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墨書 Inktalez
This week, it was Wang Yuhan's class's turn to clean the school's maintenance area. Today, he was fortunate that Jiang Xi didn't assign him to clean the bathrooms; instead, he only had to tidy up the music classroom in the west wing after school, which would count as completing his task for the week.
After school, as he approached the door of the music classroom with a broom in hand, he heard a somewhat melancholic melody flowing out like a stream from within. It slowly enveloped his heart. He paused to listen, puzzled; it was already after school, who would be playing the piano at this hour? Moreover, the piece being played sounded so sorrowful. Curiosity piqued, he quietly stepped inside and discovered that the pianist was none other than Li Lingfei.
Li Lingfei sat quietly at the piano, looking as beautiful as if she had flown out of an oil painting. A faint red sunset gently filtered through the mottled trees outside, casting dappled light on her exquisite face, making her even more enchanting. The surroundings were silent, as if all the noise in the world had melted away into the notes flowing from her fingertips.
Standing at the door, Wang Yuhan watched and listened, feeling a wave of sadness wash over him. Memories of playing together with Li Lingfei during their childhood flooded back, causing his heart to ache and leaving him unable to let go. He recalled how she had once tugged at his hand, insisting that he take her to see the sea. But Wuhan, being an inland city without an ocean, meant that to cheer her up...
He had ridden his bicycle with her to the banks of the Yangtze River to watch the sunset, deceiving her into believing that this river dyed red by the setting sun was indeed the sea. At that time, Li Lingfei believed him and thought she had truly arrived at the seaside. She joyfully ran and jumped along the riverbank, excitedly pointing at a few birds flying overhead and declaring them to be seagulls. The echoes of their laughter seemed to linger in his ears even now.
Reflecting on these memories brought a bittersweet smile to his lips. He lowered his gaze, lamenting how fleeting happiness could be under the ravages of time. The charming Li Lingfei before him was no longer that girl who had insisted on going to see the sea while sitting behind him on his bike; now she must be very happy sitting behind Yang Qianfan.
Thus, Wang Yuhan stood outside for a long time, reminiscing about his childhood and feeling a sense of happiness until Li Lingfei's music faded into the air. Only then did he return to this harsh reality and accept everything before him.
After finishing her piece, Li Lingfei sighed softly at the piano and was about to get up and leave when she noticed Wang Yuhan standing at the door.
"What a coincidence! It's nice to see you here," Li Lingfei said with a faint smile, somewhat surprised.
"Yes, it's my turn to clean up in the music classroom today," Wang Yuhan replied as he stepped inside.
"Is that so? Then I must have disturbed you just now," Li Lingfei said, lowering her head in disappointment.
"No, not at all. I really enjoyed listening to you play from outside."
"Really? But I felt quite sorrowful while playing," Li Lingfei lifted her head and gave him a shy smile, her eyes seemingly holding many unspoken thoughts.
"Aren't you happy?"
Li Lingfei smiled but didn't answer; instead, she turned back to sit at the piano again and began playing casually.
"What happened? Did you have a fight with Yang Qianfan?"
With her back turned to him, Li Lingfei shook her head silently for a moment. Then suddenly she asked:
“Wang Yuhan, can I ask you a question?”
“What question?”
“How many times have you been in love before?”
Wang Yuhan was taken aback by her question, a whirlwind of complex emotions swirling in his mind. He lowered his head and stammered, “I... I can’t remember clearly.”
“You’ve been in love so many times, so your experiences must be quite rich!”
Wang Yuhan fell silent, a wave of pain washing over him.
“Can you tell me what it feels like to be in love?”
Wang Yuhan paused for a moment, looking up at her silhouette. It felt like a thousand arrows pierced his heart, causing him immense pain. How could she understand that the reason he had pursued so many relationships was to forget her, to completely erase her from his mind? Unfortunately, the more he tried to forget someone, the deeper that person rooted themselves in his heart. Reflecting on this, he smiled bitterly and lowered his head, confessing, “Actually... I don’t really know what it feels like to be in love. Truly.”
“Is it really that love has no feeling?” Li Lingfei asked again.
Hearing her question, Wang Yuhan guessed something must have happened between her and Yang Qianfan. He then asked, “Has Yang Qianfan been treating you poorly lately?”
“What does ‘poorly’ even mean?” Li Lingfei lifted her head, gazing dreamily at the yellowing leaves on the branches outside the window. Tears began to mist in her eyes.
“Tell me, did Yang Qianfan bully you? If he dares to bully you, I won’t let him off easily,” Wang Yuhan said with rising agitation.
“No, he treats me well; it’s just... it’s just that we don’t talk much anymore. I don’t know why his attitude has become increasingly cold towards me lately. When we go out shopping, he doesn’t even say a word to me. I... I’m really scared that if this continues, he might break up with me,” Li Lingfei said, her voice trembling as she began to sob.
“He’s ignoring you?”
“It’s not that he’s ignoring me; it’s just that we have nothing to talk about. What kind of relationship is it if a couple has nothing to say?” Li Lingfei took out a tissue to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes and sniffled. “I’m really scared that one day he will propose breaking up.”
“ Lingfei, do you really like him that much? If he were to break up with you, would there be no one else in this world who could replace him?”
“Replace?” Li Lingfei couldn't help but scoff at his words. “When I agreed to date him, it was because I hoped he could replace someone I loved in the past.”
“Someone you loved in the past?”
“Please don’t ask who that person is,” Li Lingfei said, her voice rising with agitation. She didn’t want Wang Yuhan to know about her unrequited feelings for him. Unbeknownst to her, Wang Yuhan thought that aside from Yang Qianfan, there was another person in her heart, leaving him momentarily stunned.
“What should I do if he really breaks up with me?” The thought of a breakup made Li Lingfei’s tears flow once more.
“That won’t happen, I promise you he won’t break up with you. It won’t happen,” Wang Yuhan said, looking at her with pain in his eyes as he tried to comfort her.
“Really?”
“Yes!” Wang Yuhan nodded firmly. “I won’t allow anyone in this world to hurt you, no one.”
Li Lingfei stood up and turned to face him, gazing deeply into his eyes. A long-forgotten warmth began to ripple through her heart. “Wang Yuhan, thank you!”
On Saturday, Zhu Hui was working the late shift. By the time she finished work, the night was deep and quiet. The busy KFC had finally sent off its last customer and was ready to close. Zhu Hui stood at the front counter with a cloth in hand, happily humming a tune as she wiped away the dust from the countertop. Eager to go home, she moved quickly and efficiently. After a flurry of activity, a shining and spotless countertop appeared before her eyes, gleaming brightly. Satisfied with her work, she straightened up and nodded approvingly while praising her own competence.
Just as she was reveling in her accomplishment, she suddenly noticed that there was still one burger left on the warming rack behind the counter. At the sight of it, her stomach growled, urging her to indulge in the leftover burger. She swallowed hard and covered her rumbling belly with her hands, glancing around nervously to ensure no one was watching before dashing over to grab the burger and take a bite. As she chewed, she justified her actions in her mind: “Earning so little money, eating this burger is just compensation; it’s like doing a good deed.”
Fearing discovery, she ate quickly and hurriedly. Within just a few bites, she had devoured more than half of the burger. Just as she was enjoying it wholeheartedly, someone suddenly called out to her from behind. Startled, she quickly stuffed the remaining half of the burger into her mouth. Instantly, darkness clouded her vision as veins throbbed on her forehead; she choked on it. The bite lodged in her throat made her face turn red like a boiled crab.
“Hey! What’s wrong with you?” Wang Yuhan approached her and looked puzzled at her strange appearance.
Zhu Hui ignored him; her eyes widened as she pounded on her chest frantically. Realizing that she was choking on the stolen burger, Wang Yuhan quickly poured a glass of water for her and urged her to drink it down to help swallow the obstruction. Zhu Hui took the water and gulped it down vigorously until the piece of burger finally went down into her stomach. She set down the glass and let out a huge sigh of relief but then panicked when she saw Wang Yuhan standing nearby. “I didn’t eat anything!” she blurted out.
Seeing through her obvious lie made Wang Yuhan chuckle despite himself. “I can see that you didn’t eat anything at all.”
“What… what do you mean? You saw that I didn’t eat anything? Then doesn’t that mean you saw everything?” Zhu Hui's face flushed with embarrassment as she felt utterly exposed.
Wang Yuhan found her adorable yet foolish demeanor amusing and burst into laughter at her expense.
“What are you laughing at? You’re not allowed to laugh, do you hear me?” Zhu Hui stomped her feet in frustration and embarrassment as she saw him chuckling.
“I just think you’re really cute, and I couldn’t help but laugh,” he replied.
Zhu Hui’s face turned even redder at his words, and she lowered her head, feeling too shy to say anything more.
“Zhu Hui, can I walk you home after work?” Wang Yuhan suddenly asked thoughtfully.
“Ah! You want to walk me home? With you being so attentive today, could it be…” Zhu Hui stared at him blankly, her face flushing as her mind began to wander.
Seeing her dazed expression, Wang Yuhan realized she was overthinking things again. He quickly added, “Wait… don’t misunderstand. I don’t mean it like that.”
Zhu Hui shot him a disgruntled look, feeling a bit deflated. “What am I misunderstanding? Do you think I would ever like you? Don’t flatter yourself.”
Wang Yuhan just smiled at her without responding, thinking she was utterly adorable.
After work, they walked down a deserted street where the dim streetlights flickered intermittently, adding an eerie quality to the surrounding silence. A stray cat lounged beside a broken trash can, meowing contentedly before being chased away by a sudden dog that appeared from behind.
“Zhu Hui, I’ve been dealing with something troubling lately,” Wang Yuhan suddenly said.
“Oh really? It seems we’re both in the same boat; I’ve had my fair share of worries too,” Zhu Hui replied with a sigh of frustration as she glanced up at the twinkling stars above.
“My troubles are caused by someone else.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
“It’s Yang Qianfan. He keeps pestering me to introduce me to a girlfriend.”
“That sounds great!”
“I already have someone I like in my heart.”
“That’s where he’s wrong. Knowing you have someone you like, he still tries to set you up with a girlfriend.”
“Exactly! So… could you do me a favor?” Wang Yuhan looked at her earnestly.
“What kind of favor?”
“Be my girlfriend.”
“I—be your girlfriend? How can that work?” Zhu Hui pointed at herself, panic-stricken, and immediately refused him.
“I just want you to pretend to be my girlfriend to fool him, to make him give up and stop introducing me to girlfriends.”
“Even if it’s fake, that’s not good!” Zhu Hui said with a troubled expression, hesitating as she continued, “You don’t know how long that Male Goat’s mouth is. If he finds out I’m dating you, he’ll definitely blare it around the school like a loudspeaker, causing a huge uproar.”
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