15: A Little Crazy Since Childhood

Ling Yunfan went out to look for a basketball and ended up bringing back Ji Canghai, whose eyes were swollen like walnuts. This really frightened Ling’s mother.

Ling’s mother questioned them about the situation, but both of them stuttered and couldn’t explain clearly.

Fortunately, Ling’s mother didn’t press the matter and, after confirming with Ji Canghai that his family agreed to let him stay here, brought him some ice to apply to his eyes.

That night, Ji Canghai slept next to Ling Yunfan. After waiting for a long time and thinking that Ling Yunfan had fallen asleep, Ji Canghai cautiously moved closer and pressed his forehead against Ling Yunfan’s back.

But Ling Yunfan wasn’t fully asleep. 

He felt Ji Canghai’s movements, turned over in a daze, and soothingly touched Ji Canghai’s head with his hand.

Ji Canghai froze for a moment, then curled up and nestled in Ling Yunfan’s arms.

The next day, Ji Canghai, who had cried so much the day before, acted as if nothing had happened and thanked Ling Yunfan and his mother for taking him in before going home.

Afterward, the two continued to meet in the park in the evenings to play, but Ji Canghai never mentioned the events of that day again, and Ling Yunfan didn’t have the heart to bring it up either.

The only difference was that after that day, Ji Canghai would repeatedly ask Ling Yunfan if he liked him or not, even to the point of obsession.

As a young boy, Ling Yunfan didn’t think much of it and simply took it as a promise between friends. He repeatedly told Ji Canghai that he liked him and thought he was great.

Every time Ling Yunfan said he liked him, Ji Canghai would let out a long sigh.

In the blink of an eye, the summer vacation had passed.

On the first day of school, there was a bustling clean-up activity, and everyone waved brooms and rags while chatting with classmates they hadn’t seen for two months.

After the clean-up, while carrying the garbage out with his desk mate, Ling Yunfan unexpectedly ran into Ji Canghai in the corridor.

“Hey!” Ling Yunfan’s eyes lit up, and he raised his hand to greet Ji Canghai.

But Ji Canghai looked at Ling Yunfan and completely ignored him, turning his head and quickly walking away.

Ling Yunfan was stunned, not knowing what he had done wrong.

He was anxious all day because of this and went to the flower bed early in the evening to wait for Ji Canghai.

As soon as Ji Canghai appeared, Ling Yunfan grabbed him and questioned, “Why didn’t you talk to me at school today?”

But Ji Canghai was even more anxious, “You can’t talk to me at school. 

Ling Yunfan felt puzzled, “Why?”

Ji Canghai said anxiously, “If they see us together, they’ll bully you too.”

Ling Yunfan was taken aback and suddenly realized, “Is someone really bullying you in your class?”

Ji Canghai lowered his head and said, “Not really, they just make fun of me a bit. I’m used to it, but I don’t want to involve you.” As he spoke, he gritted his teeth and clenched his hand into a fist, trembling slightly.

Ling Yunfan stood tall and said, “So it’s because of this? I’m not afraid of them at all.”

Ji Canghai, “But…”

Ling Yunfan, “Why so many ‘buts’? You ignored me at school and it made me really sad.” He emphasized the word ‘sad’, pretending to be extremely aggrieved and leaving Ji Canghai at a loss.

Ling Yunfan held his chest, “Ah, so sad, the water in West Lake is my tears. I love you the most, how could you bear to make me suffer? Am I not the person you love the most? Why won’t you speak?”

“Cough cough.” Ji Canghai was frightened by the ups and downs of this song and coughed repeatedly, his face turning red. “Stop singing, stop singing.”

Ling Yunfan blinked and smiled. “I will stop singing, but you have to promise me that you won’t ignore me at school.”

Ji Canghai, “But…”

Ling Yunfan: “Oh, come on, why so many ‘buts’? Okay, it’s settled then. Let’s go play basketball.”

Saying this, he put his arm around Ji Canghai’s shoulder and didn’t give him a chance to argue, pulling him towards the park.

That night, Ji Canghai tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.

There are people in this world who enjoy deriving pleasure from other people’s pain, and the hooligans in Ji Canghai’s class are like these types of locusts.

Ji Canghai had long seen through them and knew very well that if Ling Yunfan got close to him at school, they would be bullied together.

Anxious, Ji Canghai subconsciously nibbled at his hand and thought about what to do.

Just then, there was a crisp sound of glass hitting the ground outside the room.

Ji Canghai looked toward the direction of the door and saw a faint light coming through the crack.

After hesitating for a moment, Ji Canghai got out of bed, lifted the covers, and tiptoed out of the room.

The living room was dark, and the plain furniture was shrouded in the dimness. The only place in the house with a light on was the bathroom.

Ji Canghai walked over cautiously and pushed open the bathroom door. 

Behind the door, several dark green glass bottles were overturned, and the alcohol inside, with fine bubbles, had spilled all over the floor. The air was filled with a strong and nauseating smell of alcohol.

A stunningly beautiful woman, slim and frail, dressed in a long moon-white camisole dress, stood in front of the sink. When she heard the noise, she turned around, and as her arm swung, she accidentally knocked off the utility knife that she had just placed on the washstand.

The utility knife fell to the ground and was submerged in the alcohol.

Ji Canghai shouted, “Mom…”

The woman in front of him was drunk, with lipstick smeared on her cheek, and her camisole had slipped off her shoulder, looking quite indecent.

The woman waved her hand and mumbled, “Go to bed…”

Before she could finish her sentence, she swayed and stumbled, falling to the ground.

Ji Canghai hurriedly went forward to support her, helped her onto the bed in the master bedroom, and covered her with a blanket.

The woman pulled the blanket over her head and began to cry softly.

“Mom.” Ji Canghai called again.

But no one answered him.

Ji Canghai, seemingly accustomed to this, quietly poured a cup of hot water and placed it by the bed before leaving the room and closing the door.

He then went to the bathroom and cleaned up the broken glass bottles.

As he turned on the shower, washing away the spilled alcohol, he noticed the utility knife on the ground.

Ji Canghai stared at the knife, the bright bathroom light making him dizzy. In his mind, a soft voice whispered, repeatedly murmuring, “What if Ling Yunfan is bullied at school because of you? What would you do?”

He slowly bent down, picked up the utility knife, and held it tightly in his hand, standing there motionless for a long time…

The next day, on the second day of school, everyone was trying to transition from the long and leisurely summer vacation.

During the break, Ling Yunfan was napping with his head on the desk when he suddenly heard his deskmate talking to the person in front of him. “Don’t go to the bathroom on the fourth floor for now. Those thugs from the next class are blocking it.”

“Are they bullying someone? Should we tell the teacher?” the deskmate asked.

“I don’t know. I saw a boy from Class One being blocked in there. I don’t know what happened,” replied the person in front of him.

Ling Yunfan raised his head and asked, “A boy from class one?”

His deskmate replied, “It’s the guy you greeted yesterday but didn’t respond to you. He was blocked in the bathroom and we’re not sure if he got into a fight or something.”

Ling Yunfan immediately became alert, slapped the table, stood up, and ran toward the fourth floor.