Chapter 21: Ignore Me

Tan Mo's hand on the wheelchair trembled slightly, and for a moment he was at a loss as to what to do.

Qiao Lan was supposed to be sitting furthest away from him, so why was he suddenly sitting closest to him?

Tan Mo realised that not only had Qiao Lan changed her seat, but all the other students had changed theirs, and Qiao Lan had been rotated in like everyone else.

She hadn't switched here on purpose, Tan Mo. A sigh of relief escaped her heart, but it was followed by a subtle, other kind of emotion.

If Tan Mo can understand it, that emotion is called disappointment.

But Tan Mo doesn't quite get it, and with a care that no one else can see he comes to a position he has known for over two months but which suddenly has a novelty that makes him uncomfortable, even when he puts his school bag in the hole in the table without making a sound.

Because Qiao Lan is sleeping on the table.

She never seemed to be tired or sleepy at school and spent every recess with her head down looking at her book.

Why are you suddenly on the table today?

Is it because working part-time is too hard, or does it have something to do with not coming to school two days ago?

Tan Mo didn't know that he had never interacted properly with Qiao Lan.

But when you look up again, it's really close.

Close enough to see her high ponytail, bathed in the early morning sun, to see every strand of hair, and his unusually sharp nose could even smell the faint scent of washing powder.

He shouldn't have stared straight at her like that, Tan Mo thought, because he knew no one liked being stared at like that, and there had been many people who had called him inexplicably psychotic because of this move.

They said he had a frightening look in his eyes.

But Qiao Lan was sleeping wasn't she, he was looking at the back wasn't he, he'd never looked this close before, so one more look, as long as she didn't find out, would be fine I guess.

But the next moment, Qiao Lan, who was still sleeping on the table, woke up and Tan Mo, who hadn't had time to withdraw his gaze, was caught off guard by Qiao Lan's eyes.

Tan Mo's heart fluttered for a moment, and he hurriedly withdrew his eyes, but heard a slight rasp in the girl's voice.

The original clear and nice voice, slight, only a little really, slightly husky, and perhaps because it had just woken up from a brief dream, had a little more of a lazy emphasis, natural and loving.

"Here you are," she whispered as she turned around, resting her arm on the back of the chair and looking back at him, suddenly closer, with a smile that didn't look the least bit angry on her face, "Was it a surprise to see me sitting here."

Tan Mo pulled out of his book bag with a start, pursed his lips, then took the book out and placed it on the table without speaking.

Qiao Lan had a stomach ache and took the night off the day before yesterday, then had a busy weekend for two days, and when I came back last night it was raining a little outside.

I was groggy throughout the morning study and slept through the back without knowing anything.

Luckily, it was a language study day and the class teacher had something to do and didn't notice.

When I woke up again, I looked at the time and saw that the first class was starting in two minutes.

Qiao Lan was sure that Tan Mo had been looking at her and sizing her up the moment before.

But Tan Mo's face was still expressionless but he quickly withdrew his eyes, and when he offered to greet and even speak to him later, Tan Mo still kept his head down and ignored her.

Qiao Lan's heart swells with indescribable powerlessness, so why on earth is that?

Tan Mo ignored her, so Qiao Lan turned her head back to the class, not realising that she had just initiated a conversation with Tan Mo, causing many others in the class to look over, even Chen Yaoyang and Li Fan.

Someone whispered, "I found out that Qiao Lan really talks to Tan Mo a lot, but Tan Mo never pays any attention to her."

"Tan Mo doesn't know what to think, he might not even understand what we're saying."

"So what's wrong with Qiao Lan, she's got nothing better to do..."

Pei Ning, who was sitting at the same table, looked carefully at Tan Mo and then at Qiao Lan, but out of curiosity, she asked Qiao Lan in what she thought was a small voice, "What did you and that... Tan Mo say? What are you saying to that Tan Mo?"

Tan Mo's hand, flipping through the book, stopped when Pei Ning suddenly approached Qiao Lan, and saw Qiao Lan's tablemate's face less than thirty centimetres away from Qiao Lan through her forehead hair.

Then he saw Qiao Lan pull his maths book out of his bag and flip it open.

"Nothing," Qiao Lan said, adding, after about three seconds, "secrets."

Pei Ning: "......"

The stern look in Tan Mo's eyes disappeared, and the fingertips against the book slowly slid across the paper, gently turning the next page.

Qiao Lan had a real cold and Tan Mo, who had previously only been unusually sensitive to sound, noticed that she couldn't help nodding off later in class, even Pei Ning, who was sitting at the same table, and the two tables in front of her.

"You have a cold?" Pei Ning asked.

Qiao Lan gave a somewhat muffled "hmm".

Tan Mo, who was sitting at the back, looked up in silence.

That indescribable feeling from before came back little by little.

While Qiao Lan was still sitting in the fourth group, he saw Qiao Lan and Pei Ning talking a lot but could not hear what they were saying, which made Tan Mo extremely anxious.

Now that he can finally hear, Tan Mo's anxiety is getting worse rather than less.

Qiao Lan and Pei Ning don't communicate too much, but they don't communicate too little either. Both are actually very nice people and have been sitting at the same table for almost a week.

Now hearing Pei Ning's active concern for Qiao Lan, Tan Mo's gaze turns sombre as he looks coldly at Qiao Lan and Pei Ning's elbows that touch from time to time, feeling more and more uncomfortable in his seat.

He had known Qiao Lan for a long time, but had never spoken to her so fluidly and naturally, let alone with some physical contact.

Pei Ning doesn't notice anything, although he is an introvert, he gradually talks more and more to people he gets to know.

"Got any medicine? Want to take some time off to go home and rest?"

"No, it's not that serious", Qiao Lan sipped her water, looked at her timetable, the next class was physics, she was a bit depressed, thought about it and told Pei Ning, "If you see me nodding off in class later, you can hit me."

"OK", Pei Ning agreed.

Tan Mo's fingers, pressed against the corner of the book, became uncontrollably stiff again.

He hopes that Qiao Lan will not get sleepy again in class, so that Pei Ning will not have to wake Qiao Lan up and will not run into her.

But Qiao Lan had a cold and was too drowsy for a physics lesson, and Pei Ning could not really hit her, so she called Qiao Lan three times in one lesson.

Tan Mo, sitting at the back, watched as Pei Ning's hand touched Qiao Lan's arm three times.

Because of his AS, Tan Mo had trouble controlling his emotions, he would get angry from time to time, he would be unbearably irritable, he would hurt his kindergarten classmates when he was little, and he would be concerned for days about small things that normal people would not even notice. So in the old days, his mother would tell him over and over again not to care about it, not to be concerned about it.

Tan Mo lived like a machine until she was fifteen, and now she has long gotten used to being repressed, but she can't suppress her mood from losing her temper, but she still can't suppress it from getting bad.

Qiao Lan finally made it through the class and couldn't stand it any longer, so she went to the bathroom to wash her face.

It's not exactly cool in the north in November, so when I finally woke up after being stirred by the cool water, I wandered into the classroom and walked to my seat to see Tan Mo with his head down, reading a book as usual.

Qiao Lan didn't seek him out because he used to sit far away and Tan Mo didn't talk to her at school.

But now that they were sitting at the front and back tables, Qiao Lan looked at the book in front of Tan Mo, looked left and right and didn't understand it, so she asked him closer, "What is this book?"

Classical Electrodynamics

Tan Mo replied silently.

But he couldn't talk to Qiao Lan, not to mention that he wanted to tell Qiao Lan now at all.

Don't want to talk to Qiao Lan.

So he drew the book back in silence, not quite meaning to let Qiao Lan read it.

Qiao Lan was stunned, although he didn't usually talk, Tan Mo wouldn't have resisted such a move, Qiao Lan was a bit dumbfounded and didn't give up asking again, "What's wrong?"

Tan Mo looked up, without a trace of expression on his pale face.

"Turn around."

Qiao Lan: ......

Qiao Lan: ????

Pei Ning, who was curiously observing the commotion, pulled Qiao Lan's shirt and whispered, "Don't bother her," and then added, "Can't you see she doesn't want to talk to you... "

Before the words were out of his mouth, Pei Ning met Tan Mo's almost chilling gaze, and the sun shone on him for a moment but he shuddered.

By the second look, Tan Mo's head was back down, and it was as if the moment had been a fake.

Pei Ning was dumbfounded for a moment, then turned his head away, still somewhat unresponsive, and slumped on the table, beginning to wonder about life.

It was only after the skepticism was over that it occurred to me, as an afterthought, that I had just looked back and Tan Mo was looking at a book that didn't seem to be the so-called picture book that everyone was talking about.

It was a thick, plain English book with what appeared to be many diagrams for physics on it.

Pei Ning, who was already dumbfounded, was even more dumbfounded.

Curiosity surged and I wanted to turn around to see what Tan Mo was looking at, but then I remembered the look in Tan Mo's eyes and shrank back in fear.

It must have been a mistake on his part.

Tan Mo How can you read a book, right?

Not to mention books like this one.

I don't know what Pei Ning is thinking, but Qiao Lan is getting confused again, wondering what she has done to offend Tan Mo.

But left and right, I couldn't think of anything.

Qiao Lan was afraid of ruining the fragile connection she had managed to build up, so she took the initiative to talk to Tan Mo in the afternoon, but Tan Mo never responded.

After school, Qiao Lan watches Tan Mo's departure with a blank expression and a frustrated daze for a while.

On the way out of the school to the restaurant, Qiao Lan thought, "Tan Mo probably won't come to the restaurant tonight or later.

--

Tan Mo sits in the car, as silent as ever.

Uncle Chan was used to it and folded his wheelchair and got into the car, "Or are we going to the Western restaurant?"

Tan Mo looked out of the window and didn't answer. Uncle Chan nodded to show that he understood and the car drove on in a familiar direction.

Uncle Chan frowned, wisely sensing that something might be going on.

"Not going in?"

Tan Mo lowered her eyelashes and after a long moment said, "I don't want to."

Uncle Chan looked at him carefully and asked again, "Did something happen?"

Poor Tan Mo can't even lie because of her AS, and she is silent when she doesn't want to answer a question.

Had a fight? Friendship over?

There can't be a fight, Uncle Chan can't imagine Tan Mo fighting with someone, and it wouldn't be the end of the relationship, if it was Tan Mo wouldn't be here at all.

When Tan Mo wouldn't go in, Uncle Chan could only say, "So we go back?"

Tan Mo pursed his lips and after a long moment said, "No," he looked up at the brightly lit Western restaurant, "I haven't ordered yet."

You don't want to go in but you want to give people money?

What to do then?

Uncle Chan wanted to chisel open his young master's head to see what he was thinking, what he was squirming about and what he cared about, and finally sighed helplessly.

He said, "You wait in the car, I'll go shopping and then we'll take it back without telling her you're there, okay?"

Tan Mo said quickly, "Good."

Uncle Chan: ......

"Okay, okay, you sit down and I'll go," he said, and was about to leave when Tan Mo caught him again and turned back, "What's wrong?"

"She's got a cold."

Uncle Chan: ...... So what?

Tan Mo pointed to a pharmacy not far away, "Buy some medicine."

Uncle Chan: ......

After walking out of the pharmacy, Uncle Chan was left with only one thought: what had this girl done to move the world?

It was now half past seven, ten minutes after Tan Mo's flat-eyed arrival, and Qiao Lan was busy thinking that Tan Mo might not really be coming today.

When Meng Xue remembered Tan Mo's attitude that day, she was so angry that today she looked around and saw no Tan Mo, so she wandered over to Qiao Lan and said, "What? Your disabled boyfriend didn't come to deliver the money today?

"He's my classmate," Qiao Lan said, in a foul mood and suddenly angry, "so watch your mouth."

Meng Xue raised her eyebrows, "What, you can't say it, it's a disability, if you don't like people's disabilities, then why do you pretend to be so, cheat money, tsk, at a young age, your mind is not small, alas, I really admire you, I say, your little boyfriend is not only disabled but also a bit crazy... "

"Didn't your parents teach you how to behave and talk when you were growing up?"

"You!"

Qiao Lan's eyes lit up at the sight of Uncle Chan and he didn't have time to argue with Meng Xue.

"Hello," Qiao Lan asks Uncle Chan to step inside, glancing out unobtrusively and taking out a menu to ask Uncle Chan to order.

Uncle Chan took in Qiao Lan's outward glance and gave him a faint smile as he took the menu and quickly ordered and asked Qiao Lan to take it all home.

Qiao Lan looked outside again and saw a row of cars, but could not identify which one was driven by Uncle Chan.

She wanted to ask Uncle Chan Tan Mo about it, but the foreman was two metres away and the restaurant does not allow non-work related exchanges between waiters and customers during working hours.

Qiao Lan can only order food, so there's no way to ask more questions.

After that it was very busy, even the packed dishes were delivered to Uncle Chan by the head waiter, and by the time Qiao Lan was finished Uncle Chan had already left.

The team leader smiled at her and said nothing, but called out to Qiao Lan at the end of the day and gave her a bag from the cashier's area.

"Just from the old man who always sends Mr. Tan to you."

Qiao Lan was stunned when the bag was opened and it was full of medicine.

A variety of cold and flu remedies.

Qiao Lan, who has been sick all day and has been busy until now, suddenly feels a little sore in her eyes.

After taking the medicine and thanking the foreman, I returned home, took the medicine and went to bed early, perhaps because of the effects of the medicine.

A dreamless night.

Young people, when they are sick, take a pill and have a good night's sleep, the next day their throats don't hurt and their bodies are energized, and the next day they are full of energy again.

When she came to class in the morning, reciting her books as usual, Pei Ning gave her a look, "You're well?"

"There," Qiao Lan said, her voice brisk.

"It's a good mood."

"Not bad," Qiao Lan smiled, taking her textbook and going out to memorise.

When Tan Mo arrived after morning study, Qiao Lan turned to Tan Mo and said, "I've recovered from my cold."

Tan Mo listened to her voice, which was no longer hoarse, and silently returned to his seat, still not wanting to pay attention to her.

Qiao Lan didn't care and said thank you again to Tan Mo.

Pei Ning had a look on his face that he didn't know what to say.

He really couldn't understand why Qiao Lan could be so good-natured as to initiate a conversation with Tan Mo when Tan Mo never ignored him.

Aren't you embarrassed that people are ignoring you!

What did you say to Tan Mo when you got over your cold, and what does that thank you mean?

I couldn't figure it out, I couldn't figure it out, so I went back to Qiao Lan and asked him again, but Qiao Lan still had the same two words.

"Secret."

Pei Ning: ......

Forget it, don't ask.

Since Qiao Lan came first in her year, the formerly compliant students in her class have become friendlier to Qiao Lan, and some of her formerly unfriendly classmates have recently become nice to her.

Qin Yang, who used to bully Qiao Lan, has not been bothering her recently.

As Qiao Lan said before, if you want to be liked, you have to have the capital to be liked.

One morning when I was carrying my books, I met some girls in my class. The atmosphere in Class 13 has been surprisingly good lately, and more students are getting up early every day to study at school.

Qiao Lan had been carrying her book for a while when a girl who was carrying her book not far away approached her.

Qiao Lan lent her notes to the girls as she had just finished memorising history.

The girl took her notes and went back to the room, where she and a few other girls chattered together and looked through them, and sighed at the seriousness of Qiao Lan's work, but couldn't see anything too impressive.

Qiao Lan nodded and took the book back and went back to class.

After the girl had spoken to Qiao Lan, she started to greet him on a regular basis, and over time Qiao Lan learned that the girl's name was Tang Qin.

But that's about it.

Tang Qin called her downstairs one day after the second period to do exercises with her.

Qiao Lan looked at Tang Qin for a moment and frowned, "Here it comes."

Qiao Lan is not a dumb white girl, and having been brought up in such an environment, Qiao Lan does not trust people very easily, and with such obvious condescension.

But again, because it was impossible to figure out why the girls were getting close to her.

It was during PE that Qiao Lan met Hao Ying, who, in keeping with her familiarity, said hello to Qiao Lan.

Looking at Hao Ying's big white teeth and smile, Qiao Lan gave Hao Ying a "hello" in return and turned her head to see Tang Qin and the girls crowding over.

"Qiao Lan", a few girls looked friendly as if they had just seen Hao Ying, "Eh, you're Hao Ying from class 5, right?"

Hao Ying, a bright and cheerful person, smiled and said yes, and a few people chattered away.

Qiao Lan finally understood what Tang Qin had been looking for in her recently.

But, simply inexplicable.

There is no difference between her and Hao Ying, who is just a casual greeting.

Tang Qin sidetracked Hao Ying for a few moments, allowing Qiao Lan to slip away unnoticed and then naturally talk to Tan Mo when she returned to the classroom.

Qiao Lan finally got to see what Tan Mo was reading, Classical Electrodynamics, a book on physics written by an American physicist.

For Qiao Lan, who even stumbled over acceleration, the symbols and drawings are a godsend.

Qiao Lan knows that Tan Mo is very smart because in the original book, the author mentions more than once that Tan Mo has an amazing memory and an IQ far beyond that of ordinary people, even Chen Yaoyang, the main character, is a bit less intelligent than Tan Mo.

Tan Mo is a genius, according to the book.

Qiao Lan has read Tan Mo, Wuthering Heights, and a large history handout before, but now when she sees this book, which she can't understand at all, she finally feels the difference in intelligence.

Qiao Lan is suddenly curious.

"Tan Mo," Qiao Lan called out to Tan Mo.

Tan Mo ignored her.

But after receiving a packet of pills that day, and after Uncle Chan came to pack it up for the next few days, Qiao Lan realised that Tan Mo might be angry, but she definitely didn't hate her.

Tan Mo ignored her, and Qiao Lan didn't care either, " Tan Mo , the physics we are studying now, is it particularly easy for you?"

Certainly.

Tan Mo looks up and gives Qiao Lan an expressionless look.

He had already taught himself this when he was twelve, and the last time he looked at the question Qiao Lan had left blank, Tan Mo was able to come up with the answer without even doing the math.

Tan Mo clearly didn't say anything, but Qiao Lan felt as if she had been despised.

Seems easy enough, yes, Qiao Lan sighed and rested his arm on the chair, resting his chin on his arm, "You're actually very smart and know a lot more than we do, you'll be able to do all the questions on the exam, Tan Mo, so why not take the exam."

The high school curriculum is so easy for Tan Mo that if he took the exams, he would probably do very well.

Tan Mo looked at Qiao Lan and pursed his lips.

Qiao Lan was the quickest to come back after PE and there was no one else in the class, so Tan Mo finally spoke up.

"Does it have to be an exam if you can make it."

Qiao Lan didn't understand Tan Mo's logic for a while, and it took him a while to get a slight idea of what Tan Mo meant.

Tan Mo is not interested in exams, everyone wants to get high marks because they can get a better class in the second year of high school, they can make everyone like her and admire her, and they can get into a better university later.

But exams don't give Tan Mo any of the appeal that normal people want, and he doesn't care about that.

But Qiao Lan still wants everyone to know that Tan Mo is not stupid, not only not stupid, but also many times smarter than them.

To continue, but someone came in the class and Tan Mo stopped talking again, his voice as cold as ever, "Turn around."

Qiao Lan :......

Ignoring her again.

Tang Qin and many other students came in from outside and saw Qiao Lan again on the back of the chair talking to Tan Mo, who had his head down as if he didn't even see Qiao Lan.

We've all gotten used to watching it lately, but getting used to it is one thing, understanding it is another.

No one understands why Qiao Lan keeps talking to a fool, not just a fool, but a bit crazy.

Qin Yang saw it and said to the person next to her, " Qiao Lan, I really don't understand her, isn't she afraid?"

The crowd shook their heads.

Tang Qin had just spoken to Hao Ying as she wished, and was now in a good mood, feeling close to Qiao Lan, she went over to him, "Qiao Lan, why are you talking to him again?"

Tan Mo's fingers tremble slightly.

Qiao Lan's smile tightens up.

Unfortunately Tang Qin didn't notice, or maybe he wanted to make a name for himself in front of the other students, and continued, "You talk to him every day, he doesn't understand you", and reached out to pull Qiao Lan, "Don't be so close to him, or he'll have a fit and hit you. "

Qiao Lan shook off Tang Qin's hand, her eyes cold and frightening, she looked at Tang Qin , "Did he hit you?"

Tang Qin and the crowd of students watching were stunned, and Tang Qin's face froze.

Of course it doesn't.

But Tan Mo is a madman and may have a fit.

"What do you mean," Tang Qin yelled, "I'm doing this for your own good..."

"I don't need you to be so nice to me," Qiao Lan interrupted Tang Qin, "I can't afford it."

Tang Qin couldn't figure out how it could have happened all of a sudden when she was doing so well.

Qiao Lan didn't give her any face, and with so many people in the class watching, Tang Qin's face was burning, "Who cares to be nice to you, it's because you're not cared for..."

With that said, he turned around and left.

Some of the girls with Tang Qin also gave Qiao Lan a hard look.

Chen Yaoyang Li Fan looked on from afar, wondering what was going on in his mind.

Qiao Lan didn't care about the attitude of the others as she turned her head again and saw that Tan Mo's book, which had clearly been intact, had a large page torn out of it.

Qiao Lan let out a long breath.

"Tan Mo," Qiao Lan called out to him in a small voice, sighing miserably as she watched his pale face seep even whiter.

"If you keep ignoring me, no one will really want to talk to me."