Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chen Wen compromised in the end.

He pulled the cart up onto the curb while I walked beside him carrying the bag, his jacket still in my hand.

“Hey, Chen Wen.” I swung the bag in my hand. “What were you doing back there? You’re way too old to be playing around like that.”

At that, Chen Wen gave a soft snort. “You’re overthinking it.”

The night breeze drifted by, especially comfortable against my face. Warm yellow streetlights spilled down, tinting Chen Wen’s ink-black hair with a mellow glow.

“Tang Sha, you don’t remember her?” he said lazily.

I paused, thought back for a moment, and then remembered. That was Chen Wen’s younger cousin, Chen Shiyu.

A very unhinged girl. Why unhinged? Because her way of thinking was kind of warped. Ever since she was little, she’d go around declaring she was going to marry Chen Wen when she grew up and spent every day clinging to his house, refusing to leave.

Her mom tried to talk sense into her. “He’s your brother. How can you marry your brother?”

Chen Shiyu wouldn’t hear it. “He’s not my real brother!”

Chen Wen’s dad was a teacher, and he told her very sternly, “You two are related by blood. Close relatives can’t get married. You’re not allowed to say nonsense like that again.”

Chen Shiyu immediately burst into tears. “I don’t care, I don’t care! If Gege dares to marry anyone else when he grows up, I’ll jump off a building!”

When she was finally taken away from the Chen family home, she clung to Chen Wen’s hand for dear life, crying and calling him Gege. Chen Wen looked at her, his expression very calm. After a long while, he said each word clearly: “Let. Go.”

I heard her parents sent her to a hospital for treatment for a while after that, and I never saw her at Chen Wen’s house again.

I hadn’t recognized her earlier. After all, years had passed, and she’d changed too much.

I sighed with feeling. “She’s in high school now, right?”

Chen Wen looked straight ahead and replied flatly, “No. She bombed the high school entrance exam and went to a vocational school. She still has two years before graduation.”

“I was originally heading to an internet café earlier when I ran into her. A few boys were harassing her, so she asked me to help.”

I was pretty surprised and asked, “Then why didn’t you take her home?”

“She has legs.”

“…”

“Fuck.” My eyes suddenly shifted and landed on the little cart. I roared, “Chen Wen-you fucking crushed my pliers out of shape!”

“Shit, Tang Sha, be gentle!”

…

At the beginning of March, school started.

The weather was decent. The sun hid behind the dark clouds, outlining their edges in light, and a pale glow fell over everything.

I stood hunched by the roadside, waiting for the bus.

A horn sounded. I looked up in a daze as the car window rolled down, revealing Uncle Chen’s face.

He made a surprised sound. “Shasha, why aren’t you coming with us?”

Tch. Because my mom said it was embarrassing to keep hitching rides with you guys. Honestly, I found it baffling. We were all neighbors, so how come Chen Wen’s family was so rich?

Just look at that guy sitting in the car like some young master. It made me terribly jealous.

I paused for two seconds. “I need to stop by the bookstore first.”

Uncle Chen gave an “oh,” and before his window could roll back up, the rear window came down too. Chen Wen rested his hand on it, looked at me, and smiled. “What book are you buying?”

…No one would think you were mute if you didn’t talk!

Without changing expression, I lied, “Morning Blossoms Plucked at Dusk. My mom said I should read more literary works like that.”

Of course Chen Wen didn’t believe me. His eyes narrowed slightly. “I have it. I’ll lend it to you at school.”

Get lost. Like hell I’d believe that.

I still got into the car. Chen Wen sat beside me, smiling smugly. What an idiot. Was he losing his mind?

Before entering school, I grabbed Chen Wen and smiled faintly. “Don’t forget the book.”

Chen Wen was perfectly calm. “I’ll give it to you later.”

The way he said it actually made me feel guilty.

“…Oh. Fine.”

At the start of the semester, there was always a ton to do. I was spinning around like a top, unable to stop, and before I knew it, it was already six or seven in the evening.

I carried several stacks of books upstairs. Halfway up, I stopped to wipe the sweat from the corner of my forehead.

“You’re… Tang Sha, right?”

An unfamiliar voice suddenly sounded beside my ear.

I turned to look and blinked. “Yes.”

The girl smiled. “I knew I hadn’t gotten the wrong person. Anyway, Chen Wen asked me to pass on a message. He said to go find him at the sports field.”

Why was he calling me to the sports field… Oh, to give me the book. No way. Did that guy actually have it?

I nodded. “Okay, got it.”

The girl pointed behind her. “Then I’ll get going.”

“Okay, thanks.”

After putting the books away, I looked up at the sky. It was a dark, deep blue, and the moon hung high overhead.

At this hour, there were quite a lot of people on the sports field, and a small competition was going on over there too.

I searched for ages but didn’t see Chen Wen anywhere.

I’d just jumped down from the steps when a hand pressed down on the top of my head. Chen Wen’s magnetic, clear voice drifted over lightly. “Can’t see, shorty?”

I slapped his hand away. “I’m five foot six, thank you.”

Chen Wen snorted. “Then I hope you break five foot eleven soon.”

“…”

I asked, “Where’s the book?”

The weather hadn’t warmed up yet, but Chen Wen acted like he didn’t feel the cold. He wore only a black T-shirt, his exposed arms long and pale, faint blue veins visible beneath the skin.

Maybe because he’d just been playing basketball, there was a thin sheen of sweat at his temples and a little on his forehead too. The curve at the corner of his mouth hadn’t dropped once.

“Wait here,” he said.

My gaze followed him, and only then did I realize Chen Wen really was absurdly good-looking. His face already gave him an advantage, and his height easily put him half a head above everyone else. One glance into the crowd and he was impossible to miss.

Before long, he came back with a book. I took it, then glared. “The Dancing Girl of Izu? This isn’t Morning Blossoms Plucked at Dusk.”

Chen Wen looked down at me through lowered lids and licked his lips. “It’s pretty good. I recommend it.”

“…”

If there weren’t so many people here, I really would have slapped you across the face.