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墨書 Inktalez
"What's wrong?" I quickly leaned in closer.
Her face was pale, and her right hand's nails were digging into the back of her left hand. "Someone..." She had barely uttered those two words before she rushed out of the crowd, running to the corner and gagging repeatedly. Since we got off the plane, we hadn't eaten much, so she only brought up some bile, but judging by her complexion, she must have been feeling extremely unwell.
"Who was it? Did you see clearly?" I said indignantly.
Some might say I was being overly dramatic; there were so many people around, it could have just been someone accidentally bumping into her. It seemed too self-important to think she was being harassed.
As a girl and someone who didn't particularly like Xu Wenmo, I still felt the need to defend her. Girls are sensitive beings; when faced with such incidents, they can sense whether it was intentional or accidental in that moment.
Moreover, being harassed is not a glorious experience; only those who have gone through it truly understand how disgusting it is.
So, I believed Xu Wenmo.
She weakly shook her head, "Forget it, there's no need to make a fuss."
I helped her up. "Why don't you go upstairs? I'll pick up your things."
"I'm sorry for causing you trouble."
"What are you saying, silly girl?"
She leaned against me like a little bird without a branch to perch on—thin and powerless. I held her shoulder tightly, increasingly certain of one thing.
At twelve years old, having such a strong reaction to harassment felt like a long-simmering illness that had suddenly flared up violently.
If that's the case, Xu Wenmo's past must be quite tragic.
"Are these your things?"
I turned around to see a boy with black-rimmed glasses and an average appearance standing behind me and Xu Wenmo, holding some dorm supplies.
"I'm from the School Volunteer Service Team. I saw you drop your things and run out earlier, so I picked them up for you. These items are limited at school; if you lose them, you'll have to buy replacements," he continued. "Is this classmate feeling unwell? There's a medical room just ahead; would you like me to take you there?"
I looked down at Xu Wenmo; she shook her head, so I replied to the boy, "No need, thank you."
"Xiao Mo, wait here; I'll grab your things."
Xu Wenmo stood straight at my call and took out a tissue from her backpack to wipe the corner of her mouth. I walked over to the boy and said, "Give them to me; thank you so much."
"No problem," he smiled brightly.
"Xiao Mo, let's go upstairs," I called out to Xu Wenmo's back.
Xu Wenmo turned around; unsurprisingly, there was a moment of astonishment in the boy's eyes. Xu Wenmo avoided his gaze as she came over to my side and took some of the supplies from him, nodding slightly in his direction and saying, "Thank you."
"It's okay," the boy hurriedly said.
"Let's go."
While waiting for the elevator, I nudged Xu Wenmo's shoulder and said, "Hey, he's still staring at you."
Xu Wenmo blinked, showing no reaction.
"Unknowingly captured another one; the charm of a beautiful woman is truly boundless—"
"Heh, even if dead, wouldn't it just swell and rot, turning into a skeleton? Is there beauty or ugliness in bones? As the Buddhists say, form is emptiness; appearance is the most deceptive thing." For some reason, Xu Wenmo said this.
"Are you reading some strange book again?" I asked knowingly, glancing at her.
" Requiem from the Darkness."
"What is that?"
"A good book; I can lend it to you if you want."
"No thanks, I'm not really destined to read books."
She chuckled softly.
Have you ever had this experience? Perhaps in work or study, or something in life; when you're fully engaged and take it seriously, it doesn't feel too difficult. But once you're out of that atmosphere and try to do it again, it feels incredibly exhausting. You find ways to procrastinate; something that shouldn't be torturous suddenly becomes magnified in difficulty in your mind, making you want to retreat even more.
That's how I feel about Xu Wenmo. When I'm with her, it doesn't feel like much, but once I reach my school and am completely away from her, I have no desire to go back.
Settling in, handling paperwork, moving into the dormitory, meeting new classmates—this time filled with a sense of freedom deeply captivates me. I don't have to pretend to be clever in front of her family, I don't have to hold my head high when facing acquaintances, and I don't have to stand beside Xu Wenmo feeling inferior about my looks. I can greet others freely and confidently tell them my father is a real estate owner and that I'm a full-fledged rich girl without worrying about someone suddenly exposing my lies.
You might think I'm vain, but there's nothing wrong with vanity; who isn't vain?
Xu Wenmo seems to understand this as well; she knows I'm exhausted from dealing with things and rarely bothers me. The two phones Uncle Xu bought for us never show each other's names when calling; we are like two streams briefly merging in a riverbed before parting ways.
At the beginning of the semester, after settling in, there was a month-long military training.
There's no need to mention the hardships; the old man and this... aunt may not understand, but you—you look about my age—you should know what military training feels like, right? Under the blazing sun, wrapped in a suffocating military uniform as big as a sack, practicing all day long. By evening when I returned to the dorm sore all over, my clothes were drenched in sweat and reeking of sourness, yet there was an indescribable sense of satisfaction. You understand?
Yes, that's how it is.
What I want to say is that just a few days after military training ended, I received a text from Xu Wenmo saying someone had repeatedly urged her to join the Volunteer Service Team and wanted to ask for my opinion.
For freshmen entering school, joining various clubs is something almost everyone experiences. But when this happened with Xu Wenmo, it struck me as quite unbelievable.
Think about her personality; she appears aloof to outsiders but is actually shy about communicating with others. For someone who seems cold, there are generally two reactions: keeping their distance or sneering at them—neither of which are kind towards her. Moreover, clubs consist of seniors from various grades and departments forming a group of complete strangers; no one would show her extra tolerance or understanding. Besides, this isn't her hometown—she has no support here and is essentially venturing alone into unfamiliar territory; that's quite daunting.
I asked her who wanted to recruit her into the club. She said it was a senior she had met in the dormitory building. Suddenly, everything became clear to me. However, since she was asking for my opinion, it indicated that she was also interested in joining, so I couldn't outright oppose her. I recalled that a couple of days ago, Mr. Xu had called to inquire about Xu Wenmo's situation. I had brushed him off with a few vague words, which seemed to leave him somewhat dissatisfied. It would be better to take this opportunity to meet Xu Wenmo once, help her understand the situation clearly, and also provide an explanation to Mr. Xu. What if he got angry and cut off my living expenses? Taking advantage of the weekend, I went directly to her school without notifying her.
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