When Qiao Wen got home, Grandmother was having lunch. She was surprised to see her back. "Why are you back already? Is the celebration over?"
"Yes." Qiao Wen did not say much more. She returned to her small bed and sat there with her knees pulled to her chest.
It was called a bed, but in reality, it was just a narrow corridor between the kitchen and the room. That was where she did her homework, studied, and slept.
Seeing her crawl in there as soon as she arrived, Grandmother didn't think much of it, assuming she had finished playing and returned to do her homework. After all, the friend her granddaughter had made was quite good; not only did she invite Qiao Wen to celebrate her birthday, but lately, Qiao Wen had been studying diligently, and her math grades, in particular, had finally reached a passing level.
Qiao Wen did not know what Grandmother was thinking; she was lost in her own thoughts.
Chu Yun hoped to be seen as a kind person by others. She had always been alone, and what she lacked were friends. Therefore, Chu Yun was not a true friend. She had been used by Chu Yun.
It was all fake! The friendship was fake! The bond was fake! Even the kindness Chu Yun showed her was fake!
Why was she so unlucky that it had to be her?
The other students didn't like her; they bullied her for no reason. And now, Chu Yun was bullying her too...
Just because there was no one to protect her, did she have to endure all this?
Another voice in her heart said: "Even if Chu Yun is using you, you have at least gained a friend. Your grades have improved. All of this was brought to you by Chu Yun. Since she wants to be a kind person, if you continue to be her friend, you can keep having a friend. Who knows, maybe your grades will get even better? Is that not a good thing?"
However, the first voice accused her angrily: "What good is that! How can someone who uses others to define themselves be a good person!"
the second voice retorted: "But nobody has lost anything, right? If you don't befriend Chu Yun, your grades might drop, you'll have no friends, and you will truly get bullied. Do you still want to be bullied?"
The two voices were fighting, and Qiao Wen’s head was buzzing. She buried her face in her knees, trying to block out the noisy debate.
She sat like that for an hour. In the main room, Grandmother was taking a nap on her bed, while the leftovers and used dishes sat scattered on the table.
Come the new week, when Qiao Wen entered the classroom, it was noisy. Jiāng Méi and a few others were gathered around Chu Yun, chatting.
Qiao Wen walked over, and just as she was about to call out to Chu Yun, a girl beside her shoved her aside. "Chu Yun, I saw your drawings hanging in the school display case. They’re so beautiful! Could you teach me?"
"Sure!" Chu Yun answered readily.
Qiao Wen wanted to step forward to talk to Chu Yun, but Jiāng Méi cut between them. "Chu Yun, let's go to the display case and look at your drawings."
"Yeah, yeah, let’s go!" The surrounding girls chattered and pulled Chu Yun away.
And so, Qiao Wen watched helplessly as Jiāng Méi and the others crowded around Chu Yun and left. Just before walking out of the classroom, Jiāng Méi looked back at her and smiled triumphantly.
Qiao Wen clenched her fists, telling herself it didn't matter and there would be other chances. She sat at her desk and shoved her schoolbag into the shelf.
But in fact, just like before the birthday celebration, she could never find a chance to speak to Chu Yun alone.
It was as if Chu Yun had always been one of those girls, and being her friend was just a dream—a dream that she, Qiao Wen, had made up herself.
She still wanted to be friends with Chu Yun, even if Chu Yun was only using her. But now it seemed that Chu Yun had no need for her.
They were right; a girl like Chu Yun was popular everywhere she went, and everyone liked her. Naturally, there was no reason for their paths to cross.
Qiao Wen regretted it. She shouldn't have lost her temper and pushed away her only "friend."
But regret was useless; she noticed that Jiāng Méi had taken her spot and become the friend by Chu Yun’s side.
What was even stranger was that lately, Chu Yun had been bringing a lot of things to school. There was food, toys, and things whose purpose she couldn’t identify.
Qiao Wen had seen Chu Yun share food with classmates, but she didn’t know where the other items went.
Then, one day, just before school ended, she was called to the office by Teacher Lǐ because her grades had slipped. She saw a toy on the literature teacher's desk. It looked like the one Chu Yun had brought to school.
But why would it be on the literature teacher's desk?
"Qiao Wen, did you hear what I said? Do you still not understand these two problems?"
Qiao Wen plucked up the courage to say, "I don't understand."
Teacher Lǐ pursed her lips into a straight line and pushed up her glasses. "Then I will explain it again. You listen carefully!"
Qiao Wen nodded repeatedly.
This explanation took another half hour. By the time Qiao Wen left, the literature teacher was also preparing to go home.
She watched with her own eyes as the teacher stuffed that toy into her bag and walked out of the office with it.
She was too curious—was that really the one Chu Yun had brought?
So, she hurried back to the classroom, packed her bag, and jogged out of the teaching building. She happened to see the literature teacher walking out of the school gate.
She quietly followed the teacher until she entered a residential complex. She hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and followed her in.
Seeing the teacher winding through the paths, she finally stopped in front of a building. Just as Qiao Wen was wondering whether to follow the teacher upstairs, she heard a young boy’s crisp voice.
"Mom!"
"Oh! Yáng Yáng is back."
The literature teacher bent down and hugged the boy who had rushed toward her. An elderly woman followed behind the boy.
"Yáng Yáng, Mom has a gift for you." The teacher took the toy out of her bag and pressed it into the boy’s hands.
The elderly woman bent down to take a look. "Oh my! This must have cost a pretty penny, right?"
"Mom, it didn't cost any money."
"How could it not cost money?"
"It’s from a student's parents..." The teacher stopped herself halfway through, hurriedly looked around, and said, "Mom, don’t talk about it anymore. Let’s head home. Come, Yáng Yáng, let’s go home and play."
Qiao Wen was hiding nearby. She had heard the teacher’s words only vaguely, but she understood the gist: it was a gift Chu Yun gave the teacher, or rather, what her parents had given the teacher.
Qiao Wen was too young to understand the nuances of gift-giving, but her intuition told her this wasn't a good thing.
On her way back, she kept thinking about it. Finally, she decided that as Chu Yun’s friend, it was better to remain silent.
But she stopped thinking that way very soon, because Chu Yun’s things started to go missing.
At first, it was some snacks, then other things, though Chu Yun didn't specify exactly what.
Only Jiāng Méi was making a scene in the classroom, shouting about a thief and vowing to catch the culprit.
Judging by her attitude, Jiāng Méi seemed intent on investigating it herself.
Qiao Wen felt that they should report it to the teacher. Before she could voice the thought, she heard Jiāng Méi loudly ask, "Qiao Wen! Is it you! Give the things back to Chu Yun right now!"
Qiao Wen was stunned.
Why her?
Why was it always her?