QKYJ - 3

In their first year of university, Shen He was obsessed with unicycles.

In their second year, Shen He delved into the study of hoverboards.

By their third year, Shen He was constantly walking on stilts downstairs from the library.

His enthusiasm was like a tornado, arriving with great fanfare and departing just as openly. To put it plainly, he had a three-minute attention span.

Except for acting, nothing seemed to consistently capture his attention for long.

They were studying upstairs, and a few younger students from other departments were lingering by the window, calling out to friends and discussing quietly. Ouyang Sheng couldn’t help but blurt out, “He’s quite handsome, isn’t he?”

The younger students looked over in surprise, then heard her roommate’s next sentence: “It comes at the cost of intelligence.”

After wickedly dispersing the naive girls, Ouyang Sheng finally sat down and complained to her roommate beside her, “Someone like Shen He is fine for dating, but absolutely not for marriage.”

Shen Zhi turned a page of her book and, after a long silence, replied distractedly, “Is that so?”

What did it have to do with her?

That’s what she thought at the time.

That year, the period drama Revisiting the Old Place held auditions at their school, and both Shen He and Shen Zhi were selected.

He played a young master who entered a military academy, full of youthful vigor, somewhat reckless, and arrogantly rude.

She played a young lady from a wealthy family, wearing white lace gloves, an exquisitely eccentric Western dress, and her hair curled like a foreign doll.

On set, Shen He and Shen Zhi didn’t have many opportunities to interact. Firstly, their overlapping scenes were limited, and secondly, they truly weren’t on terms for intimate conversation.

The show featured countless new actors, many of whom didn’t even have assistants. Everyone was fresh, innocent, full of hope for the future, and lacked connections, so they inevitably shared some common topics.

The lace-trimmed dress was heavy, making Shen Zhi sweat uncontrollably. She fanned herself with the script, circling around the living room of the villa used as a set. When she went behind a pillar, a burst of laughter erupted.

Shen Zhi peeked out half her face, then saw Shen He’s downward gaze.

He was so good at acting.

Normally, he was not a very reasonable person, but at this moment, he was very gentle. Even when facing strangers, if he wanted to, he could feign a look of deep affection.

Shen Zhi thought indifferently, forgetting to pull herself back for a moment.

As a result, her eyes met Shen He’s.

When he looked at her, he withdrew that deep affection, his gaze faint, calm, and with a hint of effortless ease. After a moment, she unhurriedly retreated from his line of sight.

At first, Shen Zhi was a little nervous. Fortunately, the crew members were all nice, and things got better later.

She just didn’t expect that she and Shen He would still argue outside.

In that scene, the character Shen Zhi played had an emotional breakdown, became obsessed, and went crazy. Whether it was easy or difficult to play depended on the individual; at least for Shen Zhi, it was a challenge.

She communicated with the director several times but was still dissatisfied with herself.

Finally, the director still said “cut.”

Shen Zhi stepped down, supposedly relieved, but her heart felt even more uncertain. She comforted herself several times, thinking she had to “let it go,” when a voice suddenly came from behind: “Just use this one?”

He always spoke so impolitely, but this seemed to be the first time she was utterly furious.

Shen Zhi didn’t deny her guilt.

It was something the director had approved, so there was no need to argue. Yet, they still argued until their faces were red.

It was the height of summer, and the two were panting, standing on opposite sides, glaring at each other. Emotions surged like an opened floodgate. Finally, Shen Zhi turned her head, silently repeating “it’s not because of him” hundreds of times, and pleaded as calmly as possible, “I’m sorry. Can we do it again?”

Surprisingly, the director was staring at them with keen interest, as if the discord between the young people was amusing.

After that, Shen Zhi’s performance was completely different from before.

After yelling “cut,” everyone couldn’t help but applaud for her, but she only glared at Shen He. He didn’t react at all, turning and leaving.

When filming wrapped, the director specifically asked Shen Zhi if she was interested in appearing in his next project, a historical drama. Shen Zhi would play the female protagonist in her youth.

She accepted and smoothly completed the role.

This role became one of Shen Zhi’s important stepping stones.

Shen He was invited for the role of the male protagonist’s youth. Shen Zhi only found out about this when the show aired.

Because he didn’t accept.

To be honest, Shen Zhi didn’t think much of it.

They weren’t really friends to begin with.

________________________________________

December 24th was Christmas Eve.

Among classmates, there might be future superstars, and there might also be those who leave this industry without looking back. But at least for now, they were all more or less the same. So the whole class went out for a dinner gathering.

After dinner, they went to sing karaoke, and of course, there was plenty of alcohol. The atmosphere was just right; diets were forgotten, and appearances no longer mattered.

Someone ordered “Jingle Bells,” a perfect song for a sing-along.

A harmonious atmosphere filled the air.

Shen Zhi, dizzy and disoriented, seized the opportunity when others weren’t paying attention and fled.

But she didn’t expect there to be someone else hiding in the corridor.

She had drunk a lot and stumbled forward. He grabbed her wrist from behind and asked, “Where are you going?”

Shen Zhi turned around, vaguely recognizing Shen He. Her tongue was tied, and she was somewhat incoherent: “I’m going home.”

“You’re going back to the dorm?” Shen He said.

In fact, curfew had already passed, and they had agreed not to return to school that day.

Shen Zhi insisted, “I’m going home.”

Ouyang Sheng appeared in time, supporting her and sighing, “She’s just drunk.”

“What should we do?” Sun Mengjia asked while touching up her makeup.

“If only we could send her back to school,” Ouyang Sheng said, her face full of dilemma. It was only natural for people not to want to spoil the fun after finally getting out to play.

Other classmates also gathered around.

“What’s wrong with the class monitor?”

“Or call a car?”

“She’s so drunk, it’s a bit unsafe for her to be alone.”

As they were chattering, Shen He interjected, “I’ll take her back.”

His suggestion was so abrupt that everyone’s first reaction was silence. Thus, “We wish you a Merry Christmas” from the private room became even clearer, forcing Shen Zhi to speak again: “I want to go back—”

“I happen to be going back too,” Shen He said.

He supported her up without argument.

“See you,” Shen He helped Shen Zhi out.

At a group gathering, a boy and a girl leaving together is a delicate matter. If it were anyone else, it would definitely lead to a flurry of speculation.

However, Shen He and Shen Zhi were different.

Their incompatibility was well-known.

If anything were to happen between them, it would definitely be a fight.

Shen He gripped Shen Zhi’s arm tightly, waiting for the green light, and the two crossed the road.

As they passed the park, Shen Zhi suddenly shook off Shen He and quickened her pace, collapsing onto the iron fence surrounding an old tree. She was disheartened and refused to get up, no matter how he called her.

Shen He had no choice. As he looked around, he saw a convenience store. He unhurriedly took off his scarf, first wrapped it around her neck several times, then gave her a few instructions before turning to leave.

When he returned, Shen Zhi was smelling his scarf.

“Are you a pervert?” he couldn’t help but ask.

Then he handed her the opened hot drink.

She took it with both hands, carefully took a sip. A satisfied sound came from her throat, but the next second she focused on him: “Isn’t yours better?”

“It’s the same,” Shen He showed her the bottle.

“Let me try yours,” Shen Zhi unconsciously acted drunk.

After only a slight hesitation, Shen He actually complied.

She was surprised by his amiability. But on second thought, he did have some quirks in his behavior, but most of the time, he was communicative.

The weather was cold, and they drank hot coffee, the steam spreading around them.

Shen Zhi gradually sobered up a lot and couldn’t help but ask, “Are you a pervert?”

“What?” Shen He said. “No.”

“Then why did you walk me out?”

“…”

He finished his drink but wasn’t in a hurry to go to the trash can. Instead, he turned around and silently waited for her to finish hers too.

Shen Zhi tilted her head back and drank it all, her gaze lingering on Shen He.

Shen He let her examine him, then took the plastic bottle from Shen Zhi.

Towering trees densely covered the night sky.

When they returned, Shen He no longer urged them to move. He leaned against the fence with Shen Zhi, just staring straight ahead in the darkness.

Suddenly, Shen Zhi said, “Why celebrate Christmas?”

“Yeah,” Shen He inadvertently echoed.

“My parents always get so neurotic around Christmas, it’s really, really, really annoying.” Her body felt light, but her heart was heavy. Shen Zhi didn’t know why she said it.

“In high school,” Shen He replied involuntarily, “I ran into my dad at the mall. We hadn’t seen each other for years then. He was buying a Christmas present for my brother, but he couldn’t even afford a pair of canvas shoes. So I gave him all the money I had. In the end, he just wished me a Merry Christmas. I don’t have good memories of Christmas.”

Shen Zhi propped her chin and said glumly, “I don’t like it either.”

They reached a consensus.

Several seconds, which could be equated to half a century, passed, and Shen He and Shen Zhi simultaneously looked at each other.

He tentatively said, “We…”

“We?” she repeated his words.

She looked at him. Everyone appreciates beauty, and Shen Zhi occasionally admitted she had this weakness. It was hard to deny, putting aside prejudice, that Shen He was the type of person who fit most people’s aesthetic preferences.

He also looked at her. The reason so many classmates were deeply impressed by Shen Zhi was nothing more than one: her appearance was too exquisite, too graceful, equally beautiful with light or heavy makeup.

“Are we…” he said.

Christmas is a holiday where Santa Claus, defying the snow, rides deer to deliver gifts to children.

Santa Claus and the reindeer are fake; the gifts are given by parents.

This holiday is not necessarily happy.

Snow fell, precisely interrupting the second half of Shen He’s sentence. He was distracted, which also caused her to lose focus for a moment. Shen Zhi said, “Should we find a place to stay for the night?”

Shen Zhi felt she was tempted by Shen He. But then she thought, she was also attracting him; they knew each other inside and out, so neither would suffer any loss.

If it were an ordinary love story, at this point, the protagonists should have spent a romantic night together.

However.

Which is more dramatic, the script or real life?

Their choice to stay in a guesthouse costing 52 yuan a night was out of necessity.

As they walked out of the park surrounded by trees, the snow actually started falling heavier and heavier. Taxis came and went in a hurry, with only the bright red sign of the guesthouse across the street shining with a cheap glow.

Throughout the process of Shen He getting a room, Shen Zhi stood by with her arms crossed, reflecting on herself.

Upstairs, around the corner, opening the door, after entering and closing the door, Shen Zhi was still wavering, but Shen He looked over.

She avoided making eye contact with him, even though she had just been consumed by impure thoughts.

The heating was abundant, and Shen He took off his jacket. Having studied this major, they had a lot of physical contact usually, but now it was different from before. Shen Zhi also rolled up the hem of her sweater, about to pull it up to take it off, but felt a pair of hands reach out. She didn’t resist much, naturally raised her hands, letting him help her.

At this moment, they were both very vulnerable, very overwhelmed, and very much in need of licking their wounds.

Finally, the two, left only in their underclothes, looked at each other.

So they instantly hit it off.

“I’m sorry,” Shen He suddenly said, his expression flawless, but his words were exactly the opposite, “It’s my first time.”

“Uh,” for no reason, Shen Zhi relaxed a little, “Me too.”