Chapter 18: The Mosquito, Rather Large (Please Add to Your Bookshelf)

Almost involuntarily, Sui Yi felt the same sensation—her palm, resting on the desk and connected to Yan Qingwu’s, began to burn with heat. Frowning, she quietly glanced at Yan Qingwu’s graceful profile, serene as the years, pursed her lips, and let a faint stream of energy slip from her palm...

It slowly attached itself to the string of black jade, and then—

A mysterious suction force erupted, compelling Sui Yi to draw closer to Yan Qingwu’s hand...

To grasp that bead?

“What’s happening—is it that bead?” Anxiety seized Sui Yi, and her hand tightened involuntarily, but—

In the next instant, Yan Qingwu’s hand inexplicably slapped down onto the back of Sui Yi’s hand.

The slap sounded rather loud.

The entire class turned their heads, and the literature teacher, chalk in hand, also looked over.

Under everyone’s gaze, their hands overlapped.

Yan Qingwu’s hand was placed atop Sui Yi’s.

Sui Yi: “....”

Yan Qingwu: “...”

The room was utterly silent.

Yan Qingwu looked at Sui Yi, then slowly at their joined hands; her expression, how to describe it—adorably dumbfounded.

She couldn’t understand, nor explain, why her left hand had suddenly felt a miraculous suction, and then, even more inexplicably, slapped over...

Meanwhile, when Sui Yi’s palm touched the black bead, the energy that spilled out instantly enveloped it, and she sensed a magnetic force like a surging tide, wildly pouring into her hand.

Was she absorbing the bead’s energy?

Sui Yi felt her calf ache more fiercely after absorbing the force; it was circulating within her body, her lower abdomen burning hot, as if some gas was violently churning inside. She bit her lip slightly, instinctively looking at Yan Qingwu.

At this moment, Yan Qingwu’s expression was unnatural, because she had just felt a jolt, like electricity!

Especially when she saw Sui Yi’s pained expression, she became flustered.

So, her face, in its unease, was tinged with a soft blush, like peach blossoms in March touched by spring water—beautiful and striking.

What was that just now...

Almost reflexively, Yan Qingwu raised her hand, and many saw the red mark blooming on Sui Yi’s pale skin.

In that instant, many couldn’t help but twitch their lips.

What on earth was going on?

Even with Yan Qingwu’s usual brilliance, she could not explain such a bizarre scene, or perhaps she had already fallen into her own confusion.

Suppressing the strange feeling in her body, Sui Yi silently glanced at Yan Qingwu’s left hand, then, her expression subdued, softly said, “Thank you for swatting the mosquito for me.”

Yan Qingwu was no fool; she immediately caught on, giving Sui Yi a deep look and, slightly awkward, said, “You’re welcome.”

Altogether, nothing seemed amiss.

Glancing at the red mark on Sui Yi’s hand, she felt even more embarrassed. “Sorry, it was a bit big, so…”

So she slapped harder?

She was good at finding a way out.

Sui Yi turned her head slightly, replying in a soft voice, “It’s fine.”

Yan Qingwu felt there was nothing left to say.

Nothing seemed appropriate, and besides, this was just too strange!

——

After school, Sui Yi endured her discomfort, went to the finance office for a set of school uniforms, and drank a cup of hot water. Only then did she feel a little better, though her calves and hands were still sore.

The feeling was clear—her body was changing.

“This growth spurt is awfully late, and much too intense,” Sui Yi attributed it all to that strange fragment, stacking her chemistry and physics books atop her uniform and hugging them to her chest. She followed the crowd out of the school and suddenly spotted the steamed bun shop by the gate.

She remembered her pen had run out—she needed to buy a few, while she still had more than one hundred yuan.

But clearly, the shop was unusually crowded today; even the best study environment at Second High couldn’t cause such a scene, unless—

She immediately saw the person buying at the shop.

No wonder.

“Hey, Sui Yi, how does it feel to sit next to the great beauty Yan?”

An arm suddenly draped across her shoulder, as if hugging her. Sui Yi turned her face and saw Ye Anan from her class, pouting her chubby cheeks and smiling.

This girl had been her desk mate in sophomore year, but after all this time, Sui Yi only remembered her name and her reputation for being overly familiar.

Overly familiar—perhaps not truly close to anyone.

“It’s alright,” Sui Yi calmly slipped out from under her arm, heading towards the bun shop. Ye Anan didn’t mind—Sui Yi was always like this, and she didn’t chase after her, since her girlfriends were already crowding in.

“Heh, Anan, that’s the great beauty Yan from your class over there!”

“Obviously, who else could it be…”

“Pfft, what’s so special? Your class only relies on her, otherwise…”

Though the words were unkind, they weren’t wrong. Ye Anan was annoyed but could only grumble.

A group of them headed for the bun shop.

In the crowd of uniformed students, Sui Yi stood out, especially as she was carrying books and her uniform.

She reached out to choose a pen, pressed for time and not paying much attention to others.

In those days, Morning Light ballpoint pens were students’ go-to choice—the smooth tip traced the scented years of youth.

But Sui Yi preferred fountain pens and brush pens; she liked the real feeling of the nib across paper. She didn’t know why, but despite her limited means, she indulged her little hobby—a touch of willfulness.

So, as usual, she reached for a fountain pen, only to inadvertently meet another hand reaching in.

Equally slender and delicate, hovering before the pen holder.

In the evening glow, Yan Qingwu was less aloof, her composure deepened, and she smiled faintly at Sui Yi.

“Desk mate, picking a pen as well?”

Desk mate—an oddly chosen term Yan Qingwu had given Sui Yi.

Neither close nor distant. Perhaps in the campus environment, there was a hint of youthful awkwardness.

It matched her personality.

“Mm, I need another one…”

Sui Yi took the fountain pen.

“This brand, though elegant, is too sharp; it easily tears the paper, a bit dry and rough, not smooth. You might consider this one.” Yan Qingwu picked another pen.

Sui Yi checked the price—about the same?

“It’s fine, I’m used to this kind. But thank you for the suggestion,” Sui Yi smiled at her. Yan Qingwu merely smiled back; others hadn’t expected Sui Yi to brush off Yan Qingwu’s advice.

At the door, Sui Yi paid, leaving her with only sixty yuan—fountain pens were pricey.

But Sui Yi didn’t mind. As she was about to leave, she saw Ye Anan and her group blocking her way.

“Sui Yi, it’s senior year now—what school are you planning to apply to?” Ye Anan’s group included students from other classes and her own; all were familiar faces. Sui Yi recognized the malice behind the question, but looking at their youthful brows and unruly hair, she felt a moment’s distraction.

Same age, yet they possessed something she lacked. Or rather, they recklessly indulged in their exuberance, while she watched their joyful youth from a more aged, desolate perspective, foreseeing their future joys and sorrows.

Take something simple: as middle- or lower-tier students in the same class, they would be heartbroken or pretend indifference when their grades suffered, or rack their brains to deal with parental scolding—yet Sui Yi felt nothing.

It was clear—they were two fundamentally different kinds of people.

And now, these two kinds of people, as seniors, were trampling on the future in advance.

——Sui Yi was the one being trampled.

(This story is indeed slow to warm up, but I ask everyone for some early support—please add it to your favorites and help it along. Thank you!)