CH 11

Chapter 11 Concern 

Jian Chi walked through the long corridor, and bumped into a figure when turning the corner. He whispered “I’m sorry”, and suddenly his arm was pulled when he bent his head to move forward. 

“Jian Chi,” Ji Huaisi called his name and asked warmly, “Class is about to start, where are you going?” 

If Jian Chi didn’t know that he collided into him on his own initiative just now, he would have thought that Ji Huaisi was waiting for him here on purpose. 

“I need to find Zhang Yang for something.” Although he answered like this, Jian Chi knew that it was probably too late. 

“I’m in the same literary appreciation class as him. If you don’t mind, I can relay the news for you.”

Jian Chi hesitated for a few seconds, “No, it’s nothing urgent.” 

Ji Huaisi lowered his eyes and seemed a little disappointed, then added with a touch of concern, “I saw you coming out of the infirmary just now, are you all right?” 

“I’m okay, just a little insomnia.” 

As Jian Chi spoke, he slowly set his eyes on the arm that Ji Huaisi had grabbed, like a reminder, making Ji Huaisi loosen his fingers as if he had just woken up from a dream. He was slightly remorseful: “I’m sorry, because I haven’t heard from you, I thought something happened to you.” 

“Reply?” 

“I sent you a message in the morning.” 

Jian Chi remembered something, took out his phone that he had never opened, and there was a reminder from HS in the notification bar. After clicking in, there was Ji Huaisi’s friend application, and there was a sentence on it: Do you feel better? 

“I didn’t see it,” Jian Chi remembered the phone he had thrown aside in the morning, and pursed his lips apologetically, “I feel much better, thank you for the school uniform.” 

Ji Huaisi’s smile was a little warmer, his eyes curled up with the corners of his lips, full of reassuring appeal, “You’re welcome, this incident was originally my fault. I didn’t rush to stop it in time. Those few people have gone through a deep self-review, and they have also realized their mistakes and are willing to apologize to you in person.”

Jian Chi didn’t think that those people would really realize their mistakes, and it was probably a compromise made for the sake of peace of mind. 

He remembered the basin of water that fell down yesterday and the memory brought out Shao Hang, who was sitting by the window watching the scene. His heart skipped a few more beats, then the disgusting voice from Shao Hang in his dream sounded in his ears: “You’re not worthy.” 

“Jian Chi?” Ji Huaisi came a little closer and put his hands on his shoulders lightly, “Jian Chi, what’s the matter with you?” 

“…It’s okay.” Jian Chi rubbed his temples, and shook his head after regaining his senses. 

The images in the dream were constantly intertwined with reality, blocking his mind, making him unable to distinguish between true and false for a while. The belated touch on the shoulder made Jian Chi feel a little strange, and he took a step back without a trace, avoiding Ji Huaisi’s hand. 

“I’ve heard people say that there’s an equestrian competition next week.” 

Ji Huaisi’s fingers on his side twitched lightly. Hearing Jian Chi change the subject, he nodded and said, “Next Wednesday is the annual equestrian competition in Saintston. Do you want to watch the competition?” 

Jian Chi wanted to shake his head, but this thought disappeared quickly. He had a more important thing to verify, “I heard that the president will also participate in the competition, right?” 

“Shuting won the competition last year, and he should also participate this year,” Ji Huaisi paused for a while, “what’s the matter? Did someone tell you something?” 

Shu Ting, Shen Shu Ting – when he heard this name that was exactly the same as in his dream, Jian Chi felt that his whole body was invaded by a chill. Ji Huaisi in front of him seemed to have transformed into two faces, sometimes swaying, sometimes overlapping. 

If everything that happened in his dream was real, what did his existence count for? What is going on in this world? Was what he experienced when he came to Saintston true or false? 

Jian Chi felt that he had fallen into a dark labyrinth, with no signs and no lights. He could only rely on the few clues he had to grope forward, secretly hoping that he would not reach the worst dead end. 

For several days, Jian Chi did not dream.

He tried to recall everything he had dreamed about that day before going to bed, but to no avail. 

Old matters were always replaced by new people and new things. After two days, Jian Chi was no longer baptized by the eyes of others. They had new topics and gossip, which may be the only thing fortunate at present. 

Ji Huaisi wanted to ask the initiators to come and apologize in person, but Jian Chi refused. He didn’t mind already and any options that may appear unexpected are marked with a big red cross. 

Jian Chi didn’t know exactly which direction the situation will develop. The only thing he can do is to control the variables to a minimum. 

He needed more time to digest and analyze this treacherous change from the perspective of a more sober outsider. 

In the dream, he was afraid of getting into trouble, but in reality he didn’t want to provoke trouble. The difference between the two words had completely different meanings.

The new theme of the literature club was movies. Shao Hang once again chose to sit behind Jian Chi, and there were occasional casual conversations. The president had a soft spot for Shakespeare and played “Hamlet” on the screen. The classroom was dark, and Jian Chi quickly ignored the strangeness behind him. 

When he saw the climax, the back of his neck suddenly seemed to be brushed by something, neither light nor heavy, causing a chill. 

“You’ve been very close to Ji Huaisi recently?” 

Shao Hang’s voice sounded deep, almost like a whisper in his ear, with a bit of deeper meaning, “He reprimanded my friend badly for you, how do you think I should take revenge?” 

Jian Chi looked at the screen without squinting, ignoring the anomaly, “I don’t know.” 

“You don’t look worried at all.” 

“Then are you really going to take revenge?” Jian Chi’s tone was calm and determined. Maybe because he had seen Shao Hang who was submissive to Bai Xiyu in his dream, but the person in front of him didn’t seem to be as frightening as he was at the beginning, except for that one thing—he was still so annoying. 

Shao Hang smiled, with a little pleasure and relaxation, “How do you know I won’t? Your good friend has been making trouble for me during this time. Do you think I should take revenge on him first, or Ji Huaisi?” 

It sounded as casual as choosing a pudding or a cake for dessert, and Jian Chi couldn’t help but think of Shao Hang’s malicious words and the punch he had received on the body in his dream. 

The ground in the student union office was very cold, but not as cold as the look in Shao Hang’s eyes when he looked at him. 

Although he knew that the person who experienced all this was not him, Jian Chi moved a little, avoiding Shao Hang’s breath. He repeated: “I don’t know.” 

“Boring.” 

The voice suddenly cooled down, and the interesting tone just now was replaced by a gloom that made people unable to react. 

Jian Chi felt his chin was about to be crushed. Shao Hang seemed to like to take control of others, so that Jian Chi had no choice but to turn his head to look at him at close range. 

In the darkness, there was a cold light in Shao Hang’s eyes, like a burning inner flame, and a similar edge was drawn across the black brooch on his chest. 

He looked at Jian Chi’s face carefully, not knowing what he was thinking. The aggression and pain made Jian Chi frown, and say in a cold voice: “Let go.” 

“Are you ordering me?”

Jian Chi took a deep breath and told himself that now was not the time to anger this person, and asked word by word, “Can you let go?” 

Shao Hang raised the corners of his mouth interestingly. The other party’s patient appearance seemed to satisfy his bad heart very well. He let go of his shackles, and his fingertips brushed Jian Chi’s flushed cheeks, either intentionally or unintentionally, “Tomorrow’s equestrianism competition, I invite you to watch a free show.” 

Jian Chi rubbed his stiff face, but there was no turbulence in his heart. After all, he already knew what Shao Hang meant by a ‘good show’. He was going to bully Bai Xiyu again, causing the other party to fall off his horse and get injured, thus changing his attitude towards him. 

If nothing goes wrong, Shao Hang would soon discover that all his tricks to Bai Xiyu came from a strange feeling in his heart, so he would launch a domineering and violent pursuit… Jian Chi felt a little chill. He somehow sympathized with Bai Xiyu. It was absolutely the greatest misfortune to fall in love with such a person.

The next day, the annual equestrian competition was held at the Saintston venue as scheduled.