Three Women in the Cage

Xinxin sat in the first-grade classroom, looking at a group of unfamiliar faces, feeling scared and timid.

She wanted to make friends, but her natural shyness prevented her from taking the initiative to talk. She could only sit quietly on the stool and watch her classmates laugh and play.

She always sat in a corner, quietly, and no one noticed her.

Because no one talked to her, she loved studying even more, because she could communicate with the books and understand them, just like having a playmate, and play with them with relish.

Gradually, she seemed to find fun in it. She liked the teacher explaining the textbook knowledge in class and studying the contents of the textbook on her own after class.

Later, the teacher finally noticed her because no one in the class listened to the lectures as attentively as she did. She felt that her efforts had paid off, and the teacher paid special attention to her during the lecture.

In the end, they did not disappoint the teacher. Xinxin and Huanhuan both had excellent grades and always ranked first in the class in every subject.

In this way, Xinxin, who had excellent grades, was noticed by everyone for the first time. She walked out of that corner where no one greeted her and came in front of the public for the first time.

Gradually, more and more girls came to play with her, and she found her first real friend in her entire elementary school.

The teacher arranged her and Zhang Mei to sit at the same table. Coincidentally, this classmate had the same last name as Xinxin, and her grades were also good, so they soon had common topics to talk about.

But it was Zhang Mei who took the initiative to approach her. Zhang Mei has a generous personality, sweet looks, and is always smiling. She is very friendly.

In fact, Xinxin has always been very inferior. She is timid, dark and thin. She always sits alone quietly and doesn’t have much to talk about with her classmates.

At the beginning, others could still approach her because of her academic performance, but after a while, they would find that conversations with her would become awkward after just a few words, and gradually everyone would lose interest in playing with her.

In fact, Xinxin really wanted to fit in with them, especially after class. Watching them laughing and playing, she also wanted to have fun like them. Perhaps because she inherited more cowardly and timid genes from Zhang Erfa, she didn't dare to go. She was afraid to go. She didn't even know how to join them, what to say, or what actions to take.

Her awkward and clumsy appearance would make her seem out of place and would be laughed at by others. Once laughed at, she would become the target of ridicule by her classmates.

So she never dared to try. Her timid genes trapped her, forcing her to sit on the stool and watch her classmates playing with envy. She was like a spectator, watching their performance from the audience, feeling envious and pretending to be reserved.

She knew clearly that apart from her excellent grades, she had nothing else to show for herself. She was not like her deskmate who not only had good grades but was also beautiful and gentle.

She often watched her deskmate listening attentively in class. When the teacher called her up to answer a question, she could always answer confidently and generously at the podium, and then walk down in everyone's envious eyes. She looked like she was shining, which was what she wanted to be.

But every time the teacher called on me to answer a question, I stood in fear, not daring to look up at the teacher and classmates. I lowered my head and nodded timidly, not daring to answer.

Every time this happened, she could see a flash of disappointment in the teacher's eyes. She understood that apart from her good grades, she had no other shining points, and her whole body was shrouded in a shadow of inferiority and timidity.

If she hadn't always been the top student, no one would have noticed her and she would have spent her entire elementary school career like a transparent person.

But she was also very glad that her deskmate Zhang Mei did not think she was boring. Occasionally, she would accompany her after class and sit on the stool with her, either discussing the knowledge learned in class or playing the game of weaving flowers for two people.

Zhang Mei would talk to her patiently, tell her about family matters, and occasionally invite her to join her classmates' games.

Xinxin also cherishes her friendship very much. Finally, there is someone who is sincere to her. She doesn't despise her for being boring, doesn't despise her for being gloomy, doesn't despise her for being tongue-tied, and doesn't despise her for being dark and ugly.

For her own sake, she would reject classmates who wanted to play with her, and she was the only one who made friends with her sincerely.

But Zhang Mei was too dazzling, and there were too many classmates who wanted to play with her, both boys and girls. Gradually, she had less and less time to spend with Xinxin, and Xinxin could only wait silently until she finally remembered her.

Xinxin then realized that Zhang Mei had many friends, but she was her only good friend. Even if she didn't have her to play with her, a bunch of friends would line up to play with her in a blink of an eye.

And she only had her as a friend to play with from beginning to end, but it didn't matter. She was willing to wait. When she got tired of playing with those people and returned to her seat, she could play with her again.

Maybe Zhang Mei herself discovered that Xinxin would always be there waiting for her and would only play with her, and slowly their relationship became better and better.

Later, Zhang Mei told Xinxin, "I told my mom that I've made a new friend and I want to invite you to my house. Would you like to come?"

That was the first time someone invited her to their home, and Xinxin was very excited. Later she found out that it was also the first time Zhang Mei invited a good friend home. She thought they must be sincere to each other.

Xinxin came back that day and told her mother. Her mother was very happy that Xinxin had made good friends at school. Her mother was worried that Xinxin was too lonely and would be bullied by her classmates because she had no friends.

Unexpectedly, she got along well with her classmates and made good friends. I was very pleased and advised her, "Go if you want to! It's a good thing to make good friends..."

So Xinxin followed Zhang Mei to her home. On the way, Zhang Mei told Xinxin that she had a younger sister and a younger brother at home, and that her younger brother was a little naughty, so Xinxin didn't mind.

Xinxin didn't take it to heart at first. She was still young at that time and didn't know the meaning of younger brother. Because there were no younger brothers in her family, she was the youngest and was loved by her family.

Only after arriving at Zhang Mei's house did she understand the meaning of "brother".

As soon as I entered the door, I saw Zhang Mei's parents going out to farm. When they saw Zhang Mei coming back with Xinxin, they just greeted Xinxin briefly and then hurried out to do farm work.

As soon as Zhang Mei entered the house, before she had time to put down her schoolbag, her grandmother urged her to do housework. Zhang Mei took Xinxin to the kitchen without saying a word, and she lit a fire and cooked while washing water and cutting vegetables.

She was very busy here when her younger brother and younger sister suddenly came back from playing outside. As soon as they entered the house, they heard her grandmother yelling at her second sister, "You little bitch, where have you been with your brother? Go and cut grass for my pigs..."

The second sister didn't dare to talk back. She pulled the backpack and ran out, fearing that her grandmother would hit her.

After the second sister ran away, the grandmother turned to her grandson and said with a smile, "Chaochao? Why are you so sweaty? Come here, let grandma wipe it for you..."

After wiping, he yelled at Zhang Mei in the kitchen, "Girl, go get an egg from the chicken coop and cook it for Chaochao. Look how hungry my grandson is."