Don't be So Proud

Chapter 8.1 — His and Her First Real Kiss

—— “Teacher, why am I here?”

—— “Student, of course, you walked in by yourself ah ……”

Teacher Wang has been supervising exams for many years, but this was the first he encountered this kind of student. Not to mention, she felt asleep after completing the listening test, when she woke up, she even asked him why she was here! He would really like to greet her with this sentence: “Student, did a monkey ask you to come and act silly?”

Or she had slept so much her brain had gone daft and she forgot that she was taking an exam?

Shen Xi just felt that all of a sudden, she had fallen from heaven to earth, some more smashed a big pit on the ground. Why was God so cruel to her …… cannot even wait for He Zhi Zhou to finish the exam and then swap back?

It will also be good to wait for her to finish bathing ah … ah ah ah ah ah ah!

Shen Xi was still unable to accept such harsh reality, so she knocked her forehead against the desktop, “Thump thump thump ……” She did not want to stay here, she wanted to knock herself to go back! Must knock herself to go back ah!

Teacher Wang:”……”

Looking at her, he felt very distressed, a flunky student who made people feel really distressed! To the extent that, he felt it was a crime to wake her up to take the exam. Might as well let her immersed in a beautiful dream, no need to wake up to face the “taking the exam” reality?

But wasn’t she very calm and collected when she was doing the listening test earlier? Just like a pecking chick, in the blink of an eye, a question was answered. Could it be she had just been randomly putting down answers?

Teacher Wang said: “Student, if you really do not want to take the exam, how about you continue to sleep ……”Continue to sleep? Boo hoo hoo … how can she still sleep!

Finally, Shen Xi spent five minutes to adapt to the reality of her sudden appearance in the exam room. Then she picked up the pen, to strongly and courageously face the rest of the blank exam paper.

The listening test was over, so she was left with large amount of reading, which she hated the most! Shen Xi wiped away the remnant of tears from her eyes and began to do the exam question.

While doing it, she saw two words at the bottom of the exam papers, which should be left by He Zhi Zhou, only two simple words —— “Add Oil (Do it) 加油 “jia you.” According to hoju, this is a very common Chinese phrase of encouragement and literally translates as “add oil.” It probably most accurately translates as “keep going,” but contains connotations of “be strong,”“hang in there,” “go for it,” “give it your best shot” etc.”

Shen Xi pouted, the heart whining: Since he had time to write add oil, why not do a bit more for her …… Although with such thought, unconsciously, a different kind of sweetness quietly appeared in her heart.

Okay, she will add oil …..

When He Zhi Zhou was halfway through the listening test, he had a lapse in concentration. At the same time, the howling wind and torrential rain outside were hitting against the window glass, making a heavy tapping noise, as if it’ll break the window and enter the room. He propped his forehead and forced himself to listen clearly to every English words, until the end. The ears wearing earplugs were ringing, a certain premonition also arose in his heart. Then he used the last moment to leave a signal to Shen Xi, he wrote two words —— “add oil”.

There was a moment where he lost consciousness. When he opened his eyes again, he did not want to face himself like this —— even if this was his own body, he has not seen it for a long time. Moreover, he really cannot accept it being laid bare before his eyes.

In addition, why the back of the head hurt so much …… what did Shen Xi did to him!

He Zhi Zhou was lying four legs facing the sky (a Chinese idiom meaning flat on his back) in a very small cubicle in the male public bathroom. The shower faucet was spraying out hot water, he moved his head aside. A yellow soap was also lying next to him …… he spent a few seconds to think : Could it be that Shen Xi slipped while picking up the soap?

Suddenly, a worried voice came through from next door: “Hey, my bath buddy next door, are you okay?”

He Zhi Zhou did not answer him. He was thinking of another problem —— Shen Xi actually went to the public bathroom to take a bath!

After a while, a probing voice can be heard from next door: “If you are okay, can you please hand over my soap …..”

He Zhi Zhou glanced at the soap on the floor, too dirty, so he did not want to pick it up. He stood up and massaged the back of his head. After making sure his vision was not blurry and he was breathing properly, he aimed at the soap and kicked it directly over.

“Whoooosh—”

The naughty soap slid across five or six cubicles. He Zhi Zhou helped Shen Xi completed the task.

“My soap!!!” The northeast (Manchuria) male student next door who was bathing halfway broke down completely. After calling out in anguish, he said in a distressed voice: “Bath buddy, you kicked too hard!”

He Zhi Zhou cannot be bothered with him and turned off the hot water. He opened the small closet on the top left and took down the pants and clothes brought over by Shen Xi —— all were warm color clothing. Then he discovered a problem, he can accept Shen Xi wearing this kind of clothes. While he was putting on this yellow capri pants now, the heart felt a little tangled.

After finished dressing, he took the remainder of the clothes and left the cubicle, ignoring the appeal from next door: “Dear, let’s discuss this matter. Can you help me to find my soap back?”

……

When He Zhi Zhou got out of the bathroom, the rain outside had stopped. The whole S University was like being fished out of water, everywhere was also soaking wet, but the air was very fresh and clean. He Zhi Zhou stood at the entrance to breathe in a few mouthfuls of fresh air, his mouth curled into a shallow smile.

Finally, they swapped back!

Just that he did not know how was Shen Xi over there ……

He Zhi Zhou who was holding the bath basin, returned to dorm 921. Only Brawny and Lin Yu Tang were in the dormitory. Brawny was sitting on a chair with his legs apart and said to Lin Yu Tang: “Third, Beautiful Maiden Shen is taking CET-4 today, so you should be more proactive. The Leader had stolen your girlfriend, so you just have to steal her back.”

Lin Yu Tang did not say anything, the outer corner of his eyes glanced faintly at the person standing at the doorway.

At the time, Brawny was talking with Lin Yu Tang, he was not aware that He Zhi Zhou had come back. When he saw the Leader came in, his tone changed. He immediately smiled like a flower, waved at him and said: “Leader, you’ve come back?”

“Yes.” He Zhi Zhou put down the bath basin and nodded insipidly. He was standing in front of the desk, with his back to Brawny and Lin Yu Tang. When he was tidying up the messy desk, he can feel a scorching heat as if something was going to penetrate his back. Then he turned his head to look at Lin Yu Tang: “Third, is there something on my body?”

All of a sudden, Lin Yu Tang was left speechless by He Zhi Zhou behaving like this.

This sort of flat and cold tone, coupled with the indifferent expression on the face, was completely a counter-question that was void of any emotion. This could not be Shen Xi! Lin Yu Tang’s pupils constricted until they became only a dot, his eyes filled with incredulity.

Not only Lin Yu Tang was feeling incredulous. When Brawny heard the Leader speaking like this, he was also a little unhappy. He did not want an ice cold leader, he wanted a soft leader!

Brawny buttered up to him by asking: “Leader, are you in a bad mood today?”

“No, very good.” He Zhi Zhou said that, and then turned around, “I am going out.”

Brawny was left speechless and stared after him: “Leader ……”

He Zhi Zhou went to normal college to find Shen Xi. On his way there, he thought of a lot of things, but the most important one was —— can Shen Xi handle the rest of the exam?

There was only half an hour left in the exam. Relying only on the two words, “add oil,” Shen Xi fumblingly managed to finish more than half of the exam paper. The end result, however, proved that “add oil” did not work when it came to English. The fact that she did not understand what was written still meant that she did not understand. Even if she added oil, she still would not understand it.

There was only half an hour left in the exam, but she still has a lot of questions not yet done. She also has a little obsessive-compulsive disorder, when she cannot comprehend what she was reading, she will read many times. Time just “flew away” from her pen tip like this, until the teacher said only half an hour left. Only then, she recovered from the obsessive-compulsive disorder and relying on “three choices are short and one is long, choose the long one; if three choices are long and one is short, choose the short one”, she quickly completed a lot of questions.

He Zhi Zhou walked up from the teaching building, to classroom 256 where Shen Xi was located. He stood outside the hallway and through the windows, he saw Shen Xi sitting in the corner and biting the pen.

As if she was telepathy, she suddenly turned her head, and their eyes met. What was the expression in Shen Xi’s eyes? Grievance, resentment, pity, despair…..

He Zhi Zhou turned his face, not letting Shen Xi see the unexpected slight quirk in his mouth.

Shen Xi regained her concentration and fought bravely until the final minute. In the exam room, people started to hand in the exam papers one after another, but they did not distract her. Even though she knew nothing, she still wanted to fill up this exam paper.

He Zhi Zhou waited patiently. He leaned languidly on the railings in the hallway. Sometimes he will look inside at Shen Xi, sometimes he will look downstairs at the landscape in the small garden. After the rain stopped, the sky started to clear up, the sunshine lightly moved through the clouds and shone down, the puddle reflecting the sunlight.

The bell rang to signify the end of the exam.

The supervising teacher collected the exam papers one by one. Shen Xi was still scribbling away, until the teacher standing in front of her. Only then, she reluctantly stopped writing and handed over the exam papers.

Aiya. She started to slowly pack up the stationery, identity card and exam admission card on the desk.

Truly a very sad figure …

Not many people were left in the classroom, when He Zhi Zhou walked over to Shen Xi and greeted her casually: “Hi.”

Shen Xi stood up, not used to seeing a He Zhi Zhou who was taller than her, lowered her head and said: “Big brother He, we ……” How did we swap back?

“Although the way we swapped was unexpected, the outcome is all for the best.” He Zhi Zhou with one hand inserted in his pocket, looked at her and said, “Right?”

Not good ….. Shen Xi was unhappy, but she cannot be too selfish. She looked up at He Zhi Zhou, still felt grievance, recalling the kind of panic and fear that she felt after waking up in the exam room. She did not want to experience this again in this lifetime.

“Big brother He … … I cannot answer the questions at the back ……” spoken in an aggrieved voice.

He Zhi Zhou really wanted to give Shen Xi a hug, and then he really hugged her, pulled her directly into his arms. This was the first time he hugged her as a man, he discovered that she was really very soft.

He patted her back, chuckled twice and comforted her by saying: “It doesn’t matter, a blind cat finds a dead mouse (a Chinese idiom meaning sheer luck), can always get a few right.”

Suddenly being pulled into his arms, Shen Xi turned from grievance to muddle headed. Although the action was not very intimate, her head was laying on He Zhi Zhou’s chest. Previously, she and He Zhi Zhou hugged and even …… kissed, but she did not feel as ill at ease as now.

She blinked her eyes. This time she was really hugged by He Zhi Zhou in his arms, she as a woman and he as a man.

Shen Xi quickly adjusted her mood, casually pushed He Zhi Zhou away and smilingly said: “Big brother He, we finally returned to normal.”

He Zhi Zhou let go of Shen Xi’s hand and naturally put his hand back into his pocket. He nodded in agreement with her words:

“Yes, normal.”

Shen Xi and He Zhi Zhou left the teaching building together. She thought of the thing that had happened before the swap back, immediately raised her head and asked: “Big brother He, how is the back of your head?”

He Zhi Zhou reached out to touch the back of his head, slowed his pace and said: “Still good.”

Shen Xi thought of the thing that happened in the public baths, her cheeks turning red. She was ashamed to face He Zhi Zhou. Holding her neither long nor short hair, she said: “I really did not expect to swap back in the exam room.”

He Zhi Zhou agreed: “I also did not expect it.” He also did not expect to lay naked with four legs facing the sky (a Chinese idiom meaning flat on his back) in the bathroom.

Shen Xi laughed, and then she waved at He Zhi Zhou: “Big brother He, I am going back to the dormitory, see you later!”

He Zhi Zhou: “… See you later.”

Shen Xi went back to dormitory 636, the mood really emotional and complicated. She looked around inside and took a step back. Until Dou Dou beckoned at her: “Hey, A Xi, how did you go in the exam?”

Shen Xi did not want to talk about CET-4 anymore. But seeing Dou Dou, her mood got better. She stepped forward to hold Dou Dou’s hand: “Dou Dou, long time no see!”

Haven’t they been seeing each other every day? Dou Dou was a little puzzled, but she really has not seen A Xi’s smiling face for quite a while. She excitedly hugged Shen Xi’s waist and complained: “Sob sob …… Xi Xi …… you have not smiled at me for a long time …… ”

That was He Zhi Zhou! Shen Xi patted Dou Dou’s shoulders and pacified her by apologizing: “Sorry ah, in the future, I’ll smile at you every day.”

Dou Dou quickly nodded.

Shen Xi chuckled, it has been a long time since she last lived here. Then she saw the curtains surrounding her bed. She drew back the curtains, pleasingly saw the neatly folded quilt. Her mouth opened in an “O-shape”. Pointing at the quilt, she asked Dou Dou: “This …… this was …… folded by me?”

Or what, a ghost folded it? … Dou Dou really though that Shen Xi was showing off. All she wanted was Dou Dou to praise her. So Dou Dou said: “Yes ah, I did not expect you to be so skillful.”

“Not only skillful, but double skillful!” Shen Xi seriously emphasized double skillful to Dou Dou. She pulled Dou Dou over, “Just look at this corner and this perfectly straight line through two points. Can an average Joe fold like this?”

Dou Dou: “……”

Shen Xi went back to her seat and the first thing she did was looking at the mirror. The long unused mirror was covered with dust. She looked at the hairstyle which resembled Gao Xiao Song and decided to go to the hairdresser in the afternoon to do her hair.

From now on, bid farewell to Gao Xiao Song. Facing the sea, with spring blossom.

While Shen Xi was having her hair done, He Zhi Zhou was tidying up in dorm 921 and having a big clean up. He pulled open the drawer and found a lot of snacks; lifted up the quilt and found two comic books; opened the wardrobe and found all kind of fancy clothes.

Also, there was even a small teddy bear with a big bow on his bedhead.

All were traces of Shen Xi’s life.

When He Zhi Zhou was taking down the teddy bear, Brawny was coming out from the bathroom. He saw the Leader throwing the teddy bear into a box, so he took a big stride forward: “Leader, what are you doing to Ka Ka?”

Ka Ka? He Zhi Zhou looked at the teddy bear in the box, it even got a name.

How did Ka Ka come into existence? Last week, Brawny bought nine packets of tissue and took part in a raffle. He won the third prize which was a teddy bear.

He had wanted to give this teddy bear to Zhang Ran, but when he took it back to the dormitory, the Leader was holding the teddy bear and will not let go: “It is so cute ……”

“Do you like it? Then I’ll give it to you.” He was very generous in gifting it to the Leader, not as stingy as he treated Monkey. And, he had completely forgotten about Zhang Ran.

In the end, the Leader lost interest in it so quickly? Brawny was unable to accept it, so he reminded the Leader of a certain fact: “Leader, I gave the teddy bear to you and you named it Ka Ka ……”

“Oh, it is like this.” He Zhi Zhou took the teddy bear out of the box and put it into Brawny’s hand, “Give back to you la.”

Brawny: “……”

Very tired, did not want to love anymore.