Notes with illustrations
On Monday morning, Lin Weixi walked into the classroom with a somewhat shaky step. The sudden severe cold she caught over the weekend had made her sleepy for two days. Although the fever had subsided, her head was still dizzy and her nasal congestion made it difficult for her to breathe.
"Good morning, Weixi. Are you feeling better?" As soon as she sat down, her deskmate Chen Siyu leaned over and put her hand on her forehead. "Well, it's not hot anymore, but you still look a little pale."
"Much better, but I don't have much strength." Lin Weixi stuffed her schoolbag into the desk and answered with a strong nasal tone. What she was most worried about was the missed lessons, especially the physics class that had new content to cover today.
She took out her weekend homework and was about to prepare for it when her fingertips felt something hard, something that didn't belong to her, deep inside the desk. Puzzled, she pulled it out. It was a dark blue hardcover notebook, plain and clean, without any labels.
With a hint of curiosity, she opened the first page.
A familiar, slightly sloppy but powerful handwriting instantly caught her eye—it was Chen Wang's handwriting. She recognized it because she had secretly caught a glimpse of him taking notes during class more than once.
On the title page, he wrote concisely with a black fountain pen: "Last week's notes for each subject, the key points have been marked. I wish you a speedy recovery." The signature was only the simple letters "CW".
Lin Weixi's heart skipped a beat, as if something had gently gripped it. She subconsciously slammed the notebook shut and glanced around like a thief. Chen Wang's seat was still empty, and most of the students were busy with their homework or morning reading, so no one noticed her.
"What is that? It's so mysterious." Chen Siyu came closer and asked in a low voice.
"Nothing... nothing, just a reference book." Lin Weixi responded vaguely, moving the notebook towards herself, her cheeks getting uncontrollably hot.
After Shen Siyu turned back, she took a deep breath and carefully opened the book again. This time, she read it much more carefully. This wasn't just a simple class record. Chen Wang had clearly put a lot of thought into systematically reviewing the key points from each subject last week. What surprised her even more was that next to some complex formulas, theorems, or difficult knowledge points, he had actually drawn simple illustrations in pencil.
Next to the circuit diagram in the physics class, there was a crooked but flashing little light bulb; next to the molecular structure formula in chemistry, there was a bubbling cartoon beaker; even next to the most boring usage of empty words in classical Chinese, there was a little man in ancient costume shaking his head as if reciting.
These illustrations have simple brushstrokes, even a bit of clumsy childishness, but they are like the finishing touch, making those obscure words and symbols instantly vivid and easy to understand.
Lin Weixi's fingers unconsciously stroked the faint pencil marks, and her fingertips seemed to be able to feel the slightly frowned and focused expression on his face when he drew these under the lamp last night. She never thought that the boy who ran and jumped on the basketball court, full of strength, would have such a delicate and even cute side.
"What are you looking at so seriously?" The clear voice, with a slight breath after exercise, suddenly sounded above his head.
Lin Weixi was so frightened that her hands trembled and she almost dropped the notebook. She looked up suddenly and found Chen Wang standing beside the table, looking down at her open notebook. His hair was slightly damp and his face was still flushed from exercise. A breath of sunshine and a faint smell of sweat hit her face.
"This...notebook, thank you." She hurriedly pushed the notebook towards him, her voice so low that it was almost inaudible, her heart beating like a drum.
Chen Wang picked it up and flipped through it, his tone as relaxed as if he was saying that the weather was nice today: "Oh, about this. It's okay. I have to sort it out myself every week anyway, so it's just a matter of convenience. Are you feeling better?"
"Okay, much better." Lin Weixi nodded, not daring to look into his eyes.
"Those paintings..." She hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
"Well, that," Chen Wang touched his nose, a rare look of embarrassment crossing his face. "My sister insisted that taking notes this way would make it easier to forget. I just drew it randomly. If you think it's too childish, just ignore it."
"No!" Lin Weixi blurted out, then realized that her reaction was a bit too much, her face turned redder, and her voice lowered back, "...It's good, very vivid. Thank you."
"As long as it's useful," Chen Wang smiled, his small dimple faintly visible. "By the way, the last question in last week's math homework was a bit confusing. If you have any questions, ask me during recess."
At this moment, the bell for morning self-study rang just in time, saving her from embarrassment. Chen Wang put the notes back on her desk and turned back to his seat. Lin Weixi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, her palms full of sweat.
The first class was physics, and the teacher began explaining new circuit knowledge. Lin Weixi flipped open the dark blue notebook and found the corresponding section. Sure enough, next to the complex series and parallel circuit diagram, Chen Wang had drawn a cute version of the Flash, whizzing along the wires, with arrows marking the direction of the current.
Looking at the adorable little creature, a warm feeling mixed with indescribable joy quietly welled up in her heart. She quickly lowered her head, using her bangs to cover the corners of her mouth that couldn't help but rise, and pretended to take notes seriously, fearing that others would see her little secret.
She listened attentively throughout the entire class, partly because she didn't want to disappoint the unexpected kindness, and partly because she had to admit that these notes with their playful illustrations did make the originally boring class a lot more interesting.
During the break, she mentally prepared herself for a while and finally mustered up the courage to point to a math problem on her notebook that she had looked over several times but was still a little confused about. She turned to Chen Wang, who was discussing last night's NBA game with the boys in the back row.
"Chen Wang, this place...can you tell me more about it?" Her voice was not loud and was almost drowned out by the noise.
But Chen Wang heard it. He stopped discussing with his classmates, turned around, took the notebook she handed him, and glanced at the questions.
"Here, it's actually easier if you change your thinking." He picked up a pen and pulled out a piece of scratch paper, drawing auxiliary lines as he explained. His thinking was clear and his expression was fluent, without a trace of the impatience of an excellent student.
Lin Weixi moved closer, listening carefully and nodding occasionally. The autumn morning sunlight shone through the window, falling right on his fingers holding the pen, the joints clearly defined. He lowered his eyes slightly, and his long eyelashes cast a faint shadow on the side of his nose.
At that moment, the laughter and playfulness of the students around them seemed to fade away, leaving only the clear sound of his explanation and the rustling of his pen across the paper. She could even smell the faint scent of laundry detergent on his school uniform. The previous lethargy and depression brought on by illness seemed to be dispelled by the warm sunshine during this break and his patient explanation.
After school in the afternoon, Lin Weixi carefully put the dark blue notebook into the innermost layer of her schoolbag and zipped it up. Walking out of the school gate, facing the cool autumn breeze, she felt that her steps were much lighter than in the morning. Even looking at the falling sycamore leaves, she felt a little more poetic than usual.
When she got home, she immediately locked the door and, like a thief with a treasure, she took out the notebook again. She not only reviewed the knowledge points in it, but also lingered on the lovely illustrations and the brief blessing on the title page.
Finally, she opened the locked diary and wrote with a hint of cherishment:
"October X, sunny. My cold is almost gone. He lent me his notebooks, which had lots of cute little drawings on them, saying they were his sister's habits. The drawings made the notes much easier to understand. During the break, he explained the problems to me patiently and well. Today was the first time I spoke to him for several consecutive sentences."
After writing, she looked at the words "cute" and "patient," her cheeks warming slightly, but she didn't cross them out. Outside the window, the setting sun painted the sky a warm orange. She secretly decided to bring him a box of beautifully wrapped chocolates her sister had sent her tomorrow as a thank-you gift. She'd just say... I bought some extra at home, so I brought them to him.
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