When Qiao Lan and Bai Yu returned to the dormitory, Xiang Xiaohan was quarreling with another girl named Yan Mei.

Qiao Lan's dormitory had a total of eight people, but they could be divided into three or four small groups. Everyone lived under the same roof, but their closest friends were not necessarily from the same dormitory. There would be some friction every day.

However, it was rare for them to quarrel like this.

When Qiao Lan and Bai Yu entered the dormitory, there were two other girls in addition to the few people from the same dormitory. They were Xiang Xiaohan's friends from the first year of high school. It was said that not only were they in the same class, but they had known each other since junior high school, so they were very close.

Xiang Xiaohan often brought these two girls to the dormitory. After a few visits, Qiao Lan would nod and greet them.

Now that Xiang Xiaohan and Yan Mei were quarreling, the two girls looked embarrassed. Qiao Lan and Bai Yu listened for a while before they understood why they were quarreling.

The students who could enter Class 18 used to be the top students in their own classes. However, after these students entered the second year of high school, they were not necessarily the first or second place.

In the dormitory, Qiao Lan had the best grades. After all, she was ranked second. Xiang Xiaohan was the worst. Her grades were in the middle of Class 18, but she could still enter the top 200. Yan Mei and Bai Yu were about the same. Yan Mei was slightly better than Bai Yu.

However, Yan Mei was undoubtedly the most hardworking. She was comparable to Qiao Lan in the first year of high school.

Yan Mei studied in the classroom until the last time she came back. Every day, she would do some homework before going to bed. In the end, Xiang Xiaohan brought her back to the dormitory. The three of them chatted while eating melon seeds. Their voices were not low.

Xiang Xiaohan didn't have a good relationship with the others in the dormitory, so these two girls often came to Qiao Lan's dormitory. Usually, it was fine, but today Yan Mei was there. She couldn't concentrate because of the noise, so she asked Xiang Xiaohan to lower her voice. Xiang Xiaohan said something, and the two of them started quarreling.

When Qiao Lan and Bai Yu came back, the two of them had been quarreling for a long time. Xiang Xiaohan said that the dormitory excluded her and didn't even let her friends come. Yan Mei directly retorted Xiang Xiaohan, saying that she knew why she was excluded.

Xiang Xiaohan's face darkened.

Sometimes, Xiang Xiaohan really didn't understand. Ever since she came to this dormitory, she tried her best to build a good relationship with everyone, but in the end, no one appreciated it.

Yan Mei was probably angry with Xiang Xiaohan. Recently, she had been holding it in for a long time. Today, when she had time, she let it all out. She said that Xiang Xiaohan only knew how to talk nonsense with the boys in class. It was fine if it was in the classroom, but when she came back to the dormitory, she kept saying that she had nothing to do with the boys.

"It's fine if you can't do well in your studies, but you have to disturb others and make others follow you. I told you many times not to bring people from other classes to the dormitory. Can't you see that I'm studying?"

Xiang Xiaohan was also angry. She immediately mocked and ridiculed, "You work so hard every day, but your grades aren't that good. If you're so capable, you can be like Qiao Lan. You have tutoring every day, and you can get second place in the grade just by studying."

Qiao Lan, who had just walked in without saying a word, "…"

Xiang Xiaohan was gossiping behind people's backs. In the end, when she turned around, she saw Qiao Lan, who happened to come back. The scene was as awkward as it could be.

Xiang Xiaohan's face stiffened. With so many people looking at her, especially Qiao Lan, she suddenly remembered how Tan Mo took care of Qiao Lan in every possible way. However, she also remembered how coldly Tan Mo threatened her. Not only did she not feel guilty about being caught red-handed, but she also resented Qiao Lan even more. She flew into a rage out of humiliation and had a twisted mentality that everyone was bullying her. She said, "I've had enough." Then she left the dormitory directly.

After Xiang Xiaohan and her two classmates left, Bai Yu was speechless. "What did she have enough of?

I've had enough of her. "

They were all 16 or 17 years old, and everyone had the ability to distinguish between right and wrong. No matter how friendly Xiang Xiaohan was on the surface, there were too many instances of her gossiping behind people's backs.

They were all students of the elite class, and their minds were only filled with studying. Xiang Xiaohan was the only one who put her mind on finding out about other people's family situations and pleasing other boys every day.

Yan Mei and Xiang Xiaohan finally felt refreshed after their quarrel. She was not the least bit affected by Xiang Xiaohan's clumsy attempt to sow discord between them. However, she was a little confused and asked Qiao Lan, "Why did she suddenly mention you?"

"Who knows?" Bai Yu said, "She has been secretly picking on Qiao Lan for a long time. Does she really think that everyone is blind and can't see anything?"

"Qiao Lan, why is she always picking on you?"

"I don't know," Qiao Lan said. The others were also confused. Bai Yu was amused for a long time before she said, "Maybe she likes Hao Ying, so she's jealous of Qiao Lan …"

Qiao Lan frowned and did not say anything. She instinctively felt that this was not the case. When she recalled Xiang Xiaohan's words just now, she also mentioned Tan Mo's name while insulting her.

Qiao Lan was very sensitive to everything related to Tan Mo. Now that she thought about it, Xiang Xiaohan did mention Tan Mo a lot in the dormitory. She would often ask her about Tan Mo. Qiao Lan also distanced herself from Xiang Xiaohan because of Tan Mo. Xiang Xiaohan kept asking Qiao Lan about Tan Mo's family background.

Although everyone was curious about Tan Mo, no one was as interested in him as Xiang Xiaohan. Qiao Lan suddenly remembered the document that Tan Mo personally handed to Xiang Xiaohan that day. Xiang Xiaohan's expression changed after reading the document.

Tan Mo said that it was something that someone from another class wanted to give to Xiang Xiaohan, and he was only responsible for passing it to her. Qiao Lan did not think much about it at that time. When she thought about it later, she felt that there were many mistakes.

Tan Mo was never the kind of person who would take the initiative to pass things to others. Xiang Xiaohan became very frightened after reading the document. That fear was clearly directed at Tan Mo.

Therefore, something must have happened between Xiang Xiaohan and Tan Mo. No matter whether it was good or bad, Qiao Lan did not know.

Qiao Lan was not used to this and felt uncomfortable. Ever since she met Tan Mo, there had never been any secrets between them. But now, Tan Mo was hiding something from her.

This made Qiao Lan feel very uncomfortable.

It was not that she did not want Tan Mo to make friends with other people, but if this person was Xiang Xiaohan …

Qiao Lan suddenly felt uncertain. In the afternoon, Qiao Lan turned her head to look at Xiang Xiaohan, then turned back to ask Tan Mo in a low voice, "Tan Mo, do you not like it if we sit here?"

"No," Tan Mo said very decisively. He did not even think about it, which meant that he was telling the truth.

Qiao Lan heaved a sigh of relief. She thought for a while and asked again, "Do you think Bai Yu is better, or Xiang Xiaohan?"

Suddenly mentioning Xiang Xiaohan's name, Tan Mo's eyes flashed fiercely.

Tan Mo had never hated someone so much. He hated someone so much that he felt disgusted. He had never felt so disgusted with someone before.

However, he also did not like Bai Yu. This girl was Qiao Lan's best friend. She took away too much of Qiao Lan's attention and time.

However, if he had to choose one, Tan Mo was silent for a while and said, "Bai Yu."

Qiao Lan was relieved.

She did not want to take the initiative to ask Tan Mo what had happened between him and Xiang Xiaohan. As long as Tan Mo did not want to talk about it, Qiao Lan would not force him to talk about it.

After putting this matter to the back of her mind, Qiao Lan suddenly realized that Tan Mo's birthday was coming up.

Qiao Lan was half a year older than Tan Mo. Tan Mo's birthday was in October, while Qiao Lan's birthday was in July. Qiao Lan deliberately copied Aunt Chen and called Tan Mo "Mo Mo." Tan Mo did not allow her to call him that. Qiao Lan said, "I'm a few months older than you, so why can't I call you that?"

Tan Mo thought for a while in a daze, but he could not think of a reason to refute Qiao Lan. Qiao Lan was so adorable that she finally stopped bullying him for not copying Aunt Chen and calling him "Mo Mo."

Last year, on Tan Mo's birthday, Qiao Lan had just transmigrated here. Tan Mo was cold to her and did not say a word. Qiao Lan naturally did not know about Tan Mo's birthday.

Now, Tan Mo's birthday was coming up. Qiao Lan thought for a long time, but she could not think of a good gift to give Tan Mo.

Qiao Lan's vision was not very broad. Qiao Lan thought for a long time and felt that she was just a normal person. In the end, she decided to ask Tan Mo directly.

Tan Mo had already noticed that Qiao Lan was lying on the table. She was not reading or sleeping. She just had her eyes open and he did not know what she was thinking about.

What was she thinking about? Could there be a moment where her thoughts were related to him?

Even though Tan Mo had already seen through his extravagant hopes, he could not help but think that way. Even if it was just a little bit, it would be good. After all, Qiao Lan still did not know what he was thinking about. He still had a certain weight in her heart.

However, he did not expect her to turn around.

This was a self-study class. Everyone was studying. Qiao Lan lowered her voice and called out to him softly, "Tan Mo, your birthday is coming up soon."

Tan Mo was stunned.

He turned his head and met Qiao Lan's black eyes. His heart beat violently. He could not help but want to ask, "You've been in a daze all this time because you've been thinking about this?"

However, he did not dare to ask. Unexpectedly, Qiao Lan explained as if she had read Tan Mo's expression. "I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I can't think of a gift to give you. I can't afford an expensive one. I don't have the heart to give you a cheap one. In the end, I really couldn't think of anything, so I wanted to ask you directly. Is there anything you want?"

So she had been in a daze all this time because she had been thinking about this. Tan Mo's heart felt like it was being ironed.

Tan Mo suddenly felt that he had gone too far and was very greedy.

In the past, no one had cared about him or approached him. He had yearned for such a person one day. Then, Qiao Lan appeared. She had been so good to him. He should have been satisfied, but he could not control himself and wanted to get closer to her. He even wanted to take her for himself.

In fact, he should have been satisfied long ago. It was because he wanted too much and was too greedy. That was why his life was so painful.

Tan Mo shook his head and said, "I can't think of anything either."

He only wanted one thing, but it was an extravagant wish that he would never dare to say out loud. Tan Mo really could not think of anything else that he wanted.

"Then let's think about it slowly. When you think of something, tell me. When I think of something, I'll give you a surprise on your birthday," Qiao Lan said. She then added, "When you think of something, you must tell me as long as I can afford it."

You can't afford it.

Tan Mo thought.

I want your whole life. You don't have to give your whole life to someone like me.

However, Tan Mo still nodded and said, "Okay."

Qiao Lan smiled. Her eyebrows and eyes were curved. She still looked like she could make his heart beat faster. She took out her earphones from her bag and put them on to do her homework. After writing two lines, she glanced at Tan Mo and took off her earphones. She asked him, "Do you want it?"

Tan Mo was stunned.

… What … Do you want it?

Qiao Lan passed the earphones on her right ear to him. "Do you want to listen to music together? It's so noisy in class."

Tan Mo wanted to reach out to take it. Of course he wanted it, but he still said to Qiao Lan, "Listen to it yourself."

It would still be noisy with just one earphone.

Wasn't that simple?

Qiao Lan took out a pair of earphones from her bag. She had specially bought them because there was someone snoring in the dormitory.

Tan Mo lowered his head and looked at the snow-white fluffy little sponge ball. He reached out to take it.

The noise in the class was blocked out. He and Qiao Lan listened to the same song. It was as if only the two of them were in a space that no one else knew. They couldn't hear anything else. They could only hear the song that he had never heard before. The lyrics were clear and audible.

"I want to see you laugh, I want to play with you, I want to hold you in my arms … Do you know that the only thing I want …"

Tan Mo gently covered his heart. He suddenly thought of what he wanted for his birthday.

He couldn't afford to have her for his whole life. So, could he ask for a hug, just like the lyrics said?

Just once would be enough.