It's the students' fault if they are too popular.

The father asked with concern: "I have communicated with your teacher. He said that you are distracted in class sometimes. Are you having any difficulties? Is anyone bullying you at school? I don't understand what's going on between you girls..."

"No." Gu Nian stopped using her chopsticks. Actually, she had been bullied before, but Han Tingting rarely targeted her after she started dating Chu Jie. She didn't say it before and she didn't plan to say it now.

The father looked anxious: "I also heard from your teacher that there is a boy named Chu Jie in your class who likes you? Nian Nian, you are not in a relationship, right?"

Gu Nian was stunned.

She didn't expect the teacher even knew this.

Her stunned expression was obviously misunderstood by her father, who immediately began to teach her:

"Niannian, you are still young, it is too early for you to fall in love. I also looked at Chu Jie's grades. He is always among the last few in the class. He must not like studying..."

"I didn't date him. I don't like him." Gu Nian sighed, "He has a girlfriend. I just... didn't perform well."

The father was shocked: "What? Kids nowadays..." Then he felt lucky, "It's good that you didn't talk about it. It doesn't matter if you didn't perform well. We should adjust our mindset, study wholeheartedly, and prove ourselves next time. Tell dad if you need anything. Do you want to sign up for a cram school? You were not here yesterday. Call me if you have any educational questions..."

"No," Gu Nian lowered his head, "Those teachers are not good."

Her father kept saying yes, indicating that he trusted her judgment, and kept picking up food for her.

Gu Nian was very sad, and a feeling of guilt for lying was crawling on her body like an ant.

It's so hard to lie to someone who trusts you.

"Dad, I'm done."

"Oh... Hey, aren't you going to take a break? You just got home..."

"I'm going to study."

After the results came out, she studied hard as if to take revenge. Occasionally, there was a cat meowing on the balcony, and she could hear her father feeding the cat. The cat she raised eventually became her father's. She felt even more guilty, thinking that she was irresponsible for this little life.

Will a kitten feel lonely if it has no companions and often stays alone at home?

After her father fed the cat, she put down her book, walked out of the room, and went to the balcony to see the kitten. She was worried that the cat didn't recognize her, but to her surprise, the kitten was still very close to her even though they rarely spent time together. With a light touch, the kitten fell to the ground and let her stroke its fur.

"Rogue cat."

Looking at the kitten turning over with its four legs facing the sky, Gu Nian smiled gently.

No wonder Dongyang likes cats so much.

Study, and Xu Dongyang...

Study hard now, and later... catch up with Xu Dongyang.

She stroked the kitten and said, "You can go there as a dowry."

Extra: Winter Sun (Twenty-two)

As the cold air moves south, the campus cultural festival arrives as scheduled.

It was 6pm in the school's big theater. There were many performances, and it was expected that it would take until 10pm for all three grades to finish performing. The theater was dark, with only the stage shining, and students in strange costumes and makeup were everywhere.

Gu Nian was nervous, holding the script in her hand, not paying attention to the show on stage, fearing that she would make mistakes during the performance. The parents' area for Class 4 was right at the back, and not many parents came. Fortunately, her father didn't come. Performing was embarrassing enough, and it was even more embarrassing to let her family see it.

Bai Lu sat next to her... next to her. The middle seat was reserved for Xu Dongyang. Xu Dongyang was not there because he was preparing for the song with Shen Ao.

And Bailu is like sitting on pins and needles.

She saw... Dongyang's mother.

God!

Will Aunt Tong come to her and ask her why she touched and kissed her daughter?

She was so panicked that she didn't even dare to turn her head, let alone say hello.

Thinking back to when she was a child, Aunt Tong would kindly give her snacks and fruits every day, sometimes even invite her to have dinner with her and pick her and Dong Yang up from school... Now, she feels she has no face to face Aunt Tong anymore.

"Dongyang is on stage."

Gu Nian reminded Bai Lu who was in a daze.

Bai Lu looked up woodenly. Xu Dongyang stood on the stage, holding a violin around his neck, looking very elegant. Shen Ao stood in the center, and the moment he spoke in Spanish, he ignited the whole audience.

There was a girl accompanying me at the back...what was her name?

Not important anymore.

Bai Lu was quite jealous of Shen Ao, but she also felt that it was quite sad for her to be jealous of outstanding people while not working hard.

The cheers were like a tide.

Bai Lu was not really listening to the song. She silently looked at Xu Dongyang, who was not the focus of the stage, and her thoughts drifted away with the piano music. When she came to her senses, the performance was over. The people on the stage stood together to take a bow, and the applause from the audience was like a storm.

In the seating area of ​​Class 10, a boy shouted loudly:

"Together!"

The sound was particularly sharp and loud in the noisy theater, attracting the attention of school leaders in the first row, while the students were laughing heartily.

Bai Lu could only feel angry and helpless.

A few minutes later, she saw Xu Dongyang coming out of the small passage next to them, but he didn't come to them, but went straight to the parents' seat. She looked back quietly, and then found that Gu Nian was also looking back. Xu Dongyang became a spoiled little girl, and was satisfied with her mother's praise - well, she also wanted Xu Dongyang to act spoiled in front of her.

Nursery rhyme: "Are you cold wearing a dress?"

Xu Dongyang: "A little bit... I'll change it later."

Nursery Rhyme: "Where are the clothes?"

Xu Dongyang: “There.”

She pointed at the seat. Bai Lu thought Dong Yang was pointing at her and turned away immediately in fright.

After a while, Xu Dongyang came around a bunch of classmates who were admiring her, picked up her schoolbag, and found the clothes inside. Bai Lu turned her head and asked in a low voice:

"Are you going to change your clothes?"

"Ah."

"Do you want me to accompany you? It's not convenient for you to hold it."

Xu Dongyang paused. She wanted to go to the bathroom to change. She had a lot to change, and there was no place in the bathroom to put them. So she nodded:

"Okay, thank you."

……

bathroom.

Xu Dongyang was in the cubicle, throwing the dress she had taken off out of the cubicle, and talking to Bai Lu through the door:

"Can you catch it?"

"Of course. Um, do you want these long johns too?"

"Well, those outer pants are a little thin."

Xu Dongyang tiptoed into her shoes and changed her clothes carefully. Suddenly, a flushing sound came from a cubicle, and the two of them fell silent. After the person left, they started talking to each other sporadically.

In Bai Lu's hand was a dress that she had just changed.

It even retains body temperature.

As if possessed by a ghost, she buried her face in it and smelled it. It was fragrant and soft, exactly like Xu Dongyang's smell, just like when she was hugging Xu Dongyang. But soon, she suddenly woke up for a moment and realized how perverted and dirty what she was doing was. This was depravity, blasphemy, and a worse feeling sounded the alarm in her heart -

It was almost an intuition that told her she was being watched.

She turned back subconsciously, and then her whole body froze.

——It’s over.

she thinks.

"Hello, Aunt Tong."

-

-

What does the nursery rhyme itself want to say?

She has taught many students, some who were in early love, some who were autistic, some who were hyperactive, some who had violent tendencies... but abnormal ones were still rare.

She re-examined Bai Lu, who had lost all hope in life, and convinced herself that this was not too abnormal. Wasn't it just... sniffing Dong Yang's skirt? It was probably a form of infatuation. If it were a man, it would seem quite vulgar, but for this little girl whom she had known since she was a child and knew her inside out... Tong Yao was still willing to speculate with the greatest goodwill.

"You are……"

As soon as she opened her mouth, the door of the compartment opened. Xu Dongyang saw her, was stunned for a moment, then suddenly remembered that Bai Lu was there too, and instantly fell silent.

Tong Yao was not one to bring up the past. She had already taught her daughter about the kiss, so she didn't plan to bring it up again. Moreover, teaching her daughter's friends in front of her daughter would be bad for Dong Yang's interpersonal relationships. After thinking about it, she decided to put the skirt issue aside for now:

"Something happened at school. Mom has to leave first. I just want to tell you."

Dongyang nodded obediently, not surprised. Her aunt was even busier after her promotion than when she was a class teacher. She was very happy that she could squeeze out the time this time.

"Ah, goodbye, Auntie." Bai Lu said dryly.

Tong Yao smiled at her and waved goodbye.

Bai Lu felt that this smile was very meaningful. That expression definitely showed that he had noticed her behavior just now, but he didn't point it out because Dong Yang was beside them.

oh my god

She was probably only one step away from social death.

-

-

The skit performed by Class 4 won the second prize.

A result that everyone can accept, but is a bit regrettable.

The campus life of a 14-year-old is not complicated. Although study is important, entertainment still takes up a lot of time. The days pass quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the winter vacation is coming. The cold winter wind can blow off a layer of skin. At the end of the semester, everyone huddles in the classroom to discuss plans for the winter vacation.

"Me? I'll just stay home." Xu Dongyang said, "What about you?"

When asked back, Gu Nian fiddled with the drawer with his fingers, looked at the table and said awkwardly: "I...my dad went out of town and asked me to live with my grandma in the countryside."

"What about the New Year?"

"My dad will definitely be back during the Chinese New Year."

"Well...then we can't ask you out while you're in the countryside." Xu Dongyang sighed, supporting his chin.

Gu Nian puffed his lips, as if he was suppressing something, his eyes flickering.

Bai Lu, who was standing next to them, noticed their conversation and started moving over here.

"Um, Dongyang."

Gu Nian took a deep breath.

"Ok?"

"Do you want to go to the countryside? It's actually quite fun, the air is fresh, and the house is quite big..." She stopped talking halfway, thinking that the so-called big house might not be very big for the princess-like Xu Dongyang. Besides, could she really let Dongyang go to the countryside with her? No matter how fun the countryside is, no matter how many advantages it has, it may not be as comfortable as the city.

Gradually, she lost confidence and stopped talking.

Xu Dongyang opened his mouth slightly and looked at her: "In the countryside...where do you live?"

"Um……"

Gu Nian tried hard not to blush so as not to reveal her intentions.

Xu Dongyang was silent.

In the past few months, her relationship with Bai Lu was not as close as before. They still got along like good friends, but there was always some awkwardness and alienation. She was not sure whether Gu Nian liked her, and she did not want to mess up the second relationship.

She looked at Gu Nian's shy face and was confused. Was she thinking too much, or was she really that popular with girls?

"What are you talking about? The countryside?"

Bai Lu's voice interrupted.

Gu Nian was startled and scratched his cheek guiltily: "That's right, I want to invite Dong Yang... to go to the countryside with you for a few days."

If Gu Nian's heart was divided into ten parts, then about eight of them wanted to invite Dong Yang and Bai Lu to go together, and only two of them wanted to invite only Xu Dong Yang.

But before Bai Lu came, she did have a little hope that she could spend the winter vacation with Xu Dongyang.

"Are you going?" Bai Lu gently bumped Dong Yang's arm.