Chapter 28: Name

In an instant, countless thoughts collided wildly in Xiahou Ming’s mind.

How to answer?

Saying she was Xiahou Ming?

She would be considered crazy, or worse.

Wen Xuelan would immediately scream and run away, and she would never have the chance to ask anything from her again.

Say that she was just an ordinary classmate of his?

How could she explain this somewhat similar face?

How could she explain why she was in that house that weekend?

Lie.

It has to be a lie.

A lie that can forcibly glue together all the unreasonable things.

She remembered the idea that she had rejected instantly.

‘No, no.

That’s too stupid.

How could anyone believe that…’

But…

Xiahou Ming looked at Wen Xuelan’s terrified eyes, and she looked as if she was about to faint in the next second.

At this point, she could only take a gamble.

Bet she’s innocent enough.

Bet she’s… easy to fool.

Xiahou Ming took a deep breath and forced out a smile that sounded as friendly and harmless as possible.

“Don’t be afraid, I’m not here to cause you any trouble.”

Her voice was a little dry due to nervousness, but she tried hard to keep her tone steady.

“My name is Xia Houya.”

“She is… Xiahou Ming’s twin sister.”

Wen Xuelan was stunned, and her eyes, which always looked like a frightened deer, widened in extreme shock.

Sister?

Although she didn’t see it clearly at the time, she was sure that the girl she caught a glimpse of at the door of Xiahou Ming’s house yesterday was the one in front of her.

“I…I’m not feeling well.

I’ve been recuperating at my grandmother’s house out of town.

I just transferred back this semester.”

“So… a lot of people at school don’t know me yet.”

“My brother…has caused you a lot of trouble, right?”

She raised her head, her eyes filled with genuine regret.

“I know he’s done a lot of bad things in the past.

I want to say sorry to you on his behalf.”

Apologize?

Wen Xuelan looked at the girl who called herself “Xia Houya” in front of her.

Although she had a similar face to that scary boy, she felt…

Completely different.

There was no aggression in those eyes, but instead a sense of loneliness similar to her own.

She remembered the day when she came to Class 3 crying to look for her skirt, and Xiaomei targeted her in front of the whole class.

‘Maybe… she was also the one being bullied like myself?’

“I… I don’t need you to apologize…”

She shook her head subconsciously and hugged the homework book in her arms tighter.

“Those things… I’ve tried my best not to think about them…”

Her look of wanting to escape stabbed Xiahou Ming’s heart again.

She knew that she couldn’t dwell on this topic any longer.

“Okay.”

Xiahou Ming nodded and followed her words, forcibly changing the subject.

“Actually… I came to you today because I wanted to ask you about someone.”

“…Who are you asking about?”

“A girl named Yu Yuhui.”

Xiahou Ming stared into her eyes, not missing any change in her expression.

“I heard… you seem to be her friend?”

Friend?

Classmate Yu Yuhui…is she my friend?

Wen Xuelan remembered the look on Yu Yuhui’s face when she wiped away her tears.

But…she never said “we are friends.”

Is this how classmate Yu Yuhui… introduced me to others?

An idea that even she herself could not believe quietly ignited deep in her heart like a small flame.

‘So… I can have “friends” too?’

This thought made her nerves, which had been tense for years, relax involuntarily.

Xiahou Ming keenly caught the change in her expression and knew that her words had worked.

“…I just want to find her.”

“She didn’t come to school today.

I’m a little worried.”

“You can see it too,” she said, twitching the corners of her mouth in self-mockery, “I don’t know many people in this school.”

“She…maybe my only friend.”

This last sentence, like a gentle arrow, accurately hit the softest part of Wen Xuelan’s heart.

Yes.

Only friend.

She looked at the girl in front of her who was as lonely as herself, and the last line of defense in her heart completely collapsed.

“I…I don’t know where her home is, and I don’t have her contact information.”

“But… on Saturday afternoon, she came to our class to look for me.”

Wen Xuelan tried hard to recall the details of the incident.

“She…she asked me to go with her on Sunday morning to look for… your brother.”

“We agreed to meet in front of the Xinhua Bookstore across the street.”

“But…”

Wen Xuelan’s expression became a little confused.

“On Sunday morning when I went out, I found a folded piece of paper in the crack of the dormitory door.

There was no name on it.”

“The note was written in very elegant handwriting.

It told me not to go to Xinhua Bookstore, but to go directly to ‘the crooked old locust tree in the south of the town’ at nine in the morning.”

“I guess… that note must have been left by her.”

“Crooked old locust tree?”

There is indeed such a tree near Xiahou Ming’s house, and it is a very conspicuous presence in that old city area.

“Yeah.

I ran into her under that tree.

And then… I asked several uncles and aunts passing by before I found your house.”

An unsigned note was enough to make this timid girl go for the appointment without any understanding.

‘Is it that Yu Yuhui is too scary, or is Wen Xuelan too naive?’

Xiahou Ming couldn’t help but sigh in her heart.

“I see.”

She suppressed the turmoil in her heart, took a deep breath, and gave Wen Xuelan a somewhat awkward smile.

“Thank you, Wen Xuelan.”

“Nothing… nothing…”

Wen Xuelan felt a little embarrassed by her solemn thanks and waved her hand.

There was a brief silence in the corridor.

Xiahou Ming had already asked all the questions she wanted to ask, and it was time for her to say goodbye.

But looking at the girl in front of her who seemed at a loss because of her, she felt a desire to “compensate” her.

After relaxing a little, Wen Xuelan subconsciously began to look for topics to ease the awkward atmosphere.

Her eyes involuntarily fell on Xia Houya’s school uniform skirt.

Then, she seemed to remember something and spoke hesitantly:

“Um…Xia Houya, can I…can I tell you something?”

“Hmm?

Go ahead.”

“It’s just…”

Wen Xuelan said with a bit of embarrassment.

“The dark blue skirt you wore in your class that day, on Friday… I think… I have one exactly the same.”

She paused, and added somewhat disappointedly:

“But I lost mine…a few days ago.”

These words, like a silent thunder, exploded in Xiahou Ming’s ears.

A feeling of panic, like a guilty thief, ran up from her spine to the top of her head.

The smile on her face froze instantly, her eyes began to dodge uncontrollably, and she even subconsciously took half a step back.

“Is… is that so?”

Her voice was dry.

“That’s… what a coincidence…

I bought that skirt… at the clothing store on the street…”

“So…did you find your skirt?”

“No…”

Wen Xuelan shook her head.

“Maybe it can’t be found.”

“I…I’ll help you find it too.”

“Huh?”

Wen Xuelan was stunned for a moment.

“Maybe… it fell somewhere in the school.”

Xiahou Ming added with a guilty look.

“I’ll keep an eye out for you.”

‘She… is such a nice person.’

Wen Xuelan felt as if a warm current was poured into her heart.

She knew that this might just be a polite remark to comfort someone, but for her, this was the first time that someone said they wanted to “help” her so seriously.

Xiahou Ming could no longer stay here for another second.

“Um… classmate Wen Xuelan,” she said hurriedly, “if… if you see Yu Yuhui later, can you… can you tell her for me that I’m looking for her?”

“Ah… okay.”

Wen Xuelan nodded in some surprise.

“Thank you!

And… I’m sorry!”

Xiahou Ming uttered these words almost incoherently, turned around, and ran down the stairs quickly.

Wen Xuelan stood there blankly, looking at “Xia Houya’s” “fleeing” back, without moving for a long time.

She thought back to the conversation just now.

Recalling the cute look of “Xia Houya” when she mentioned the skirt, wanting to comfort her but unable to find the words.

Recalling her serious promise, “I’ll help you find it too.”

For some reason, a slight warmth quietly rose on her cheeks.

She lowered her head and looked at the pile of homework books in her arms.

‘Just now…she seemed to want to smile at me?

The way she smiles…

Really, she is completely different from Xiahou Ming who always has a cold face.’