Sunshine & Bright Stars Ch. 33

Sunshine & Bright Stars Ch. 33: I'm a murderer, the cause of everyone's misery.

"Then we'll leave our daughter to you for a while."
"Xin Cheng, please greet Lin-ayi~"

Chengzi: "Hello, Lin-ayi."
Lin-ayi: "Hi~ such a good kid~"

Lin-ayi was very good to me. I slept with her at night. She had a son who was 5 years older than me. She spoiled him.

"Mom, I want to sleep with meimei* too."
Lin-ayi: "Then how about mom sleeps in the middle?"
"No, meimei in the middle!"

However, he would always stick his hand inside my pajamas. 10-year-old me still didn't know anything, but being touched like this scared me...

"Mom, where's meimei?"
"I was about to have you play with meimei, go find her!"

Chengzi: "I couldn't even find the words to describe it to adults. Only when my grandma missed me and came over to take care of me was I saved."

Thinking about it now, some of Xin Cheng's small gestures took on a different meaning.

Ah Ming: "I'll cover for you in the future!"
Chengzi: "Hey, I'm pretty strong too, ok?"

Ah Ming: "Actually, me and Ren Jian were really good friends in middle school. Along with another girl called Tang Ren, the three of us were always together."

After we knew each other for a while, Ren Jian confessed to me. Scared of losing him as a friend if I rejected him, I said yes, but I always saw him as a friend.

Ren Jian: "Why don't you wear gloves?! Your hands are so cold! Huff-"

Ah Ming: "It's ok. I'm not cold."

So every time he took me on a date, I'd use prior plans with Tang Ren as an excuse. When talk is not enough, I'd drag Tang Ren along.

Our fights grew, to the point that the friendship we had gradually eroded away. I had to plan with Tang Ren to tell Ren Jian together that we liked each other, to make him give up his hopes on me. I innocently believed that if we cut off these hopes, we could go back to the way we were.

But the rumors spread. The entire school spread the news that the famous Li Ziming and the famous Tang Ren were gay.

Tang Ren's dad: "Not only are you dating, you're dating a woman! You're making me lose all my face!"
Tang Ren's mom: "If you contact her again, you'll no longer be our daughter!"
Tang Ren: "Dad... mom, it's because a boy was clinging to Ziming. We didn't know what to do, so we fooled that boy. There's really nothing between me and Ziming..."

"Don't go to school tomorrow! Transfer!"

Tang Ren: "I'm transferring..."

"Shouldn't you explain your relationship with your 'good friend'?"

Tang Ren: "There's really nothing between me and Ziming! Why don't you believe me?! I'm transferring schools!"

Tang Ren: "Don't leave. Let's clear things up!"

(Throws off-)

"Tang Ren!"

Ah Ming: "It was my fault."
Chengzi: "No! It was an accident!"

Ah Ming: "If I didn't make up a reason like that with Tang Ren, they would definitely not be... I'm too scared to remember... this makes me think I'm a murderer... why do I cause grief for everyone?"

Ah Ming: "I really miss Tang Ren..."

Chengzi: "If I were Tang Ren, I would not regret my decision back then. And to get to know you, Ah-Ming, I'm very happy."

(Snip-)

"Did you see the school Tieba last night?"
"No, what is it?"
"Go look!"

"Isn't this Li Ziming?"
"Who's that girl behind her? Are they kissing? So gross..."

"The goddess actually has a girlfriend..."
"Waaaaahhh Li Ziming was snatched away! If I knew earlier, I would have confessed!"

"This is a thread from the school Tieba last night. This photo is of you and Xin Cheng, right?"
([Yuri] Does this pair of openly kissing students look familiar?)

Ah Ming: "I didn't do anything with Xin Cheng, and I don't know how this photo was taken."

Wen Xunan: "This thread already has almost 1000 pageviews. Three people make a tiger.** You should clear things up as soon as possible. If the school finds out, this won't be easy to resolve."

Pu Yi: "Ah Ming, the thread on your school's Tieba about you and Xin Cheng kissing. What was that about?"

Ah Ming: "Just a rumor. Let it go."


*[Meimei/mei = little sister]
**[Proverb = If three people spread rumors about a tiger in town, everyone would believe that it's true.]