Second Sunrise - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Jiang Yi listened quietly until I finished, then turned his head and glanced at Yan Xiao.

“That’s it? He’s not even handsome. His mouth is crooked and his eyes are all over the place.”

He made me laugh softly, and the gloom in my chest vanished in an instant.

Yan Xiao’s features really weren’t all that refined, but compared to me, he was clearly on a whole other level.

“What do you mean? You’re both human. Does he have an extra mouth or an extra eye? What makes him a whole level above you?”

Yan Xiao grumbled as he lectured me, and his distracted look was quickly caught by the teacher.

“Gu Mian, you read this passage. For every word you mispronounce, copy it one hundred times.”

My written scores had always been perfect, but I was always at the bottom in reading class.

Once bitten, twice shy.

After that incident, I had practically come to hate my own voice. Combined with my timid, shrinking personality, every time I was called on to read, I either forgot the pronunciation or twisted the intonation, and it always ended with the whole class roaring with laughter.

“Here it comes, here it comes. Listen to Gu Mian read the text.”

Whispers from the people around me, all waiting for the show, kept reaching my ears.

Someone even turned around and secretly raised a phone at me.

Jiang Yi glanced over the textbook, then began reading in a clear, resonant voice.

His pronunciation was standard, his enunciation crisp-proper British English.

Paired with my clear voice, it sounded like an official radio broadcast.

By the time Jiang Yi finished, the classroom that had been noisy moments ago was completely silent. The teacher nodded in satisfaction.

“Not bad. You’ve improved. From now on, you need to be this confident, understand?”

Lin Yueyue turned back and smiled at me, the contempt in her eyes flashing by in an instant.

Chapter 8

Lin Yueyue was Yan Xiao’s girlfriend. She was also my roommate and my “best friend.”

We came from the same impoverished little town.

Once, in my eyes, Lin Yueyue had been like an angel.

When no one was willing to team up with me, she would choose me. She would give me her own food and say, “Mianmian, you look prettier with a little more weight on you.”

She would do my makeup, then look at me in the mirror and praise me. “See, Mianmian? You’re so pretty with makeup on.”

Without realizing it, I grew heavier and heavier. Set off by the ugly duckling who followed her everywhere, Lin Yueyue became the beautiful, kindhearted little princess.

That day, with Lin Yueyue’s encouragement, I finally worked up the courage to go to class wearing the makeup she had done for me. The moment everyone saw my face, the whole room burst into laughter.

Heavy eyeshadow and blush, eyeliner winged up to the heavens, exaggerated glitter and sequins.

A clown making a fool of herself. An ugly woman trying to imitate a beauty.

Later, Yan Xiao began pursuing Lin Yueyue.

After the two of them got together, Lin Yueyue specifically came to have a heart-to-heart with me. She hoped Yan Xiao wouldn’t affect our relationship and said she still wanted to be good friends with me.

Of course, I couldn’t have asked for more.

After that, whether Lin Yueyue was eating, going to class, heading to the library, or even going on dates, she always brought me along.

She said to me, “Mianmian, you’re always alone. It breaks my heart to see it, so I always want to bring you with me.”

And I actually believed her.

So I carried bags big and small, trailing behind Lin Yueyue and Yan Xiao as I watched them shop hand in hand, feed each other, and kiss.

Deep down, I didn’t want to go at all, but Lin Yueyue would always look at me with hurt in her eyes. “Do you still mind that Yan Xiao and I are dating?”

I had no choice. To prove I held no grudge, I willingly became their third wheel.

Until that time I went to the bathroom and heard Yan Xiao complaining. “Why do you always bring that ‘tank girl’ with you?”

Lin Yueyue’s voice was gentle and full of apology. “She insisted on coming. She’s so pitiful. How could I say no…?”

“You’re just too kind. She’s morally blackmailing you, you know that? Only you would hang out with that tank. Doesn’t it gross you out?”

“I’m sorry…”

All I could hear was a buzzing in my ears. Dazed, I turned around and went home.

When it came to relationships, I had always been slow.

Because I had always lived in my own world, with no friends and no parents by my side.

Every bit of kindness that appeared in my life, I wanted to hold on to tightly, even if it was nothing more than charity.

It turned out some gifts were poison wrapped in colorful candy paper.

I cut ties with Lin Yueyue completely.

Countless times, when she came looking for me, I chose not to see her, not to hear her.

Silence was what I was best at.

At last, Lin Yueyue revealed her true colors. In private, she hurled vicious insults at me. In public, she burst into tears in front of the whole class, easily turning everyone against me.

When some of the more hot-tempered classmates started cursing me, she would even defend me through tear-filled eyes. “Don’t blame Mianmian. I was the one who made her unhappy.”

I had no way to argue with her. No one would believe me.

All I could do was become even more silent.