"Well, to be honest, I can't figure it out either. Forget it," Shuishui said as she tried to restrain herself from laughing.
Mu Zilin was speechless. "I'm going down!" he shouted. Shuishui could be humorous at times.
Qian Anzhi simply didn't ask any more questions. The topic soon changed. He was quite disappointed.
They continued to play, chat, and laugh.
Qian Momo, on the other hand, was alone at home. She thought deeply about what had happened. She had fallen in love with Mu Ziyu at first sight. She really liked him. She was deeply infatuated with him. She remembered how she glanced at him, and his image was etched her heart since then. She even thought about him while she showered.
Suddenly, she felt shy and scared.
She wanted to be with him. She imagined how good her life would be if she had Mu Ziyu as her lover for the rest of her life.
Her thoughts then ran wild. She knew that Shuishui and Mu Ziyu's younger brother were good friends, so she was really envious that they could spend time with Mu Ziyu. Why was Mu Ziyu even putting meat in Qian Shuishui's bowl? Qian Shuishui didn't say anything and just ate. She didn't have any manners at all.
Even after some time, she realized that her love for Mu Ziyu didn't fade at all. It was the first time she had felt that way for anyone. That was why she felt more determined than ever. She thought that if she persisted, she would be rewarded.
She pondered on her background. With her qualifications, she couldn't say that she wasn't worthy of Mu Ziyu.
Suddenly, Qian Momo felt a little proud. She felt that she was strong in all aspects and was a good match for Mu Ziyu.
Back in Shuishui's apartment, the group played until the wee hours of the morning. Although they had to go to class the next day, they were up and awake like night owls. They immediately slept as they dispersed.
Although Shuishui had become accustomed to sleeping early, she could still bear to stay up late.
The next day, the alarm clock rang. Even though she was very sleepy, she still got up. After washing up, she felt much more energetic. Then, she went out to wake up Qian Anzhi. "Get up. Brush your teeth, wash up, and eat some breakfast. Then, you go straight to school," she said as she roused him.
"Sis, I'm so sleepy. Give me five more minutes of sleep," Anzhi muttered almost inaudibly.
"Get up. Don't oversleep! That was just your first night here and yet you're already lazy. You'll be late for school. What will Dad think if he finds out?" Shuishui told Anzhi.
It made an impact on Qian Anzhi, who immediately sat up. "Er, Sister, what time did we sleep last night?"
"Around two or three o'clock. Go wash up. I'll make breakfast," Shuishui said as she glanced at Qian Anzhi. She rushed to the kitchen to prepare noodles, which was the easiest to prepare.
She realized that she ran out of noodles. She had only fans.
She cooked the fans and brought them out. As Qian Anzhi sat down, he said, "Sister, there's a bus stop outside your apartment. Buses marked 377 will directly pass by the entrance of my school. It's quite convenient."
"That's good. Go to school as soon as you're done eating. Don't be late. There's a box of clean fruits here. Take it to school." Shuishui put the things into Qian Anzhi's bag.
Qian Anzhi nodded and quickly finished eating the fans. He carried his bag and went out. "Sis, I'm leaving."
Shuishui waved her hand. "Hurry up and go."
After she washed she dishes, she prepared herself and went to school. It was convenient to live close to the school, so she didn't need to hurry.
Shuishui regretted not bringing a parasol. The sun was particularly hot. She had worn a coat because parts of her body were still bruised. Because Qian Anzhi was around and Ziyu couldn't really visit her alone, she applied the medicinal wine herself. The bruised areas had become much lighter after three to four days.
The students curiosity about what happened to Shuishui ceased. After all, a few days had already passed.
The only difference was that the whole class began to ostracize Xu Die. Even Lili, who used to hang out with Xu Die, stopped talking to Xu Die. Xu Die even approached her, but Lili deliberately ignored her. It was evident that Lili had gotten fed up with Xu Die's horrible character.
Initially, Xu Die didn't think it was a big deal. She went around the classroom and talked to the boys. Unfortunately, the boys were also very hostile towards Xu Die. Lili had confirmed to the others that the previous day, Xu Die had spread malicious information about Qian Shuishui in a public group chat. The boys found Xu Die too scheming and manipulative.
Xu Die approached one of the boys. "Yu Hongjie, can you help me?" Yu Hongjie had once bought her breakfast.
The chair creaked as Yu Hongjie leaned back. "Sorry. I'm still catching up on my homework. It's going to be handed in soon. Please find someone else to help you."
"I just want you to help me buy something at the small shop. I'm feeling a little unwell." Her coquettish voice made the surrounding people feel disgusted.
Yu Hongjie noticed that the other students were looking at him. He was nervous. He said, "Find someone else. I have my own affairs to attend to. I can't help you."
"The truth is that you weren't like this when you bought me breakfast!" Xu Die yelled at him. Xu Die felt annoyed. She wasn't stupid. She saw that she was isolated by the entire class. "Did Qian Shuishui ask you not to talk to me?" she asked him in an antagonizing tone.
The people around watched the scene unfold. They thought it was amusing that Xu Die would always blame Shuishui for everything.
Lili said weakly, "Xu Die, go apologize to Shuishui."
Lili was about to tell Xu Die that it wasn't Shuishui who told her to instruct Xu Die to apologize. Shuishui wasn't even in the classroom. Only Mu Zilin was there. Xu Die walked out of the classroom without telling anyone where she was headed.
Xu Die went to look for the form teacher. She wanted to ask for the form teacher's opinion.
She felt that it was very shameful to look for the form teacher for such petty concerns. She wasn't a primary school student. She was quite aware that if she went to complain about such matters, she would be ridiculed. However, Xu Die couldn't care less. If things got worse, she could just transfer to another class. She wanted to see what she could do to gain sympathy and win over people to her side. She wanted the teachers to know what kind of person Qian Shuishui was.
She knew that the teachers generally liked Shuishui. She, on the other hand, hated even seeing Shuishui. Was it because she was envious of Shuishui's good grades?
Xu Die felt that Shuishui's good grades were useless since she had a bad personality.
When she arrived at the office, she went straight to the form teacher. "Teacher, I have something to tell you."
"What's wrong?" The form teacher clasped her hands and placed them on the table.
Xu Die looked very aggrieved as she spoke. "It's just that . . . I feel that Qian Shuishui is targeting me and ordering the students in the class to not speak to me."
Little did Xu Die know that the form teacher was also a member in the group chat. She concealed her identity and read the students' discussions to know their opinions on certain matters and understand the lives they lived. She had asked the class monitor to update her about important things discussed in the chat. She concealed her identity so that she wouldn't be exposed. Later on, it seemed that everyone had no qualms about freely chatting in the group chat. One of the members of the chat, a student, sent a message about Xu Die. She said that she had seen with her own eyes and heard with her own ears how Xu Die slandered Shuishui. Xu Die had been spreading wrong information about Shuishui.
She was the homeroom teacher. She had the obligation to ensure that the students dealt with their problems peacefully and in a dignified manner. Xu Die was spreading rumors everywhere. It simply wasn't right.
However, she didn't say anything. No one in the group chat knew that they had a teacher among them. The class monitor also seemed to have forgotten that their homeroom teacher was also in the group chat. The students gossiped without restraint.
The homeroom teacher recalled how she gossiped about their teachers when she was in high school. It was normal. However, she felt awkward when she read a few complaints about her in the chat.
She even sent a message: "Qian Shuishui probably won't say that." Everyone was talking about Xu Die. They said that they would ignore her existence and let her know that she was wrong. In fact, she really wanted to reveal herself and call out the students for their behavior. Wouldn't that be isolating Xu Die? But she restrained herself and observed to see how the conversation would turn out. She planned to find an excuse to discuss the matter in class.
Since Xu Die visited her, she felt that she should have a good talk with Xu Die.
"Xu Die, people don't do bad things to a person for no reason. Sometimes, you have to see if you did something wrong before you get angry about why your classmates are ostracizing you," the form teacher told Xu Die in a calm tone.
Xu Die continued her rant. "I'm sure that it was Qian Shuishui who made them isolate me. Only Qian Shuishui and I are not on good terms."
The teacher was curious. "Then tell me, what grudges do you bear against Shuishui? What happened?" The other teachers treated Qian Shuishui very well not only because she had good grades. She was also very friendly to the students and respectful to teachers. There was simply nothing wrong with her. The only problem was that she liked to read extracurricular books during class hours. In spite of that, she could still answer all the questions thrown at her. She was not a problematic student.
"I feel that Qian Shuishui just doesn't like me. I don't know why, but every time we argue, she would talk rudely." Xu Die had simply distorted the truth. Xu Die wanted to drag down the teacher's good impression of Shuishui. She felt that no one would be able to find out the truth.
The form teacher looked at Xu Die. "Then why did she argue with you? What happened?"
Xu Die shifted all the blame to Shuishui. "Well, I don't really remember. Anyway, we were talking once, and she suddenly scolded us."
The homeroom teacher sighed deeply and said, "Xu Die, I hope that you can correct your own views." The teacher was not biased towards Shuishui. She simply understood that the students would simply isolate someone in favor of another. The students had been in school for only two months. How could Qian Shuishui control and manipulate everyone? She knew it was simply not possible.
"Just because Qian Shuishui is a good student, others believe her when she says bad things about me. Everyone now hates me," Xu Die said in a meek tone as she tried to gain sympathy. She continued to forcefully put Shuishui in bad light. She couldn't say anything else because she couldn't directly answer the teacher's questions.
The teacher saw Xu Die as a young, immature, and inexperienced girl. She saw through Xu Die's lies. Students should study hard and not engage in scheming. She knew that Qian Shuishui didn't like to talk much and that she was also a little cold towards others. It was just who she was. It was difficult to imagine that such a person would go around and speak ill of others.