Love's Affliction - Chapter 5-1

Evening self-study session at First High School wasn’t mandatory for every student. If they felt they were more productive studying at home, they could go home, but they had to inform the class teacher. However, whether the request was approved or not depended on the teacher.

Shi Nian Nian had good grades, so when she mentioned it to Cai Yucai, he approved her request.

“Indeed, having a daughter is better. Daughters are considerate and caring,” Auntie said with a smile while cooking.

Shi Nian Nian picked the vegetables from the sink one by one and rolled up her sleeves to wash them.

“Wh-where is the… auntie that cooks?” she asked.

“I gave her the day off because her daughter came to visit her,” Auntie replied, then asked, “Have you gotten used to picking the science division?”

Shi Nian Nian nodded, “Mhm.”

“I heard that your class is led by Teacher Cai. He used to be the class teacher for Xu Ningqing as well. He is quite good and cares a lot about the students,” Auntie said.

A person came to Shi Nian Nian’s mind. Her gege and Jiang Wang seemed to have a good relationship. According to Jiang Ling, Jiang Wang and her gege were in the same year, were they classmates?

“A new t-transfer student… joined our c-class today,” Shi Nian Nian struggled to say, “He might h-have been a c-classmate with gege before.”

Auntie paused her cooking and turned to look at Shi Nian Nian, surprised. She asked, “Is his name Jiang Wang?”

Shi Nian Nian didn’t expect Auntie to know his name. She nodded, “Mhm.”

“Well, that child…” Auntie sighed, “He’s quite pitiful. The incident caused a big fuss, and he ended up in jail. It will greatly affect his future.”

She put the vegetables on a plate and sighed again, “He had a good relationship with your brother, and I don’t know what exactly happened during that incident. Fortunately, that person wasn’t in critical condition; otherwise, at such a young age, he would have carried the burden of two lives. His future would have been even more difficult.”

Shi Nian Nian was taken aback, “Two lives?”

Auntie waved her hand, “I’m not quite sure either. Xu Ningqing mentioned it, but he refused to tell me the details.”

Shi Nian Nian took the vegetables out of the basin, momentarily lost in thought. The edge of the knife touched her index finger as she absentmindedly cut.

She quickly let go and made a soft “hiss” sound, instinctively licking the wound.

It wasn’t a serious cut, just a few drops of blood, which quickly disappeared.

She didn’t tell Auntie and went to rinse her finger on the other side. Soon after, she was told to rest. There wasn’t much homework for Monday, so she finished most of her self-study.

When Auntie called for dinner, she had already completed it.

She put the pen cap back on, stretched lazily, and walked out of the bedroom.

“Gege… isn’t c-coming back?” she asked.

Auntie scoffed, “He called earlier and said he would go out with friends tonight. Where does he find so many friends?” She pointed her chopsticks at Uncle and said, “You spoiled him.”

Uncle smiled good-naturedly.

After dinner, Shi Nian Nian took out her biology textbook to preview the content for the next day.

After a while, Auntie knocked on her door and came in, placing a plate of fruit on her desk. “You have a heavy workload, huh?”

“It’s… pre… previewing,” Shi Nian Nian said.

“Wow, Nian Nian, you’re such a good girl,” Auntie smiled and rubbed her head.

The lamp cast a soft and gentle glow on the woman’s face, and Shi Nian Nian’s soft hair was rubbed twice, a sensation she was unfamiliar with. She had never experienced it before when she lived with her parents before high school.

“Make sure to balance work and rest. Don’t overwork yourself. Go to bed early. Auntie won’t disturb your studies anymore,” she said before leaving the room and gently closing the door.

Shi Nian Nian stared at the pictures in the biology book for two minutes, her hand rubbing her eyes, and her eyelashes brushed against her palm, feeling a bit itchy.

Then she took a piece of fruit and put it in her mouth.

After finishing the plate of fruit, Shi Nian Nian had already previewed all the content she would study the next day.

She walked out of the bedroom, and the living room was empty. Uncle and Auntie’s bedroom was on the inner side, and the sound of the TV could be heard.

She put the dishes and fruit plate in the cupboard.

Shi Nian Nian changed her shoes, grabbed her keys, and quietly left the house.

“Hello, that’s sixteen yuan. Cash or scan the code?” the cashier asked.

Shi Nian Nian took out her phone to pay.

She bought a “Meng Long” (a type of ice cream), walked out of the convenience store, tore open the packaging, and took a bite of the crispy chocolate.

It was sweet.

The young girl stood straight and quietly at the entrance of the convenience store, her black hair scattered by the summer night breeze.

The sound of cicadas circled above her head.

After finishing the ice cream, she lightly bit the stick between her teeth.

She took out a band-aid she had just bought from her pocket; it had a cute bear pattern on it.

She took one and placed it on the finger she cut in the afternoon. Then she found a trash bin and threw the stick and band-aid packaging together.

She stood idly for a while.

In the boundless night, she gazed at the countless lights shining from the houses.

The sound of a basketball hitting the ground echoed in her ears.

Next to the convenience store was the basketball court from last time.

Only the basketball court was lit by streetlights, making it difficult to see clearly.

“Boom, boom, boom,” each shot landed heavily on the ground.

Even just by listening, one can sense the anger within the person shooting the ball.

Shi Nian Nian raised her eyes and looked over.

…

He stood outside the three-point line, sweat glistening on his forehead under the dim yellow streetlights, as if his face was reflecting firelight.

Chin lifted up, revealing a sharp and distinct jawline.

The ball was thrown from his hand, tracing a beautiful arc in the air.

It hit the backboard and went in, bouncing on the ground twice before returning to his hand.

This process repeated again and again.

The muscles on his arms were visible due to the exertion, prominent Adam’s apple, smooth neck line, and the pressure of the ball in his wrist.

Shi Nian Nian recognized who he was and watched for a while before turning to prepare to go home.

She took two steps forward but then remembered her aunt’s words in the evening.

Her footsteps paused, and she turned back towards the basketball court.

The entrance to the court was a retractable iron gate, and when Shi Nian Nian pushed it, it made a noisy sound.

Jiang Wang caught the ball but didn’t shoot again.

His icy gaze collided with Shi Nian Nian’s.

Gone was the frivolous and carefree demeanor of the daytime; now he had dark, emotionless eyes.

The girl was wearing a soft cotton dress, stepping on canvas shoes. The white shoelace on her left foot had some dirt on it, and the back of the shoe was being stepped on, revealing a round and fair heel.

Her hair was let down, lifted by the evening breeze.

(Love’s Affliction has moved to https://www.foxaholic.com/novel/loves-affliction/)