Poisonous mosquitoes
Sunday, the last ten minutes before 3 p.m.
The copper plaster in front of Linxia No. 1 Middle School was baked white by the sun, so hot it could almost cast a shadow. Yu Chen, just before the last train of the "two-day weekend" holiday, sprinted towards the school with a 32-inch dark blue sports bag slung over one shoulder and her baseball cap pulled low. She ran so fast that the ends of her bright red hair swung back and forth behind her neck like a lit fuse—just one centimeter away from exploding at the end.
The end of the lead is the collar of her school uniform, which is now buttoned up tightly.
She almost ripped that button off this morning.
——
The story begins at 11 a.m.
Xiaowei Apartment, second floor master bedroom.
The blackout curtain wasn't fully drawn, and a ray of light slanted in through the gap, landing directly on Yu Chen's eyelids. She frowned, and just as she was about to turn over, a slight stinging pain came from the side of her neck—not the dull pain from a boxing ring collision, but the slightly burning numbness of skin after being sucked.
She suddenly opened her eyes.
Dark sheets, gray curtains, a black sandbag hanging low overhead… none of these were her dorm room. The next second, memories flooded back: the rain stopping at dawn, a motorcycle, the door, an eye mask, the scent of mint, a sobbing voice…
"Buzz—" My brain instantly exploded into white noise.
Yu Chen practically rolled off the bed and rushed barefoot to the mirror in the walk-in closet—
The person in the mirror was wearing an ill-fitting black vest, the neckline loosely slipping down to below the shoulders; between the left collarbone and the carotid artery, a dark red hickey had just appeared, with faint teeth marks around the edges, like someone had stamped it with a small ring target, dated: Today.
"Xiao! Wei!"
A low growl, the last note cutting through the wind.
"Here~" The culprit leaned against the door frame, her voice hoarse from just waking up, but unable to hide her laughter. She wore matching shorts, her hair was messy, the ends sticking up in arrogant arcs, like a large, well-fed feline.
Yu Chen turned around, her bright red hair bristling into a small cloud of fire: "Look what you've done!"
Xiao Wei raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling on the hickey. He smiled, but his tone was serious: "You called my name last night, so it's only fair that I give you a stamp."
"Fair my foot!" Yu Chen grabbed the school uniform shirt from the sofa, buttoning it all the way up, but the edges still weren't covered. She then picked up a band-aid from the entryway—flesh-colored, waterproof—and applied it, making the color difference even more pronounced, like highlighting a bullseye.
Xiao Wei was amused by her flustered appearance. He took two steps closer and reached out to peel off the band-aid: "Don't cover it up, it looks pretty good."
"Dare to expose me and I'll fight you to the death!" Yu Chen stepped back, his heel hitting the shoe cabinet, wincing in pain, but he still didn't forget to threaten, "If I go back to school today and someone sees this, I'll... I'll post your record on the bulletin board!"
Despite her harsh words, her ears turned red at the end. Xiao Wei stopped teasing her, turned and went into the kitchen, returning ten minutes later with an ice pack—wrapped in a disposable glove, tied at the top, and covered with a clean gauze.
"Apply it for ten minutes on the way, and the color will fade by half." Her voice softened, almost coaxing. "I'll pick you up after school, okay?"
Yu Chen snatched the ice pack, her ears burning red, and turned to leave. At the door, she turned back and grabbed the motorcycle keys from Xiao Wei's hand: "You're not allowed to drive me today! I'll take a taxi myself!"
The door slammed shut. Xiao Wei stood there, raised his hand to his lips, and chuckled softly.
——
And so, this frantic run came about.
With the gates of Linxia No. 1 Middle School in sight, Yu Chen ran while pressing an ice pack to the side of her neck, gasping from the cold. The ice pack had worn off three minutes earlier and she had stuffed it into her bag; the edge of the band-aid was peeling up, revealing a bit of dark red, like a small window that betrayed her secret.
The school gate was sparsely populated, and students on duty were moving notice boards. Yu Chen pulled her hat down low, swiped her card, and the turnstile beeped. She had barely breathed a sigh of relief—
"Yu Chen?"
A clear, cool male voice came from the left, as refreshing as ice-cold soda water, but at that moment it sent chills down her spine.
Translated by An.
The student council armband was still on his arm, and he was holding a stack of statistics sheets. His gaze fell on her…neck. In that instant, Yu Chen felt as if his gaze had a built-in magnifying glass, instantly magnifying the dark red under the band-aid into a high-definition poster.
"Your neck—"
"Mosquito bites!" Yu Chen raised his voice, his tone cracking, "...poisonous mosquitoes!"
An Yi raised an eyebrow, his gaze lingering between her sweat-dampened temples and the suffocatingly tight collar of her school uniform, as if working on a problem requiring no drafts. After a moment, he adjusted his thin-rimmed glasses, his voice neither loud nor soft:
"A poisonous mosquito? And its shape is quite standard."
Yu Chen: "..."
She turned to leave, but then a familiar voice came from her right—
"Yu Chen!"
Shengshuo.
Second tallest in the school, 194cm, his shoulder line seemed to cut the sunlight in two. He carried two cups of cheese strawberry drinks; habitually, one already had a straw inserted, the other still sealed. Taking two steps closer, he bent down, his voice tinged with the panting of his morning run:
"I brought this for you, sugar-free and with less ice—"
His voice trailed off. His gaze fell on the band-aid, his brow furrowing slightly, as if he had encountered a difficult but inevitable question.
What happened to your neck?
“…Mosquitoes!” Yu Chen pulled his hat brim even lower, his voice squeezing out through clenched teeth, “Giant! With teeth!”
Sheng Shuo gave an "Oh," his tone slow, but considerately he didn't ask any further questions, only handing her the unopened cup. The straw tapped lightly against the cup, making two "tap-tap" sounds, as if keeping time for her erratic heartbeat.
An Yi stood on the left, lightly tapping the statistics sheet with her fingertips, her voice devoid of emotion: "There's mosquito repellent cream at the school clinic after school, I'll go with you."
Sheng Shuo looked up, his gaze passing over Yu Chen's head and briefly meeting An Yi's—a silent crackling sound seemed to fill the air. They both looked away simultaneously, but then, without prior arrangement, their eyes returned to the band-aid.
Yu Chen's left hand was still cold from the aftereffects of the ice pack, and the outside of her strawberry cup in her right hand was covered in condensation, her knuckles white from the cold. She took a deep breath, stepped back half a step, and mechanically bowed ninety degrees to each of them:
"Thank you for your concern! I'm off to class!"
After saying that, she took off running, her bright red hair whipping behind her neck like a lit fuse, and rushed into the teaching building with sparks and lightning all the way.
Sheng Anyi and Sheng Shuo stood on the school path, half a meter apart. The sunlight stretched their shadows straight, like two non-intersecting axes of symmetry.
An Yi pushed up his glasses, his voice so soft it was almost a whisper: "...poisonous mosquitoes."
Sheng Shuo took a sip of the strawberry drink, the sweetness exploding between his teeth, but it couldn't hide the slight furrow between his brows. He looked up at the direction Yu Chen had disappeared in, his voice low and hoarse:
"With teeth."
——
At the corner of the teaching building, Yu Chen leaned against the wall, panting heavily.
She raised her hand, pressing the band-aid repeatedly, the dark red edge still stubbornly sticking out. She muttered a curse under her breath, her earlobes burning red, but she couldn't help but look up—
Outside the window, the midday sun shines brightly, and the sound of cicadas heralds the start of summer.
There are three more classes this afternoon, and—
She looked up at her watch—there were only nine days left until the provincial team selection.
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