Fever Break - Chapter 8

That day, Shen Yixi didn’t make things difficult for her, or to put it another way, he had no intention of doing so at all.

Lu Wuke left the supermarket, and behind her, she heard that person talking to the cashier, asking for a cigarette.

Since that day, Lu Wuke rarely saw Shen Yixi again.

With the school’s anniversary celebration approaching, all the major clubs were busy rehearsing their performances, and those that would be featured in the celebration had been decided early in the semester. The school leaders selected performances like sifting through sand, cutting down many from the remaining options.

Lu Wuke’s personality wasn’t exactly introverted, but it wasn’t extroverted either. When she first entered college, everyone was filled with dreams of university life, participating in various club interviews. As for her, she would just lie on her bed every day after eating, folding dozens of paper cranes from the flyers she picked up on the street.

Later, it was Ah Shi who forcibly dragged her to join a club.

Lu Wuke joined the dance club, and last semester, a senior in the club signed her up for a solo classical dance performance. After three rounds of rehearsals and selections, her performance was selected.

On Thursday afternoon, Lu Wuke had no classes. After staying in the dorm for a while, she packed her things and went to the dance studio. At this time, most people are on their lunch break. As she walked through, most classrooms were empty, with hardly anyone around. Lu Wuke held the key that her senior had given her and opened a door to one of the classrooms.

The classroom had three walls made of glass and a deep brown wooden floor.

Lu Wuke walked in, took off her knitted cardigan, and placed it along with her bag on the floor. She was wearing just a black fitted cotton T-shirt on top. At this age, girls are at their most beautiful appearance, with their bodies perfectly shaped, and her curves accentuated beautifully.

Ah Shi often said that Lu Wuke had a delicate face but possessed the kind of figure that girls dream of having. She said it was as if heaven had rewarded her with a good meal; God must have been wide awake when creating Lu Wuke.

Lu Wuke casually tied her hair into a bun with a rubber band, letting a few strands fall delicately on her fair neck. After doing some warm-up exercises, she finally played some music. The sound of the guzheng and pipa ensemble flowed slowly, echoing slightly in the empty classroom.

Lu Wuke sat on the floor, hugging her knees and staring at her toes, lost in thought as the music played. It wasn’t until halfway through the piece that she snapped back to reality. She reached out to rewind the music, stood up, and went through the dance again.

Though she was performing classical dance, it was no less strenuous than other dances, with plenty of challenging moves. After several repetitions, Lu Wuke was already feeling slightly hot. Feeling tired from practice, Lu Wuke sat down to rest, casually tying her hair into a bun, letting a few strands fall loose.

The dance club’s senior sent her a message, asking her to come by for a meeting. After the meeting, it would be just in time for dinner, so they could go eat together. Lu Wuke picked up the nearby knitted cardigan and put it on, stuffing her phone back into her bag and zipping it up, preparing to get up from the floor. When she looked up, she met a gaze outside the classroom.

To be precise, it was from outside the opposite classroom, near the back door.

Shen Yixi was leaning against the corridor, his arms casually draped over the railing behind him. With a cigarette clamped in his mouth, not lit, just loosely bite down. Lu Wuke didn’t know how long he had been watching him here, or perhaps it was just a coincidence that he glanced this way.

The sun had been quite harsh these days; Shen Yixi must have found it blinding, squinting slightly before turning his head away.

Lu Wuke also shifted her gaze, got up, grabbed her bag as she walked out of the classroom. With the key in the lock, she casually locked the door.

The surroundings were so quiet that a pin drop could be heard, with only a few voices coming from the adjacent classroom. The sound of a lock clicking echoed, and it seemed that Shen Yixi glanced at her again. He was simply drawn in by the sound, a subconscious reaction.

Lu Wuke picked up the keys and walked through the corridor.

Suddenly, loud music blared from next door, the kind of sexy dance music typical of Korean girl groups.

As she approached the stairwell, a few boys from opposite her.

“Yan Yingying is really clingy,” one boy said. “At first, I didn’t realize she could be so spoiled. Yi ge was busy gaming and she insisted on having someone come get her at the rehearsal.”

Yan Yingying had only been shy when she first started pursuing someone, but within a few days, she was effortlessly acting spoiled and playful.

The facts proved that this tactic was indeed endearing; any guy would fall for it.

“Are we going to drink later? Is she going too?”

“Of course, otherwise why would we bother coming to get her?” As soon as Qi Siming finished speaking, he saw Lu Wuke walking over from the opposite side.

He recognized her at first glance. Qi Siming was naturally sociable; as long as he had met someone once, he could strike up a conversation with anyone. Seeing Lu Wuke, he instinctively greeted her.

“Milk tea—”

Just as he said those two words, he realized he had spoken too quickly and wanted to change his words, but he couldn’t remember her name at that moment.

Lu Wuke glanced at him, then looked away and walked past him directly.

Qi Siming clicked his tongue.

A few friends nearby saw everything clearly and couldn’t stop laughing, teasing Qi Siming one by one.

“Are you interested in her? She didn’t even acknowledge you.”

“Qi Siming, don’t be too confident, Your last name isn’t Shen.”

“Damn,” Qi Siming laughed in frustration, “So you guys think you know what you’re doing, huh?”

=

Shen Yixi could hear the group of people quarreling as they walked over from a distance.

Qi Siming called out loudly from far away, “Is the dancing done?”

Shen Yixi tilted his head to look at him, too lazy to respond, and nodded towards the classroom.

Seeing his gesture, Qi Siming understood that they hadn’t finished and walked over to him.

In the classroom, several girls from the dance department are dancing, each one of them looks like they’ve been sculpted from a mold, with curves in all the right places and legs as slender as chopsticks.

A few guys stared wide-eyed and urged Shen Yixi to let his girlfriend introduce them.

Shen Yixi asked Qi Siming for a lighter and was lowering his head to light a cigarette.

Hearing theirrequest, he lifted his gaze, a deep crease forming on his eyelid.

Then he smiled slightly and tossed the lighter at Qi Siming: “Go ask her yourself.”

Only Qi Siming knew that Shen Yixi couldn’t be bothered with such trivial matters. He leaned against Shen Yixi, mirroring his posture against the corridor.

“Hey, Yi ge, did you just see the milk tea girl? I saw her walking this way,” Qi Siming said.

Shen Yixi stood without any proper stance, one arm stretched out resting against the corridor, bringing the cigarette to his lips.

He probably didn’t remember her, exhaling a puff of smoke: “Who?”

“Dude, Yi ge, you’re not good,” Qi Siming joked, “It’s only been a few days, and you’ve forgotten her completely. What have you been doing to lose your memory so fast?”

Shen Yixi didn’t even glance at him, casually snorting a laugh through his nose.

“Whether I’m doing well or not, I don’t know,” he said as if discussing the weather, “But as for being your dad, I definitely know.”

Qi Siming didn’t take the joke as intended and instead played along as the sonQi Siming’s joke didn’t land, but instead, he ended up with a son. He said, “So I’m your son, so what? Being a younger generation isn’t bad, it’s pretty youthful. It’s great.”

After saying that, he asked Shen Yixi, “Which bar are we hitting tonight?”

Someone overheard and immediately got interested, leaning in to suggest, “How about that bar in the south of the city? Didn’t they say a few hot girls showed up there recently?”

Qi Siming clicked his tongue a few times and shook his head, “Bro, they’re underage, underage.”

The man pointed at him, laughing and cursing, “Don’t give me that crap; you’re the one who watches the most adult films!”

Qi Siming cursed back, laughing as he punched the man’s shoulder, “Whenever I get something, I send it to you. You enjoy the good times but throw me under the bus when it gets tough.”

The two of them were joking back and forth, really just engaging in some playful banter. Every guy watches that kind of stuff; who among us would dare to say they haven’t, while keeping a straight face?

Guys talk just as much as girls do. As the conversation flowed, they circled back to the original topic: “How about we go to that place in the south of the city tonight? Didn’t Yi Ge’s girlfriend say she wanted to go there last time?”

“Really?” Qi Siming turned to look at Shen Yixi, who was casually leaning against the railing in the middle. “Yi Ge, did your girlfriend mention that?”

Shen Yixi had already smoked half a cigarette. He seemed careless, chuckling, “I guess so.”

It was har to know if he really heard her say it or if he was just flattering her outright.

“Look, look,” someone next to them started to stir things up, “Everyone should learn from Yi Ge. He can win a girl’s heart just by relying on that face without even using any skills.”

Qi Siming chimed in with that person, “If he doesn’t set the standard for a good boyfriend, who will? Everyone should take notes!”

The boys burst into laughter, drawing the attention of the girls in the classroom who peeked over to see what was happening. Qi Siming’s joking ended with a kick from Shen Yixi.

There was a carefree smile at the corners of his eyes and brows as he said, “Don’t you dare pick on me.”

Qi Siming laughed and dodged, starting to dismantle the situation: “But seriously, with Yi ge’s character, he might really not recognize his girlfriend in the dance studio.”

“Is that true?”

The one who had been making fun of Shen Yixi was Fang Hongye. He curiously asked, “Yi Ge, you really can’t recognize her?”

Shen Yixi remained unfazed by their comments, casually glancing around the dance studio before tossing out a remark.

“What’s in it for me if I recognize her?” he said, “You can’t expect me to perform for free, can you?”

Fang Hongye understood what he meant and thought that even if Shen Yixi saw her, he might not necessarily recognize her. He immediately agreed and gestured with his fingers, saying, “Alright, if you recognize her, this is how much.”

Shen Yixi shot him a glance and chuckled softly, saying nothing more as he turned his attention back to the dance studio.

He scanned the room briefly: “The third one in the row.”

At that moment, Yan Yingying, as if in sync with him, turned her head to look at him. Her face turned crimson.

“Oh, you really guessed right.”

“Not bad-looking at all.”

“Fang Hongye,” someone chimed in gleefully, “pay up, the promised number.”

Fang Hongye was taken aback; he thought this group of people could handle it. Each of them had a bit of money to be in this circle, and losing money didn’t seem to bother them.

He laughed, “Tsk, as expected of Brother Yi.”

Only Qi Siming seemed to see through Shen Yixi’s little schemes. He knew that Shen would hold a grudge, and others’ attempts to stir the pot wouldn’t go unpunished.

He leaned over and discreetly gave Shen YixiHe let out a sound, and while everyone was distracted, he secretly gave Shen Yixi a thumbs up: “Bro, you really hold a grudge.”

After Fang Hongye finished speaking, he was about to pay, but was stopped by Shen Yixi.

He smiled, patted Fang Hongye on the back, and said to the others, “Tonight’s bill is all on him, you all enjoy yourselves.”

Upon hearing this, Fang Hongye stopped him: “Hey, we agreed to drink together. What’s the point if you don’t join in?”

Shen Yixi chuckled, his tone not exactly polite: “Stop talking nonsense; the real issue is that you can’t find a girl.”

After saying that, he shoved his hands into his pockets and stood up.

Qi Siming asked him, “Are you really leaving?”

“Am I supposed to stay here as a statue?” Shen Yixi must have been tired of waiting, as he left without a second thought.

Qi Siming said to Fang Hongye, “Last time, Yingzi lost a bet to Brother Yi and ended up treating us, but in the end, it was still Brother Yi who paid. This time, since Yingzi didn’t come, you can’t escape treating us.”

Fang Hongye’s attention was already elsewhere; he stared blankly, glancing at the classroom and then at Shen Yixi’s retreating figure. “Wait, he just left his girlfriend here like that?”

Qi Siming clicked his tongue. “Qi Siming scoffed, “What’s the big deal? I bet that those two have nothing to do with each other anymore.”

He wasn’t sure who he was talking to: “So, girls should know when to stop. Don’t get carried away just because you get a little attention; Yi Ge’s temper isn’t that good.”

“Yi Ge really knows how to play; these girls must be heartbroken.”

Qi Siming casually draped his arms over the railing, speaking nonchalantly: “It’s all mutual consentt. No matter how Yi ge plays, they all still come rushing in, so who can be blamed?”

He continued, “It just depends on who can get Yi ge to settle down in the future.”

Fang Hongye replied, “I think your daydreaming is a bit unrealistic.”

“Not necessarily,” Qi Siming replied as if he could see right through it. “Maybe one day someone will come and whisk his soul away.”