CH 13

13-17 minutes

A minute passed after Xu Hui was defined as a fool by Bai Lu. Bai Lu could see he was too stunned to respond. He may have never called a fool by anyone and that’s why he was so shocked.

Finally he deflated like a balloon and hanged his head, humming twice he muttered, “Stupid, I am stupid ……”

Bai Lu smelled the smell of alcohol coming from Xu Hui as he opened his mouth, he was still confused and pretty much drunk.

Xu Hui backed up, sat on the sofa, before laying down. His face was blank, as if he still couldn’t overcome the shock.

Because the sofa was small in proportion to him, who was tall and had long arms and legs, he had to curl up a little to properly nestle on the sofa.

He lied down with his back facing Bai Lu, seemingly angry with her for calling him stupid but actually, he was sleepy.

Bai Lu held the chopsticks given by Xu Hui in her hand, looked at him and asked, “Xu Hui, are you tired?”

Xu Hui did not move. Bai Lu sat for a while but found that he still did not move. So, she slowly stood up, came to his side, bent down and asked again, “Xu Hui, are you tired?”

Bai Lu could see, although he was sleepy, he wasn’t sleeping. He was blankly staring at the sofa. The sofa was black in colour so his white face looked paler than before lying on the sofa.

Seeing him not responding, Bai Lu pursed her lips and whispered, “Then I’ll leaving……”

Done saying, she took her bag, turned around and prepared to leave.

She just took a step when a hand pulled her wrist and tugged backwards.

“Hey ……” Bai Lu’s footing became unstable because of the sudden tugging. She wanted to hold something to stabilise her footing but there was particularly nothing around her to hold, except the sashimi boat. But if she held it, it would fall and the food would be wasted.

Because of her moment ‘s hesitation, she tripped and fell on the edge of the sofa.

Sitting on the floor, Bai Lu’s face scrunched together.

“Xu Hui!” She broke free from Xu Hui’s hand and covered her butt, rubbing it a little before hitting him on the shoulder.

“You really know how to rile me up.” Xu Hui turned around and gave her a lazy look. Bai Lu suddenly realized that they were very close.

Bai Lu quickly stepped back but Xu Hui grabbed her shoulder and pulled her to him without much effort. Bai Lu started struggling but to no avail.

“Are you trying to run from me?” Xu Hui whispered with his mouth on Bai Lu’s ear, his hot breath tickling on her ears making her neck shrunk and her face burned. Xu Hui’s one hand was wrapped around her waist while the other was holding her shoulder. He gave her a squeeze and couldn’t help but whisper, ” Your shoulders and waist are so thin …… Are you made of paper?”

With great effort, Bai Lu took his hand off of her, stood up from the floor and went back to sit on the place she sat before.

Xu Hui was like a rested animal. He rolled over to face Bai Lu, rested his head on the cushions and stared at her.

Compared to flustered Bai Lu, Xu Hui’s posture was relaxed. His gaze at her was as normal as usual, as if looking at an acquaintance.

Bai Lu held the chopsticks and said a little stiffly, “Are you going to eat? Because I’m going to leave after I finish eating.”

Xu Hui sighed helplessly, slowly got up and sat on the sofa before picking up a pair of chopsticks.

“Are you in a hurry to leave?”

Bai Lu said, “I have something else to do tonight.”

Xu Hui chucked a piece of sashimi into his mouth, “You always have something to do.”

Bai Lu: “I have to go to my part-time job.”

“What do your parents do?”

“They are…… ordinary workers. I do a part-time job because I want to help them.”

Xu Hui asked naturally, “Are you lacking money?”

Bai Lu did not even think about it and shook her head. Seeing her reaction, Xu Hui curiously asked, “If you aren’t in need of money, why do you want to help them?”

Bai Lu looked at him silently. Xu Hui put down his chopsticks and met her gaze without avoiding, as if waiting for her to say something.

Bai Lu’s gaze was tranquil, no extra expression could be seen on her face. She looked in his eyes and spoke calmly. “I have a sister who was injured some days ago and had an operation.”

Xu Hui ‘oh’ed and asked again, “Was she sick? So you are helping your parents for her treatment?”

Bai Lu lowered her head and said softly almost inaudibly, as if muttering to herself, “She could be called sick, right?”

“What do you mean, ‘could be called’?”

Bai Lu didn’t answer him. She silently picked up a piece of sashimi and put it in her mouth.

Xu Hui stared at her face and said after a long time, with a bit of disgust and irritation, “You are slow both in eating and talking.”

Bai Lu ignored his sarcastic remarks, swallowed the last bite of sashimi and said, “I have to go now.”

Xu Hui frowned and looked at the time, “So soon? What time is it?”

Bai Lu looked at her phone and replied, “It’s past nine o’clock.”

Xu Hui opened his mouth to say something but shook his head, “Forget it, you can go.”

After receiving permission to leave from him, Bai Lu said, “Thank you for treating me to something to eat.”

Xu Hui shrugged his shoulders carelessly.

Xu Hui followed Bai Lu to the door and watched her put on her shoe. After pondering for a moment, he asked, “Should I see you off?”

“No need.”

Bai Lu glanced at Xu Hui before leaving. He was still leaning lazily against the door with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Bai Lu vaguely felt that he had something to ask her but they ended up saying nothing to either of them.

While walking on the way back to her school, Bai Lu thought to herself, he must have remembered.

Remember that day he drank too much in the middle of the night, called her, told her those fragmented words, kept mumbling incoherent words and finally cried himself to sleep.

But neither of them ever mentioned it, which was surprising for Bai Lu.

Bai Lu felt that from that meal onwards, the interactions between her and Xu Hui would go to a different path. And her presumption became correct.

Xu Hui rarely sought her out anymore after that night, and she also no longer tediously designed patterns every week to fool him.

It was as if the initial newness of meeting someone had passed and they both began to fade from each others’ mind.

But they were still in contact.

Occasionally some nights, Xu Hui would send her perfunctory messages when Bai Lu was studying, or lying in bed after showering.

He would ask her about trivial things like, what she was doing and if she was busy with her part-time job.

The text messages would always come with no end in sight, untill she replies.

Time passed this way and soon it was September.

A new year started and the school officially opened.

“Looking at the freshmen students, I always feel old.” The senior students sighed and lamented.

The weather became hotter too.

There were very few students in the afternoon gym class. Everyone would rather stay in their dormitory room and roll on the bed than go out in the sun.

A few girls went to the canteen to buy a cold drink. They were laughing and chatting while coming back to the classroom.

Their voices were low because there were many students sleeping in the classroom.

Bai Lu was one of them.

She studied and did some important things past midnight yesterday night, and because of this, she was unsurprisingly tired and sleepy today.

The the table was not comfortable, so Bai Lu’s sleep was pretty light. She could hear someone talking around herself.

“I have go ……? And ask……”

“Will you ever get such a chance?”

“……”

“If you don’t say anything now, you’ll have to leave without telling her……”

“…… Don’t you push me!”

“Hey ……”

Bai Lu slowly opened her eyes. She swept her sleepy eyes around, just in time to see Li Siyi pushing Wu Hanwen.

Both of them abruptly stopped before her table and began to cough, their eyes darting everywhere.

Wu Hanwen invisibly glared at Li Siyi, who ignored it and pushed him Wu towards Bai Lu, then went back to his seat, lowered his head and started reading a book.

Bai Lu looked at Wu Hanwen, “You have something to say to me?”

Wu Hanwen’s face was so hot that his forehead was sweating.

Bai Lu wasn’t paying attention to him. She was thinking dumbly in her head that perhaps people who study well have large, wide and white forehead, just like Wu Hanwen’s.

Wu Hanwen had just calmed down when he noticed Bai Lu staring at his head and subconsciously went to touch his own small bangs.

“This, this ……”

Bai Lu looked into his eyes.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing ……,” Wu Hanwen put down his hand and went back his seat to read the test book on the desk. The book completely covering his burning face.

Bai Lu thought about it and asked softly, “It’s the sixth September, you’re going to the competition tomorrow, right”

Wu Hanwen’s shoulders flinched, he put down the book and asked, “You remember?”

Bai Lu nodded, her sleepiness did not fully pass so she could not help but yawn.

“Good luck.”

Wu Hanwen smiled, happy that he got what he wanted. Bai Lu asked again, “Where’s the competition?”

“The province’s unified examination center, I’ve already been there once.”

Bai Lu humed and joked, “Tsinghua and Peking University are beckoning you.”

Wu Hanwen: “It is not fair to put pressure on me at this time.”

Bai Lu: “You shouldn’t have distractions in your mind before the exam.”

Wu Hanwen scratched his head, “That ……” his fingertips played with the test paper and draw circles on the surface . “That, at night ……”

Bai Lu waited for him to finish.

“That ……”

Li Siyi couldn’t bear it anymore and slapped the table while shouting.

“The President is inviting you to dinner at night! He is going to a big battle, can you please come as a deskmate?”

Wu Hanwen was stunned. He slowly turned around with a glare.

Li Siyi ignored the murderous gaze at him and stared at Bai Lu, his small eyes opened to its fullest.

“Yes or no, give me a break!”

Wu Hanwen exploded: “What the hell are you talking about! Are you–”

” Okay.” Bai Lu replied.

Only then did Li Siyi turned his gaze to Wu Hanwen and raised his eyebrows triumphantly.

Bai Lu said, “What do you want to eat? I’ll treat you, you helped me so much in my studies before, and I haven’t thanked you properly.”

Wu Hanwen said generously but a little embarrassedly, “Students should help each other. No need for you to treat me, let’s just eat in the canteen, I just want you to cheer for me.”

Bai Lu nodded, thought of something and said, “But you have wait for me, I have to deliver something to someone after school.”

Wu Hanwen asked, “To whom?”

“Someone’s birthday today, I’m sending a birthday present.”

“Who is it?”

Bai Lu smiled, “You don’t know.”

Wu Hanwen nodded indistinctly, “…… Ok, then I’ll wait for you in the cafeteria after school.”

September 6, his birthday.

Bai Lu came to Xu Hui’s house after school with her bag on her shoulder and a paper bag in hand. She didn’t knock on the door, she knew there was no one inside.

Xu Hui was going to have a party with his friends and had invited her before, but Bai Lu said she had something to do in the evening and would not come.

She could still remember the cold tone of his voice when he hung up the phone.

In her hand were the things she had prepared at the night before. She took the things out from the paper bag, gently placed them on the doorway, and turned to leave.

Xu Hui was indeed outside. Today his friends were treating him. Before the afternoon, they skipped classes, dragged him to a KTV room that they booked before and started partying crazily.

Xu Hui, as the birthday boy, was drunk heavily and fell asleep in the sofa.

At night, Xu Hui opened his eyes.

Xiao Ye was leaning on top of him, while screaming and watching the boys playing cards, not noticing that Xu Hui was awake.

Only when he sat up did Xiao Ye react.

“Ah Hui you’re awake!” The sound in the room was already too loud. Hearing Xiao Ye’s loud voice yelling so loudly, Xu Hui’s head hurt even more.

“Do you want something to eat!?”

Xu Hui shook his head, he wanted to smoke a cigarette. He sleepily started groping the table for the packet when his shoulder was poked.

Xu Hui turned his head and saw it was Sun Yuhe who called him, holding a pack of cigarettes.

“Want to smoke?”

Xu Hui nodded his head.

After coming out of the private room, Xu Hui felt alive again.

“It’s too stuffy in the room.” Sun Yuhe handed Xu Hui a cigarette and said.

Xu Hui lit the cigarette, took a drag, and asked, “What time is it?” Once he opened his mouth, his voice was so hoarse that he couldn’t even recognize himself.

“Pretty early, it’s only after nine.”

Xu Hui rubbed his temples, his shoulders were sore and swollen.

“Oh, right.” Sun Yuhe flicked the cigarette ash to the ground and asked, “You said you knew a girl who was born as the same day as you, how come you didn’t call her?”

“Humph.” Xu Hui did not know what came to mind, snorted with a cold face before shaking his head. Sun Yuhe was a little dumbfounded seeing his reaction and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

After smoking a cigarette, Xu Hui pulled out his money-bag from his back pants pocket and drew a card out. Sun Yuhe saw it and waved his hand, “Don’t bother. You are the birthday boy today, we guys are treating you to dinner.”

Xu Hui gave the card to Sun Yuhe as if he didn’t hear him and said, “My treat.”

Sun Yuhe quietly looked at Xu Hui, knowing that he(Sun Yuhe) couldn’t win against him(Xu Hui), he(Sun Yuhe) let out sigh and took the card, “Okay.”

“I’m leaving now, you guys play.”

Sun Yuhe: “Aren’t you going to say them goodbye?”

“No.”

After saying that, Xu Hui turned around and walked out. Sun Yuhe stood in the same place, watching his distant back.

Xu Hui does not even have a bag, wherever he goes, he only brings his money-bag with him in his jeans’ pocket.

He walked slightly unsteadily, but because of his tall figure, it wasn’t too obvious. But when he(Sun Yuhe) looked at him, he(Sun Yuhe) couldn’t help the illusion of a single figure walking on the road, alone.