Chapter 37: True and False Cruelty

When Su Ziceng spoke, the metal bells intended to guard against flower thieves jangled, though no one passed by—it was just the wind. The rose bloomed silently in the deep night like the dawning sun and faded just as quietly. Su Ziceng’s youthful face among the sea of roses shone with earnestness. On that face, there was no trace tainted by hatred, so how could such a Su Ziceng know of everything that had passed? After realizing this, Teacher Pello relaxed, chuckled lightly, and said, "You are the first person to call me cruel." The gold-rimmed glasses he wore sparkled unusually amidst the red, his expression somewhat resentful and his tone helpless. This was Teacher Pello’s most customary look and also the one most adored by the students of Kelly Women’s College. Everybody knows Teacher Pello of Kelly Women’s College is a gentle person; whether it’s the delicate daughters of wealth at Kelly Women’s College or an ordinary cleaner there, all would unanimously tell others their opinion. He is also the only one who has maintained a record of excellence in teacher evaluations since the school’s inception, without any complaints. "To pluck living flowers and prune them into the shape others envision," Su Ziceng found herself unusually sentimental tonight. It was an old issue of hers. No matter how luxurious Su Ziceng’s life, she maintains her principles. She doesn’t wear fur, typically uses leather bags, and seldom uses perfume. So some people call her a pretentious nouveau riche. The reason is simple. When she was a child, she had a rabbit. One day, when she returned home from school, the rabbit had died. Six-year-old Chang Chi was standing by, then pointed at her new rabbit fur coat and said, "Look, the fur on your body came from this." Since then, she couldn’t bear to wear these "corpses of animals" anymore. "Everyone who enters Kelly Women’s College must be prepared to be pruned; neither you nor Wen Maixue are exceptions." Teacher Pello’s words, gentle as a breeze, swept into Su Ziceng’s ears, and the cool breeze of September suddenly turned cold like December’s freezing wind, and the rose color slowly faded from Su Ziceng’s cheeks. A sigh slipped from Su Ziceng’s mouth unknowingly as she gazed at a delicate potted plant and abruptly plucked a pink rose. The untrimmed thorns of the rose dug into Su Ziceng’s hand, yet strangely, there was no blood. "Everyone has their prime, and every flower its bloom." Teacher Pello reached out, wanting to examine the wound on her hand, but Su Ziceng withdrew it, looking at the sunken wound, a transparent skin delicately protecting the tender flesh beneath. "Choosing to display our best during the prime—this is where humans differ from animals and plants. Moreover, life is unpredictable, and we never know what may happen in the future." Teacher Pello glanced at Su Ziceng’s now-empty fingers. The Red Love necklace was already around her neck. "I know, I know all of it." Su Ziceng felt dizzy as she listened to Teacher Pello’s words and turned her head. "You might not know what your future holds, but I know; I know it all." After saying so, she ran out, unaware of the large clumps of wet earth her feet kicked up. The figure disappeared behind the glasshouse of the flower room. Teacher Pello curved his lips, but his smile never fully materialized. "I also know what I need to do." Yang Wuxu was awakened by a burst of chaotic knocking. Devoid of the noise of the Sixth District, she had fallen asleep early. Opening the door, she saw Su Ziceng burst in like a frightened trapped animal. Under the bright fluorescent lights, her face was full of panic. "What happened?" Yang Wuxu asked, getting off the bed, wanting to understand. "None of your business!" Su Ziceng’s voice changed, shrill and piercing, stinging both their eardrums. The room quieted for a moment, leaving only the frantic breathing of Su Ziceng and the hurt look in Yang Wuxu’s eyes. She seemed to have reverted to being the Su Ziceng from that day at the auction, tragically pitiful, feeling sorrowful because of a few words from someone she barely knew. Before her rebirth, she was like a rose stripped of its thorns, withered without having experienced beauty. "I’m sorry." Su Ziceng tried to make her voice gentler; she shouldn’t have taken her anger out on someone else. "It’s okay." Yan Wuxu glanced at her; the hurt from before seemed to have faded a bit. "Wuxu, have you thought about the future?" Seeing her drowsy appearance, Su Ziceng knew she had woken her up, feeling even more guilty. She was surprised by her own thoughts at the moment; she had never before considered paying attention to others’ feelings. Perhaps it was the experience with Admiration that taught her how to read others’ expressions and thoughts. She definitely needed to be more careful in the future to avoid offending people again. "The future? Maybe become a teacher, ideally stay at Kelly Women’s College, and then fight for more scholarship slots for the kids from the Sixth District," Yan Wuxu said as Su Ziceng’s expression became gentler, and her heart also settled down. Afterwards, Su Ziceng washed up in the bathroom. After she finished, Yan Wuxu left a bed lamp on for her. She lay down on the bed, listening to the faint breathing from the bed on the other side. As if speaking to herself or to the air, the room echoed with a phrase: "Fei Qing is not a good person." The covered Yan Wuxu shivered; her hand reached under the pillow where a phone number lay, which Fei Qing had left for her when he left the cafeteria. Why, Su Ziceng didn’t want herself to be with Fei Qing. Didn’t she only like Hang Yishao? Early the next morning, Hang Yishao and Fei Qing had just stepped into the class of management 1. They hadn’t even settled into their seats when a sweaty body crowded next to them. "Hang Student, good morning," Qiu Zhi braved the risk of being glared at by a host of female students, pushing close to Hang Yishao. "Qiu," Fei Qing said unhappily, "I told you that you had already spent the whole day getting close with us yesterday. Aren’t you from management class 2? This is class 1." Qiu Zhi also regretted deeply; Su Ziceng had calculated everything, and he had finally arranged Deng Jiani into management class 3, but he had forgotten to place Qiu Zhi and Hang Yishao’an in the same class. Qiu Zhi thought, from now on, he had to go back and forth every day, which was quite bothersome. "I am from class 2, Fei Student; you’re really well-informed. Hang Student, you didn’t have breakfast, right? Looking at you, it seems you just got up and didn’t have time to eat." Hang Yishao did not respond, which was taken as a tacit agreement. "Ziceng thought you didn’t eat, and asked me to bring you this." Qiu Zhi held up a whole bag of breakfast in front of Hang Yishao. "I don’t..." Hang Yishao was about to refuse, but among the breakfast items, there were actually a few that he liked. Since he hadn’t eaten anyway, he picked up a sandwich and milk tea. "Thanks for the rest..." "Give it to Fei Student to eat." The round figure unbelievably disappeared at the doorway of class 1 at an incredible speed. Fei Qing looked at the breakfast enough for five people, then at the bemused Hang Yishao, and gritted his teeth, "That fatso must be brokering everyone." As soon as he finished speaking, another person walked in through the classroom door. Hang Yishao rolled his eyes: "Not just one broker here." Chang Chi walked in and smiled when he saw Hang Yishao: "Yishao, we are classmates!" Hang Yishao felt a throbbing at his temples, fearing that the days ahead would be bustling.