Still Frame Chapter 28
byChapter 28: The Hunter (2)
Zhang Liuxin’s breath hitched. He said, “No, I can do it.”
A soft chuckle came from behind him. Wen Jin tapped his fabric print. “It’s uneven. It bled.”
That laugh made Zhang Liuxin feel even more tense. It wasn’t until Wen Jin moved from behind him to his left side, sitting back down on the high stool, that Zhang Liuxin realized he had been watching him the whole time—perhaps it was his imagination, or perhaps he was looking at his fabric print.
“Tap from the edges toward the center,” Wen Jin instructed. “Don’t hit too hard.”
“Okay.”
Zhang Liuxin carefully tapped with the hammer. The plant juices seeped into the white cloth, slowly blending into a unique picture.
Although it wasn’t perfect, Zhang Liuxin was satisfied. After filling in the details with a marker, he was ready to set the color.
Adu helped him with the color setting. Adu looked clumsy and carefree, but his technique was excellent and very meticulous.
They would take the finished products home to air dry. Everyone had also drawn lots in the group chat to divide into teams. Zhang Liuxin was paired with a girl from the Computer Science department to be responsible for tropical plants. The girl was delicate and quiet, and she greeted him softly.
“Hello, my name is Qu Shuhua.”
“Hello, I’m Zhang Liuxin.”
Lin Xun said, “Adu, Senior Wen, and I will each lead one group. How should we divide up?”
She glanced at Wen Jin, who indicated that any arrangement was fine.
Adu suggested, “Let’s draw lots in the group chat then.”
“Alright.”
Qu Shuhua also brought over her fabric print. Zhang Liuxin complimented her, saying it was exquisite, like an artistic souvenir from a scenic spot.
“Thank you. I’ve loved art since I was little.”
Zhang Liuxin said, “You look like you have an artistic temperament.”
Qu Shuhua curved her lips. “Do I? But my family didn’t allow me to major in art. They thought my current major offered better career development.”
This was common. People made different choices. Zhang Liuxin nodded in understanding. “Computer Science is certainly great, but it would be even better if you loved it. Still, it’s nice to have the chance to do handicrafts in the club now.”
Qu Shuhua nodded. “I’m a little afraid of environments with too many people, which is why I chose this club. I didn’t expect everyone to be so nice. Why did you join this club?”
Zhang Liuxin said, “For similar reasons. During recruitment, I felt like all the seniors were very kind.”
Halfway through their conversation, they heard others exclaiming. They opened the group chat and found that the drawing results were out, and Wen Jin had drawn their group.
He subconsciously looked up and saw Wen Jin’s dark, heavy gaze pressing down toward them.
“So that’s the division! You can create a small group chat and invite us in. That’s all for today. Make sure to air dry these fabric prints properly when you take them back.” Lin Xun made the final decision, then organized a few people to put away the materials.
Zhang Liuxin snapped back to attention and heard Qu Shuhua ask him, “Should I create the group or should you?”
“I’ll do it.”
“Then I’ll send you a friend request first,” Qu Shuhua glanced at her watch, picked up her bag, and said quickly, “I have a part-time job soon, so I’ll head off. Please remember to add me.”
“Okay, be careful on your way.”
After Qu Shuhua left, Zhang Liuxin kept staring at his phone, praying that Wen Jin wouldn’t leave first, because he needed to return the library card and the book to him.
He secretly peeked and saw that Wen Jin indeed didn’t seem to be in a hurry, sitting quietly on the side looking at his phone. But when Zhang Liuxin looked back at his own screen, Wen Jin still hadn’t accepted his group invitation.
Did he see it or not? Zhang Liuxin felt anxious.
When only one or two people were left, Wen Jin also stood up. Zhang Liuxin subconsciously followed suit, and the chair, unfortunately, let out a sudden, grating screech. Attracted by the sound, Wen Jin looked over. It was a very light, fleeting glance. Before Zhang Liuxin could capture its meaning, the other person withdrew his gaze, pulled open the door, and walked out.
Zhang Liuxin hastily packed his bag and quickly said goodbye to Lin Xun and Adu. However, as soon as he stepped out, he found that Wen Jin was already gone.
He had just walked out…
Zhang Liuxin took out his phone while walking down the corridor. The Science Academy corridor was very quiet. Zhang Liuxin lowered his head, typing and deleting messages in his chat interface with Wen Jin.
“Senior, where are you? I brought your library card and the book and want to give them to you.”
Delete.
“Senior, I came out of the activity room and didn’t see you. Where are you?”
Delete.
“Senior, your library card…”
Before he could finish typing that sentence, the door to the adjacent lounge suddenly opened. He jumped in surprise, only to see the person he was chatting with—the one whose message hadn’t been sent—standing there, one hand in his pocket, the other fiddling with his phone, looking at him.
“Senior,” Zhang Liuxin called out, but his thumb accidentally hit the send button. Wen Jin’s phone screen lit up.
Zhang Liuxin looked over and saw a pure black background and a string of unreadable notes.
That was clearly not his name, nor his online nickname. Zhang Liuxin couldn’t help but wonder, would Wen Jin actively change his note? And what would he change it to?
“Come in,” Wen Jin said.
The lounge wasn’t large, and with just the two of them, it felt even more confined.
A strange feeling arose in Zhang Liuxin’s heart. They had just come out of a crowded activity room, and now they were together in this small space.
However, seeing Wen Jin’s expression, those strange thoughts quickly dissipated. He took the library card and the book out of his bag and handed them to Wen Jin, saying, “Thank you for lending me your library card last time, Senior.”
Wen Jin didn’t take them. His expression was indifferent as he asked, “I thought you didn’t recognize me.”
Zhang Liuxin’s pupils widened slightly. “What?”
He belatedly realized Wen Jin was referring to his behavior just now. Zhang Liuxin wanted to retort that Wen Jin was the one who acted like he didn’t know him first.
“No, it’s just…” He couldn’t find a reason.
Under Wen Jin’s gaze, the fingers holding the library card gradually tightened. He stared at the slats of the blinds hanging behind Wen Jin, mechanically counting one, two, three.
Fortunately, Wen Jin finally took them, casually flipped through a couple of pages, and placed the book aside, his emotions unreadable.
Wen Jin’s phone lit up again, this time with an incoming call. He picked it up, glanced at it, and hung up. The screen returned to the chat interface with Zhang Liuxin.
“Senior, I created a group. Please join.”
“Oh.” A cold, single word.
Finally, Wen Jin tapped on it and accepted the invitation. Zhang Liuxin’s phone immediately displayed a new group entry notification.
“Thank you.” Although he wasn’t sure what he was thanking him for.
The matter was settled. Zhang Liuxin tentatively said, “If there’s nothing else, may I leave now?”
Wen Jin looked at him with interest. Just as Zhang Liuxin took a step back, preparing to leave, Wen Jin suddenly spoke again. “During your icebreaker activity last time, did you do self-introductions?”
“Yes, why?”
“Which department are you in?”
Hearing that question, Zhang Liuxin’s breath suddenly caught in his throat. He replied, “Journalism.”
He didn’t understand why Wen Jin would ask this. After asking, there was no follow-up. Zhang Liuxin said, “Senior, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go now?”
“Mm.”
Zhang Liuxin only truly relaxed after walking out of the academy building. However, after only a few steps, he noticed something was wrong. He subconsciously looked back and found no one else on the road.
Something felt off. Zhang Liuxin withdrew his gaze. He felt like someone was watching him.
He turned back to look at the academy building. The windows were close together, but the blinds of one room were halfway pulled up. There was no one there, though.
Zhang Liuxin looked away, quickened his pace, and headed back to the dorm after buying dinner at the cafeteria.
The dorm was lively. His three roommates were huddled together doing something. They briefly fell silent when he returned, then Tian Ke said, “Liuxin, want some pizza?”
“Yeah, Li Gongzi struck it rich today and bought pizza for several dorms.”
Tian Ke added, “His pay for last month’s shoot arrived. He’s loaded right now.”
They were talking about Li Xingzhou. Zhang Liuxin also received a message from Li Xingzhou: “Liuxin, are you back at the dorm? The pizza I ordered should still be warm.”
“Yes, I see it. Thank you.”
Li Xingzhou quickly replied, “I also bought pastries from Hefang. Do you want me to bring you some?”
“Xingzhou, thank you, but you don’t need to.”
He felt that there should be fairness between friends. Li Xingzhou’s attitude toward him made him afraid that he wouldn’t be able to reciprocate the same enthusiasm.
“Alright.”
Zhang Liuxin was wondering if he was being too formal. After all, Li Xingzhou had been consistently kind to him since the start of the semester. Would talking like this be inappropriate? Before he could figure out how to reply, another message popped up.
It was from Zhang Qiannan.
He and Zhang Qiannan almost never chatted online. Their relationship was not a harmonious brotherhood, and Zhang Qiannan probably didn’t view him as an older brother either.
“Ge, where are you right now?”
What was Zhang Qiannan up to now?
“Dorm. What’s wrong?”
Then there was no reply. Zhang Liuxin thought he was being inexplicable, probably just bored and looking to amuse himself, so he casually put his phone on the desk and went to wash up first.
After washing up, he picked up his phone while drying his hair with a towel. Zhang Qiannan had sent a new message. He clicked on it without thinking.
But when he saw the photo, he froze, instantly chilled all over. His mind buzzed, and everything in front of him almost blurred, yet the vague figures of him and Wen Jin in that photo were surprisingly clear.
“Liuxin, lend me your notes. That professor has a pop quiz next week, right? I’m afraid he’ll mess with us.”
Zhang Liuxin felt a ringing in his ears. He braced himself against the desk, took a breath, and handed his notebook to his roommate.
“Liuxin, why do you look so pale? Are you sick?”
Zhang Liuxin forced a smile and shook his head.
Then he grabbed his phone and climbed into bed. His roommate wanted to remind him that his hair wasn’t dry yet, but saw that he had already tightly drawn the curtains, looking completely distraught.
“Strange, what’s wrong with him…”
Zhang Liuxin rubbed his eyes and reopened the photo. The background was the library, a side profile of him and Wen Jin entering the elevator together.
How did Zhang Qiannan get a photo like this? Zhang Liuxin’s fingers were trembling. That feeling of a venomous snake coiling around his neck returned. He forced himself to calm down. Then, Zhang Qiannan’s second message arrived.
“Last time we had dinner at home, Zhang Jiming mentioned Wen Jin, and you didn’t bat an eye. Ge, why are you lying?”