Ban Sheng's Adam's apple slid up and down, and when he was about to speak, there was a beep and the call was disconnected. He looked at the off screen and frowned silently.
He took out a cigarette from his trouser pocket and put it in his mouth, looking around for a lighter. Suddenly, a cluster of orange-red fire was handed to him. The fingers holding the silver lighter were painted with rose-red nail polish.
It was Sister Ji who pursued me relentlessly.
Ban Sheng held a cigarette between his lips and glanced at Sister Ji with his eyelids raised. His eyes were like a blade, carrying invisible pressure. Sister Ji smiled awkwardly and retracted her light.
When Sister Ji was walking back, she thought of the look in his eyes just now and knew she had no chance. She couldn't help but laugh at herself for being possessed tonight.
Ban Sheng was about to light a cigarette when his phone screen lit up again. He answered the call with a low, deep voice: "Hello."
Lin Weixia put the phone to her ear, her tone a little dry: "The phone ran out of battery and turned off automatically just now."
"Yeah." Ban Sheng replied.
She finally mustered up the courage to say that, but who knew her phone would suddenly run out of power, so Lin Weixia hurriedly found a data cable to charge it.
Even now, her palms were still sweaty. Lin Weixia held the phone in her hand, and her other hand was unconsciously twisting the white charging cable around. She paused and said again:
"I didn't say that just now. It's not appropriate for us to talk about this at our age. It's just that I want to ask you-"
"Should we take the college entrance examination in the same city?"
"Let's go to Beijing North to see the snow together."
After the words fell, there was a crackling sound of electricity from the other end of the phone, followed by a long silence. Ban Sheng didn't say anything. Lin Weixia seemed to hear his quiet breathing, which entangled her heart and caused her heartbeat to slow down and speed up.
My heart is just hanging in the balance.
There was a small white spot on the desk. Lin Weixia reached out and scratched it. She spoke again, her tone as slow as before: "If you don't want to—"
"I am willing." Ban Sheng interrupted her, speaking slowly.
Lin Weixia switched hands to answer the phone: "Okay, then you go ahead and do your work. I'm going to sleep."
"Well, close the window," Ben Sheng reminded him, and something seemed different. He said, "Good night."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Weixia blew dry her half-wet long hair and prepared to go to bed. Just as she got into bed, her cell phone dinged. She opened it and saw it was a text message from Li Yiran.
[Your future boyfriend is pretty hot. As soon as you agreed to him, he paid for everyone in the bar tonight.]
Lin Weixia's eyelashes trembled, and she stared at the message for a long time before going to sleep. It was late at night, and occasionally the sound of sports cars roaring on the viaduct could be heard.
The rest of the time was relatively quiet, but Lin Weixia tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. She didn't believe what she said, and she even felt uneasy when sleeping.
Lin Weixia reached for the phone under the pillow, turned on the screen, and found that Ban Sheng had sent her a message ten minutes ago.
Ban: [Have you slept yet?]
Lin Weixia stretched out her two thin white arms from under the air-conditioned blanket and held her phone, typing: [Not yet.]
Then, another message popped up on the screen. She could even imagine how Ban Sheng would confirm it in a serious tone.
Ban: [Are you sure?]
[Yeah.]
Ban Sheng had just come out of the shower, wearing only a pair of black pants, with water droplets still on his well-defined abdominal muscles. He bent down and picked up the phone on the coffee table, and when he saw this affirmative reply, the corners of his lips curled up slightly.
That night, he no longer relied on any tranquilizers. His dreams were no longer filled with endless darkness and dark red, and he no longer woke up in the middle of the night due to palpitations.
Have a good night's sleep.
Lin Weixia slept a little late because of her emotional ups and downs last night, so she got up late the next day. She hurriedly washed up and rushed out of the house carrying a black schoolbag.
But when Zhou Yi went out, she ran into Ban Sheng who was guarding her door.
Ban Sheng had one hand in the crotch of her trousers, holding breakfast in the other hand, with her middle finger hooked in a white plastic bag, which contained her usual salted dumplings and fresh porridge. She was playing with her cell phone with the other hand, her neck slightly lowered, her posture casual.
He was wearing a tall and deep uniform, and had an upright figure, looking like a young master condescending to wait for someone.
"Why are you here?" Lin Weixia panted lightly.
Upon hearing this, Ban Sheng put his phone back into his pocket, walked over and handed her the breakfast, staring at her:
"Come and confirm, in case you regret it."
Lin Weixia was a little helpless, but she knew what Ban Sheng wanted, so she looked up at him and answered with her moist lips:
"No regrets."
Ban Sheng smiled and asked Lin Weixia to hand over the key. She took out the key and saw the boy take something out of his trouser pocket. A small dinosaur keychain slid out of his bony palm and appeared in front of her.
"I won these yesterday at the bar. Yours is a keychain, and mine is a dinosaur cap."
Ban Sheng handed her the key chain. He always liked to take the initiative. He didn't take the keys and hang them on the key chain himself, but insisted on watching Lin Weixia take his things and hang them on.
On the first day alone, Lin Weixia felt his desire for control.
"Ah, that's not a good idea. What if we get discovered—" Lin Weixia's voice became smaller and smaller when she met Ban Sheng's gaze.
But she still didn't answer. He took two steps forward, lowered his neck, and pressed his ruffian energy against Lin Weixia.
Meeting his gaze, she took a step back and Ban Sheng took a step forward.
There is nowhere to hide.
"Lin Weixia, don't force me to kiss you." Ban Sheng leaned over and forced her to look back at him, looking like a ruffian.
Lin Weixia had no choice but to take the dinosaur keychain and hang it on her own keys.
The sky was getting brighter and brighter, and the piercing golden sunlight spread out. Lin Weixia got on the bus and got off at Shenlan No. 1 Middle School stop. A leisurely shadow was always following behind her.
He had done this before.
But now, some things are different.
Lin Weixia's heart beat faster as she walked into the classroom, always afraid of being discovered. After a while, Ban Sheng followed in. As soon as he entered the door, Qiu Minghua yelled at Ban Sheng:
"Ban Ye, what does the first day mean in your circle of friends?"
Lin Weixia paused as she pulled the chair away, then sat down and started to eat the breakfast Ban Sheng bought for her. Ban Sheng passed by her, and a piece of bone on the back of his hand rubbed against her fair neck, not knowing whether it was intentional or unintentional, and it was a slight itch.
Like an ice cube, Lin Weixia shuddered.
I almost choked on the boiling porridge I just put into my mouth.
Qiu Minghua was still yelling, but Ban Sheng walked over calmly, took Qiu Minghua's phone away, grabbed his throat from behind, chuckled, and quietly increased his strength:
"none of your business."
After two math classes in a row, most people in the classroom were drowsy. During the break, Lin Weixia received a message from Ban Sheng, and she turned her head to look out the window.
Ban Sheng was talking to someone in the corridor. He looked nonchalant, but from time to time he glanced at the phone he was holding tightly in his hand, obviously waiting for her to reply.
Ban: [Let’s eat together at noon? I’ll cook for you.]
Lin Weixia stared at the screen and became embarrassed. She typed in the dialog box: [But Sijia asked me to have lunch at noon. ]
Just the night before, Liu Sijia sent a message to Jiang saying that she wanted to have dinner with her on Monday and she would ask her aunt to prepare lunch boxes for two.
After the rejection message was sent, it fell on deaf ears and Ban Sheng never responded again.
She guessed that Ban Sheng might have lost his temper.
Since they both had an agreement, it was normal for him to want to get closer to her and have more opportunities to spend time with her on the first day, but Lin Weixia had made an appointment with Liu Sijia in advance and did not consider him.
Thinking of this, Lin Weixia added: [I will definitely do it next time.]
But Ban Sheng still didn't reply to her message.
After the third Chinese class, Lao Liu asked Lin Weixia to go to the office to get the exercise books. Lin Weixia came back with a tall stack of exercise books and moved them to the podium, and then distributed them to each group.
When it came to handing out the homework to the fourth group, Lin Weixia paused for a moment, picked out Ban Sheng's exercise book, and planned to give it to him personally.
Lin Weixia hoped to strike up a conversation with him by handing out homework. She handed the exercise book to Ban Sheng and said, "Your homework."
Ban Sheng was studying his drone remote control, which seemed to have some problem. When he lowered his head, the blue blood vessels on the side of his neck were tense and bulged, with an inexplicable alluring tension.
When Lin Weixia was talking to him, Ban Sheng just stared blankly without even blinking his eyes, and continued to pry at his remote control, as if she didn't exist.
The homework froze in mid-air, and Lin Weixia sighed silently.
As soon as the morning bell rang, students ran out one after another like fish jumping out of a container, and discussed enthusiastically what to eat for lunch.
Lin Weixia and Liu Sijia went to the cafeteria arm in arm as usual, but she felt that something was wrong with Liu Sijia's mood.
She did not smile as brightly as before and spoke very little. Occasionally she spoke to Liu Sijia, but the latter seemed absent-minded.
Suddenly, Liu Sijia's cell phone rang urgently. She didn't even look at it and just pressed the power off button. Her eyes were as cold as ice.
Lin Weixia took a look and it seemed to be a call from her mother.
Liu Sijia's lunch was a meager fat-reducing meal as usual, and she also had a glass of green body-clearing juice. Because of the phone call, Liu Sijia seemed to be in a worse mood. She picked up a few pieces of vegetables with chopsticks, looking uninterested.
Liu Sijia was very excited because she had heard some rumors repeatedly. She looked at her with a pair of raised eyes: "Weixia, you didn't do anything to let me down, did you?"
Lin Weixia chewed the snow peas slowly and asked her, "How can I be sorry for you?"
Liu Sijia was stunned. She didn't expect Lin Weixia to ask her back. When she was about to say something, she saw the little dinosaur pendant on her key on the table. She immediately had a bad feeling and looked suspicious:
"Where did you get this keychain?"
Lin Weixia looked at Liu Sijia, who was so thin that her sternum was bulging at the neckline. The clothes she wore made her look even more hollow. Her eyes moved to the food in front of her that she had hardly touched.
She eats less than before.
"If you eat more than half of these, I'll tell you." Lin Weixia handed her the chopsticks.
The two stared at each other for a while, and then Liu Sijia compromised and started eating with her chopsticks. Seeing this, Lin Weixia got up and went to the cafeteria window to get her a bowl of corn stewed pork ribs soup.
After a while, Lin Weixia came back with a tray and brought the soup to Liu Sijia. She took a look at her lunch - most of the food in the lunch box had been eaten.
Liu Sijia chewed broccoli and shrugged at her, saying with a somewhat complacent tone: "I ate it, you tell me."
Lin Weixia stood in front of her with her hands in her pockets, and was slow to speak. She leaned over slightly, stretched out a hand and forcefully pried her mouth open.
Liu Sijia opened her mouth subconsciously in pain. Lin Weixia still leaned forward, her amber eyes showing calmness, and her tone was insightful:
"Fake eating."
Although Liu Sijia's pretend eating movements were very realistic, they still failed to deceive Liu Sijia's eyes. She raised her long eyelashes and looked at the trash can in the corner not far away, where fresh food was thrown.
Her beautiful eyes flashed with anger, and Liu Sijia slapped her hand away. She lost control of her emotions, stared at her, and her voice became high and sharp: "Why do you care about me!"
With a "bang", Liu Sijia slammed the spoon on the table with a deafening noise. The air was suddenly quiet, causing everyone who was eating to look over, with a look of anticipation.
Liu Sijia stood up and left the cafeteria without looking back. She walked very fast and accidentally bumped into Ning Chao, who was walking slowly with a coconut in his hand.
With a "bang", Ye Qing was knocked to the ground, and the juice was all over the ground. Ning Chao's shoulder was hurt by the collision, and he was furious. He grabbed the girl's shoulder with a sullen face: "You fucking—"
After seeing the expression on Liu Sijia's face, he was stunned and swallowed the remaining half of "What's going on" back into his throat. Liu Sijia sternly slapped his hand away and ran away.
Lin Weixia stood there, eyelashes raised, staring at her departing back, her thoughts in a daze.
After finishing their lunch, people in the cafeteria left with their trays one after another. After washing her hands, Lin Weixia passed by a convenience store and walked past it without looking around. She took two steps, stopped, and went back.
The first class in the afternoon was an art class. The teacher was teaching theory at the podium, and the students were absent-minded. Lin Weixia was drawing on the paper with a pen, and she turned her head to look at Ban Sheng several times.
He still didn't look at her.
After class, Lin Weixia went to the podium to write a notice to convey Lao Liu's notice. They wanted to order a Chinese language material book. Those who didn't want to order it could come to her and she would be responsible for registering their names.
The second class was physical education. The boys had already rushed out with basketballs in their arms, while the girls combed their hair and looked in the mirror until they were satisfied before slowly moving to the locker room to change into their sportswear.
When Fang Mo called Lin Weixia to leave, the latter shook her head and smiled gently: "You go first, I will be there in a while."
"Okay, then I'll go first." Fang Mo waved at her.
Ban Sheng was still sitting on his chair, hunched over and fiddling with his drone. Lin Weixia sat there until everyone in the classroom left.
No one spoke first.
Lin Weixia stood up and walked in front of him, her shadow fell, she looked at him and asked, "Ban Sheng."
Her tone was soft, and a sweet fruity scent wafted over. Ban Sheng paused holding the utility knife, but still did not look up.
Seeing that he still ignored her, Lin Weixia withdrew her gaze from him and walked straight past his seat to leave. But he stretched out a hand and directly grabbed her arm, his dark eyebrows lowered.
"Your homework." Lin Weixia handed it to him.
After everyone left, Ban Sheng threw the utility knife on the table, rubbed his neck with his hands, and casually picked up the homework book on the table. As a result, a handful of plum candies fell out of thin air.
Ban Sheng was stunned. He picked up a candy on the table and stared at it. The curve of the corners of his lips curled up and widened. His originally cold eyebrows were like a spring breeze, filled with joy.
Tsk, are you trying to fool me
During physical education class, at the teacher's command, Lin Weixia and several classmates went to the equipment room to get tennis rackets. She walked towards the playground with a box of green tennis balls in her arms. The sound of boys talking and playing reached her ears with the wind.
Qiu Minghua looked at his watch with a shocked expression: "Mr. Ban, you better keep a cool face. I'm not used to you smiling at me like this all the time. It feels like the last smile before killing someone."
Lin Weixia heard a reminder sound from her pocket that a message had come in. She shook the suitcase up, freed one hand and took out her cell phone. After seeing the text message from Ban Sheng, her breathing stagnated and she felt the wind around her enveloping her, her cheeks burning with heat.
Lin Weixia asked him: [What does the first day of your circle of friends posting in the morning mean? ]
Ban: [First day of the sprint college entrance examination. ]