Trip them up!

"I need a change of wardrobe." Xu Jiao muttered while shifting through the few dozens of clothing on her side of the closet, most of which were either black, brown, or dull gray.

To be honest, she wasn't all that surprised about the state of her closet as this had been the fashion trend she used to follow in the past; dark and dull colors, that'd easily help her to disappear into the crowds; the only thing that had changed along the course of time from her teenage years to her adulthood had been the style of her clothes, but not the overall vibe.

[For now, let's just go with a… slightly modified look? After all, it's not good to change so suddenly.] After rummaging for a while, she finally decided to don a tracksuit top of dark blue color -the only outfit of a different color in her collection, except blacks, browns, and grays-, and dull gray jeans. Paired with old white sneakers it could be considered barely passable.

[It's not a good choice to draw unnecessary attention, especially for now… Let's just lie low and keep to myself for the time being.]

After finishing, Xu Jiao took a look at her image in the bathroom mirror and nodded her head feeling slightly satisfied; it might not be perfect, but this is good for starters.

Then, finishing her quick breakfast of bread and sweetened soybean milk bought by Wu Man, she rushed off to the university, eager not to miss out on her first day of class. For her, the real battle starts now.

***

There were still nearly ten minutes to go before the first lecture of the day started by the time she reached the hall in a flurry. Seeing the room already full of chattering and laughing students, Xu Jiao ducked her head and moved quickly through the seats, in hopes of finding a place to sit at the back.

But, halfway there, a slender-looking foot wearing a fashionable, dark green block heel was sneakily thrust forward obstructing her way, nearly tripping her on her feet. she balanced herself holding the nearby desk and looked up to see a face showing a mocking smile, overlying an expression of pure disgust.

[Ah, Tang Xuan…] And, seeing the other person sitting beside this haughty but beautiful girl, Xu Jiao had to exert quite some effort to stop herself from rolling her eyes.

"Aaiyo… Isn't this our Jiao'er? I almost forgot about you." The slightly high-pitched and gloating female voice drew the attention of some students sitting nearby, who after taking a look went back to whatever they were doing, without showing much curiosity.

"Sorry Jiao'er, I couldn't save a seat for you." Yu Min smiled in apology, the hint of satire hidden in her eyes barely discernible unless one looked closely. "I promise to save you one in the next class. So… why not sit over there? It's closer to this place." She pointed to a seat at the very front row, while somehow managing to look motherly and patronizing.

[You know I hate attention, but still do this? Yu Min… If I were still the same old Xu Jiao, I'd have agreed with you even if I felt unwilling! But, now…] from the corner of her eyes, she could see the vague silhouette of a man at the door, which suspiciously looked like the professor teaching this subject?

"It's fine… I can find another place." Ignoring the surprise that flashed past the other's eyes, she stepped over the foot that was stretched out, while 'accidentally' stepping on those perfectly manicured and painted toes, earning an enraged shout of pain from the other person.

"Xu Jiao you Bitch! I'll Kill-"

"Silence!" The professor who had reached the podium boomed out, a stern expression on his face, while she silently walked over to an empty seat at the back diagonally across from where her two adversaries were sitting, and sat down without much ceremony.

"The students nowadays are getting worse and worse each passing year. If it was in the past…" What followed was a lecture on the increasingly degenerating morals of the younger generation of the present, which lasted for nearly another ten minutes.

She doesn't remember much about her university teachers after such a long time, but still had a somewhat strong impression of this person, professor Ma, who taught them 'ancient literature' in their second year. This old professor had always been someone famous for his traditional and conventional views about behaviors and ethics and disliked students that he perceived as behaving against these moral codes, especially while attending his classes.

From her seat, Xu Jiao could clearly see the expressions playing on the faces of those two troublemakers; Tang Xuan looked embarrassed and frightened, her face alternating between red and white, while Yu Min's face had an uneasy and humiliated expression. Her lips curling slightly, she turned her attention towards the professor, who had started the lecture after the lengthy expression of his displeasure.

Anyway, professor Ma was famous for another thing; his lectures that are rich and full of interesting context and his wonderful teaching style. People literally fight to get a spot in his elective class, and them second years can be considered quite lucky since they got this chance to study a compulsory course under him without all that hassle.

***

"Hey! You… Wait!"

She raised her eyebrows seeing Tang Xuan who ran after her, now bent over panting while Yu Min could be seen hurrying in the distance.

"Xu Jiao! Aren't you quite brave?" Tang Xuan seethed, her anger increasing upon seeing the other's unconcerned appearance. "How dare you step on me like that? Who do you think you are? You little piece of-"

"It was an accident!"

"You!" Seeing the other raise her hand, Xu Jiao quickly reacted by holding it down in mid-descent, even surprising herself with her quick reflexes. She then proceeded to tighten her grip on the other's slender wrist, ignoring the pained whimper that came out of her mouth.

"Don't slap me!" She muttered in a low voice that sounded amicable but somehow managed to make a chill go up along Tang Xuan's spine.

"You two… Don't fight! Please?" Yu Min who had reached them by now implored sweetly, snapping her out of her frightened daze.

"Tsk" Tang Xuan threw off the other girl's hand, now feeling ashamed of her earlier fears.[Why was I even frightened in the first place?]

"Jiao'er… I know you are still mad at me, you didn't even pick up any of my calls…" Yu Min's palm-sized, melon-seed face looked pale, giving off a hint of fragility. "But, don't take your anger out on Xuan'er. She is a little outspoken, but not bad, ok?"

"Minmin…" Tang Xuan looked at the pale-faced girl, and when she turned back at Xu Jiao, the harsh look in her eyes increased by many folds.

"You! You're such a nuisance! Not only moping all day long but now even blaming Minmin?"

Listening to the resentful words of the other party who was apparently hyped-up, our heroine suddenly had a feeling in her heart that suspiciously felt like… pity?

[Is there any point in continuing this fight?]

After all, remembering the fate of this girl who obviously treated Yu Min, this snake, as a bosom friend, she could only heave a sigh, lamenting the complexities of human nature. Furthermore, she, Xu Jiao, had even decided to give this pair of demonic couple -Yang Jian and Yu Min- a chance as well. So, why should she haggle over a comparatively small grudge she held with this outspoken poor ghost?{1}

[Aaiya… She is also a cannon fodder like me after all…] If Tang Xuan knew what Xu Jiao was thinking inside, she would have definitely given her a good beating, disregarding the time and place.

"Little Min, I told you before, right? I'm not angry with you.."

[You don't deserve me to be angry over you.]

"Jiao-"

"Also, I didn't start any fight. It was Tang Xuan who suddenly started quarreling and even tried to slap me… I was merely trying to stop her. You can't blame me unfairly like this!"

"You-"

"She was right… I was watching and saw this sister suddenly pick a fight and even tried to slap her." Another student who had been standing near a nearby noticeboard piped in while his friend nodded his head in affirmation.

"What? What business do you have with any of this? She started it… I can't slap her? Hah?"

Seeing the two boys looking back at her from time to time while walking away quickly, behaving like she is some sort of monster, Tang Xuan's face first turned red then white from embarrassment and anger.

[Seems like she's reaching her limit.] Sighing, Xu Jiao turned to Yu Min, eager to end this farce as quickly as possible.

"I'm going… I still have some things to do."

"Jia-"

"You!"

Ignoring the exclamations of the two people, she briskly walked away, not wanting to continue this anymore.

[I have more important things to do than play with these two kids.] Let them play by themselves. She's not interested in this childish game of tug of war.

#####

Glossary:

01) Poor ghost - It is usually used to describe a person who's very pitiable; like either he/she is poor, or suffering/suffered some sort of trouble.