Xiaobai Is Also Troubled Today

“You probably didn’t win, did you?”

 
“Yeah.” Bai Tingzhi pursed her lips.
 

“That’s not so bad. Just chalk it up to having good luck today.”
 
Bai Tingzhi didn’t say much on the way, and after morning class, she was slumped over her desk in a daze.

 
Good luck? What good luck?
 

“What are you thinking about, Xiaobai?” A girl leaned against Bai Tingzhi’s table at some point without her noticing, Her clean school uniform carried the fresh scent of laundry detergent, and her neat, high ponytail gave her a pure and beautiful look.
 
Almost all the classmates she was friendly with called her that, she personally felt that calling her that was a bit too un-boyish, but since they were friends, she didn’t say much.

 
“Nothing. I probably just didn’t sleep well,” Bai Tingzhi sat up straight on the table and came back to her senses, looking at the student council member Xia Gu’an in front of her and replied.
 

But Xia Gu’an only stared at her more intensely, and the two faces unconsciously got closer.
 
Bai Tingzhi’s breathing became rapid. Even if she had someone she liked, Xia Gu’an was indeed very beautiful, not to mention that such a beautiful girl was almost touching her face.

 
In a trance, Xia Gu’an smiled mischievously and pinched Bai Tingzhi’s face with her hand.
 
“Your skin is so good! By the way, remember to collect your group’s homework.” Xia Gu’an blinked and left with a faint smile.

 
Xiaobai silently collected the homework of the whole group. Just as she sat back down in her chair, a pair of hands hugged her neck from behind.
 

“Lao[1] Lin! Don’t hug so tight, I can’t take it!”
 
The heavy voice behind her laughed, and its owner pulled up a stool to sit beside her.

 
“Did you skip breakfast? Why don’t you look very happy?”
 

She hung her head and lay on the table. After a while, she replied belatedly: “Depressed.”
 
“Just because the shopkeeper cheated you out of half-a-yuan?” Sometimes Lin Yunian was too smart, he could guess most things about Xiaobai in an instant.

 
“It was one yuan! But it’s not about that…”
 

Bai Tingzhi seemed to think for a while, but in reality, she just couldn’t bring herself to say it.
“Is it about Gu Junzhu?”
 

“No.” She sat up from her desk. With her neck-length hair and delicate, fair face, anyone would mistake her for a girl from a distance.
 
Gu Junzhu’s matter was indeed an unexpected episode, but what could be more important than a teenage boy suddenly losing his second brother.

 
“Then is it Lu Tianshu?”
 

Bai Tingzhi’s thoughts began to overflow. In the past, she could like a girl, whether it was openly or as a secret crush— but what about now?
 
It was all just nonsense.

 
Seeing Bai Tingzhi sigh again, Lin Yunian thought for a moment before grabbing her hand, his eyes seemed to be shining sincerely, “Didn’t /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ you say you liked her for a long time? If there is no progress, I can be a wingman.”
 

Bai Tingzhi pulled out her hand speechlessly and looked at him with complicated eyes.
 
“Stop it, it’s not about any of them… It’s just…”

 
“Xiao Bai!”
 

A classmate stood at the door and shouted into the classroom, interrupting the conversation between the two.
 
“Who is it?” She was a little confused. Why did something always happen these days? She was in the last two rows, so she went out from the back door.

 
Lin Yunian was a little slower and grabbed her shoulder again.
 

“Let me know if you need anything. I'll stay here”
 
“Okay.” Bai Tingzhi was stunned for a moment, then smiled sweetly.

 
It was normal not to be able to accept such a strange thing happening to her right away. In truth, her mood wasn’t all that bad.
 

She ran to the front door of the classroom, and the classmate who called her just now was still waiting there.
 
“Is someone looking for me?”

 
“A girl, she said she’s waiting for you at the stairs.”
 

Bai Tingzhi nodded and headed toward the corner.
 
A Girl?, who could it be?

 
She couldn’t understand why so much had been happening these past few days. Yesterday, Gu Junzhu had even confessed to her! It was truly incomprehensible.
 

She had gradually been treated like a girl since junior high. It was likely because she hadn't paid attention to her hair during the transition from elementary school, and by the time school started, it had already grown a bit long. Her face didn't look like the rough sketch of a boy from childhood. She was never willing to exercise, preferring to sit quietly in the classroom, which sometimes led to classmates mistaking her identity.
 
My father always said that she was not masculine, but she thought it was not wrong to spend more time studying. It was just that their interests and hobbies were different.

 
Perhaps it was this face that caused many misunderstandings, which gave my father plenty to complain about, but somehow made my classmates quite tolerant.
 

Bai Tingzhi was lost in thought and suddenly heard a shout from the next corner.
 
Bang!

 
“Hiss...”
 

Bai Tingzhi was knocked to the ground, and her forehead seemed to be slightly red and swollen.
 
The boy opposite her quickly stood up, picking up the test papers scattered on the ground, while frantically apologizing to her.

 
“I’m so sorry! Sorry, I’m really sorry…”
 

“Why are you running so fast on the stairs?”
 
Just as Bai Tingzhi was about to say that it was okay, she saw a girl blocking her way, sounding a little angry.

 
Gu Junzhu’s expression was cold, and she looked as if she wanted to scold the flustered boy in front of her, but in the end, she said this.
 

“It’s okay, it’s okay...”
 
Bai Tingzhi got up from the floor and waved her hands, showing she had no intention of pursuing the matter.

 
Gu Junzhu watched the boy walk away with a cold gaze, and her eyes softened immediately when she looked at Bai Tingzhi, “Are you okay?”
 

“It doesn’t hurt, why is classmate Gu here?”
 
She thought of yesterday’s confession, and she felt a little embarrassed now.

 
But Gu Junzhu took her hand and led her toward the other side of the classroom, to a small wooden path that was usually empty.
 

The fresh fragrance of flowers lingered on the path, and Bai Tingzhi said to Gu Junzhu.
 
“Classmate Gu, someone was looking for me…”

 
“That was me.”
 

“…Then,” Bai Tingzhi’s heart suddenly stopped upon hearing that. “Is there something you need today?”
 
Sister,  don't you like girls?

 
Gu Junzhu spoke with great seriousness. “Xiaobai, I’m sorry for the trouble I caused you. I didn’t understand the situation clearly before.”
 

“It’s okay, I don’t mind.” She said, gently rubbing her head. She felt that Gu Junzhu was different from the rumors.
 
“I never knew what I liked before, and no one told me what I should like.

 
“I have known an older sister since I was a child. She was very outstanding, a great student with all sorts of talents. She was very considerate, always taking care of me when my parents were away. She was the center of everyone’s attention, and I found myself unconsciously trying to get close to her, to be her—to become excellent and eye-catching myself.
 

“But after I went home yesterday, I thought about it for a long time. Maybe I misunderstood something and mistakenly thought that I like girls, ...but I realized that’s not the case.”
 
Gu Junzhu stared at the long wooden planks at Bai Tingzhi’s feet as she spoke slowly.

 
“I was just walking the path she walked and reading the books she read. But for me to truly ‘like’ someone is completely different.
 

“That wasn’t my world. It’s a completely different feeling. Even if there was a misunderstanding before, now…”
 
The girl looked into Bai Tingzhi’s eyes and spoke each word with solemnity.

 
“Bai Tingzhi, can we start over… as friends?”