Chapter 5, Number 05. (Sigh)
After the morning reading session ended, the students in the classroom sat down in an orderly fashion and began to tidy up their seats and books, then got up and moved to the group next to them.
This was a small rule set by the teacher: seats would be changed once a week. After changing seats, Jie Ying, with her head down and carrying a few books, walked to the first group and sat down near the back door. Her sinister eyes, hidden in her bangs, glanced unnoticed at Xu Wu, who was discussing with someone whether they could change seats as well.
Standing opposite Xu Wu was a girl who was slightly shorter than her. Jie Ying didn't recognize her, but when he saw her agree and Xu Wu also smiled, his expression softened.
Xu Wu had a beautiful smile, even if it was just a forced one. His eyes were curved, and his dark pupils were as beautiful as the finest black jade, which inexplicably reminded Jie Ying of a pure black cat he had when he was a child. The cat would always look at him with sparkling eyes and would obediently lower its head and stick out its little tongue to lick his palm.
The wet and soft touch felt less like his palm and more like a feather gently brushing against his heart; even the tiny barbs on his tongue tickled his skin.
Jie Ying composed himself and sat down quietly with a hint of reluctance. He was about to take out his textbook when someone standing outside the door reached out and patted the back of his chair.
"Hey, classmate." The voice was clear and refreshing, like the bubbling sound of Sprite when you pull the tab on a can on a summer day. "I'm looking for Xu Wu from your class. Could you please call her for me?"
Those two crucial words stung Jie Ying; his brow twitched, but he didn't show it on his face, turning away expressionlessly.
The man leaning against the door frame had a womanizing look to him, and his fox-like smile seemed to be etched on his face, as if he was like that to everyone he met.
It's disgusting.
Jie Ying glanced at him and said coldly, "He's not here."
He knew who this person was: the president of Xu Wu's club. He had seen him exchange a few words with Xu Wu before the morning reading session.
Xu Wu was still panting when she couldn't wait to respond. Because she had run so fast, her cheeks were flushed with a bit of embarrassment. Her chest heaved as she breathed slowly, and her eyes were moist.
Jie Ying lowered her eyes, gloomily clutching the fabric of her thigh, her eyes churning with unfathomable emotions.
Fortunately, Chu Lian didn't notice his expression. After hearing Jie Ying's answer, he muttered "Is that so?" with some doubt. But before he could say anything more, Xu Wu walked towards him with a surprised look on his face.
"Why are you here?" Xu Wu asked, puzzled.
Upon seeing the person who had arrived, Chu Lian's eyes lit up, and he turned to the side, gesturing for her to come outside to talk.
Xu Wu followed, not sparing a glance at Jie Ying sitting beside him.
Many students were walking back and forth in the corridor. Apart from those who came out for some fresh air, most of them were eating breakfast outside. So the moment Xu Wu went out, she caught the aroma of many steamed buns, mostly meat buns, followed by custard buns.
"I just asked someone to call you, but they said you weren't here. I was almost about to leave," Chu Lian complained.
"Who did you ask to call me?" Xu Wu frowned.
“Look,” Chu Lian raised his chin, “this junior from the back.”
Xu Wu understood perfectly well that it was Jie Ying who was referring to him.
“Never mind,” she asked. “What do you want?”
"Here you go." Chu Lian handed her the A4 poster and explained, "Our club will be rehearsing for the New Year's Day program in a couple of days. These two days are for casting, and I think you're a good fit."
The New Year's Eve party is scheduled for the last day of December, which gives them two months to rehearse the play.
Xu Wu paused at the title section, somewhat confused: "This... what does 'the knight's unspeakable' mean?"
"I'm not in charge of the script..." Chu Lian touched his nose and coughed lightly. "Anyway, think about it. If you want to come, come to the club during evening self-study and we'll finalize the roles."
Aside from the senior high school students who don't participate, there are indeed very few people left in their club who can participate, so just choosing the lead actors takes a lot of time.
It's only natural that Chu Lian would think of Xu Wu. He still remembers the first time he saw Xu Wu when he was a freshman recruiting new members for clubs in his second year of high school.
Xu Wu is tall and has striking features, so she can attract attention in a crowd. As a result, she was handed a lot of promotional posters when she walked down the street where recruitment was taking place.
Despite her unapproachable appearance, she wore a flawless smile. Chu Lian lazily slumped in his chair, watching her casually, and idly counting the time. He thought to himself, "She hasn't changed her smile at all in the two or three minutes we've walked here. She's like a mannequin."
A few seconds later, the dummy walked straight to their club without looking to either side. After waiting for the previous person to finish filling out the form, it politely took one and sat down at the table next to it to fill out the basic registration information.
"I thought she went to the wrong place..." A classmate holding a promotional poster covered the lower half of his face with the poster and whispered to the person next to him, "The dance club would be more suitable for her."
"What's wrong with our club that you're making fun of me like this?" Chu Lian heard this, casually took a poster, rolled it into a tube, and lightly tapped each of them on the head.
Although he said that on the surface, Chu Lian himself wasn't sure. Later, after the interview, he secretly asked Xu Wu if he really hadn't filled out the application form incorrectly.
Xu Wu only glanced at him at the time, but what was revealed in that glance made Chu Lian wisely shut his mouth.
Suddenly, I realized that asking this question was a foolish thing to do.
After 6 p.m., Xu Wu briefly told the teacher who would be on duty that night, then packed up her things and planned to go to the club before evening self-study started to prepare.
The clock on the back wall of the classroom ticked away, and the only sound in the room was the rustling of her tidying up her things. When her hand unconsciously touched the letter lying in the desk, Xu Wu hesitated for a moment before pulling it out.
She's never opened it; it's just sitting here like a hot potato.
Hesitating, her gaze unconsciously fell on the trash can leaning against the corner, her hand tightening its grip on the letter. When she came to her senses, she was already standing beside the trash can, her hand outstretched, just a flick of her fingertips away—
"Why...why did you throw it away?" A faint voice suddenly came from behind her, seemingly very close, so close that Xu Wu almost mistook it for whispering in her ear. The gentle, rising and falling breaths sprayed against her ear, giving her goosebumps.
The intense unease, like that of walking alone in an empty hospital corridor late at night, wove itself into the air, deeply enveloping her. She could even catch a glimpse of a ghost behind her, its head bowed, its sticky black hair falling onto her.
Xu Wu shuddered, abruptly clutching the letter back into her hand and stuffing it into her pocket. She quickly turned around, placing her hands across her chest to block contact between them. Her pupils dilated, and she uncontrollably shouted at him, "Stay away from me!"
As soon as she finished speaking, Xu Wu was stunned when she saw Jie Ying standing at the back door of the classroom. Her heart, still pounding wildly in her chest from the shock and stress, was still racing, and she had a few beads of sweat on her forehead.
Jie Ying was about seven or eight meters away from her.
I didn't even touch her.
Realizing this, Xu Wu forced herself to calm down. She opened her mouth, her thin lips seeming to want to say something but then stopped, but in the end she didn't say anything, even though her hands, hidden in her pockets, were still clenched into fists and trembling.
Two or three seconds later, Xu Wu felt the other person's dark eyes sweep over him, and then he took a step back without saying a word, retreating into the corridor.
Jie Ying stood there quietly, doing nothing. He was already taciturn, and at this moment he didn't say a word. His eyes, hidden under his long bangs, were unfathomable.
"I overreacted just now..." Xu Wu looked conflicted. She couldn't help but take a step forward, but suddenly snapped back to reality the instant the ticking of the clock reached her ears.
She awkwardly slung her packed schoolbag over one shoulder, her head down, and walked quickly, making no attempt to hide her desire to leave as soon as possible.
As she passed by Jie Ying, she said softly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
Without even looking at Jie Ying's reaction, he hurriedly left the scene.
She knew that Jie Ying's gaze was still fixed on her back or the ends of her hair as usual, so she gripped the shoulder strap of her schoolbag tightly and quickly turned the corner and went downstairs.
Jieying, still standing there, looked down at the white bag in her right hand, which contained newly bought disinfectant swabs and safflower oil.
The person I was supposed to give it to never even gave me a second glance.
Since the person is gone, there's no need to let it go.
Jie Ying casually stuffed the bag into the drawer, tying a knot to prevent the contents from falling out.
Xu Wu doesn't like to tie her hair up; she wears it down five out of seven days a week. Her hair is very soft, and she uses freesia shampoo. You can be enveloped by its fragrance just by getting close, so much so that it still seems to linger on the tip of your nose.
He knew where Xu Wu was going. During a moment of wandering thoughts, he unconsciously reached out and touched his face. When he lowered his eyes, he inexplicably thought of the senior high school boy who had come to find Xu Wu that morning.
Does Xu Wu always talk so much to him? Does she really like smiling at that person? Does that person not react even when he's so close to her?
Or is it because...that person is good-looking? Does Xu Wu like that person's face?
Jie Ying frowned, no longer having the courage to touch her cheek with her hand.
He lay on the table, half his face buried in his arms, staring blankly out the window at the setting sun.
As the sun began to set, yesterday's weather forecast said there was less than a 20% chance of rain today, but Jieying felt for no reason that it might rain in a few minutes.
It was still a level 10 torrential rain.
The colors of the sunset shone through the window and reflected into his eyes, turning his pupils amber. Jie Ying's fingertips, perpendicular to the table, twitched slightly, as silently as vines that had grown in a damp corner for years.
Now, the vines are hoping that the endless rainy season will completely plunge them into the muddy swamp.
He suddenly felt that it should rain right now, and Jieying buried his face a little closer.
...Sigh.
A note from the author:
Jieying: Why isn't it raining yet? T^T
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