MNL Chapter 44
by VolareChapter 44: Piano. Xu Jing, I want to be your deskmate.
Yan Zhe saw Xu Jing arriving late and complained as he stood up, “Brother Jing, if you hadn’t come, I would have frozen to death.”
Xu Jing glanced at the down jacket he was wearing, “Made of paper?”
“No.” Yan Zhe said with bright eyes, solemnly, “My heart is cold.”
Xu Jing said expressionlessly, “Get lost.”
Yan Zhe had been waiting bitterly here for half an hour, so he was unwilling to leave. After following him inside, the first thing he did was lock the door.
“Tell me the truth, is it real?”
Xu Jing played dumb and didn’t say a word.
“Brother Jing, talk to me.”
Xu Jing usually thought that Yan Zhe was a natural worrywart, even more long-winded than Qin Xin by dozens of times. In the past, when he was in a good mood, he would let it go in one ear and out the other, and when he was in a bad mood, he would just tell Yan Zhe to shut up.
But now, Xu Jing only replied, “I don’t know.”
Yan Zhe suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes. How much he wished it was just a prank. He wished Xu Jing could deny him, mock him, or scold him, instead of replying with an “I don’t know” in this tone.
“I have an uncle who is a psychologist, do you want to call him and ask for advice?”
“Do you think I’m sick?”
After saying that, Xu Jing suddenly gave a self-deprecating smile, “It seems I am, indeed.”
Yan Zhe quickly denied, “No, that’s not what I meant.”
But in fact, that night he and Lin Jiayu had stared at each other in the internet cafe for several minutes, and they both saw strong shock and confusion in each other’s eyes. They couldn’t believe that Xu Jing would actually be…
“Brother Jing, that…” Yan Zhe found it really difficult to say, “Is it the one who lives across from you?”
Xu Jing sat on the sofa, quietly watching the black screen of the TV, and didn’t speak.
“Damn, I knew it, that brother really has the looks.”
“…” Xu Jing’s temples throbbed, and he said stiffly, “You think so too?”
“Fair-skinned, tall, and handsome, and with a natural cold temperament. If he were in our school, he would be mobbed by girls.” Yan Zhe also sat on the sofa, looked at Xu Jing and said, “But it shouldn’t be you.”
“Why shouldn’t it be me?”
Yan Zhe heard Xu Jing’s sincere tone for the first time, as pure as a child in kindergarten asking the teacher a question.
“This… you’re both guys.”
That’s true.
It was because of the same gender that Yan Zhe’s reaction was so strong, and that he fell into a self-doubting predicament.
“But Brother Jing, is it possible that you’re mistaken? What you feel for him is just like a friend, like me, and not that…” Yan Zhe couldn’t quite say it, “that kind of feeling.”
Xu Jing turned his head to look at Yan Zhe. It was the same scene. He and Shen Yan were sitting like this on the sofa last night. At that time, he only felt his brain was lacking oxygen, his hands and feet were out of control, and every move of the person beside him was disrupting his breathing and thoughts. But now, his heart was as still as water, so how could it be the same?
Xu Jing felt that Yan Zhe was just here to make things worse.
“Knock, knock, knock.”
Seeing that Xu Jing didn’t respond, Yan Zhe took the initiative to get up, “I’ll open the door.”
However, the moment the door opened, a low curse came over, “Damn…”
Xu Jing heard the movement and raised his head. The person at the door was still wearing a school uniform. Due to the angle, he couldn’t see his face, only that the other party folded the clean cuffs inward twice, revealing half of a fair and slender wrist.
“Is Xu Jing inside?”
Hearing this, the person on the sofa quickly turned away.
Shen Yan made a gesture to go in, but Yan Zhe had the intention of guarding the door, looking at him with a wary expression, “What’s the matter?”
Shen Yan was taller than Yan Zhe, and he could easily see the scene inside. He glanced inside, and when he realized that the person sitting there was indifferent, he retreated a little, handed the thing in his hand to Yan Zhe, and turned around and left without saying anything.
This was a bound set of English materials, printed with vocabulary, grammar, essays, and classic examples. Yan Zhe couldn’t understand it. After handing it over to Xu Jing, he asked strangely, “What does this mean?”
Xu Jing flipped through a couple of pages at random, and replied, “You think I know?”
“I’m not asking what this means, I’m asking what the situation is between you two now.”
Xu Jing was silent for a long while, and said, “I’m sleepy.”
“…” Yan Zhe had a look on his face that said, “You think I believe that?”
“Suit yourself.” After saying that, Xu Jing had already walked towards the bedroom. Yan Zhe followed closely behind, but he was still too late. The person locked outside almost blew up, pointing at the door and cursing, “I was born to worry!”
A few minutes later, there was gradually no more movement outside. Only then did Xu Jing open the door. Yan Zhe’s slippers had been neatly placed on the shoe rack. Besides that, there was also an extra piece of paper on the table.
Xu Jing picked it up and looked at it for a long time.
On it was a string of numbers, and a few flamboyant characters.
“Expert appointment!!”
Xu Jing subconsciously wanted to throw it away, but after walking to the trash can, he inexplicably couldn’t bring himself to do it. After hesitating for a while, he finally convinced himself to fold the paper and stuff it into his pocket.
•
As the learning tasks became heavier and heavier, catching up on sleep in Chinese class had become the norm for Class Four. And when Liang Yin saw students sleeping in class, she usually didn’t choose to call on people by name, but rather tapped the podium or used other methods to wake them up. But strangely, although Class Four had mostly boys, their Chinese scores were always the best in the grade.
“Classmates, perk up, let’s play something interesting.”
The people below had just been squeezed dry by physics, and at this time they were yawning repeatedly, feeling that even raising their heads took brainpower.
“Wen Yi, help me hand out these cards.”
Liang Yin handed a stack of colorful papers to Wen Yi, and then explained, “I know that everyone has been working hard recently to prepare for the exams. I also said before that I would choose seats based on grades, but it’s not entirely based on that. I will also make appropriate adjustments based on each person’s height and some other special circumstances. Now there’s a name on each card. After you get the corresponding card, write the name of your ideal deskmate on it.”
“Teacher, can boys and girls sit together?”
Actually, there were many boys and girls sitting together in the class, but as soon as this was said, the class erupted in an uproar, because they all knew that Sun Hao, who said this, liked Lin Xiyan.
Liang Yin joked, “That depends on whether the girl’s card says it’s you.”
“I’m dying of laughter.”
“Sun Hao, why don’t you just lie down and dream now.”
“I said, why don’t you come over and sit with the trash can.”
“…”
The boys got more and more energetic, and Liang Yin shouted several times before she quieted them down. This is why the neighboring classes said that whenever Class Four was as silent as a graveyard, they must be having Zhou Yan’s math class, and when it was noisy and like a stand-up comedy, then it must be Liang Yin’s Chinese class.
Cha Fei’ang should have joined in the fun as usual, but at this time his mind was all in the back.
Xu Jing’s card was placed in the corner, but Cha Fei’ang didn’t dare to open it to check, so he could only inquire like a lackey, “Brother Jing, I wrote you, did you write me?”
Xu Jing shook his head very honestly.
“…”
Cha Fei’ang looked heartbroken. Although Xu Jing’s temper wasn’t very good, his academic performance was good! Except for English, the others were basically close to full marks, and the quality of his homework was even better. Moreover, they got along well, and he didn’t hesitate for a moment when he wrote Xu Jing’s name.
The girls were mostly whispering, and the boys didn’t say much after that uproar, and they quickly finished writing their names and handed them in. Zhou Ji was actually also very curious about who Xu Jing wrote, and at the same time he hoped to continue sitting like this, after all, only Xu Jing was willing to sit next to him at first, and Xu Jing was quiet and wouldn’t affect his reading, which was what made him the most satisfied.
Just as Xu Jing got up to hand in his card, Cha Fei’ang and Zhou Ji said at the same time, “I’ll hand it in for you!”
Xu Jing paused. Zhou Ji and Cha Fei’ang looked at each other, and instantly felt less confident, stuttering, “Le-let him go.”
Xu Jing was too lazy to take a trip, so he gave the card to Cha Fei’ang. Cha Fei’ang took Xu Jing’s card with a smile, but on the way to the podium, he flipped the card over four or five times, only to find that it was actually blank, with no one’s name written on it.
Fortunately, Liang Yin didn’t look carefully. Only Cha Fei’ang’s eyes were sharp enough. When he handed in the card, he happened to run into Shen Yan, but found that this god also handed it in blank.
Damn, sure enough, having good grades makes you willful.
Cha Fei’ang walked back to his seat while grumbling with this thought, and couldn’t help but complain to Xu Jing as soon as he arrived.
“Brother Jing, when I handed in the cards just now, guess what? Yan Shen also handed it in blank.”
Xu Jing’s action of writing English suddenly stopped.
“You two didn’t collude, did you?”
“Get lost.”
“Oh.”
Two seconds later, Xu Jing couldn’t help but raise his head and glance over there. He saw Wen Yi suddenly stuffing a note into Shen Yan’s hand on the way back, and when he turned around, Lin Xiyan shyly covered her face.
Thinking of what Cha Fei’ang said, Xu Jing thought expressionlessly, maybe he should just go home and study by himself.
For the next few days, in order to avoid running into Shen Yan, Xu Jing got up a few minutes earlier every day to go to school, and after the evening self-study, he also picked up his bag and left. In addition, the two of them were sitting far apart, and there was even less interaction during class. So during that time, the two of them really didn’t say a word to each other.
On the surface, it seemed that everything had returned to its original state, but for Xu Jing, it was like losing something extremely precious, and every day felt like a year.
That day, after the monthly exam ended, Xu Jing was notified by Wen Yi and Lin Xiyan as soon as he left the exam room that he was going to the music classroom for rehearsal during lunch break. Because Liang Yin had been strict in the past few days, the program had been delayed again and again, so that even now he didn’t know who he was going to accompany.
The music classroom was in another teaching building. Before Xu Jing even arrived, he heard the movement inside. The weather that day was unexpectedly good, the sunlight warm but not scorching. The door was slightly ajar, and the sound of the piano came into Xu Jing’s ears through the crack. It was Schubert’s “Serenade,” a gentle and peaceful tune, which was his favorite. However, the difference was that the person inside was playing it noticeably slower, not because they were unfamiliar with it, but rather as if they were reminiscing about the past and deliberately slowing down the tempo.
Xu Jing felt that his restless heart had finally found a moment of peace. He couldn’t help but be a little curious, so he gently pushed open the door, intending to see who the person playing the piano was, but he never thought that he would be stunned in place.
Sunlight, piano, the boy he liked.
Perhaps this scene was just a pleasing one in the eyes of others, and would fade away with time, but for Xu Jing, it would forever be deeply fixed in his mind.
Xu Jing couldn’t control himself from walking forward, even though the person playing the piano hadn’t even raised his eyes to look at him yet.
…
“Xiao Yan, come sit next to me.”
Zhong Yiqiu was slender and graceful, her black hair reaching her waist was tied up with a plain white jade hairpin. The little boy sitting next to her looked exquisite, with a somewhat innocent and youthful expression. Flowing notes poured from his slender fingertips, and Shen Yan seemed to understand, yet didn’t, but listened very attentively.
The piano sound was melodious and gentle, but for no reason it was stained with a bit of sadness. At the end, it seemed that the whole world had quieted down. Little Shen Yan was very clever. After noticing the change in atmosphere, he immediately started clapping.
The sadness in Zhong Yiqiu’s eyes flashed past. She turned around and touched Shen Yan’s head, with a smile on the corner of her mouth, “This song is called ‘Serenade,’ and it expresses a boy’s sincere and passionate feelings for the person he loves.”
“Xiao Yan, if you meet someone you like in the future, please play this song for her.”
“She will like it.”
…
Along with the end of the last piano note, the voice in his mind gradually disappeared. Shen Yan’s eyes were lowered, his fingertips gently rubbing the piano keys, and he murmured, “My piano was taught to me by my mother.”
Xu Jing was a little speechless, so he had to follow the conversation and say, “You play very well.”
“Is that so?” Shen Yan raised his head, “Why don’t you stay away from me now?”
Complex emotions surged, and Xu Jing couldn’t say what he was feeling. He only felt a inexplicable soreness in his heart, and couldn’t catch Shen Yan’s seemingly light gaze.
“Try it?” Shen Yan pointed to the piano.
Xu Jing was about to open his mouth, even before he could make a sound, Shen Yan immediately said again, “I know you learned it.”
“…”
Xu Jing felt like he was being forced onto the shelf again, so he didn’t think much about it, and naturally assumed that Shen Yan had also seen it through that information form. But in the next second, the other party said again, “Don’t you ask me how I know?”
Xu Jing: “…How do you know?”
“I found Aunt Qin a few days ago.” When saying this, Shen Yan’s eyes had already changed.
Xu Jing felt a little strange. He remembered this look. A long time ago, when Shen Yan came to his house and found that a model was missing from the cabinet, he looked at him like this when he turned around.
“Sit next to me.” Shen Yan moved to the side, his voice a little low and hoarse, “Can I?”
Xu Jing felt that the fortress he had built in his heart all these days had collapsed again.
He thought, if Shen Yan asked him to get over 100 on the next English test at this time, he would agree without hesitation.
The space Shen Yan made was really small. When Xu Jing sat down, the two of their school pants happened to touch each other, and as long as they moved even half a point, they could feel the obvious friction coming from there.
Xu Jing’s body was stiff, and his voice was too, “What do you want to hear?”
“You decide.”
He hadn’t touched the piano for a long time, but because he had learned it sporadically for five years before, he only needed to familiarize himself with it for a while to get back the feeling.
Xu Jing’s hands were really beautiful, slender like a girl’s, with a faint pinkness on the joints. The way they bent and straightened was even more subtly sensual. Shen Yan’s eyes seemed to be growing on them, and he stared at them without missing a single detail.
Half of “Moonlight Sonata” ended.
“Was it nice?”
Shen Yan hummed twice.
Xu Jing asked again, “What did I play?”
Shen Yan smiled and replied, “Moonlight Sonata Second Movement.”
“Besides that, I also know that you played one note wrong.”
After saying that, Shen Yan’s hand suddenly covered his. Xu Jing was startled and even forgot to break free, only watching Shen Yan slowly move his right hand two spaces to the side. At the same time, a voice sounded in his ear, “It’s here.”
Xu Jing’s face was terribly hot.
He actually knew that he had played wrong, but just now Shen Yan was too close to him. In order to maintain distance, he deliberately played it wrong.
“Xu Jing, do you want to be my deskmate?”
The sudden question was too deadly.
But.
There was a voice in Xu Jing’s heart constantly shouting, like boiling water about to erupt, but he couldn’t say it.
“I don’t know.” He heard his own slightly trembling voice.
“I want to.”
Xu Jing suddenly raised his eyes.
His hand seemed to be gripped even tighter. Shen Yan said word by word, “Xu Jing, I want to be your deskmate.”