In Zhou Ji’s bones, there is a characteristic trait, which is being too familiar.
It was only developed after coming to Ningcheng.
This applies to Ning Zhiyu and also to Duan Ye. Zhou Ji casually put the necklace back into his pocket and followed up. Duan Ye was too slow and he sneaked in.
Zhou Ji was eager to find someone to share today’s joy. But he didn’t know who to turn to at this moment. He didn’t even think of his childhood friends in Yanjing. He knew them because he used to be one of them. Even if he emphasized his seriousness towards Ning Zhiyu, they wouldn’t care. They would still consider him fickle, even if they didn’t say it out loud, and they would still not take Ning Zhiyu seriously.
He didn’t like it.
So these days, when he contacted his childhood friends, he didn’t mention Ning Zhiyu.
In Ningcheng, there were very few people he could talk to, and Duan Ye was one of them. It was strange that despite not having much contact with Duan Ye, he still believed in his own judgment that Duan Ye was a very reliable person. Basically, no matter what he said to Duan Ye, Duan Ye wouldn’t tell others.
“Today, I went to find Ning Zhiyu,” Zhou Ji sighed. “Well, I won’t tell you what I saw. Just thinking about it, even if I say it out loud, it feels really uncomfortable in my heart. I don’t know how to describe it. I’ve never felt this bad, even when my dad hit me and my mom ignored me.”
Actually, he didn’t understand what kind of feelings he had towards Ning Zhiyu.
To say “feelings” seemed a bit too much, considering they had only known each other for a short time.
However, he was certain that he didn’t have such feelings for any other girl. Just seeing her doing laundry made his heart ache as if it was about to explode.
Duan Ye was obviously a good listener.
No matter what others said, he found it difficult to respond, especially when it came to Zhou Ji talking about topics about liking someone.
Zhou Ji continued on, oblivious to Duan Ye’s lack of response. “She treated me so kindly for the first time and even asked me if I had eaten.”
Duan Ye poured a cup of hot water as if he hadn’t heard anything.
Zhou Ji followed him to the kitchen, still chattering away. “I won’t ask her if she likes me or not, but I feel like I have a chance. It seems like nobody else is pursuing her, right?”
Duan Ye walked out of the kitchen with a cup in hand and said to Zhou Ji, “Close the door when you leave.”
Zhou Ji : “?”
“You’re definitely jealous,” Zhou Ji concluded confidently. “Jealous that I got to eat noodles cooked by the person I like. That’s the best gift. Oh, and she even fried two eggs for me, two of them.”
Duan Ye went to his room and grabbed his pajamas. “Remember to close the door.”
After saying that, he went into the bathroom.
Not long after, the sound of water came.
Zhou Ji : “…”
Forget it. Anyway, everything that needs to be said has already been said.
He talked about his feelings for Ning Zhiyu, talked about how she made noodles for him and added two eggs.
Thinking if there was anything he didn’t mention, Zhou Ji rushed to the bathroom door and stood outside, shouting, “Oh, by the way, when I left, she reminded me to stay safe!”
When Duan Ye finished showering and came out, Zhou Ji had already left.
The world regained its tranquility, and he was too lazy to dry his hair. He picked up his bag and returned to the bedroom. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he nervously used the small key to open the notebook. The opening page had Jiang Yumo’s personal style. She had pasted beautiful stickers on it and drawn cute doodles with highlighters.
Just like her Qzone homepage.
The style was very strong and flamboyant.
Even the words “Merry Christmas” were written beautifully with color pen.
As he flipped to the first page, at first, Duan Ye didn’t understand. After reading a few lines, he finally realized that she had copied down all their text messages.
Unconsciously, they have already sent so many text messages.
[Him : Do you want to drink milk tea? I’ll go make it for you.]
[Her : Sure, I want the wheat fragrance flavor~]
…
[Her : I can’t believe it! Someone is setting off torpedo fireworks on the street, it scared me to death!]
[Him : Where?]
[Her : Hahaha, are you planning to come and teach those people a lesson?]
[Him : Hmm.]
[Her : But those seem to be elementary school students, it’s not good for high school students to pick on younger ones.]
[Him : They need to be educated, it’s a very dangerous behavior.]
[Her : Oh, Teacher Duan!]
…
[Her : Kids can be really annoying, they ruined my cassette tape!! My mom doesn’t even allow me to get angry, I’m so frustrated!!!]
[Him: What cassette tape? I’ll go buy one.】
…
Too much, too much.
From the first year of high school until now, so many days and nights, they exchanged so many text messages, made so many phone calls, and it has already become a memory.
Duan Ye read it word by word, sometimes smiling, sometimes frowning.
Between people, as long as there is a “relationship,” it is inevitable to have disputes. He has also had arguments with her, or more accurately, he has also made her angry.
He got up and walked to the desk.
After searching around in the house with difficulty, he finally found a pen in the drawer and continued to add on the back, recording today’s text message content.
[Him : Are you practicing dancing today too?]
[Her : Yes! But I asked the teacher, and I’ll probably finish class around nine o’clock. Do you want to come and see me? I might only be able to stay outside for about an hour.]
[Him : Okay, I’ll come pick you up then.]
[Her : Sounds good~ By the way, Merry Christmas! I finished eating the apple you gave me yesterday. Did you eat yours?]
[Him : I ate it.]
Duan Ye doesn’t really like celebrating any festivals. Even the biggest festival, the Chinese New Year, is very boring to him.
However, since he started liking Jiang Yumo, he began looking forward to holidays.
In the blink of an eye, January came, and Jiang’s parents both took a few days off to prepare for going to the provincial capital with Jiang Yumo for the art examination.
Her friends also cheered Jiang Yumo on.
Even Ning Zhiyu, who was usually introverted, gave Jiang Yumo a comic book.
In order not to distract her, Duan Ye didn’t dare to disturb her these days. At noon, he went to Deep Blue and asked someone to help download some songs, preparing for her to take the MP3 player to the provincial capital. Listening to music can relieve anxiety. He was bored waiting on the side when suddenly a conversation between a young man and woman caught his attention.
“My Mom said not to come to our house for Chinese New Year this time. She wants to go to Yongfu Temple to have the master calculate our fortunes,” the young woman said.
The man clearly wasn’t happy, “What era is this? Your Mom is still so superstitious? Fortune-telling… even my Grandma doesn’t believe in this stuff. So, if our fortunes don’t match, does that mean your <om won’t agree to us being together?”
The young woman’s tone wasn’t good either, “Who told you to say that about my Mom? I hate it when anyone speaks ill of my Mom, and that includes you.”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I just think… it’s not necessary. Nowadays, those monks and fortune-tellers are just out to cheat people. They’re not accurate at all.”
“You’re just being ignorant. Yongfu Temple is very accurate, and the Buddha there is particularly responsive1. You should inquire about it. So many people go to the temple to seek blessings even before dawn. I heard that the amulets from Yongfu Temple are especially effective. Many people from other places come here to seek them. My cousin went there last year when she took the college entrance examination, and she did well on the exam. She just passed the cutoff score by two points.”
The remaining conversation, Duan Ye had lost interest in listening to it, but he still paid attention on the part about the Bodhisattva was responsive and the amulet from Yongfu Temple was quite effective.
In the afternoon, Duan Ye found some free time and went to the teacher’s office.
The homeroom teacher was surprised to see him, saying, “What’s the matter?”
The teacher had a favorable impression of Duan Ye. When he first became the homeroom teacher for this class, he had heard from colleagues that Duan Ye was the most difficult student in the school. Duan Ye was unruly and had a strong influence in the class. At first, the teacher was somewhat worried, but as he got to know Duan Ye better, he realized that the rumors were not entirely true. On the contrary, Duan Ye rarely caused trouble in the class. Apart from occasionally being late or leaving early and having poor grades, Duan Ye didn’t have any other issues. Moreover, because of Duan Ye’s presence, the troublemakers from other classes dared not cause any problems for the students in Class 10.
Duan Ye made a sound of agreement and said, “I need to take a leave of absence.”
The homeroom teacher was shocked. “A leave of absence?”
It was understandable for him to react that way. After all, Duan Ye had never asked for leave before. It wasn’t because he was well-behaved, but rather because it seemed out of character for him to use the term “leave of absence” at school. Why did Duan Ye suddenly become so formal?
“I want to take a leave of absence for tomorrow’s morning self-study and the first class,” Duan Ye explained.
The homeroom teacher nodded. “No problem.” However, he couldn’t control his curiosity and asked, “But why did you request the leave of absence?”
Duan Ye looked up at him and replied, “I have something to take care of.”
He knew what the teacher was asking.
He just felt that everything tomorrow should be handled in positive and good way, in order to achieve good results. That’s why he took a leave of absence instead of being late or leaving early.
The homeroom teacher didn’t press for more information and simply said, “Okay, you can go.”
The next day, before dawn, Duan Ye left the house.
There was a direct bus from his house to Yongfu Temple, and he took the earliest one, arriving at the bottom of the temple a little before 7 o’clock.
Yongfu Temple was located halfway up a high hill.
Visitors and worshippers needed to climb many steps to reach it.
At such an early hour, besides Duan Ye, there were many other people climbing the steps. Among them was an elderly person who would utter a prayer with every step, saying, “May Cui Fang’s surgery be successful.” Duan Ye never believed in these things; it was his first time even visiting a temple.
When he reached the entrance of Yongfu Temple, the winter sun had already risen, seemingly bringing endless hope.
Although Jiang Yumo had never mentioned her pressure to him, he could still sense all of her emotions, her unease and her fear. She was more afraid than anyone that she wouldn’t pass the exam. She didn’t say it, and he wouldn’t ask, not wanting to add more pressure to her. Sometimes, as he watched her force a smile at him, her face unable to conceal her fatigue, he felt a sour and bitter feeling in his heart. But from beginning to end, he wouldn’t say something like, “It’s okay if you don’t pass the exam.”
He wishes that she will always be well and have her wishes fulfilled. He is unwilling to become an obstacle in her life, even in words.
Duan Ye waited in line and finally received his three incense sticks.
Entering the hall, he looked at the compassionate and kind-eyed Buddha sculpture, his expression devout as he silently prayed in his heart.
—May she be blessed to pass the art entrance examination.
—May she be blessed to get into the university she likes.
—May she lead a peaceful, smooth, and good life.
Every person who comes to this temple has their own hopes, whether for themselves or for others. They hope that the Buddha can hear, despite these small wishes of sentient beings.
After paying respects to the Buddha, Duan Ye went to request an amulet and cherished it by placing it closest to his heart.
In the tranquil temple, a monk is striking the bell.
The sound of the bell is distant. Duan Ye, for the first time, earnestly hopes that there truly are Gods and Buddhas in this world.
rokumi’s note : reading this novel, I feel like I would never find a boyfriend… (bcs my requirement for ideal partner has become too high…)
- as in granting wishes ↩︎
same translator, same 😩
I cant stop comparing my fiance to Duan hahahah