Chapter 52
No one knows what Wu Qi did in the class next door, all that is known is that the class next door made a huge fool of themselves that night.
I was really curious, so after school I grabbed a boy I didn't recognize in the hallway and started gossiping: "Your class is so lively."
The person first gave me a wary look, as if trying to determine if I was from Class 5, but after thinking about it, he realized he hadn't seen me in the past few days, so he relaxed and finally opened up to me.
"Hey, that guy." He pointed in a direction. "It's him."
I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a slightly chubby boy wearing glasses blushing and bowing his head to apologize to a group of people.
His tone was sincere yet deeply aggrieved.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Don't let his current aggrieved appearance fool you, he was all high and mighty just now." The boy's tone was full of disdain. "Just now, before evening self-study was even over, he suddenly stood up and pointed at the person in front of him, accusing him of stealing his money."
I asked, "Why?"
"When he discovered the money was missing from his bag, he was certain that person had stolen it. The other person was also stunned and hurriedly said that he didn't have any. What could have been resolved with a few words of explanation turned into a fight when the person who claimed to have had his money stolen got angry and blurted out, 'If you're poor, go ask your mother for money. Don't do this kind of thing.' And so the two of them started fighting."
The tone and radicalism in that voice sounded quite familiar to me. After thinking about it carefully, it seemed to be similar to the person Tian Qingqing had just mentioned who suddenly started trouble on the basketball court and said, "Without Wu Qi, you are nothing."
Could it be the same person?
I tentatively asked, "With that temper, he must have gotten into a lot of trouble, right?"
“That’s true,” he said. “A few days ago, he was being sarcastic on the basketball court and started a feud with Class 5. Now, they’re fighting every day and he’s dragging us into it. We can’t beat Class 5, and we were already a bit tired of it. This guy keeps provoking us and ruining the friendship between our two classes.”
These words were spoken with righteous indignation, as if without this person, the two classes would be a loving family, holding hands and making dumplings together for the New Year.
"And then what happened?" I asked again.
"Later, he started yelling and cursing, but when the teacher came and checked his bag, he found the money was right there in his bag; it hadn't been missing at all."
"..."
This is really quite awkward.
"So why didn't you look for it properly back then? You just started yelling and cursing, saying all sorts of nasty things. It was like stabbing someone in the heart with a knife. They deserved it."
I nodded, understood the whole story, and turned to leave.
Let's smash it as we go. It doesn't seem like the person didn't look carefully. Rather, it seems like someone secretly cast a spell on the money, making it disappear temporarily.
In other words, they take advantage of the person's disappearance to expose their true colors, thus launching a collective attack. It's like punishment, but even more like retribution.
But I never expected that.
I thought Wu Qi would angrily kick open the door of Class Six, then throw out some awesome and profound sayings, leaving the other side angry but unable to speak out, and finally take on everyone one-on-one.
But to everyone's surprise, he simply used a little trick, pretending to casually pass by the back door of their classroom, and raised his hand, and achieved the desired effect.
Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.
As I walked towards the school gate, Wu Qi and his group were chatting and laughing by the gate. When I saw them from afar, my steps unconsciously became lighter.
Xu Feng and Li Guangheng were also present. After seeing me, they nudged Wu Qi beside them with their elbows and said something. Wu Qi laughed and scolded them after hearing it.
As I approached, Li Guangheng bent down and said to me, "Aren't you afraid Qi-ge will get jealous if you chat with a young boy for so long?"
"Is he really that petty?" I naturally approached, pretending not to care as I walked to Wu Qi's side, but I couldn't help but steal a glance at him.
“You don’t know anything,” Meng Xiaoqiong interrupted Li Guangheng. “She’s gone to find out information about Class Six.”
“I’ve heard about their class too,” Li Guangheng said. “This whole thing has been pretty much over… it’ll probably be quiet for a while now, and they won’t have to write any self-criticisms.”
Tian Qingqing: "You call that a self-criticism? What 'On a bright spring afternoon, I was wearing a pair of AJ6s, the same style as Sakuragi Hanamichi', standing on the vibrant basketball court, kindly talking to my friends and family in Class 6 about the future.' No, it feels like you're just saying whatever comes to mind."
“This is called ‘combining characters,’ do you understand?” Li Guangheng said.
Wu Qi interrupted from the side, "Is 'kindly' considered just filling up space?"
"..." Li Guangheng retorted angrily, "Don't you know what my Chinese language skills are like?!"
After they finished speaking, they looked at each other and laughed together.
As they laughed, the laughter took a turn for the worse. The group laughed more and more unrestrainedly, spouting nonsensical things, until they were so laughing that they couldn't straighten up or lift their heads.
For a long time afterward, I couldn't remember why I was laughing like that that day. Anyway, I laughed until I cried, and it took me a long time to calm down.
When we reached the fork in the road, I suggested, "Didn't they say there's a new wishing well? Let's go check it out after evening self-study tomorrow."
“Sure,” Tian Qingqing said. “I doubt anyone has made a wish at that wishing well yet. Let’s go make a wish first, first come, first served.”
Xu Feng agreed, "That makes perfect sense, but I need to draft a proposal."
“You even need to draft a proposal,” Meng Xiaoqiong teased. “The wishing well will be too afraid to charge you after hearing it.”
Xu Feng nodded: "Then I'll reduce the number of wishes from 138 to 136."
Meng Xiaoqiong: "..."
You're so generous.
-
We walked and stopped frequently, and on the way home, only Wu Qi and I were left.
It's funny how this journey has witnessed our relationship go from being at odds to being ambiguous and affectionate, then to a century-long cold war, and finally to... a sense of loss and reluctance.
"He's sighing again."
Wu Qi had a backpack slung over one shoulder, its contents heavy with the still-fresh papers and notes from his desk. He propped the backpack up slightly, took my hand, and whispered, "Still afraid?"
I shook my head. "I'm not afraid anymore. Everyone... is fine."
They are like an exquisite bookmark, inserted into a book called "Human World," and every time you flip through it, you are amazed by its pure colors.
Everyone is doing well, that's great.
It's so good that it feels unreal.
So good, my heart started to race, and I started to feel fear.
What does it feel like to be forgotten?
...I don't want to face it.
"Wu Qi." I squeezed his hand back. This feeling of having a countdown timer hanging over my head was unbearable. I frowned and said, "How about we..."
"Run away?"
"..."
Sometimes being too in sync isn't a good thing.
"Where to run off to?" Wu Qi asked again.
"..."
I was speechless.
Because I know that if I actually reveal a place, or some details...
I've devised an escape plan for you, and Wu Qi will follow me without hesitation or complaint.
Wu Qi approached me, as if he could see right through my thoughts, cornered me, and directly confronted my fear.
"Do you think the solution is already predetermined, so it doesn't matter if some parts of the process are missing? Even at the last minute?"
He spoke earnestly, yet his tone was remarkably gentle.
This contrast reminded me of that sunset in Yunnan, when he was also "settling accounts" with me on his electric scooter.
Before I could figure it out, he asked again, "Ah Yue, do you only read the last page of a book?"
"..."
I suddenly looked up.
These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over my head, instantly sobering me up, and then I slowly started to blush.
People are unable to empathize with themselves from just a few minutes ago.
yes.
There's no reason to only read the last page of a book. Whatever is described in the book, whether it's brilliant or utterly boring, it's all part of the book and cannot be separated from it.
I pursed my lips, clenched the hem of my clothes for a long time, and finally made up my mind, muttering, "I was just about to say..."
"What?" Wu Qi asked.
"I was thinking, how about we—"
"?"
"Let's go buy an ice cream," I said.
"..."
Wu Qi stared at me with a "Is that all you wanted to say?" look on his face. After confirming that he had made a mistake, he awkwardly moved away and finally said defiantly, "You'd better be."
"That's what I think," I said firmly, reaffirming my own conviction.
I replaced my sighs with deep breaths, and my anxious heart rate slowed down.
The bitterness and torment I once experienced have become fortresses and ramparts, enveloping my cowardice that I cannot bear to be seen by others.
We walked forward step by step, passing through a shady patch of trees and stepping on a few dry branches. When we looked up again, we had reached the entrance of the residential area.
I pushed open the iron gate of the residential area, leaned against it, and looked at Wu Qi, who was a short distance away from me.
"Snail," I muttered under my breath.
Wu Qi approached, pushed through the iron gate, and let me stand up. His eyelids drooped down onto my face, and he suddenly chuckled.
"At least unlike some people who just pretend to be cowards."
I am a tortoise and he is a snail.
They're a perfect match.
He turned his face away and walked past me. I followed his steps, clutching my bag and keeping pace with him.
When the time is right, then take the opportunity to step on his heel.
To outsiders, we were just a bunch of normal kids in a puppy love relationship, naive and innocent, as if we could reach for the sky.
Wu Qi was speechless after what I said, and turned to ask me, "Isn't that childish?"
I pretended to be clueless: "I didn't step on it."
"If it wasn't you who stepped on it, who else could it be?" He lowered his head, a faint smile in his voice.
"Anyway, it wasn't me who stepped on it."
The best way to deal with anxiety is to let go of your brain and treat yourself and the other person as fools. This way, communication will be reduced to the simplest sentence structures and grammar.
In the end, all that was left was to look at the other person with a silly grin.
Until a sudden sound interrupted—
"I stepped on it."
Zhou Huai had been standing there for an unknown amount of time. He had changed into a black long robe and stood in the shadows, next to an oak telephone pole.
He gestured to raise his hand.
"I stepped on it, you two should stop."
I:"……"
Wu Qi: "..."
I almost forgot about this person.
"Did I disturb you? Well, I'm really a little sorry." Zhou Huai spoke expressionlessly, showing no sign of embarrassment whatsoever; it was clearly intentional.
He picked at his ear. "How's school? Judging from your relationship... things should be going pretty well."
I nodded. "It went smoothly, as if nothing had happened."
Zhou Huai said in a low voice, "So what if it happened? There's a saying that goes, 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' It's the same with friends. A little tiff now and then can deepen the bond between us."
I don't know if it was because I was in a better mood or what, but these words actually sounded somewhat pleasant.
Wu Qi interjected at the opportune moment: "Oh, I seem to remember some little devils hating humanity like crazy..."
Zhou Huai looked up and glared at him: "..."
“I admit I had some misunderstandings about humanity before,” Zhou Huai explained, “but—”
“I won’t listen, I won’t listen,” Wu Qi interrupted, plugging his ears. “Anyway, you’ve admitted it.”
"..."
Zhou Huai was completely helpless against him; he couldn't beat him in a fight, nor could he win an argument with him. So he turned his gaze to me again: "Hey, are all you immortals this shameless?"
I chuckled and asked, "Is this the first day you've met him?"
Zhou Huai: "Damn it."
The three of us, still making a fuss, walked together towards the rented room.
Zhou Huai completely ignored Wu Qi and asked me, "How did things go so smoothly at school? Tell me about it."
I told him everything that happened after I entered the classroom, including Xiao Qiong's note, Yu Yuan's intrusion, the playful antics during recess, the argument between the two classes, and Wu Qi's revenge.
Zhou Huai listened with amazement, responding to every single word.
I remember he wasn't very willing to listen to these things before, but I didn't expect the feedback to be so positive.
"Why is that Qiong telling you this to your face? Are you shy?"
“I know Yu Yuan. Wu Qi mentioned him. He’s a bespectacled bookworm, the one Wu Qi can outdo by half a street.”
"You guys have such good tempers. On the other side of the Demon Realm, things usually turn into a fight after a little arguing."
"Holy crap—who dares to insult my brother Qi? I'll go up there and smash his head halfway around."
"I would only give this move an 8 out of 10. If I were to perform it myself, it would be the highest score of the entire match."
...
Wu Qi glanced at him and said, "Keep bragging."
"Why would you be willing to listen now?" Zhou Huai had been influenced by Wu Qi's bad habits and had learned a bit of his shamelessness. He patted Wu Qi's chest with the back of his hand. "You're really not good at winning people over. I'll teach you a couple of tricks when I'm in a good mood."
Wu Qi, with a calm expression, slapped his hand away.
Zhou Huai wasn't annoyed. He turned to me and asked, "What are you guys planning to do tomorrow?"
"What, are you longing for campus life?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Not really." Zhou Huai put his hands under his head and said, "Maybe it's because you spoke so well, and your description of youth was so vivid, that I'm willing to listen."
Is that considered a compliment?
It doesn't seem like that, but I was still inexplicably amused quite a bit.
I said happily, "Tomorrow we'll go to the back of the wishing well and make a wish."
Unexpectedly, Zhou Huai asked, "What does it mean to make a wish?"
I:"?"
Zhou Huai: "???"
"You don't even know what 'making a wish' means?" I was a little surprised, because this word is very common and widely used, both in heaven and on earth.
Zhou Huai shook his head.
Wu Qi explained, "Where they live, perhaps a curse would be a more fitting way of expressing what you mean."
Zhou Huai and I instantly understood.
“Then I understand,” Zhou Huai said. “The curse we’re talking about is wishing someone bad luck, and the wish you’re talking about is hoping someone will be well.”
I nodded.
“It’s that simple,” Zhou Huai said confidently. “Don’t even think about that wishing well. Just tell me, and I’ll grant your wish.”
I find it a little hard to believe.
"You?"
“Yeah,” Zhou Huai said. “What’s wrong with me? I have some skills too, okay? Don’t look down on me.”
I was skeptical: "Really?"
Zhou Huai: "Really, please tell me your wish."
I don't know if it was because the chat last night was too pleasant, which gave me a glimmer of hope, or if I was just too tired today and had the thought of trying anything, but at that moment, only one sentence was on my mind.
It seemed both perfectly natural and a desperate situation.
I looked up and said to Zhou Huai.
"I want to be with them forever."
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