She is in the fog

"Amei, you go back to the classroom first. I'm going to the gym."
On Jasmine Road, Wen Wan suddenly remembered the physical education teacher's instructions. After explaining to Ming Mei, she planned to rush to the gymnasium.

"Okay, I'll go back to the classroom first."
After watching Wen Wan walk away, Mingmei withdrew her gaze and was about to return to the classroom when she suddenly saw a familiar figure in Yiran Pavilion.

She approached her gently, tilted her head and asked softly: "He Jiahe? What's wrong with you?"

He Jiahe raised his head and quickly reached out to wipe away his tears.

Mingmei stood beside her and took out a tissue from her pocket and handed it to her.

"Thank you." He Jiahe took the tissue and wiped the tears from her face.

Mingmei tilted her head and looked at her, "What's wrong? Who bullied you?"

"nothing."

It's nothing to cry like this, there must be something wrong.
Mingmei then changed her tone to a softer one, "Jiahe, don't be afraid. If you are bullied, you must speak up bravely. You can't bear it alone."

He Jiahe pouted: "No one bullies me."

Mingmei patted her shoulder gently. "Then can you tell me what happened? I will never tell anyone else."

Looking at her sincere and gentle peach blossom eyes, He Jiahe was a little shaken. She bit her lip and said, "Well, Mingmei, do you think Wenwan likes He Xi?"

This question stumped Mingmei. She seemed to have never thought about this question before. After thinking for a while, she said, "I don't know. Why would you ask me this question?"

He Jiahe lowered his head, looking depressed. "I asked He Xi if she liked anyone, and she said yes."

"He Xi said she has someone she likes?" Mingmei immediately pricked up her ears.

"Yes, she said so herself."

"Who is it?" Mingmei's expression immediately became unnatural.

"Gentle."

Mingmei couldn't believe her ears. "Did she really say that?"

"Well, I just asked her." He Jiahe sniffed, "Doesn't she always wear a ring on her index finger? It seems that she has been wearing that ring on her hand since the second semester of her senior year. I just saw today that the abbreviation of Wen Wan's name was engraved on the inside of the ring. In other words, she may have liked Wen Wan since the second semester of her senior year."

Mingmei thought carefully about the time when she met He Xi in Jiang Qi's office. At that time, she was indeed wearing a ring on her index finger.

But Mingmei still didn't want to believe it, and asked again: "Have you really asked her?"

He Jiahe nodded and said, "Yes. But don't tell Wen Wan, okay? He Xi told me that she didn't want her to know yet. She said she would find a suitable time to express her feelings to her."

The same thunderbolt struck me -

Mingmei stood there in a daze. She originally thought that He Xi at least had some feelings for her. But now thinking back, she realized that it was all because of Wanwan.

She opened her palm and saw the half glove in her hand. She regarded it as a treasure, but now she felt more and more ironic.

Scenes from the past kept appearing before her eyes. Mingmei's eyes became moist. She mechanically took off the gloves in her hands, but she did not have the courage to throw them away. After hesitating for a long time, she put the gloves back on.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone." Mingmei forced a smile, "Jiahe, if you're okay, I'll go back to the classroom first."

On the way back to the classroom, I ran into Li Fuyue, who asked curiously, "What's wrong? You look depressed."

"It's okay, I just have a cold." Mingmei lied.

"Take care of yourself and protect your throat. I'm going back to the classroom."

"okay."

When Mingmei returned to the classroom and saw He Xi sitting at her seat doing her homework, she felt mixed emotions. After thinking about it, she decided to confirm it again.

She walked to He Xi and forced a smile: "He Xi, your ring is very beautiful, can you show it to me?"

"Here!" He Xi opened his fingers and motioned Mingmei to take it herself.

Mingmei took the ring off her index finger, turned it left to right in pretended admiration, and sure enough, she saw two small letters on the inside of the ring.

WW, gentle.

Mingmei also wanted to deceive herself, so she turned the ring around, and "WW" instantly turned into "MM".

MM, bright.

But is this possible?
He Xi had worn this ring on her hand as early as the second semester of her senior year, that is, before she transferred to another school. At that time, He Xi didn't know her at all. Would she engrave an unfamiliar name on the ring and wear it every day?
Of course not.

Therefore, the letters on the ring can only be "WW" instead of "MM".

After verifying her inner guess, Mingmei handed the ring to He Xi and pretended to laugh: "It's pretty. Here, I'll give it back to you." However, He Xi did not reach out to take it. Instead, he stretched out his finger and said with a smile: "You took it off, so you have to wear it for me. If you like it, I will give you one tomorrow."

"Thank you." He didn't want to receive any more kindness from Wen Wan because of their relationship.
Mingmei did not put the ring back on her finger. Instead, she put it directly on the table, returned to her seat, and pretended to be focused on doing the questions.

He Xi noticed that she was not in the right mood and thought that he had gone too far in his joke. After all, how could you give a ring to someone casually? And how could you let her wear a ring on you? They were not even close.
She quickly put the ring back on herself, turned around and began to apologize: "Mingmei, I'm sorry, I was just joking, don't take it seriously."

"You don't have to apologize to me, you didn't do anything wrong." - It was my fault.

He Xi was speechless. This was the first time she had seen Mingmei like this in such a long time.

"Okay, I'm going to do the test." Mingmei said calmly, "You go and do your own thing."
But how could she concentrate on doing the questions? Looking at the questions in the exercise book, they were clearly very simple analytic geometry, but she couldn't even move her pen.

"Mingmei," Qian Ziyue came over again with the basketball, "Li Bufan is looking for you outside."

"Oh." Mingmei put down her pen, stood up from her seat, and immediately sat back down. After taking out an envelope from her schoolbag, she slowly walked out.

After seeing Mingmei, Li Bufan's cold face immediately broke into a smile, "Mingmei, I heard that you caught a cold, so I came to see you. How are you? Are you feeling uncomfortable?"

"I don't feel anything..." Ming Mei suddenly remembered the lie she told Li Fuyue halfway through her words, and changed her words: "It's okay, it's not serious."

Li Bufan took the initiative to stretch out his right hand and wanted to test her body temperature.

When the back of his hand was about to touch Mingmei's forehead, Mingmei gently took a small step back to avoid physical contact with her.

Li Bufan's right hand stopped in mid-air, but she didn't feel embarrassed. Instead, she asked, "You don't have a fever? Do you have a headache?"

Mingmei glanced around and saw that the classmates seemed to be whispering, so she frowned and said, "I'm fine. However, I sincerely hope that you will not do such overly intimate, boundary-less, and misleading actions in the future."

Without waiting for Li Bufan to respond, Ming Mei handed the envelope to Li Bufan and said, "Last time you asked me about my answer, this is my answer."

Li Bufan took the envelope and asked, "What is this?"

"My resignation letter." Mingmei's expression was serious. "From now on, you and I will no longer work together, and we are not even friends."

A trace of disappointment flashed across Li Bufan's eyes. "Mingmei, are you really that heartless? Can't we even be friends?"

"It can't be done."

"Are you blaming me? I don't want to regret it, so I want to fight for it. Is that wrong?"

"I'm going back to the classroom."

Li Bufan reached out his hand to stop her, and handed the thermos cup and a medicine box in front of Mingmei, forcing a smile: "The thermos cup is filled with cold medicine, and the temperature is just right. The thermos cup is new and has been disinfected with boiling water, so you can drink it without worry. The box contains common cold medicine, three times a day, one pill each time, and remember to drink plenty of hot water."

"No, thank you." Mingmei turned around and walked into the classroom without looking back.

Mingmei returned home in the evening. Her unhappy look caught Lin Ruxue's attention. Lin Ruxue held her shoulders and asked with concern: "Meimei, why are you not so happy?"

Mingmei pouted and sighed: "Grandma, I think I have someone I like."

Lin Ruxue was not surprised, she just glanced at Shen Qingsong, quietly pulled Mingmei into the room, and locked the door. She let Mingmei sit on the bed and sat next to her.

At this moment, Lin Ruxue was like a caring older sister, and asked with concern: "Meimei, do you have someone you like at school?"

"Ah."

Lin Ruxue continued to ask: "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"girl."

Lin Ruxue thought for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure you like it?"

Mingmei nodded and recalled: "It was probably last month, or even earlier. When I was alone with her, I would feel nervous, my breathing would speed up, my face would turn red, and my heart would beat fast. But deep down, I was eager to have more contact with her. If I didn't see her one day, I would feel empty. Not long ago, I learned that she was the girl who gave me a butterfly hairpin when I was a child, and this desire became stronger. Grandma, am I abnormal?"

"How could that be?" Lin Ruxue gently touched her head. "You are in adolescence now, it is normal to like someone. That girl must have some special qualities, so Meimei likes her, right? Can you tell grandma what kind of person that girl is?"

"She..." Mingmei pondered for a while, but couldn't think of a suitable adjective. She pursed her lips and said, "She is fine."
After a pause, Mingmei pursed her lips, her eyes turned red again, and she started crying when she spoke again: "Grandma, but she has someone she likes, what should I do?"

Lin Ruxue's expression froze for a moment, then she smiled and said, "Meimei, if you like a flower, you don't have to pick it. Let it absorb nutrients in the soil and grow freely, then it will be more fragrant. If you pick it, it will wither and die in a few days. The same is true when you like someone, don't force it, just let it go."

"But……"

"Grandma understands your feelings, but everyone has their own things to do at their age. You are still young, so it is too early to talk about this now. Besides, you will be a senior in high school next year, and then you will take the college entrance examination. You also said that she is a very good person. True love should make each other better. You should keep this love in your heart and work hard to become a better person, okay?"

Mingmei lowered her head, tears welled up in her eyes, wetting her eyelashes. She smacked her lips, but didn't say anything else.

(End of this chapter)