Chapter Forty-Two: Untitled (Part I)

Life moved forward at a steady, unhurried pace. Compared to the matter of the welcome gala, the pressure of studies weighed far more heavily, especially after Wen Liang told him that her future self had scored in the low five-hundreds on the college entrance examination. This sense of urgency became even more pronounced.

Even so, He Tianran still carved out an hour every day to brush up on the basic foundations of the directing profession. In the era he lived in, if someone wanted to self-study a course, there were plenty of resources and video lectures online, taking you straight from a complete beginner to a total expert. When the cost of acquiring knowledge became so cheap, whether one could actually learn it depended entirely on personal dedication and perseverance.

In this regard, thanks to He Tianran's own character advantages, he was doing quite well so far.

He had not yet decided whether to truly take the art examinations for directing, thinking he would wait until the October National Day holiday to go home and have a good talk with his father about it.

He still practiced boxing, and his meetings with Wen Liang were fixed at once or twice a week. It was clear that art students like her were also very busy; he heard they had been undergoing semi-isolated intensive training lately, and once October arrived, the frequency of their meetings would likely decrease even further.

"My acting teacher advised me to forget about the school's welcome gala and just focus on preparing for the art exams. She wouldn't grant me leave to come out and rehearse with you. I told her that wouldn't do, since you're my dearest and best friend—how could I possibly not be there for your first time on stage?"

In the boxing gym at the end of September, the air still carried a hint of sultriness as Wen Liang sipped her lemon water and chatted about everyday trivialities.

"So after the welcome gala ends, you won't be coming to school anymore?"

He Tianran cared quite a bit about this.

Wen Liang bit on her straw and said with ambiguous intent, "Maybe."

The boy's sense of urgency grew heavier. "By the way, is there anything you like? Or something you want to do?"

"Huh—?"

"You've helped me so much, and I want to give you something, but come to think of it, it seems I don't really know what you like."

He felt a knot in his chest, speaking even more carefully for fear of accidentally exposing the little thoughts harbored deep in his heart.

He had originally expected Wen Liang to crack a joke akin to skinning a miser when she heard this, but she didn't. She just fell silent, pondered for a long time, and finally said:

"I want to go to Yunnan and see the snow-capped mountains."

Wen Liang poked at the lemon slice in her plastic cup with the straw.

"Snow mountains?"

"Mhm, it's easy to see the sea in Port City, but I prefer the mountains. After all, I'm a girl from a mountain city."

"This... sounds a bit difficult."

"Right? Studies are so busy right now, we can talk about it whenever there's a chance."

Wen Liang said it with utter indifference, but He Tianran felt unwilling to let it go.

Looking back now, the furthest place he and Wen Liang had ever walked together was that Hong Kong-style tea restaurant right outside the school gates. The only thing he knew she liked to eat—pineapple buns with butter—was something Xue Yong had indirectly told him about.

The welcome gala was said to be a month away, but it had been scheduled for the very last day of September. Beyond that lay the only National Day holiday of their third and final year of high school.

He Tianran returned home, staring blankly at the gaming console whose controller He Panshan had smashed. Half an hour later, he dragged his suitcase into Boss Park's shop.

"You're planning to sell all of this?" The middle-aged chubby man looked at the items inside the suitcase in disbelief.

"Yeah. The console, the discs, the figurines—have a look. If they catch your eye, I'll sell them to you cheap." There wasn't a trace of hesitation in He Tianran's voice.

"Are you planning to give up your otaku lifestyle?"

"I'm just a senior in high school now."

"Cut the crap. It shouldn't come to selling everything."

Having lived for over thirty years, Boss Park pierced straight to the heart of the matter with a single remark. "Short on cash?"

"...Yeah."

"How much do you need?"

"Three or four thousand should be enough."

"For a girl?"

"Why do you talk so much nonsense? Are you buying or not? If not, I'm leaving."

Boss Park grabbed He Tianran's arm, refusing to let him go.

"I'll buy, but you at least have to let me know why."

"Why, why, why? Let go!"

"Fine. If you walk out this door, I won't take a single one of these items."

With that, Boss Park actually let go of his hand, and his words hit He Tianran right where it hurt, leaving him standing frozen in place without moving.

The chubby man and the otaku stared at each other for a moment before the former asked, "Which one is it for?"

He Tianran feigned ignorance. "Which one what?"

A smile surfaced on Boss Park's fat face, his two eyes squinting into thin lines.

"Oh, still playing dumb with me? Do you really take yourself for the protagonist of a harem anime? Let me tell you, are you selling these for the one who comes to eat with you, or the one who cooks for you?"

He Tianran grew slightly impatient. "It's Wen..."

Mid-sentence, he realized something was amiss and asked, "How do you know Wen Liang cooks for me?"

"There's no airtight wall in this world. That afternoon, little Wen came to my shop again wanting to copy some footage back, and she told me your dad came over to see you and it wasn't convenient for her to stay there."

"You told her what happened that day?" He Tianran's heart shook violently as a bad premonition surged up within him.

Boss Park didn't directly answer the question, instead asking, "You know that a classmate of yours confessed his feelings to little Wen that day, right?"

"...I know."

"It's not appropriate to confess in my shop, right?"

He pointed to the exact spot where He Tianran had comforted Xue Yong earlier. "Go stand over there and take a look for yourself."

He Tianran's feet felt as though they were filled with mercury as he dragged himself over to that exact spot. He cast his gaze outward—right before his eyes was that very Thai restaurant!

"I'm hungry..."

"I just saw a Thai restaurant on the third floor..."

Wen Liang's words from back then echoed in his ears. Was she confirming it?

Confirming whether the person wearing black who had entered the restaurant with Cao Aiqing was him.

"At the time, little Wen just raised her head and stared blankly for a few minutes. She couldn't even be bothered to make money from customers requesting songs; she just sat in the shop the whole time waiting for you to come back."

Boss Park also walked up and said, prompting He Tianran to turn his head and glance at the tall stool inside the shop, feeling completely hollow and lost.

Ever since that day, Wen Liang had never appeared at school again.

What kind of feelings must she have had standing right here? While rejecting Xue Yong, she had looked up and seen him...

When he returned, how could she have smiled and said words like, "You can't make someone who treats you well feel sorrow"?

So she knew everything. She knew it all.

He Tianran didn't dare to think any further.

Getting along with Wen Liang had always given him the feeling of two children playing house, and he was terrified of being the one to break the rules.

But looking at it now, what rules were there to speak of? It was entirely Wen Liang who had consistently tolerated someone utterly childish.

"I'll take the lot."

Boss Park transferred a sum of money to He Tianran via his phone, and the notification showed it was exactly four thousand.

"Boss... I..."

The young man stepped back into the shop and gave the suitcase a light kick with his toe.

"Don't thank me. You've got a few out-of-print collectibles in here that would definitely sell for more than the amount I gave you. Consider it me taking advantage of you..."

With that, the chubby man squatted on the ground, picking and choosing through the items in the suitcase, leaving the youth at the door with a bulky back. He spoke in a teasing, playful, yet relaxed tone:

"Ah, young He, youth is truly wonderful. I just hope that when you turn thirty, you don't turn into someone like me. *Baka yarou!*"