Go for the interview.
The life of extra classes was nothing short of a nightmare for Mu Qingxi. Her younger brother, Mu Qingyang, happened to be in his third year of middle school and also attended weekend tutoring. Every morning, it was common for her and her brother to fight over the bathroom.
Today, her brother shoved her out of the bathroom, leaving her fuming.
Standing outside, she yelled, “Mu Qingyang, how can you be so shameless? I was clearly in here first!”
Inside, Mu Qingyang sat leisurely on the toilet and called out, “Sis, getting angry first thing in the morning will give you wrinkles.”
With a clatter, the sliding bathroom door opened. Mu Qingxi walked in—she liked sliding doors because they had no locks. Ha!
She glared at her blushing, flustered brother, who was hurriedly pulling up his pants. “I’m not afraid of wrinkles. Get up, get out!”
Mu Qingyang shouted in exasperation, “Mu Qingxi, are you really a girl? You’re shameless! I’m a boy, you know. I’m using the toilet!”
She replied indifferently, “So what? I was in here first! Out you go!”
Mu Qingxi shoved her infuriated brother out, shut the door, sat on the toilet, and began to hum a cheerful tune: “The weather is so bright today, everywhere is beautiful, so beautiful. Butterflies are busy, bees are busy, little birds are busy, even the clouds are busy. Ah…”
Outside, Mu Qingyang’s voice rang out, “Shameless Mu Qingxi, huh, nobody will want you when you grow up!” His words only improved her mood.
“If nobody wants me, so be it. I’ll fend for myself,” she shouted back. “Petty and ungentlemanly men, like you, will never be wanted! Hahaha…”
Every time, these bathroom battles with her brother ended the same way: with her as the victor.
It wasn’t until much later that she learned many times her brother had let her win on purpose. He wanted their mother to know she could still laugh, that the house wasn’t always so cold and quiet.
Her brother told her that every time they playfully fought at home, or when their cousins or friends came to laugh and chat, it was actually their mother who’d invited them over. She would always watch quietly from the sidelines. Hearing Mu Qingxi’s laughter made their mother smile too, though Mu Qingxi, always blaming her mother, never realized her silent care.
Her brother said, “Sis, Mom really loves you. She says she took away your smile, so she wants others to give it back to you.”
Years later, when she finally understood, all she could do was cry and say, “Mu Qingxi, you’re such a fool!”
Sigh! Another Friday. She didn’t want to go home after school. Xi Haifei came over and said, “Mu Mu, let me treat you to dinner.”
“Aren’t you going home?” she asked.
“Today—” Xi Haifei began, but was interrupted by a shout. His expression darkened, and he took a deep breath.
“Mu Qingxi. Not going home today? Let me treat you to dinner.”
She turned and was surprised to see who it was. “Bai Fanhao, why are you here?”
Bai Fanhao strode in and, seeing that the person with his back to him was Xi Haifei, the sunshine in his smile vanished. He simply looked at Xi Haifei in silence.
Watching the two of them, both in foul moods, Mu Qingxi felt a headache coming on. Oh, heavens! What did she do to deserve running into these two troublemakers?
After the last time they’d both vied to shield her from drinking, she’d been avoiding them, and now they were together again. This couldn’t be good!
In Mu Qingxi’s mind, boys fighting over a girl was never a good thing. At least in her family, if word got out, the consequences would be severe.
She could only say, “Gentlemen, please go. I can eat by myself.”
“I’ll treat you.”
“I’ll treat you.”
They spoke in unison—a rare moment indeed.
She glared at them and muttered, “There are people in the classroom. Wutong Tree. Talk there.” Then she grabbed a book and walked out, noticing Bai Fanhao and Xi Haifei following her.