Driving a wedge?
Yuan Yuehan subconsciously waved her hand. “No, that’s not true. We wouldn’t do that, and we’re not making things up. You can see what she did to you. I didn’t make her do it.”
Zhang Xiaolu placed her hands on her chest. “Forget it, Yuehan. Don’t waste your time talking to her about Meng Kefei. They’re besties, so there’s no way Yuanyuan will accept what you say. She’ll only think that you’re trying to badmouth Meng Kefei.”
“I don’t care how Fei treats me, and how she treats me is none of your business. I’ll handle it myself. Please don’t say things like this again.”
Then, Tang Yuanyuan walked away.
Seeing what just transpired, before Yuan Yuehan could go up to Tang Yuanyuan to clear things up, she was stalled by Zhang Xiaolu, who commented with a weird tone, “Don’t even try. The more you explain it, the more she thinks we’re trying to create discord between them. After all, she used to dislike us. It wouldn’t be so easy for her to trust us again. So, there’s no use for you to apologize.”
Yuan Yuehan did not respond.
She was mad at how things had turned out.
Once again, Meng Kefei had ruined things for them.
To avoid being gossiped about by Yuan Yuehan and Zhang Xiaolu, Tang Yuanyuan did not go and speak with Meng Kefei that night until the next morning when Tang Yuanyuan intentionally got up earlier to wait for Meng Kefei downstairs.
The moment Meng Kefei came down from the stairs, she quickly ran to her.
“Fei.”
Meng Kefei was startled to see her but decided to keep walking.
“What’s wrong? Why aren’t you talking to me anymore?”
Meng Kefei did not respond, even though she knew well that she should not do this as Tang Yuanyuan had not done anything wrong. Even if Tang Yuanyuan decided to not tell her who she was with that day, Meng Kefei had no right to interfere as it was Yuanyuan’s freedom to do so.
However, Meng Kefei just could not help herself.
Like right now, when she should be stopping to talk to Tang Yuanyuan, she somehow felt annoyed.
After Tang Yuanyuan had followed her from behind for a while and noticed that Meng Kefei was still not stopping but had begun to pick up her pace, Tang Yuanyuan decided to stop in her tracks and yelled from behind, “Did I do something wrong?”
Her words caused Meng Kefei to pause and stop walking, but she still kept quiet.
A few moments later, Meng Kefei decided to walk away, leaving Tang Yuanyuan alone in total despair.
…
Time had flown by, and the end of the semester was around the corner. The atmosphere in the classroom had become tense as exam preparations were underway. Even the few naughty students had toned down—perhaps due to the tense atmosphere, or their fear of failing their exams.
However, things between Tang Yuanyuan and Meng Kefei did not get any better.
Tang Yuanyuan tried looking for Meng Kefei to talk to on many occasions but had always been ignored by her. In the end, Tang Yuanyuan felt like waiting a little longer.
And just like that, the semester ended, and a new one had started.
In the new semester, Tang Yuanyuan thought that would be a good reason to reconcile with Meng Kefei, who had started talking to her, albeit in a somewhat indifferent manner.
For example, whenever Tang Yuanyuan would happily invite her to have a meal together, Meng Kefei would say ‘I’m not hungry’ in a nonchalant manner, or ‘You can go ahead’.
Things between the two were not as cold as last semester, but they were no longer close friends, even though Tang Yuanyuan was still hopeful that things would get better one day.
Just like that, another semester passed, and Tang Yuanyuan was excited about her winter vacation, as, after the new year, she would become an adult.
As the only and most precious daughter of the Tang Family, Tang Yuanyuan’s family decided to throw a coming-of-age ceremony for her. They found a designer to design a dress for her, booked a dinner venue, and invited many peers of hers.
After taking her measurements, the designer sternly said to Tang Yuanyuan, “We would normally spare you around one to three centimeters to make room for the extra weight that you might gain between now and the ceremony. But, you should pay attention to your diet and control yourself, to prevent yourself from gaining weight.”
“Sure.” Tang Yuanyuan nodded. “No problem.”
“Good girl.” The designer gently patted her head and whispered, “I have to say; right now, you have the perfect body.”
Standing next to them was Mrs. Tang, who, at this point, exhaled. “This little girl used to be plump and finally managed to lose weight recently. I’m impressed by her determination.”
Looking at how Tang Yuanyuan looked now made Mrs. Tang sigh in astonishment as the plump little girl from before had now turned into a slim and graceful lady—she had fair skin, a slightly pointy jaw, and lean arms and legs.
Mrs. Tang was amazed by the power of love.
To her, as easy going as her daughter might be, she had a strong personality.
“Ugly ducklings do turn into swans.”
A smile washed over the designer’s face.
“By the way, how are we doing on time? We’re just about to draw up the design.”
“We should be okay. After this little girl tells me her favorite character and style, I’ll be able to come up with a draft in two days. We should aim for her to try out the dress as early as possible so that would leave us some time to make any necessary alterations. Does that sound good?”
“Yes. Thank you so much.”
After the designer left, Mrs. Tang walked back into the house and found Tang Yuanyuan on her phone instead of in front of the dressing mirror.
“What’s going on?”
“Mom, I would like Fei to join me for the ceremony. Is that okay?”
“Fei?” Mrs. Tang recalled how she looked. “That girl? For sure. But would her parents agree to that?”
Tang Yuanyuan explained gently, “Her parents are busy and are always abroad. They don’t have much time for her. That’s why I thought about asking her to join me.”
“I see.” Mrs. Tang felt bad. “It’s quite a pity that she doesn’t get to spend much time with her parents. You can go ahead and ask her. If she’s happy to do it, have her over sometime soon so the designer can design both of your dresses together.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
After getting Mrs. Tang’s approval, Tang Yuanyuan sent a message to Meng Kefei to invite her over for a short stay as well as to join Tang Yuanyuan for the coming-of-age ceremony.
After a long time, Tang Yuanyuan still did not hear back from her.
Tang Yuanyuan reckoned that Meng Kefei was just busy during the day, so perhaps she could give her a call at night.
Finally, Meng Kefei picked up after a few attempts.
“What’s wrong?”
Her voice was cold and indifferent, making Tang Yuanyuan shrink. Tang Yuanyuan gently asked, “Um. F-Fei, I just wanted to ask you if you’ve seen the message that I sent you in the morning.”
“The message in the morning? No, I didn’t. I’m busy now. Just tell me directly here.”
Tang Yuanyuan responded, “Actually, my mother is thinking of throwing a coming-of-age ceremony for me soon, and I would like to invite you to join me. The designer will design your dress for you—”
Before she could finish, Meng Kefei interrupted, “Your coming-of-age ceremony?”
