After the exam, I felt extremely relaxed and excitedly posted on Moments with the caption: “Yay!”
The cold and aloof god of my heart replied instantly: “What a load of crap! No way! That guy is no good!!”
The next second, my phone started vibrating at an immeasurable speed.
1
I held my phone, looking dazed. It took me more than ten seconds to react and answer the call.
“Hello…” I said cautiously.
On the other end of the phone came a flurry of hasty gasps.
It seemed that the senior was really angry, but I hadn’t offended him! The senior was quiet for a few more seconds. Just as I was about to speak, he preempted me. “No way!”
He said these two words with such finality that I was even more confused.
“Huh?”
He took a breath and added, “No means no. I’m telling you, there’s no room for negotiation on this matter! No! No! No!”
With a snap, he hung up the phone, leaving me stunned in the wind.
In this short minute, I recalled my entire life, making sure and certain that I definitely hadn’t offended him. On the contrary, I had always admired and respected him.
So, what on earth was he talking about?
As if to answer my doubts, my phone vibrated again.
I let out a heavy breath, forced my voice to sound sweet, and said, “Hello, senior.”
The other side choked, and the atmosphere fell into an eerie silence.
I belatedly felt ashamed, my face turning as red as a monkey’s butt. I scratched my ears and silently roared.
People around me all gave me looks as if to say, “This person must be crazy.”
To prevent further embarrassment, I took the initiative. “Senior, what did you mean by ‘no way’? I didn’t understand.”
Then, I quickly found a more secluded place and continued to beat my chest in frustration.
Goodness! Why did I use that cutesy voice just now!
The other side seemed to think of something and let out a short chuckle. After hearing what I said, he immediately became serious again. “You don’t know? You really don’t know?”
I swore facing the lush tree, “Heaven can testify, I really don’t know!”
He snorted. “I don’t care if you know or not. Anyway, it’s no way! No way! No way! No way!”
With a snap, the phone hung up again.
“…”
A few seconds later, the phone rang again. I answered it with a complicated and speechless feeling.
I thought, if the senior talks nonsense like the previous two times and hangs up without clarifying, I’ll… get angry!
Even if he is my much – admired senior, I’ll be really angry!
“I’m sorry…”
This sudden apology quickly changed my state from a bit angry to being at a loss.
This senior… changes his mood pretty fast.
“I shouldn’t have spoken to you so harshly. I apologize.”
“…”
Maybe I took too long to think about how to reply, and he actually asked me pitifully if I was unwilling to forgive him.
“No, no. It’s just a small thing. It’s not a big deal.”
“Oh.”
I grabbed my hair in frustration. What was wrong with the senior today? One moment he was fierce, the next he was pitiful, and now he’s expressionless.
What on earth is he up to?
Give me back my handsome and charming senior!
Fortunately, his next words finally got to the point. “What did you mean by that Moments post just now?”
“Nothing special. I was just happy after the exam and posted it casually.”
His tone rose, but with a hint of doubt. “Really? You’re only happy because the exam is over, not because of someone else, like being confessed to or something.”
My mind was like being hit with a mallet. My thoughts exploded, and it felt like Sun Wukong had burst out of the Five – Finger Mountain and was punching and kicking my cerebellum.
I tried to cover it up. “Oh, come on. How could that be? Although I’m a nice person, no one would confess to me.”
He said, “Really? I don’t believe it. I clearly saw someone confess to you today, right in the stairwell. And I heard him clearly say that he likes you.”
Me: “…”
Good heavens! Strike me dead!
2
Here’s what happened. When I was struggling to go to the exam with my fragmented knowledge, I was stopped by a male classmate I wasn’t very familiar with.
He was very shy and rambled on to me.
I didn’t hear clearly and sincerely asked him what he was doing, saying that I had an exam and he shouldn’t waste my time.
His skin was dark, and when he blushed, he looked like an unpeeled sweet potato.
He said, “I like you. Will you be my girlfriend?”
I was first shocked, then puzzled. Shocked that someone was confessing to me, and puzzled as to why he would like me.
I didn’t even know his name, and I wasn’t sure if we were in the same class.
I was about to reject him immediately, but then the exam bell rang.
I only had time to leave a sentence, “We’ll talk about it next time,” and then I ran off.
I thought this matter was only known to heaven, earth, him, and me. Afterward, I could talk to him and reject him, and it would be over.
But I didn’t expect the senior to know too!
So he saw that male classmate confess to me?!!
This is so embarrassing!
Not all girls are happy when they’re confessed to, like me.
I’ve played with girls since I was a child. I’m a social phobic person who has a deep fear of marriage and men.
And I behaved so stupidly just now. I must have left a bad impression on my senior.
I was a bit nervous, stuttering and talking nonsense. “Uh… maybe? Is that so? I haven’t cleaned my ears recently, so I didn’t hear clearly. Did he say he likes me? Haha, then I… then I’m really charming.”
What am I talking about?!!
I really want to stab myself.
The senior had an air of impending storm and slowly asked, “Do you, like, him?”
“Oh no! I don’t like him! I don’t even know him. How could I like him…”
The senior regained his gentleness. “That’s good. You’re the junior sister I value the most. I don’t want you to be deceived. I once studied the ‘Book of Changes’ and can read faces. That male classmate looks like a bad – luck guy who will bring bad luck to his wife and lose money. If you were with him, you’d surely die early.”
“Hehe, senior, you’ve learned quite a lot.”
“Really? I just read it casually.”
I let out a silly laugh, not knowing how to reply.
He added, “By the way, I was in a bad mood today. Do you have time tomorrow? I’ll treat you to a meal to apologize.”
I quickly agreed. “Okay, okay, okay.”
After hanging up the phone, the phone screen returned to the Moments page.
I thought for a while and replied to the senior, “I will follow your orders!”
The next second, the senior replied with a meaningful soy – bean smiling face.
3
The senior is my direct senior and also the president of the Mountaineering Club. He often organizes everyone to climb mountains or have dinners together.
Although I’m socially awkward, I went a few times under the dragging of my friends and got along well with the club members.
However, having a meal alone with the senior still made me extremely nervous.
In the middle of the night, I was still wide – awake, thinking about how to match my clothes, how to sit, and what to say tomorrow.
When dawn came, I was tired and decided to give up. I didn’t change my clothes and just wore the set from yesterday.
Then I closed my eyes and fell asleep in a daze.
If it weren’t for the phone ringing, I might have slept peacefully all day.
“Hello… Ah! Senior, I forgot! I overslept! Give me three minutes. I’ll be there right away!”
Alcohol can mess things up, and so can staying up late.
Without thinking much, I grabbed my phone, quickly changed my clothes, and rushed outside the school.
Afraid that the senior would be impatient, I showed the momentum of running an 800 – meter physical test and rushed out of the school gate in one go.
Just as I stepped out, a force of unknown origin came from behind, pulling my arm.
I quickly tried to stop, but my shoes were too slippery. I fell on my butt and elbowed the person behind me twice.
The person behind let out a pained groan and quickly came to help me. “Are you okay, Kele?”
I stood up and looked back. “Senior?!! Why are you here?”
The senior frowned and rubbed his stomach. “Didn’t I say on the phone that I’d wait for you at the gate?”
“I… I… Haha, I didn’t hear.”
The air was silent for a moment.
My toes were scratching the ground restlessly. When I felt the pain and cold, I realized that one of my shoes had fallen off.
I looked around in a panic and hopped on one foot to pick up the slipper.
When I bent down to put on the shoe, I smiled at the senior. “Haha, I forgot to change my shoes…”
As I was putting on the shoe, I thought embarrassingly that I was really stupid!
Just when I was so ashamed that I wanted to bang my head on the ground to break the atmosphere, the senior came over with a helpless smile, took out a small pack of wet wipes from his pants, and gently wiped the dust off my face and hands.
Then he tilted his head, motioning for me to pat the dust off my butt, and said, “You’re really a rash person.”
My face turned red instantly.
My personal signature is “rash person.” I’m so embarrassed…
“But you’re cute and interesting. Come on, let’s go eat.”
I suddenly looked up, staring at the senior’s nostrils, and shouting in my heart, “Senior! You! Are! My god!”
4
The place to eat was a Japanese restaurant. The senior pushed the menu to me.
I looked at the prices and asked in a low voice, “Senior, does it have to be Japanese food?”
The senior was a bit confused. “Ah? You don’t want to eat this? I saw that you often watch Japanese food eating shows.”
“I… I just watch them casually. I don’t want to eat it.”
The senior stood up. “Okay, then let’s change to another place.”
I stood there, stunned, looking at the back of my senior against the light, thinking that the unreasonable and play dirty tricks senior from yesterday must have been an illusion.
The senior has always been amiable, kind, and polite!
Finally, we changed to a barbecue restaurant.
I unceremoniously ordered several meat dishes and started wolfing them down.
The senior didn’t seem very hungry and kept looking at me.
His gaze made me a bit guilty, and I secretly put down the crossed – leg I had raised.
The senior let out a snort of laughter, then picked up a few more slices of meat and put them in my bowl. At the same time, he probed, “So, what’s going on between you and that male classmate…? Have you told him yet?”
I was stunned for a few seconds. “Oh, I haven’t said yet. I forgot again. I’ll tell him when I meet him later.”
The senior’s face immediately turned a bit bad, and he muttered in a low voice, “How can someone be so forgetful at such a young age? Could it be the early stage of Alzheimer’s?”
“…”
Uh, senior, is it possible that I can hear you because we’re so close?
Immediately, he ordered fresh milk and steamed eggs. “Eat more. It’s good for your memory.”
I didn’t dare to say anything and silently took the things.
The senior didn’t give up. “It’s not good to keep dragging this out. Here’s what we’ll do. Tomorrow, I’ll go with you to talk to him clearly. Of course, I don’t mean anything else. I’m just afraid you’ll forget again. It would be such a hassle, right? We’re going to go mountain climbing and camping next week. What if this affects your mood or the itinerary? That would be bad, right?”
“Okay, I’ll listen to you, senior.”
The senior is really like a nagging mother.
The senior was happy when he heard this. “Come on, eat more. If you’re a bit fatter, you won’t hurt as much when you fall. Did you hurt yourself today when you fell? You’re just too thin. If you were a bit fatter, you wouldn’t feel the pain. Believe me, I’ve studied the ‘Book of Changes’.”
Immediately, I ate heartily. In the end, I could only walk by leaning on the senior.
5
On Sunday, I woke up leisurely at 11:30 am and stretched lazily.
As soon as I turned on my phone, there were a screen – full of messages, all from the senior.
At 7 am, the senior sent a message: “Kele, don’t forget to talk to that male classmate clearly today.”
Half an hour later, the senior sent another message: “Kele, are you awake?”
After that, every half an hour, he sent a “get up quickly” emoji.
I suddenly felt a strange sense of guilt and coughed twice, then sent a voice message: “Ah, senior, haha, I overslept again, haha. Don’t worry, I’ll get up now. Thanks for reminding me, senior.”
The senior replied instantly: “No, I’m just worried about you. I did a divination for you yesterday and found that your feng shui is not good these days. That’s why I’ve been urging you. Don’t be annoyed with me.”
“Of course not, senior.”
The senior was so concerned about me that I suddenly had a strong desire to talk and share.
“Senior, I used to be timid and dared not contact other boys. But when I saw you for the first time, I felt a sense of intimacy. It turns out that senior is like my sister! Hahaha…”
On the phone screen, it kept showing “the other party is typing” and then “Senior Shien,” switching back and forth, as if in a fierce battle.
Ten minutes later, the senior sent a meaningful soy – bean smiling face.
I put down the phone contentedly, got up, and got ready to eat.
6
It was my first time rejecting a male classmate. Wearing too sloppily is not decent, and being too casual is impolite. So I took out the floral dress that I hadn’t worn for a long time from the bottom of my closet.
I even borrowed my roommate’s small shoulder bag, put on a bit of lipstick, and then left the dormitory.
Halfway there, that mysterious force from yesterday afternoon appeared again, pulling me back.
I turned around in confusion, then exclaimed in surprise, “Senior! Why are you here?”
The senior didn’t say anything. He looked at my mouth, frowned; saw the floral dress, his face darkened; saw the small shoulder bag, he pursed his lips.
He looked very unhappy. “Why are you dressed like this to see him?”
I patted his shoulder like a buddy. “What else? To reject him!”
The senior’s frown deepened. “Reject him but still dress so nicely? You didn’t dress this nicely when you had dinner with me yesterday…”
I was just about to speak when the senior folded his arms, looking like a spoiled child. “You did it on purpose, right? I don’t care. You can’t see him like this!”
At first, I didn’t understand. Later, I realized that the senior was complaining about being treated differently.
I patted his arm again in a friendly way. “Senior, we have a good relationship, so I dressed casually.”
The senior’s face suddenly froze. “You really consider me as a sister?”
I raised my head proudly. “Of course. Senior, are you not used to being a sister? Then from now on, I’m your buddy!”
The senior forced a smile and nodded without hesitation. “Okay.”
Then he had nothing to say, but still held my arm.
I obediently waited in place, looking up at him.
After a minute, he said seriously, “I just did another divination. You shouldn’t go out today, and don’t dress up too much, or you’ll invite… you’ll fall. The fall you had yesterday was a sign.”
I covered my mouth in surprise. “My god, that’s so scary. Is there a way to resolve it?”
The senior nodded. “Yes. You should follow me more. Tell me wherever you go, and let me do a divination for you first. Although it will limit your freedom a little bit, it will be very safe.”
I was very admiring. “Senior, teach me. I’ve been interested in this since I was a child. Senior, be my master!”
The senior was stunned, nodded blankly, and muttered, “The ‘Book of Changes’, everything is fate!”
7
After class on Monday morning, I took the initiative to ask the senior for the address, wanting to go to him to exorcise evil spirits.
As a result, the senior called me first.
“Kele.”
His tone was very serious. I thought he had divined something again, but he said, “I just met that male classmate. I got his WeChat for you. Do you want to add him?”
I thought for a moment. I thought it would be much better to reject him on WeChat than in person, so I agreed.
The senior was silent for a while, and his voice was sticky, sounding a bit pitiful. “You just need to reject him. Why add his WeChat? This makes me feel very… insecure!”
I retorted, I retorted, “Isn’t it quicker to reject him on WeChat? We don’t even need to meet.”
Apparently, the senior hadn’t thought of this. He was stunned for a few seconds, then laughed cheerfully, “Oh, oh, oh, I forgot about that. Hahaha. Come on, where are you now? I’ll come to you. Wait until I arrive before you send the message to reject him. Of course, I don’t mean anything else. I’m just afraid you won’t organize your words well and make him misunderstand.”
I obediently shared my location.
When the senior arrived, the male classmate had just agreed to my friend request and sent a shy and coy bear emoji.
The senior was sharp – eyed and caught a glimpse of it at once. His face turned ugly, and his features contorted as he stood on the moral high ground and loudly criticized, “So impolite! Not introducing himself first, but sending such an indecent emoji instead!”
I didn’t pay attention to the previous words. I only heard the latter part and quickly asked, “Senior, where is this indecent?”
The senior’s face turned red. He sat down next to me in a huff. “Look, this bear is dancing in a coquettish manner, winking. It’s clearly not a good bear!”
I looked at the angry senior guiltily and quietly turned my phone, moving the same – series bear emojis to the back.
The senior is serious and doesn’t accept cute and playful emojis.
Well, I have to remember not to send this type to him in the future.
As soon as I moved, the senior also moved, looking at me suspiciously and accusingly, “What are you doing sneakily? Don’t tell me you like this?”
My reaction was slow. I was startled by his words, and my hand slipped. Another bear – dancing emoji was sent out.
The senior’s eyes widened, and he let out an unseemly scream. He snatched my phone, clicked to recall the message, and then gave it back to me with a lingering fear.
“You’re so careless. Your emojis are so cute that they might be misinterpreted as having dirty thoughts by someone with ulterior motives. Hurry! Reject him. Don’t waste time! Cut the Gordian knot!”
As I was editing the text, I asked in confusion, “But senior, his emojis and mine are from the same series. How come his are lewd and mine are cute?”
The senior was silent. His face was still red, but it seemed different from before.
“That’s different. They’re just different. Yours are so cute, and his are so ugly that they make me want to vomit!”
I inexplicably felt that the senior at this moment was like a mischievous little kid. I couldn’t hold back my laughter.
As soon as I laughed, he also laughed. So silly!
Finally, under the senior’s careful consideration of every word, I clicked send.
“Hello, classmate. I’m sorry I can’t accept your confession. I only focus on my studies now and don’t want to pay attention to other things. I hope you can find a soul – mate soon.”
“The other party is typing” appeared above the chat box. The senior nervously grabbed my arm, and sweat broke out on his forehead.
The other side considered for a long time and then replied regretfully, “Okay. I hope I didn’t cause you any trouble.”
The senior let out a sigh of relief when he saw this. “Huh?! He still has the nerve to say he hopes he didn’t cause trouble. I’ve been losing sleep over this every night. Isn’t this considered trouble?”
After saying this, he met my eyes, and his voice weakened. “I’m just so worried that you’ll go astray…”
I was very touched inside, but I didn’t show it on the surface.
The senior was so worried about me that he couldn’t sleep! This made me feel bad, considering I slept like a log before.
I suddenly stood up and affectionately slapped the senior’s chest muscle. “Buddy, to repay you, I’ll treat you to a meal! What do you want to eat, buddy?!”
The senior’s lips trembled, and he couldn’t say a word for a long time. He must be too excited.
8
I was so full that after the senior saw me back to the dormitory, I sneaked out to take a walk on the playground to help with digestion.
Why secretly? I’m not sure. I just felt like I needed to be alone and quiet.
The playground and the basketball court were separated by a long road, with camphor trees planted on both sides.
In the afternoon, the sun was blinding.
So I walked back and forth on that path.
A large group of strange boys came towards me, and a somewhat familiar boy among them waved at me.
As I was trying to recall who he was, I subconsciously raised my hand.
“Come and play?”
I said blankly, “Yeah, you’re playing basketball?”
“Yeah. Do you want to come and watch?”
He invited me warmly, and I couldn’t refuse, so I went.
When I sat in the spectator stand, I suddenly remembered that this was the male classmate who had confessed to me!
I had a bad feeling. When he came off the court to rest, I immediately found him and said, “Classmate, I have something else to do, so I’m leaving first.”
He was quite disappointed, smiled, and said, “Okay, you can go. Goodbye.”
I walked a few steps, and he called me again, “Uh, classmate Kele.”
He said, looking shy and embarrassed, “You don’t have to take the confession to heart. I was really impulsive that day. I hope you won’t hold it against me.”
I like polite people the most. My impression of him improved a little bit in an instant.
I thought to myself that I would tell the senior when I saw him that this male classmate was actually very polite and didn’t seem sleazy at all.
Maybe because I was thinking about this, I didn’t pay attention to my feet. I stepped on a round pebble and fell flat on my face!
The next second, I didn’t care about the pain. I gracefully rolled on the ground.
Then I gracefully stood up, looked around, and when I saw no one was looking, I limped back.
At the same time, I took out my phone to check the time. It was half past five, and the senior should be out of class.
I dialed the phone. “Hello, senior. You were right. I’m really having bad luck! I almost killed myself by stepping on a pebble just now!
“Ah, I’m on the playground. I ate too much and came for a walk!
“Okay, I’ll wait for you on the bench in front of the gymnasium.”
I dragged my injured body to sit on the bench, blew on the wound, and then carelessly started reading a novel.
About five or six minutes later, a figure in a hurry appeared at the end of the road. His running posture was like a lightning – bolt symbol.
“Kele!”
I reflexively stood up, and then, plop, I knelt on the ground!
Great, adding injury to injury.
The senior exclaimed in surprise, his features contorted. He ran over like the wind, holding a big bag of things in his hand.
The senior casually threw the plastic bag aside, grabbed my arm, and pulled me up.
He walked around me, looking at me worriedly from left to right. “Are you okay, Kele? Does it hurt?”
He lowered his eyes and saw that a large piece of skin was broken on my knee. His voice trembled. “Oh no, it’s bleeding.”
The senior frowned, picked up the plastic bag, opened the alcohol, blew on the wound first, and then wiped it with a tissue.
The next second, while I was immersed in warmth and touch, the senior, with lightning speed, poured all the alcohol onto my knee.
“Ouch! This sharp pain is simply unimaginable!”
With my superb skills, I managed to change the pain – howl into a cry of pleasure.
The senior carried on with his work, deftly cleaning the wound and sprinkling on the medicinal powder.
My knee was so painful that it went numb.
But seeing the senior’s sweat – soaked T – shirt, messy long hair, slightly pouted lips blowing on the wound, and hands trembling slightly with gentleness, I somehow didn’t feel the pain anymore.
A tingly feeling welled up in my heart.
9
Ever since I fell, the senior has been more present than ever.
He often sends an emoji from time to time, asking me where I am.
And every day, when he’s free during class breaks, he will pick me up and send me back to the dormitory, nagging me all the way to watch my step while walking.
According to my original personality, I should have been angry and quarreled with him long ago.
But strangely, because it’s the senior, I’m actually very happy, not feeling that my privacy has been invaded at all. Instead, I even want to play with him more.
My roommate also noticed the frequent interactions between me and the senior recently. She blinked and asked us teasingly about our relationship.
I answered without hesitation, “We’re like siblings from different parents! Hey, I just realized that my tolerance for people is so high!”
My roommate gave me the same “I don’t believe it” look as Lu Yu. “Siblings? Come on. There must be something going on between you two!”
My first reaction was to get angry. “Don’t slander our brother – sister relationship!”
The next second, I said, “Is it true? Something going on? How did you see that?”
My roommate folded her arms. “Humph, with my sharp eyes.”
After saying that, she walked away proudly, leaving behind a sentence, “I’m waiting for your good news.”
At this moment, I realized belatedly that the relationship between me and the senior might be too “brother – like”!
In the evening, the senior invited me to study in the self – study room. Since I had several assignments to ask him for advice, I agreed.
The senior came on his black – gray bicycle.
I looked at the pink seat on the back of his bike, and a thought flashed through my mind. “Hey, senior, this seat isn’t original, is it?”
The senior was stunned for a moment, then laughed. “Ah, yes. It was installed later. It’s like a step – mother’s child.”
I felt a bit nervous. “Installed specifically for me?”
“Of course. Don’t you like pink?”
I frowned and sat on it. “Not really. I’m just confused.”
When we arrived at the self – study room, the senior threw himself into his studies wholeheartedly. I sat next to him, stealing glances at him while daydreaming, and got caught red – handed.
“What are you looking at?”
“I’m looking at sesame seeds.”
The air was silent for a moment. The senior and I looked at each other, then turned our heads away.
I gave myself a hard hit. I really mess up at the crucial moment. What is my mouth blabbering about!
The senior turned around, took out a small mirror from his bag, and blushed as he picked off a tiny sesame seed next to his mouth.
After a minute, the senior coughed twice. “Well, I had pancakes for lunch. It’s normal to have some sesame seeds stuck.”
I was still immersed in self – criticism, nodding absent – mindedly.
Suddenly, the senior covered his mouth, looking at me in horror. “You saw it this afternoon?!”
“I saw it when you came to pick me up downstairs of the dormitory.”
In a second, the senior’s face turned bright red. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He rummaged through his bag again, took out a wet tissue, and wiped his mouth. The skin around his mouth was rubbed red.
I comforted him. “It’s nothing. The sesame seed was so small. At first, I thought it was a mole…”
“Stop talking. I’m going to the bathroom.”
The senior rushed away as if there was a ghost chasing him.
My heart, which had been pounding wildly in my throat just now, calmed down when I saw the senior’s red face and ears.
When the senior left, he knocked the books and pens on the table askew. I straightened them for him.
Then, I accidentally saw the background interface of his phone.
On the Baidu search page: How to help someone get through bad luck? What is bad luck?
On the Taobao search page: “The Book of Changes”, “Tao Te Ching”.
In the memo: Take Kele to the self – study room this afternoon. Take her to the newly opened hot – pot restaurant tomorrow.
…
I propped my chin and thought deeply.
Senior Shien seems to have “something going on” with me.
10
As a person with a deep fear of men and social phobia, after discovering this “something going on”, I didn’t want to run away. I just felt nervous.
Then I thought that although the senior is a top student, he’s often not very shrewd. Maybe he also regards me as a brother, so he does things that make people misunderstand.
Don’t they say that brothers with a particularly good relationship can take baths and sleep together?
So it seems normal for the senior and me to eat and play together.
I figured it out. The senior and I are destined to be good brothers, so our relationship is so good.
Thinking of the senior’s memo, I suddenly remembered that it’s always the senior who treats me. So I quickly made a phone call.
“Hello, senior. How about I treat you to a meal tomorrow? Let’s have hot – pot.”
The senior was silent for a long time, then said awkwardly, “Do you think the people passing by saw the sesame seed on my face?”
I was stunned. It seemed that this incident in the afternoon had caused a serious psychological barrier for him.
“No, how could they see it? Only I could see it because I was so close to you.”
After a while, he explained pitifully, “I wiped my mouth, but I don’t know why I didn’t wipe it off…”
Hearing his voice, I thought he was going to cry. I was startled and quickly changed the topic. “Hey, senior, do you want to eat tomato – flavored pot or double – flavor pot?”
The senior was listless. “Tomato. But I suddenly have something to do tomorrow. A few of my good friends are coming to play with me.”
I don’t know why, but I felt a bit disappointed. “Oh, okay. Then I’ll treat you some other day.”
The senior also said “oh”.
Then both sides remained silent, but we tacitly didn’t hang up the phone.
When it was almost ten o’clock, the senior said, “Why don’t you come with me?”
I agreed without hesitation, even interrupting him before he finished speaking. “Sure!”
What should I wear for the first time meeting the senior’s friends?
I asked my roommate for help.
Her eyes lit up. She not only lent me her clothes to wear but also gave me a pure and seductive makeup look.
I had some sequins and small diamonds stuck under my eyes, and my facial muscles were very uncomfortable, twitching all the time.
I said with difficulty, “Do I really have to stick these? I feel like I have epilepsy.”
My roommate tried to persuade me earnestly, “You must! You’re so stupid. What do you think Senior Shien is? He’s the campus heartthrob! A sought – after guy! There might be other little vixens today. So you have to be more charming!”
I didn’t dare to refute, but I dared to mutter in a low voice, “Isn’t it good to be a human? Why do I have to be a vixen…”
The senior was waiting for me downstairs of the dormitory. I was wearing a long dress, small leather shoes, and carrying a small leather bag. I ran over in a flash.
Some of the sequins fell off.
So I ran around the senior a few times. When my face felt more comfortable, I stopped.
The senior’s face was red. He suddenly became shy. “Kele, you look really beautiful today.”
“Ahahaha, it’s fake. Without makeup, I’m still the ugly me.”
I ran for just a short while, and sweat started to come out.
The senior took out a tissue, and I unceremoniously snatched it to wipe my face.
Some more sequins fell off.
When we arrived at the reserved restaurant, I sat next to the senior and quietly scanned the strangers at the table.
There were six men and four women.
One girl stared at me as soon as she came in, her eyes wide like an owl’s.
I felt annoyed and stared back. Unexpectedly, she actually smiled and threw me a “we’re the same kind” look.
“Hello, everyone. I’m Senior Shien’s junior sister and also his good brother, Kele. Nice to meet you all.”
After I introduced myself, the girl just now clapped her hands excitedly!
The senior next to me also frowned slightly.
11
When I went to the bathroom, that girl followed me, leaned against the doorframe, took out a cigarette and a lighter from her bag.
After lighting it, she took a deep breath and blew smoke rings at me, looking disdainful. “Your methods are so low – level.”
I was washing my hands, frowning as I looked at her through the mirror.
Who is she? So arrogant.
Then she laughed. “As an elder, I’ll give you some advice.”
She walked forward step by step. “You have a crush on Shien, right? Indeed, he’s very handsome and keeps himself clean. Starting from the brother – sister angle is a good way.”
The more I listened, the more confused I became. I couldn’t help but shrink my neck, showing my naive and stupid double – chin.
“But your behavior is too artificial. Are you trying so hard that everyone can see you’re a male – tea?”
“What?!! What nonsense? Male – tea? Are you crazy!”
I glared at her, bumped into her hard, and then went back.
The girl chased after me, still muttering curses. When she saw me push the door open, she immediately resumed her gentle and quiet appearance.
When the senior saw me come in, his furrowed brows relaxed. I complained to him angrily, “She actually called me a male – tea! This is so ridiculous!”
The senior asked righteously, “Who? Who said that?!! I’ll teach her a lesson for you!”
I arrogantly pointed my chin at the girl.
The girl also secretly looked over here.
The senior started to curse, “Humph, as I expected. Just by looking at her face, I can tell what kind of person she is. So self – righteous! I really don’t understand who brought her here! She stared at you as soon as she came in. So impolite!”
My attention was drawn to another sentence, “Wow, senior, you’re so good at reading faces. Teach me, please.”
The senior stiffened for a moment, “Uh, let’s talk about it when the scriptures I bought for you arrive.”
I looked at him with starry eyes, “Okay!”
Not long after, one of the senior’s male friends stood up with the girl just now and introduced, “Everyone, this is my girlfriend.”
The girl smiled shyly and raised her glass to everyone.
I was busy eating, so I just took a sip of orange juice with my free hand.
Unexpectedly, the next second, the girl walked up to me, pretended to clink glasses, and whispered to me, “I was wrong. Both you and him are idiots.”
I was so angry that my nose twitched. Just as I was about to yell, “Are you crazy?”, she added, “But you’re quite a match. I wish you a long and happy relationship.”
Now I was completely confused.
How well – matched are we? Are we destined by heaven?
That night when I went back, I had a dream.
I dreamed that the senior confessed to me. I was about to shyly agree when suddenly a girl popped up, pointing at us and laughing, “Hahaha, two idiots, a perfect match made in heaven!”
I woke up in anger.
She can scold me, but how dare she scold the senior? Doesn’t she know that the senior is number one in the major!
I was still angry in my heart, waiting to talk to the senior about this strange dream and sarcastically comment on that girl.
But when I saw the senior, I finally came to my senses.
The senior confessed to me in the dream?!!
What was I thinking? A toad wanting to eat swan meat?
Oh, I was daydreaming!
“What were you going to say?”
I said with a straight face, viciously, “Nothing. I just farted a stinky one last night and disgusted myself.”
Senior: “…”
12
I deeply realized the change in my feelings and felt a bit flustered.
I constantly analyzed myself from various angles to prove my innocence, and finally came to two conclusions.
First, I’m not a person with a deep fear of men.
Second, I’ve indeed developed different feelings for the senior.
What… What should I do!
I seem like a confident person, but in front of the senior, I still feel inferior.
Leaving aside appearance, just talking about my personality, I just said something like “a stinky fart” in front of the senior. I really ruined my image and dug my own grave.
I couldn’t help but look up to the sky and sigh deeply.
The senior glanced at me, “What’s wrong? You’ve been spacing out.”
I shook my head mysteriously. Then, thinking that the senior could read faces and do divinations, I asked with anticipation and caution, “Senior, can you tell my love fortune from my face?”
The senior was like a vigilant leopard, sensing danger from my words. He asked suspiciously and tentatively, “What… What do you want to calculate this for? Don’t tell me you have a crush on someone?”
Then he looked at me accusingly, “How can you be so fickle… No, I’ve calculated for you before. If you want to be happy, you must marry a man who is handsome, has a good personality, and has a small mole on the tip of his nose! Otherwise, even if you’re happy in this life, you won’t be extremely happy!”
As I listened, I secretly peeked at his face.
Looking at it this way, the senior is my prince charming, a match made in heaven!
But the senior’s kindness to me is like that between brothers or a senior – junior sister relationship. He might not have a crush on me.
While I was lost in thought, the senior’s face darkened. He glared around me fiercely and asked anxiously, “Who do you have a crush on?”
I came back to my senses, waved my hand, “No, I just read a sad love story yesterday and haven’t recovered yet.”
The senior clearly didn’t believe me, but he nodded on his own initiative, “Oh, read less novels. They’re all fake.”
After saying that, he pulled my hand and entered the teaching building.
From then on, I wanted to get closer to the senior even more, and the senior also often happened to meet me by chance. Then we would eat and take walks together.
I often thought, is this a hint from heaven? If I don’t seize this opportunity, am I still human?
Obviously, I’m human, and I firmly seized this opportunity.
In the Mountaineering Club WeChat group, I took the initiative to sign up with the senior for the mountaineering activity next weekend for the first time.
Before, I was always reluctantly persuaded by my friends to agree. But this time, for the senior, I’m going all out!
Maybe my behavior was too abnormal. The senior always asked me if I had met someone recently, so I was so happy and became more active in doing things.
I had managed to muddle through before, but today, I’m going to hint to the senior!
“Yes, that’s right. I met someone. I…”
“Who?!”
Before I could finish, the senior interrupted me, his tone urgent and angry, his eyes blazing with anger.
The senior demanded, “Who? Which brat dares to have a crush on our Kele? I’ll beat him up!”
“He’s from our club…”
“Good grief! A proper club actually has such a scoundrel! I must clean up the club!”
“…”
At this moment, I was a bit hesitant. Why did the usually nice senior suddenly seem like a high – school dean?
But if I want to pursue someone, I can’t back down. I proudly raised my head, “Senior, he’s super handsome!”
Then, blushing with shyness, I turned around and ran away.
13
Originally, I wanted to discuss my pursuit plan with my friend, but unexpectedly, she suddenly had something to do and asked for leave to go home.
I had no choice but to bite the bullet and do it myself.
Because of what I said in front of the senior last time, I didn’t dare to look him in the eye or talk to him for several days. Even if I accidentally caught a glimpse of him, I would immediately hide.
The senior invited me on the phone, but I made up various excuses to decline.
Gradually, the senior knew that I was avoiding him and stopped deliberately looking for me.
I didn’t feel relieved. Instead, I felt panicked.
Did I hurt his feelings by avoiding him like this?
Worrying made me lose my appetite. I was constantly thinking about it in the dormitory every day until my iron – stomach couldn’t take it anymore and started growling. Then I slowly got up to buy food.
As soon as I left the dormitory building, a tall figure suddenly appeared in front of me. Two strong hands grabbed my arms, and he shouted, “Hey! I caught you!”
I took a closer look. It was the senior!
The senior dragged me eagerly to a place with fewer people, muttering curses, “Kele, what do you mean? Avoiding me? Do you have a crush on someone and now you’re avoiding me?!”
I saw shock and disappointment in his eyes. It seemed that he hadn’t slept well in the past few days. There were dark circles under his eyes, and stubble had grown on his chin.
I felt even more uneasy. I had actually damaged our brother – sister relationship for a bit of personal feelings.
I’m such a bad person!
So I offered a sincere apology: “Senior, I’m really sorry. I was in a conflicted mood, and I didn’t mean to avoid you.”
Although the senior tried to act magnanimous and not care, I could still tell that he was very sad.
At this moment, my stomach rumbled. I quickly took his arm and shook it, trying to please him, “Senior, don’t be angry. I’ll treat you to Malatang!”
The senior asked suspiciously, “You’re not trying to figure out your crush’s preferences, are you?”
I paused for a second, then laughed and said, “No way. Am I that kind of person? But senior, what’s your ideal type?”
As I asked, I secretly peeked at him cautiously.
He seemed to think of something, smiled, and said, “I like girls with black hair, who are funny, cute, a bit silly, and straightforward.
“Girls who are straightforward in speaking, love sports, and are not pretentious…”
With each word he said, my heart skipped two beats.
Goodness, the senior’s ideal type is exactly the same as me!
There’s a chance! There’s a chance for me and the senior!
My mood instantly improved. I put my arm on the senior’s shoulder with a show of bravado, “Senior, you have great taste! Hahaha.”
The senior proudly squinted his eyes, “Of course. What about you? What’s your ideal type?”
“He’s someone like the… “
I almost blurted out “like the senior”, but managed to stop in time, “He’s a boy who studies well and is preferably handsome!”
The senior was satisfied when he heard this. He shook off the previous sad and disappointed atmosphere, waved his hand, “Kele, let’s go. I’ll treat you to spicy fragrant pot!”
The senior happily put his arm around me and we walked away, both of us laughing cheerfully.
I thought to myself that it was a good thing I didn’t tell the truth just now. Otherwise, I would have left an unreserved and unelegant impression on the senior.
That night, the senior posted a message in the WeChat club group, saying that we should form groups of two and prepare the basic items as usual.
My friend wasn’t there, so I was alone. Coincidentally, the senior’s partner also couldn’t participate due to something, so we formed a team.
At that time, I was overjoyed, secretly happy.
God is paving the way for us!
14
Probably because I knew that I completely fit the senior’s ideal type, I became completely unrestrained.
I took the initiative to contact the senior to buy related mountaineering supplies. If the senior didn’t reply in time, I would excitedly send all kinds of animal emojis.
The ones I sent the most were the bear emojis that the senior had once praised as cute.
I was happy and excited here, but the senior changed from his previous amiable appearance and started to act cold.
He always replied to my messages after a long time, and his replies were concise.
I asked him out for a meal, but he said he was busy and declined all my invitations.
At first, I thought I might have scared him by being too proactive. But then I saw his Moments post: “Busy, heartbroken!”
He attached a photo of a desk piled high with things. On the desk were scattered club activity plans, a study plan for the “Book of Changes”, and four or five empty Coke bottles.
I felt a twinge of sympathy, at that moment. The senior not only had to be occupied with his own studies and busy planning club activities to ensure everyone’s safety, but he was also going out of his way to make a study plan for me to learn The Book of Changes.
I was really touched. Then I commented, “Senior, you’ve worked hard. I’ll treat you to a big meal after it’s done!” One minute later, the senior replied with a soy – bean smiling face of unknown meaning.
I couldn’t figure out what the smiling face emoji meant, so I tentatively replied with a yellow dog – head emoji again.
And then… then the senior ignored me.
No matter how much I asked or how sincerely I apologized from all aspects, the senior still ignored me, using “I’m not angry, I’m just busy” to fob me off.
I couldn’t help but feel depressed. The distress became unbearable, so I went straight to his classroom to intercept him.
I pulled the senior to the grove with a serious face. First, I stared at him for a few seconds, then stepped back two steps, bowed at a standard ninety – degree angle, and handed him the apology letter I had written carefully with both hands, shouting, “Senior, I’m sorry! Please forgive me!”
The senior was startled and came to help me, but he didn’t notice that he stepped on a round pebble. His body lurched forward.
I quickly bent down to grab his hand, but I was tripped by his foot.
Plop!
We both fell heavily.
I didn’t hurt much because the senior was underneath me, but the senior’s face turned red with pain.
I scrambled to get up. Just as I propped up my upper body, a force came from my back and pushed me down again.
I looked at the senior resentfully.
The senior’s eyelashes fluttered in fright. He slowly explained, “My hand slipped.”
Then he took his hand away.
I quickly got up and then pulled the senior up, asking, “Senior, are you okay?”
The senior shook his head, took out a Liuliumei from his pocket, “I forgot about this until you mentioned it. Here you are.”
The atmosphere somehow fell silent. It seemed that there was a transparent film between the senior and me.
I spat out the fruit pit.
The senior said, “I’m really not angry. I’m just sad… I’m afraid that if you have a crush on someone, you’ll abandon me.”
At that moment, my heart melted, and I was seized by an impulse to tell him, “You are the one I love!”
“Before you confess to your crush, can you listen to me say something? It’ll be at the mountaineering activity the day after tomorrow. It won’t take much time.”
My heart constricted and then expanded. I felt a bit light – headed for some reason. “What a coincidence, senior. I also have something to say to you.”
15
After spending a day and a night in agony, the day of the club activity finally arrived.
At six o’clock in the morning, the bus rented by the senior arrived at the school gate on time.
I deliberately got up at five o’clock, trying to be the first one to arrive at the school gate to give the senior breakfast.
The senior also seemed to have not slept well. His dark circles hung down to his apple muscles.
I took out the warm eggs and sandwiches I had been keeping in my pocket, “Senior, have breakfast.”
The senior took them absent – mindedly, his tone listless, “Oh, thanks. Why are you here so early?”
“I want to help you.”
Actually, I just wanted to see him earlier.
The senior smiled bitterly, “That’s good. I thought you were coming early to make things clear with me and distance yourself from me.”
I was in a hurry to explain, but the senior turned around and pressed me onto the seat, covered me with a thin blanket, “Sleep for a while. It’s still early.”
Then he got off the bus.
I had no choice but to stay there, feeling both excited and worried. I really hoped time would pass quickly so that I could confess to the senior earlier.
My thoughts were in a mess. When everyone was here and the senior sat next to me, sleepiness overwhelmed me, and I fell asleep leaning on his shoulder.
When I opened my eyes again, there were only the senior and me left on the bus.
The senior said, “You’re awake? Let’s go. I asked the vice – president to lead them first. They haven’t gone far. We can catch up if we walk faster.”
We walked in silence. I suddenly remembered the explanation I hadn’t had time to say in the morning.
“Senior, I don’t want to distance myself from you at all.”
He smiled first, then shook his head sadly, “How could it be? Once you have a boyfriend, we can never be as close as we are now.”
“No, I…”
“Shh.” He interrupted me, “Let’s walk first. Everyone is waiting for us in front. We can talk about everything when we reach the mountaintop.”
My words were interrupted several times, and I was annoyed. I walked forward angrily, puffing out my cheeks.
When I reached the corner, I secretly looked back. The senior was slouching, looking completely decadent and lost.
I regretted it. I shouldn’t have been impatient and lost my temper just now.
At noon, we reached our destination. We set up a few simple tents, simply processed the ingredients we brought, and then gobbled them up.
This mountain was a relatively famous camping spot. After dinner, the club members were free to do their own things.
I took out the carefully prepared gift box from my schoolbag and went to find the senior.
The senior was sitting on a big rock by the stream, lazily basking in the sun.
I slowly approached him, called out nervously and expectantly, “Senior.”
He moved the arm that was covering his eyes, glanced at me, then put his arm back, sat up, and turned his back to me.
“I’ll speak first.”
I stared blankly at his back and nodded.
“Kele, you’re the most interesting and cute girl I’ve ever met. Really, I’m not lying. You’re so simple and sincere. There must be people who like you, including me.”
My heart skipped a beat. I took a few steps forward, “Senior, what did you say…”
“Shut up! Let me finish first!”
I quickly sat back in my place and listened to the senior say with a slight sob in his voice, “I really like you. I’m not lying.
“At the activity the time before last, you had a little wine and said you hated men the most, that you had a deep fear of men, and that you would never fall in love or get married. Whoever confessed to you, you would break off relations with them.
“At that time, I thought it was over. I couldn’t make a direct move. So I adopted a round – about strategy, first getting on good terms with you, and then gradually winning your heart.”
At this point, the senior paused, and then said in a broken voice, “The relationship was established, but then you said we were brothers, sisters! To be honest, I was a bit heartbroken at that time, no, I was extremely heartbroken! But what could I do? I had no choice!
“People around you were eyeing you covetously, and you were as stupid as a pig. I had to guard against others stealing you away while also preventing you from doing stupid things! I had such a hard time back then!”
Me: “…”
As he said these words, he turned his head to look at me, his eyes red and tears streaming down. He was crying and accusing me, as if I was some kind of modern – day Chen Shimei.
“But now it seems that I was so happy at that time! At least you didn’t have a crush on anyone, and I could stick to you openly and legally!
“I always thought I should take it slow, not scare you. Now, it’s all messed up. I was so slow that someone else has stolen your heart!”
At this point, he gritted his teeth and said word by word, viciously, “If I knew who that bastard was, I… I… I can’t do anything, wu… Kele, you have to be happy. I just wanted to pour my heart out. Don’t take it to heart…”
He slowly, shakily stood up, looked at me reluctantly, “I’m leaving, Kele. Wish you success.”
Then, he dragged his tired body, looking like a zombie, and walked out step by step.
I immediately snapped out of the state of being engrossed in listening, and with all my strength, I pounced on him.
But my legs were numb and a bit out of control.
I let out a cry, and my hands grabbed the senior’s pants, as if grasping the last straw of hope.
So I fell, and the senior’s pants were pulled down, exposing himself.
Two white, muscular, straight and long legs stood in front of me. Out of nowhere, I leaned forward and kissed one of them.
My lips touched his skin, making a loud smooching sound.
The next second, the white skin turned pink instantly, and the senior let out a groundhog – like scream. He ran forward frantically while pulling up his pants, and then fell down heavily.
My face felt like it was on fire, but I forced myself to sit on the grass with a calm expression.
I looked at the senior, who was panicking and flailing around, and said, “Senior, what I wanted to say was, my crush is you!”
The senior was stunned.
Seeing him stunned, I suddenly wasn’t nervous anymore. I dragged my numb legs to pick up the gift box that had fallen to the ground.
I stumbled forward, taking one step and falling once, but still moving firmly towards the senior.
Then I held the gift box with both hands, presented it in front of him, and said piously, “Senior, be my boyfriend!”
The senior’s legs went weak, and he fell to the ground again with a thud. The pants he had just tied up fell down again.
“What… what do you mean?”
Just as I was about to speak, the senior answered his own question, extremely excited, “You like me?!! Ah! You like me! Hahaha, you like me!”
Then he suddenly hugged me, picked up the gift box, kissed it heavily, and then put it aside. He held his pants with both hands and started happily doing a tap dance.
He sang cheerfully, “Gua gua gua, I’m a little frog, gua gua gua gua gua, a happy little frog.”
After singing enough, he ran over, knelt down on one knee, “Kele, I’m willing to be your boyfriend. Will you be my girlfriend?”
The corners of my mouth were grinning so wide that they almost reached the back of my head. How could I not be willing?
I was just about to nod and say yes, but then I thought it was too ordinary.
So I pushed him, “Ask me again.”
The senior did as I said.
I took a deep breath and said, “Gua! Gua gua gua!”
Okay, I’m willing!
**Extra Story 1**
After we got together, I became even more unrestrained in front of the senior.
I could pick my nose in front of him without any hesitation, and he wouldn’t mind at all. Instead, he would cheerfully hand me a tissue.
One day, we were having a date in the grove.
He was sitting on the bench, and I was leaning on his shoulder.
He held me contentedly, rubbing his face against mine, while I was browsing Moments with great interest.
Then I came across the Moments post before the confession, the one where I sent a dog – head emoji and he ignored me.
I suddenly felt a bit annoyed and questioned him, “What did you mean by that at that time? Were you despising me? Looking down on me?”
His eyes widened, “No way! How could that be! I wasn’t!”
“Then what did you mean?”
“I originally posted that Moments to make up my mind to confess to you!”
I looked at the picture suspiciously, “Nonsense. This picture clearly only shows that you were busy.”
He shook his head in a pretentiously profound way, “No! Look closely. What takes up the most space in the picture?”
I took a look, “Coke bottles.”
He asked again, “How many?”
The Coke bottles occupied most of the right – hand side of the picture. I could directly see four and a half, and I didn’t know if there were more outside the photo.
So I said tentatively, “Four or five.”
He nodded solemnly, “That’s right. Four or five Cokes, homophonically, it means ‘Kele is mine’. That is to say, Kele is mine, and I’m going to pursue her!”
“Wow…”
I didn’t think of that. I was very excited and looked at him admiringly.
He liked it when I looked at him like this. He coughed twice and then said mysteriously, “Do you know why only half of the fifth Coke bottle was photographed?”
“Don’t know.”
He glanced at me proudly, “Half, pronounced the same as ‘companion’ in Chinese. It means Kele is my companion.”
I looked at him with starry eyes, “You’re so cheesy, and I love it!”
I was so happy that my face turned red. He shamelessly asked me to kiss him.
After he kissed me, I asked again, “Why do you always like to send the soy – bean smiling face? Don’t you know what it means now? It’s not a smile but speechless and negative.”
He shook his head, “I know. But at that time, I liked you, yet I couldn’t let you know. I was already frustrated in my heart. Then you sent that ambiguous Moments post, making me think you had agreed to someone else’s confession. Could I not be anxious? I couldn’t express it in words, so I could only use the soy – bean smiling face to show my dissatisfaction.”
As he said this, he started to talk non – stop.
“Also, you said you had a crush on someone, but I didn’t know who. With your careless appearance, I didn’t dare to think that the person you liked was me. I was sad, but I didn’t want to give up. I posted a Moments with a special meaning, but what did you comment?
“You actually said you would treat me to a meal after it was done. Didn’t you regard me as a matchmaker? Could I be happy about that? No! Could I say it? No! So I could only send the soy – bean smiling face.
“Alas, you don’t know how sad and miserable I was at that time. I didn’t sleep for several days, and my roommates even made fun of me, asking if I went out to steal cows in the middle of the night…”
As he talked, he became sad, as if he was immersed in the previous situation.
I quickly hugged him tightly, “Oh, it’s all in the past. We’re doing well now, aren’t we?”
After saying that, I was afraid he wouldn’t believe me, so I kissed him hard on the face twice.
When his face was kissed red, with faint hickey marks, and his ears were completely red, I let go.
Since my boyfriend likes to nag, it’s better for me to take action directly.
**Extra Story 2**
The senior was one year older than me. When he graduated, I helped him move things to his rental house.
I saw that he had sorted out a large pile of books to throw away. I went over to take a look. On the top were actually the “Book of Changes” and the “Tao Te Ching”.
I exclaimed and picked up these two books.
“I said I always felt like I forgot something. So it was this. You said you would teach me how to read faces. Why haven’t you taught me yet?”
His action of packing things froze. His facial muscles tensed up due to nervousness, and he stammered, “Well, that… I… I forgot.”
After saying that, he came over and stood in front of me, looking at me uneasily.
I was a bit confused, “What are you doing? I’m just saying it. I’m not going to hit you.”
Then I opened the book and took a casual look. I found that he had notes on every page.
I took a closer look and realized that these notes were actually pinyin and word – meaning explanations.
I was very touched instantly. It was obvious that these were prepared for me!
I patted his shoulder, “Give me the books. You go ahead with your work. I’ll read them myself when I’m free. You just need to give me some guidance.”
His face showed panic. He grabbed my hand in a fluster, “Kele, I haven’t done divination for a long time. My skills are not good. How about I find you a new master?”
“Why? Even if you only know a little, it’s better than me. Don’t worry. I don’t have much talent in this area. You’re definitely qualified to be my master.”
He was stunned for several seconds, then said blankly, “Hahaha, right! This thing depends on talent.”
Then he muttered something that I didn’t catch.
It was a long time later that I remembered he had muttered, “I’m just very talented, so I can talk nonsense.”
After that, I really studied physiognomy painstakingly. When I had nothing to do, I would go to the community and stare at the people coming and going.
I looked at their facial features and wrinkles. After almost a year of doing this, I still couldn’t figure out anything.
Instead, the people around me who didn’t know me called me a fool, saying I had dementia.
I was depressed.
I admit that I look a bit dull when I’m absorbed in looking, but I’m not that stupid, am I?
So I ran back and complained to him.
He stood there blankly for a while, as if he had made up his mind to do something, and said, “Honey, I have to tell you a truth…”
But he was interrupted by me before he could finish.
Although our parents had already met at that time and were about to discuss the wedding arrangements, his sudden call of “wife” caught me off guard. I playfully slapped him, said “you’re annoying” and then ran away.
I went to his house as a guest. His mother – to – be showed me his childhood photos and told me his childhood embarrassing stories.
There was a photo of him falling into a mud pit when he was five years old. His mother – to – be had always wanted to show it to me but couldn’t find it.
His mother – to – be was a bit annoyed and also a bit amused, “He must have hidden it. Daughter – in – law, go to his room and look for it. Don’t worry. He definitely won’t blame you.”
I went with great curiosity and saw a locked drawer.
I called him to ask for the key. When I opened it, there were all failing exam papers inside, as well as that photo.
I flipped through the papers. All the failing ones were in Chinese, from primary school to high school.
Then I thought of the notes in the “Book of Changes”. I suddenly understood something.
I asked his mother – to – be if he liked reading ancient books like the “Book of Changes”.
“Tsk, look at that silly look of his. Do you think he can read? He can’t even recognize all the characters. Even if he does, he won’t understand their meanings. He fails Chinese every day. I go to the teacher’s office every day…”
That night, I threw a failing exam paper at him.
His body shook violently. He hugged my legs and pleaded, “Honey, I was wrong. I shouldn’t have hidden it from you. I was just afraid you would leave me for someone else.”
A warm feeling welled up in my heart. I pulled him up and kissed him, “So you’ve been planning this for a long time.”
He immediately kissed me back, “But I really had someone do a divination. We’re really a match made in heaven, destined by fate!”
I sighed happily. This silly and cute senior!
(The End)
