Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The end of September passed by in a flash.
As the hot summer gradually cooled down, Shuang Yao recently encountered serious emotional problems. Feng Ning had just finished running on the playground and was being dragged along weakly.
"I'll take you to see him tomorrow, really. He completely fits my aesthetic. I'm dizzy; he's tall, fair, and slim."
"What's his name?"
"I don't know yet."
Feng Ning laughed at her, "Is he from another class? Then why are you here daydreaming? Does he even know you?"
Shuang Yao pinched her arm and said, "Can you not be so harsh? Even though we don't know each other's last names or first names, I have a strong feeling."
"What feeling?"
"I must be special to him because we've made eye contact many times through the crowded crowd."
"Since you both have feelings for each other, then what is special Yaoyao troubled about?"
"Originally, I thought he wasn't the type to pay attention to girls. But today, someone asked him for his contact information, and he actually gave it! He actually gave it!"
At this point, Shuang Yao got angry again, her words tumbling over each other. She quickly took two deep breaths. "I happened to walk by and saw him quickly write something on paper and hand it to that girl. I really... I'm going to explode!"
Stepping over a large patch of fallen leaves, Feng Ning suggested, "Then why don't you ask for it too? If you don't take the first step, how can you take countless steps afterward?"
Shuang Yao shook her head and meticulously described her inner journey to her friend: "No way, I can't ask for it. That wouldn't be romantic at all. I can write in my diary for him every day, calculate the distance to brush past him, and I can also silently count every second we make eye contact in my heart, but I can't take that step myself."
"Why not?" Feng Ning sharply commented, "Isn't this just self-indulgence?"
"You don't understand at all."
As the sun was about to set, they strolled around the playground, accompanied by a retired teacher. After arguing for a while, Shuang Yao looked aggrieved, and Feng Ning sighed, "If it's so painful, then just stop liking him."
Shuang Yao huffed, looking quite pitiful. "But isn't that impossible for me?"
"Let me analyze it for you," Feng Ning smirked slightly. "Have you ever thought that what you like might not actually be him? What you really enjoy is the sense of surrender that comes from 'liking him.'"
Shuang Yao paused. "Sense of surrender?"
"Yes, take some time to really think about that term," Feng Ning feigned rationality. "Liking someone in a plain and simple way is boring. Objectively speaking, liking someone is both a pleasurable and painful experience; it should have that vague sense of loss that makes you feel both uncomfortable and yet allows you to enjoy it."
Shuang Yao wasn't as quick-witted as her and struggled to grasp this idea.
After tossing out one argument after another, she quickly reached a conclusion. "Do you remember my speech? Nietzsche's viewpoint ultimately states that what you like are desires generated by yourself, and it doesn't really matter who the object of those desires is. If you come to terms with this, liking someone else shouldn't be hard, right?"
Shuang Yao instinctively nodded along, puzzled and lost in thought.
Having achieved her desired effect, Feng Ning smiled triumphantly.
When she was rambling on, she could always maintain a straight face while weaving together some statements she didn't even believe herself into a logically coherent argument. She would casually reference classic quotes that sounded particularly persuasive at first glance, making it difficult for others to distinguish between truth and falsehood. Then she would seamlessly confuse others without leaving a trace.
Feng Ning was essentially an unrepentant rogue.
*
The sports meet was approaching.
The class monitor was overwhelmed with the project registration. The boys were easy to persuade, but the girls were not very enthusiastic, leading to low participation.
" teacher Tie wants me and Class Representative to handle this. But after asking around for two days, the girls either can't be in the sun or can't do intense exercise. You'd think our class has a pretty balanced gender ratio, but if this project ends up with absences and that project has no participants, it would be quite embarrassing, right? It's not about class honor; at least we should be able to report something."
During evening self-study, the class monitor was trying to persuade everyone, rambling on endlessly.
It had been five minutes without a pause. Feng Ning was getting a headache from his chatter. She slammed her pen down and looked up, "Alright, stop talking. Give me the registration form; which one is missing?"
The class monitor, a bit eager to please and cautious, said, "We can barely gather a few people for the others, but the 1500 meters is really..."
Feng Ning didn't want to hear his nonsense. She quickly glanced at the form, signed her name under the 1500 meters section, and tossed it back to him. "Okay, I need to study now. Hurry up and leave; don't disturb my studying."
"And there's high jump... why don't you consider that too?" While he was speaking, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He didn't notice and continued talking until an impatient voice came from above.
The class monitor opened his mouth uncertainly, "Jiang Wen... do you need something?"
Jiang Wen stood beside him with a cold expression, tall and slender. "This is my seat."
"Oh, oh." The class monitor nervously stood up and vacated the spot.
For some reason, the girls all said Jiang Wen was handsome, but he always felt there was a gloomy aura about him; just one look could freeze someone. The class monitor felt intimidated and quickly walked away.
Thank goodness, Feng Ning finally had some peace around her. She had sweated a lot from running in the evening and had spent a long time outside with Shuang Yao. Now her headache was acting up, and she had been staring at several physics problems without any ideas.
She lazily raised her arm and poked the person in front of her. "Jiang Wen."
After three or four seconds, Jiang Wen leaned back slightly and turned his head to look over.
Feng Ning retracted her hand and weakly turned the error notebook around. "Can you help me look at a few questions?"
He took it and studied it for a while.
Jiang Wen leaned sideways while explaining, resting his arm on the edge of her desk. As he spoke, he drew a force analysis diagram on the paper with his pen.
He lowered his head, his soft black hair falling over his brows, unintentionally revealing a hint of tenderness.
Feng Ning felt weak, her waist slumped as she rested her chin on the desk.
Jiang Wen's breath lightly brushed against her nose. Feng Ning sniffed, catching a fresh scent that was so refreshing it made her a bit distracted.
Her eyes caught sight of Jiang Wen's lips, and she thought to herself, his lips are so red, I wonder what brand of mouthwash he uses...?
Orange flavor?
Or maybe grapefruit...
After a minute, Feng Ning shook off the little distraction in her mind and focused on listening to him teach. She pointed at her homework book. "Here, isn't the force on both sides of the pulley the same?"
Jiang Wen quickly drew two more lines. "The friction of the pulley axis is negligible, but we cannot ignore the tension in the rope acting on point P."
"Oh..."
Feng Ning gathered her thoughts and listened to him intently. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she blinked, even the light in her eyes seemed to shatter with each blink.
He slightly raised his gaze and accidentally caught sight of this scene, causing his hand holding the pen to tremble.
The light above suddenly went out with a pop, and at the same time, the entire classroom was plunged into darkness.
Someone in the front shouted, "What's going on? Did the power trip?"
The class monitor hurried outside to check, discovering that the entire teaching building had lost power, with only the emergency lights in the stairwell still on.
The class became chaotic, but Feng Ning remained in her original position, unmoving.
In the pitch blackness, Jiang Wen waited silently for a moment. He still held a pen in his hand, feeling her warm breath against the back of his hand.
It was hers.
He tightened his grip and then relaxed. As he pulled back, his wrist accidentally brushed against her forehead.
With nothing visible, his sense of touch and hearing became increasingly acute.
Thump, thump, thump—this was the sound of a heartbeat.
"Did you understand?"
Feng Ning hummed softly, "...I guess so."
"There are two more questions. I'll explain them to you when we get back to the dorm."
They couldn't see each other's expressions; Feng Ning questioned softly, "How are you going to explain it to me in the dorm?"
"...Do you have a phone?"
"Yes, I do."
Jiang Wen paused for a moment, speaking with difficulty, as if it was quite forced. "…Then you can give me your phone number."
Feng Ning chuckled, mercilessly exposing him: "Jiang Wen, have you never tried to flirt with a girl? This way of asking for contact information is a bit awkward."
"......."
Just then, the corridor lights turned on, and faint light seeped in. The classroom regained a bit of brightness, and Jiang Wen's embarrassed expression had not yet faded.
Their eyes met, and Feng Ning maintained her previous posture.
In addition to his embarrassment, she could even sense a hint of grievance.
He turned his head away, trying to keep a natural expression, stubbornly saying, "Forget it."
After a while, a patrolling teacher came by, telling the students studying in the classroom to go back and that they didn't know when they would be able to return tonight.
Jiang Wen began to pack his things. As he stood up, he was called out. Feng Ning pinched a piece of paper between her fingers and handed it to him; it was clearly torn hastily from her notebook.
Jiang Wen was still fuming, not turning his head, looking down. "What is this?"
She smiled mischievously, "It's what you wanted—my phone number."
"I don't want it." Jiang Wen did not take it and didn't look at her.
Feng Ning almost rolled her eyes.
She patiently opened her notebook, handed over a pen with both hands, and said in a gentle tone, "Alright, alright, can I have your phone number? Would you be so kind as to write your mobile number in my notebook?"
Xi Gaoyuan and Zhao Binlin were watching a soccer match on the computer when they noticed Jiang Wen push the door open. They were quite surprised. "Aren't you supposed to be studying in the classroom? Why are you back so early?"
He replied succinctly, "The power went out."
Jiang Wen changed into his pajamas and sat down by the bed. With nothing else to do, he watched the live broadcast of the soccer match with Zhao Binlin and the others for a while.
As the first half ended, the cheerleaders came out to dance. After enthusiastically commenting on the girls' figures for a bit, Xi Gaoyuan suddenly turned around and asked, "Jiang Wen, are you waiting for someone’s message?"
Jiang Wen couldn't be bothered to engage with him. "I'm just checking the time on my phone."
"Come on," Xi Gaoyuan laughed mischievously. "In just these ten minutes, you've checked the time at least five or six times. What’s up? Are you in a hurry to turn off the lights and go to sleep?"
Just then, his phone buzzed with a WeChat notification. Jiang Wen swiped to unlock the screen.
There was a friend request from Chibi Maruko-chan's avatar, with the name fnn:
Hello, I’m your homeroom teacher, checking on your study progress.
He let out a grunt from his throat, glanced at the time, and turned off the screen without accepting the friend request.
A few minutes later, his phone lit up again. A text message from an unknown number read:
[Hey bro, why are you ignoring me?]
Jiang Wen smiled quietly. Looking at the time, a few more minutes had passed, and he finally reluctantly accepted Chibi Maruko-chan's friend request.
fnn_: Why are you so slow?
w: There are so many people adding me; how am I supposed to know it's you?
fnn_: You're so cold when you talk.
w: ...
fnn_: You shouldn't need to sleep yet, right?
w: Yeah.
Zhao Binlin's loud voice exploded in his ear: "Jiang Wen, are you watching adult videos? Why are you grinning at your phone all by yourself?" He leaned over to take a look.
Jiang Wen's smug expression still lingered on his face as he instinctively pulled his phone away. "It's nothing." After saying that, he quickly stood up, opened the balcony door, and stepped outside.
Zhao Binlin exchanged glances with Xi Gaoyuan.
Feng Ning sent another message:
fnn_: Maybe you're interested in discussing that conveyor belt question with me?
After a few minutes, he replied:
w: Not interested. Let's talk about it tomorrow; typing is a bit tiring.
Feng Ning could not stand his pretentiousness any longer. She turned the desk lamp up a notch and tossed aside the pillow she had been hugging. Sitting up a bit on her bed, she dialed the number directly, and it rang five or six times before being answered.
"Hey, hey, you have to understand, if I don't figure out this problem, I won't be able to sleep tonight," Feng Ning said as she flipped through her books. "I just have one question: why is the direction of friction the same when those two objects are sliding?"
On a night intoxicated by spring breezes, the evening wind carried a hint of coolness. Jiang Wen leaned against the railing of the balcony, gazing at the distant night sky.
The door behind him was pulled open. Xi Gaoyuan poked his head out. "Who are you on the phone with, hiding away like that?"
Jiang Wen, slow to react, moved his phone away slightly. "What do you want?"
Xi Gaoyuan guessed, "Your sister?"
He denied it. "No."
"Your younger sister?"
"No."
"Feng Ning?"
"......"
Jiang Wen fell silent for a moment before Xi Gaoyuan quickly snatched his phone and darted back into the dorm room.
Jiang Wen was momentarily taken aback and stood frozen for two seconds before chasing after him. He was caught around the waist by Zhao Binlin's arm and found himself unable to move. Annoyed, he struggled and called out, "What are you guys doing?"
Xi Gaoyuan cleared his throat and pressed the speakerphone button. "Hello, is this Feng Ning?"
Feng Ning replied casually, "Yeah, what's up?"
Xi Gaoyuan grinned widely, his tone suggestive, "Is there something going on between you two?"
"What could possibly be going on? It's just a simple discussion about academic issues between the top two students in the grade," Feng Ning responded.
Jiang Wen shot him a glare and lowered his voice, "Damn it, give me back my phone."
Xi Gaoyuan gestured for him to calm down. "Can I ask you two questions, then?"
"Sure, go ahead."
Xi Gaoyuan turned up the volume on the phone a bit more. "What does your mom call you when you're with her?"
"She calls me by my name."
He elongated the last syllable, "And what does Jiang Wen call you when you're together?"
"He calls me by my name."
Zhao Binlin laughed heartily and chimed in loudly, "So when are you two going to be together?"
Comment 0 Comment Count