Chapter 18: Were you raised on suona music?

For the next two days, Zhai Da went to school as usual, listening to lectures as much as possible. If he couldn't take it in, he didn't force it; he would open his Chinese textbook and memorize the texts.

It was a bit of a struggle, after all, both "time" and "space" were being strongly constrained.

However, once he integrated into his past classmate relationships, he found that school time was indeed the most comfortable.

Although high school students were a bit abstract, they were also much more interesting.

"Sunflower Acupoint Hand!"

Passing by a boy named Liu Kai, he suddenly attacked like a madman, poking Zhai Da twice.

Zhai Da, looking at his book, rolled his dead-fish eyes: "Are you f***ing sick!"

Liu Kai was a bit flustered by Zhai Da's overreaction, and then he heard:

"I'm trying to read! Hurry up and unblock me!"

The boy's panic turned into a cheap laugh, and he hopped away: "Beg me~"

Zhai Da sneered: "So childish! Beg you..."

Then he poked himself twice and unblocked his acupoints.

After reading for a while longer, preparing to memorize some vocabulary for a change of pace, Wu Yue sat down beside him without him noticing.

"Zhai Da, I've discovered a major secret."

Zhai Da didn't even lift his head: "Spit it out if you have something to say."

Shedding the shackles and locks of morality, only then do I know that today I am me.

Being a foul-mouthed high school student is really refreshing.

Wu Yue secretly looked ahead, at the seat where Lin Shuyao sat; she seemed to have gone to the restroom, so he boldly said:

"I discovered that Lin Shuyao likes you."

Zhai Da: "Yes, yes, yes, I know... I already said the love letter wasn't for..."

Wait, how did the content seem to be reversed?

Wu Yue touched his chest, which was only one bowl of rice away from feminization, and said with certainty: "I heard it with my own ears that day, she confessed to you, but unfortunately you weren't there."

Zhai Da stuttered: "She confessed to me? I wasn't there, and you heard it? Have you consumed too much spinal fluid?"

Wu Yue held up three fat fingers: "I swear on my future restaurant, not a single word is false. She thought the person behind her was you... she said it so seriously! Like an idol drama! If I wasn't called Zhai Da, I would have wanted to say yes to her."

"She said you were very special and wanted to be your girlfriend."

Zhai Da frowned, curled his lips, and clicked his tongue—a smooth combo that fully expressed the author's nostalgia and disdain.

He didn't care what Lin Shuyao thought of him, but he was very sure it wouldn't be anything good.

Any time spent participating in such bullshit was a waste of life.

Wu Yue was anxious: "I told you such a big secret, aren't you going to praise me?"

Zhai Da perfunctorily said: "Oh~ you're great, I'm very satisfied, what date was it? I'll come to you next time..."

Wu Yue tilted his head, and a question mark grew in his missing brain stem.

Zhai Da rummaged through his English book: "Let's end this here. Just keep it to yourself, don't spread it any further."

This time, Wu Yue didn't respond.

Zhai Da turned his head.

"You didn't already tell anyone, did you?"

Wu Yue's expression was a bit stiff.

"Forget it, anyway, this bullshit isn't fresh anymore, it's fine if one or two people know."

A drop of cold sweat ran down Wu Yue's face.

Zhai Da's voice went up an octave: "How many did you tell? You didn't spread it to other classes, did you?"

Wu Yue was sweating profusely...

Zhai Da: ...

Were you raised on suona music?

"No, it happened two days ago, why am I the last one to know?"

"I just didn't find the opportunity..."

You were too busy spreading rumors to tell the person involved, right?

Although Wu Yue was a blabbermouth, his talent was lacking, and he hadn't broken into the upper circle of gossip at Mao Fang Middle School.

Those girls who talked about everything except studying.

For now, it seemed, probably, it hadn't fermented to the level of last time.

After all, by comparison, fainting in the exam room was more legendary.

However, Zhai Da still repeatedly demanded that Wu Yue stop spreading the matter, and made him swear on his own "cow power."

Wu Yue was a bit puzzled by Zhai Da's reaction. Wasn't this something that made him look good?

It was Lin Shuyao, after all, famous throughout Mao Fang Middle School. If everyone knew Lin Shuyao liked Zhai Da, it wouldn't just clear up the previous rumors, it could also...

He couldn't even say what else it could do, but he just felt it was awesome.

The kind that was mind-blowing.

Zhai Da patted Wu Yue on the shoulder:

"Just sew your little mouth shut, your brain cells can't handle it if you ask too much."

He didn't know how long this seal could last, after all, boys of this age were never stingy with their "cow power," always feeling that losing a little didn't matter...

"By the way, the thing I told you yesterday, did you get it done?"

Wu Yue nodded and took a Nokia 3310 out of his pocket.

It was the most primitive kind of brick phone, the screen wasn't much bigger than a stamp, and it could only make calls and send texts.

Oh right, it also had black-and-white pixel Snake. It had been eight years since it was released; rounding it off, it came out when Zhai Da was ten...

This was Wu Yue's old phone, and before that, it was his dad's. Of course, now knock-off phones were cheap and easy to use, so no one liked these little bricks anymore.

"Why do you want this broken phone? Is your phone broken?"

"Little mouth?"

Wu Yue: ...

Zhai Da didn't explain too much. He pressed a few buttons, the screen could light up, but there was only one battery, so it had to be plugged in to charge, which wasn't very convenient.

Wait... weren't phones in the future all like this? So, had phones progressed or regressed?

An inexplicable thought popped up.

This was for Lu Wei. What was the difference between a girl without a phone and a kite with a broken string?

It had a SIM card, but Wu Yue's was a zero-monthly-fee plan, which was why he had kept it. Now, SIM cards didn't need real-name registration, you just had to pay for your own calls.

At lunch, Zhai Da sat at a table with Fan Junwei again.

It was still a heaping pile of rice with one meat and one vegetable, still with that strange smell.

Zhai Da asked suspiciously: "It seems like you were looking for me when you were eating?"

There were about four or five empty seats nearby, but Fan Junwei still sat next to him.

Fan Junwei picked up his tray and shoveled food into his mouth: "They all dislike that I have a smell, you don't."

Zhai Da thought to himself, are you polite? It's not that I don't dislike it, I just have patience.

He felt Fan Junwei wasn't a bad person... he kindly reminded him: "Actually, just taking more showers is enough. Sweat odor isn't body odor, it's easy to solve."

Fan Junwei only replied: "Oh."

Zhai Da pursed his lips and didn't say anything more.

He had never liked preaching, and as a high school boy who didn't do human things and didn't speak human words, preaching too much didn't fit his persona.

On the way home from school, he didn't walk with Lin Shuyao today. He was on duty and left twenty minutes late, so there weren't many students on the road.

Zhai Da silently recited a few words, pondering when he could get his hands on the TV.

Lu Wei's dad was a bit slack; was the addiction not strong enough?

Just as he was thinking, he saw a tall, thin girl standing under the street lamp at the intersection.

Lu Wei was holding a copy of "Olympic Mathematics Small Series," reading very intently, as if she were waiting for the person who would wake her up.

A Snickers bar appeared in her field of vision.

Lu Wei looked up.

Zhai Da smiled: "Tonight is probably going to be a bit long, eat something to replenish your energy first." ===== CHAPTER 19 =====