"Why are your eyes swollen?" Xiaojun asked me the first thing in the morning.
"I stayed up to study until early in the morning," I lied to my brother and sat in front of him at the dining table. He squinted at me, clearly was not buying any of my nonsense.
"You don't even study on schooldays let alone on weekends," Xiaojun shook his head.
"Personal girly problems. What do you know about girls?" it was my turn to roast him. He widened his eyes in shock before flicking my forehead. I rubbed my forehead and stuck out my tongue at him.
"Hurry up and eat. We don't have all morning," Xiaojun rolled his eyes at me.
.
I stepped out of Xiaojun's car and walked to the school building right away. Just in case Yangyang was looking for me. I looked around the area we would usually meet up in the morning but there were no signs of him at all.
Since I still had a few minutes left until my class start, I decided to look for him at his classroom. I skipped through the hallways and made it to his block. As I was walking, I saw Yangyang and was about to run to him until he was greeted with a hug from a girl. The girl in the photos to be exact.
I stopped walking and watched them silently.
That could be his sister. Or cousin. Or friend. I walked closer to them but halted when reality hit me hard in the head.
Yangyang saw me.
And he immediately looked away.
Maybe I was wrong, maybe he was not as nice as I thought.
Should I confront him or should I walk away? His actions were pretty obvious. He did not love me anymore.
I bit my lower lip and ran to my classroom, hiding my teary eyes from everybody's sight. I hated it when people see me crying. I felt weak.
"Oof-"
A student whom I ran into groaned when he fell to the ground. I, on the other hand, did not fall.
"Are you okay? I- I'm so sorry. I was not looking and--" I offered him my hand. He did not take it nor did he stand up. Instead, his face wore a concerned look.
"You're asking me if I'm okay? Are you okay? Why are you crying?" he looked more worried about my condition than his. I grabbed his arm and helped him stand up. He blinked a few times and cleared his throat as he stood up straight.
I glanced at his name tag and his name was Huang Renjun. His name tag was red which meant he was a senior. I gave him a low bow as I apologised again. He looked at me bitterly and took out his handkerchief. I did not really need a handkerchief but he insisted.
"Thank you," I bowed once more.
"No worries. I hope you will get better soon," Renjun smiled pitifully at me before walking away. He sounded so sincere and matured. Unlike most of the seniors here. Yangyang included.
I wept my tears with the handkerchief while I continued my way to the classroom.
I sat down at my seat and took out my book. I was not really reading it, I was just trying to hide my watery eyes away.
"Hey, I saw Yangyang with a girl and they look so clingy. What's up with that dude. I am so gonna kill him the next time I see him," I heard a voice said in anger from in front of me. I lowered my book slightly and saw it was Miri, my best friend. She looked like she was about to explode but her expression turned sad when we made eye contact.
"Aw, baby don't cry. I'll get my revenge on him," Miri cupped my cheek and gently stroke my hair. I shook my head and looked away.
"No, don't," I let out a loud sigh, trying to stop myself from crying even more. Miri pouted and pulled me into a hug.
"It's okay. You still have me. He is trash anyways," Miri cooed softly while patting my back. I wrapped my arms around her and buried my face on her shoulder. I felt like crying even more. What did I do to deserve Miri?
We pulled away from the hug when the teacher entered the class. Though my feelings were overwhelming, I should focus on my studies.
.
"See you tomorrow," Miri waved at me as I made my way to Xiaojun's car. I waved at her but something else caught my eyes when I turned to wave at her. It was Yangyang and that girl. We made eye contact and he broke it immediately, once again. He halted from walking towards the school exit, probably trying to avoid me.
What did I ever do for him to betray me like this?
I ran to Yangyang and grabbed his arm to make him look at me.
"Why?" my voice broke. I did not want to cry in front of him but my eyes were not cooperating.
Yangyang turned around looking puzzled as if I was a stranger.
"Why what?"
"You-- her- this," I stared at him straight in the eyes but he was not affected at all.
"I guess we are not meant to be together. Plus, I'm graduating this year so what's the point," Yangyang said with no emotions at all. It felt empty. He sounded like he just gave me dumb excuses to break up with me.
I did not know what to say but I knew for sure my eyes were getting wet from the warm liquid again. Yangyang averted his gaze and was about to walk away when he suddenly fell to the ground. I looked up to see Xiaojun with his fist curled up. He then immediately grabbed my arm and ran to his car.
"I don't wanna get caught. Hurry up," Xiaojun said as we ran.
We entered the car and he drove away, more than 60 kilometres per hour. Xiaojun did not say anything but his face screamed everything. For once he was acting like a real brother and I felt touched, causing my eyes to dwell again.
"Wah, don't cry. I don't know how to comfort you," Xiaojun hushed me when he realised I was starting to cry again.
"Thank you, gege," I smiled even though he could not see it. His eyes were focused on the road.
"No problem."
"Oh yeah. I need to go to your café. The person from yesterday wanted to take his phone," I informed Xiaojun when we had already arrived in front of our house.
"Are you kidding me?" Xiaojun sighed as he drove to the cafe.
"Thanks, gege," I giggled.
"You're lucky that you have such nice brother."
