Chapter 36
Jiang Wan lost one of her bags.
It wasn't a very valuable item. It was a pendant that Li Wan brought back for her when he went to Germany for work. It was in the shape of Cologne Cathedral.
Jiang casually hung it on his black backpack and never took it off.
She recalled briefly that when she was looking for Cheng Xiang's autograph backstage at the small theater, the bag hook was still there when she took the book out of her bag.
Jiang Wan put the half-drunk green tea into her bag and walked towards the small theater while sending a message to Chen Wulin.
Jiang Ziya: I left something in the small theater. Let’s meet there.
The theater was empty, leaving only a warm yellow spotlight directly above the stage. I didn't know if it was forgotten or intentional.
The backstage area looked cleaned, the tables and chairs neatly arranged, and there wasn't a single stray object on the floor. Jiang Wan realized her chances of recovering the pendant were slim. But she still bent down and tried to take a closer look. She heard footsteps approaching from behind, and she glanced sideways. It was Chen Wulin.
"Lost something?" He said this and squatted down with everyone else.
"A pendant on my schoolbag is missing." Jiang Wan saw Chen Wulin helping her look for it, and suddenly she didn't want to look for it anymore. She stood up and clapped her hands: "Are you done looking for the teacher?"
Chen Wulin was still squatting on the ground, trying to search inch by inch. "What does that pendant look like?" He looked up at Jiang Wan and said, "Is it the Cologne Cathedral?"
"Well, it's okay if it's lost. My mom is going to Germany again in a few days. I'll ask her to buy me another one then."
"Did you bring my headphones?"
Hearing Jiang Wan say this, Chen Wulin's outstretched hand paused in mid-air. After a few seconds, he slowly stood up, took out a pair of white headphones from the side pocket of his backpack and handed them to Jiang Wan: "Want to go eat together?"
Jiang Wan casually flipped the cover of the earphones and found that the indicator light on the box was red. He asked in confusion: "Have you used it?"
Chen Wulin was a little confused, but when Jiang Wan looked at the headphones and asked him, he finally realized, "I lost my headphones when I was doing English listening yesterday, so I borrowed yours."
"But don't worry, I wiped it for you with an alcohol cotton pad."
Jiang Wan was just a little curious: "Do I have to use headphones when doing listening exercises at home?"
Chen Wulin thought the other party was questioning him, and his face turned cold: "Jiang Wan, it's just a headset. If you feel that you don't want it anymore after using it, I can buy you another one."
There was a rustling sound outside, and the sound of people talking quietly was heard, but silence soon returned. Jiang Wan thought about the dust floating in the spotlight on the stage just now, and his mood naturally calmed down.
"I just asked casually, there's no other meaning, don't think too much about it."
"I have an appointment later, so I can't have dinner with you."
Chen Wulin stepped forward, blocking the backstage door and blocking Jiang Wan's way. Jiang Wan looked over his shoulder and could see rows of empty seats.
Like an unclaimed tombstone.
"Who did you meet?"
"That Lu Jiyu?"
He looked calm and spoke at a normal pace. But the more normal he seemed, the more abnormal he became. Jiang Wan and Chen Wulin had known each other since childhood, and most of the time she thought he was a very good person. But it was those few moments that were truly fatal.
Chen Wulin has a handsome appearance, a gentle personality, and excellent grades, but he doesn't know how to deal with his extreme emotions. He said he didn't like his mother's out-of-control and crazy behavior, but unfortunately, he eventually became her.
The only difference is perhaps that he is a little more decent.
For some reason, when these three words came out of Chen Wulin's mouth, Jiang Wan felt like a cat with its tail stepped on and its fur stood on end.
"Yes, the boy you met at the barbecue stall last time." Jiang Wan looked down at his phone. He didn't receive a reply to the message he sent to Lu Jiyu.
"Do you know what kind of person he is?" Chen Wulin took a step closer. His eyes were dark and his emotions were suppressed.
"You hate him?" Jiang Wan wasn't surprised, because Chen Wulin hated anyone who was better than him, including Jiang Wan. They were all stumbling blocks on Chen Wulin's path to Chen Hong's favor. So even if he knew Lu Jiyu, he would pretend not to know him.
Chen Wulin laughed.
The backstage was empty, and there was nothing to catch his laugh.
Chen Wulin's laughter fell straight to the ground.
"Yes I hate him."
"He failed the high school entrance exam and should have gone to a place like Devon to rot and stink, but because his aunt was rich, he got him into No. 3 Middle School through the back door."
"I just hate him."
"What about you, Jiang Wan?"
Jiang Wan hung by his side, and his hand holding the headphones tightened inadvertently.
"Is Lu Jiyu the different one?"
"Or is it that he is no different from the other boys before him and is just used to prove the existence of your charm?"
"What's the difference between him and the boy you had a flirtation with in junior high school?"
"I thought you'd be tired of this game after all these years."
Some vague memories of the past appeared to have some fuzzy edges in Chen Wulin's current "accusations".
Jiang Wan didn't expect that he would remember some things longer than she did: "This is my business, Chen Wulin. The relationship between you and me is not suitable for mentioning such things."
"You've always been a clear-cut person. Don't cross the line again."
"Also," Jiang Wan corrected him, "Not everyone who goes to school at Dewen is destined to be rotten and smelly."
After Jiang Wan came out of the theater, he found Lu Jiyu on an open-air seat in front of the school supermarket.
He sat where she had just sat, and the small puddle of water on the table in front of him was left by the drink bottle she had placed there just now.
Lu Jiyu put his black jacket back on, his head lowered. His black pants and black sneakers blended seamlessly, making his legs, stretched out under the table, look even longer. His chin buried in his pulled-up collar, a finger twirling irregularly in the puddle.
Jiang Wan approached, but he didn't look up. She stared at his soft, fluffy hair, and once again had the urge to touch it.
Lu Jiyu thought that all the coincidences might happen in one day.
Three minutes ago, Zhou Zifang forwarded him a link to a post. Lu Jiyu clicked on it and the webpage jumped directly to the title of the post.
"Jiang Wan from Class 2-3 of Zhuye Middle School is a fucking reincarnated vixen."
Lu Jiyu directly clicked the cross in the upper right corner.
Zhou Zifang's messages continued to arrive tirelessly.
"Someone in our school saw you and Jiang Wan together, and then went to dig up this old post."
"Brother, I took a look for you. Ninety-nine percent of the stuff in there is fabricated. Don't take it seriously."
Lu Jiyu was speechless and sent him a message.
gazer: I see you're just hoping I'll take it seriously.
Zhou Bajie: What should I say? Brother, I'm just worried about being fooled. After all, you have such a gullible face.
gazer: Stop targeting me, get out of here.
Zhou Bajie: ...
Lu Jiyu finally raised his head. He didn't know if it was Jiang Wan's illusion, but his usually bright puppy eyes were a little dim now. "Want to go eat something? I didn't eat anything for lunch, and I'm starving."
The breeze blowing across the campus already carries the scent of gardenias.
Lu Jiyu took Jiang Wan to a beef ramen restaurant near No. 3 Middle School.
Because it was the weekend and not mealtime, there were almost no people in the restaurant. They chose a seat near the door. Lu Jiyu ordered a bowl of beef ramen, and Jiang Wan ordered a plate of stir-fried beef.
Without saying a word, he wiped the table with paper, then picked up the kettle and poured tea for himself and Jiang Wan.
"Think about it, it was indeed a wise choice for you not to come to No. 3 Middle School. Not only are the school uniforms ugly, but the food is also terrible." Lu Jiyu looked up at the menu on the wall and suddenly said.
Jiang Wan picked up the cup and took a sip. It was barley tea, not bad.
"Speaking of food, Jiayuan's isn't that great either. For a while, we students were saying that the one in charge of the kitchen was our Dean."
"So blind?"
"I'm not blind." Jiang Wan shook her head. The humming sound of the stove came from the direction of the kitchen behind her. She leaned against the table and moved closer to Lu Jiyu.
"One of our classmates took a photo and he really looks exactly like our dean."
Lu Jiyu uttered a soft "Oh." He felt that Jiang Wan was trying to scare a child when he said this. Normally, he would have been happy to cooperate, but right now, he really couldn't muster any energy. He just nodded coldly and said, "Twins?"
Jiang Wan turned the teacup on the table and nodded: "That's right."
"But if I had met you earlier, I would probably have chosen number three."
Lu Jiyu lowered his head and looked at his wrist resting on his leg. He looked at it for about three seconds, not knowing what he saw. His head was buzzing, and the smell of cooking fumes that he was used to smelling seemed a bit pungent.
When facing Chen Minjia, he could brazenly say who doesn't like the school hunk. But when facing Jiang Wan, he was timid. Who doesn't like the school hunk? Jiang Wan can do it, and she can even play with the school hunk in the palm of her hand.
During this time, Lu Jiyu couldn't help but wonder why he was so obsessed with Jiang Wan. From a boy's perspective, it was because she hit almost every spot on his list. Her impeccable appearance, her often unconventional thinking, yet her ability to consistently stand up to his arguments, and most importantly, from Lu Jiyu's perspective, she brought him a sense of security.
Lu Jiyu felt at ease when he was with Jiang Wan. He didn't know why, but he felt that as long as he was by her side, all his problems would be solved.
Zhou Zifang had mentioned a concept to him before, that this world is a huge game, and they are all NPCs in it.
Jiang Wan, on the other hand, is more like the true protagonist of this game. She is the master of this world. She has a predetermined and clear main plot goal, and all her emotions and experiences are merely necessary for the plot.
"If we had known each other for a long time, you probably wouldn't have met me at No. 3 Middle School." The boss brought the noodles, and Lu Jiyu took out a pair of disposable chopsticks and handed them to Jiang Wan.
This made Jiang Wan confused: "Why?"
Why, why, why are there so many whys? I don’t think about it myself——
Lu Jiyu lowered his head and took a mouthful of noodles without paying any attention to the question.
Jiang Wan thought about it seriously and asked, "Are you worried that I, who am in the same school as you, will take away your admission quota?"
Lu Jiyu choked on his noodles and coughed until his face flushed, but he did not forget to make a "thumbs-up" gesture to Jiang Wan.
It’s worthy of you, Jiang Wan.
"Did you go to the small theater again just now?" Lu Jiyu wiped his mouth with a tissue and asked casually.
Jiang Wan's bowl of fried shaved pork was a little oily, so she ate it slowly. "A pendant on my bag is missing, I thought it fell backstage."
"Didn't find it?"
"No."
"Lu Jiyu, you're quite popular in your school. I just came out of the theater and heard your name all the way."
"I can't help it. I'm loved by everyone and flowers bloom wherever I go."
Lu Jiyi thought Jiang Wan would retort to her.
"Well, Lu Jiyu from No. 3 Middle School is loved by everyone and flowers bloom wherever he goes."
Jiang Wan pushed aside a small piece of onion on the noodles, tilted her head slightly to look at him, and repeated it in his tone.
Lu Jiyu said that this was nothing, at most it was shameless, he was used to it anyway. But after Jiang Wan said it again, Lu Jiyu felt a rare sense of discomfort. He straightened his back, met the other's gaze, and said with a bit of bravado: "What? Jealous?"
Jiang Wan unconsciously widened her eyes. Her eyes were originally round and bright, but now there was a kind of confusion that was almost cute.
She nodded and readily admitted, "Jealousy! Ever since I found out you were selling your WeChat ID for 5,000 and still had people buying it, I've been incredibly jealous of you. We're all known for our looks, but you can make money with your looks, while I can only receive some weird love letters."
"Do you want this blessing?" Lu Jiyu rested his hand holding the chopsticks on the edge of the table, his wrist bones were thin and beautiful.
"Yes, of course." Jiang Wan supported his chin with his hand and looked outside the door.
Seeing her serious expression, Lu Jiyu thought of two sentences a friend had said to him when he mentioned Jiang Wan.
Jiayuan's Jiang Wan is hard to pursue.
Warm on the outside but cold on the inside.
But.
"So do you want to be loved by everyone or do you want to be loved by everyone you meet?"
Outside, a sudden, muffled burst of thunder erupted, distant and long. A cool summer breeze, carrying the faintest scent of rain, blew in through the open shop door. The sudden gust of wind shook the branches of the roadside trees. The paper towels on the table next to them were swept to the ground.
Lu Jiyu's words were hidden among all the noises, almost inaudible.
The first rainstorm of this summer.
It's finally coming.
"Lu Jiyu——"
The sound of raindrops dripping in succession suddenly turned into a torrential downpour like a waterfall, and the splashing muddy gray water gathered into small pools one after another.
A strong earthy smell mixed with water vapor condensed at the tip of the nose.
"Did you hear everything just now?"
The people in the kitchen who passed by their table all ran to the door and gathered together to watch the rain, talking and laughing. The mood that had been depressed for the whole day seemed to finally be refreshed at this moment.
So does Jiang Wan.
Without waiting for Lu Jiyu to speak, she continued.
"He's not exactly bullying or overbearing."
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