Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
After Qinglan's health recovered, Liu Family Village returned to its original tranquility. Due to Qing Shusheng's status and authority in Liu Family Village, no one dared to speak a word of gossip or speculation about the incident of Qinglan and An Shaojie disappearing on the same night.
Everything returned to calm, including An Shaojie and Qinglan.
An Shaojie continued to move in and out of Liu Family Village as he always had, his solitary figure marked by an expression of indifference and detachment, as if nothing had happened to him that night. When he saw Qinglan, he walked past her without acknowledging her, just like before.
Time flew by, and soon it was mid-August when An Shaojie and Qinglan were set to return to school for make-up classes.
At the end of sophomore year, Qinglan unhesitatingly chose to follow An Shaojie into the science track. Xiang Yuanqiu, having not entered the key class during sophomore year, opted for the arts track when classes were divided, thus entering a key class for the arts.
Since most students from Qinglan and An Shaojie's key class chose science, even with the division into arts and sciences, their class remained intact as a key science class. The homeroom teacher and subject teachers did not change either, and before summer vacation, their class was notified that they would have make-up classes during the break.
On the night before leaving, An Shaojie repeatedly reminded Shaw Min, who was going to Shenzhen, to write to him after arriving in Shenzhen and keep in touch regularly.
Shaw Min nodded in agreement.
On the night An Shaojie returned to school, after dinner Shaw Min went back to her room early. That night, lying in bed, she suppressed her voice and sobbed almost the entire night.
A few days later, Shaw Min also left.
On the day they arrived at school, it happened to be raining. Around noon, An Shaojie reached the school gate. As soon as he got off the bus, he saw Qinglan walking ahead of him with her backpack. In her hand was a light-colored umbrella held up just like that night.
An Shaojie walked right past her.
"Brother Shaojie." Qinglan suddenly looked up and saw An Shaojie in front of her, involuntarily calling out his name.
This was the first time since that night that she and he met face to face alone.
But An Shaojie walked slowly in the rain, as if he hadn't heard Qinglan's calls, not even shivering slightly.
The rain fell heavily, just like that night, creating a misty curtain of water. An Shaojie did not run; he walked steadily in front of Qinglan, facing the downpour, as if he were sulking, allowing the rain to drench him.
Behind him, Qinglan bit her lip tightly, silently following him.
In the past, no matter how indifferent An Shaojie was towards her, she would have dared to step forward to stop him or to shove an umbrella into his hands. Even if he yelled at her or scolded her, she wouldn't have been afraid. In such situations before, she might have even shouted back at him.
Because in the past, she owed him nothing and felt no guilt towards him. No matter how much he disliked her, she was confident that she could turn things around.
But now, she didn't dare; she didn't even have the courage to approach him. She felt as if she were somehow inferior to him now.
She owed him too much—not only because Liu Jiawei had wronged Shaw Min but also because of what happened that night between them.
Before she fainted, she had seen the mockery and sarcasm at the corners of his mouth.
Her family truly annoyed him; he must really dislike her.
So now she couldn't be confident in front of him anymore.
Qinglan's guess was correct; An Shaojie indeed disliked her very much at that moment.
After carrying her back, she seemed to be fine, and this disparity unexpectedly left An Shaojie feeling somewhat disappointed. The sympathy he had felt for her that night vanished in an instant, and he even felt deceived, as if his kindness had been taken advantage of.
A harder thing than ever before swelled in his heart. He suddenly hated himself, and at the same time, he hated her and her family even more for taking advantage of his kindness.
No, it wasn't hate; it was disgust.
If before his dislike and indifference towards her had elements of rebellion or were a long-standing habit, now his disdain for her came from a deep-seated loathing.
What a despicable and detestable family!
He had to hate her, had to be hard towards her; otherwise, his kindness would always spill out in front of her.
He didn't like this version of himself. The hard and indifferent fortress he had built in his heart over the years could not collapse because of her or his own weakness.
So he had to make himself hate her, loathe her.
Thus, An Shaojie deliberately walked slowly in the rain in front of Qinglan, wanting to tell her just how detestable she was. Even if he got soaked, he would rather not share an umbrella with her. The world was vast; even with wind and rain, he was willing to move forward through it. The space under the umbrella was narrow; even if it could shield him from the storm, he did not want to share comfort with her.
After returning to his dormitory, An Shaojie took off his wet clothes and lay down on the bed for a nap. While sleeping, he dreamed that he was on a small boat adrift in the vast ocean. The sky above was filled with dark clouds, and ahead was a white expanse. The storm battered the shaky little wooden boat mercilessly.
He was very scared, gripping the edge of the boat tightly, looking around anxiously. Suddenly, he noticed a girl at the stern of the boat. He couldn't see her clearly, but she was calmly rowing and smiled at him, saying, "Brother Shaojie, don't be afraid; I'm here!"
He was overjoyed but still held some reservations as he timidly asked, "What is your name? How are you also on this boat?"
The girl smiled mysteriously. "Brother Shaojie, don't you recognize me? I am Qinglan."
Suddenly, the girl's expression changed; she grinned menacingly, her face becoming fierce. "If you want to know how I ended up on this boat, you should ask yourself!"
As she spoke, she raised the paddle and stepped closer to him. Suddenly, she forcefully jabbed the paddle against the side of the boat, causing it to tilt. He shouted for help.
An Shaojie woke up in a cold sweat from the dream.
It was the first day of make-up classes after the school year started, and many students had not yet arrived at school. Those who had arrived had gone out shopping, leaving An Shaojie alone in the dormitory.
An Shaojie glanced out the window; he noticed that the rain had stopped at some point, and the sun outside was still blazing. After the rain, the air and the roads outside retained some moisture, which, under the intense sunlight, continued to evaporate and rise. A wave of hot air surged into the room, making it even more stuffy inside.
Carrying his bag, An Shaojie walked toward the classroom. Due to the earlier dream, he seemed to still wear an expression of fear and disappointment on his face.
"An Shaojie, you're going to study in the classroom this early? You're really diligent," a male classmate greeted him.
He absentmindedly responded with a soft "oh."
The classroom was quiet.
Qinglan sat by a window in the corner of the classroom, reviewing her materials.
Hearing someone enter, Qinglan turned her head to look at the classroom door.
"Brother Shaojie." Qinglan stood up reflexively as if she had seen someone important. However, her soft call of "Brother Shaojie" was barely audible, and An Shaojie standing at the door did not hear it. When he caught sight of Qinglan in that corner by the window, memories of his dream flooded back. A chill ran down his spine as a thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "Never be deceived by her outward facade; she is someone who smiles in front of you while pushing you toward the sea behind your back."
Comment 0 Comment Count