Whale
In the spring season of March, ice and snow melted.
Willow catkins along the street floated with the warm spring breeze, stained the hair and shoulders of passers-by, or fell on the roadside ponds or even the clothes of the air dried clothes of the residents, causing many complaints.
But when the catkins flew, it meant that the bitter and long winter of the previous year had already come to an end, and the feeling of breathing had lightened—
However, for the “prospective high school seniors” who were about to take an examination in one and a half years, this briskness seemed a bit too much.
Old Tan propped his hands on the podium, looking helplessly at the audience who were swaying here and there and sleeping with books as cover, he could only take the file folder and pat the counter hard in an attempt to wake up some people who were still on the verge of drowsiness.
“Everyone cheer up! This teacher knows that you may not be used to it just after the holidays, but we only have a few months left before you become third years…Everyone must cherish the current study time, timely check for omissions and make up for vacancies so as to avoid not adapting to the tight rhythm of being third year students in the future……”
Old Tan talked a lot, but he’s afraid only a few people listened carefully. There was even a slight snoring sound from a corner of the classroom–
“Zhou Li!” Old Tan immediately decided to use him as a typical example of a villain, and threw a chalk tip with his hands, hitting the head of the boy who was almost drooling from sleep with incomparable precision, and the latter let out a cry almost instantly. After waking up, he stood up and looked around. “Fuck, what’s the matter! Is the class over?”
Most of the drowsy people in the class woke up immediately, and after a few seconds of silence, they broke out into laughter that could almost lift the ceiling. Old Tan could only pat the podium more vigorously to suppress the atmosphere, and stared at Zhou Li with a not very good expression, “Are you sleepy? If it’s too comfortable in the classroom, then go out and listen!”
“It’s really comfortable……” Zhou Li rubbed his head embarrassingly, and said the second half of the sentence with much interest, “After all, Mr. Cai is like reading a hypnotic mantra in class.” He then laughed twice, “I’m sorry, Mr. Cai, I will now listen carefully in class.”
“Sit down! If you sleep again, I’ll call your grandmother.” Old Tan glared at him, then sighed and shook his head, “You children don’t know how to cherish…….how many people are there who are eager to just sit in a classroom like you and study safely……”
Bian Shengjian squinted his eyes and forced himself to focus on Old Tan’s swaying body, but he couldn’t help covering his mouth and yawn, “Ah–”
Lu Shen, who was writing quickly with his head down, immediately paused, looked up and said, “Didn’t sleep at noon?”
“Ah, I didn’t get to.” Bian Shengjian was so sleepy that tears were about to come out. His sight was blurry when looking at people and things, thus he simply laid down and said sullenly, “I’m going to lay down, wake me if there is anything.”
Seeing that he was really drowsy, Lu Shen hesitated and sighed softly, “…Okay, go to sleep, if the dean is here, I’ll wake you. “
“Hmm.” Bian Shengjian barely made a breathy sound and then fell silent. It seemed that he had quickly entered the sleep state and would not budge.
Lu Shen carefully wrote down the last period on the paper, and when he closed his note, the bell for dismissal rang out, but before Old Tan on the podium announced the dismissal of the class, everyone woke up instantly, raised their heads and stared at him vigorously.
“…..Then let’s end the lesson today,” Before Lao Tan finished his words, several boys stood up and squeezed out of the back door, cheering, and nearly shook off the door. Old Tan just stood on his spot for a long time before he sighed and waved his hands, “Go, go.”
“Hmm…..the class is over?” Bian Shengjian reluctantly raised his head and rubbed his eyes, his tone sounding lethargic, “Is there still class later?”
“There is still one left, go to sleep again.” Lu Shen pushed his head down, and then stuffed a coat under his arm, “It’s better with this, to sleep comfortably.”
“Oh.” Bian Shengjian sniffed the jacket that still smelled of the fragrance of washing powder, and put his head on it with satisfaction, before adding in a daze after a few seconds, “Baby is really caring……….”
“Huh?” Lu Shen raised his eyebrows, captured the address Bian Shengjian said in a half-dream and half-awake with incomparable precision, and immediately leaned forward like an eager dog, “Third brother, what did you just call me?”
“Oh, go away! I want to sleep.” Bian Shengjian pushed him impatiently, and turned his back to him, “Don’t bother me.”
“Say it again, I want to hear it.” Lu Shen suppressed a smile, and from the corner of his eye, he saw that there were only a few people left in the classroom, therefore he boldly leaned into Bian Shengjian’s ear and said, “Young Bian~”
Bian Shengjian almost had goosebumps all over his body when he felt the breath of warm air around his ear, “… Lu Shen, do you fucking want to die?!”
“Oh, but I am already dead.” Lu Shen said with a smile.
Bian Shengjian stared at him for a long time without saying a word, and simply laid back again. Lu Shen paused for a while before stretching out his hand and stroking the smooth hair on his head, “Go to sleep, go to sleep…By the way, Third brother, your hair is not as soft as mine, it’s a little rough to the touch……”
“Shut up.” Bian Shengjian said.
However, he was not so sleepy after being disturbed by Lu Shen, and survived the last class before school was over in a barely sober state.
Look, what a tenacious will!
Bian Shengjian clicked his tongue a few times, sat on the spot and stretched, then put his elbow on Lu Shen’s shoulder casually, “What’s for dinner tonight?”
“Won’t it be in the dining hall?” Lu Shen looked at him.
“I don’t want to eat it there, anyway, I’m a bit tired of eating those dishes.” Bian Shengjian looked disgusted.
“Then what to do?” Lu Shen was a little helpless, “We can’t help it. At Least the school cafeteria has those dishes. Bear with it, young master.”
“No,” Bian Shengjian refused bluntly, “Let’s go out, I’ll treat you.”
“Brother Jian, which restaurant will you go to?” Zhou Li, who was packing his school bag, immediately looked over when he heard this, and his tone was somewhat regretful, “…Well, it’s not that my grandma is waiting for me to go home for dinner, but I also want to go with you two. “
“No, you should listen to your grandma.” Bian Shengjian said sincerely, and eventually asked, “By the way, is there any recommended shop near here?”
“There are a lot of them on the commercial street, such as Malatang hot pot and barbecues…” Zhou Li said casually, “Oh, by the way, there is a noodle restaurant on the corner of the street that serves shredded pork noodles with pickled vegetables, it is quite good, you should try it.”
“Okay.” Bian Shengjian realized that when he heard the names of these foods, he swallowed his saliva in disbelief, turned his head and raised his chin to Lu Shen, “Have you already packed yet? Let’s go.”
“Why, are you that hungry?” Lu Shen stood up with a smile, and patted Zhou Li on the shoulder, “Let’s go.”
“Ah? Oh.” Zhou Li responded, then looked at this person and Bian Shengjian walking shoulder to shoulder out of the classroom inexplicably, before scratching his head for a while, “Who is that man…why is he close to Brother Jian.”
“Can you stop being next to me all the time?” Bian Shengjian pushed him impatiently, “Can’t you walk yourself?
“Yep.” Lu Shen pinched his neck, took the opportunity to pull his back collar and took a quick look inside, then raised his eyebrows, “Ah, it hasn’t disappeared since last night?”
“What……” Bian Shengjian was stunned for a moment and quickly realized, shaking his arm violently, “Scram! You’re the one who gnawed it.”
“Then let me take two more bites when we get back tonight.” Lu Shen said with a smile.
Bian Shengjian didn’t bother to talk to him any more, and when he finally sat down at a spicy hot shop, he breathed a sigh of relief, poured some hot water and dipped the chopsticks in.
Lu Shen looked at him with his chin propped up, and he couldn’t help feeling that a good-looking person looked pleasing to the eye in whatever he did, and Bian Shengjian’s hand on the chopsticks not only had slender knuckles, but also had a very neatly trimmed nails. It was clean and everything was fine except for a few calluses from touching guitar strings.
“Why do you keep staring at me?” Bian Shengjian handed him the heated chopsticks, a little confused, “Idiot.”
Lu Shen smiled and was about to say a few more words to tease him, but he felt his right eyelid twitch uncontrollably twice, and after rubbing it with his hand, it still kept jumping.
“What’s wrong?” Bian Shengjian asked.
“It’s nothing, maybe I didn’t sleep well last night.” Lu Shen rubbed his eyes again and said.
“With your vigorous energy every night, It would be a wonder if you ever sleep well.” Bian Shengjian seemed to have remembered something, and clicked his tongue in disgust, “You’d better control it, or you will have kidney deficiency in the future…..”
“Third brother.” Lu Shen interrupted him very helplessly, “Can we not talk about this during a meal?”
“Pretentious.” Bian Shengjian gave him a sideways glance, lowered his head, picked up the chopsticks and began to eat.
He had to say that the soup base of this Malatang hot pot restaurant was really good, and the ingredients were fresh. When Bian Shengjian walked out of the store, he deliberately stared at the signboard, thinking that he should order a takeaway next time……. But before he could turn around, a leaflet was suddenly stuffed into his arms.
“Hello! Can you take a look if you are interested? Our newly opened aquarium is free for the first three days!”
“Ah?” Bian Shengjian glanced at the poorly printed leaflet impatiently, but saw that the person handing out the leaflet was a little girl and he was too embarrassed to directly refuse. “Thank you, I’ll take a look another day.”
“It’s free, don’t you want to go?” Lu Shen took the leaflet in his hand and looked at it twice, then bent his eyes afterwards, “Anyway, there’s nothing to do now, let’s go and have a look?”
“Yes, it’s very close to here! It’s only two hundred meters ahead!” The little girl who handed out the flyers was so enthusiastic that she almost reached out and grabbed Bian Shengjian’s arm, “And it’s free for three days after its opening! Today just so happened to be the last day.”
“Understood, thank you.” Bian Shengjian was dragged forward helplessly by Lu Shen, and sighed, “Hey, isn’t it just an aquarium? Why are you so interested in that…..”
“Because it feels like we are dating.” Lu Shen said confidently, “Isn’t that the case for young couples? Eat together and go to an aquarium……all that’s missing is watching a movie together.”
Bian Shengjian was stunned for a moment and couldn’t help laughing, “Damn, you still pay attention to these things?
“What do you mean by paying attention to these things?” Lu Shen stopped and looked at him, “I’m very, very serious about falling in love with you.”
“Oh, really?” Bian Shengjian was amused by his serious look, but he could only nod seriously in order to cooperate, “Okay–I am also dating you very, very seriously .”
But it was only when the two entered the aquarium that Shengjian discovered that there really was nothing good in this world for free. This place was not so much an aquarium as it was a seafood market, and there were several large and small glass randomly placed in the aquarium. The water tank, when one get closer, one could see a few hexagonal salamanders and parrot fish lying half-dead at the bottom of the water tank……In addition to the ornamental tropical fish display surrounded by a glass curtain at the end, Bian Shengjian doubted that the marine life in the entire place was not enough to buy an old red dragon raised by his father in the fish tank at home.
“What the hell, this is too boring.” Bian Shengjian finished watching after walking around casually, expressing that he was very dissatisfied with the second stop of the date, lowered his head and took out his phone and started poking, “Forget it, let me see what movies are available tonight…….”
“Third brother.” Lu Shen called him suddenly.
“What’s the matter again?” Bian Shengjian looked up at him, but was slightly taken aback.
At the moment, Lu Shen was standing alone in front of the glass curtain wall, the light was blue and dim, and groups of fish were undulating in the coral bushes behind him. When he turned to look at him, half of his face was hidden in the blue light. In that light, this strange angle made Bian Shengjian feel a little indescribable for a moment. Subconsciously, he opened the phone camera and pointed the lens at him. After adjusting the light and shade, he quickly took a photo.
“Huh? Did you just take a photo of me?” Lu Shen smiled.
“Yeah,” Bian Shengjian looked down at the photo for a long time before saying, “Hmm, very handsome.”
“It seems that we haven’t taken a photo together yet, right?” Lu Shen waved to him again, “Would you like one?”
“Alright.” Bian Shengjian walked over, and the front-camera reflected the faces of the two people who looked a little like giggling at the moment. He was taken aback immediately, and quickly adjusted his expression, “Look at the camera .”
“I found that you like to smile when you are with me,” Lu Shen said in a low voice, “Is it because you are very happy?”
“Look at the camera! My hands are becoming sore.” Bian Shengjian automatically ignored his question, and moved his head towards Lu Shen, “Hey, you should come closer…….What the hell are you doing standing so far away?”
“Handsome.” Lu Shen immediately tilted his head, and Bian Shengjian caught him at this angle and quickly pressed the shutter, and then zoomed in on the picture with satisfaction afterwards, “Hmm………Not bad, you are quite photogenic.”
“That’s not right, if I’m not handsome, you definitely won’t like me.” Lu Shen smiled and put his arms around his neck.
Bian Shengjian looked at his smile without saying a word, and suddenly realized what that feeling was like before.
“Third brother, do you think there are whales in the aquarium?” Lu Shen said suddenly, his tone very light.
“Stupid, where would be whales in this place? Not to mention that the aquarium is so shabby.” Bian Shengjian said as he stepped back and looked at him.
Having said that, Bian Shengjian felt at this moment that Lu Shen’s back just now looked like a huge and lonely whale, lost its voice in the ocean with a radius of hundreds of miles.
……… Is it an illusion?
Lu Shen, since I am with you, why do you still feel lonely?
“I just saw a place that allows customers to catch goldfish.” Lu Shen put away that state just now, held his hand and walked excitedly to a corner of the aquarium, “It should be near closing time. Let’s hurry up.”
“Where will you raise it after?” Bian Shengjian frowned and refused, “Forget it, just change the water every three to seven days, to not kill it.”
“Do you guys want to catch some fish?” The proprietress of the fish stall was about to pack up her things, she sat down again when she heard the two of them talk, and directly handed over a net bag, “Come on, ten yuan a time!”
“Thank you, Aunt.” Bian Shengjian sighed, scanned the QR code and took the net bag, “Childish ghost……Which one do you want?”
“That black one.” Lu Shen observed it for a long time before saying, “I see it, it seems to be dying.”
Bian Shengjian stopped the hand holding the net bag, and looked back at him.
“Okay. ”
“I remember that there used to be a grocery store in this alley, we can drop by to buy a fish tank.” Lu Shen said.
“Okay, let’s also buy some fish food…” Bian Shengjian held the inflated transparent plastic bag, hesitated and then said, “Are you sure you can really feed it yourself?”
Lu Shen glanced at the little black fish that sank to the bottom, and smiled, “Maybe?”
“Do as you please.” Bian Shengjian lowered his head and held the bag of fish carefully, for fear that the fish would be shaken to death if the frequency of shaking was too high, “That one….”
Before he could even finish speaking, he saw Lu Shen who was walking in front of him suddenly stop.
“What’s wrong?” Bian Shengjian suddenly felt that something was wrong, subconsciously looked up and saw that the expression on Lu Shen’s side face changed almost instantly.
Shocked, indifferent, sad, and even a trace of fear.
“What’s the matter?” Bian Shengjian followed his gaze and looked forward, and found that there was a person blocking the end of the alley not far away. Its face could not be seen clearly against the light, but the person’s voice was very loud. It clearly passed into his ears, it sounded hoarse, like sandpaper, but with a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had heard it before.
“26, long time no see.”
Bian Shengjian shivered fiercely, only to feel a chill creeping up the spine of his back instantly.
