No longer cheerful

The sound of something falling on the floor echoed in the room as Xua Ying Yue who was busy solving a math problem looked up from her spot and stared at the young girl who dropped the metallic cup on the floor of her bottle, causing the hot water that was filled inside it to fall on her hands.

The weather was getting colder by the day and it was not a surprise that someone brought a bottle of warm water with them to this run-down library since there was no water cooler or any other resource around them that will provide them with hot water in winter.

The girl whose hands were burned winced in pain as she looked at her red hands that were turning red in agony, Xua Ying Yue looked at her own hands that were turning red but hers were covered in blood since she refused to stop her studies and give rest to her hands which needed time to recover from the injury that they suffered from.

However, Xua Ying Yue did not have the time nor the patience to stay still in her apartment since the exams were just already going on and were no longer around the corner.

While she was looking at the bandages that were painted red with her blood, Xua Ying Yue blinked her eyes and then went to turn the page of her book but then she heard the sniffing and snivelling of the young girl who was sitting on the same table as her and she raised her head before turning to look at the girl who was crying.

' Does that really hurt so much?' Xua Ying Yue asked in her head, compared to the fact that her hands were deliberately burned by being pushed into a burning furnace that was used to burn trash from the school getting water spilt on her hands was something really minor. Was this really worth crying about?

After going through the hell that she had to go through alone, Xua Ying Yue was even more apathetic than she was before maybe it was because she was born with a mind that was sharper than others but she has always been in a different zone than the others. She has never cried over those things at which small children would shed tears easily, if not for getting bullied and hurt again and again, she would have never even known what it means to be in pain and how much one's eyes sting when one cries.

" Why are you crying?" She could not help but ask the girl since the latter was crying over the smallest injury. Did it really hurt as bad as her hand getting burned by a furnace?

" Because it hurts," the girl answered but then she saw the blood that was coating Xua Ying Yue's bandage and stopped crying for a second, there were still tears in her eyes but she still lifted her head and looked at Xua Ying Yue and could not help but ask, " That must hurt right?"

Xua Ying Yue followed her gaze as she dropped her eyes on the white bandages covered in blood and then turned to look at the girl her eyes flickering as she pressed her lips before she could not help but inquire, " Do you feel sorry for me?"

Will there anyone feel sorry for her? Xua Ying Yue understood her sister's actions since they were blood-related. Because they were the closest kin, of course, her sister will feel pained upon seeing her hurt as well but that was because she was her sister and not some stranger.

The strangers she met in the past couple of weeks were inquisitive and they were curious but they were never sympathetic or caring towards her injuries which was why she realised that no one cared about the pain of someone in this world. They all were looking towards a sort of entertainment and the injuries that she received after suffering from so much pain that she thought that she was going to die were also nothing more than just a form of entertainment and gossip to the neighbours.

' Oh my, where did she receive such a big injury?'

' How many times I have told you not to leave a girl around her age alone, Yenay.'

Some were mocking, some were teasing and some were just happy that she was hurt. This way as long as her hands did not move, they will not have to be embarrassed since their kids will definitely do better than a girl whose hands were burned to the point that they left her skin charred and ruined.

" Of course, I do," but just as Xua Ying Yue thought that the girl next to her was going to ignore her she heard her say, " Of course, I feel sorry for you. I burned my hand just a little and yet I feel so painful, yours seems to be bleeding and you are still not crying—— how can I not be.." she trailed off when she saw Xua Ying Yue look at her with an emotion that she quite did not understand.

Was this girl happy? But why was she happy when her hands were bleeding?

" Anyway do you have some ointment and bandage?" The girl asked with a tilt of her head.

" I do, I will help you apply the medicine," Xua Ying Yue was slightly joyful since this was the first time someone actually showed care for her which was why she did not hesitate to take out some burns relieving ointment and bandage from her bag. Even though they were poor, her sister was giving it her all to heal her thus the ointment that Xua Ying Yue had was really expensive.

" Thank you, I am Gong Shuang," the girl introduced herself as she took the ointment from Xua Ying Yue's hands and then with a soft smile said, " The Shuang of always cheerful, my mom gave me this name since she wanted to bless me with a cheerful life."

" I am Xua Ying Yue, the Ying Yue of the moon's reflection," Xua Ying Yue took the ointment from the girl's hands and then rubbed it carefully over the red skin before tying a small piece of bandage that was loose along with carefully tied enough for the girl to keep her injury safe. " You have a wonderful name." She added as the girl with two pigtails smiled widely, her cheeks dipping into small dimples.

" I will leave now," Gong Shuang said as she picked up her bags and books, no longer in the mood to study because of the itching of her skin. " Goodbye."

" Goodbye." Xua Ying Yue waved her hand since she still needed to study a bit more.

Gong Shuang smiled once more before she walked out of the library and headed straight towards the central plaza where her family owned a restaurant. But then two men popped out of nowhere as soon as she turned around the library and dumped a sack over her head.