"Oh dear, this guy is more handsome than Ye Feng, how could Shi Nan possibly give him to you?"
"Then Shi Nan, you keep this and give Ye Feng to me."
Mr. Shi simply said, "We're really just good friends, there's nothing between us," and took back the photos to examine them.
He's the same person, unchanged. Neither fat nor thin, neither dark nor light.
He was still wearing a light blue top, old jeans that showed off his long legs to the extreme, and those white shell-toe shoes he had worn since high school.
Lan Di is the kind of guy who is bony and thin, with a large frame, and is a natural clothes hanger.
"Why don't you dress up properly in Tokyo? Isn't Tokyo the birthplace of Asian fashion? Why do you act like you can't adapt to anything?" Shi Nan muttered, but in her heart, she found his appearance very pleasing to the eye.
Zhang Fan walked over and chuckled softly, "Does looking at a friend's photo really require this much time?"
Shi Nan glared at him and changed the subject, "Zhang Fan, you still owe me a meal. I played a part in bringing you and Wang Fan together. Hurry up."
Zhang Fan suddenly looked dejected.
Shi Nan sensed something was wrong and pulled her to fetch water. Once outside the dorm, he asked, "What's wrong? Did Wang Fan bully you?"
Zhang Fan shook her head. "I'd rather he bully me. Shi Nan, I'm not stupid. He's only with me because he knows I like him. And I really do like him, so I'd rather pretend to be stupid."
"I've always wanted to ask, how did you two get together?"
"During summer vacation... Shi Nan, I actually did something bad. I want to confess, but you have to promise me first that you won't ignore me after I say it."
Shi Nan squinted, "You know it's a bad thing, yet you still dare to say it?"
"Promise me first."
If you dare to be honest, it won't be too bad, right? "Okay, go ahead and tell me."
“I ran into him at dinner once during summer vacation, and he asked me if I had a new boyfriend. He said he saw you two together. Based on his description, I knew that person was most likely Ye Feng. I knew there was nothing between you two, but I told him that everyone at school was saying you two were together... um... that's how it was.” Zhang Fan’s voice trailed off.
So that's how it is. She only met Ye Feng once during the summer vacation, the day she met Wang Fan, and he must have seen her. That's why Zhang Fan became his girlfriend so quickly. The mystery is solved.
She knew Zhang Fan genuinely loved Wang Fan, so what did it matter if she used tricks? She needed someone to take her place in loving Wang Fan.
"Zhang Fan, I don't blame you. Actually, you helped me."
Time flies! It feels like only yesterday that school started, and now it's almost time for final exams.
Shi Nan still couldn't get rid of her pronunciation problem. Whenever she encountered a word with a uvular trill, she would get scared and wouldn't be able to open her mouth, which resulted in her consistently low oral scores.
Fortunately, her written test scores were always very good.
Winter vacation had only been going on for a few days when the Lunar New Year was almost here. This year, the Spring Festival came early. While his parents went out to buy things, Shi Nan stayed at home watching DVDs. Just as the male and female leads were passionately kissing, the phone rang.
Shi Nan thought to himself, "Who has such good timing?", "Hello?"
“Shi Nan”.
Shi Nan was stunned for a moment. His name was called by his parents, his classmates, and his teachers, but among all of them, who else could call his name so beautifully besides him? To confirm, Shi Nan asked "Hello?" again.
"Shi Nan, it's me." It was Lan Di.
"Yes, I can tell." What should I say? When writing a letter, I can think things through carefully before putting pen to paper, but on the phone, there's no time to think. I can only resort to rambling to mask my unease.
"I'm in Beijing."
"Would you like to come out?"
I want to see you.
"Shi Nan, are you listening?"
Of course, I heard it clearly, "Yes, I'm here."
"I'm downstairs at your place."
Shi Nan ran to the window, and sure enough, he was downstairs. Suddenly, the scene of that summer night flashed before her eyes: him walking her home, and her watching him leave from here after she went upstairs.
"Yes, I see it. Wait for me."
Lan Di waited downstairs while Shi Nan changed clothes upstairs. Finally, after picking out a relatively satisfactory combination from a bunch of unsatisfactory ones, they went downstairs.
"So long."
"Let's play hard to get. Where are we going?"
"Houhai, I guess."
When the lake freezes over in winter, Houhai isn't really an ideal place to visit. But they only remembered the gently rippling Houhai in spring and summer, and only realized they hadn't considered this aspect when they arrived.
"What are you holding in your hand? Is it for me?" How shameless! How can you ask for a gift like that?
"Weren't you just being coy? You've already given yourself away so quickly." Lan Di chuckled and handed her the things.
It was a beautiful, large box, its surface resembling a starry sky with golden stars. There were also some Japanese characters, which she obviously couldn't understand. She didn't know what was inside; it seemed very little and light. When Shi Nan took it, she felt strange. The large, empty box showed no signs of being crushed. How did he bring it here? Did he carry it with him the whole way?
What is it?
"Traditional Japanese sweets."
Shi Nan put on a serious face and said, "Lan Di, I'm not interested in Japanese culture. Have I ever told you that my grandfather participated in the resistance against Japan? I've hated Japan since I was a child."
“........”
"You brought this to me from so far away, of course I'll accept it. I don't need it anymore." Shi Nan was telling the truth. When he was a child, whenever his grandfather told him a story, he would tell him a story about the War of Resistance against Japan, depicting the Japanese devils as extremely vicious. Regardless of whether it was exaggerated or not, it cast a shadow on Shi Nan's young mind.
“........”
What does all this writing on it mean?
“........”
"I'm asking you, Landi."
"...It doesn't mean anything. Since you don't like it anyway, it's fine not to translate it."
They'd only been together a short time when they started arguing again.
Shi Nan felt a little regretful. She had gone to so much trouble to bring her a gift from so far away, and it was still intact. She had gone to such lengths, and yet she had taken it from her like that. She took the initiative and said, "Lan Di, um... thank you." She whispered the thank you.
"No need. I won't buy you anything from there anymore." Her voice betrayed her disappointment.
"Can I open it and eat it now?"
"as you like."
Shi Nan ignored his displeasure, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw the pastries inside. The pastries were truly exquisite—crystal clear, blue, oval-shaped cakes adorned with a touch of gold, looking like stars twinkling in the night sky, the stars even made of gold leaf. No matter how stubborn she was, she was still a girl; seeing something like this, her eyes lit up with joy. "What's the name of this pastry?" she asked.
"Star Wish. Hmm... it means to make a wish upon a star."
"Oh, oh," Shi Nan didn't investigate further, picked one up, and it was indeed delicious.
“Shi Nan”.
"Um?"
"Are you and Wang Fan... alright?"
Shi Nan had expected him to ask, but she hadn't anticipated it at this moment. She pretended to slowly savor the pastry before replying, but in reality, she was using this time to think.
Finally swallowing it down, I knew I had to say it sooner or later, so I'll say it now: "We broke up."
As expected, Lan Di looked at her with a startled expression, waiting for what would happen next.
"What are you looking at?" A confident tone is the best cover-up.
Landi thought for a moment and asked, "Is it something recent?"
"No...it's been a long time...we broke up right after we started college..." It was a very soft voice, but he heard every single word.
On Lan Di's face, joy first appeared, then confusion, then a realization, followed by anger, and finally dejection.
After a long silence, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Why didn't I tell you? If your letter had contained even the slightest hint, I would have told you. But your letter was so bland, as if nothing had ever happened between us. How could I tell you? "I thought you wouldn't want to know."
Lan Di fell silent. Shi Nan began to feel a chill. The two continued walking, the cold wind biting and stinging their faces.
He finally spoke again, "Why did you break up?"
This time it was her turn to remain silent.
She didn't speak. He stopped and looked at her, then grabbed her arm, preventing her from moving forward, and demanded an answer.
She couldn't avoid the question: "I've fallen for someone else."
Vertigo
From childhood, Lan Di was used to being praised by others: good-looking, well-behaved, not naughty, and although he didn't study hard, his grades were always good, and he never caused his busy parents any worry.
He knew he was handsome, but he felt that a man shouldn't attract women based on his looks—even though his appearance always garnered him a lot of attention from girls.
They found all sorts of excuses to get close to him, they gave him all sorts of gifts, they wrote him love letters, and they confessed their feelings to him.
Before meeting Shi Nan, Lan Di had never known what inferiority complex was.
He didn't fall in love with her at first sight.
My initial impression of her was: she's so thin, is she malnourished?
Until that class activity at Ritan Park.
She tripped over the rope while jumping rope and fell. A large scrape appeared on her knee, drawing blood.