Chapter 8: Encountered a Girl with No Expression
I had been thinking that things would return to normal after the first class, but even during the second class, I was still restless…
What happened this morning alone was more eventful and varied than what had happened to me in the past year. While I sometimes thought that a change would be nice in my unchanging daily life… I never anticipated such a drastic one!
This was a change akin to nuclear fission on top of a chemical reaction!
At the same time, I was also wondering why Ji Lianbing had suddenly said those things… How should I put it, I felt like she didn’t genuinely like me when she confessed.
Perhaps it was because I was sensitive to lies. I could almost distinguish whether others were telling the truth or lying… Of course, I wasn’t completely accurate; it was a general feeling, and I couldn’t guarantee its correctness.
But this time, my feeling was likely real.
No, even without relying on this feeling, a rational analysis would lead to the same conclusion.
It was impossible for her to like me. She confessed her love to me suddenly without ever having interacted with me? Come on, I considered myself to be only slightly above average in looks, not to the extent of attracting girls with just my face.
…However, the dreamlike development of being confessed to by the school belle actually happened to me.
If I hadn’t gone through the baptism of titles, I might have been completely swept off my feet and lost in vanity.
But I was clear-headed now. I understood that the probability of Ji Lianbing liking me was infinitely close to zero. She was most likely trying to tease me, or perhaps she was angry because of something I said and wanted to get back at me.
So, how could I let her succeed? Hmph hmph…
While thinking about various things, I sat at my seat like a statue. This restless feeling was finally about to end. The moment the minute hand on the clock above the blackboard pointed to 30, the dismissal bell rang…
And the moment the teacher stepped out of the classroom, I sprang up from my seat and strode out, following the teacher towards the classroom door!
“Juncheng!”
I heard Ji Lianbing’s call from behind, but I completely ignored her, pretending not to hear and walked straight out of the classroom.
Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is the best!
At this moment, it’s crucial not to be brave. Following my dear mother’s teachings, when it’s time to run, run decisively. Don’t do anything unnecessary for the sake of pride. Otherwise, getting involved in trouble would be a hassle!
Only by correctly avoiding the various dangers in life can one live safely throughout their years…
It was now time for exercise, but our school’s exercises were equivalent to free time, so we had a break that was not too long and not too short.
First, I had to avoid crowded places. Second, it was best not to stray too far from the teaching building, otherwise, I might not be able to get back to the classroom before the bell rang. The rooftop would have been the best choice, but now the school rooftop was occupied by couples, so a single dog like me had to find another peaceful spot to rest.
This problem had bothered me for half a semester, and finally, I found a good place.
Walking up the path on the side of the basketball court and around to the back of the science building, you would find a dilapidated pavilion. It was said that this pavilion was here even before the school was built. Moreover, it was heard that when the science building was constructed, it was supposed to be at a ninety-degree angle to the main building, but in order to preserve this pavilion, the principal actually ordered the plan to be changed, which ultimately resulted in a subtle acute angle between the science building and the main building…
Then everyone started speculating why the principal would deliberately leave this pavilion. Following that, rumors started flying everywhere. Such as the pavilion being cursed, being a passage to the underworld, encountering zombies… and other horror stories spread. Originally, the area behind the science building was a forest, which was usually eerie. Coupled with various ghost stories, eventually, no one dared to come here anymore.
As for me, I didn’t believe any of those ghost stories at all.
Since I was young, I had been following my mother around funeral homes, crematoriums, and cemeteries. Having gotten used to the scenes of people being buried, I wasn’t afraid of such things at all.
Instead, this pavilion was perfect as my resting place. There were a few stone benches, and with an inflatable pillow, I could take a good nap. It could be said that this pavilion had become my exclusive resting place; I could even give it a name like Juncheng Pavilion.
This time, to avoid Ji Lianbing, I came to my ‘Juncheng Pavilion’ again. However, someone had arrived earlier than me.
Her hair color was gray, but it wasn’t like mine where gray hairs were mixed with black, creating an illusion of gray. It was genuine gray, but it didn’t look dyed… it was a natural gray. She sat quietly on the bench, holding a book on her lap, flipping through the pages one by one.
There was no striking beauty or breathtaking charm, yet she blended naturally with the surroundings. For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She seemed to possess a power that naturally made people around her feel calm and peaceful. Despite being silent, her presence was so strong; she was silently very vivid.
A cool breeze blew, and I sobered up slightly, continuing to approach the pavilion.
As I got closer to the pavilion, I could see her title and name clearly.
【Active Paraphiliac】
【Jiang Xueqing】
It was Jiang Xueqing… the expressionless girl who sat in front of me.
If I was just indifferent, she was truly expressionless. If I just didn’t know how to speak, she simply didn’t speak at all. I couldn’t figure out what she was thinking at all, and I suppose everyone who knew her thought the same.
Objectively speaking, her looks were no less than Ji Lianbing’s, but because she, like me, was not good at socializing, her popularity was significantly lower than Ji Lianbing’s. However, I heard that she was revered as a goddess in certain circles that favored expressionless girls…
Speaking of which, her title was also strange: Active Paraphiliac?
I knew what a paraphiliac meant; it referred to someone who was infatuated with disabled people… it also seemed to have the meaning of being passionate about becoming disabled… Could this “active” refer to her being a paraphiliac passionate about becoming disabled?
I didn’t really understand.
But this title didn’t make me feel as wary, as it was merely a matter of personal preference.
At this moment, Jiang Xueqing also noticed me and looked up at my face.
Our eyes met.
“…”
“…”
Neither of us intended to speak first, and the situation became awkward… Perhaps only I felt awkward, because Jiang Xueqing’s face remained unchanged, truly a perfect poker face.
“…”
“…”
Fine, fine, I give up on you…
When both parties are passive, only the relatively less passive person should speak first, right? Otherwise, the conversation wouldn’t even begin, no, it wouldn’t even start… I’ll just ask something random.
“Why are you here?”
“…”
Jiang Xueqing glanced at me, then lowered her head to read her book, seemingly completely uninterested in me.
Speaking of which, I didn’t see her in the second class. So she skipped class and came here to read? And is it really okay to skip class so casually?
I walked over and sat on the bench opposite her. She didn’t move away from me… or perhaps she was simply ignoring me.
I shouldn’t be ungrateful and try to strike up a conversation. I’ll just stay here until the break time is over.
It’s only March, and the stone bench is quite cold… However, I was prepared for this.
I started using this place as my exclusive resting spot last semester. It was autumn then, and I cleaned the dust off the stone bench myself and tried sitting on it for a while. But it felt a bit cold sitting on the stone bench at the time, so I brought several old cushions from home… With these cushions, I could even lie down.
I got up and jumped to the side of the pavilion. There was a strange little earth god shrine… It should be an earth god shrine. Although there was no image of the earth god and no text, its size could only be that of an earth god shrine.
Whether it is or not, I considered it a storage spot.
A part of my manga and novels, a few cushions, an inflatable pillow, a portable hard drive, a charger, a portable game console, and a thin blanket are all stored here.
I even deliberately set up a mosquito net to prevent insects from crawling on my belongings… It seems to have been effective now, as my things still look quite clean.
I took two cushions and returned to the pavilion. I put one cushion under myself, and the other… I walked over and extended it towards Jiang Xueqing.
Jiang Xueqing looked up at me, seemingly not understanding the meaning of my action.
I scratched my cheek and mumbled, “Uh, the stone bench is a bit cold, isn’t it? Sitting in a cold place might give you a stomach ache… So, this cushion is for you… Yeah, that’s it.”
Without waiting for her reply, I placed the cushion next to her and returned to my seat, taking out my phone to pass the time.
After a while, seeing that it was almost ten o’clock, I got up and put away my phone.
I looked towards Jiang Xueqing. She had sat on the cushion I placed next to her.
For some reason, seeing this, a sense of unearned accomplishment arose in my heart.
A smile naturally formed on my face, and my mood improved considerably. I picked up my cushion, preparing to leave, when Jiang Xueqing, sitting opposite me, also stood up. From her posture, it seemed she intended to return the cushion to me.
I waved my hand at her and said, “You don’t need to return it. Keep using it. After you’re done, just put it back in the earth god shrine on the side of the pavilion. If you come here to read again in the future, you can get cushions from there yourself. There’s also a blanket and other things, feel free to use them.”
I didn’t know why I suddenly did this… My usually hopeless passive personality had, for the first time, shown initiative and goodwill.
Perhaps it was because Jiang Xueqing was even more passive than I was… Was it out of a sense of shared misfortune?
I don’t know, but I just did it.
“…”
Although Jiang Xueqing still didn’t speak, I saw her nod slightly at me… This should be a nod of thanks, right?
I also nodded at her. Then, just as I was about to turn back to the classroom, I saw a scene that made my jaw drop.
I saw Jiang Xueqing’s name and title change from white to green.
It actually changed color?!
