Returning - Chapter 198
Chapter 198: Stirrings (I)
Tang Xi wasn't sure whether she actually liked Zhuang Ye.
She'd been so focused on her studies throughout high school that aside from occasionally swooning over good-looking guys, she'd never even experienced that flutter of a heart skipping a beat. Now, she was even more clueless about her own feelings.
She just figured that Zhuang Ye was, more or less, someone special in her eyes. At the very least, thinking about him made her happy. And when she saw his friend request on WeChat, she'd been so thrilled she nearly laughed out loud in class.
Truth be told, she'd wanted to add him on WeChat the very night he walked her back to the dorm. But she also thought maybe she should play a little hard to get, so she held off on making the first move. Now, in order to maintain the image of a good student who doesn't play on her phone in class, she forced herself to wait until class was over before accepting his request.
But after they became friends, he didn't initiate a conversation, so she didn't start one either. She just couldn't wait to open up his Moments and take a look. Too bad there was nothing there—he didn't seem to use it at all.
She thought about it several times, wondering whether she should say thank you to break the ice. But then she'd consider whether that would make her seem not demure enough, and she'd have to forcefully suppress the impulse, silently hoping he'd message first.
Yet, after waiting an entire afternoon, still no message came. She felt strangely dejected, and even her easiest elective class that evening couldn't lift her spirits.
There was a small hill on campus. She never liked taking the crowded main roads to class; instead, she preferred the habit of slowly strolling along the hill's winding paths. As she reached the highest point of the path, she suddenly heard someone call out to her.
It was really just a simple "Hey," but she just knew it was directed at her, and the voice sounded familiar.
She turned around and, sure enough, saw Zhuang Ye sitting at the top of the hill. His figure was silhouetted against the setting sun. She was facing the light, unable to make out his features clearly, but she could be certain: at that moment, her heart was beating a little faster.
Zhuang Ye asked, "Going to class?"
They weren't far apart, so she followed the gravel path up the grassy slope to the hilltop, stood before him, and smiled. "Yeah, I have an elective. What are you doing here?"
Pointing to a teaching building not far away, he said, "Going to class too. Got tired climbing the hill, resting here."
He got tired climbing such a tiny hill? Tang Xi chuckled softly, saying nothing.
He asked again, "What elective are you taking?"
"Analysis and Appreciation of Film Art."
"What a coincidence?"
Tang Xi was surprised. "You… you're taking this class too?"
He nodded, smiling.
At that time, she truly believed it was a coincidence and asked him curiously, "How come I've never seen you there?"
He laughed. "Skipped quite a few sessions already. Don't dare skip anymore, afraid of roll call."
"This teacher really does take attendance every single class, but I've never heard your name called, so you've been pretty lucky."
Then she heard him let out a "pfft" of a laugh.
She was a bit confused. "What's up?"
"Nothing. Come on, hurry up. If we're late, we won't get the good spots."
Tang Xi liked sitting near the front during class, but for this elective, the teacher often showed them movies, and sitting in the middle was more comfortable for watching films.
Because they went early, she naturally picked a satisfactory spot. Zhuang Ye sat down right next to her.
After sitting down, not really knowing what to talk about, she hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Thanks again for the other night. And this morning, what you said—it was so satisfying, a real relief."
"They were speaking unpleasantly. I just couldn't stand it; there was nothing to be polite about. So, what do you usually do in this class?"
"We watch movies almost every time. Last week they showed The Shawshank Redemption. The week before that, Farewell My Concubine. I wonder what's on tonight."
That class, the teacher showed them Titanic.
Although it was a very classic film, Tang Xi had never seen it before, so she watched with rapt attention—right up until the heroine took off her clothes and stood completely naked in front of the male lead.
She was genuinely shocked. She never expected that kind of explicit scene. The classroom noticeably stirred; such imagery always got young men and women unusually excited.
Normally, surrounded by strangers, she wouldn't have thought much of it. But as it happened, Zhuang Ye was sitting right beside her, watching the nude body on screen at the exact same time.
Even though she kept telling herself it was just art, not to overthink it, she couldn't help blushing. All she could do was stare at the screen, motionless, using an appearance of serious appreciation to mask her embarrassment.
She didn't dare look at Zhuang Ye's reaction, but she couldn't stop wondering if he felt awkward too. Or maybe it was just her overthinking things—perhaps everyone else saw only art, and she was the only one seeing something pornographic.
She'd barely managed to adjust her state of mind when an even more embarrassing scene appeared on screen. Even though there was no further nudity, the intensely passionate imagery between the two leads, those mortifying sounds, made Tang Xi even more restless, fidgeting in her seat.
She knew it wasn't just because of the film's explicit nature—it was more because Zhuang Ye was right there beside her.
That feeling, she couldn't quite put it into words. But her entire being, inside and out, felt different. Her cheeks burned, her heartbeat accelerated uncontrollably, and she even had this tingling, weak, floaty sensation.
She could no longer focus on the plot. All her thoughts were consumed with making sure Zhuang Ye didn't notice her embarrassment.
But the more she tried, the more her mind wandered. One moment she was thinking about whether Zhuang Ye felt as awkward as she did. The next, she was wondering if Zhuang Ye had ever done the things on screen with other girls. By the end, she was even replacing the male and female leads on screen with herself and Zhuang Ye…
The classroom lights suddenly snapped on, startling her. She jolted back to reality, immediately lowering her head to look at her phone, pretending to reply to a message.
If Zhuang Ye saw her face was still red, wouldn't that be mortifying? If Zhuang Ye knew her head was full of nothing but improper thoughts, would he look down on her?
Her elbow was poked. She looked up instinctively, meeting Zhuang Ye's amused gaze, and became so nervous she was at a complete loss. "What is it?"
Zhuang Ye whispered, "The teacher called your name."
Hearing the teacher ask, "Is Tang Xi here?", she hurriedly answered "Here!", but felt so flustered she wanted to sink into the ground.
Zhuang Ye must have noticed something, right? How could she be so pathetic?
Because she was so overwhelmed with chagrin, she couldn't focus properly after class. She just walked quietly alongside Zhuang Ye. It wasn't until she snapped out of it that she realized they'd already reached her dorm building, and he had followed her there.
She was at a loss again. "Um…"
Seeing her struggle to get a word out for a long moment, Zhuang Ye smiled. "I zoned out just now and ended up following you here without thinking."
She nodded. "Oh… well, you… you should head back."
"Mm."
She turned to leave, but after taking only a couple of steps, she heard him call her. "Tang Xi."
She looked back. "Yeah?"
He walked closer, hesitating for a moment himself before speaking. "Actually… that class tonight, I'm not enrolled in it."
"Huh?"
He lowered his head, smiling. "But I really liked it. Think I can come with you again next week?"
"I guess… I guess that's probably fine. A class like that, probably anyone can go if they want." Thinking back to those scenes they'd watched in class, she couldn't help blushing again. "Wonder what they'll show next time."
"Tonight's was pretty good. Too bad their ending wasn't great." He smiled. "I heard the student next to me say you guys also watched Flipped?"
She nodded. "Mm."
"I like that one." He paused, then added quietly, "the title."
Tang Xi felt her heartbeat inexplicably quickening again.
That night, she had a dream. She dreamt of the passionate scene from the movie, only the male and female leads really had become her and Zhuang Ye.
They held hands, embraced, kissed. She even lay naked beneath him.
When she woke the next day, it was as if she were still in the dream. She didn't want to get out of bed, unable to stop herself from recalling fragments of the dream.
Every time she did, that strange tingling sensation returned to her body.
Feeling the dampness in her underwear, she was so mortified she immediately buried her head under the covers, too ashamed to show her face. But after lying in a daze for a long time, she still sent a WeChat message to Yu Jin:
[I think I really do like him.]
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