It was first period. Lin Xi Chi woke up early. Two of her dormmates were still sleeping, and she didn’t want to wake them up. The other two roommates were quietly getting ready. Lin Xi Chi had a class at a different time from one of her roommates, so she left early.
She was still thinking about Xu Fang’s situation, and her mood was visibly heavy as she walked to class.
Upon arriving, Lin Xi Chi realized that this class had an unusually large number of students. The classroom could accommodate around two hundred people, and it was already half full.
Lin Xi Chi chose a seat towards the middle on the right side of the classroom.
Soon, the bell rang, signaling the start of class.
The teacher for this class was a young man, with a gentle smile and a humorous way of speaking that often made the students laugh. It was no wonder so many students had chosen his class.
After introducing himself, the teacher said, “Since it’s the first day, let’s start with roll call to get to know each other.”
“Chen Jia.”
“Here.”
“Li Dehe.”
“Here.”
…
…
“Xu Fang.”
The teacher waited for a moment but didn’t hear a response. He raised his head and called out again, “Is Xu Fang here?”
When Lin Xi Chi heard that name, she paused and immediately focused her attention on the teacher. Then she sent a text message to Xu Fang: [Did you choose Western Cultural History?]
Xu Fang replied quickly: […]
Xu Fang: [Just woke up.]
Xu Fang: [Could you please tell the teacher I’m in the restroom and will be back soon.]
Xu Fang: [I’m on my way now.]
Upon reading this, Lin Xi Chi had a sudden realization. She figured out how to lift Xu Fang’s spirits from the dejected state he had been in since yesterday.
Make him unhappy, and he’ll snap out of it.
Back at the front of the classroom, the teacher was still calling, “Is Xu Fang here?”
Lin Xi Chi hesitated for a few seconds, torn between helping Xu Fang regain his spirits and letting him face the consequences. Then she gritted her teeth and raised her hand, saying earnestly, “Teacher, Xu Fang isn’t here.”
The teacher raised his eyebrows, a patient expression on his face. “Well, then, please ask him to come quickly, or else I’ll have to mark him absent according to the rules.”
Lin Xi Chi paused for a moment, glancing at the message Xu Fang had sent her. Then she looked back at the teacher and said firmly, “Teacher, Xu Fang says he wants to skip this class.”
The teacher was left speechless.
The classroom erupted in laughter, even the teacher seemed momentarily stunned, wearing an incredulous smile. “Alright,” he said.
After those words, regret washed over Lin Xiche slowly. She lowered her head, resting it on her desk, her face half-buried in her arms, leaving only her eyes visible as she stared at the text message conversation on her phone.
The conversation was paused on the message from Xu Fang that read: “I’m on my way now.”
She stared for a while.
Perhaps because she hadn’t received a response for a while, Xu Fang sent another message: “Did you tell him?”
Lin Xiche bit her lip, hesitating to reply. It took her a while before she reluctantly typed: “I did…”
Lin Xiche: “But I said something else.”
Xu Fang didn’t reply.
As she waited for his response, Lin Xiche began to imagine how Xu Fang would react next. She grew increasingly anxious as she anticipated his reaction. Unable to endure the agonizing wait, she decided to confess boldly: “I told the teacher that you were planning to skip class…”
Lin Xiche continued to explain: “But it wasn’t intentional! I just had a moment of madness!”
Still no response.
Thinking that he might have seen through her intentions, Lin Xiche admitted in resignation: “Alright, I did it on purpose.”
Lin Xiche: “But I had a reason…”
Before she could begin to explain further, she noticed Xu Fang’s presence at the classroom door.
Xu Fang seemed out of breath, his chest rising and falling as if he had rushed there. He scanned the classroom briefly, and just as he was about to find a seat, the teacher at the podium looked at him and then checked the attendance list. He asked, puzzled, “Xu Fang?”
Xu Fang turned back, his expression slightly confused.
Confirming his identity, the teacher picked up his pen and crossed out the “absent” mark next to Xu Fang’s name, joking, “Have you changed your mind about attending class again?”
Laughter erupted from the students in the classroom.
Although Xu Fang found the situation a bit odd, he didn’t dwell on it. He simply nodded with a calm expression and said, “Sorry for being late.”
“Alright, find a seat.”
The back rows were mostly occupied, so Xu Fang settled for a seat in the front row on the left side. He took out his textbook from his backpack and retrieved his phone from his pocket, glancing at Lin Xiche’s responses.
If Xu Fang’s expression moments ago could be described as clear skies, he now seemed like a Category 12 typhoon with a red storm warning – raindrops thundering, waves rolling in turmoil, and the sky flashing with lightning.
Suddenly, he understood the reactions of both the teacher and his classmates earlier.
With a gloomy expression, Xu Fang tried to restrain his anger, repeatedly reminding himself that she had a reason. He should trust her and hear her explanation before making judgments.
He clenched his teeth and asked in a seemingly calm tone: “What’s the reason?”
This girl dared to lie in front of so many people, there must be something extremely serious driving her to commit such an unethical act.
Xu Fang kept searching for reasons in his heart.
After a while, a somewhat hesitant reply came from her: “I wanted to make you angry.”
“…”
With five minutes left before the end of the class, Lin Xiche was fully prepared, having packed all her belongings and planned to run out as soon as the bell rang.
She had noticed that Xu Fang was sitting in the front row near the door, so he would definitely exit through the front door later. She only needed to escape through the back door.
As long as she ran fast, she couldn’t possibly be caught.
When the bell rang signaling the end of class, Lin Xiche and the other students immediately stood up, moving in groups toward the exit. The flowing crowd provided her with a sense of security.
Lin Xiche breathed a sigh of relief.
As her tension eased, she began to think about other things.
Lin Xiche thought to herself that she was truly a perfect friend who could give up her life for the sake of her friend’s emotions. Xu Fang was really fortunate to have met such a childhood friend as her, a blessing acquired after countless eons of cultivation.
With these thoughts in mind, Lin Xiche walked out of the classroom.
She lowered her head, but she accidentally collided with someone’s chest. Lin Xiche instinctively apologized and attempted to move past the person. However, the person spoke, his voice deep, “Why are you hanging your head as if you’ve done something wrong?”
Hearing that voice, Lin Xiche froze in place.
How did Xu Fang manage to take the back door?
She lifted her head, her tone reluctantly defiant, “What wrongdoing? I haven’t done anything. You were the one planning to skip class, and I simply told the truth…”
Xu Fang chuckled at her exasperation, “I just forgot to set my alarm clock.”
“Anyway,” Lin Xiche still wanted to say something.
But then, she noticed his unusual lack of the typical irritable tone he used. She blinked, and suddenly, any sense of wrongdoing on her part vanished. Instead, she felt a surge of noble emotions, helping Xu Fang overcome his emotional low.
After a few seconds, Lin Xiche patted his shoulder and proudly declared, “You should be thanking me.”
“…”
Xu Fang: ???
Half a day later, Lin Xiche finally regained her good mood. She glanced at her watch, smiled, and said, “Alright, I have class in a bit, so I should be going.”
Xu Fang silently made room for her.
As Lin Xiche took a few steps away, she was called back by him.
“Hey.”
Lin Xiche turned back.
She saw him tug at the corners of his mouth, wearing a half-smile as he said, “Thank you.”
Because of Xu Fang’s last words, Lin Xiche spent the entire day on edge, fearing something would happen. But nothing did. She took the initiative to ask Xu Fang for money, and he was surprisingly more agreeable than usual.
For instance, when Lin Xiche asked him for ninety yuan, Xu Fang simply transferred a hundred yuan to her.
This was something that would never have happened before.
Xu Fang’s sudden friendliness gave Lin Xiche a kind of paranoid feeling, as if he was planning something.
But Xu Fang remained quiet the entire time.
After a while, Lin Xiche changed her perspective. She thought that he was simply experiencing a surge of goodwill, wanting to treat his childhood friend better.
Lin Xiche felt very grateful.
After the second round of interviews, the sports department created a WeChat group called “Healthy Life Every Day,” and Lin Xiche was one of the thirteen members.
Perhaps due to the screen barrier, the people in the group, though they had just met, were not reserved. The WeChat group was lively, with messages scrolling up one after another. Yesterday afternoon, a group of them made plans to have dinner off-campus on Thursday night and then return to the school’s sports field to play games.
On the day of the gathering, after finishing their meal, Yu Ze led a few guys to the supermarket to buy snacks, while Wen Jingjing took the remaining team members back to school.
The lighting on the school campus seemed a bit dim, casting an atmosphere of quiet and darkness on the pathways. However, when they reached the sports field, the visibility improved significantly. High-pressure sodium lamps on both sides illuminated the artificial turf and the running track, revealing students gathered there.
They found an empty spot and sat down.
Every evening, students would gather in groups on the artificial turf of the school sports field to play a face-to-face killing game called “Werewolf.”
Most of the people present had never played this game before, and some had never even heard of it.
Lin Xiche was one of those who had no prior experience with the game.
Yu Ze suggested that they try a round to get the hang of it, and the next round would be an official game with penalties for the losers.
Lin Xiche didn’t quite understand the rules and made a mistake from the start, leading to her being voted out with the help of Ye Shaowen. After being eliminated, she went online to search for the rules of the game.
In the following two rounds, Lin Xiche had already figured out the rules. Although she didn’t speak much, she was calm when telling lies. Her innocent and bewildered expression, combined with her unblinking eyes, fooled everyone.
As a result, the team Lin Xiche was in won two rounds in a row.
After the two rounds ended, it was almost 9:30 pm.
Unbeknownst to them, a group of male students in matching uniforms had assembled on the running track. They looked fresh and energetic, standing in perfect formation.
After counting the number of people and confirming that everyone was present, a leading male student took charge and had them run laps around the track. On the wide sports field, the synchronized footsteps of dozens of students and the resonant chants of their exercises were truly uplifting.
The sound drew the attention of the others.
Wen Jingjing turned her gaze in the direction of the sound and chuckled, “It’s the military students in training.”
Hearing the words “military students,” Lin Xiche also looked over, but her gaze only brushed past them briefly. She was handed a playing card by Yu Ze, starting a new round of the game.
Because the first two rounds had incurred the enmity of many, Lin Xiche was the first to be eliminated in this round, getting voted out on the very first night. This round took longer than the previous ones, and Lin Xiche watched with interest as they made up stories with their eyes wide open.
In the end, the good guys, where Lin Xiche belonged, lost, and the penalty was a game of truth or dare.
There were eight people in the good team, and the other four stood up, grinning as they watched the punishments unfold.
To determine who would be punished among the eight losers, they used the spin-the-bottle method.
Yu Ze squatted down in the circle formed by the eight losers, holding a water bottle and spinning it. He said, “Hey, I think truth or dare all the time isn’t much fun. Let’s play a game of dare when it lands on someone.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the bottle pointed directly at Lin Xiche.
At the same time, the sound of military students finishing their training and dispersing could be heard in the distance.
Ye Shaowen suddenly leaned in, his eyes carrying a mischievous glint, “Lin Xiche, how about you go ask one of the military students for his WeChat?”
Lin Xiche was momentarily stunned, her heart skipping a beat, and she shook her head unconsciously.
Before she could struggle with her impending fate, a group of other girls who were already eager pulled her away. She had no choice but to reluctantly pick up her phone from the ground and head in the direction of the military students.
As she got closer and closer, Lin Xiche had just mentally prepared herself to get it done quickly and leave when she suddenly noticed someone among the military students who was particularly familiar to her.
Xu Fang.
Lin Xiche immediately felt relieved.
The school’s military students had training three times a week, and the timing varied for each year. Lin Xiche hadn’t specifically asked him about his training schedule, so she didn’t expect that there would be training today.
At this moment, Xu Fang was wearing a military green top, pure black shorts, and was tilting his head to drink water. There was another male student talking to him, and although that student burst into laughter while talking, Xu Fang’s expression remained unchanged. He responded casually.
Lin Xiche saw him twist the cap back on his water bottle, lower his head, and take out his phone from his pocket. His long fingers tapped on it swiftly.
In the next moment, as if sensing her presence, Xu Fang lifted his gaze, shifting his focus from the phone to her.
Apart from running five kilometers, he had also done a hundred push-ups, a hundred sit-ups, and a hundred squats. At this moment, he looked as if he had just emerged from water, with sweat streaming down his cheeks and dripping from his chin onto the ground, yet he didn’t appear disheveled.
Xu Fang didn’t seem surprised by Lin Xiche’s sudden appearance. His slightly indifferent eyes raised slightly, as if questioning her purpose.
Lin Xiche swallowed nervously, acutely aware that everyone around her was curious and had their eyes on her. She used her eyes to signal to him, “Cooperate with me,” and then boldly spoke up.
“Excuse me, could you give me your WeChat?”
At her words, Xu Fang glanced at her briefly from behind, instantly understanding her current situation.
He shifted his gaze away, then back to Lin Xiche.
Xu Fang stared at her for a while.
Soon, his eyebrows relaxed, and he suddenly burst into a smile.
The same ominous feeling that Lin Xiche had experienced two days ago surged back, even stronger than before.
Simultaneously, Xu Fang lowered his body, bent his head to get close to her face, and the smile in his eyes faded. The distance between them suddenly decreased significantly, and Lin Xiche could smell his familiar scent in her nose.
As she was still wondering what Xu Fang was up to, she heard him speak two words.
Each word was distinct and clear.
“Dream on.”
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