MNL Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Farce and Stalker

In the end, Yan Zhe stayed, freeloading dinner and playing games all evening. Since it was an apartment, unlike the house in the city center which had guest rooms, it was getting late. Xu Jing was just about to tell him to leave when the sound of a door closing came from outside.

It was that person.

The two exchanged a look. Even Yan Zhe immediately exited the game and stood up. Xu Jing opened the door a crack, catching a glimpse of the final figure at the stairwell.

Sure enough, it was strange that they lived so high up but still didn’t take the elevator.

Yan Zhe: “Want to go take a look?”

Xu Jing hummed in agreement. Before rushing out, he specifically patted his pockets to make sure he had the keys this time before leaving with peace of mind.

After going downstairs, Yan Zhe looked at the person who had left several minutes before them, but was now just a short distance away, and couldn’t help but whisper, “How can this person walk so slowly?”

At first, Xu Jing thought so too, but thinking about that person suddenly disappearing, and the words they said to him at the back door, he didn’t think it was necessarily the case.

It was already ten o’clock at night. The person was still wearing sportswear, just like yesterday, except it wasn’t the same outfit as before, but a black one.

It had to be said, the figure was indeed good, slender and tall, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and the exposed muscle lines were smooth and powerful.

Just looking at the back, you could tell they were a handsome guy.

“This brother is pretty handsome,” Yan Zhe said. “Feels like he’s not that old either. Jing-ge, maybe we’re overthinking it.”

“Being handsome conflicts with this?”

“I’m a simp for looks.”

Xu Jing was too lazy to argue and said succinctly, “Shut up.”

Seeing that they were getting closer and closer to the person in front, Xu Jing grabbed Yan Zhe’s clothes, signaling him to slow down.

Yan Zhe nodded seriously, then suddenly having a brain fart, pulled a baseball cap from his pocket, put it on, and pulled the brim down, completely covering his eyes.

Xu Jing: “?”

A curse was stuck in his throat, making him uncomfortable. Xu Jing ultimately chose to ignore it, turning his gaze back to the front, only to find that the person in front had changed from a slow walk to a jog.

Xu Jing hurriedly followed, but in his haste, he didn’t notice something and tripped, falling forward unexpectedly. At the same time, he heard an “ouch” in his ear.

Yan Zhe exclaimed in shock, but in his heart, he was also shouting, “We’re done for!”

After putting on the hat, he also felt like an idiot. His sense of direction was already bad, and after covering his eyes, he couldn’t even distinguish east from west. He was just about to take off the hat when his foot landed in the wrong place, and the two of them fell to the ground like a stack of logs.

“You motherfuc…”

Xu Jing fell so hard he was dizzy, and his vision was black. After about half a minute, that cold, deep voice came from above again, but with a more nonchalant tone, “Following in a group, is that so fun?”

Xu Jing’s fall was severe this time, and his ears were ringing, so he couldn’t hear what the person was saying at all. On the other hand, Yan Zhe was in better shape because he had fallen later. Other than a little scraped skin on his knees, Xu Jing had cushioned him everywhere else.

“Damn, Jing-ge, are you okay? My god, let me take a look!” Yan Zhe quickly got up and helped Xu Jing up, so anxious that he was tongue-tied.

After Xu Jing stood up, he felt even more dizzy, and he could vaguely see someone looking at him with a contemptuous and disdainful gaze.

“If you don’t go to the hospital soon, your brain will really have problems.” After the man mocked them, he walked away without looking back.

“Hey—how can you talk like that?” Yan Zhe made a gesture to chase after him, but Xu Jing grabbed him.

Seeing Xu Jing’s pale face, Yan Zhe was startled. He couldn’t care about anything else for the moment, and hurriedly took out his phone to call for a car.

When Xu Jing woke up, he was already in the hospital. His forehead was wrapped in a thick bandage, and the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was Yan Zhe’s flattering smile.

“Jing-ge, how are you feeling?”

Xu Jing’s knuckles cracked twice.

Yan Zhe was terrified, “Jing-ge, let’s talk nicely, nicely!”

Xu Jing ignored him and, in the next second, lifted the blanket off his body.

“Woah, wait, wait.” Yan Zhe almost jumped up, moving to the door while flustered, “Jing-ge, to be honest, I actually have a heart condition and can’t handle shocks. I also have osteoporosis, I, I…”

After Xu Jing got up, he glanced at Yan Zhe, expressionlessly walked past him, and entered the bathroom.

Yan Zhe: “…”

Someone sat back on the chair cautiously again.

After the other person came out after washing their hands, Yan Zhe muttered softly, “I really didn’t expect to have such bad luck today.”

“Heh.”

Yan Zhe touched his nose a little guiltily and said, “Well, a news item was released three hours ago, saying they’ve caught the suspect.”

“Oh.”

“…Although our behavior tonight was a bit stupid, we also gained some things, didn’t we?”

Yan Zhe’s tone revealed a kind of optimism that even though they were miserable, at least they were still alive.

Xu Jing listened to his nonsense.

“Like?”

“Like handsome people are mostly good people, there’s nothing good about not going home at night, like you should check the auspicious days before going out, you should think twice before doing things, like I’ll never wear that hat while walking again, and like… Jing-ge, you’re so wise, brave, handsome, kind-hearted, and suave, please be generous and don’t hold it against me.”

Xu Jing said very softly, “Get out.”

“Okay.”

Yan Zhe got up and walked out. A few seconds later, that smiling face appeared at the door again.

“After getting out, I came back again.”

Although tonight’s incident was caused by Yan Zhe, the two of them had been skipping class and fighting together for many years, and Xu Jing wouldn’t really blame him.

The smell of disinfectant in the hospital was very pungent, and Xu Jing couldn’t help but frown, saying in a muffled voice, “Don’t tell my mom.”

“I didn’t, don’t worry.”

As his only friend, Yan Zhe knew better than anyone that if something happened to Xu Jing, Qin Xin would definitely be the last person to know.

“It’s just that the doctor said you should avoid using your brain too much during this period.” Speaking of this, Yan Zhe felt even more that he should be grateful. Fortunately, this happened after the high school entrance exam. If it really delayed Xu Jing’s exam, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself even if he worked as a slave for the rest of his life.

“When does your school start?”

“Twenty-something days, I guess.”

“Damn, only twenty-something days? Your No.1 High School is like this.” Yan Zhe raised a thumbs up high.

Xu Jing closed his eyes and said nothing more.

·

The headless female corpse case came to an end with the arrest of the suspect. The murderer was her university teacher, who had murderous intentions because of an attempted sexual assault. After the matter was exposed, it was very sad, and many parents were even more reluctant to leave their children alone outside.

Later, Qin Xin also had time to live in the apartment. Other than sometimes running into that person when going out or returning home, life was still the same as before.

But Xu Jing just felt inexplicably annoyed by the person in 602. He had never had such great malice towards anyone before. Perhaps this was a clash of magnetic fields, a karmic debt from a previous life, an enemy in this life.

As the only key high school in the city, Linhe No.1 High School lived up to the expectations of parents, notifying them of the start of school in early August. Although the news caused a lot of turmoil when it first came out, the voices of complaint eventually turned into joy at entering a new environment.

Qin Xin handed the freshly warmed pure milk to Xu Jing, her eyes filled with concern, “Are all your things ready? Or should Mom go with you?”

“No need, it’s just registration.” Xu Jing slung his bag over his shoulder and took the milk, “I’m leaving, Mom.”

“Then remember to come back for dinner. I’ll make braised shrimp at noon.” Qin Xin still walked out the door, not feeling reassured.

“Okay, got it.”

The information notice said that they had to be at school by 7:00 AM at the latest. Xu Jing liked to arrive right on time, and he always calculated the time before going in such situations.

Before entering the elevator, he looked to the left again as if compelled. The door was tightly closed. Speaking of which, that person’s age looked about the same as his, so he should also be a student. But this place was only Linhe No.1 High School started early, so it was hard to believe that someone who looked like a peacock could also test into the same school as him?

Xu Jing thought to himself, absolutely impossible.

When the clock struck “7”, Xu Jing happened to step into his class, 104. The teacher had not yet arrived, but the students had basically all arrived. It always seemed a bit restrained when they first arrived. Except for a few boys who spoke loudly, most of them were sitting quietly in their seats.

Xu Jing looked around and found that only two seats in the very corners were empty. The adjacent tables in the classroom were put together, and there were people next to those two empty seats.

Xu Jing frowned slightly.

Games could instantly bring a few unfamiliar boys together. The last two rows were excitedly discussing the latest shooting game.

Looking around, the only person in the entire classroom who was sleeping on their desk was by the window. Although it was a bit out of place, Xu Jing, who hoped that the person sitting next to him would be mute, was particularly satisfied. He walked to the window and put down his bag.

Looking at him up close, he saw that the person was bending his long legs, and his sleeping posture was slightly lazy. His fair and slender fingers were wearily resting on the back of his neck. As if disturbed by the movement just now, the person lying down moved impatiently and, after a while, raised his head.

Eyes met.

Xu Jing: “…”

Shen Yan: “…”

No matter how noisy the sounds around them were, they were all extinguished in this instant. Xu Jing only felt that there was a bridge in his mind that had collapsed.

And Shen Yan’s face hadn’t lost its sleepiness. After seeing the person in front of him, he raised his eyebrows, “Following—”

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Jing’s hands moved faster than his brain. He grabbed his bag, turned around, and left, as if avoiding a plague.

Stalker.

Shen Yan chuckled lightly, his eyes with a hint of disdain, then he casually laid down and went back to sleep.

Xu Jing returned to the seat near the door again, his tone with a hint of displeasure, “Is anyone sitting here?”

The person being asked was a boy with glasses, an honest appearance, and somewhat dark skin. Xu Jing glanced at the things spread out on his desk and found that it was a study guide, filled with densely packed formulas and calculations.

Zhou Ji was stunned for a few seconds after seeing Xu Jing, as if he didn’t expect that someone like him would be willing to sit next to him. He suddenly became stuttered when answering, “N-No… no one.”

Xu Jing nodded, put down his bag, and sat down directly.

Afterwards, the more Xu Jing thought about it, the more fucked up he felt.

What the hell kind of luck was this, to actually be in the same class.

He must have been spending too much time with that unlucky bastard Yan Zhe. He would blacklist that guy when he got back.

At this time, Yan Zhe, who was still fighting in the internet cafe, sneezed five times in a row and was finally ambushed by the enemy and lost the crystal at the last moment of a comeback.

“…” Yan Zhe roared to the sky, “Damn it! Which idiot is cursing me!”

Five minutes later, under the curious gazes of the audience, a young and beautiful female teacher walked in, with light makeup, a white dress, and smooth, waist-length hair. She looked very gentle. The class was quiet for a second, and then exploded in an instant.

“Hello, students, there is one thing that needs to be informed to everyone first. The school’s original arrangement was for Teacher Ying Qin to be the homeroom teacher of 104, but Teacher Ying has not been feeling well recently, so I will be temporarily replacing her. My name is Liang Yin.” Liang Yin wrote her name on the blackboard, turned around, and smiled, “I hope to progress together with you.”

Only temporarily replacing her.

A disappointed sigh came from below.

“Teacher, how long will you be replacing her?” The person who said this was called Cha Fei’ang, who happened to be sitting diagonally in front of Xu Jing. This person was tall and strong, and his voice was very flamboyant.

“It depends on when Teacher Ying’s illness gets better.” Liang Yin smiled gently and said, “I don’t think you should be worried about this, but about the opening exam tomorrow.”

The whole class: “…”

They opened school early, and there was also an opening exam?

The class was immediately filled with wailing and screams.

“But don’t worry too much, I just want to know how you spent your vacation.” Seeing many faces instantly droop, Liang Yin added, “Don’t worry, normal difficulty.”

“Stop talking, I’m already useless, I can only think of using my second skill first.”

“I haven’t even finished watching my drama yet. The last episode is airing tonight, and I still wanted to watch it.”

Voices rose and fell, a few sentences drowning out Liang Yin, but she didn’t interrupt, just looking at the students below with a smile on her face.

“Classmate, are you planning to prepare?”

Xu Jing glanced to the side, but Zhou Ji immediately turned his head away.

“…” Xu Jing replied, “No.”

“Hey, I also played a bit crazy during the vacation, and only read two books. I’m definitely going to have a Waterloo at this exam.” After a few sentences, Zhou Ji still kept his head turned, seeming very afraid to look at him.

Seeing this, Xu Jing also withdrew his gaze, but before that, a gaze stopped his movement.

It was the person over there.

It was still that nonchalant gaze, as if he was specifically looking at him or just glancing casually, which reminded Xu Jing of the scene when he was locked out of the door that day, and he suddenly felt a little angry.

Is this person crazy?