Chapter 74 Look at me, look at me, Lele.
"Damn, bro." Cao Fan, walking ahead, suddenly patted Jiang Yueming on the shoulder. "I'm not going with you. I just saw a really cute girl, I have to go..."
He said half of it and then ran off to the side.
Jiang Yueming finally realized what was going on and cursed, "Damn it, is this kid here to play basketball or to pick up girls?"
Class 7...
Jiang Yueming randomly picked up a teacher's electric scooter. The little scooter was leaning haphazardly against the wall, but Jiang Yueming kindly straightened it. He used the scooter's rearview mirror to fix his hair, feeling his bangs were a bit messy, so he straightened his clothes as well. After completing this series of actions, Jiang Yueming slowly walked to the door of Class 7.
“Le…” Jiang Yueming spotted Li Leshan at a glance. He could recognize Li Leshan’s figure in the crowd immediately; he was always slender and upright.
A group of people surrounded Li Leshan, forming a circle around him. There were boys and girls, but he only recognized Xu Qing among them; Jiang Yueming had never seen the others before.
A burst of laughter came from the crowd not far away. It was unclear who had made whom laugh. Jiang Yueming stared at Li Leshan's slightly upturned lips, stunned.
Jiang Yueming wanted to call his name, but for some reason, she couldn't utter a single word.
Is it still possible to get there now?
It's not good to talk about the past.
He didn't know almost anyone here, couldn't understand what they were saying, and couldn't fit in.
And Li Leshan smiled; it was rare for him to smile so happily. What would happen if he went over there so rashly?
He and Li Leshan are no longer classmates. They're not in the same school anymore, and he doesn't even know which class Li Leshan is in or which floor he lives on.
Jiang Yueming reluctantly took a step back, even retreating half a step was difficult, her gaze refusing to leave Li Leshan. She looked at his eyebrows, the corners of his mouth curving upwards, and suddenly remembered something she had said not long ago.
He felt a little strange. What was he doing? Wasn't he the one who told Li Leshan to make friends? Why did he feel so... so... when he saw the people around Li Leshan now?
It's a good thing he has friends. Li Leshan has people to look after him; he won't be lonely or alone. Isn't that exactly what he wanted to see?
Jiang Yueming retreated step by step, looking back every few steps, watching Li Leshan getting further and further away from him. He couldn't help but think: Look at me, Lele.
Look back at me.
Finally, when Li Leshan could no longer be seen, Jiang Yueming stood there for a while, realizing that he had been standing there for a long time, before he started walking towards the basketball court.
"How did it go?" Cao Fan asked during halftime. "Did you talk to Li Leshan? What did you say?"
Jiang Yueming took a swig of mineral water, his gaze sweeping over the growing crowd outside. "Did you get their contact information?"
Cao Fan put on a crying face again, "No... why do you have to bring up the thing I don't want to talk about?"
"Neither do I," Jiang Yueming thought to herself.
"Is Li Leshan coming to watch the game?" Cao Fan asked. "I went to Class 7 to look for you but couldn't find you. Is the girl next to him with the ponytail and butterfly hair clip his girlfriend?"
"Huh?" Jiang Yueming didn't react for a moment, but then he realized that the girl was Xu Qing.
In a way, Xu Qing came to Shigao for Li Leshan's sake. Her goal was the same as Jiang Yueming's, only Xu Qing was a little more capable than him.
From a young age, she was more interested in Li Leshan than other boys, something Jiang Yueming knew. When they were younger, he thought Xu Qing was joking, after all, he didn't even consider the three boys she played with. If Han Jiang had anything going for him, he would have already done it. So, the mysterious, aloof, and outstanding Li Leshan was the most special person in Xu Qing's eyes.
"Does it look similar?" Jiang Yueming chuckled.
"Isn't that right?" Cao Fan retorted, "I thought it was. I was just about to say that Li Leshan is really lucky..."
Jiang Yueming shook his head without answering. He took another sip of water and felt a slight numbness in his toes.
"Let's go, it's time to go on stage," Jiang Yueming said.
His gaze swept across the surrounding crowd again, a strange sense of loss creeping into his heart. Li Leshan genuinely disliked these events. Back in middle school, the motivational speakers outside were making a racket, almost like they were setting off firecrackers. All the other students would rush outside to watch the presentations, but Li Leshan would remain quietly seated, as if the noise and commotion outside had nothing to do with him.
The basketball game ended with both teams shaking hands to conclude the match. Friendship first, competition second. Jiang Yueming's team actually managed a respectable second place; considering the competition among several teams, it was quite an achievement for their mediocre team to secure second place – practically a miracle.
"Wasn't my shot cool?!" Cao Fan grinned foolishly. He demonstrated it again, swish swish swish, as if he were Rukawa Kaede.
“Cool,” Jiang Yueming said, if he hadn’t been stopped.
"Isn't he handsome?" Cao Fan said smugly. "Old Liu will be very happy when he gets back."
Jiang Yueming nodded as he packed his backpack, stuffing water and a towel inside. He then looked up at the still crowded people and finally realized that he might not be able to see Li Leshan today.
"Yueming, hurry up! These girls all want your contact information!" the captain called out to Jiang Yueming, teasing him as he did so.
Jiang Yueming nodded at him, indicating that she understood. He slung his bag over his shoulder, smiled sheepishly at the girls, and finally squeezed through the crowd.
The sound of the Shishi High School's radio station drifted into my ears; it was probably an evening broadcast, covering current events and news. Only Shishi High School has this kind of thing, allowing students to learn about national affairs and political hot topics through osmosis. If No. 3 High School also had a radio station, it would probably just play songs.
He looked down and took out his phone, intending to compose a text message to Li Leshan to tell him that he had been there, but he was in too much of a hurry and hadn't had a chance to see him.
The next second, a figure suddenly blocked his path. Jiang Yueming looked up in confusion, not expecting Li Leshan to be standing right in front of him. He must have run there; his bangs were slightly damp.
“Le...Lele?” Jiang Yueming was shocked.
"I was in class when I heard that students from the Third High School came to the school to compete." Li Leshan quickly used sign language, looking particularly happy with his bright eyes.
"How did you know it was me? What if I came all this way for nothing?" Jiang Yueming said, reaching out to wipe the sweat from his forehead.
“My female classmate said she’d never seen anyone so handsome.” Li Leshan smiled. “I knew it was you right away.”
He then hurriedly asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I didn't even see your match."
"You have class." Jiang Yueming didn't dare to say that she wanted to go, she couldn't wait to go, but seeing so many people around him, she was too embarrassed to go. "Besides, I only got second place, there's nothing to see."
"I'm not here to watch basketball." Li Leshan looked at him; he had never been interested in sports.
Although he didn't get to see Jiang Yueming play, he was still happy to see her at all. He had no idea he could have gotten to see Jiang Yueming several more times.
"I really miss you," Li Leshan said in sign language.
He overheard the girls in his class talking and managed to glean the words "high-achieving," "competition," and "handsome" from their conversation. Perhaps it was some kind of telepathy or something else, but Li Leshan was certain it was Jiang Yueming. Without a moment's hesitation, he ran outside, past the long sycamore-lined avenue and the playground, and finally, when he was still some distance from the school gate, he saw Jiang Yueming's back.
"I also..." Jiang Yueming felt a pang of sadness, "I really miss you."
He glanced quickly at the time, realizing he didn't have much time left to catch up with Li Leshan. The break between classes was only ten minutes; seeing him even once was already a blessing, and he didn't want to delay Li Leshan's class. So Jiang Yueming hurriedly looked at Li Leshan a few more times, then reluctantly said, "I have to go."
Li Leshan nodded, feeling reluctant to part with Jiang Yueming, his eyes lingering on her face.
This is making it seem like we'll never see each other again after this separation. It's like a melodramatic farewell scene from an 8 PM soap opera.
Jiang Yueming suddenly smiled, touched Li Leshan's face, and whispered, "I really want to kiss you."
But no. After all, this is a proper school. If any school leader or teacher saw him, Jiang Yueming would probably be wanted throughout the city, no joke.
Li Leshan gently took Jiang Yueming's hand, kissed it quickly, and it tickled, like an electric current was passing through it.
"Wait for me tonight. I'll come find you." Jiang Yueming's heart skipped a beat.
Li Leshan nodded in agreement. In truth, he would wait for as many minutes as twenty. Even if a stranger or someone else told him that Jiang Yueming was right at the school gate, he would still go, no matter what.
"Then I'm leaving." Jiang Yueming waved to him, already missing him even before they parted.
Only when Li Leshan became a tiny black dot in her sight did Jiang Yueming finally turn around resolutely and run towards the school bus not far away.
"Hey, what have you been doing?" Cao Fan patted the seat next to him, having waited for this guy for ages. "Going to get some girl's contact information?"
"No," Jiang Yueming said. "Do you think everyone is like you?"
“Yes,” the captain said with a smile, “We don’t even need Ren Yueming, right?”
"You two are really..." Cao Fan was very unhappy. "I didn't do that either, did I? We didn't get it, did we? Let's just pretend it never happened, okay?"
“Okay, okay.” Jiang Yueming stopped arguing with him, sat down, and took out his phone to send a message to Li Leshan.
Jiang Yueming: I'm leaving now, see you tonight :-)
I wonder if Li Leshan will see this message. Shigao seems to be very strict about electronic devices. They confiscate them without exception, no matter what they are. But someone like Li Leshan probably has a get-out-of-jail-free card.
Han Jiang didn't even bother with an IOU; he was already being incredibly lenient. His smartwatch was confiscated, but you can't blame the teacher—who told him to secretly play games on it during class without it being muted? Then, in the middle of class, he suddenly blurted out "Let's go!" If it were an English class, it would be understandable; a simple "go" is acceptable. But it was math class! What math class uses "Let's go"?
Jiang Yueming posted another message.
Jiang Yueming: I miss you.
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Author's note: This is the first time I've loved someone so generously yet selfishly.
I'm so sleepy every day... I need a tutorial on how to stay awake. (Slowly lies down)
Does anyone else find Xiaoyue's emoticons cute? ;-)
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