nyslfriends Chapter 51 Stars
Chapter 51 Stars
"Having a daughter is a money-losing proposition."
This wasn't the first time Lin Yue had heard this sentence.
But every time I hear it, it feels like I've been slapped in the face.
My face doesn't hurt, but my heart does.
She squatted in the living room and cried for a long time, until she had no strength left, before standing up and going back to her room.
She didn't take the stack of money on the coffee table; it just lay there, red and glaring.
I went back to my room and closed the door.
The lights were off, and I could hear cars driving by in the distance outside the window.
She sat on the bed for a while, then opened the drawer.
The drawer was neatly arranged, with a stack of colored paper at the very back—red, yellow, blue, green, and purple—folded into perfect squares.
Next to it was an empty glass bottle, a canning jar, which was washed clean and polished to a shine.
She took out a piece of pink colored paper and began to fold it.
The fingers are very thin, and the movements are very slow. First, fold it into a triangle, then fold it again, and then fold it again.
She learned how to fold stars from her deskmate in elementary school. She folded a lot back then and gave them to her classmates and her mother, but she stopped folding them later.
I don't know why it's been brought up again.
One, two, three.
She put the folded stars into a glass bottle; they were pink, yellow, and blue.
The bottom of the bottle slowly began to show color, and as she looked at the stars, she felt less choked up.
I want to stay here.
I don't want to go back to Jingnan.
I want to continue sitting at the desk behind him, and continue watching him every day.
Even if he only turns around occasionally, even if he only says "You dropped your notebook", even if the seat next to him is never yours.
That's enough, that's enough.
She put this little wish into the bottle, like folded stars.
……
When Song Huan arrived at the classroom the next day, she found that her desk had changed.
The textbooks were neatly stacked, the pens were placed in their places, and even the dust in the scratch on the table had been wiped clean.
He paused for a moment, then looked at Lin Yue immediately.
Lin Yue sat in the back, head down, holding an English textbook, but upside down.
He heard her innermost thoughts, very softly, as if afraid of being overheard.
Did he see it?
[Isn't this too obvious?]
[Never mind, I won't do it again next time.]
Song Huan withdrew her gaze and sighed inwardly.
Xiao Yunqing was rummaging through her schoolbag looking for something and didn't notice them.
Thank goodness, if she had found out, we wouldn't have had class today.
The school bell rang.
Gao Xiao walked in, her steps faster than usual. She placed her lesson plan on the podium and glanced at the whole class.
"I have two things to say. First, the school sports meet starts next Thursday and will last for two days. I've posted the event list on the back wall. Everyone needs to sign up for at least one event, and the sports committee will be responsible for compiling the statistics."
She paused, then looked at Song Huan, "The second thing, Song Huan, is that you will be giving a speech at the opening ceremony as the representative of the first-year students. The school has prepared the speech, so don't stumble during it."
All eyes in the class turned to look at them.
Song Huan sat there, her face expressionless, but inwardly she was cursing.
A representative speaks?
Is Gao Xiao implying that he's not getting enough attention?
"Teacher, could we please have someone else..."
"No." Gao Xiao interrupted him, opened her textbook, and said, "Let's begin."
Song Huan shut up.
As soon as the bell rang, the classroom became lively.
The boys squeezed to the back to look at the program list, while the girls huddled together to discuss which program to apply for.
Xiao Yunqing didn't move. He sat in his seat and poked Song Huan's arm with his pen.
What did you report?
Song Huan lay face down on the table. "I won't report it."
Why?
"I don't want to report it."
Xiao Yunqing pouted, "You run every day after school, why don't you sign up for the 1000-meter race?"
Song Huan looked up at her. "I run to exercise, not to compete."
Xiao Yunqing snorted, "Anyway, I've already announced the 800 meters. Whether you announce it or not is your own business."
After saying that, she turned back and flicked her ponytail in his face.
Song Huan wiped his face; he had heard her thoughts clearly.
[If I sign up for the 800-meter race, I can legitimately run on the track after school.]
No need to make excuses every day...
Looking at her profile, he thought for a moment, then stood up and went to the back, writing his name after "Men's 1000m" on the event list.
Xiao Yunqing had already finished announcing the women's 800-meter race and was sitting in the front without turning around, but her inner thoughts drifted over.
[I wrote it, I wrote it, I wrote it.]
[Hmph, so stubborn.]
Song Huan walked back and sat down, pretending not to have heard.
Lin Yue sat in the back, head down, drawing something in the blank space of her textbook with her pen.
She heard the two people in front of her talking, but didn't look up.
The pen tip traced lines on the notebook. When it was finished, I looked down and saw the two characters "Song Huan".
Realizing what had happened, she was so frightened that she quickly wiped it off.
The third lesson is English.
The teacher was explaining grammar on the platform, and some students were listening, some were daydreaming, and some were passing notes.
Lin Yue was taking notes, writing slowly and neatly.
The bell rang, and the English teacher reminded everyone about today's homework, "Group leaders, please collect the homework and put it in my office."
The leader of the first group is a boy surnamed Liu. He wears glasses and doesn't talk much.
He stood up, glanced at his group members, then walked to Lin Yue's desk and said rudely, "Hey, could you collect our group's English homework and hand it in to the office?"
After he finished speaking, he turned and left without waiting for Lin Yue's reply.
A few boys nearby, holding basketballs, were urging him, "Hurry up, hurry up, let's get the court!"
"Coming, coming." Team Leader Liu ran out, not even turning his head as he passed Lin Yue.
A boy next to me laughed and said, "You asked someone to collect your homework, and they agreed?"
Team Leader Liu didn't even turn his head. "It's fine, she won't say anything anyway."
The group walked away laughing and joking.
Lin Yue stood up.
She didn't speak, kept her head down, and started collecting the items from the first row.
One notebook, two notebooks, three notebooks.
When the third row was being handed out, a girl threw a notebook at me, but missed and it fell to the ground.
Lin Yue bent down to pick it up, but the girl was talking to the person next to her and didn't even glance at her.
Lin Yue didn't say anything, put the notebook away, and continued to collect the rest.
When Song Huan's table was served, Xiao Yunqing was not there; she was probably out having fun somewhere.
Song Huan handed in her and Xiao Yunqing's assignments.
Song Huan looked at her and said, "They are clearly bullying you. You can refuse."
Lin Yue was holding a pile of homework books, her head down. She remained silent for two seconds.
"It's okay."
She spoke very softly, as if afraid of disturbing someone. She turned and left quickly.
Song Huan sat there, watching her figure disappear through the doorway.
He remembered Lin Yue on the first day of school.
At that time, she sat next to him, smiling and saying "Hello," but in her heart she was thinking, "Little puppy."
She no longer smiles.
Song Huan withdrew her gaze and sighed.
There are some things he can't help with.
It's not that I don't want to help, it's that I can't.
Lin Yue walked towards the office with her homework in her arms in the corridor.
My pace slowed down a little compared to before.
The top one is Song Huan's, with a blue cover and his name on it.
She looked down at it once, then looked at it again.
She stopped when she reached the corner.
I looked around, but there was no one there.
She pulled out her own book from the middle and placed it on top.
The two notebooks were placed side by side, with blue covers. One was named Song Huan, and the other was named Lin Yue.
She stared at it for two seconds, then gave a silly smile.
Then, holding the notebook securely, I continued walking forward.
Sunlight streamed in and fell upon her; she walked in the interplay of light and shadow, her steps seeming lighter.