The "Pure Beautiful Girls" group really became famous in the school one month before the college entrance examination.
One day, the monitor who never spoke to us came to Ren Xiaoqi and said, "Teacher Zhao asked you to come to the office after school to discuss further studies. If you don't go, call your dad."
During these three years, we had a tacit agreement not to inquire about each other's families. Although I didn't know her family situation, I still knew that the word "dad" was her Achilles' heel.
After school, she blew me a kiss before leaving the house: "Girl, wait for me to come back and pamper you, ten minutes, oh no, three minutes."
Ten minutes later, Ren Xiaoqi didn't show up. I carried my backpack and stood at the door of Teacher Zhao's office waiting for her. It was already over 30 degrees in the south in May, and girls wearing short sleeves were coming and going on the street. I stood at the door and looked at them, feeling inexplicably irritated, as if something bad was about to happen.
People gradually left and the sky darkened. I rubbed my legs which were a little sore from standing, and wondered whether I should knock on the door and ask. Just as I was struggling with my conscience, a scream pierced my eardrums.
It’s Ren Xiaoqi’s voice!
"Get out! What are you going to do to me! Wuuuuu..." Her mouth seemed to be suddenly held down by someone and she couldn't make a sound.
There used to be rumors in school that teachers were molesting female students. After hearing this, Ren Xiaoqi and I laughed at ourselves and said that if a female tyrant dared to do that to us, we would beat him so badly that his wife wouldn't even recognize him.
But joking aside, no matter how strong a girl is, she can't compare to a middle-aged man.
After hearing the scream, I kicked the office door with all my strength like a madman.
The door of the old teaching building was an old-fashioned door with two layers of wood and a hollow middle. It had a mortise lock fixed with a triangular iron sheet inside. After being kicked a few times, the door panel cracked and the mortise lock became loose.
When I kicked the door open, Ren Xiaoqi's T-shirt was rolled up, revealing a large area of ​​fair skin. Teacher Zhao was standing beside her, hurriedly tidying up her clothes.
"Fuck you!" I grabbed my backpack and smashed it on his head. After a scream, blood oozed from his forehead. Seeing the bright red blood, my mind became a little clearer. During the afternoon break, Ren Xiaoqi bought me a bottle of Coke, but I didn't drink it because my stomach was bloated. I didn't expect it to become a "weapon" now.
"Go to hell! How dare you do this to me? I'm really tired of living!" Ren Xiaoqi recovered from her panic, jumped up and rushed to Teacher Zhao, and left four bloody marks on his face with her hand. As if this was not enough to vent her anger, she raised her foot and kicked him directly in the crotch.
The sudden severe pain made Teacher Zhao bend over, and his face turned pale instantly, forming a sharp contrast with the bright red blood on his forehead.
"Let's go, let's go." Ren Xiaoqi pulled me out of the school. After we ran a long way, she suddenly threw her backpack on the ground and hugged me tightly. Her tears smudged her panda-like eye makeup. "Cun Zhiwei, I was so scared, so scared! I really thought I was going to be bullied by that person! I was so scared, but luckily you were here, luckily you were here!"
I patted her back to comfort her, saying, "It's okay, I'm always here."
After she finished crying, I asked cautiously, "Sister, do you want to compensate me for my T-shirt?"
She pushed me away and patted her chest: "Come on, I'll take you to buy it. I'm not short of money."
That day, she bought a lot of T-shirts for her best friends. We wore one each for a week without repeating the same one. Every time she bought one, she would emphasize: "Cun Zhiwei, you said you would always be here, don't lie to me!"
What I didn't expect was that this would be our last afternoon of mutual warmth.
When I got back to school, the place was in an uproar. There was a lot of controversy over the incident in which Teacher Zhao was rushed to the hospital after being kicked in the lower body by a female student. All kinds of disgusting speculations filled every corner of the school. In the few minutes' walk from the school gate to the classroom, I was subjected to countless gazes and saliva.
When I walked into the classroom, Ren Xiaoqi's seat was empty. I was once again called into the office by the head teacher, grade director, and principal, who repeated everything that happened yesterday afternoon over and over again. Every time I said it, my heart sank. It was obvious that every word I said was the truth, but they were unwilling to believe that Teacher Zhao, who had always been strict in his work, would do something worse than a beast.
I was so thirsty from talking, but all I got was a reply from them: "Go back and wait for the news!"
Later, Teacher Zhao’s wife came to the school and made a big scene. She even climbed up a tall building with her one-year-old son in her arms, threatening to jump off the building if her husband was not cleared of all charges.
Later, the police came, and the principal used some connections to let them leave without any further investigation.
Later, Ren Xiaoqi's father came, then my uncle and aunt came, and finally my grandmother came.
The school said that Ren Xiaoqi and I fabricated a lie that Teacher Zhao bullied female students in order to cover up the fact that we beat the teacher. This behavior is very bad and must be severely punished and must be expelled. No one believed that we were the ones who were bullied, no one sympathized with us, and even mocked us with a contemptuous attitude.
My grandmother and I stood in the principal's office. The principal sat on a swivel chair and gently blew the floating leaves on the teacup. He said slowly, "Old man, it's not that I don't want to be flexible this time. It's really that Cun Zhiwei's behavior is too bad and the school can't tolerate it. You should take her back today and don't come here again."
"Bad behavior? I just helped my classmates when they were bullied by the teacher, and then told the whole story afterwards. What did I do wrong?" I was really unconvinced. "If it was the monitor or deputy monitor who encountered such a thing, would you still be so sure that Teacher Zhao was not wrong and the students were the ones at fault?"
"Look at your attitude!" The principal was so angry that he slammed the cup on the table. After slamming it, he felt a little regretful. He pretended to check the cup casually and was relieved when he found that there was nothing wrong with it. "You and Ren Xiaoqi usually bully classmates and hang out with bad boys outside the school. I turned a blind eye to it. For the two of you, it's good enough that you don't bully others. How can others bully you?"
"Principal, you are prejudiced! Bad students can't be bullied?" I wanted to argue, but my grandmother pulled my hand and signaled me to stop.
Looking at my grandmother's sad eyes, I was speechless.
She hunched over and hobbled to the principal, and when the swivel chair turned towards her, she knelt down with a plop.
"Grandma!" I screamed.
She waved her hand and told me to stay where I was.
I stood there, watching the person I loved the most kneel down to the principal, begging him, "Principal, my daughter is dead, and I won't live long. I only have this precious granddaughter. Please be magnanimous. Please don't let her drop out of school. I'm kneeling here to beg you today."
"Old lady, please don't do this. I can't bear it." The principal stood up slowly, bent down and helped the grandmother. "Please stand up first. We can discuss everything. Actually, this matter is not something I can decide alone. You begging me doesn't mean anything..."
"Principal, I beg you, please have mercy and fulfill the last wish of a dying person. If this child leaves school like this, her life will be ruined. My daughter left such a treasure to me, I can't... I can't watch her ruined, I won't be able to face my daughter when I die!" The grandmother refused to stand up and burst into tears.
I stood there with tears in my eyes. My feet felt like they were filled with lead and I couldn’t move an inch. I could only shout, “Grandma… Grandma…”
"Old man, you...you shouldn't do this..."
"Principal...I beg you."
"I can only promise you to keep her student status and let her take the college entrance examination in a month. But she can't come to school during this month. As the principal, I also have to take the teachers' feelings into consideration."
"Thank you, thank you." Grandma grabbed the corner of the table and stood up. She tremblingly took out a tissue from her pocket and wiped her tears. She turned and walked towards me. She raised her hand and pressed my head and bowed to the principal. "Then we won't bother you anymore. Why don't you thank the principal quickly?"
"Thank...thank...Principal." I said these four words while crying and gritting my teeth. All the sadness and humiliation were integrated into these four words. This was the first time that I wanted to strangle myself to death.
"Okay, let's go back!"
Grandma took my hand and walked out of the principal's office and the school. When we were waiting for the bus at the bus stop, she patted my shoulder and said, "Don't cry, Weiwei. Don't feel wronged for grandma. As long as you can stay, grandma won't feel wronged at all."
"Grandma, I'm sorry. It's all my fault, all my fault, all my fault..." I couldn't say that I was wrong. Thousands of words were stuck in my chest, making it hard for me to breathe. I opened my mouth and took deep breaths, and my tears flowed even more violently.
"You are right, grandma knows that my Weiwei did nothing wrong, and I am proud of your courageous act." Grandma said with a smile.
"But, but since I did nothing wrong, why did they want me to drop out of school? Why did they force you to your knees and leave me with no way out? Grandma, I don't understand. I really don't understand."
Grandma didn't answer my question. Instead, she stroked my short red hair and said, "Weiwei, how about growing your hair longer? Grandma likes Weiwei with long hair."
I nodded heavily.
When we were young, there were always many things we didn’t understand. Gradually, I realized that people only want to believe what they believe. Sometimes, even if the truth is right in front of them, they will choose to turn a blind eye.
After I understood all this, I finally knew why my always proud grandmother would kneel down before the principal. I also finally understood that no matter how proud you are, you still have to learn to compromise and bow your head.
This is reality, this is the adult world. In order to live a better life, you must master these rules.
Pretty cruel, isn't it?
I took the college entrance examination amidst the suspicious eyes of my classmates. After a month of intensive review and my talent in painting, I barely passed the admission score of University A. Otherwise, I was afraid that I would not even be able to study for an ordinary undergraduate degree.
I never saw Ren Xiaoqi again after that. Some said she went abroad with her father, some said she went to a school far away and took the college entrance examination, and some said she went backpacking alone and never came back... There are many rumors about her, but the only thing that can be confirmed is that she never contacted me again.
After receiving the admission letter, I changed my phone number and burned all the things related to the past. When I found the photo, I was stunned for a moment. In the end, I couldn't bear to throw it into the fire, but put it in the pocket of my wallet.
My grandmother’s kneeling made me understand a lot of things, and I decided to throw away the past, start over, and become a brand new Cun Zhiwei.
All my decisions were shaken the moment I saw Ren Xiaoqi appear. She was like a symbol carrying all my past. Her appearance reminded me that some things cannot be erased and I am not qualified to start over.
I huddled in the corner of the storage room, trembling, afraid to face my past. Whenever I thought of it, I would always remember my grandmother's kneeling and her tears. My mother had already left her in an unfilial way, and I couldn't let her continue to worry.
"Hey, Cun Zhiwei, where have you been? Come out quickly and order food for me. I want coffee and food. I'm starving!" Ren Xiaoqi's voice penetrated the door of the storage room and reached my eardrums. I shuddered and trembled, not knowing what to do.
Outside the door, Xiao Chen anxiously asked Sister Su: "Sister Su, what should we do? She is rushing towards the bar, and I can't stop her."
It was not easy to find such a job. I cannot cause trouble for Sister Su and Xiao Chen. Just like Sister Su said, problems are to be solved, not to be avoided. Ren Xiaoqi and I will have to have a face to face talk eventually.
"Hey, Cun Zhiwei, you are not hiding from me, are you? I am your good sister. I am very disappointed that you are doing this." Ren Xiaoqi shouted again, and her voice was getting closer and closer to me.
I raised my head, forced back my tears, then stood up, straightened my work clothes, opened the door and walked out.
"I thought you were hiding from me!" Ren Xiaoqi was sitting at the bar, smiling at me as if nothing had happened. She raised her hand and said, "Give me the menu quickly. I'm hungry. So hungry."
Xiao Chen timidly handed over the menu, but Ren Xiaoqi didn't even look at the menu and asked directly, "Do you have spicy hot pot?"
"Sorry, no." Xiao Chen replied in a low voice.
"Do you have plain noodles?" Ren Xiaoqi asked.
"Sorry, no." Xiao Chen said.
"Do you have Big Macs?" Ren Xiaoqi asked again.
Xiao Chen knew that she was deliberately looking for trouble, so he reminded her, "Miss, this is a cafe, and the food we can provide is mostly Western. We really don't have what you want."
"Miss? Who are you calling Miss?" Ren Xiaoqi stood up and slammed the menu on the table, saying, "You are scolding me! You are Miss, your whole family is Miss!"
"Let me do it." I pulled Xiao Chen aside and mustered up my courage to stand in front of Ren Xiaoqi. I knew she was deliberately provoking me, and the dishes she ordered were all our favorites.
I looked at Ren Xiaoqi carefully. The sun shone on her face. Her long and curled eyelashes were like fluttering butterflies, flashing with her eyes. I always envied her for having a pair of beautiful eyes and long eyelashes that all women envied, but she always wasted her natural beauty by putting on panda eye makeup to cover it all up.
Today she wore very light makeup and her clothes were more normal than before, no longer rivets or holes. I don't know what happened to her in the past six months. From the moment she walked in, I felt that she was shrouded in a mist that I couldn't see through. Only when she shouted my name and swore at me did I feel like I had seen the real Ren Xiaoqi.
Thinking of the days when we were arm in arm in arm, I feel a little sad. Those times, like movie films, flowed through the years, just like cherry blossoms after the rain, suddenly becoming gray and losing their luster.
I bit my lip to remind myself that the past is past and I can't look back. Once I turn around, there will be no return.
After getting myself in a good mood, I stood in front of Ren Xiaoqi as a waiter, with a professional smile on my face: "Dear customer, our restaurant is currently unable to make the dishes you ordered. Currently, the only dishes our chef can make are those on the menu."
"Cun Zhiwei, are you trying to draw a line between you and me?" She looked at me with a sad face. Even when she was bullied by Teacher Zhao, I had never seen her so sad.
I bit my lips, the taste of blood filling my mouth to keep my brain clear: "It's working hours now, I have to be responsible for every customer."
"Cun Zhiwei! I'm asking you, are you trying to draw a line between you and me?" She glared at him and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"This customer is at work now..."
"Fuck your working hours, fuck your responsibility to every customer, Cun Zhiwei, I am your friend, a friend!" Ren Xiaoqi rushed into the bar and pulled me towards the door. She was very strong and I couldn't break free.
Xiao Chen panicked when she saw this situation and shouted towards the kitchen: "Sister Su, Sister Su, please come out and take a look, hurry up."
Ren Xiaoqi dragged me out of the coffee shop. Sister Su rushed out with Xiao Chen and asked me if I wanted to call the police. I refused, saying that would only make Ren Xiaoqi even crazier. Sister Su looked at me meaningfully and took the worried Xiao Chen back to the store. She is smarter than anyone and understands the human heart better than anyone.
Ren Xiaoqi grabbed my arm. It was still the hot late summer and we were both wearing short sleeves. She grabbed my hand very tightly and her colorful and hard nails pricked me.
Seeing me frown, she loosened her hand in panic, took a step back, and asked, "Did I hurt you?"
I looked at her worried expression and felt a little sorry for her.
It is better to suffer a short pain than a long one. After I made up my mind, I said to her, "Xiaoqi, I have decided to start a new life."
"A new life? What do you mean?" She looked at me blankly, tears welling up in her eyes, as if she didn't understand what I said. "Cun Zhiwei, do you mean you don't want me as your friend anymore?"
"I mean, we can still be friends, but I can't be crazy and make trouble with you like before. I want to start my own life, a new life. I don't want to be a little gangster who no one believes when she tells the truth. Xiaoqi, we have all been through it, and I think you can understand." I began to tell her about the time when I told the truth over and over again and was questioned, omitting the part about my grandmother kneeling down.
"I understand. So what? Are you going to give up our friendship because of this?" She looked at me in disbelief, growling and questioning.
"I'm not saying give up our friendship, I just..." I wanted to explain, but I couldn't find a reason to convince her.
"Cun Zhiwei, do you think you are so great just because you got into A University? Do you look down on me? Do you think it's embarrassing for you to know someone like me because of your past?" She grabbed my arm again, holding it tightly, no longer caring whether it hurt me or not. "I'm telling you, it's impossible. I will never let you go, never!"
"What are you doing?" Yan Wenbo suddenly appeared, standing between me and Ren Xiaoqi, shook off her hand that was grabbing me, and blocked me behind him.
I stood there motionless like a puppet, staring blankly at the sadness, sorrow, anger, and surprise on her face... I had thought about our reunion, and thought of many possibilities, but they all ended in sadness. I knew Ren Xiaoqi too well.
"Who are you?" She looked at the person in front of her warily, trying to change her position to see me clearly behind Yan Wenbo, but he easily moved and blocked me.
"Guess who I am. If you guess correctly, I'll tell you." Yan Wenbo ignored Ren Xiaoqi's anger and responded easily.
I was usually deliberately pushed and teased by Yan Wenbo, but at this moment, looking at his figure, my heart was filled with an inexplicable sense of security.
In the eyes of others, he is a famous playboy. It is said that no girl can stay with him for more than three months.
After hearing this rumor, Shi Shuxia counted on his fingers in the dormitory. Even if he had one girlfriend for three months, and he was in college for three years, a total of thirty-six months would mean he had twelve girlfriends. If he included those who were only together for a week or a month, he would have dated at least twenty girls in these three years!
Xu Meng'er even had a bold guess: if he continued to make girlfriends at this rate, would it happen that four ex-girlfriends would accidentally play mahjong at the same table?
The three of us laughed out loud at this speculation. It was the first time we got together and laughed so happily since moving into the new dormitory.
Yan Wenbo, who seemed a little incredible and unruly in the eyes of outsiders, stood firmly in front of me at this moment, as if he was worried that I would be hurt.
Everyone is like a multi-faceted rhombus. The closer you get to them and the more you understand them, the more you discover a different side.
Ren Xiaoqi, who had failed to achieve her goal, looked at Yan Wenbo who was standing in front of her like a mountain, and said to me, "Cun Zhiwei, there are outsiders here today. I don't want to argue with you anymore. Let's meet another day and talk it out." After that, she left angrily.
Her departure made me feel mixed emotions. I knew that today's storm was averted because of Yan Wenbo. The next time we meet, it will definitely not be as peaceful as it is now...
I tried to calm myself down, not wanting to be seen through by Yan Wenbo in front of me. The clock reminded me that it was time to get off work, and after apologizing to Sister Su, Yan Wenbo and I left the coffee shop together.
On the way back, the pain and sadness of the past became clearer and clearer in my mind. Every time I thought of it, my hair and scalp would hurt more.
During the three years that Ren Xiaoqi and I depended on each other, we smiled sincerely and treated each other as our only friend.
I know I have changed, but she still stands there, foolishly thinking that I will look back.
Apart from the word "I'm sorry", which I hate the most, I couldn't think of anything else to say to her.
Yan Wenbo waved his hands in front of my eyes, interrupting my recollection: "Hey, what are you thinking about?"
I came back to my senses and looked at Yan Wenbo in front of me. I was stunned for a moment: "Huh?"
"Cun Zhiwei, how many secrets are hidden in your heart?" Yan Wenbo stared at me inquiringly.
This kind of look made me feel a little timid, afraid that he could see through everything about me.
Without getting my answer, Yan Wenbo hesitated for a while, then changed back to his usual casual and nonchalant appearance: "It doesn't matter if you don't tell me. In this world, everyone has secrets. Secrets are dark, and they can't be told to others openly, so I won't force it."
After saying that, Yan Wenbo reached out and casually ruffled my hair. “But, next time you have such an easy opportunity to be a hero and save a beautiful girl, remember to contact me. I will go through fire and water for you.”
I couldn't help but give him a bored look and asked, "Why are you there?"
Yan Wenbo wrinkled his nose and said, "The reason is very simple. I heard that you were working there, so I wanted to take a look out of curiosity to see what Weiwei looked like in uniform and whether she looked cuter. But just as I arrived, you were dragged out by a fierce-looking girl, who said a lot of nonsense. I saw that girl grabbing your arm, and you were frowning in pain, but she still refused to let go. I knew it was time to be a hero and save the beauty. Was my timing just right?"
"Yeah, okay, okay, thank you." Faced with his endless self-praise, I felt a little fed up, so I replied perfunctorily and continued walking forward.
Along the way, I was struggling with how to explain the whole thing to Ren Xiaoqi next time. As a former good friend, I hoped that she could understand the decision I made instead of turning against me and parting ways with me.
I still cherish her very much, after all, she accompanied me through those dark years. But I am also entangled in the fact that if I have to say goodbye to the past, I must say goodbye to the people and things in the past without any nostalgia, and she is one of the people in the past.
What should I do?
Yan Wenbo was telling his stand-up comedy in my ear like a fly, and I really couldn't ignore his presence. Buzzing, buzzing, every word seemed to be hitting my confused head, making it even more messed up.
"Hey, Cun Zhiwei, are all you girls so fickle? When you were hiding behind me just now, you looked grateful to me, but why are you so cold and ignoring me now? It seems that you and my girlfriends are really the same." Yan Wenbo sighed.
The first time I heard him mention his own affairs, I couldn't help but express the question in my mind: "How many girlfriends have you had?"
This question made Yan Wenbo stunned for a moment, and then he fell into a long thought. After a long while, he slowly answered: "Well, I haven't counted it carefully, but if you add them up, there should be more than 20..."
Hearing such a horrifying number, I couldn't help but shake my head, but I had no desire to explore it further.
But Yan Wenbo opened up: "Don't shake your head, do you think I want to date so many girlfriends? I don't know what's wrong with them. They started to break up not long after being with me. I even wonder if I have been cursed by some terrible curse, really!"
He looked extremely serious, as if he had thought about this problem seriously.
"Even if you're not cursed, you probably don't know how to love someone..." I responded indifferently, and my desire to express myself was close to zero.
"How do you love someone? Isn't it to buy her everything she wants and give it to her?" He looked confused and looked at me as if he was a life mentor.
I was just responding perfunctorily, but I was asked such a profound question. I was dumbfounded for a moment.
Just as I was thinking, a person's face appeared clearly in my mind.
Yes, Ji Suting.
I remember his profile when it was shrouded in the afterglow, his eyes as bright as stars when he smiled warmly, and the warm sunshine when he looked up and whispered.
Before I met him, I firmly believed that everyone in this world has a dark side; but after meeting him, I know that some people are destined to be the sun.
Although he is brilliant, he is warm and real.
"If one day, you meet someone, and you walk together in the night of this city, you turn to look at her, she lowers her eyes and smiles, and when you look up, the stars are shining, then you have fallen in love with this person." I was afraid that my thoughts would be seen through, so I said it very tactfully.
"Hahaha, the stars are shining brightly, Weiwei, you've read too many novels and are possessed, right? With the air quality in our city, can you see the stars when you look up at night? You must be dreaming!" Yan Wenbo sneered without comment. He didn't look at me again, turned around and walked forward.
I know that to him, what I said is nothing but boring plots from romance novels.
Like Yan Wenbo, I once thought that this was just empty talk in novels to deceive people. How could we possibly see the stars in today’s severe smog?
But, on the night when I walked with Ji Suting, I believed that there is always someone in this world who can break the hard shell of your heart. There is always someone in this world who can take you to experience the prosperity of the world and let you see the stars in the sky.
The moment I met him, the fireworks in my heart bloomed brilliantly.