Chapter Forty-seven: Her Silhouette

Life in the dormitory was indeed much richer than it had been at home. My roommates and I spent the entire night chatting idly about anything and everything, and when morning came, I felt strangely dazed. Since today was the first class meeting since school began, we wanted to make a good impression on our homeroom teacher, so we rushed to the classroom without even stopping for breakfast. But as soon as we walked in, we were greeted by terrible news—the boss had passed away in the hospital last night.

Silence fell as we mourned. Though we were new and had never interacted with him, a faint sadness crept in despite ourselves.

The class meeting started quickly. Sitting in the classroom, I listened to the teacher’s admonishments while scanning the room, sizing up every classmate. Unfortunately, the girls in our class were all tall and imposing, while the boys seemed frail and dispirited in comparison, resembling nothing so much as recently reformed delinquents.

These hopeless boys, upon seeing the girls, gathered in small groups like cats drawn to the scent of fish, whispering and gossiping about the girls in the front row, their faces plastered with lecherous expressions. Among them, most were probably only pseudo-womanizers, pretending to be debauched despite never having held a girl's hand.

Meanwhile, the teacher continued her endless lecture from the podium, repeating the same old stories, and then went over school rules—no dating, no skipping class, no leaving early, no…

Listening to this endless stream of prohibitions, I couldn’t help but wonder what was actually allowed. Restless and distracted, I glanced around, and unexpectedly noticed that the girl sitting in front of me had a familiar silhouette.

“Lele?” The name flashed through my mind, almost escaping my lips.

Impossible! The thought vanished as quickly as it came. I dismissed it, certain that Lele didn’t attend this school. Still, curiosity gnawed at me. I wanted to see the girl’s face but couldn’t find a good excuse.

“What should I do? What should I do?” I scratched my head anxiously, unable to come up with a plan.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. Without hesitation, I took a deep breath, pretended to fiddle absentmindedly with my pen, and then “accidentally” sent it flying.

Perfect! The pen landed precisely by the girl’s feet in the front row, the throw flawless. I silently cheered myself.

“Excuse me, could you please pick up my pen?” The method was old-fashioned, but it always worked. Now, I had a legitimate reason to strike up a conversation.

The girl looked down, found the pen, bent sideways to pick it up, and placed it back on my desk. As expected, she wasn’t Lele. After all my scheming, I finally saw her face—a result I had anticipated, but still felt a pang of disappointment at the confirmation.

“This is my autograph. Keep it as a souvenir. In a few decades, it might be worth quite a lot.” For reasons unknown, I tore a page from my notebook, signed my name, and handed it to her.

“Oh? Your name is Li Xiaobei?” She took the paper and studied my signature for a long time before deciphering the scribbles. “Hehe, I’m Huang Xin. Nice to meet you.”

I realized I’d become a bit lovestruck lately. Huang Xin gave a casual smile, and it sent my heart racing. Truth be told, she was an ordinary girl—not particularly pretty, nor unattractive.

After the class meeting, the six of us walked in a row toward the boys’ dormitory. Huang Xin and several girls happened to be ahead of us. I gazed at her back, and inevitably thought of Lele.

Unable to let go of the past, this was all I could do.

Lin Jie noticed something was off with me. He waved his hand in front of my face: “Hey! Xiaobei, you’ve been staring at that girl all day. Don’t tell me you’re falling for her? Want me to help you out?” He slung his arm around my shoulder, grinning mischievously.

“Ah! No, nothing like that…” My face flushed red, and I hurried to protest.

“Wow, who knew you could actually be shy?” Lin Jie was amused by my embarrassment, leaning his face on my shoulder as he laughed uncontrollably.

“Alright, alright.” I couldn’t stand Lin Jie’s teasing, so I came clean. “Actually… I just think her back looks like someone I know.”

My explanation didn’t satisfy Lin Jie. He pressed on: “Who? An old flame? Don’t tell me you’re falling for her back!” Only now did I realize men could be just as gossipy.

“I suppose so,” I replied helplessly.

“Well, here’s an idea. Tomorrow’s the weekend. Why don’t we invite her to go sing in the city together?” Lin Jie thought for a moment before suggesting.

“Alright, whatever you want.” Deep down, I did want to get closer to Huang Xin.

“What do you mean, whatever? Come on, I’m helping you here! If you don’t want to go, forget it!” Seeing my indifferent attitude, Lin Jie couldn’t help but knock me on the head.

“Okay, okay! I’ll go! I’ll go!” I didn’t want to admit I’d fallen for Huang Xin. Maybe, as Lin Jie said, I was just infatuated with her silhouette.

The class president had everyone’s contact information, so it was easy for me to get Huang Xin’s number. That evening, pushed by Lin Jie, I called her.

We’d only just met, so I didn’t expect much, but to my surprise, she agreed without hesitation.

“Could she be interested in me too?” I couldn’t help but let my imagination run wild.

We quickly arranged the time for our outing over the phone. After hanging up, Lin Jie sprawled on his bed, eyeing me slyly: “Xiaobei, if I help you land this happy ending, how will you thank me?”

“Uh, I’ll treat you to dinner, alright?” Bored, I climbed into bed and stared at the ceiling. Below, Zhang Tao was excitedly chatting with Zhao Gang, while Chen Li next door was already snoring.

Eleven o’clock. Lights out soon…

(Chapter revision completed August 28, 2010)