Wang Yuezhi was no clown; how could he possibly miss the underlying meaning of Zhuo Yongfei's words?
Zhuo Yongfei's 'friend'... was very obviously himself!!
Wang Yuezhi had seen plenty of instances where people fabricated a 'friend' out of thin air, and he often did it himself, so he completely understood.
After offering a word of comfort to Zhuo Yongfei, Wang Yuezhi's gaze slowly began to sweep across the students who had come from other classes.
The main focus of his scan was to see if there were any instances of boys and girls sitting together.
The logic was simple. Before he went out to get water, Zhuo Yongfei had been perfectly normal without any anomalies. But the moment he came back from getting water, his 'friend' was suddenly heartbroken.
Fleshing out the scenario in his head, he could instantly guess the reason—Zhuo Yongfei's fr... Zhuo Yongfei's friend harbored a secret crush on a girl from another class. But right now, that girl was sitting with another guy, which was why Zhuo Yongfei's friend felt so utterly despondent upon seeing it.
Wang Yuezhi discovered that the numbers were quite substantial.
With just a brief glance, he spotted seven or eight instances of boys and girls sitting right next to each other.
However, Wang Yuezhi had to emphasize that he didn't believe all seven or eight of these pairs were boyfriends and girlfriends.
As regular parallel classes, the number of girls in any given class whose math grades were excellent enough to participate in the competition wasn't high to begin with. Just like Class Four, having only one girl, or even no girls at all, was a fairly common occurrence.
Right now, everyone hadn't fully arrived yet. Looking across the room, there were barely over ten girls in total.
Naturally, a girl who didn't want to sit entirely alone would prioritize sitting with her own classmates.
Chen Yuying and Lin Li sitting right in front of him were a perfect example.
The two of them were sitting together right now and looking very intimate, but could you say they were in a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship?
You absolutely couldn't!
Anyone who dared to jump to such a conclusion so easily harbored malicious intent.
That would be a slander against the Class Monitor's reputation and an insult to her character! It was highly likely an evil public relations scheme instigated by Lin Li!
Chen Yuying was only sitting next to Lin Li out of pure classmate camaraderie.
This was an argument that Wang Yuezhi absolutely had to emphasize.
This was the bond of the Lunchtime Trio.
—If anyone dared to slander Chen Yuying or Lin Li, Wang Yuezhi would definitely step forward to defend Chen Yuying.
Wang Yuezhi's gaze continued to drift among those few pairs of boys and girls.
He wondered exactly which one was the girl who had captured the heart of Zhuo Yongfei's friend.
Wang Yuezhi felt it should be the boy and girl sitting two rows behind him; the two of them were currently joking and messing around, their laughter non-stop.
Only they could have dealt such a massive blow to Zhuo Yongfei's friend in the short time he was gone to get water.
To a secret admirer, the laughter of the girl they liked sitting with another guy was practically a sharp sword driven straight into the heart, with its surface coated in slow-acting poison.
It wasn't fatal, but it was pure torture.
The poison would brew into a slightly salty tide during nights unknown to anyone, rolling deep within the heart along with the wind exhaled from countless sighs, surging into waves of sorrow.
Wang Yuezhi could truly empathize with this feeling all too well.
No one understood this sorrow better than him.
Therefore, the look Wang Yuezhi cast toward Zhuo Yongfei became even more soft and warm.
Brother, I get you!
But Wang Yuezhi felt fortunate; at least his own secret crush still had a glimmer of hope, while Yongfei's friend... had already lost his wings forever.
Feeling Wang Yuezhi's gaze, Zhuo Yongfei: "(；☉_☉)?"
What the hell! Is this kid sick in the head!
As the grand Vice Class Monitor of Class Four, how could Zhuo Yongfei fail to read the meaning behind Wang Yuezhi's gaze?
Damn it! But this friend of mine really is a friend! In fact, it's literally you! It's not myself at all!!
But Yuezhi, with you treating me so gently, it makes me even more clueless as to how I can break the truth to you...
Screw this! I can't take it anymore!
Lin Li, how can you be so wicked—Zhuo Yongfei didn't actually hold a grudge against Lin Li, but for the people of Class Four, cursing Lin Li didn't require a grudge; it was just a casual habit.
"Yuezhi, that friend of mine, he really is my friend..."
But since the conversation had reached this point, he had to keep going, and he needed to be even more cautious. Therefore, Zhuo Yongfei phrased his words for a long time, his expression complex as he added an awkward emphasis.
"I know, I know, of course I know. It's definitely your friend..." Hearing this, Wang Yuezhi nodded heavily, reaching out his hand to soothe Zhuo Yongfei's back. "Your friend must stay strong..."
Zhuo Yongfei: "..."
You know my ass, you know!
"Yuezhi! The person who's heartbroken really isn't me!"
"Yes, yes, yes, it's not you. I understand perfectly, no need to overemphasize~"
"?"
"Damn it, the person I like isn't even at our school, and she's still single. She even chats with me on weekends. Why on earth would I be heartbroken! I haven't even reached that step yet!" Zhuo Yongfei blurted out the truth in his anxiety.
"Ah?" Wang Yuezhi frowned.
This tone, this content—could it really not be Zhuo Yongfei?
Freezing for a moment, Wang Yuezhi pulled his hand back and asked suspiciously, "It's not you? Then who is it? Do I know him?"
"Whew—you know him, we're pretty close. Extremely close, spending time together day and night." Seeing the topic finally back on the right track, Zhuo Yongfei nodded expressionlessly.
"Someone from our dorm?" Knowing that both he and Zhuo Yongfei were very close to this person, Wang Yuezhi asked again.
"Yeah."
"Holy crap, who is it? Weilun? Qi Peng? How come I haven't heard a single thing about this? Did you guys talk about it at noon?"
Since the person involved wasn't present, the emotion in Wang Yuezhi's eyes receded, mostly transforming into pure curiosity and gossip as his gaze continued to look around.
It was actually quite normal for him not to know about dorm matters. After all, he was almost never in the dorm during lunchtimes, as he had to accompany Chen Yuying—and accompany Lin Li along the way.
Therefore, Wang Yuezhi hadn't participated in many of the collective chats that happened in the dorm.
Perhaps during some lunchtime, a roommate had told the others, including Zhuo Yongfei, about his secret crush.
But Zhuo Yongfei: "(；☉_☉)?"
?
No.
No, no, no.
Zhuo Yongfei was a bit confused now. Had Wang Yuezhi truly short-circuited and missed his almost blatant hints, or was he deliberately avoiding thinking in that direction?
Was it a protective mental block from his brain?
Dumb brain, do you really have to go to such lengths even now? You truly are a dedicated existence protecting Yuezhi...
Zhuo Yongfei sighed. Thinking up to this point, he felt a bit relieved and switched to a gentle inquiry:
"Who it is doesn't matter for now. Yuezhi, how do you think I should relay it to him so that the damage he receives is minimized?"
"Or should I just not tell him at all? Whether he knows the truth or not is actually the same anyway. It might be better to let him find out the truth on his own another day."
"I think it's better to tell him," Wang Yuezhi shrugged. "A well-intentioned lie is still a lie after all. It's necessary to know the truth."
"As for the way to tell him, I don't suggest you say it directly in the dorm where others can find out. It would be better if you pull him aside privately and then tell him."
"Ideally, you should leave right after saying it to let him be alone for a bit. Otherwise, he'll have to hide his sorrow."
"I see, got it." Zhuo Yongfei nodded.
Since these were all Yuezhi's own thoughts, he would just do as he said.
He looked at Wang Yuezhi, his expression pitiful yet serious: "Yuezhi, do you have a moment? Come out to the corridor with me. I have some things I need to tell you privately."
Wang Yuezhi: "?"
Wang Yuezhi glanced at Zhuo Yongfei and didn't speak immediately.
"..."
"..."
Then Wang Yuezhi waved his hand and smiled:
"Haha, why do we need to go outside to talk? Aren't the two of us sitting together right now? You can just tell me directly, it counts as talking privately too."
Zhuo Yongfei: "There are too many people here. Even if I leave after saying it, you won't be able to be alone to process it. You'll still have to hide your sorrow."
"..."
"..."
Looking at Wang Yuezhi, whose forehead suddenly began to break out in cold sweat, who kept licking his somewhat dry lips, and whose unfocused eyes were staring toward the front left, Zhuo Yongfei let out a sigh. "Forget it, let's talk about it another day."
There was... no longer any need to say anything. It was already... over.
The time was now 6:34, with only five or six minutes left before the tutoring session started. More and more students from other classes were walking in, and the multi-function hall was gradually becoming noisy.
Amidst this clamor coming from all directions, perhaps because the more one cared, the clearer it became, combined with the close proximity, Chen Yuying and Lin Li's laughter stood out exceptionally well.
Correspondingly, a heavy low-pressure zone settled between Zhuo Yongfei and Wang Yuezhi.
Wang Yuezhi gripped his pen, reaching out to wipe away the sweat running down in the cool autumn weather. His breathing gradually grew heavy, and he finally couldn't resist turning his head toward Zhuo Yongfei: "...Yongfei."
"Yeah." Zhuo Yongfei had been waiting.
"That person from our dorm who you're very close to and who seems about to be heartbroken... what exactly is his name." Wang Yuezhi's voice was pale and powerless, hanging onto a smile he could no longer maintain.
Zhuo Yongfei felt incredibly sad just from the atmosphere. He looked up at Wang Yuezhi and nodded: "Yuezhi."
"Yeah, I'm listening, go ahead." Wang Yuezhi had already tightly gripped the raised anti-slip edge of the long desk in front of him, swallowing a mouthful of saliva.
Zhuo Yongfei's smile turned even uglier: "But I've already finished saying it, didn't you hear?"
Wang Yuezhi's lips trembled. The guy looked alive on the outside, but inside, he had actually been dead for a while: "I didn't hear you say anyone's name..."
Zhuo Yongfei patted Wang Yuezhi on the back. Prolonged pain was worse than a short sting, so he stopped beating around the bush and directly stated everything he had just seen and heard:
"Yuezhi, just now, I heard the Class Monitor tell her friend from another class that Lin Li is now her boyfriend."
"They also gossiped for a bit. They were sitting right in front of me, so I heard a portion of it. From that, I learned that Chen Yuying and Lin Li probably got together this weekend."
"Yuezhi, my friend, the person who's heartbroken is you."
Wang Yuezhi stared dead at Zhuo Yongfei, his voice mechanical: "What on earth are you talking about, you guy..."
Zhuo Yongfei was very calm upon hearing this. He smiled a smile devoid of mirth, patting Wang Yuezhi's shoulder with the back of his hand, remaining silent.
Life is a roll of black-and-white film; once washed by bitter water, it reveals the bleak truth.
But this silence caused Wang Yuezhi to panic completely.
"Is... is it true? Haha, Yongfei, if you're just purely trying to prank me, I won't get angry, okay? I'll think it's a very humorous joke~"
Wang Yuezhi looked at Zhuo Yongfei weakly and expectantly, his words already carrying a hint of pleading.
"It's exactly what I just heard, I'm not lying to you." But Zhuo Yongfei delivered the answer Wang Yuezhi didn't want to hear.
"Then... then let me ask, is there a possibility that you heard wrong? Yongfei, you're not exactly young anymore, so it's perfectly normal to be a bit hard of hearing."
"I know someone who bought AirPods. After using them for three days, he found out one of them had no sound. He went to the hospital for a check-up and finally breathed a sigh of relief—turns out the earphones weren't broken, it's just that he went deaf in one ear."
"Scared him to death, he almost thought a few hundred bucks went down the drain like that, haha. Funny, right?"
A smile bleaker than crying appeared on Wang Yuezhi's face. He didn't dare look in Lin Li and Chen Yuying's direction, guarding his final hope bit by bit:
"And, a long time ago, I indirectly asked through another girl, and the Class Monitor said she doesn't have any intentions of dating right now."
"So could this information just be a joke played by Lin Li? The Class Monitor got tricked? You know, that guy Lin Li has always really liked playing jokes."
"Plus he's great at betting, having become my dad twice purely through bets. Could the Class Monitor have..."
Zhuo Yongfei found it a bit too painful to watch.
Damn it!
Why was he starting to feel miserable too!
Accursed!
Would the girl he liked be sharing happy laughter with a Lin Li from another school right now...
Although Zhuo Yongfei really wanted to nod along, just as Wang Yuezhi had said moments ago, a well-intentioned lie is still a lie after all.
Thus, he stood up and, under Wang Yuezhi's gaze, walked toward Chen Tianming and Zhang Haoyang in the very back row.
After chatting over there for a bit, Zhuo Yongfei came back.
Then, using a clean-cut executioner's blade, he severed Wang Yuezhi's ray of hope:
"Sorry, Yuezhi, I went and asked. That's right, they got together yesterday, 100% verified."
"It's mutual affection, a perfect match."
In fact, after those two heard the information he relayed about 'Chen Yuying saying she temporarily doesn't want to date,' Chen Tianming had fallen silent for some reason, but Zhang Haoyang had cruelly started telling him, 'Do you know that in English, there are certain sentence structures and letters where a portion isn't pronounced'...
Zhuo Yongfei decided not to repeat those words. Damn it, that was way too heartbreaking.
The girl he secretly liked had also said she wouldn't date, holy crap!
Hopefully, other schools didn't have a Lin Li...
"I see." The light in Wang Yuezhi's eyes went out, his words crisp and direct without any lingering tone.
He lowered his head, pressing his ears with both hands, saying absolutely nothing.
So Lin Li confessed this weekend.
What was he doing this weekend?
Oh, he remembered now. After finishing his homework, he had continued researching that book, "The Art of the Circus."
Interest is the best teacher.
Right now, his toss-and-catch juggling could already steadily handle six balls while riding a unicycle. His mom originally didn't support him playing with these things, but after seeing his growth and talent now, she approved of it too.
So while he was embracing his interests, Lin Li was embracing Chen Yuying...
That kind of thing...
That kind of thing...
Please... no... more...
Zhuo Yongfei couldn't bear to watch. Equally sorrowful, he looked up at the ceiling, swallowing a sigh.
"The snowflakes flutter~ The north wind blows~"
Damn it, maybe he really wasn't young anymore and his ears really had an issue; he was even hallucinating the sound of someone singing "Yi Jian Mei."
Wait, it didn't seem to be an auditory hallucination!
Zhuo Yongfei snapped his head around. He saw Zhang Haoyang leaning over at some point, softly singing from the row behind them.
Meanwhile, Chen Tianming, who had followed closely behind, hurriedly grabbed him and yanked him back, offering an apologetic gaze toward Zhuo Yongfei and Wang Yuezhi along the way.
Damn it! These two were passionately eating gossip in the back, weren't they!
The Class Four he was in truly didn't have many actual human beings.
Turning back, seeing Wang Yuezhi's head lowering even further, Zhuo Yongfei quickly leaned in with concern: "Yuezhi, are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
"Really fine?"
"Really fine, really fine, wahhhh TAT ahhhhh..."
Zhuo Yongfei: "..."
Brother, this expression and voice of yours really don't make you sound like you're fine at all.
What, is the wind too strong and blowing tears into your eyes?
"It's fine, it's fine, Yuezhi, things will get better..." Zhuo Yongfei could only offer comfort.
"I'm going to the restroom first." Wang Yuezhi rubbed his eyes and stood up.
"I have tissues here, I can give you some to wipe your ey... the eye of your butt." Zhuo Yongfei pulled tissues from his pocket—not a small packet, but the kind pulled out from a large pack and folded in his pocket.
"No need, I have my own." Wang Yuezhi waved his hand, keeping his head down as he quickly walked out of the hall.
Zhuo Yongfei sighed.
He obviously knew what Wang Yuezhi was going to do right now, but it really wasn't appropriate to follow him. Wang Yuezhi needed personal space right now.
But what Zhuo Yongfei didn't expect was that in less than three minutes, Wang Yuezhi came back.
The sorrow on his face had unexpectedly vanished.
But it wasn't good news.
What replaced it was an extreme despair, completely devoid of any life.
—Holy crap, why is his face so dark? It's even scarier now.
"Wh-what's wrong?" This expression completely dumbfounded Zhuo Yongfei, who asked with utter bewilderment.
"Just now," Wang Yuezhi took a long breath, his expression blank and unfocused, his tone ethereal, as if he weren't recounting his own experience:
"I reached the restroom and wanted to enter a stall... to sit for a bit. As a result, I discovered that every single stall had highly stacked strawberry towers that couldn't even be flushed down, and it was unbelievably stinky. Every single one, literally every single one..."
Zhuo Yongfei: "...(；☉_☉)?"
Holy crap!
What kind of day of suffering is tonight for Wang Yuezhi.
Thinking about that visual, Zhuo Yongfei felt it was just too hopeless.
No wonder he had this dead-parent expression.
"The restroom downstairs definitely has free stalls. Come on, I'll go with you..."
"No need, the restroom or whatever doesn't matter anymore. Yongfei, tell me, what is the purpose of a human being living?" Wang Yuezhi asked calmly.
Zhuo Yongfei: "!"
"Don't go that far, don't go that far, don't go that far," Zhuo Yongfei hurriedly gathered the pens on the desk—there was a death like that in "Final Destination."
"Yuezhi, actually, if you think about it from a positive angle, the Class Monitor being with Lin Li is also a favorable development for you."
"Hmm? What?"
Wang Yuezhi shifted his gaze to Zhuo Yongfei, a faint glimmer of anticipation surfacing in his dead-water eyes.
Please, give me a reason to keep living!
"Yuezhi, think about it," Zhuo Yongfei brainstormed, his eyes finally lighting up: "Before, when the Class Monitor wasn't dating, you had to compete with countless people who liked her, because she had to choose one out of all her suitors! But now that she's already in a relationship, she will only compare you to Lin Li. See? Hasn't the difficulty level instantly dropped by countless times?"
Wang Yuezhi: "?"
"Is... is that right?"
"How is it not right? Where is it not right! It's completely right!" Zhuo Yongfei said firmly.
A fraction of light returned to Wang Yuezhi's eyes, but in the next instant, it dimmed down again:
"Though there's some logic to it, Yongfei, do you think that if I'm compared to Lin Li, there will ever be a day I can beat him..."
Although it was dim, there was still anticipation in the eyes Wang Yuezhi used to look at Zhuo Yongfei.
Zhuo Yongfei: "ovo."
"Wow! Yuezhi look, wasn't that the teacher who just walked past? It looks like class is about to start." Zhuo Yongfei pointed toward the door with pure innocence.
Wang Yuezhi: "?"
Your mom!!
(End of Chapter)