Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
In this sweltering ghostly weather, Feng Ning eavesdropped in the corner for less than ten minutes and ended up with four or five big mosquito bites on her legs.
This must be the retribution for being a busybody.
She was itching terribly and couldn't stay put, so she quietly slipped away. Focusing intently on counting the colored square tiles beneath her feet—red, blue, green—she reached one hundred just as she finished the remaining half of her apple. Satisfied, she tossed the core into a nearby trash bin.
When she returned to the dormitory, her roommates were all gone.
Feng Ning leisurely went to the balcony to enjoy some fresh air, brought in her clothes, and took a shower.
After finishing her shower and shaking off the water from her hair, she sat cross-legged on her bed, applied some herbal insect repellent, leaned against her pillow, and called Qilan.
"You have no idea how bizarre that Wang Xiaoli from the cotton mill is. She cheats right under my nose every day. Last week, I caught her marking cards, and today when I was playing against her, she suddenly kicked my foot halfway through the game. I couldn't be bothered with her and just squatted down on my chair."
Feng Ning laughed uncontrollably at her mother's complaints. "Mom, you're so childish."
"If it weren't for my Mahjong Parlor business, I would have kicked her out long ago," Qilan huffed angrily, coughing twice. "By the way, are you adjusting well at school? How's your relationship with your roommates? Do you have enough money? I've been restless at night lately; my chest feels tight, and I keep dreaming about you and your dad."
"I'm doing well! I'm studying hard, eating on time, and getting along with my classmates. You don't need to worry about me," Feng Ning said while pinching the bump on her leg with her nails, mumbling along. "If you're not feeling well, make time to go to the hospital for a check-up. Don't always be lazy or afraid of trouble; health is the most important thing. What would I do if something happened to you?"
"I know."
Halfway through the call, Meng Taoyu returned with two cups of grass jelly drink.
She pulled up a chair next to Feng Ning and waited for her to hang up before taking out one cup from the bag, inserting a straw, and handing it over. "Ning Ning, I brought this for you. Try it and see if it's good. It's from a new milk tea shop near the school; they say it tastes great. I waited in line for a long time."
Feng Ning playfully giggled and teased, "You're so nice to me; I can only repay you by dedicating myself to you."
Meng Taoyu took a sip herself, shook her head vigorously, and said seriously, "No, it's me who should thank you. I really don't know how to repay your kindness."
"How about dedicating myself to you?"
Meng Taoyu chuckled and nodded repeatedly, "Sounds good."
The situation between Duan Yuwei and Meng Taoyu had become quite the spectacle, eventually leading to both families being summoned to the school, with even the school BBS buzzing with discussions.
After laughing for a while, Meng Taoyu recalled her mother's request and quickly said, "By the way, Ning Ning, do you have time this Saturday night? My family wants to invite you for dinner, along with Xi Gaoyuan, Zhao Binlin, and Jiang Wen."
"Oh? That's so generous?" Feng Ning replied with a questioning tone. After thinking for a moment, she added, "Why don't you tell me the location first? I usually work during the holidays. If you guys are free, you can come find me after dinner. I promised to treat them to drinks anyway."
"Where should we find you?"
"At Jian Tang. I'll send you the name; you can search for it on Gaode later."
"Sure, but I don't drink."
Feng Ning patted her chest confidently. "Don't worry! I'll personally mix you a Mojito—it's a non-alcoholic virgin drink and tastes amazing."
She picked up her phone. "What time are we thinking? Is the number of people confirmed? It's hard to book a spot on weekends. If you're coming, I can reserve a booth for you in advance."
"For dinner, we should be done by seven or eight," Meng Taoyu said with a slightly conflicted expression. "Jiang Wen and the others should all come because my dad... specifically asked Jiang Wen's dad and arranged it with Zhao Binlin's parents."
"Wow, is it that formal? Do your parents know each other?"
"Not really; it's work-related. My parents are lawyers at Jiang Wen's dad's company."
As they chatted, the other two roommates returned. Miao Le curiously asked, "Feng Ning, why didn't you go to the classroom to study today?"
"Well, I decided to take a day off."
“Do you want some Lychee? I just bought it.”
“No, thanks.”
Feng Ning shifted from sitting to lying on the bed, drying her hair while scrolling through unread messages on her phone. She filtered out spam and confessions from strangers, deleting them all.
She had a compulsion; the number of messages must be ninety-nine. Digging through her contacts, she found Zhao Huiyun's number and dialed it. “Boss, my mom has been having chest pains lately. I plan to take her to the hospital for a check-up this week, so I might be a bit late getting to the store.”
After chatting for a bit, Zhao Huiyun said on the phone, “Are you free tomorrow afternoon? Can you take Fan Fan to eat at KFC? I've been swamped lately and can't take care of him. He's been acting up for several days now, and I've already talked to his teacher.”
Fan Fan was Zhao Huiyun's son, whose full name was Zhao Yufan. He was in sixth grade at Qide School. For the past two years, Zhao Huiyun had been very considerate towards Feng Ning, and she felt grateful for it. As long as there were no plans on Saturdays, she would go to the store after lunch to help Zhao Yufan with his homework. This chubby kid idolized her just like his cousin Zhao Weichen.
Feng Ning readily agreed, “No problem.”
*
In less than half a day, Jiang Wen's romantic gossip spread quickly, capturing the attention of the entire grade.
After hearing the news from others, Xi Gaoyuan left class and rushed over. “Is it true? Come clean! Are you hiding this from us?”
A few other curious boys gathered around to tease him. One of them said with a hint of envy, “I’m jealous! Isn’t Cheng Jiajia the school beauty? You two are really together? When did this happen?”
Another chimed in, “It probably started at the Riding Arena last time.”
Jiang Wen rested his head on his hand while doing his homework, responding with a nonchalant “mm.”
“Hey Jiang Wen, the Class Representative gave out the sports meet registration forms. You and Zhao Binlin need to fill one out.” Feng Ning called out to Jiang Wen from behind and poked him with her pen.
He remained motionless.
She said with a hint of annoyance, dragging out her words, "Big Brother, can you pay attention to me?"
Jiang Wen turned a page in his book.
Feng Ning was too lazy to call out again.
In the past few days, whoever spoke, Jiang Wen at least acknowledged them, except for Feng Ning.
Even Zhao Binlin noticed something was off. He turned around and took the registration form, asking curiously, "Have you had a fight with Jiang Wen recently?"
"I haven't," Feng Ning shook her head and casually brushed it off. "It's one-sided."
After that night when everything was laid bare, Feng Ning had actually been hoping to reconcile with Jiang Wen. But he always acted so unpleasantly, stubbornly proud and pretending to be aloof, refusing to speak properly.
Feng Ning grew tired of trying to engage him and stopped initiating conversations. After all, he was the one who chose to be with someone else; she owed him nothing.
"By the way, Zhao Binlin, do you and Xi Gaoyuan have any plans after dinner with Meng Taoyu on Saturday?"
"I don't know; we probably don't have any plans."
"Alright, if you don't have plans, I'll arrange something for you."
Zhao Binlin tilted his head to look at her. "What kind of arrangement?"
"Come to Jian Tang! It's a promise; I owe you guys a drink."
"Sounds good!"
Hearing Feng Ning laugh and chat with others while casually omitting his name made Jiang Wen feel a strange sense of discomfort.
Jiang Wen felt the fire inside him rising little by little.
Xi Gaoyuan recalled a friend who had good conditions and looked quite charming. He had pursued Cheng Jiajia for half a year, but she hadn’t even given him a glance, acting as if she were above it all. Thinking back on this, he sighed for a moment. "How did you two end up together? From what I know of you, it must have been her chasing you. But asking about it is like seeing a steel tree bloom."
He still wanted to ask more.
"How long are we talking about?"
His tone was slightly angry, leaving Xi Gaoyuan taken aback. "Dude, are you dating or blowing up a bunker?"
Jiang Wen realized he had lost his composure and irritably lowered his gaze. "Class is starting soon; you should go."
The Biology Teacher was lecturing on evolutionary theory while Feng Ning sat below with Meng Taoyu, gossiping about him. They criticized his dull teaching style, saying he wrote poorly on the board and didn’t deserve Qide's high salary; they would be better off letting her teach. As they talked, Teacher Tie walked by with a stern expression, slowly making his way past the window.
Feng Ning immediately fell silent, sticking out her tongue in fear.
*
Qide's elementary school let out half an hour earlier than the high school. Zhao Yufan sat neatly on a bench in the corridor, waiting for Feng Ning with his small backpack.
A passerby chuckled, "Who are you waiting for, little brother?"
Zhao Yufan replied seriously, "I'm waiting for Feng Ning."
Feng Ning was still packing her things when she heard someone outside shouting, "Feng Ning, your brother is waiting for you."
Feng Ning laughed and responded, "What brother? I don’t have a brother; I only have an illegitimate child."
"Well, you're really something."
Class Nine is on the fourth floor. When Feng Ning went out, she was quite surprised, "How did you get up here?"
Zhao Fanyu frowned seriously, "There’s a class sign. I'm not an idiot."
Feng Ning patted Chubby Kid's head and took his backpack, "Why are you carrying a backpack after eating at KFC?"
"Oh, wait a minute. You need to take me to the supermarket; I still want to buy some snacks."
Feng Ning felt a pang in her heart and scolded, "You little rascal, you're really good at squeezing money out of people. I'm going to go bankrupt."
Zhao Fanyu hurriedly said, "Use my money; Mom gave it to me!"
"Just kidding, I have money."
In the crowded space, they held hands while going down the stairs, not noticing that two people were following behind them.
"Shall we go go-karting this weekend? Just the two of us, or we can invite others; it's up to you."
Seeing that the person next to her was slow to respond, Cheng Jiajia looked up at Jiang Wen.
Against the light, she couldn't tell if he heard her words as he stared ahead without moving. Cheng Jiajia was momentarily stuck, gazing at his profile; he was really handsome. The irritation of being ignored faded a bit. She tugged at his shirt hem and half-jokingly said, "Jiang Wen, are you unhappy? If you have something on your mind, can you tell me?"
Jiang Wen slightly raised his eyes, "I have nothing on my mind."
"Where's your teacher's signature slip? Let me see."
Zhao Fanyu took it out from his pocket and handed it to Feng Ning.
The uniforms and class signs for Qide Primary School, Junior High School Department, and High School Department are all different. Students in the primary school department cannot leave school without a leave slip.
Feng Ning glanced at it and said, "You're quite good at causing trouble; you specifically came out just to eat KFC?"
"Of course not."
During the lunch break, which lasted about two hours, Feng Ning took him to a shopping area near the school. After finishing at KFC, Chubby Kid insisted on getting the Doraemon toy and went to the counter to ask the staff, eventually exchanging it for a Frozen Princess Anna.
Feng Ning found it amusing and teased him, "You're so girly, Chubby Kid."
Zhao Fanyu shot her a glare. "What do you know? I'm giving it to someone else."
"Oh~" Feng Ning suddenly realized, "Is it someone you like? A crush?"
Chubby Kid fidgeted for a while before nodding.
Feng Ning couldn't help but chuckle and asked gossipingly, "What's your little sister's name?"
"Jiang..." Chubby Kid only managed to say the surname before quickly shutting his mouth. "I can't tell you, and you can't tell my mom."
"Alright then." Feng Ning playfully tapped his head and teased, "Having a crush at such a young age, you're quite trendy. You've got some skills already."
Recently, with not much to do, Feng Ning had been living a very regular life. After running in the evening, she would go to the classroom for self-study.
After doing some homework, a girl sat down in front of her. Within a few minutes, there was a hint of a very sophisticated perfume in the air.
It wasn't floral water; it actually smelled quite nice.
Although the voices from the front were soft, Feng Ning was close enough to hear some sounds.
"Jiang Wen, why do we need to draw auxiliary lines for this problem?"
"Why is the acceleration here different from there? How do you read the values?"
Strange questions came one after another. By the end, Feng Ning felt like rolling up her sleeves, picking up a pen, and personally explaining the problems to her. It would be a great opportunity to promote her fifty-yuan notes, which were better than any materials sold—easy to understand and remember.
She secretly despised her habit of eavesdropping; perhaps this was how couples cultivated their feelings for each other?
Feng Ning put away her exercise book, pondering that it was time to change the study location.
Cheng Jiajia patiently pretended to study math problems for a while. Suddenly, a brief and urgent sound reached her ears—a muffled, intermittent noise that seemed somewhat suppressed.
It sounded a bit like crying.
Noticing something unusual, Cheng Jiajia turned to look.
Feng Ning had her head resting on one arm, her face buried beneath it, and her shoulders were shaking slightly.
Cheng Jiajia displayed a worried expression and tapped the corner of her desk. "Classmate, what's wrong?"
Feng Ning ignored her—she didn't hear.
So, Cheng Jiajia leaned closer to Jiang Wen and gently said, "The girl behind you seems to be crying. What's wrong with her? Should we check on her?"
Jiang Wen remained indifferent and said nothing.
In fact, Cheng Jiajia knew Feng Ning.
Feng Ning had an unforgettable beauty; she was very pretty. Cheng Jiajia had heard from Pei Shurou about how she pursued Jiang Wen. Later, when they bumped into each other at East Street for a late-night snack, she recognized her at once.
Cheng Jiajia felt a mix of sympathy and self-satisfaction as she thought: Feng Ning must be heartbroken; it was indeed a bit cruel for her to show off her sweet relationship with Jiang Wen.
Thinking about how the boy who had shattered so many hearts now belonged to her, Cheng Jiajia felt a deep sense of satisfaction.
This satisfaction even allowed her to overlook the vague discrimination she felt towards Feng Ning.
In the end, she poked her arm, asking, "Are you okay?"
Jiang Wen also turned to look.
Feng Ning lifted her face, her cheeks slightly flushed, her teeth pressed against her lips, and the bitten area was a ripe cherry red.
She reached out and pulled off her earbuds. Having just stifled a laugh, her voice was a bit hoarse but very soft, "Ah, what's wrong?"
Inadvertently, she also yanked out the headphone jack, causing Guo Degang's loud voice to echo in the quiet classroom:
"I chase and chase with Cupid's bow and arrow, while you fly away in a bulletproof vest!"
Comment 0 Comment Count