28 Contest for Campus Belle
“Why are you so quiet today?”Qiao Wei asked.
“Because I’m sad,” An Xiulan said while walking toward the cafeteria with Qiao Wei.
“What are you sad about?” asked Qiao Wei with furrowed brows. She opened the cap of a water bottle and we were about to drink when the other girl replied.
“A cat ate my honey,” An Xiulan murmured in a depressed voice.
Qiao Wei choked on water. “Your honey?”
Damn, what was wrong with this girl? She had a boyfriend?
“The chick I was raising,” An Xiulan replied, making someone cough in embarrassment. “A cat swallowed him.”
“Ah, it hurts,” Qiao Wei said, making it seem as if it wasn’t a big deal. “Once I raised a dog, it died because I forgot to feed him. I also felt bad for several days.”
“How can you forget to feed a dog?” An Xiulan questioned him.
“Oh, I even forget to eat food myself,” Qiao Wei shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“You are weird!”
“I’m your Jiejie,” Qiao Wei glared at her.
“Yes, you are,” An Xiulan hugged Qiao Wei, putting her entire weight on her.
“Ahhhh!” Qiao Wei shouted.
“What happened?” An Xiulan stood up in a startling manner and looked at her friend who had fallen on the ground on her butt. She extended her hand to help her stand up but the latter just slapped her hand away and stood up on her feet.
“The Class President asked me not to take you to crowded places,” Qiao Wei said, scratching her head. How could she forget such an important piece of information? ρꪖꪕᦔꪖꪕꪫꪣꫀꪶ
“Why?” An Xiulan furrowed her brows in co fusion. “I’m scared of water bodies, not crowded places.”
“How do I explain this to you….” Qiao Wei scratched her head in bewilderment. It wasn’t because of An Xiulan but because of the well-being of the entire class, the class president took a decision– to protect An Xiulan from the jealousy or rivalry of famous beauties of Jingyuan High School.
Boys at this age had a habit of comparing the beauty of two girls. This practice wasn’t limited to boys only, but many girls liked to throw the weight of their beauty, intelligence and money.
“The girls of the top classes are very competitive not just in education but beauty too,” Qiao Wei tried explaining this to An Xiulan. It might look like a scene from a novel but it was true.
“Look at you, you are one of the most gorgeous girls in the school,” Qiao Wei added. ” If they found out that the new transfer student is a girl and too beautiful, they will start making comparisons between you and other girls on the school forum.”
Qiao Wei shuddered while explaining further, “This will not only ignite jealousy between other girls but they might hurt you. Even if they don’t hurt you, your every single action will be captured in the camera. From what you wear to what to eat or what you do in class will be captured.”
An Xiulan trembled as she heard Qiao Wei’s explanation. She didn’t want to be some beauty queen. She just came to this school to study. She didn’t want to be in public attention.
“Do you know what happened when Song Xueyun became the campus belle in middle school?” asked Qiao Wei.
An Xiulan shook her head. She didn’t even know who this girl was.
“Song Xueyun was the top ranker in the last year of middle school. It was very difficult to defeat her score. Since she was transferred to our previous school in the last year of Middle school, the boys were mesmerised by her as she was the most beautiful girl. She wasn’t just beautiful. She was what every boy liked– an invincible ice princess,” Qiao Wei told her.
Pausing for a moment she went on, “However, one day when the ice princess was studying in the library, someone locked her there. She was locked in a dark and empty library for one night and day. It’s rumoured that now the ice princess has developed claustrophobia and Nyctophobia. Even the invincible ice princess wasn’t spared by the jealousy of those girls.”
“What happened to the girl after that accident?”An Xiulan couldn’t help but ask. She couldn’t imagine how scary it might be for a girl to be locked in a dark me enclosed place for such a long time.
“She returned to school after a whole week of fever and now she is back to breaking records,” Qiao Wei said with a scoff. “However, she isn’t the top student anymore. She met two giants in class Ten A.”
“An Xiulan, the class president is just trying to help you avoid unnecessary attention. Don’t misunderstand him. Gaining public attention might be scary for you,” Qiao Wei said with a sigh. ” And you know what’s more scary? The elections for campus Belle will start soon. You shouldn’t be seen in public until this stupid contest passed. “
“I don’t want to become a hot topic in school,” An Xiulan said. After hearing the story of Song Xueyun, she was more certain to not become a school celebrity. She didn’t want to be bullied. “I came here to study, not become some sort of school celebrity. Also, the life of celebrities is very hard.”
“Then, I will ask Mona and Song Ci to bring our lunch to the old playground. No one plays there anymore as the new one is preferred by players.”