Цветы персика - Глава 11
"Yeah! I'm the eighth oldest in our dorm, everyone can bully me. Last time..."
"You'll teach me how to shoot?"
"Teach me!"
Shall we begin now?
"Uh? Okay!"
I had no interest in the life of this man named Mo Yan; all I wanted was to learn how to shoot basketball. I gradually came to understand that, apart from the Di brothers, I no longer wanted anyone else to enter my emotional world.
"Look at my hands. Hold the ball on both sides with both hands, with the fulcrum of the power on the ten fingers. The palms are hollow. Raise the ball to above your eyes and toss it upwards." He taught very seriously, without the slightest carelessness even under the dim light.
Section 29: Seven Years of Unresolved Issues (4)
"Shouldn't you shoot towards the basket?"
"Don't worry about shooting yet. Many people are too eager to succeed and don't actually shoot; they just slam the ball against the rim. To shoot, you need to master a smooth parabola. The ball spins after leaving your hand, tracing an arc in the air, and it will effortlessly sink into the basket without much force. Try it..."
On the court, two figures, one tall and one short, stretched long across the ground. Gone was the thud of the basketball bouncing; only the lonely spinning of a wheel, repeating, repeating, and repeating…
I spent an entire evening study session playing basketball, even mimicking some basic "ball rotation." But I didn't touch the basket even once. When I returned to the dorm, Mo Yan offered to walk me, but I declined.
All I know is that he's a male student in the physical education department, and he entered the university in the same year as me.
Oh no! The dorm is still pitch black.
I wonder if people could adapt if they left behind modern appliances and returned to the old days. I went to the convenience store on the first floor and bought some candles. After lighting them, the room was filled with a flickering candlelight. I checked the clock; there were still more than ten minutes until the dormitory closed, and Apple hadn't returned. People in love seem to feel like there's never enough time; she won't show up until the very last second.
I left her a thermos of hot water, and took a basin to the washroom to take a cold shower myself.
The girls' dormitory in summer is a peculiar sight. Because of the heat, the girls have long since shed their modest clothes, and the corridors are full of people dressed simply, or even naked, going in and out of the washroom.
The power was out today. The hallway was darker than usual, the candlelight gentle, casting an orange-red glow evenly over the youthful skin. The girls looked like fairies emerging from crimson flames, their bodies still damp from being drenched in water, their rising body temperature creating layers of mist, making them seem like graceful fairies conjured from a fairyland.
I suddenly noticed that there was a man walking in the opposite direction from the group of "fairies".
How could that be?
If a man were to actually appear in the girls' dormitory, especially at this time, the girls would definitely startle and scatter in panic.
I thought I was seeing things, so I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but the man had vanished...
The water room was filled with laughter.
When I returned to my dorm after leaving the crowd's laughter, I found that the candles had gone out.
How did it go out? My hands were wet, and I tried to light it several times with a lighter, but it wouldn't light.
After the new semester started, the other two girls in my dorm moved out, and the dorm became my and Apple's little world.
Oh well, I've already washed up, so I just crawled into bed. I pulled the sheet over my head, lay down, and fell asleep.
I woke up groggily, rubbed my sleepy eyes, and peeked out. Apple's bed was empty.
This girl, she's not back yet?
Just as I was about to curl up and go back to sleep, something caught my eye out of the corner of my eye. Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the room. I saw clearly that there was a person standing at the head of my bed—a man in a white shirt and blue jeans. He looked melancholy, with a strange expression, but he was clean-cut, refined, and shy.
I was startled, suddenly remembering the image that appeared in the window of the long-distance bus I took back to the city…
The woman who had a heart attack, the one I lent her my kettle to, said her brother was murdered seven years ago, and she had the same nightmare every night: her brother, covered in blood, standing at the head of her bed...
Is that younger brother... him?
He remained silent, as white as a wax figure, his expression solemn, his eyes filled with sorrow, staring intently at me…
"Wow--"
I held onto the edge of the bed, my throat burning with pain.
"What are you doing here? I don't know you!" My left hand was gripping my throat, and my heart was pounding.
“You’ve seen me before,” he said, his voice barely audible.
"On a long-distance bus?"
"Yes! My name is Shi Quan, and my sister's name is Shi Mei."
"Yes! Your names together are perfect."
"But I've been dead for seven years."
My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to tremble and spasm, but I held it in and said, "Your sister said it."
"I will die with my eyes open until she finds the murderer."
"what do you want to do?"
"Help."
How can I help?
"Help me find the person who killed me. Debts must be repaid, and lives must be paid for."
"If you can't even find your sister, how am I supposed to find her?"
“You can see me and hear me. Contact my sister and I’ll tell you how to find the murderer.”
"Contact your sister?"
"right!"
Section 30: Seven Years of Unresolved Issues (5)
"Now?"
"Now!" He pointed to the phone. "Dial her number, 66509321, dial!"
This was the first time I realized that ghosts could command people.
I dialed the number like a puppet, and a man's voice answered.
"It's a man." I covered the microphone and looked at him, not daring to look at his face.
“It’s my brother-in-law. Let my sister answer the phone.”
"I'm looking for Shi Mei."
"What's the matter in the middle of the night? Everyone's asleep. Can't we talk about it tomorrow morning?" The man on the other end of the phone yawned.
"He said, 'Can we talk about it tomorrow morning? They're already asleep.'" I repeated to him.
"I won't be able to come when it's light out. Tell her to get up and answer the phone."
"Wake her up and answer the phone."
"Hello?" came a woman's voice.
"How should I say it?" I asked him, covering the microphone.
"Just say: The man who killed your brother has returned to this city, right under your nose, and you must avenge him!"
"Your brother asked me to pass on a message to you: the man who killed him has returned to this city, right under your nose. He wants you to avenge him!" He was rambling on, and sweat was pouring down my forehead.
With a loud "bang!"
The door opened, and a person stood in front of it, panting heavily.
"I'm exhausted. Looks like I've gained weight. Climbing the wall around our dorm compound is getting harder and harder." Apple returned.
I slammed the phone down and jumped up as if I'd seen a savior, shouting, "You're back!"
Sure enough, he disappeared again.
"Who are you calling in the middle of the night?"
"I...didn't give it to anyone..."
"Ruoxi, are you alright? Why do you look so pale? It's scary!" She started taking off her clothes in a flurry.
"No...it's nothing." I forced myself to calm down. "Apple, where did you go? You made me worry."
"Don't even mention it, it's all because of that idiot Jeep. I told him not to do pull-ups, but he insisted on showing off. Well, he dislocated his shoulder, and I don't know how to put it back in place, so I had to go with him to the doctor." She carried a basin and a thermos to the washroom, still grumbling, "Did they raise the wall? It's getting harder and harder to climb. Have I gained weight?"
I'm still shaken and don't know if he'll come back.
The next day, I ran into Mo Yan in the corridor of Building 10. He also said I looked frighteningly pale. I smiled at him, grabbed my books, and went into the classroom, with him following behind.
“Our class happens to be in Building 10 today.”
"oh?"
"What a coincidence to run into you here!"
"oh."
"Lan, don't you have anything else to say to me?"
Lan? Ha, this blockhead is such a good kid.
"Thank you for teaching me how to play." I smiled at him again.
"Is there anything else?"
"Thank you for teaching me how to play ball."
Do you hate talking to me?
"Hurry up and go to class! Don't be late." It's a phrase that can only be repeated, like the rotation of a basketball. I won't allow any more boys into my heart. Like Apple said, when entering a complex environment, you should learn to protect yourself. I'm not a flower in a greenhouse; I'll grow up someday.
"It seems you really have nothing to say to me." He said with a hint of sadness.
"Goodbye!" I waved my wrist and waved goodbye to him.
"Will you come to practice shooting after your afternoon class?"
"Okay," I replied after thinking for a moment.
"4:30 PM, at the floodlit sports field, I'll be waiting for you."
"goodbye!"
It's probably impossible for anyone throughout history to explain how young men and women fall in love. It might be a glance, a word, or just a gesture or a step.
I sensed something was amiss. Oh dear, I couldn't just stir up a young boy's budding romance for no reason.
In the afternoon, I went to the floodlit basketball court as planned to learn basketball, but I wasn't alone; there were two others with me—Apple and Jeep.