Volume 3 Chapter 12: A Reassuring Rival
The assembly ended quickly. In fact, it proved that this urgent meeting didn’t really contain anything important.
Instead, it only made Lin Lin feel embarrassed. She had lost control of her emotions in front of many people.
The girl walked off the stage with her head down. Thinking about her performance just now, she found it hard to hold herself together.
She didn’t dare face the teacher, and she didn’t dare return to the class line either. When she passed by Teacher Zhu, she only whispered, “I’m going back…” and then quickly left the playground.
Xiao Bai, standing in the class line, looked in panic at Lin Lin as she ran away. Then she turned her head and glanced at a few friends who were looking at her with suspicion.
She swallowed, forced herself to endure the pressure, and hurried after Lin Lin.
“Lin Lin—!”
Xiao Bai ran all the way back to the classroom. She looked around, but Lin Lin was nowhere to be seen. She started pacing anxiously, waited for a long time, but still didn’t see her come back.
What’s going on? Where is she?
Xiao Bai was truly worried now. Many unsettling thoughts flashed through her mind. She quickly ran outside, thinking she had to find Lin Lin as soon as possible. Nothing bad must happen.
But just as she took a step forward, she bumped straight into Teacher Zhu, who was also rushing back.
“Ah!”
“Ow—te… teacher?”
Xiao Bai covered her head and looked up in surprise. Teacher Zhu also stopped, lifted her head, her expression hurried.
Clearly, she was also worried about Lin Lin, who had run off alone, and had come back to check.
“Xiao Bai, hey—have you seen Lin Lin?” Teacher Zhu asked anxiously as she looked into the classroom, but there was no sign of Lin Lin.
Xiao Bai shook her head. “No, teacher. I can’t find her. She… she doesn’t seem okay.”
“I could tell,” Teacher Zhu said with a frown. A student going missing was a serious matter. She needed to understand the situation quickly. “So what exactly happened to Lin Lin? Why did she suddenly become so down?”
“She…”
Facing the teacher, Xiao Bai hesitated. Should she really report Han Kui? Would that person take revenge on her later?
But…
The situation was too urgent now. Xiao Bai couldn’t think about that anymore. If something happened, she would never forgive herself.
So she took a deep breath, raised her head, and told Teacher Zhu everything.
“Lin Lin was bullied. It was Han Kui from our class. She poured glue on Lin Lin’s seat and cut up her school uniform. I… I saw it all.”
“What?!”
Teacher Zhu was shocked and found it hard to believe. “Han Kui… she really did something like that?”
She had always thought that although Han Kui was troublesome, she was different from truly bad kids. After all, no teacher wants to see their student as purely evil.
But if what Xiao Bai said was true, then this was clearly bullying, something Teacher Zhu would absolutely not tolerate.
Xiao Bai nodded with difficulty. “She never did this before, but recently she’s been very desperate and angry. All of this happened today. I don’t have evidence, but everything I said is true, Teacher Zhu…”
“Alright, don’t worry. If it’s true, I will find out,” Teacher Zhu said, nodding. “But… Han Kui suddenly asked for leave just now. I don’t know what’s going on. More importantly… where did Lin Lin go?”
This…
Han Kui suddenly took another day off?
Xiao Bai was also confused and didn’t really know what was going on. Feeling anxious, the two of them became even more at a loss. After a moment, Xiao Bai quickly suggested,
“Teacher, let’s split up and look for her separately, teacher!”
“Mm, that’s the only way,”
Teacher Zhu nodded. The two of them then went their separate ways.
That description might not be quite right. Anyway, after they left the classroom door for a while, Lin Lin dragged her tired body and slowly walked to the classroom entrance.
Her face still had water marks and tear stains from washing her face in the restroom without drying it properly. The girl slowly walked into the classroom.
As soon as she entered, she froze.
Next to her seat, there was actually a boy.
Gao Liang was holding some tissues and a water bottle. Hearing the sound, he turned around. When he saw Lin Lin’s sad little face, he showed her a warm smile.
“You’re back, Lin Lin?”
“Gao Liang…”
Without realizing it, tears welled up in Lin Lin’s eyes again. She lowered her head and said while sobbing softly, “There’s… there’s glue on my chair…”
“I’m already cleaning it for you. It’s okay, Lin Lin,” Gao Liang comforted her gently. He then showed her the stool he had already cleaned and said with a smile, “Look, it’s completely clean now.”
“Uu… r-really?”
Looking at the stool in his hands, Lin Lin suddenly didn’t feel like crying as much anymore.
This guy…
He’s… actually pretty kind.
The environmentalist in her heart should probably complain about this. It really feels like a dirty trick from her rival. Ugh…
After a short while, Lin Lin stepped forward, took the stool from him, and tested it. After making sure there was no glue left, she sat down. She pulled out a tissue and wiped her face.
Gao Liang sat back down beside her, looked her up and down, and quietly asked,
“Hey, Lin Lin, did you find out who did these bad things?”
“I…” Lin Lin stayed silent for a moment, then finally nodded. “Someone already told me. It was Han Kui.”
“Tsk, I knew it was her,” Gao Liang had already expected it, so he wasn’t very surprised. Instead, he smiled confidently and continued, “Then, Lin Lin, have you told Teacher Zhu about this?”
“Not yet…”
Lin Lin lowered her head, looking a bit awkward.
“There was a meeting just now, and everyone was taken to the playground, so I didn’t have time to say anything. And my school uniform was cut up by Han Kui too. Th-that girl… uuu…”
The girl felt wronged again.
“I clearly never did anything to her, but she keeps targeting me. Before, at least she competed with me openly. Now she’s using such dirty tricks. That’s… that’s too much, right? Why should she do this? Just because she’s jealous of how close you and I are? I… uuu…”
Gao Liang quietly listened as she cried for a bit longer. After a moment, he handed her a tissue and helped wipe away her tears, then said,
“Don’t worry, Lin Lin. I’ll take care of this very soon. As long as we’re sure Han Kui is the one who did it, that’s enough. You don’t need to worry about anything else. I’ll handle it.”
He gently patted Lin Lin on the head. Lin Lin looked up and met his sincere eyes. After a moment, she felt much more at ease.
Hmm…
Where did this guy learn such healing skills?
“Oh, by the way,” Gao Liang added, “Lin Lin, why are you wearing my school uniform?”
“Uh… um… well… uh…”