When the music festival was wrapping up, this kind of embarrassing misunderstanding happened.
The host, being experienced, imdiately smoothed things over.
"Haha, it seems our Miss Xiao Xiao is very shy, but she must have received everyone's blessings. Now let's see what else the sponsor has to say."
As soon as the words were spoken, Director Bai walked onto the stage, took the microphone, and said flatly:
"Regarding this music festival..."
Jiang Linyuan didn't listen to his boring bureaucratic speech. He turned his head to look at Bai Yi, who was being helped offstage by her mother.
"That Xiao Xiao kid, really, what was she doing at a ti like this!"
Mother Bai said discontentedly, patting Bai Yi's back repeatedly to comfort her.
"It's okay, Yi Yi. When she cos back, I'll make sure she properly apologizes to you."
Bai Yi didn't say anything. She made several calls to Zhang Xiaoxiao, but no one answered.
After a mont of silence, she suddenly said:
"Mom, did I do sothing wrong?"
"How could that be? That kid Xiao Xiao doesn't know what's good for her. You prepared such a big birthday celebration for her, sothing others would envy, but she ran away instead?!"
Mother Bai kept scolding Zhang Xiaoxiao, but Bai Yi didn't want to listen. She looked up at Jiang Linyuan, who was eating snacks and watching the drama, and walked over to him.
"Yi Yi, what are you doing?"
"Mom, I'm going to talk to so friends."
Bai Yi ca to Jiang Linyuan's side, sat down, and looked at Shen Wanyu:
"I'm sorry, I ruined the music festival."
666, you might as well take a hamr and smash the statue of the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus, then go beco the Virgin Mary yourself while Zhang Xiaoxiao plays Jesus.
You can cover for people better than pants pockets, you can shield people better than a bra. Miss Bai, if your dad ever gets into trouble, you'll definitely earn the reputation of placing righteousness above family!
Jiang Linyuan didn't understand where Bai Yi got such a strong sense of responsibility.
Thank goodness Zhang Xiaoxiao was a woman, otherwise Miss Bai would turn into Miss Bai-Jing instead of Bai Yi-Jing.
"I'll go along with you."
After Shen Wanyu said this, she closed her eyes to rest and stopped paying attention to her.
Bai Yi inexplicably felt wronged and looked at Jiang Linyuan:
"Do you think it's my fault too?"
?
The hell, I don't have mind reading powers. How am I supposed to know what you're thinking!
Jiang Linyuan leaned back slightly and said:
"It's not your fault. It's the world's fault. You can go dark now."
How co, whenever this guy opens his mouth, the whole atmosphere turns weird.
Bai Yi was frustrated and ran over to the volunteers, babbling about how her friend had run off and asking if they could help find her.
"Aren't you going to help her?"
Shen Wanyu glanced at Jiang Linyuan with surprise.
?
Why the hell would I help her?
"I an, aren't you going to look for Zhang Xiaoxiao?"
Shen Wanyu, still reading his mind, explained and repeated herself.
Oh, I get it now.
The Departnt Head is asking why I'm not going to swipe the card, isn't she?
That's hilarious. From now on, all my interpersonal relationships will be judged by system ratings, huh?
Xiao Yilin is D-grade, so she can't be my friend, and I can't talk to her. Jiang Zhiyao is a D-grade little useless waste, so she doesn't deserve to be my sister.
The system is a ga, but I also have my own life.
Who is worth my ti and effort to swipe the card for is entirely my own choice.
If Shen Wanyu were the kind of rich girl who treats people like dogs, even if she were an A-Class card, Jiang Linyuan would have already sent her flying, turning the A-Card into an A-rated movie!
The reason he hadn't given up on this conquest despite the difficulty was, on one hand, because they genuinely enjoyed each other's company and she really did treat him as a friend.
On the other hand, he himself had so mischievous intentions.
Even if I never manage to swipe the card in the end, the Departnt Head and I will still be good friends.
Just like good friends with Xiao Yilin, hehe.
"Departnt Head, I'm devoted to you."
Jiang Linyuan said.
Shen Wanyu looked at him, her gaze gradually turning unfriendly:
"Deputy Minister Jiang, I suddenly feel that I've been too kind to you before. It seems I need to find a ti to make you cry until you're a ss."
"Departnt Head, those who love
don't always make
cry tears."
"......I deeply regret eting you, Jiang Linyuan."
......
Zhang Xiaoxiao fled the crowd and arrived at a lakeside with few people around.
The sky was very dark, and the streetlights were quite dim.
She let the cold wind blow over her as she quietly gazed at everything before her. Only this could help her clear her mind.
What now? What should she do next?
"You... your friend is looking for you, Zhang Xiaoxiao."
A timid voice rang out in the darkness.
She turned her head. It was the girl who had beaten her up in the hot pot restaurant bathroom.
"How did you find ?"
She asked.
"I was afraid you might do sothing bad... so I kept... secretly watching you."
Zhang Juntang cautiously approached.
"But... it seems I misunderstood you."
Zhang Xiaoxiao didn't know what to say. Looking at the volunteer vest on her, she said:
"You have a strong sense of justice. It's hard to imagine you're the girl who was being bullied back then."
Zhang Juntang clenched her fists and said uneasily:
"You really do... want to do sothing bad, don't you?"
Zhang Xiaoxiao didn't explain. She simply said:
"Do you know? I was also bullied at school before."
"Oh."
Zhang Juntang blinked, her fist slightly raised:
"But that's not an excuse for you to do bad things. If you're going to do sothing bad, I'll still hit you."
Zhang Xiaoxiao's mouth twitched. Weren't girls supposed to have stronger empathy?
Why did it feel like she was always looking for an excuse to hit her?
Zhang Xiaoxiao sighed and said with a hint of release:
"I'm not making excuses for myself. Because I experienced school bullying, I know even better how terrible my actions were."
She looked up at the sky. It was pitch black. Earlier, she could still see a few stars.
"To do sothing wrong, you have to face the consequences. I've always known that."
"You were bullied two years ago, right? Those thugs..."
"I rember."
Zhang Juntang interrupted her, her tone very firm:
"You're going to say that you didn't directly participate and want
to forgive you?"
Zhang Juntang took a deep breath, stepped forward, and her tone was resolute with no room for negotiation:
"Impossible. You were the reason they had the confidence to do bad things. I've already been very kind to you."
"I only hit you the first ti I saw you, instead of hitting you every ti I see you."
The girl's bright eyes were like a sharp, gleaming knife in the darkness, stabbing painfully into Zhang Xiaoxiao's sight.
How envious.
She rubbed her eyes and let out a low laugh:
"But I never actually led the way for them from start to finish, right? I just let them borrow my reputation."
"I... can't argue with you."
Zhang Juntang raised her fist again:
"But I can beat you."
Suddenly, she felt so exhausted.
Faced with soone who couldn't go three sentences without wanting to hit her, Zhang Xiaoxiao had no energy to continue arguing. Instead, she asked:
"Don't you want to ask why I didn't help them?"
"Because you're a bad person."
Zhang Juntang said seriously.
Zhang Xiaoxiao let out a "pfft" laugh, covering her mouth and smiling:
"Yeah, I'm a bad person. Don't you find it interesting? Those guys who only know how to bully others were tricked by a bluffer like ."
"They groveled at my feet, flattered
with smiles, thinking they'd get sothing good from ."
"They didn't really think I would actually help them, did they?!"
Zhang Xiaoxiao laughed loudly, tears almost streaming from her eyes:
"They're a bunch of parasites! Parasites I tricked into coming to !!"
"Who would save a parasite?"
"Back then, when those guys who helped you got beaten up by that boy and started making a scene, not only did I not help them, I kicked them while they were down!"
"I told Bai Yi about their school bullying. She's that idiot friend I have. Her father is a director."
"As for what happened after that, I don't need to say more."
Looking at Zhang Xiaoxiao's unrestrained smile, Zhang Juntang was stunned and whispered:
"You... are really still a bad person."
"Yes, I am! But if I had Bai Yi's family background, I would be even kinder than her. If I had a savior like yours, I would have an even stronger sense of justice!"
Zhang Xiaoxiao first confird it, but then contradicted herself, her words twisted and awkward.
"But... but your friend, Bai Yi, didn't she save you?"
Zhang Juntang weakly argued back.
"It's different, it's different. It's ultimately different!"
Zhang Xiaoxiao said in a low voice, as if suppressing a scream.
"Your senior was a ray of light for you, but for , Bai Yi is like the sun. She burns
until I'm uncomfortable all over."
"As long as I stand beside her, every move she makes, every word she says, constantly reminds ."
"I'm not the sa kind of person as her. I don't deserve to be her friend."
"I'm insecure! I'm jealous! I want to be her friend, but at the sa ti, I hate my friend."
The evening wind swept across the lake, stirring up ripples, but they quickly cald down again.
Zhang Xiaoxiao paused and then said calmly:
"Later, I stopped doing those boring things. I started to tornt Bai Yi instead."
"In college, I would arbitrarily use her na to arrange etings with the person she secretly liked, then watch her flustered and confused look of embarrassnt."
"When soone confessed to her in a big group, I would deliberately not show up, just to watch her make a fool of herself."
As Zhang Xiaoxiao spoke, a hint of triumphant smile actually appeared on her face.
She laughed with her head held high, yet it was utterly twisted.
Zhang Juntang stared at her blankly and suddenly felt that this bad person was sowhat pitiful.
But a bad person is still a bad person. No matter how pitiful, they are still a bad person.
It was just like when her family sent her to work at a slaughterhouse during the sumr vacation after high school to gain life experience and toughen her up.
Before many animals died, she would feel sorry for them, then cleanly raise her knife and let the blood drain.
Watching them slowly die.
"If you're done talking, you should go back to your friend. She's very worried about you."
Zhang Juntang said, sending a ssage in the group that she had found Zhang Xiaoxiao, so soone could notify Bai Yi.
"Have you sent the ssage?"
Zhang Xiaoxiao suddenly asked.
"Yeah, your friend will be able to find you soon."
Zhang Juntang nodded and put her phone away.
"What's your na?"
Zhang Xiaoxiao asked.
"Zhang... Zhang Juntang."
Zhang Juntang thought for a mont before giving her na.
"I really envy you. You should be just like , actually."
Zhang Xiaoxiao whispered.
"No, I'm not like you! Absolutely not!"
"That's why I envy you."
Zhang Xiaoxiao looked up and suddenly asked:
"When you think about your past experiences of being bullied, do you still cry?"
"No."
Zhang Juntang said.
"Why don't you cry?"
Zhang Xiaoxiao could tell she wasn't lying.
How enviable.
Zhang Juntang's face turned red from holding back. She didn't dare look at her and said softly:
"I still rember, after the senior beat up those people, I looked at him, covered in wounds but still laughing. My heart was frantic, so I asked him why he wasn't crying, didn't it hurt?"
"He said:"
"'If I cry, what if they secretly use my tears as lubricant behind my back?'"
As Zhang Juntang spoke, she gathered her courage and said firmly:
"From that day on, I made up my mind. My tears will only flow for my senior."
Zhang Xiaoxiao: ......
Suddenly, she felt that her own experiences, compared to these two people, were so utterly ordinary.
Forget it, let it be. I'm tired.
She glanced at the ti on her phone and sent her mother a ssage she had edited long ago. Then she turned around and placed her phone on the ground.
Zhang Xiaoxiao faced the lake, gently closed her eyes, and, facing the evening wind, slowly spread her arms, as if embracing the entire world.
"Zhang Juntang, tell , if I had t a boy like that, just like you did, would my life have been different?"
Zhang Juntang didn't understand what she ant, but she still firmly shook her head, about to speak the answer.
"Splash!"
But a sound was faster than her words.
It was the sound of Zhang Xiaoxiao jumping into the lake.
By the ti Zhang Juntang ca to her senses, all she could see were the continuously undulating waves on the lake's surface.
It was only at that mont that she dimly realized a fact.
Zhang Xiaoxiao had jumped into the lake.
.......
When the music festival ended.
Jiang Linyuan was bored, helping to clean up the equipnt on the grass and picking up trash along the way.
Bai Yi, who was sitting nearby, suddenly jumped up, answered a phone call, and cried out in alarm:
"Xiao Xiao jumped into the lake?!"
Huh? Jumped into the lake? Xingnan doesn't raise swans, so it's raising water ghosts now.
Jiang Linyuan was stunned when he heard the sound, then quickly reacted.
Holy shit! Jumped into the lake?!
Shen Wanyu, standing next to him, also showed a surprised expression.
The two exchanged glances and quickly walked over to Bai Yi, listening to her frantic voice.
"Where's the location? The artificial lake? I know it! The lake is huge! Which specific spot!?"
"The location! Send the location quickly! Call the police! Have you contacted the campus security office?"
"Is anyone with her?!"
Bai Yi was on the phone, constantly asking for detailed information while starting to sprint, tears streaming down her face.
At the sa ti, Jiang Linyuan also received a ssage from Zhang Juntang.
The two had exchanged contact info during that Truth or Dare ga at the hot pot restaurant.
[Juntang]: Senior! Zhang Xiaoxiao jumped into the lake! I'm sending you the address! I can't swim! I'm looking for help nearby! Hurry up and notify more people!
She typed a lot of words in one breath, clearly indicating the urgency of the situation.
How was this related to that crazy little Juntang?!
Jiang Linyuan imdiately rushed towards the location indicated, contacting the campus security office on the way:
"Soone has fallen into the water! The location is the artificial lake, near the south entrance! What do you an I need to be more specific?! Just send people over first!"
Damn it, was Zhang Xiaoxiao out of her mind? She couldn't pick a better place to die than Xingnan?
Damn it, it's my favorite artificial lake!
Wait, I rember she said on Purple Mountain that she once jumped in to save Bai Yi. She knows how to swim!
Shit!
Jiang Linyuan slowed down, and behind him ca a sobbing, breathless cry:
"Why are you stopping! Run faster! Xiao Xiao fell into the water?!"
He turned around. It was Bai Yi.
"She can swim! She did it on purpose! Disgusting!"
Jiang Linyuan shouted back forcefully.
"How is that possible! How is that possible!"
Bai Yi cried and scread at the top of her lungs:
"Xiao Xiao has never, ever known how to swim!!"
In the wind, the sound of her painful sobs was incredibly clear.
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