Falling Dreams, Rising Hopes: Saving Mr. Boyfriend

"Qing Qing, why have you been so cold to me lately?" Ma Shuxin suddenly stopped Mei Qingyang in the hallway when she was going to meet Wei Qiqi after her class got over.

"What do you mean Shuxin?" Mei Qingyang had certainly been ignoring this troublesome person but what was she to do when she came and confronted her directly. If her memory served correctly, was this the second time she came to her like this? What was this passive aggressive behavior?

"I don't mean anything, it's just that since the day Wei Qiqi has come, it seems my importance in your heart has reduced," Ma Shuxin made an expression of agony, like she was the person being bullied by Mei Qingyang. The people around looked at both of them in disdain. Mei Qingyang had no idea what to do with this girl.

"Are you jealous of my friend?" Mei Qingyang chuckled. What was this ridiculous situation suddenly?

"You… you have never called me your friend. But that Wei Qiqi, she came after me and you are treating her so warmly. Is this what you call association by statuses?" Ma Shuxin suddenly went in a mocking mode.

"Association by status? You might be correct. We both are from poor backgrounds after all. What about you though? I don't understand your motive to be chasing after me," Mei Qingyang thought it was better to deal with her like this, rather than talking in circles.

Ma Shuxin could not find words on her retaliation. She had come here to humiliate her in front of others but it seemed like she was the one being snickered at.

It was weird, she belonged to higher status but it seemed like this girl was the one who was enjoying the real company of wealthy people here. Was she not supposed to be ridiculed?

"I… I just wanted to be friends with you because no one was looking out for you. Guess my good intentions were not being taken seriously," she yelled in the corridor. The class had just gotten over and a lot of students were switching their classes to prepare for the next class. They all stopped in the hall and circled around the two girls, who it seemed were fighting.

Everyone knew Mei Qingyang by now. And because she was the servant of Yu Tian, people had really stopped bothering her, although she did get contemptuous look from a few girls, who were a big fan of the legends. But then, those girls also stopped after there was no reaction from Mei Qingyang to their provocations. People really get bored easily, once one fun activity stops entertaining them, they move on very fast.

What she did not realize was that Ma Shuxin had become a target of bullying now since she also belonged to the lower rung of the social ladder. But she was not prepared for this change. She was the one who should be bullying the two girls, how did she become a victim. Plus, Wei Qiqi was not touched at all. Was it because of her status as a former national champion in martial arts?

Previously, Mei Qingyang could not really figure out the motive of this girl. But now she was beginning to understand.

"Ms. Ma, are you, by any chance, saying that you were just doing charity or taking pity on me because I was being bullied?" Mei Qingyang smirked as she crossed her arms.

"You are taking it all wrong, I did not mean it like that!" Ma Shuxin defended. Why was she getting into the trap of this girl? Wasn't she just a nerd who avoided people like a plague?

"I don't really understand what you want to say," Mei Qingyang shrugged her shoulders. Either this girl needed to tell her what she wanted, or she needed to f*ck off.

Suddenly, she plopped down on the floor in front of the onlookers and buried her head in her palms and started weeping.

"I thought… I thought we were good friends. When no one wanted to be your friend, I had lent you a hand. When you were being bullied, even then I did not leave you. Now you don't even recognize me as your friend. It feels like you have discarded me after getting a sister of your own status."

Mei Qingyang massaged her temples in irritation. What was this? A palace drama? Why was she behaving like a child?

Did she want to slander her in front of the crowd? Guess this girl had not learnt anything in the past few months. When had she, Mei Qingyang, worried about the sentiments of the crowd or her own image?

She smiled coldly, she had spotted those Gu Layue's lackeys in the crowd, snickering. It seemed like they did not learn their lesson either.

"Tsk tsk, poor girl had even thought that she would be able to ease down the tension between two groups. She should have known poor people belong to their own community only," the leader of the lackeys shouted from behind. Too many people had surrounded them for anyone to understand who passed the snarling comment.

A few people agreed with the person but most of the people had far too become accustomed to Mei Qingyang's indifference. Soon the crowd dispersed once they understood it was no use standing here. They had many more important things to do. Although it was fun in their otherwise busy lives, they already knew the outcome. It would have been better if there was some substance to this act.

"Everyone is gone, you can stop your act," Mei Qingyang remarked coldly.

Ma Shuxin indeed looked above and was startled seeing only her backers and herself there.

"I…," she bit her lip but nothing was coming out of her mouth.

"Aiyya, poor little girl got trapped into her own trap. You like feeling above others, right? See, how these girl manipulated you into doing this, so embarrassing," Qingyang sat down and raised the girl's chin using her index finger.

"What do you mean manipulated?" Ma Shuxin was seething with anger inside. She was the one who was manipulating them, not the other way round!

"I feel so sorry for you girl. Rather than putting your focus into your studies, you decided to try your hand at bullying. When it seemed like you are at the bottom, and there was higher chance of you being bullied, you came to me," Mei Qingyang started unraveling the motive behind Ma Shuxin's approach.

This girl had not been able to do real harm to her because she herself had no idea what to do. She was torn between saving her a.s.s from other kids and trying to 'prove' herself to that very group that she could be a part of them.

"Do you have proof?" Ma Shuxin clenched her teeth.

Mei Qingyang laughed. "This is not a trial Ms. Ma. There are no judges here. I am just telling you, how miserably you failed at something which you should not have indulged in in the first place. I kept you beside me because I really wanted you to understand your place. But guess your inferiority complex was way greater for me to help you out," she patted her head and then glanced at other girls sharply.

"You still have time, there had been no harm. Just work hard, you will gain good friends and recognition. These kind of ways do not work in the long run. You need to accept yourself first, otherwise why would anyone be interested in you?"

Ma Shuxin gave a hateful glance to Mei Qingyang. Her eyes had gone red with madness.

"Who are you to tell me what to do? You are just a sewer rat who climbed the ladder because she managed to seduce Yu Tian. Otherwise what are you?" she commented. "Yes, I envy you, for you have such a great group. And those people seem like they could do anything for you. And here I am, a person with actual credentials and nothing to show off."

"Why do you get to experience stuff that should have been mine to begin with? All those rosy friendsh.i.p.s, all those high profile relations, I was the one who deserved them. Plus, you are not even pretty. I have all the qualities, why can't I get what you have?" Tears started flowing down Ma Shuxin's face. That was it? Her jealousy was so overwhelming that she did what she would not normally do.

Mei Qingyang sighed. She had thought at least this girl would have high EQ but guess that was not the case after all. She had concealed her mentality for so many months, why did it all spill suddenly? Was someone setting people up?

For past few weeks, she had been quite busy, but now she looked at it, there was a weird restlessness in the atmosphere. Had people gotten a whiff of the change that was coming and they were afraid for themselves? Was this making them irritated for some reason?

Before she could really think or answer Ma Shuxin, she heard a yell from afar.

"What are you guys doing?"