gossip
The student who fainted was quickly taken to the hospital by ambulance, and the movie event was forced to end early. Teacher Li organized each class to gather, counted the number of students, and then announced that everyone was dismissed.
"It seems to be a female classmate. I wonder how serious the situation is?" The surrounding whispers were endless.
"It should be fine, the ambulance will arrive quickly," Gao Tong said. "It's still a bit of a shame that I didn't see the ending. I heard there was a bonus scene."
"Just go home and look it up online," someone laughed.
The students dispersed in twos and threes, discussing the movie plot and the unexpected situation. Liang An stood there, somewhat at a loss, the awkwardness lingering in his heart. He thought about saying goodbye to Ling Xiao and going straight home, but he also longed for his protection and didn't want to easily give up the opportunity to spend the weekend together.
“Liang An,” Ling Xiao walked to his side, “it’s still early, how about we go for a walk in the nearby park?”
Liang An looked up, saw the gentle expectation in Ling Xiao's eyes, and nodded.
It was late autumn; the sycamore leaves were turning yellow and falling, a gentle breeze bringing a chill. The two walked side by side on the path covered with fallen leaves, neither speaking for a moment.
"The movie today," Ling Xiao finally spoke, her voice soft, "I didn't finish watching it, but the beginning was very exciting."
"Mmm," Liang An responded, his heart starting to race again.
“You… I couldn’t help but want to discuss this with you several times. Do you think I’m too noisy?” Ling Xiao asked.
Liang An looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Is the popcorn in this movie theater just not good?" Ling Xiao stopped and turned to Liang An. "You seem tense, like you're a little unhappy. It shouldn't be the movie plot... Did I do something to upset you?"
Liang An shook his head, the embarrassing memories flooding back, his face turning bright red. At this moment, he wanted to be like an ostrich, burying his head and shutting out the whole world.
"What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" Ling Xiao's voice was soft, but every word was crystal clear.
“Ling Xiao, I…” Liang An mustered his courage and raised his head, but lost the ability to speak the moment he met Ling Xiao’s gaze. “I’m fine…”
Ling Xiao took a small step forward, shortening the distance between them. He couldn't help but raise his hands and cup Liang An's cheeks, his fingertips barely brushing the soft edge of her earlobe. "Are you disappointed because you didn't finish watching the movie? How about I go buy more tickets and we watch the movie together, just the two of us?"
Liang An felt his whole body burning up. He lowered his head, staring at a sycamore leaf on the ground, golden with brown spots, like an irregular heart. Ling Xiao's usually gentle eyes were unusually bright at this moment, reflecting the autumn sunlight and his own shadow, which made him feel very helpless. His fingertips curled up and trembled slightly, his throat was dry, and he couldn't make a sound.
Just then, a leaf drifted down and gently landed on Liang An's shoulder. Ling Xiao naturally reached out to brush it away, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a fragile treasure.
"It's okay if you don't want to watch," Ling Xiao continued. "Shall we go get some barbecue skewers together? I'm a little hungry."
"Tomorrow...is tomorrow okay?" Liang An finally freed himself from his inexplicable embarrassment and hurriedly said, "Let's watch the movie together tomorrow."
He still wanted to make the most of every opportunity to be alone with Ling Xiao.
"Of course, no problem." Ling Xiao's lips curved into a gentle smile, his eyes sparkling. "Want some more barbecue skewers?"
Liang An nodded, feeling as if his heart was soft and warm, like cotton warmed by the sun.
Ling Xiao didn't say anything more and continued to stroll side by side with Liang An along the park path, slowly walking towards the park exit, occasionally chatting about trivial topics—unfinished homework, next week's test, favorite music and books.
As night fell, the aroma of charcoal grilling still lingered in the air. Wooden skewers were casually piled in a tin bucket, mingling with the smoky scent of cumin and roasted meat. A cool evening breeze swept through the alleyway as Ling Xiao shielded Liang An from the wind and they walked side by side toward the bus stop.
"Beep, student card."
After the bus arrived at the stop, Ling Xiao took Liang An's wrist and got off the bus together. After they were steady on their feet, he gently let go of Liang An's hand to say goodbye, but then called out to him as Liang An turned around.
"Liang An".
Liang An turned around.
"You look especially handsome today!" Ling Xiao said with a smile, his ear tips slightly red.
Then he waved and walked in the opposite direction.
Liang An stood there, watching Ling Xiao's receding figure, feeling that the evening breeze was exceptionally gentle. A newfound sense of anticipation welled up within him, not just for tomorrow's movie, but for every future time he would spend with Ling Xiao outside of the film.
-----------------
On Monday morning, when Liang An stepped into the classroom, he was met with an unusual commotion. Instead of sitting properly in their seats, quietly reading from their books, the students were gathered in twos and threes, whispering to each other. Everyone had their heads down, and their eyes would occasionally meet, conveying some unspoken message.
Liang An glanced at Ling Xiao's seat but didn't see him. He walked to his seat, put down his bag, took out his books, and prepared for morning reading. His deskmate, Sheng Qing, sneakily returned to her seat, opened her book to cover her face, turned to Liang An, and whispered, "Have you heard about what happened in Class Three?"
Liang An looked at Sheng Qing with a puzzled and innocent expression.
"A beauty overload first thing in the morning, ah... I'm done for..." Sheng Qing exaggeratedly leaned to the side, but couldn't resist her gossipy nature and quickly cheered up, "Remember when we went to the movies together on Saturday? The girl from Class 3 who fainted and was taken to the hospital by ambulance, everyone's saying that she... is pregnant."
"Where did this rumor come from?" Liang An lowered his eyelids and asked softly.
"I don't know, everyone's talking about it. The girl in Class 3 is named Li Yuwen, and she didn't come to class today. It seems the news started spreading in her class over the weekend, and now almost the whole grade knows."
"Don't spread rumors without evidence; it's very damaging to you girls."
Sheng Qing awkwardly touched her nose. "I'm just telling you what I heard; I didn't spread rumors."
Liang An smiled gently at Sheng Qing, then opened his book and began his morning reading. He stared at the words, his thoughts gradually drifting away. In his second life, due to Wen Zhi's high-profile confession, he too had become the center of gossip, besieged by rumors. That feeling of being judged from a moral high ground when you've done nothing wrong was truly awful.
It was so bad that he even felt a throbbing headache. The ticking in his mind seemed to become more rapid, and he subconsciously looked at the bracelet on his left wrist. The dark gold plot progress bar suddenly jumped to 15%.
He suddenly looked up at the window and his gaze met Wen Zhi's smiling eyes. Wen Zhi seemed to be staring at him, and after receiving a response, he even raised his eyebrows happily.
Wen Zhi raised his hand, silently greeting Liang An, then put his hands in his pockets and strode towards Class 9.
"That big idiot..." Liang An sighed helplessly. He had such a pleasant weekend that he almost forgot about Wen Zhi, that jinx.
The rumors about Li Yuwen reignited Liang An's vigilance. Wen Zhi was uncontrollable, arrogant and narcissistic. In order to eliminate the risk of him confessing his feelings in public again, he had to be taught a profound lesson.
When the school bell rang at noon, Liang An quickly packed his schoolbag and rushed out of the classroom before the crowd, ignoring even Ling Xiao behind him.
He went around to a quiet alley behind the classroom, where few people passed by at noon, but Wen Zhi often came here at this time.
He waited for about ten minutes, and then Wen Zhi appeared on the path, head down, seemingly deep in thought.
The ticking sound instantly filled his mind, piercing and sharp. Liang An felt his breathing become labored, as if he had low blood sugar; his heart inexplicably raced, and his limbs began to feel weak.
Liang An bit his tongue hard, trying his best to control his body. He stepped out of the shadows and blocked Wen Zhi's path.
Wen Zhi looked up and saw Liang An. A joyful smile had just bloomed on his face, but before the curve of his lips could reach its full extent, a fist, accompanied by a sharp gust of wind, struck his cheek fiercely. The dull thud of knuckles hitting flesh exploded in his ears, and he was knocked to the side, his tongue tasting the metallic sweetness of rust.
Before he could react, he was struck hard in the abdomen again. Caught off guard, Wen Zhi cried out in pain and doubled over. Liang An grabbed his collar and shoved him against the concrete pillar behind him. His sleeve slid up, revealing a boning knife hidden in it, which he pressed against Wen Zhi's neck. His eyes were filled with icy killing intent, like a lurking beast finally breaking free of its shackles, as if it would tear apart everything in its path at any moment.
At that moment, Liang An truly felt a surge of murderous intent within him. The bracelet on his left wrist vibrated rapidly, its scalding heat seeming to burn him through. His vision began to blur, and sweat dripped from his forehead, but the grip on his wrist never loosened in the slightest.
“Listen, Wen Zhi, I hate it when you look at me, and I hate it even more when you come near me. If you dare to have any thoughts about me again, I will make you know what it means to wish you were dead.” Liang An emphasized each word, his voice seemingly floating up from the underworld, carrying a murderous ruthlessness.
Wen Zhi tried to struggle, but Liang An's gaze froze him. It wasn't the anger of an ordinary high school student, but something deeper and darker, like a murderous intent forged after experiencing true despair, as if a bloodthirsty demon was wrapped in his saintly exterior. The soaring ferocity traveled from Wen Zhi's eyes straight to the depths of his mind, scattering the seeds of fear into every corner.
“You…” Wen Zhi’s voice trembled, unable to utter a complete sentence.
Liang An's muscles began to spasm uncontrollably, and he knew he had to let go, or he would faint on the spot.
He threw the trembling Wen Zhi to the ground, gripped the boning knife, and looked down at him: "Remember what I said."
As he turned to leave, Liang An struggled to maintain a steady pace, enduring the throbbing pain in every nerve, until he reached a corner where Wen Zhi couldn't see him. He leaned against the wall, taking several deep breaths to barely maintain his balance.
Suddenly, I felt a warm, itchy sensation in my nose. I raised my hand to wipe it, and my fingertip was stained with a drop of bright red blood. The blood dripped down my nose and landed on the collar of my school uniform, spreading out in a small patch of dark red.
Liang An paused, raised his left wrist to look at the bracelet, and the dark gold plot indicator suddenly expanded to 20%.
This is the price of warning Wen Zhi.
Liang An took out a tissue from his pocket, quickly stopped the nosebleed, and walked towards the classroom without looking back.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com