Chloe and Ellie chatted and laughed all the way, with Chloe saying that once she saved up a bit more money, she would move out of her home and get as far away from that scumbag as possible.
When they reached the entrance, they found a crowd of people in the corridor, some of whom lived on the same floor, and others were unfamiliar faces.
Upon seeing them, some recognized Chloe and began to gossip, with some even pointing at her.
Ugly words mingled in the crowd.
"Her own father died at home, and she's still out there doing who knows what."
"Look at how she's dressed; she doesn't seem like a good girl at all."
"Raising such a big daughter and for what? Her father dies at home, and the daughter is still out having fun."
Ellie was so angry that her grip on the plastic bag tightened. She stood in front of Chloe and said to the crowd, "Have you said enough? Do you know the situation and are just talking nonsense? Is it really good to comment on other people's family affairs so casually? Being adults and gossiping about others right in front of them, do you really feel proud?"
That was the first time in all the years Chloe had known Ellie that she heard her speak so harshly.
The crowd was taken aback by Ellie's words and slunk away.
Chloe couldn't describe how she felt that day.
The home she had always wanted to escape was gone.
James was dead.
She didn't feel sad, not even a single tear. On the day of the funeral, relatives scolded her for being heartless, saying she didn't shed a tear for her own father, calling her a heartless person. Only Chloe knew how much she hated this person and this home.
When her mother was alive, she was somewhat happy. After her mother's death, she lived in complete darkness, with no hope for the future. The drunken verbal abuse and beatings, the wounds that healed and were added to, all took root and rotted in some unknown corner of her heart.
But they would never pass.
He left, leaving her with a pile of debts.
Everyone blamed her, calling her heartless, unfilial, and questioning how their father could have raised such an ungrateful child. Chloe didn't even bother to refute any of these words.
Only Ellie cared for her, holding her as she cried, her face all crumpled: "Chloe, don't be afraid. I'll be there for you from now on. I'll always be by Chloe's side."
It was the first time Ellie saw her being beaten, and she directly called the police. She took her, bruised and injured, back to her home and cried while applying medicine to her wounds.
She felt like she was a pile of shattered fragments, picked up piece by piece by Ellie and put back together.
...
Chloe took out a small box from her bag and handed it to Ellie, saying, "It's a little gift for you. Open it and see if you like it."
Ellie opened the box to find a necklace inside, a silver chain with a small moon pendant.
"Mine is a star, and yours is a moon. I will always revolve around my little moon." Chloe took out the necklace and put it on her.
There can be many stars, but her little moon is only one.
Ellie held the pendant and smiled with her eyes curved: "It's so beautiful, Chloe. I really like it."
Chloe pinched her nose and said, "How are you doing here? Are you adjusting well?"
"It's going well, and my classmates are all very nice. We have our first exam next week."
"I'm not worried about anyone else's studies, just yours." Chloe smiled brilliantly.
She still remembered when she was in the second year of junior high, her homework was so poorly done that she was always criticized by her teacher. Later, Ellie simply did her homework for her, and as a result, she was called to the office.
She thought it was because Ellie, who was in the first year of junior high, made too many mistakes doing second-year questions. However, the teacher placed the homework on the table and said earnestly, "Look, this homework is done quite well, isn't it? Why didn't you do your homework properly before?"
Chloe was somewhat confused on her way back with the homework.
Chloe thought about her illness again, feeling a strong sense of sourness in her heart. Her little one was only seventeen years old and had contracted this disease.
"Chloe?"
"Ah?" Chloe snapped back to reality, meeting Ellie's somewhat puzzled gaze.
"I said, what are you planning to do here, Chloe?"
Chloe smiled and said, "I'm going to work at a studio as a photographer. I can take many, many beautiful photos for you in the future."
"Okay." Ellie smiled at her sweetly.
"Has anyone bullied you here?"
Ellie shook her head seriously and said, "No one bullies me, Chloe."
"You've been out for quite a while. You should go back to class first. I'll come to see you when I have time." Chloe finished speaking and then admonished, "Be sure to take care of your health and don't study too hard."
"I know, Chloe. Be sure to rest at work too."
"Alright, I'm leaving now."
...
When Ellie returned to her class, it was already the third period.
She glanced at the time; there were still half an hour left before the end of the class.
Daniel suddenly turned his head and slyly asked, "Ellie, who was that beautiful woman who just came to see you?"
"She's a very good friend of mine."
Daniel said, "I have a friend who would like to get to know your friend."
Ellie: "?"
Hao Ming turned his head and said to Ellie, "Just ignore him."
Daniel: "..."
There's a curse I don't know if I should say.
William leaned back in his chair, playing a matching game, when he suddenly heard the person next to him speak: "What did they mean just now?"
"Making something out of nothing; he's the one who wants to."
William saw Ellie nod seriously and then withdrew his gaze, focusing again on the game on his phone.
Miss Clark's shoulders ached, and she was going to walk around.
Ellie looked up as Miss Clark came down and then poked William, saying, "The teacher is coming down."
She watched William skillfully hide his phone and then brought her gaze back.
Miss Clark stopped in front of Daniel's desk, frowned, and said, "Daniel, your handwriting... it really has a unique style, as if it has a mind of its own."
"Thank you, teacher."
Miss Clark pointed to his homework and said, "Do you really think I'm praising you? I could take a piece of paper and let a turtle crawl on it, and it would look better than your handwriting."
Daniel replied, "Is the turtle's handwriting fast? I'll let the little turtle do my homework."
"Stop being cheeky. Buy a calligraphy book and practice one page a day. Bring it to my office, and I'll check it every day. The appearance of your exam paper is very important. In Chinese, as long as you write something and your handwriting is neat, you won't get zero points. But with your handwriting, it's hard to say. If there could be negative points, I'd give you negative points."
"Okay."
Miss Clark glanced at William, then turned back to the front and continued sitting at the podium, writing her lesson plan.
William turned his head and looked at Jiang, who was doing homework, and said, "Thanks, little classmate."
Ellie responded, "You're welcome."