Chapter 23: Spring Day Green (6) What on earth does he think of me...
I'm really beginning to understand what you're saying: there are differences in this world.
Lying in bed at night, Lin Xia curled up in the quilt and sent a message to He Chuan:
While I know not all art students are terrible academically, isn't it natural that art students generally don't excel in academic subjects? Many people, struggling academically, consider art as a path to higher education. Furthermore, human energy is limited, and if they spend so much time painting, they certainly won't be able to excel in academic subjects!
He Chuan has been very busy recently, preparing for an international moot court. He may not be able to reply to the message she sent him in time, but even if he cannot reply on the same day, when Lin Xia wakes up the next morning, she will see that he has definitely replied.
For fear of disturbing her roommates, she turned her phone to silent mode, but she was also afraid of missing messages, so she kept it in her hand, glancing at it from time to time. Many times she fell asleep with her phone in her hand.
He Chuan shouldn't be too busy today. Not long after Lin Xia sent the message, she received a reply:
【What happened? 】
He's a new student in our class. Not only is he an exceptional painter, but after chatting with him, I discovered he also has excellent academic performance. With his skills, he could have gotten into a good university, but he insisted on studying painting because he simply loves it. His family doesn't object; they're very supportive. If I had such good grades, I doubt my parents would have let me study art like they do now.
Whether she admitted it or not, whether she liked it or not, art students were considered inferior in the eyes of teachers and students, almost the same as poor students. So she had never expected that there were actually top students in the world who chose to study art.
[There's nothing we can do about it. There are many people in this world who are favored by God.]
Lin Xia seemed to see He Chuan's sigh through the screen. He must have met more such geniuses at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
[Yeah, he's truly favored by God. He seems to have a good family background and is handsome too. I'm so jealous!]
After this sentence was sent, there seemed to be a pause on the other side, and then a sentence was sent:
Is it a boy?
【yes. 】
Lin Xia was a little confused. Did she forget to mention it? Well, it seemed that she didn't mention the name or gender, and sometimes she would make typos in a hurry and couldn't distinguish between male, female, and her, but -
【What's wrong? 】
【nothing. 】
Nowadays, mobile phones and instant messaging have made communication far more convenient than the days of waiting for a letter. However, text exchanges cannot replace the real-life face-to-face encounter. We can't see the other person's face, expression, tone of voice, and body movements, which are also part of the message. Relying solely on cold, mechanical words, some emotions, hidden by the delay, must be inferred and understood through intuition and telepathy.
Lin Xia stared at the three Chinese characters and one punctuation mark on the screen, and vaguely sensed something strange about the person typing opposite her.
Is He Chuan a little unhappy?
Because, she mentioned another boy, handsome?
Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel a pang in her heart, and the blood in her body seemed to flow backwards. She felt excited, shy, happy, and incredulous.
Could it be? No way? Was it just her imagination? Was she overthinking things? But, something was fishy about it. These words really didn't seem right, or was she just being overly sentimental?
Lin Xia thought about all sorts of things and curled up in the quilt, twisting herself into a knot.
She knew very early on that she liked He Chuan.
At first, it was just a vague affection. Who wouldn't like a handsome, delicious cook who was always responsive to their needs and gentle and steady? That summer in the forest farm, they spent every day together, and their affection slowly accumulated. Unknowingly, the quantitative change led to a qualitative change.
Later, she read romance novels and shojo comics with Xu Chang. As she read, she began to identify with He Chuan in every male protagonist. Every character she liked had a faint resemblance to He Chuan. Whenever she saw the word "Hong Kong" on TV or in a book, her heart would race, and she would feel an inexplicable familiarity. She kept wondering, what was He Chuan doing at that moment? Was he busy studying? When would he return to Wangchun? Did he have a girlfriend? Did he have someone he liked? Did he still remember her?
So, how does He Chuan feel?
He Chuan had always been a very reserved and restrained person. He was calm and composed, rarely revealing his true emotions. He rarely made close friends, giving them the opportunity to explore him. He would say he was busy, that he didn't have time, that he was busy with his studies and his career, and no one could criticize these beautiful excuses. But Lin Xia was one of the few people he allowed to be close to him, and tolerated his impudence. Lin Xia knew all this, so she gradually approached his heart, testing his boundaries bit by bit, and encroaching on his time bit by bit.
This is not a trick or a means, but just the instinctive approach of a girl with a cat-like personality to the person she likes, just like a fluffy kitten sticking to your legs and acting coquettishly and naughty with you, no one can resist it.
Lin Xia knew that He Chuan was definitely not indifferent to her, she just knew it.
However, he didn't say anything, nothing at all, not revealing a single detail. He just placed their relationship in a gray area between safety and danger, not so innocent, but upon closer inspection, there was nothing wrong with it.
The same is true for Lin Xia.
No one broke the news, no one exposed the truth. They carefully hid the huge secret, and just let the uncontrollable emotions grow wildly like weeds in places where the sun couldn't shine. They turned a blind eye and a deaf ear, pretending that nothing existed. Naturally, everything would be fine and the world would be at peace.
Because at this age when teenage hormones should be bursting out, all emotions are a sin; because they are standing at the crossroads of life and should not be distracted by all things that are not related to the future except grades, exams and graduation; and more because, she and he, their parents, their relationship, their generation and position, are so awkward, so messy, and so confusing.
However, what makes us human and different from animals and plants is nothing more than emotion. If reason can really suppress emotion, and rules and regulations can really extinguish the seven emotions and six desires, then where would there be so many troubles and regrets, stories and missed opportunities in this world?
But, ultimately, they didn't dare. They were still young, too small to be bold or capable enough to challenge authority, teachers, life, or the entire world. They could only quietly, repressed, delighted, timid, and in the cracks of a shabby existence, indulge their hidden thoughts, tentatively exploring, speculating, not daring to demand answers, but simply racking their brains for clues, eager for the slightest bit of confirmation:
What on earth does he think of me?
Lin Xia stared at the last brief conversation between the two people on the screen, imagining a lot of things in her head. Her fingers typed on the keyboard, deleting and reducing, but she didn't send it out for a long time.
She wants to call:
【Many girls in the class like him. 】
Then, fearing it might cause misunderstanding, I changed it to: [Actually, he's not my type.]
Ahhh! That's too deliberate. What are you hinting at?
I deleted it and changed it to: [I don’t think too much about it. My most important task now is to study hard.]
Lin Xia, why do you only say this sentence forever?!
While she was struggling and hesitating, she missed the opportunity and the topic passed. He Chuan asked her:
[Last time you said your roommate bought you a pair of pants online?]
Lin Xia reluctantly deleted all the words she had typed and slowly replied:
【yes. 】
This was something Lin Xia had mentioned to him before. At that time, online shopping was not yet popular and most people were not used to buying things online. There was a girl in their dormitory who was quite trendy and fashionable. She bought a pair of very sturdy and dirt-resistant jeans online. The other girls found it very novel and each of them asked her to buy a pair for them.
[Did it arrive? Does it look good?]
[It's pretty nice, but everyone is wearing the same clothes, and people might think it's our dorm uniform, haha.]
Can express delivery be delivered directly to your studio?
[Yes, of course. My mother also mails me clothes and some daily necessities.]
【That's good. 】
At that time, Lin Xia thought He Chuan was just talking casually and didn't take it to heart. It was not until a few days later that she understood why he asked that.
This week was National Day, so the studio wasn't closed for the National Day holiday. Everyone still had to attend classes and paint as usual. On the last day of what was supposed to be a seven-day holiday, at noon, the teacher told Lin Xia that there was a package for her at the factory gatehouse. She had assumed Zhao Qianyi had mailed something to her again, but when she went to pick it up after lunch, she discovered it was from Guangdong.
Yang Yang, who came with her, asked:
"Who sent you the mail?"
Lin Xia shook her head in confusion: "I don't know."
The package was small and light, so the two of them took it back to their dorm room. When they opened it, they found a brand new MP3 player inside. It had a long, round body and buttons, and was very delicate and compact. The color was very similar to Lin Xia's recent favorite, spring blue.
Lin Xia and Yang Yang looked at each other.
Could it be that someone sent it by mistake? Should I mail it back to the sender?
"Open it and take a look, maybe there are some clues inside." Yang Yang was a little excited, as if he regarded this as the beginning of a suspenseful crime-solving story.
So Lin Xia turned on the MP3 player. Although it was new, it did contain some songs, hundreds of popular songs from China, foreign countries, Hong Kong and Taiwan. And after a quick look, most of them were Lin Xia's favorites.
At this moment, Lin Xia suddenly realized something. She picked up the mail package and took a look. The sender was Chen Weipeng.
This person seems to be He Chuan's roommate.
Could it be that this MP3 was sent to her by He Chuan?
Because of what she said before?
No wonder he had asked her if the package could be mailed to the studio.
Yang Yang saw Lin Xia suddenly smile, with the corners of her mouth raised, and she looked very happy. She asked curiously:
"What's wrong? Do you know what's going on?"
"Um."
Lin Xia nodded and whispered, "I see. It was sent to me by my friend who was studying in Hong Kong, the one I told you about before."
"oh--"
Yang Yang made a meaningful sound and laughed twice.
"That's him."
My roommate Qian Shanshan stretched her head to take a look.
"What? Let me see."
Lin Xia handed her the MP3 player. She turned it over and over in her hands and said in a very knowledgeable manner:
"This is the latest iPod. It hasn't been released in mainland China yet. This is the Hong Kong version, right? The interface is all in traditional Chinese."
Qian Shanshan is a Beijing native from a relatively wealthy family. All her clothes are adorned with oversized luxury brand logos, and she has a wealth of fashion knowledge. Besides Lin Xia, she was the only student in the class who came to the studio on her own.
"Your boyfriend treats you very well."
She said this casually when she returned the MP3 to Lin Xia.
Lin Xia's face flushed instantly, and she subconsciously retorted:
"No, not a boyfriend, just a friend... well, actually, a distant relative..."
Qian Shanshan is funny:
"Stop pretending. Everyone knows you have a boyfriend who texts you until midnight every day. Do you think this is school? Who can catch you in a premature relationship?"
Qian Shanshan said this because she also has a boyfriend, and the two of them often talk on the phone until midnight, and she also skips classes every now and then to go out on dates.
"It's really not..."
Lin Xia explained feebly, but the other roommates seemed to understand and half-coaxed and half-perfunctorily responded:
"Okay, if you say it's not, then it's not."
There is a feeling of "giving in to the children".
“It wasn’t.”
At least, not now.
Lin Xia silently added in her heart, then ignored the teasing of the people around her, climbed onto her bed, pulled the quilt over her head, and sent a message to He Chuan:
【Is this the MP3 you gave me? 】
She seldom sent messages to He Chuan during the day because he was very busy and she was afraid of disturbing him, but today she really couldn't bear it until the evening.
Sure enough, He Chuan didn't reply immediately, so she had no choice but to fiddle with the MP3 again, looking through the songs stored in it one by one. The more she looked, the happier she felt. She was happy not because he gave her something, but because he remembered every word she said, every preference, her favorite singer, her favorite color, and the troubles in her life.
There is such a person in the world who has no blood relationship with her and is thousands of miles away, but is thinking about her, and this person happens to be the one she cares about. There is nothing better than this.
After a while, the phone vibrated slightly. Lin Xia quickly opened it and saw that he had replied with three words:
【received? 】
It turned out to be him.
[This is expensive, right?]
【It’s not that expensive here. 】
It was obvious that he was just bluffing her, even though Qian Shanshan had already told her the price.
"You work hard on your own, and yet you buy me something so expensive."
【fine. 】
He Chuan seldom talked about his own difficulties, but as a mainlander studying alone in Hong Kong, he was unfamiliar with the place and couldn't speak the language. Lin Xia knew the difficulties he encountered.
But he never said it, he just asked her:
Do you like it?
【I like it, I like it very much! 】
Although he couldn't see, she nodded vigorously. She really liked it. She had wanted an MP3 for a long time. However, Zhao Qianyi had always refused to buy her one, saying that she was afraid it would distract her from drawing. But all the classmates in the class drew while listening to music, and sometimes the teacher would play music for everyone.
【Just like it. 】
At this moment, Lin Xia could even imagine the faint, gentle smile on his face.
【Did your roommate send it to you? 】
He lives nearby and goes home often, so he helped me get it through customs. It's quite expensive to send things back from Hong Kong.
[But, it's not my birthday, nor is it a holiday, so how can I accept your gift for nothing?]
[Just consider this...a National Day gift, a consolation for not being able to take a holiday on October 1st. Happy National Day.]
Lin Xia burst out laughing. Who gives people gifts on National Day? He really knows how to find excuses for her!
Since he said so, she had no choice but to accept it. Moreover, he was afraid that she would feel embarrassed to accept it, so he mailed it to her without her permission, so she had to accept it.
She said to him seriously:
Thank you. I like it very much.
Whether it's a gift or a person.
[Next time we meet, I will give you a gift too, you can’t refuse it.]
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