The cold war between Yan Wenbo and I was also posted on the school forum. Within a week, they had made up a love triangle. The title of the gossip post at the top of the forum was "I love you, but you love him", and the poster was called Xiao Ai.
This person described the emotional entanglement between the four of us vividly, with some truth and some lies mixed in. Plus, her writing was good, so she had a lot of fans and even a competition to write a sequel.
During this period, I still went to the library as usual, but my time was completely different from Ji Suting's, avoiding all opportunities to meet. We both knew that this was because we didn't want to cause trouble for ourselves or each other.
Because of Yan Wenbo's incident, I continued to make mistakes, big and small, in the course of my work, whether it was in the library or in the coffee shop. Sister Su couldn't stand my behavior, so she let me take two days of paid rest, which was a reward for my hard work for so long .
My busy life suddenly became empty. I lay in bed, not knowing what to do.
After thinking for a while, I got up and went to find Yan Wenbo. Even if he didn't want to see me, I wanted to make things clear to him. Even if we were breaking up, we couldn't do it in such an unclear way.
I finally met Yan Wenbo at a hot and sour noodle shop not far from the school gate. The shop was doing good business, and he was sitting at a round table at the door, eating noodles, sweating profusely.
He is not good at eating spicy food.
I sat in front of him, he looked up at me, and the chopsticks in his hand fell to the ground. He bent down in panic to pick up the chopsticks, and when he looked up, he bumped into the corner of the table.
"Be careful." I couldn't help but care about him. "Does it hurt?"
"Why are you here?" Yan Wenbo pushed away my outstretched hand, changed a pair of chopsticks and continued to eat the empty bowl of hot and sour noodles. He put down his chopsticks only when there was nothing left in the bowl, and he never looked at me.
"There is always a shortage of gossipers in this school. If I post on the forum, someone will tell me exactly where you are. Why didn't I think of this great idea earlier?" I smiled bitterly. I actually need this method to find my boyfriend. Posting the post itself is a joke!
He sat right in front of me, my eyes lingered on his face, recalling the days of laughter and fun. I really wanted to reach out and pull the corner of his mouth to see what he looked like when he smiled.
He was sitting right opposite me, within reach of me if I raised my hand, but I also knew that this distance seemed like billions of kilometers to us now.
He is going to leave me. This thought popped into my mind, like a fist hitting my chest. It hurts but I can't scream.
He lowered his head and stared at the red and spicy soup in front of him. After a long time, he raised his head and said to me: "If you are here to explain the matter of Ji Suting, forget it. I don't want to listen."
"I...are we going to end like this?" I opened my mouth in a hoarse voice. I knew that I must be extremely humble at this moment, just like myself back then when I wanted to chase after Cun Jiyuan and beg him to stay.
It was the first time that I felt such a heart-wrenching pain because of someone so far away. It was like the ancient punishment of slow slicing, where the blade cut the body again and again, piece by piece, and the blood kept flowing but I couldn't die.
The waiter came over and cleaned up the mess on the table. Business was so good that they did not welcome people who sat there and chatted after eating.
Yan Wenbo left twenty yuan on the table, said "No need for change" and stood up. I trotted after him. When I was about to catch up with him, I grabbed the corner of his clothes and asked timidly in a low voice: "Are you really not going to listen to my explanation?"
"I have something else to do." He replied coldly.
"If I tell you that Ji Suting and I have nothing to do with each other anymore, would you not believe it?" I waited for his answer , which seemed as long as a lifetime. I silently shed tears, looking at his back and the back of his head. The whole person seemed to be hollowed out, leaving only a shell.
He said, “Yes.”
The hands that were grabbing his clothes no longer had the strength to pull.
Maybe I was never meant to have love and was destined to be separated.
I thought that thinking like this would make my heart less sad, but I found that the big tree called love tightened its roots, and the slender roots penetrated into my flesh and blood.
"Yan Wenbo! Is your love so fragile? Is this what you call loving me?" Watching him walk away step by step, I couldn't help but shout at that figure.
He paused, then continued walking forward without looking back.
I bit my lips tightly and there was a faint taste of blood in my mouth.
The temperature difference at night was a bit big, and my thin coat couldn't withstand the cold wind, which made me shiver all over.
What's chilling to the bone is not the wind, but a broken heart.
I never thought love is so fragile. I was confident that Yan Wenbo would believe me, but now I beg him humbly and he refuses to turn his head back. It's like going through heaven and hell. I underestimated the influence Ji Suting everything.
I covered my face, squatted on the ground and cried silently without restraint.
I no longer care about face or pride .
Perhaps, the news that Cun Zhiwei was dumped by Yan Wenbo will soon appear on the campus forum again, with a picture of Cun Zhiwei squatting on the ground crying miserably.
Even so, what can I do? I am still sad!
I returned to the dormitory dejectedly. Xu Meng'er was not there. Shi Shuxia took the initiative to come forward and greet me. She said that Xu Meng'er had just painted her nails and put on makeup and went out happily, as if she was going to meet her boyfriend.
This is how the world is, some are happy and some are sad.
I thought of the Durex from last time, and the kiss between Yan Wenbo and I that was interrupted before it even started, and I felt even more disgusted with Shi Shuxia.
"Zhiwei, you have been so cold to me recently. I know you are in a bad mood because of Yan Wenbo's matter, and I shouldn't disturb you, but... if you have something on your mind, can you tell me? Why have we become like this? After all, you are my best friend in A University, and I don't want to lose you." Shi Shuxia was sobbing beside the bed. Her miserable appearance made me even more upset.
"I want to rest now. Let's talk later if you have anything to say!" I replied to her and covered my head. I ignored her and only heard her continuing to sob there.
After talking with Yan Wenbo, my condition became even worse, so I had to continue to ask for leave from Sister Su, and I went to the library to do the work anyway.
I tried very hard to pretend that nothing had happened and to face everything around me, but the more I tried, the more powerless I felt. My body was buried in fatigue every day, and I always had the illusion that I would faint at any time.
During this period of time, apart from classes, I hardly saw Xu Meng'er anywhere else. Every time I saw her, she dressed herself up beautifully and went out on a date, with a constant smile on her face.
As for Shi Shuxia, I really don't know how to face this person. She always passes by me with a sad expression, and every time she sees me, she seems to be hesitant to talk. I really don't feel like talking to her.
An incident occurred not long after, and everything I had painstakingly built collapsed in an instant.
"Cun Zhiwei, how do you want to deal with this matter?" I was sitting in the office like a detained prisoner, with three teachers with serious expressions sitting in front of me, and each of them looked like they wanted to beat me up.
"I'm sorry, I'll compensate you according to the price, okay?" I lowered my head and didn't dare to look up.
"Do you know how much damage this has caused to the school? Can you afford the compensation?" the library teacher asked coldly. She had the scariest expression among the three people, as if she could strangle me to death at any time.
"I'll do my best to make it up to you." I tried to make my tone sound sweet and not let them get any more angry. In fact, I did have an unshirkable responsibility in this matter.
The day before the accident, a batch of new books arrived at the library. After the teacher sorted them out, he told me to sort the books early the next morning before going to class.
This is not a big deal and doesn't take much time.
I woke up very early that morning, and when I packed up and left the dormitory, I was still a little dizzy. Because of Yan Wenbo, I always fell asleep at three or four in the morning during this period, and I was in a very bad mood.
I didn't notice anything wrong when I opened the door of the library. When I dragged my heavy body to the warehouse to get books, I heard a noise from inside. I simply thought there was a mouse inside, and I was thinking about reminding the teacher to buy some mouse traps.
The door was pushed open, and inside, a couple was sorting clothes with their backs to me. I was stunned, and before I could react, the boy had already pulled the girl away. I reacted and subconsciously chased after them. I was just impulsive at the time and didn't think much about it. Thinking back on it, I felt stupid. What would happen if I caught up with them? The school didn't want to expose such a shameful thing.
If things ended here, it wouldn't be a big deal. But when I returned to the warehouse, I saw a huge fire in front of me. Because there were books inside, the fire burned very quickly. I tried my best to put out the fire. Half of the books in the warehouse were burned, and the rest had more or less signs of burns. For the library, the loss was heavy.
The police came and said that the couple must have left behind an unextinguished cigarette butt when they left, and the cigarette butt caught fire when it touched the book.
They also tried to find the couple through surveillance, but the couple seemed to be very familiar with the location of the surveillance cameras and walked through blind spots of the surveillance. Apart from a few useless clothing cameras, nothing could be found.
This blame can only and must be borne by me.
So I sat in front of the teachers, listening to them criticize me, not daring to say a word.
Those sharp words hit my chest one by one. They said that I shouldn't have been given the opportunity to volunteer in the first place. A girl who caused a lot of trouble even by submitting an application form should lose this qualification. They said that the school gave me this opportunity out of pity. It would be fine if I didn't know how to cherish it, but I did something so irreparable. People like me shouldn't stay in A University. They said that people who come to A University and do nothing but fall in love, how can they do something well with their heart? They said...
It turns out that the teachers were also always keeping an eye on school gossip, and they knew how big a deal my love affair had become.
I lowered my head and endured all the criticisms. Even when they said that a child without parents like you has a flawed character, I still endured it. My fists were clenched tightly, my nails dug into my flesh, and I seemed to smell the smell of blood in the air.
Ji Suting walked into the office under such circumstances. He didn't look at me, but walked straight to the teacher and bowed.
The library teacher asked: "This matter has nothing to do with you, why are you here?"
Ji Suting said, "This matter was originally my fault. I was in a bad mood recently because of some personal matters. I was a little careless when I checked the door last night and didn't notice that someone was there. I heard about this matter early this morning, and thought that the problem might have occurred because of my negligence, so I hurried over. This matter was , and I will bear all subsequent compensation issues no matter how much. I hope the teachers will not punish Cun Zhiwei. In that situation, it was an instinctive reaction to chase them out. She certainly didn't expect the couple to leave cigarette butts behind."
"Ji Suting, are you going to take the blame for her?" another teacher asked incredulously, "Do you know that this will result in a serious punishment?"
"Teacher, I am not taking responsibility for Cun Zhiwei, but this incident itself is my fault. I must be responsible for my mistake and should not let Cun Zhiwei take the blame for me." Ji Suting took all the blame on himself and refused to share any of it with me.
The surprise in my eyes was no less than that of the teachers, but what I saw was a deeper gratitude.
"I will study this matter again with the school. The whole school will be informed of your treatment soon. You should be prepared to be punished severely!" The library teacher threw the pen in his hand with some disappointment. He stood up and pointed at Ji Suting, said "you" several times, and finally left with a sigh.
In his heart, Ji Suting was an impeccable good student. I had seen him praise him to other teachers with great joy several times. It was such a good student who stood up to take the blame for me and took all the blame on himself. It was impossible not to be disappointed.
The teachers had all left, and I stood up and whispered, "Thank you."
"Cun Zhiwei, look up. The Cun Zhiwei I know is not such a depressed person." He smiled, seemingly unconcerned.
"It's really my fault. I didn't notice it..." I really couldn't be happy about someone taking the blame for me.
"Don't feel sorry for me. I was also at fault in this matter. If you don't think so, just think of it as..." He looked up at the sky outside the house with a dazed look in his eyes. "If you really think that all the faults are yours, then just think of it as me making up for all the times I deceived you."
"You don't owe me anything, really." I stood up, thanked him again and left. He followed me out the door without saying a word.
When I walked out of the library, Yan Wenbo, who seemed to have been waiting for a long time, was standing outside the door. He looked up at me, then looked at Ji Suting beside me, and left without saying anything. Even though I called him from behind, he didn't look back.
This scene seems familiar.
Within two days, the news that Ji Suting took the blame for me spread throughout the campus. No one knew how the news got out, and no one investigated the channel through which it was spread. All everyone cared about was what the relationship between Ji Suting and Cun Zhiwei was, and why he had to take the blame for such a big mistake.
Ji Suting also posted a message on the school forum for the first time, explaining the cause and effect of the whole incident, blaming all the faults on himself, and emphasizing that I was the one who was wronged.
This was not a big deal , as everyone was more certain that Ji Suting was deeply in love with Cun Zhiwei. As for Yan Wenbo, they had long forgotten about him.
Because of this incident, Yan Wenbo and I had another fight. We didn’t meet in person, but we quarreled over text messages. He even refused to see me.
His point is simple, there is nothing wrong with you, why should he take the blame for you.
I had ten thousand explanations but they were all choked back by this one sentence, and we ended up parting on bad terms.
A few days later, the school's punishment announcement came out. Ji Suting was given a major demerit and I was given a minor demerit. The poverty scholarship was also completely ruined, which put an end to the series of farces that had been caused since the application was submitted.
And it seems that the relationship between Yan Wenbo and I is coming to an end!
I once patted my chest and said that I would be with you for a lifetime, but in the end it was just a joke made when I was young and ignorant, and it should not be taken seriously.