CH 33

While the lunch break was still in progress, Si Jin got the answer and went to the door of the Class 1 without delay.

She decided to show her cards.

When the youth was called out, there was an enigmatic tenderness in his eyes, so much so that it gave Si Jin a false impression.

This is the same gentle little brother she always remembered, the one who found her on the street and took her back.

It must be because he didn’t know her well enough that he refuses to eat breakfast she gave him every day.

The youth’s voice was soft, like the leaves falling down from trees in autumn and winter: “Is something wrong?”

Si Jin cleared her throat and said solemnly, “Xiao Li, do you know who I am?”

He shook his head expressionlessly.

Si Jin’s eyes were expectant, and her voice was sweet: “I’m Si Jin. I’m Si Yi’s sister, and I stayed in an orphanage with you when I was little.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw the little brother in front of her frowning a little, seemingly remembering something.

Yes, remember quickly! You and I were childhood friends and spent two years together in the orphanage. When he remembers, he will be very excited and there is nothing to worry about Zhang Man, right?

Sure enough, the gentle little brother nodded his head.

After that, he…he did not ask anymore. There was also a trace of inquiry in his eyes, as if he was asking, “So what?”

Si Jin continued guiding: “Do you remember the year you first came to the orphanage, I ran away from the orphanage because of hunger, walked to a candy store that I had been to before on the street, and then got lost there.”

“My elder brother was so desperate that he couldn’t find me anywhere, and everyone didn’t know where I would go. It was only you who said at the time that I must be in that candy store and eventually found me.”

“I still remember that time I wanted to eat candy, the shopkeeper said I did not have money and refused to give me anything, and kicked me out. When I was sitting on the floor crying, you came and helped me pay for the candy and took me by the hand to take me back. You are so smart. Obviously you are only a few months older than me, but you remember the way back to the orphanage very well…”

She spoke with nostalgia.

At that time, that little boy was really gentle. He can also remember things she always muttered before, just like going to that candy store where no one else took what a kid said to heart and yet he remembered it… he was smart and gentle.

However, after she finished recalling this very warm memory in her mind, the youth in front of her only nodded coldly.

And he started looking at his watch, seemingly a little impatient.

Si Jin was a little dumbfounded, but picked up again: “Li Wei, I like you very much, are you willing to be with me?”

After listening to her long recollections, the youth finally heard the conclusion.

He shook his head, “No.”

Finally, I can go back to reading.

Si Jin stood at the door, looking at the back of the youth; her entire body was somewhat petrified.

Seriously speaking, ever since she started to understand a little, no one has ever rejected her so directly, except for the owner of that candy store back then and…Li Wei. She gritted her teeth and felt a little aggrieved, obviously it was such a fond memory but how come he didn’t take it seriously at all?

It’s really odd.

Si Jin stood in place and thought for a while, headed to her classroom, sat down in her seat and started browsing the postings.

With her years of experience, if you want to know all kinds of gossip about a school, the best choice is to go to the postings site of the school.

As expected, she didn’t have to turn a few pages to see a sticky red posting from the month of October. There is a picture inside with a handsome looking boy, wearing a handsome tuxedo, holding a bouquet of lilies in his hand and handing it to a girl standing on stage holding a guitar.

She looked at the comments below and raised her eyebrows, the corners of her mouth slightly hooked.

Qin Shuai, the popular figure in the First High School, is also the head of the Arts and Literature Department, “This is…interesting.”

Si Jin followed her elder brother’s example and rubbed her chin.

Li Wei is difficult to get, she can only start from Zhang Man’s side.

She had heard long ago that Li Wei had a bad reputation at school, and they all said he was a psychopath.

She spent two years in the orphanage with him back then, and there have been rumors of this as well.

But she vaguely remembered that although he was cold to people, he was in fact a very gentle person, otherwise he would not have taken her hand and led her back.

And Zhang Man doesn’t know that, even if she likes Li Wei now, if there is an equally good and normal person pursuing her passionately, what will happen is anyone’s guess.

The more she thought about it, the brighter her eyes were. Since that is the case, she didn’t have the heart to read any books that gave her an unbearable headache and went straight to find Qin Shuai in the afternoon after class.

When Qin Shuai came out and saw that it was Si Jin, he was slightly suspicious.

He knew this girl, of course. From the day she transferred to the school, she was a sensation because she was a “once-in-a-thousand-year beauty queen” as per others.

“Hello senior, are you interested in working with me?” Si Jin was already sweet-looking coupled with a soft “senior” call made many of the passing sophomore year olds feel weak.

Qin Shuai was unmoved, he smiled gently, “What’s wrong? Does junior sister want to join our Arts and Literature Department?”

Si Jin raised her index finger and shook it, beckoning to him to come over a little.

“Senior, it’s like this. I want to chase Li Wei, and you want to chase Zhang Man, I think we can work together.”

Qin Shuai smiled bitterly at her words, “I’ve already been rejected twice.”

In addition to that movie ticket, he has given gifts since then, which have also been rejected.

Si Jin hooked the corner of one side of her mouth: “You wouldn’t understand this but do you know what girls really want? Do as I say and you’re guaranteed to succeed!”

Qin Shuai looked at her sure gaze and had some doubts in his heart, however, he thought of Zhang Man— what if he risked once more…? Maybe she really has a way.

So he smiled and raised his eyebrows, “It’s a pleasure to work with you.”

……

When Zhang Man returned from her walk, she noticed that Li Wei had been looking at her. She touched her face and was somewhat confused.

“What’s wrong?”

“…nothing.”

The youth’s voice was low and husky, like a slightly coarse dust grain in the sunlight.

Zhang Man sat down, but he still did not withdraw his eyes.

“What’s going on?”

“I think Si Jin is not as pretty as you.”

The youth lowered his eyes, and the devil knows how hard it was for a man like him to say those words.

But he said it anyway.

Earlier in Si Jin’s long speech, he carefully observed the other’s eyes, nose, and mouth—compared to Zhang Man, there’s really nothing better about that girl.

Si Jin is so tall that he can’t use his most accustomed perspective when talking to her. He likes the fact that once he looks down, he can see the lovely swirl of hair on the top of the girl’s head in front of her, and when he gets close he can smell the smell of her hair. Her skin is also not as white as Zhang Man’s, and her eyes are not watery enough.

Anyway, it’s just not as pretty as she is.

No one can compare to her. As soon as he sees her, his heart itches.

Zhang Man heard his words and froze slightly, and only after a long time did she realize that he was making up for answering the question she had asked him when standing in punishment earlier.

Zhang Man felt some joy in her heart.

“How do you know? She came to see you again?”

Didn’t you say you didn’t notice it at all before?

“Um…just now.”

Zhang Man’s heart still inevitably tightened: “Then……what did she say to you?”

The youth’s eyes flicked to the left, recalling her words, “She asked me if I would like to be with her.”

Zhang Man swallowed and reached out to tug on his sleeve: “How did you answer?”

“I said, no.”

“Pfft“

Zhang Man couldn’t hold back and laughed out loud. So straightforward, it’s really his style.

……

Back in the evening, Zhang Man sat on the bed and began to plan the confession afterwards.

January 10th is Li Wei’s birthday and it’s a weekend, so she wants to formally confess her love to him on that day. Counting up, there are still five days to go.

She then called Chen Feier.

“Hey, Feier, in those romance novels you’ve read, how do the female leads confess their love?”

“Pfft …… hahahahahahaha, Man Man, you falling in love is really a good thing! I find you’re getting more and more adorable… let me laugh for a while first, please…”

Chen Feier is sitting at the family table, eating the evening meal her mother cooked for her, hearing her say so, soup was sprayed on the table.

Zhang Man was speechless, but it was good that she stopped laughing after a while.

“Ahem, in most of the romance novels I’ve read, it’s the male lead who confesses.”

She went on to say: “Man Man, haven’t you heard the saying? A woman pursues a man through a veil while men chasing women are a mountain apart. If you want to confess your love, just go straight on and be done with it instead of doing so many tricks.”

“Is it…?”

Zhang Man pondered deeply. That still needs some kind of preparation, right? It can’t be that when the two of them are writing their homework she can suddenly come up with a “Li Wei, I like you”, right?

That would be too weird.

In fact, this is something that is really difficult for Zhang Man to express. Remember that time with Zhang Huifang? Well, it took several days of consideration and courage for her to do it.

The same is true for Li Wei.

Taciturn people tend to have a much richer inner world than the next person, but when they really have to say the words out loud, they are abashed.

“Okay, I’ll think about it.”

Who knew that things would go awry when she had planned it so well?

It’s Friday and PE class is twice a week.

Both Class 1 and Class 15 happen to have PE classes, and Class 15 is, well, the Arts class that Si Jin is in.

Because it rained and snowed again a few days ago, the field was full of water, so the teacher took the girls to the gym and asked them to practice volleyball in pairs for the final exam.

Zhang Man’s original partner was Zhou Xiaoqi, however just after the two paired up a group, she was called away by another girl. Zhang Man was bored practicing on her own, just as Si Jin came over and picked up the volleyball she dropped on the ground.

“Zhang Man, could you come to the field for a while, I have something to say to you.”

“Can’t we talk about it now?”

Si Jin shook her head, “No, there are too many people here.”

Zhang Man did not want to go at first but Si Jin said she wanted to talk to him about Li Wei when he was a child so she thought about it and agreed. According to her personality, she can’t think of any harmful ideas.

As a result, after arriving at the field, she didn’t find Si Jin, but saw Qin Shuai instead.

Zhang Man probably guessed what was going on and couldn’t help but be a little helpless.

When Qin Shuai saw her, his eyes shone lightly as he walked over, “Sorry for asking Si Jin to call you, I was afraid that if I asked you to come, you would refuse again.”

He remembered what Si Jin had told him earlier, that to impress a girl’s heart, temptation is not an option.

How will the other party believe you when you have kept a retreat for yourself?

Be sure to always be sincere and let her feel how important she is to you.

No matter how introverted a girl’s personality is, she can’t stand sweet words spoken from the heart.

So he walked up to her, looking more serious than ever: “Zhang Man, I’ve really liked you for a long time, from the very moment I first saw you. In fact, I lied that day, and your show can be on stage without joining the Arts and Literature Department.”

“Later, at the National Day Performance, I asked someone to buy flowers, and I originally wanted to confess my love to you that day, but I was afraid to scare you away.”

“Those two movie tickets… I picked them at home for days… I didn’t like watching romance but when I thought that if I could go with you, I thought only romance would be the most appropriate. “

“Zhang Man, I’ve never felt this way about any girl before you, so if you’re willing, can you be my girlfriend?”

When he finished, he looked down at her very seriously, with a hint of tension in his eyes.

For the first time, he refrained from further probing, but directly and sincerely confessed his heart.

However, after she was silent for a long time, he had a feeling that it would not work out this time either.

Sure enough, despite the girl’s expression having some reluctance, she still shook her head firmly.

No words were spoken.

Qin Shuai felt a slight pain inside, but at the same time a heavy burden was put down as though there had always been a thing hidden in his heart, and now that he had gone and done it, he was finally able to let it go.

She didn’t say anything, just shook her head, which was better than giving him a good guy card. He looked at the girl’s expression and knew she had the heart to take him seriously.

He raised his hand to touch her head. The feeling is better than expected, although his tone is slightly low, it’s not full of sadness: “Zhang Man, this is already the 3rd time you rejected me. I can’t wait for something to happen but I wish you happiness in the future.”

Without waiting for Zhang Man to answer, he turned around and left.

……

While Qin Shuai confessed his love, Si Jin blocked Li Wei, who had just finished eating, at the entrance of the canteen.

She walked over and tried to pat the youth on the shoulder, but he took a step back and avoided it. The two brushed past each other, and Li Wei didn’t say a word to her.

Si Jin grimaced, a little speechless, thinking that this pretty little brother of hers is really hard to chase.

She went after him again, “Li Wei, are you free this Saturday?”

“No.”

“What about…Sunday?”

“No.”

The corner of Si Jin’s mouth twitched: “Then tell me, when will you be free? You can’t be busy for the rest of your life, right?”

“I’ve always been busy, if that’s what you’re asking”

Si Jin was struck by his words and froze all over. “No way… he’s not so heartless… right?”

Something snapped within her, and then she walked over and reached out to stop him and ruthlessly said: “Qin Shuai just asked Zhang Man to meet him and she went. Now Qin Shuai should have finished confessing with Zhang Man, and I guess she probably already agreed to it, you only have me now.”

She said and made another cut: “I have imparted to him the sincerity and tenderness that girls want most, and it will definitely work. He is as good as you but also sunny and cheerful, which girl will not agree to go out with him. And I saw that picture on the posting, she was obviously very happy when she received his flowers, she should have a little fondness for Qin Shuai in her heart too, don’t you think?”

As she spoke, she saw the calm breaking violently in the eyes of the youth in front of her, a rare storm arose, and he became a whole different person in an instant. He took a big step forward and squeezed her shoulder, “Where is she?”

The voice was urgent, sort of hoarse like the coarse north wind, making Si Jin shiver directly. She felt a burst of pain in her shoulders in his strength.

But she still didn’t want to talk about it, biting her lip to keep quiet.

The whole aura of the youth is getting colder and colder, Si Jin noticed that his eyes began to flood with an abnormal red, not the kind of moist red, but a dry, bloodshot red.

He took a deep breath and seemed to be trying to suppress some kind of emotion. He released her, but still stared straight into her eyes, “I’ll ask again, where is she?”

It was clear that he was no longer restraining her, but Si Jin felt even more terrible.

At this instant, her heart was suddenly afraid, and her voice was a little shaky: “In…the field.”

She turned her head away from him, her nails already pinched into the palm of her hand. Since she was a child, with her brother around, where had she ever been treated like this?

He was too scary and the look in his eyes just now even made her feel that he was going to kill her in the next second if she kept silent. “Isn’t it just Zhang Man, what’s the big deal? I  didn’t even touch a hair on her head so why would he do that? “

Si Jin squatted down, a wave of fear and aggression came over her and the tears began to fall out of control.

As she cried, she heard the youth whisper, “You say you like me because I’m gentle? You’ve seen it just now, haven’t you?”

“Get someone else to like.”

–Except for her, there’s no one in this place that deserves his tender attention.

After saying this, he walked away.

Si Jin crouched on the ground and cried for about two minutes. Then, she stood up, wiped her tears and pouted her lips. She kicked the roadside steps with some annoyance, but the kind of light soft-sided sneakers she wore caused her toes a painful pain.

She grimaced and screamed, still in pain, and sat down again for a while.

She thought sullenly, “What gentle little brother? All the memories and stuff are lies! He is just a psycho who I don’t care about!”

……

When Li Wei arrived at the field Qin Shuai had already left and Zhang Man was walking down from the bleachers.

There was still thin snow on the entire bleachers, and the school didn’t have anyone come to clear it. There was a lot of water on the field, and every time he stepped on the ground, the synthetic track seemed to ooze water. On such a gloomy and snowy day, almost no one would come to the field which was cold and quiet, but it made his mood more irritable.

Winter nightfall is fast and at 5:00 the sky is already dark throughout and the streetlights in the field are starting to light up.

He ran fast all the way and had never been so panicked before. The dull pain in his heart was too much for him to bear any longer.

He wanted to see her in the next second.

Finally, Li Wei spotted her in the east stands. He saw her figure from afar and saw she was alone.

The restlessness and difficulty in his heart relaxed slightly, but he probably couldn’t sleep peacefully afterwards unless he asked her himself.

He went over and stopped her.

Over here, Zhang Man was thinking about confessing to Li Wei tomorrow, and didn’t expect the youth to appear in front of her the next second.

He looked serious, his lips were pale, and his whole body looked like it had gone through a big storm. His eyes were crawling with dried blood and his hair was messy and woefully out of place.

Zhang Man’s heart tightened: “Li Wei, what’s wrong with you?”

“Did you accept it?”

The youth’s voice was hoarse, the knot in his throat twitched, and his knuckles were white.

He thought to himself that this feeling of nervousness seemed to have been something he had rarely had for as long as he could remember. He was afraid she would nod, in which case he didn’t know what he would do.

He remembers when he was little, his grandfather took him out of the hospital and went to the orphanage without even returning home. He told him in the car that it was to take him to meet a friend of his.

He was also holding a toy which was a race car that his dad had bought for him previously, and while grandpa and the friend were talking, he was sitting on the couch next to him playing with the race car.

He heard them talking, saying things like “schizophrenia, money, foster care”. He has always been a very intelligent child, and at a young age he actually knows a lot of things and has already sensed something.

Later, Grandpa told him that he had to go to the bathroom and told him to sit obediently in the room and wait. He didn’t listen, got up with that race car and took Grandpa’s hand.

He remembers when he asked his Grandpa if he could go with him.

That was the only time in his life he had asked someone to stay.

But Grandpa let go of his hand.

That day he bawled in the dean’s office for a long time and refused to leave no matter who came to pull him. That little boy doesn’t have any attachment to anything since he was born and he also had such a hard time and imagined that his Grandpa indeed had something to do and would be back after a while.

But Grandpa never came back.

He didn’t even contact him for the next ten years. Even after he applied for release from the orphanage, he sent just one of his subordinates over to hand over the legacy left by his father to him.

From the beginning to the end, Grandpa never showed his face.

He used to think that it would be difficult for anything in this world to make him this nervous.

But now there’s her… The girl who made him so nervous that his internal organs shrank together is standing in front of him, at a distance that was just one step away from him.