WAYCAV Chapter 02

Seeing Su Zhiyan not moving at all, Wen Bei thought he had become mentally ill from his sickness. His voice trembled with anxiety, “Um, if you’re really not feeling well, why don’t you go home to rest? It’s more comfortable there than here.”

Su Zhiyan still didn’t move.

Wen Bei waved his hand in front of his eyes, “Hello?”

Su Zhiyan blinked once, then his face turned completely red, from the base of his neck to his ears to the corners of his eyes, looking just like a red eggshell.

Wen Bei was so startled he stumbled over his words, almost biting his tongue, “Shu- no! Su Zhiyan, what’s wrong with you?”

“Are you okay? What symptoms do you have? Did the doctor prescribe any medicine? Should we go to the campus clinic again?”

“I’m fine.” Su Zhiyan let out a long breath, feeling like he had found his normal breathing rhythm again.

“I was just angry,” he said calmly.

“?” Wen Bei scratched his head, “Huh?”

“I’m not angry anymore.”

Wen Bei watched as Su Zhiyan put down the towel and calmly walked back to sit at his desk. Only then did Wen Bei breathe a sigh of relief. Su Zhiyan’s walking was steady, so there probably wasn’t anything seriously wrong.

The next second, Su Zhiyan suddenly turned around to face Wen Bei, almost colliding with him.

“!”

Wen Bei stumbled slightly and looked at him in confusion. He saw Su Zhiyan staring at him with a complicated expression, looking like he wanted to say something but couldn’t.

“What is it?” he pressed.

“You…” Su Zhiyan began hesitantly.

“?” Wen Bei perked up his ears.

Su Zhiyan had always been efficient in his speech and actions. He never hesitated like this. He was curious what earth-shattering question this could be.

“Nothing.” Su Zhiyan finally dropped those three words and sat down to open his computer.

“???”

“……..”

Wen Bei stepped forward to stop his movement, his face full of shock and exasperation, “What were you going to say, bro? You can’t just leave me hanging like that!”

Su Zhiyan frowned slightly, glanced at him a few times, then said, “Have you noticed whether your new buddy has a mole five millimeters below the second joint of his right index finger?”

“Light brown,” he added.

Wen Bei’s eyes widened and his body went rigid, as if struck by lightning.

“Wait, wait!” He hadn’t even caught half of what Su Zhiyan had rattled off in what seemed like a foreign language.

They were all familiar Chinese characters, but why were they so hard to understand when put together?

“Tsk.” Seeing his reaction, Su Zhiyan knew it was hopeless. But then again, who would normally notice such a thing? He shouldn’t have gotten his hopes up.

He turned away and resumed playing the documentary he hadn’t finished watching last night.

Another stream of rapid American English flooded into Wen Bei’s ears and brain. Comparing the two languages, he finally pieced together what Su Zhiyan had asked.

“Were you asking if I noticed the mole on Shen Nianjing’s right hand?” he repeated to confirm.

“…” Su Zhiyan felt uncomfortable hearing that name spoken by someone in real life.

“Mm.”

“Huh? Huh? Huh?” Wen Bei fired off three confused questions. “What is that? Why does it matter? Why would I notice something like that?”

“…” Su Zhiyan remained silent.

“Never mind, go take your shower before you start smelling.”

But Wen Bei wouldn’t let it go, pestering Su Zhiyan, “You know that guy?”

“Why are you asking?”

“Why ask about his hand and not his legs, head, face, or eyes?”

Su Zhiyan kept quietly sipping his milk through a straw, eyes lowered to watch the documentary, treating him with cold indifference.

This tactic clearly worked on Wen Bei. After rambling to himself with no response, he headed to the bathroom while humming a song.

When he came out toweling his hair and rounded the corner, Su Zhiyan appeared silently behind him. “What time tomorrow afternoon? Which court?”

“Holy sh—!” Wen Bei jumped, hands raised in defense.

“You trying to scare me to death?!” Wen Bei clutched his chest, catching his breath with an expression of having survived a near-death experience.

“Two-thirty, the big one next to the south field,” he answered, then realized, “You’re coming to watch!”

He suddenly got fired up.

“That’s awesome, let me tell you! Tomorrow will be incredible, Da Zhuang is planning to…”

As Wen Bei chattered on excitedly, Su Zhiyan listened with his ears but his mind dwelled on that name that had suddenly appeared in his life.

Could it be someone with the same name?

There were many repeated names in the world, but “Shen Nianjing” didn’t seem particularly common.

If he really was the person from the dream, then that “nightmare” would truly become a nightmare!

But Su Zhiyan wasn’t someone who was afraid of trouble. On the contrary, he found these strange, scientifically unexplainable events interesting.

It was just that this particular incident had affected him negatively, making him feel repulsed. Although he couldn’t pinpoint why he had that dream, his aversion seemed like displaced anger, but… who told that person to stumble into his dreams uninvited?

–

Mid-September remained scorching hot. The south field was nearly empty in the afternoon, except for the male college students who insisted on playing basketball regardless of conditions and people taking their after-meal walks.

The sun overhead was scorching, and the shade from the trees behind could only cover the area directly under them. Yet Su Zhiyan refused to sit inside the basketball court even as his legs grew unsteady.

“I’m worried you’ll hit me with the ball,” Su Zhiyan said.

“But you need to rest! You can’t stand for too long!” Wen Bei felt helpless, not understanding why Su Zhiyan wouldn’t sit down.

Sure, it wasn’t as cool as the tree shade under the sun umbrella, and the bench might be hot, but wasn’t sitting more comfortable than standing?

Was this what overachievers were like, always challenging themselves?

“Fine, fine. Just remember to go sit down if you feel uncomfortable. There’s water inside.” Unable to convince him, Wen Bei jogged back to the court.

For some reason, lately he felt more and more like Su Zhiyan’s personal caretaker. “Mama Wen,” as he jokingly called it.

Su Zhiyan watched him enter the court and greet those who often played basketball together, his eyes scanning their faces one by one.

Hmm, all familiar faces.

But where was he?

Su Zhiyan frowned. Everyone else had arrived except him. It seemed he was the type who liked being late.

Soon, a figure appeared running up the slope in the distance. His right hand carried something heavy, making him lean slightly left.

As he got closer, Su Zhiyan saw it was an insulated bag the size of a 10-inch cake, which seemed to be packed with ice packs and cold drinks. It looked quite heavy.

“Hey!!” Joy and delight rippled through that greeting.

Shen Nianjing ran towards the light, waving his hand as he went, his face beaming with a radiant smile. Even before starting to play, the beads of sweat on his forehead already glistened strikingly under the sunlight.

Su Zhiyan froze for a moment, quickly stepping back to hide behind a tree on the path, his gaze fixed on the basketball court.

“You crazy guy! Running straight up that huge slope? You really are a wild dog!”

Everyone on the court went to greet him. Someone took the insulated bag and their arm dropped from the weight. “Whoa, this is heavy!”

“It’s so hot today, I got a bunch of ice from the milk tea shop, plus cold drinks. Help yourself if you’re hot!” Shen Nianjing lifted his tank top to wipe his sweat, then jogged backward, waving his right hand. “Come on, let’s play! Can’t wait!”

“Great! Hahaha!”

They split into their usual teams and positions. Shen Nianjing kept his eyes locked on the ball, legs spread and slightly bent, poised and ready to strike.

Su Zhiyan stood outside the court, his baseball cap hiding half his face, his whole body concealed in the tree’s shadow.

After the game started, he watched briefly before slowly shifting his gaze away.

His emotions were all mixed up now.

That person had quite fair skin, especially in the sunlight.

Which made even the light brown mole clearly visible when he waved his hand.

…Or rather, painfully obvious.

Su Zhiyan had to lament his excellent eyesight.

Shen Nianjing.

He silently repeated that name in his mind.

Early autumn, with the bright sun overhead, the late summer heat stirred Su Zhiyan’s gloomy mood into complete chaos.

How could this person actually exist? Did Shen Nianjing know him? Did he have the same dreams too?

Su Zhiyan looked up again, just in time to see the person with his back turned jump up and smoothly pass the ball behind his back, between two defenders’ hands, straight into the basket.

“Holy shit! Holy shit—! Ahhhhh…”

A chorus of “holy shits” erupted from the court.

That person landed and turned around, his brilliant smile hitting Su Zhiyan directly.

He looked too carefree and healthy to be someone haunted by nightmares.

Su Zhiyan looked away and left.

By the time his figure disappeared in the distance, the first game was reaching its end.

During the break, Shen Nianjing opened the insulated bag and took out two drinks, passing one to a sweaty Wen Bei behind him.

“Who was that person standing under the tree by the entrance earlier?” he asked casually while tilting his head back to drink.

From the start, he’d felt someone watching him, and when he turned his head, he saw that silent figure standing outside the court. He was wearing a baseball cap, and his face couldn’t be seen.

It reminded him of his high school days when he’d sneak out to play basketball during lunch break, only to find the discipline teacher quietly monitoring from outside the court.

“Oh, you mean Su Zhiyan.” Wen Bei wiped his sweat carelessly. “My roommate. He said he wanted to watch us play. I didn’t expect him to leave so soon.” He looked down the slope, but there was no one in sight anymore.

Shen Nianjing’s drinking motion slowed, his eyes fixed blankly in the direction where that person had left.

“What’s wrong?” Wen Bei found his sudden tension strange.

“You mean, the Su from embroidery, the zhi from knowledge, and the yan from eaves[mfn]they’re talking about Chinese characters of SZY’s name. Su from 苏绣 (Sū xiù) – Suzhou embroidery, one of the four major traditional styles of Chinese embroidery; Zhi from 知道 (zhī dào) – to know; to become aware of ; and, Yan from 屋檐 (wū yán) – eaves / roof (i.e. home)[/mfn]?” Shen Nianjing asked hesitantly, his eyes still locked forward as if wishing he could move the buildings away just to catch a glimpse of that figure.

“Yeah, are there others with that name in our department?” Wen Bei joked, “Even if there were, Su Zhiyan’s the top student in our major. Sharing his name would be like joining the academic elite club in a different way, haha!”

“But it’s normal you don’t know him since you just came back from your leave.”

“Oh right, are you living on campus?” Wen Bei asked enthusiastically.

“Our dorm is mixed. I used to live with two seniors, but the rooms have been empty since they graduated last semester.”

“Damn! So you’ve got a double room? That’s too sweet!” The others started cursing enviously.

“It’s nothing special, just a clean and tidy room where we don’t have to consider too many people, and no queuing for the bathroom or shower,” Wen Bei said smugly, waving his hand.

“You bastard!”

“That’s so unfair!!”

The group started horsing around, forming a stark contrast with the silent figure standing to the side.

“Mm…” Shen Nianjing’s voice was barely audible. “It really is unfair.”

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