Last night's class reunion was a typical example.
That reunion didn't invite Selena at all. She mustered up the courage, dressed up carefully, and went there head-on.
She put on her favorite dress, did her makeup meticulously, and sprayed a bit of perfume, hoping that with her natural beauty, friendly conversation, and proactive enthusiasm, she could win the acceptance of her classmates.
Reality, however, delivered a harsh blow to her.
At the party, the classmates completely ignored her presence. They chatted, laughed, and danced as if the girl was a transparent shadow.
Selena could only hold a can of beer by herself, sitting alone in the corner from eight in the evening until two in the morning.
From beginning to end, no one took the initiative to talk to her, not even a friendly glance.
The feeling of being utterly ignored was like a blunt knife cutting her heart bit by bit. She forced back tears and hurriedly left only when the party ended.
After returning home, she couldn't hold back any longer and cried, soaking her pillow with tears.
However, by the next morning, she had to fake strength, pretend she didn't care at all, and even bragged in front of Zhou Qingfeng about having many friends and deep friendships.
Zhou Qingfeng was the only one among her peers willing to pay her any attention because he was a "freak" with a special mission.
He didn't like noisy gatherings nor was he good at socializing, and he had few friends in the high school he was attending on his exchange program.
Under one roof, the two naturally grew closer.
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At the station, two boys were huddled together, whispering with excited and lewd smiles on their faces.
"The new school nurse is so hot, so pretty you can't take your eyes off her," one of the boys said in a lowered voice, full of excitement.
"Indeed, the nurse's office is packed every day with guys trying to hit on her, like a bunch of horny stallions," another boy agreed.
"She wears garter stockings, and when she puts on that white uniform, it's just perfect, both pure and saintly, yet temptingly alluring," the first boy said, licking his lips, getting more into the description.
"When she smiles at me, it feels like spring has suddenly arrived, filling the whole world with fragrance and light."
The second boy exaggeratedly clutched his chest, sounding enraptured, "I just want to kneel and kiss her toes, even just getting a little closer to her would be enough."
At that moment, the orange school bus slowly arrived, the sound of the wheels on the ground interrupting their conversation.
The two white boys walked past Zhou Qingfeng, still talking about the new pretty nurse in that lewd tone, occasionally letting out a few chuckles, sharing their sexual fantasies.
On the other side, a few heavily-made-up girls leaned against the bus station railings, cigarettes between their fingers, exuding a rebellious aura amid the smoke.
Their uniforms were altered, skirts so short they barely covered their thighs, tops deliberately cut to reveal slender waists, flaunting around like street delinquents.
They cast disdainful glances at Zhou Qingfeng and Selena, eyes filled with a mix of contempt and mockery, silently declaring a sense of superiority.
Zhou Qingfeng disliked such an atmosphere. Selena, however, seemed bewildered, wanting to fit in but also a little scared.
The school bus door opened, and the students filed in.
When it was Zhou Qingfeng's turn to board, a tall, fat white student blocked the door, looking menacing, not showing any intention of letting him pass.
"What are you doing?" Zhou Qingfeng asked sharply.
"Selena can get on, but you can't. You're not welcome," the fat student sneered arrogantly, "You can walk to school."
The students already on the bus watched the scene quietly from behind the windows. The big Black driver behind the wheel observed coldly.
Selena angrily shouted, "I'm going to report this to the school. This is bullying! Why can't Victor get on the bus?"
The fat student became even more furious, "Because this guy has raised the grade point average for the entire year, making it so that we can only get Cs."
This reason left Zhou Qingfeng speechless.
In the United States, school exams are graded on a curve.
On a test worth a hundred points, if the best score is eighty, that could be graded as an A+. Seventy would be a B, and sixty would at least be a C.
But if someone scored ninety, those with eighty could only get a B, and so on.
Zhou Qingfeng, once a poor student in his homeland, became a top student in a broken public high school in the United States, single-handedly lowering the grades of all students for the entire year.
The same scores that used to get a B now only earned a C, those that got Cs would now be scolded at home—people hating him was inevitable.
The bus driver shook his head and shut the doors, driving away.
After the bus had traveled a few dozen meters, Zhou Qingfeng suddenly shouted, "Hey, stop! If you don't let me on, fine, but there's another student who hasn't gotten on yet!"
Selena slung her bag over her shoulder, eyes shining, and excitedly said, "Victor, let's skip class. We have a ready-made excuse: we were bullied!"
Zhou Qingfeng turned his head, looking at her in confusion, "Why didn't you get on the bus?"
"Because you didn't," Selena blinked, her tone slightly mischievous.
"That's because I wasn't allowed on, they didn't stop you."
"The classmates at school are not friendly at all. I hate every single one of them," Selena pouted, with a bit of grievance and discontent.
"That's not a reason for you to not go to school," Zhou Qingfeng said helplessly.
"You're not going, so why should I?" Selena retorted confidently, hands on her hips, as if her reasoning was completely justified.