Chapter 59 - Bubble Gum

Feeling the soft sensation on his thigh, Tang Huaijin instinctively glanced at Lin Ruoxi, noticing her face was as dark as a storm cloud. He thought to himself, “This doesn’t look good.”

With his eyelids twitching, Tang Huaijin quickly spoke up, “Alright, alright, you win. Get up, and I’ll give you your seat.”

Xia Xinya’s cheeks were slightly flushed, and she let out a triumphant hum before hopping off Tang Huaijin.

Tang Huaijin had no choice but to shake his head in resignation and settled onto the middle sofa.

As soon as he sat down, Lin Ruoxi promptly took a seat beside him. Without the teacher present, the ponytailed girl was bolder, inching closer to him.

When Tang Huaijin was squeezed to the edge of the sofa and couldn’t take it anymore, he glared at her. Lin Ruoxi finally smiled with satisfaction, leaning her shoulder against him as she started reading.

Xia Xinya had just settled into her small sofa, enjoying the comfort, when she saw the two of them cozily nestled together. Her expression soured, and she frowned, complaining, “Why are you sitting so close to him? Do you need to be that close to read?”

“Huh?” Lin Ruoxi responded with a curious look, saying, “Weren’t you just sitting on his lap?”

Xia Xinya was momentarily speechless but managed to stammer back, “We… we’re friends, so what?”

“Friends?” Lin Ruoxi scoffed dismissively, “Well, we might rekindle our old flame soon.”

“Ahem…” Tang Huaijin felt compelled to intervene, clearing his throat and giving the two girls a stern look. “Stop arguing and read.”

He then frowned at Lin Ruoxi, saying, “No more nonsense, and don’t sit so close to me.”

Seeing his serious demeanor, Lin Ruoxi reluctantly agreed with a soft “okay,” moving slightly away but still remaining close to Tang Huaijin.

Xia Xinya, fearing she might upset Tang Huaijin, could only glare at Lin Ruoxi in frustration, pouting as she sulked and fiddled with her phone absentmindedly.

Bai Yuerou had finished brewing tea and brought it over to the group. She handed a cup to Tang Huaijin with a gentle smile, “Jin, have some tea.”

After handing a bottle of cola to the sulking Xia Xinya, Bai Yuerou seemed oblivious to the earlier tension. She merely glanced at Lin Ruoxi sitting beside Tang Huaijin before settling down to read.

Her slender fingers flipped through a few pages before pausing. Bai Yuerou looked at Xia Xinya and softly asked, “Xinya, have you finished revising your essay?”

“Not yet,” Xia Xinya replied listlessly, complaining, “The jerk won’t help me revise it and even mocks me.”

Thinking of this, her eyes lit up as she turned to Tang Huaijin, saying, “Can you help me revise it now?” Then, fearing he might refuse, she blushed and added in a small voice, “Please teach me…”

Tang Huaijin gave Xia Xinya a curious look, surprised at how obedient she was this time.

Tang Huaijin stood up from the sofa and walked over to Xia Xinya, asking, “Where’s your essay?”

Xinya rummaged through her small bag, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper with a cheeky grin, and handed it to Tang Huaijin. “Here it is.”

With a look of disdain, Tang Huaijin smoothed out the paper, crouched by the small table next to the sofa, and began marking it with a pen, explaining as he went along.

Xinya pretended to listen intently, nodding occasionally. When Tang Huaijin wasn’t looking, she turned back to Lin Ruoxi with a provocative glance.

Seeing Xinya’s smug expression, Lin Ruoxi felt a surge of anger, her chest heaving with indignation. Noticing Tang Huaijin crouched on the floor, she patted the sofa beside her, forcing a smile. “Jin, why don’t you and Xinya sit on the sofa? It’s too tiring to crouch like that.”

The table was a bit high, and crouching was indeed uncomfortable and inconvenient for explaining the essay. Tang Huaijin considered it and then stood up, saying, “Alright, Xinya, come over to this sofa, and I’ll explain it to you.”

Xinya frowned, glancing at Lin Ruoxi, who was now beaming, bit her lip, and stood up from the sofa. “You sit here and explain it to me.”

Before Tang Huaijin could respond, Lin Ruoxi sneered, “That side can’t fit two people. What, are you planning to sit on your friend’s lap? That’s ridiculous.”

She elongated the word “friend,” and the sarcasm was not lost on Xinya, whose face flushed with anger. She retorted, “Or should we sit on your side, so you can keep clinging to him like gum? Shameless.”

Gum? Spit out when it loses flavor?

Lin Ruoxi slowly stood up, gritting her teeth as she glared at Xinya. “Who are you calling gum?”

The ponytailed girl’s expression was murderous, and though Xinya felt a bit scared, she stubbornly continued to taunt, “I’m talking about you, sticky and disgusting. What about it?”

Lin Ruoxi wasn’t one to back down. She was the kind of woman who, back in middle school, dared to kick Tang Huaijin when he was yelling about fighting. In a fit of rage, she was about to charge forward.

Tang Huaijin, of course, wouldn’t let things escalate. He stepped in front of Xinya, pushing Lin Ruoxi back onto the sofa, giving her a stern look. “Did you take some crazy pills?”

“You’re defending her?” Lin Ruoxi felt utterly wronged, her eyes welling up with tears. She pointed at Xinya, “Didn’t you hear what she said? She called me gum, something you play with and toss away when you’re bored!”

…She doesn’t have that kind of malice, does she? Tang Huaijin frowned, glancing at Xinya.

Xinya looked indignant, opening her mouth but saying nothing, clearly aware that Lin Ruoxi was overthinking it, yet too proud to explain.

Tang Huaijin felt a headache coming on. He gently explained to Lin Ruoxi, “She didn’t mean it like that. You’re overthinking it, don’t be upset.”

After speaking, Tang Huaijin turned to look at Xia Xinya. The girl, feeling smug because Tang Huaijin had spoken up for her, pouted her lips in a triumphant manner.

Seeing her like this, Tang Huaijin couldn’t help but feel a surge of irritation. He flicked her forehead with a bit of force and said angrily, “Aren’t you going to apologize?”

Usually, Xia Xinya would be scared whenever Tang Huaijin raised his hand, but this time she covered her forehead, which was stinging from the flick, and looked at him with misty eyes, refusing to back down. She said, aggrieved, “Why should I?”

“You…” Tang Huaijin was also getting a bit angry. He thought she had matured a bit over the past few days, but she was still as stubborn as ever. He raised his hand again, intending to flick her forehead, and said coldly, “Who told you to start trouble? Apologize now.”

As his large hand was about to flick down again, Xia Xinya felt no fear in her heart. However, hearing the coldness in his voice, her eyes reddened, and she cried out with a sob, “Go ahead, flick me to death, I won’t apologize!”

“Why should I? Why should she take my friends away just like that? Why are you still hanging around her even after you broke up?”

As she spoke, tears started to fall in large drops. She sobbed, “Rou was right, friends aren’t as important as lovers. I don’t want you anymore, you jerk, go ahead and be with her.”

Tang Huaijin was stunned, opening his mouth but not knowing what to say.

Lin Ruoxi frowned as she watched Xia Xinya cry non-stop. She couldn’t understand her. Was this girl really clueless or just pretending? Did she really consider Tang Huaijin a friend?

Bai Yuerou quickly put down the book she had been flipping through, stood up, and went over to Xia Xinya, hugging her and softly comforting her, “Alright, alright, Xinya, Jin didn’t mean it that way.”

After a long while of gentle coaxing, Xia Xinya finally stopped crying. She looked at Tang Huaijin with a wronged expression, pouting as she sat back on the sofa, turning away from him, not wanting to look at him again.

Tang Huaijin felt awkward, casting a grateful glance at Bai Yuerou. He hadn’t expected things to escalate like this. Letting Lin Ruoxi join the club was clearly a bad decision.

Wait, who let Lin Ruoxi into the club anyway?

…Forget it, he couldn’t be bothered to think about it. Tang Huaijin felt a headache coming on and didn’t feel like sitting back on the sofa. He sighed, walked over to a table, laid out some Xuan paper, and, feeling too lazy to grind ink, started fiddling with a writing brush.

The club gradually quieted down. Xia Xinya, tired from crying, rubbed her red eyes and curled up on the sofa, playing with her phone.

Lin Ruoxi, also in a bad mood, sat on the sofa, reading a book with a heavy heart.

Bai Yuerou glanced at the two girls, put down her book, and walked over to Tang Huaijin. Seeing him absentmindedly playing with the writing brush, she picked up an ink stick from the side and began to grind ink for him.

Tang Huaijin snapped out of his daze, looked at Bai Yuerou in surprise, and said softly, “There’s no need to grind ink, I’m not planning to write.”

Bai Yuerou continued to grind the ink, smiling gently at his words, and said softly, “I learned how to grind ink from my mom at home. Let me try.”

Tang Huaijin couldn’t say much, so he just watched her grind the ink, occasionally offering a few pointers. Bai Yuerou learned quickly; grinding ink wasn’t very difficult. Seeing her soon produce ink with the right consistency, Tang Huaijin nodded in appreciation.