Jiang Chen's and Chen Xiaoxi's hometown was by the seaside, and was a location where typhoons frequently occurred. In the summer, there would often be the occurrence of happy occasions where lessons would come to an emergency halt halfway through for students to disperse home.
Roughly in the summer of Senior Year 2, or possibly Senior Year 1, the memories were vague, in any case, that point in time was not long after Wu Bosong had transferred schools and come here. The super strong Typhoon 'Jade', 'Pearl', or something, Jiang Chen too couldn't remember, in any case, every time he heard the names of typhoons, he always couldn't help but lament about how the authorities' name-designation philosophy for natural and man-made disasters could also be regarded to be totally out of the left field, that logic was just as senseless and wilful as Chen Xiaoxi was.
That time, they had just finished their second lesson, the wind outside was making clanging noises as it blew, the sound of the exercise broadcast* seemed to be extremely melancholy interspersed between sounds of the wind. The teacher, seeing how the wind was so great, also didn't dare to let the students go out to do exercise, she only emphasised that they all were not to go out, and were to wait for the notification, hence an entire class of people (remained) in the classroom, looking at each other helplessly. (T/N: a common feature in Chinese schools, where all the students will gather in the parade square and do exercises as music plays over the speakers)
Chen Xiaoxi turned around mournfully turned around to say to Jiang Chen, "What's to be done? So scary."
Jiang Chen was indifferent, "It's not like you've never seen a typhoon before, what's there to be afraid of? Plus, it hasn't rained yet."
He had just finished his words, when raindrops the size of beans smashed on the glass windows with banging sounds.
Chen Xiaoxi's face was even more pained, she then turned her head to look at Wu Bosong in the neighbouring group, he was just facing her and raising his eyebrow triumphantly.
Xiaoxi asked Jiang Chen in a low voice, "That, do you believe in the theory of psychic communication with spirits?"
Without waiting for him to answer her, she then continued to elaborate, "I actually didn't believe in it, two days ago I watched a Korean horror film called 'Bunshinsaba', when I was talking about it with Wu Bosong, he said he had invited the Bunshinsaba before, I didn't believe (him), hence we arranged to go to the art room during physical education class to invite the Bunshinsaba. We asked a few senseless questions, for example, Bunshinsaba, are you a guy or a girl, at the end Wu Bosong even asked, Bunshinsaba, will it rain tomorrow? It said it will, he then asked again, will it be windy tomorrow? It said it will…… Yesterday was clearly a sunny day, and it really did get windy and rain today, plus the hand I used to hold the pen really didn't move." (T/N: A South Korean horror film from 2004, this is the oujilike thing that they were doing in episode 7)
Jiang Chen swept a glance at her hand, playing 'Bunshinsaba'? Why not just go out and walk hand in hand?
Chen Xiaoxi, seeing him not uttering a word, thought that he didn't believe it, hence she continued to question, "You too think that the Bunshinsaba is a scam, right?"
In Chen Xiaoxi's heart, as long as Jiang Chen said something was fake, it definitely was fake, in this way, she too didn't have to be afraid that that Bunshinsaba (Pen Immortal) or that Pen Ghost or whatever would come and catch her.
Who knew that Jiang Chen would say with an expressionless face, "I don't know, there's a lot of things that can't be explained in science, not encountering something doesn't mean that it doesn't exist."
Idiot, don't you know that there's something called the weather forecast.
Chen Xiaoxi was very terrified in her heart, if she had to say that she had any conviction, her conviction was Jiang Chen, Jiang Chen was the god in her heart, something that her god couldn't determine if it existed or not, then it must exist…… She was going to be snatched away by a ghost……
Jiang Chen watched as Chen Xiaoxi's expression changed countless times, but no matter how it changed, fear never left, he sincerely felt very happy.
Chen Xiaoxi asked cautiously, "Don't you think that supernatural beings and whatever are very nonsensical?"
Jiang Chen said gloomily, "I don't think so, everything has the possibility of existing, same goes for ghosts."
As if to coordinate with his words, there was suddenly a loud clanging noise that came through from the outside, most probably some heavy object had been blown over by the wind.
Chen Xiaoxi was so afraid that her head shrunk back, she said pitifully, "Later on, if lessons are suspended for us to go home, by all means don't leave me behind and go off first."
She said this because there had been numerous previous instances where often once she lifted her head up after she was done with packing her school bag, Jiang Chen's figure would already have disappeared, she really suspected that he had learnt 'Tiny Steps over Ice and Waves'* before. (T/N: a fictional type of qinggong (a martial arts skill where one can people can leap over walls, travel very fast from place to place etc) in Louis Cha's wuxia novel 'Demigods and Semi-devils'. Wuxia is a fiction genre that is very unique to Chinese culture, and Louis Cha is one of the most, if not the most, iconic authors of the genre.)
Jiang Chen was in a bad mood, "You let the Bunshinsaba send you."
Chen Xiaoxi ignored him, and began loading the things on the table top into her schoolbag, for fear that Jiang Chen would take advantage of her packing her school bag later on to run off first.
As expected, after roughly three or four minutes, the school principal's voice which sounded very much like a refined degenerate travelled over the school's broadcast system, "Teachers and students take note, because of the typhoon striking, the school has decided to stop lessons urgently. Students, please return home immediately, do not stay in school or along the road; students, please take note of your safety on your way home."
When they left school, the rain had stopped, but the wind seemed to be on a trend of blowing more ferociously. Chen Xiaoxi carried her schoolbag that was especially heavy on her back, in order to catch up to Jiang Chen's footsteps, she was gasping for breath.
Jiang Chen stopped his footsteps and turned his head back to glance at her, and couldn't help but say, "Are you an idiot?"
Chen Xiaoxi wanted to say that she wasn't, but yet she couldn't put forward any powerful evidence, so she could only stare blankly as she remained where she was, passively furrowing her brows with the attitude of confronting a sudden and unexpected disaster.
Jiang Chen stretched out his hand to lift up her backpack, with the weight of the backpack reduced, she bent her two shoulder blades behind her back.
After two seconds, Jiang Chen let go of his grip with an expressionless face, the sudden weight added to her shoulders once more along with the gale of wind that blew in her face nearly caused Chen Xiaoxi to fall headlong, fortunately, she grabbed hold of Jiang Chen's school uniform in a flurry.
"You know that it's heavy?" He said, "Still dim-wittedly carrying an extra pile of textbooks."
After she steadied her body, she let go of her grip on his clothes, "He's afraid that I'm too light, and will be blown away by the wind."
Just earlier, when she and Jiang Chen were about to walk out of the classroom door, Wu Bosong had suddenly rushed up to them and stuffed a few textbooks into her schoolbag, saying that only by adding some weight, would she not be blown away by the wind.
"How many times have you encountered a typhoon since you were small till now? Was there any time when you had been blown away by the wind before?" Jiang Chen only felt very helpless, how could there be such an idiotic person.
"Of course I know that I won't be blown away by the wind," Chen Xiaoxi argued with conviction, "But Wu Bosong doesn't know, he's not a local, there aren't typhoons where he (came from), he had good intentions, I can't be a wet blanket."
Jiang Chen had to admit, he was very surprised by such an explanation by Chen Xiaoxi, and momentarily didn't know how to reply, he could only snort out, "Up to you."
Chen Xiaoxi's eyes suddenly lit up, and she said, "Why not you help me carry my school bag, I'll help you carry your schoolbag, we'll walk hand in hand."
She asked this sentence while carrying a frame of mind of 'there's no harm asking', after all, this world was grotesque and variegated, anything could possibly happen, humankind had ascended into the sky, the stars that humankind had created had also ascended into the sky, Sister Feng whom humankind was standing around in a circle and watching had also become famous…… So there was nothing that couldn't happen.
Jiang Chen looked at her unfathomably, "Can you be any more shameless."
"Can I?*" Chen Xiaoxi opened wide her eyes which had been blown at till they were a little dry. (T/N: Chen Xiaoxi asks this as the way Jiang Chen phrases his sentence in Chinese can also be taken to mean 'You can be a little more shameless.')
Jiang Chen stretched out two fingers, and made a gesture of wanting to poke her eyes, Chen Xiaoxi beamingly slanted her head to dodge (him).
"Let's go, idiot." Jiang Chen pulled at the shoulder strap of her schoolbag and dragged her forward
Chen Xiaoxi was dragged along till her footsteps were staggering, "Hey, you be a little slower."
There was no sign of any humans on the long, long road, in the wind, two young kids walked along, pulling each other's bag straps, the sounds of their voices talking became rather fragmented as the wind screamed and blew.
Jiang Chen: "What other questions did you ask the Bunshinsaba?"
Chen Xiaoxi: "A lot. Do you really believe in it? I thought about it later on, it must be that Wu Bosong's hand had moved, most likely he had seen the weather forecast beforehand, and was tricking me."
Jiang Chen: "With your IQ, it really must have been tough for you to figure it out."
His voice was too soft and the wind too loud, Chen Xiaoxi didn't hear him clearly, "What did you say?"
Jiang Chen: "Nothing, did you ask the Bunshinsaba that most important question?"
Chen Xiaoxi blushed, "I was too embarrassed to ask, I also don't dare to ask."
Jiang Chen was baffled, "What is too embarrassing to ask, what do you not dare to ask?"
Chen Xiaoxi, "I'm afraid to ask the Bunshinsaba if you will like me or not, if it told me that you will never like me, then I wouldn't be able to like you anymore."
Jiang Chen turned his head around to look at her, "Why wouldn't you be able to?"
Chen Xiaoxi looked at him very earnestly and said, "That kind of liking would be too saddening, I probably would have to give up on you. So I don't want to know, you too, don't ever tell me such words like you will never like me. I'm afraid that one day, I will tell you, Jiang Chen, just tell me that you will never like me and let me have no more illusions and give up, that would be words said in a moment of anger, don't take them seriously, at that time, don't really say that to me."
Jiang Chen saw into the depths of her eyes, and vaguely felt like there was something lightly tugging at that string in his heart, he shifted his gaze away a little uneasily, "Mm."
Together, they faced the wind and walked on in silence for a while, then Jiang Chen suddenly said, "Actually, just now, the question I was talking about (when I asked if) you had asked the Bunshinsaba that most important question wasn't the one you were thinking of."
"Ah! Then what is it?"
"Is there any cure for idiocy."
"Chen Xiaoxi, don't open your mouth so widely, the wind has gone in."
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