"...I have no idea what you're talking about," Lisha muttered.
"Both you and I know what you did."
"Pffft. You're delusional," Lisha shrugged. "What are you going to do? Report us?"
Yue bit her lip, her cherry-red eyes flashing. Unfortunately, humans had terribly roundabout ways to do things. She could report them as she did, but wouldn't it be so much easier if she solved the issue by herself?
Lisha narrowed her eyes. "Besides. I honestly can't understand how you defend someone like her. I've repeated to you what she's done—"
"Do you have any proof of that at all?" Yue cut her off simply.
"We all have heard from Guiying what happened—"
"Have you heard from her, or were those all rumors?" Yue rolled straight over Lisha.
"If they were rumors, then why hasn't Guiying spoken up about it?" Lisha retorted hotly.
"If the rumours were going her way, why would she?"
Lisha balled her hands into fists. "Are you saying Guiying's a liar—"
"Oi! Young'uns! Sit down! We're all waiting on you." The elderly bus driver shouted from his place up front, waving an angry fist.
"Tsk." Lisha and her friends slid away, hunkering down in seats further down the bus.
Yue sighed, a long, drawn out breath trickling from her mouth. Lisha and her friends were wearing masks, too. What were they up to? She'd have to keep Yunhua closer within her reach now. She glanced down, noticing the tiny breaths of the girl napping on her shoulder. Sunlight trickled down freely, painting Yunhua's face with a small, golden glow.
The rumours surrounding Yunhua didn't leave a good taste in Yue's mouth—though she wholeheartedly doubted they were true.
Yue smiled, looking down at the human slumped on her shoulder.
Without thinking, she tentatively reached up and gently pinched Yunhua's cheek, causing Yunhua to tilt slightly.
"Mmrn…" Yunhua nodded slightly, scratching her cheek on Yue's shoulder.
Yue was startled and nearly jumped.
Oh, dear. Yue covered her mouth with her hand, biting back a laugh. It was amusing, in a strange way. Unbeknownst to her, a small flush had bloomed across her face, tinging it a delicate pink.
Yue shook her head and looked back down to Yunhua with a smile.
Going from gut-spilling to this. How troublesome…
- - -
{Yunhua's POV}
I remember being gently tapped awake by someone.
"Yunhua. We're here."
"Mn?" I groggily blinked my eyes open. I'd fallen asleep sitting. I was hunched over, my face buried in my bag. Ow, my back ached. That was weird. I distinctly remember falling over to the side, and my hair felt fuzzy on my side… hmn.
…?
I didn't move when I slept, did I?
I blinked back the early sunlight that accompanied the low growling of a bus engine. Yue was standing in front of me, her back already slung over her shoulder.
The shoulder of her jacket was rumpled.
I slowly stood up, biting back a yawn before following Yue off the bus, thanking the elderly bus driver on the way out. He waved us off gently but irritably, like he couldn't bother less but was going through the motions to be polite. In one hand he was sipping from a worn water bottle, while a plastic takeout bag filled with buns sat in his lap.
As soon as we stepped out, we were hit by the sweltering heat of a humid summer day. Yue's long, midnight hair bobbed and swished in front of me as we quickly retreated inside of fourth high.
- - -
As I shuffled into our homeroom, I slid my bag off my shoulder and tucked it under my desk. As I settled in, I was surprised by a noise as a chair squeaked against the polished floor.
*Screeeeech!*
"So, what do you like to do, Yunhua?" Jun stared pointedly at my face. He had scooted his chair all the way around. Lian was seated beside him, picking through an exercise packet.
I blinked from the sudden conversation.
"I… u-uhm." Thinking back, I hadn't really done much overseas. The curriculum kept up decently well, so aside from studying taking up most of my time, I was mostly… moping around, I guess? That, and I'd occasionally go out to the local library or market.
"I'm not sure?" I shrugged awkwardly.
"...Eh? But you aced that english test. Surely you didn't spend all your time studying?" Jun pressed.
"N-No… The only reason I'm decent at English is because I practiced a lot overseas…" I responded quietly, fidgeting with my sweating palms.
"You play any sports?" Jun continued, tugging on his shirt. "What about music? Or—ow!"
*Slap!*
"Stop bothering her like that…" Lian interrupted dryly, smacking him over the back of his head. She flipped her ponytail over her other shoulder. "She's not comfortable around us yet."
Jun groaned, rubbing the back of his head, glancing around. "Speaking of Yue, where is she?"
"Printing out stuff for Laoshi," Lian said without missing a beat.
"Sigh… oh, yeah. Good news. We're getting a new uniform soon." Jun smiled.
"We are?" That was news to me. Hopefully I didn't have to pay for the new set all over again—I didn't want to bother Muqin with even more costs...
"It looks dumb, but at least it's less stifling than… all of this."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Jun nodded awkwardly before turning back around.
"Sorry about him," Lian said. "He doesn't mean to be pushy, he's just…"
"N-No, it's fine," I smiled.
The conversation ended there. Soon after, Wang Laoshi arrived with Yue in tow, carrying a tall stack of what I presumed were practice exercises. Yue peeked over at me, curious. She raised an eyebrow and mouthed, 'are you doing okay?'
I responded with a small smile. Strangely, she hid her face and ducked behind her stack of papers.