Chapter 5

◎ Prank ◎

At that time, Zhu He had been liberated and was a freshman at Huaicheng Academy of Fine Arts. He worked part-time at Huaguang's gelato shop throughout the winter to earn internet fees and got a lot of employee coupons to treat his friends.

He seduced Zhu Yao with an extremely shitty tone and very non-standard English pronunciation: "I really don't know what's so good about Gelato (Italian ice cream). A small piece costs 25 yuan, not as good as a small pudding that costs 50 cents. Hey, I'm tired of eating it every day."

The next day, as soon as he arrived at the studio, Zhu Yao took the initiative to invite Du Ningyang and Xu Zhaolin, "Will you go to Huaguang after school? Zhu He will treat you to gelato, pick up and drop off."

"What is Ji La Tou?" Xu Zhaolin's English was also poor, but he was fearless and asked questions without shame.

Zhu Yao rolled his eyes at him, looking at him like a country bumpkin, "Do you know what Italian gelato is? The ice cream that Italians eat is different from panna cotta."

"You make it sound so fantastic, have you ever eaten it?" Xu Zhaolin took advantage of the situation and said, "I think it's chicken shit ice cream, ice cream on the head of a chicken."

"Then are you going or not?" Zhu Yao revealed the price of the gelato, "Twenty-five yuan a piece!!"

"Then I have to go and try it!"

Du Ningyang, who was rarely silent, stood aside and suddenly asked, "What time will Zhu He come? What means of transportation will he use for the pick-up?"

"Of course it's after class in the evening, at 8:30, and he'll ride a bicycle." Zhu Yao then remembered that Zhu He's mount could only carry one person, "Two people have to squeeze on the bus to get there."

Huaguang, whose full name is Huayang Plaza, was the city center of Huaicheng at that time. There was only one bus from the studio to there, and the waiting time was not only long, but every bus was overcrowded. People got on the bus, but when they got off, they changed species and turned into potato chips.

In terms of closeness, Zhu Yao is the one who holds the throne behind the bicycle; in terms of biological gender, it is natural for Zhu Yao to carry Xu Zhaolin, so the two of them subconsciously put themselves in the finals and began to compete for this position.

"Stop arguing," Du Ningyang coughed twice and said in a deep voice, "I say, give me that seat."

The two looked at Du Ningyang like a lunatic, and blurted out "Don't even think about it!"

She showed a countermeasure, "I will pay for your taxi fare,

and I will reimburse you for the whole journey." The taxi fare to Huaguang is not cheap, plus the journey home for the two of them, the conservative estimate is 60 yuan, which is equivalent to two or three days of food money.

Zhu Yao looked Du Ningyang up and down. That day, she was wearing a sky blue down jacket with a circle of beige fur on the brim, and two cute white fur balls down, and she also combed a low braid to match.

So cute, so naughty!

Soon Zhu Yao felt sorry again. She was a pretty and fashionable girl with excellent painting sense and first-class aesthetics, but her eyesight was not good. She was crazy about her brother who had been eccentric since childhood.

She confirmed again and again: "Are you sure?"

Du Ningyang nodded very sincerely, "I am sure."

"Then lend me this down jacket for a day tomorrow," Zhu Yao took advantage of the situation.

"Fuck, this is my new one, okay!" Du Ningyang agreed reluctantly and instructed: "But you can't wear it dirty..."

Xu Zhaolin was secretly happy on the side. For the first time, he deeply experienced and understood the idiom "the fisherman gets the benefit".

"Quiet! So much to talk about so early in the morning," Lu Xuezhong walked into the studio and said sternly: "Hand in yesterday's homework, and then sit down and prepare."

The people in the studio instantly changed from "group distribution" to "linear distribution".

Although there is no explicit stipulation on who should sit where, students from different schools still tend to play with their own people. Zhu Yao's "the group of Huaili people" usually gathered in the front right half of the studio, while "the group of Huaili people"'s "the group of Sanzhong" usually gathered in the back left half of the studio.

The rest were free people, such as Wen Xu, who sat wherever they came, without fixed seats.

Du Ningyang hid behind the drawing board by the wall, thinking about the "double date" with Zhu He that she had accidentally encountered in the evening, and her heart was moved. She couldn't hear a word of what Lu Xuezhong said.

"The fifth person in the last row, Du Ningyang, stand up," Lu Xuezhong was very irritable that day, and his old eyes, which were usually dim, became sharp. "Come on, help me tell the whole class which page I am talking about? Retell the knowledge points I talked about."

The thick brick-like "Human Structure Science" is the basis of the sketching class. The good news is that Du Ningyang did not bring the wrong book, but unfortunately, her book was not opened.

She leaned forward slightly, trying to ask for help. Zhu Yao in front of her on the left looked at her with horror, the paintbrush in her hand still on the drawing board, which was the evidence of her drawing gay pictures in the name of taking notes. Xu Zhaolin in front of her on the right also looked at her with regret, his flip phone half-hidden in his sleeve, showing that he was posting a sad winter post ten seconds ago.

How could you still count on those two people? Du Ningyang took a deep breath, desperate, and turned to the person next to him.

Why did this guy come here today?

When did he come? Why is he like a ghost and has no movement at all?

Forget it, this time I can't count on him at all!

She took a breath of cold air and slowly stood up. It only took her a second to convince herself - since it can't be changed, then accept it calmly. My fate is in my own hands, it's just three more sketches, haha, come on.

"Stand up, Du Ningyang," Lu Xuezhong's voice was like a death sentence, "What did you do last night? You were absent-minded so early in the morning."

Based on experience, it is best to put on an obedient and unreasoning appearance to admit your mistake. Du Ningyang lowered her head with a guilty look, and a book suddenly appeared in front of her. Her slender pale index finger pointed at the content underlined by the pencil.

Following the direction and speed of the finger's movement, she read it out word by word, "When sitting or squatting, the trunk shortens due to compression, and the limbs are deformed due to perspective."

Perhaps with a little guilt after accusing someone wrongly, Lu Xuezhong was surprised and asked Du Ningyang to sit down in a deep voice, and continued to demonstrate and explain on the blackboard.

Du Ningyang turned to Wen Xu and lowered her voice to say to him, "Well, just now, thank you."

Wen Xu listened to the lecture with his head held high as always, but he slightly tilted his head and said "um" to her.

What does "um" mean? Although he helped her, he was extremely cold. Du Ningyang thought to himself that this person is really strange and cold.

Du Ningyang said again: "My name is Du Ningyang, from No. 3 Middle School."

If you don't agree on something, it often means that the business can't be done. Wen Xu was taught from a young age to speak less and express less, which means less misunderstanding and fewer mistakes, and always keep a backhand and initiative.

So he didn't know what to say after being thanked by the girl he liked, but fortunately she threw out another topic, although he didn't catch it.

"I know," Wen Xu replied, while taking out a sharpened pencil from the pencil case and sketching on the drawing board.

Seeing Wen Xu's calm look, Du Ningyang thought he was just having a seizure, and then opened the pencil case, took out a knife and started to sharpen her pencils one by one. While sharpening, he thought, should I sit sideways or straight at night?

Sitting sideways is a bit artificial, and sitting straight is too manly; but sitting sideways is not a good opportunity to hug Zhu He's waist, and sitting straight is too blatant to hug his waist.

So, how should she sit?

——The 40-minute class ended with a dramatic beginning and thinking about this extremely boring question. As the class was about to end, she finally decided to sit sideways.

So, she would go back home during the lunch break and change into a woolen skirt. During practice time, she conveyed this plan to her two friends.

"You are sick," Zhu Yao turned sideways, feeling very disappointed with his friend, and his poor idiom library popped out two idioms in a row, "It's just to eat ice cream! Why make such a fuss!"

"It's okay!" Du Ningyang glanced at Wen Xu who was sitting next to him. Seeing that he had headphones on and looked isolated from the world, he thought that he would not inform Du Minda, so he said with relief: "How many times can I see Zhu He in a winter? I have to leave a good impression on him!"

"Fuck..." Zhu Yao rolled her eyes and said earnestly, "He doesn't deserve you to do this. I mean, although he is a good man and treats you well, he is really like this to everyone. He has been a central air conditioner since he was a child. Sister, do you know what central air conditioning means?"

"I don't care. I will go back at noon," Du Ningyang said lightly: "My legs are on my body, what can you do to me?"

Anyway, at that time, she was no different from a stupid and stubborn donkey. She was proud of not turning back until she hit the wall. She also changed her online signature to "I don't want forever, I just want to have it once", which is a quote that will make you feel so ashamed that you will hit your head against the wall whenever you think of it in the future.

And Zhu He was indeed liked by the little girl. The back-and-forth relationship made people unable to stop.

Wen Xu sat aside, with no music playing in his headphones at all. He felt mixed emotions in his heart. He didn't expect that the first time he fell in love with someone, it was a stubborn person who had someone in his heart.

And stubborn people have their fathers to deal with.

That night, when Du Ningyang sat on the back seat of Zhuhe's bicycle with great joy, before he could even sit still, Du Minda, who had always parked his bike outside the alley, appeared at the door of the studio.

"Du Ningyang!" Du Minda blushed and roared, "Get off!"

"Dad..." Du Ningyang, who was beaming with joy and pointing Zhuhe in the opposite direction, was so frightened that he slid off the back seat and explained, "It's not what you think!"

"What is it like?"

At this time, his mind was spinning faster than a hot wheel. Du Ningyang spoke very quickly and in one breath, "This is my classmate's new bike. I want to sit on it and see how it works. I also want to buy one when spring comes!"

Zhuhe understood what he said and nodded his head like a rattle, with a sincere face that made it hard for people not to believe him.

"Uncle Du," Wen Xu's voice came from not far away, helping them out, "I'm here."

Wen Xu stood in the shadow of the guardhouse, with a drawing board and easel that were almost as tall as a person next to him.

"Hey, here I come," Du Minda waved at Du Ningyang, "Go home quickly, you are not allowed to hang around outside at night, and go home to study about buying a car first."

Then he went to help Wen Xu move the painting supplies to the car.

It was just a coincidence, he used to wait at the entrance of the alley, but today when Master Wen said he wanted to move the painting supplies, he parked the car and entered the alley, and then he caught the naughty child who was "suspected of premature love."

While driving, Du Minda sighed in his heart - the right time, the right place and the right people, this is the talent of being a father. Wen Xu, who was diagonally behind, stared out the window quietly, with a smile of a successful prank hidden in his profile.

Du Ningyang and Zhuge's first "double date" ended in failure inexplicably.