Chapter 18 (1/2)

In Chapter 18 of The Youthful You Who Was So Beautiful, we see the extent and depth of Chen Nian’s trust in Bei Ye – even if Bei Ye was indeed the one who murdered Wei Cai, and even if he was the rapist who goes around s.e.xually a.s.saulting various girls in a huge raincoat, Chen Nian remains unfearful, and unafraid of him. Her faith and trust in him – that he would never hurt her – is so deep, and so unwavering, that it’s extremely foolish, and yet, so very touching. In this Chapter, we also see the police start to clamp down on Wei Cai’s murderer – will the halcyon days of these two youths last much longer?

“Lichen is an amazing organism.” Xiao Mi exclaimed to Chen Nian.

Chen Nian was cleaning her desk. As the graduation exams were slightly more than a week away, she began to clear her books from her desk.

“Don’t you agree? Lichen can only be produced from algae living among the filaments of a fungus in a mutually symbiotic relations.h.i.+p – the algae produces food for the fungus by photosynthesis whilst the fungus gathers moisture and nutrients from the environment. If you separate the fungus and the algae, both would be unable to survive independently, and would eventually die.”

Zeng Hao, who had originally been packing her bag, turned back on hearing Xiao Mi’s words, “Xiao Mi, you have such plentiful and abundant feelings, it’s really a pity that you didn’t enter into a relations.h.i.+p when we’re still young and schooling. Well, you still have a couple of days left – do you want to hop onto the train before it’s too late?”

Xiao Mi kicked Zeng Hao’s chair in protest, “There’d be better boys waiting in University.”

“Not necessarily.” Zeng Hao’s eyes subtly s.h.i.+fted in another direction.

Xiao Mi noted the change in Zeng Hao’s gaze, and laughed, “You’ve already set your sights on someone, haven’t you?”

Zeng Hao didn’t bother hiding her admiration, and admitted freely, “When the graduation examinations are finally over, I’m going to pursue Li Xiang.”

“Ah! Then you should try to enter Beijing’s universities as well!” As graduation neared, the impending separation began to loom over the students, and everyone began to fervently wish that there would be no lack of familiar faces in their new environments.

“Sure! I don’t want to stay in this district anymore, I hate the people here.” Zeng Hao replied. Regardless of whether it was the deceased Hu Xiao Die, her, or Chen Nian – the memories and images of the bullying they suffered, and the coldness and indifference of their cla.s.smates, remained vivid in her mind.

Zeng Hao: “When I’m in University, I’m going to learn how to dress myself properly and how to put on make up. I’m going to try to partic.i.p.ate in more extracurricular activities and get to know a wider circle of friends.”

Xiao Mi too, had great hopes for University, and turned to look at Chen Nian, “Nian, when we’re in University, you’d be the undisputed department belle.”

Chen Nian raised her eyes lazily to look at Xiao Mi, “Because I would be the only girl in the Department of Mathematics or the Department of Physics?”

Zeng Hao burst out laughing, and pinched Chen Nian’s face playfully, “You’re such a dork!”

Chen Nian subtly turned her face away.

Xiao Mi couldn’t contain her laughter either, “I take back my words – you’re not going to be the Department belle, you’d be the School Belle! School Belle! — Nian, if you select an Engineering school, you’d have a ton of suitors. Have you ever thought about your ideal type?”

Chen Nian carefully placed the Oxford Advanced Learner’s English Chinese Dictionary in her school bag, and zipped it up. In a soft voice, she replied, “If I commit murder, he commits arson.”

Zeng Hao: “……”

Xiao Mi: “……”

Chen Nian continued slowly, “But I won’t murder anybody, and I don’t want him to commit arson either.”

Zeng Hao pushed Chen Nian’s hand gently, “Your jokes are always so cold. Basically, your ideal type is someone who would love you to the point where he would willingly die for you, isn’t it? But there’s n.o.body like that in the present day and age!”

Xiao Mi chimed in as well, “Yeah, tell us seriously – what’s your ideal type?”

“Someone who treats me as a…… little child. Wherever I go, he would……follow. If I’m not within his line of sight, he would feel anxious and uneasy; and if he’s not within my line of sight, I too……would feel anxious and uneasy.”

“Nian, you and your boyfriend sound like the clownfish and the sea anemone!” Xiao Mi laughed, “Or the lichen?”

“NO! NO! NO!” Zeng Hao shook her head vigorously. “Chen Nian, with this kind of mindset, the happiness and bliss in your relations.h.i.+p will not be long lasting. Equality is extremely important in a relations.h.i.+p, the relations.h.i.+p between you and your significant other is not one of father and daughter, nor is it one of brother and sister; you will need freedom and s.p.a.ce. It’s not healthy for the two of you to be so interdependent on one another. You have to try to change your mindset.”

“Oh.” Chen Nian replied.

Having cleared their desks, the three students strolled out of the cla.s.sroom. Zeng Hao suddenly suggested, “Since we have a holiday tomorrow, why don’t we go to the Wen Qu Xing Temple to pray? We can even call Li Xiang along!”

Curious, Xiao Mi enquired, “You believe in Bhudda?”

“Well, to be honest, I’m more interested in climbing the hill in order to reach the temple. We can even shop along the market stalls lining the streets leading to the temple! We can grab lots of food there.”

“Stop right there – the weather’s so hot now, be careful and don’t overeat. After all, examinations are nearing. We can always eat tons of good food after examinations end.”

“Well then, we could always go to the amus.e.m.e.nt park after we have climbed the hill.”

“That sounds great! I want to play whack-a-mole! — Nian, why don’t you come along as well?”

Chen Nian saw the familiar figure hovering on the street opposite the school compound. Shaking her head gently, she rejected the offer, “No, it’s alright.”

“Why don’t you come along as well? It’d be fun if everyone goes.” Zeng Hao tried to persuade Chen Nian.

Using a nasally voice, Chen Nian began to fib, “I think I’m coming down……with a cold. I want to eat some medicine and rest the entire day tomorrow.”

“Ah, then you should probably stay at home and rest well! Remember to take your medicine – if you really do come down with a cold, you’d probably need an entire week to recover. If that’s the case, you can forget about revising in the days leading up to the exams.”

“Yup.” Chen Nian nodded her head weakly.

Chen Nian bid Xiao Mi and Zeng Hao farewell at the entrance of the school gates. Walking towards the direction of Bei Ye’s home, she only stopped when she was some distance away from the school compound.

Bei Ye caught up with her immediately.

Sagging under the heavy weight of her school back, Chen Nian’s back was slightly bent as she walked forward, as though she was carrying the sh.e.l.l of a snail. The cloth around the shoulder straps of her bag were drenched, and clung onto her skin. Bei Ye stepped forward, and took her school bag from her.

Chen Nian straightened her back, and followed alongside Bei Ye.

In a quiet voice, Chen Nian said, “I don’t have cla.s.s tomorrow.”

Bei Ye responded, “For the entire day?”

“Yup.”

“Do you want to stay home to revise your work, or would you rather head out to play?” He asked.

“Head out to play.”

“Okay.”

The two youths continued walking on their separate paths silently.

After some time, Bei Ye asked, “That person you met on the streets in the afternoon – is that the police officer you know?”

“Yes.”

“Why did he come looking for you?”

“He said, I must be careful and wary, when dealing with boys around my age. He also said–”

Bei Ye interrupted, “What else did he say?”

Chen Nian continued, “He said, that I should not go, to another boy’s home, alone. And to stay away from deserted and isolated areas.”