Chapter 22: Chapter 21: The reason I am ignored

After this talk, Sui-er and I became closer. I told him about my parents leaving me when I was 5 years old to go to the secret realm.  I also explained how was my life with the Yu family since then and my plans to leave them as soon as possible - With or without my parents. 

He got angry at my she-wolf cousin and he told me something I did not know but suspected.

“A few months ago, when I first joined the school…heuu… one of the first warnings I got was to stay away from you. I was asked to never look you in the eyes or even mention your name out loud. There are rumors that you would mark whoever does that then you would secretly toy with them outside school. It was said that you had a magical tool, given by your mysterious mother, that would make no one know or believe what happens to your victims”    

I started laughing “And people believed these kinds of absurd rumors?” 

“They do because all your cousins confirmed them. Yu LaoBin warned me this morning after seeing you talking to me”

I had three cousins in total; Yu JinLi - AKA the she-wolf cousin- daughter of my first uncle. She was 11 years old and good at socializing. She inherited her shrewdness from her mother but was not very good academically.

Yu LaoYin - Son of my 2nd uncle- was 15 years old and was currently in some medium grade sect. As the first son of our generation, my grandmother doted on him a lot. He will come back two weeks from now after being expelled from his sect due to some problems but his family would say to whoever could listen that he was framed. A month from now, he will be the one taking the courtyard I am currently living in. The reason would be the lack of space for everyone in the Yu residence.

Yu LaoBin - The second son of my second uncle- was 2 months older than me but still in the intermediate class. He never talked to me at school and tried to bully me when I first arrived. It was after my parents left me but he was severely scolded by his parents. Afterward, he stopped talking to me. In my first life, he did try to bully me after the news of my parents' disappearance but as much as I could be manipulated psychologically, I was never one to be bullied physically - at least until I was 15 years old - so he got what he deserved after his second try.  He was never courageous enough to try afterward. After leaving for a sect at 12 years old, I never met him again. He died a few years later after bullying someone he should not have. He was lucky to have been left with a complete corpse to bury. My second uncle had to pay a huge amount as compensation to those who killed him. At that time I was already expelled from the Yu residence so he could not use me as a cash cow. He had to borrow left and right and died trying to pay back the debt.       

When I entered school all my cousins were there already. Yu LaoYin stayed 2 more months before leaving for a sect. I never met him at school because he was already in the cultivation theory section.

Did all 3 of them circulate those stupid rumors about me before or after I joined school? What was the purpose? and which adult asked them to. It should not have been the first or second aunts because they have been enemies since they married in. This meant that all 3 cousins uniting to spread the same rumor were unrealistic - their mothers would never let them -   

Moving on. The answer is not important anymore and Sui-er was waiting for me to answer.            

“If it makes you feel better, I never used this kind of magic weapon” I was not sure if I had one. I need to do an inventory to find out “I just thought that no one really liked me or they found me weird. That’s it!" I was not trying to justify myself. I am an introvert who avoids talking to strangers “Well… but if talking to me would mean others shunning you…maybe it is better if you behaved like them? I don’t mind it. I plan to finish school in a few months but you have to stay up to 4 years here…” I finished

“No! We are friends now! You even like my dad’s food. You are not getting rid of me!” shouted decisively Sui-er. My first true friend. Happy!

“I promise to never mention it,” I said. Lunchtime ended too quickly and Sui-er had to leave

“Well, I am going to be late. Tomorrow at the same time? If it rains or it is too cold, let's meet at the cafeteria. OK?”

After I nodded I said “Thanks your dad for the food. Tell him he can use aromatic herbs if he wants to avoid spices; chives, garlic and ginger are good for your health” As a professional foodie, I had to give some reviews and suggestions.

“I can write down some easy-to-make and healthy recipes if he wants” I added. 

“Mm. I will let him know” With that, we parted. I went back to the classroom with a big smile. Sui-er was my first good friend!