Pretending To Be A Boss

But those who bullied her never decreased in number.

In District 669, having an "idiot" was no secret.

New students would still bully her, especially since she was a second-year school sister. This status made it more exciting for those in lower grades to bully her.

Yan Xiaoling would still smile at these people, confirming the rumors about the district.

She was a person with incomplete emotions, just like me.

I had grown a bit more accepting of Yan Xiaoling, and when she was with me, I would occasionally speak a few words to her.

I didn't care whether or not she could understand, since her reaction was always the same anyway.

But towards others, I remained as impatient as ever.

Don't be fooled, even though I got along with Shang Lu Xiaoke and the others, I had scolded them before, scolded them until they blushed and their ears turned red.

It was only because of something that happened in the second year that I began to get along better with them.

Still, there was no one else by my side, only a fool who kept trying to stick close to me.

There was another time when a group of kids surround Yan Xiaoling, slapping her while watching her laugh foolishly.

I never helped Yan Xiaoling; when she moved closer to me, I just saw it as her wishful thinking. Discover stories with My Virtual Library Empire

However, that one time, as I watched Yan Xiaoling cover her swollen face with that idiotic grin, I felt somewhat annoyed.

When she came to me with her swollen face, carrying her lunchbox as usual, I said to her,

"If next time someone bullies you, you could stop smiling silly, then I'll accept your gift."

I will always remember Yan Xiaoling's expression. When I thought she would either smile and agree with me or smile and shake her head, she actually cried.

She cried while nodding earnestly.

Since then, I accepted food from Yan Xiaoling. Even I found it funny. Sometimes, I felt like I had become someone else.

It was after that, Yan Xiaoling really didn't laugh anymore when others bullied her.

I gradually realized that she probably knew, as the year changed, that because she could never fit into other people's circles, she had learned that not all smiles have the same meaning.

I thought when Yan Xiaoling no longer smiled foolishly like before when she was bullied, no one would bully her again.

After all, it wasn't fun anymore, right?

But that wasn't the case; Yan Xiaoling was bullied even worse.

On the fourth day, she was sent to the school infirmary.

That day, I found an unusual quietness around me. It was quiet to the point of discomfort.

This discomfort was like a spot of mosquito blood on a clean, flawless wall.

I grew more and more irate until, eventually, I went to the school infirmary and saw the battered Yan Xiaoling.

When Yan Xiaoling saw me, she still wore a smile.

After asking, I was able to piece together an answer from her muddled and broken responses.

It turned out that first-year students bullied her again.

But this time, Yan Xiaoling didn't show them a smile. Like a prey that should have been wailing in the grip of its hunter, they crazily wanted to make Yan Xiaoling laugh.

But a fool can be as stubborn as an ox. No matter how they tormented her, her expression was always the same.

She said to me with a smile, "Tang Xian, I didn't laugh or cry when people bullied me."

Only then did I realize that the day I accepted Yan Xiaoling's gift was the first time she had cried.

No matter how others tormented her before, she never cried.

I understood the reason behind Yan Xiaoling's actions, she was just afraid of breaking the promise she made with me and of me refusing her goodwill again.

For the first time in my life, I lost my temper with this fool for some reason other than dislike.

Yet when I wanted to scold Yan Xiaoling, I found myself unable to open my mouth, lost for words.

She was indeed too foolish; getting angry with her seemed pointless, probably like that.

In the children's war, there existed an unspoken, laughable and juvenile rule.

That was, "Don't tell adults."

I used to sneer at such an inefficient principle, but this time, I found that taking matters into my own hands was rather fun.

I got in touch with Shang Lu and his friends, promising to help improve their grades in exchange for their help in punishing those first-years who bullied Yan Xiaoling.

I hadn't held much hope, thinking that they wouldn't want to help Yan Xiaoling.

After all, I was someone people disliked.

But unexpectedly, they agreed.

Quite a few were prepared to cause trouble, most of whom I had scolded before. For a moment, I thought they might be suffering from Stockholm syndrome.

Later, I found out that these people had all bullied Yan Xiaoling before and felt guilty.

It was probably a rebellion. What started with a small group of people soon escalated, with half of the boys from two grades getting involved and fighting fiercely.

Such a fight was meaningless, ridiculous, and stupid; it was the first time I felt somewhat liberated.

After Yan Xiaoling returned, no one mentioned anything.

She still couldn't fit into any circles and could only follow behind me, like my shadow.

What annoyed me was that I had even lost the little disgust I had left. Seeing her foolish smile was like encountering something to which I had grown inured.

Others noticed that Yan Xiaoling was gradually changing.

It wasn't that she had become smarter, but that she stopped trying to approach others. She no longer smiled at anyone.

Only when looking at me did she still smile like an idiot.