Chapter 19: Rumors

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t sleep well at all.

In fact, it was so bad that she wondered if it would’ve been better not to sleep at all.

Within that short hour, she experienced a long, torturous nightmare.

In the dream, it was as if she were imprisoned by something—unable to do anything, her own thoughts feeling distant and unreachable, forced to endure slow torment.

***

A dream is just a dream.

When awake, she only remembered it was something terrifying.

The details had already faded away.

“Ring ring~”

“Ugh…”

The girl’s face twisted in pain as she lazily stretched her waist.

Her beautiful eyes opened reluctantly, blinking.

The room was dark, but she could barely make out her way.

“Time to go to school.”

She glanced down and saw she was still in her girl form.

It seemed she really couldn’t change back.

Well, fine.

Dazed and heavy-headed, Su Xiaoxiao stepped barefoot onto the cold floor, ready to begin her new day.

[Shocking, a Class One, Year One girl actually did such a thing underwater]

In the early morning, while most people were still asleep, a post with such a title appeared on the Xiamo No. 3 High School Forum.

The girl in the photo looked familiar—even from the side, it was clear she was a rare beauty.

But paired with such an eye-catching title, it became a little pitiful.

Why would a normal person do such a thing?

If not, she could’ve found them, too, and been happily kept with food money.

For a moment, the post exploded on the Forum in the dead of night, spreading rapidly and causing a commotion.

***

Su Xiaoxiao walked along the road to school in her plain white uniform, yet she stood out among the morning crowd and chirping birds.

There were many people like her on the street—students heading to school, or workers riding electric scooters, eating breakfast or carrying food without hurry.

But because of money, she couldn’t afford breakfast.

Now she lowered her head, planning what to eat for lunch, how to spend her money, and what to do about daily necessities.

“Don’t girls have that…period or something?”

A hint of confusion appeared on her fair face.

Why call it a period?

What kind of thing is that?

She’d heard others say it was painful.

She did the math.

If she had to buy paper and water, there wasn’t enough money left—let alone electricity and water bills.

“Seems living isn’t so easy after all.”

She sighed, and her warm breath seemed to carry a faint floral scent.

“Ah—”

She’d just tried to look up at the road when something happened.

She crashed heavily into someone, knocking all the breakfast from the girl’s hands onto the ground.

The soy milk spilled, soaking the buns and bread into a mess—ruined and obviously inedible.

Given the amount, it was probably meant for several people.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

Su Xiaoxiao bowed frantically in apology, then squatted down to help pick up the fallen items.

“Why didn’t you look where you were going? How are you going to compensate me for my breakfast!”

The girl she bumped into had a bit of a bad temper.

Her friends usually called her Xiaojie in daily life.

And yesterday, she’d already been annoyed during club activities thanks to someone causing trouble, so she was ready to explode.

If she hadn’t seen a cute girl wanting to join the club this morning, she probably would’ve started swearing by now.

“Maybe I don’t have time to help you buy more, so I’ll just pay you back.”

Su Xiaoxiao was timid.

After gathering everything, she kept her head down, not daring to meet the girl’s eyes, afraid of seeing anger there.

At that moment, the feeling of being abandoned and scorned in her previous life washed over her again.

It hurt.

She’d thought she’d felt a little less of it yesterday.

So as long as the soul was still herself, people would hate her.

Afraid of being scolded, Su Xiaoxiao immediately took out 25 yuan from her pocket, lifted her hand, and carefully placed it into the girl’s hand.

It was the change from buying eggplants yesterday, a bit worn, but she hoped it wouldn’t be disliked.

“Fine, just watch where you’re going next time.”

Xiaoyun forced down her anger, trying not to get mad.

They were still in public, after all.

But that breakfast had been for her and her friends—now it was all gone, and they’d have to buy food at the school cafeteria instead.

“Mm, I’m really sorry!”

After settling things, Su Xiaoxiao hurriedly escaped.

Before she left, she glanced at the angry girl out of the corner of her eye.

The girl had orange hair, a calm expression, and shallow eyes.

It was clear she wasn’t happy about being bumped into.

She was pretty…

Should’ve known better than to walk with her head down—an old habit.

Ah.

Su Xiaoxiao quickened her pace, staring at the road, her nerves still tense from being scolded.

She couldn’t afford to crash into anyone again.

Just the other day, she’d almost walked into a car.

Though, that wasn’t entirely her fault.

***

After Su Xiaoxiao left, the girl picked up the wet breakfast bag, looking for a trash can to throw it away.

“Wait, was that person…white-haired?”

As she tossed it out, she suddenly remembered the culprit who’d cost her breakfast.

The girl had never looked up, so she’d never seen her face—just noticed the long white hair.

Since she was in a bad mood, she hadn’t paid much attention at the time.

“This hair…and she’s from Xiamo No. 3 High School, too. Her build looks familiar.”

The girl stood there, checking the photos she’d saved on her phone.

She stared at them for several minutes.

“Could it be…”

She was shocked, wanting to chase after the girl from earlier, but so much time had passed—it was too late.

***

“Good morning, Xiaoxiao~”

Ning Xiaoyun was as bright as the morning sun as she greeted Su Xiaoxiao.

“Morning.”

She replied coolly.

Her body still felt a bit cold.

“Are you joining the club?”

She asked about what they’d talked about last night.

“Probably. The Society President told me to meet her at the playground this afternoon.”

She put her bag away, chatting while searching for her books.

“You’re not joining that ACG Club, are you? I heard it’s hard to get in. I went with friends before and we were all rejected.”

Ning Xiaoyun sounded disappointed—it was supposed to be fun.

“But Xiaoxiao can definitely make it!”

She grabbed Su Xiaoxiao’s soft hand to cheer her up.

“Though I heard the Society President has a bit of a temper, so be careful.”

“Thanks.”

Thank you for caring.

But her mind was still stuck on the events of the morning, feeling a bit down.

While she pondered over the club and what had happened, Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t sleep all morning, lost in her thoughts.

***

After school, she lay quietly on her desk while everyone else happily packed up to go eat.

“Did you hear? About that Forum post—doesn’t it look like someone from our class…”

“Probably. There’s not many people with white hair at school, and she’s the only girl.”

In her daze, Su Xiaoxiao caught fragments of strange conversations.

“Why would anyone do something like that?”

“……”

White hair?

Were they talking about her?

What happened?

She wanted to get up and ask, but she didn’t know those people, so she decided to keep being a socially awkward shut-in.

She was already struggling to get lunch—why worry about other things?

She had only 13 yuan left.