Han Luo was startled. She had begun to feel drips of sweat trickle down her face, after looking at the four girls who surrounded her. She nervously stood there, cornered by Han Luilui and her friends at the back of the school building. Classes were over; the school was getting emptier.
The girl groaned resentfully, "I can't believe that she stole my favorite pencil. It was given by my mother on my birthday." She was Han Luilui's good friend.
Her other friend smirked. "She is a thief, after all." This girl liked to criticize and badmouth people who were better than her.
The girl who had the worst mouth proclaimed, "She stole Xiao Luilui's father and brother, how can she let go of your pencil?" She had a habit of easily getting angry since she was pampered by everyone.
"She was born a thief!" This girl criticized Han Luo as she couldn't stand her cuteness and brilliance.
The pampered girl snickered. "Maybe her parents were like that too."
Han Luo raised her voice this time, "Don't talk badly about my parents! They are far better people than your parents could ever be. Your parents couldn't raise you properly!"
"What did you say?!" The pampered girl got angry. She raised her hand and drove it on Han Luo's left cheek.
Slap!
Han Luo wasn't prepared for that. Her face was forced to the right as the tight slap fell on her cheek. The pain made her cheek burn instantly. That girl used more force than she imagined.
Han Luilui was standing behind and watching the show. She smiled as she enjoyed Han Luo's suffering. Seeing that Han Luo got slapped, Han Luilui walked forward in gratification. "Ah, friends, don't be so harsh on her. She is right that her parents are good people. They are my uncle and auntie. How can they be bad? It's all Xiao Luo's fault. She became a bad girl! That's why uncle and auntie are very upset." She stood in front of Han Luo and glared down at her. She was a year older than Han Luo and taller too. She leaned forward and whispered, "They are very disappointed in you, Xiao Luo because you like to steal what you don't have from others." Han Luilui's voice was smothered in disdain.
Han Luo's cheek scorched, and tears formed under her eyes. Yet she still had the courage to look at Han Luilui eye to eye and declare, "The ones that should be disappointed are you, parents because you put the pencil inside my bag and accused me of being a thief in front of everybody!"
The girl whose pencil was stolen got nervous. "What do you mean?"
Han Luo continued, "Do you think I'm an idiot? If you didn't know where you put your pencils, why did you only look through my bag? Why did you not check other people's bags?"
The pampered girl pointed her finger at Han Luo. "You sit in front of Xiao Luilui, so you are the thief."
Han Luo shrugged. She was scared but still was determined to defend herself. "I sit in front of Xiao Luilui but not that one who got their pencil stolen."
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Two hours earlier, during lunch break, one of the girls in Han Luo's class screamed, "I lost my pencil. I can't find it anywhere!" She was Han Luilui's friend.
"Isn't that the pencil your mommy gave to you on your birthday?" the friend who liked to criticize asked.
"Yes, it's very precious to me. I need to look for it," the girl nervously replied. She seemed quite distressed.
Her pampered friend said, "That's not good. Somebody must have stolen it. We must look for it!"
Han Luilui added in, "But there are so many students and lockers. Where do you want to search for it?"
"We should check everyone's bag. Who knows – we might find it here!" The pampered friend smirked. She stood in front of Han Luilui's desk and announced loudly, "First we will search for it here."
In front of Han Luilui's desk was Han Luo's desk. As per usual, Han Luo went out with Han Sheng Ming and his friends, so she wasn't inside the classroom. Everyone's eyes peered at the girls out of curiosity; they wanted to see where the girls would find the lost pencil.
The pampered girl rummaged through Han Luo's bag and immediately found the pencil they were looking for.
The girl who liked to criticize cried out, "Oh my! Han Luo is actually the thief! I can't believe this! She looks like a good girl, but she likes to steal from others. Isn't that how she stole your father and brother, Xiao Luilui?"
Han Luilui gasped. "Guys, you are my friends, so can you keep this a secret? Xiao Luo isn't that bad. She lives with us because she is an orphan. She lives off my daddy's money. If my daddy and mommy were to hear that she stole from my best friend, then they would be sad and disappointed. I don't want them to suffer from Xiao Luo's mistake. She is a year younger than us and I'm older, so I promise that I'll let her know what is bad and what is good."
Her friend clenched her pencil. "You are my best friend, Xiao Luilui. I'll listen to you."
The friend who criticized agreed, "You guys are too good. You should teach the thief a lesson. Who knows whose pencil or eraser or pencil box she would steal next?" She sighed and glanced around, only to see that the students were looking through their bags. They were making sure that their things weren't also missing. She smirked.
Han Luilui begged pitifully, "I know I'm being weird but please don't let her know that we found your pencil in her bag. She'd feel embarrassed. As her older sister, I'll take the blame."
Her pampered friend retorted, "You don't have to. We definitely won't embarrass her. When she doesn't find the pencil in her bag, she'll know we found out she stole it! If she still isn't sorry, we'll have to tell the teacher. Is that okay?"
Han Luilui slowly nodded. "All right, I won't get in the way then."
She felt immense satisfaction as everyone started to praise her for her kindness towards her cousin.