Futile Devices Scans

Zhi Li:

Hello! When you see this letter, it means I am no longer in this world. I am very happy to have known you in this lifetime—mm, I should say I was happy for a small portion of the time, and there are still many things I never said to you, not all of them good. I never expected fate to toy with people like this and so quickly draw a period at the end of my brief youth. I am sorry I won’t be able to accompany you on the road ahead. You must take good care of yourself and scatter my ashes into the sea. Remember to burn paper offerings for me during festivals and holidays, and bring a bottle of red wine too. Also burn me all the installments of One Piece after Chapter 591, and the one yuan fifty you owe me for the popsicle, and the clothes I need to wear in winter, and Su You Yan’s black-and-red notebook, and most importantly, send my high school math teacher, Chu Hao Yu, and Ying Xiu Jie over to me on the very first day after I die. I have five hundred yuan in cash on me, three or four books in the dormitory, and some other daily necessities. Don’t worry, I’ll put your name as the beneficiary. Don’t be sad, don’t grieve. I won’t take you with me. If anyone bullies you, just burn me his photo too, and I’ll take him away. You must live well. Don’t cry. Forget me and find someone better. That’s all. Farewell forever, my lord.

With this,

Respectfully,

Your Ke Bu’s final words!!

Ke Bu capped his pen and carefully folded the letter. The sheet of paper that should have been very light became heavy in his hand. The unease in his chest could not be hidden. With his head drooping, he said, “Hey, You Yan.” You Yan, who was reading beside him, ignored Ke Bu. Did she have no thoughts at all about what was about to happen? This heartless woman.

“Don’t be jealous. The books I’m giving Zhi Li are all trash books. I’ll leave the good ones to you.”

“No need.”

“I might be about to die, you know. Before I leave, can’t you let me see your tender, watery side for once? Let me leave this world with a beautiful impression of you.”

Su You Yan’s eyes remained on her book the whole time. “Is it really that serious? Isn’t it just the school physical?”

“Isn’t it just the school physical? What’s with that relaxed tone of yours?” Ke Bu grabbed his own hair. “What if they suddenly find out I have some terminal illness? What am I supposed to do? I’m not mentally prepared yet. Some illnesses have very long incubation periods. Maybe the seed of sin has already been planted in my body. I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know. I want to die in unconscious happiness.” Ke Bu was someone afraid of death, especially afraid of dying from illness. Chu Hao Yu and Ying Xiu Jie came in carrying bread they had bought from the supermarket, one looking refreshed and energetic, the other drenched in sweat. Chu Hao Yu touched his hair. “Maybe the one doing the physical will be a pretty nurse. I’ll let her smell my soul-stealing body fragrance.”

“I went to exercise a little. When I take my clothes off later, my muscles will be especially obvious. Ahaha.”

“Two lunatics.” Ke Bu picked a piece of bread from the bag. Chu Hao Yu patted Ke Bu on the shoulder. “It’s alright, Ke Bu. No matter what happens, you have to live on strongly.”

“Pah!”

“In the little time you have left, we’ll accompany you until the very last moment,” Ying Xiu Jie said.

“Pah, pah, pah!”

Zhou Xin He arrived late with a lunchbox, along with Zhi Li. Zhou Xin He took out chopsticks and a clean bowl and handed them to Zhi Li, then pinched her own stomach and said worriedly, “I wonder if I’ve gained weight.”

“I actually hope I’ve grown a little taller.” Gong Zhu compared his height.

“You Yan probably hopes her chest has gotten a little bigger, right? Don’t worry. I heard a woman’s chest grows bigger when it’s rubbed. I’ll help you.” Chu Hao Yu walked over while flexing his fingers. This pervert had completely failed to learn his lesson. Su You Yan extended one hand in a squeezing gesture. “Then in exchange, I’ll rub the two little balls below you into one big ball.”

“That’s too uncivilized for a girl to say.”

“What about Zhi Li?”

After thinking seriously for a moment, Zhi Li raised his head. “I hope my drawing skills have improved.”

“You weren’t being asked to make a wish!! Listen properly when people are talking!!” After Ke Bu finished speaking, he dug out the now-crumpled suicide note from his bag and handed it to Zhi Li with a face full of grief. “Read it after you learn the results of my physical. Of course, I also hope our ending will be a good one, but in case…” Ke Bu was still searching for the right words when Zhi Li opened the letter.

“Do you never listen when other people talk?”

Zhi Li held the suicide note between his fingers and quickly skimmed through it. His expression did not change in the slightest, and he spoke faintly. “Don’t die.”

“Zhi Li, you…” In the warm tide of emotion, Ke Bu had the urge to throw himself into Zhi Li’s arms. Zhi Li stuffed the paper back into Ke Bu’s hand. “At least hold on until One Piece ends. Burning it to you one chapter at a time would be very troublesome.”

“I take it back. Even if I die, I’m taking you with me!!”

Ke Bu held his physical examination form and stood in line. Watching the students in front of him roll up their sleeves and blow hard into some strange tube, he kept fanning himself with the examination form even though it clearly was not hot. Turning his head to look at Zhi Li, he asked, “Look at me. Does my complexion look very yellow? Are my eyeballs cloudy? Do you see anything strange?”

Zhi Li’s head hurt from all the noise, and he pressed a hand over Ke Bu’s face. “All I see is your stupid face.” Ke Bu bit his fingernail. “Think about how unhealthy my eating habits have been all these years. I heard from my dad that the old man next door was diagnosed with cancer two days ago, and there’s a lot of news about young people getting leukemia. Tell me, how am I supposed to stay calm at a time like this?”

“Ke Bu.”

“Ah?”

“Multiple choice.”

“What?”

“Are you going to shut up on your own now, or should I make sure you can never open your mouth again?”

“…………….”

Ke Bu was almost at the front of the line before the woman in the white coat. He anxiously turned back again and took Zhi Li’s examination form. With both hands now free, Zhi Li rolled up Ke Bu’s sleeves for him. Ke Bu stared at Zhi Li’s face as he looked down at his sleeves. “Hey, Zhi Li.”

“What?”

Ke Bu lowered his voice so that only the two of them could hear. “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong with your body? You didn’t infect me with AIDS or syphilis or anything, did you?” As Zhi Li took back his own examination form, he also pulled the suicide note out of Ke Bu’s bag. “I’ll do everything you wrote. I think you should just go die in peace.”

“I never imagined you were this kind of person.” Ke Bu condemned him with fury and disgust.

“I didn’t either.”

Ke Bu sat down in front of the woman in the white coat and placed his rolled-up arm on the table. “Take a deep breath, then exhale. Is there anywhere in your chest that feels blocked or uncomfortable?”

“Yes. The area around my heart hurts a little.”

“What kind of pain is it?”

“The pain of being pierced through by the sharp blade of someone’s heartless words.” The woman in the white coat showed a puzzled expression. Zhi Li smacked the back of Ke Bu’s head hard. “Ignore him.”

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