“Who is a couple?” An Xiulan asked as she appeared there holding a juice bottle and white towel. After Lu Xuan’s game would end, she would come with drinks every day to cheer him up. It was sort of their thing.

When she looked at the pink towel with a heart design in Zhou Liking’s hand, she narrowed her eyes on it. She was not very happy to see someone taking her job. However, she still gently took the towel away from Lu Xuan and sniffed it before giving it back to Zhou Liling.

“An Xiulan, can you stop being mean?” Zhou Liling’s new friend Mu Wanwan said angrily. “Lily is just helping her friend.”

Mu Wanwan got so angry when she saw what An Xiulan just did. Sniffing the towel as if Zhou Liling had added something to it. What did she even want to prove here?

“First of all, Miss who I don’t know, the towel is loaded with fragrances and these fragrances irritate my brother’s skin. Look at his neck, “An Xiulan said as she placed her hand on her hip. Truly, there was a patch of red skin on Lu Xuan’s neck that happened because of the fragrances that always irritate his skin. Both brother and sister had the same problem. Their skin always had this kind of allergic reaction.

An Xiulan turned to look at Zhou Liling and said, “Secondly, Lily, you don’t learn. Your habit of igniting fire everywhere you go is still not gone.”

Her words were ruthless unlike her who was such a nice person. But Lily deserved it. No, she just needed a beating. This girl is always here to fill Lu Xuan’s ears.

An Xiulan continued berating her, “Lu Xuan and Song Xueyun are two individual people. Who are you to tell my brother about her relationships? Is he a god? Or a priest? Will he approve of her relationships? Most of all, does she need anyone’s approval?”

Mu Wanwan rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. “Wow, An Xiulan, you are preaching about someone who is not even your friend. You are scolding Lily for Xueyun, who is not even your friend.”

“If she is not my friend, then is she your friend?” An Xiulan raised her brow.

“She may not be mine but she isn’t yours either. So, stop scattering your care for everyone on the planet. No one needs it.” Mu Wanwan said with a huff.

This sentence rendered An Xiulan speechless. She didn’t even know if Song Xueyun saw An Xiulan as her friend now or not.

“Girls, get some work and stop fighting here, “Lu Xuan said. He looked at his sister and added, “And Teeny come with me.”

When Lu Xuan was dragging An Xiulan with him, she pointed her finger at Lily and warned, maybe threatened her not to talk nonsense about Song Xueyun again or else..

Yes, this else was the threat and she wasn’t kidding. She might not be evil like Zhou Liling but she wasn’t goody two shoes like Shen Yue either.

“What the hell were you doing there?” Lu Xuan raged as they entered an empty class. He was so angry at this time that he didn’t know what to say. Had she any idea if someone had caught her fighting with those two girls, what would have happened? She was a public figure for god’s sake. She had to take care of her image.

Sometimes, he wondered where her tiny brain cells went when Zhou Liling was in front of her.

Would the world end if one day she didn’t start a fight with Lily?

“Lu Xuan, you took Lily’s side again, “An Xiulan said in frustration. The more he would take Zhou Liling’s side, the more she would get frustrated. Each time Lily insulted Song Xueyun in front of her and he would do nothing even if she told him what Lily did. He didn’t even want to see that Lily could be wrong too.

“When did I take anyone’s side? And will you stop fighting with everyone in school?” Lu Xuan asked, his short temper coming back. “Can’t you understand that you are a public figure now? You have to pay attention to your words.”

“She was talking bad about Xueyun, how can I tolerate it?” An Xiulan asked angrily. She would be damned if she let Lily insult any of her friends.

“You have to because it’s not your damn business.” Lu Xuan snapped.

An Xiulan stilled.

“You have to keep your mouth shut when she says anything, ” Lu Xuan said. “It’s not your business how two people in rivalry see each other. It should not be any of your business what people do.”

“Xueyun is my friend!” An Xiulan argued.

“So what!” Lu Xuan scoffed. “For her, you can’t start a fight. Do you know how bad online trolls can be? They wouldn’t stop. They wouldn’t bully Xueyun but you online.”

“Lu Xuan, I’m not like you!” An Xiulan raged as she heard his nonchalant tone. “I can stand up for my real friend when I need to! I’m not like who you are so lost in yourself that you can’t even see that your friends are slipping away from you. I’m not you who can’t care for your friends. I’m not you who can’t put Lily in place each time she insults Xueyun.”

For months she had been trying to not ruin her relationship with her brother for Song Xueyun because she didn’t want to do this. But today she could not control her emotions. Could he see how much he was hurting Song Xueyun? He expected to be treated like a best friend by Song Xueyun but he couldn’t do the duties that came with it.historical

Being a best friend doesn’t mean you just give a tag to a person and be their best friend. It came with lots of responsibilities and expectations.

“Take back what you just said, “Lu Xuan said in a deadly calm voice.

“Why should I?” An Xiulan asked as she raised her brow.

She scoffed as she asked again, “Why should I? Tell me. Why should I?”

She continued, “Lu Xuan, Song Xueyun has been with you when everyone hated you but have you ever taken her side when all these haters turned lovers of you to insult her? You always take Lily’s side. I get it you didn’t say anything to openly support her but you don’t put her in her place either which is equivalent to supporting her openly.”

What she said actually made sense. Lu Xuan never said that Lily was right but he never made it clear either that she was wrong. His silence always gave Lily an edge over the matter. Lily never left any chance to make Song Xueyun feel unwanted in the twins’ life.

Thus, An Xiulan went on, “If I were you and Song Xueyun was my best friend, I would fight with the world for her. Do you know why? Because she is my best friend and this was enough to make me into a villain just to protect her from these little bitches like Lily.”

“Teeny, you have no idea what you are saying, “Lu Xuan said when her little speech got over. He couldn’t understand what grave sin he had committed to be called this by his sister. In his defence, he had been doing everything but..

“Oh, I do, “An Xiulan said. “You are so lost in yourself that you don’t see anyone. You don’t leave home. You have your books with you, your stupid piano and music that you listen to on loop all day. So yup, I’m not like you who is forgetting the world for nothing.”

“I improved my grade unlike you who have all the time in the world to waste. What did you even do? Your grades are still stuck where they were one and half years ago?” Lu Xuan raised his brow. “I’m the fifth ranker! What about you? What have you achieved extraordinary by keeping your friends close to you?”

“You are right, “An Xiulan nodded her head. “You achieved something extraordinary by pushing away your best friend.”

An Xiulan left the classroom and walked away from there. Tears trickled down her cheeks and she saw Han Zixin standing there with a blank expression. He opened his arms, not asking a question and she hugged him while crying.

“I shouldn’t have said this, “An Xiulan sobbed. “I’m stupid and dumb. I don’t even know why I said all those hurtful words to him.”

“You are crying because you said hurtful words not because he said hurtful to you, “Han Zixin concluded.

An Xiulan nodded her head. “Initially, I wanted to calmly talk to him but then I got lost in emotions and spoke harshly.”

“It’s okay, “Han Zixin said, rubbing her back. “I think I’m very lucky to have you as my best friend.”

p?(??)? ?o??? “You think?” An Xiulan asked in a cracked voice.

He chuckled. “I’m not sure yet.”

An Xiulan fake glared at him but didn’t say anything.

“Come on, I will buy you milk tea, “Han Zixin said.

“Will you?” Her eyes sparkled.

Han Zixin nodded her head.