Chapter 41: Happiness

Wen Xuelan didn’t hear a word of the afternoon class.
In her mind, she replayed over and over again the scene of Xia Houya handing her the skirt, with that cute look of guilt and anticipation.
She really… helped me find it.
She really… took my casual words to heart.
Friend.
I have friends.
Wen Xuelan repeated this word in her heart countless times, repeatedly and carefully.
She couldn’t help but let out a small animal-like laugh.
“Hey, look at Wen Xuelan, what’s wrong with her today? She’s grinning foolishly over there.”
“I don’t know, maybe she took the wrong medicine?”
A few girls in the front row could be heard talking in deliberately low voices.
In the past, upon hearing such words, Wen Xuelan would immediately shrink herself tighter.
But today, she didn’t.
She even felt that the discussions had become less harsh.
Because she is no longer the same as them.
She was no longer alone.
She has Xia Houya.
The one who isolated her from a world full of malice and indifference.
During the break, Wen Xuelan took out the cloth bag containing the dress from her schoolbag, placed it on the desk, and carefully smoothed out every wrinkle on it with an almost obsessed smile on her face.
A girl in the front row looked back and saw it, and asked curiously:
“Wen Xuelan, what’s in your bag? New clothes?”
“Hmm…” Wen Xuelan subconsciously wanted to nod.
But a thought suddenly popped up.
No.
Can’t tell her.
This was found for me by Xia Houya.
This is a secret between me and Xia Houya.
She immediately put the cloth bag back into her schoolbag, held it tightly in her arms, and looked at the girl warily.
“…It’s none of your business.”
The girl was stunned by her sudden hostility, smiled awkwardly, and immediately turned her head away, no longer embarrassing herself.
Wen Xuelan looked at the girl’s back and felt no guilt.
Instead, she felt a sense of satisfaction for protecting her territory.
She thought, Xia Houya is so good and so kind.
She must not like dealing with these boring people.
From now on, I will keep all these people out for her.
In our world, just the two of us are enough.
The school bell rang.
Wen Xuelan was the first to rush out of the classroom.
She had only one thought in her mind—to take this treasure to that place.
She carried the cloth bag containing the dress, walked across the campus and out of the school gate.
She walked along the quiet path that led to the riverbank, which she was most familiar with.
The camphor trees on both sides emitted a pleasant fragrance in the evening breeze.
Her heart was filled with beautiful fantasies about the future.
In the future, can I come here often with Xia Houya?
Will she like what’s in my little tin box?
Will she think… I’m boring?
Countless thoughts filled with pink bubbles were flying around in her mind.
She turned into an even narrower alley where almost no one used to go.
Just walk through here and you will see the familiar riverbank.
Then.
A hand suddenly stretched out from behind her without any warning.
In that hand, there was a rag that smelled of gasoline, covering her mouth and nose tightly.
“Ugh—!”
She didn’t even have time to scream, as all the sounds were blocked in her throat.
Then, another arm clamped her waist and dragged her backwards.
The precious cloth bag in her arms fell to the ground.
She was dragged into the shadows of the unlit woods beside the road.
Her vision was instantly swallowed by darkness.
She was roughly pressed against a rough tree trunk, and her back was hurt.
The hand covering her mouth and nose finally loosened, but before she could breathe, she heard several laughters that made her blood freeze.
They were the girls who bullied her.
“Xiao Lanhua, why are you in such a hurry after school? Where are you going?”
A blond girl picked up the fallen cloth bag from the ground with a smile.
“Tsk tsk, there’s a treasure hidden there. Let me see what it is.”
She roughly tore open the bag and shook out the dark blue dress.
“Oh, it’s really a skirt. Wearing such a beautiful dress, are you going on a date with your new bestie?”
She tried the skirt on herself.
“Don’t…”
“What did you say? I can’t hear you.”
The yellow-haired girl smiled evilly and handed the skirt to the short-haired girl next to her.
She took the skirt and, understanding what she meant, grabbed a corner of it.
“Tear!”
The sound of cloth being torn was like a flash of lightning, splitting Wen Xuelan’s world apart.
She watched helplessly as the dress that carried all her beautiful fantasies was torn in half by the two girls laughing.
Then, the two pieces of cloth were thrown on the ground covered with dirt and fallen leaves like garbage.
Wen Xuelan’s mind was blank.
She even forgot to cry and beg.
At this moment, another girl took something out of a black plastic bag.
It was a cheap water gun with a plastic handle.
But the transparent barrel of the water gun was not filled with clean water, but a turbid, slightly yellow, semi-solid, disgusting liquid.
“Come,” she smiled and pointed the water gun at Wen Xuelan’s face, “Let us help you wash your face and cheer you up.”
Wen Xuelan was so scared that she closed her eyes tightly.
She only smelled a scent.
A strong, pungent, sour and rancid smell suddenly rushed into her nose and throat, making her feel extremely nauseous in an instant.
She understood what it was instantly.
It’s rotten milk.
It’s something in the slop bucket.
Then, the liquid carrying the smell of corruption sprayed on her cheeks and hair with a “puff” sound.
“Puff—Puff—”
The water gun was handed to a third person.
This time, the liquid sprayed onto the chest of her clean T-shirt.
The sticky liquid slowly slid down the fabric, and the cold touch made her tremble violently.
Every breath was filled with that sickening smell of decay.
Just as she was shaking violently with fear and humiliation, she suddenly opened her eyes.
She didn’t beg anymore.
She raised her filthy face, looked past the girls who were still laughing in front of her, and looked straight into the shadows deep in the woods.
She knew she was there.
She was there watching.
Wen Xuelan’s eyes changed.
“Why… don’t you come out yet?”
All the laughter stopped.
The surroundings fell into deathly silence.
A familiar figure walked out from the shadows of the woods, step by step.
What she saw was Lin Xiaomei’s expressionless face.
Lin Xiaomei walked up to her and squatted down.
She took the still-dripping plastic water gun from her follower.
She reached out, picked up the half-torn dress from the ground, and gently dusted it off.
Then, she raised her head and looked at Wen Xuelan’s face, which was covered with traces of tears and filth.
There was no anger or pity in her eyes, only a terrifying calmness.
She leaned close to Wen Xuelan’s ear.
Wen Xuelan could smell a familiar scent coming from her.
Then she felt something wet gently touching her lips.
It’s the muzzle of the water gun.
Lin Xiaomei put the muzzle of the gun against Wen Xuelan’s lips like a lover handing lipstick.
Wen Xuelan did not dodge or tremble.
She just looked back at Lin Xiaomei quietly, allowing the muzzle of the gun to leave the final mark of blasphemy on her lips.
Lin Xiaomei looked at her like this, and finally a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.
She put half of the skirt back into Wen Xuelan’s arms.
Then, in a whisper that only the two of them could hear, she pronounced her final verdict:
“Xiaolan,”
“How could you touch my things?”