Chapter 4
Saturday, the April spring scenery was just right.
On the 19-seat minibus, a young man in a blue hoodie was curled up by the window, eyes closed, perhaps dozing.
He had fair skin and a small mole on his left cheek, giving him a clean and pure look.
Ling Meng sat down beside him and patted him hard. Jian Wu mumbled with his eyes closed: “I’m sleeping.”
“I can tell you’re not asleep. What’s wrong? You look so listless on this outing, anyone who didn’t know better would think you’re heartbroken.”
Jian Wu rubbed the bridge of his nose: “I didn’t sleep well last night.”
They were participating in a team-building activity organized by B Medical University a month ago. Teaching staff from the university, affiliated kindergarten, elementary school, and middle school, single or not, could participate as long as they wanted to. The school even reimbursed half the cost.
On the one hand, it could help everyone bond, especially helping new teachers integrate into the group faster. On the other hand, it was mainly to encourage relationships among single young men and women.
Whether or not they could find their destined person was uncertain, but Jian Wu was always motivated by the school’s reimbursement of scenic spot tickets and transportation expenses, so he was the first to sign up.
If he hadn’t run into Song Shuci yesterday, Jian Wu thought, he would be very happy right now.
Wait, thinking of Song Shuci, Jian Wu suddenly opened his eyes.
“Will the newly arrived university teachers also be coming?” he asked Ling Meng.
“If they signed up, they should be able to come.”
Jian Wu: “Cough, cough–”
Ling Meng turned her head and patted him on the back. “What’s wrong?”
Jian Wu didn’t answer, but Ling Meng figured it out herself: “Newly arrived university teachers… Are you talking about Song Shuci?”
Jian Wu vigorously shook his head: “Absolutely not.”
Quite a few people were participating in this trip. They had chartered several buses, and everyone could choose which bus to take. Jian Wu, after catching his breath, carefully looked around, but his neck’s rotation was limited, and he couldn’t see directly behind him.
After confirming that Song Shuci wasn’t within his field of vision, he finally let out a sigh of relief. However, Ling Meng, like Sherlock Holmes, stroked her chin and said: “Why are you so concerned about Professor Song? Is it because he said you look like his fiancée?” She had felt Jian Wu was acting strangely yesterday, and today it seemed even more odd.
But after a night, Jian Wu had become completely impervious. His heart was like iron as he said: “Illusion, it’s all an illusion.”
Ling Meng opened her phone: “Should I ask him on WeChat if he’s coming?”
“Really, no need,” Jian Wu suddenly remembered something as he spoke. “Did you give him my WeChat?”
“Yeah, didn’t he say yesterday he wanted to add you, but you forgot your phone?”
Jian Wu paused slightly and hesitantly asked: “Did he ask you for it?”
“Not really, I offered it to him.”
“Oh…”
Ling Meng looked at him sideways: “You seem disappointed?”
Jian Wu vehemently denied: “Disappointed about what? I don’t even know him.”
“Speaking of which, both of you seem to have attended university in A City, and you’re both from the same hometown. Didn’t you meet at a hometown gathering or something in A City?”
“Your dad is also my senior alumnus, I didn’t know him before either.”
“Nonsense,” Ling Meng rolled her eyes at him. “My dad is over twenty years older than you, it would be a miracle if you knew him.” Then she suddenly thought of something: “How old is Song Shuci, by the way?”
“He’ll be twenty-nine in a month or two.”
“So he’s one year older than you… Wait, how do you know?” Jian Wu answered too quickly, as if he blurted it out without thinking. Ling Meng looked at him suspiciously, her large eyes filled with distrust.
“I’ve recently… added a new service,” Jian Wu said guiltily, “Fortune telling and face reading.”
Ling Meng snorted: “Then tell me when I’ll make a lot of money?”
Jian Wu, with a frivolous air, made some serious-looking gestures an inch from her face, saying with an air of wisdom: “Young lady, you clearly have a blessed countenance. Within a hundred years, you will definitely get a promotion and raise, earning millions annually.”
“I’ll be dead in a hundred years.”
Jian Wu prevaricated: “I can only tell people’s ages.”
“Then tell me how old I am?” Ling Meng asked again.
Jian Wu didn’t hesitate: “Eternally eighteen.”
“Not bad,” Ling Meng admired her newly bought lipstick shade in the mirror, praising, “Quite accurate.”
“Actually, I just googled him and found out when he graduated with his PhD, then roughly calculated his age. Didn’t Dean Ling say he did a three-year postdoc? Just add three years to that.” Afraid of Ling Meng’s suspicion, Jian Wu made up an excuse.
“You googled him?” Ling Meng’s tone was skeptical.
“A little curious.” Jian Wu added, rather defensively, “I’m only curious because I don’t know him.”
This explanation finally managed to appease the young lady. Seeing Ling Meng retract her gossipy gaze, Jian Wu’s heart settled slightly. However, before it could fully settle, Ling Meng said again: “But if you don’t know him, why do you seem to have a grudge against him?” She knew Jian Wu. Although he sometimes spoke without thinking, situations like yesterday were rare.
Jian Wu said with feigned anguish: “I’m just equally jealous of every involution king in the world who becomes a full professor before thirty.”
His words resonated with Ling Meng, a staunch supporter of the “lying flat” philosophy: “Indeed, the gap between people is too big.” Miss Ling sighed deeply, scrolling through her phone: “Why do I only want to play on my phone?”
Jian Wu consoled her: “Look on the bright side, every hobby that’s not illegal or criminal has its reason for existing.”
“Mm, you’re right,” Ling Meng turned her phone horizontally. “Quick, open your phone, the internet is good now, let’s play a game.”
“?” Jian Wu said, “Aren’t you reconciling with yourself a little too quickly?”
He was directed by Ling Meng to unlock his phone and open the game they usually played.
Since he hadn’t opened it in a few days, the platform required him to log in again.
He chose the WeChat login option, but as soon as the interface switched to WeChat, some dead memories from last night suddenly started attacking him.
Jian Wu unconsciously stared at the WeChat icon for two seconds, his interest suddenly waning.
“Why haven’t you logged in yet? Hurry up, hurry up!”
As Ling Meng urged him, his phone suddenly buzzed several times with incoming messages.
Jian Wu exited the WeChat interface: “You should reply to your messages first.”
“Alright.” Ling Meng opened her messages, her eyebrows furrowing deeper and deeper. As she scrolled, she suddenly cursed, “Holy shit–”
“What’s wrong?”
“My childhood friend is complaining that her ex is showing off his new car on his Moments,” Ling Meng said angrily, “That dog of a man, showing off like that.” As she helped her friend denounce her ex’s flaunting of wealth, she patted Jian Wu’s hand earnestly: “Jian Wu, remember, breaking up isn’t scary, what’s scary is finding out your ex is doing better than you after the breakup.” As she spoke, she remembered that Jian Wu also had an ex, so she asked: “By the way, how’s your ex doing?”
Jian Wu: “…”
Some people were really good at bringing up sensitive topics.
He coughed slightly and looked out the window: “Pretty good.”
“That won’t do, you have to look like you’re doing better than him. Even if we can’t win in real life, we can’t lose on social media,” Ling Meng snatched his phone from his pocket. “I’ll post something on your Moments.”
“Hey, wait–”
Before he could finish, Ling Meng had already taken several close-up photos of him with his phone.
She adjusted the lighting, took a few more photos related to the team-building activity, and uploaded them to his Moments, adding a classic lyric from “Break Up Happy”: “Only by waving goodbye to the wrong one can you meet the right one.”
After finishing her operation, she finally returned the phone to Jian Wu, warning: “Don’t delete it.”
Jian Wu couldn’t argue with her, so he just shook his head helplessly, not angry with her.
“Our Xiao Jian is still very handsome,” Ling Meng took out her own phone and liked Jian Wu’s post, looking at the photos she had casually taken and sighing, “Even close-up shots like these look good.” She admired the photos for a while, then suddenly paused.
“Hey, why do I suddenly feel…” She abruptly turned to look at Jian Wu’s face, hesitating, “that you and Professor Song look a bit alike?”
“?”
Jian Wu quickly raised his right hand: “I swear I’m an only child, I don’t even have cousins.”
“Oh, I don’t mean that, I mean… don’t you think you two have a bit of a ‘husband-and-wife look’? You look quite compatible. By the way, have you heard the saying that kissing a lot creates this kind of resemblance-” Miss Ling’s train of thought was too erratic. Before she could finish, Jian Wu, who was drinking from his thermos, choked violently.
“Aiya, stop drinking traditional Chinese medicine all the time,” Ling Meng screwed the cap back on his thermos. “It’s too easy to choke on.”
“This isn’t Chinese medicine,” Jian Wu glanced at the liquid in the cup, avoiding eye contact. “It’s cola.”
Ling Meng’s jaw dropped: “You put cola in a thermos?”
“It’s because those brats keep making me angry,” Jian Wu said. “I lied to them and said I was suffering from excessive internal heat caused by their anger, and now I have to drink Chinese medicine every day to maintain my life. Whenever they act up, I take out my thermos, and they immediately quiet down.”
Ling Meng gave him a thumbs-up: “Brilliant!”
“You can try it too, and cola is really refreshing.” Jian Wu tried hard to steer the conversation towards cola and teaching.
However, Ling Meng wasn’t easily diverted. After a bit of small talk, she returned to the previous topic: “Forget about cola, I really think you and Song Shuci have that ‘husband-and-wife look.’.”
As she spoke, she became increasingly engrossed in her own theory: “Right, Professor Song said you look like his fiancée. His fiancée and he kissed often, so they developed that husband-and-wife resemblance. Therefore, you and Professor Song also look alike! See, doesn’t my analysis make sense?”
Jian Wu said with difficulty: “You’d better stop analyzing.”
“Actually, Professor Song is quite handsome,” Ling Meng continued, lost in her own thoughts, “But he’s straight, otherwise I’d really want to set you two up. After all, there aren’t many men in B City handsome enough for our Xiao Jian.”
Jian Wu: “?”
As one of the few people who knew about Jian Wu’s past heartbreak, Ling Meng firmly believed that the best way to move on from a past relationship was to start a new one. So despite Jian Wu’s repeated rejections, Ling Meng’s enthusiasm for introducing boyfriends to him remained undiminished.
He righteously refused: “I like ugly guys.”
Ling Meng looked at him strangely: “Is your taste that peculiar?”
Jian Wu nodded firmly: “Mm.”
“…Okay.” Ling Meng deliberately lowered her voice, like an underground agent making contact, leaning close to Jian Wu’s ear: “Then how are things going with that guy I introduced you to last time? Any sparks?”
Jian Wu was a little helpless, but still played along, whispering, “We’re not electromagnetism, how can there be sparks?”
“It’s okay,” Ling Meng waved her hand, “I have another friend, graduated from A University, how about it, want to meet?”
“Not really, I’m allergic to academic overachievers.”
“How can a teacher be allergic to academic overachievers?” Ling Meng was puzzled. “I didn’t see you allergic to them when your class got first place every time.”
Jian Wu said: “Those in my class are little academic overachievers, they haven’t grown into annoying adults yet.”
“Fine.” Ling Meng seemed a little disappointed, but perhaps because she had run out of options, she temporarily stopped her matchmaking service and focused on comforting her friend.
She was engrossed in texting her friend, and Jian Wu, seeing that the young lady had finally calmed down, closed his eyes, intending to resume his nap.
The driver was driving quite smoothly, and combined with the spring sunshine, it was perfect for sleeping. Jian Wu’s sleep last night had been intermittent and restless, waking up several times, so he was sleepy now.
Perhaps because Ling Meng’s words “husband-and-wife resemblance” had planted a seed in his mind, he drifted into a dream. In the dream, Song Shuci was deeply kissing him, holding the back of his head. He groggily tried to push him away but couldn’t. Soon, they were tangled up in bed.
At the peak of passion, Song Shuci held his chin, making him look in the mirror. When he looked up, he suddenly realized he had the exact same face as Song Shuci. Startled, Jian Wu woke up with a jolt, breathing rapidly.
Ling Meng was still chatting excitedly with her friend. Hearing him, she asked with concern: “Bad dream?”
Jian Wu: “…”
If you ignored the first half… it kind of was.
But before he could speak, Ling Meng suddenly sighed and said worriedly: “What should I do, she said she still can’t let go of him.”
Jian Wu was still sleepy and didn’t quite understand: “What?”
Ling Meng sighed about her friend who wouldn’t listen to reason: “She said she still likes her ex. She even dreamed about him kissing her recently.”
Just waking up, his mind still foggy, Jian Wu heard the keywords “dream,” “ex-boyfriend,” and “kiss,” his heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously retorted defensively: “I didn’t!”
“Ah? You didn’t what?”
“I…”
Jian Wu swallowed, trying to shake off the images in his mind and regain some sense. “I haven’t had a similar experience, sorry, I can’t offer your friend any advice.”
“It’s okay,” Ling Meng said, “It’s commendable that you have the heart, after all, there aren’t many lovesick fools like my friend anymore.”
Jian Wu: “…”
“Let me tell you, lovesickness is really terrifying. Like my friend, every time she’s hurt, she comes to me crying. I stay up all night talking to her, advising her to break up, and she swears she will. But the next morning, they’re back together. I really don’t understand, her ex is just an ordinary scumbag, but she insists he’s the best and most handsome guy in the world, no one can compare.”
After venting her frustration, Ling Meng turned the fire to Jian Wu: “Speaking of which, you haven’t been looking for a new partner, don’t tell me it’s because you can’t forget your ex?”
She suddenly became curious: “I don’t think I’ve ever asked, what kind of person was your ex?”
The question was ordinary, but Jian Wu didn’t know how to answer.
Ling Meng broke down the question: “For example, his looks, how did he look?”
Jian Wu took two sips of cola to calm his nerves, and to prove he absolutely wasn’t lovesick, he lied against his conscience: “Not good, very ordinary, especially ugly.”
“Mm…” Ling Meng was silent for a moment, then comforted herself, “Well, it’s normal, after all, you like ugly guys. Then what about his personality?”
“Emotionally abusive.”
“Career?”
“Earns 4,000 a month.”
“Then how did you fall for him?”
“I was blind.”
The roadside trees flashed past, leaving only afterimages. A slightly exaggerated cough from the back seat mixed with the whistling wind. Jian Wu thought the cough sounded familiar, but before he could think about it, Ling Meng’s voice distracted him.
“He must have had some redeeming qualities, right?” Ling Meng said with a conflicted expression. “For example… in that aspect?”
This time, Jian Wu didn’t hesitate. Recalling the terrifying dream just now, he firmly and resolutely slandered: “Terrible, completely unsatisfying.”
Ling Meng couldn’t help but clap her hands and exclaim: “Jian Wu, you could still like him and be with him for seven years after that! You’re the ultimate lovesick fool!”
Jian Wu: “?”
Their voices weren’t loud, but the person sitting behind them could probably hear most of it. Perhaps because they heard Ling Meng’s words, the person in the back seat suddenly chuckled, coughing while laughing.
This time, the cough was so prominent that it finally caught Jian Wu’s attention.
He finally realized that this person had been coughing almost the entire trip.
As teachers who often lectured, they all had some degree of throat-related occupational diseases. Jian Wu always carried throat lozenges in his bag. Assuming the person behind him had a sore throat, and without thinking about whether the laughter was due to eavesdropping, he subconsciously took out the medicine and turned around to offer it.
“I have some medicine here, if you’re not feeling well, take some–”
His words of concern were abruptly cut short.
Under the sunlight, the man sitting directly behind him had a slight smile on his lips. As Jian Wu turned around, he leaned forward.
The young man, who had just been slandered, coughed exaggeratedly again to show that he had indeed been eavesdropping.
Then, looking at the stunned Jian Wu, he greeted him with a smile: “What a coincidence, Teacher Jian.”
