Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Awakening once again, it was the thirst that roused her.
Feng Ning propped herself up slightly and surveyed her surroundings. It was a rather upscale suite, with a wall-mounted television, floral wallpaper, and European-style sofas. If it weren't for the IV drip, she wouldn't have realized she was in a hospital.
The wooden wall lamp emitted a soft glow. As she moved, the person lying beside her stirred awake.
The curtains were half-drawn, and outside was pitch black, with the moon hanging faintly in the sky. She strained to gather her thoughts, "What time is it? Why are you here?"
Jiang Wen rubbed his eyes, his voice hoarse and low, "Are you feeling better?"
"Much better." Feng Ning felt a spasm in her stomach but forced herself to continue speaking, "Is there any water? Can you get me some?"
It was quite late, and there were hardly any other sounds around. The warm water slid down her throat, finally easing her parched voice.
In the dim light, Jiang Wen stood a few meters away, looking dejected and disheveled.
Their eyes met; Feng Ning looked into his glistening eyes and smiled lightly, "I'm fine. Why are you looking like that?"
He paused for a moment, "Today..."
"I've been selling liquor since junior high school; I've seen all kinds of storms. Besides, Teacher Feng is just setting an example to show you that circumstances can be tougher than people. Last time you didn't listen when I talked to you; this time it's vivid enough to leave an impression, right?"
She yawned, still maintaining a joking tone, "Alright, alright, let's turn the page. Just look at yourself; if someone didn't know better, they'd think you were mourning with me."
"......"
After a while, Feng Ning shifted slightly and felt a wave of discomfort in her lower abdomen. She sniffed at her collar and nearly gagged again.
Feng Ning looked up and said, "Hey, can you do me a favor? Go nearby and look for a 24-hour supermarket. Just buy me a cotton short-sleeve shirt and a pack of overnight sanitary pads."
Jiang Wen's face shifted from pale to red. After a long pause, he struggled to speak, "What brand..."
In the late-night convenience store, Jiang Wen wandered alone in the women's products section, his face showing an unusual flush.
A small nurse finishing her night shift passed by and looked at him curiously.
Under her gaze, Jiang Wen had to pretend to be calm as he bent down to grab the blue-packaged Seven Degrees Space from the shelf.
He took it to the counter for checkout, wanting to finish quickly.
The clerk seemed lethargic, scanning the item and lazily saying, "You're quite pampering your girlfriend."
He maintained a calm expression and responded vaguely.
Feng Ning came out of the shower and found Jiang Wen with his eyes closed, breathing heavily, seemingly exhausted as he lay on the sofa and fell asleep.
She tiptoed over. After watching for a while, she found a thin blanket to cover him and turned off the light.
*
The next day, Meng Taoyu arrived early and placed the fruits she bought aside.
Feng Ning was leaning against the headboard receiving an IV drip, feeling a bit helpless. "I'll be discharged this afternoon."
"What happened?" Meng Taoyu asked anxiously. "I sent you messages and called you last night, but you never replied. Later, I found Zhao Binlin in our class group and messaged him to find out you were in the hospital. Are you feeling better now?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, really."
“Zhao Binlin said Jiang Wen stayed here last night. Did he leave?”
“He probably left in the morning. I was sleeping, so I don’t know.”
Meng Taoyu changed the subject, raising the book in his hand. “Are you bored? Do you want me to read it to you?”
The nurse opened the window for ventilation, and a gust of wind blew in, causing hair to cover her eyes.
Meng Taoyu put down the book, freeing his hands to let his tied ponytail down into a mess, and re-tied a few strands of hair by his cheek.
A sound of footsteps approached, and she turned her head to see that four or five people had entered the room without her noticing.
Meng Taoyu stood frozen in place, holding a book with no warning.
The person at the front was tall, with a cold and expressionless face and broad shoulders. He wore a mechanic's jumpsuit with oil stains, as if he had just finished working. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing slightly tanned arms.
Meng Taoyu quickly stepped back half a step to make room. The man brushed past him, and she felt her arm bump against someone.
Feng Ning on the hospital bed called out, “Brother.”
“What happened to you?”
Feng Ning smiled faintly. “I drank too much. I guess I’ll have to answer this question several more times; maybe I should just write a sign and hang it around my neck.”
“Is it Axin?”
Feng Ning’s expression changed slightly. “The matter is resolved; you don’t need to worry about it.” She smiled at Meng Taoyu and said, “Let me introduce you; this is my brother. Speaking of which, you two are actually from the same family; you share the same surname.”
Meng Taoyu is fair-skinned and petite, with a gentle appearance that reflects her good temperament. She is slender and delicate, exuding a charming and refined aura.
She is a bit shy, biting her lip as she awkwardly greets, "Hello, Brother."
Meng Hanmo slightly turns his head to look at her, "Oh... hello."
*
Zhao Binlin enters the hospital, goes up to the third floor, turns a corner, and sees someone leaning against the corridor.
Hearing footsteps, Jiang Wen turns his face towards him.
Zhao Binlin hesitates, sizing him up, and points inside with his finger, "Why aren't you going in?"
Jiang Wen lifts his eyelids and glances at him lightly: "There's someone."
"Who?"
"I don't know," Jiang Wen replies.
Seeing his expression, Zhao Binlin feels somewhat puzzled. He leans out to sneak a few glances and suddenly realizes, "Ah, Feng Ning's boyfriend?"
Jiang Wen shifts his gaze to the side and hums in acknowledgment.
He recognizes Meng Hanmo, the person who fed oranges to Feng Ning that day.
He easily notices his friend's silent disappointment. Zhao Binlin can't help but chime in with a voice as small as a mosquito, "Well... you and Feng Ning, you both... you have a girlfriend too, right?"
"I broke up."
Zhao Binlin seemed a bit taken aback. "Huh? Huh?! You broke up just like that... how did it happen?"
"I just don't like him," Jiang Wen said calmly, with a hint of indifference.
"Don't like him..." Zhao Binlin repeated, hesitating, "So, do you like..."
A few minutes of silence passed. Jiang Wen chuckled self-deprecatingly.
They were communicating while Meng Taoyu stared at the floor, focusing her gaze.
Meng Hanmo seemed to have something else to do and left after saying a couple of sentences. Meng Taoyu couldn't help but glance over.
Outside, Buzz Cut Guy handed him a cigarette. He didn't look or take it, waving his hand dismissively.
After the person left, Feng Ning suddenly called out, "Damn, my brother left his keys here."
Meng Taoyu rushed downstairs, her heart pounding. She looked out through the glass and spotted that figure. Her pace slowed for a moment before she couldn't help but quicken it again.
The few of them got on their motorcycles.
In her anxiety, Meng Taoyu shouted from several dozen meters away:
“――Brother Meng!”
This shout was heard by everyone. A few people froze in their movements and turned to look at the source of the voice.
“Meng, bro?” Crew Cut enunciated carefully, his shoulders shaking. “Mo, which little sister do you know?” “She seems like a student, quite innocent. Mo, your taste has become quite mild.”
Meng Taoyu arrived just in time to hear this. Her steps faltered as a rush of blood surged to her head, visibly reddening her face and earlobes.
Meng Hanmo kicked the person lightly but firmly, “Don’t tease the little sister.”
This truly amused the others, and one by one they chimed in, playfully saying, “Oh dear, little sister, why are you so shy?”
“Is that a blush I see on you, little sister?”
“Come on now, you bunch of rascals, don’t tease Brother Meng’s little sister.”
Ignoring the laughter from the others, Meng Hanmo extinguished his cigarette and looked at her intently, “What’s up?”
“Well, the keys.” Meng Taoyu seemed to snap out of a daze and quickly handed over the items, speaking softly, “Ning Ning asked me to bring these to you.”
“Thank you.” Meng Hanmo bent slightly to receive them.
Meng Taoyu took two steps back and hurriedly shook her head, “It’s nothing, really. No need to thank me.” With so many people watching her, she felt extremely nervous and even slightly bowed. “I’ll be going now. Goodbye, brother.”
“Pfft.” Crew Cut struggled to suppress his laughter.
Meng Hanmo raised an eyebrow slightly as if he also found it amusing and casually replied, “Mm, goodbye.”
Meng Taoyu's heart raced uncontrollably, her mind still in a haze. She cautiously hid by the edge of the flowerbed, secretly watching as the group moved away.
*
Monday arrived, and school resumed as usual.
Feng Ning had been experiencing a dull ache in her stomach for the past couple of days, as if the pain from her menstruation had been prolonged. She felt particularly exhausted and slumped over her desk for two periods.
The third period was English class.
Before the bell rang, Teacher Tie stood at the podium and tapped on the desk. "Everyone quiet down. Put your homework from last week on the desk; I will check it one by one. If you haven't done it, get up and stand outside."
As soon as those words were spoken, an uproar erupted in the classroom.
Feng Ning had spent two days in the hospital and hadn't touched any assignments. She sighed silently, just about to get up when a paper filled with writing was suddenly thrown onto her desk. Her energy was low, and her mind felt sluggish.
She heard chairs scraping against the floor ahead of her.
Her eyelashes fluttered slightly as she looked up in surprise to see Jiang Wen standing up.
Teacher Tie happened to walk by and scrutinized him for a moment. "Why are you standing up? Didn't do your homework?"
Jiang Wen lowered his head and mumbled an acknowledgment.
"Where's your paper? Let me see how much you wrote."
Jiang Wen replied softly, "I didn't write anything."
"Not a single word written?"
Jiang Wen remained silent.
Zhao Binlin felt a storm brewing inside, his mouth forming an 'O' shape as he glanced at Feng Ning, then at Jiang Wen, and back at Feng Ning.
The teacher Tie's expression was neutral, but she was holding back her anger. "Why didn't you write?"
"I forgot."
"Forgot?!" The teacher Tie's face darkened as she suddenly raised her voice. "How could you forget after I emphasized it several times? Do you treat the teacher's words as mere whispers? Do you know where your ranking in the weekly test has dropped to?"
Jiang Wen said nothing.
At this point, the entire class's attention was focused on them.
The teacher Tie took a moment to calm her breathing and called out, "Is there anyone else who hasn't written?"
A few minutes later, three or four boys stood up hesitantly.
"You guys, line up," the teacher Tie pointed outside. "Now go down and run on the playground!"
Comment 0 Comment Count