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墨書 Inktalez
The East Street Night Market ended around three in the morning, and the entire street was nearly empty as various late-night food stalls gradually closed down.
They casually ate some food, while a few people at a nearby table drank and played games, getting louder and more animated as they ate. Meng Hanmo checked the time and said to Feng Ning, "I'll take you home first."
"Okay." Feng Ning put down her chopsticks.
Wearing a short-sleeved shirt, she accompanied Meng Hanmo to get the motorcycle. The cool night air made her shiver slightly. Feng Ning looked up, exhaling lightly as she gazed at the sky.
Meng Hanmo tossed her a helmet and his jacket. "Looking at the stars again."
"Yeah." Feng Ning was focused, grabbing his arm. "Look with me and find the brightest one."
Meng Hanmo swung a leg over the motorcycle and tilted his head. "Get on."
Feng Ning adjusted the helmet strap and said to herself, "Brother, do you know when the stars disappear?"
"I don't know."
"At four in the morning." Feng Ning shivered as she put on the jacket. "When I was little, I didn't understand things and would cling to my mom asking where Dad was. Later, my mom told me Dad was in the sky, turned into a star. For a while, I really loved looking at the stars, wanting to find the brightest one. I would search until morning, only going to sleep when I couldn't see it anymore."
The motorcycle roared to life, speeding down the empty streets of the night. The scenery blurred past them as her long hair whipped in the wind. She rested her head on his shoulder for a moment and murmured, "I miss my dad a bit."
Meng Hanmo was usually quiet, and although Feng Ning was typically strong and cheerful, there were moments of vulnerability that he didn't know how to comfort her through; he could only silently stay by her side.
At the entrance of Rain River Alley, Shuang Yao walked back and forth in her pajamas with a flashlight.
"Yao Yao!" Feng Ning jumped off the motorcycle, her earlier sadness vanishing as she rushed over warmly. "You're still the best to me."
"Shh, keep it down! Don't cling to me; you smell like oil." Shuang Yao distanced herself with a look of disdain and waved at Meng Hanmo nearby. "Hi, Mo Ge."
Meng Hanmo nodded and turned the motorcycle around. "You two should get some rest; I'm leaving now."
"Be careful on the road!"
"Mo Ge is so cool," Shuang Yao sighed dreamily.
Feng Ning pinched her arm. "Don't even think about it. I'm warning you."
In the darkness around them, they quietly pushed open the courtyard door and stepped inside. Shuang Yao sighed again, "You finally get a day off from the bar, and now you have to go help Mo Ge. You two really have a great sibling bond. But here I am, stuck holding the door, keeping it from Aunt Qi. I've been waiting until the middle of the night, and I can't even dare to sleep."
Feng Ning shook her head, then nodded, digging in her ear. "Alright, alright, no more complaining. I owe you a meal."
*
On Monday morning, Jiang Wen walked into class. A few people greeted him, but he acted as if he hadn't heard.
As he passed by Xi Gaoyuan, he suddenly burst out laughing.
Jiang Wen stopped to look at him.
Xi Gaoyuan gave a thumbs-up. "So, does your face still hurt?"
Jiang Wen lowered his eyelashes and remained silent for a moment before squinting his eyes. "Who told you? Zhao Binlin?"
"Hahahahahaha! Who else could it be?"
Xi Gaoyuan's face twisted with laughter until he caught sight of Jiang Wen's dark expression. He quickly stopped, zipped his lips with a gesture and earnestly said, "I know, don't worry. You can rest assured; I won't say a word."
Jiang Wen walked away without saying anything.
His deskmate glanced back curiously and whispered, "What happened?"
Xi Gaoyuan made a mysterious expression. "I can't say. If I do, my brother Jiang Wen and I will probably be in trouble."
Zhao Binlin was busy at his desk, scribbling away at his homework. Suddenly, there was a loud bang as Jiang Wen pulled out a chair and sat down.
Zhao Binlin poked him in the arm. "Hey, bro, let me copy your homework."
Jiang Wen tossed his backpack aside, leaned back, and glanced at him. His expression was unreadable; it was hard to tell if he was angry or not. "Did you send it to Xi Gaoyuan?"
Zhao Binlin feigned ignorance. "Send what?"
Jiang Wen suppressed his irritation. "What do you think?"
As an absolute top student, Jiang Wen always appeared polished and composed in front of others, handling everything with grace. He had never experienced being slapped by a girl before.
The young boy, already shy, had been slightly tipsy at the time and felt no particular embarrassment when they laughed at him.
But when he woke up in the middle of the night, lying in bed with his eyes open and staring at the ceiling, he tossed and turned. The moment he recalled how he had shamelessly chased after Feng Ning in public, asking her who she liked, he felt an overwhelming urge to slap himself twice.
Zhao Binlin was still relishing the incident, leaning closer to add fuel to the fire. "What’s wrong? You were so well-behaved in front of Feng Ning that day; it left me dumbfounded. I've never seen such a good Xiao Wen before; my heart melted."
Jiang Wen remained silent for a long time before suddenly exploding. "Damn it, Zhao Binlin, can you not be so annoying?"
"Wow, why are you so worked up?" Zhao Binlin's mouth dropped open as he stared at him in disbelief. "Did you just curse? Wow, in my lifetime, Jiang Wen actually swore."
Jiang Wen pulled out a book and lowered his head, resting one hand on his forehead. "Leave me alone."
Zhao Binlin pouted but obediently copied his homework, not daring to provoke him further.
Feng Ning was half-asleep when someone pushed her up and called for homework submission.
When she received it from Jiang Wen, he remained motionless, looking elsewhere and not even bothering to glance at her.
She was extremely tired and yawned, too lazy to point out his awkwardness, muttering, "It's time to hand in your homework, son."
Zhao Binlin immediately laughed, "Who’s your son? Don’t just claim anyone; you can’t take advantage of anyone."
Feng Ning grinned widely, "Hehe, you know it."
Jiang Wen finally turned his gaze toward her.
Zhao Binlin behind them made a face and pointed at Jiang Wen, using his lips to form words. Feng Ning looked for two seconds before realizing what he meant. She put away her joking expression and said, "Alright, it's time to hand in the homework."
After the third period ended, they went downstairs for a break. Zhao Binlin leaned over to Feng Ning and whispered, "Why don’t you go talk to Jiang Wen? I feel like he’s still recovering from the two slaps you gave him; he hasn’t bounced back yet and might have some psychological trauma left."
Feng Ning was surprised, "Is it that exaggerated?"
Zhao Binlin nodded repeatedly with a bitter smile, "You don’t know; he’s been sulking all morning, ignoring everyone and feeling miserable. Just do me a favor and cheer him up."
Feng Ning raised an eyebrow and sighed lightly, "You really treat him like a baby; you have to coax him like this."
"Isn’t that right!" Zhao Binlin sighed as well, "I owe you one."
Class 9's physical education class happened to coincide with the big break. Halfway through the lesson, some girls couldn’t stand the sun and rushed back to the classroom.
Jiang Wen had several bruises from drinking the day before, and his whole body ached. He didn’t feel like playing ball; instead, he sat on the sidelines for a while before picking up a bottle of water and heading back to the classroom alone.
"Jiang Wen!" Feng Ning had just jogged a short distance and was slightly out of breath.
The person being called pretended not to hear and continued walking forward without looking back. In the blink of an eye, he had already climbed a flight of stairs.
She slapped his back hard, "Hey, Jiang Wen!" Then she tapped the same spot again, "I'm talking to you, are you deaf?"
He paused for a moment but continued up the steps, still ignoring her.
Feng Ning quickly stepped up two stairs and directly blocked Jiang Wen's path, locking eyes with him.
"What do you want?" he asked, his brows furrowing in annoyance.
"I need to talk to you about something, cough, it's about that drinking incident a few days ago."
"I don't want to hear it." Jiang Wen's voice was calm as he tried to sidestep Feng Ning.
"Wait." Feng Ning suddenly moved aside and raised one leg in a show of defiance, completely blocking his way. Tilting her head, half of her face was in shadow as she silently pulled at the corner of her mouth with an evil tone, "What’s wrong? You were calling me 'Daddy' before, and now you pretend not to know me?"
Jiang Wen's face stiffened, a slight sheen of sweat forming on his nose as his clenched fingers turned white. "What do you want from me?"
After a pause of two or three seconds, she spoke: "I didn’t mean to slap you; it’s just the quickest way to sober up. Really, it works every time. Besides, you have no idea how many times I've been slapped when I was drunk; I've gotten used to it. Why are you holding a grudge?"
Feng Ning smiled sweetly, suppressing her mischievous demeanor for once. She made a fist with one hand, turned it over, and opened it palm-up. "Here, take a look at what I wrote."
Jiang Wen lowered his gaze slightly.
In her small palm were three crookedly drawn characters: I'm sorry.
After a moment of silence, his expression remained cold and indifferent as he let out a low grunt and walked away.
The three air conditioners in the classroom were humming, releasing cool air with a soft hiss.
Zhao Binlin entered the class, where only a few students were present. He had just finished playing basketball and was drenched in sweat, wiping his forehead with the collar of his shirt.
Jiang Wen paused his writing and shifted his chair slightly.
As Zhao Binlin squeezed in, his eyes swept across the room and suddenly froze, exclaiming, "Hey? What's that stuck on your back?"
Jiang Wen glanced over his shoulder. "What?"
"This—sticky note?" Zhao Binlin pulled off the pink square paper from behind his shoulder. "Who put this on you? What does it say? Another love letter from some girl? Quite creative, huh?"
Jiang Wen, uninterested, continued to scribble calculations on his draft paper.
Zhao Binlin leaned against the wall, puzzled as he studied the note for a moment. After a brief hesitation, realization struck him. "Wait, this must be from Feng Ning, right?"
Jiang Wen snatched the note back.
He paused for a moment.
What caught his eye was a chibi-style drunken Little Peacock, wearing a fluffy cape and slumped on the ground. Its tail fanned out in a half-arc, and a tiny crown rested atop its pointed head as it adorably leaned against a large bottle of alcohol, snoring peacefully.
Beside it was a Big-Eyed Cute Girl with long hair, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked up with a handprint on her left cheek, kneeling beneath a line of flowing English text:
——an apology to the lovely little prince
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