Chapter 30: I Prefer Slender Legs

Wu Yue closed his notebook. "High risk, high reward. As long as I’m careful, as long as I... report things discreetly, no one will ever find me. I’ve watched at least four hundred episodes of Detective Conan."

"And reporting those who deal in illegal substances pays even better. If I manage to get a production site shut down, the reward caps at one hundred thousand! But that’s too risky for now. I’m currently catching up on Kindaichi and Sherlock Holmes; I’ll think about it in a couple of years."

Zhai Da patted Wu Yue on the shoulder. "In terms of logic and justice, you’re doing a good thing... but from a practical standpoint, you’d better hope your brain stays intact. If you ever end up getting strung up and beaten, I won’t be the one to save you."

Wu Yue puffed out his chest. "Don't worry, I’m smarter than I look!"

"I suggest you think this over carefully. Look before you leap."

"Oh, I am! I’ve noticed my dad goes to that row of red houses in the back, too. I definitely have to wait a bit."

Zhai Da: ...

This was truly an eye-opening moment, like a tiny knife carving into a backside—a real shock to the system!

With such a righteous light shining down, his ancestors' graves must be smoking with pride!

"I urge you to reconsider. This is clearly not a reliable 'career.' The college entrance exam is only two and a half months away. If you want to take a shot at something, you can study with me."

Wu Yue clearly didn't take him seriously.

It was like "Benbo'erba" patting "Babuo'erben" on the shoulder and saying, "Let’s team up and take down the Monk and his disciples!"

Study with him? Wouldn't that just mean failing together?

Between the two of them, their combined scores barely met the threshold for an undergraduate degree...

Just as Zhai Da was about to say something else, he spotted a familiar figure in the familiar alleyway and felt a jolt of surprise.

He patted Wu Yue’s shoulder. "Get lost, quickly."

Wu Yue: "At your command!"

——

"Eight-fifty."

The shopkeeper remained glued to the TV, which was playing the latest episode of *X-Change*. A rural child was being taken to a five-star hotel by his "city mom" for a buffet, and she was tricking him by saying the food was free.

After the child finished eating, the production team told him the meal had cost a thousand yuan.

The rural boy collapsed onto the table and cried.

Lu Wei was dressed in her usual outfit: faded denim jeans, a simple white T-shirt, and a slightly dowdy cloth bag slung over her shoulder.

She looked so pristine it was heartbreaking.

When she turned around and saw the boy standing there, she instinctively hid the Dove chocolate she was holding behind her back.

Zhai Da: "Looking for me?"

Lu Wei shook her head, her long, straight ponytail swaying with the movement.

The ponytail was so long and her waist so slender that her hair swished back and forth, adding a touch of charm.

"Are you suddenly rich? You aren't eating properly, but you're buying chocolate?"

Lu Wei had no choice but to bring the chocolate out from behind her back and hand it to Zhai Da.

"I bought it for you..."

Because Zhai Da had given her a Snickers bar last time.

The boy didn't take it, but shook his head instead, which made Lu Wei’s heart tighten.

"Go back and swap it for a white one. This kind doesn't taste good."

Lu Wei obeyed immediately.

——

Zhai Da munched on the white chocolate, walking side by side with Lu Wei.

"I gave you that phone, didn't I? You should have told me sooner, and I would have brought the money. The first reward was five thousand total. I took eighty percent and you took twenty, so you have a thousand yuan with me."

Lu Wei explained, "I didn't come for the money. I don't want it. I was just running an errand for the factory and happened to be passing by... I just bumped into you."

Passing by, four kilometers away.

A "coincidence" that involved waiting for an hour.

That probably didn't count as a lie, Lu Wei thought to herself.

"Why are you always running errands? Is that the secret to your skinny legs?"

"Because I am... a new employee?"

"Don't have that kind of 'workhorse' mentality..."

Lu Wei fell silent...

A moment later, she suddenly said, very earnestly, "Do you like skinny legs..."

Zhai Da paused in his chewing, his mouth opening slightly:

"You should have been able to tell that what I said just now was just a joke, right?"

Lu Wei quickly lowered her head. "I'm sorry... I didn't realize..."

"Do you know now?"

"I know..."

"Good. Well, I do like skinny legs."

Zhai Da felt that this girl... had an incredibly dull sense for emotional subtext.

Not just regarding others, but it seemed she had trouble expressing herself as well.

"Are you eating well?"

"Yes, three meals a day."

"That’s good. Eat enough to get a bit fatter... oh, that was a joke too. It doesn't mean I like fat people."

"..."

As they walked, Zhai Da saw a bus stop with the sign "Sunma Village" clearly printed on it.

"Sunma Village? Doesn't that mean you can head back from here?"

Lu Wei looked up; it was indeed one of the only two bus routes that went to Sunma Village.

They could have walked for about three more blocks, but the bus stop brought their walk to an early end.

Zhai Da suggested they wait for the bus there. It was nearly nine o'clock after evening study hall, and if she missed the last bus, she would have to take a taxi home.

He knew Lu Wei was proud and broke, so waiting for the bus was the best way.

For a moment, there was no sound.

Zhai Da watched Lu Wei’s back. A few fine, wispy hairs at the nape of her neck caught the light of the streetlamp, rimmed in gold.

They looked like tiny wings.

He suddenly thought of his own piece, *Streetlamps and Wine*.

The inspiration had come from the night walks he shared with Lu Wei.

But in the story, was he the one carrying the light wine, or was he the streetlamp?

——

He suddenly realized something: he had never seen Lu Wei smile.

Zhai Da asked a question he had been curious about for a long time.

"By the way, a while ago... I saw your photo at the school gate."

He tried to keep his tone light.

"Are you nervous about the college entrance exam?"

He brought up the topic because he wanted to know if she had any intention of going back to school to retake it.

Wu Yue had the security of his family's property compensation, so perhaps he didn't need a helping hand, but Lu Wei was different.

Lu Wei looked up at the streetlamp.

She shook her head.

"My admission ticket... my dad hid it."

Zhai Da froze.

Before his wandering thoughts could settle, the bus arrived. The usually sluggish No. 32 bus was far too efficient today, lacking any sense of poetic timing.

Lu Wei boarded the bus and swiped her card.

Zhai Da watched her through the door. Because the bus was unlit, Lu Wei, in her white T-shirt, stood in the shadows, becoming a silhouette of deep indigo.

A deep, lingering shade of blue.

A line suddenly flashed through Zhai Da’s mind.

*If the spring breeze has pity for the flower, may it grant her a smile once more...*

"Go on back. Remember to send a message when you’re safe."

Lu Wei nodded. Before she could compose her thoughts, the bus doors closed impatiently.

She could only watch as Zhai Da retreated to the right, quickly disappearing from sight.

The last bus was empty. Lu Wei sat in the second-to-last row.

She rested her forehead against the cool window, watching the streetlamps appear one by one, only to be left behind.

A coincidence that cost her hours of time had only resulted in ten minutes of walking together...

Something that hadn't yet been fully released had come to an abrupt end, transforming into an even deeper longing for the next time.

Lu Wei summoned her courage and took out the Nokia 3310 from her pocket.

In her contacts, there was one, and only one, person.

"Are you free this weekend..."

...

Backspace, backspace, backspace...

A long while later, she pulled a *Mathematical Olympiad* guidebook from her small bag and began to read in the dim bus, by the flickering light of passing streetlamps.

The shadows cast on the window were like a rushing current, washing away her turbulence.

The pages of the book were densely packed with notes.