coward
The summer wind, wrapped in the chirping of cicadas, came in through the half-open window, carrying the light green scent of the evergreen trees beside the playground, and settled into the ringing of the monthly exam bell that had just stopped. The classroom was filled with the mixed smell of ink and eraser crumbs - the erasers of the girls in the front row were punctured with tiny holes by their pencils, and the draft papers of the boys in the back row were crumpled up and stuffed into the belly of the desk. The air was filled with a loose and stagnant feeling. The head teacher Zhou Yu came in quickly with the lesson plan in his arms, his heels tapping on the ground: "The grade group is going to mark the papers, and you can arrange the last two classes yourself. The discipline committee will be watching." He glanced at the USB flash drive in Ji Jiancheng's hand and added: "Don't disturb the neighbors, keep your noise down."
When the head teacher's footsteps merged with the chirping of cicadas, Ji Jiancheng immediately jumped up, spinning the USB drive at his fingertips: "Play "The Grudge"! The high-definition version, anyone who doesn't dare is a coward!" The classroom instantly exploded - the boys slammed the table and made a noise, Wang Hao threw off his school uniform and shouted "Let's play it!" The girls gathered together to complain, and Chen Qitang frowned at his deskmate: "What if the head teacher comes back suddenly?" Li Huaizhou was too lazy to get involved. He draped his soap-scented school uniform over his arm, curled up on the table, and muttered to his deskmate Xie Mo: "Are you annoying? I'm going to sleep." The ending tone was filled with the dull feeling of not waking up.
Li Huaizhou had long been accustomed to Xie Mo's quietness. Her shoulder-length hair was tied in a low ponytail with the same off-white hair tie, leaving the ends of her hair naturally curled and swaying gently with her breathing. Her fingertips were half a degree cooler than those of ordinary people. The last time he borrowed a pen, he touched it and subconsciously withdrew his hand, as if touching a piece of ice glass. When he turned the pages of the book, there was only a "rustling" sound, far less than the "clattering" sound of the boy in the front row turning the pages. Li Huaizhou mostly slept in class. When he half-opened his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Xie Mo's profile as he wrote - his eyelashes drooped, casting a light shadow, and the tip of the pen traced the arc of the draft paper very lightly.
Just as he was dozing off, a rustling sound came from the podium, mixed with the sound of candy wrappers. Li Huaizhou lifted the corner of his coat and squinted his eyes, seeing the discipline committee member Zhao Xiyue squatting on the ground picking up candies. The milky white snow pear milk candies were scattered all over the ground, and the candy wrappers were shining. He knew at a glance that they were Xie Mo's. "I'm sorry, Xie Mo..." Zhao Meng's voice was weak, and her hands were shaking. "I didn't mean to." She stared at Xie Mo, her ears red - Xie Mo's face was gloomy when he was quiet, which always made people a little scared, but he usually had this expression, and it was unknown whether he was angry or not.
Xie Mo had just returned from the corridor to get some water, clutching his thermos cup, with drops of water dripping from the rim onto the ground. He paused, nodded, and bent down to pick up the candy - Li Huaizhou had seen this many times, he did this when taking out candy or writing, his fingertips hooked on the rubber band, moving slowly. Li Huaizhou sat up inexplicably, his sleepiness mostly gone, and seeing the candy that had rolled to the foot of the table and was covered in dust, he reached out to pick it up, and as soon as his fingertips touched the candy wrapper, they collided with Xie Mo's hand. The coolness of Xie Mo's fingertips rubbed against his fingertips, like a cool leaf, and he withdrew his fingertips before Li Huaizhou could react, and the back of his neck turned red.
"You're so nagging about picking up a candy," Li Huaizhou was inexplicably annoyed, kicking the candy wrapper at his feet, "Zhao Xiyue didn't do it on purpose, why are you being so rude?" He was stunned when he said it himself. Xie Mo clearly didn't show any rudeness, and Li Huaizhou knew that this person was always the same, but his heart was like a tangled mess. Xie Mo didn't say anything, but he squeezed the candy tightly and stuffed it into the silver tin box. The rubber band loosened, and his hair fell down to cover his eyes.
"Pick it up quickly, don't delay the movie," Li Huaizhou urged again. Xie Mo closed the candy box, gathered his hair, and returned to his seat. His elbow accidentally rubbed Li Huaizhou's forearm, and a chill swept over him. Li Huaizhou moved aside: "Your hands are so cold, why don't you put them in your pockets? They're freezing to death." Xie Mo didn't say anything, put the candy box on the corner of the table with a light "click", and opened the Chinese textbook to the ancient poetry page.
Not long after, Ji Jiancheng turned off the lights, leaving only the large screen with a cold light. The title of "The Grudge" popped up, and the cold background music "buzzed". The girls in the back row immediately huddled together. Chen Qitang was relatively brave. Li Huaizhou frowned and looked up, and saw that Xie Mo's back was not straight as usual, and his hands were gripping the corner of the table. Suddenly, a ghost face popped up on the large screen, and a harsh sound effect exploded. The classroom was filled with ups and downs, and even the boys hissed. Li Huaizhou felt his arm being touched lightly, like a feather brushing against it. Turning around, he saw Xie Mo shrinking towards him, her ponytail brushing against the sleeves of her school uniform, bringing a touch of coolness to her hair, and her breathing was lighter than usual.
"I'm a little scared... Can you please not sleep?"
The voice was weak, light and trembling, with a hint of dependence at the end. Li Huaizhou was about to yell, "Coward, don't touch me if you're afraid," but he swallowed the words back at his lips - Xie Mo's ears were red, from the tip to the base of his ears as if they were burned. His eyelashes drooped but he glanced at the big screen from time to time, his elbow still rubbing against his forearm, and the coolness penetrated through two layers of school uniform, but he didn't hate it.
"Hey, turn up the backlight a little!" Li Huaizhou raised his head and kicked Ji Jiancheng's chair in the front row. Ji Jiancheng was so engrossed in watching that he turned on the small desk lamp on the corner of the table. The dim light spread across the desk, diluting the coldness of the big screen and illuminating Xie Mo's red ears more clearly. Xie Mo moved closer to Li Huaizhou, his shoulder almost touching his arm, and his fingers hooked into his palm. He was wearing a short-sleeved school uniform, and his exposed wrist was very white, and the fine blood vessels could be seen. Xie Mo whispered, holding a snow pear and milk-flavored lollipop, "Do you want to eat it?"
Li Huaizhou was silent for a moment before finally taking the candy. He unwrapped it, rubbed it, and put it in his mouth. The sweet taste of pear mixed with the mellow milk slid down his throat, and his heart, which had been disturbed by the cicadas and the sound effects, slowly calmed down. "Coward," he muttered, his voice softening. He didn't push Xie Mo away, and Xie Mo didn't refute him. He put the candy in his mouth and pushed the candy box to the middle of the table. The lid of the box was not closed tightly, and a bunch of lollipops could be seen piled together inside. He stared at the big screen but didn't look into it. When the sound effects were harsh, his shoulders trembled slightly, and he subconsciously leaned towards Li Huaizhou.
The image of Kayako climbing the stairs popped up, and the boys in the back row fell silent. Li Huaizhou didn't want to sleep anymore, and quietly moved the chair so that Xie Mo could lean back more comfortably. He could feel Xie Mo's shoulders trembling slightly. When he was frightened by the ghost face, he would subconsciously grab the sleeve of his school uniform. The coolness of his fingertips penetrated the fabric, but he was so light that he didn't want to disturb him, and he would let go as soon as he grabbed it. Under the dim table light, Xie Mo's drooping eyelashes were like a small fan, and his soft hair occasionally rubbed against his arm, making it itchy; his breathing slowly became steady, with only a slight pause when he was startled by the sound effects. Li Huaizhou chewed the candy, the sweetness faded, but his heart was warm, as if he had a piece of candy that had just been warmed up. After an unknown amount of time, the sound of "thump thump" of high heels came from the corridor, mixed with the voices of Sister Zhou and other teachers. Li Huaizhou quickly pushed Xie Mo's arm: "The head teacher is back." Xie Mo was silent for a moment and didn't let go
"Pack up and dismiss," the homeroom teacher said, casually turning on the lights. The light dispelled the chill and fear. She scanned the classroom, her gaze pausing at the table where Li Huaizhou and Xie Mo sat together—their chairs were close together, Xie Mo's arm still pressed against Li Huaizhou's sleeve, the edge of the candy box visible from the corner of the table—but she said nothing more, simply pointing to the blackboard: "Bring your notebook for your mistakes tomorrow. We'll be covering the monthly exam in math class."
The classroom suddenly became lively. Ji Jiancheng turned off the big screen and muttered, "How did it go so fast?" Zhao Xiyue cleared the snack bag on the podium and put the candies she had found into Xie Mo's candy box. Chen Qitang came over and patted Li Huaizhou's arm and laughed, "Brother Zhou, I didn't realize you were protecting Xie Mo." Li Huaizhou's face flushed and he quickly pushed Xie Mo away, "Who's protecting him? He came over here on his own." As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Xie Mo lower his head, took out the candy box, and held a lollipop to his hand. "Here you are," his voice was soft, with a hint of panic, but serious.
Li Huaizhou didn't take it and pushed the candy box back: "You keep it for yourself, I don't want it." He paused and added, "Coward, don't watch horror movies next time" Xie Mo said "hmm" softly
The two walked out side by side. The evening breeze was wrapped in the chirping of cicadas, carrying the smell of leaves and the coolness of the evening. Xie Mo's ponytail was blown by the wind, making his hair itch. "Watch your way," Li Huaizhou said in a harsh tone, but he slowed down his pace and walked side by side with Xie Mo. Xie Mo did not refute, but leaned towards him. His ponytail brushed across his wrist, and he said "hmm" softly, with a soft warmth in his voice. The two did not speak. Their shadows were stretched long by the setting sun and overlapped, quietly warming the summer evening after the monthly exam.
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