Eat Less Fish in the Future - Chapter 21

The class monitor completed the suspense: “The one who will perform is — Zheng Yimian!”

Everyone started laughing while patting the tables.

Zheng Yimian looked up. “Why me?”

“You… you wore a raincoat, used a cheat code, and made everyone jealous,” the class monitor made up an excuse. “What… what will you perform?”

Zheng Yimian pursed her lips. Seeing that the atmosphere had become lively, it wouldn’t be good to refuse, so she took out her phone and started looking for songs in an app.

While she was searching, someone shouted–

“Why not do a duet performance? Right, Brother Yu?”

As soon as this was said, everyone got excited.

Cheers surged one after another, causing Old Xu, who was eating in the next room, to hear the noise and run to their room. “Hey, what’s all this cheering about so early in the morning?”

Everyone coughed and lowered their heads to continue eating.

The class monitor smoothed things over. “It’s just, yesterday’s water balloon fight, someone has to perform.”

Hearing this, Old Xu didn’t leave. He pulled up a stool and sat down, asking. “Who’s showing off their talent? Let me see. Seems like I haven’t seen any of you perform yet.”

The class monitor coughed lightly. “Zheng Yimian, are you ready?”

Zheng Yimian placed her phone face down on the table and nodded. “Mm, I’ll sing ‘Heart Flutter’.”

She hadn’t formally learned to sing, and surely couldn’t grasp the basic techniques properly, but her voice was nice and clean. “Heart Flutter” wasn’t a very difficult song to sing, and it was enough to satisfy everyone’s enthusiasm.

Li Min burst out laughing with a “pfft”.

Old Xu asked. “Li Min, what are you laughing at?”

Li Min said seriously. “Nothing, it’s just… I have a low laugh threshold.”

The class monitor sat up straight and said to Zheng Yimian. “Alright, you can start singing.”

Zheng Yimian pursed her lips and started singing along with the intro.

“How long has it been since I’ve seen you / I thought you were somewhere / But you’ve been living in my heart / Accompanying my every breath…”

Liang Yu didn’t say a word, sitting quietly there, watching the curtain behind her sway, with a bright spot of sunlight falling on her fingertips.

“How far is the distance / I thought I couldn’t smell your scent / Who knew your shadow was so long / I turn around and see you.”

“Let the past be the past / It’s too late / To start liking you from the beginning…”

It’s not too late, he thought to himself.

At least, I’ve caught up with you.

After spending fifteen days here sketching life, they finally reached the day they were to return.

The night before they were to leave, they were too excited to sleep.

Li Min lay in bed and said: “I’ve realized that the purpose of this sketching trip was to make me love W University even more.”

The next day, they got up at 5:30 AM and gathered on the bus by 6:30 AM.

Zheng Yimian yawned as she sat in her seat, just about to cultivate some sleepiness when she heard Zhao Yuan say from behind: “Damn, an escape room opened near our school? The pictures look intense.”

Li Min got excited too and turned back to look. “Really? How’s the set design?”

Zhao Yuan handed her his phone. “Look, it’s pretty realistic.”

“Tsk, it looks really interesting. Why don’t we find time to play together?”

The two smiled at each other.

“Sure, it’s perfect for four people, and there’s a discount,” Zhao Yuan said.

Li Min reached out and nudged Zheng Yimian. “Mianmian, want to go to the escape room?”

“Okay,” she was so sleepy now, she didn’t care about escaping or not, as long as the world was quiet. “Let’s go.”

Li Min smiled and said. “Alright.”

After saying this, Li Min noticed she was only wearing a thin shirt and asked, “Are you cold?”

“A bit,” Zheng Yimian answered. “Last time I wore a jacket and was hot, this time the air conditioning is so strong, I didn’t expect to be cold again.”

“So where’s your jacket?”

Zheng Yimian shrugged. “My jacket is in the suitcase, I can’t get it now.”

“I have an extra one,” Liang Yu, who hadn’t spoken until now, suddenly said, standing up from the back seat. “Use mine.”

Zheng Yimian was really too tired to open her eyes. She just felt something being draped over her shoulders and front. A scent of fresh grass overwhelmed her, carrying a hint of toasted snow.

Too exhausted to think further, she drifted off to sleep.

Liang Yu’s jacket was very large, wrapping her with plenty to spare, the remaining fabric just covering her upper thighs.

After being almost “fully armed” like this, she finally didn’t feel cold anymore.

The return journey was even longer than the outbound one.

Zheng Yimian woke up and fell asleep again and again, swaying until noon.

She and Li Min were preparing to eat something at the rest area.

There wasn’t much good food at the rest area. Zheng Yimian hesitated for a moment before picking up a cup of instant noodles.

The hot water dispenser was not far away. After putting in the seasonings, she went to get hot water.

Nearby, a group of boys who looked like high school students were talking about something. One of them started chasing and hitting another. As they played, it turned into a game.

As they got more excited, they started running all over the area.

Zheng Yimian stood in front of the hot water dispenser, glancing at the people running around. She decided to wait until they were further away before getting water.

Finally, when people moved away, she pressed the tap. Then she heard another burst of laughter approaching from afar.

…Hopefully they won’t crash into me, she thought, staring at the noodles in her hand, unable to move her gaze. Looking at the white mist rising from inside, she thought, it would really hurt if it spilled and scalded her.

Soon after, there was a light, crisp sound of a bowl being placed on the marble counter nearby.

Liang Yu frowned at the people nearby, his tone tinged with impatience. “…Can’t you see someone’s getting water here?”

The laughter stopped abruptly.

At this moment, a staff member rushed out to stop them. “I’m sorry, running around and shouting are not allowed in the rest area. Please dine in a civilized manner.”

The group scattered in a flurry, not daring to say a word even as they left.

The water reached the fill line, and Zheng Yimian lifted the lever.

The water stopped.

Liang Yu waited behind her and asked as she put the lid on. “Are you still cold on the bus?”

His tone when speaking to her was different from how he spoke to others.

She shook her head and smiled. “Not cold anymore.”

The bus arrived at the school at 6 PM.

Zheng Yimian asked Li Min quietly. “Do you think I should give Liang Yu’s clothes back to him now, or wash them first?”

“Why wash them?” Li Min looked at her. “You only used it as a cover for a while, no need to wash, right? Besides, it might be cold tonight, he might need to wear it.”

After thinking for a moment, Li Min said, “Just ask him directly.”

The moment the bus stopped, everyone let out a suppressed cheer and sigh.

Amidst this small commotion, Zheng Yimian stood up and turned to ask Liang Yu. “Should I give you the jacket now, or wash it before returning it?”

Zhao Yuan suddenly asked, “Do you hand wash your clothes or use a washing machine?”

Liang Yu glanced at him, then said to Zheng Yimian. “It’s just one piece of clothing, no need to go to so much trouble.”

He reached out to Zheng Yimian. “Just give it to me directly.”

“Mm, okay.” Zheng Yimian handed over the folded clothes. “Thanks.”

He smiled: “No problem.”

As they were getting off the bus, Li Min was still saying to Zheng Yimian. “With him, you’re either thanking him or on your way to thank him.”

Only then did Zheng Yimian recall that up until now, he had already helped her many times.

It seemed that, just as he had said, no matter when, as long as she needed him, he really would always be there.

Perhaps that was why she felt an unexpected sense of security when facing him.

Zheng Yimian and Li Min returned to the dorm first to freshen up. Liang Yu and Zhao Yuan finished up their tasks and were also preparing to leave.

After walking a few steps, Liang Yu crouched down, put the clothes on his leg, and bent down to tie his shoelaces.

Zhao Yuan pursed his lips. “Why so much trouble for a piece of clothing?”

He then reached out to grab the clothes. “Let me hold it and stuff it in your bag.”

But Liang Yu’s gaze sharpened, and he looked up, saying. “Don’t you dare.”

Zhao Yuan’s hand stopped mid-air for a moment. “What do you mean? That I can’t hold your clothes or that I can’t put them in your bag?”

Liang Yu finished tying his shoelaces, stood up, and draped the jacket over his elbow again. “Both.”

“Damn–” Zhao Yuan suddenly laughed, pointing at the jacket, “I’ve never seen you so fond of your clothes before. You can carelessly toss around jackets worth thousands, but now, with this one, not only can’t I crumple it into your bag, I can’t even touch it?”

Liang Yu couldn’t be bothered to respond, knowing Zhao Yuan wouldn’t stop talking anytime soon. He continued walking, holding the clothes.

Zhao Yuan followed behind, saying,

“Just because sister-in-law wore it for a few hours?”

“You’re such a hypocrite…”

“Who was it that said on the bus — ‘It’s just one piece of clothing, no need to go to so much trouble’?”

“…”

The day they finished the sketching trip happened to be a Wednesday. The two-day break given by the school coincided with the weekend, extending the holiday to four days.

Zheng Yimian still remembered when she was about to come to W University, Yuan Ya had repeatedly instructed. “Come home during breaks, mom will wash the clothes you don’t want to wash, and cook you some good meals.”

When she got home, Yuan Ya asked her. “How was the sketching trip and military training?”

“It was okay,” she said. “Just too hot.”

Naturally, they couldn’t avoid some casual chat. Her family had a good atmosphere, easily making people feel pleasant.

After resting at home for two days, Zheng Yimian returned to school. During these two days, Li Min hadn’t stopped urging her about the classes, saying they could go to the escape room as soon as she came back.

Not long after returning to the dorm, Li Min immediately jumped up and said, “The tickets are bought, let’s go escape!”

When the two arrived at the escape room, Liang Yu and Zhao Yuan were already waiting there.

The owner asked. “Is everyone here? Then I’ll give you two rooms…”

Zheng Yimian: “…Two rooms?”

“Ah, yes, it’s like this. Here, it’s best with two people per room. Zhao Yuan and I plan to go to this first room, so you two can go to the second room! Good luck, mwah!”

After quickly saying this, Li Min pulled Zhao Yuan into the first room.

Zheng Yimian: ?

Nevermind… She was used to it…

She said to the owner. “Then please open the second room for us, thank you.”

The owner led them to the door of the second room, opened it, and let them in. The moment the door locked, all the lights inside went out.

Ghost-like flames flickered on the walls, skulls, bloody handprints, and a door to an inner room painted red – everything exuded a chilling and terrifying atmosphere.

Zheng Yimian moved her feet and felt something under them.

The light inside was barely enough to see, intensifying the feeling of a haunted escape room.

Liang Yu stood beside her, not afraid. To ease her tension, he deliberately raised his voice. “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

The room was very large with many doors. They needed to open them one by one to get the final item they needed.

First, they had to find the key to the first iron door.

Zheng Yimian reached out and grabbed a box. As soon as she opened it, sticky red paint sprayed out–

She was truly startled and her hand loosened, dropping the box directly onto the table.

She instinctively turned back to find Liang Yu, grabbing his sleeve and letting out a sound similar to a low whimper after being frightened.

“It’s okay,” Liang Yu patted her back. “It’s fake, vermilion paint.”

Seeing she was still dazed, he took a piece of paper and gently wiped her fingers clean.

About ten minutes later, Zheng Yimian finally convinced herself to recover and prepare to continue searching.

While searching, she accidentally pressed some button, and with a “buzz buzz” sound, something seemed to turn on–

There was actually a TV inside!!

Just as Zheng Yimian’s exclamation was about to escape her lips, suddenly someone covered her eyes. The palm was warm, stopping her in time before she could see the horrifying image.

Liang Yu stood behind her, his voice carrying a low huskiness as if rubbed by gravel, but not harsh, and with a hint of gentleness.

“Don’t look, it’s a bit scary.”

Her heart was pounding wildly, she didn’t know why, but although she couldn’t see the image, she could still hear that endlessly drawn-out sound…

Liang Yu leaned close to her ear, trying to distract her. “What’s nineteen minus fourteen?”

Zheng Yimian: “…Five.”

His voice became slightly crisp and deep. “What about eighty-seven minus eighty-five?”

She gradually stopped hearing the sound from the TV. “…Two.”

“Then…” Liang Yu paused, then asked, “Nine minus eight equals…?”