Eat Less Fish in the Future - Chapter 12

“Why do I like her?” Liang Yu laid with his hands behind his head, eyes open staring at the ceiling.

They held their breath waiting for the answer.

After a while, Liang Yu said casually. “She’s beautiful, I guess.”

Everyone: ????????

In fact, if one were to be precise, the day he started liking her was much earlier than any of them knew.

It wasn’t really like those dramatic, life-or-death moments of falling in love you see in TV dramas.

There had been a gleaming blade right before his eyes before, slicing across an arm, but fortunately missing a major artery; there were times when he was alone, surrounded and cornered in an alley, but managed to escape danger in the end.

For him, there had been too many heart-stopping moments in this life. Looking back, they seemed bland and ordinary.

Except for the day he saw her. The sky was clear, the breeze was gentle, even the light seemed especially soft.

At that time, there was some kind of outdoor competition organized by who knows where.

That day, he rarely didn’t go to the internet cafe, instead browsing electronic equipment near his home. Seeing the competition in full swing, he stopped at the side to watch for a while.

Someone was carrying a cup of water, about to pass through a winding and steep section. After stumbling to maintain balance, only half a cup of water remained.

He stood there, embracing his usual pessimism, and smiled faintly.

“Already spilled half,” he thought.

But she stood in the middle of the line, smiling and taking a deep breath. “There’s still half left.”

At that moment, the aura emanating from her made him pause briefly, which was rare.

Positive, uplifting, like the first ray of morning light when opening the curtains, every inch filled with vibrant vitality and energy.

Just like before the fashion show, when everyone else was feeling down, she could always find the positive side and inspire others.

In fact, she always did very well every time.

It was also the first time he felt that his dark and decadent world had been illuminated by the gentlest sunlight, even if just for a moment.

For the following week, he unusually didn’t go anywhere, just stayed nearby, hoping to see her again.

But she didn’t appear again.

The second time they met was a month later. He had stayed up for three nights straight, unable to sleep, and went to a nearby supermarket to buy cigarettes.

He was in a really bad state, unable to keep his eyes open, yet unable to fall asleep.

He lit a cigarette, just biting it, when he looked up and saw her walking across the pedestrian lane in her school uniform. A beam of light floated in the air, and the scent of nameless flowers drifted along the street.

Clean and pure, energetic and beautiful.

It was at that moment he realized that no matter how world-weary a person is at their core, they instinctively harbor an unwavering yearning for beautiful things.

He thought, this can’t go on. For the first time, he felt he needed to make some changes to his current life, at least not to appear too different from her. He went home, took a hot shower, and slept for a day.

She was in his dreams. When he woke up, he went to find her, found the middle school she attended. Passing by, thinking about her studying here, he inexplicably felt some kind of motivation.

Originally, he was just planning to go to any high school. Later, when his old man asked him about it, he casually mentioned Chonggao’s name, paid money, and ended up going to the same high school as her.

When high school just started, whenever he had free time, he would lean against the railing waiting for her to appear.

Her schedule was very regular. She would go to the bathroom after the second class, buy something before the fifth class, and take a walk on the playground at noon.

He remembered this routine, and felt inexplicably happy whenever he saw her.

When did he start to feel something was off?

Later, he was hospitalized for a month. Not seeing her for a month, he felt a sense of loss, until she passed through his line of sight again, laughing with her friends.

How to put it, at that moment, it felt like regaining something lost, like being reborn.

It was then that he realized something seemed off, vaguely feeling that in his lifetime, something related to “love” could actually appear in his life.

It was really quite bewildering.

Later, when he helped her fend off boys harassing her, and she looked up at him from below, it was their first eye contact.

He never really had a clear idea of what he wanted to become, he just wanted to be with her. She was like a lighthouse in an ideal country, attracting him to move forward.

After finding out which university she wanted to attend, from the second semester of his second year in high school, he hired teachers to teach him art and culture. With some effort, he got into W University with her.

When it was time to return to school, he initially didn’t want to go. But thinking he could see her, he went back once.

All the teachers looked at him with new eyes, saying all sorts of things.

It wasn’t really about becoming good. For him, there was never any essential meaning of “good” or “bad”.

Where she was, he would go.

That’s all there was to it.

When he first saw her at the university, he was genuinely happy, but truly didn’t dare to act rashly.

In high school, she had rejected quite a few people, and had also said she didn’t like people who only knew about dating. He knew well that if he didn’t have enough confidence and confessed impulsively, not only would he be rejected, but she would also distance herself from him.

He didn’t want to just become a passerby in her life. He wanted to walk further and longer with her, so first, he had to start as her friend, gradually integrate into her life, and understand her likes and dislikes.

Then, he would also try to make her… like him.

Only then could he confess, only then would he have a chance of success.

Now was not the best time.

They had to gather at 8:30 the next morning.

Zheng Yimian curled up in her blanket, reached out to turn off the alarm, struggled in bed for a while, and finally managed to sit up.

“Time to get up–” She squinted as she turned on the light, got out of bed to wash up, and woke up the other four people in the dorm.

The four people in the dorm got along well, but they usually walked in pairs, which made coordinating schedules and such more convenient.

“What’s the activity today?” Li Min yawned as she got dressed.

“We’re going to visit nearby, and come back in the afternoon to do some speed sketching.”

Zheng Yimian washed her face, dried it with a face towel, and gestured to Li Min. “I’m done, you can go.”

After washing up and having breakfast, everyone gathered to go up the mountain.

This sketching base was developed like a holiday resort. Further back were farming areas, and people even lived there.

Zheng Yimian and Li Min walked at the back, taking it slow.

On one side, people were picking tea. The fresh tea leaves reflected a shimmer of gold in the sunlight.

Seeing the line suddenly stop in front, Li Min looked ahead. “What’s happening up there?”

A girl in front turned back to answer her. “There’s a gap ahead, we need to jump over it.”

Li Min forced a smile: “…It really is a winding mountain path with twists and turns, huh.”

The class monitor at the front waved to everyone. “Guys who’ve jumped across, help the girls and pull them over!”

Zhao Yuan suddenly felt that the girls walking in front had slowed down their pace.

He nudged Liang Yu. “Are they trying to walk behind you so you can pull them over?”

Liang Yu also slowed down, and after a while said, “Let’s walk slower, stay at the back.”

Zhao Yuan nodded. “Got it.”

They maintained their pace, staying at the back.

In the end, only Zhao Yuan, Liang Yu, Zheng Yimian, and Li Min were left at the back.

Class monitor: “You four, come on quick!”

Zhao Yuan jumped across first, standing on the other side.

Li Min was quick to understand. She immediately went forward and said to Zheng Yimian. “I’ll go over first then!”

The line quickly moved forward.

Li Min and Zhao Yuan also went ahead.

At this crossing point, only Zheng Yimian and Liang Yu were left.

Liang Yu, holding onto the wall, quickly strode across with the advantage of his long legs.

Zheng Yimian stood there, holding onto the mottled wall. She looked up and saw him extending his hand towards her.

…

She leaned forward slightly, and her hand rested on his palm.

This time, his palm was slightly damp with sweat.

Liang Yu held her hand and pulled her slightly towards his side.

He looked down at the path under her feet, not forgetting to remind her. “Be careful.”

The path wasn’t actually that wide.

Zheng Yimian leaped forward, and Liang Yu steadily caught her on the other side. With a slight force on his wrist, he pulled her to his side.

The scent from his body wafted over, like being hit by a fluffy snowball in winter. The cool snow fragrance, mixed with a faint scent of leaves, permeated her lungs.

She bumped into his chest. His chest carried an unexpected sense of security, making her heart skip a beat.

Just as she steadied herself, Zheng Yimian straightened up, about to thank him.

Just as she opened her mouth, she realized something seemed off in front of her.

–The main group that she thought had moved on was all standing at the crossing point, watching the two of them.

Everyone was gathered in a circle, wearing knowing “auntie smiles” on their faces, happily watching the two who could almost be said to be embracing.

Zheng Yimian hurriedly jumped back two steps, asking Li Min, who was also standing among the onlookers. “Why are you all standing here?”

“What else?” The class monitor put away his phone. “Waiting for you two.”

“I’m not saying anything, but it’s just jumping over a small puddle, not a cliff. Do you two have to make it so romantic?”

Someone laughed and patted the monitor’s shoulder. “I’m getting old, I just love watching the little sweetness of young people.”

“We’re not…”

Before she could finish, everyone scattered like birds and beasts. “Alright, alright, let’s continue forward. There’s still a long way ahead!”

Zheng Yimian: Why won’t they listen to my explanation?

“Don’t bother explaining.” Li Min saw through her thoughts. “Anyway, you two also…”

Zheng Yimian nodded. “Mm, anyway, there’s nothing between us. An upright person fears no false accusation.”

Li Min looked at her strangely: “No, I mean, since you two are already like this, we wouldn’t believe your explanation anyway.”

Zheng Yimian: …?

To prevent Li Min and others from extending the topic to some strange height, Zheng Yimian earnestly said to her. “Minmin, rumors stop with the wise.”

Li Min nodded seriously, raising her phone. “Yes, and beauty starts with B612.”

“…”

The entire morning was spent on mountain paths. They went up the mountain along the back road, looked at the local customs and natural scenery, then took another winding path back to their accommodation.

The afternoon’s task was to draw a detailed sketch.

The conditions in the room weren’t particularly good. Although there was a table, it wasn’t very useful. After curling up on the bed to draw for a while, Zheng Yimian got off the bed.

Li Min looked at her. “Where are you going?”

“It’s too uncomfortable to sit here and draw, my legs have to stay tense.” Zheng Yimian nodded towards outside. “I’m going to draw in the upstairs living room.”

Li Min also got up, throwing the pillow in her hand onto the bed. “Then I’ll go up with you.”

The path to the living room passed by Liang Yu’s dorm room.

Zhao Yuan had just finished a game and was resting when he looked up and spotted the target.

“Look, look, look, sister-in-law is coming up! Brother Yu, we should…”

Before Zhao Yuan could finish, he was about to excitedly push Liang Yu beside him, but found that he had already gone out.

He turned his head to look, and sure enough, Liang Yu had already entered the living room.

Others might have metal detectors, gold detectors…

This guy… he must have a Zheng Yimian detector, right??

Later, Zhao Yuan also went over, and several people gathered around the table to chat.

After chatting about various topics, Zhao Yuan suddenly asked Zheng Yimian. “You rejected dating in high school, was it because you were against it?”

Back in high school, Liang Yu had always held himself back, firstly because he was afraid of affecting her studies; secondly, she had clearly stated that she wouldn’t date in high school, and had thoroughly rejected every pursuer, which made Liang Yu give up the idea.

Finally in university, Liang Yu had become a bit more obvious, but still, he didn’t dare to cross that line.

Hearing this, Zheng Yimian stopped her pen and looked up.

The pavilions and eaves she was drawing were exquisitely detailed, with the corridor carvings arranged in an orderly manner.

She shook her head and said, “No.”