Still Frame Chapter 21
byChapter 21: Coincidence or Inevitability (2)
Wen Jin’s substantial gaze swept over him like an ice blade, finally resting on the umbrella in his hand, which was encased in a plastic bag.
Zhang Liuxin tightened his fingers uncomfortably and mumbled, “Senior?”
This floor housed literary books. Zhang Liuxin had assumed Wen Jin would go to the archives room when he came to the library, so he hadn’t expected to see him here again.
Wen Jin lifted the book in his hand and asked, “Do you want to read this?”
The splash of red in his vision was too dazzling. Zhang Liuxin, meeting Wen Jin’s eyes, inevitably felt nervous and flustered, nodding blankly.
He realized what Wen Jin had asked a moment later and quickly shook his head, saying, “No need, Senior, you go first…”
Before he could finish, Wen Jin had already stepped closer, abruptly shortening the distance between them. Then, Wen Jin tucked the book into his hand. A fingertip accidentally brushed his palm, sending a faint, subtle tickle through him. Zhang Liuxin froze.
Then, Wen Jin bent down to pick up the book on the floor, looked at it with lowered eyes, and asked with a lazy curve of his lips, “Do you still want this one?”
They were now about the distance of sharing an umbrella. Zhang Liuxin was slow to react, and when that cold, unique scent of Wen Jin wafted around him, he finally felt that they were too close.
Being too close to Wen Jin always created a sense of pressure. Zhang Liuxin almost felt he had intruded upon him. He retreated several steps before taking the book with both hands and thanking him, “Yes, thank you, Senior.”
“You like reading this kind of book?” Wen Jin’s tone was inscrutable.
Zhang Liuxin didn’t understand what the other man meant by “this kind,” but whether it was his imagination or not, he felt Wen Jin’s attitude was strange, tinged with an emotion close to annoyance, though he had no idea what the other man was annoyed about.
“Yes,” Zhang Liuxin nodded, honestly saying, “I think it’s quite good. This author’s books are all decent.”
“The third volume,” Wen Jin raised an eyebrow slightly. “Do they have the first volume?”
Zhang Liuxin hadn’t expected Wen Jin to speak to him this much. He subconsciously replied, “I have it.”
After speaking, he regretted his quick tongue. They were currently in the city’s largest library; saying “I have it” sounded like a deliberate hint.
“They should have it here too,” Zhang Liuxin chuckled awkwardly, tentatively asking, “Would you like me to help you look for it, Senior?”
“Mhm, thank you.” Wen Jin’s demeanor remained refined and composed.
“No problem.”
They walked to the retrieval terminal. As Zhang Liuxin searched for the book title, a girl approached Wen Jin to strike up a conversation. He heard a deliberately lowered, soft and pleasant female voice say, “Hello, Senior, can I add your contact information?”
His hand slipped, and he mistyped the book title.
“Hello, no, you can’t.” Then came Wen Jin’s aloof and indifferent voice.
“Ah, sorry, I apologize for bothering you then.” The girl offered an embarrassed smile and quickly left.
Zhang Liuxin suddenly felt a bit of admiration for the girl. Wen Jin’s aura gave off a feeling of one hundred percent failure rate, yet she dared to approach him under his gaze, though that face was indeed very tempting.
“Are you done?” Wen Jin looked over, his gaze falling on the display screen, and asked.
“It looks like it’s been borrowed.” Seeing the words “Currently Checked Out,” Zhang Liuxin felt a little discouraged.
“Then what should I do?” Wen Jin paused, his tone somewhat forceful. “I wanted to read it recently.”
The impression he had of the other man was always cold yet very refined. Zhang Liuxin was surprised to hear him speak like this.
Then he heard Wen Jin say, “Don’t you have this book?”
“Um…”
Wen Jin decisively concluded, “Lend it to me.”
He had at least managed a “Hello” when facing a stranger’s approach just now. If the person opposite him wasn’t Wen Jin with that face, Zhang Liuxin would definitely have found his request too willful and refused him. But there was no helping it; since it was Wen Jin, Zhang Liuxin found it difficult even to speak fluently to him, let alone refuse him.
“It’s in my dorm. Should I go back and get it?”
There were some newspapers and periodicals next to the bookshelf. Zhang Liuxin casually picked one up and found it was from a newspaper agency he liked, so he couldn’t help but look at it for a couple of extra seconds.
“If you want to read it, borrow it and take it back,” Wen Jin glanced at the newspaper, seemingly uninterested. “I have something else to do soon.”
“Okay,” Zhang Liuxin folded the newspaper neatly, touching the slightly rough paper surface. “Should I bring the book to the Academy of Science, Senior?”
They had reached the elevator entrance. Wen Jin reached out first and pressed the down button, saying, “Are you very free?”
Zhang Liuxin froze, looking down at the shiny floor tiles, and whispered, “No, I’m not.”
The elevator doors finally opened. Wen Jin stepped into the car first. “What I mean is, give it to me at the next club activity.”
Zhang Liuxin walked in. He hadn’t felt the elevator car was this cramped when he came up earlier. Now that it was just him and Wen Jin, he felt the space was too small for him.
However, Wen Jin suited this pure silver-steel color. In the elevator mirror, Wen Jin’s facial contours looked even sharper, like a perfect black and white sketch.
He was slightly lost in thought, musing that Wen Jin must be composed of pure black: black hair, black eyes, long, slender eyelashes, and cool-toned skin, an inorganic kind of beauty.
He couldn’t resist looking a few more times.
Not far from the elevator entrance was a self-service borrowing machine. Zhang Liuxin placed the two books down, patted his backpack, and realized he hadn’t brought his library card.
He distinctly remembered putting it in his bag when he left the dorm…
His searching became more frantic until a blue card appeared in front of him.
“Use mine.”
The doctoral student library card was blue, and it had Wen Jin’s ID photo on it. Zhang Liuxin stared at the black printed text of Wen Jin’s name several times.
Seeing his lack of reaction, Wen Jin placed the library card directly onto the sensor area. His personal information immediately refreshed on the screen. Since the semester had just started, the borrowing column was blank.
Wen Jin efficiently checked out the books and handed both the books and the library card to him.
“Take them.”
This library card with Wen Jin’s name on it felt like a hot potato. Zhang Liuxin was quite at a loss. “When should I return it to you?”
“Didn’t I just say? The next club activity.”
“Are you coming next time too?”
“You don’t want me to come?”
“No, it’s just that I thought you must be very busy, Senior.” And he genuinely thought Wen Jin’s previous words were just polite formalities.
“If I don’t come,” Wen Jin took out his phone and tapped it a few times. Zhang Liuxin looked down and saw a QR code. “I’ll send you a message.”
This scene was already dreamlike for Zhang Liuxin. Like a robot set to a program, he pulled out his phone and, in a daze, added Wen Jin as a friend.
While adding the note, he noticed that the profile picture was slightly different from the one in the group chat he joined today. Although both were rain scenes, the background was different.
Zhang Liuxin dutifully saved the contact as “Senior Wen Jin.” Wen Jin glanced at it and said, “I’m leaving.”
“Goodbye, Senior.”
He watched Wen Jin’s retreating figure until he reached the door. Only then did he see that the rain outside had lessened considerably, connecting in the air like silver threads. Wen Jin opened the large black umbrella and walked into the rain.
It wasn’t until he returned to his dorm that the unrealistic, floating feeling disappeared. Zhang Liuxin finally seemed to land back in reality, grabbing the water cup on his desk and gulping down two large mouthfuls of water.
“Liuxin, was the rain particularly heavy outside?” Tian Ke asked, taking off his headphones when he saw him return.
“It’s lighter now.” Zhang Liuxin opened Li Xingzhou’s umbrella and placed it on the balcony to dry.
“I see your bag is wet,” Tian Ke pointed to his backpack, where one area was a darker color. “Quickly check if anything inside got wet.”
Zhang Liuxin nodded. Turning around, he saw his own library card clipped inside the open notebook on his desk. He rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Why had his memory deteriorated after starting university?
Fortunately, the books inside his bag were not wet. Tian Ke leaned over and asked him, “Is this the book you went to borrow with Li Xingzhou?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder, I saw you using his umbrella.”
“I forgot to bring mine today. I’ll return it to him once it dries.”
“He’d probably be happy to lend it to you,” Tian Ke pushed off with his feet, and his newly bought gaming chair smoothly rolled back to his desk. “I never knew that guy liked reading.”
Tian Ke always became a little strange whenever Li Xingzhou was mentioned, probably due to a friend’s possessiveness at work. Zhang Liuxin could understand, and he did feel that Li Xingzhou was overly enthusiastic towards him.
There were no relationships without reason in the world. Some people approached him to seek friendship and care, and some abandoned him for fame and power. Zhang Liuxin thought about it, wondering what someone like Li Xingzhou—young, accomplished, lacking neither fame, care, nor friends—could possibly want.
However, the other party had genuinely done nothing offensive. On the contrary, he was very measured, surprisingly good-tempered, sunny, and sincere.
So Zhang Liuxin stopped overthinking it, deciding that making a friend like this in college wouldn’t be a bad thing.
After wiping his backpack dry, Zhang Liuxin finally opened the red-covered book. The conspicuous blue library card was clipped inside. He finally had the chance to brazenly examine the small card.
He rarely saw anyone whose ID photo looked this good. The blue background made Wen Jin’s skin look even cooler and paler. His brow bone was sharp, his eye sockets slightly sunken, his long lashes dense and straight, and his thin lips were tightly pressed into an aloof curve.
This must not be a recent photo of Wen Jin. His hair was shorter than it was now, and there was a bit more youthful air in his features.
He recalled Wen Jin’s retreating figure walking into the rain, shoulders straight, tall and imposing. Although only two years older than him, calling him “Senior,” he was already very calm and steady.
Taking out the first volume he needed to lend to Wen Jin, Zhang Liuxin thought that today hadn’t been too unlucky after all.
Opening the book lying quietly on his desk, he discovered it was actually a romance novel. The protagonists’ first encounter happened in autumn, on a quiet, beautiful university campus surrounded by ancient trees.
Wen Jin: I feel like he looks at me as if he’s had a few drinks…