Lingering Game
Lingering Game chapter 18

There was something sandwiched in the middle of the notebook, and as soon as it was flipped open, it fell out.

Curious, Jing Tian picked it up, and it turned out to be a folded piece of paper. When he opened it, he quickly froze.

The A4-sized paper had the words “Experiment Operation Standards and Evaluation” printed prominently at the top.

After all that fuss, was this just an ordinary class note?

Jing Tian felt a subtle sense of disappointment in his heart.

While sighing inwardly, he casually glanced down and soon realized what it was.

In addition to the printed black Song typeface on the paper, there were also writings in blue and red ink.

The blue ink appeared somewhat casual, filling in the pre-prepared spaces with what seemed to be experiment records. Even though Jing Tian was clueless about the experimental content, he could tell that they were extremely perfunctory, full of bluff, and not serious at all.

Although messier than he remembered, he recognized it as his own handwriting.

The red ink was also irregular, somewhat scribbled, with very rough annotations written next to almost every line of blue text.

At the end of each annotation was a number, all preceded by a negative sign.

At the bottom of the paper, in the flamboyant red writing: 35, failed.

Two bold horizontal lines were drawn underneath.

Jing Tian quickly realized what this was.

It was the evidence left behind from when he was deliberately humiliated after pairing up with Zheng Xunqian.

A wave of embarrassment washed over him, and he wanted to crumple up the thing and throw it away immediately. But then he raised his hand, and quickly stopped himself.

If he just casually disposed of it, this piece of paper, representing unpleasant memories, might end up in a pile of clutter, sandwiched between books he never actively read, or left exposed in some corner of a drawer on his desk.

But it was folded neatly, tucked into the notebook, placed inside the candy box, and placed in the least conspicuous corner at the bottom of the drawer.

Now unfolded again, it still looked brand new.

It seemed more like it was being treasured.

Jing Tian was dazed for a moment, his face reddening.

Surely not, he thought, had he been too… much back then?

He looked down at the notebook again.

This piece of paper was placed in the middle, and upon flipping to that page, the writing on it, similar to the blue text in the lab report, was a bit neater.

On the large page, there were only two lines of big words written in the middle, ignoring the printed horizontal lines.

“That bastard did something today!”

“It pisses me off!”

Jing Tian stared at these words for a few seconds, swallowed hard, and turned to the next page.

The content on this page was simpler than the previous one.

“Ignored me.

It’s so hard, is he annoyed with me?”

Who ignored me? The answer wasn’t hard to guess.

Jing Tian quickly flipped to the next page.

This page had a bit more content.

“He bought another bottle of unsweetened oolong tea from the vending machine at the door today.

It’s so disgusting yet he drinks it every day.

No taste at all.

I bought the last three bottles, let’s see what he buys tomorrow~”

Jing Tian flipped to the next page again, but unfortunately, he couldn’t see the expected continuation.

The content on the page was completely irrelevant.

“Scorpio: October 24th – November 22nd

“Element: Water sign

“Guardian Star: Pluto”

“Lucky Colors: Purple, Black

“Best Compatibility: Pisces, Cancer, Virgo.

“Worst Compatibility: Capricorn, Libra”

The last two lines were roughly crossed out, and beside them was a large word: Bullshit!

It seemed like he was in the middle of writing something, but abruptly stopped and got angry.

Jing Tian stared at the lonely word “Libra” for a while, thinking, it probably referred to his sign.

His brain buzzed again.

It was strange, too strange. He clearly didn’t believe in astrology.

He was never interested in such irrational, unscientific, and purely superstitious things that could only serve as psychological comfort.

To write them down so seriously in a notebook was simply inconceivable.

But the reasons behind it didn’t seem hard to guess.

Jing Tian suddenly felt ashamed.

How could he have been so childish, foolish, irrational, and ridiculous?

He remembered his initial speculation upon waking up.

Was it not amnesia but a transmigration instead? And the person who had taken over his body was a complete idiot, just happened to share the same zodiac sign.

Jing Tian unconsciously squeezed his earlobes, then quickly released them because he wasn’t used to the soft feeling on his fingertips.

“Why are you squatting there? Aren’t you tired?” Yang Yue’s voice suddenly sounded from behind.

Jing Tian was startled, and the notebook fell onto the metal box, making a loud noise.

“What are you doing!” Yang Yue was also startled, “Breaking things?”

“…Something fell,” Jing Tian said, hurriedly stuffing the notebook back into the box and putting the box into the cabinet, then quickly closing the cabinet door, “It’s a bit messy, just tidying up.”

Yang Yue didn’t suspect anything, “Do you need help?”

“No need,” Jing Tian stood up, bowed his head, and quickly walked to the table, sitting down, “I’m too lazy to clean up, let’s talk about it later.”

There was a slight vibration in his pocket, indicating that he had received a new message.

Jing Tian took out his phone, only to see the name of the sender, and he felt a sudden panic and unease.

Zheng Xunqian reminded him not to forget to bring the tablet over, as it would be more convenient for him to explain the questions later.

Jing Tian didn’t reply immediately.

But the phone rang again at this moment.

Looking at the caller ID, Jing Tian hesitated for a while, until Yang Yue questioned him from behind, he had to reluctantly answer the call.

“When are you coming over?” Zheng Xunqian asked on the other end of the phone.

Jing Tian held the phone, feeling a bit out of sorts, and suddenly realized why he hadn’t noticed it before—Zheng Xunqian’s voice was also very pleasant.

Was it because he always said unpleasant things that made him overlook this?

“…Are you listening?” Zheng Xunqian asked again.

“I…” Jing Tian lowered his head and said in a very small voice, “I’m not feeling very well, I…”

Zheng Xunqian interrupted him, “Then I’ll come over now.”

Why are you coming over!

Jing Tian bit his lip, easily overturning his previous words, “No need! I’m fine again, I’ll organize my things and come over to your place.”

Zheng Xunqian’s roommates were all out.

When Jing Tian realized this, he felt uncomfortable all over and a little nervous.

But Zheng Xunqian seemed completely unaware of his unnaturalness, found him a chair, poured him a glass of water, and then opened his own laptop, bringing up the already organized materials.

“Do you have any blank draft paper?” he asked Jing Tian.

Jing Tian nodded hurriedly.

Zheng Xunqian opened the textbook, “Where did you study up to yesterday?”

“The third chapter,” Jing Tian reached out and pointed at the table of contents, “I got halfway through this one.”

Zheng Xunqian nodded, “Wait a moment, I’ll find you two questions to do, see how much you’ve grasped.”

Jing Tian nodded again.

Zheng Xunqian operated the computer with a serious expression.

Jing Tian stole a few glances at his profile, then quickly looked away.

The dorm room was no different from his own in terms of furnishings, just a bit messier.

But Zheng Xunqian’s desk and bed were both neatly arranged.

Aside from the laptop, and a few books placed in the corner bookstand, there was only the tablet Jing Tian had just taken out, and a half-drunk beverage.

Oolong tea, unsweetened.

Jing Tian subconsciously remembered the words he had seen on the notebook just now.

The next day, did Zheng Xunqian manage to buy Oolong tea?

“I’ll send you the questions…” Zheng Xunqian turned back, paused briefly, and asked, “What’s wrong with this tea?”

Jing Tian hastily shook his head, “It’s nothing! It’s fine!”

“Do you want some?” Zheng Xunqian stood up and walked to the corner, squatting down.

There was a cardboard box on the floor with the words “Oolong Tea” printed on it.

“You bought a whole box…” Jing Tian sighed softly.

Zheng Xunqian took a bottle and walked over to him, handing it over. “Yeah, I like this one. The vending machine at the entrance of the dormitory area is always out of stock, it’s annoying.”

Jing Tian took it cautiously.

After opening it and taking a sip, he immediately frowned.

It was bland, with a slightly bitter taste.

It tasted awful, a flavor he couldn’t appreciate.

This person must have been speaking unpleasantly all the time because he drank this awful drink all day.

Zheng Xunqian looked at his frowned face and chuckled softly.

“Just as I thought, nothing’s changed.”

He said.

Jing Tian raised his head in confusion, “Huh?”

“It’s nothing. I’ve sent you the questions,” he pointed to the tablet Jing Tian brought, “take a look.”

Jing Tian put down the Oolong tea, “Oh, okay!”

But his mind was having a hard time focusing on the screen.

He hoped Zheng Xunqian wouldn’t smile anymore.

Because if Zheng Xunqian smiled, he would be very tempted to steal a glance.

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