novel
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Chapter 18
The He Nuo who was sitting at the corner of the cla. s. sroom could clearly see the girl's every move. She slowly reached her hand into the table and gently searched its contents. When she took out Shi Yan's book, she looked like she was holding some sort of treasure. Her fingers caressed the cover of the book, and new tears were starting to form in her eyes.
He Nuo couldn't understand what kind of feelings could push this girl to willingly sacrifice her own life while Shi Yan couldn't be less bothered. He admitted that Shi Yan is a tall and handsome young man, whose movements oozed elegance and suavity and he would sometimes even give off an imposing air: but these were just privileges of his beauty and a by-product of his superior familial environment. When he returned, he realised that Shi Yan's grades were nothing like before, but his flirtatiousness and arrogance had turned up a notch.
He Nuo waited for her mood to stabilize before walking to the front row and jumped onto a table to sit on it, a few tables away from her: "Are you done? Do you want to put it in his table? Or I could help you pa. s. s it to him."
A pear-faced beauty with remnants of tear stains on her face: "I don't know what to write?" Her pitiful tone caused He Nuo to sigh in exasperation and he didn't know if he should pity her.
"Then, what do you want to write?"
The girl's face instantly flushed red, and she stuttered as she couldn't get her words out. Her hand was still unconsciously turning over the contents in Shi Yan's table when it touched something plastic; when she took it out, she saw that it was a tape. Her eyes began to redden once again, and she choked as she said, "He loves singing the most, his singing sounds really, really wonderful. In the past, he would always sing for me."
He Nuo couldn't see what she was holding clearly, so his eyebrows scrunched up as he narrowed his eyes.
The girl threw the tape over to him; on the cover there were a few people with long hair dressed from head to toe in black carrying guitars in their hands. He Nuo didn't recognize any of them, and he saw that at the side there were two words written on it, "Black Panther".
"This is the tape of a new band that just debuted, I was even planning on buying one for him, but looks like he already has one." Her voice died out along with the colour on her face. The girl pondered a bit before saying, "Shi Yan said he doesn't like their songs, and I don't think their songs are nice at all, it just sounds like a bunch of ghosts and wolves wailing and howling. I couldn't stand their singing, so I didn't finish listening."
"I know that even if he doesn't like them, he would still learn how to sing these songs, because apparently the moment this band debuted, they became super popular and sensational. Shi Yan likes to chase trends."
"You know him very well."
"Un." The girl immediately nodded her head gravely, "I'm the one who understands him the most."
"Then, why not you be him while I ask you a few questions?"
The girl looked at him doubtfully, "You don't think I understand him? I-" she paused for a few seconds, then looked away, "I like him so much, how could I not understand him."
"Shi Yan, do you think the songs sound good?" He Nuo didn't really bother and just treated her as Shi Yan as he threw his question at her. He purposely acted like how Shi Yan's buddies would act - casual and relaxed.
The girl was stunned, then allowed herself to fall into the role and recalled how Shi Yan looks like as he spoke, then casually replied, "Meh, it's so-so. Sounds like they're just screaming hysterically, I had to stop halfway when I was listening to it last night. Even my cat shrieked and hid underneath my bed, I had to use snacks as a bait to lure him out. After he finished, he was still purring in protest against this torture."
"So you don't like it?
"Hmm, I'll still need to enjoy it slowly, right now I've only learnt to sing half of it before I couldn't continue on. Looks like I still need to train my heart a bit more to withstand its shock."
"Everyone says you sing well, so who would you say sings better - the band or you?"
"Of course, the professional band is better at singing."
"Shi Yan, does Black Panther really sound that bad?" He Nuo pretended to look interested.
"Haven't I already said so? Their singing is a kind of torture, the kind that tortures both your ears and your heart." The girl's imitation of Shi Yan's arrogance was really on point.
He Nuo's eyes leaked hints of a smile, "Black Panther's songs torture people's ears, hearts, and even cats aren't spared;" then he looked straight into the girls' eyes, "But, Shi Yan, no matter what, they are still professional band singers who sing better than you. When you sing to us when you have nothing better to do, do you know how much shock that brings to our hearts? Have you ever thought of that? Our ears and hearts have always been cruelly tortured by your demonic voice that pierces through people's brains!"
The girl was stunned into silence and looked a bit silly. Because she didn't act out her role wrongly, the hypocritical Shi Yan would definitely say that the band would sing better than him; the one who acted his role wrongly was He Nuo, no one would dare speak to Shi Yan like this.
He Nuo saw the girl's mouth twitch slightly, but she didn't say anything. The smile on her face grew bigger and bigger, and eventually she broke out into raucous laughter. He Nuo ended up smiling too.
"See, this is the kind of hypocrite you love. What do you like about him? Let's continue our duet."
The girl who stopped laughing tilted her head to a side and thought about it, then started talking to herself, "I like his handsomeness, but the Little Tigers are handsome too; I like his humour, but this duet is even funnier... what do I like about him?"
He Nuo had already walked over to the window to close it, then sat in front of her, "Is he worth it? If you think that you don't have the face to continue staying here, then isn't it a better choice to study hard and get into a university far away from here?"
These words came from He Nuo's heart - He Nuo was banking on getting into a university far away from this place, and it would be the place where he could start over. He would never return to this place ever again.
The girl looked at him, and the tears in her eyes that had formed retreated and didn't fall down her cheeks. She looked at He Nuo gratefully, "Thank you, thank you for not looking down on me, and you even taught me how to continue walking forward." At this time, the girl suddenly realised that this boy who was dressed in simple and plain clothes had a pair of clear eyes, unclouded by a single speck of dust.
"Then hurry and go back to study, right now getting into university should be the most important thing for you." He Nuo was relieved at how the girl could understand his efforts immediately, if he had met a more clingy one, then He Nuo didn't think that he would have the ability to persuade her. So he quickly smiled and said, "I have to lock up.". Actually, He Nuo was already quite late so he felt quite anxious.
The girl's eyes suddenly fell back on He Nuo's face, and He Nuo thought that she still had something to say, so he waited for her to speak. In the end, she very seriously spit out the two words, "Thank you", looked into his eyes even more deeply, then left.
He Nuo packed his bag and quickly locked the door. As he was locking the door, a sudden breathing sound that came from the darkness startled him. He quickly turned around and a person's image entered his line of sight.
Shi Yan crossed his arms as he leaned against a wall, the corridor was only lit up by the lights that shone in from the outside so He Nuo couldn't see his face clearly, but he could see a pair of bright eyes glaring at him. He Nuo's head went blank, and he couldn't react to Shi Yan's sudden appearance.
TN: It's starting... I'm excited and upset already ;__;
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