Chapter 62: Drawn In By The Atmosphere
“Little boy, are you really not planning to go demand an explanation anymore?”
Just as Ouyang Yating and Liang Gong were entangled over “mixing flour with water to make food fluffy” in the A Bite of China Club’s club activity room, the Information Technology Club side was staging a united front between seniors and juniors, with the target being Ainuo.
Of course, it wasn’t that everyone was targeting him. This classmate of theirs might look cocky, and he rarely joined in on jokes usually, but his temper was unexpectedly good. Pulling him over to chat would get a few words out of him, and he occasionally said something shocking that made everyone laugh nonstop.
So when the news came from other Class Eight Grade One students this morning that he was pestering Xiang Chuan to demand an explanation, it seemed like a pretty unexpected behavior to the club members. Some members with wild imaginations wondered if this guy had actually fallen for her and that’s why he cared so much. Everyone thought: maybe it really is like that! Pubescent boys are clueless about feelings, so he got angry from embarrassment after being rejected.
Regarding this, the few members who had bet with him earlier felt a bit guilty. If they had known their good buddy liked her, they shouldn’t have used that method to make him confess. This kid really, he had a situation and didn’t tell everyone. So the group thought to remedy the situation after the fact, but before they could even start making an emotional repair plan for him, during the intermediate introductory Information Technology class in the club that afternoon, everyone pretended to casually ask about it, and he actually said, “It’s already fine now. Thinking back, this matter was pretty stupid. I’m too lazy to bother with her about all this nonsense anymore.”
The Information Technology Club members exchanged glances: Oh no, the blow this morning was too big, and now he’s disheartened!
No way! Their junior classmate/good classmate’s romance hit a snag, and they themselves were the indirect or direct fuse—they had to make it up to him properly!
Thus, all the male compatriots in the entire Information Technology Club instantly turned into matchmakers, earnestly persuading Ainuo not to give up:
“Junior, don’t give up! Go talk nicely to that girl, okay? This time don’t be too aggressive. I heard you almost argued with her in the classroom this morning.”
“Yeah, little bo…… uh, Ainuo Classmate, go talk to her with a sincere attitude. Maybe she’ll come around?”
“Our activity content this afternoon is learning intermediate introductory knowledge. I remember you wrote on your club application resume that you’ve already gotten the intermediate qualification certificate, right? So don’t listen to our nagging here—go chat with her, how about it?”
“So many transport robots went over in the afternoon, the A Bi…… wait? Club side definitely hasn’t started club activities yet. Talk nicely to her club members, and maybe you can get to see that female classmate?”
The members chimed in one after another seamlessly, depriving Ainuo of any chance to clarify that he really had no feelings for Xiang Chuan. By the time he came to his senses, everyone had already dragged him to the bottom of the club building.
“I’ve already explained things to the teacher for you ahead of time! We can’t get permission to go out, so we can only support you in spirit. Go for it!”
With that, the clubmates’ figures vanished behind the tightly shut doors of the club building, and Ainuo reached out to stop them but was too late.
“What in the world is all this…”
Ainuo looked at the tightly closed doors, in a bind. Should he apply for permission from the teacher? But even if he didn’t care about this matter anymore, exposing himself to the teacher was another thing— he couldn’t lose that face!
But he had already said it was over this morning. He couldn’t just break his word less than three or four hours after agreeing with her. He wasn’t afraid of the silly Xiang Chuan, but the problem was Ouyang Yating who was definitely in the club activity room, and Nancy who stayed in close contact with Ouyang Yating. Thinking back to that morning encounter, he felt his neck and waist hurting again.
[Beep—Ainuo Li Young Master, please do not stand in front of the door for too long]
The inorganic AI voice interrupted his thoughts. Ainuo had no choice but to first follow the good intentions of the senior male students and classmates, leaving in front of the club building.
Passing by the sports field, students from various sports clubs were doing physical training: there was running passed down from ancient times (though not many club members did it), anti-gravity exoskeleton sports (several beginners stuck hanging in the air unable to come down), electronic slide ball (the customary first-year getting beaten segment as usual), and a starfish madly dashing down the aisle…
……Wait? Starfish?
Ainuo looked closely. It was a familiar-looking starfish-shaped bionic robot. Two slender tentacles extended from its body, holding up two small water tanks high. It passed through the central faux green grass activity area of the sports field, rushing toward the dormitory area, drawing sidelong glances from the sports club crowds.
“Isn’t that the A Bite of China Club’s starfish robot?”
A Class Eight Grade One student from the Anti-gravity Exoskeleton Club said.
Ainuo then remembered why it felt so familiar. It was the starfish robot he had seen through the window while hesitating at the door several times before, unable to pull down his pride to go claim buns. Thinking about it, he seemed to have seen it yesterday too… Just thinking about yesterday annoyed him.
The sight that morning of Xiang Chuan and the classmate from class who had started the Performance Club discussing drama reminded him of when he and his mother went on a trip to the Twelfth Fleet in the past, and his mother talked to him and his sibling about all sorts of things regarding drama. The fervor and faint mania on her face was something his forever gentle and steady mother at home never had.
Later, when he asked his father, his father just smiled and said, “When you become deeply fascinated by something, you’ll have that kind of feeling.”
What kind of feeling was fascination?
Watching the starfish robot gradually disappear into the distance, Ainuo recalled during the last break of morning classes, his childhood friend Ouyang Yating huddled by Xiang Chuan’s side, gesturing at what was probably a club supplies inventory list. There seemed to be a similar light faintly in her eyes. It was something he had never seen in her since childhood.
He, Nancy, and Ouyang Yating could only be called frenemies. It was fine between the two girls, but he instinctively kept his distance from either of them because of the marriage alliance ideas from their parents’ generation, which made things awkward for the three. But there was one rare time when the three gathered together, at a dinner party held by the three families after middle school graduation, when they sneaked off to the garden.
He forgot who started it, but they talked about future plans.
“If Sister plans to inherit Father’s position, then I want to specialize in politics and history, so it’ll be easier to enter government agencies in the future and assist the family.” Ouyang Yating said.
“Study engineering and construction well, and work on Mother’s side in the future… Sister wants to specialize in Father’s field, which is fine, no conflict.” Nancy said.
“Inherit Father’s position, diligently study Information Technology.” Ainuo said.
None of the three showed any emotional fluctuations in their tones, like they were reporting work rather than envisioning the future. This had too great a difference from the excitement he heard in Xiang Chuan and Chou Manman’s tones during the break.
Was there really such a path, one that immersed people completely?
Once this idea surfaced, Ainuo couldn’t help walking toward the direction where the starfish bionic robot had disappeared.
“This…… is this really edible?”
When Ainuo opened the door to the club activity room, his childhood friend was looking at something on the counter with a twisted, entangled expression. He looked closely and was also startled. On the counter was a large-capacity glass jar containing a lump that took up about one-third of the volume…… some unidentified gray object?
Sticky, disgusting, no appetite. That was Ainuo’s first impression of the thing.
“Yeast definitely can’t be eaten directly. I said it needs to be cultured for at least three or four days before it can be used to make buns or cakes.” At the counter, Xiang Chuan stood to the side with her sleeves rolled up, her hands covered in some grayish-white sticky stuff, probably the same as in the glass jar.
But honestly, the viscous stuff in the glass jar really couldn’t be connected to the buns and steamed buns he got from the A Bite of China Club on the first day of school that shattered his worldview, to the point that he later desperately stopped himself from coming to claim more out of fear of getting addicted.
“But this is also…… Ainuo?”
Ouyang Yating was the first to notice Ainuo standing at the door. She frowned, thinking this kid really wouldn’t give up, so she blocked Xiang Chuan behind her.
Who knew Xiang Chuan would poke her head out from the side instead, looking at Ainuo, blinking her eyes, and asking, “Ainuo Classmate, did you come over today for something?”
She didn’t look scared or like she wanted to avoid him at all.
Unexpectedly, Ainuo didn’t charge over with a pissed-off face, but looked at the glass jar. After a long time, as if finally making up his mind, he spoke: “Do you guys still have any buns here?”
Buns?
Ouyang Yating and Liang Gong both looked puzzled. Xiang Chuan followed up: “The buns are gone, but we have some fruit milk…… you know, to drink. Want a cup?”
“Then give me a cup.”
Ainuo pulled out an ancient-style standard chair nearby, sat down without thinking, then paused: this chair was actually pretty comfortable to sit in.
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