"No need, no need to remember, bye-bye." The little bespectacled boy ran off like a shot, he hadn't even tried this hard during the PE test.
Song Lang looked up at the teaching building; a few students were still slowly walking out of the corridor. He ran upstairs in a few steps and found the experimental class according to the sign.
This floor is mostly filled with physics demonstration rooms and chemistry labs. Only the experimental classes for each grade of high school are located on this floor. They are all high-achieving students who love to read and study. Unlike downstairs, where students run around and make noise, it is very quiet.
Song Lang stood at the back door of the first-year experimental class and peeked inside. There were still a few students sitting in their seats, engrossed in writing.
Shen Zhifei sat on the north side by the window at a single table, resting his chin on his hand and looking out the window, motionless, like a statue.
Song Lang pushed open the back door, walked around the back of the classroom, walked to Shen Zhifei's side, and reached out to rub his head.
What are you spacing out for?
Shen Zhifei was startled, turned around and met Song Lang's gaze, her heart instantly gripped.
"I'm asking you, answer me." Song Lang pulled over a chair from the table in front of him and sat down next to Shen Zhifei. His hands were busy as he started rummaging through the tall stack of textbooks on the table.
He flipped through the books for a long time but couldn't find one that piqued his interest.
Shen Zhifei held his hand, tightening her fingers greedily, and asked as calmly as possible without revealing her emotions, "How did you get in?"
"I happened to run into your roommate, so I had him lead me in through the front door." Song Lang grasped his hand, playing with it in his palm. "First, explain yourself: why didn't you go home?"
Immediately, he added, "Don't give me that 'extra study or extra training' nonsense. Little Glasses told me that it's not true at all."
Shen Zhifei looked down at their clasped hands, his thin lips pressed into a line.
Seeing that he remained silent, Song Lang lowered his voice and asked, "Tell me the truth, which girl did this to you?"
He seems distracted and won't even go home; his brother is going through a rebellious phase during puberty.
Shen Zhifei pulled his hand out, opened a workbook, and bent down to solve the problems.
It was like punching cotton; Song Lang felt uncomfortable seeing his silent resistance.
Seeing Shen Zhifei pick up a pen to write something, Song Lang panicked and snatched the pen away, saying, "What are you doing? Come home with me."
Shen Zhifei's gaze never left the workbook, and he said in a very soft voice, "I'm not going back."
"Damn it." Song Lang cursed under his breath. He rarely swore in front of Shen Zhifei, which meant he was very angry. But he still patiently asked, "Feifei, if you have something to say, just say it. It's not manly to keep it bottled up inside."
Shen Zhifei still didn't look up, but her hands under the desk were clenched into fists, her nails digging into her palms, causing excruciating pain.
Speak your mind! What did you say? You said the person who made me afraid to go home wasn't a girl, but you?
I can't say it. If I do, everything will be ruined, and all my remaining illusions will be shattered.
Song Lang waited for a long time without getting an answer, and his mood became increasingly irritable.
"I'll ask you one last time, are you going home or not?"
Shen Zhifei finally raised her eyelids and looked at Song Lang again.
One eye holds the ocean, surging and turbulent; the other eye holds frost and snow, cold and silent.
After a moment, Song Lang understood what he meant.
Unable to contain his anger any longer, Song Lang slammed his fist on the table and stood up with a loud bang, startling everyone who turned to look at him with alarm.
Shen Zhifei followed his posture as he stood up and raised her gaze, remaining unmoved.
Song Lang wanted to lash out at him, but when he met his gaze, he couldn't bring himself to do it, and in the end, he vented his anger on the other students in the classroom.
"What the hell are you all looking at?! Haven't you ever seen other people arguing before?!"
The innocent bystanders immediately lowered their heads and continued solving problems and reading, not daring to utter a sound.
Song Lang angrily kicked the stool aside and strode toward the classroom door.
"Song Lang!" Shen Zhifei called out to him in a deep voice as he passed the podium.
Song Lang turned to look at him, his eyes still gleaming with anger.
Shen Zhifei resisted the urge to go with him, took off her coat, and said, "Wear my coat, it's cold outside."
Song Lang initially thought he had changed his mind, but hearing his words only made him angrier.
He didn't go to get his coat; instead, he walked straight down from the podium and strode towards the door, slamming his fist into the classroom door with a loud bang, startling the students once again.
"If you're so capable, then never come home! Fuck!"
Song Lang threw down a sentence and walked away without looking back.
Shen Zhifei felt as if his punch had struck her heart, causing her unbearable pain and making it almost impossible to breathe.
He walked out of the classroom, leaned on the corridor railing and looked down. Soon he saw Song Lang storm out of the teaching building, kicking innocent pebbles along the way. His back looked a bit childish.
Shen Zhifei stared blankly as his figure disappeared at the school gate, feeling as if a corner of her heart had been hollowed out.
He didn't return to the classroom until it got dark, intending to take two workbooks back to his dormitory.
He stopped in his tracks as he passed the doorway.
On the wooden door, painted a faded yellow, there were a few drops of dried blood.
Was he... injured?