Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I hid under my covers and cried.

It was damp and stuffy.

Eventually, I don’t know when, I drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up the next day, my eyes were swollen.

Keeping my head down, I finished my breakfast quickly and hurried back to my room.

There was a knock at the door.

Mom went to open it.

“Hello, Auntie! I’m here to see Ni Xiaoxiao.”

It was Ji Shu’s voice.

I had originally planned to stay mad at him for another week.

I hadn’t expected him to come all the way to my house to ask for my forgiveness.

A wave of relief washed over me.

Then, I felt a small sense of comfort.

Ni Jiajia didn’t have any friends coming over to play with her.

I decided to forgive Ji Shu.

With that thought in mind, I pressed my hands over my eyes, trying to make the swelling go down faster.

But I waited for a long time.

I didn’t hear Ji Shu call my name.

Instead, there were people chatting in the living room.

Laughter broke out every now and then.

I opened my door and peeked out quietly.

Ji Shu was sitting next to Ni Jiajia, smiling with extreme sycophancy.

It looked like he was telling her a joke.

Ni Jiajia was laughing happily.

And that made Ji Shu even happier.

What the heck!

I felt a surge of anger.

I was never going to forgive him.

Ji Shu happened to look over just then and was startled. “Ni Xiaoxiao, what happened to your eyes!”

“Um… mosquito bites,” I mumbled.

Ni Jiajia laughed uncontrollably. “Don’t you think she looks like that ‘Pancake Face’ guy?”

“Her eyes are so small now, she looks even more like him.”

Ji Shu froze for a moment, then immediately chimed in.

“She does!”

The two of them laughed and joked.

It was a total humiliation.

I snapped angrily, “You’re the one who looks like him!”

“The two of you are the ugliest people in the whole wide world!”

“Uglier than pigs!”

I slammed the door shut in a rage.

I could still faintly hear their muffled whispers from outside the door.

I took out my small mirror and peeked at my reflection again.

I didn’t look that much like him…

At most, he looked like a big rat, and I looked like a little mouse…

But little mice aren’t ugly.

With big eyes and a tiny nose and mouth… they’re actually quite cute.

I brooded for a while, then managed to comfort myself.

When it was time for Ji Shu to leave, Mom told me to walk him downstairs.

I was reluctant.

Mom said, “Don’t be rude.”

With a cold face, I escorted him out.

Ji Shu stole a glance at me. “Ni Xiaoxiao…”

“Don’t come back anymore,” I said. “Even if you do come, don’t say you’re looking for me. Just say you’re here for Ni Jiajia.”

“I don’t want to be friends with you anymore.”

Ji Shu’s temper flared up too. “So what? Ni Jiajia is just better looking than you. I’m happy to be friends with her.”

I let out a huff of disdain. “Judging people by their looks.”

Ji Shu grew annoyed. “Don’t you do the same thing? You saw that Pancake Face was ugly and immediately said he was a bad person.”

“You’re the one who judges by looks.”

I froze.

As if he had seized a weapon, he continued, “You’re definitely just jealous that your sister is prettier than you.”

He sounded so certain.

“No wonder you never mentioned your sister to me.”

“You probably bully Ni Jiajia at home, don’t you? Hahaha, Ni Xiaoxiao, you’re like one of those villainous women…”

He said this in a joking tone.

The elevator doors reflected his face.

The metal grain stretched and distorted his features, turning them into a version of him I didn’t recognize.

I pursed my lips tightly.

My eyes were so sore and swollen that I couldn’t even shed tears anymore.

Jealous?

Maybe I was.

But…

I had never said a single bad word about Ni Jiajia to anyone.

Never.

Ji Shu was my friend. He should have known that.

I had never even complained about Ni Jiajia in front of him.

“You’re disgusting,” I said.

Ji Shu was stunned.

He turned his head to look at me.

I met his eyes and said, one word at a time:

“I really regret being friends with you.”

“I’m never playing with you again.”

Perhaps realizing I was serious, Ji Shu snapped out of it and retorted angrily, “You think I care? Fine, then we’re not friends.”

“I’ll just be friends with Ni Jiajia!”

The elevator arrived.

He stepped out, still glaring at me. “Don’t you regr-”

I pressed the button to close the doors.