Gu Xueting froze. Although Ji Feng had rejected her many times over the past few days, she still couldn't accept his current attitude.
"Why? Why has it come to this? Just because I rejected you once, does that mean we can't be friends anymore? Why are you treating me like this?"
Ji Feng’s mouth twitched. This girl’s delusional narcissism was terrifying!
He said nothing, but Gu Xueting pressed on, unyielding:
"She might be smart, but am I really that much worse?"
Ji Feng felt that since she had asked, he had no choice but to answer honestly.
"She’s ranked first in the grade, and you’re only third. The difference is obvious, don't you think?"
Li Long, the class monitor, saw Ji Feng rebuff Gu Xueting and quickly stepped in to interject:
"Look, Xueting, Wunnuan and Ji Feng have already developed a certain rapport. If we try to join in now, we’ll only be a distraction to each other. Why don't we team up instead? We can keep each other on track."
Gu Xueting was already in a foul mood; hearing this, she exploded:
"What rapport? Are you blind?"
Li Long’s face turned a mixture of blue and red after being shut down by Gu Xueting twice. Nearby, some students who were watching the drama had to puff out their cheeks to keep from laughing out loud.
Ji Feng was getting annoyed, too. He waved his hand at them:
"Alright, alright, back off a bit. Why are you all standing around here? Is Batman off duty today? Is Gotham safe now?"
Gu Xueting had no idea what Batman or Gotham meant, but it clearly didn't sound like a compliment.
"Ji Feng, can you stop this? I don't want things to be like this. Can’t we just go back to the way we were?"
Gu Xueting’s voice was laced with tears. If this were the old Ji Feng, he might have gone soft, but unfortunately...
"Some people talk you into good things, others into bad. I understand both, but you’re the only one who talks people into jumping off a cliff. You really want me dead, don't you?"
"Ji Feng."
"Get lost. You’ve already wasted nine minutes of my study time."
Ji Feng’s harsh tone made Gu Xueting step back in a hurry. Li Long stepped forward to help her, but she shoved him aside. She then roared at him:
"Get away from me, you pathetic lapdog!"
With that, she stormed out of the classroom.
Li Long: "???"
He stood there stunned for a moment, his face flickering with varying shades of humiliation, lost in thought.
Ji Feng had already returned to studying with Wunnuan. As the interruption faded, the classroom returned to silence. Only the class monitor, Li Long, remained like a total clown. He looked at Ji Feng with trepidation; in front of Ji Feng, his status as class monitor was absolutely useless.
It was basically impossible to actually do anything to Ji Feng. But what about Wunnuan?
Li Long’s gaze became secretive.
Saturday, the final day of the school week. Everyone studied as usual until the evening. After taking a bathroom break, Ji Feng prepared to call Wunnuan to go to the cafeteria for dinner as usual.
But the seat by the window was empty.
At first, he didn't think much of it and sat down to wait. But before long, whispers reached his ears.
"Was Wunnuan called out by Old Huang?"
"Yeah, heard it’s about that business with Ji Feng."
"Puppy love?"
"Yeah, probably calling her parents in. Wunnuan’s in big trouble now."
"I don't know what she’s thinking, hanging around him all day."
Ji Feng stood up abruptly. The students gossiping immediately fell silent. Ji Feng walked up to one of them and asked with a smile:
"Who started this rumor?"
"Uh, it was the class monitor."
"Li Long?"
Ji Feng didn't press further. He walked straight out of the classroom and lingered by the entrance of the teachers' office. He wasn't some arrogant, invincible CEO from a novel; charging in to "save the day" would be ridiculous. He just wanted to see if Wunnuan was there.
After a few days of contact, Ji Feng realized that Wunnuan was quite reclusive. The only time she showed any confidence was when she was explaining problems. Honestly, her personality wasn't great. Although she worked hard at her studies, there was always a sense of negativity about her. Ji Feng didn't know if that was just his imagination.
"Ji Feng, why are you here?"
Seeing the person approaching, Ji Feng narrowed his eyes slightly. He hadn't found Wunnuan, but he had run into the class monitor, Li Long.
Ji Feng felt a surge of irritation, but he couldn't be bothered to engage in a back-and-forth:
"Where is Wunnuan?"
"Who knows? She’s probably in a bad mood after being scolded by Teacher Huang. After all, her parents are being called in next Monday. She was crying earlier, so she’s probably feeling pretty regretful right now."
When he mentioned regret, Li Long glanced at Ji Feng with a hint of triumph. But Ji Feng’s mind was entirely on Wunnuan. Hearing that she had been crying earlier gave him a sudden, sinking feeling.
Wunnuan’s personality was actually quite extreme. Her reclusive, unsociable nature was a form of defense. In his past life, after her mother passed away and she failed the college entrance exam, she had chosen to take her own life at school. She was never the kind of "delicate flower" that grows stronger through adversity.
On the contrary, Wunnuan was fragile. That was why Ji Feng had been so carefree in his interactions with her, trying his best to look after her emotions. Beyond wanting to make up for his mistakes in his previous life, he simply couldn't bear to hurt such a fragile little flower.
Provoked by Li Long, Ji Feng took a deep breath and pointed at his nose:
"She better be fine. If she isn't, you’re going to be in big trouble."
"Uh, Ji Feng, the school has rules..."
"Rules can go to hell."
Dropping that harsh remark, Ji Feng left the building. He went to the cafeteria, then the playground, and even had people check the girls' restroom, but he still found nothing.
Standing on the playground with his hands on his hips, Ji Feng suddenly felt a chill in the night wind. Subconsciously, he looked up at the sky. Beneath the moonlight, he saw a silhouette on the edge of the school roof that flashed by.
"Dammit, no way."
Ji Feng swore and sprinted back to the building, heading straight for the roof.
The moonlight was bright, casting a silver glow over the sky, as if enveloping the entire space in a dreamlike atmosphere. A beautiful girl in her school uniform sat by the railing, gazing silently at the sky. Even though the moonlight was already like a painting, she made the scene even more brilliant and colorful.
The girl’s profile was gentle and delicate, like white jade frozen in the night scenery. The night wind blew through her long hair, making one want to run their fingers through it to feel the silkiness of her raven-black locks.
Try to talk her down? Talking would be useless. If her mind was set, she would just try again later.
Ji Feng abandoned his usual hurried demeanor, walked over to Wunnuan, and sat down without a word. Seeing him sit down, Wunnuan—who usually never spoke first—was the one to break the silence.
"Ji Feng."
"Yeah?"
"The path of life is just too long."
Ji Feng sensed something wrong with her emotional state and didn't act rashly:
"Why do you say that?"
"Those philosophy books say that life is a road, and you’ll encounter storms and obstacles along the way."
"Yeah, a lot of books say that."
"But walking is still just walking. To walk, you have to learn how, you have to pave the road, put on shoes, put on socks, put on clothes, sometimes wear a hat, sometimes face the wind, withstand the rain, and sometimes beg for passage, beg for passage. It’s so tiring!"