Eat Less Fish in the Future - Chapter 14
“What did you say?” Zheng Yimian frowned, then suddenly had a moment of clarity and turned to Liang Yu, saying, “Nothing to say. You should go take a shower quickly. You can’t let the cool wind blow on you after sweating, or you’ll catch a cold.”
Liang Yu tilted his head slightly, touched his chin with the back of his hand, and smiled, saying, “Okay.”
Zhao Yuan leaned on the window and knocked on it, asking, “Is anyone listening to me?”
No one paid attention.
“Oh, right.” Zheng Yimian pointed at Liang Yu. “Did you get hurt?”
Liang Yu shook his head. “No.”
“That’s good.” Zheng Yimian sighed in relief, linking arms with Li Min. “Then we’ll go downstairs first. You go take a shower quickly.”
Watching Zheng Yimian go downstairs, Liang Yu took his clothes and went into the bathroom.
Zhao Yuan: …???
“Are you all targeting me? Why is no one listening to me?”
The next day’s sketching activities were nothing special. In the morning, everyone took the bus to visit a distant museum. In the afternoon, they were assigned another detailed quick sketch.
After finishing the sketch, Zheng Yimian stood up and said to Li Min, “I’m going out to buy milk. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay, be careful.”
Not long after Zheng Yimian left, the class monitor came back, shouting, “Everyone gather downstairs in ten minutes! Teacher Xu is coming to talk about our sketch assignments!”
Li Min acknowledged and then asked, “Zheng Yimian went out to buy milk. What should we do?”
The class monitor was a bit angry. “Does Zheng Yimian even need to come listen? Isn’t she our model student? If she comes, she’ll just be listening to Teacher Xu praising her in various ways!”
Shortly after, he continued shouting, “Everyone except Zheng Yimian must be present! Let each other know!”
Ten minutes later, everyone gathered downstairs.
Everyone except Zheng Yimian was there.
They all sat on the sofas in the lobby, waiting for Teacher Xu’s arrival.
While waiting for Teacher Xu, everyone chatted while holding their sketchpads.
A girl complained in a low voice, “This place is much more dangerous than I thought. We encountered a thief trying to steal our drawings before, and yesterday when Nian Nian and I went to take photos by the river, we were followed by a man. Damn, it scared us to death.”
“Followed?” Li Min was surprised. “Did he do anything to you?!”
“He was trying to ask us for something, I think. We didn’t hear clearly. We quickened our pace and walked to the main road.” The girl rubbed her arms. “Thinking about it now still scares me. That man didn’t look friendly at all, he seemed like a pervert…”
Li Min felt increasingly uneasy and asked, “By the way, do you know if there’s a supermarket nearby?”
“A supermarket? Isn’t it at the end of the road by the river…”
At this point, Li Min let out a soft exclamation. “Oh no.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Mian Mian just went there alone to buy milk…”
As soon as she finished speaking, before anyone could respond, someone suddenly stood up from their seat and rushed out the door like the wind.
The bell hanging on the doorknob jingled.
“What… just happened?”
Zhao Yuan collected the notebook that someone had thrown aside and stacked it with his own.
“Liang Yu just left.”
Feeling that the person behind her was indeed following her, Zheng Yimian couldn’t help but quicken her pace.
This road was sparsely populated, with the supermarket at the end of it.
Zheng Yimian gripped her phone tightly, recalling her emergency contacts, and then looked up at the supermarket not far ahead.
If worse came to worst, she could call the police or ask the cashier for help.
Although the security here wasn’t as good as in W City, it wasn’t so lax that people could act recklessly.
Steadying herself, Zheng Yimian raised her head and walked into the supermarket.
The person followed her in.
She told herself to stay calm, found the shelf with the item she wanted to buy, and looked up to see that the Want Want milk was placed on the highest shelf.
She held onto the shelf, pondering how she should evade, hide, and defend herself if something were to happen in this place…
She reached up, but the shelf was too high, and she still needed to stand on her tiptoes.
Just as she was about to do so, a shadow suddenly loomed over her from behind.
She was startled, almost letting out a scream, when Liang Yu’s other hand rested on her left side, completely enveloping her.
His voice was low and deep, carrying his usual reassuring tone.
“Don’t be afraid.”
Her heart relaxed as she recognized the familiar scent. It seemed that only then did her body’s alert system finally shut down. She belatedly felt cold sweat seeping out, making her hands and feet cold and trembling.
With him here, she could feel at ease.
Liang Yu looked up and asked her, “What do you need to get?”
Zheng Yimian took a deep breath, resisting the urge to let her legs give way. “…Want Want…”
“Okay,” he replied again, taking the milk down from the shelf for her and placing it in her hand.
It seemed like a while had passed.
Yet it also felt like only a few seconds had gone by.
Her mind was foggy. She only felt Liang Yu’s hand rest on her shoulder, gently patting it.
“Feeling better?”
“…Mm.”
“Then let’s go pay.”
“Okay.”
Liang Yu put his arm around her shoulders and glanced back.
Zheng Yimian also followed his gaze and looked back.
The person had already left.
“He’s gone, don’t be afraid,” he reassured her in a low voice. “Everything’s fine now.”
She bit her lip, still feeling a bit shaken, but also felt she should tell him that even if he hadn’t come, she would have been fine. She wasn’t so fragile as to need him comforting her like a child.
Zheng Yimian took a breath and began to say, “If you hadn’t come…”
Liang Yu seemed to misunderstand her intention and immediately shook his head, decisively interrupting her.
“That’s not possible. When you need me, I’m always here.”
The atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Zheng Yimian stood there holding her items, stunned. She felt that at that moment, she had grasped something, yet at the same time, hadn’t grasped anything.
She stared at her fingertips, frowning slightly.
The cashier, unaware of what had happened, just tapped the counter and said, “When you’re done shopping, come here to check out.”
Liang Yu stood behind her, waiting for her to start moving before following.
After taking two steps, Zheng Yimian turned back and grabbed another can of milk.
She shook the milk in her hand and asked him, “Do you want one?”
Seeing that her mood had stabilized, Liang Yu felt relieved and nodded in response.
Everything she gave was very good.
After paying, Zheng Yimian followed Liang Yu out.
She was staring at the swaying, intertwined black shadows on the ground when suddenly the shadow in front stopped, moved towards her, and finally merged into her shadow.
Liang Yu reached out his hand and said, “Give me your phone.”
Zheng Yimian handed him her phone and asked, tilting her head, “What’s wrong?”
“Emergency contact number,” he said, lowering his head to press the keys. “In the future, call me directly if anything happens. My phone is on 24 hours a day.”
Zheng Yimian lowered her head and smiled, “No need, that’s too much trouble for you…”
“It’s not trouble,” he said casually. “I’m very free.”
When he had just opened her contact list to set up the emergency contact, he found that column was empty.
It seemed she didn’t have many close male friends.
Liang Yu rubbed his fluffy hair on top of his head, turned around, and smiled.
When they returned to the sketching base, they happened to run into Old Xu who had just finished lecturing about the assignment.
When Old Xu had just asked Liang Yu where he went, everyone explained the situation in detail.
“There’s a man on that street who likes to follow people, and Zheng Yimian went there alone to buy water.”
After saying this, the scary thing was that many people didn’t realize what was wrong.
Until after a while, Old Xu asked, “Did Zheng Yimian encounter that person?”
“We don’t know.”
Old Xu asked again, “Then why didn’t Liang Yu find me, and rushed out by himself?”
Zhao Yuan, without thinking, chimed in helpfully, “Maybe because he was too anxious.”
Everyone exchanged glances and lowered their heads, laughing.
When Zheng Yimian and Liang Yu returned together, Old Xu, with his hands behind his back, asked Zheng Yimian, “Did you encounter the stalker?”
“I did,” Zheng Yimian glanced at Li Min, then turned back and said, “but nothing happened.”
“You weren’t hurt, were you?” Li Min asked.
“I wasn’t hurt, nothing happened, but in the future, girls shouldn’t go there alone, it’s still very dangerous.”
“Hmm…” Old Xu said meaningfully, “Then, Liang Yu, you didn’t hear me lecture about painting just now, what should we do?”
Liang Yu lowered his eyes without speaking, and Zheng Yimian interjected, “Then I’ll explain it to him tonight.”
After all, it was because of her that he missed the lecture on painting.
“Great!” Zhao Yuan immediately agreed, “Then you’ll explain the painting to Liang Yu tonight!”
It would have been fine if Zhao Yuan hadn’t said anything, but once he did, the class erupted in laughter.
Zheng Yimian was puzzled. Old Xu waved his hand to disperse the gossiping crowd. “Alright, stop laughing, all of you go back and draw your sketches. Girls, don’t go to that area alone in the future. If you go in groups, it’s best to bring a boy. If you encounter that person again, take a photo for me.”
As someone was leaving, they sighed. “Yeah, what else can we do? After all, we’re not Mian Mian. In times of crisis, there’s always someone who ‘whooshes’ out…”
Zheng Yimian tilted her head but didn’t look at Liang Yu.
Whooshed out…?
He wasn’t just passing by? He came out to look for her?
“What are you spacing out for?” Li Min came up and linked arms with her, checking her over. “Are you really okay? You’re not hurt?”
The other two roommates also looked worried.
Her thoughts interrupted, Zheng Yimian decided not to think about it anymore. She held out her hand for Li Min to see. “Really, I’m fine. It wasn’t actually that dangerous. It was broad daylight, there were people in the supermarket, he wouldn’t dare do anything.”
“But you were still scared, right…”
“A little,” Zheng Yimian shook her head and said, “But I turned danger into safety.”
As they went upstairs, Li Min was still shaken.
“Is this place just not compatible with us? We encountered a thief at the bonfire party, and today a man stalking. But we’re leaving soon anyway.” Li Min sighed.
The place they were staying now was a branch of the sketching base. In a few days, they would take a bus to the main base.
“The security at the main base should be better than here, after all, it’s more lively there,” Li Min concluded. “But actually, we might encounter thieves and other accidents in W City too…”
Li Min chattered on all the way back to the dorm.
Zheng Yimian rested in the dorm for a while, ate dinner, and then went out.
A roommate asked Li Min. “What’s Mian Mian going out for again?”
“What else? To repay her lifesaver,” Li Min shrugged and smiled. “Too bad this repayment is just explaining paintings.”
The roommate became interested too, leaning forward to discuss with Li Min. “Do you think… we can all see it, how come Mian Mian can’t see it? And why doesn’t Liang Yu make a move?”
“This is where you don’t understand. Mian Mian told me that in high school, she misunderstood someone liking her and was laughed at by her friends for three years. Plus, her friend swore that Liang Yu would definitely not like her. It’s hard for her to suddenly accept this, she needs to take it slow. Once she figures it out, it’ll be fine. A girl with delicate thoughts, she’ll understand soon.” Li Min said, “And don’t you think Liang Yu values her a lot too? Like a precious pearl in his palm, afraid it’ll get cold if he takes it out, afraid it’ll melt if he puts it in his mouth. He’s so careful that he surely doesn’t dare to act rashly! He’s probably afraid that if he does one tiny thing wrong, they won’t even be able to be friends!”
Getting excited, Li Min slapped the bed. “I think this gap moe is really pampering! Especially when Liang Yu looked at Zhao Yuan and then at Mian Mian, that eye-switching was super natural!”
Roommate: “Okay, I get it, calm down…”
Meanwhile, Zheng Yimian went upstairs, found Liang Yu’s dorm, and raised her hand to knock.
A voice came from inside. “–Who is it?”
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