Feigned Pity - CH 11.1

Cai Li Ling secretly breathed a sigh of relief, “then, let’s go home.”

They thought that this was the end for the day. But a graceful female voice came from behind, stopping the trio.

“Wait a minute.”

They turned their heads and saw a pretty girl with heavy makeup striding towards them. Her wine red hair was dyed even more beautifully by the sunset. However, she looked like someone no one wanted to mess with.

Someone immediately recognized her, “Isn’t that the school flower, Shen Chen Chen?”

Zhou Zhi thought of the plethora of posts on the forum and subconsciously blocked Tao Yi Xi behind her.

“Shen Chen Chen isn’t here to find trouble with Tao Yi Xi, right?”

That person voiced out Zhou Zhi’s thoughts. In the forum, Tao Yi Xi had been in the limelight these days and comparisons between her and the current school flower had been used in gusto.

Fbld Ubld Ubld pnyddle vbl vball sq vblx, clqsal alpvkdt bla tygl sd Mys Zk Dk. Fbl rywple qsa vos plnsdep clqsal tlpvwakdt okvb bla blye.

“Usxl shla.”

Hbsw Hbk’p obszl cseu vldple. Ls xyvvla bso pbl zssjle yv Fbld Ubld Ubld, pbl qlzv vbyv Fbld Ubld Ubld oyp wr vs ds tsse.

Mys Zk Dk ryvvle bla sd vbl pbswzela yde vssj vbl kdkvkyvkhl vs pvlr swv qasx clbkde Hbsw Hbk. Ekvb y tldvzl vsdl, pbl ypjle, “xyu R ypj, obu yal usw zssjkdt qsa xl?”

“Usxl shla yde R’zz vlzz usw.”

Fbld Ubld Ubld yzoyup prsjl yaastydvzu. Hbsw Hbk oyp yqayke vbyv kd vbl dlmv plnsde vbyv pbl oyp ekprzlyple, pbl oswze vlynb Zk Dk y zlppsd.

Tsolhla, Mys Zk Dk oyp dsv yqayke. Fbl pbssj bla blye, “Fsaau, nzypp kp shla dso yde R byhl vs ts bsxl. Rq vblal’p yduvbkdt usw dlle vs pyu, ol nyd ekpnwpp kv vsxsaaso.”

Mys Zk Dk zssjle psqv-prsjld yde y rwpbshla, cwv bla alflnvksd oyp wdlmrlnvlezu pvlyeqypv.

Brashness was met with calm; the two people with different auras faced each other, yet Tao Yi Xi was not the least intimidated.

Shen Chen Chen smirked. How intriguing.

“I heard that you’re Gu Jing Yuan’s sister?”

“En.”

“Then you must be my future sister-in-law, help me pass something to him.”

Tao Yi Xi was silent for a moment before declining, “my relationship with Ge-ge isn’t good. You should also know that he has a bad temper and probably won’t accept it. It’s highly likely that the item handed from me wouldn’t be well received.”

“Achoo!” A hundred miles away, Gu Jing Yuan sneezed.

“Brother Yuan, did you catch a cold?”

“No.” He rubbed his nose, feeling inexplicable.

Shen Chen Chen didn’t mind, “You just need to help me pass it to him.”

Tao Yi Xi had already said her peace. Since Shen Chen Chen was still adamant, then it was not her problem. Either way, she still had to pass him his homework later on tonight, adding one more item wouldn’t make a difference.

“Okay then, hand it to me.”

“Cough, come with me and I’ll hand it to you.” The tall girl had a rare moment of shyness.

Tao Yi Xi planned to follow, but Zhou Zhi grabbed her arm and shook her head fervently.

What if this was a ploy to lure her enemy in?! Yi Xi was so small and fragile, what if she was knocked unconscious by the big woman, Shen Chen Chen?!

Zhou Zhi had that pictured in her mind.

Shen Chen Chen crossed her arms in front of her chest; disregarded their fearful looks and was not bothered by their strange stares.

Looking at Tao Yi Xi, who spoke gently and softly, her weak and harmless appearance really gave people a strong desire to protect her. It was reasonable why Zhou Zhi was worried.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hit her,” Shen Chen Chen promised.

Tao Yi Xi patted Zhou Zhi’s hand soothingly, “it’s okay, just wait here for me. I’ll be back soon.”

The two went to an empty classroom, and Shen Chen Chen took out a pink envelope from her deflated schoolbag. On the envelope written like dragons flying and phoenixes dancing1, were three big characters ‘Shen Chen Chen’.

A love letter?

Tao Yi Xi was momentarily surprised. After all, it was rare to give love letters in this era. And the person giving was also a girl who looked even more flippant.

But that’s none of her business.

Tao Yi Xi kept the letter in the neatly arranged schoolbag. “If I see him, I’ll pass it to him tonight.”

“Thank you little sister-in-law.”

“Just call me Yi Xi.”

“Alright. Yi Xi, please keep this matter a secret.”

“En, I understand.”

Shen Chen Chen scrutinized the weak-looking girl in front of her, “I’m in second year, Class Four. Seeing that you’re Gu Jing Yuan’s sister, you can look for me in the future if anyone bullies you. This sister-in-law will protect you.”

Shen Chen Chen raised her eyebrow. Her fearless appearance somewhat resembled Gu Jing Yuan’s.

Tao Yi Xi temporarily faltered. This generosity gained in the name of Gu Jing Yuan, she shall politely decline.

“Then I head home first, bye bye.”

Shen Chen Chen studied Tao Yi Xi’s lofty and straight back.

Her long black hair was supple and straight and the ends of her hair swayed gently as she walked away. She was properly and neatly dressed in her school uniform. With a glance, people could tell that she was a good student; completely different from Gu Jing Yuan.

But she had a feeling that this little sister was somewhat different from other goody-two-shoes students.

Zhou Zhi finally breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Tao Yi Xi returning.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, let’s go.”

That evening, Cai Li Ling decided to walk with them and she curiously pried, “Yi Xi, what did that Shen Chen Chen ask you to help her pass on?”

“A small item.”

“But what is it??” She asked intrusively.

Tao Yi Xi shook her head, “I promised not to say.”

“Aiya, why does it matter? We’re good friends~ Just tell us. We definitely keep it a secret.”

Tao Yi Xi smiled but said nothing.

Cai Li Ling still wanted to hook her arm with her. Hoping that the closeness shared between girls would make Tao Yi Xi divulge more.

But just as she was about to do so, Zhou Zhi squeezed between them and linked her arms together on their respective arms.

“Li Ling, shush, don’t ask anymore. Did you forget the cafeteria’s lesson? You still dare to talk about such stuff in public? If any rumors spread and reach Shen Chen Chen’s ears, all of us are finished.”

Cai Li Ling’s expression froze, she could only give up.

The three stepped out of the school gates and headed in different directions. Cai Li Ling and Zhou Zhi took buses headed in opposite directions, whereas Tao Yi Xi went towards another junction.

Cai Li Ling asked curiously, “Hey, Yi Xi isn’t taking the public bus?”

“She has a private car coming to pick her up.”

“I’m so envious! I also want to ride in a private car. The public bus is always so smelly and crowded. So tiring.”

“Car or bus, doesn’t it still bring us home? It’s green man now. I’ll go first, bye!” Zhou Zhi waved at her and the two parted ways.

Tao Yi Xi reached home and as foreseen, a certain someone was not around.

Today, she didn’t plan to waste time waiting and called Qi Yue directly.

“Yo, who’s this?”

“Hello Qi Yue, this is Tao Yi Xi.”

“Yi Xi?!” Qi Yue’s pitch reached a new high. He quickly glanced at the person who was wearing headphones, currently engrossed in a fierce battle. He tried to suppress his excitement, “do you need something?”

“I wanted to ask, is Gu Jing Yuan with you?”

“Yeap.”

Tao Yi Xi’s lips raised, “Is it convenient to add each other on WeChat?”

“Yes? Yes!” It was more than he could ever wish for!

After enquiring about their location, Tao Yi Xi directly cabbed over.

Qi Yue was very excited. This was the first time they would be meeting outside of school. He eyed Gu Jing Yuan and felt a little guilty.

Gu Jing Yuan hadn’t noticed Qi Yue’s abnormality; paying no attention to ‘outside’ matters.

With his headphones on, he turned his head and asked, “joining next game?”

“Er, for now, don’t think I am.”

He was petrified that it would end in his bloodshed halfway through the game.

“Oh.”

Tao Yi Xi was stopped when she arrived.

“ID card?”

She calmly dug through her bag, before suddenly pausing, “how can it be? I clearly remembered packing it before I stepped out of the house…”

The person manning the front desk’s indifferent tone softened considerably after noticing the dainty girl. “Why not, you go home and grab it before coming back here?”

Tao Yi Xi lowered her head, shoulders quivering slightly, and her soft sobs pierced the heart of the receptionist.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I’m not here to surf the internet. It’s just that, someone told me that my boyfriend brought someone…” Her half-completed sentence was enough to fuel others’ imaginations.

The more he thought about it, the angrier the person at the front desk got, ‘Ptui! Scumbag! Girlfriend is so pretty but he still cheats! Shameless! In this day and age, can honest people still stand a chance to find a girlfriend?’

“Go ahead, do you need me to accompany you?”

“No thank you little brother,” The girl’s delicate voice melted his heart.

Tao Yi Xi walked towards the room number given by Qi Yue. Missing were the tears collected in the corner of her eyes.

When the door was opened, it brought in a gust of wind. Gu Jing Yuan, who was waiting for the page to load, turned his head to look and was bewildered.

How come this person is here?