When I woke up, I was lying on the soft and comfortable sofa in Lu Mingyu's home. On the coffee table in front of me, there was a bowl of steaming shredded pork porridge, and he was looking at me with concern when I opened my eyes in a daze.
He let out a long sigh and took off his hat with a sense of relief: "I was scared to death."
He parted my bangs in a 4:6 split again, and I started giggling.
"How dare you laugh? Do you know that you were almost beaten by your mother just now?" He picked up the chopsticks and knocked on my head.
I pursed my lips but still smiled at him. The light in the living room was warm, and the black sweater he was wearing looked soft. He was the one who held me up, I knew, because I could still remember the touch of his clothes.
"Does she beat you all the time?" he asked me worriedly, frowning.
"Not really, it depends on my mood." The smell of the shredded pork porridge aroused my appetite and I wanted to sit up and eat it. Seeing that I was struggling to get up, Lu Mingyu lifted me up with one hand.
"You are so calm and collected. You are so skinny, like a middle school student."
"Why are you back here? Didn't you move?" I looked around and the furniture here had not been changed.
He leaned on the sofa carelessly, crossing his legs: "I came back today to find something, and just as I walked to your door, I heard your mother scolding you."
"Why didn't you resist?" He looked at me very worriedly, like an old mother.
"What did you come back for?" I took three or four mouthfuls of porridge and couldn't eat anymore, so I changed the subject obediently.
“Oh, looking for photos.”
"your?"
"My sister's."
"You have a sister?" I looked at him in disbelief.
"Yes, they're twins, a boy and a girl." He stroked his bangs and spoke casually, but I saw a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"Have you found it?" When I heard about the twins, my curiosity suddenly piqued. His sister must be very pretty.
Lu Mingyu took out a stack of photos from his side and handed them to me.
The protagonist of that stack of photos was all a little girl who looked about eleven or twelve years old. She had shoulder- length hair and no bangs, revealing a fair and clean little face, which was very different from what I had imagined.
"Your sister doesn't look much like you." I told her the truth. But his sister has a different charm. She has delicate features and is very attractive. She seems to have more temperament than other girls of the same age.
"We really don't look alike at all. But..." He smiled at me, "Don't you realize that you look a lot like her?"
Hearing this, I looked at him in amazement. In my eyes, his sister is a beauty, and I can't compare to her.
"My mother noticed you on the first day you moved in. She told me at that time that the girl downstairs looked so much like Coco." His eyes were smiling, as if he was lost in memories.
Then it dawned on me, no wonder his mother always looked at me with such loving eyes.
"What about Coco?" I asked cautiously, sensing something.
"Coco passed away due to illness. These photos are what she left behind."
"Oh." I responded stupidly, not knowing what to say.
After being silent for a while, he suddenly seemed to remember something and asked unhappily, "Hey, I haven't asked you yet, why have you been so mad at me these days? Did I provoke you?"
I rolled my eyes and shook my head.
"Lies," he snorted.
"The gifts and snacks those girls gave you, and you just gave them away so casually to others. How sad they must be." After thinking about it, it seems that this is the most reliable reason.
"So what do you want me to do? I can't even get it myself."
"Then don't accept it. You won't take it seriously even if you accept it."
"I told them I didn't want it, but they kept begging and pleading for it. Are you blaming me?" He looked helpless. " Just because of this?"
I curled my lips, it seemed that there were more than just these, but the other reasons were so confusing that I couldn't explain them clearly.
"Hey, Pei Jixing, do you know that you are like a hedgehog? You look small, soft and cute, but you can prick people to death if you touch you." He shook his head and sighed in a serious manner, as if he was convinced by me. Then he took out an exquisitely wrapped chocolate gift box from behind him, and as if he did it specially for me to see, he opened the gift box, took out the largest piece of chocolate inside, and stuffed it into his mouth.
In just a few seconds, he swallowed three or four pieces and looked at me with a look that said, "Is this okay?"
For some reason, it felt like a large piece of marshmallow suddenly melted in my heart, emitting a faint sweetness.
It was not until much later that I found out that Lu Mingyu did not like sweet things, and chocolate was his most hated food.
That night I stayed in my room after returning home. Chen Meihua seemed a little guilty and secretly put some pocket money in my bag, which I found out the next day.
But I'm still mad at her.
Because I can never forget the ugly face she made when she cursed me before I fainted.
Since then, I insisted on studying at school every night, even if I was the only one in the class. Sometimes I would go back early, but it was always because Lu Mingyu dragged me. He and his mother would sometimes come back to live here, and every time they would cook a lot of delicious food and ask me to eat with them. I was very grateful to them in my heart, but I was not good at expressing myself, so I didn't know how to thank them at all.
I thought that if I got a scholarship at the end of the semester, I could buy them gifts. So I studied even harder day and night. But contrary to my expectations, I still missed the scholarship. The person who won the scholarship was Chen Jialing, who was said to be the school's top scorer all year round and a legendary figure. I was 20 points behind in total and became the second in the grade.
In stark contrast to my disappointment, the whole class was excited when they learned that I had only won the second place in the grade by 20 points. Even Lu Mingyu, who was playing basketball with his friends, left them immediately and ran to the big list without even putting on his coat. After confirming that the second place was really me, he was so happy that he lifted me up, and I couldn't help screaming. The whole class D cheered, and the students in other classes were stunned.
Fortunately, the class bell rang in time, otherwise, who knows how long they would have made trouble.
The next class was taught by the homeroom teacher. When she came in, I could clearly feel her joyful mood. As expected, she praised me as soon as she came in and asked the whole class to applaud me, which made me blush. Then she changed the topic to Lu Mingyu. She thought highly of Lu Mingyu, so her tone was full of regret.
"Look at you. There's a student who studies very well sitting behind you, but you don't even want to learn from him!"
"Hey, teacher, I swear to God, I handed in half of the papers blank this time and still improved by five places!" He said with a grin, causing the whole class to laugh.
He ranked tenth from the bottom in this exam, and it was said that he ranked fifth from the bottom last time, so of course he improved by five places. Perhaps because the teacher doted on him too much, Lu Mingyu smiled a little unscrupulously.
I kicked Lu Mingyu's stool. This heartless guy didn't notice that the teacher's expression was gradually changing.
As expected, the teacher saw his careless attitude and threw the book on the podium in displeasure. Everyone gradually quieted down after seeing this.
It must be said that this head teacher with a baby face is quite scary when she gets angry, so even if the students in the class are naughty, she still has some sense of propriety. She just stared at Lu Mingyu quietly, and Lu Mingyu awkwardly straightened his back and changed to an honest sitting posture.
"Lu Mingyu, are you ashamed? You knew how to solve some of the questions, but you still handed in a blank paper. Do you think it's glorious to announce to the whole world that you are the tenth from the bottom?"
The teacher's tone was always calm, but it had a special killing power. As an unrelated person, I felt uncomfortable listening to it.
"I deliberately placed my best student behind you. I think you know why. A good family background and good looks are indeed God's unique favors, but these favors cannot make people's lives smooth sailing. If you are lazy because of this, are you sure you can get into college in the future? You obviously have a good foundation, but you are wasting it like this! Lu Mingyu, you are the most heartbreaking student I have ever taught! You disappoint me so much!"
When Lu Mingyu heard these harsh words, his shoulders trembled noticeably. He stood up and wanted to explain: "Teacher——"
But the teacher didn't seem to want to listen to his explanation at all, and said, "Turn to page 50 in the exercise book, and we will continue to talk about the difficult points that we didn't finish in the last class."
Lu Mingyu stood there stupidly, like a tree with a lot on its mind.
Looking at his back, my heart also became depressed, as if I was the one being scolded by the teacher, and I was in a bad mood throughout the whole class.
The class passed by in a daze.
After the bell rang, the teacher did not stay to explain the difficult points as usual, but picked up the book and left. Lu Mingyu rushed out of the classroom with the teacher without thinking.
The whole class saw this scene.
I looked at the empty seat in front of me and couldn't help being distracted.
He pretended to be relaxed and came back only when the bell for the next class rang. His friends all asked him about his condition, but he said nonchalantly that he was fine, but he had to write a self-review and clean the classroom alone after school. Everyone was relieved for him. But I was the only one who knew that under Lu Mingyu's seemingly nonchalant expression, his fragile self-esteem had cracked.
The gap was so light and shallow that he didn't want anyone to see it.
So, I made a decision to stay after school to help him. I didn't dare to be too direct because the teacher was there, so I could only walk to the school gate, confirm that the teacher was not in the classroom, and then turn back. I thought that Lu Mingyu might be very excited to see me, after all, I am good at doing housework, and helping him clean is just a piece of cake. I can also help him think about how to write a self-review, after all, I used to be the deskmate of "Self-Review King" Lu Xiaoxiao. Haven't you seen pigs run even if you haven't eaten pork?
But in fact, contrary to my expectations, I heard laughter coming from the classroom before I even stepped into it.
The classroom, which should have been occupied by Lu Mingyu alone, was now occupied by seven or eight people, many of whom I had never seen before. Some of them were sweeping the floor with brooms, some were wiping the blackboard, and some were looking up dictionaries and instructing Lu Mingyu who was writing furiously.
I stood stupidly at the door of the classroom, so embarrassed that I didn't know where to put my hands.
"Hey, little star is here!" Meng Tian was the first to notice me. She waved at me with one hand and pushed Lu Mingyu.
Lu Mingyu looked at me, but I lowered my head in embarrassment.
"Why are you here?" He stood up and strode towards me as I retreated and wanted to leave.
"I...I left something behind."
I don’t know if it was because I looked too flustered, but Lu Mingyu suddenly smiled and rubbed my head with his hand: “I know that Xiao Xingxing is the most loyal.”
Witnessing this seemingly ambiguous action, his group of friends started to make a noise. I subconsciously stepped back in panic, and heard the group of people faintly shouting "My girlfriend is shy." These six words seemed to carry a mysterious power, which made my heart beat faster.
"Don't talk nonsense, just shut up."
Lu Mingyu shouted hoarsely, turned around and said gently: "I'm fine, don't worry, go back quickly, it's getting dark."
I nodded obediently, then turned around and ran away.
As a student in Class D, I ranked second in the grade. This fact quickly spread throughout the school like the flu of this season. In the next two or three days, even when I went to the toilet, I could see people pointing and talking about me out of the corner of my eye. But I was immune to this kind of behavior. After all, my reputation had long been known among the group of girls chasing Lu Mingyu.
According to school practice, a grade assembly is held after the final exams of each semester, and the top ten students in the school will receive certificates and be praised by the principal.
After learning about this, I was a little panicked. Why did the commendation meeting have to be so grand? After Lu Mingyu knew about it, he specially lent me Meng Tian's school uniform because I hadn't bought the high school uniform yet.
Meng Tian is taller than me, so when I wore her knitted vest and skirt, I looked empty. I didn’t look as youthful and energetic as other girls. Instead, I looked like an underdeveloped junior high school student.
I don't know if it was my inferiority complex that was causing me to feel depressed before the meeting started. On the way to the auditorium with the whole class, Lu Mingyu, who was walking with his group of friends, suddenly came to my side. He tapped my head and whispered "Little Star" in my ear.
I raised my head and met his eyes, which were like deep pools filled with stars.
The white breath he exhaled lingered around me and then disappeared.
"What's wrong? Why do you look so aggrieved? There will be a commendation meeting later, you should be happy."
"I'm scared." My voice was a little trembling. "What if I say something wrong?"
"It's okay. If you said something wrong, then who would dare to laugh at you?" He stretched out his hand and wanted to touch my hair, but his movement suddenly stopped in mid-air.
I was stunned.
Who knew that in my surprised gaze, he pulled off my hair tie. My shoulder-length hair was scattered and blown away by the wind.
"It looks much prettier this way." He came closer and looked me over.
I subconsciously stepped back, my chest heaving violently.
"We've fallen behind, let's go." I didn't dare look at him, turned around and jogged back to the team.
The soft black hair rubbed against my ears with the wind. I gently placed my hands on my hot cheeks, and the corners of my mouth rose uncontrollably in an awkward arc.
I don’t know if it was because I had my hair down, but I felt so relaxed. Even when I went on stage to receive the award, I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be. When the principal called out my name, the entire D class cheered.
During this short walk, countless eyes fell on me. But the person I was really looking at was only Lu Mingyu. He happened to be sitting by the aisle, and when I passed by, he and his friends clapped their hands vigorously. On his wrist was my strawberry hairband.
I stood lightly in the center of the stage, looked at the crowded students in the auditorium, and took a deep breath. Suddenly, a familiar face came into view. He had cold eyebrows, a high nose bridge, and a slender figure. He wore the same uniform as me, stood quietly beside me, and occupied the top position in the grade.
He is Chen Jialing, the top student in the grade, the excellent student who took me away from the principal's office.
At this moment, he suddenly turned his head and looked at me.
I turned my head away in panic, fortunately my hair hid my panicked expression.
At this moment, the principal's voice rang out, and the commendation meeting officially began.
In fact, I was too lazy to listen to what he said. I just kept repeating the speech I had prepared long ago. Finally, after the third speaker finished speaking, it was my turn. Fortunately, I recited the prepared words word for word, and received mechanical applause from the audience.
However, just as I took a breath, the audience suddenly became restless.
Looking up, I saw a banner hanging over the D class's position, with a row of exaggerated large characters written on it -
"Well done Pei Jixing, Pei Jixing will always be number one in our hearts!"
A group of people led by Lu Mingyu waved the banners wantonly, and this exaggerated action immediately caused laughter from all the students in the auditorium.
I couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing at their funny behavior.
At this moment, Chen Jialing turned around and looked at me with eyes that were cold enough to freeze me.
My heart tightened and I immediately fell silent in embarrassment, but deep in my heart it was like a dead tree coming back to life with spring, and large flowers sprouted out of it.
But the principal was unhappy because this accident interrupted his favorite student's speech. He scolded angrily, and the head teacher in the audience turned black-faced, grabbed Lu Mingyu's ear and left.
This time I couldn't laugh anymore, I just stared at the direction he left with worry. When I looked away, I found that Chen Jialing's eyes were on my face again.
It was a look that was hard to describe.
I turned my face away gently, and suddenly felt that this boy named Chen Jialing was even weirder than before.