Edited by Erika
Fu Jia didn’t take two steps before Big Head reacted. With quick reflexes, he grabbed Fu Jia and asked: “What’re you doing?”
“I…” Fu Jia stopped and hurriedly explained, “I’m gonna go find a friend.”
Big Head had a face of disbelief: “Friend? Those seniors over there are your friends?”
His words choked Fu Jia. He and Lu Qi’an really couldn’t be called friends. Just now, Big Head asked in a hurry, so he also answered nonsense in a hurry. But even if he wasn’t a friend, he was at least someone who Lu Qi’an had talked to a few times. It wasn’t illegal to go over there to speak with him, was it?
“Not considered a friendship, but…we’re on friendly terms with each other… wait no, not really on friendly terms either…” The more Fu Jia spoke, the more he felt like something was off, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt like he was impulsive. Lu Qi’an simply looked at him for a bit, and he was already about to rush there with his face red. What sort of dynamic was that supposed to be called?
Big Head was tickled by his wavering expression: “So what is it in the end? Fine, fine, I understand. You don’t have a friendship with the other person, but want to cultivate a friendship, right?
He patted Fu Jia on the shoulder and comforted him, “It’s okay, I’ll help you connect next time. Tell me, which senior do you want to get to know?”
Fu Jia didn’t speak. He turned to look in Lu Qi’an’s direction, only to find that not only was he not looking this way anymore, he had also turned his body in another direction. It seemed that their mutual stare just now was Fu Jia’s wishful thinking.
Since the end of May, when Lu Qi’an went to No. 16 High School to look for him, he hadn’t seen Lu Qi’an again.
He very consciously stopped himself from looking for Lu Qi’an again because he couldn’t stop thinking about how last time Lu Qi’an ended up cursing him with, “What’re you acting so crazy for?” before slamming the door and storming off. He thought about it so much that his whole person felt muddled.
Fu Jia thought for a while then said to Big Head: “Do you know Lu Qi’an-xuezhang? I want to get to know him.”
“Ah?” Hearing this name, Big Head froze.
Afraid that he didn’t hear him properly, Fu Jia repeated, “Lu Qi’an.” He didn’t notice that he pronounced these three words exceedingly heavily, almost to the point of gnashing his teeth.
Big Head laughed dryly: “This is a bit difficult…”
Fu Jia noticed his embarrassment, but wasn’t disappointed either: “It’s okay, thank you Big Head, I can figure out a way myself.”
“Wait,” Big Head solemnly said, “Let me give this a try. To tell you the truth, out of the whole school, I can be regarded as a leader in networking. The only gap missing from my network is Lu Qi’an-xuezhang. If you’re asking me to help out, I’ll give it a try this time.”
When Big Head’s friend heard him say this, his expression grew serious: “Big Head, this isn’t just a joke.”
Big Head lowered his head, looking a little desolate: “If I offend him and can’t mix well at school anymore, don’t you guys abandon me.”
His friends looked at each other and said with their eyes that they would definitely ditch and run.
Big Head immediately turned furious and moved to grab someone and beat them up. The boys began to make a commotion, and the mood turned as lively as before.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
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Me Alj’r tfjga kjr lcvfrmglyjyis vlrjqqblcafv. Lf ibbxfv jgbecv lc fnfgs vlgfmalbc, regnfslcu jii bnfg atf rqbgar olfivr, rmgealclhlcu atf mgbkv ogbw bcf fcv ab jcbatfg, sfa ab cb jnjli.
“What are you still looking at! Come here, quickly now,” Big Head called out.
Only then did Fu Jia come back to his senses.
He played with Big Head until the sun had set to the west border, and almost all the people on the basketball court had dispersed. The group that played with Lu Qi’an earlier had already left at some unknown point, taking away a large number of onlookers. The entire stadium seemed empty.
Fu Jia’s thoughts couldn’t stray away from the three words of Lu Qi’an for too long before circling back to it again. He couldn’t help but ask Big Head, “Based on your guys’ description of Lu Qi’an, he seems to be quite scary?”
Big Head asked his friends to leave first, then stayed on the court himself to chat with Fu Jia. He vigorously nodded, “Super scary. Can you imagine? The teachers often ask him to come up with test papers for the lower grades. That level of difficulty can bring someone to death’s doorstep.”
Fu Jia remembered the questions Lu Qi’an wrote for him, and it seemed that there was nothing too terrifying about it.
“That’s it?”
“That’s still not enough?! He’s even scarier than the teachers at No. 6 High School, just how terrifying do you want him to be?” Big Head continued, “Let me tell you, when it comes to making friends, it’s not good to be rash. Lu-xuzhang had made it clear that he didn’t want to bother befriending us, so who would still dare to approach him?”
Fu Jia laughed.
That really was the case.
To reach his extent of courage, he was the only one who was willing to run up to the tiger and repeatedly pull its whisker.
After their conversation, Big Head left school and returned home, while Fu Jia returned to the dormitory. On the way back, he tried hard to remember whether Lu Qi’an was as scary as Big Head described. He concluded that the answer was no.
Although Lu Qi’an had always been indifferent and cold to him, Fu Jia never thought he was scary. The reason was probably that he had seen too many scenes of Lu Qi’an treating Lin Fengxun gently.
He had seen too many scenes, he had really seen so many scenes that when he closed his eyes, he’d accidentally project himself into it.
࿏
Since Big Head had promised to help, Fu Jia repressed his temper and focused on his studies. But there was one thing that happened that made him anxious.
There was actually a weekly test in No. 6 High school.
The first time he had heard about such a thing, Fu Jia’s dazed mood surprised Big Head: “What? It’s not like you didn’t pass your first-year final exams.”
It was only then that Fu Jia thought he should conceal his identity as a transfer student, so he casually said: “I thought second-year would be different.”
“You thought too much,” Big Head gave a bitter smile, “Being the type of place No. 6 High School is, not having daily tests is already pretty good.”
Fu Jia grabbed a fistful of hair in irritation: “Generally speaking, what’ll be tested during the first week?”
Big Head thought back: “Should be similar to first-year. Back then, they strung together material from middle school and course content from the first week, so this time should be the same as well. They’ll incorporate material from the previous year into the test.”
Fu Jia felt dizzy: “Can you outline the key points?”
Big Head stared at him with a conflicted expression: “It’s only been a week since school started, what do you mean key points? They’re all key points.”
Fu Jia had no choice but to shut up.
This week, not only did Fu Jia have to try his best and struggle with the teacher’s rapid and ruthless pace, but he also had to find time to review material from first year. Every night, his lamp was kept on until 2 A.M.
If it hadn’t been for the fact that Big Head had found a way to connect Fu Jia to Lu Qi’an in time, Fu Jia wouldn’t have been able to hold on anymore.
Fu Jia was working on a set of problems by the desk, and Big Head sat beside him while constantly prattling: “Do you remember how last time I told you that the teachers often ask Lu Qi’an for help writing test papers for the lower grades? One of these teachers is actually our school administrator, Liu-laoshi. She’s pretty familiar with Lu Qi’an, and treats him to dinner at the staff canteen every time he helps her with test papers.”
Big Head continued: “According to a reliable source, the school administrator will ask Lu Qi’an to write test papers tomorrow.”
He leaned closer to Fu Jia as he talked, subconsciously lowering his voice: “When Lu-xuezhang and Liu-laoshi sit down to eat together, we’ll pretend to bump into them by chance…”
Big Head brazenly repeated his plan, then proudly waited for Fu Jia to praise him.
Yet Fu Jia simply nodded and said: “So it’s like this.”
They looked at each other. Big Head was acting like he was at a loss, while Fu Jia really felt at a loss, which made Big Head feel like something was strange.
Fu Jia’s reaction wasn’t what he was expecting. He always thought that Fu Jia and his goals were the same— to develop a connection with Lu Qi’an.
There were many people in the school who wanted to befriend Lu Qi’an, and Big Head was especially one of these people. He tried multiple times before, all ending in failure. One time, his attempt was too obvious and he was taught a lesson by Li Qinhe, which caused him quite a bit of suffering. Thus he kept a respectful distance from Lu Qi’an, always in a state of wanting to get close but not daring to get close.
With Fu Jia at the forefront this time, he could have room to breathe.
But Fu Jia…didn’t seem to know what he was doing.
࿏
The next day, Big Head took Fu Jia to the staff canteen at noon. The canteen was small with few seats, but there were still some spots left. To make themselves inconspicuous, Big Head and Fu Jia sat in a corner with their trays, waiting for the school administrator and Lu Qi’an.
After over ten minutes, a woman dressed in business attire walked in, followed by Lu Qi’an.
Fu Jia watched them sit down and suddenly felt a bit nervous.
The school administrator stayed in her seat while Lu Qi’an got up to order food.
Big Head seized this opportunity, grabbed his tray and walked over. Fu Jia quickly followed after him.
“Liu-laoshi! What a coincidence,” Big Head said with exaggeration.
Liu-laoshi was puzzled when she saw Big Head. She thought for a few seconds before she realized Big Head was one of her students. She said with a smile, “This can’t be too much of a coincidence. How did you sneak into the staff canteen?”
Big Head scratched his head: “Isn’t it because the staff canteen has better food? I just wanted to come try it out. Since it’s hard to bump into each other, laoshi, let’s have a meal together.”
Liu-laoshi glanced over in Lu Qi’an’s direction and immediately refused: “Having greeted each other is enough. I’ve already brought another student to eat here, so don’t go around causing trouble.”
Big Head began to play dumb: “Laoshi, you can’t go around showing favouritism.” He then pushed Fu Jia and said, “This classmate, he seriously admires Liu-laoshi, and really wants to have a meal together. Why don’t you give him some face?”
Fu Jia, who’d inadvertently been used, smiled stiffly and nodded in agreement.
In the face of embarrassment, Liu-laoshi looked at Lu Qi’an, who had finished ordering and also noticed the commotion at this table.
He glanced at Big Head, which made Big Head choke back the “Lu-xuezhang” greeting that was at the tip of his tongue.
Lu Qi’an picked up his tray and walked over, his gaze skipped past Big Head and stuck to Fu Jia’s face instead.
At this moment, Fu Jia truly understood the idiom, the closer one is to their hometown, the more restless their heart.
What should he say? What words would anger Lu Qi’an? What words would appease him?
“Sorry Qi’an, should we go somewhere else?” Liu-laoshi asked.
“It’s okay,” Lu Qi’an put down his tray and sat down beside Liu-laoshi, “Let’s eat together.”
Liu-laoshi was quite surprised, but as long as Lu Qi’an expressed his consent, she’d have no objections either.
Big Head grinned and then happily sat down. Seeing that Fu Jia was dawdling around, he grabbed his tray and placed it before the seat across from Lu Qi’an.
Fu Jia’s choice of fare was in accordance with his usual habits. Whether it was No. 16 High School or No. 6 High school, whether it was the student cafeteria or staff canteen, there would be three dishes served as stipulated by cafeteria requirements. Otherwise, Fu Jia would only order one vegetarian dish.
Among the four meals between them, only Fu Jia’s tray was covered in green. Yet neither Liu-laoshi nor Big Head were surprised, they assumed the choice was based on Fu Jia’s personal habits. Lu Qi’an, on the other hand, took a good look at Fu Jia’s tray and asked, “Why is it all vegetarian?”
“Huh?” For a moment, Fu Jia couldn’t find the courage to confirm whether Lu Qi’an was talking to him.
Lu Qi’an stopped talking and pushed his own untouched tray towards Fu Jia. He stood up and said: “I’ll grab another order. Give me a moment.”
In an instant, everyone was bewildered.
Liu-laoshi and Big Head, who had no connection with each other at all, looked at each other as if they were comrade-in-arms, their eyes practically turning into question marks.
Of course it’s vegetarian because he was not allowed to eat much meat! Thanks for the chapter.
Gah, I really love Fu Jia but my heart hurts every time he makes the first move to Lu Qi’an. I wish he’ll deliberately ignore him and let Lu Qi’an finds him instead