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墨書 Inktalez
"Oh," I replied and went to wash my hands. After the intense competition earlier and the vigorous exercise (pedaling the bike like crazy), I was so hungry that I felt like my stomach was touching my back. I devoured my food like a wolf, "Mom and Dad, you continue eating, I'm going to rest for a bit." With that, I headed straight for the computer. I wasn't going anywhere this afternoon; I planned to stay home and play games. From a little after one in the afternoon until nearly six in the evening, I played non-stop. Standing up to stretch, my phone rang; it was Shuai Dong calling. "Hey, what are you doing? Come out to play!" Shuai Dong's side was quite noisy. "Where can we go at this hour?" It was already past six, and I didn't want to go out. "Come to the night market on Vibrant Street; I'm browsing here now." Shuai Dong said. Vibrant Street is a bustling shopping street with many shops selling clothes, accessories, figurines, anime merchandise, etc., especially the food street on West Vibrant Street... Hey, that's quite tempting! "Oh, wait for me; I'll be there soon." I decided to go. Shuai Dong reminded me, "Don't forget to call A Fei!" As soon as he finished speaking, I hung up. "Mom! Shuai Dong invited me to the night market; I'm going!" I said as I walked outside. "Dinner will be ready soon!" "I'm not eating; I'll grab something from a street vendor."
After leaving the house, I went to find A Fei. I didn't know why A Fei was so adamant about not going this time; there was nothing I could do but go by myself. After taking the bus to Vibrant Street, I found Shuai Dong holding a skewer of lamb kebabs, eating while looking around. "Shuai Dong! You knew I was coming and prepared lamb kebabs for me!" I shouted at him while eyeing his skewer of lamb. "What... Shuai Dong, I haven't eaten yet; shouldn't we go eat first..." I hinted that we should eat something first. Shuai Dong suddenly slapped his forehead as if realizing something: "Oh! Look at my memory; I haven't eaten either! Let's go watch street dance over there first!" Wow! What a mess; that made no sense at all—eating and watching street dance had nothing to do with each other. I snatched the lamb skewer from Shuai Dong's hand, but since he suggested it, we might as well go. When we reached the stage, six performers were dancing breaking on the floor—spins, freezes, windmills—everything you could imagine! It dazzled me, and when I casually turned around, I saw a familiar figure... it was Lu Lei! He also came to the night market? Should I walk over and say hello? Forget it; that would be awkward; I'd better ignore him. Just then, someone tapped my shoulder, startling me. Turning around, it was Lu Lei. "Wow! It's really you! You're Xiang Jie, right? Didn't expect to run into you here; what a coincidence!" he smiled and said. "Uh... hey! You're here to have fun too?" I awkwardly replied with a forced smile. "Yeah, I'm just living nearby; come visit me sometime?" Lu Lei warmly invited me over to his house. "Jie, so you were hiding here! Just now, I saw that ring toss game... Who's this?" Shuai Dong rushed over and spotted Lu Lei immediately. "Hello, I'm Lu Lei from Class Three of Year Two at Twenty-Four Middle School." Lu Lei took the initiative to greet Shuai Dong. Unexpectedly, this big guy who usually looks fierce is actually quite approachable! "Oh oh, you're one of Thunder Combo's members that Jie mentioned before? Nice to meet you; I'm Shi Zhidong." Shuai Dong almost blurted out “big guy.” I shot him a glare secretly. "Brother Lei, we're not going to visit today; let's hang out another time; we have some things to take care of first," I said as I pulled Shuai Dong away quickly, fearing he might say something wrong.
After returning home, it was already past eight o'clock; I was so exhausted that my bones felt like they were falling apart. Lying on my bed with headphones on, I played Xu Song's song “Rivers and Mountains Are Beautiful.” The tune felt quite relaxing: “Busy busy busy, what's the reason for being busy? The Earth is tired but still revolves…” I hummed along with it. Sigh! Monday is coming again; no skipping Physical Education Class today either! Plus, we have a match against Qingzhu Team later on—better get some good sleep.
The next day when I went to school looking for A Fei, he was doing aerobics at home. “Wow! Ai II has plenty of energy!” This guy must have rested well last night while I suffered from fatigue all over—thanks to Shuai Dong for dragging me around the night market late into the evening!
When we arrived at school, we ran into Lu Juan, Sha Xiaomei's sister. She walked towards us from across the street—huh? They always come to school together; why is only Lu Juan here today? Hmph! Whatever—I noticed A Fei seemed to have noticed too. “Lu Juan!” A Fei called out to her. “Ah?” Lu Juan turned around. “Why are you coming to school alone today?” A Fei asked casually as if uninterested. Hearing this made me almost faint standing next to him—if he wanted to ask why Sha Xiaomei wasn't here today, he could just ask directly instead of beating around the bush—so dumb! Lu Juan looked down: “Sha Xiaomei has something going on today and will be late.” A Fei looked at her slowly: “Really? Lu Juan, tell me the truth; don’t worry—I’ve already broken up with Sha Xiaomei; this is just a friendly inquiry.” Don’t let his honest appearance fool you—A Fei is actually quite cunning inside! Lu Juan had no words but her eyes were evasive. “Is something wrong with her?” A Fei continued asking when suddenly the class bell rang. “Class is starting; I've got to go.” Lu Juan quickly grabbed her backpack and headed upstairs while A Fei frowned deeply. Sigh! I'm puzzled—A Fei! She already dumped you; why are you still so concerned about her?
The entire morning A Fei seemed distracted during class. After our training session at noon ended and school let out, he rushed over to Year One Class Seven's door while I followed behind him closely. When A Fei reached their classroom door and found that Sha Xiaomei indeed hadn’t come to school today! His expression turned serious as he walked downstairs where he bumped into Lu Juan who had just finished eating lunch. Upon seeing A Fei she turned around wanting to leave immediately but A Fei called out: “Lu Juan! Can you spare me some time for a chat?” A Fei followed her as she reluctantly nodded her head in agreement.
The three of us walked onto the playground where the heat made it feel scorching hot underfoot as we stood beneath a large tree at its edge. “Lu Juan, can you tell me what happened with Sha Xiaomei?” A Fei asked solemnly. “She…” Lu Juan hesitated before speaking again: “Ugh! Lu Juan! You think it's fun making us anxious like this?!” Now even I'm getting anxious—Lu Juan seemed conflicted but under our persistent questioning she sighed deeply: “Sha Xiaomei is hospitalized…” “What?!” A Fei panicked instantly. “She’s been feeling down lately and often stares blankly at that butterfly hairpin you gave her sometimes even crying about it; Uncle Sha and them felt sorry for her so they took her to see a psychologist who diagnosed her with mild depression and suggested she stay in for observation…” Now it dawned on me that A Fei’s birthday gift for Sha Xiaomei was that butterfly hairpin she wore in her hair every day! That hairpin costs only about fifty bucks—I can't believe such a cheap hairpin could overshadow my three hundred dollar watch—unbelievable! After hearing this news A Fei froze completely while Lu Juan slowly raised her head: “Cheng Fei… originally I promised Sha Xiaomei not to tell you this—you know Sha Xiaomei really likes you—a lot! But Sha Xiaomei is really great… Zhao Bin’s father is business partners with her father—not strictly speaking Zhao Bin’s father should be Uncle Sha’s big client—and recently due to an accident during transportation Uncle Sha couldn’t deliver on time… Zhao Bin’s father refused any extensions insisting on canceling orders while threatening Uncle Sha with penalties…”
“So Sha Xiaomei asked Zhao Bin for help convincing his father?” A Fei asked expressionlessly while Lu Juan nodded: “Yes! Zhao Bin has always liked Sha Xiaomei which is why… Sha Xiaomei accepted Zhao Bin’s pursuit so… Cheng Fei don’t you understand?” My jaw dropped in shock—it turns out Sha Xiaomei had her reasons for everything—she had accepted someone she didn’t like just for her family’s sake at seventeen years old when she should be enjoying life in school instead of bearing pressures beyond her age—it’s no wonder she fell into depression! After hearing all this A Fei didn’t say anything but slowly walked towards the teaching building: “A Fei don’t act impulsively now—impulsiveness is the devil.” I hurriedly followed him as he smiled back at me: “Jie don’t worry—I’m fine—we still have matches tomorrow so let’s prepare.” A Fei appeared particularly calm—so calm it scared me…
The next morning A Fei came looking for me early again after arriving at school gymnasium where no one else had shown up yet—he practiced shooting hoops and running frantically until eventually he got tired sitting down on the floor with sweat dripping from his hair ends and cheeks before covering his eyes with his right hand… A Fei was actually crying! Five whole years—it had been five years since then—I’d never seen him shed a tear during this time yet somehow Sha Xiaomei managed to touch his deepest pain point within him—A Fei’s shoulders trembled violently beside me as I patted him gently on his shoulder while he buried his head deep into his knees crying away letting go of that damned notion of ‘real men don’t cry.’ About twenty minutes later he lifted his head looking at me with tear-streaked cheeks: “Jie am I useless? Watching someone I like suffer yet being powerless—I didn’t even know anything about it! Not only did I not know but also misunderstood her blaming her too.” “A Fei don’t blame yourself—we…” Just as I tried comforting him suddenly someone opened the gymnasium door causing A Fei quickly wipe away his tears standing up starting dribbling again running laps around the court when Bing Ge and Zhongqi Senior walked in: “Hey? Cheng Fei? Jie are you guys here early?” “Yeah Bing Ge Zhongqi Senior good morning!” We greeted them back feeling worried about how today’s match would affect A Fei.
After some time other team members gradually arrived while A Fei continued practicing shooting hoops diligently until Qingzhu High School showed up—I noticed their lineup remained unchanged indicating no savior would appear this time around during our match starting soon enough where Teacher Qiu remained cautious once again pressing me onto bench duty while fielding our strongest lineup featuring A Fei alongside Zhongqi Senior plus Bing Ge and Zhang Ruizhi forming our twin towers combo.
As soon as first quarter began A Fei played aggressively especially offensively leading us through an explosive 1-0 run alongside Zhongqi Senior during latter half of first quarter although his expression remained grim throughout playtime.
In second quarter while defending against opponents’ layup attempts he got called for foul resulting in Teacher Qiu ordering him off court momentarily which he refused insisting upon staying in game prompting Teacher Qiu agreeing thinking some practice wouldn’t hurt thus allowing him play full 45 minutes (since he fouled out three minutes before end) securing victory against Qingzhu by 96-80 ensuring our advancement two rounds ahead locking us into playoffs where A Fei scored an impressive 16 points hitting six out of seven three-pointers terrifying everyone else breaking previous record (zero points) alongside six rebounds five assists two steals showcasing superb performance worthy of superstar status surely powered by some hidden cheat code!
After match concluded we all gathered together celebrating while A Fei merely hugged us symbolically before sitting off alone aside quietly reflecting upon everything…
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