1. Rebirth
The night of early August, the city was hot and sultry, like a steamer.
The bus turned a corner on the busy main road and slowed down after entering a narrow lane.
Yongning lane, A city, famous for its immigrant population.
In the evening, the whole street was lit up and filled with bustling noises. Motorcycles, peddlers, young people and all sorts of shouting, swearing and sound of vehicles braking made up this vivid picture of life.
Unfortunately, Ruan Yue, who worked overtime until 10 o’clock had no time to enjoy it.
She had sweated all over when she was on the bus and was eager to get back and take a bath to wash away her fatigue. As soon as she got off the bus, she hugged her bag tightly and plunged into the congested crowd at the entrance of the lane.
The rental she was living in was on the fifth floor and there was no elevator. She carried her bag and climbed up the stairs. After opening the door, she caught sight of Lu Chen lying down on the sofa. Hearing the sound of the door, he didn’t turn his head and asked casually, “Every day working so late, how much money can you earn?”
“Summer vacation is like this. There are a lot of students who want private tutoring.”
With one hand holding the bag against the wall, Ruan Yue stooped to change her shoes. As she walked in, she had a panoramic view of everything in the room.
This small flat they rented had one room, one kitchen, and one bathroom without a living room. The 20 square meter room had a bed against the wall on the inner side and a small sofa and coffee table on the outer side.
At the moment, an open fast-food box was thrown on the tea table. Lu Chen’s legs were folded beside the box and his head was lowered as he played with his mobile phone.
Ruan Yue hung up her bag on the clothes hanger and turned around to see him like that. She tried her best to press down the agitated feeling in her chest and tried to discuss calmly, “Can you clean up the garbage and tidy up every time after you eat?”
“En.”
He played his game, and answered perfunctorily.
Ruan Yue looked at him, sighed silently, and bent over to clean up the empty box.
She grew up wealthy, very clean and neat, and couldn’t bear to see the house messy. At that time, she actually hadn’t wanted to come to the old urban area, but because of a conflict with her mother, she had stubbornly gone to the provincial capital to develop, but was instead slapped in the face by reality. She had no choice but to choose such a place.
It had only been a year, but she felt lifeless.
“Shit!”
Losing the game, Lu Chen cursed and threw his mobile phone. As he got up, he wound up accidentally kicking Ruan Yue’s hand.
Ruan Yue was caught off guard and splashed with soup and water.
She had not changed her clothes after getting home. She looked down at the chiffon blouse which she was wearing only for the second time, then turned her angry eyes towards the culprit.
After more than a year living together, Lu Chen was most annoyed by this expression of hers. He swallowed the apology that was on the tip of his tongue and said angrily, “Couldn’t wait until I finished the game?”
“Game game game, you only think about playing games all the time. Lu Chen, you are an adult. Can’t you work on improving yourself after work? Can’t you get a certificate and read some books? Are you going to muddle along like this your whole life!”
Knowing he was in the wrong, he took out a piece of tissue paper and wiped the tea table. “You get so energetic when it comes to me, but you’re also part of the moonlight group(1), how much better are you than me? “
“……..”
Ruan Yue choked.
She turned around to throw away the lunch box into the garbage can, only to feel flustered.
Was this the life she wanted?
Within the past year, in countless moments, she had asked herself this question several times. The answer seemed very clear, but her life was still the same day by day.
She felt like a trapped animal, bound in the net of life, almost suffocating.
Looking at the garbage can that was about to overflow, she swallowed thickly. After a long time, she said in a low voice, “I’m no better than you Lu Chen, so, I’m desperate.”
“…..Crazy.” Lu Chen murmured, watching her close the bathroom door.
He felt this woman was baffling. Desperate? Desperate his fart. It was no good for this Da Xiaojie(2). If she didn’t get neurotic several times a month, she would feel uncomfortable.
He couldn’t stand her sensitivity, and she couldn’t stand his laziness.
The bathroom was very small, the water heater old, and the water needed to be added to the bath in advance. Ruan Yue washed underneath the shower, and realizing the water was getting colder, and hurriedly rubbed the conditioner in her hair. Washing with cold water at the end, she looked at the line of water drops on the tiles and felt it was like tears flowing away.
Finally, after she finished washing, she went back to the bedroom wearing a negligee. Lu Chen was already lying on the bed.
She didn’t want to go to bed so early, so she simply sat down on the sofa and took out her phone to search for a variety show to pass the time.
The video website’s hottest broadcast caught her line of sight. When she returned to herself, she had already clicked in.
“Welcome everyone to watch the China Broadcast and Television station’s 2019 host competition. I am your anchor, Qin Bei… Next let’s invite today’s no.1 contestant, Fu Zhixing.”
On the big screen of the mobile phone, Ruan Yue saw the anchor stand on the bright stage as she said those words. Her mind went blank for a few seconds.
She hadn’t expected that five years after the end of the college entrance examination, she would see the face of the teenager she had missed and dreamed about in the middle of the night.
He appeared on the screen of her mobile phone, stepping into the bright studio from the long back aisle. He was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, with a straight figure and a clear and meaningful face. There was still a trace of clean juvenile spirit on his body, but it was more calm and restrained after being polished by time.
Fu Xhixing, Graduate Student of Journalism, Peking University.
When this line of subtitles accompanied his appearance, Ruan Yue’s mobile phone screen was also filled with rolling bullet comments in an instant.
‘Wow! This little brother, I approve!’
‘Holding my cellphone, I can’t help showing an auntie’s smile.’
‘Peking University! No wonder he has a top student’s aura!’
‘I seem to be drifting away. Seeing this little brother coming out, even I want to test for Peking University.’
‘Want to test for Peking University +1.’
‘I suddenly feel like I don’t deserve to learn.’
…….
The bullet comments filling the screen blocked the young man’s white face.
Ruan Yue turned off the video and put down her mobile phone, sitting on the sofa in a daze for a long time.
She should think that unlike herself, life wouldn’t stop at this height for him. The bright stage on the screen should just be the prelude to his splendid life…..
But why did her heart feel so sore?
The young man in her heart was approaching his dreams step by step. She should be feeling happy for him, instead of watching his program like now, not daring to finish it.
“It’s twelve o’clock. Are you sleeping or not?”
The discontent voice came suddenly, interrupting Ruan Yue’s dazed thoughts.
She raised her eyes and saw Lu Chen leaning against the head of the bed and staring at her.
After cohabitation, what should have happened had already happened long ago. Ruan Yue looked at him at this moment, but the dense sorrow in her heart bubbled forth leaving her feeling like she couldn’t breathe easily. .
She was born very good-looking and well proportioned with clean, white skin, two curved eyebrows above a pair of bright and llimpid eyes. Her temperament was cold and not easy to approach, but this trait gave such an inviolable taste and could most evoke a man’s sense of possessive desire.
At the moment, this ice-cold beauty, with her long dark hair only half dry and her beautiful swan neck tilted slightly was looking at him with a rarely seen confusion and helplessness.
Only when she was distracted would she occasionally show him such a look.
Lu Chen felt that he must be cheap. He couldn’t bear to see her like this. With a sigh, he lifted the comforter and got off the bed. Reaching the sofa, he bent low to pick up the woman into his arms.
“Let go of me!” Ruan Yue shouted once she was within arms.
Lu Chen threw her onto the bed. He propped up his body above hers with two arms on her sides, enclosing her in his embrace and raised her chin and asked, “Hey, are you still angry?”
He had graduated from a sports school and was nearly 1.9 meters tall. She felt very oppressed when she was caged in like this. Ruan Yue felt depressed. She didn’t want to quarrel with him in the evening and was unexpectedly punished by force. She turned her head to one side and didn’t look at him and said, “No, go to sleep.”
The words fell and she pushed away his arm, turning and facing the wall to sleep.
Lu Chen turned off the lights and held her in his arms.
As soon as the hand reached out, it was pushed away.
After three such actions, his voice became cold. “What do you mean?”
Ruan Yue was silent.
He was even more angry. “Are you crazy? I can’t touch you?”
Ruan Yue was still silent.
There was a small window on the wall above her head and the thin curtain was unable to completely block the light. The light moonlight leaked in just like silver frost on her white face that was covered by black hair.
She curled herself up with her shoulders down like a bird.
She was forcefully turned back to lay on her back. The young man’s stiff body pressed against her soft belly and rubbed against her forcefully, making her feel pain. He grabbed her chin with one hand and bowed his head. The heat of his breath radiated against her skin. Like an angry beast, punishing those who refused to obey.
The prey struggled silently and fiercely, stretching out her hands and her nails scratched his neck.
“Hiss-”
In the dark, Lu Chen covered his neck with his hand and his voice was hoarse and tinged with gnashing teeth, “Your mother must be a cat….”
Not waiting for the rest of his words, Ruan Yue shoved him away and jumped out of bed.
Just at that moment, her arm was pulled with a lot of force and she heard a loud “bang.”
She felt a a sharp pain in her head before her vision went black.
~
“Class is over.”
In a daze, Ruan Yue felt her arm being nudged twice.
She slept uncomfortably, and frowning, she blinked awake to see the well-defined face. When the boy saw her wake up, he turned around and opened the political book in his hand.
Qin Ziyu?
After graduating from high school for more than five years, Ruan Yue still had an impression of the boy who she once shared the same table with, but for a while, she was unable to understand why he had suddenly appeared.
She held her forehead in one hand and looking bleary, she stared at the boy for several seconds without looking away.
When Qin Ziyu turned around again, he was a little uneasy. He reminded her, “It’s politics class.”
Ruan Yue gave an “Oh” in response and turned her hand back and forth as she thoughtfully examined it for a long time. When Qin Ziyu wasn’t looking, she bit down on her knuckles.
It was painful…..
She had gone back to class 19, year 2?
Her heart beat so fast, she was unable to understand. She turned her head and looked out of the window.
After the preparatory bell rang, the corridor became quiet. She looked up, and through the glass windows and eaves, found that the sky was incredibly blue in the distance.
Fu Zhixing was holding a stack of exercise books and passed by her window.
He was wearing the white school uniform with short sleeves of high school and dark blue trousers. His back straight and with a thin face, he was handsome and cold. In the afternoon, the mottled light and shadow jumped on his shoulders and back, making his figure seem far away like a dream.
“Class!”
The sound came from the podium and pulled her back to reality.
“Teacher, good—”
In her impression, the political teacher of year 2 was very fierce. Ruan Yue rose up in reflex and followed the group of students in the classroom to shout out this greeting. After sitting down, she controlled her crazy heartbeat and reached into the table’s drawer to pull out the political book.
“Turn the book to page 10. Today, we will continue lesson 1 of unit 1, culture and economy, politics…”
“Report!”
A loud male voice came from the door.
As soon as he had opened his mouth, he had been interrupted. The politics teacher’s face sank and he turned to look at the door.
“Pa.” The classroom door was directly pushed open.
Two big and tall boys stood at the door and the one at the front with a smiley face said, “Sorry teacher, overslept.”
“Pfft-”
There was an untimely chuckle in the classroom.
“Laugh what laugh!”
The politics teacher scolded, he hadn’t come to class with a good temper. “Oversleeping is a glory, isn’t it? Can’t hear the bell? I’m telling you two, don’t bring me that set of crooked manners and bad influences of the ordinary class!”
“Ah, teacher, I don’t like this. What’s wrong with the ordinary class? The students in the ordinary class also have dignity…”
“Ha ha ha, Li Shiyu awesome!” A boy in the back of the classroom suddenly got restless.
Changning No.1 middle school was a private boarding school. After the second division of senior high school, there was a Qingbei(3) class, two experimental classes and four ordinary classes in liberal arts. These two experimental classes include some students with special connections and art and physical education students. Discipline was particularly difficult to control. The two standing at the doorway were the most famous of the bunch of rogues from the grade!
The politics teacher looked at Li Shiyu’s scoundrelly appearance and was filled with anger at once and pointed his finger at him as he said, “Leave the class and stand outside.”
Then, he turned towards the back of the classroom and said, “Qin Zheng! You get out of here too!”
The boy who was named sighed and took a book as he walked towards the door of the classroom in the midst of the ensuing laughter. As he passed by the figure of the other person in front of the door, the teacher behind him said, “Lu Chen, you come in.”
—————
1.This is slang which means someone who spends their monthly salary before getting their next month’s salary.
2.Eldest young lady of a rich family.
3.Err.. if anyone knows what this means, help. I’m assuming it’s the special class for those with high grades.
4.For any errors and issues contact me through discord:- https://discord.gg/Q3dStgu