When I hadn't moved out of this city yet, Xiao P was my only friend at school.
At that time, I stayed in this city with my family for a year, so naturally I became a transfer student at the local school.
Xiao P and I became fast friends, not because our personalities were particularly compatible, but simply because Xiao P was my desk mate. Additionally, I discovered that Xiao P was the only person in the class who didn't bully other students. With these two factors combined, as a newcomer from another place, I naturally wanted to get to know Xiao P.
But I think you can guess the reason why Xiao P didn't bully other students. That's right, Xiao P was the one being bullied. Just like that old-school joke about eating, sleeping, and popping pimples.
But perhaps it was because there was an abundance of martial virtue in this class, or perhaps there wasn't enough martial virtue in this class, but every time someone bullied Xiao P, they would politely tell me:
"Can you please stand further away? We're afraid of accidentally hurting you."
I didn't understand, maybe it was because I was treated differently as an outsider.
I've asked Xiao P more than once why he was so lucky to be the only unlucky one in the class, but Xiao P never answered that question, he just calmly said:
"Because I'm different from them."
Every time I heard this sentence, I would fall into deep thought. I marveled at Xiao P's proud and independent spirit, and I also marveled at how, after thinking about it, I realized that Xiao P really seemed out of place in this class.
I have to say, Xiao P had a winning hand that everyone envied. Not to mention his superior appearance and material conditions, Xiao P was also top-notch in intelligence. In a two-hour math exam, Xiao P would always get full marks in just one hour. The only time it took longer was because someone threw all of Xiao P's answer sheets out the window. But even so, Xiao P, without the math score, still had a total score higher than second place, which was one point higher than me.
I often reflected on why I didn't make any progress being next to such an excellent person. The only time I didn't come in last place was when I peeked at Xiao P's paper. But thanks to technology changing our lives, the school later installed new surveillance cameras during exams, so I never did well again.
But my friend Xiao P's evaluation of this was:
"I envy you too, being able to live an ordinary life."
Xiao P even had a high emotional intelligence when he made sarcastic remarks.
But Xiao P did help me a lot, including but not limited to telling me to run when I threw the leftover sodium metal from the experiment into the drain. I was very grateful for that.
I often brought Xiao P home for dinner because I noticed that Xiao P's lunchbox always had curry rice, and this curry rice would often be spat on by others.
The other students in the class would bully Xiao P an average of three times a day, and that's how the day would pass. And after being bullied by Xiao P nearly a thousand times, it was time for the college entrance examination.
Before leaving school, Xiao P invited me to have dinner at his house. I patted Xiao P on the shoulder and said with deep meaning:
"You finally understand, if you don't take me back, I'm going to leave."
Xiao P smiled, it was the first time I saw Xiao P smile.
In my understanding, Xiao P should live in a villa with a housekeeper taking care of everything. The reason I formed this understanding was because Xiao P always wore brand-name shoes that I had only seen in advertisements and used pens that cost thousands of dollars. But this understanding shattered when I went to Xiao P's house, like instant noodle crumbs.
Where Xiao P lived couldn't be described as luxurious, but it could be called bare. The only thing I thought was valuable was a large iron door connecting the inside and outside of the house.
"Are you afraid that I'll steal your money?" I couldn't help but ask.
"This is really where I live, although it's a bit simple."
A moment of silence.
"Then where did you get those shoes and pens?" I couldn't help but ask again.
"I teach rich kids, and they reward me."
"Reward?"
"That's how they define this behavior."
Another moment of silence.
"Then what about that big iron door at your house..." I couldn't help but ask again.
"Let's eat first, you'll find out soon."
Xiao P got up and brought out two packs of instant curry and poured them into bowls in front of us. It was obvious that this was the same curry I saw in his lunchbox every day.
Silence grew even more profound.
Soon, I heard knocking at the door, accompanied by noisy voices outside.
I was about to get up and open the door when Xiao P stopped me.
"No need to open it. But if you're curious, you can go take a look."
I was puzzled and looked through the peephole on the iron door.
There was a group of people whose faces couldn't be clearly seen. They were banging on the iron door like zombies, cursing Xiao P inside the house.
"What are they doing?"
"I don't know. I don't know them, but they know me. At first, when only one person came, my door could keep them out. But as more and more people came, I sold everything in the house and bought this iron door. It's quite sturdy, just not soundproof."
Xiao P sat there calmly eating curry rice, showing no emotional fluctuations. It was clear that Xiao P had long grown accustomed to this.
"Why don't you call the police? They can definitely catch these people." I said indignantly.
"One person, ten people, they can catch. But what about a hundred?" Xiao P looked up and stared into my eyes.
I was speechless.
After finishing the meal, I prepared to leave.
"Study well, go to Peking University, and I'll go to Peking University Qingniao. We both have a bright future."
"Come visit me when you have time." Xiao P said to me, a hint of sadness in his eyes.
"Sure, my house is close by, I can even ride a shared bike here." I reassured him.
Xiao P opened the iron door, and the people outside had already dispersed.
We hugged each other as a farewell.
I moved away from this city, and the next time I heard news about Xiao P was after he received his college entrance exam scores, he jumped from the 25th floor.
As one of the few people who had contact with Xiao P before his death, the police came looking for me. In the police station lobby, an officer handed me a notebook written by Xiao P. The notebook was thin, with just a few pages, and Xiao P used those pages to record the year we spent together.
It was only after that that I learned that the reason Xiao P became the unlucky one was exactly as he had said. In that school, Xiao P was too outstanding compared to everyone else, and no one would believe that such an outstanding person achieved it on their own, so they desperately wanted Xiao P to reveal some so-called secrets.
And those people outside the iron door were probably similar to the people in the school. They saw Xiao P frequently entering and leaving those hidden courtyards and apartments, so naturally they saw Xiao P as a traitor, like a thief. But what's darkly humorous is that what they were most furious about was actually hating that Xiao P didn't achieve a share of the spoils.
I felt a sense of sorrow, and after thanking the police, I headed home. Along the way, I noticed that people around me were looking at me with unfriendly eyes.
I didn't understand until I saw the heavy iron door from Xiao P's house appear at my doorstep.