Chapter 27

"Why?"

"What do you think?"

Actually, I knew it too. I confessed twice in one day, and no girl would want to be with me. Even if Wang Yao could overlook this, she couldn't tolerate the ambiguity between me and Lin Ke'er. Girls with her personality are bold in love and hate, but they would never steal their friend's boyfriend.

"If one day, Lin Ke'er clearly says she doesn't like me, and there's no longer any connection between us—can we be together then?"

Wang Yao fell silent, seemingly considering the matter. Finally, she mumbled, "Let's see when that day comes. But I'm telling you, before that, you must treat Lin Ke'er well, and you're not allowed to have any improper thoughts about me!"

"Okay." I smiled.

Wang Yao stood up: "Also, you're not allowed to tell anyone about what happened tonight!"

"Sure, it's our secret."

We walked back together, and I still escorted her to her dorm. This was different from before; we were both sober, and after sharing our stories, our mindsets had changed. As we walked, Wang Yao said, "Don't overthink it. In the end, Lin Ke'er is the one for you. You've been classmates for so many years. We just sparked a little, got it?"

I nodded repeatedly, and I wanted to laugh at Wang Yao's nagging. She had previously said I was too sentimental about relationships, but she wasn't much better herself. On the way, Wang Yao kept advising me to forget her and treat Lin Ke'er well. It seemed she was afraid of others knowing about our little secret. I said, "You're overreacting. Lin Ke'er and I aren't even dating. We're both single." Wang Yao sighed and said, "You don't understand; it's not that simple."

At the dorm entrance, Wang Yao's face turned even more serious. She stomped her foot and said, "Oh no, oh no."

I asked, "What's wrong?"

Wang Yao said, "I must have lost my mind, telling you all this. Can you just go to sleep and forget it?"

It turned out she regretted it. I laughed even harder, "I can't forget it, I'll never forget it in my life."

Wang Yao was speechless, pointing at me and saying, "That's it, you should talk to me less and see each other less!"

After saying that, she ran back to the girls' dorm. I also returned to my dorm, but my mindset was completely different from before. I had felt embarrassed about being rejected by Lin Ke'er, but unexpectedly, Wang Yao appeared. This was truly a case of "a loss may turn out to be a gain." It was like losing everything in the Double Color Ball but winning the first prize in the Super Lottery; I didn't know whether to cry or laugh.

I lay in bed, thinking about Lin Ke'er one moment and Wang Yao the next. The lights were long off, but I couldn't fall asleep, tossing and turning. Suddenly, Ma Jie, the little wife, said, "Fei, don't be sad. It's just a girl; you'll find better ones in the future." I said, "Shut up." Ma Jie retreated and went to sleep.

That night, I tossed and turned until midnight before finally falling asleep. The next morning, I felt something was wrong with my eyes. Looking in the mirror, I saw two big dark circles. After washing up in the bathroom, I returned to find Houzi and Huang Jie sitting on my bed.

"Why are you two here?" I was quite surprised. Seeing them at this time was unexpected; they were usually either at the internet cafe or sleeping.

"Zuo Fei, are you okay?" Houzi looked at me carefully and handed me a steaming plastic bag.

I looked inside and saw two Jianbing Guozi. My God, Houzi bought me breakfast; the sun must be rising from the west today! But I knew Houzi must have heard about my failed confession and came to comfort me. I was quite touched that he would give up his gaming and sleeping time to worry about me, so I took the Jianbing Guozi and started eating.

"Zuo Fei, don't be too sad. I've heard about it; you still have a chance," Huang Jie added.

I "hmm" and "hmm" while eating, not paying much attention to them.

Huang Jie said, "I'll sing you a song to cheer you up, 'The vast sky is mine...'"

"Stop!" I waved my hand, "No need to sing, I'm fine."

"Really fine?" Houzi looked at me strangely.

I patted myself, "Do I look like something's wrong?"

"Alright, then pay for the Jianbing Guozi, five yuan." Houzi said.

I put the plastic bag on Houzi's head, "Pay your ass." Then I wiped my mouth and walked out, with Houzi and Huang Jie following.

Seeing I was really fine, they started joking around, calling me a wimp for not being able to win Lin Ke'er. Houzi patted his chest, looked at me, and said, "I don't make a move unless it's a big one. Liu Yina is already mine!"

Actually, I wasn't that sad. Thinking about Wang Yao made me feel warm inside, but I couldn't tell them about it. I just pretended to be envious and jealous, saying, "Liu Yina must be blind to like you..."

The three of us walked to the teaching building, joking and fooling around. As we entered, we saw a few older and more mature students standing at the stairwell, clearly seniors.

"Hey, you three come over here," one of them said.

We looked at each other and walked over.

"Who is Zuo Fei?"

"It's me." I answered while on guard, afraid he might suddenly hit me. In the past, when fighting with Binzi, he would ask who was who, and once the person answered, Binzi would immediately slap them, scaring them just by the momentum.

The other person didn't move, but asked, "Who is Houzi?"

"It's me." Houzi's eyes narrowed, clearly also on guard.

"Okay." The person nodded, "I'm a senior in Grade 11..."

"Hey, you haven't asked who I am yet," Huang Jie quickly said.

The person looked at him, "Who are you?"

"I'm Huang Jie, the 'Huang' from the descendants of the dragon, and the 'Jie' from the top ten outstanding young people." Huang Jie said excitedly.

"..." The person looked at Huang Jie as if he were an idiot and continued, "I'm a brother of Sheng and Qi from Grade 11. I came to ask if you've offended Yi Zhen recently."

We looked at each other, and Houzi said, "Yes, so what?"

"Yi Zhen found us," the person said, with a very gentle tone, not like someone looking for trouble.

But before we understood his intentions, we didn't say anything.

He continued, "What happened? Why did you offend Yi Zhen? He offered us a thousand yuan to deal with you." His tone was gentle and even a bit worried, as if he cared about us.

"Okay, then what?" Houzi asked.

Just as he was about to speak, the morning study bell rang. He quickly said, "Go to class first, I'll talk to you later. By the way, my name is Xiao Wei."

Houzi nodded, "Xiao Wei." He was quite polite.

"Don't call me Xiao Wei, it sounds bad," Xiao Wei waved his hand and smiled, "Just call me Xiao Wei. I'll be back later."

He patted each of our shoulders and left with his group.

We looked at each other, confused about the situation.

On the way up the stairs, Houzi said, "I haven't been to morning study for a long time. Zuo Fei, I really did this for you."

"Why are you talking about Xiao Wei now?"

"Why talk about Xiao Wei? He said he'll come back, didn't he?"

We each went to our respective classes.

During morning study, I was half-asleep, but Liu Yina wouldn't let me sleep. She moved to sit next to me and gave me a long lecture, saying Lin Ke'er is a bit stubborn, and I need to spend more time soothing her. I said, "Okay, I understand." In fact, my mind wasn't really on Lin Ke'er; it was more on Wang Yao.

Do you think I changed quickly? Actually, not really. Before, Lin Ke'er was like a towering tree in my heart, and nothing could be bigger than her. Wang Yao was just a small grass, and I tried to suppress her growth. But after last night, the tree collapsed, and the grass grew strong. But this secret, I still couldn't tell anyone.

When the class bell rang, I walked out and saw Houzi coming.

"Wow, you actually called me for lunch. The sun must be rising from the west today?"

"Who called you?" Houzi rolled his eyes and pulled Liu Yina away.

I was speechless. Someone patted my shoulder, "Houzi is a scoundrel, seeing a girl and forgetting his friends. Come, I'll go to lunch with you."

"..." I rolled my eyes at Huang Jie, "You just want me to buy you lunch, right?"

After lunch, we returned to the teaching building, chatting in the corridor while waiting for class. Houzi and Liu Yina were still fooling around, and Huang Jie and I, the two bachelors, could only watch enviously. Soon, more people gathered, including Zhang Xuan and several of the Thirteen Roses. Of course, Lin Ke'er and Wang Yao didn't come.

They teased Houzi and Liu Yina while giving me a long lecture. I really wanted to tell them, "I'm not with Lin Ke'er; I want to be with Wang Yao," but I didn't have the courage. Seeing I wasn't too sad, they gradually stopped lecturing me. A group of us fooled around in the corridor, and passing students couldn't help but look at us. Our group was now the top group in Grade 11, and many people would do anything to join.

After a while, even Zheng Wu came over, holding his black leather jacket, not knowing what he was up to.

"Zuo Fei," Zheng Wu said seriously, "Your confession failed because you didn't wear your battle suit. Listen to me, wear this and confess again. If it doesn't work, I'll cut off my head."

I was stunned, and everyone burst into laughter, urging me to wear the battle suit and confess again.

Like Houzi and Huang Jie, everyone knew they were just joking; but Zheng Wu seemed to be serious. From my observation, he was not only vain and boastful but also stubborn. Once he set his mind on something, it was impossible to change him. Of course, being stubborn isn't a bad thing; everyone has such people around them, who always act differently from others.

I couldn't help but laugh and said, "I'll borrow it next time." Zheng Wu shook his head, "Confessing should be done early, like striking iron while it's hot. Once this opportunity is gone, it won't come again. I won this girl with this battle suit."

I didn't believe Zheng Wu had a girlfriend; he had been boasting for a long time.

After class, everyone dispersed. I had fallen behind in my studies, so I listened quite attentively. I wasn't a top student, but I wasn't the worst either. I was average, listening when I should and playing when I should.

During class, someone sent me a text message. I took it out and saw it was from Lin Ke'er.

It only said, "Are you okay?"

I replied, "I'm fine."

Lin Ke'er apologized and sent a long message, repeating the same theories from last night, saying my affection wasn't real, it was guilt; her affection wasn't real, it was gratitude; we both needed to think carefully.

I replied, "It's okay, don't worry too much." Just eight simple words.

If it weren't for Wang Yao, I would have sent a long message, trying to persuade or assure her, maybe even writing an essay and getting myself moved to tears.

But now, I wasn't really interested, just thinking about Wang Yao, Wang Yao, Wang Yao.

Honestly, even I was surprised by how quickly my feelings changed. I didn't know when I had developed such deep feelings for Wang Yao, to the point where I couldn't control myself when she gave me a hint.

Or was it that I was hurt by Lin Ke'er and found solace in Wang Yao, leading me to fall completely?

I didn't know if I was still too young to understand my own feelings. I didn't even know what I was thinking.

For several days, Xiao Wei from Grade 11 didn't come to us. After Houzi and Liu Yina started dating, they rarely went to the internet cafe (though they still went sometimes). Love is a powerful force; seeing Huang Jie's lonely figure, I felt sorry for him. Ah, what happened to the promise of being best friends forever?

As for me, I was still the same, making no progress in my love life. I sent fewer messages to Lin Ke'er, and I wouldn't contact her unless she contacted me. Wang Yao, as expected, didn't talk to me again, and she rarely stood next to me. We used to chat in the corridor after class, which Wang Yao loved. She was the leader and often brought a group of girls. But after our ambiguous relationship, she tried to avoid appearing with me.

Once, Zhang Xuan forced her to come over, and Wang Yao felt uncomfortable seeing me. Before, I was the one who couldn't look at her, but now she couldn't look at me, as if she had done something wrong. She excused herself to go to the bathroom after a while. Of course, no one knew what was going on; they wouldn't even imagine Wang Yao liked me.

But no matter what, my relationship with Lin Ke'er became colder, while my thoughts of Wang Yao grew deeper. I really wanted to see Wang Yao, but I couldn't make it too obvious, which made me feel a bit distracted all day.

After the second class, we skipped the morning exercises and hid in the toilet to smoke, a common activity for troublemakers in every school. At the end of the corridor, the toilet was not only where I, Houzi, and Huang Jie were, but also Yang Zecheng, Li Baiyu, Zhu Jianlong, and others. Although we didn't mix together and each had our own circle, we were still friendly when we met, having fought side by side before.

By the way, Zheng Wu wasn't there; he didn't smoke, which surprised me. I thought smoking was a sign of being a troublemaker.

I asked him why, and he said, "Hehe, my girlfriend doesn't allow it."

I said, "Bring your girlfriend out to meet us sometime." He said, "