Chapter 3

A High School had classes on Sunday afternoon. Third-year students had to arrive early for self-study.

After eating breakfast, Yan Lie came to school, hung his bag beside the desk, and kept waiting for Fang Zhuo to appear.

He didn’t know where this curiosity of his came from—somehow, he was just a little interested in this new deskmate.

As a result, around one in the afternoon, when the self-study class had already started for twenty minutes, Fang Zhuo finally arrived, slowly and unhurriedly.

She carefully pushed open the back door, tiptoed her way in. When she got closer, her body carried a chill. She silently put down her backpack, picked up another jacket and a small brush from the side of the desk, and left again. Her movements were so fast that Yan Lie didn’t even get a chance to speak.

Yan Lie watched her the entire time and noticed she was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Her shoes were muddy, the fabric half-dry and half-wet, and he guessed she probably didn’t go home yesterday.

And just like that, the urge to go to the bathroom grew stronger.

Yan Lie put down the workbook in his hands, grabbed a pack of tissues from his bag, and followed her out.

But she wasn’t in the restroom. Following the sound of water, Yan Lie took a step toward the utility room nearby and found Fang Zhuo crouching next to the small sunken basin they usually used to wash mops, head down, scrubbing her shoes.

The sink was at an awkward height. Fang Zhuo was barefoot and squatting on the ground, her back hunched, and her posture looked very uncomfortable.

Those canvas shoes too—the color had already faded, the quality wasn’t good to begin with, and the toe caps had started coming unglued. With her rough cleaning, who knew how much longer they could last?

Yan Lie thought to himself, why?

Why does she look like a wilted cabbage, with misery written all over her?

Fang Zhuo finally managed to wash the stains off the shoes and held them upside down to squeeze out the water. She stood up, stretched her back a bit, and got ready to wipe down the mud stains on her school jacket while she was at it.

Because of the water’s reflection, she accidentally stepped into a puddle on her way back. The dirty black water splashed back, and some of it landed on her jacket.

She always felt that kind of water smelled fishy and foul. She wet the soap and rubbed all the muddy spots clean.

The first period was almost over. Fang Zhuo wanted to hurry and get all these annoying things sorted before class ended.

Suddenly, a few dull knocks sounded from the door, abrupt and persistent. Only when it continued did she realize someone was calling for her.

Her gaze shifted and first landed on a pair of ordinary white sneakers. A pale, bony hand placed them on the ground and pushed them forward a bit. Then a figure emerged from behind the wall, squatted down, and waved at her.

The other party had light chestnut-colored hair that looked even lighter under the bright sunlight in the corridor, and his smile was dazzling. He said, “If they don’t fit, go to the supermarket and exchange them.” After saying that, he left in a carefree manner.

It was him again.

Fang Zhuo lowered her eyes.

Were they that close?

Fang Zhuo finished washing her clothes, then washed her feet before putting on the shoes.

The size was pretty fitting, just the soles were a bit too stiff.

She carried her things back to the classroom, placed the shoes on the storage shelf in the back, and hung her jacket on the back of the chair. She was sitting in the last row anyway, so it wouldn’t affect anyone else.

Shen Musi from the front row turned her head, curled his finger and knocked on Yan Lie’s desk, asking, “Lie Ge, did you finish the English test paper? Let me copy it.”

Yan Lie didn’t even lift his head, focused on the game in his hands, and said, “I lent it out. Go look for it yourself.”

Fang Zhuo came back with a cup of water and happened to sit down. Yan Lie lifted his eyelids and said, “Ask Fang Zhuo. She definitely did it.”

Shen Musi had been about to turn back, but after hearing that, he could only shift in the other direction and turn to face Fang Zhuo.

Fang Zhuo was silent for a moment, took a sip of water, and asked strangely, “You want to copy mine?”

“Well…” Shen Musi wasn’t very familiar with her either, but under pressure, he said, “Lend it to me to copy?”

Fang Zhuo said, “Do you know how many marks I got on the last English exam?”

Her tone was so full of “Do you know who my dad is?” kind of arrogant dominance that Shen Musi paused for a second and seriously asked, “How much?”

He remembered the top scorers for each subject. Fang Zhuo’s math and science scores were pretty good, but her English… didn’t leave much of an impression.

Fang Zhuo calmly said, “72(Out of 150).”

The two of them: “…”

“Turns out, the person who barely passed the line last time was you? I thought it was Shitou, didn’t even have the courage to ask.” Shen Musi muttered softly, then quickly looked at Fang Zhuo’s expression, worried she might be upset.  

But Fang Zhuo just nodded calmly and honestly said, “I’m not very good at English.”  

Yan Lie laughed and stopped playing the game. He put his phone down and said, “Wait.”

He walked around the classroom and quickly found the papers he had spread around.  

Shen Musi’s face showed surprise. He raised both hands in preparation, with a flattering smile, saying, “Thank you, Lie Lie!”  

But Yan Lie raised his arm, dodging from above, and tossed the paper onto Fang Zhuo’s desk, generously saying, “See? You won’t ask me.”

Shen Musi’s smile froze. He glanced at Yan Lie, wanting to protest, but the other didn’t respond. Then he looked at Fang Zhuo, saw her take out her own paper, and vaguely said, “Fang… Zhuo Jie, you’re not suitable for copying. It’s better for you to do it yourself.”  

Shen Musi was a little younger than his classmates, only one or two years, and not very tall, still looking somewhat immature. But the “jie” he used was totally out of survival instinct.  

Yan Lie tapped a book on his head and said, “Why do you care about her?”

Fang Zhuo had actually already finished. She quickly checked the answers for the multiple-choice questions and passed the paper to Shen Musi.  

The little comrade happily took it, saying, “Thank you, Fang Zhuo…” The last syllable was already completed when he glanced at Fang Zhuo’s emotionless face and automatically added, “Jie.”

Fang Zhuo wasn’t the type for this kind of politeness. She didn’t understand why he acted like a rat seeing a cat whenever he saw her. Anyway, Fang Xiaodi was much more likable. She gave a subtle “hm” as a form of approval.  

Shen Musi, still puzzled about himself, silently turned back.

After evening self-study, people scattered in twos and threes. Fang Zhuo tidied up her desk and returned to the dorm alone.  

By the time the other roommates returned, she was squatting on the small balcony washing clothes.

A few girls sat on the edge of the bed, chatting casually before lining up to take a shower.  

The small orange lamp on the balcony was on, attracting quite a few mosquitoes.  

The first girl to finish her shower brought a small stool over to sit in front of Fang Zhuo. She had just wet her clothes and rubbed soap on them when she started the task of chasing away mosquitoes.

She saw Fang Zhuo’s clothes in the basin and couldn’t help saying, “Fang Zhuo, you don’t need to wash your clothes so often. Like your school jacket, Xiao Xi only washes hers once a week.”  

Someone inside, applying lotion, heard and loudly called out, “Why use me as an example? Don’t you wash yours only once a week too?!”  

The girl laughed loudly, wrung out her clothes, and hung them on the clothesline.

A knock came at the door. The visitor stood outside the open wooden door, peeking inside, and asked, “Is Fang Zhuo here?”  

Fang Zhuo dried her hands and walked over.  

“Here for you.” The short-haired girl smiled. “Takoyaki, brought to you by Bai Lufei. Also, a box of milk.”  

Fang Zhuo lowered her eyes, looking at the takeaway box, but before she could speak, the girl added, “He said if you don’t want it, just throw it away yourself.”

Fang Zhuo furrowed her brow. She had been feeling tired these past few days, especially having to deal with such trivial matters. The other party’s casual and light attitude only made her more displeased. She took the food box and asked, “How much?”  

The girl was about to leave, but turned around. “Huh?”  

Fang Zhuo directly pulled out ten yuan from her pocket, flattened it, and stuffed it into the girl’s hand. Her tone didn’t fluctuate, but anyone could tell she was upset. “Tell him, don’t send things to our dorm anymore. Otherwise, I’ll suspect he’s a plant from the snack street. And don’t bring anything on his behalf either, we’re not close.”

The short-haired girl hadn’t come to her senses yet when Fang Zhuo closed the door.

She casually placed the things on the desk, leaned against the head of the bed, and sat there in a sullen mood. Then, she grabbed the notebook from the bedside and absentmindedly flipped through a couple of pages.  

Wei Xi, looking at the shadowed figure, asked, “Fang Zhuo, are you going to eat the food?”  

Fang Zhuo shook her head.  

Wei Xi said, “Then sell it to me, I’m hungry.”  

Fang Zhuo replied, “No need, you eat it.”  

Wei Xi came over with the money and smiled, “If you don’t want to take it, should I trade it with snacks or fruit?”  

Fang Zhuo hesitated for a moment but still took the money.

Wei Xi had actually already brushed her teeth. She ate two with a toothpick, then gave some to the other roommates, finishing off the takoyaki.  

Not long after, the dormitory lost power, and the group went to wash up again before climbing into bed.

The air still carried the faint scent of wood ear flowers mixed with sauce. Wei Xi couldn’t help but complain, “How come those boys in the next class are so full of themselves? It’s already the third year of high school, their grades are so bad, who would want to date them? Don’t they have any self-awareness?”  

“It’s not about grades, it’s mostly about immaturity. No one’s managing them.”  

Fang Zhuo, resting her head on her hand, remained silent.  

“Luckily, the boys in our class are normal.”  

“People are grouped by their kind. In our class, we have Yan Lie to keep things in order, while over there they love to stir up trouble.”  

When Fang Zhuo heard that name, her eyelids twitched.  

“Lie Ge is definitely good, or else why would they hate him? It’s just that he’s a bit too much of a ‘straight man’^[1]A man who fails to understand women.”  

Wei Xi laughed and said, “You’re wrong. A straight man like him still attracts girls, that’s why they hate him.”  

“Yeah, Fang Zhuo, next time he annoys you, just say you like Yan Lie. Lie Ge is doomed to be single, always being used as a pawn. He won’t mind.”

Fang Zhuo turned over and asked suspiciously, “Straight man?”  

Wei Xi said, “Yeah, Yan Lie is such a straight man. He’s not considerate, not attentive, doesn’t understand girls’ needs, and can’t have deep conversations with them. He’s always messing around and changing the topic. Otherwise, he would’ve had a girlfriend by now.”

Fang Zhuo pondered. 

Does he count as a straight man?

The standards must be sky-high then.