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墨書 Inktalez
8
"Xiao Hai, do you know? I wasn't actually drunk that New Year's Eve. You're my favorite person, which is why I said those things.
When I was young, I heard a story about a hedgehog that fell in love with a rabbit. But every time the hedgehog got close, it would prick the rabbit, and that made the hedgehog very sad. Eventually, the hedgehog came up with a good idea: it rolled around in the autumn forest until its spines were covered with fruits. That way, when it hugged the rabbit, it wouldn't hurt anymore. After autumn passed, all the fruits withered away, and the hedgehog tried to shake them off but couldn't. It became uglier and uglier, and no one wanted to be near it anymore—not even the rabbit.
But at the end of the story, the hedgehog was still very happy because it had finally embraced the one it loved.
Xiao Hai, I am that hedgehog. I want to give you my best—my best appearance, my youngest body, and my gentlest heart. I want to give you all of this.
I once passed through your heart; I wanted to stay, but you wouldn't take me in."
9
Wei Ziyang had grown her hair long and no longer dressed in a neutral style. When I walked into the classroom, I almost didn't recognize her. I wondered if it was due to the pressure of college entrance exams; she had lost a lot of weight and didn't look well.
"I'm back again!" I shouted from the podium.
The homeroom teacher kicked me in the rear: "What are you showing off for? Go sit down."
The whole class burst into laughter, and Wei Ziyang's lips curled up slightly. After putting my things away, I leaned over to Wei Ziyang and whispered, "I bought you some candied hawthorn; I'll give it to you later."
Wei Ziyang loved candied hawthorn from Old Street Corner; it was probably one of her few remaining girlish habits. During winter break, she dragged me around three bus transfers just to get some. At that time, I devoured a skewer in less than ten seconds, and Wei Ziyang angrily hit me, saying I was wasting food like Zhu Bajie eating Ginseng Fruit.
Wei Ziyang's eyes were slightly red as she said, "Thank you."
At that moment, I thought I was dreaming; this crazy girl actually thanked me! If it weren't for the homeroom teacher still being at the podium, I would have reached out to touch her forehead to see if she had a fever.
At lunchtime in the cafeteria, Wei Ziyang no longer engaged in our usual banter; she was unusually silent.
"Lao Wei, what's wrong? Did someone bully you again?"
"No," she replied reflexively.
"Then why do you seem off? This isn't like you."
"The homeroom teacher scolded me," she revealed. "Said with my grades, it's going to be tough to even get into a second-tier university."
"Hey, I thought it was something serious. If we can't get into college, we can always team up and work manual labor..."
"Shut up." She playfully cursed at me, and I felt relieved enough to dig into my meal.
Ten days before the college entrance exams, our homeroom teacher wanted to boost morale by having each of us write an encouraging phrase. It was clearly just self-deception; did they really think writing a few lines would help us score better? I scribbled something on my notebook, never expecting the teacher would actually make us read them aloud on stage. Everyone else wrote phrases like "The sea of learning is boundless; hard work is the boat," or "The fragrance of plum blossoms comes from bitter cold." When it was my turn, I looked at the teacher pleadingly and asked, "Can I skip reading mine?"
The teacher glanced at my notebook and, as if enjoying the show, insisted, "No way, read it out loud."
I cleared my throat and said, "I want to study hard every day and contribute to society in the future."
The teacher slapped the desk. "Read what you wrote."
There was no way out of it now. I had to shout, "I am going to become the Pirate King! How can I fall here!"
Zhou Tong and the others erupted in applause, nearly laughing to tears, while Wei Ziyang was bent over his desk, shaking slightly. I wished for a block of tofu to smash my head against as the teacher kicked me off the stage.
"Xiao Hai, what do you want to do in the future?" Wei Ziyang asked me late that night on the playground.
"I don't know. I want to play music; college seems boring."
"Can you play the piano?"
"Hey, you don't know this, but I started learning guitar with the neighbor when I was twelve."
"Really?" She stood up excitedly. "Play something for me."
"But there's no guitar at school." I flicked away my cigarette butt.
"There is! The music teacher, Lin, has one in his office."
"What time is it? He must have gone home by now."
Wei Ziyang pulled me up and we sneaked to the third-floor office. Sure enough, Lin had already locked the door and left. Wei Ziyang took a few steps back and told me to move aside. A sense of foreboding washed over me, and before I could stop her, she kicked the office door with a loud bang. I nearly lost my mind; if we got caught, I'd probably flunk the college entrance exam. After Wei Ziyang kicked the door open, she grabbed Lin's guitar and ran upstairs. I hurried after her to the rooftop.
"Here, give it a try." She handed me the guitar, panting.
"Just remember, if I get expelled, this will be my funeral song." I took it from her with annoyance.
That quiet night, I played many songs—Guns N' Roses' "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," The Beatles' "Yesterday," Eagles' "Hotel California"… Wei Ziyang leaned against me, occasionally humming along softly. Under the starry sky, I caught a whiff of her hair fragrance. Her head rested on my shoulder, and my heart began to race again. I turned to look at her and found her gazing at me with a gentle expression.
Suddenly, there was a snap—the guitar string broke. Wei Ziyang seemed to remember something and hurriedly stood up.
"Quick, back to the dorm!" she said as she ran. "The dorm will close soon!"
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