That Girl Who Skipped Class — You're In Big Trouble! - Chapter 27

chapter 27

The atmosphere quieted down, but unlike the tense urgency Xiao Xuan had previously conveyed, there was a sense of despair. Xiao Xuan’s body, which had been straining forward, suddenly relaxed. The urgency in her eyes was replaced by coldness. This was the Xiao Xuan from her first encounter with An Qingyang, the one who glanced at her while getting dressed—restrained, distant, and inwardly indifferent.

Her sudden chill pierced An Qingyang. She knew she would say those words, and she did. She no longer cared about the consequences. Let all the effort and warmth received over the past days end today: “I met Eileen. She said you and she are the same kind of person. Until yesterday, I still held onto a glimmer of hope. Now I’m certain she was right. I still remember the first time I saw you, the way you sat next to the Dean. Teacher Xiao, you value fame, fortune, and material things more than the person who loves you. You’ve never changed since you came back to China for Cheng Fei’s money. Now you’re trying to force this approach onto me. You can’t accept that I chose to take care of you and skip the competition, and I can’t accept a person like you who can abandon everyone around you for success.”

An Qingyang spoke every word, growing increasingly choked up towards the end. The girl’s words were like stones, repeatedly hitting the soft spot in Xiao Xuan’s heart. She could even hear the cry of anguish in her chest, and her body involuntarily trembled slightly. But she held firm. If it came down to putting on an act, who could surpass her?

Xiao Xuan smiled again, her posture elegant, her face radiant, not at all like a recovering patient: “Yáng Yáng, thank you for always trying so hard to understand me. You can leave now. I don’t want to see you again.”

An Qingyang left, pulled away by Zhang Xiaoxiao, without looking back, leaving only a silent Xiao Ting. Xiao Xuan turned her head, looking out the window, seemingly observing something, but it was blocked by the dark blue curtain, which was dusty.

Soon, a hand rested on Xiao Xuan’s shoulder: “Sis, stop looking. There’s nothing there.” Seeing Xiao Xuan ignore him, Xiao Ting gently shook her shoulder: “Come on. Should I go talk to her? Even though I don’t know her yet.”

Xiao Xuan turned back, her lips slightly pursed, her chin raised a little: “No need. She’s just a student of mine.”

Xiao Ting raised an eyebrow. As a troublemaker who had been disciplined by his older sister since childhood, he was all too familiar with that expression of Xiao Xuan’s. When their father beat him countless times as a child, Xiao Xuan would always hold his small body, the tears swelling in her eyes never falling. In the tenth grade, he got a girl pregnant. Xiao Xuan stood before the girl’s parents, enduring their insults, apologizing profusely, her lips slightly pursed. In the period after she returned home from Australia, Xiao Ting saw her pursing her lips and sitting straight on the sofa, chin raised, every time she finished a phone call.

That girl is more than just a student of yours, isn’t she?

…

In the Starbucks across from the hospital, An Qingyang sat on a brown leather sofa. There weren’t many customers on the open-air balcony. Zhang Xiaoxiao ordered two lattes and sat across from An Qingyang. Both seemed to be in low spirits, silently drinking their coffee.

Zhang Xiaoxiao cleared her throat, stretching her hands wide on the table: “This is fucking great. We’re both single dogs now.” She waved her hand in front of An Qingyang’s eyes: “How about we just get together?”

An Qingyang rolled her eyes at her: “I don’t like people like you.”

Zhang Xiaoxiao didn’t retort. She gripped her coffee cup with both hands, becoming serious: “Yáng Yáng, you’re amazing. I truly admire you. I wouldn’t dare curse at her so righteously in front of her. Her ice-block face, when she smiles, is so chilling, it scared me into holding my breath.”

An Qingyang couldn’t smile: “You still have the mood to joke now.”

Zhang Xiaoxiao scratched her head, pulled a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, took out two, and offered one to An Qingyang. An Qingyang took it, and the first puff made her choke and cough.

“Do you remember the handsome young man who just came in? Xiao Xuan’s younger brother. He’s caused a lot of trouble since he was a kid, and Xiao Xuan has always cleaned up his messes.”

An Qingyang knew Zhang Xiaoxiao had something important to say. She nodded, signaling her to continue.

“How should I put it, Xiao Xuan? Her family was poor when she was little, and her father was an alcoholic. Plus, she had a naughty younger brother. She had to bear all the problems alone, so it’s understandable that she’s a little overly ambitious,” Zhang Xiaoxiao exhaled a puff of smoke, recalling. “I met her when I was pursuing Song Mingying in college. We were all poor then. The three of us squeezed into a rented apartment, and she paid most of the rent. She worked to earn money alone and had a brother and father to take care of at home, so it was very tough.”

An Qingyang nodded again: “She is warm, and also strong, and reliable. I know all that.”

Zhang Xiaoxiao looked at her, confused: “Then why did you do what you did today?”

“I wanted a day when she wouldn’t be so calculating with me. I hoped she could relax, not strive, and lower all her defenses in front of me because I have everything and am willing to give it all to her. But I found that neither of us could do it. She kept demanding things of me in a way she thought was right.” An Qingyang placed the cigarette she had only smoked a few puffs of near the ashtray.

Zhang Xiaoxiao was about to speak, but saw the girl across from her tilting her head and smiling, the corners of her mouth turned up, but her eyes were filled with tears about to spill: “I’ve chosen to step away now. I’ve decided not to like her anymore. Does that sound cool?”