Chapter 954
IF149
Do you know why Hu Mengdie is speaking today?
After the flag-raising ceremony ended, on the way back in the class formation, Zhang Qixiang struck up a conversation with Li Zhuangsheng.
"I don't know." Li Zhuangsheng felt a little heavy-hearted at the moment and showed little interest in Zhang Qixiang's question.
Hu Mengdie is an excellent student and has good character, so it's perfectly normal for her to give a speech under the national flag. Besides, she's very popular at school, and if she were to advocate for it, the amount of donations might be higher.
"I heard that it was Hu Mengdie who told Lin Yuehua about her grandmother's illness."
"How did Hu Mengdie know?" Li Zhuangsheng was slightly taken aback.
"It seems like a relative of hers works at the county hospital... I don't know the specifics."
"Oh, I see..."
Li Zhuangsheng didn't think much of it.
"It seems that after Hu Mengdie found out, she took the initiative to go to Lin Yuehua and even dragged Lin Yuehua to find the school." Zhang Qixiang clicked his tongue, his eyes revealing a strange light. "I didn't expect Hu Mengdie to be such a good person. This time, Hu Mengdie volunteered to give the speech under the national flag because she wanted to help Lin Yuehua. She's such a nice person!"
Li Zhuangsheng glanced at Zhang Qixiang but didn't say anything.
When Hu Mengdie stood on the stage just now, everyone could hear her genuine emotions. She was radiant with the glow of a saint, and she was simply the epitome of beauty and kindness, dazzlingly beautiful.
No boy could resist her charm, just like Shirakawa Kotori. Who wouldn't like Shirakawa Kotori?
Even Li Zhuangsheng was somewhat shaken. Why would such a kind person play such a trick on me? Wasn't that a trick? No, how could it not be? They were complete strangers. He preferred to believe that Liu Yifei had suddenly appeared and said she liked him. After all, when something becomes surreal, everything that happens becomes understandable.
Moreover, Li Zhuangsheng didn't sense any genuine, ambiguous affection from Hu Mengdie; it felt as if he had been completely controlled by her from the start. In this respect, Hu Mengdie was inferior to Zhu Zhixue. If Zhu Zhixue had said she liked him, he could at least accept it… Would a decent, respectable girl casually allow a boy to have physical intimacy with her? He wasn't an anime protagonist where all the heroines belonged to him alone. If she could be so intimate with him, she probably would be the same with other boys…
Damn, he's really not as good as Zhu Zhixue. At least according to Li Zhuangsheng's observation, he should be Zhu Zhixue's best male friend. He's never seen Zhu Zhixue chatting with other boys like that.
Thinking about it carefully, Hu Mengdie might have acted this way on purpose today. Anyway, she wouldn't lose anything, but instead would gain a great reputation and image... Although Li Zhuangsheng quickly realized that his dark thoughts were entirely due to his resentment and prejudice against Hu Mengdie, and were not necessarily rational.
Let's leave these things aside for now; thinking about Hu Mengdie is pointless.
"How do you know all this?" Li Zhuangsheng asked casually.
"Oh, a friend of Hu Mengdie told me," Zhang Qixiang replied casually.
Li Zhuangsheng nodded and glanced at the scene from afar. The group dispersed completely when they reached the foot of the teaching building. Lin Yuehua lowered her head and silently went upstairs. As the main speaker under the national flag, she was all alone.
As the saying goes, even Qin Hui had three friends. But Lin Yuehua was truly alone, despite the strange looks she was surrounded by. No one tried to strike up a conversation. Lin Yuehua was aloof and withdrawn, and her job was always the one that offended people, so her relationships with everyone were just so-so. To be precise, most people in the class disliked Lin Yuehua. She was cold and distant to everyone, and even if someone wanted to say a few words of concern, they wouldn't know how to start.
In fact, Lin Yuehua did nothing wrong; her strictness was limited to her uncompromising approach to class discipline. Couldn't she criticize you for talking during self-study, not handing in homework, or violating school rules? A student's duty is to study, and Lin Yuehua had no obligation to use sweet talk to make friends.
Li Zhuangsheng pursed his lips and quickly walked behind Lin Yuehua, as if this would block some uncomfortable gazes.
He remained silent, his heart surging with emotion. He wanted to say something, but he felt his words were too powerless, and anything he said would sound frivolous and indifferent.
The two returned to the classroom and sat down. Lin Yuehua remained silent, mechanically taking out her textbook as if she were previewing the material, but according to Li Zhuangsheng's quiet observation, she wasn't paying attention at all.
His heart grew heavier, and he felt guilty for his frivolous and reckless speculation about Lin Yuehua yesterday.
But what could he do? It seemed like he couldn't do anything. He was just an ordinary, unremarkable person—hadn't he already known that?
He's not a chosen one in movies or TV dramas, nor is he the protagonist in Zheng Yuanjie's stories. He's just a fool with low emotional intelligence who likes to make stupid mistakes.
But even though he already knew this, his chest felt hot, as if something was smoldering. All day long.
During the afternoon class meeting, Teacher Fan stood on the podium and did not say much, but delivered a passionate speech.
"...In short, I hope that the students in our class can care more about their classmates. Lin Yuehua's excellent character and academic performance are obvious to all. Please donate generously and do a good deed every day. All the money should be handed over to the class monitor." Teacher Fan slammed his hand on the desk, his voice carrying an undeniable authority. "In this donation drive, the group that shows the most compassion will get ten points! Class monitor, please keep a record."
"Oh, okay." The class's Youth League secretary nodded repeatedly, but his expression seemed a little unnatural.
An eerie silence hung in the classroom. The students' gazes were fixed on Lin Yuehua, the protagonist of the story, their expressions varied. To most, Lin Yuehua was an unpleasant stranger. Even if they felt sympathy for her plight at that moment and would later donate money, talking about friendship now felt too awkward.
Nobody really likes Lin Yuehua. Who would like that arrogant and domineering girl? She thought she was so great just because she was good at studying. Why isn't she so arrogant now?
Some secretly gloated, while many others sympathized. But regardless of their feelings, they couldn't voice their opinions. Everyone knew what stance to take, but no one had the right to do so.
This isn't indifference, it's inappropriateness.
There is no contradiction between sympathy for Lin Yuehua and indifference towards her.
Li Zhuangsheng kept his head down silently; he hated this atmosphere. Even without seeing Lin Yuehua's reaction, he could guess her expression.
He was filled with rage, like a smoldering flame that had been burning all day, suddenly bursting forth and blazing fiercely! Even though he understood that no one had done anything wrong, and that this was everyone's natural reaction.
Just stay silent. Nobody's waiting for you to stand out. It'll be Lin Yuehua who'll be embarrassed later, not you. Everyone else is quiet, so why are you trying to be the center of attention? Are you trying to make yourself look good?
Nobody's expecting anything from you, so stop being so arrogant. (End of Chapter)