66. From Today Onwards, I’m a High School Girl!
A few days later, on the first day of school, the streets were bustling with traffic and filled with the honking of car horns.
Sunlight slanted into the room. In front of the full-length mirror, a girl with long, snow-white hair adjusted her clothes, smoothing the pale blue and white shirt and tying a neat sky-blue tie at her collar.
Her lower half was clad in a light blue school skirt, paired with white knee-high socks.
As for her hairstyle, she’d tied her hair back into two braids, each adorned with a leaf-shaped ornament. Soft strands framed her face, cascading over her shoulders, while the rest of her long hair flowed loosely down her back.
“Ugh, my white hair is so noticeable. I really should find some time to dye it… Even if I don’t go for black, a light chestnut brown would be nice.” Ruo Xiaoxi fiddled with her bangs.
After all, personal feelings are one thing, and school life is another. At school, Ruo Xiaoxi preferred to keep things simple and avoid attracting too much attention. Today’s outfit was perfectly appropriate.
With her fresh and reserved appearance, she looked like a well-behaved and elegant girl.
Her suitcase, with its handle extended, sat beside her, along with a large blue duffel bag.
Looking at her perfectly put-together reflection, Ruo Xiaoxi put her hands on her hips and confidently lifted her chin. From today onwards, she, Ruo Xiaoxi, sixteen years old, was a high school student!
From now on, she would embark on a brand new high school life, spend three wonderful and happy years, meet many good friends, participate in various club activities, and paint a vibrant and romantic stroke across the canvas of her youth!
Huh? Why did she specifically not wish for lots of romantic relationships, but rather just to eat her fill?
Because today, little Miss Xiaoxi was just an ordinary high school girl, one of many peers about to step into high school, with equally simple and ordinary hopes for the future.
Glancing at her wristwatch, she realized she didn’t have time to admire herself any longer. She quickly grabbed her bags and hurried downstairs to hail a taxi. It would be disastrous if she couldn’t find one.
The roads were so congested they were almost gridlocked. Luckily, Ruo Xiaoxi quickly found a cab.
“Driver, to First High School, please. And could you hurry a bit? I’m going to be late.”
“Alright. It’s the first day of school. Are you going alone, young lady?”
“Yes.”
The taxi driver glanced back at the back seat. He’d been hoping to pick up another fare, but seeing the girl with so much luggage and looking so rushed, he decided to take her to school first.
The front gate of the school was crowded with cars, so he dropped her off at the back gate. As she got out, the driver kindly helped her with her luggage, and Ruo Xiaoxi smiled and thanked him softly.
A steady stream of vehicles entered the school grounds as she walked towards the gate. Many parents were dropping off their children, usually fathers, who helped carry large duffel bags filled with bedding.
“What time did your teacher say to arrive? We should have enough time. You go register at the classroom, and I’ll help you make your bed in the dorm. Be careful on the way, don’t run.”
“Okay, thanks Dad. I’ll see you later.”
A girl with a backpack opened the car door and accidentally bumped into Ruo Xiaoxi, who stumbled back a few steps, blinking in surprise.
“Ah, I’m so sorry! Are you… are you alright?”
“Oh, I’m fine, don’t worry.” Ruo Xiaoxi wasn’t hurt, just jostled a bit.
“I told you not to rush! Next time, look before you open the car door,” a man’s voice said from inside the car. He then offered Ruo Xiaoxi an apologetic smile.
The girl looked ashamed and nodded, then jogged towards the school with her backpack.
Ruo Xiaoxi, unhurried, pulled her suitcase and carried her duffel bag forward. She noticed that almost everyone was accompanied by their parents, many in private cars.
Alone, Ruo Xiaoxi felt a little out of place.
“Well… I’m not a child anymore. I don’t need my parents to drop me off.”
She muttered to herself, but seeing other students chatting with their parents, she couldn’t help but feel a little lonely.
At least the duffel bag in her arms was really heavy. She had to stop and rest every few steps. It would have been much easier if she had someone to help… She should have brought her luggage to the school earlier.
The loneliness of being alone in a strange city for school stemmed perhaps more from a lack of belonging.
At times like this, Ruo Xiaoxi missed the days when she and her sister went to school together, chatting and laughing along the way, arriving at the school building in no time, and then saying goodbye before heading to their respective classrooms.
So tired… Maybe she should find a senior and ask for help with her luggage, batting her eyelashes a little.
No, no, like her sister said, she couldn’t make a habit of relying on others. She was an independent young woman who wouldn’t use her femininity as an excuse to depend on others.
Otherwise, if she were a rich and beautiful girl like Xia Zhibai, who cared so much about her and could help her with everything, Ruo Xiaoxi would surely be spoiled into a useless, moe-blob of a loli, lying around all day, only knowing how to act cute and beg for attention. Ugh, how terrifying!
Rich and beautiful girls were truly scary; their intentions were suspect! She would not be turned into a useless person.
Ruo Xiaoxi pouted, rested for a moment, then picked up her luggage and continued on, deciding to head to the dormitory first.
“You look like you’re struggling. Do you need some help?” As she entered the school gates, a tall senior wearing an armband approached her.
He’d seen her from afar and wondered why no one was helping her, only realizing then that she was alone.
Ruo Xiaoxi, who had been battling her desire to ask for help and had just resolved to carry her luggage to the dorm herself, suddenly found herself tempted. Hadn’t all her efforts been in vain?!
“I advise you to mind your own business!” Ruo Xiaoxi said stubbornly, sweating profusely, as she swayed under the weight of her luggage and walked right past him. “I’ve made it this far, and you want me to give up now?!”
“A-advise me to mind… my… my own… business…”
The well-meaning senior stood there dumbfounded, feeling as if he’d been shot in the knee. His neck moved stiffly, like a rusty hinge, and his outstretched hands froze in mid-air.
S-so, cute and petite girls really do have a temper, and aren’t easy to get along with? Was she blaming him for not helping her sooner…?
He didn’t know why, but he’d suddenly been scolded by a loli he’d never met!
Ruo Xiaoxi hadn’t taken more than a few steps when another student, a senior girl with an armband, approached her.
“Hi, junior! Do you need help with your luggage?”
“Didn’t I just say… hmm?” Ruo Xiaoxi suddenly caught a whiff of a lovely jasmine fragrance and heard a gentle voice expressing concern.
Looking up, she saw a senior with long, curly hair. She was so pretty!
“Senior… H-help me, please. I can’t carry it anymore, whimper.” Ruo Xiaoxi abruptly dropped her luggage, revealing faint red marks on her snow-white arms, and spoke in a pitiful voice.
Okay, since she’d already worked so hard, it wouldn’t hurt to reward herself.
Besides, besides, the senior had offered to help her; she hadn’t asked for it.
“Haha, alright, I’ll help you,” the senior said with a warm smile, reaching out to take the heavy duffel bag filled with bedding and walking with Ruo Xiaoxi towards the dormitory.
Watching the senior effortlessly lift the junior’s luggage, the male senior still stood frozen in place, staring blankly as their amicable, chatting figures gradually disappeared into the distance…
“?”
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