Green Plum, Green Plum (5)
“Are you a pervert?”
Throughout the entire gym class, Shen Yelan was somewhat absent-minded.
Only when she was swimming in the water and couldn’t hear the sounds in the venue did she feel a bit more normal, focusing on the short-distance swimming in front of her.
Perhaps it was because of the frustration bottled up inside her, but today her performance was exceptionally good, just shy of excellence.
Usually, she wouldn’t stand out like this, because she knew that Lu Pei would definitely find her annoying. If she offended her in such an inexplicable way, her days would be hard to get by.
But ever since today’s troublesome incident—
Shen Yelan suddenly wasn’t afraid anymore.
She realized that no matter how cautious she was, as long as she was still alive in this world, breathing the same air as Lu Pei, the other person would be displeased.
Sometimes, likes and dislikes don’t need any reason.
After finishing her swim and getting out of the water, Shen Yelan didn’t even glance in Lu Pei’s direction. Her eyes roamed around the venue, but she found that the most dazzling figure had already disappeared.
She sat by the pool, feeling inexplicably drained of energy and lost interest in the gym class.
She thought it might be because she was hungry from skipping breakfast.
……
Today, it seemed like the heavens were especially against Shen Yelan.
As the afternoon classes were ending, the language teacher called on her to recite after class. Walking along the corridor outside the classroom, she saw the sky outside was gray and overcast, the clouds heavy, looking as if a sudden downpour was imminent.
It was the weather she hated.
When she returned from the language teacher’s office, sure enough, Lu Pei’s seat was already empty. It was obvious that she had left for home without waiting for her.
Ever since she was first tricked like this, Shen Yelan had walked back to her uncle and aunt’s house in the rain, resulting in a high fever for two days, and she had hated rainy days ever since.
Even though she always carried an umbrella in her bag, her aversion to this weather had penetrated deep into her bones.
Opening her transparent umbrella, Shen Yelan, with her backpack on, walked out of the teaching building, keeping her head down to watch the road, afraid of stepping into puddles and getting her shoes wet.
As she was walking along the roadside, a taxi sped past, hitting a dip in the road and splashing muddy water a meter high—
The muddy water flew up, pattering against her umbrella, and the rest landed on her school uniform trousers, soaking the dark blue fabric and staining it black.
Shen Yelan stood there with an ugly expression, not even knowing whom to blame for her misfortune.
After a long while, she started walking again, choosing paths where vehicles couldn’t go.
Not sure where she had turned, she suddenly heard a faint whimper.
It sounded like a cry from an injured small animal.
Involuntarily, Shen Yelan followed the sound, turning a corner and being stunned by the scene before her—
A fair-skinned girl was holding an umbrella, the umbrella tilted towards a wooden box beside her. The water from the umbrella trickled down, and inside the box, lined with colorful fabric, lay a fluffy yellow puppy. Its butterfly-like ears drooped down as it ate the ham sausage the girl fed it, licking her fingers in a fawning manner.
Then it let out a babyish sound: “Arf! Arf!”
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Sharp, hoarse, and excited.
“Eat less, this is too salty, it’s not good for you. I’ll buy you something else, okay?” The girl, not noticing the new figure nearby, reached out to stroke the puppy’s ear, her voice unusually gentle.
Who else could this person be but Xu Jiao?
Shen Yelan inexplicably walked a couple of steps closer.
Then she saw the wound exposed on the puppy’s forelimb, deep enough to see the bone.
“Is it injured?” Shen Yelan unconsciously asked.
Hearing the sound, Xu Jiao glanced at the sneakers in her peripheral vision and looked up to see Shen Yelan. She nodded calmly.
Then she said nothing more.
Shen Yelan felt a moment of breathlessness.
As someone who was always repressed and never initiated conversations, she surprised herself by managing to squeeze out a sentence while the girl was teasing the dog again:
“If this injury isn’t treated soon, it will get worse. I know a pet shop nearby… do you, do you want to go?”
Xu Jiao paused, looking up at her again, her gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny, as if puzzled by why someone she barely knew was suddenly so enthusiastic towards her.
After a moment, Xu Jiao said, “I’m waiting for the rain to stop. It’s inconvenient to hold the dog and the umbrella at the same time.”
Hearing her cold yet pleasant voice, Shen Yelan tightened her grip on the umbrella handle and heard the hoarseness in her own restrained voice:
“I can hold the umbrella for you.”
Why was she so nervous?
Shen Yelan, puzzled, listened to her own distorted voice.
Was it because of Xu Jiao’s notorious reputation?
Before she could figure out her own thoughts, the girl had already nodded, calmly handed her the umbrella, then squatted to roll up her trousers before picking up the wooden box with the puppy inside.
This time, Shen Yelan finally saw the tattoo on her right ankle clearly.
Though half of it was covered by her sock, the visible part was a hollow cross, equally long horizontally and vertically, with thorns entwined around it.
The pure black design contrasted sharply with her pale ankle skin, creating a strong visual impact. The thorns surrounding the cross looked like light tainted by darkness.
Both holy and deprave.
The intense contrast and contradiction made Shen Yelan hold her breath, until the umbrella in her hand tilted, accidentally letting the handle touch Xu Jiao’s forehead.
She snapped back to reality, but was even more startled, not daring to move, her body tense, afraid that Xu Jiao might suddenly kick her.
Instead, Xu Jiao stared at her expressionlessly for a long time, finally asking:
“Aren’t we going?”
Shen Yelan escaped the crisis once again, hurriedly averted her gaze, and quickly led her towards their destination.
She didn’t dare stay too close to Xu Jiao, her arm holding the umbrella fully extended, covering most of the umbrella over the girl’s head, while her own shoulder silently got wet.
However, she didn’t feel cold.
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Her gaze was always glued to the tall figure in front of her, and she walked straight into the pet store without even noticing until someone stopped her:
“Hey, student, put away your umbrella.”
……
“This wound needs stitching, a minor surgery. You can go have a meal and come back, there’s no need to wait here.”
The veterinarian, wearing a white coat, glanced at the sky outside and kindly suggested to Shen Yelan and Xu Jiao.
Shen Yelan looked at Xu Jiao, realizing it was time for her to leave, but she couldn’t bring herself to say goodbye, standing there pretending to be deaf and mute.
Just then, Xu Jiao suddenly turned her head towards her and unexpectedly asked, “I’ll treat you to dinner. What do you want to eat?”
Shen Yelan’s mind hadn’t caught up yet, but her mouth already blurted out a refusal: “No need.”
Xu Jiao wasn’t surprised at all, not even showing a hint of shock. She calmly accepted being refused, simply looking her up and down, then changing her approach:
“I owe you a favor today.”
“I’ll repay you some other time.”
Shen Yelan… she felt a bit flattered.
In fact, she already regretted refusing, but hearing this, she felt like she had gained something better than just a meal.
Moreover…
Isn’t this school bully much nicer than the rumors say?
Holding her umbrella, she walked out of the pet store, dazedly returning to her uncle and aunt’s house.
As usual, she ate cold leftovers, then took three minutes to finish her shower, soaked everyone’s clothes, and threw them into the washing machine—this was her aunt’s unique obsession with cleanliness, believing no washing machine could clean clothes properly.
While she was doing her chores, her aunt kept nagging beside her:
“Don’t throw socks in, they’re too dirty, and don’t mix my underwear with Peipei’s for washing…”
Shen Yelan silently washed the clothes, until she sensed a shadow approaching.
She looked up and saw Lu Pei standing outside the bathroom, eyeing her with a strange look:
“When did you get to know Xu Jiao? Shen Yelan, don’t learn bad things from those people, or I’ll tell my mom.”
Shen Yelan remained unmoved, lowered her head and continued washing clothes, only responding casually:
“Not close.”
Lu Pei breathed a sigh of relief, then sneered: “I thought so. Xu Jiao hates people who excel in academics the most. She wouldn’t want to know someone as dull as you.”
Though it was the truth, Shen Yelan felt extremely uncomfortable in her chest.
She looked heavily at Lu Pei, but the other person had already turned and left.
……
Maybe it was the extraordinary experiences of the day, but Shen Yelan’s usually stagnant heart felt like it had been hit by a stone, the ripples disturbing her for a long time.
She finally fell asleep, only to have a dream.
In the dream, pink paper roses were scattered all over the floor.
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And she was pressing down a girl with unclear features but whom she instinctively found very beautiful. The girl seemed very scared, pushing her away, trying to crawl forward.
On her slender, pale ankle, the black hollow cross was entwined with thorns, exceptionally striking.
Shen Yelan, as if possessed, reached out to grab that ankle, then lowered her head and leaned in—
“Hu.”
In the middle of the night, in a small storeroom, the girl suddenly sat up, holding her forehead with one hand, her head lowered, as if she had a nightmare.
After a long while, she murmured to herself, puzzled:
“Are you a pervert…”
The house was very quiet late at night, and no one could answer her question.
She raised the corners of her lips, pulled the quilt back up, and lay down again. But when she closed her eyes, that beautiful, lustrous ankle appeared in front of her—
The flawless image from the day had changed.
The whiteness around the cross had turned bright red, and on closer inspection, deep bite marks could be seen, the color so dark it seemed like blood might drip out.
