Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
After arriving at the classroom, Zhang Yirong asked me, "Xiang Jie, why hasn't Sha Xiaomei been to school lately?" "I don't know either. Look, I’m not lying to you. A Fei and Sha Xiaomei really seem to be back together!" I pretended to be confused and deflected her question. Zhang Yirong scoffed and walked over to Gu Mei Jiao's desk to chat with her. "Hey! How did Sha Xiaomei and A Fei get back together?" Xia Ying suddenly patted me on the shoulder. "What! Are you trying to scare me? You just appeared out of nowhere." I patted my chest, still startled, and Xia Ying quietly asked me, "Is A Fei and Sha Xiaomei's relationship a reconciliation or a rekindling of old flames?" I thought for a moment and replied, "What's the difference?" "Of course there is!" Xia Ying pretended to be philosophical as she explained, "If they are reconciled, it means they actually broke up before and then fell in love again. But if it's a rekindling of old flames, it means they never truly forgot each other and after some ups and downs, they realized they wanted to be together again, just like after a serious fight." I smiled but had no response; it all sounded so convoluted! No wonder she didn't know the details.
When A Fei came in, he looked relaxed. Shuai Dong and Pang Hao walked over and made a face at A Fei, implying that Zhang Yirong had seen everything. A Fei showed a helpless expression and walked over to Zhang Yirong, saying, "Zhang Yirong, good morning." "Yeah, good morning." Zhang Yirong stood up and smiled, "I got back together with Sha Xiaomei; you will bless us, right?" A Fei smiled back. Zhang Yirong was taken aback for a moment before forcing a smile and nodding, "Of course... I wish you happiness." She extended her hand, and A Fei shook it. Watching this scene made me happy for A Fei. I turned to look at Xia Ying, who was also smiling knowingly because both of us felt relieved; one was her sister and the other was my brother. Their dramatic love triangle could finally come to a satisfying conclusion.
At noon when we headed to the gym, A Fei kept smiling. "What’s wrong with you? Why are you smiling so much?" I nudged him with my shoulder. "It's none of your business; I'm just feeling relaxed. Finally, everything has cleared up." A Fei opened his arms and took a deep breath of air. When we arrived at the gym, everyone was already training. A Fei and I quickly joined the group. Ji Fang was sitting on the sidelines watching us train actively; a hint of desolation crossed his face. Teacher Qiu came over and called for everyone to stop. We gathered in a circle around him. "Next is our first match against Sangyue High School. According to the rules, they are the top seed while we are second seed, so they have the advantage of being the home team first. I want to see the strength of Coach Fu Guoqiang's team, known as 'Zhuge Coach'." We were all eager to show what we could do. "Coach!" Ji Fang shouted from behind us, and we all turned around. "I think I can participate in the next match." Ji Fang said very seriously. "No way!" Teacher Qiu immediately rejected Ji Fang's request. "We can't risk your health; we need you healthy." Teacher Qiu looked at Ji Fang while he lowered his head: "I can participate; starting tomorrow I'll train with the team." Ji Fang limped out of the gym as I watched his retreating figure feeling a bit sad.
After training when we returned to the classroom, I sat in my seat lost in thought: Is Coach Fu Guoqiang from Sangyue High School really that strong? Also, between Zhao Ziyang and Jiang Lingfeng—both are among the 'Five Great Point Guards'—who is stronger? Just as I was thinking about this, someone suddenly patted me on the shoulder. "Ah!" I exclaimed: "Shuai Dong! Why do you have this habit of sneaking up on me? You know that can scare someone to death!" I complained impatiently at him. "I thought you were so deep in thought that I'd surprise you," Shuai Dong laughed helplessly. I forced a smile: "There's nothing surprising about this; it's just scary!" Shuai Dong bent down and put his arm around my neck: "Speaking of which, I just saw Xia Ying and Ouyang sneaking off together." "What!" I jumped up abruptly as Shuai Dong quickly put his finger to his lips: "Shh... don't shout! Just now I saw Ouyang catch Xia Ying downstairs and then run off with her." "Are you serious?!" My blood started boiling step by step. “Why would I lie? Hey? Why are you so worked up? Xia Ying is your teammate and Ouyang is your deskmate; if they really got together that wouldn't be bad either—they complement each other well with one being mischievous and wild while the other is honest and simple…” “Shut up!” I suddenly lost control of my emotions and interrupted Shuai Dong angrily. “Where are they?” I asked him in an interrogative tone. Shuai Dong seemed startled by my sudden change in mood; his eyes showed some fear: “How would I know? I just saw them heading east…” My inexplicable anger flared up as I ran out of the classroom like crazy while thinking: Ouyang Shangqiang, you bastard! Last time she made it clear she didn’t want anything with you—why are you still bothering her? Don’t let me find you! After running downstairs, I dashed eastward across the large campus until finally spotting them under a big tree in one corner of the playground. I saw Ouyang talking to Xia Ying as I hurried over; when Xia Ying and Ouyang looked up, they saw me approaching them with determination in my eyes—I could feel my eyes turning red as they stared at me blankly: “Xiang Jie! What are you doing here?” “Ouyang! You jerk!” As soon as I reached them, I punched Ouyang down to the ground. “Xiang Jie! What are you doing?! Stop!” Xia Ying shouted at me. “Xia Ying! Don’t interfere! I'm going to teach this shameless bastard a lesson!” Anger clouded my judgment as Ouyang stood up again only for me to knock him down once more with my kick. Xia Ying stepped in front of me looking into my eyes: “Xiang Jie! I'm telling you to stop!” “No! Get out of my way!” I yelled at Xia Ying when suddenly—smack!—Xia Ying slapped me across the face. She actually hit me; that slap hurt not only my face but also… my heart.
Seeing this scene made Ouyang freeze while holding his stomach: “Xia Ying! You hit me? I'm sorry; I'm such an idiot!” As soon as I turned around to leave, blood flowed from my heart: Xia Ying! You actually hit me for Ouyang? I'll remember this! “Jie!” A Fei, Shuai Dong, and Pang Hao rushed over: “Where have you been? Just now Shuai Dong ran out like a madman—we were all worried sick.” Pang Hao gasped for breath as he spoke. “I'm fine; let's go back.” I continued walking forward while A Fei and the others exchanged confused glances behind me. After returning to class, I lay on my desk lost in thought while A Fei and his friends surrounded me whispering: “What happened to Jie?” “I don’t know; he seems really affected by something.” “Alright alright; stop guessing blindly—I think he looks like…” The three of them debated among themselves while I felt annoyed beyond belief: “Can you three please stop talking? Let me have some peace.” Unable to bear it any longer, I snapped at them; they understood quickly enough and moved over to A Fei's desk to continue their discussion while Ding Fang joined their group too. Watching them made me laugh helplessly before turning back down on my desk again lost in thought until Xia Ying returned—I shot her an annoyed glance before turning away.
After she sat down nonchalantly upon returning, she nudged my arm gently with hers: “Hey, still mad?” Without moving an inch, I replied coldly: “Nope! Who am I to get mad? I'm just a big idiot who loves meddling.” Xia Ying fell silent for a moment before things quieted down significantly around us; slowly lifting my head revealed that Xia Ying had disappeared without a trace—I shot upright: “Hey! Are you coming back or what?!” Suddenly she spoke from behind me—she had successfully startled me again: “Do you have some kind of issue? You float around like a ghost.” I shouted at her angrily: “Oh come on! Why are you getting worked up?” She playfully tapped my chest lightly before saying: “Get lost!” Annoyed by her hand on me again, I pushed it away when Zhang Yirong along with Gu Mei Jiao plus A Fei, Shuai Dong, and Pang Hao rushed over looking concerned about us: “What’s going on here? Xiang Jie—you’re a guy; don’t you know how to give way to Yingying?” Zhang Yirong scolded me while saying: “Yes! If she gives way then who gives way for me?” For some reason anger flared up inside me towards Zhang Yirong: “Alright alright—Xiang Jie don’t shout anymore; what’s wrong with Yingying that would make you so angry?” Gu Mei Jiao chimed in alongside Zhang Yirong’s concern for her friend: “Enough already—let’s keep it down; Xiang Jie has quite an explosive temper—I know he wouldn’t get angry without reason—Xia Ying did something excessive didn’t she?” A Fei defended me against them while adding: “Exactly—don’t just criticize Jie without understanding what happened!” This escalated our argument into chaos as everyone began shouting.
“Everyone calm down! This started off as just an argument between two people—let’s not complicate things further by getting involved,” Pang Hao said calmly from aside since he had remained quiet throughout this commotion while looking down thoughtfully until suddenly Xia Ying spoke up quietly: “There’s nothing good here—you all go back; don’t worry about it.” “Right—everyone else should stop meddling!” I added angrily while Pang Hao exchanged glances with them before saying: “Let them sort it out themselves—we’ll go chat over there! Come on!” He pushed them away towards another corner leaving Xia Ying and myself sitting silently ignoring each other until finally she broke the silence first: “Xiang Jie—why did you hit Ouyang Shangqiang?”
“Oh! Feeling sorry for him now? Not long ago weren’t you swearing that you'd never like Ouyang? Hypocrite!” My sarcastic reply came swiftly as she responded calmly: “Xiang Jie—I don’t want to argue with you—I just want to ask why you hit him—and whether or not I'm feeling sorry for Ouyang is none of your business!” Hearing this made me furious enough that it almost knocked me out cold: “Fine then—Xia Ying—from now on your business is none of mine!” As if randomly pulling out an extracurricular book from nowhere began reading it furiously while she didn’t back down either pulling out headphones plugging into her phone listening intently.
The first period was Chinese class taught by our homeroom teacher where neither of us turned our heads even once throughout class followed by Second Quarter class then third period… half a day passed without speaking even once until afternoon when A Fei walked alongside asking thoughtfully: “Jie—tell me honestly—do you like Xia Ying?”
“What! Me like her? What kind of international joke is that?! That kind of spoiled brat who doesn’t listen is only liked by idiots like Ouyang.” My indignation spilled forth but despite how firm those words sounded inside stirred feelings unlike any other…
Comment 0 Comment Count