Lin Qingle didn't want Xu Tingbai to live in darkness forever, so even if there was a little hope, she felt that she should give it a try.
If his father couldn't do anything, she would find a way.
If she lacked money, she would save it slowly. If she lacked Xu Tingbai's confidence and yearning, she would try her best to make him feel that being seen was still a very good thing.
The next day, Sunday, Lin Yufen bought breakfast, put it in the restaurant, asked Lin Qingle to come over to eat, and then went to work.
When Lin Qingle came out, Lin Yufen was no longer there. She glanced at the breakfast on the table, but didn't eat it. She picked it up, took the key, and walked out the door.
She wanted to go to Xu Tingbai's place while Lin Yufen was not at home, but she didn't expect to run into Jiang Shuyi when she reached the intersection.
When Lin Qingle saw her for the first time, she subconsciously wanted to avoid her. But when she walked over, Jiang Shuyi stopped her.
"Qingle, wait!"
Lin Qingle stopped and looked back.
Jiang Shuyi came up, she hesitated, and whispered, "Yes, I'm sorry."
Lin Qingle was stunned: "What."
Jiang Shuyi: "That day at school, I'm sorry, I just couldn't believe it when I saw that. But then I thought about it, we've been together for so long, we all know your temper..."
Jiang Shuyi felt embarrassed when she said this, after all, her hesitation that day was real.
Lin Qingle didn't expect that she would come here to apologize. She had even thought about it in the past two days. If she didn't have any friends at school... then so be it. She wouldn't force everyone to accept it.
"Speaking of which, the person who posted it online is also sick. Your dad... um, I mean, that thing was done by someone else. What does it have to do with you? You are still the victim. As for your intention to kill someone, how is that possible? You are so timid-"
Lin Qingle stared at her blankly: "Do you really think so?"
"I'm sorry, I should have come to you earlier to tell you this, but on Friday... I, I was confused for a while."
"Thanks."
"No, no... You don't have to thank me. I still feel guilty." Jiang Shuyi pursed her lips, "Well, where are you going now?"
"I'm going to find a friend."
"Xu Tingbai?"
"You know."
"I guessed." Jiang Shuyi seemed to be relieved because he finally saw her and said everything he wanted to say. "Then you go, I'll go home first."
"Yeah, okay."
Lin Qingle was a little confused on the way to Xu Tingbai's house.
In fact, it would be a lie to say that she doesn’t care at all about the opinions of her friends. Jiang Shuyi was the first person she met when she came to this school, and she truly regarded him as a friend.
When I saw her avoiding my gaze that day, she was really sad.
She didn't expect Jiang Shuyi to come to her to apologize now... Even though Jiang Shuyi's belief was a little late, she couldn't control the joy in her heart.
This secret joy grew bigger as she slowly felt it was real, to the point where she couldn't restrain the joy in her tone after entering Xu Tingbai's house.
"I brought you breakfast! Let's share it~"
Xu Tingbai understood it immediately: "Are you happy?"
"Hmm... a little." Lin Qingle put a custard bun in his hand, "Here."
"What are you happy about?"
"I'll tell you a secret. I met a classmate on my way here. She's my best friend in school. She told me that she believed everything said on the Internet was fake. She said that it wasn't my fault."
While listening to her, Xu Tingbai took a bite of the soft and glutinous bun.
He took a bite and tasted the custard filling inside. The sweetness spread on the tip of his tongue... It was his favorite flavor of breakfast bun.
"Why didn't she tell you this that day at school?" Xu Tingbai swallowed and asked.
"Not everyone is like you."
Xu Ting paused.
Lin Qingle said: "Not everyone can be as good as you and think that I have done nothing wrong. They will definitely doubt and think about it. In fact, this is enough. I am very happy."
Not everyone can be as good as you.
Xu Tingbai lowered his eyes and took another bite of the custard bun: "Oh."
Perhaps in this world, only a fool like Lin Qingle would think like this.
"Is it tasty."
Xu Tingbai hummed.
Lin Qingle: "My mom bought it. Here's some soy milk. Take it."
She held his wrist and guided him to get the soy milk. Her movements and tone were delicate and careful, as if she was taking care of a child.
Xu Tingbai retracted his hand, somewhat helplessly: "Got it, sit down and eat by yourself."
"Um!"
They had a quiet breakfast. Before finishing it, Lin Qingle thought of something she forgot to ask yesterday.
"Zhang Yikun came to see you because of Yan Dairong again?"
Xu Tingbai: “Yeah.”
Lin Qingle frowned: "Then can I ask a question..."
"If I say no, will you not ask?"
Lin Qingle touched his nose and dared not speak.
Seeing her fall silent, Xu Tingbai raised his lips slightly. He knew she couldn't hold it back any longer, and now that he had stopped her, she was probably hesitant to speak and was very conflicted.
Xu Tingbai finally said, "Go ahead, what do you want to ask?"
Lin Qingle's eyes lit up: "I just want to ask what the relationship between Dai Rong and you is. I don't want to pry into your private life. I just think it's annoying that Zhang Yikun always comes to you because of her."
Xu Tingbai: "Our parents used to have a very good relationship, and that's why we met."
"A long time ago?"
"As long as I can remember."
Surprisingly... so much earlier than her.
"You've known each other for so long, so your relationship should be pretty good, right? Why did she come to see you but didn't want others to know, and you didn't want her to come to see you?"
"You've heard about my family's affairs."
"Ah? I heard..."
"The company went bankrupt, and was found to have secretly engaged in illegal operations. Because the amount of money involved was too huge, our family completely collapsed." Xu Tingbai spoke bluntly, with no emotion on his face, as if it was just someone else's business. He paused and continued, "The company's bankruptcy also caused many people to lose their jobs. During that period, no... Until now, mentioning the Xu family is all stains. Yan Dairong's parents don't allow her to date someone from such a family. And she herself is also afraid of gossip."
"But she still likes you, right?"
"… "
"She likes you, and Zhang Yikun likes her, so Zhang Yikun hates you."
Xu Tingbai pursed his lips lightly and turned his head away awkwardly: "What does it have to do with me?"
"So, you don't like her at all?"
Xu Tingbai: "... Why should I like her?"
Lin Qingle: "Great, I don't like her either." Xu Tingbai: "..."
"I don't think she respects you at all. If she really likes you, why would she be afraid of being gossiped about? Why would she let Zhang Yikun scold you and bully you, right!"
Lin Qingle said this angrily, Xu Tingbai smiled and said, "Why are you so excited?"
Xu Tingbai's smile was shallow, but Lin Qingle still caught it.
She stared blankly at the corner of his mouth, a little surprised. She had seen him smile before, but this was the first time in such a long time that she saw such an easy and real smile on his face.
Xu Tingbai has shed the gloom on his body and truly looks like a teenager of his age.
"Xu Tingbai."
"Um?"
"Smile more often next time."
Xu Tingbai was stunned for a moment, and the corners of his mouth suddenly dropped.
Lin Qingle frowned and subconsciously reached out to lift up the corner of his mouth, because she wanted to watch it longer. But she only let Xu Tingbai fake smile for two seconds before his fingers were grabbed by him.
She came back to her senses: "I, I just wanted to say that you look really good when you smile. I like to see you smile."
Xu Tingbai pinched her fingers in his palm, his heart skipped a beat. He suddenly felt that he could feel her gaze at this moment, right on him, clear and serious.
“…Don’t do anything.”
"oh."
The fingers on his palm were small and soft, so he immediately let go.
She pulled away as well, her fingertips sliding across his palm as they left, leaving it numb and itchy.
Xu Tingbai clenched his hands, trying to drive away the tingling and strange feeling.
"I forgot my schoolbag at school that day, so I didn't bring any books here today. Otherwise, I'll practice my listening skills later."
Xu Tingbai was absent-minded and responded casually.
So after breakfast, Lin Qingle turned on the TV and switched to the channel that often broadcast foreign movies.
Soon, pure British English came out from the TV.
This movie is quite funny. Lin Qingle listened carefully to their conversation and chuckled from time to time.
Xu Tingbai did not return to his room today, but just sat on the sofa.
When he heard the laughter from the person next to him, he would think that this TV finally seemed to have a purpose for its existence.
—
The next day, Monday.
Lin Qingle bought breakfast as usual and ate on the way to school. On the way, Jiang Shuyi caught up with her and went to school with her as if nothing had changed.
As she walked towards the school gate, she met a few people who knew her. When they saw her, their expressions changed slightly, and they looked at her in a strange and curious manner.
Lin Qingle remembered what Xu Tingbai said, that there is no need to care about people who believe in those things, so she calmly ignored them.
When she walked to the school gate, she saw Yu Tingting and Yu Jiayou. They seemed to have been waiting there for a long time, and they hurried over when they saw them.
"Good morning, Qingle!" Yu Tingting greeted warmly.
Lin Qingle was stunned for a moment: "Morning."
Yu Jiayou: "You are eating custard buns again."
"Ah... yes."
Yu Jiayou: "Eat quickly, morning self-study is about to begin."
No one seems to have changed.
At this moment Lin Qingle knew that they must have chosen to believe her just like Jiang Shuyi.
"Yeah." Lin Qingle lowered his eyes, took a bite of the bun, and a smile slowly appeared on the corners of his mouth.
It turns out that the world is slowly becoming different from the past.
"Hey, Christmas is next Friday, how are we going to celebrate it?" Yu Tingting talked about trivial things as usual.
Jiang Shuyi: "I have classes on Friday, how else can I spend it?"
"Then we have to prepare some Christmas gifts."
"Well... that's right."
"Qingle, do you want to prepare some Christmas gifts? Is there anyone you want to give it to?"
Lin Qingle, who was named, raised his eyes and said, "Send someone away?"
"Yes, it's so romantic to prepare a Christmas gift for the most important person."
Lin Qingle blinked.
Important person... Gift
The author has something to say: I hope that when we grow up, we can be more kind and less blindly obedient than when we were young and ignorant.