Chapter 13
Su Linye specifically went to wash her hands.
When she returned to the classroom, her mind was full of thoughts about whether Mu Xin had some connection to the original owner. He hated so much, yet he was also so afraid—so afraid that he needed to grab onto someone and drag them down with him.
What exactly had Mu Xin gone through?
Su Linye could not figure it out. She took a sip of the water Xi Panpan had brought her.
That was right. Although her throat was already much better, Xi Panpan was still bringing her the tea soup brewed at home to nourish her body.
Su Linye could not refuse, so she obediently drank it.
When Mu Xin came back, he had washed his face. Water droplets hung from his hair. His back was slightly hunched, his head lowered. When classmates fooling around in the corridor bumped into him, he only turned sideways. When the other person apologized, he awkwardly shook his head. Only after they had walked far away did he raise a hand and rub the spot that had been bumped, then continue forward stiffly.
When he passed by Su Linye, he lifted his head and looked at her through the gaps in his messy hair.
Su Linye was busy catching up on the homework for the next class and had no time to deal with him at all.
Mu Xin nearly ground his back teeth to pieces.
The class bell rang.
A classmate behind him was hurrying back to their seat and shoved him. “Hurry up. What are you standing there for?”
Mu Xin hurried forward in a panic, knocked over someone else’s books, hastily apologized, and returned to his corner.
The place forever covered in shadow.
Su Linye looked back at him.
This period was their homeroom teacher’s class.
Old Xu came in carrying his math lesson plan, with a girl following behind him.
The classroom instantly became lively. Everyone started whispering to each other, asking who she was.
Su Linye looked over too, then widened her eyes.
Meng Tao?
On the podium, Old Xu’s face darkened, and the surroundings immediately quieted down.
He looked around once before slowly speaking. “A new student has joined our class. Everyone should look after each other from now on. New student, introduce yourself.”
The delicate-looking girl had drawn in all her hostility, becoming quiet and reserved.
She pursed her lips and looked somewhere below. The hand gripping her backpack strap tightened slightly. She seemed to mentally prepare herself for a while before slowly speaking, as if weighing every word.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Meng Tao. I’m very happy to be classmates with all of you. I hope that in the future, I can get along well with everyone.”
After saying this, her lashes blinked rapidly a few times. She quickly glanced in a certain direction, hesitated again and again, then bent at the waist and gave a bow.
Meng Lian looked at the person on the podium, thoughtful.
Her desk mate joked, “You two are both surnamed Meng. Could you have been one family five hundred years ago?”
Meng Lian deeply agreed. “Possible.”
Not just five hundred years ago. They were one family now too.
The classmates gave encouraging applause at the right moment, and Meng Lian also clapped along.
Old Xu was very satisfied and pointed to a seat, telling Meng Tao to sit there for now.
The seat was in the last row, and she had to pass through the entire aisle.
Qin Yu happened to sit on the aisle side.
She did not have much reaction to the sudden transfer student. Only when she noticed that the other girl kept glancing this way and seemed very nervous did she raise a brow slightly, a little interested.
As Meng Tao passed by, Qin Yu casually pushed a book to the edge of her desk. The new student happened to knock it down.
Meng Tao had no time to react. She instinctively bent down, picked it up, and only froze when placing it back on the desk. In a low voice, she said, “Sorry.”
Qin Yu directly copied what Lu Jiang had once said to Su Linye. “If apologies were useful, what would we need the police for? Look, my book is dirty now.”
Meng Tao looked a little helpless. She did not know how she should compensate the other party. On the other side, Old Xu’s urging voice came over.
Meng Tao hesitantly lifted her foot and walked backward, her mind spinning quickly. Just as she was about to pass by, she turned her head. “I’ll give you my book.”
“That doesn’t really work.” Qin Yu had a proper young miss temper. “I made notes in mine.”
Old Xu was already a little displeased. Meng Tao glanced at him very quickly and sped up her speech. “I’ll copy them over for you.”
After she left, Qin Yu lifted the corner of her lips.
Lu Jiang had taken everything in. “Are you that bored?”
Qin Yu was physically and mentally delighted. “I just thought she seemed pretty fun. She kept looking this way. It felt like it’d be wrong not to bully her a little.”
Lu Jiang neither approved nor disapproved of her wicked taste. She even found it dull. “What kind of hobby is that?”
“What’s wrong with it?” Qin Yu acted like someone experienced and patted Lu Jiang’s shoulder. “Studying is so boring. You have to find some fun for yourself.”
Lu Jiang brushed her hand away, lacking any interest. “Not interested.”
Qin Yu snorted. “Old Jiang, don’t say that too early.”
“Back when it was Su Linye, you said she had a mean and treacherous character. Later, didn’t you still bring her home and let her stay over? People are basically walking collections of ‘how fragrant.’”
Lu Jiang was too lazy to pay attention to her.
Ignoring Old Xu’s endless lecture, Qin Yu tipped her chair legs back and leaned her upper body toward her. “Seriously, isn’t Su Linye’s cute, bright, pure-girl type your ideal? Before, you thought her character was no good. Now that you’ve interacted with her, how do you feel?”
Lu Jiang kept her eyes forward and wrote her own questions. “Do you talk a little too much?”
Qin Yu saw through her true nature and put on a show of sighing. “People really shouldn’t be too stubborn with their mouths.”
During the last self-study period of the morning, Old Xu strolled onto the podium with his hands behind his back.
The students wailed as one.
As class monitor, Zhu Qiyue took on the heavy responsibility of fighting for the whole class’s rights. “Teacher, we have so much homework to do.”
Once she opened the battle, the students of Class Five immediately followed.
“Yeah, yeah. Physics has to be handed in right after this period.”
“And English. English is being collected in ten minutes.”
“We still have to practice calligraphy for Chinese!”
“Damn, we still have to practice calligraphy? When was that said?”
Old Xu’s brows twisted. “You little brats. I didn’t say I was taking over the period. I’m here to announce something.”
“Next Wednesday is Campus Open Day. Everyone prepare a little. If you have anything you don’t use anymore, you can bring it out and sell it. We’ll donate the proceeds together.”
The moment he finished speaking, the room exploded like hot oil.
Old Xu had no choice but to maintain order. “Let me emphasize something. Everyone should do what they can. Don’t bring out your family’s antiques, and don’t bring gold or jewelry either. If you set it out there and it doesn’t sell, or it gets damaged or stolen, and then your parents beat you when you get home, don’t call me and ask me to explain for you.”
The students burst into laughter.
Old Xu also revealed a small smile. “All right, write your homework.”
Very few people honestly wrote their homework after that. They were all quietly muttering about what they should steal from home to sell, trying to gather more donations and bring honor to their class.
Gu Feng was also making calculations. She said with quite a headache, “Linye, what do you think I should bring?”
Su Linye pulled her head out from the vast universe of physics. With a head of hair she had rubbed into a mess, she gave advice. “Old clothes, old toys, or books you’ve already read.”
Gu Feng said, “Those won’t sell for much.”
Su Linye comforted her. “It’s just a charity donation. The school wants us to develop social responsibility and proper values. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money.”
Gu Feng shook her head and suddenly clenched her fists with righteous indignation. “This concerns collective honor. We can’t lose to Class Four next door.”
Even her glasses slid down a little.
Su Linye thoughtfully pushed them back up for her.
At lunch, Su Linye shamelessly went to find Lu Jiang as usual.
Not long after she sat down, someone came over and stood there.
Su Linye lifted her head and saw the nervous, helpless Meng Tao.
She instantly remembered the violent, brutal appearance Meng Tao had shown in the arena. The little white rabbit in front of her felt very unfamiliar, and very divided.
Across from her, Lu Jiang ignored it and continued eating her own meal.
Qin Yu looked over. “What is it?”
Meng Tao tightened her grip on her tray and asked in a low voice, “Can I sit beside you?”
Qin Yu thought it was something serious. She stretched out her long legs, just enough to block the seat beside her. “Seems like you can’t.”
Meng Tao bit her lower lip and lowered her eyes. “Sorry for bothering you.”
Holding her food, she left alone.
Her back looked rather lonely.
Su Linye was truly dumbfounded. How could someone so forceful in the arena be this humble here?
She wanted to say something to Qin Yu, but after thinking about it, everyone had some secrets. As long as it did not harm others, it was better not to casually gossip.
After lunch, Su Linye and Xi Panpan walked along the shaded path. She finally found a chance to ask the question she was wondering about.
“Little Potato Chip, do you know Mu Xin?”
Xi Panpan’s expression changed slightly. “Boss, did he come looking for you?”
Su Linye said, “Mm.”
Xi Panpan’s baby face was full of anger. Looking at Su Linye, she probed, “Boss, were the injuries on your body also caused by people he sent?”
Su Linye looked at her and smiled. “Little Potato Chip, you understand him very well?”
Xi Panpan was docile. “I wouldn’t really say I understand him. Before you lost your memory, Boss, he came to find us once. He said he wanted to join.”
Su Linye found this unbelievable. “Join?”
Xi Panpan said, “But Boss, you didn’t agree.”
Su Linye asked again, “Did something happen to him before?”
Xi Panpan shook her head. “I’m not sure either. It seems like he was hurt before. Mu Xin is a very abnormal person. Boss, you should stay far away from him.”
Su Linye nodded. “You too. It’s best not to provoke someone this unstable.”
Xi Panpan obediently agreed.
Although she said that, Su Linye still kept it in mind, wondering whether she could find out something.
The days passed one by one, and soon, the long-awaited Campus Open Day arrived.
From the moment the school gates opened in the morning, there were already quite a few people. Across the vast campus square, the shaded paths, the sports field—anywhere there was space, little stalls had been set up.
Class Five gathered together and seized a good spot.
Su Linye did not have anything she could sell. Originally, she wanted to go join the fun, but then she received notice that the library was also packed, and she had to go help. She could only sigh and stop in her tracks.
What was relatively comforting was that Lu Jiang had also been summoned. In fact, because they were afraid it would be too busy to handle, all the people in student council who had helped in the library before were there too.
Qin Yu was one of them.
She leaned against the desk and sighed. “Tell me, on a perfectly good day, why don’t these people go stroll around campus and bask in the sun? Why do they insist on coming to the library to read?”
Lu Jiang was scanning readers’ cards and checking the information against the system. “Not everyone wants to turn into charcoal.”
After Su Linye helped someone find a book in the system, she took a sip of water. “The library has air conditioning. It’s too hot outside.”
Someone came to ask a question. After Qin Yu pointed out the direction, she did not even have time to lean back before the next person came to return a book. She was forced to check the book’s condition, set it to the side, and guide them to Lu Jiang to register the newly borrowed book.
After finishing that wave, she touched her chin. “I have a very bad feeling.”
Lu Jiang was calm. “Shut your crow mouth.”
A pile of books had accumulated beside Su Linye and needed to be put back on the shelves. Several people had gone to inspect the stacks, and they were short on hands. She only had time to ask, “What was she going to say?”
Qin Yu answered herself. “I estimate there’ll be even more people at noon.”
Su Linye looked at the crowded hall, blankly hugged the books, and left.
With another helper gone, the front desk became even busier.
The good thing was that the library was relatively quiet. Even with many people, it was not too noisy, at least not like a marketplace.
As the sun gradually moved overhead, many people on campus came to the library. It had practically turned into a cooling station.
At this time, Su Linye was running around busily.
Two groups of people started arguing over seats.
Su Linye hurried over. “Let’s talk properly. You can’t make noise in the library.”
The leader of one group was a male alpha wearing a brown leather jacket. Half a tattoo was exposed on his neck, and he was emotionally worked up as he cursed angrily, “Didn’t you fucking see that I put my stuff here? I went to get a book, and when I came back, you’d taken the spot. What the fuck gives you the right? Do you have eyes? Are your eyes connected to your asshole? Didn’t your dad teach you not to touch other people’s things? You long-haired turtle grandson, still coming out here to show off.”
The other group was represented by a long-haired male beta. He rolled up his sleeves and fired back, “You vulgar trash spewing shit from your mouth, put away that broke-ass stink of yours. The smell when you came over was so strong it nearly made people puke. Someone like you being able to come in and see books is already good fortune from eight lifetimes, and you still have the face to occupy a seat? Go outside and ask around, where do they let people do this? Sitting on the toilet and not shitting—get as far away from me as you can! Fuck your dad!”
“Say that one more fucking time!”
“I’ll say it a hundred more times and still fuck your dad!”
The two sides were about to start fighting. The people around them were so disturbed they stood up—some to mediate, some to record videos, some to curse along.
Su Linye stood in the middle and tried to persuade them earnestly, talking to this one, then that one. No one took her seriously, and the battle between the two sides even dragged her in.
Exhausted in body and soul, she stepped to the side to call a teacher.
A middle-aged teacher soon arrived.
Unfortunately, when a scholar met soldiers, reason became impossible to explain. When he tried to stop both sides, neither side would give in. When he tried to judge who was right, they cursed at him too. When he tried to drive them out, they said the school had allowed them in, so what right did he have to kick them out?
Before this side was even resolved, Lu Jiang was dealing with books being put back in the wrong places. Some people, after finishing a book, simply put it wherever there was space. The inspection staff had not discovered it in time, causing the next person to be unable to find the book by call number. Lu Jiang had to check them one by one.
There were also more than ten people holding library cards, unable to borrow books no matter what they did, making a fuss at the front desk. Qin Yu went to check and discovered that someone had reported their library cards lost. Now compensation had to be processed, and the cards had to be retrieved one by one.
The other students who had come to help were each suffering in their own way.
The entire library became a pot of porridge.
Books were thrown everywhere. After being recovered, they made a colorful mess.
Because there were too many people, the system overloaded. The access-control equipment froze, and all the exit gates opened. By the time this was discovered, an hour had already passed, and no one could guarantee whether anyone had quietly slipped away with books during that time.
Su Linye’s feet could not stop moving. Resolving disputes had made her mouth dry and throat parched. She seized every moment to grab her water cup and drink. This time, she had just gotten it in hand when a notice came saying that, on the monitor, a child had climbed onto a book ladder. It was very dangerous, and they needed to quickly bring the child down.
Su Linye had no time to put down her cup and rushed over in a panic.
The elevator had not stopped working either.
Anxious and burning with worry, she pressed the button for the third floor. In a corner, she found the child and, with coaxing and persuasion, brought them into the elevator.
Lu Jiang had just finished checking this floor and entered the elevator with them.
The doors slowly closed.
Leaning against the wall, Su Linye wiped her sweat in exhaustion. She had no energy to wonder why she was this hot when the library was surrounded by air conditioning. She sighed, “I’m about to die from exhaustion. I might as well go stand out in the sun.”
Lu Jiang must also have been worked too hard, because her face was a little flushed.
She did not speak. Her hand braced against the wall, and beneath her lashes were ink-dark eyes so deep they could not dissolve.
Su Linye noticed something was wrong with her. “Lu Jiang, what’s wrong?”
At that moment, the overloaded library system crashed. Along with it, the elevator also malfunctioned. The lights flickered twice, then went out with a snap.
In the pitch-black darkness, Lu Jiang’s breathing grew more and more rapid.
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