She is in the fog

There were still traces of crying on her face; her eye sockets and nose were still red.

Jiang Qi looked up and said, "Mingmei, you came at the right time. I was just planning to look for you. Don't worry, the teacher will definitely seek justice for you. If you have any grievances, just tell me."

"Director Jiang, this has nothing to do with He Xi. It's my own fault."

"See, I told you..." Jiang Qi was about to continue scolding He Xi, but then he realized that Ming Mei was trying to clear He Xi of any connection, so he widened his eyes and said, "Ming Mei, don't be afraid. The teacher will definitely protect you. Did He Xi threaten you?"

Ming Mei glanced at He Xi, then said to Jiang Qi, "As you know, my parents were transferred abroad and cannot return home in the short term. This morning I learned that they encountered some bad things, and I was worried and anxious, so... Please don't blame He Xi, it has nothing to do with her."

On the way back to the classroom from the office, Mingmei was in front and He Xi was behind, one step away from each other, and neither of them spoke.

Halfway through the journey, Mingmei suddenly stopped, turned around and broke the silence: "I really can't control my tears. I'm sorry, He Xi, I made you be wronged this time."

At this moment, the bright face was only a stone's throw away from him. He Xi was a little surprised, and his breathing and heartbeat became disordered again.

Without waiting for He Xi to answer, Ming Mei continued, "And about what happened yesterday, I'm also sorry. I didn't clarify to the head teacher that you didn't step on my desk or chair."

He Xi was confused and said hurriedly: "It's okay, I don't... don't care..."

Mingmei then continued, "You said before that you wanted to talk to me alone. Now there are only two of us here. If you have anything to say, you can say it here. I am listening."

He Xi shook his head: "No more."

"Is it really gone?"

"There really aren't any more."

"Since you don't have it anymore, that's good." Mingmei said, "Before, you always asked me to borrow a pen, and you liked to ask me things that were not related to study. You also sat next to me after class, blocking my way out. Although I don't know why you did that, I still hope you can stop doing this because it's causing me trouble. Can you promise me?"

Mingmei listed He Xi's crimes accurately, and finally asked her in a gentle tone if she could agree. It seemed like a request, but in fact it was impossible to refuse. He Xi nodded stupidly.

"Thank you for your cooperation." Mingmei said this with a smile, then walked towards the classroom without looking back.

He Xi also hurried back to her seat. It was not until the bell rang that she slapped her mouth in annoyance and muttered, "Why am I so tongue-tied? I wanted to say 'it's okay' or 'it's okay', but I slipped and said 'it's none of my business'. I'm done. Will she think I'm a fool?"

Li Xingyu: "Sister Xi, what are you mumbling about?"

He Xi held up his head and said hopelessly, "I just stumbled over my words when I was talking to Mingmei. It's so embarrassing. What should I do..."

"How about you give me some salary and I'll help you get the message across. I'm very good at talking..."

He Xi turned his head towards Li Xingyu and said with deep affection: "Go away."

"Okay." Li Xingyu immediately turned his head to look at the blackboard, waiting for the teacher to enter the classroom.

After the evening self-study, Wenwan and Mingmei teamed up to go home. The streets were dim and sparsely populated. Except for a few barbecue restaurants and supermarkets that still had lights on, most businesses were closed. It was not as lively as it was during the day, but more desolate.

Wen Wan couldn't help but complain: "Why is this street light broken? I remember it was fine before I went to Yun Province for the competition, but it broke when I came back. No one repaired it, and it was dark all the way. It was scary."

Mingmei also sighed: "Alas, when will this road be opened for nighttime service? There are no buses after 9:30 p.m., but we don't finish our evening self-study until 10 p.m., and it's almost 10:30 when we walk back home. It's time to go to bed after a simple wash, so our study time is compressed." "It's really annoying." Wenwan agreed, and then took Mingmei's arm again, saying meaningfully: "I told you a long time ago that He Xi is not a good person, but you didn't believe it. Now you know it. She also made you cry, which is really too much."

There is a term in psychology called the halo effect, which is defined as: "In people's communication and cognition, a particularly prominent characteristic or quality of the other party will obscure people's correct understanding of the other qualities and characteristics of the other party."

The halo effect is not only related to people's lack of information about each other, but is also mainly the result of the generalization, expansion and stereotype of personal subjective inference. It is easy to form people's stereotypes or prejudices, which will have adverse consequences.

On the first day of the science and arts class division in the second semester of high school, He Xi and Wen Wan were assigned to the same class. From then on, He Xi was often criticized by the Academic Affairs Office for bullying classmates, so Wen Wan did not have a very good first impression of her. In addition, He Xi accidentally broke the glass that Wen Wan treasured most, so Wen Wan's impression of He Xi went straight to negative, which also led to her prejudice against her.

Mingmei, on the other hand, was the opposite. She transferred to the school this semester and naturally had no idea what He Xi had done before. In addition, when she met He Xi in the grade director's office, He Xi's humorous tone made her think she was an interesting person. After the military training mobilization meeting, she even helped her carry the stool back to the classroom. Therefore, she had a very good first impression of He Xi.

So even though He Jiahe later told her that He Xi had done a lot of bad things, she still subjectively believed that He Xi was not as bad as He Jiahe said.

Mingmei knew that her and Wenwan's comments on He Xi were subjective, and there were a thousand Hamlets for a thousand readers, so she did not intend to argue with Wenwan, nor did she explain to her why she was crying. Maybe both of them were right, or maybe both of them were wrong. In the final analysis, they just had too little information.

Mingmei simply ignored the conversation and changed the subject: "I've made up my mind. If the night route is not opened by next semester, I will apply to live on campus. It will be much more convenient to live in a school dormitory and save a lot of time."

"Ah..." Wen Wan couldn't help but sigh after hearing this, "But day students have much more freedom, and boarding students can only leave the school on Sundays, so from Monday to Saturday, can they only eat in the cafeteria? You don't know how delicious the glutinous rice, pancakes, sesame cakes, sauce-flavored pancakes, egg pancakes, steamed buns, and soy milk and fried dough sticks are at the school gate. There is also the home-cooked food opposite the school, the noodle shop, the double-skin milk in the Typhoon Shelter, and the cold noodles and cake shop downstairs in our community... There are so many delicious foods, I feel uncomfortable if I don't eat something in a day. If I really have to live in the school, I will be so greedy that I will die."

Wen Wan mentioned so many delicious dishes in one breath, just like reciting a crosstalk. Ming Mei couldn't help swallowing her saliva. Suddenly, she felt hungry. She quickly took Wen Wan's hand and ran away, saying, "Let's run back quickly. It's your fault. You made me hungry."

When they returned home, Lin Ruxue seemed to have a telepathic connection with Mingmei and had already prepared egg custard for her.

Mingmei ate the egg custard, which satisfied her appetite and filled her stomach. She couldn't help but think of what happened in the morning, so she decided to ask: "Grandma, are mom and dad still busy at this time?"

"It's probably only afternoon over there now, they might still be working."

"Where were they injured? Are they okay?"

Shen Qingsong was reading a newspaper. Hearing this, he looked over and asked, "Did you know?"

Mingmei pursed her lips and said unhappily, "You shouldn't have kept it from me. I have the right to know about my parents' situation. You're only going to make me more worried."

Shen Qingsong said: "I thought it wasn't a big deal anyway..."

"It's a big deal. My parents are injured, isn't it a big deal?"

Seeing Mingmei getting emotional again, Lin Ruxue quickly tried to persuade her, "Don't worry, my dear. Your parents are fine. They just have minor scratches. They will be fine after applying some medicine."

"Really?" Mingmei sniffed and pouted, "You won't lie to me, will you?"

"I'm not lying to you. If you don't believe me, why don't you just give them a call and ask them on the weekend?" Lin Ruxue patted Mingmei's shoulder again and said earnestly, "It was wrong to hide this from your grandparents. We apologize to you. But your grandma has her own considerations. Just treat this as a white lie, okay?"

Mingmei raised her eyes and looked directly into Lin Ruxue's eyes: "Then you are not allowed to hide anything from me in the future."

"I won't hide it anymore." Lin Ruxue raised four fingers and agreed.

(End of this chapter)