Unable to tell whether it was intentional or not, he increased the strength of his hands, and his fingertips finally scraped off the last bit of ash. The milky white nose tip immediately turned red, like a little rabbit.
"But who I like is my business. The one I want to pursue is you." Ban Sheng pursed his cheeks and said slowly while staring at her.
Lin Weixia took a step back. His attack was too fierce for her to resist. She looked at him with a resolute tone: "If you want me to be with you, it will only snow in Nanjiang."
Nanjiang has a warm and humid climate, with long summers almost all year round. Some people even joke that Nanjiang has only two seasons, summer and autumn. This city has never had snow for decades, so it is impossible for Nanjiang to have snow.
"Don't be so sure." Ban Sheng chuckled, and he straightened up lazily and moved away from them.
After he said this, the school regained its light and instantly became as bright as day. The security guard standing in the corridor of the teaching building opposite kept whistling, asking students to leave the school quickly. Countless moths gathered under the street lights, and dust was floating.
The surrounding light suddenly became too bright, and Lin Weixia subconsciously raised her hand to cover her eyes. Through her fingers, she saw Ban Sheng lowering his head. The row of spinous processes on the back of his cold white neck were obvious. He bit the zipper of his windbreaker, lifted the step under his feet, and left without looking back.
From that night on, Lin Weixia began to find various ways to avoid Ban Sheng. Whenever there were any class activities or invitations involving Ban Sheng's circle, she would find excuses to refuse them all.
It was fine once or twice, but after too many times, especially those A students, they became dissatisfied. They stood together with their arms crossed, and when Lin Weixia passed by with her homework, they talked about her loudly without any scruples, with a condescending tone:
"It's just that the grades are a little better, what's so great about that?"
"Yes, no matter how many extra points you accumulate, your background is still that of an F student. You have a poor family background, a dull mind, and you only know how to study hard."
They thought that these verbal attacks and insults would hurt Lin Weixia, make her confused, and feel happy. However, Lin Weixia did not react at all. She was like the ice of a blue lake, calm and beautiful, without a single crack caused by the disturbance of external objects.
Fang Mo, who was accompanying her, had a changing expression on her face. When she returned to her seat, she looked anxious: "Wei Xia, are you okay?"
Lin Weixia shook her head and smiled gently at her: "It's okay."
"I was scared to death by them just now. I'm glad you're okay. They are like that. Alas, you can only swallow your anger." Fang Mo comforted.
Lin Weixia was distributing homework and responded with a distant expression: "I fought back."
"Ah?" Fang Mo looked at her with confusion.
"Human weaknesses are obvious. When a person does something or does something, he wants to gain self-affirmation from it, and that pleasure is the other person's reaction."
"And if you didn't react, you win." Lin Weixia looked up at the window while holding her homework book.
Fang Mo looked in the direction where she moved. There were one or two girls in the group who looked unhappy. Their chests were heaving because they were too angry, and their necks gradually turned a red, which looked a little funny.
"Wow, Weixia, you are my idol!" Fang Mo said in an admiring tone.
Lin Weixia looked outside, and her sight was occupied by a tall, thin black figure. She met a face with a sloppy look. Seeing that the person was about to approach, she quickly looked away and whispered to Fang Mo:
"Help me hand out the homework. I'm going to the bathroom."
Lin Weixia walked out from the front door.
In fact, she had been avoiding Ban Sheng like this more than once. During this period of time, Liu Sijia and Lin Weixia were together. Whenever she met him, Lin Weixia would walk away, under the pretext of leaving enough space for the two of them.
Whenever there was a chance to be alone with Ban Sheng, Lin Weixia would avoid it.
She should do that.
Ban Sheng leaned against the wall, raised his eyelids and took a deep look at the figure who was fleeing hurriedly out the front door.
In a blink of an eye, it is early December, and the climate in Nanjiang is still warm and comfortable. Except for the need to wear thicker coats when cold air moves south, the weather is warm most of the time.
During the break, the classroom was in chaos. With a bang, someone kicked the door open.
Lin Weixia heard the noise and looked over. Ning Chao was standing at the door with bruises on his face. He walked in with his school uniform jacket tied around his waist, with a stern look on his face.
Ning Chao hooked his feet on the bench and sat down. At the same time, Lin Weixia smelled a strong smell of blood. She looked up and saw that his handsome face was blue and purple, with an obvious bloodstain on his chin.
"Brother Chao, where did you go to fight again?"
Ning Chao threw the book on the table and spat, "I had a fight with those bastards from No. 13 Middle School. If they like to pick a fight, then I'll just go along with them."
"How dare you come back to school? You will be responsible for the sanitation of the playground and laboratory building this semester." A boy joked.
Ning Chao gave a fake smile upon hearing that, but his movement pulled the wound at the corner of his mouth, causing him to hiss in pain.
After hearing this, Lin Weixia put down her pen and looked at him: "I'll go to the infirmary to get you some medicine later."
After saying that, Lin Weixia went to the infirmary to get the medicine, but the infirmary was close to the faculty and staff dormitory, and the journey was a bit far, so she was late when she came back.
It happened to be Lao Liu's class. He put down his chalk and looked at Lin Weixia at the door: "Where are you going?"
"Teacher, you don't know that the class monitor went to get medicine for Ning Chao. It's his deskmate who really cares about him." A boy suddenly laughed out loud.
The whole class burst into laughter and turned around. Ambiguous and teasing looks flowed between the two. Qiu Minghua also laughed and leaned forward and backward. He turned around and talked to Ban Sheng:
"Hey, you know what, the two of them look quite compatible."
Qiu Minghua was laughing and accidentally bumped into Ban Sheng's face. There was no expression on his face, but Qiu Minghua knew that he was unhappy.
With just one glance, Qiu Minghua knew what he should and shouldn't say in front of him.
Old Liu gave a few instructions and raised his hand to let Lin Weixia in. He knocked on the podium with a ruler and shouted several times before the classroom became completely quiet.
After class, when Lin Weixia unscrewed the cap of the iodine bottle and inserted the cotton swab into the bottle, an oppressive shadow approached from behind, and its sleeve passed by her sleeve, and a tall figure passed in front of her.
Seeing Ning Chao applying the medicine on his face in a crooked manner, Lin Weixia sighed softly, "Let me help you."
Lin Weixia held up a cotton swab and moved the stool. The distance between them was shortened. She was about to apply medicine to Ning Chao's wound when a cold voice like ice shards came, like a thunder in winter:
"Ning Chao, come out for a moment."
Lin Weixia's hand trembled, and the iodine liquid dripped down the cotton swab onto the hem of the sweater, immediately smudged into a flower. She looked over and saw Ban Sheng wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, with half of his fierce face hidden in the shadows. When their eyes met, his eyes were like a dark sea, which could devour a person completely with just one look.
Ning Chao stood up, kicked the stool away, turned around and walked towards Ban Sheng, teasing: "Strange, aren't A students like you the ones who disdain to talk to people like us?"
Ning Chao was still talking, Ban Sheng leaned casually against the wall, his eyes only on her, the lighter in his hand occasionally emitted a cluster of flames from his palm, as if trying to cut through some emotion in his eyes.
In the end, he failed to apply the medicine to Ning Chao, and he never came back after he followed Ban Sheng out. After lunch, Lin Weixia lay on the table to do her homework.
Liu Sijia came over with a can of nail polish and sat opposite her and started painting her nails. She blew on the red bean paste on her nails and said, "Weixia, you will still help me pursue Ban Sheng, right? Tomorrow-"
"Scarlett, I'm sorry, I may not be able to help you." Lin Weixia raised her long eyelashes.
Liu Sijia was concentrating on putting her favorite glitter on her index finger. When she heard the words, her hand tilted, and the glittering flakes and nail polish all went out of the border. She had always been sure that Lin Weixia would help her, but suddenly she was rejected. Liu Sijia moved her red lips, but couldn't find the right words for a while.
Now even Liu Sijia can't pry her apart.
Lin Weixia took out a tissue, took Liu Sijia's hand, lowered her eyes, carefully and gently wiped the nail polish on her fingers that had gone out of bounds, and spoke slowly:
"My Chinese teacher recommended me to participate in the National Poetry Contest, and I'm busy with schoolwork, so I may not be able to accompany you during this period, and I can't go to the basketball club either."
Lin Weixia was indeed going to participate in the poetry competition. When she heard the news, she took some time to digest it. She was just better at writing essays, but she had never written a poem and didn't know how to prepare.
Fortunately, Liu Xiping encouraged her: "You have good literary talent, so you can give it a try. Besides, writing poetry is fun and simple. Just write down what you see and want to express."
Liu Sijia raised her eyebrows, peeled a candy and threw it into her mouth: "I understand, then you prepare well, and then I can go out and say that my sister is not only beautiful but also can write poetry."
"Nonsense." Lin Weixia smiled and twisted her arm.
When she got home in the evening, Lin Weixia turned on her computer and tried to write a few sentences. She was not satisfied and pressed the delete key. After closing the page, she browsed the school forum and forum again. The browser happened to automatically save the historical browsing URLs, so Lin Weixia logged into the website called YCH.
The website was still dark and cold, with a depressing feeling. The number of visitors increased by fifty, but it was empty, with nothing on it.
When Lin Weixia was about to exit, she suddenly discovered two more posts.
The ID name Drowning Mushroom posted this last month:
I hate everything about this place.
I really want to leave here.
No one replied, as if he was talking to himself. The picture was a corridor, a cool blue color, with tall slogans hanging on the wall. Lin Weixia frowned, as if she had never seen such a place in the school. Finally, she clicked on the homepage of the ID Drowning Mushroom, but it was blank and she could not see anything.
Lin Weixia sat on the chair, hugged her knees, looked at the photo for a long time, and clicked save.
Since Lin Weixia stopped getting involved with Liu Sijia and Ban Sheng and avoided him many times, she felt relieved. Occasionally, she would hear Fang Mo exaggerate about Ban Sheng and Liu Sijia being alone together again, or that senior schoolmate came to see him again. Lin Weixia smiled after hearing this, but her expression was alienated.
The Meteorological Bureau reported that another typhoon "Shark" landed in Qionghai, which is expected to bring a new round of heavy rainfall and a sharp drop in temperature. Mobile phone inboxes are filled with messages from the meteorological department asking citizens to stay away from the sea, and related water operations and passing ships will also be suspended.
It was dark outside, with dark clouds rolling in. The lights in the classroom were on during the day. After school on Friday, Lin Weixia stayed in the classroom to do homework. She received a call from her aunt, asking her to go to No. 13 Middle School to deliver an umbrella to Gao Hang.
Lin Weixia looked at the sky outside, which was so dark that it seemed to drip ink, and stood up to pack her things and carry her schoolbag to go out. When she walked out of the school gate, it was completely dark, the wind whistled past, lifting the leaves in the air, and it began to drizzle.
The sky was a thick blue-gray color, and the cold wind blew through, and the air suddenly became colder. Lin Weixia stood at the bus stop waiting for the bus. The rain was getting heavier, and cars on the road were speeding past one after another.
The wind came so fast and fiercely that the umbrella held by Lin Weixia was shaken, and the rain hit Lin Weixia's neck and flowed down her back. The cold raindrops penetrated into her skin, making her shiver.
A black Maybach rushed over and stopped in front of her with a sharp brake sound. White vapor rose into the air. Hearing the harsh sound, Lin Weixia subconsciously covered her ears.
The car window rolled down, revealing a beautiful face. It was Liu Sijia. The beauty's face flushed a little, and she shouted over here: "Weixia, where are you going? Let Bansheng take you there."
Lin Weixia shook her head and refused with a smile: "No, I'll just take the bus."
It was unclear if it was because of the weather, but the atmosphere suddenly froze. Liu Sijia turned her head to look to the other side. The boy was leaning lazily on the back seat, his fingertips quickly swiping across the screen to play the game, without even glancing over.
Liu Sijia tugged at his sleeve, and Ban Sheng finally looked over at her with alms, looking at her:
"Get in the car."
Lin Weixia still refused. Ban Sheng gave the driver a look, and the next second, the black car sped away like an arrow. At the same time, the car window rose up, as if enclosing a world with only him and Liu Sijia.
Isolate her from the outside.
After a moment, Lin Weixia's phone screen lit up. She reached out to wipe off the mist on it and clicked it. Ban Sheng sent her a message:
[Come to my house on weekends.]
He was referring to the time when Lin Weixia owed him. She was hesitating about how to refuse. Ban Sheng seemed to have guessed her thoughts and added slowly:
[If you don't come, I'll tell Liu Sijia that it's you I'm attracted to.]
Lin Weixia's heart was burned. She had no choice but to reply "I won't break my promise" and put her phone back in her pocket. After waiting for a long time, the bus finally arrived at the station. After she got on the bus, the bus drove all the way to No. 13 Middle School in the wind and rain.
After Lin Weixia got off the bus, the clock had already pointed to six o'clock. Most of the people in the school had left, and the sky was getting darker day by day. Only the lights at the school gate were on.
She walked in and looked around for someone, and finally found Gao Hang in the laboratory building. Before Lin Weixia could deliver the umbrella, he ran out.
Gao Hang smiled and made a face: "Well, my sister is really considerate."
As the person got closer, the sight became clearer. Lin Weixia noticed the wound at the corner of his mouth and asked, "What's wrong with you? Did you fight?"
Gao Hang's expression darkened, but then he forced a smile and said, "No, I bumped into something on the way."
Lin Weixia wanted to take a closer look at his wound, but Gao Hang grabbed her shoulders and ran with her: "Go home quickly, it will be terrible if it rains heavily."
The two walked out of the school gate. When Lin Weixia was about to take out the bus card from her pocket, a frivolous whistle came from not far away, and then three or four figures came out from the dark.
"Hey, isn't this Gao Hang? Are you giving in?" The leader shook his head and threw out a folding knife from time to time.
Gao Hang's expression changed and he sneered, "I recognize your mother."
The other party was about to retort when he accidentally saw Lin Weixia standing next to Gao Hang. He was delighted. This girl is pretty, like a fairy who is not in touch with the world. The whistle sounded again: "Where did this fairy sister come from?"
Gao Hang immediately grabbed Lin Weixia's arm and hid her behind him. He stared at him with a sullen face and said, "Looking for trouble, huh?"
The wind blew harder and the raindrops hit people's bodies more painfully. Seeing that a typhoon was about to come, they argued for a few words and then walked away.
As soon as the person left, Gao Hang returned to his docile appearance in front of her. Lin Weixia pulled her arm away, looked at him and said, "I won't tell my aunt about what happened today, but you can't fight outside in the future."
Gao Hang took her schoolbag with one hand and said in a flattering tone: "I know! Let's go home, sis."
Because of the typhoon, the weekend was gloomy for two days, the temperature dropped, it was extremely cold, and the whole city was shrouded in a white and humid atmosphere.
When Lin Weixia went out, she wore a pine green knitted jacket, which made her skin look as white as frozen jade. She held an umbrella and took a taxi according to the address sent by Ban Sheng.
She thought she was going to his family's seaside villa in the Jiao District, the place Liu Sijia had been to before, but Ban Sheng gave her another address, near the city, No. 1 South Bay District.
The sky was dark, and the coconut trees beside the wide road cast shadows. When Lin Weixia came to door number 7-3 holding an umbrella, the hem of her skirt and her white shoes and socks were covered with tiny white raindrops.
Lin Weixia rang the doorbell, and the surveillance camera next to the black iron gate flashed at her. She put the umbrella handle on her shoulder and began to watch the ants moving on the ground.
In an instant, there was a sound not far away. Lin Weixia looked up and a tall figure appeared in her amber eyes. Ban Sheng was wearing a black hooded sweatshirt. He was black from head to toe. The boy did not hold an umbrella, and the hat was casually buckled on his head. The closer he got, the closer those aggressive facial features became.
The man stood at the door, and the door slowly opened automatically. Lin Weixia then discovered that he had a cigarette tucked behind his ear, making him look even more ruffian and unruly.
Lin Weixia walked in with him holding an umbrella. Her first impression of Ban Sheng's house was that it was empty and cold. The furniture was of cold and hard European style. The smoky gray curtains swayed in the wind, and the marble on the ground reflected the emptiness and desolation of the place.
"My aunt and the driver are on holiday."
Lin Weixia stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window and saw a blue swimming pool next to her. Tiny ripples were floating in a blue color that was infinitely close to the color of summer. Her sight extended outside and she saw green grass outside the yard and white flowers blooming on the water pipes.
Ban Sheng had been buried in the sofa, but he stood up when he saw this, his pointed Adam's apple sliding up and down: "Feel free to visit."
"Isn't your swimming pool off-limits to people?" Lin Weixia said.
Ban Sheng lowered his head and chuckled softly, then walked to her side, speaking in a natural and normal tone:
"Are you someone else?"
A low voice like the collision of ice cubes drilled into her ears, and the heat brushed against her ears. The color behind her ears became darker little by little, and Lin Weixia's heart suddenly shrank.
The person brushed past her, put one hand in his pocket and pushed open the door of the floor-to-ceiling window. A gust of wind blew over, and Lin Weixia walked over, seeing the endless blue.
She smelled a faint odor of chlorine.
Lin Weixia walked to the edge of the swimming pool and asked him, "Do you like swimming?"
"When a person is holding his breath underwater and is about to reach his limit, he feels like "Fuck the world". It feels great." Ban Sheng answered lazily, and it was hard to tell whether it was true or not.
Lin Weixia stood there, looking at the blue swimming pool, and she didn't know what she was thinking of. She felt a sharp pain in her eyes. Suddenly, a casual question came from behind her:
"Try?"
Before she could react, someone pushed her from behind. Lin Weixia turned on her toes and leaned forward uncontrollably. She screamed in fright and was about to fall into the cold swimming pool during the typhoon.
A bony hand was placed on her waist, and with a little force, she was brought back. Lin Weixia was still in shock, her chest heaving, and when she saw a nonchalant face, Ban Sheng laughed loudly, his shoulders shaking.
Lin Weixia met a pair of dark eyes, which were filled with a malicious smile. She just looked at him.
Gradually, Ban Sheng put away the smile on his face and moved her forward. When they were only a few inches apart, he could smell the fragrance of her hair. His breathing became disordered and he looked at her:
"I really shouldn't have messed with you."
He was the one who lost.
Lin Weixia broke free from his shackles and distanced herself from him: "It's very cold, let's go in and talk about composition."
Walking into Ban Sheng's study is another world, with a U-shaped sofa, a desk with several books on astrophysics stacked on it, a world map hanging on the wall, and several autographed photos of basketball stars.
There was a basketball lying under the stool.
The most special thing is that the walls are covered with astronomical photos, deep blue sky, white star trails, magnificent clouds, and each photo is signed with a wild signature: Ban.
Lin Weixia didn’t understand any of this, but just by looking at the scene in the photos, she knew that this was a rare and spectacular sight.
"The photo you are looking at was taken by me on a mountain in the northwest. I squatted there until late at night. Not only did I suffer from altitude sickness, but I also slipped down the hillside and broke my calf. There are still steel nails embedded in it. I was alone there at the time, and my cell phone had no signal. I felt like I was going to die there." Ban Sheng laughed at himself.
Lin Weixia commented: "Adventurer."
Ban Sheng turned around and handed her a glass of water. Lin Weixia took it and saw that it was her favorite salty lemongrass. Her fingertips touched the wall of the glass and it was at room temperature. She was impressed by his attentiveness.
Romantic astronomical phenomena are rare, and to view them you have to be in an open place away from light pollution. As for the other photos, it’s easy to imagine how much effort Ban Sheng put into taking them.
"But it's very romantic, isn't it? The satellites cover each other, and their shadows overlap, just like the heart being swallowed." Ban Sheng said slowly, staring at the photo.
Lin Weixia looked over and saw the two Galilean satellites slowly approaching each other, the larger one covering the smaller one, until finally only two shadows were left overlapping each other, like two marginalized people hugging each other.
"It looks very nice." Lin Weixia said with emotion.
Ban Sheng looked up at Lin Weixia's quiet profile and saw a strand of hair sticking to her fair cheek. The hand hanging at the edge of his trousers moved, and he raised his hand to hook the hair behind her ear.
As a result, just as his hand was about to touch her ear, Lin Weixia became defensive and alert. Her usually calm face showed a ripple, and her tone was a little anxious: "Don't touch me."
Ban Sheng was stunned for a moment, staring at Lin Weixia's back thoughtfully.
Lin Weixia sat down and began to read Ban Sheng's composition. The more she read, the more her brows furrowed. She felt something was wrong.
Just as Lin Weixia was about to speak, the cell phone on the table vibrated. She glanced at the caller's name, stood up, picked up the phone, turned her back and answered the call.
"Weixia, what should we do? Your brother had a fight with someone and sent the person to the hospital." My aunt's panicked voice came from the receiver.
There was a "click" sound of the receiver rolling and igniting behind her. Lin Weixia subconsciously turned her head and caught a glimpse of a cold white neck. There was a scarlet spot on Ban Sheng's fingertips, and smoke rolled out from his thin lips.
"Don't be anxious, aunt, just take your time." Lin Weixia comforted softly.
"Your brother had an argument with someone in his class and beat that person into the hospital. The other party's family is rich and well-connected. No matter how much I apologized, they refused to accept the settlement and threatened to sue Hangzi. What can I do? I only have one child, and he is so young. What if his graduation record is tainted..." My aunt has always been strong, but now she spoke incoherently and anxiously.
It was a rainy day today and the study was large, so even though his back was facing away from him, Ban Sheng could still hear every word in the receiver.
Lin Weixia whispered a few words of comfort and hung up the phone. Then she turned to Ban Sheng and said, "I'm sorry, something happened at home. Let's do the make-up class next time."
After saying that, she walked over and bent over to pick up the books and pens on the table. Lin Weixia put all her black hair into her schoolbag and was about to leave when Ban Sheng called her.
"Where does your brother study?"
"No. 13 Middle School."
"What is the name of the family that wants to sue your brother?"
"I'm not sure, I just know that the one who had a conflict with my brother is called Fang Huaiyang."
Ban Sheng said slowly: "I know the people from the Fang family. I have dealt with his brother Fang Huaihui twice."
Lin Weixia's eyelashes moved, and she looked up at him. Ban Sheng sat hunched on the sofa, flicked a piece of cigarette ash from his fingertips, and looked at her:
"I can settle it with just one word."
Ban Sheng held a cigarette in his mouth, raised his eyelids and looked at Lin Weixia without saying anything. His attitude was clear, as if it was all a matter of Lin Weixia's words.
But she knew what to give in exchange.
People like Ban Sheng have bad blood in their bones and are born negotiators.
The sound of rain outside intensified. Lin Weixia looked at him for a few seconds, then retracted her gaze and lowered her eyelashes: "I'll leave first. It's hard to walk in the heavy rain."
After saying that, Lin Weixia turned her back, deliberately ignored the gaze falling on her, and walked straight forward, her hand touching the door frame, and the wind from the aisle blew towards her.
Ban Sheng put out the cigarette in his hand on the ashtray and sneered:
"Lin Weixia, why don't you just ask me for help?"
Haha, I was willing to do anything for that amber pendant some time ago.
Lin Weixia's back froze, but she still left. When she left, the rain was heavier than before. Lin Weixia held an umbrella and walked out of Ban Sheng's house.
When we arrived at the hospital, the elevator door opened with a ding. From a distance, we saw Gao Hang leaning against the wall with a dejected look on his face, with bruises all over his face.
My aunt's voice came from afar, her tone mixed with sadness: "The child is impulsive and ignorant. I apologize to you on his behalf. I will pay for Huaiyang's child's medical expenses. We will also pay any compensation you want. Please be generous..."
My aunt hunched over, looking servile, but she couldn't get close to the other parent. The other parent tried his best to maintain the dignity of a rich person, with a cold and tough face. My aunt's heart sank and she was about to kneel down, but was stopped by the assistant.
"Ms. Lin, there is no point in saying more. Go back and prepare to defend the lawsuit." The assistant pushed his glasses.
After the crowd dispersed, my aunt turned her head to look at Lin Weixia who was not far away, then shifted her gaze to Gao Hang who had bruises on his face, and sighed.
"Mom, go back." Gao Hang called her.
After returning home, Lin Weixia started cooking. Soon, loofah soup, braised eggplant, stir-fried water spinach with fermented bean curd, and leftover spare ribs from lunch appeared on the table.
The dinner atmosphere was dead silent, and no one spoke. Lin Weixia served a bowl of soup to her aunt, but she still didn't pick up her chopsticks. Gao Hang silently ate a few mouthfuls of rice and went back to his room.
The lamp on the dining table was a little dim after being used for a long time. The light cast a shadow on Lin Weixia's eyelashes. Lin Weixia said: "I will ask my classmates if there is anyone who can help me in the next two days."
My aunt came back to her senses and said hurriedly, "Yes, yes, most of the students in your school come from wealthy and powerful families, so they will definitely be able to help."
"Thank you for worrying about your brother." Aunt picked up a piece of pork ribs and put it in Lin Weixia's bowl.
After the typhoon, the weather became much brighter and a new week arrived. On Monday, Lin Weixia hadn't seen Ning Chao since morning reading and thought he had taken a leave.
As a result, when class was about to start, Ning Chao swaggered in with a broom in one hand and a bag of soy milk in his mouth. Lin Weixia realized that he was going to sweep the classroom as punishment.
Ning Chao threw the broom into the corner, sat down and pounded his shoulder for a while: "I was fucking killed by the broom, it's all the fault of those idiots from No. 13 Middle School."
Hearing the word "No. 13 Middle School", Lin Weixia's ears moved and she couldn't help but ask, "No. 13 Middle School, then do you know Fang Huaiyang from the junior high school?"
"From junior high school? I don't know him. But what's the matter?" Ning Chao asked.
"My brother beat someone up, and now they are not accepting compensation and say they are going to sue my brother." Lin Weixia lowered her eyes, her voice a little low.
Ning Chao sneered when he heard about the behavior of these rich people. He didn't know when a folding utility knife slipped out from his sleeve, and swung the blade out from his palm. The light on it was reflected in his pair of dark eyes, revealing cruelty:
"How about I help you beat him?"
"Forget it."
Not to mention that this method of fighting violence with violence is not advisable. If this is really done, I am afraid the situation will become increasingly out of control.
Things had not progressed, and Ban Sheng did not take the initiative to stop her and talk to her, as if he was sure that Lin Weixia would take the initiative to come to her. The pressure from her aunt was getting greater and greater, and Lin Weixia planned to ask Liu Sijia after the last music class on Thursday afternoon to see if she could help.
In the evening, Lin Weixia and Liu Sijia were waiting for their noodles in the noodle shop. The cell phone in her school uniform pocket vibrated. She glanced at the caller ID and walked out to answer the call with the phone in her hand.
"Hello, aunt." The wind blew, and Lin Weixia unconsciously wrapped her collar.
My aunt's happy and relaxed voice came from the receiver: "Hangzi's problem has been solved. With just one word from the other party, your brother's classmate changed his mind and offered to withdraw the lawsuit. Now there will be no stain on your brother's file."
"That's good." Lin Weixia breathed a sigh of relief.
"This time it's all thanks to your classmate. I was shocked when he called me personally. I expressed my gratitude over and over again on the phone, but he didn't want anything. He just wanted you to have dinner with him."
"Xia Xia, remember to go. They have helped our family so much." Aunt emphasized again and again.
Lin Weixia looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were rolling in. Except for a brief moment of sunshine on Monday, it had been cloudy and rainy these past few days.
"Okay." Lin Weixia responded to the person on the other end of the phone.
It started raining on Friday morning and was wet the whole day. My classmates’ umbrellas were hung on the racks in the corridor and the window was lightly shrouded in a layer of white mist.
Ban Sheng did not come to school today. The seat across the aisle to Lin Weixia's right was empty, and Liu Sijia had no interest in coming to her place.
As soon as the get out of class was over, the girls gathered around Liu Sijia and discussed the new perfume brand and which brand of nail polish was more shiny.
After school, Lin Weixia stayed until the end. After doing her homework for a while, she slowly packed her schoolbag and boarded bus No. 1 to South Bay District after everyone had left.
It was already 7 o'clock when they arrived at Ban Sheng's house. As soon as they got off the bus, the umbrella that Lin Weixia was holding almost got blown over by the heavy rain. The rain was getting heavier and heavier, pouring down from the sky, hitting the ground with splashes of water.
The black curtain swallowed up the sky, but fortunately there were lights along the way. The rain fell obliquely, and under the warm lights, the whole picture looked like a faded movie film.
Lin Weixia stood at the door and pressed the doorbell. This time, someone came to open the door before she had to wait for long. The aunt led her all the way in, motioned that someone was upstairs, and then left.
Lin Weixia went upstairs and stood at the entrance, but found that the lights were not on in the living room. It was dark except for the starlight coming in from the yard outside the floor-to-ceiling window.
When she thought there was no one around and was about to turn her head, she suddenly spotted a black figure standing against the south-facing wall of the floor-to-ceiling window. He was leaning against the wall with a casual and unrestrained posture, with only his slightly raised chin and a red cigarette butt at his fingertips.
Lin Weixia pressed the switch on the wall, and with a "click" the room instantly became as bright as day. Ban Sheng leaned against the wall without looking back at the people who came in. He exuded a dejected look, and there were several cigarette butts of different lengths lying at his feet, some of which were still emitting sporadic flames.
Lin Weixia came closer with her schoolbag in her arms, and sat down opposite him, only then could she see Ban Sheng's face clearly. He was wearing a black coat today, and his shoulders were mostly wet, dark in color, with water droplets on his dark eyebrows and eyes, and his face had obvious deep and shallow wounds, including a long scar, as if he had been scratched.
His mood was extremely bad.
Frankly speaking, when Lin Weixia first met Ban Sheng, she felt that he was extremely proud, but at the same time, he was also aloof. He was the king of his own territory, and no one could get close to him.
It’s just that Ban Sheng is so good at disguising himself and keeping a low profile that almost no one can see through him.
But today was different. Lin Weixia could feel that Ban Sheng was depressed to the core. His whole body was shrouded in darkness. He looked as if he didn't care about anything. It was a thick, suffocating black.
"Thank you for Gao Hang's matter. If it weren't for your kindness and eager help, my brother wouldn't have..." Lin Weixia said out loud the draft she had prepared.
As she was talking, Ban Sheng suddenly sneered coldly without even looking at her, and mercilessly exposed:
"Lin Weixia, can you be a little more fake?"
Lin Weixia was stunned. When she wanted to say something else, Ban Sheng finally raised his eyes and said indifferently:
"If you don't want to stay, go away."