“Monster, are you guys in a rock band? Were you arguing about which song to perform?” I guessed, knowing there would be band performances at the event. The Monster nodded, not in the mood to talk, disheartened by the brothers’ quarrel. Oh, that’s why when I first met the Monster in the hospital, he said I’d know who they were later. They were members of Ren Fu University’s most famous rock band. I suddenly remembered a sketch. The story of four boys and a girl. But what about the other boy? And who was the girl everyone was so attentive to? Was she the one Ah Xin was embracing that night? The senior named Xiao Jingxuan?
“Ah Xin, Ah… Monster, where’s Ah Xin?” A beautiful female voice came from the door. I turned to see the woman in black from that day, her hair still jet-black and flowing, wearing a long white Jiangnan-style dress, and red and white sandals. She looked like an angel. “Oh, Xuan, Ah Xin was upset, he left first.” “What? He’s angry? Did Yi Da say something he shouldn’t have?” The Monster shrugged, non-committal. The girl’s expression changed, and when her gaze fell on me, she paused, sizing me up. So, she was indeed the legendary Senior Xuan. She approached with the grace of a lady. “Are you the Zhou Yu Ah Xin often talks about?” She tilted her head, looking at me, in her white attire, while I was in a short T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. “Hello, Senior Xuan.” Xuan smiled enchantingly, the kind of smile that made a junior envious. “Monster, can I borrow your Zhou Yu for a while?” she asked, her eyes not leaving me. From her words, I could guess something.
In the back garden of the Time Hall, large swathes of lilacs and jasmine were in bloom, their scent mingling with the earth. The sun was setting, and I was getting hungry.
Xuan always looked at me with a half-smile, and I actually knew exactly what she was going to say. “Do you know what attracts Ashin and his friends to you?” Ashin and his friends—I always referred to them as Monster and the others, never putting Ashin at the center of my attention. So I played dumb, asking, “What is it?” “It’s your silly innocence,” she said, her lips curving in a practiced smile. “Oh, should I thank you for the compliment then?” She let out a cold laugh, smiling with the air of a victor. “Do you really think they consider you a friend? Do you know anything about their past? Do you know what they’ve been through? You probably only know about their fame and their parents’ background.” I’m not the head of the household registration office; how would I know their background? They never talk about it, and I never ask. “Just think, with Ashin’s status, how could he possibly be with a naive girl like you?” I burst into silent laughter, finding it quite amusing. The beautiful princess intimidating the ugly duckling, isn’t that cliché? “What are you laughing at?” Her eyebrows furrowed, looking quite beautiful. “I finally understand why you’re a top student in the design department,” I chuckled. “Your imagination is truly rich; I bow to it.” Her face turned various shades of green and white, speechless. I was sure she wasn’t the heroine of the sketches; her concealed jealousy only exposed her affection for Ashin, doing neither her nor those around her any good. Haha, being able to analyze like this, does it mean I’m starting to mature a bit? “Humph, you’d better be clear about your own status. Otherwise, watch out, the show is yet to come…” “You should speak more gently; I think Ashin prefers girls with pure hearts,” I said, smiling.
Drawing Class. The chubby, short-legged Mr. Tiger led our group of twenty to the edge of the garden, asking us to look at the lush green trees and draw a scene of leaves falling. I frowned at the leaves, and the noisy teacher kept walking around, saying, “This course is to train your imagination. Design inspiration comes from every detail of life, perhaps a passerby’s smile, a leaf falling, or a ray of sunlight…” And maybe the noise of an idiot too. I thought, what leaves to draw? I chewed on my pencil for half the class, then decided to draw a cartoon face with freckles, big eyes, a tear washing away an eye booger, added some acne, and maybe a stream of snot for good measure… The pencil moved quickly, and I couldn’t help but laugh, imagining if I turned this in directly, the principal might be so mad he’d fly to Mars.
“What are you drawing?” A deep male voice came from beside me. I jumped, turning my head sharply, “Yida? What are you doing here?” “I’m in this class too.” “What?!” I’ve been in classes for over a month, big and small, and I never noticed he was in our class!! “You’re also a freshman in the design department? Why haven’t I seen you before?” “Because you’re either sleeping or spacing out during class, and I usually enter last and sit in the back.” “Ah? Really?” It shows how distant the relationship among classmates can be in college. “Really.” “You’re so economical with your words, is it because you don’t produce enough saliva? Why are all your sentences so short?” “No why, only what.” I counted on my fingers, “Exactly ten words, haven’t exceeded yet! There’s a prize for exceeding, you know.” He gave a wry smile, probably thinking I was an idiot. Mr. Tiger announced, “Class dismissed, hand in your assignments, then you can go eat.” “What? Hand in immediately?!” I muttered to myself, tearing off a sheet and hastily started drawing. Everyone else was handing in their work and rushing to the cafeteria. I had no inspiration, first drawing a leaf in the wind that looked like a dumpling; I tore it off, then drew a pile of dead leaves that looked like a heap of dog poop; I tore that off too, my stomach growling. Almost everyone had left, only Mr. Tiger was left, looking very impatient. I quickly drew a green leaf and handed it in. As she took the drawing, she muttered, “I should have known you shouldn’t have taken so long!!” Watching her broad waist disappear towards the cafeteria, I was certain her marital life wasn’t very satisfying. I packed up my pencils, shouldered my drawing board, and saw Yida waiting under a tree not far away. He looked at me helplessly. I continued walking, sketching the cartoon face of our teacher, planning to print it and stick it on the cover of every textbook! On the way, Yida and I walked in silence, me drawing, him walking quietly beside me.
“Hey,” he suddenly said. I responded with an “oh” and kept walking, not noticing that Yida had stopped. “Bang!” My forehead hit something solid, causing dizziness. As philosophy says: You can’t step into the same river twice. Yet, I’ve hit the same bulletin board twice. I sat on the ground, papers scattered. Yida helped me up, still smiling wryly. “Why didn’t you warn me?” “I did say ‘hey,’ didn’t I?” “I…” I was at a loss for words, feeling like I was eating bitter medicine. “My IQ just dropped by 30 points.” I rubbed my head as we picked up my papers. “You really have a lot of flaws,” he said, cleaning off the dirt from my papers and placing them in my folder. Who designed this bulletin board in the middle of the path anyway? But every time I passed it, I couldn’t help but look at that sketch. “Yida, come look at this!” I held onto my dizzy head, almost pressing my face to the glass, “Did Ashin draw this?” Yida came up behind me, his tall shadow cast over the glass frame. “ANGELICAL,” he said softly. “The people in this painting, are they from your band?” “Yes.” “But there are only three of you now, where’s the fourth guy?” I was still staring at the sketch, trying to figure out who…
