Chapter 5

The next day Xuesong made a conscious effort not to talk to Hehuan. But, although he made the effort, it was not enough.

When the lunch bell rang, Xuesong attempted to make a run for it. "Xuesong!!" Xuesong quickened his pace. Unfortunately, Hehuan caught up. "You! Xuesong!"

Xuesong turned around, acting as if he simply didn't hear Hehuan. "Ah, what is it?"

"Ugh, Xuesong. Why are you always ignoring meee?" Hehuan complained. "Are you scared of my creepy-looking arm?" He gave Xuesong a look full of mock hurt. "That's very mean, Xuesong." It was strange hearing Hehuan talk about his arm so casually now. Back then, Xuesong remembered his desperate and angry eyes.

Xuesong opened his mouth, but bit his tongue when somebody slapped his back. Quiet aggressively as well. Baixiang and Baihua were standing behind him, both looking tired from the morning lectures.

Xuesong slapped Baixiang back. "What are you two doing here in the middle of the hallway?" Baihua asked.

Hehuan crossed his arms. "We were just having a veery serious conversation about Xuesong ignoring me."

"Huh, maybe you're just being extra delusional today. Xuesong ignores everybody," Baixiang replied, rolling his eyes and rubbing the place he was hit. Hehuan stuck his tongue out at Baixiang.

"Oh! Also," Baihua suddenly lowered his voice. "I saw that creepy yandere girl today. During break time, I saw her staring at you in the hall." Hehuan frowned.

"Are you sure?"

Baihua nodded contently. "You should confront her about it."

Hehuan sighed. "I'll think about it during lunch."

During lunch, Hehuan was indeed thinking. Or, more like he was contemplating whether he should confront her. The three of them ate in silence, letting him think about the serious decision he was about to make.

"Ugh, we have no evidence," he complained after a while, putting his head in his palms.

"Hmm, so you just need evidence, right?" Baihua asked. Hehuan nodded. "Well, I can stalk her, if you want. I'm very good at it." Baixiang side-eyed him judgementally.

"Baihua, stalking isn't good," Hehuan told him.

"Well, do you have a better idea to gather your 'evidence?'" Baihua countered. It was strange to see Baihua even consider stalking somebody. Typically, he would be heavily against it.

"On the day she approached us, she said some really fake things, didn't she?" Baixiang cut in, trying to keep the conversation back on track.

"None of them hint at her being the stalker, though," Hehuan pointed out. "Frankly, I don't think people would believe it if we said she lies. She's the second in our class, and has too many friends and connections."

"Who's the first?" Baihua asked out of curiosity. Hehuan's face fell and he looked ashamed.

"It's me."

Baihua laughed awkwardly, the conversation stopping.

The walk back to class was typically silent, but this time, Xuesong spoke.

"You two had a talk after I left."

"Huh? How did you know?" Hehuan looked suprised. "Didn't you leave?" Xuesong averted his gaze.

"I overheard."

After a few moments of silence, Hehuan spoke up again.

"I recorded the conversation," he confessed. "since I felt uneasy. But, I don't want people hearing about my bandages."

"Cut it out then."

"Ah- well, that part also has evidence of her stalking." He gave Xuesong a strained smile. "You understand where I'm coming from, right?" Xuesong sighed, nodding silently. Secretly, he wasn't convinced that Hehuan couldn't cut it out.

Their walk to class was left undisturbed until they got close to their classroom. Suddenly, a girl ran up to them.

"Xiao Hehuan! Yang Xuesong!" Xuesong turned around. The girl who confessed to Hehuan was running towards them.

She caught up, and in gasping breaths, she said, "If you.. have a.. moment.., Hehuan, I'd like to.. apologize.. to you." She turned to Xuesong. "Oh, and you can... uhh.."

Xuesong turned continue walking to the classroom, understanding the situation.

"W-wait!" Meihua called. When Xuesong looked back, she stuttered a little. "U-uh..."

Xuesong, seeing she didn't have anything to say, entered the room.

"Hmm? So this two-faced bastard showed up after all." The classroom suddenly went silent. The air turned from lively to quiet, cold, and suffocating. Eyes watched him. He turned away and sat down.

Suddenly, Yuxi walked up to face him. Her eyes glared down into his with anger and scorn, in a condescending way. The whole class seemed to hold their breaths.

Suddenly, Yuxi burst into tears. "Oh, Xuesong! How could you do this to Hehuan?"

What?

He echoed his thought. Her eyes shot daggers at him through fake tears.

"Sniff. You're so two-faced, Xuesong. I thought you two were friends. Who knew you were such a bad person?" 'Yuxi is more two-faced than me,' Xuesong thought.

But, whispers filled the room. "Ah, such a bad friend." "Who let him near Hehuan?" "Poor Hehuan, he didn't deserve to be treated like that by this bastard."

The air felt like glass, that would shatter the moment Xuesong breathed. A thought crawled into his brain. A quick change in mood.

Did he give Hehuan those wounds? He didn't remember.

Perhaps he did.

Yuxi's tears dripped onto Xuesong's desk. He looked down at them, then back at Yuxi.

"Huh? What did I do?" It didn't even matter what he was going to say. The whispering would continue on either way.

Then, Yuxi's hand came down on his cheek. It burned dimly, compared to the shock.

"How dare you!" Yuxi shouted. "How dare you pretend you don't know!" She pointed angrily at Xuesong, facing the class. "See this? The audacity of this asshole!" The whole class glared at Xuesong. He felt like a cornered mouse, having nowhere to run.

He decided to raise his voice. The hit on his cheek gave him a rush of adrenaline. "What are you even talking about? Explain it clearly, Yuxi. Explain it to this cowardly two-faced asshole who doesn't know shit." He stood up, making Yuxi flinch. "And, who gave you the right to hit me? Do you want me to hit you back so badly?"

He didn't care about the people whispering.

"B-but, who gave you the right to hit Hehuan?" Yuxi shouted back.

Huh?

Xuesong was taken aback. "What do you mean??" Yuxi glared at him, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth.

"Did you know, yesterday Hehuan finally worked up the courage to tell me something he so desperately wanted to hide for so long? He told me that you bullied him every day, after school. He even showed me the scars on his arms. Did you know that I saw fresh wounds there too? I was so horrified. You must be still doing this, up until now!"

Did he do that? Was that what happened during his twelfth year that he had forgotten?

"Oh, how awful." "He must have suffered so much." "It scares me to think about it." Eyes looked back at him. Pins and needles of unease pricked his skin.

No, that didn't make sense. At least, part of her statement was wrong. He didn't bully Hehuan recently. He didn't remember.

He didn't... remember.

"See??" Yuxi shouted. "He's all quiet now since he knows I'm right-"

The door of the classroom slid open. Meihua glanced inside, looking at Xuesong worriedly. Hehuan had an unreadable expression on his face.

He walked in, slamming the door behind him. The whole class was silent. Suddenly, the focus of the classroom shifted from Yuxi to Hehuan. His steps echoed dully on the ground.

He walked up to her, until they were face to face.

"Oh? Care to explain to poor Hehuan what happened?"