Chapter 6. Silt Accumulation, Forming a Lesion
The next day, Jiang Meng was woken up by her alarm clock at six o'clock and saw the three messages from the previous night, each about ten minutes apart.
A: "Asleep?"
A: "Are you really asleep?"
A: Goodnight.
Jiang Meng replied sleepily, "I was too tired last night."
A is also online: "Good morning."
Jiang Meng: "Are you up?"
A: No.
Jiang Meng: "I'm in bed too."
A: "
Jiang Meng cleared her throat awkwardly.
I'm dizzy and confused, why am I saying anything?
She glanced at the time: "It's only six o'clock. You're not really going to get up for school, are you?"
A: Yes
Jiang Meng: "Okay, I thought you were an old man."
A: "? Brother, I'm in my prime."
That arrogant tone was so familiar.
However, Jiang Meng didn't have time to think about it too much, because she needed to hurry up and get up to wash.
Thinking about yesterday's "mission," Jiang Meng brushed her teeth while finding the "Chen Xiaoyao" chat box and quickly typed: "Chen Jizhou."
Chen Xiaoyao replied instantly: "Jiang Meng".
Jiang Meng: "Have you read the thank-you letter?"
Chen Xiaoyao: "I've seen it."
Jiang Meng: "What do you think?"
Chen Xiaoyao: "The writing is quite good. I'll borrow a couple of lines to use in my next essay, so that Lao Wang won't come looking for trouble with me again."
Even Jiang Meng couldn't help but tell him, "...Stop being so carefree."
Chen Xiaoyao honestly replied, "Then I won't steal it. I'll just make it up myself."
Jiang Meng sighed; it was an expected result.
-
When Jiang Meng arrived in the morning, there were many assignments piled up on her desk. After searching, she couldn't find any for the person she was looking for.
Jiang Meng looked at the seat in front of her: "Su Yu!"
"Hey." The girl in front of her turned around to look at her.
"Hand in your homework! And bring your English too."
Su Yu got up and ran over, saying, "I'm here, I'm here."
Jiang Meng took her test paper, smiled mischievously, and winked at her. Su Yu knew what she meant and whispered, "I didn't understand the cloze test at all. You need to correct a few of them."
Jiang Meng gave a knowing look: "OK!"
Because of her excellent English grades, Jiang Meng usually devoted all her precious free time to physics and chemistry, which was a strategy to ensure balanced grades. She comforted herself that copying homework was not a bad thing.
Su Yu is Chen Jizhou's cousin, but the two siblings have completely different personalities. Jiang Meng sometimes looks at her eyebrows and eyes, which are somewhat similar to his, and sighs: "If only Chen Jizhou were as cute and well-behaved as you."
Su Yu would retort to her in a serious tone: That's not good. He is so unique, and of course, I am unique too.
Jiang Meng was so charmed by her cuteness that she wanted to hug and kiss her, but she was only willing to use her iron fists against a boy who loved to tease people.
While Jiang Meng was copying homework, Zhao Yuanting suddenly stood up and slammed her hand on the pile of books on Jiang Meng's desk: "Breaking news! Breaking news! Chi Yu'en and Chen Jizhou are in the corridor, come quickly!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Meng picked up both test papers and threw them onto Xie Zhuo's desk: "Hurry up and help me copy them, imitate the handwriting, so you don't give yourself away."
Xie Zhuo: "...?"
The corridor on the fourth floor is relatively safe. There are no teachers' offices on this floor, so teachers generally don't pass by.
From Jiang Meng's perspective, Chen Jizhou had his back to her. He stood relaxed, not too close to her, and was talking to the girl opposite him with his head down. Chi Yu'en also had her head down, not daring to look at him. She was a little nervous, which made the person opposite her seem naturally calm.
A head in the corner.
Jiang Meng said weakly, "It's too far away, I can't hear what they're saying at all."
Two heads in the corner.
Zhao Yuanting said weakly, "Oh no, I have a feeling that Chi Yu'en is about to cry?"
Three heads in the corner.
Su Yu said weakly, "So brave. If it were me, I would have been so scared that my legs would have gone weak."
Jiang Meng and Zhao Yuanting exclaimed in unison, "You like watching the excitement too?!"
Su Yu nodded seriously: "Yes, yes, I'm very gossipy."
A fourth head appeared in the corner.
Lin Fei walked over with his hands behind his back, glanced silently ahead, then silently looked at the three of them: "What show is so interesting?"
Jiang Meng squinted, then opened her eyes wide, then squinted again: "We're studying lip reading. Can you read what they're saying? I'm so curious."
"..."
"..."
After she finished speaking, the corner remained silent for a long time.
Realizing something was wrong, the three heads all looked up at once, and saw Lin Fei looking as serious as a pagoda-bearing heavenly king coming to subdue a demon.
The three of them slipped away as fast as they could.
With this matter unresolved, Jiang Meng was even a little uneasy during class. Indeed, being a responsible matchmaker is not an easy job.
However, news came from the seats in front that during the long break, Chi Yu'en had asked for leave and did not go down to run exercises; she had been crying on her desk for a while.
Jiang Meng's bad premonition was confirmed by the girl's tears.
It wasn't until lunchtime, when Jiang Meng was in charge of mopping the corridor, that she arrived. Chi Yu'en was coming up from downstairs after finishing her lunch. She paused and said, "Jiang Meng."
Jiang Meng turned around: "Hey."
Chi Yu'en looked around, then pulled her to a corner and repeated Chen Jizhou's polite refusal to her.
After Chi Yu'en finished speaking, she wasn't particularly sad or disappointed. Her red eyes had healed, and in the moment the dust settled, only a faint melancholy remained. She looked down and fiddled with her student ID for a while: "It's nothing, it's just that it might be a little awkward if we meet again in the future. Thank you, Jiang Meng."
Although he was sincere and polite enough to minimize the damage, it was still not good news. Jiang Meng was also disappointed: "No need, I'm just a messenger."
Chi Yu'en smiled and said, "I envy you so much, growing up by his side since you were little."
Jiang Meng waved her hand: "Please don't say that."
She didn't think being envied was a good situation. Jiang Meng didn't explain much. She lowered her head and thought of a solution: "Hey, how about this? You start studying hard from today. Since you can't have him, then defeat him! If you can't be lovers, you can be enemies. Make him remember you. Hate lasts longer than love, how about that?"
Jiang Meng snapped her fingers, revealing an expression of confidence in her unparalleled skill, her eyes crinkling into bright crescent moons with a smile.
Chi Yu'en chuckled: "But there's nothing to be happy about if you get a better score than him, is there?"
"..." Jiang Meng's smile vanished, and she inwardly cursed the unambitious Chen Jizhou.
The moment her smile froze on her face was so obvious that Chi Yu'en couldn't help but say, "You're so cute, goddess."
Jiang Meng's face immediately turned red.
Then, Chi Yu'en added, "Because you're so beautiful, we always thought you were the kind of person who was hard to approach, but it turns out you're not. Anyway, you're really cute—I'm going in now, you can mop the floor now."
After Chi Yu'en left, Jiang Meng was distracted and kept mopping the floor.
The words, "You're so cute, goddess," echoed in my ears.
There is nothing more joyful in the world than receiving praise from someone of the same sex...
Definitely not.
Huffing and puffing, mopping the floor.
Full of energy, mopping the floor.
—You're so cute, goddess.
Full of energy, mopping the floor.
Heave-ho, heave-ho, mopping the floor.
—You're so cute, goddess.
Today is a good day.
Mop the floor! Mop the floor!
Lin Fei came over to the classroom to watch the afternoon practice.
She was about to enter the classroom when she noticed someone in the corner mopping the floor like a drunkard, with a strange smile on his face. He looked at the floor tiles, then at her: "What's going on? Is your idol in the floor?"
"..."
-
When a physics exam paper was handed out in the afternoon, Jiang Meng's mood was completely ruined.
She was on duty that night.
Zhao Yuanting came out of the classroom and looked at Jiang Meng in the corridor: "Have you packed your schoolbag? Why is the test paper still on the table? Don't forget to take it back to get it signed."
Jiang Meng turned her back and said sullenly, "I know."
Zhao Yuanting walked away.
A while later, she came running back into the classroom and grabbed Jiang Meng's test paper, saying, "Sigh, I'll just help you with this."
Jiang Meng turned around and looked at her.
Zhao Yuanting waved the test paper in her hand and said, "Let's try to add Xie Zhuo as soon as possible to build up good karma. You can also help me persuade him not to be so aloof!"
Jiang Meng shrugged: "I already told you, when are you going to change your haughty habit of not adding girls? He just rolled his eyes at me. So, you either contact him by email or find someone else to like as soon as possible."
Zhao Yuanting held onto a pillar in the corridor and pretended to bump her head against the wall.
Jiang Meng burst into laughter.
They became deskmates in their first year of high school. Jiang Meng knew that in the eyes of outsiders, they were probably similar: cheerful and optimistic, slender and beautiful, carefree, and always laughing and joking.
Zhao Yuanting is like this, and Jiang Meng can also pretend to be like this.
Jiang Meng thanked her in her heart. Every time it came to the parent's signature, Zhao Yuanting would help her with this. She wouldn't press her for family matters, but would just say: "No problem, signing is not difficult."
Only those very close to her could see her distress.
The friends she makes often share a common trait: they are both sensitive and detached.
Jiang Meng boarded the bus home. The No. 48 bus took a long detour to get to her house. Every time she took this bus, she had to wander around the city for a long time before she got home. But there was one advantage: there were hardly any people on it.
She was sitting in the last row by the window. She had just opened the window a crack when she heard someone outside the school gate shout, "Chen Jizhou, XX wants to be your wife!" The familiar name made her eyes freeze, and she looked in the direction of the voice.
The source of the sound was not found, but some people were seen standing aside and stepping out of the rumors.
Chen Jizhou usually ignores such direct attacks.
He walked forward, passing the back window of the car, and glanced at it sideways.
Chen Jizhou got into the car and went to her.
"Are you going home by yourself today?" Jiang Meng asked.
Chen Jizhou plays ball for half an hour every day after school without fail, while Jiang Meng leaves as soon as school is over, so the chances of running into him are not high.
He sat down next to her, probably a little tired. He leaned back, relaxed his muscles, and naturally put his arm on the back of the chair. His voice was a little tired: "Your Uncle Xiangzi has gone on strike, so I've been supporting myself these past two days."
Jiang Meng chuckled.
After a while, she said, "Thank you for giving me so much face. Please go and talk to them properly."
They even talked about her matchmaking.
Chen Jizhou: "For your sake, as the matchmaker, I should at least show some courtesy."
After a two-second pause, he said more seriously, "Don't do this kind of thing again."
Jiang Meng asked, "Are you really averse to it?"
He said, "I don't want you to feel awkward because of me."
Jiang Meng remained silent.
She thought that this person was the type who always talked about having three thousand beauties, but in reality, he was a closed-off person who couldn't get a drop of water into his heart.
Every summer during elementary school, we would watch the repeatedly rebroadcast Chinese Paladin together. He liked Li Xiaoyao, so he changed his online name. Boys often have dreams of chivalry when they are young and inexperienced. However, chivalrous heroes who brave wind and rain have no love. Even if they do, they either die or get hurt. It's more enjoyable to fly alone on a sword without any worries.
Jiang Meng was certain that Chen Jizhou thought so.
She said, "But I can never find a good way to say it. Politely declining is also an art of speaking."
"Just tell them you like men."
His tone was so casual that it even made her feel ironic: You can't even come up with such a simple reason?
Jiang Meng thoughtfully asked, "What if the rumors get out?"
"Send it anywhere." Chen Jizhou closed his eyes.
Jiang Meng laughed and said, "That's it, from now on all the love letters you'll receive will be from men."
"That's perfect, I'll kick them all away as they come."
Because he said this with his eyes closed, he didn't know that Jiang Meng was looking at him and smiling.
Not hearing a reply, Chen Jizhou lifted his eyelids and met her vivid and beautiful expression.
A plastic bag was hanging on her wrist; Chen Jizhou noticed that she had bought two meat floss cakes at the school supermarket.
Jiang Meng's smile faded, and she tilted her head to look out the window.
She liked the train because it was long enough.
Knowing that there was no warm dinner waiting for her, she might as well stroll around leisurely.
Because she didn't do well on the high school entrance exam, Jiang Meng wasn't assigned to the honors class in her first year of high school, and her father didn't communicate with her for almost half a year because of this.
Jiang Meng wasn't sure if this counted as emotional abuse, because they would occasionally have brief exchanges, but most of the time, Jiang Su treated his not-so-good-looking daughter with utmost restraint.
Jiang Meng's parents are both too outstanding.
Jiang Su, who has been in school for twenty years and whose grades have never fallen out of the top three in his grade, doesn't know how to face the fact that his child's ranking is repeatedly lost in the crowd.
He simply chose not to confront it.
His mother wasn't the type to take care of the family; she spent more energy on her students. For a while, she would leave early and return late every day, busy with her professional title evaluation, and neglecting household chores. When Jiang Su and Jiang Meng were home alone, he would prepare a meal but wouldn't call her out to eat.
If Jiang Meng discovers that dinner is ready, she sits down, and Jiang Su doesn't criticize her. They silently wait for the mealtime, and then each does their own thing.
If she hadn't noticed and had come out a little later, the table would have been completely cleared away.
He doesn't go to parent-teacher meetings.
He wouldn't sign the exam paper.
He would take her to school, but he wouldn't say a word the whole way.
She pondered countless icebreaker lines every day:
Dad, do you want a Coke?
Dad, do you want to watch the game together?
Dad, why are you ignoring me?
Dad, did I do something wrong?
...
But it was no use. He completely ignored her, not even giving her a chance to please him.
This situation continued until the students chose to specialize in arts or sciences before the second year of high school.
Jiang Meng isn't the type to hold grudges; she lets bygones be bygones and doesn't dwell on past pain. But the root of the problem, like silt, kept piling up, eventually becoming a lesion in her personality.
This is probably what is meant by a gradual, subtle influence.
Her deepest fear is being looked down upon, so she greets everyone with a smile.
She wanted to be a happy and friendly goddess.
If all else fails, a cheerful and friendly quirky girl will do.
Thinking of this, Jiang Meng's thoughts were interrupted by Chen Jizhou's voice: "Going home?"
Jiang Meng looked up: "Hmm?"
The next stop is the University Town.
"Get off at this stop," he said.
When the car came to a stop, Chen Jizhou saw that she was still in a daze. Without waiting for a reply, he put his backpack on his shoulder, got up and went to the back door.
After he got off the bus, he stood still at the station for a few seconds, as if he were making a bet with himself that she might get off the bus.
He heard the bus doors close and turned around to see the girl who had followed him off the bus in a daze.
The bet was won.
Chen Jizhou smiled.
Jiang Meng was bewildered: "Why did you bring me here?"
He strolled forward leisurely, casually making up an excuse: "I'm craving some home-cooked food, will you keep me company?"
Jiang Meng said "oh" and followed, secretly stuffing her meat floss cake into her pocket.
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