Bite Your Fingertips

79th -【Hostility】

After the Grain Rain, it rained for several more days. The newly planted peonies in the school bloomed a lot, spreading their fragrance.

During Chinese class, Old Ye took the whole class to go see the peonies in the glass greenhouse as a group. Of course, seeing the flowers wasn’t for nothing. For the remaining half of the class, Old Ye made the students write their thoughts and reflections.

Chu Yu stared at the flowers, at a loss of what his thoughts should be. Should I write that these peonies aren’t as good-looking as me?

In the end, Chu Yu decided to be practical and realistic as he wrote the words “no thoughts” on his paper, signed his name, and handed it in.

After the classwork was approved at noon, Chu Yu took a look and saw that beneath the words “no thoughts”, Old Ye also wrote two bold cursive characters: “Very honest!”

When Zhang Yueshan saw it, it was too late for regrets. “If I’d known that I could pass something like this, I wouldn’t have worried about my hair going bald while forcefully writing 200 words of reflection!”

Chu Yu proudly raised his chin. “This is a reward for honest people!”

In the afternoon, rain was pouring with no sign of stopping. Chu Yu stood in the corridor to look outside and the wind blew, smearing his face with vapor.

Dream-Ge put his hands on the railing. Having nowhere to vent his energy, he simply howled in grief while doing push-ups, “It rains, it rains, everyday it rains. If it rains the day after tomorrow, will our PE class be on the sports field or not? I hate having PE in the indoor gym, the floor is too fucking hard to step on!”

Tomorrow’s class would be recitation, so Chu Yu was memorizing classical prose. “What a short lifespan we have, yet how endless the Yangtze River is! I wish we could roam in the firmament with flying immortals or live forever with the bright moon…It’s from “My First Visit to the Red Cliff”. Translation source: https://bbs.wenxuecity.com/zhongyiingfanyi/151562.html What’s the last sentence?”

Dream-Ge stopped wailing, stood up straight, touched the back of his head, and asked blankly, “Which classic is this from?”

Chu Yu: “…”

At this moment, Chu Yu realized that one couldn’t be foolish enough.

“I basically can’t get enough points in poetry memorization. Because of this, after every exam, I get dragged into the office by Old Ye for 40 minutes of criticism and education.”

Dream-Ge bumped Chu Yu with his elbow. “But, School Flower, I found that you’ve been working very hard this semester! Not as hard as Study Com, Li Hua, and the others, but compared to before, you’ve been practically reborn!”

He also came up with a sensational headline on the spot. “Breaking News! Jianing Private’s School Flower suddenly abandoned comic books and began studying hard! What kind of shocking truth lies behind it?”

Chu Yu smilingly scolded, “Get lost! What breaking news, shocking my ass.”

“Ai, kidding.” Dream-Ge didn’t intend to get lost. Grinning and curious, he asked, “Seriously, School Flower, did you experience some kind of stimulation during the winter vacation, or did the soul of a top student suddenly awaken?”

Chu Yu didn’t continue memorizing the text. He reached out to catch the falling rain as the smile on his face subsided a little. He thought for a while before saying, “It’s not a stimulus, it’s probably… motivation.”

Dream-Ge scrutinized Chu Yu’s expression and suddenly asked in a lowered voice, “School Flower, are you- are you in love?”

Chu Yu was startled. He too lowered his voice, leaned in, and asked, “How did you know?”

“Motherfucker! How did I know? School Flower, you’re really—”

Realizing that his volume was too loud, Dream-Ge abruptly covered his mouth, looked left and right to make sure no one was paying attention, and continued in a whisper, “I figured it out from your expression just now! That expression when you said you were motivated was very similar to mine when I told my girlfriend that we’d study hard together, attend a top-notch university, and continue being a couple! So I guessed it blindly and actually got it right!”

Dream-Ge’s expression was excited, but he had to suppress his voice again, which was very difficult.

Chu Yu didn’t expect Dream-Ge to guess it through this.

Not complaining about the rain anymore, Dream-Ge’s fire for gossip was ignited. “School flower, you’re actually an already taken flower! No, that’s not the phrase2名花有主: lit. a famous flower that has an owner. Its meaning is, this girl is already taken or married. Dream-ge said it’s not the right phrase because it is used to refer to a girl, the term should be 名草有主, a famous grass that has an owner. Oh Dream-Ge, Chu Yu’s School Flower title is mushing your brain., ah pweh, who cares, anyway School Flower, it turns out you’re in a relationship!”

Dream-Ge still remembered that time in the self-service hall of the cafeteria, when a girl had come to confess and the reason Chu Yu had given was that he’d only date people who looked better than him, otherwise, his partner would feel inferior which wasn’t conducive to mental and physical health.

However, someone who was prettier than School Flower—

“Wait what, who are you in love with? If we survey Jianing Private, no one looks better than you apart from Lu-Shen. School Flower, are you dating someone from another school? That’s so exciting!”

Chu Yu shook his head. “No, I’m not dating someone from another school, but it’s indeed very exciting.”

Dream-Ge thought about it, but couldn’t come up with an answer. “Then who are you dating?”

Chu Yu replied, “It’s Lu Shi.”

“Hahaha, Lu-Shen’s appearance is truly up to standard!”

Dream-Ge blurted out his response without thinking and only realized something amiss after speaking— Lu Shi?

Thinking about it again, he thought Chu Yu was joking and was about to laugh a few more times when he suddenly noticed Chu Yu’s serious expression. Dream-Ge’s smile gradually solidified.

“R-really?”

Dream-Ge’s lips moved, but he was unable to utter anything. With a blank expression, he could only choke out with difficulty, “That’s exciting indeed!”

Dream-Ge felt a bit not too great.

He returned to his seat and sat down with blank eyes. Dream-Ge thought deeply, what happened during this period of time?

In the beginning, Lu-Shen and School Flower were clearly mortal enemies. The two of them hated each other and didn’t even want to share the same table.

Later, these two people unknowingly became good brothers who came and went together.

And now, these two people are already dating!

What kind of magical development is this?

Unable to listen to two classes in a row, Dream-Ge lay on his desk and bitterly wondered how careless he was to not even realize that his good brothers were together!

Seeing Fang Ziqi scrupulously writing on test papers with tremendous speed, Dream-Ge moved over and hesitated before whispering, “Uhm… Study Com,” he was worried that Chu Yu and Lu Shi’s little secret would be revealed so he said it very vaguely, “School Flower seems, seems to be dating.”

Fang Ziqi raised his head from the pile of test papers, then glanced at Dream-Ge with a pair of dark circles beneath his eyes and spoke in a calm tone of voice, “That’s right, haven’t they been together since a long time ago?”

???

Damn, am I the only one who didn’t know?

Dream-Ge didn’t believe it and ran to Zhang Yueshan and Li Hua’s desks. “Uhm… Do you know about School Flower’s recent emotional state?”

Zhang Yueshan didn’t react, but Li Hua on the other hand, immediately figured out the key points and replied, “We’re not blind.”

“WTF!” Dream-Ge angrily accused, “Are we still brothers? You guys didn’t even tell me!”

Zhang Yueshan then realized what Dream-Ge was inquiring about and heartily laughed. “It’s fun to find out for yourself, isn’t it? I’ve always had high hopes for you and believed that you’ll be able to discover the truth of the matter with your sharp eyes! See, didn’t you find out about it now?”

Dream-Ge clutched his chest. “Actually, School Flower told me, I didn’t really discover it.”

Zhang Yueshan didn’t know what to say anymore. He sighed and patted Dream-Ge on the shoulder. “It’s alright, child, it’s Dad who overestimated you!”

After evening self-study that Friday night, the students ran at lightning speed, leaving the classroom empty in no time.

Chu Yu dawdled. Just like picking an imperial concubine, he struggled for a long time on which reference book to bring, and ultimately decided by drawing lots.

Lu Shi was patient. With a black school bag hanging on one shoulder, he leaned against the desk and quietly waited for him.

When the two exited through the classroom’s back door, they caught sight of Dream-Ge waiting there.

Dream-Ge was carrying a basketball using a sports ball net and was muttering something to himself.

Chu Yu was baffled. “Didn’t you leave earlier? Why haven’t you gone downstairs yet?”

Dream-Ge was too deep in his thoughts and was taken aback. “Fuck, why are you guys walking without a sound?”

Chu Yu stomped his feet on purpose and there was a thud. “It’s obviously you who was too lost in thought!”

Dream-Ge looked at Chu Yu and then at Lu Shi, his face full of desire to speak but hesitant.

Chu Yu wondered, “Dream-Ge, what do you want to say? Don’t hold back, I can see how anxious you are.”

Dream-Ge closed his eyes and roared with full power, “Please be happy!”

After he finished, he turned around and ran with the basketball in his hand.

When he reached the stairs, Dream-Ge turned back and shouted, “You guys are a superb match!”

Before his words waned, ‘thud thud thud’ sounds of stepping downstairs echoed.

Chu Yu was a little confused with these two series of roars.

Lu Shi, who was standing beside him, wrapped an arm around Chu Yu’s shoulders and led him forward. “Did you tell him?”

“About us? Yeah, I told him. It was mentioned when we were chatting so I just said it.”

Chu Yu laughed. “It’s a pity you didn’t see it hahaha. When I told him, his expression was like a lagging video, he couldn’t believe it at all! Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to seize the opportunity and take a picture for a gif!”

There were only a few people left inside and outside the school building. Chu Yu carried his bag and went downstairs with Lu Shi, not too urgent nor too slow. Their shadows were elongated by the lights and folded into several sections of the stairs.

He remembered something. “By the way, Lu Shi, what’s the sentence after ‘live forever with the bright moon’? I can’t seem to memorize it. I’ll remember it for a while and then forget it soon after.”

“I know this isn’t something easily obtainable and therefore I can only leave the wistful music to the dreary wind.”

Chu Yu liked listening to Lu Shi reciting classical literature. Lu Shi’s voice was pleasant; he could casually recite aloud and it’d still be comfortable to listen to.

He put on an act. “Yi, I suddenly realized that I can’t seem to remember the whole article! It’s like- like I suddenly lost my memory, yes, I lost my memory! Lu Shi, can you recite the whole text for me? Maybe after listening, I’ll be able to remember it again.”

When Chu Yu called out Lu Shi’s name, the final sound of the last word was unconsciously prolonged, containing a bit of coquettishness and pleading.

Watching Chu Yu, who was acting very obviously, Lu Shi followed along and recited, “It was the 17th day of the 7th month in the autumn of the year Ren Xu…”

Lu Shi’s voice was interposed between youth and adulthood. His light voice was in harmony with the spring night’s wind, making Chu Yu have the urge to prolong this moment indefinitely.

• 1It’s from “My First Visit to the Red Cliff”. Translation source: https://bbs.wenxuecity.com/zhongyiingfanyi/151562.html
• 2名花有主: lit. a famous flower that has an owner. Its meaning is, this girl is already taken or married. Dream-ge said it’s not the right phrase because it is used to refer to a girl, the term should be 名草有主, a famous grass that has an owner. Oh Dream-Ge, Chu Yu’s School Flower title is mushing your brain.