PAIN - CHAPTER 4:
Sheng Churan was the star of Class 3, a girl everyone noticed. Bright, beautiful, bold.
There were two things every student in that class knew about her.
First, she hated Bai Xun Yin, the quiet mute girl everyone called the white lotus.
Churan thought she was fake, and with her charisma,
charm, and family money, she easily turned the whole class against her.
If Bai Xun Yin was ever locked in the classroom after school,
everyone knew it was Sheng Churan’s doing.
There were fifty students in Class 3, and each cleaning group had two or three people.
Every few weeks, their turn came to stay after class and tidy up.
The hygiene committee had cleverly put Bai Xun Yin, Sheng Churan,
and Churan’s loyal follower Zhong Qin in the same group.
Whenever it was their turn, Churan and Zhong Qin would leave early,
taking the classroom key with them.
They would lock Bai Xun Yin inside.
Who would ever find out? The next morning, the student on duty
would come to unlock the door first thing.
No one would know she had been trapped there all night.
Even after Liu Chen told the class monitor Shen Langli about it, Churan didn’t care.
Her family was powerful, she was pretty, popular
so what if she’d locked a classmate inside by accident?
Who could punish her?
Bai Xun Yin couldn’t speak. Her resistance was silent.
So the cruelty went on, unchallenged.
Some classmates went along with it, others simply looked away.
Everyone knew two things about Sheng Churan.
The first: she hated Bai Xun Yin.
The second: she liked Yu Luo Yin, the boy from the next class over.
She had made her crush public, declaring she would chase him until he said yes.
It caused such a stir that even the teachers heard about it.
But who could stop Sheng Churan once she decided something?
Almost everyone in the school knew Yu Luo Yin.
He was the golden boy the top student, the school heartthrob,
the straight-A scholar who always ranked among the top three.
Sixteen, seventeen the age when hearts race easily.
Every girl had daydreamed about Yu Luo Yin at least once.
But few had dared to say it out loud. Only Sheng Churan had
the nerve to wait for him outside his classroom every afternoon,
smiling shamelessly as she blocked his path after school.
Bai Xun Yin had heard all this from others.
It was strange. She had always tuned out everything about Sheng Churan.
But ever since she’d caught a glimpse of Yu Luo Yin after school that one day,
she couldn’t stop hearing his name.
It was as if his presence had started to fill the
air around her everywhere, quietly, insistently.
And that was how she learned that Yu Luo Yin and
Sheng Churan weren’t a couple at all.
It was one-sided. Sheng Churan was the only one in love.
A sharp tap on her desk broke her thoughts.
Bai Xun Yin. The voice came from Liu Yufu,
the girl sitting in front of her. The math worksheet.
Liu Yufu was the class math rep, tidy, glasses always shining.
She collected homework for the math teacher after the second period,
but she always asked Bai Xun Yin for her paper right after the first.
Because Bai Xun Yin was the best in class, Yufu wanted to compare her answers.
Bai Xun Yin said nothing, only passed her the neatly folded sheet.
Yufu wasn’t unkind, just distant. She never thanked her, but Bai Xun Yin didn’t mind.
The bell rang for chemistry class. The teacher came in with a pile of papers,
looked up at the blackboard, and froze.
Who was supposed to clean today? The board isn’t even wiped!
His voice cracked like a whip through the room. The chatter died instantly.
Bai Xun Yin’s fingers tightened around her pants seam.
Who’s on duty? he demanded again. No answer. You all mute today?
A soft laugh broke out from the front row. A girl with thin arched brows said sweetly,
If nobody’s talking, then it must be our real mute over there.
Laughter rippled through the room, quiet but sharp.
The teacher’s eyes landed on Bai Xun Yin. His brows furrowed.
Bai Xun Yin, was it your turn?
Her back stiffened. She rose slowly, unable to speak, unable to explain.
To the teacher, her silence looked like guilt.
Why didn’t you clean the board? he said, sighing. You expect the teacher to do it?
Then Liu Yufu spoke, calm and quick. There were three of them, sir.
Not just Bai Xun Yin.
Bai Xun Yin blinked, surprised. She lowered her eyes,
watching Yufu’s ponytail swish as she sat straight.
Three? the teacher asked. Who are the other two? Stand up.
The class was silent for a few seconds before
Sheng Churan and Zhong Qin reluctantly stood.
The teacher sighed. Three girls. He didn’t want to scold them harshly.
What’s going on here? You girls too busy gossiping?
Sheng Churan smiled faintly, eyes wide and innocent.
Sorry, sir. Zhong Qin and I weren’t feeling well, so we went to the restroom.
I didn’t know no one would clean the board. My fault.
A perfect performance.
The teacher frowned at Bai Xun Yin, disappointed.
It seemed like she lacked the spirit of teamwork.
In truth, many teachers already knew about the mute girl in Class 3.
She was beautiful, intelligent, top of her class. She should’ve been a favorite.
But no one liked her.
When an entire class turns against someone, people rarely think it’s jealousy.
They assume it must be the victim’s fault.
Bai Xun Yin bit her lip. Then she walked silently to the blackboard.
In front of everyone, she picked up a piece of chalk and wrote in firm, graceful strokes:
We divided the work. Sheng Churan cleans the board.
Zhong Qin arranges the desks. I fetch the water.
Fetching water meant climbing down three flights of stairs and
back up again with a full bucket. Sheng Churan and
Zhong Qin had given her the hardest job without hesitation.
Bai Xun Yin didn’t mind hard work. But she wouldn’t take the blame for someone else.
The chalk letters stood white and clear against the blackboard.
Sheng Churan’s face flushed scarlet, then pale.
The teacher understood immediately. He sighed, softening.
Alright. I see. You may sit.
Then he turned to Sheng Churan. Come wipe the board.
Her blush deepened to her ears as she stepped forward.
When she brushed past Bai Xun Yin on the way to the board, her glare could’ve cut glass.
Bai Xun Yin exhaled silently. She didn’t even know if she’d done the right thing.
She had defended herself but she knew Sheng Churan would never let it go.
And she was right.
After class, Sheng Churan was waiting.
By the time Bai Xun Yin returned from fetching another heavy bucket of water,
her thin arms trembled from the strain, pale skin marked with blue veins.
Most girls asked the boys for help. But Bai Xun Yin never did.
Writing notes to request favors felt worse than doing it herself.
She climbed to the third floor slowly, breath shallow.
At the top of the stairs stood Sheng Churan and Zhong Qin, arms crossed, smiling coldly.
Bai Xun Yin, you’re something else. Churan’s eyes gleamed.
A mute girl who knows how to stab people in the back?
Bai Xun Yin didn’t react.
She thought absently that no wonder Sheng Churan’s grades were so bad
she couldn’t even use the right expression.
She hadn’t gone behind anyone’s back. She’d just told the truth.
Zhong Qin snickered. Why waste time talking to her, Churan? Let’s just teach her a lesson.
She shoved Bai Xun Yin hard. Her shoulder slammed into the wall.
Pain bloomed across her skin.
Bai Xun Yin said nothing. Her face stayed calm, her dark eyes empty of fear or anger.
And that calmness that quiet defiance was what enraged Sheng Churan the most.
You think you’re better than us? she snapped. You like fetching water so much?
Then do it again!
She kicked the water bucket down the stairs.
It crashed, rolled, splashed. Water sprayed across the walls and
floor as the bucket clattered down, echoing loudly.
Students nearby shrieked and jumped out of the way.
The bucket rolled a few more steps before coming to rest at the feet of a boy in white sneakers.
A few droplets darkened the blue cuffs of his school pants.
Yu Luo Yin stood there, surrounded by his friends, looking up the stairs at the three girls.
His face was expressionless.
And the stairwell fell utterly silent.