ISBH - Chapter 17
Chapter 17: Chocolate
Wang Zhi felt a little awkward after she finished speaking, because that morning she had found in her dad's car the skirt she thought she had lost. The skirt had never been lost. She had carelessly left it in the trunk.
For some reason, after getting the skirt back, Wang Zhi kept seeing in her mind the little ugly freak pinned to the ground, her thin back covered in scars.
So on her way to school, as if possessed, Wang Zhi stuffed a bar of chocolate into her schoolbag. It was her best friend Liang Juan's favorite brand, originally meant as a gift for Liang Juan.
The little ugly freak had probably never tasted such good chocolate in her life. Yesterday she had been beaten because Wang Zhi mistook her for someone else. Let her broaden her horizons and have a taste...
Wang Zhi never would have guessed the little ugly freak would ignore her!
Spoiled all her life, she rarely apologized. Every time she apologized, people forgave her kindly. This was the first time she had been refused, and harsh words slipped out before she knew it.
Yet the little ugly freak still looked dazed, which only made Wang Zhi angrier.
Instinctively Wang Zhi wanted to beat some sense into this ungrateful little ugly freak, and she clenched her fist...
The little ugly freak suddenly looked up, picked up the chocolate on the desk and unwrapped it. She broke off only a tiny piece from the front and put it in her mouth, then handed the rest back to Wang Zhi.
Was this... the little ugly freak wanting to share it with her?
Meeting Mo Sheng's gaze, Wang Zhi reached out her hand as if possessed.
Only then did Wang Zhi notice how beautiful Mo Sheng's eyes were. Her pupils were dark, her lashes long and curled. Pity the feeling inside was too flat. The way she looked at Wang Zhi was no different from the way she looked at the desks and chairs.
After Wang Zhi took the chocolate Mo Sheng handed over, Mo Sheng pulled her hand back and went on with her homework.
Wang Zhi broke off a piece of chocolate and put it in her mouth without thinking. This brand was rich and delicious and tasted wonderful. Because Liang Juan liked it, Wang Zhi had saved up all her chocolate, and this was actually her first time tasting this brand...
Feeling strangely uncomfortable, Wang Zhi frowned and glanced at the little ugly freak beside her. Mo Sheng chewed the chocolate and swallowed it in a couple of bites, then went back to her book with an expressionless face.
Forget it!
Looking at Mo Sheng, Wang Zhi remembered the little ugly freak always got good grades. After missing an exam yesterday, she would likely fall out of the top ten in the class this time. Guilt rose in Wang Zhi again. She stuffed the remaining chocolate into her mouth and chewed the way Mo Sheng had, yet she could hardly taste anything...
It really was like a cow chewing...
Like a cow chewing what?
Wang Zhi scratched her head. She never liked studying much, and she turned away, annoyed.
Whatever. The ugly freak ate the chocolate, so that meant the matter was over...
Still, as Wang Zhi nibbled at the chocolate, the strange feeling in her heart would not fade. She knew so many girls, and the ugly freak was the first to share food with her...
What was the ugly freak called again?
Something like Mo Sheng. Who knew why she had such a strange name...
Mo Sheng had no idea what Wang Zhi was thinking.
She had shared the chocolate with Wang Zhi only because she truly disliked Wang Zhi, yet she had also taken in the nagging of the female ghost beside her, and the deep humiliation in her heart eased a little in that instant.
Still, Mo Sheng felt awkward inside, so she only meant to keep up appearances and taste the chocolate symbolically.
Mo Sheng had already seen Wang Zhi's clenched fist. She thought she could not escape another beating, but after she ate the chocolate, Wang Zhi really stopped making trouble.
So showing weakness at the right moment really worked...
Mo Sheng looked as if she were reading, but her mind had drifted far away.
"Little Mo Sheng, well done." Han Tian did not notice Mo Sheng was distracted and floated beside her, praising her aloud. "Wang Zhi has long legs and is tall. If you clash with her head on, you're the one who will lose..."
As expected, Wang Zhi did not bother Mo Sheng for the rest of the exams.
At noon, everyone else went to the cafeteria to eat. A few whose families were well off ran straight to the alley behind the school for a treat. Mo Sheng stayed sitting in the classroom without moving...
It belatedly dawned on Han Tian that Mo Sheng did not want to go eat lunch.
Had Mo Sheng always lived like this?
Looking at Mo Sheng, skin and bones, Han Tian felt her heart ache even more. This was the most pitiful little girl Han Tian had ever seen.
But Han Tian had looked through Mo Sheng's schoolbag before and knew there were still a few dozen yuan inside. She just did not know why Mo Sheng was unwilling to spend it.
"Mo Sheng, go buy something to eat, all right? Look at the other girls. They're all fair and clean. If you don't eat your fill, how will you grow tall? If you don't grow tall, how will you beat Wang Zhi later..."
"Money can be earned again when it's gone. Once you damage your health at the root, it won't recover..."
The female ghost started nagging again.
But for some reason Mo Sheng did not want to pay attention to the female ghost right then.
Although what the female ghost said made sense, and she had always stood by Mo Sheng, Mo Sheng had not forgotten how the female ghost looked when she saw Wang Zhi. The female ghost clearly liked pretty people...
The female ghost had never looked at her that way!
Besides, the female ghost was always thinking about someone.
Who knew what spell that person had cast on the female ghost to make her like her so much...
Mo Sheng did not know why she was angry. She just felt especially angry.
This one-sided sulking lasted until the afternoon exams ended.
Wang Zhi had handed in her paper early. Mo Sheng was packing her books to leave school when Wang Zhi suddenly came back.
Wang Zhi came up to Mo Sheng, annoyed. "Ugly... Mo Sheng, my dad says you'll start tutoring me tomorrow. You know my home address, right?"
Mo Sheng had not expected the tutoring to start so soon, and she frowned without thinking.
Wang Zhi did not like studying and had never wanted Mo Sheng's help with tutoring. Yet seeing Mo Sheng's expression made her feel even more uncomfortable.
"What, we won't treat you badly!" Wang Zhi glared at Mo Sheng. "My dad will pay you!"
"If I don't do the tutoring, my dad will dock my pocket money..."
"If my pocket money gets docked, I'll beat you to death!"
"Agree to her!" Han Tian lowered her head and spoke beside Mo Sheng, listless.
These days of watching the little girl get bullied without being able to help were truly unbearable.
Did such days really have to go on for ten more years?
Han Tian had never felt so powerless...
After this stretch of time, Han Tian realized reality was even more grinding than she had imagined.
Mo Sheng clenched her fists. She glanced through narrowed eyes at the dispirited female ghost, took a deep breath, and nodded.
"Where is your phone?" Wang Zhi asked impatiently.
Mo Sheng said nothing.
Seeing Mo Sheng's dirty, torn clothes, Wang Zhi understood at once. She gave a dry cough, took out paper and pen, and wrote down an address. "Come find me here at nine tomorrow morning. If you're late, I'll beat you up..."
This little ugly freak looked like you could not beat a fart out of her with three sticks. It was infuriating!
Mo Sheng nodded, took the note, and walked out of the classroom without looking at Wang Zhi once the whole time.
Thoroughly ignored by Mo Sheng, Wang Zhi felt even angrier!
She had never been ignored like this in her whole life!
Tomorrow she would make this ugly freak pay.
Different from her high spirits when they went out that morning, Mo Sheng found the female ghost had been silent since noon.
As usual, Mo Sheng first went to the garbage dump to pick up some scraps. After piling the scraps at home, she washed her hands and went back out to buy food for the next day.
Mo Sheng had meant to buy steamed buns, but seeing the silent female ghost behind her, the words in her mouth changed on their own. "Get me a serving of porridge and two buns..."
"My stomach hurt at noon so I skipped lunch. I want something easy to digest..."
So Mo Sheng skipped lunch because her stomach hurt!
Hearing Mo Sheng's words, the listless Han Tian breathed a sigh of relief, and the frustration in her heart lifted at once.
She had trapped herself in a dead end!
She was actually still useful.
Although she could not change Mo Sheng's life right away, she could help Mo Sheng a little within her limited means and improve Mo Sheng's life...
When Mo Sheng got home, she found the female ghost's mood had clearly improved.
The female ghost diligently helped sort the trash Mo Sheng had picked up and wiped the dust off the dishes in the room...
Was it not just one time of not listening to her?
And she had sulked for so long...
Watching the female ghost bustling around the room, Mo Sheng pursed her lips. She did not understand how this female ghost could be so delicate.
She had not had porridge or buns for a long time. Mo Sheng ate very carefully and left nothing behind.
After eating, Mo Sheng sat at the table and took out paper and pen.
She did not want to tutor Wang Zhi, but since she had agreed, Mo Sheng would do it seriously.
Mo Sheng had never tutored anyone and did not know how to handle tomorrow, so she planned to make a schedule.
But Mo Sheng had no relevant experience and only felt making such a schedule was much harder than studying.
After a full day of exams, Mo Sheng was already very tired. Added to work she was not good at, she fell asleep without realizing it.
Only then did Han Tian move closer to Mo Sheng...
"A tutoring plan?"
Han Tian looked at the plan on Mo Sheng's desk, revised countless times, and frowned slightly.
Something so difficult for Mo Sheng, who had never had any relevant training, was second nature to Han Tian.
Back then, to teach the graduate students under her who were older than herself, Han Tian had studied many books on education.
Han Tian quietly picked up the little girl's pen, imitated the little girl's handwriting, and wrote quickly...
When Mo Sheng woke the next day, she was still lying on the bed.
Remembering the tutoring plan she had puzzled over all last night without result, Mo Sheng frowned.
Life was truly too hard!
But she could only meet whatever came as it came.
Mo Sheng counted the days with open eyes. Her father had been gone for almost five years. It would not be long before her father came back.
Just endure a little longer! When her father returned, everything would get better...
After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Mo Sheng took yesterday's buns from the cupboard. Pretending not to notice the buns had been warmed by someone, she ate slowly with the warm water on the table while packing her books. At a glance she saw the notebook filled with writing...
At first glance the handwriting in the notebook looked like Mo Sheng's, but a closer look revealed subtle differences.
This tutoring plan not only covered study content, but also divided progress into several levels based on the student's different foundations, along with ways to handle special situations...
This plan...
The female ghost floated over through the air and stood beside Mo Sheng. She gave a soft yawn, her smile radiant in the morning light. "Little Mo Sheng, don't worry. Follow my plan and you'll definitely be able to teach that bully Wang Zhi..."
Mo Sheng gripped the plan tightly and lowered her eyes slightly. Something welled up in her heart, sour and swelling.
In that instant, she suddenly did not dare look directly at the female ghost's too beautiful face.
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