Fever Break - Chapter 10

The wind rustled through the small grove of trees behind the building.

Shen Yixi leaned against the window, his arms resting on the sill, a cigarette lazily hanging from his fingertips.

Lu Wuke stood against the wall, and from Shen Yixi’s angle above, he could only see a small part of her profile. She seemed quite practiced as she opened her cigarette case and pulled one out. Her fingers were slender and pale, usually used for holding a pen, but at that moment, they were gripping a cigarette.

Beautiful, yet peculiar.

Shen Yixi watched her like that, blowing a smoke ring out.

Lu Wuke took out a lighter, lighting the cigarette before bringing it to her lips. Her small face, no bigger than a palm, had thin, moist red lips. She slightly parted her lips to hold the smoke.

She looked so attractive.

Shen Yixi chuckled, taking a deep drag from his cigarette.

For some reason, looking at the girl below, he suddenly felt like being a bit mischievous, or perhaps just bored and wanting to tease her. With that thought, he actually went ahead and did it.

He deliberately cleared his throat in a nonchalant manner.

The studious girl below seemed to have not realized there was someone above, pausing for a moment before looking up in response. Her features were delicate and well-defined, her black eyes looking at him like a little deer.

No matter how you looked at her, she seemed pure, yet her eyes were calm to the extreme, showing no sign of panic at being caught.

Shen Yixi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

As a result, the little girl choked the next second.

He didn’t know if she was scared by him or what, but she didn’t inhale the smoke at all and ended up choking quite badly. Her voice was soft and delicate, clearly trying to suppress her cough, but it only made her cough harder, turning her ears bright red.

This heartless Shen Yixi, after causing such a ruckus, showed no sign of remorse and laughed with his shoulders slightly shaking.

The girl’s face was clearly not rough; sure enough, it didn’t take long for tears to well up in her eyes, making her eye circles red.

It was as if he had bullied her.

Shen Yixi looked at her eyes and clicked his tongue.

Before he could say anything, Lu Wuke turned and ran away.

Shen Yixi watched her retreating figure and chuckled softly, “Fuck.”

He extinguished his cigarette on the windowsill, not knowing who he was speaking to when he said, “Why learn something bad like smoking?”

Xu Zhiyi saw that he was talking to the outside while looking at documents, and casually asked him, “Who are you talking to, laughing so happily?”

Shen Yixi simply stood up and turned around, leaning against the windowsill with his arm resting on the ledge. He glanced outside again before smiling and bringing his gaze back: “It’s nothing.”

He asked him again, “Are you done?”

Xu Zhiyi had just finished organizing the pile of things on the desk. She stood up and grabbed her coat from the back of the chair, saying, “You asked at just the right time.”

Shen Yixi smiled a little, stood up, and walked outside, saying, “Then let’s go.”

=

When one was younger, It seems that the coolest thing was to go against the grain, as if everything in this world was an opposition, making one seem unique and extraordinary.

Ah Shi is that kind of person. After dinner, the two of them had nothing to do and went for a walk on the playground. Passing by the convenience store, Ah Shi insisted on buying ice cream on this cold day.

The single and double bars on the school playground were just decorations, all occupied by girls standing around chatting.

After that day, Lu Wuke had a sore throat for two days.

Ah Shi pressed her for details, and she said it was from eating hot pot.

Lu Wuke, the kind of person who lies with a serious face, could easily fool anyone.

Her personality was quite different from her appearance.

Ah Shi hung her arms on the bar, holding the ice cream high in front of her, tearing off the outer paper: “Lu Wuke, with your looks, you must be a romantic heroine in a novel, your body is like it’s made of water.”

Lu Wuke scooped a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, utterly indifferent: “You’ve read too many novels.”

“I’m being serious,” Ah Shi explained her high school experiences, “back in high school, we couldn’t take a day off for any little illness. There was a time I wanted to skip class, guess what I did?”

Without thinking, Lu Wuke blurted out the dumbest answer: “Ran in the rain?”

Ah Shi raised an eyebrow: “How did you know?”

Lu Wuke: “….”

Ah Shi chuckled, “Isn’t it very ‘chuunibyou’*?”

“You only just realized that now.”

“Right? I think so too,” Ah Shi bit into her ice cream angrily, her teeth chattering from the cold, “Not only is it ‘chuunibyou’, but it’s also completely useless.”

She held up three fingers to Lu Wuke: “Three hours, you know? I stood in the pouring rain for three hours and it didn’t do a thing. My skin is tough and thick, practically impenetrable. Unlike you, who can burn your mouth just by drinking hot water, you actually look like a girl.”

For some reason, Lu Wuke recalled how she had gotten smoke in her eyes a few days ago, making them red. She silently rolled her eyes.

Slowly eating her ice cream, she said, “Have you ever heard your grandma say that being delicate isn’t a good thing?”

“I’m telling you,” Ah Shi leaned in as if sharing a secret, “guys just love delicate girls with good figures. Don’t be fooled by how they dress up all stylish; behind the scenes, they all prefer big breasts and someone who can act cute and clingy.”

Lu Wuke wasn’t sure if she was even listening, and after a while, she asked, “Really?”

There was no emotion in her voice.

Ah Shi replied, “Yeah, back in high school, a bunch of boys in our class were crazy about Fan Bingbing. They were all her fans.”

When she mentioned the fans, Ah Shi even made a gesture towards her chest.

Lu Wuke immediately understood: “Oh.”

At that time, every moment felt leisurely and lazy. Even the sunset hanging in the sky seems to be sinking into a drowsy haze. There’s not much benefit in it, but aimless chatting has suddenly become interesting.

On the way back, Lu Wuke received a message from the senior who had helped her find a job last time. It contained the address, phone number, and the contact person’s name.

Ah Shi, with keen eyes, caught sight of it and asked her what it was.

Lu Wuke replied, “A senior helped me find a job.”

Without waiting for Ah Shi to ask, she said, “Job at a bar.”

“Bar?” Although Ah Shi usually seems wild and carefree, and there aren’t many places she hasn’t been to. However, she hasn’t been to a bar much; in her imagination, bars are like the chaotic, fighting scenes in movies.

In reality, she has been to one and has indeed encountered such movie-like scenes.

A few guys drinking together got into a fight over two girls. When men drink, they become fearless, and those young men, with their reckless abandon, swung glass bottles at each other’s heads. At that moment, Ah Shi, who was nearby, almost got caught in the crossfire; she only remembers that incident vividly.

She asked Lu Wuke, “Are you really going to a bar?”

Lu Wuke put her phone away, “Well, I don’t have anything else to do.”

“Not that,” Ah Shi stared at her face, “With a face like yours, men will get reckless after a few drinks.”

“Not that exaggerated.”

“I’m serious,” Ah Shi said, “Especially with a pretty girl like you.”

Lu Wuke didn’t say anything, letting Ah Shi mess with her hair. Ah Shi insisted that dyeing her hair would make her look more intimidating, and she should wear heavy European-style smoky makeup. Lu Wuke couldn’t be bothered to respond. She thought that would be the end of it, but the next morning, Ah Shi dragged her to a hair salon.

Unlike Ah Shi’s vibrant red hair, Lu Wuke had never dyed her hair; it was naturally black.

The salon owner was a woman in her thirties, smooth-talking, and she flattered Lu Wuke about her face and hair, saying any color would look good on her.

Ah Shi, who usually seemed sharper than anyone, was actually quite gullible. Just a few words from the boss lady can easily sway her, and she ended up picking a package that was several hundred more than the others.

Lu Wuke didn’t say a word. Upon hearing this, she asked the boss lady for the order in her hand and a pen. Right in front of the boss lady, she decisively crossed out the most expensive package that Ah Shi had just noted down and replaced it with the most cost-effective one. After that, she returned the order to the boss lady.

The boss lady had initially thought she could easily sway Lu WuKe with her quiet demeanor, assuming she wouldn’t need to put in much effort and focused instead on the talkative Ah Shi.

For the boss, it was undoubtedly a missed opportunity, as she had hoped to persuade Lu WuKe a bit more, but after a couple of attempts, she realized this girl was quite clever. So, she decided to cut her losses and left to have someone wash Lu WuKe’s hair.

In the end, it was Ah Shi who chose the color—a grandma gray.

Ah Shi said that the color doesn’t look good, it can’t be dyed; she said that if Lu Wuke dyed it, it would definitely look good. Standing in a bar, she’d look like a little punk, and which guy would dare to have any ulterior motives?

Dyeing hair is a big project. Ah Shi was slumped on the sofa playing games until her phone ran out of battery, and Lu Wuke was still not done. She simply moved a chair next to Lu Wuke and chatted with her.

After a few hours, Ah Shi was so hungry that her stomach was pressed against her back. As soon as Lu Wuke finished her hair, she was dragged off to find a place to eat.

After eating, it was impossible to let Ah Shi stay in the dormitory; she sweet-talked and persuaded Lu Wuke to accompany her to the arcade until four in the afternoon. They took the bus to school, which passed through the urban village, where the old rural residential buildings were mixed together. Ah Shi, feeling drowsy, leaned on her shoulder and fell asleep.

When they arrived at the station, Lu Wuke woke Ah Shi up. They reached the school just in time for the end of classes, and the entire campus visibly came alive.

The two strolled leisurely through the dormitory while sipping milk tea. The campus at four o’clock was the most relaxed, with the sunset casting a thin layer of light over the teaching building. Most of the teaching buildings at the school looked quite similar, reflecting a style from over a decade ago. The last time Lu Wuke saw such a building was back in elementary school.

As they passed by the fourth teaching building, someone suddenly shouted a name from somewhere.

It was the bold and audacious Xu Wanrou.

As soon as Ah Shi heard it, she knew who it was, cursing, “That son of a dog, Qi Siming.”

She looked around, trying to see where the person was hiding.

But it was Qi Siming who spoke up first: “What are you looking for? Over here, second floor.”

Lu Wuke instinctively glanced in that direction upon hearing this.

On the second floor of the teaching building, those few boys must have just finished class, leaning against the railing outside, smoking and chatting aimlessly.

It was originally just an unconscious glance, but she immediately spotted someone right in the middle. That person can be picked out at a glance no matter where they go.

Shen Yixi didn’t look over, probably not interested.

Qi Siming leaned casually against the railing and asked Ah Shi, “Where did you go to have fun?”

Ah Shi still remembered her grudge and replied, “None of your business.”

Qi Siming laughed, “Come on, little girl, why is your temper so explosive?”

They were in the same class and often exchanged banter, so they could easily trade a few words standing there.

Lu Wuke didn’t urge Ah Shi, sipping her milk tea.

The person in the middle of the railing was holding a cigarette and joking with the person next to them.

The hair color was indeed eye-catching, making it hard not to be noticed. Shen Yixi seemed to glance over but quickly lost interest and looked away.

Just as he turned away for a second, his hand holding the cigarette paused.

Then, he glanced over.

The person with gray hair had a face that he had seen just a few days ago at Xu Zhiyi’s place.

Lu Wuke inadvertently raised her eyes and met his gaze.

The person next to him said something to him, but he didn’t respond, taking a deep drag from his cigarette and squinting at her.

Lu Wuke was the first to lower her eyes, pretending not to know him.

Shen Yixi raised an eyebrow.

At that moment, Qi Siming, who was in a heated argument with Ah Shi, also noticed her. Looking at her fair and petite figure, he joked with Ah Shi, “Why don’t you introduce me to that beauty next to you?”

Ah Shi dismissed him, “No way, I won’t introduce her to you.”

Lu Wuke could feel Shen Yixi still looking at her. She tugged at Ah Shi’s sleeve, “Let’s go.”

Only then did Ah Shi respond to Qi Siming, “We’re leaving.”

Qi Siming replied, “Alright, remember to bring your English homework tomorrow so I can borrow it to copy.”

Once they left, the more Qi Siming thought about it, the more he felt that face looked familiar.

It didn’t take long for him to match it with a face in his mind: “Damn, the milk tea girl?”

He asked Shen Yixi, “That person just now was the milk tea girl, right? I didn’t see it wrong, did I?”

Shen Yixi, indifferent, took a drag from his cigarette and glanced at him: “Don’t you know better than I do?”

Qi Siming thought for a moment and hissed, “I thought she was just a studious girl, low-key and quiet. I didn’t expect she had this side to her.”

Just after he finished speaking, he heard Shen Yixi chuckle beside him.

He thought of those lips that had held a cigarette that day.

Qi Siming, puzzled, looked at him and asked, “What’s wrong?”

The sunset was gradually being scattered by the wind.

Shen Yixi didn’t say anything, crushed the cigarette on the corridor, and put his hands in his pockets as he walked downstairs.

1. 1. 1. 1. Chuunibyou is a Japanese term that refers to a phase that some adolescents go through, characterized by exaggerated self-importance, delusions of grandeur, and a tendency to believe in strange or fantastical things.