Zhao Meimei looked at Xu Xu’s serious face in front of her and frowned, "What are you doing? Give me back the book! I was just at a crucial part!"
Xu Xu held the book in his hand, along with the one he was reading: "Meimei, we can’t read anymore, it’s delaying our studies."
Zhao Meimei glared at him, "Hurry and give it to me! You’ve finished it, and I haven’t reached the ending yet!"
Xu Xu lowered his eyelids, "I haven’t reached the ending either."
Zhao Meimei clicked her tongue, "So we need to finish it, aren’t you curious?"
Xu Xu showed a conflicted, hesitant expression, paused, then resolutely said, "We really can’t read it anymore, this thing is addictive, midterms are coming up soon, don’t you want to continue being the class monitor?"
At the mention of class monitor, Zhao Meimei started to hesitate, she blinked twice, looking at the small book in Xu Xu’s hand, murmuring, "It’s not that exaggerated, is it?"
Xu Xu didn’t speak, just stared at her with his big beautiful eyes.
Zhao Meimei lost her confidence being stared at like that, gritted her teeth, and resolutely said, "Alright then, I’ll ask Fatty Girl later, she can only give me spoilers."
After that, Zhao Meimei resumed her diligent study routine with Xu Xu.
Actually, she was smart, as long as she listened attentively in class, she could keep up even without revising at home. However, Zhao Meimei had high expectations of herself; she was already committed as class monitor and couldn’t be easily removed halfway.
During the second class break, Zhao Meimei was eager to catch up on her notes from the previous class, writing intensely. When she looked up, she noticed it was almost time for class, so she hurriedly told Xu Xu, "I’m going to the toilet, if the teacher comes, just say the math teacher called me to the office."
Xu Xu nodded in agreement.
Holding some paper, Zhao Meimei squatted in the toilet. Her family’s electricity had gone out last night, so her mom closed the shop early, and the three of them had barbeque, which upset her stomach from last night.
She hadn’t been squatting long when her legs became numb. She shifted her feet and regretted leaving in such a hurry. She wished she had taken her phone so she could text Brother Yangyang.
Just as her mind was wandering, she suddenly heard a muffled grunt from outside the stall.
Zhao Meimei froze, her ears perked up. She had been squatting for a while, and class had already started. Who could it be at this time?
Before she could think further, a series of urgent footsteps followed, accompanied by a suppressed voice warning: "Get in!"
Bang! A heavy thud followed by a low pleading voice: "Please spare me."
Another female voice sounded, sharp and very low: "Spare you? What did I tell you yesterday? Where’s the money?"
The girl, sniffling and sobbing: "My dad didn’t come home last night, my mom was working overtime, but tomorrow, I’ll definitely bring the money."
"Fine, I’ll trust you this time, but if you don’t bring it tomorrow, see what happens!"
The footsteps grew more distant, gradually disappearing.
After a while, faint sobbing and the rustling of clothes began outside the stall, followed by the sound of running water from the sink. After the water stopped, quicker footsteps were heard.
Outside the partition, everything returned to calm.
Zhao Meimei shifted her completely numb feet, her long eyes wide open. She tried hard to recognize the voices she had just heard; they sounded familiar, but she couldn’t quite remember.
Zhao Meimei returned to the classroom, entered the door, quickly greeted the teacher without saying where she’d been. She knew Xu Xu must have already informed the teacher, waited for the teacher to nod, then jogged back to her seat.
As she walked down the aisle, she heard the teacher say, "Wang Jiayue, please read the third paragraph of this text."
"The rain was pattering down, and the children...."
The soft voice was slightly hoarse, low but clearly forced to suppress a tremor.
Zhao Meimei’s steps suddenly halted, and she turned her head to look incredulously.
Wang Jiayue’s school uniform was wrinkled and looked somewhat dirty. She kept her head down and read silently, her face unseen from the side.
"Meimei!" a classmate softly reminded her.
Zhao Meimei snapped back to her senses, quickly smiled at the kind classmate, and returned to her seat swiftly.
Throughout the lesson, Zhao Meimei was somewhat absent-minded, her peripheral vision involuntarily glancing at Wang Jiayue’s frail figure.
As she watched, Zhao Meimei didn’t even realize she was already in a daze until someone suddenly poked her twice on the back.
An inexplicable surge of annoyance burst within Zhao Meimei, coming quickly and fiercely, she didn’t even have time to think why she felt so irritable.
Zhao Meimei turned her head and glared, caught off guard by Zhang Zhao, and froze.
She turned so quickly, Zhang Zhao’s hand, still on her back, hadn’t withdrawn in time but rather grazed from her back to her arm. It paused before pulling back.
Zhao Meimei cast a sidelong glance with her long eyes, questioning with a look: What?
Zhang Zhao looked directly into her eyes, his gaze very deep and profound, like a piece of pitch-black crystal placed under sunlight. Clearly reflecting many, many things, yet impossible to see through in one look.
Zhang Zhao steadily stared at her, and one side of his mouth gradually lifted into a smile.
Zhao Meimei completely lost her patience, just about to lash out, when she heard the teacher’s voice from afar, "Zhao Meimei! Not paying attention in class, what are you staring at Zhang Zhao for? Is he really that good-looking?"
Zhao Meimei’s body froze suddenly, incredulously staring wide-eyed at Zhang Zhao, only to see him mouthing noiselessly, asking: Am I really that good-looking?
A buzz ran through Zhao Meimei’s head, and she quickly turned back around, standing up from her seat, her face flushed red.
The teacher scolded her, "You’re the class monitor, not setting an example in class, what were you looking back for!"
Zhao Meimei’s thin eyelids lowered slightly, turning quietly a couple of times, and then she looked up at the teacher, "Teacher, I just suddenly realized Zhang Zhao swapped seats!"
As Zhao Meimei’s words fell, three voices sounded simultaneously.
The teacher had clearly just noticed this too, waved for Zhao Meimei to sit down, and immediately turned the focus to Zhang Zhao: "Who told you to change seats?"
Zhang Zhao stood up from his seat. Zhao Meimei slightly turned, glancing from the corner of her eye, feeling like there was a mountain behind her, heavy and particularly imposing.
She withdrew her gaze and accidentally caught Xu Xu; he had a grin on his face, looking schadenfreudely, and as she looked over, Xu Xu grinned at her, showing a set of neat white teeth.
Zhao Meimei couldn’t help it, a smile appeared in her eyes, holding back to avoid the teacher noticing.
She sat down, slightly lowered her head, the corners of her mouth gradually lifted as well, the intense irritation she felt earlier seemed to be extinguished by a splash of water, disappearing completely.