The Foolish Bookworm of the Aristocratic Boys’ School chapter 82.2

Part 2

“You can ask Senior Zhang Lin if he can help you. He should be very good at management. Senior Zhang Lin helped a lot with the science app last time too.”

“That’s what I planned too, dump it on him to do, hahahaha.”

The laughter temporarily suppressed his rapid breathing, but by the end, the sound became awkward, like forced laughter.

Wen Rong saw it in his expression. “Senior, are you unhappy?”

“No.” Lin Qizheng stood up straight, quickly organizing his emotions. “Let’s go, let’s go see the President’s condition.”

Lin Qizheng walked half a step ahead of Wen Rong. Neither spoke in the elevator; it was rare for them to be this quiet.

Until they reached the ward door, Lin Qizheng hopped inside. “Prez.”

Zhang Jincheng was currently using the “giant boxing gloves” on his hands to hold a water cup. He had just painstakingly brought it to his mouth when Lin Qizheng scared him. An awkward scene ensued.

Splash.

The water in the cup spilled all over Zhang Jincheng’s face. His hair went from a messy mop to slicked-back.

“Pfft.”

“Hahahahaha.”

Zhang Jincheng sat in silence, face dripping wet.

Wen Rong forced his lips shut, hurriedly grabbing tissues to wipe his face.

Zhang Jincheng moved his face to cooperate with Wen Rong while snorting the excess water out of his nose, glaring to the side. “Lin Qizheng, you’re dead.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose, absolutely not.”

“Who’d believe that? Stick your head over here.”

“Damn, Prez, that’s plaster on your hands! Do you know how much it hurts to get whacked?”

“Get over here—”

“Goodbye Prez, I’ll come see you another day.”

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Zhang Jincheng was so angry he tried to jump out of bed to chase him, but since his body hadn’t fully recovered, he swayed and fell back, awkwardly holding up two “pincers” like a boiled crab unable to move.

Lin Qizheng exploded with laughter again.

Zhang Jincheng said fiercely, “Wait till I heal, I’ll kill you.”

“Without two pincers, you think you can beat me?”

They horsed around until Zhang Lin arrived, stopping the commotion.

The four chatted for a while. There were classes in the afternoon, so as they were about to return to the classroom, Zhang Jincheng held Wen Rong back alone, letting the other two leave first.

Wen Rong moved a stool and sat by the bed. Zhang Jincheng didn’t speak immediately; he seemed to be thinking over and over, his gaze sweeping over Wen Rong repeatedly.

Just when Wen Rong couldn’t sit still anymore, he finally spoke:

“Youngest, thank you for helping me so much this time.”

Wen Rong wasn’t very good at handling gratitude yet, repeating “no, no” several times.

“But don’t do this again next time.”

The shift in conversation was so fast it startled Wen Rong.

He had received a lot of recognition in the last two days. Perhaps it was too much, so hearing Zhang Jincheng say this, he was suddenly at a loss. Because the air was too quiet, he subconsciously said, “Sorry, Senior.”

“I’m the one who should say sorry.”

Zhang Jincheng forced a smile onto his face. “You’ve definitely been marked by Councilman Wang Sichen now. It will be dangerous for you wherever you go in the future.”

“It won’t be, I don’t go out of school much.”

“Didn’t you write in that article that school isn’t safe either?”

Wen Rong paused, scratching his head in embarrassment. “Most of the time it should be safe. When I wrote that article, I deliberately wrote it to be scary.”

“As the President of the News Club, I haven’t been a good role model. I let you learn bad things from Lin Qizheng.”

“No, no, no, I didn’t learn those from Senior Lin Qizheng.” Wen Rong vindicated Lin Qizheng. “I learned those terms from videos… you know, those scam videos you guys talk about… I feel the words used in them are very rousing and particularly easy to trick people with.”

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“Isn’t that still Lin Qizheng leading you astray? If he didn’t force you to scroll through Blue Book…”

“Pfft.”

Zhang Jincheng froze, then lowered his head and laughed too. “Anyway, it’s all Lin Qizheng’s fault.”

Wen Rong bit his lip, nodding while suppressing his laughter. The two silently dumped the blame onto the unlucky Lin Qizheng.

Time was running out. Wen Rong said goodbye to Zhang Jincheng and left the ward.

Entering the elevator, his phone rang. It was actually a message from Zhang Jincheng.

[Don’t risk your life for us Seniors.]

[Cherish your own life. If you die, the Seniors will be very sad.]

Wen Rong held the phone, reading those two sentences carefully, and slowly walked out of the Medical Building.

Meanwhile, Black Dove Forum

Topic: [Report! Male God came out of the Medical Building looking depressed. Who upset him this time?]

[Damn, it’s definitely because someone took his usual seat in the library this morning.]

[No wonder I didn’t see him when I went there this morning. Can alumni be more self-aware and give up my Male God’s exclusive seat?]

[Morning was ages ago. He only got unhappy after coming out of the Medical Building. Is Zhang Jincheng’s condition bad?]

[I have a relative who is an orthopedic big shot. Should I give the relative’s contact info to Zhang Jincheng?]

[Give it quick, otherwise my Male God will be unhappy all day.]

Is Wen Rong in a bad mood?

Just as Shi Ye wondered about this question, Wen Rong walked into the classroom.

Instantly, everyone in the classroom went on high alert. Shi Ye even heard chairs moving; the guy at the back desk kicked his neighbor, whispering, “You sit over there, leave a space.”

Heh.

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He sneered, raised his hand, and lifted his chin proudly, declaring his identity as “friend.”

Wen Rong didn’t look up.

“Cough, Wen Rong, here.”

Wen Rong woke from his stupor, his gaze patrolling the room before finally landing on him.

“You’re in a bad mood?”

When he asked, Shi Ye’s voice trembled, implicitly containing pride and smugness.

Even a commoner friend is still a friend, infinitely closer than these nameless people beside him.

“I’m not afraid of death.”

“What death?”

Shi Ye almost jumped up.

No, what did Zhang Jincheng tell you that you’re considering death?

“But I’m afraid again now.”

“…”

Fine, fine, fear of death is good. If you fear death, you won’t die.

“If I died, Senior Zhang Jincheng would be sad.”

He paused. “Senior Lin Qizheng and Senior Zhang Lin might be too.”

Although Shi Ye was dumbfounded by this outrageous topic of “fear of death,” he instinctively interjected, “I would be sad too.”

Wen Rong tilted his head slightly, his eyelashes casting shadows like blinds under the light.

Shi Ye almost lost control of his emotions under such a calm gaze.

Fuck!

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Is my sadness not important?

“I really would be sad.”

“What does it feel like to see someone die?”

Two voices sounded together. Shi Ye was startled.

Wen Rong realized something and quickly corrected himself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything else. I was just suddenly curious about what people would feel if they saw me die.”

Shi Ye didn’t know why Wen Rong would think of such a strange question, but Wen Rong looked like he really wanted to know the answer.

And coincidentally, he was someone who had witnessed death.

“I think, at first, there isn’t much feeling.”

“You just said you would be sad.”

“What’s the rush? Are you very angry if I’m not sad?”

“…”

Wen Rong moved his lips but didn’t speak, accepting the default.

Shi Ye pulled the corner of his mouth, feeling happy for the first time recalling his mother. “Sadness is something that comes much later. In the very beginning, there actually isn’t much feeling.”

“Because the moment of death is very fast. Fast enough that life vanishes rapidly, and the brain hasn’t realized the person is already dead.”

“It is fast.” Wen Rong nodded in agreement, lowering his eyelids as if thinking.

Shi Ye continued, “Actually, the body doesn’t realize it either.”

“Because there is still some warmth after a person dies. This warmth gives the living illusions, like still being able to feel a heartbeat, sense breathing, or even auditory hallucinations.”

“Once the body goes cold, you go through a very long process. Rather than sadness, it’s more like loss.”

“Like seeing a character you love very, very much on TV. You pour all your emotions into them, but they can never appear in front of you, eat with you, or chat with you.”

Approaching class time, more students trickled into the classroom.

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Fortunately, it wasn’t a lecture hall, so there were spare seats. Shi Ye hunched his back slightly, leaning his body close to Wen Rong, simultaneously lowering his voice to lock the secret between the two of them.

“Humans are animals that seek advantage and avoid harm. After being lost for a long time, the body chooses to forget in order to protect itself.”

“I don’t want to forget you. If you die, I’ll die with you.”

Wen Rong’s whole body shook violently. A warm breeze blew past his ear.

“Wen Rong, I really like you.”

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