Today the weather is beautiful, with clear skies stretching for miles.
What a lovely day.
Lin Wuyu leaned against the railing on the rooftop, scribbling in his small notebook.
All around, there was a cacophony of voices. Near the stairwell on the rooftop, a number of students and teachers were gathered. A camera was filming a girl speaking at the edge of the rooftop, and below, the crowd was packed tightly, everyone looking up.
This was probably the most popular event organized by the student council this year.
“The food in our cafeteria is so delicious! It’s definitely the best in the city!” the girl shouted.
There was a round of applause from below, and Lin Wuyu smiled faintly.
“Still taking notes?” The vice minister of the student council’s publicity department walked over, looking surprised when he saw him. “Isn’t the student council recording this? Why are you still… Should I be taking notes too?”
“Hmm?” Lin Wuyu looked up at him. “Oh, go ahead. After all, it’s the first time our school has organized this kind of event. It’s quite meaningful.”
The newly appointed vice minister was very diligent. Hearing this, he nodded immediately and took out his own small notebook.
After staring at the blank page for a while, he moved closer to Lin Wuyu. “You’re…”
“Don’t look at mine,” Lin Wuyu took out his glasses from his jacket pocket and put them on. “It’s better to have a record from multiple angles.”
“Right!” The vice minister suddenly understood and lowered his head, biting his lip as he started to write.
Lin Wuyu lowered his head and continued writing in his notebook.
For dinner, I want noodles with sauce, with lots of oil.
Preferably lard.
A lot of lard.
Before he finished his multi-angle record, Lin Wuyu heard a girl’s voice coming from the front: “I still… I can’t do it. I’m suddenly a bit scared. No, no, I’m suddenly too nervous. I can’t go up and speak.”
When he looked up, he saw the student council president, Li Ying, patting a girl’s shoulder with a smile. “It’s okay, it’s okay. If you don’t want to go up, that’s fine. Let another student go first. You can take your time.”
Speaking from the rooftop, although it required queuing, the feeling was completely different from queuing for a cup of milk tea.
When buying milk tea, if someone cuts in line, even if people don’t say anything, they’ll silently curse the person as a rotten egg, the kind that grows green mold. But in this situation, if someone moves ahead, the others might even feel relieved.
But now, not only was there no extra person, one person suddenly backed out. The few students waiting to speak all turned to look at Li Ying, stunned.
The girl at the edge of the rooftop was about to finish her speech about asking the cafeteria lady not to shake the ladle. The atmosphere was so lively that if no one continued after her, it would be a bit awkward.
“I’ll go.” Lin Wuyu closed his notebook, casually rolled it up, and tucked it into his back pocket.
“Okay.” Li Ying nodded without thinking, not even asking what he was going to say. After all, he was the top student. Even if he improvised a thesis, it would probably be fine.
From where Lin Wuyu was standing to the edge of the rooftop where the speaking was happening, it was about sixteen steps. As he walked over, he still didn’t know what he was going to say.
What to say?
Until he stood at the edge of the rooftop and saw Xu Tianbo looking up at him from beside a tree.
Lin Wuyu adjusted his glasses, placed his hand on the rooftop railing, and smiled down at the crowd.
After a burst of screams from the girls, he began to speak, “Good afternoon, everyone. I’m Lin Wuyu.”
For Lin Wuyu, within his controllable range, impulsiveness often brought a sense of pleasure, like now.
The camera was almost in his face, and he cleared his throat.
“Actually, I never thought I would stand here one day, speaking to so many people.”
The noise below the rooftop gradually quieted down.
Although speaking here wasn’t part of the plan, and even the second before he stood here, he wasn’t sure what he was going to say.
“These words have been bottled up inside me for a long time. I want to say them, for myself, and for those like me.”
But once he started, every word seemed like it had been rehearsed hundreds of times.
“I have someone I like very much. He might know, he might not, but it doesn’t matter,” he looked up, his voice as clear and calm as before, “I won’t tell you I like you, but I will tell everyone that I like men.”
Everything went silent, and even the camera seemed to freeze. The cameraman peeked out from behind the machine.
Lin Wuyu was always confident, even to an excessive degree, but in that moment of silence, he felt a bit nervous.
He lowered his head, not daring to look at Xu Tianbo’s face below.
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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As he left the rooftop railing, he heard Li Ying’s low voice, “Unbelievable! You’re amazing.”
At the stairway, he ran into his homeroom teacher, Old Lin. Old Lin was not yet forty this year, and because they shared the same surname, Lin Wuyu always called him brother.
“Was it planned?” Old Lin blocked his way.
“No,” Lin Wuyu replied. “Do I need to plan to say a few words?”
“It’s about the content,” Old Lin smiled.
“Not really,” Lin Wuyu thought for a moment. “Will it affect you?”
“How could it affect me?” Old Lin said.
“That’s fine,” Lin Wuyu whispered, “Can I leave early? I’m hungry.”
“Go, go, go, go.” Old Lin waved him off.
Lin Wuyu dashed down the stairs and headed back to the dormitory first.
There were four people in the dormitory. Aside from him, who had to go to the rooftop because he was in the student council, the other three were all hunched over their desks. When they heard someone come in, they didn’t look up.
“Is the event over?” Liu Ziyi raised his head and asked.
“So soon?” Chen Mang, buried in his book, asked, “I thought it would last until after school.”
“It’s not over yet,” Lin Wuyu took off his jacket and reached out to remove the glasses from Liu Ziyi’s face, “Has your prescription gotten worse?”
“It has. You can tell?” Liu Ziyi rubbed his eyes, “Are you counting the rings?”
“No need to count rings,” Lin Wuyu picked up the rarely used lens cloth from the corner of Liu Ziyi’s desk and started cleaning his glasses, “I can tell because your eyes look smaller again.”
“Damn.” Liu Ziyi sighed.
Everyone in the room laughed.
“Yu, are you eating at the cafeteria tonight or going out?” Chen Mang stretched and turned to look at him.
“Whatever you want to eat, just say.” Lin Wuyu handed the cleaned glasses back to Liu Ziyi, watching as his large eyes shrank to half their size.
“You decide.” Chen Mang patted his stomach, “I’m just happy to get a free meal.”
Lin Wuyu changed his jacket and was about to leave the dormitory when Chen Mang asked, “Will you be back before evening study hall?”
“Me?” Lin Wuyu pointed at himself.
“… Forget I asked,” Chen Mang cupped his hands at him, “You’re someone who doesn’t need evening study.”
Lin Wuyu closed the dormitory door. Before he reached the stairs, his phone beeped with a new message.
He didn’t hurry to check it. Although his phone was constantly buzzing with messages from morning till night, he could almost immediately guess who it was from this time.
That’s how a sixth sense grabs the spotlight.
It had been 15 minutes since he finished speaking on the rooftop. Based on what he knew about Xu Tianbo, from reacting to hesitating and then deciding to send a message, this timing was about right.
Considering the speed at which Xu Tianbo handled such matters, it could be called crisp and efficient.
Lin Wuyu admitted that he didn’t dare read the message just yet.
He went to the convenience store, bought an ice cream bar, and ate it to calm his nerves.
There were no good noodles with sauce around the school. The best ones were at home, made by his dad.
His home wasn’t far from the school, to be precise, it was very close. Close enough that his parents knew he stayed in the dorms just to get away from home.
But today he really missed the noodles with sauce, so even though he rarely went home unless he needed to grab clothes, he stood at the school gate for a few minutes before turning and heading down the road towards home.
After a few steps, he took out his phone and opened WeChat.
Then he quickly tapped on the red “1” at the top.
—School genius, awesome! Whether you like men or women, I’m your best friend.
Lin Wuyu didn’t pause. He kept walking while looking at his phone.
His finger hovered over the screen for a while but didn’t press down. He quickly turned off the phone screen and put it back in his pocket.
He didn’t stop until he entered the residential complex.
It was only then that he began to feel his breathing become a bit labored.
He shouldn’t have been surprised. If Xu Tianbo had guessed who he was talking about, this reply was inevitable.
When he received the message, he could almost predict the content: gentle yet firm, not hurting anyone but leaving no room for doubt.
It was just that when he stood at the rooftop railing and started speaking, he deliberately chose not to think about this “if.”
But now, this deliberate ignorance made him realize that he had overestimated his ability to bear it.
It felt a bit uncomfortable.
“Why are you home today?” A voice behind him interrupted Lin Wuyu’s self-pity.
“I wanted to eat noodles with sauce.” He turned around and saw his mom carrying a bag of groceries.
“Why do you look so pale?” His mom stepped forward immediately upon seeing his face and stared at him, “Are you sick? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Lin Wuyu said, “Maybe I stayed up too late last night.”
“Are you feeling unwell anywhere? Headache? Stomachache?” His mom continued to ask.
“No.” Lin Wuyu reached out to take the groceries from her and walked ahead.
“That’s good,” His mom followed, “You didn’t need to come home so early just to eat noodles with sauce. You didn’t bring any study materials. Are you planning not to study at all tonight?”
“Yes.” Lin Wuyu replied.
“You say ‘yes’ so confidently?” His mom frowned, “Do you think just because someone calls you a genius, you really are one? You need to face reality and your true self. If you’re really a genius, why didn’t you skip a grade when you were younger? Why can’t you guarantee perfect scores? Why…”
“Mom,” Lin Wuyu turned his head, placing his index finger to his lips and lowering his voice, “Shh… listen.”
“Listen to what?” His mom asked.
“Listen to me.” Lin Wuyu said.
His mom was momentarily stunned, looking at him.
“I don’t think I’m a genius just because someone says I’m smart, and I don’t think I’m not capable just because someone says I’m not,” Lin Wuyu spoke calmly, his pace slow compared to his mom’s rapid-fire speech, “And let me reiterate one more thing: in life, it’s not just about what I can’t do; there are many things I choose not to do.”
“You…” His mom furrowed her brow as she processed this.
“Shh,” Lin Wuyu raised his index finger again, “Listen.”
“Listen to what now!” his mom raised her voice in anger.
“If neither of us speaks,” Lin Wuyu said, “our moods will be much better.”
When they walked in, his dad was already in the kitchen making noodles with sauce. His mom, who had arrived home before him, sat on the sofa with a frown. Lin Wuyu walked into the kitchen and greeted his dad, “Dad.”
“Don’t always talk back to your mom,” his dad said.
“Okay,” Lin Wuyu responded.
“You’re not a kid anymore, about to go to college,” his dad said, “you need to learn to understand and empathize with your parents…”
“Okay,” Lin Wuyu responded again.
His parents managed to do this; they could understand and empathize with each other.
Because they were a pair of equally conflicted and contradictory parents.
Lin Wuyu turned and walked towards his room.
“Open the windows in your brother’s room to get some fresh air,” his mom said.
“Okay.” Lin Wuyu paused for a moment, then walked into the room next to his and opened all the windows. He quickly left, went back to his room, locked the door, and lay down on the bed.
Noodles with sauce are harmful.
Cravings are harmful.
If he didn’t eat noodles with sauce… what should he eat now?
*
“Fried sauce noodles?” his grandma’s face suddenly appeared in front of Ding Ji.
“Oh my gosh, ancestor!” Ding Ji was so startled that he kicked the edge of the table, knocking his phone to the floor.
“What are you doing?” he patted his chest, “If you scare your big grandson to death, how will you answer to the ancestors of the Ding family!”
“You get scared so easily, does this big grandson live up to the Ding family ancestors?” his grandma said, “What are you watching? A horror movie?”
“When have I ever watched those?” Ding Ji sighed, bending down to pick up his phone. He had always been timid, and his grandma often subscribed to the principle of fighting poison with poison, scaring him every now and then. He felt that in a few years, his courage might completely disappear.
He had been watching this documentary for several days, filled with major cases, murders, and crime scenes from long ago, which weren’t pixelated. Occasionally, there would be a sudden frightening scene. Not to mention watching at night, even at dusk, it would feel like something was brushing against the back of his neck.
Scared by his grandma, he didn’t want to watch anymore. He threw his phone aside, stood up, and stretched. “What did we just say to eat? Fried sauce noodles?”
“If you want to eat something else, grandma will make it for you.” His grandma walked to the window and looked outside.
“I want dumplings,” Ding Ji said.
“Alright, I’ll make dumplings for you,” his grandma nodded but didn’t move from the window.
“What are you looking at?” Ding Ji walked over and stood beside his grandma, looking out with her.
“Someone’s dead,” his grandma said gravely, pinching her fingers as she calculated, “Is it…”
Ding Ji looked down and saw a peaceful scene with no unusual sounds. He was about to ask how she knew someone had died when he saw a few pieces of yellow joss paper floating past the curb.
The wind swirled them along the road.
“Oh my god,” Ding Ji’s back prickled, and he quickly turned away from the window, scratching his back nervously. “Can you not do this!”
“Isn’t your grandma amazing?” his grandma turned to him with a smile.
“Amazing my foot,” Ding Ji put on his jacket, “Nowadays, we believe in science, and you’re still playing the role of a mystic.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” his grandma smacked his back, “It works!”
Ding Ji turned and leaned close to his grandma, lowering his voice with a mysterious expression. “Grandma, be honest. Did you see the joss paper float by?”
His grandma gave him a mysterious look too, and after a moment, she said, “Quite a few pieces.”
Ding Ji couldn’t stop laughing. He put on his shoes, ready to go out. “I’m going for a walk.”
“You want dumplings but won’t mix the dough? Won’t cut the dough? Won’t roll the wrappers?” his grandma fired a series of questions.
“I don’t know how to cut the pieces, and you won’t let me use a knife,” Ding Ji said.
“Won’t mix the filling? Won’t boil the water?” his grandma continued.
“Fried sauce noodles,” Ding Ji leaned against the doorframe, “I want fried sauce noodles now.”
“Brat, can’t rely on you. I’ll ask your second aunt for help,” his grandma started calculating on her fingers again.
“Isn’t she coming tomorrow?” Ding Ji asked.
“She’s coming today,” his grandma finished calculating, lifted her head, and raised her eyebrows, “She’ll be here soon.”
Ding Ji went downstairs and ran into Aunt Hu, who was coming up. He greeted her, “Aunt Hu, got a cold?”
“Yeah, caught a chill this morning,” Aunt Hu responded, and as Ding Ji finished descending the stairs, she looked up in surprise and asked, “How did you know?”
Ding Ji just smiled and didn’t say anything.
“You’ve learned a lot from your grandma…” Aunt Hu sighed, “How did you know?”
Ding Ji sighed. It was too easy to fool people. He had just heard Aunt Hu sneezing and sniffling while he was talking to his grandma at the door.
But his grandma was sometimes quite amazing. When he walked out of the building, he ran into his second aunt.
“Second aunt, did you tell grandma you were coming?” Ding Ji immediately asked.
“No, I was passing by while doing something today. We agreed on tomorrow, but since I’m here, it’s today,” his second aunt said.
“Then how did she know you were coming?” Ding Ji asked.
“She calculated,” his second aunt said, “You’re the one who learned the most from her. Why are you asking me?”
Ding Ji smiled and started pinching his fingers, pretending to calculate.
“What did you figure out?” his second aunt asked with a laugh as she walked upstairs.
“I’ll have a romance this week.” Ding Ji raised his eyebrows.
