Courir partout et jouer des rôles mineurs

Chapitre 79

“That’s right,” Zhang Ran chimed in. “Every night she hides under the covers, flipping through books with a flashlight. When you ask her what she’s doing, she says she hasn’t done anything!”

Without naming names beforehand, Zhang Ran's words were clearly aimed at Chen Zhaodi.

The students tacitly agreed to stay up late every night, pretending not to like studying during the day, and then feigning modesty when their grades came out: "Oh, I really didn't study much, I just got lucky."

Anyone who studies relentlessly and spends all their time studying, even if they get excellent grades, will be looked down upon. People think, "Anyone who isn't stupid can get good grades by studying hard, so what's so special about you?"

Chen Zhaodi was no exception to the common practice.

In terms of life and appearance, she couldn't compare to other girls. So she cared a lot about what others thought of her, hoping to be praised for being smart and talented, rather than for being just a bookworm.

She plays as usual during the day and studies in bed with a flashlight at night; she's not the only one doing this. But last night, coincidentally, Zhang Ran got up to go to the bathroom and, half asleep, asked her what she was doing so late. She was startled and instinctively hid her textbook, saying she wasn't doing anything. As a result, Zhang Ran caught her out and made up a story about it today.

Liang Meihua frowned, noticing Zhao Di's unpleasant expression, and whispered, "Ignore them, they're crazy."

Ye Ruru escalated her anger: "If you ask me, these are all despicable people!" She spoke fiercely and hatefully, her eyes fixed on Zhao Di's direction, just waiting for her to lose her temper so she could start a fight.

These words were too harsh for Chen Zhaodi to bear. She wanted to stand up and yell back, but she didn't know how to respond. Besides, she was afraid that they would hit her. She thought about it over and over again but couldn't find the right words. She was tormented and her face turned pale.

Liang Meihua pulled her back: "Ignore them, they're the ones who are despicable. Come on, let's go out."

He grabbed Chen Zhaodi and left, giving Ye Ruru a fierce glare before he went.

She feigned concern: "Oh dear, I'm so scared, won't someone tell the teacher?"

Zhang Ran also feigned ignorance: "Oh, it shouldn't be that bad, right? We didn't mention names. Besides, if we dare to do it, why would we be afraid of what others will say?"

Chen Zhaodi was heartbroken and tears streamed down her face. She begged Liang Meihua not to tell anyone, especially not to Qiu Shanglin.

She felt that Shanglin was already a lot of trouble for her. With her aloof personality, she didn't like to meddle in other people's business or argue with others, so she didn't want to cause Shanglin to argue with Ye Ruru and the others over this little thing.

Although Liang Meihua felt it was inappropriate, she thought it was better to avoid trouble and didn't say anything.

Shanglin, however, noticed Zhaodi's red eyes during afternoon class and asked her a few questions, only to be casually brushed off.

Back in the dorm that night, after washing up and chatting, they turned off the lights and went to bed. Chen Zhaodi exclaimed in surprise, "My mosquito net!"

Liang Meihua, who slept in the upper bed opposite her, peeked out and asked, "What's wrong?"

Zhao Di pulled at the mosquito net to show her, revealing a large hole in it, and whispered, "Did you accidentally tear the mosquito net?"

Liang Meihua scrambled down, examined the wound carefully, and declared definitively, "It definitely wasn't an accident; someone deliberately cut it!"

The dorm head cleared his throat: "Time to sleep!"

Liang Meihua paused for a moment, then lowered her voice: "It must have been Ye Ruru and her group who did it!"

Zhao Di hesitated: "Really?"

"What do you mean she couldn't have done it? It was definitely her. I told you she suddenly went back to the dorm this afternoon!" Liang Meihua, an impatient person, snapped, "I'm going to ask her!"

Zhao Di clung on desperately, pleading, "No, there's no evidence..."

Ultimately, she was still afraid.

Fearing that she might provoke Ye Ruru, who would relentlessly provoke and retaliate against her.

Liang Meihua was furious at her lack of self-control and glared at her for a long time before finally agreeing. The Fifth Middle School campus was located by the water and backed by mountains, and the mosquitoes were enormous. Without a mosquito net, they would have been bitten all night. Fortunately, Shanglin had recently gone home to stay, and there was no one in her bed. Liang Meihua helped her carry the quilt to Shanglin's bed, and they would make do for the night.

She also insisted that Shanglin be told about this tomorrow, but Chen Zhaodi refused. Li Changsheng and Ouyang Linhao's relationship was already tense; if Shanglin and Ye Ruru had a conflict, wouldn't that only make matters worse?

Liang Meihua scolded her a few times for being a coward, and soon fell asleep. Chen Zhaodi lay on Shanglin's bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, thinking about the recent events, feeling more and more frustrated.

There's a reason why Shanglin went home to live.

Ye Ruru and Ouyang Linhao confirmed their relationship during the summer vacation and were deeply in love, never wanting to be apart. Chen Zhaodi and Liang Meihua, who were near the entrance, saw Ye Ruru sneaking out late at night several times. Perhaps because she found the mosquitoes too many outside, she even brought Ouyang Linhao into the girls' dormitory on a few occasions!

At first, they were very careful, but later they got used to it. Ouyang Linhao could enter and leave the girls' dormitory at night as if it were his own home. He would stay in the same bed with Ye Ruru for half the night and then sneak back before dawn.

As mentioned before, the dormitory is long and cylindrical, housing a total of ten people. There are two rows of double-decker iron bunk beds against the wall, five on each side.

Ye Ruru lived in the middle, and at night she would draw the curtains, creating her own little world.

With intense studying during the day and severe sleep deprivation, coupled with the fact that they are at an age where they crave sleep, girls usually fall asleep quickly in bed and rarely wake up during the night once they are in a deep sleep.

Ouyang Linhao was going in and out of the girls' dormitory for a week. Some of the girls in the first half of the week guessed what was going on, while others were completely unaware. The girls in the second half of the week, being far away, had no idea what was happening.

Chen Zhaodi and Meihua were the two who saw it most clearly, and they couldn't help but tell Shanglin about it, which greatly surprised her.

Putting aside whether the two had a relationship, the weather was still hot, and they were sleeping lightly at night. If a grown man sneaked into the girls' dormitory in the middle of the night and saw something he shouldn't have... it would be like swallowing a fly, utterly disgusting.

Shanglin decided that day to stop living in the dormitory, gave his homeroom teacher a random reason, and started commuting to school.

Ouyang Linhao and Li Changsheng also had another falling out over this matter. Shang Lin didn't want to deal with Ouyang Linhao and told Li Changsheng to tell Ouyang Linhao not to enter the girls' dormitory again, otherwise she would report him to the school.

It's unclear how he spoke to Ouyang Linhao, but Ouyang Linhao never entered the girls' dormitory again. From then on, the two became enemies, and it seemed as if they couldn't stand each other.

Shanglin didn't feel apologetic.

If it weren't for school, Ouyang Linhao would be a good-for-nothing hoodlum. There are different kinds of hoodlums, some are righteous, some are wicked. In her eyes, Ouyang Linhao was the lowest of the low. Don't be fooled by the rumors from other classes that he's righteous and loyal; Changsheng says it's all for show, and he's the quickest to shirk responsibility when it comes to problems.

What's the point of associating with someone like that? Just to have him betray you?

She herself has few friends, and she doesn't think it's a bad thing for Li Changsheng to have one or two fewer friends. What's the point of having fair-weather friends?

Somehow, word got out, and someone told Ye Ruru that Chen Zhaodi had told Qiu Shanglin about it; otherwise, Qiu Shanglin wouldn't have bothered with it.

She grew increasingly resentful of Chen Zhaodi.

Basketball game

It was the second break in the morning. The sky was overcast and rainy. After eye exercises, the grade-level director announced over the loudspeaker that the morning exercises would be suspended, and cheers erupted from both school buildings. The junior high students were in an uproar, while the senior high students fell silent after their cheers subsided. Occasionally, students hurried between the restrooms and classrooms, while others stood silently in the corridors, gazing at the rain.

In contrast, the junior high school section was like boiling water, with noisy classes and restless students running around. During the rare breaks between classes, students who were usually friendly gathered in the corridors, pushing and shoving each other and talking in hushed tones.

Li Changsheng walked out of Class 9, carrying a black bag, and down the long corridor, greeted by people along the way. Ji Yunwen, standing at the door of Class 3, chatted and laughed with Chi Shuai, then called out, "Changsheng!"

He turned his head, looked over, and his cold gaze softened as he met the familiar face. He nodded. Chi Shuai, ever the friendly type, shrugged off Ji Yunwen and went to put his arm around his shoulder, grinning, "Brother Changsheng, what's that delicious treat you're holding..."

Li Changsheng slightly turned aside, dodged them, nodded lightly at them, and strode away.

Chi Shuai, feeling foolish, touched his nose, spat on the ground, and muttered to himself, "Look at how arrogant he is, what makes him so great!"

If it weren't for his good relationship with Ji Yunwen, I wouldn't even bother with you!

Ji Yunwen stood beside him, smiling as he looked in the direction Changsheng had left: "You got dug up, didn't you? Don't feel wronged, he's been digging into me like this all the time—he must have something to ask Qiu Shanglin."

Chi Shuai frowned, puzzled: "Does he really like Qiu Shanglin? That short, boring, and young girl?"

Ji Yunwen broke out in a cold sweat: "What nonsense are you talking about? Li Changsheng himself said that Qiu Shanglin is his sister."

Chi Shuai scoffed, "Sister? Red Butt and Shi Xiaoxiao are your sisters, and that girl in Class 5 is my sister too—everyone knows that, don't try that brother-sister thing!" He teased his friend, his gaze sweeping over the girls walking down the corridor. When he met a shy look, he smiled politely and met her eyes. He watched her blush and look away, feeling satisfied.

Ji Yunwen did not answer, his gaze fixed on the raindrops falling like beads outside the corridor.

Chi Shuai nudged him: "Which one do you like?" His gossipy nature was aroused, and he said with great interest: "Red Butt isn't good-looking, but she has a good figure; Shi Xiaoxiao has pretty features, but unfortunately she hasn't fully developed yet. Who knows, maybe in another year or two she'll grow into a busty beauty!" He muttered to himself, teasing him in a mysterious way.

After asking Ji Yunwen for a while without getting a response, he became impatient and urged, "I'm talking to you, who exactly have you taken a fancy to?"

He received a glare: "You pervert, your head is full of dirty thoughts, can't you think of something healthy?"

Chi Shuai said in a strange voice, "Oh, healthy? You call it healthy to compete with Qiu Shanglin in studies and get first place? If you're so capable, show me how healthy you are! That's enough. Are you really planning to get the 'Three Good Student' award?"

Since they were on different paths, Ji Yunwen didn't bother talking to him and turned to walk back to the classroom.

Changsheng sat in Shanglin's seat, casually flipping through the test paper from the last quiz, and chatted with her casually: "First place again."