Chapter 1 The Secret That Cannot Be Told two
Soon, he stopped in front of a small coffee shop.
I jumped out of the car and walked in automatically.
He followed me in and looked at me in disbelief: "So obedient? That's not like you."
"What's like me? You make it sound like we know each other well. Don't forget, we are just former alumni." I found a seat by the window and sat down. "To sum it up, the total number of sentences we have ever spoken is definitely no more than five."
He sat down opposite me and looked at me with delighted eyes: "You remember it so clearly? It seems that you are impressed by me. So have you been paying special attention to me for a long time?"
Look, the person in front of you is born with such a shameless sense of superiority.
The temperature in the coffee shop was just right. I took off my wet coat, curled up comfortably on the sofa, flipped through the magazine next to me, and pretended not to hear what he said.
He came over and asked, "What do you want to eat?"
Without looking up, I stared at the faces of Korean male celebrities in magazines and deliberately ordered food that this restaurant would never offer: "fried chicken and beer."
"No beer, but fried chicken is fine." Instead of getting angry, he picked up his phone and smiled as he called for takeout.
It was then that I noticed the strange atmosphere in the store. Although this is a coffee shop hidden in a deep alley, judging by the decoration, it is definitely a place where young artists love to come. But there was no one in the store at the moment, and today was Friday, which was usually the busiest time. This was really wrong.
I frowned and thought hard, but couldn't come up with the answer.
After he finished the call, he turned to me and smiled strangely: "It's weird, isn't it? Why is there no one in the store right now?"
I didn't expect that he would see through my thoughts, so I had to keep quiet.
He answered his own question: "Because this is my friend's shop, and I temporarily requisitioned it tonight. So there will be no one here except us."
After saying this, he crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me smugly, as if a big bad wolf who was keen on playing with his prey said to the little white rabbit : "Rabbit, rabbit, if you enter my territory, you can forget about surviving."
If it were in the past, facing someone like him, I would have already activated my "female devil" attribute! However, at this moment, I could only pretend that I didn't understand the hint in his words and asked slowly: "Tell me, you came all the way to City C and kidnapped me here, what do you want to do?"
"Kidnapping?" He looked at me and laughed, "How can it be so serious? I just invited you to celebrate."
He placed special emphasis on the word "please".
Of course I wasn't going to fall for it: "Okay, then tell me, what are you 'inviting' me to celebrate?"
"Close your eyes first!" he said with a mysterious smile.
I rolled my eyes at him: "You can say it if you want."
"Okay, I'll just pretend that you have your eyes closed." He was completely immersed in the joy he created. While taking things out of his schoolbag, he said in a pretentious manner, "Ding ding ding—Surprise!"
He showed me the thing in his hand closely, with his smiling face that looked as annoying as it could be .
I closed my eyes in pain.
He was holding a brand new uniform from Binghui School in City C. I had just fled to Binghui School in a panic a month ago. I thought that after dealing with him this time, I would never have any contact with him again, and then I could continue to live here quietly. But I didn't expect that this was a bomb that could not be thrown away but could be detonated at any time.
"Are you unhappy?" He finally realized my displeasure.
"Why should I be happy?" There is someone around me who threatens me with my secrets at any time. I don't know how to be happy. This person is really unreasonable.
He looked surprised, as if I was the unreasonable one: "But I am very happy."
I laughed instead of getting angry: "Oh, tell me, what exactly do you want me to do in order for you to keep this secret for me?"
"Eh?" He leaned against the sofa, his hands behind his head, looking incredulous, "Why don't you try to resist?"
"Is resistance useful?"
"It's no use." He winked slyly, "Uh, what do you want me to do? I haven't thought about it yet. I might as well think about it while eating fried chicken."
At this time, the fried chicken delivery arrived. I took the fried chicken with the mentality of making the best of it, lowered my head and ate it with relish without any image.
I was so absorbed in my eating that I heard him say, "I will be your classmate this time! How about introducing myself formally?"
"Whatever." I gnawed on the chicken wings without even looking up.
"Hua Zi Yin, the son of all schools of thought, the Yin of Fu Yin Ming Da. Well, if I say too much, you won't understand. Anyway, what I mean is that I am a person of very noble ."
I couldn't help but sneer in my heart. He has a noble character? His name is more ironic than the fat man's name Hexue.
He paused for a long time after he finished speaking, probably waiting for my reaction. I ignored him and focused on eating the chicken wings.
He finally couldn't stand my ignoring him and reached out to grab the fried chicken box in front of me.
I raised my head as he wished, stretched out my greasy hand, and before he could react, I took the initiative to shake his hand: "Hello, Hanako Yin."
He probably didn't expect me to use this trick. He instantly felt like he was acupunctured by a martial arts master. He stared blankly at his right hand which was covered in grease from my grip, looking at a loss.
I lowered my head, smirking in triumph, and continued to chew the chicken wings as if no one was around. I couldn't help but mutter, "Well, 'Butterfly' still sounds better."
"No." I don't know when Hua Ziyin came to his senses. He leaned forward, across the table, and put his face in front of me, protesting to me seriously, "The nickname 'Butterfly' doesn't suit me at all, okay? I'm obviously the most loyal boy in Baisha School. Moreover, I'm obviously known as the 'academic master' in Baisha School."
When he said this, I happened to be taking a big sip of Coke. I used all my strength to restrain myself from bursting out laughing.
"What?" He looked at me innocently.
I hesitated to speak, afraid of saying the wrong thing and being threatened by him again, but in the end I couldn't help laughing out loud: "Haha, your joke is really dull. I remember that it was said that you had seven or eight girlfriends? Who said that your philandering brilliance completely overshadowed your 'academic master' attribute? The title of 'flower butterfly' definitely belongs to you."
"You said it was 'in the legend'." Hua Ziyin suddenly laughed, revealing a mouthful of white teeth, and tilted her head to look at me, "In the legend of Baisha School, you are no worse than me. Back then, you..."
The sound of raindrops outside the window is like a complaint and tears. In the coffee shop, a song floats from afar: "You, me and her on this road, has anyone lost their way? We promised not to separate and to stay together forever..."
Suddenly, I stared blankly at Hua Ziyin in front of me. His lips moved constantly as he said something, but I couldn't hear anything, as if there was a thick, transparent barrier between him and me.
I know it's my inner demon that's causing trouble.
The past he talked about is something I tried my best to lock away in the depths of my memory, something that cannot be touched.
I deliberately used the straw to suck the Coke in the cup, making a gurgling sound, and interrupted him coldly: "Hana Ziyin, let's get straight to the point, okay? What do you want me to do in order to let me go?"
My voice was as cold as the rain outside the window. Hua Ziyin seemed to be stung by a bee, but he smiled again immediately, still with that annoying expression.
"What do I want you to do?" He blinked his big eyes and looked at me innocently. "It's very simple. I just want you to leave here and go back to Baisha School with me. Then, I will continue to be my 'butterfly' and you will continue to be your 'female devil'. We will continue to keep our distance. That's all I want you to do."
"That's all?"
He nodded and looked at me intently.
I calmly observed the boy in front of me who seemed to be teasing me no matter what he said, trying to find clues from his subtle expression to expose his conspiracy. However, this time, he restrained his smile and looked at me seriously and seriously. In fact, for a moment, I seemed to see an expression in his eyes that would never appear on his face - determination.
This person is probably crazy.
"What's the reason?" I couldn't think of any reason why he wouldn't take advantage of someone's misfortune.
"The reason..." He tilted his head and thought for a while, then muttered, "Because I'm too lonely. After you left, everyone in Baisha School focused on me. Only you know how it feels to be noticed all the time. It's too lonely without anyone to share your burdens with."
After saying this, he laughed softly, looking innocent.
I froze, biting the straw.
I thought of thousands of reasons and words to answer him, but I never expected that he would give such a nonsensical answer. I didn't know how to answer him for a moment.
I almost naively believed his words, but he suddenly stared at my face and laughed jokingly: "Well, that's the expression. Are you completely moved by me? I guessed this would be the result."
I don’t know why, but looking at his smiling face, I suddenly felt relieved.
Well, this person is still the person I know as someone who is never serious. This is better. I am actually a little afraid that he will suddenly become serious one day.
"Everything else is fine, but I can't agree to your request." I refused without question.
As if Hua Ziyin had expected that I would refuse, he shook his head, smiled indifferently and said, "Then you only have one choice left."
I quietly waited for his "verdict". I should have known that he would never let me go easily.
However, he suddenly said without thinking: "Four sentences."
"What?"
"You and I, three years in junior high school, two and a half years in high school, went to the same school for five years and six months, and the number of words we said together is four." Hua Ziyin lowered his head, his fine hair hanging down to block his eyes. I couldn't see his eyes, but the upturned curve at the corner of his mouth was clearly visible.
I don't know what tricks he is going to play next, so I can only remain silent.
"It's okay if I don't go back to Baisha School. I've already come to Binghui School." He smiled, looking very happy. "If you can remember exactly what the four sentences you said to me were, I will pretend that I don't know your secret."
I said in surprise: "It's that simple?"
"Is it easy?" He pursed his lips and turned his head to look out the window intently.
He was right. This question was not simple at all. I racked my brains but could not remember a single word. In fact, I did not remember that I had spoken to him in the past five years and six months. As he said, we were originally two people who had nothing to do with each other. So, I dare to say that he made such a condition on purpose.
"So, you're saying that you came here from another city, holding a secret that I must never tell anyone, and all you asked was for me to repeat the four sentences we once said?"
Without waiting for his answer, I made a decisive conclusion: "Psycho!"
"Yes, I am a psychopath." He turned around and glanced at me coldly, with a murderous gleam in his eyes. "Besides, I have completely given up on treatment."
After he said that, he grabbed his schoolbag, left me behind and turned away.
I was completely confused. When I finally came to my senses, Hua Ziyin had already ridden her bicycle past the window and disappeared into the depths of the alley in the blink of an eye. It was as if all this was a dream, as if the person who knew all my shameful secrets had never appeared.
But I know that this is all true.
When I came out of the coffee shop, the rain had gradually subsided. The air after the heavy rain was fresh and crisp. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, as if to dispel all the bad emotions.
The accumulated water on the eaves on both sides of the alley fell onto the bluestone path, making a "ding-dong" sound, which was extremely pleasant to hear.
I stood in a corner of this strange city, looking at the criss-crossing alleys in front of me, and felt lost.
This situation seems to be a microcosm of my seventeen years of life.
I stand at the crossroads of life, at a loss, not knowing which way to go. Some mistakes, once made, can never be erased. They are not the wrong answers you write down on a test, which can be erased with an eraser; they are the ugly marks engraved on the road of your life, which cannot be erased and cannot be seen in the light.
But, Song Hexue, don't be afraid. Carry them on your shoulders with a pious attitude of atonement and move forward bravely step by step. Perhaps one day they will become beautiful carvings on the path of your life.
