Alone, Beautifully – Chapter 93
by Little PandaMy Wife (5)
“Gave you my love.”
When Xu Jiao was going out, she didn’t forget to take the “Ma Yuan” book she used to throw at Zheng Zhiyu in red clothes. As she bent down to change shoes, her deep brown hair fell forward, hiding her cheeks.
Zheng Zhiyu was no longer floating in the air like before; instead, she came over and squatted in front of Xu Jiao, raising her hand to tuck the hair by Xu Jiao’s ear back behind it. She pinched a few strands, twisting them, feeling the hair’s softness and fragility, and noticing the traces that seemed like past malnutrition. She then grasped Xu Jiao’s right hand.
At that time, Xu Jiao was bending down, tying the laces of a pair of deep gray canvas shoes, which were washed-out and lacked any markings. They were the most common counterfeit goods on the market, priced from a little over ten to several tens of yuan, with quality entirely dependent on the seller’s conscience.
As her right hand was pinched by Zheng Zhiyu in red clothes, Xu Jiao flicked her wrist, trying to prevent the other from causing trouble and affecting her search for her roommate.
However, this time she couldn’t shake off the grip, and instead, the slightly cool fingertips spread her palm open, revealing the white sediment on her fingernails. Zheng Zhiyu stared at the traces, and just as Xu Jiao became somewhat impatient and was about to be stern, the red-clothed figure loosened her grip.
Xu Jiao tied her shoelaces, grabbed the book, and walked out. Just as she was about to leave, she thought of something, turned back to grab the willow branch on the bed, and glanced at the woman in the wedding dress, hesitantly saying:
“Aren’t you supposed to stay inside that memorial tablet?”
Actually, she was worried that she couldn’t deal with the dirty thing alone, so she hesitated about whether to take this fellow along as well.
Zheng Zhiyu shook her head, maintaining a distance that was neither too far nor too close, where she could reach Xu Jiao with a raised hand but not affect her with her own yin energy. She slowly said:
“Your blood was given to me, so I can stay inside your shadow, no need to bring that memorial tablet.”
Xu Jiao raised her eyebrows, said nothing, and turned to leave the dormitory, heading toward the school gate. On the way, she distractedly glanced at her fingers, noticing the traces on her nails that symbolized malnutrition and a lack of trace elements. She didn’t care much, only briefly glanced at her shadow under the sunlightβ
After all, once she left, Zheng Zhiyu disappeared without a trace, leaving only the shadow beside her much denser than usual.
No one knewβ¦
What exactly was hidden inside her shadow.
“Ai’aiβ¦ what should we do?” Xiaoli looked towards the direction of the empty school gate, where tall stone structures formed the imposing pillars of the entrance, one on each side. The ground was paved with granite, and the usually dignified university name was engraved upright on it, painted in deep red in the middle.
The university name, which usually invoked pride, now seemed to emit an eerie, ghostly atmosphere.
Qian Ai and Zhou Qili linked arms, standing at the school gate for the tenth time. At first, they didn’t notice anything wrong, but after stepping out of the gate and walking along, despite the surroundings being familiar scenes from memory, they inexplicably found themselves back at the same place, no matter whether they turned left or right.
One time, two times, three timesβ¦
Regardless of the direction or route, the two girls, clearly following the remembered path towards the bus station outside the school gate, were always led back to this spot, and it was always from the same angle as when looking at the gate while walking out from the campus.
As if something in the darkness was mocking them for overestimating themselves, actually thinking they could escape from this place.
During the first few times, Qian Ai and Zhou Qili imitated the way Xu Jiao had previously comforted them, good roommates linking arms, comforting each other by saying:
“It must beβ¦ I remembered the road wrong, the bus station isn’t a left turn, it’s a right turn, haha, I’m a bit directionally challenged.”
“Yes, yes, yes, the bus station should be a right turn.”
A few minutes later.
“Mmβ¦ did we just turn right, Xiaoli?”
“I, I don’t know either, how about we try walking blindfolded?”
“There’s a road outside, walking with eyes closed is too dangerous, right? Xiaoli, don’t you feelβ¦ like we might have encountered somethingβ”
“Shh! Don’t say it! It’s midday now, the sun is at its peak, how could such things appear? One of us must have remembered wrong, how about we split up next?”
“In horror movies, when people split up, it seems like those who come back aren’t themselves, right?”
“Ah ah ah, why did you say that! Quick, spit it out! Spit spit spit! We are successors living in a socialist society, we must believe in science! Ai’ai, quickly call Xiaoxu!! We must have heatstroke and can’t recognize the road! Call her to save us, ah QAQ”
In the end, both girls were clear-minded, understanding what was really happening in front of them, trembling and hugging each other. When calling, all four eyes were glued to the screen, even turning on the loudspeaker, ready to turn off the phone immediately if anything happened.
Thankfully, their call went through.
“Why didn’t you two take an umbrella when you went out, aren’t you afraid of the sun?”
Not far from the school gate, under the tree-lined path, stood a familiar figure that Qian Ai and Zhou Qili recognized, arms crossed, raising an eyebrow, looking at them with some helplessness.
The girl’s hair was neither long nor short, just over the shoulders, with no special styling, and it hadn’t been dyed or permed. It was simply deep brown, with the ends curling in different directions at will, clearly someone who never used a hairdryer to style herself before going out.
Yet, her appearance was delicately pretty, perhaps because of her fair and fine skin, with no blemishes on her face, and well-defined features. Even with such a plain hairstyle and wearing clothes without distinctive lines, if one focused on her long enough, a kind of serene charm naturally emerged from her.
Hearing her words, Zhou Qili and Qian Ai visibly let out a sigh of relief, casually wiping away the sweat on their foreheads and necks, not knowing whether it was from the midday sun or fear, and quickly headed towards her direction.
As if a drowning person saw a life-saving straw.
Qian Ai’s light makeup was somewhat smudged, her cheeks near her ears drenched with sweat, causing quite a bit of makeup to come off. But at this moment, she no longer cared about her appearance and just walked toward Xu Jiao, hugging her tightly:
“Xueba Xu, you truly are my life-saving benefactor! You came so quickly, wuwuwu! I missed you so much!”
Zhou Qili came over a step slower, panting, bending over to support her knees, taking a good while to catch her breath. But she also remembered to raise the corners of her lips, giving Xu Jiao a genuine smile, her face full of relief.
The girl allowed Qian Ai to hug her for a moment, then gently pushed her away, turned, and led them back, casually saying: “You two must have had heatstroke and hallucinations, right? Come back to the dormitory with me and rest for a bit.”
Qian Ai and Zhou Qili exchanged a glance and turned back to look in the direction of the school gate. They unexpectedly saw sporadic pedestrians walking on the previously empty road opposite, with an old taxi, its paint peeling, parked on the sun-baked, slightly smelly asphalt road.
This was exactly the scene they would usually see when leaving the school gate.
Both of them subconsciously let out a sigh of relief, afraid that saying the wrong thing might attract something unwanted. Qian Ai was the first to speak in agreement: “Yes, it’s just being in the sun too long, and Iβ¦ I can’t quite remember which bus to take, haha.”
Her laughter at the end was somewhat dry, but seeing Xu Jiao in front of them unreasonably added a sense of safety. Perhaps it was because she was the person they finally met after circling half a round, and she was a mentally strong acquaintance. Qian Ai thought of the slightly cool body temperature she felt when hugging Xu Jiao earlier and secretly affirmed in her heart:
It must be that she had heatstroke.
Maybe she even has a fever!
Yes, exactly like this.
Zhou Qili also nodded, closely following behind the other two, afraid of being left alone again. After all, that indescribable terrifying experience just now left a bit of a shadow on her.
She couldn’t control her gaze, instinctively looking around the scenery as she walked, as if afraid that some tree shadow or clod of soil might hide something watching them. Her eyes slightly moved, looking toward the old teaching building near the school gate.
One of these buildings, the Liberal Arts and Science Building, is where several major courses and elective courses nearby are arranged. The outside is covered with green climbing vines, occupying half the territory of the gray cement walls, even staining half of the large embroidered yellow characters “Liberal Arts Science Building” with green.
Leaving from the sunlight, suddenly walking into this shady area, Zhou Qili’s body heat gradually evaporated, and she unexpectedly felt a penetrating coolness. She had only hastily glanced in the direction of the Liberal Arts and Science Building, as it was the scenery seen on the way back to the dormitory. Yet, she saw Xu Jiao, who was leading the way, walking straight towards the side of that building.
Zhou Qili’s shoe soles rubbed lightly against the gravel scattered on the ground, making a soft noise.
Holding Xu Jiao’s hand and walking behind her, Qian Ai looked back at Zhou Qili in puzzlement: “Xiaoli, what’s wrong?”
Zhou Qili looked at the somewhat pale hand with clear green veins that Qian Ai was holding, feeling sweat trickling down her own neck, slipping into her collar, leaving a slight itch, but she didn’t raise her hand to wipe it away.
She just stood there, looking at Xu Jiao, who had stopped with her back to them, trying hard to show a friendly smile and disguising her tone as innocent and curious: “We don’t go this way to return to the dormitory, Xiaoxu. Did you suddenly discover a shortcut back to the dormitory?”
The person with their back to them leisurely answered two words: “Yes (ε°ε).”
Qian Ai, being carefree, didn’t notice anything, and continued following Xu Jiao’s words: “Wow, when did you discover there’s a shortcut here, Xueba? I didn’t expect you, who always seems to prioritize studying, to also have an interest in exploring the school’s paths.”
Zhou Qili didn’t dare to move, not realizing that the smile on her face was already more unpleasant than crying.
Behind this Liberal Arts and Science Buildingβ¦
There’s no shortcut at all!
Behind that is just a wall surrounding the Liberal Arts and Science Building. At the beginning of the school year, she participated in an English placement test and, along with another girl from a different dormitory, was late because they washed and dried their hair. At that time, they tried to find the location of the Liberal Arts and Science Building. Although it seemed very close from a distance, when they rushed over, they found only a high enclosing wall. In the end, they had to honestly detour a big circle to find the main entrance.
Because of this, she completely missed two small English listening questions, and her final test result was the last in the entire class.
Thinking of these, Zhou Qili only felt that the hand Qian Ai was holding looked more and more terrifying. Seeing that Qian Ai still hadn’t noticed anything and wanted to continue following the other party to a more remote place, she had to anxiously shout out:
“Ai’ai!”
Qian Ai, puzzled, turned her head to look at her: “What’s wrong? Are you tired, or thirsty?”
Zhou Qili continued acting calmly: “Hmmβ¦ I think I wasn’t watching the road just now and twisted my ankle. Can you come over and support me?”
Qian Ai, suspecting nothing, released the hand she had been holding with Xu Jiao and wanted to go help Zhou Qili see what was wrong with her foot. However, she let go unilaterally, but Xu Jiao suddenly clenched her palm tightly, not allowing her to leave, gripping her palm so hard it hurt.
Gasping in surprise, Qian Ai turned back in confusion to look at the girl who had been back-facing them, “Xiaoxu, why are you⦔
Before she could finish speaking.
From the other side of the bushes under the roadside tree shade, suddenly came a somewhat helpless and slightly panting question: “You two, didn’t you say you were at the school gate? What are you doing here at the Liberal Arts and Science Building?”
The voice was extremely familiar.
Even the somewhat lazy pause in rhythm hadn’t changed.
Zhou Qili instinctively turned her head to look, and saw a face exactly like Xu Jiao’s. Then she looked again at the back of the girl holding hands with Qian Ai, her lips trembling. Finally, as if having a complete mental breakdown, she screamed:
“Ahβ!”
Qian Ai, who hadn’t really recovered from the initial shock, heard Zhou Qili’s scream. Subconsciously, she couldn’t suppress the fear within her, as if she had found the right way to release it, and also let out a powerful “Ah!”
Suddenly facing two screaming chickens, Xu Jiao: “⦔
She speechlessly turned her gaze away, to look at the back of the figure holding Qian Ai’s hand unwilling to let go, curved her lips, and casually asked: “Still not running now?”
These words carried an indescribable confidence, as if it were a truth written in books that ghosts should run upon seeing her.
That figure trembled slightly and slowly turned its headβ
Xu Jiao approached step by step, seeing that face identical to her own, as if unable to withstand the sunlight, slowly melting under the scorching sun. She suddenly stopped her steps, and that thing thought she was scared, and took advantage of the situation to step closer to her.
It was just this one step.
In this slightly shady spot, Xu Jiao’s dense and unreasonable black shadow touched the foot of the opposite figure.
The black shadow moved, with ink-like traces rolling and flowing, suddenly a scarlet figure emerged from within the shadow. Xu Jiao turned her gaze away, her ears catching the sizzling sound of something disappearing.
Zhou Qili, who had been closer to the outer road, was already tired from screaming, her eyes unfocused as she stared at a spot not far away, unsure whether she saw or not. It wasn’t until Xu Jiao leisurely squatted in front of her that she had any reaction.
Xu Jiao spread her five fingers and waved her hand at her, waiting for Zhou Qili’s eyes to reflexively follow her movement. Then she calmly said, “As long as you’re not dumb, it’s fine.”
Zhou Qili suddenly snapped back to reality, seeing the face so close in front of her, she abruptly opened her mouth, seeming as if she was about to scream again. Xu Jiao swiftly covered her lips, muffling the sound that could almost pierce human eardrums.
Zhou Qili’s pupils shrank as she looked at her in terror, continuously making “mmm mmm mmm mmm” sounds.
Xu Jiao seriously said to her: “Shh, it’s me, don’t shout.”
Zhou Qili shook her head, tears naturally falling from the corners of her eyes, still making “mmm mmm” sounds. Xu Jiao saw she seemed to have recovered a normal reaction, raised an eyebrow, and released her hand. Zhou Qili, panting, her voice altered in pitch, barely steadied her mind, and after a moment, she said:
“Prove it, prove it a bit.”
Xu Jiao asked her expressionlessly: “What is the basic contradiction of human society? a, the contradiction between human society and nature; b, the contradiction between pioneering and conservatism; c, the contradiction between productivity and production relations, economic basis and superstructure; d, the contradiction between the exploiting class and the exploited classβplease answer within five seconds.”
Zhou Qili looked at her dumbfoundedly.
Although her brain wasn’t functioning well enough to react as she would during an exam, she still, according to her instincts as a poor student, subconsciously murmured: “Three short and one long, choose the longest. If you know nothing, just choose. I’ll choose Xueba.”
Xu Jiao: “⦔
She tried hard not to let the disdain in her eyes show too obviously, extending her hand to Zhou Qili, and somewhat speechlessly replied: “Mm, correct, but the exam also has short answer and essay questions; you can’t guess them all.”
This time, Zhou Qili really started to cry. On one hand, she felt relieved that their savior was indeed Xueba, and on the other hand, she couldn’t help but think, is it because her grades are so poor that she was targeted by ghosts?
Is it still in time to make hard work the boat in the boundless sea of study?
Xu Jiao pulled her up, intending to go over and pull up Qian Ai, who had been shouting in one breath and hadn’t stopped yet, showing great potential to join the choir as a soprano, but she was held back by Zhou Qili tugging at her clothes.
“I, I’m scared, take me with you.”
Xu Jiao handed her the Ma Yuan book she had brought, calmly comforting her: “Read more books, and you won’t be afraid.”
Zhou Qili looked at the green Ma Yuan book in her hand. Although it was very thin, it inexplicably felt heavy, representing the weight of knowledge she couldn’t remember no matter what.
When she opened the book and looked at the contents, Zhou Qili despairingly discovered that inside were still the things that made her fall asleep at a glance. But somehow, the feeling of fear seemed to have really faded a lot.
What remained was the despair of not being able to memorize the knowledge points.
Ahead.
Xu Jiao patted Qian Ai’s shoulder, and the girl who had been screaming with her eyes closed suddenly stopped, startled into a hiccup. She found that standing in front of her was still Xueba Xu and involuntarily looked at her blankly.
“Is, is something wrong?”
Since Zhou Qili started screaming just now, she closed her eyes and began to scream along, so she didn’t see anything and didn’t know what happened. Seeing Xu Jiao at some point let go of her hand and then walked back, she couldn’t recall exactly what scene she had missed.
Xu Jiao slowly asked her: “As for its origin, what is a country a product of?”
Qian Ai: “⦔
With a blank expression, she continued: “A product of irreconcilable class contradictions? Isn’t this a high school knowledge point?”
Xu Jiao calmly made a “mm” sound, confirming she wasn’t dumb either, then turned toward the direction of the other dormitory and walked away: “Let’s go, back.”
Qian Ai blankly followed, turning her head to look at the Ma Yuan book that had appeared in Zhou Qili’s hands at some point. She slowly pointed to the original direction: “Wait, Xueba, didn’t you just say there was a shortcut that way?”
Without turning her head, Xu Jiao responded: “I remembered wrong.”
Qian Ai said “oh,” then turned her head again to look in the direction of the distant school gate, subconsciously asking: “Can we still go out again?”
Zhou Qili quietly lifted her head from the book’s content and also looked towards Xu Jiao.
Xu Jiao stopped walking, looked back at the two of them: “You can, but the dirty thing is already resolved. Are you sure you still want to go stay at a relative’s house? If you want to go, you can go now.”
Qian Ai still wanted to go to the temple to request a safety talisman. Hearing Xu Jiao’s words, she somewhat hesitantly took two steps toward the school gate, and Xu Jiao watched her leisurely.
Qian Ai quickly said, “Wait for me here for a moment, okayβ”
After she finished speaking, she ran toward the school gate, occasionally turning her head to look at Xu Jiao and Zhou Qili. Without encountering any accidents, she ran out of the school gate, standing on the sidewalk outside. She happily jumped in place once, waving to Zhou Qili, her brilliant smile visible even from afar.
Zhou Qili, holding Xu Jiao’s Ma Yuan textbook, moved slightly closer to her and asked in a low voice, “Xiaoxu, just nowβ¦ that thing impersonating you, is it really gone?”
Xu Jiao nodded: “Mm.”
Zhou Qili breathed a sigh of relief: “How do you know?”
Xu Jiao glanced at the book in her hand, speaking righteously: “Because successors of socialism are all illuminated by glory, those dirty things can’t possibly find us. Want to make a bet?”
Zhou Qili, still not fully recovered: “Betβ¦ what?”
Xu Jiao: “If nothing strange happens in the next few days, I win, and you’ll do two more sets of questions for the CET-6 test next month. If something strange does happen, I lose, and I’ll help you organize two English model essays. How about it?”
Zhou Qili: “Sounds like a win-win for me, Xueba, I love youβI will definitely remember to request a talisman for you at the temple too!”
After speaking, she hugged Xu Jiao’s Ma Yuan and ran toward Qian Ai’s direction.
Xu Jiao: “β¦At least give me my book back.”
Without turning her head, Zhou Qili said: “I’ll exchange with you! The one in my dorm is brand new, on the desk! You can use mine for a bit these two days! Remember to answer for me in tomorrow’s class!”
Xu Jiao: “I don’t want it because it’s brand new, hey!”
She looked at the backs of the two, and after two seconds, helplessly shook her head and turned around to walk toward the dormitory.
As she passed through a small forest, a restless black shadow at her feet twisted twice, then suddenly climbed onto her back from behind. A slightly cool breath sounded in her ear, fragrant like orchids:
“Why are you so good to them?”
Xu Jiao, without looking sideways, continued walking forward: “Because they are usually not bad to me either.”
Just as she finished speaking, she was suddenly pulled aside by a force, almost losing her footing. Then, a figure in red descended from her back, pressing her against a tall tree trunk, leaning in face-to-face, and asked her closely:
“Am I not good to you?”
Xu Jiao looked at the roadside; this small forest is a good place for couples to talk and express love. However, the trees are not very lush, so any passing students can clearly see those inside holding hands or hugging.
Standing suddenly under the tree, leaning against the trunk like this, must seem very strange to others.
Thinking this, she pushed Zheng Zhiyu’s shoulder in front of her: “Don’t make trouble, someone is coming.”
The pretty woman smiled and squinted her eyes happily: “Is that so? That’s great.”
Her five fingers clasped into Xu Jiao’s fingertips, dissolving the other’s pushing force, then leaned in to kiss those lips. Xu Jiao held her breath and closed her eyes, and to a nearby hurriedly passing student, it looked like she was napping against the tree trunk.
That student looked puzzled at the scattered bird droppings under the tree and, even after walking away, kept turning back, seemingly wanting to know what exactly stimulated this classmate to come to the small forest to pretend, with a look of feeling the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, eyes closed, as if meditating.
Once the person was out of sight, Xu Jiao lifted her foot to step on the red-clothed one’s foot, but it went straight through, and the next momentβ
Her tongue was pushed into something, and as soon as that warmth entered, it melted.
Silently, it flowed into her throat.
Xu Jiao opened her eyes, her angry gaze carrying some astonishment, pressed her lips, and then asked:
“Youβ¦ what did you feed me?”
Zheng Zhiyu smiled, her forehead against Xu Jiao’s, and said meaningfully: “Gave you my love, ah.”
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