Fleeting Midsummer Chapter 33 (1/2)

Chaotic Feelings

Shan Shan saw me, and his evil smile became more p.r.o.nounced: “Lin Lin, I haven’t seen you for many days, and I have a whole new level of respect for you. You are worthy of being called the the little hegemon of the military.”

The little hegemon of the military was my honorary t.i.tle when I was little. I laughed: “A real man doesn’t boast about his past achievements. No n.o.blemen bring up the embarra.s.sments of the past.”

Shan Shan ignored me, and only pressed on Fang Yu Ke’s body, pretending to tear apart his s.h.i.+rt incessantly. While he pulled, he yelled with a girly voice: “Why are there so many b.u.t.tons! Tear it all off for me!”

People want to save face, and trees also want their bark. This was more than I could bear, and I could not endure it anymore. The tiger in me came out and I screamed: “Fang Yu Ke, in the future wear T-s.h.i.+rts for me. You aren’t allowed to have b.u.t.tons on, okay?”

Fang Yu Ke laughed without getting mad.

This kind of a laugh made me feel embarra.s.sed. I reaffirmed my dimple fetish, but why did a face without any dimples shown still dazzle my eyes? Was this a soul-sucking person?

This was a dangerous omen.

When Northern people looked at the Summer Palace, they viewed the mountains, the water, and the little lakes in between. As for us three who had seeped in the influence of the pure wives and immortal mythologies, to Southerners who had grown up with mountains on either side of us, the Summer palace already had no appeal. In the end, we played around until our interest grew dull. Fang Yu Ke and I rested in the Long Corridor of the Summer Palace while Shan Shan could only sit across from us, all alone, due to his huge girth, as he ate Taiwanese sausages happily.

According to common sense, when I couldn’t think through something, I would choose to put it to one side, and no longer think about it. But last night, the discussions that I had with Julie still lingered on within my head, as they spiraled around in high alt.i.tudes, incapable of landing anytime soon. Going to the bottom of all this, had I really changed my feelings for another, or was this only a pure accident? Even if I was dumb, I couldn’t have gotten to the point of not knowing who I liked. Xiao Xi was like a preserved plum candy. After steeping in yellow wine, it was clear and pungent. After finis.h.i.+ng it, my heart and stomach became warm. Later, my energy became sufficient. As for Fang Yu Ke…..

“h.e.l.lo? Why are you staring blankly?” Fang Yu Ke pushed me.

“I am thinking about one of the most important questions of my life.” I ignored him and continued to a.n.a.lyze.

“Alas, your expression when you ponder can even empty to this point! Your expression is the same when you use your brain and when you don’t. You have some potential of being a pig.” Fang Yu Ke purposefully dragged out the word “pig”.

I rolled my eyes and disdained talking to him.

“Oh, sorry.” Fang Yu Ke paused, “Speaking of potential, I have underestimated you. What you have there is a pig temperament that emits from your inner core.”

I regretted putting him and Xiao Xi in the same standards. I had really blindly worried about everything. How was it possible to like someone with a malicious tongue? I completely stopped speaking and watched to see how badly he could take me down.

“You’re mad? Look at how cute McDull [4] is. What’s so bad about being a pig? You don’t have to think about things. When you’re unhappy you can sleep. When you sleep, you can snore. Isn’t it the life you’re pursuing?”

“How would you know what life I’m pursuing? My dream is—” I looked up at the sky at a 45 degree angle with a grand feeling that came to an end spontaneously. I really had no dreams. Right now, the furthest dream I had was graduating. As for other things, I had not ha time to consider—or I hadn’t known what to do yet.

I lowered my head, dismayed. Maybe I really was the realistic version of McDull. McDull had once said: “It’s pretty easy for me to behave with integrity. If there are no fish b.a.l.l.s, coa.r.s.e noodles are good. If there are no coa.r.s.e noodles, fish b.a.l.l.s are good.”

But the reality was that I couldn’t get fish b.a.l.l.s or coa.r.s.e noodles. The heavens said, fish b.a.l.l.s and coa.r.s.e noodles had already all been preordered by someone else.

I bitterly laughed: “You have really hit the target. Sure enough, I am just a pig. Fortunately you still found a cute representative so that my heart can somewhat stabilize.”

Fang Yu Ke looked at the distant lake and smiled: “McDull has a voracious desire, so he is stupid. What about you?”

I finally knew what Fang Yu Ke was like. He was like the quote from Tang Bohu [1] “Having a smile on one’s face as one falls forward within half a step” [2]. Using honey, Sichuan fritillary bulb, Chinese bulb flower, and Tianshan snow lotus herb to compound the medicine, without refridgeration and no preservation, besides the fierce toxicity, it still tasted very good. Fang Yu Ke said things very maliciously, to make you unable to bear it, but in the end, he would always give you a bit of a sigh, along with a strand of warmth.

I was perplexed again.

Sure enough, McDull had a voracious desire so he was so clumsy. I couldn’t help but agree with him.

I had a new outlook towards Fang u Ke who had brought a good deal of inconvenience to my life. For example, no longer talking wantonly. After we met each other it had painstakingly lessened. In the past, I had not had any misgivings about my body, but now my opinions towards my body had become a solid zero.