Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I was recuperating at home, cut off from news, and Xu Ge wouldn’t tell me any school gossip.
So I heard most things from Nian Nian.

“Ruan He, our class got a new English teacher! That bald guy with bad breath finally left, and we got a really fashionable American teacher!”
“Last night, a couple from our class snuck into the woods and got caught by the dean. Both sets of parents came, and the girl’s parents nearly turned the school upside down!”
“I went to watch Xu Ge play basketball today. Holy shit, he’s so damn handsome. After the game, a bunch of girls asked for his WeChat, but he didn’t give it. And then, drama, that tall, burly, dark-skinned jock from our grade also asked him. He said Xu Ge would make a good top and that he’d be willing to be the bottom. Xu Ge laughed in anger, grabbed the guy by the collar, and punched him.”
“Ruan He, Ji Yunbai came to class today. But a lot of boys in our class are still whispering behind her back. She looks so pitiful.”
“Ruan He, let me tell you something: Today Xu Ge got into a fight for Ji Yunbai. He beat up that creep Wei Feng from our class so badly he ended up in the hospital. Wei Feng secretly stuck a turtle note on the back of Ji Yunbai’s uniform, and she went to PE class with it still on.”
“No one dared to tell her, and I didn’t either. If only you were here.”

Then came the last message: “Ruan He, I want to be good friends with Ji Yunbai.”

I had just received this message when I heard Xu Ge and Brother Wu outside the door. I quickly shoved my phone under the pillow and pulled the blanket over myself, pretending to be asleep.

“I’m really curious about the girl who can make you throw a punch. Let me meet her someday.”
“When there’s time.”

They were talking as they knocked on my door.
I didn’t answer.

“She’s probably asleep. Wait at the door for me; I’ll put today’s notes on her desk.”

The door opened softly, and the person’s footsteps were very light.
He placed a notebook on the desk and then tiptoed out.

I stayed under the blanket, my eyes open in the darkness.
I lay awake for a long time.
Finally, I threw off the blanket and got out of bed.

I’d been lying down for nearly twenty days, but now I could manage with crutches to get around completely fine.
I shuffled step by step to the desk and pulled a sketchbook from the bottom drawer.
I set aside the crutch and, holding onto the desk, slowly sat down.
I flipped to a new page.

Wei Feng stuck a turtle note on Ji Yunbai’s back, making her cry. She stood in the hallway with reddened eyes, and Xu Ge just happened to come back from PE class and saw it. Xu Ge was a fierce fighter; Wei Feng couldn’t beat him, so he cursed Xu Ge for being a privileged kid bullying an ordinary person. Xu Ge looked at him coldly, flexed his wrist, and leaned against the railing with a cocky grin. He arrogantly lifted his chin: “So what if I’m a privileged kid? Go report me. Go record this video of me, the privileged kid, beating you up today and post it online. Let the netizens condemn me. Go on.”

As I recalled Nian Nian’s description, the pen tip scratched across the paper.
But as soon as I started, a tear fell onto the page.

Why was Ji Yunbai able to return to class so soon?
Xu Ge must have helped.
It’s my fault. Why did I tell him about Ji Yunbai? Why did I have to play the good guy?

“Honestly.”
I sniffled and wiped my tears.
“Why did I have to run my mouth?
When I clearly didn’t want them to have any contact.”

The pen nib scratched away, and tears dripped one after another.

Rain.
S City was raining again.
A small crack was left in my window, and a cold wind carried a drizzle inside.
It rustled the pages of the diary on my desk.
It slapped down on the last page.

Black words on white paper: the sentence I wrote the day I stumbled upon Xu Ge and Ji Yunbai getting to know each other in the classroom.

“God, please, don’t let them cross paths.”