Eloping with the School Heartthrob

“Uh-huh.”
“Xia Wei wants to be the first in class.”
“Cut it out!”
“Haha! Who cares about being first? I don’t want to be first; I’m Xia Wei, the pretty witch. I want to fly away like a butterfly, like a kite with a broken string, fly far away where no one can find me, where no one can even think of finding me.” As she spoke, she waved her arms, dancing with joy.
“Come and see! Xia Wei’s gone crazy again,” Xu Nuo threw down her pencil and shouted loudly.
“I’m crazy! I’m crazy! You’re all just jealous of me. La la la…” She simply took off her shoes, climbed onto the desk, and started jumping, singing as she went. If the old fossil Wen Qinghua saw this, he’d surely die of shock. Fortunately, he couldn’t see it because he had gone to the Education Bureau in the afternoon.
“Xiang Xiaowu, let’s go to Qiangwei Ju tonight,” Xia Wei said, jumping down from the desk after tiring herself out. Qiangwei Ju was a bar near the school. For birthdays, gatherings, everyone usually went there, so I was quite familiar with it.
“Whose birthday is it?” I asked.
“Nobody’s having a birthday.” She waved at me and whispered in my ear, “I heard that someone from Gu Nanxiang’s old class is back from Australia, and there’s a party at Qiangwei Ju tonight.”
“Oh.”
“Don’t you want to go and see?”
“No.”
“Chicken.” She stood with her hands on her hips as if she wanted to eat me alive.
“I’m not a chicken.” My inner universe erupted, and I shouted back without yielding.
Just as I finished speaking, the bell for class rang. Xia Wei retreated to her seat, and just as the teacher was about to enter, she turned her head and whispered to me, “Xiang Xiaowu, if you don’t go, you’re a chicken.”
That night, we really did go to Qiangwei Ju. Xia Wei, not being a good girl, dressed up like a demoniac turkey with thick eye shadow, looking more like a mutant panda. I was still in my school uniform skirt and white sneakers. In Xia Wei’s words, “Xiang Xiaowu, your outfit is the kind that gets lost in a crowd.”
So what if I got lost? No one was looking for me anyway. I just wanted to see the handsome guys… that good-looking monkey, Gu Nanxiang. As I pushed open the door to Qiangwei Ju, I was still thinking, what if Gu Nanxiang looked at me? Should I meet his gaze or avoid it? If I blushed and he saw, oh God, that would be so embarrassing.
As it turned out, my worries were unnecessary; Gu Nanxiang wasn’t there. Under the dim lights, dozens of people were gathered inside, the music was a bit loud, and people were laughing and chatting in groups. Two girls were even sitting on boys’ laps, and some were dressed even weirder than Xia Wei. Clearly, I was the most uncool one, so I became the ‘center of attention’ as soon as I walked in.
I followed Xia Wei, head down, my heart pounding like a wolf dragging its tail.
“Classmates, we’ve booked this place. Please go somewhere else,” a short, chubby guy approached us, and my heart started drumming.
Xia Wei looked up, her voice extremely calm and haughty, “Classmate, we’re friends of Gu Nanxiang.”
“Oh!” The short, chubby guy was evidently surprised, sizing us up, and his tone immediately improved, “Then please, both beauties, have a seat.”
Xia Wei turned back, stuck out her tongue at me, grabbed my hand without even looking at the short, chubby guy, and led me to a darker corner.
“How about some drinks?” As soon as we sat down, she turned to me and asked casually.
“I don’t drink.”
“Just one glass?”
“No.” My tone was firm.
“Alas!” She spread her hands and sighed heavily, “Xiang Xiaowu, if you can’t even drink one glass, you’re doomed to be a good girl your whole life.”
I jumped up as if by reflex, with images of Wen Qinghua flashing before me, — I didn’t want to be a good girl! My rebellion erupted like a volcano, and I shouted, “Good girl my ass, I’ll drink.”
“Okay!” She laughed triumphantly, holding up one finger, “Just one glass.”
“Ten glasses would be fine.”
“Stop pretending, if you don’t get drunk after one glass, you’re a hero.” She then turned to the waiter and said, “Waiter, two glasses of Green Wilderness.”
Green Wilderness was actually a cocktail made with whiskey, mineral water, mint leaves, and sugar. Just as Xia Wei finished speaking, her phone rang. She glanced at it, turned to me, “I’m going out to take a call, I’ll be right back. Stay here and don’t wander off.”
“Okay.” I responded, moving deeper into the darkness.
After Xia Wei left, I realized there wasn’t a single person I knew in the whole place. My gaze casually swept over the crowd, and I happened to see the short, chubby guy whispering to someone, and several girls turned to look at me. My heart sank, and I quickly lowered my head; at this moment, the waiter brought over the drinks, blocking the view of the others. I absentmindedly took a big gulp from the cup… this was the first alcohol I had ever drunk, bitter and spicy, it hit my throat with a terrible taste, making me cough uncontrollably, tears streaming down my face.
I shrugged, feeling utterly embarrassed! I set the glass aside and simply lay my head on the table, staring blankly at the bar’s entrance.
About two minutes later, I felt someone approaching me. I looked up to see three girls standing in front of me, their makeup making them look like golden monkeys. I didn’t know them, but their strange looks made me uncomfortable, so I turned my head away, resting it on the table.
“Classmate, there’s something we hope you can pass on to Xia Wei.” One of the girls knocked on the table, staring at me with a sneer.
“What is it?”
“Tell that bitch to stay away, stop shamelessly clinging to Gu Nanxiang.”
“Say that again if you dare.” I was very calm, even surprising myself at how I wasn’t intimidated by their presence.
“Are your ears clogged? Fine, tell that ugly girl to tell Xia Wei, the bitch, to stop bothering Gu Nanxiang.”
I stood up, swaying a bit from the alcohol, “Don’t call her that!”