Chapter 64 P - Strange
Xing Yu lowered his eyes, his gaze lingering on Chu Beiling's face for a moment before quickly shifting away, staring blankly at the sea of dark heads in front of him.
She paused for a moment before replying, "It's nothing."
Chu Beiling slightly raised her eyes and looked up at Xing Yu's sharply defined jawline. Seeing his awkward expression, as if he was unwilling to answer, she simply nodded and did not intend to ask any further questions.
I don't know why—
Chu Beiling had a vague feeling that if he pressed for answers, his peaceful life with Xing Yu would be shattered in an instant.
He didn't want it to be like that.
The two buses carrying art students from Xigao stopped at the service area for more than ten minutes. They ate something there and then continued on their way to the training base.
After getting out of the car and taking some fresh air, Chu Beiling took the motion sickness medicine that Xing Yu had bought at the service area. For the second half of the journey, Chu Beiling's motion sickness symptoms lessened considerably, and she felt much better.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, they arrived at their destination as the sky was ablaze with rosy clouds, which came from the edge of the blue sky, swept overhead, and headed toward the mountains where the sun was setting.
Chu Beiling took down his art supplies box and luggage, stretched his muscles, and sighed, "We're finally here. If we hadn't arrived, I would have been ruined."
Xu Tunan glanced at him and said with a smile, "It's no good for a man to be so physically weak."
Chu Beiling kicked him in the calf, about to swear, but then caught Xing Yu's sharp gaze out of the corner of her eye, and instantly swallowed the curse, replacing it with a gentle "Get out of my way."
Xu Tunan was overjoyed: "Just as brine cures tofu, there's a natural enemy of Chu Fanfan." He mischievously said, "Since you listen to Xing Yu so much, why don't you just marry him? I'll give you a huge red envelope as a gift from your family."
Chu Beiling's face flushed red instantly, his body burning hot as if he had just come out of a sauna. He secretly glanced at Xing Yu and said to Xu Tunan, "Hu Tutu, are you looking for death?"
Seventeen or eighteen-year-old boys can be incredibly reckless when they're being cheeky, doing whatever they want to get themselves killed.
What's more, Chu Beiling is so funny to tease. They would tease him all the time, and Chu Beiling would never really get angry. It was hilarious to see him get all flustered.
Xu Tunan, twirling his crayon Shin-chan waist, continued his provocation: "Come and hit me if you dare!"
Chu Beiling gritted his teeth, put down his luggage and art supplies case, rolled up his sleeves, and prepared to beat someone up. "Hu Tutu, if I don't beat you to a pulp today, I'll change my surname to yours."
Xu Tunan turned to run, but Xing Yu grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back. Then Xing Yu gestured with his chin at Chu Beiling and said, "Go ahead and beat him up. He can't escape for now."
Xu Tunan: "..."
Chu Beiling loosened her muscles and walked up to him with a smile: "Hu Tutu, you're in my hands now."
He reached out and choked Xu Tunan, pinning her in mid-air. "How could such a dedicated matchmaker not consider her own marriage? Tomorrow I'll marry you off to the old man who sells tofu on the street, and give you 500 catties of pork as a dowry. I wish you happiness."
Xu Tunan raised his hand and tapped him; "Chu Fanfan, that's not right of you. If I'm going to marry, I'll marry the newly crowned Best Actor Tan Zui. The old man on the street isn't good enough for me." He laughed: "I'll wait for you to introduce the newly crowned Best Actor Tan Zui."
Chu Beiling released his grip and kicked him far away: "You really dare to think that way."
Xu Tunan, unconcerned, dusted himself off and shamelessly hooked his arm around Chu Beiling's neck, saying, "Of course." He continued his reckless act, "After the training camp ends, I'll marry Tan Zui, and you'll marry Xing Yu. We'll get married together, how about that?"
Seventeen or eighteen is the age when they're like mad dogs. For them, it's perfectly normal to be cheeky and provoke others. They can joke around and insult each other however they want. If they're close, they'll just play around and move on without taking it to heart.
But this time, facing Xu Tunan's unrestrained jokes, Chu Beiling felt a strange feeling that was hard to describe.
After thinking about it carefully, he still couldn't figure out why.
A strange sense of irritation welled up inside Chu Beiling, and she suppressed her smile, removing Xu Tunan's hand from her neck. Her voice turned cold: "Xu Tunan, you're not allowed to say that again, understand?"
Xu Tunan was taken aback by Chu Beiling's sudden change of expression; he had never imagined that Chu Beiling would actually get angry.
In the past, when people joked about him and Xing Yu, Chu Beiling would at most get a little angry, but nothing would actually happen.
Xu Tunan was about to ask the reason when Chu Beiling, looking like she'd rather die than ask, agreed: "Okay, I won't tell you."
The moment Chu Beiling's gaze fell upon him, Xing Yu looked away from him.
Chu Beiling felt somewhat fortunate for some reason, as Xing Yu had been talking to Li Dong and hadn't heard Xu Tunan's nonsense.
A biting north wind blew by, causing Xing Yu's clothes to flutter. Chu Beiling watched as Xing Yu unscrewed the bottle of steaming ice water and drank half of it. In the desolate afterglow of the setting sun, he turned his head and continued talking to Li Dong.
The cold air has been moving south these past two days, and the weather forecast says that we will encounter a strong cold wave, the likes of which are rare in the last ten years, in the coming week. Today the temperature is already close to zero, and the temperature in the mountains will only be lower.
On such a cold day, Chu Beiling actually felt that he needed ice water to cool down.
He didn't get to drink the ice water after all. Buses and cars kept coming in through the base gate, and batches of art students were placed in the square in front of the teaching building. Soon, the view was filled with a dark mass of people.
They were not the only ones who came to the training base this time; there were also art students from Hangzhou No. 7 High School and scattered art students from various middle schools in the province. Under the guidance of their instructors, they stood in line under the corresponding signs as required.
The instructor handed a stack of envelopes to a few people in the first row and asked them to pass them around: "Everyone, put your phone in the envelope, write your name on it, and seal it. Students from Xigao and Hangqi should place their phones in the boxes corresponding to their school and class in front of them, and students from other schools should place their phones in the boxes corresponding to their own school and class. Remember the markings, and come to the academic affairs office to pick them up after the training camp."
The words had barely left his mouth when everyone let out a splitting scream: "Ah—!"
The supervising teacher was used to the students' reactions and didn't take it to heart. Instead, he dropped an even bigger bombshell: "All art supplies and luggage will go through the security checkpoint."
Not only that, but the people in the front row also saw several teachers holding metal detectors, standing expressionless behind the metal detector gate, looking as if they were determined to prevent even a mosquito from flying through.
Upon arriving at the base, the group of boys and girls from Xigao High School immediately gained a deep understanding of what 7S management is all about.
Under such rigorous scrutiny, no one can escape.
The art class at Xigao High School is very free. According to the students in the academic classes, they can do whatever they want in the school. As long as they don't do anything too outrageous or break school rules, the school will generally turn a blind eye and only give verbal reminders without actually taking any action. It can be said that they are quite lenient.
The spoiled teenagers at West High School were furious. They were there for intensive training, not for labor camps. Was it really necessary to make such a fuss?!
Despite their displeasure, the group of boys and girls from West High School obediently complied.
After everyone handed in their phones, their luggage and art supplies went through security, and they were scanned by metal detectors, a group of teachers, who were eager to help, finally let them go to their dormitories.
The base isn't very big, and it's divided into two areas: a study area and a living area. Classes are usually held in the teaching building in front of us. After checking the accommodation arrangements on the bulletin board, students who know each other go to the dormitory building in twos and threes.
Logically, since Xigao and Hangqi came to the training camp as school classes, the base should have arranged them together. However, this was not done in fact, and everyone was randomly assigned to the base dormitory.
The eight-person dormitories are two more people than those at Xigao High School, making them more crowded. There is no lights-out policy at night, and there are few restrictions on electricity and hot water use. However, the schedule and base rules are much stricter than those at Xigao High School.
Chu Beiling and Xing Yu were not assigned to the same dormitory; their roommates were all art students from other schools whom they did not know.
The only one Chu Beiling recognized was Xiao Jueqi from Class 12 of Xing Yu's dormitory, with whom she switched dorm rooms.
Unfortunately, Xiao Qi was assigned to the lower bunk, and Chu Beiling felt awkward about switching to the upper bunk with someone she didn't know.
However—
The location was also good; Xing Yu was in the lower bunk opposite him, and he could see him as soon as he turned around, as could Chu Beiling.
The training base didn't require participants to bring their own bedding, but Xing Yu disliked that the base's beds were unclean because many people had used them, so he not only brought his own four-piece bedding set but also helped Chu Beiling bring hers.
Xing Yu then put the soft four-piece bedding set he had brought into Chu Beiling's bed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone next to me staring at the lower bunk with an indescribable expression, still munching on an apple as if supervising someone's work—
Xing Yu looked up at him and said, "How about I switch with you?"
"Forget it, you're a germaphobe, it'll be even more uncomfortable for you to sleep on the lower bunk." He could barely manage to sleep on the lower bunk, but if Xing Yu had to sleep on the lower bunk, he'd probably explode.
Xing Yu was still worried: "Can you sleep on the lower bunk?"
Chu Beiling tossed the apple core in her hand into the trash can: "It's nothing."
The boy in the opposite bunk glanced at them and continued organizing his luggage.
After making Chu Beiling's bed, Xing Yu took out a four-piece bedding set from his luggage and returned to his own upper bunk.
Chu Beiling and Xing Yu wasted some time changing dorm rooms and changed four sets of bedding themselves. By this time, everyone else in the dorm had finished getting ready and went out to the cafeteria for dinner. Now there were only three people in the dorm.
After tidying up, the boy on the lower bunk opposite Chu Beiling sat on the bed and started playing on his phone without leaving.
Although it was a bit impolite, Chu Beiling couldn't help but glance at him a couple more times. The boy opposite him noticed his gaze, looked up at him, and raised an eyebrow slightly: "What's wrong?"
Then, he couldn't help but glance at Xing Yu, who was stepping onto the middle step of the stairs and preparing to get out of bed.
Chu Beiling asked curiously, "They're so strict about checking cell phones at the entrance, how did you get it in?"
The boy opposite laughed: "Is this your first time here? There's a wall that's a bit broken at the west gate of the base. Go around it before you come, stuff your phone and bag through the opening, and then the teacher won't be able to find them when you come back. A lot of people do this, and then hand over the spare phone."
Chu Beiling gave him a thumbs up: "You guys are awesome."
The boy laughed, "That's called 'the devil is always one step ahead,' there's always a way." He raised his eyes and asked, "My name is Su Beichen, what's yours?"
Thinking of the male protagonist in the romance novel whose name was Su Beichen that they read aloud in class during their first-year history class, Chu Beiling couldn't help but chuckle. Then she looked at him apologetically, "Chu Beiling," and asked, "How come you're so experienced?"
Li Beichen said very frankly and with a host's air, "This is your second time. You failed the cultural subject last time."
Chu Beiling was momentarily speechless, but Su Beichen shrugged indifferently and said, "It's nothing, just one more time." He was always very outgoing: "Are you from Xi'an High School or Hangzhou No. 7 High School?"
Chu Beiling: "Xigao."
Su Beichen nodded knowingly: "Then you'll come again next year."
Chu Beiling: "Okay, come here first and get used to the training camp life."
Xing Yu walked over to Chu Beiling's side, sat down beside him, and without saying a word, took out his sketchbook and began to practice sketching figures. Chu Beiling didn't think much of it and naturally placed his hand on Chu Beiling's thigh, rubbing it back and forth.
The two were shoulder to shoulder and leg to leg, looking intimate and natural.
Su Beichen raised an eyebrow and then said, "You two are also..." a pair.
He hadn't finished speaking.
Xu Tunan, who liked to visit other dorms, stepped into their room amidst the noise and shouted loudly as soon as he entered: "Damn, the dorms at the training base are really close together. I thought the teachers at our school were big enough, but I didn't expect the teachers at the base to be even bigger."
He rambled on, "Aren't our male privacy private too?!"
The Xigao Art Class has its own small campus. The student apartments are different from those of other classes. They are a mixed-use building, with the first to third floors for girls and the fourth to seventh floors for boys.
There are usually iron gates blocking the way, and the two doors from the third floor to the fourth floor are guarded by teachers from the logistics department. They have no chance and cannot sneak into each other's dormitories. Since boys and girls live in the same building, it doesn't affect each other too much.
But the base is different. The two dormitory buildings are close to each other, and the girls' dormitory corridor can see what the boys' dormitory terrace and the people inside are doing.
"Really?" Chu Beiling asked in surprise.
Xu Tunan nodded, "Yes, that's what one of my roommates, a senior who's repeating a year, said."
Speak of the devil, and he appears; the senior student he just mentioned who was repeating a year of high school has also come over. Xu Tunan turned around to look.
Social butterfly Hu Tutu already knew everyone's name in the dormitory at the base, and greeted them warmly and naturally: "Brother Chenzhi, what brings you here too?"
Shen Zhi gestured with his chin towards Li Beichen: "I'm here to find someone." Then he asked, "Are you ready?"
Su Beichen nodded, put his phone in his pocket, and said, "Let's go." He then turned back to them and said, "You guys need to hurry, or there won't be any food left. Although the food here is terrible, it'll still be gone if you go too late."
Chu Beiling nodded. "Thanks, we'll go right away."
Xu Tunan continued speaking only after the person had walked away.
He lamented, "I'm in crisis now. There are three students in my dorm who are repeating a year. Some failed the academic exams, while others failed the college entrance exams or joint entrance exams. There's also one student who's determined to get into the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and this is his fourth time trying."
Chu Beiling has always respected painting and never thought it was a simple thing. So she has never expressed her opinion on Xu Tunan's attitude of studying art just to make the college entrance examination easier, or told him to take it seriously.
He's generally too lazy to offer his opinions on things that aren't very useful, and he's never been one to try and convince others what to do.
Young Master Chu found it troublesome.
On the contrary, Xing Yu, who didn't care much about the lives of others, would patiently tell Xu Tunan every time he was treated with this attitude: "It's not too late to be serious and make choices now. This matter is never simple. Don't underestimate any art."
"Are you really planning to go to the Central Academy of Fine Arts?" Xu Tunan asked again.
They both nodded at the same time.
Chu Beiling shrugged: "The most prestigious university that art students aspire to attend, there isn't a single art student who doesn't want to go there."
Xu Tunan sighed: "Compared to you guys, I really have no goals. Maybe I should go study animation too."
He was getting tired from standing for a long time. Each floor of the dormitory building had two art studios and a lounge area, but the dorm rooms didn't have tables and chairs. Xu Tunan didn't know the other people, so he didn't feel comfortable sitting on their beds.
Xu Tunan was about to sit down on Chu Beiling's bed to continue speaking when Chu pushed him away: "What are you doing?"
Chu Beiling warned, "You are not allowed to sit on my bed."
Xu Tunan glanced at Xing Yu, who was sitting on his bed, and clicked his tongue several times: "We're all friends, but you're treating me differently, aren't you? We can't be friends anymore."
Chu Beiling: "..."
Xu Tunan was extremely curious, both just now and now: "Chu Fanfan, I've never seen you react with such surprise to anything related to Xing Yu before."
It would have been better if Xu Tunan hadn't mentioned it, because once he did, Young Master Chu belatedly realized that Xing Yu was sitting on his bed.
He didn't feel there was any problem at all. Most importantly, he had completely forgotten when Xing Yu had casually sat on his bed.
He clearly resisted anyone else getting into his bed or invading any territory that belonged to him alone.
Chu Beiling's Adam's apple bobbed, and as she stared at Xu Tunan, her heart skipped a beat. A strange emotion flashed through her mind, but before she could grasp the reason for it, it vanished completely.
It will be even harder to catch up now.
All he knew was that he had no way of explaining why Xing Yu could do it, but his friend Xu Tunan couldn't.
And even a joke that wasn't really a joke just now, and I suddenly became overly sensitive and inexplicably irritable and angry.
Xing Yu glanced sideways, pursed his lips, and silently watched Chu Beiling, who seemed somewhat at a loss and was biting his lip until it bled. A bitter lump seemed to be stuck in his throat.
He could only watch helplessly as the lump slowly grew larger, unable to change the fact that the pain was intensifying.
Li Dong told him, "Why don't you just tell Chu Beiling that you've taken things a step further? If you don't want to say anything, then tell him to stay away from you and not to come up to you without any scruples."
But what can we do?!
He was a little greedy; he didn't want Chu Beiling to be far away from him, and preferred that she stay with him all the time.
As for further—
Of course he wanted to take things further with him, but what if taking that step led to an abyss?
Xing Yu was unwilling to lose Chu Beiling, so he dared not take the risk of speaking out directly.
So this is good.
The incandescent light bulb emitted a slight hum, and apart from that, there was only the sound of soft breathing. Although Xu Tunan was carefree and loved to talk nonsense, he was still a perceptive person. Sensing that the atmosphere between the two was not right, he quickly changed the subject: "Fine, if they don't want to, they don't want to."
He raised his hand to look at his watch: "It's about time. Let's go down and meet up with Shengxia and the others."
Formal classes start tomorrow. Tonight they had an opening ceremony, but it wasn't anything special. The instructor had the class monitor hand out a base handbook to them, and then simply talked about what was in the handbook. It was clear they were going to be very busy with classes, class assignments, and other important information.
The instructor was rambling on the podium, while Chu Beiling sat below, listening absentmindedly and not joining the conversation and laughter of the people around her.
They called him but he didn't react much, and he didn't notice at all that Xing Yu was looking over from time to time, which is something that would normally be easy to detect.
For an hour and a half, Chu Beiling was lost in thought about what had just happened. Every time he managed to untangle a little bit of the tangled mess, he would feel inexplicably annoyed.
Then he angrily interrupted, unwilling and afraid to think about it further.
After class, the five of them went back to their dormitory together. Chu Beiling still couldn't figure it out, and as she walked, she gradually fell far behind them.
Xing Yu deliberately slowed down to wait for him to catch up. Instead of asking him what he had been thinking about all night, he quietly followed beside him and walked slowly along the moonlit road.
Chu Beiling glanced sideways and saw that under the bright moonlight, Xing Yu's eyes were tinged with a silvery-white, giving him a somewhat shockingly desolate look.
Perhaps sensing his gaze, Xing Yu turned to look at him.
Chu Beiling quickly made an excuse, saying, "Come with me to the base's convenience store to buy some food. My stomach is a little upset from hunger."
He was making excuses, and he really did have stomach cramps.
Xing Yu nodded, said something to the three people walking ahead, and then turned with Chu Beiling towards the convenience store.
This indescribable emotional state lasted for two days.
However, Chu Beiling's stubbornness wasn't the only bad habit. When faced with something he couldn't solve or accept, he liked to bury his face in the sand like an ostrich.
If he couldn't figure it out, he simply stopped thinking about it. Even if danger lurked around him, he would deceive himself and pretend he couldn't see or know anything.
However, he hasn't been in a good mental state these past two days, as the training camp classes run from 7:30 in the morning to 11:00 at night.
Chu Beiling was already sensitive to different beds, and sleeping in the oppressive lower bunk made him even more uncomfortable.
He felt that the reddish-brown wooden board was about to open its bloody maw and bite him at any moment. He was so nervous that he didn't get a good rest for two days in a row, and he would wrap himself in the quilt and tremble at night.
The next day, I went to the classroom with dark circles under my eyes, feeling incredibly sleepy. I was dozing off and relied entirely on muscle memory to continue drawing.
On the third day, Xing Yu finally couldn't help but pull back his blanket and, with a "what the hell" attitude, said, "Chu Beiling..." We were about to say a few words, but after seeing the person trembling on the bed, he instantly couldn't say anything.
Xing Yu sighed: Just as he was wondering how to bring it up—
Chu Beiling reached out and grabbed his hand: "Can I sleep in the upper bunk with you?"
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