a chat history...
Only that these records were quite glaring at the moment.
For each new year or festival, including his birthday, she would always send timely wishes, to which he would politely reply with a 'thank you'...
Xie Xiao closed his eyes, which felt a bit sore, suddenly losing the courage even to greet the other person.
Luo Yanran, just how many more little secrets he didn't know about...
Xie Xiao clicked into her Moments.
Meanwhile, Zhou Mianmian reached her home to find her grandmother had already gone to bed.
The old housing complex where she lived was lacking in amenities; even the stairway lights were broken when she went upstairs.
Yan Shi really was as stubborn as a rock, just dropping her off downstairs and then heading back.
At that moment, Zhou Mianmian started thinking about Xie Xiao again; these past few years, Xie Xiao had always made it a point to see her right to her doorstep, regardless of the weather...
After quietly entering her room, Zhou Mianmian took out her phone for a quick look; there were no messages from Xie Xiao.
She threw her phone onto the bed in anger. Xie Xiao was being too much!
She was just thinking that if he apologized, she would have reluctantly forgiven him!
Now she certainly wouldn't bother with him any longer!
She couldn't help but touch the necklace Xie Xiao had given her that evening. This was a model she had seen on her phone from Swarovski, not cheap...
Zhou Mianmian couldn't resist picking up her phone again and posted in her Moments.
[The night is too cold today, I miss you, even though you may already despise me.]
Then she started eagerly waiting for Xie Xiao, but, sadly, until the next day, she still hadn't received any messages from him.
...
...
Lin Yu arrived early on the first day of school and was surprised to find several students, including Xie Xiao, already there.
He exclaimed, "So early today? Not going to pick up your princess?"
Xie Xiao used to be more punctual than the buses at the school gates, braving the rain and wind to escort Zhou Mianmian to and from school every day. Lin Yu had grown accustomed to that, and now seeing him seated so early still felt unusual, prompting him to tease with his words.
Xie Xiao glanced up from his textbook and moved aside to let him in, "Cut out the sarcasm. I brought you breakfast, eat up. The class teacher will be here soon."
Lin Yu looked at the soy milk and pancake on his desk, his expression slightly improving although his tone was still a bit sharp, "My family owns a breakfast shop. Why do you bring me breakfast..."
Despite saying so, he didn't hesitate to eat.
Lin Yu's background was a bit like Zhou Mianmian's, an orphan living with his grandmother. But unlike her, Lin Yu's grandmother was robust and ran a booming breakfast shop.
Lin Yu would help his grandmother sell breakfast almost daily and then rush to school. Probably because he had eaten it too often as a child, he never touched the breakfast from home.
"Don't be greedy," Xie Xiao looked at him and twirled his pen in his hand.
As the class time approached, more students gradually started to arrive.
Lin Yu finished his last bite of pancake and sipped some soy milk before finally looking at Xie Xiao seriously, "What about Zhou Mianmian? Have you really given up on chasing her?"
"I've given up," Xie Xiao said lightly. "Right now, I'm focusing on studying hard for the college entrance exams to contribute to the future construction of our country."
Lin Yu: ...
"Then why did you ask me for Luo Yanran's contact information that night?" He glanced at Xie Xiao, "You can't tell she likes you, can you?"
Xie Xiao stopped twirling his pen and looked at Lin Yu, "You knew?"
"Oh, many people know, except for you who's blinded by ignorance. You forsake a real princess only to worship a fake one…" Lin Yu said mockingly.
Unexpectedly, Xie Xiao was not angry but nodded in agreement, "Isn't it just being blinded?"
Lin Yu: ... Couldn't continue mocking, sincerity is indeed always the ultimate weapon.
The two were still talking when some noise came from the seats in front.
Liu Xiuping, concerned, asked Zhou Mianmian who came in with red eyes, "Mianmian, why did you come so late today? Xie Xiao arrived early."
Zhou Mianmian paused, turning her head with teary eyes towards Xie Xiao in the back seat.
At that moment, he looked up at her with a smile in his eyes, which faded significantly upon seeing her.
And he quickly averted his gaze, saying to Lin Yu, "Give me some face, Big Brother, say less."
Lin Yu snorted and glanced at Zhou Mianmian but eventually said nothing.
Seeing that Xie Xiao had no intention of acknowledging her, Zhou Mianmian's tears began to fall. These past few days, she had been restraining herself from sending messages to Xie Xiao.
She posted on her Moments every day waiting for Xie Xiao to reach out to her, but until this morning when she woke up, there was no message from him.
She finally couldn't hold back anymore and sent Xie Xiao a message, "Xie Xiao, I want to eat pancakes."
The instant she sent it, however, it showed that they were not friends and couldn't chat.
Zhou Mianmian's heart sank—Xie Xiao had deleted her!
With trembling hands, she clicked on Xie Xiao's Moments only to find it completely blank; she couldn't see anything.
The grievances and anger in Zhou Mianmian's heart instantly turned into panic.
She hastily gathered her things and went downstairs, and indeed, that familiar figure was absent.
Xie Xiao had not come…
"Hey, Mianmian, why are you crying?" Yan Shi, who had just come out to greet his crush, couldn't help but call out upon seeing Zhou Mianmian's tears, his voice full of pity as he pulled out a crumpled tissue from his pocket, "What happened?"
His voice was loud, and all the students who had been studying or chatting turned their gaze towards them.
Xie Xiao alone kept his head down, writing the answer he had just figured out on his exercise book.
He had no choice but to lie down for three years, if he didn't try hard he might fail his college entrance exams…
"Xie Xiao, how could you do this?" Zhou Mianmian didn't take Yan Shi's tissue, nor did she mind the glances from others; she knew too well how to evoke pity from others, her tears dropping one by one, her voice trembling, "Why did you delete me?"
Xie Xiao's pen paused, and he finally looked up at her.
That familiar expression of grievance, those injured eyes, as if he had committed some unforgivable crime.
That was how she always stirred his pity before.
But at this moment, Xie Xiao just coldly watched her, "Because I wanted to clear out my friend list, I deleted some unnecessary people."
Unnecessary people.
That phrase turned all the color from Zhou Mianmian's face, "Am I unnecessary?"