Chapter 35: Angry?

She still remembered one time when she came home and went upstairs, passing by and overhearing the junior high school girl downstairs complaining to her father about how awful the food he cooked that day was and how the pocket money he gave was less than what so-and-so’s dad gave. Her tone was full of frustration, yet the father just stood there with loving patience, coaxing her…

The same old residential building—why did she have to be born into this kind of family? Xu Yannuo silently buried her head in her knees, her eyes suddenly stinging with unshed tears.

She had been sitting for so long that her legs felt numb. She probably couldn’t stand up now, but it didn’t matter—she had no intention of trying anyway. Stubbornly, she maintained the same seated posture. Her stomach also began to growl intermittently.

Right, after all that chaos, she hadn’t even eaten breakfast—it was all ruined. Now she wasn’t in the mood for food either.

What else was there to do? Oh, right—she needed to confront Chen Ciyi, that annoying troublemaker who had nothing better to do than pick fights. At the thought, Xu Yannuo suddenly let out a mocking laugh. What was the point of confronting him? She really didn’t know what had gotten into her lately—had he driven her mad? It was such a trivial matter—why had she even cared? She should just let him do whatever he wanted.

On Monday, after finishing the morning’s core subjects and the first period of Chinese in the afternoon, the remaining music and PE classes were combined and given to PE. The moment the bell rang for the end of Chinese class, the entire class excitedly rushed out of the classroom to watch the excitement. Class 8 had many participants in the relay and sprint events, and the nominees would first compete internally within the class. The winners would then fill out forms to represent the school. Everyone was buzzing with excitement—discussions during Chinese class had already begun about who might win. After watching their own class’s matches, they could also check out other classes to gauge the strength of their competitors.

Soon, the classroom fell silent, and in the periphery of his vision, everything seemed empty. Xu Yannuo inadvertently glanced up—everyone had left. Only Chen Ciyi remained beside him, leaning lazily against the wall, playing on his phone. Xu Yannuo averted his gaze and continued working on his assignment.

Chen Ciyi’s voice came from beside him, “Deskmate, not going out to take a look?”

Xu Yannuo ignored him, merely lowering his head to focus on the words he was writing.

Chen Ciyi furrowed his brows slightly, pausing his typing on the screen. He lifted his gaze from his phone and looked at Xu Yannuo. Although she usually didn’t bother engaging with him, today there seemed to be something off about her demeanor?

She seemed completely unwilling to acknowledge him today, treating him as if he were invisible, just like how things were between them when they first met.

Chen Chiyi thought for a moment and asked, “Are you upset because I avoided you at the café over the weekend?”

Apart from this, Chen Chiyi couldn’t think of any other reason. But after he asked, Xu Yannuo still ignored him. He reached out and tugged on the sleeve of her school uniform again. “No, are you really upset? The thing is, if I knew you would be there waiting to confront me, wouldn’t I be foolish to show up?”

Before his eyes, Xu Yannuo remained expressionless, merely lifting her arm slightly to pull the sleeve of her school uniform from his grasp. Her movements were calm and effortless, devoid of any emotion. She tidied up the exam paper she had finished, replaced it with a new one, and continued writing.

Chen Ci paused for a moment, suddenly feeling a bit irritable. He rarely took the initiative to engage with anyone, let alone explain things to them. There had never been a time when he initiated a conversation only to be ignored for so long. This feeling was even more frustrating than when Li Wei came to threaten him—or perhaps it couldn’t even be called frustration anymore. It was like punching cotton, or dreaming of running in a race but finding that no matter how hard you try, your legs just won’t move.

He looked at Xu Yannuo. “There’s no one else in the classroom now, so speak your mind. If you don’t want to talk, just name a place and we can fight…” Chen Ciyi suddenly realized he’d misspoken and immediately corrected himself, “No, I mean name a place and you can hit me. What’s with the silent treatment?”

This time, Xu Yannuo finally reacted. She looked at Chen Ciyi and said, “Am I that close to you? If you’re bored, go bother someone else. I really don’t have the mood or energy to bicker with you, and I won’t in the future, either.”

Seeing that Chen Ciyi still wanted to say something, Xu Yannuo stood up directly and left the classroom. She walked out of the teaching building, took the path opposite the sports field, and headed toward the back of the library building.

Everyone had gone to the sports field for the selection trials or to watch them, leaving the area behind the library completely deserted.

She just wanted to be alone with her thoughts.

Later yesterday, Cheng Yun had cooked for her again, knocking on her door to call her out to eat. But she had no appetite, and she didn’t know how to face Cheng Yun either. She didn’t want to be trapped in this vicious cycle where the atmosphere always turned awful and strange every time Xu Cheng returned, let alone see Cheng Yun’s swollen eyes from being beaten…

She didn’t even want to think about it. But no matter how hard she tried not to see or think about it, having witnessed it so many times before, the horrifying sight of Cheng Yun after being beaten would still flash before her eyes. What daughter would want to see her mother in such a state?

She didn’t respond to Cheng Yun, just hugged her knees and silently cried without daring to make a sound. Later, Cheng Yun thought she had fallen asleep and stopped knocking, and then she heard the footsteps fading away at the door. Finally unable to hold back, her sobs escaped in faint whimpers. It was her restrained moment of indulgence.

After crying, looking at the moonlight outside the window, Xu Yannuo’s heart ached again. Cheng Yun had been beaten like that—the sound of him being thrown heavily to the ground still made her heart clench violently when she recalled it. It must have hurt so much, falling that hard, yet he still toughed it out and made her a meal. And yet, she hadn’t eaten it!

Xu Yannuo sat on the bench in the garden behind the library for two whole class periods, not moving until the preparatory bell for the next class rang after both physical education sessions had ended, then slowly got up to walk back.

Actually, she didn’t want to leave either. She just wanted to sit here alone forever—not going back to class, not going home. Just sitting alone like this, with no coming and going of people, not having to face anything, as if she had escaped from this world she despised.

On her way back, some girls passing by pointed at Xu Yannuo and whispered, their expressions unnatural. Had the family matters been spread again? Just like in middle school?

Xu Yannuo’s face remained expressionless. She didn’t deliberately quicken her pace either, only laughing silently in her heart with resignation. Let them talk however they wanted—after all, she was used to it.

After all, she had no friends, no intention of getting close to anyone—what more was there to fear losing?

During the evening self-study break, Xu Yannuo wandered alone around the campus. Earlier, Zhao Ying and Zhang Qi had invited her to the cafeteria for dinner, but she declined, saying she had something to attend to and needed to make a phone call.

She didn’t head toward the library area that night—it was too remote with too few streetlights, and many students in puppy love would go there. Xu Yannuo strolled for a while in the small grove beside the cafeteria before returning to the classroom building.