Chapter 27: The Pouting Girl

If you set your sights on something belonging to a stranger and don't want to steal or snatch it, the first step is to get to know the person.

Zhai Da’s first step was undoubtedly a success.

He didn't have the time to slowly build a friendship with the girl named Lu Siwen, so he had to use a bit of strategy. Of course, this strategy was purely utilitarian—intended to get that pen—and certainly not for the purpose of flirting. Let’s just call it "bonding through literature."

Back home, Zhai Da silenced his phone and dove back into the thrilling, high-stakes world of "High School Mathematics: Lecture Seven." His phone screen flickered on and off, but Zhai Da remained unfazed. It wasn't until 12:30 AM, after a shower and while lying in bed, that he finally checked it.

As expected, there was a string of messages from an "unsaved contact."

"Classmate, I’m the girl from the footbridge today, Lu Siwen. I still don't know your name."
"Classmate, your flash fiction was so good; I still can't calm down."
"Classmate, do you usually write? What kind of books do you like? Why is your writing so good?"
"Classmate,..."

Zhai Da nodded, his mouth curling into a satisfied smirk. It wasn't just a "bite"; the hook was practically lodged deep in the fish's throat.

The surname Lu... that was really something. He had written about a "girl with the surname Lu" purely because of that night walk he’d taken with Lu Wei. Writing it as "Lu" (the version meaning 'hut') felt a bit too pretentious and awkward, so he had changed it to "Lu" (the common surname character) while writing. Now, it felt even more awkward... he just hoped she wouldn't overthink it.

The success was largely thanks to the system's hints. Having discovered new special items several times now, Zhai Da had learned to use the system more flexibly. The system's descriptions of [Equipment] inherently carried vital information that helped him uncover secrets. For instance, the owner of the "Zangzhen Pavilion" was clearly obsessed with television shows since childhood, and Lu Siwen was a "literary girl."

Since only items wrapped in intense emotions, obsessions, or sentiments could be recognized by the system as "special items," their descriptions could reveal the deepest habits and personality traits of their original owners. Well, "deepest" might be too strong, but it was certainly an important part of their character.

Could this be considered a sort of... inexpensive "Qi-reading technique"?

This was the fun of developing the system: finding a way to use it that suited him, rather than being led around by the nose.

Zhai Da finished reading all of Lu Siwen’s messages and tossed his phone aside. Replying was out of the question; he needed her to come find him in his classroom tomorrow. He had to have enough offline interaction to find the right time and place to ask for that pen. Chatting on the phone was meaningless—that was just a waste of time.

***

Meanwhile, a few kilometers away.

In one of Dongyang County’s rare upscale residential compounds, Lu Siwen lay on her side in her pajamas, checking her Nokia N96 every three minutes. Each time she looked, her delicate nose would wrinkle slightly, and she would bury her head back in her pillow in disappointment.

Her neck felt like it was about to cramp, yet there was no reply.

"Why won't he reply... is his phone out of battery? Is he in the shower?"
"No, that's not it. Everyone is in their senior year; maybe his parents are strict and he can't get to his phone often..."
"Sigh... I really want to discuss it! *Streetlamps and Wine*... it was so good. All my own ideas were washed away; now my head is just filled with his words..."
"The girl with the surname Lu... is that a coincidence? Or does he know who I am?"

Dressed in her goose-yellow pajamas, looking like a curvy egg crepe, Lu Siwen tossed and turned in her soft bed seven or eight times. After a long period of contemplation, she finally couldn't hold back anymore. Her face flushed, and she reached a guilty little hand into the nightstand drawer. She pulled out the paper she had already reread more times than she could count.

"The handwriting is so beautiful, too..."

The prose, which far exceeded the level of an average high school student, felt as though every word was written upon her heart. It was captivating and intoxicating. He had written it right there, on the spot, while looking at the same night view as her... how could he be so talented? Had he written anything else? She wanted to see it so badly.

"Wenwen, why aren't you asleep yet?"

Lu Siwen quickly turned off the light and buried her head under the quilt, intentionally using a dazed, sleepy voice: "I'm already asleep, I just forgot to turn off the light."

The footsteps outside faded away, leaving only the girl's burning cheeks cooling against the silk duvet. Such an unfamiliar feeling...

***

A new day, a new sun.

Walking into the teaching building, Zhai Da glanced toward the honors class. Lu Siwen was likely a humanities student, which meant Class 11. However, he wouldn't go looking for her; waiting for the rabbit to come to the tree was enough.

In class, Zhai Da focused intently. With a bit of foundational math filled in, his physics lectures no longer sounded like gibberish; he could actually absorb some of it. This was undoubtedly a benefit; no matter how much he mocked the [Old Man's Television], he used it without hesitation.

If the previous days of "listening hard to things he didn't understand" were included, Zhai Da had actually been changing for a while in his classmates' eyes. Many felt that his "learning attitude" had become exceptionally serious. This surprised quite a few people, especially those waiting to see him make a fool of himself.

The one who felt it most was his desk-mate, Yang Fan, who also had poor grades—even worse than the old Zhai Da. He clearly sensed that Zhai Da had "awakened" in recent days. This made him uncomfortable; most of a high schooler's motivation comes from comparison, and most of their inferiority does, too.

After the rumors spread about Zhai Da being rejected, Yang Fan had felt a bit of schadenfreude, trying to derive a sense of superiority from Zhai Da's depression—a feeling of "I'm better than him, at least I didn't go and embarrass myself by confessing." But the result was completely different from what he had imagined; Zhai Da had become even more motivated.

After class, seeing Zhai Da smoothly flip open his textbook to recite a passage, Yang Fan couldn't help but ask: "Zhai Da, did you understand that just now?"

"No."
"You've been studying really hard lately?"
"Not really."

Zhai Da had no desire to chat. A male desk-mate with a lukewarm relationship was, in his mind, about as important as a shovel in the corner of the classroom.

Yang Fan suddenly asked, "Do you still like Lin Shuyao?"

Zhai Da turned his head slightly: "Did you steal a straw from the cafeteria?"

Yang Fan was stunned: "No, why?"

"Then why are you bothering with so much?"

Yang Fan could only keep his face expressionless to hide his embarrassment.

Meanwhile, at the back of the classroom, a few boys were gathered together gossiping. Because the weather was getting hotter, a strange smell had begun to drift through the room, so the back door had been left open for ventilation.

"Have you heard? Someone in the class is harboring a secret crush."
"What’s new about that?"
"Lin Shuyao has a secret crush on Zhai Da."
"Damn! What? Tell me more!"
"Why else do you think Chu Xiang was looking for trouble with him yesterday?"

Actually, when they heard this, besides shock, everyone felt a bit of discomfort. They didn't necessarily all like Lin Shuyao, but she was truly radiant. She was pretty, tall, and smart. To put it bluntly: she had looks, legs, and brains.

It was like men looking at an expensive Vacheron Constantin in a display window; even if they knew it could never be theirs, as long as it remained unclaimed in the window, they could comfort themselves with the thought that "anything is possible." Or, perhaps, a fantasy.

"That's not right... wasn't it said that Zhai Da fainted after a failed confession? How could it be the other way around?"
"I think that rumor was fake. Maybe Lin Shuyao got resentful after being rejected by Zhai Da and spread it on purpose."
"Lin Shuyao isn't that kind of girl."
"How would you know? You're close to her? You don't have a crush on her too, do you?"

The boy immediately denied it three times: "Impossible! Don't talk nonsense! I don't!"

Just as they were whispering, a clear, soft voice rang out from outside the door.

"Um... hello, I'm looking for someone..."

The boys immediately forgot their previous melancholy and became captivated once again. The Vacheron Constantin had been bought, but wasn't there a Patek Philippe right in front of them?

Her face was small and delicate, pink and tender, her nose like jade, and her lips like flowers. But what was most memorable were her eyes; the light within them seemed like an unblemished jewel.