Jiang Wen grabbed the phone, “Xi Gaoyuan is out of his mind, just ignore him.” As he spoke, he turned his head and pulled away the hand resting on him.
Xi Gaoyuan and Zhao Binlin exchanged glances. The two of them took on spectator poses, making faces and gesturing at each other knowingly.
After hanging up the phone, Jiang Wen maintained his expressionless face.
Xi Gaoyuan snickered and continued to provoke him: “Are you scared?”
Jiang Wen remained silent.
“You think we can’t tell you like Feng Ning? That time when she got drunk, oh boy, you were so flustered.” Xi Gaoyuan clicked his tongue dramatically, “And just now, why were you so quick to grab the phone? Afraid of being rejected?”
He remained unmoved, only saying: “Don’t worry about my business.”
“What, if we don’t meddle, you’re just going to wait around hoping someone will fall in love with you? A real man should take initiative. What’s with all this hesitation?”
“That’s right, that’s right.” Zhao Binlin joined in the commotion, “Our Brother Wen is handsome, rich, and young. Given enough time, what girl could resist?”
Jiang Wen’s forehead throbbed, “Are you done?”
“Alright, alright, we’ll stop. You’ll just get angry if we say more.”
Xi Gaoyuan spoke leisurely: “If you really can’t win her over, just learn how to be a proper campus heartthrob. Don’t hang yourself on just one tree, it’s embarrassing.”
Ignoring their teasing, Jiang Wen looked down at his phone again.
No new messages.
He opened the chat interface; the last reply was from him.
After watching for a few more seconds, still no message came. Jiang Wen closed WeChat and put his phone face down on the table.
During the two days of the sports meet, the weather was exceptionally good. On the second afternoon, after Feng Ning finished the 100-meter semi-final, she returned to her seat panting. While tying her shoelaces, an urgent voice called out beside her: “Ning Ning!”
Feng Ning turned her head to see it was Shuang Yao. She was confused, “What’s wrong?”
“Who did you offend?” Shuang Yao had a strange look in her eyes as she handed something over.
On several A4 white papers was printed an acrostic poem:
“Faced with that fury, I would rather throw myself into the Xiang River. Briefly stayed in the bustling capital, on the seventh day of the third month.”
(T/N: the first letter of each poem sentence reads ‘Feng Ning Third Party’.)
“Where did this come from?” Feng Ning was stunned, turning the paper over to look, finding some not yet dried glue on it.
“I found it when I went to the bathroom,” Shuang Yao lowered her voice, “Who did you offend? Why are they implying you’re a homewrecker?”
Feng Ning appeared thoughtful: “Which bathroom?”
“First floor of South Building 2.”
“Just these few sheets?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Feng Ning still maintained her calm demeanor, “Okay, it’s fine. I’ll explain another day, you head back to class first.”
If one bathroom had been plastered, there were surely others.
Feng Ning went to search the teaching building near the sports field. First floor, second floor, third floor, fourth floor, she went around tearing them down, her hands full of waste paper. When she turned to the laboratory building, she found several sheets posted in the corridor as well.
The women’s bathroom had them too.
Feng Ning was pondering who could be behind this when suddenly there was a click behind her.
Looking back, a shadow flashed by, and the door was closed.
Feng Ning went to pull the door, but after trying for a while, she couldn’t pull it open or push it. She wasn’t sure if it was locked from the outside or if something was blocking it.
These two days, with the first and second years having sports meets, very few people came here. Feng Ning shook her head, almost laughing from anger. Looking at the time, there was about an hour before the 1500-meter event would start.
These idiots, didn’t they know phones could make calls?
Fortunately, the signal here was decent. Feng Ning called Shuang Yao, directing her to come open the door.
But following Feng Ning’s directions, Shuang Yao still couldn’t find the exact location. Finally, Feng Ning cursed and sent her a WeChat location share.
Shuang Yao used scissors to pry at the wire wrapped around the door handle outside, shouting anxiously, “Feng Ning, are you okay!?”
“What could happen to me!” Feng Ning shouted back from inside with full vigor.
Shuang Yao felt somewhat relieved, sweating profusely as she worked on it for a while before finally getting the door open, “This is so scary, who could be so vicious?”
Feng Ning clapped her hands: “You’re quite clever this time, bringing scissors. Your IQ has gone up a level.”
“You can still joke around!”
Feng Ning put on a serious face: “I know who it is.”
“Who?”
Feng Ning grabbed her hand, walking quickly forward, “Jiang Wen’s ex-girlfriend.”
Shuang Yao was breathlessly dragged along: “I told you not to mess with others, but you kept showing off, now you’re being punished by his girlfriend.”
“Damn it,” Feng Ning cursed, “These girls are really pig-headed, must’ve gotten their inspiration from watching too much ‘Meteor Garden’.”
Shuang Yao chased after her: “Hey hey hey, where are you going?”
“To settle—accounts.”
Walking quickly to the gymnasium, Feng Ning calculated the time – still half an hour before check-in. She grabbed a passing student, “Excuse me, do you know which class Cheng Jiajia is in?”
Cheng Jiajia was quite well-known in their grade, so it didn’t take long to get directions.
Feng Ning walked straight to Class 12’s area.
Cheng Jiajia was holding a parasol, chatting with friends on her phone. Suddenly a pair of white sneakers appeared before her, and someone tapped her parasol twice.
“Are you Cheng Jiajia?” Feng Ning bent down with a smile.
She wasn’t particularly tall, wearing loose athletic shorts, with long straight legs. Her high ponytail made her look beautifully fierce.
The students from Class 12 sitting nearby all turned to watch, with whispers rising.
Cheng Jiajia was nervous but asked calmly, “Yes, what is it?”
“Do you know who I am?”
Cheng Jiajia shifted slightly away, saying nothing.
Feng Ning said casually: “You’re the one who messed with me?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. Please don’t act like a shrew in public.” Cheng Jiajia didn’t like being made a spectacle of in front of everyone. She tried to leave but was held back.
Feng Ning leaned close to her ear and whispered: “Don’t understand?” She stuffed the pile of waste paper into Cheng Jiajia’s arms, “Every debt has its debtor. What’s wrong, too scared to confront Jiang Wen after breaking up, so you pick on someone you think is weaker?”
At that moment, a girl nearby finally couldn’t hold back: “You dare mention Jiang Wen? Stealing someone else’s boyfriend, have you no shame?”
Feng Ning turned to look at her darkly, “And who are you?”
The girl stuck her neck out, full of contempt and disgust: “Who I am is none of your business. But you, your desire to climb the social ladder is so obvious you can’t even hide it. What era do you think this is, still dreaming of being Cinderella? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
Rich kids were everywhere at Qide, but the Jiang family’s position among South City’s elite was well-known. When Jiang Wen and Cheng Jiajia got together, many people waited to see how it would play out. After their lightning-fast breakup, gossip spread. There were all kinds of rumors, and many mentioned Feng Ning. Cheng Jiajia and her friends had long been dissatisfied.
“My dear classmate, I think dreaming of being Cinderella isn’t shameful at all. On the contrary, mocking others’ dreams is more shameful.”
Feng Ning stared at her, nine parts serious and one part contempt: “The perverted see perversion everywhere. I see you’re not young, but your class consciousness is quite severe. Since you think being with Jiang Wen is climbing the social ladder, you’ve unconsciously revealed your own mindset — you’ve placed yourself in an inferior position, you’re the real loser.”
Angered by her mockery, the girl burst out: “You’re the inferior one! You’re the loser!”
Feng Ning couldn’t be bothered to waste words with her, turning back to Cheng Jiajia, speaking through gritted teeth: “Taking out your anger on innocent people is stupid and useless. Especially these low-level tactics of yours, they can’t harm me at all. Besides ‘childish,’ I can’t think of another word to describe it.”
Her expression turned fierce: “I’ll let it go this time, but next time you provoke me, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”
After saying this, Feng Ning gave Cheng Jiajia a gentle smile and left.
After the argument, Feng Ning acted as if nothing had happened and went to get her uniform from the 1500-meter check-in. After changing, she took a long breath, twisted her waist left and right, and began warming up and stretching.
Shuang Yao held her jacket nearby, truly admiring her composure, “I’ll never meet anyone with stronger psychological resilience than you. One moment you’re locked in a dark room, then you go pick a fight, and the next moment you’re here running like nothing happened. I’m really impressed.”
“If I could be scared by such small tricks, would I still be your idol?” Her face showed that proud and conceited expression again.
“Yes, yes, yes, you’re my lifelong idol.”
Very few people from their grade had signed up for the 1500 meters, barely one from each class. The school only arranged one heat, running the semi-finals and finals together. This was today’s last event, and many spectators had gathered at the sidelines.
After the gun went off, a boy ran alongside a girl, causing quite a commotion.
It was almost four laps in total. Feng Ning constantly adjusted her breathing, keeping her facial expression relaxed. After the second lap, running became very tiring, her footsteps getting heavier. She wiped away some sweat, keeping her eyes straight ahead.
The class monitor had organized a “medical team” waiting at the finish line, ready to serve Feng Ning after her long-distance run. Zhao Binlin forcibly dragged Jiang Wen over as well.
“Damn, Feng Ning is really strong.”
Xi Gaoyuan was thoroughly impressed, “This girl can drink brandy and run 1500 meters, I really respect that.”
On the third lap, sweat kept dripping, gradually blurring her vision.
No matter how tired or difficult it was, she would definitely, definitely persist to the end. That’s just who she was.
Feng Ning turned the corner, counting down in her heart: three, two, one.
The class monitor jumped up excitedly, “Holy crap, Feng Ning actually started speeding up!”
She was like a gust of wind. This wind carried fighting spirit, sweeping past Class Nine’s stands, drawing a wave of cheers.
One hundred meters left.
Feng Ning sprinted with all her might, passing the girls in front one by one. Finally, she was neck and neck with first place.
The wind whistled in her ears, and the moment she crossed the finish line, Feng Ning couldn’t help but rush forward another dozen meters before slowly stopping.
Hands on her knees, she couldn’t control her panting.
Someone stumbled a few steps in front of her.
Feng Ning glanced up briefly – it was Jiang Wen.
He had clearly been pushed over by the troublemakers, those boys’ faces full of gossip, smiling like flowers. Jiang Wen was completely uncomfortable, awkward for two seconds before handing her the mineral water, “From the class monitor.”
Meng Taoyu was too surprised, both happy and excited, wanting to go over too, but was pulled back by Zhao Binlin, “Hey hey hey, what are you going to crowd around for? Have some awareness!”
After long-distance running, you can’t sit down right away; you need to walk slowly, letting your body recover gradually. With the 1500 meters finished, today’s competition events were basically complete. People were dispersing, each class packing up their things, gradually walking towards the gymnasium exit.
Following the class monitor’s strong request, medical team member Jiang Wen was forced to accompany the female hero Feng Ning in walking laps around the track.
Unable to speak for a long time, her throat was like a broken accordion. Feng Ning silently drank water, and when she finally spoke again, her voice was still a bit raspy: “Jiang Wen, did you break up with Cheng Jiajia?”
He came back to his senses, somewhat confused: “What?”
She sized him up, asking very directly: “Because of me?”
Jiang Wen: “…No.”
Jiang Wen walked on the left, his hair cut a bit shorter, his neck very white. He wore a denim jacket, blocking the dark orange sunset light.
Feng Ning was still a bit weak: “Then how long did you date?”
“Don’t know.”
“Was it even a week?”
Jiang Wen’s expression was faint: “No.”
“You didn’t like her?”
“Mm.”
“But she liked you, did you know that?”
Jiang Wen frowned at her: “If she likes me, what does that have to do with me?”
“Then why did you get together with her?”
Jiang Wen was speechless.
“You agreed to be with her, that was your choice. You breaking up with her, that’s between you two.”
Feng Ning was both scummy and arrogant, her expression dangerous: “Everyone has a dark side, everyone has their evil interests. So my view is, playing with people’s feelings is fine, but first you have to ensure that when doing these things, it won’t affect others.”
He reacted quickly: “Did Cheng Jiajia cause you trouble?”
She showed her trademark arrogant expression: “I’ve already handled that, you don’t need to worry about it, just take care of yourself.”
Jiang Wen stopped: “Me what?”
Feng Ning smiled mysteriously: “I hope you won’t be so clueless even when dating.”
“……”
Jiang Wen looked at her.
“What’s that expression?” Feng Ning asked pleasantly.
Jiang Wen’s face was expressionless as he said self-mockingly: “I played with her feelings, I’ll apologize to her.” He emphasized the words ‘played with’ heavily, “Then what about you?”
“Me what?”
Jiang Wen didn’t realize his voice had gone off-key: “Am I just your evil interest too?”
Just as he finished speaking, the broadcast station suddenly rang out with the announcer’s clear, gentle voice: Today’s last song, requested by an anonymous person, dedicated to Class 1-9’s student Jiang XX —
Then, the entire field was surrounded by:
Tell me how can I not be sad, you urge me to extinguish the fire in my heart.
…
Behind every expression and glance, who knows how much sorrow there is.
…
Two people passed by, one asking: “What song is this?”
The other answered: “Seems like ‘How to Say Love Out Loud’?”
They walked away, but their last words drifted over with the wind: So funny, who is student Jiang XX unable to confess his love to?
Feng Ning choked on her water.
All the blood in Jiang Wen’s body rushed to his head.
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