Wait For Me After School

Yu Fan slammed the vinegar onto the table with a low ‘thud’. The people sitting at the tables next to them couldn’t help but look in their direction-----But they could only see a head that was buried low. He vigorously stirred the noodles while holding the chopsticks as if they were knives.The hat almost completely covered his face.Yu Fan treated his noodles as if it was the other party.The next moment, his chopsticks were held down by a hand that had reached over. Chen Jingshen took away his bowl of noodles.“It’s too sour.” Chen Jingshen, “Order a new one.”Yu Fan raised his eyes and glared viciously at him. Just as he was about to ask him why he should care about what he eats….“I meant the noodles are too sour.” Meeting his gaze, Chen Jingshen added.“…..”From that point onwards, from eating until it was time to pay the bill and from leaving the restaurant until they reached the internet cafe, Yu Fan didn’t talk to Chen Jingshen.It was easy for one to become a little loud when playing games. This was particularly the case for the five boys in the voice chat.Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan were on the same lane in this round and they were practically shouting, making Yu Fan turn down the volume in the game a number of times.“Hey, your skills are no good.” Through the headphones, Zuo Kuan spoke up, “It’s not as good as the hired person just now.”“Yes, yes, yes. Why don’t you guess why that person is working in this field ----- Holy shit!” Wang Lu’an exclaimed and his mouse clicked like crazy, “They’re coming down the centre lane! Zuo Kuan, help me block the damage-----You’re fucking selling me out??!”Even brothers come from the same forest. (KKnotes: Something along the lines of ‘When adversity strikes, even birds fly in separate directions’.)“Get lost!” Wang Lu’an asked, “Yu Fan, why didn’t you say anything about the centre lane getting taken?!”Yu Fan, “Forgot.”Wang Lu’an, “What’s wrong with you today? Why do you seem to be a little distracted today?”He was indeed distracted.After moving the character on the screen to a safe location, Yu Fan turned and met the eyes of the person sitting next to him.“What are you looking at?” He asked with annoyance.Chen Jingshen hadn’t done anything after sitting down at a computer apart from leaning back on the sofa and occasionally looking at his screen and occasionally looking at him.“Watching you play.” Chen Jingshen said.Wang Lu’an swore on the other end of the headphones, “Why is Top Student next to you?”Yu Fan, “To use the internet.”Wang Lu’an was surprised, “You two get along well enough to go out together on a weekend to an internet cafe?”“Just happened to run into each other.”“You can run into each other at Yu He?”“……”Why do you have so many questions?Yu Fan moved the microphone away from his mouth and looked coldly at Chen Jingshen, “Look at your own computer or go home.”Chen Jingshen did as he was told and randomly clicked open a movie.After playing five rounds, Zhu Xu said that his mother called him to help move things and asked them to wait ten minutes.The others also happened to be tired so they just hung around and chatted through the game voice chat.Having worn headphones all afternoon, Yu Fan’s ears were tired. He turned off his microphone, took off and placed his headphones onto the table and turned up the volume so that he could still hear them talking.Yu Fan leaned back in the chair, crossed his legs and reached for a cigarette. Just as he was about to throw one into his mouth, he caught a glimpse of the person next to him out of the corner of his eyes and stopped.Chen Jingshen also wasn’t wearing headphones. He had thrown his exam materials onto the table and was sitting a little laxly as he calmly watched a movie.There were two animated characters on the screen. The man was holding a woman as they flew through the sky. When he looked up, it said “Howl’s Moving Castle”.“….” He didn’t expect Chen Jingshen to watch this kind of movie.Yu Fan checked the time. It was already time for dinner and the sky outside had already turned dark.He nudged the person next to him with his knee, “Chen Jingshen, why aren’t you going home?”Chen Jingshen glanced at the unlit cigarette in his hand and asked back, “When are you going home?”“I might stay overni----.” Yu Fan stopped, “It’s none of your business.”Chen Jingshen, “I’ll stay overnight too.”“….”“Can’t you learn something better from me?” Yu Fan frowned, “No one cares about me in my family, is that the same for you?”“It is.” Chen Jingshen said, “My family are all abroad right now so staying out all night is not a problem for me.”“…….”Chen Jingshen also leaned back and asked, “What does that expression mean?”“Nothing. Just wondering…” Yu Fan looked firmly at him, “Chen Jingshen, are you currently in your rebellious stage?”Chen Jingshen quietly looked back at him for a while.“Have you ever considered that,” Chen Jingshen spoke up, “I might currently be in a crushing stage…..”Yu Fan immediately pinched his mouth shut.“Yu Fan! Yu Fan!” Wang Lu’an called out his name through the headphones on the table, “Where are you?”Yu Fan said expressionlessly, “Shut up and continue watching your movie.”Chen Jingshen nodded.Yu Fan let go of him and turned on his microphone, “What is it?”“Where did you go? I was calling for you for a long time...Zuo Kuan and I are talking about going to the amusement park during the Dragon Boat Festival.” Wang Lu’an paused and added, “Oh, Top Student can come along too.” (KKnotes: Dragon Boat Festival aka Duanwu Jie - a public holiday)Yu Fan wasn’t very interested, “I--”Chen Jingshen, “Okay.”“………”Chen Jingshen looked over, “I’ve never been to an amusement park before.”Then you can go with them-------“Let’s go together.” Chen Jingshen said.“……”Yu Fan remained silent for a while. After this moment of silence passed, he put away the cigarette in his mouth in annoyance and mumbled back in the voice chat, “Whatever. I’m going to the bathroom, don’t start the game yet.”The internet cafe was full because it was a weekend. Now that it was dinner time, the air was filled with the delicious aroma of food.When he got up, he just happened to hear a girl sitting at a computer say into her phone, “I’m at an internet cafe….What am I playing? I’m not playing anything, just watching dramas….It can’t be helped, I’m accompanying my boyfriend….No, it’s not boring, he’s always chatting with me and he also bought me a lot of food. I’m just a little tired from sitting.”When he returned from the bathroom, Yu Fan was about to turn to go back to his seat but he then stopped and looked over at the front desk.With another movie coming to an end, Chen Jingshen moved the mouse around and got ready to see if there was anything else he could do to pass the time.Out of the corner of his eyes, a familiar figure came over from a distance. He appeared to be carrying things in both arms and his steps were slow and clumsy.Before Chen Jingshen could see what it was clearly, there was a clunk and a bunch of things appeared on his table.Potato chips, sunflower seeds, cakes, plums, all sorts of other snacks, and also a bowl of beef noodles.“Eat.” Yu Fan sat back in his chair and calmly put his headphones back on, “I’ll be done after two more rounds.”Chen Jingshen glanced at the exquisite mille feuille and milk tea on the girl’s table next to them and then looked back at the pile of snacks in front of him and couldn’t help but purse his lower lip.“Okay.” He randomly picked up one of them and opened it. He then asked, “I’m tired of watching movies. Can I watch you play?”Yu Fan expressionlessly chose his champion, “….Do what you want.”-After returning to school, Wang Lu’an invited a few other classmates he got along with to go with them to the amusement park but most of them unfortunately had plans with their family so only Zhang Xianjing and Ke Ting were able to come.Nancheng was hot and humid during June. The temperature during the day can get scarily high.On the day of the Dragon Boat Festival, they had a quick discussion and decided to meet at the entrance of the amusement park at five in the afternoon after they each ate something at home.The amusement park they went to was a local amusement park that had been operating for more than twenty years. It was located in the suburbs and rather remote but because it had many rides and a good atmosphere, it was always very busy.As today was a holiday, they had to line up in order to enter the amusement park.While waiting in line to enter the amusement park, Wang Lu’an stared with a dumbfounded look at Zhang Xianjing who wore a long sleeved shirt, long pants as well as a face veil and sunglasses: “Aren’t you hot like that? Do you have to go this far? There isn’t much sun right now.”“You know nothing. There are still ultraviolet rays outside when it's not dark yet.” Zhang Xianjing took out a tube of sunscreen from her bag and held Ke Ting’s hand, “Ting Dear, here, put some on your arm.”Ke Ting was a little resistant at first but when Zhang Xianjing said ‘Ting Dear’ again, her expression paused and she quietly lowered her head and allowed Zhang Xianjing put it on her.After she was done, Zhang Xianjing turned and asked the two tall and pale men behind her, “Do you two also want some?”Yu Fan replied without even thinking about it, “No need.”Chen Jingshen said, “I’m fine as well.”The two wore short sleeved shirts and a white baseball cap today. At first glance, they somehow looked well-fitting.Zuo Kuan lightly cleared his throat and stretched out his hand, “Zhang Xianjing, give me some.”“With you so dark, is there a point in putting it on?” Zhang Xianjing threw her sunscreen at him, “Put it on yourself.”“……”Although the weather was better in the evening, it was still hot standing amidst the crowd of people.Yu Fan had both his hands in his pockets and was feeling a little irritated from the heat.Why didn’t he stay at home or go to an internet cafe on a stupid day like today? Why is he here lining up for this place??There was still time for him to leave.The line moved forward a little. Just as Yu Fan thought this, he suddenly felt a rush cool air at his neck.He turned back. Chen Jingshen was holding a hand-held fan and pointing it to the back of his head.“Where did you get it from?”“Just bought it.” Chen Jingshen lowered his eyes, “Do you feel better now?”It was indeed cooler. Yu Fan however felt a little strange. He frowned and ordered, “Go fan yourself.”“I’m not hot.”“If you’re not hot then why did you buy it?”As soon as he asked that, a small vendor passed by carrying a dozen or so small hand-held fans that looked identical to the one in Chen Jingshen’s hand.With every couple of steps, the vendor would ask the person next to him, “Hi handsome, the weather is very hot today. Why don’t you buy a small fan for your girlfriend?”Yu Fan, “……”The hand tucked in his pocket tightened a little. He said monotonously, “Take it away.”Chen Jingshen let out an ‘en’ and turned the fan away.But no more than a few minutes later, Yu Fan once again felt a cool breeze behind him. Yu Fan didn’t turn back. He pretended not to notice and once again patiently waited in line.After ten or so minutes passed, it was finally their turn at the ticket gate.When they finally left the crowded queue, it was not so hot anymore. Chen Jingshen put away the fan after entering the venue.The amusement park in the evening already had their lights turned on. The carousel located closest to the entrance was shining all sorts of colourful colours and the ferris wheel in the distance slowly turned in the air.They were given a paper map of the amusement park. Zhang Xianjing immediately found the place she wanted to go.“Ke Ting and I are going to take pictures with the mascots and then we’re going to the carousel and castle to take some more pictures. Do you guys want to come too?”Wang Lu’an had a complicated look on his face, “Sister Jing, I always thought you were different from other girls….”“Get lost.” Now that there wasn’t much sun, Zhang Xianjing had removed her sunglasses, revealing her intricately done makeup. She rolled her eyes. “Then we’re going to head off. Let’s meet up at the shops later. Pay attention to the time when you’re going on the rides.”The four boys were left standing in the centre of the amusement park’s garden.Wang Lu’an asked, “So what rides do you want to go on?”“Don’t know.” Yu Fan turned and walked ahead, “We’ll see as we go.”The rides near the entrance were all rather simple and more suitable for young children.When they passed the teacup ride, Wang Lu’an asked, “Why don’t we….”Zuo Kuan, “You should fucking open your eyes wider. Do you see anyone else here besides children and their parents?”When they passed the bumper cars, Zuo Kuan asked, “Let’s try….”Wang Lu’an, “No. I get motion sickness.”The two shot down each other's suggestions the entire time while Yu Fan and Chen Jingshen walked at the back, not even sparing those rides a single glance.Yu Fan glanced at the person next to him. Chen Jingshen was silently scanning the colourful arcade games around them. It really seemed to be his first time here. His expression however was still as calm as usual, making it hard for him to tell whether or not he was interested.Yu Fan said coldly, “Speak up if you have anything you want to do.”The next moment, Chen Jingshen stopped. He turned his head and stared straight at a place to the side.Yu Fan followed his line of sight and saw a gloomy dark door with a sign next to it saying “Haunted House ----- The Mysterious Cave”.Yu Fan, “……….”Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan both walked past it without batting an eye.As soon as Chen Jingshen was about to say the words ‘I want to do that one’, his arm was grabbed and he was dragged away.Yu Fan’s voice was indifferent, “Not that one.”A few minutes later, Chen Jingshen stopped in front of a two-person ferris wheel.He was once again dragged away, “No.”A moment later, Chen Jingshen glanced at a tandem bicycle booth and his footsteps slowed down a little----His wrist was grabbed again, “No.”Chen Jingshen stared at the back of the other person’s head with amusement. He asked sincerely, “Then what can I choose?”They stopped in the centre of the amusement park.To the front, back, left and right of them were respectively the big pendulum, a roller coaster, a pirate ship and the most famous ride in this amusement park, a drop tower that reached a height of 129 metres.Yu Fan, “Take your pick.”Chen Jingshen, “.”-As soon as they stepped into this area, it was as if everyone 360 degrees around them were screaming, each a higher pitch than the other. That was why Zuo Kuan and Wang Lu’an were resistant at first.But they were the classic example of someone who wants to do something even if they’re bad at it.It started first with Wang Lu’an declaring ‘Don’t tell me you’re even afraid of something like this’ which was immediately countered by Zuo Kuan’s ‘Who’s afraid of who’ and this resulted in the two insisting on going on the rides despite their trembling legs.The lines for these four rides were several times longer than the others. Because they had plans to go to the market at night, they probably wouldn’t be able to go on all four of them.After some discussion, they decided to ride the most popular drop tower first and then attempt the others depending on how much time they had left.While Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan were chattering noisily at the front, Yu Fan asked lowly, “Can you do it?”Chen Jingshen, “I can.”Yu Fan who heard this walked towards the back of the line.They were lining up inside an artificial cave that was air conditioned so the waiting instantly became less tormenting.As they had to wait for a long time, Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan started playing games on their phones.Yu Fan didn’t like standing up and playing games so he didn’t join in and just leaned against the wall and watched Wang Lu’an play.His T-shirt was tugged lightly. Yu Fan subconsciously turned around.As the line was long and crowded, this sudden turn of his brought the two of them a little too close for a moment.Chen Jingshen’s gaze travelled down his hat, “Looks like we might need to wait a long time.”“En.” Yu Fan blinked a few times, “You don’t want to wait? We can do something el…”“Since we have time,” Chen Jingshen said, “why don’t we memorise ‘Li Sao’ and ‘Tengwang Ge Xu’?”“…….”Forty minutes later, they were finally at the front of the line.Watching the previous group of people come down from their seats with pale faces, Wang Lu’an swallowed nervously, “Why does it seem like none of them are steady on their feet?”Zuo Kuan raised his head with difficulty, “When I saw it out there earlier….it didn’t look this fucking high….”Yu Fan double checked one last time in a small voice, “Are you sure you can do it?”Chen Jingshen, “En.”The staff opened the barrier in front of them. Yu Fan calmly took off his hat and went in, “Then let’s go.”There were three rows of seats in this ride, each row seating six people. In addition to them, there was also another couple sitting in their row.When they were being strapped on, Wang Lu’an and Zuo Kuan both shared a look with each other. They both saw a look of regret in each other’s eyes.A few minutes later, the ride started and they very slowly began to go up. It looked like there was no end to it.“It’s still not fucking stopping….” Wang Lu’an was in so much despair he was almost in tears.Zuo Kuan shouted to the ground, “I don’t want to do it anymore! Hey! Can you hear me?! I want to get off------”They were each louder than the other. Yu Fan was getting a little annoyed from all the shouting.But he soon relaxed his brows.The drop tower had risen to its highest point. The height of 129 metres was enough for him to overlook the entire amusement park, the quiet forest in the distance as well as the city in the horizon.With his legs hanging in the air, he wasn’t afraid or nervous at all. He leisurely took in the beautiful view.“Li Yan! I love you!!” A man suddenly shouted at the sky, “Will. You. Marry. Me-------”The four of them were stunned.The woman who was originally quietly screaming stopped for a few seconds and then shouted back, “Yes. I. Will------”“I. Love. You-------”“Me. Too---------”Yu Fan expressionlessly looked at the scenery before him. Just as he was wondering why the hell they weren’t falling yet, someone suddenly touched the back of his hand.Chen Jingshen held his finger, “Yu Fan, I…..”“Shut up.” Yu Fan’s heart skipped a beat and he slapped his hand with force, “Don’t you dare copy them.”“……”Chen Jingshen turned his head away and only turned it back several seconds later, “I just wanted to say that I suddenly feel a little scared.”Yu Fan, “…….”“Can I hold your hand during this ride?”“No.” Yu Fan said coldly.Chen Jingshen looked at him for a while and then turned back, “Okay.”Zuo Kuan couldn’t take it anymore. Hanging in the air like this was too torturous for him. He closed his eyes and yelled, “When is it going to fucking fa----------Ahhhhhhhhh!!!! Ahhhhhh holy fucking shit-----------”The drop tower had suddenly started to plunge down!The moment it fell, Chen Jingshen felt something beside him touch his fingers. The next second, his hand was tightly grasped.He was stunned for a moment before he firmly held back. During the ten seconds of falling, the two of them reached for each others hands and firmly interlocked their fingers together------The strong sense of weightlessness made all their adrenaline surge. Everyone around them were screaming. There were even those who had completely lost their voices.The two hands were clasped firmly together, their hot and heavy heartbeats colliding against each other through the skin. During the fall, Yu Fan barely breathed. He seemed to have once imagined what it would be like to fall from such a height ------- Reaching the ground in less than a few seconds, the entire world crushing into him, smashing his soul into a million pieces.But in his imaginations, there was no hand holding firmly onto him and there was no body heat and heartbeat belonging to Chen Jingshen.The drop tower came to a sudden stop just as it was about to reach the ground. After stopping for a short while, it rose back again, the speed a little faster this time compared to earlier.Yu Fan was finally able to breathe again. After taking a few big breaths, he subconsciously looked at the person next to him.Chen Jingshen was looking at him.Chen Jingshen’s hair was messy from the wind, revealing his dark and clean eyes. The lights on the drop machine reflecting in his eyes resembled the moon reflecting off the surface of a lake.Chen Jingshen said, “Don’t be afraid.”Yu Fan didn’t know what expression he had that would make Chen Jingshen think that he was afraid.“Afraid, my ass…..” Yu Fan said hoarsely, “Chen Jingshen, what are you laughing at?”“Nothing, it’s just that………”They had gone back up to the highest point again. Chen Jingshen’s voice mixed with the wind.He paused for a moment and chuckled lowly, “Yu Fan, it felt like I died together with you.”Yu Fan’s heart skipped a beat.The next moment, they plummeted down---------Something in Yu Fan’s mind exploded. His heart was beating violently and the blood in his body was boiling hot. He even almost yelled out together with Wang Lu’an and the others.In his dizzy and confused state, Yu Fan couldn’t tell if it was because of the weightlessness or because of Chen Jingshen.