After all, compared to her cousin Yang Men, Jiaojiao was the good friend she had known for three years, which obviously weighed more in her heart.
Yang Men had followed her parents to Changling when she was three or four years old and had lived there for more than a decade. It was said that city water nurtures people, and this was true, for Yang Men was quite pretty. She dressed fashionably, her skin was a bit fairer than others, and at school she was always the center of attention.
She thought it would be the same after transferring here, but, to her surprise, despite her careful grooming, she was overshadowed by Ruan Jiaojiao on the very first day of reporting.
No one else knew Ruan Jiaojiao; they all thought she was Xiu Xiās sister. But she had already heard about Ruan Jiaojiao from Yang Tao, knowing she was the young, pretty, and academically talented little genius.
During these few days since her return, she had been staying at Yang Taoās house, having heard about Ruan Jiaojiao multiple times. Each time, she felt uncomfortable, perceiving it as an intentional comparison with her.
So when she saw Ruan Jiaojiao dressed more fashionably than herself and fairly passable in looks, being picked up from the car by that exceedingly handsome boy, the slight discomfort she already had toward Ruan Jiaojiao turned directly into hostility.
She uttered those words intentionally, yet she hadnāt expected to be cornered by several boys in such a manner, especially since she was a girl. She used to be adored by the boys at school; no one ever treated her like that.
Being treated in this way for the first time, she was momentarily in disbelief of her own ears, and her expression turned ugly.
But Ruan Lei was unwilling to let her go, sarcastically asking, "Miss Yang, say something. Doesnāt everyone in Changling have loads of money? You shouldnāt be short on cash, right?"
Over at Beidu, a Luck Stone was fifty cents, while in Changling, it was a bit more expensive, one yuan each, which Yang Men had seen at the market.
She could afford to buy a couple, or even ten, but buying over a hundred or even two or three hundred would cost three hundred yuan, equivalent to some peopleās monthly salary, which was something Yang Men naturally couldnāt afford and couldnāt be generous about.
So, even if Ruan Lei taunted her, all she could do was bite her lip, stand there with red-rimmed eyes, as if being bullied by many people.
Seeing her like this, Ruan Lei snickered once more, without a hint of pity. He usually didnāt bother with girls, but that was only under the condition that they didnāt cross his line. His line, of course, was Ruan Jiaojiao.
Criticizing his sister in front of him, she really had the nerve. Everyone knew he used to stand on the podium and speak harshly to the whole class. Now, among the nine brothers, five were not at home, but he alone could make up for nine!
Eventually, Yang Men ran off covering her face, even bumping into several students preparing to enter at the school gate.
Watching her back, Jiaojiao turned and asked Yang Tao, "Arenāt you going to chase after her and check on her?"
"Itās fine, we donāt need to worry about her; Iām not her nanny," Yang Tao said indifferently. "Sheās not five or six years old; I canāt keep chasing after her all the time."
Jiaojiao laughed, linking her arm through hers again, and said, "Letās go in and check the class assignments. We donāt even know if weāre in the same class."
Yang Tao nodded and switched topics, discussing the class assignments. The two didnāt let the little episode before weigh on their minds at all.
The form for the first-year class assignments was posted to the left of the school gate near the canteen, on the wall of the boiler room.