Leaf Xun walked out of the teaching building, and the campus was already deserted. The lonely figure of Leaf Xun slowly walked under the lights, her swaying body making her shadow appear even more chaotic. When Leaf Xun returned to her room, she collapsed onto the bed. The light from the ceiling shone on her eyelids, and all she could see was a blurry whiteness, like a tangle of lines that could never be sorted out. This reminded her of the Tianyi Pavilion tonight, reminded her of the struggling wisp of smoke in the Tianyi Pavilion; they were unwilling to yield. Leaf Xun seemed to remember something again. She got up from the bed, turned on the computer, and squinted to find someone named "Eternal Him."
Leaf Xun searched for a long time but couldn't find him. Her heart suddenly became heavy. She opened the messaging window, intending to leave a message for "Eternal Him," but her fingers stopped as they were about to hit the keyboard. Leaf Xun inexplicably became timid, as if something in the depths of her mind was pulling her fingers, making them stiff and unable to continue typing.
Leaf Xun lay back on the bed, and tears streamed down her face as she closed her eyes, gradually soaking into the pillow.
Not long after Leaf Xun fell asleep again, the door opened, and her roommate Tong Tong came back.
Tong Tong glanced at Leaf Xun lying on the bed, saw the tear in the corner of her eye, and couldn't help but smile bitterly. Tong Tong had seen Leaf Xun like this more than once, and she guessed that Leaf Xun must have had a quarrel with her boyfriend again. Tong Tong covered Leaf Xun with the blanket, placed a glass of water on her bedside, and when she was about to close the computer, she suddenly found a message from a netizen named "Nanke Yimu" to Leaf Xun.
Regarding "Nanke Yimu," Tong Tong thought she knew quite a bit. "Nanke Yimu" was Leaf Xun's online friend, or rather, her "archenemy." The two had been in a stalemate in online battles for almost half a year. According to the law of "no fight, no acquaintance," they should be old acquaintances. But Leaf Xun's relationship with "Nanke Yimu" was limited to this. They didn't even know each other's names, let alone have any thoughts of meeting in person. In Leaf Xun's own words, "the internet is just the internet, much more virtual. Those romantic stories shaped by the internet only happen in movie scripts, and she wouldn't harbor any expectations."
Tong Tong sat in front of the computer and looked at the message sent by "Nanke Yimu." She intended to chat with him again using Leaf Xun's identity.
"Good morning, Nanke!" Tong Tong greeted.
"Morning? It's almost midnight. Shouldn't it be 'good night'?"
"After midnight is morning, isn't it? What else could it be?"
"Miss Qiancao, it seems like you're planning to quarrel with me today!"
"It's not that I don't understand social conventions, but you're too serious, always nitpicking!"
"Then I apologize to you!" Nanke Yimu said.
"Nanke, what do you want to argue about today? Miss Qian definitely accompanies you!"
"Very courageous, are you emboldened by alcohol?"
Tong Tong glanced at Leaf Xun lying on the bed and couldn't help but laugh. She asked, "Nanke, how did you know?"
"Haha, I bumped into someone in class today, and I always feel like it's you!"
"Maybe, I hope your intuition has magical powers, so we have a destined connection!"
"Miss Qiancao, what do you look like? Describe it, let me confirm!"
"Hand like tender bamboo, skin like condensed fat, neck like a silkworm, teeth like a gourd rhinoceros, hair like a moth's head, charming smile, beautiful eyes!"
A few minutes later, Tong Tong received a picture from "Nanke Yimu." When Tong Tong opened it, she couldn't help but feel angry and amused. It turned out to be a puzzle of a beautiful woman:...fleshy skin, a neck of a longhorn beetle, teeth like pumpkin seeds, eyebrows like moth antennae...
"Nanke Yimu, you're simply a wordsmith!" Tong Tong couldn't help but add a sharp comment.
"This is what you said. I just interpreted it according to your words! Charming smile? Beautiful eyes?" Nanke Yimu sent a profile picture sticking out his tongue.
"If that's the case, then descriptions like 'as beautiful as a closed moon and shy flower' are easy to understand. It must be like a waning moon and withered flower! Nanke, can I ask—what do you look like?"
"Sorry! No comment!"
"They say silence is golden, but this silence can also dispel disasters and beautify, it's amazing for skincare!"
The midnight bell rang.
"Good morning, Miss Qiancao, I'm going offline to rest!"
"Goodbye! Thank you for the beautiful picture, absolutely unprecedented and unparalleled!"
"Hehe, you're welcome. Goodbye!"
Tong Tong closed the computer, glanced at Leaf Xun lying on the bed, and went out to the balcony alone.
The fine drizzle continued to flutter in the quiet night, and tiny raindrops occasionally flew onto the balcony with the help of the wind, splashing on Tong Tong's face. The fresh air rushed into her nostrils, chilling her chest. Tong Tong closed her eyes somewhat intoxicated, but the sparse lights continued to flicker in her mind. Suddenly, Tong Tong remembered the beautiful picture just now and couldn't help but smile.
"I really want to meet this 'Nanke Yimu,' what kind of person is he?"
Leaf Xun stood under the boys' dormitory building, her anxious heart burning her gaze, dim and lifeless, staring blankly at a balcony upstairs. She had been sitting like this for a long time, but the figure she was waiting for never appeared. Leaf Xun held a bracelet in her hand, gently rubbing it with her fingers, a gesture filled with love and reluctance.
Leaf Xun took out her phone and dialed a number. As the dial tone sounded in the earpiece, the phone on the balcony she had been staring at also rang. However, no one answered the call, and Leaf Xun kept dialing repeatedly, but the ringing never stopped. Tears flowed down Leaf Xun's face.
Passersby looked at Leaf Xun curiously, but she remained indifferent to everything. At this moment, someone approached.
"Leaf Xun, what's wrong with you? Did you have a quarrel again?"
"Liu Jing, is he here?"
"No, he didn't come back last night! His roommates don't know where he went!"
Leaf Xun wiped away her tears and said, "Then I'll go back. Goodbye!"
"Leaf Xun!" Liu Jing stopped Leaf Xun and said, "Do you want me to tell him when he comes back?"
"No need, thank you!" Leaf Xun smiled gently with tears in her eyes and said
, "Thank you!"
"Oh!" Liu Jing seemed to remember something, "He said he's moving out!"
"Moving out?"
"Yes, he said that before. Maybe he's looking for a new place now!" Liu Jing said.
Leaf Xun nodded, and smiled bitterly again.