That night, Ke Bu and Zhi Li stayed at school, waiting to leave with the others the next day. The suddenly empty club building still felt strange to Ke Bu. He lay spread-eagle across the bamboo mat and stared at the ceiling. What month was Ding Luo Yuan’s baby supposed to be born again? Dad definitely told me, but I’ve somehow forgotten. Does that make me look emotionally detached from my family? Ke Bu calculated the timing. When he had first been told Ding Luo Yuan was pregnant, it had already been around winter. She must have been pregnant for a while by then and simply delayed telling him. Counting it out, the baby should be born sometime during this summer vacation. His father hadn’t called much lately, and Ke Bu had never called first either. He didn’t want to disturb him. Dad was probably very busy now. As for his mother, they had already agreed that Ke Bu would stay with her for a while. She and Uncle Xiong still weren’t married, but they were already living together. The more Ke Bu thought, the more he suddenly didn’t want to think anymore.
He pushed himself upright and only then noticed that Zhi Li was no longer there. Taking a basin and a bar of soap, he headed toward the washroom. The school looked rather eerie at night after vacation began, but Ke Bu wasn’t bothered. He only believed in things he had seen with his own eyes. When he spotted Zhi Li ahead, he called out to him, but Zhi Li seemed not to hear.
“Hey, I’m calling you. Did you not hear me, or are you doing this on purpose?” Ke Bu asked after following Zhi Li into the washroom. Zhi Li still didn’t answer. How strange. Ke Bu figured Zhi Li was probably thinking about something and simply hadn’t heard. His brain often filtered out information from the outside world. Ke Bu took off his shirt, filled his basin with water, wet his short hair, and rubbed soap through it. Not far away, Zhi Li was slowly unzipping his pants.
“Didn’t you already shower in the dorm?”
No response. Zhi Li behaved as though he were the only person in the washroom. After finishing what he had come to do, he zipped his pants again.
“Hey, Zhi Li. Hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey!” Ke Bu’s voice grew louder and louder without managing to attract Zhi Li’s attention. Even stranger, Zhi Li wasn’t in any hurry to leave. He simply leaned against the washroom doorway and stared at Ke Bu. This… this was starting to get creepy. Ke Bu finished washing his hair and rubbed soap over his body, occasionally glancing at the completely motionless Zhi Li. What is going on? Is this one of those legendary supernatural incidents? Impossible, impossible. But he was completely normal just now. He even kissed me after the exams, didn’t he? Suddenly becoming like this is way too creepy.
“You are Zhi Li, right?” Ke Bu asked weakly.
No answer.
Ke Bu scooped water up with both hands and splashed it at him. Zhi Li didn’t dodge. What the hell? Ke Bu poured the newly filled basin over himself, rinsed off quickly, wiped himself down carelessly, and put his clothes on, determined to get out of there. As he passed Zhi Li, he reached out and felt him up and down. Only after confirming that his temperature really was Zhi Li’s did Ke Bu shout, “You are Zhi Li! If you don’t answer me, I’m never sleeping with you again!”
“When did I ever say I wasn’t?”
“Then why were you pretending to be a ghost and scaring me?”
“Pretending to be a ghost? I was only teaching you a lesson.”
“What did I do? Why do I need a lesson?” Ke Bu was completely baffled.
“Remember when you ran into that girl twice? I said I needed to leave you with some trauma so something similar wouldn’t happen again.” At Zhi Li’s words, Ke Bu vaguely remembered it. He exploded, “How long ago was that?! And you’re only doing it now—”
“I only just remembered.”
“You would’ve been better off forgetting! And what kind of lesson is this supposed to be?!”
“I remembered it on the spur of the moment, so I casually gave you some kind of punishment for the sake of it.”
“You… I…” Ke Bu genuinely had no idea what to say anymore.
Back in the club building, Ke Bu shoved Zhi Li angrily to express his displeasure. He felt a little tired and simply collapsed onto the bedding. “Zhi Li, tomorrow we can finally leave, right?” Images from their previous trip to Yinguo Town appeared in his mind. The place truly felt as though time had stopped there: sunlight, beaches, colorful parasols, and ice cream. It was so easy to forget your troubles there. Whether the people who went were escaping or enjoying themselves, nobody cared.
Zhi Li lay down on the bedding too. “Mm.”
Ke Bu turned onto his side, threw one leg over Zhi Li’s, and buried his head against Zhi Li’s arm. “I’m sleepy. Remember to wake me tomorrow morning.”
“Mm.” Zhi Li’s other hand stroked Ke Bu’s hair. “Good night, Ke Bu.”
After a night of unusually good sleep, Ke Bu woke without needing Zhi Li to call him. The summer sky was already bright at seven-thirty. Ke Bu sat up and stretched, then weakly collapsed across Zhi Li’s back. He murmured while shaking the still-sleeping Zhi Li, “Hey, wake up.” Apparently deciding that wasn’t enough, he climbed completely onto him. “You can’t blame me. Who told you to like sleeping on your stomach?” He put his entire weight on Zhi Li. Suddenly, Zhi Li rolled over and their positions reversed. Ke Bu, now pinned underneath, instantly woke up. “I-I’m going to die.”
“You can’t blame me. You’re the one who climbed on top of me.”
“Get off!”
They had already packed their luggage yesterday, so they didn’t linger long after getting up. They reached the train station at almost exactly the right time. Everyone else had arrived before them, dressed in truly bizarre outfits. Chu Hao Yu had a swim ring around his waist, Zhang Luo had started borrowing underwear from people again, and Ying Xiu Jie was fully prepared to be roasted by the sun. The two girls were comparatively normal, wearing dresses that suited them.
“Get on, get on.”
“Yutai, pack away that swim ring. Do you understand how crowded it is?”
“This way everyone knows we’re going to the seaside.”
“Wearing a swim ring means you’re going to the seaside? Why didn’t you come dressed in a diving suit?”
“If you don’t understand, stop talking.”
They shoved and pushed one another onto the train. Since none of them had eaten breakfast, the moment they found their places, Gong Zhu said, “Hurry up and take out the food.”
“Yeah, take out the food.” Several people said the same thing. The compartment instantly fell silent. Everyone looked at everyone else. Zhou Xin He took out one lunchbox. “I-I overslept this morning.”
“There’s nothing else to eat?”
“I thought you were going to buy something.”
“What? I bought it last time. There’s no way it should be my turn again.”
Immediately, they began blaming one another. Su You Yan was the only person among them who had already eaten breakfast. She remained uninvolved on the upper berth. Ying Xiu Jie and the others stared at the food in Zhou Xin He’s hand. The quick-handed Ying Xiu Jie snatched it first, but naturally the others had no intention of letting him keep it and joined the fight. Just as they were wrestling one another to the death and sweating all over, Zhi Li casually opened the compartment door. A train attendant was passing with a food cart. Zhi Li paid for a bottle of milk, closed the door again, sat on the edge of the berth, and stared at the group tangled together. “Why did you stop?”
There wasn’t even a trace of mockery in his voice, but Ke Bu and the others were struck by an attack called humiliation.
Right. Trains sell food too.
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