The Scorching Sun - 4

Over in the boys' dormitory, the lights had also been cut for the night.

The five occupants fumbled through the dark for a bit, then quickly settled into their beds.

Up on the top bunk, Yan Lie tossed and turned several times, unable to sleep. Finally, he dropped one arm over the edge of the bed and knocked against the ladder.“Hey, Cake,” he called. “You know anything about your jie’s situation?”

The room fell quiet as everyone listened in.

Shen Musi was baffled. "I don't have a jie?"

Two seconds later, it clicked. "Oh, you mean Fang Zhuo?”

Despite always keeping to herself, Fang Zhuo's name came up surprisingly often in the boys' dorm. Especially when she'd first transferred in, she had caused quite a stir back then.

After all, she was strikingly pretty, her face pale and delicate, giving people the impression that she needed protecting. That fragile exterior softened her cold aura and gave all the boys a false sense of confidence.

After orbiting around her for a while, however, they'd all woken up to reality. They had underestimated Fang Zhuo and vastly overestimated themselves. The girl was completely impenetrable and had no pleasant expression for any guy who approached her.

Zhao Jiayou recalled, "I heard she's got a pretty sharp tongue. Some guy from the class next door confessed to her once. She roasted him so hard he probably needs therapy now.”

Yan Lie jerked upright. "No way.”

Fang Zhuo? Sharp-tongued? She looked like she'd have to rack her brain for ages just to come up with a single insult.

A guy in the bunk by the window spoke up. “That’s exaggerated. I sat with her for a bit last year. She's not that antisocial, really. Just can't be bothered with people. More like... the cool aloof type. We were assigned cleaning duties together before. Every time I asked her to help, she always said yes. Pretty easy to get along with, honestly.”

The class monitor from the corner bunk chimed in too. “Yeah. Old Zhao, don't even bring up that guy from the next class. He thought just because Fang Zhuo’s poor and he had some money, he could act all condescending around her. His attitude pissed her off, so she fired back. I swear those guys all have something wrong with their heads. They treat chasing Fang Zhuo like some kind of challenge run, thinking winning her would earn them bragging rights. Do they ever look at their own sorry faces? No shame whatsoever. If it were me, I’d curse them out too.”

Yan Lie turned his head. His lowered voice sounded tight. "What do you mean?"

The monitor sighed. "Her family's situation really does seem pretty rough. I've run into her in the cafeteria a few times, and it's never during meal hours. She always eats the simplest meals. And she's got no phone. Everyone's carrying smartphones now, but she doesn’t even own a Nokia.”

With everyone wearing school uniforms every day, it wasn't easy to tell who came from money and who didn't. Besides, Fang Zhuo had transferred in only a year ago and had kept her distance from everyone. Most people wouldn’t notice much unless they were paying particular attention.

They'd all vaguely sensed Fang Zhuo's family situation probably wasn't great. She lived with extreme frugality, everything from the shoes on her feet to her everyday school supplies looked cheap and well-worn.

But just how deep that "not great" went, none of them had ever really dug into.

Yan Lie's voice turned cold, carrying an edge that sounded unsettling in the darkness: "That's not what I'm asking. Condescending how?"

The class monitor was just about to explain exactly what he meant by "condescending" when Shen Musi, who'd been lost in thought for a while, suddenly dropped a bombshell. 

"I'm only telling you guys this, don't breathe a word of this outside. Once we step out of this dorm room, I'm denying everything. Thing is, over break I ran into Fang Zhuo working some under-the-table job. She was sitting in an alley eating a boxed meal, so exhausted her hands were shaking. I don't think her family takes care of her at all. And last year, Class monitor, remember when you insisted everyone buy matching white outfits for the arts festival? That hundred-something yuan? Fang Zhuo went out and earned it herself by working odd jobs."

Silence filled the room.

A moment later, the entire dorm exploded.

"Holy crap, why didn't you say something before?" the class monitor shouted.

“I did!” Shen Musi sounded deeply wronged. “When you first brought it up, I interrupted and said it wasn't necessary! But you criticized me! You said it was our last arts festival together and we needed collective spirit! Everyone backed you up! What was I supposed to do, announce in front of everyone that Fang Zhuo couldn't afford it? She's got way too much pride for that!"

The class monitor stared blankly into the darkness. "I had no idea! Then... why didn't she apply for financial aid?"

Zhao Jiayou, swept up in the fervor, added, "No wonder I noticed she was looking poorer and poorer."

Yan Lie: "Shh—"

Everyone sucked in a collective breath, forcing their rising voices back down their throats before the dorm supervisor caught on.

Once they'd calmed down, Zhao Jiayou sighed, "I think she's really beautiful. Exactly my type. Seriously, she's completely my type."

The conversation hit a sudden, stagnant wall. The other four occupants of the dorm had absolutely no interest in indulging him.

Zhao Jiayou drifted into his own fantasy. "Say, if I brought her breakfast every day, let her feel the warmth of human connection, do you think she'd be so touched she'd fall with me?"

"Ha." the class monitor scoffed. "That's probably what those bastards in the next class thought."

Zhao Jiayou immediately bristled. “I'm different! I'm sincere! How can you compare me to those guys? That's insulting!"

Shen Musi drawled, "The homeroom teacher would probably haul you into her office for having puppy love first. You can experience her warmth instead then."

Zhao Jiayou deflated instantly. "Never mind. Her philosophy on life is way too torturous."

Everyone assumed the topic was finally over, but Zhao Jiayou, insufferable to the last, started rambling off a string of shameless nonsense. "After all, a guy like me, this handsome, with good grades and good hygiene, is bound to be the teacher's primary surveillance target. The second I make a move, she'll be on high alert..."

Without a word, Shen Musi climbed down from his bunk, walked over, yanked Zhao Jiayou's pillow free, and firmly smothered his face with it.

"Shut up!" he raged, having finally been pushed past his limit. "What gives you the right to gross people out in the middle of the night?!"

The two wrestled for a while. After burning off enough energy, they finally settled down and went to sleep.

That night, all of them slept fitfully. Their dreams were plagued by one random, chaotic scene after another.

***

Early the next morning, Yan Lie and Zhao Jiayou were the first to get up. They went to the cafeteria for breakfast and grabbed takeout for the lazy bums still asleep back in the dorm.

They'd just gotten through the line when they spotted Fang Zhuo's figure in the vast sea of people.

Maybe it was because of last night's conversation, but Zhao Jiayou couldn't help seeing her through a new lens. She suddenly looked lonely, helpless, and pitiful. Then he noticed the irritating pest hovering beside her, his temper instantly boiled over. A harsh snort blasted from his nose.

Throwing an arm around Yan Lie's shoulders, he pointed ahead indignantly. "Come on. Time to play the hero and save the beauty."

The two walked up behind Fang Zhuo just in time to see Bai Lufei, face thick as a brick, laying it on with a greasy spiel. "Why'd you give me money? I bought the stuff because I wanted to. Don't misunderstand. I just want to be friends."

Fang Zhuo shot him a sideways glance. Even an outsider could see the impatience dripping from it. "And?"

Bai Lufei smiled. "And express some friendly affection between classmates."

Zhao Jiayou pulled a disgusted face. Afraid that Fang Zhuo wasn't good at fending off pests, he was about to speak up. But Fang Zhuo set her stainless steel bowl down on the table, her patience officially run out. “You’re not lacking affection,” she said coolly. “You’re lacking several screws in your head. That’s why normal human speech doesn’t register with you.”

 

Bai Lufei: "..."

Fang Zhuo held up her chopsticks. “Considering how much of the motherland’s grain you’ve consumed over the years, you're at least a reserve labor asset. I wouldn't mind lodging one of these right in the top of your skull to help."

Zhao Jiayou: "..."

Fang Zhuo let out a cold laugh. "Need me to?"

Yan Lie: "..."

Yan Lie swallowed hard, shivered, and whispered into Zhao Jiayou's ear, "Still thinking about bringing her breakfast every day until she falls for you?"

Zhao Jiayou shook his head, deeply horrified by his past lack of judgment. He said, humbly, "I'm afraid she'd turn my skull into an incense burner."

Bai Lufei's face cycled through shades of white and green.

Fang Zhuo gripped the rim of her bowl. Her emotionless stare locked onto him. If Bai Lufei took even one step closer, she would not hesitate to fling this bowl of congee straight into his face.

Before any sparks could fly, Yan Lie dropped into the seat right between them.

Fang Zhuo's gaze shifted down to him, brows arching slightly.

Resting his chin in one hand, Yan Lie greeted her cheerfully. "Morning."

His slightly tousled hair curled softly at the ends. Sitting with the bright cafeteria entrance behind him, his clear eyes seemed to glow in the sunlight, a brilliant infectious smile lit up his face. Without saying a word, he flicked his gaze toward a certain direction.

Fang Zhuo stared at his face for a long beat. Then the fingers clenched around her bowl slowly relaxed. She ignored the person still standing there, lowered her head, and resumed eating her congee in silence.

Zhao Jiayou positioned himself in front of Bai Lufei, grinning. "Teacher's right over there. Come any closer and I'll yell that you're harassing someone. Also, if you've got nothing important, quit bothering Fang Zhuo. Every time she sees you, she has to invent brand-new insults. Do you know how exhausting that is?”

Bai Lufei ground his teeth. Before he could get a word out, Zhao Jiayou physically steered him off toward some other part of the cafeteria.

After Bai Lufei was gone, Yan Lie took his breakfast and left too. Fang Zhuo finished eating, tidied her tray, and made her way quietly back to the classroom.

***

Following morning exercises and the long break afterward, students flooded noisily off the sports field. Shen Musi dragged Yan Lie to the school store.

The place was packed shoulder to shoulder inside. Yan Lie hated crowds, so he stayed outside to wait.

The floor-to-ceiling windows hadn't been cleaned in ages, their glass filmed with grime. Tall as he was, Yan Lie stood out no matter where he went. He found a shady spot, casually turned around, and through the mottled glass spotted Fang Zhuo standing before one of the shelves.

She was bent over, searching carefully through the rows of merchandise. A moment later, she picked up a pair of shoes, checked the price tag, let out a tiny breath of what looked like relief, and put them back.

Yan Lie smiled to himself at the sight. By the time he got back to the classroom, Fang Zhuo was already there.

As if oblivious, he pulled his chair back and sat down, idly flipping through a book on his desk—and found fifty yuan tucked inside.

"Whoa." He pocketed the money, delighted, then spotted the two strawberry cakes sitting at the corner of his desk and laughed under his breath. "How'd the God of Wealth know I love little cakes?"

Fang Zhuo had been trying not to look at him, but hearing this, she couldn’t help glancing over. At that exact moment, Yan Lie's amused gaze collided with hers.

He raised the cake in salute, smiling openly. "Thanks!"  

Fang Zhuo gave a soft "Mm."

...Clueless straight guy.

Fang Zhuo lowered her head thoughtfully.

So what does that make Bai Lufei and his ilk? Industrial waste? 

---

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