Tang Yuanyuan had no intentions of attending the birthday party, nor did she want to betray her conscience.
She gave it some thought and then shook her head.
“I still don’t feel like going.”
Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan gave each other a look and wondered what was wrong with Tang Yuanyuan. At this point, Zhang Xiaolu’s face dropped. If we can no longer use Tang Yuanyuan to our advantage, why are we still here trying to please her?
“What’s wrong, Yuanyuan?” Yuan Yuehan, the one with the nicer temperament, tried to save the situation out of desperation.
“Yuanyuan, I sincerely want to have you at my birthday party. What’s the reason that you don’t feel like going? Could you please tell me?”
Lips pursed, Tang Yuanyuan did not respond.
Zhang Xiaolu crossed her arms and glanced from the side. “Just tell us. Don’t hide anything.”
These words agitated Tang Yuanyuan, who immediately lifted her head.
“What do you mean by that? Aren’t you guys the ones who are hiding something?”
Meng Kefei did not go to the library; she used that as an excuse to take a walk outside and waited until it was time to go back. When she was at the door, she did not expect to hear Tang Yuanyuan’s voice.
That voice was high-pitched, and it startled Meng Kefei.
Are they fighting?
Meng Kefei’s first instinct was to push the door open, but something quickly came to mind before she could do that. She stopped and stood there, eavesdropping on the situation inside.
“Us? Hiding something?” Zhang Xiaolu let out a sarcastic smile and looked Tang Yuanyuan in the eye. “How are we hiding something? Watch your words.”
“I wasn’t planning on saying this, but if you guys want to force me to say it, I don’t mind.” Tang Yuanyuan pointed at the door. “I was outside earlier, but I didn’t come in. Do you know why?”
Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan looked somewhat startled. It seemed like they had both realized something but chose to remain silent, hoping that it was not what they were thinking.
Tang Yuanyuan flashed an indifferent smile.
“I heard everything that you guys said. Are you hoping that I could be at your birthday party, or is it Yishu that you are hoping who could be there?”
Yuan Yuehan responded, “Yuanyuan, you—”
“You don’t need to say anything in response to that. I heard it with my own ears, loud and clear, and it was both of your voices.” Tang Yuanyuan took a deep breath and calmed down.
“I won’t be mad if you dislike me, since no one can be likable to everyone. But since you dislike me, please don’t try to exploit me and say nice things to me. I helped deliver the gift on your behalf after class, even though I don’t like the fact that you guys are giving something to Yishu. Since we are roommates, I was willing to help you out.”
In the end, Tang Yuanyuan looked somewhat downcast. “I thought you guys were my real friends.”
They were just exploiting me.
All of a sudden, Tang Yuanyuan felt that the adult world was so complicated. She hoped she could go back to the elementary or junior high school days when everything seemed simpler and happier. No one would criticize her for her weight or how she looked, and no one would exploit her.
“Is this what you meant by us hiding something?” Zhang Xiaolu was scornful at Tang Yuanyuan’s response before walking up to her and squeezing her chin to lift her. “Tang Yuanyuan, is there some misunderstanding here? I didn’t say that in your face to avoid embarrassing you. How could you accuse us of hiding something when all that we did was be considerate about your feelings? If it wasn’t because of Yishu, do you really think we would care about how you feel?”
Upon hearing this, Tang Yuanyuan widened her eyes in disbelief.
She could not believe that Zhang Xiaolu could turn their shamelessness into something that sounded so refined.
Zhang Xiaolu patted Tang Yuanyuan’s cheek.
“Since you’ve heard everything that we said, you’ve made it easier for us. From now on, we no longer have to care about how you feel. You’ll have to attend the birthday party no matter what.”
Tang Yuanyuan yelled angrily, “Who do you think you are? You’re in no position to ask anything of me. I’m not going!”
“And about Meng Kefei.” Zhang Xiaolu smiled, looking evil. “Her mother works at the textile factory owned by my uncle. You’ll get to see what happens to her if you don’t show up at the birthday party.”
To Tang Yuanyuan’s surprise, Zhang Xiaolu threatened her with Meng Kefei. “How can you do this? What does this matter have to do with Fei? Why do you have to target her?”
“You’re the young lady of the Tang Family. There’s no way we can touch you, so we have to target someone else since they won’t be able to fight us.” The smile on Zhang Xiaolu’s face appeared unbidden. “Think about this properly. Will you be attending the birthday party and helping us get close to Yishu?”
Having heard everything from the other side of the door, Meng Kefei had the urge to push the door open. She angrily bit her lower lip for she did not expect these two girls to be using her as leverage against Yuanyuan.
Is Yuanyuan going to accept their requests?
Meng Kefei held her breath.
“I won’t help you out.” Tang Yuanyuan bit her lower lip, still standing by her decision.
Meng Kefei felt disappointed, and her hands that were on the door gradually slid down. She kept her head down, hiding half of it in the shadow.
So, I guess this is what besties do. She doesn’t even care if my mother is going to lose her job.
But who am I kidding? She’s the young lady of the Tang Family. How will she ever understand human suffering? Losing a job doesn’t mean anything to her.
Previously, Meng Kefei felt guilty for telling others that Yuanyuan and Yuchi Yishu were not biological siblings. But now, having heard what Tang Yuanyuan said, she no longer needed to feel this way.
So, Meng Kefei turned around and left.
In the dorm, Zhang Xiaolu smiled dismissively. “Looks like I was wrong in believing that your best friend’s mother losing her job was able to change your mind. Are you two still besties?”
“Of course we are. Besides, I’m not done yet. I won’t help you out because you will never get to cause Fei’s mother to lose her job. If you do that, I’ll tell Yishu everything. After that, you’ll never get the chance to get close to Yishu. Besides, the Tang Group is not afraid of anyone. Aunty Han is the wife of the president of the Ye Group, and Uncle Ye will also be on my side. I can even call the press to come and interview students like you. We’ll see who gets to be on the winning side.”
The smile on Zhang Xiaolu’s face disappeared.
At the same time, Yuan Yuehan was also startled. She did not expect Tang Yuanyuan to be so quick in responding, as it seemed like they had both underestimated her.
In the past, Tang Yuanyuan might have been simple-minded, but she was not dumb. Her being untouched by the complications in the world did not mean that she did not know what the complications were.
When the ugly side of humans showed up in front of you, everything started to get real; she no longer wanted to be passive and get pushed around.
“So, if that’s something that you want to do, bring it on. And trust me, you won’t be allowed to touch either Fei or her mother.”
All of a sudden, Tang Yuanyuan had a realization. “Oh, by the way, was it the two of you who caused Fei’s injury last time?”
