Bone-Attached Disaster - Chapter 6:

Chapter 6: Downpour

Lu Jie was not that timid, nor would he engage in passing notes like a child. He had already mentally labeled Fu Jia’an an “uninteresting bookworm,” so he impatiently said, “Just close it then.”

He decided that after class, he would definitely talk to the homeroom teacher and insist on not sitting next to this guy anymore.

For the rest of the class, the two listened independently. Lu Jie’s nearly perfect exam paper was spread open in the center of the desk, but neither of them seemed to be looking at it.

Lu Jie even felt that it had been a long time since he focused so intently on a Physics lesson. Just before the class ended, Teacher Mo began discussing the last major problem, which was the only place Lu Jie had lost 5 points. The problem was worth 20 points in total, and he had simply missed a condition, causing him to get the final answer wrong.

He had re-calculated the answer on his scratch paper: $b = 9/130m$.

In fact, Lu Jie had been waiting all day for the moment the answer would be confirmed. This was supposed to be the perfect conclusion to his day, the moment that would redeem his lost points. Teacher Mo looked in his direction, but instead of calling Lu Jie’s name, he called another name for the first time: “Fu Jia’an.”

He smiled and asked, “Did you get the answer?”

Lu Jie quickly glanced at the notebook on Fu Jia’an’s desk. It was pristine, with nothing written on it except the note, 「I want to close the window」. He suddenly and desperately hoped the question would not be answered correctly, especially not by the person sitting next to him. Solve the answer without calculations? That only happens in TV dramas, right? Nonsense.

—I heard he’s someone who will threaten your position.

Lu Jie looked directly at Fu Jia’an, waiting for his reaction. At this point, the entire class had turned their heads, focusing their attention on Fu Jia’an.

Fu Jia’an shook his head, offering a seemingly apologetic smile.

Lu Jie sighed in relief. I knew it. How could anyone be that godly? Even if they were, they wouldn’t transfer to their class, would they? Does a genius still need to attend the senior year of high school?

Next, Teacher Mo naturally passed the question to Lu Jie. Lu Jie perfectly delivered the solution approach and the correct answer.

The whole lesson felt strange. As soon as the final bell rang, Lu Jie stood up, hands tucked into his pockets. He tried not to look like he was bullying anyone, but his tone was still brusque: “Come on, let’s go to the homeroom teacher now and ask to have our seats moved.”

Lu Jie was very tall. His shadow completely covered Fu Jia’an, and his expression, mirroring the continuous overcast rain outside, made him look unapproachable.

Fu Jia’an nodded, pointed to his throat, and then shook his head at Lu Jie.

Lu Jie was speechless. He instantly broke into a nervous sweat. Is he mute? Then wouldn’t he be bullying a person with a disability?

“Lu Jie, stop picking on the kid,” the class monitor, Peng Yuan, shouted from across the room. “He’s sick. His voice is hoarse, and he can’t talk.”

So his voice is hoarse, Lu Jie thought. You scared the hell out of me. But after this interruption, it felt awkward to drag a sick person around. He softened his tone and said, “Then wait until tomorrow… until your throat is better.”

Fu Jia’an smiled, his throat emitting a raspy whisper, seemingly saying thank you.

It’s hard to be angry at a smiling face. Besides, Lu Jie had felt he was too obedient since the start. He’s probably just a high-achieving nerd from his old school, right? Lu Jie decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. It wouldn’t matter once their seats were separated anyway.

“Jiang Yan, come on, let’s hang out outside.” Lu Jie was still annoyed and wanted to get some fresh air.

It was raining outside, but the corridor was empty. The two stood between the stone pillars, almost forming a scenic view. Lu Jie was thoughtful, hands in his pockets, while Jiang Yan was sprawled across the stone bench, sharing the gossip he had just gathered.

“We were in class just now, where did the gossip come from?” Lu Jie always believed that if Jiang Yan had been born in a time of war, he would have been a high-ranking officer in an underground intelligence network, especially skilled at pulling a fast one.

“Listening to the lecture? That’s what you good students do,” Jiang Yan said impatiently. “Your new deskmate, Fu Jia’an—”

Lu Jie’s heart inexplicably jumped. He was suddenly afraid that Jiang Yan would confirm that Fu Jia’an was a rare genius boy.

However, the second half of Jiang Yan’s sentence was: “He’s only 16.”

“16? Two years younger than us?” Lu Jie just breathed a sigh of relief when he realized the age implied something else—a student who had skipped grades, a gifted child.

Jiang Yan nodded, looking thoughtful. “But is he really that smart? Not necessarily. Don’t real geniuses go to college at fifteen?”

Lu Jie felt a little better. He wanted to reach over and say, You’re my internal voice, you think exactly like I do! The fact that that Fu-something could transfer into the top class of the senior year meant that no matter how smart he was, he was still at the level of a senior student. Otherwise, he should have gone to the gifted program at Q University.

“What about you? What do you think of your new deskmate?”

“What do I think?” Lu Jie looked at the trees in the rain outside. Since it was nearly autumn, some of the still-green leaves were being knocked down by the large raindrops. Just as he was about to speak, he saw someone with a backpack emerging from the classroom—it was the very Fu Jia’an they were discussing.

Lu Jie avoided making eye contact with his new deskmate, turning his head away coldly and continuing to pretend to chat casually with Jiang Yan. But the humorous conversation drifted through his mind emptily; he clearly knew his heart was already in turmoil.

After Fu Jia’an completely brushed past them and turned the corner into the hallway, Lu Jie’s eyes fell on the receding figure, blurred by the rain curtain. The answer he had wanted to give Jiang Yan surfaced in his mind.

—What do you think of your new deskmate?

—I have a strange premonition that the good times are over.

Class would start in five minutes. Jiang Yan was still dwelling on the funny inside jokes, and Lu Jie responded distractedly. The two returned to the classroom. Several people were clustered around Peng Yuan, asking about the new student. Peng Yuan was reluctant to say much. “He’s not feeling well. It seems his fever spiked again, so he went home.”

“I don’t think he had an umbrella…”

“Did someone come to pick him up?”

Peng Yuan said, “I don’t know. It seems like he doesn’t have many people in his family, and they’re all very busy with work.”

“……”

Fu Jia’an felt a heaviness in his limbs, an alternating chill and heat running through him. His throat felt like it was holding a hot iron, both painful and hoarse. A week-long cold had escalated into a fever, and he felt like he might faint if he stayed any longer.

It was only the first day of school; it was best not to cause such a commotion.

His brother had a night class at university, and his mother had surgery today and couldn’t leave. Even though he didn’t bring an umbrella, he didn’t want to message them and inconvenience them with a special trip.

Fu Jia’an stood at the exit of the senior building, debating whether to quickly cross the track in the rain or wait for the rain to lessen. He was unsure of his condition. Forget it, he looked up at the rapidly accumulating dark clouds. If I wait, it might get even heavier.

He walked into the rain, three steps, five steps.

The rain falling on him didn’t feel as heavy as he had imagined; it was bearable.

Walking further, Fu Jia’an recalled the Physics class. When Teacher Mo asked him to answer the question, he had quickly calculated the answer in his head: $b = 9/130m$. But his throat hurt too much, and he was too lazy to speak.

And his new deskmate, Lu Jie.

It’s nothing. Since childhood, Fu Jia’an was used to unprovoked hostility.

He heard hurried footsteps behind him. Powerful steps scuffed the tiled floor of the teaching building, quickly followed by the sound of splashing in puddles. The sound grew closer and closer.

“Hey! Wait up.”

Fu Jia’an turned around and saw Lu Jie, soaked in the rain, panting as he handed over an umbrella. He froze, surprised, looking at the much taller young man in front of him.

“Why are you staring? Do you want me to hold the umbrella for you?” Lu Jie complained, yet he still pressed the button on the umbrella handle with his finger. Click, the ribs opened. He raised it over both their heads from the side. Water flowed down in streams around the umbrella, almost forming a curtain separating them from the outside. Only then did Fu Jia’an realize that outside, it was a genuine downpour.

Fu Jia’an was about to say thank you when Lu Jie immediately lashed out: “Feverish and you still dare to walk home in the rain, you kid… If I hadn’t been by the window and seen you, I wouldn’t have come to bring you an umbrella.”

Ah, so he’s not bothered because he thinks I’m a child? This person was quite interesting. A slight smile appeared on Fu Jia’an’s face. He pointed at Lu Jie with his finger.

What about you?

It was uncanny. Even without a sound, Lu Jie understood what he meant. “I don’t need an umbrella. I’m much healthier than you and not afraid of getting wet. Besides, I live in the dorms, right near the senior building… Are you going to stay in the dorms?”

Fu Jia’an shook his head.

“A kid who’s good at being special,” Lu Jie muttered softly in complaint. “Then go on. I’m going back to class.”

Fu Jia’an nodded.

Countless people had asked Fu Jia’an if a genius’s life was free of troubles. But strangely, Lu Jie had never asked.

Perhaps it was because, from the first day they met, Lu Jie had seen Fu Jia’an walking home alone in the rain.