Seven Chances

Chapter 3: The Truth

During afternoon break, Lang Qingli met up with Chang Binran at the lake in the North Wing of Qianyang College, which was the department of Shapeshifters. In the warm afternoon sunlight of spring, many students were out and about, enjoying the nice weather.

Chang Binran was a cute girl with rather short stature, a snowy-white complexion, a round face, and an innocent, gentle vibe to her. Instead of the usual black hanfu worn by Shapeshifters, Chang Binran dressed in pale, robin egg blue robes.

"Good afternoon, Shijie. How has your day been? Please excuse me for disturbing you," she greeted with a smile, bowing.

Lang Qingli caught her arms as the younger girl greeted her. She sighed. "Binran, how many times must I remind you before you remember? You don't need to be this formal with me."

Chang Binran laughed a little, appearing to be slightly flustered. "But Shijie, your mother is Master Cao of Shisu River and Master Lang is a teacher here at this school. Your family is so talented, and I look up to you and your sisters a lot."

"There's still no need. You're a friend; an equal," Lang Qingli reminded. "You've got plenty of talent, too, haven't you? You're already amongst some of the best Intermediate-level cultivators."

Chang Binran smiled shyly, glancing down. "You flatter me, Shijie. But I asked to talk to you because I've got something important to let you know."

"What is it?"

"I--" Chang Binran seemed to be stuck on whether she should continue speaking or not. A few moments of a stiff silence later, she spoke again. "Um... actually, never mind. That... it's - it's not that big of a deal."

Suddenly remembering the time when her mother had asked her why she looked so upset, Lang Qingli could almost immediately tell that Chang Binran was hiding something.

"Binran, you need to answer me honestly. Is someone threatening you to keep quiet?" Lang Qingli asked seriously.

Chang Binran took a deep breath, gathering her thoughts. A few seconds later, she gave her reply.

"She didn't explicitly state it, but I can tell she is."

"Who is 'she'?"

Chang Binran quickly created a temporary privacy array so that nobody could overhear their conversation. Breathing in deeply, she gave her answer.

"Shijie, Wang Xiaofei is just using you." Once Chang Binran began to talk, she didn't hold back. "I don't know why she's doing this, but she doesn't see you, or respect you, for that matter, as a friend. She prefers to use you as a tool to help her get her way."

With a jolt, Lang Qingli suddenly remembered what Miao Suqing did. The strange events that happened after her confrontation of her "friend" often haunted her dreams, and sometimes even her thoughts. First, it had been the realization that Miao Suqing didn't care for her. Then came the difficulty of confronting someone she'd trusted. What happened after that was confusing, to say the least. According to her mother, Lang Qingli had been unresponsive for a little while afterwards.

Not quite wanting to believe what Chang Binran was saying, yet simultaneously not wanting to believe that Chang Binran would lie to her, Lang Qingli was at a crossroad. This was a difficult situation that she was in...

"How did you find this out?" Lang Qingli queried.

"It was during the time that we last argued. I asked Wang Xiaofei why we've been arguing even more than usual lately. She... she told me that she has no use for me anymore, so I proceeded to ask why. She said that she doesn't need to use me to get to you anymore," Chang Binran recounted.

Strange... that's not the only context, though. Perhaps Xiaofei meant something else. Lang Qingli felt stupidly desperate, but she didn't want to admit that she was possibly going to be betrayed yet again.

Voicing her thoughts out loud carefully, Lang Qingli spoke again. "Thank you for opening up to me, Binran. I'll... think about this."

"Do you believe me?"

"I'm not inclined to tell you that I believe you're not being truthful, but I would still like to look at the bigger picture; at both sides of the story," Lang Qingli explained.

"Shijie, I'm not lying! Please, believe what I'm saying! Wang Xiaofei really doesn't care much about you," Chang Binran cried. Holding up three fingers to symbolize the heavens, the earth, and her heart, she continued, "I swear that if I am lying, a bolt of lightning will crash down from the heavens to strike me the moment I finish speaking."

"Binran!" Lang Qingli called sharply. "Listen to me carefully. I have yet to hear Xiaofei's perspective, and I will not be taking sides before I do. Rest assured that I will be assessing this situation fairly."

Though slightly uneasy, Chang Binran nodded. "Alright, then. But I would never lie to you, Shijie. Please..."

Lifting the array around them, they went their separate ways for class.

* . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° .*

Lang Qingli sat at her desk in her room. She was trying to practice guqin, but her mind, which was buzzing with the events of the afternoon, wouldn't let her focus.

She walked over to Lang Yanxiu's room, and knocked on the door. Lang Yanxiu was a great person to consult for social life problems, and therefore Lang Qingli often talked to her about her problems.

"A-Jie, what do you know about the Wang clan?" Lang Qingli asked, sitting down in front of her sister's desk once given permission.

"Why do you ask?"

"Can I get an answer first?"

Lang Yanxiu shrugged. "Sure. From what I've heard, the Wang clan is a relatively small family from Kecheng City. Recently, they moved to the capital, and one of their children, Wang Xiaofei, currently attends day classes at Qianyang College. I'm pretty sure you know her, right?"

Lang Qingli nodded.

"That's about all I know. So, why did you want to know?"

Lang Qingli began to explain everything that Chang Binran told her, while also including details of Wang Xiaofei's treatment of Lang Xue'ai. As she spoke, Lang Yanxiu's expression remained largely the same, but small details like frowns, sighs, and her eyes closing for longer moments than usual gave away her deep-thinking state.

"So, A-Jie, what do you think I should do?" Lang Qingli asked.

"If Chang-guniang is right, then anything BUT let her tread all over you and let her think that you're just a tool who can help her get whatever she wants or needs," Lang Yanxiu shot back. "If I was in that situation, I'd cut off ties with her. I don't want somebody who claims to be my 'friend' when in reality, all she wants to do is to use me for her own uses. I'd suggest doing that.

"However, if Chang-guniang didn't quite interpret it the way it really is, and Wang-guniang actually does care about you, then I still suggest putting a limit on how much you do for her. You're her friend, not her servant."

Lang Qingli stood up, saluting her older sister as she did so. "A-Jie, thank you so much. What did I ever do to deserve you?"

Lang Yanxiu pulled her into a hug. "We deserve each other, A-Li."

* . °•★|•°∵ ∵°•|☆•° .*

Late in the night, while Lang Qingli was sleeping, Madam Lang sent a letter to the Guan clan. She had a bad feeling...

Glossary:
-Shijie (师姐) = Literally 'Teacher Sister', but can be translated as 'Senior Sister'. Often used in stories with a school setting to girls who are older students than you
-Guqin (古琴) = a traditional Chinese zither with seven strings. In ancient China, it was a symbol of grace and elegance

Names:
Qingyuan City (庆元市), a city in Qianyang. However, in real life, it is a county in Lishui, Zhejiang, China.