003 Follow Me
The two returned to the private room, one after the other, once again stirring up a commotion among their classmates, but that was all.
Han Yixuan kept her head down, her reddened eyes filled with a sense of grievance. Wang Heng’s expression was calm, so calm it was almost grim. Seeing this, the hecklers gradually quieted down.
“So? Did she confess to you?”
Xiao Renjian pulled Wang Heng down to sit, his voice low but urgent.
Wang Heng nodded and glanced over at Han Yixuan. Two girls were gathered around her, seemingly asking all sorts of questions…
Xiao Renjian asked again, “So what’s the situation? You two don’t seem to be on the right track.”
“Yeah, because I rejected her.”
Wang Heng’s tone was nonchalant, but Xiao Renjian was a different story. He nearly shouted.
“Why!”
“What’s with all the ‘whys’?” Wang Heng couldn’t help but feel a bit impatient. “Didn’t I tell you before? I’m not interested in this kind of thing. It’s that simple.”
Xiao Renjian raised his eyebrows and lowered his head to eat. The other students had already shifted their attention elsewhere.
The passions of teenage boys and girls came and went quickly. The matter between Wang Heng and Han Yixuan was soon forgotten as everyone broke off into small groups to chat about their own topics.
Nearly an hour later, the teacher appreciation dinner came to an end.
The most energetic students clamored to go to a KTV, but Wang Heng planned to head straight home. He didn’t expect, however, to be stopped at the restaurant entrance.
Blocking his way were three girls: Han Yixuan and her two best friends.
From the expressions on the three girls’ faces, it was clear that Han Yixuan didn’t want to cause any more trouble, but her two friends were filled with an impulse to fight for justice. They flanked the dejected girl, one on each side, and firmly blocked Wang Heng’s path.
The one on the left demanded, “What’s wrong with our Little Xuan? How is she not good enough for you?”
Hearing such a question, Wang Heng calmly retorted, “Did she tell you why I rejected her?”
The one on the right crossed her arms and sneered, “She said you were talking nonsense.”
“Nonsense, huh… Putting my words aside for a moment, I’d like to ask you, isn’t a so-called relationship supposed to be between two people? There are only two parties involved, right?”
“That’s right, but—”
Wang Heng waved his hand, cutting her off. “There’s no right or wrong in matters of the heart. Not accepting a confession could be because one is being serious and doesn’t want to be flippant. On the other hand, accepting could very well not be out of affection, but just for fun. There are only two choices, but there could be many reasons behind them. So don’t think so simply. I would never think that Student Han Yixuan isn’t good enough for me. On the contrary, I feel that I’m not quite good enough for her.”
“You…”
“In short, a relationship is between two people. I can understand your good intentions, but good intentions don’t always lead to good results. For example, let’s say I’m actually a scumbag. After Student Han Yixuan starts a relationship with me, she discovers that I’m actually two-timing her. In that case, wouldn’t your actions in pushing us together be pushing her into a pit of fire?”
Wang Heng spoke unhurriedly, his enunciation and the logic of each sentence perfectly clear. As a result, this speech left the two girls, who had been so aggressive just moments before, at a loss for words.
Han Yixuan, however, stared at him and asked in a low voice, “Are you that kind of person? A scumbag who two-times?”
“To be honest, I don’t know. Did Wang Mang want to usurp the throne when he was young? The Führer wasn’t necessarily evil when he was in school, was he? No one can say for sure before something happens. You can think I’m talking nonsense if you want, but I just want to tell you, it’s not because you’re not charming enough or anything like that. It’s simply that I don’t want to be in a relationship. That’s all.”
After all, the memories of being this girl’s boyfriend were still in his head. Wang Heng found it truly difficult to be cruel and say something more hurtful.
Or perhaps, if he could have truly been cruel, he wouldn’t have been trapped in that battlefield of love in his past life…
Han Yixuan bit her lower lip, gazed at him, and asked, “Then have you ever liked me?”
Meeting the girl’s gaze, Wang Heng couldn’t help but feel a headache coming on. In the past, this was the most troublesome thing for him: a girl’s tear-filled eyes staring at him, filled with grievance and unwillingness. It was the absolute worst.
Wang Heng sighed. “How about this? Can you come with me for a moment? There’s something I want to tell you alone.”
And so, Han Yixuan followed Wang Heng.
Her two best friends couldn’t very well follow them, so they stood where they were, watching the two figures walk away.
Suddenly, one of them complained, “Why do I get the feeling that this Wang Heng guy is on a really high level?”
“What level? Relationship level?”
“Yeah, don’t you think so? The way he talks, he’s like a relationship guru… Has he really never dated before? Why do I feel like he’s dated a ton of girls?”
“You’re overthinking it. How is that possible?” the other scoffed. “Couldn’t you tell after three years of high school? He’s a pure-blooded otaku! He’s just decent-looking. Besides his looks, what’s the difference between him and a die-hard otaku like Xiao Renjian?”
“Really…”
“Definitely. Don’t be fooled by how he was just now. When he’s alone with Little Xuan, hmph, I bet his tongue won’t be so nimble!”
**
After walking in silence for quite some time, Han Yixuan finally couldn’t help but ask, “Where are you going?”
Wang Heng didn’t stop walking or even turn his head. He replied, “I’m taking you to my place.”
“What?”
“I’m not kidding, really. But we don’t need to go inside. The entrance to my building will be fine.”
The girl followed, utterly bewildered. After another ten minutes of walking, they arrived at the place where Wang Heng lived.
It was a rather old residential complex. The greenbelts had no green to be seen, nearly every paving stone underfoot was cracked, and the paint on the walls had long since peeled off, revealing the original color of the bricks.
Wang Heng led her to a long bench and sat down. Fortunately, although the bench was missing a few nails, it was still usable.
“Honestly, the classmate I paid the most attention to these three years of high school was you. You asked if I’ve ever liked you… I should say it was more than just liking. It was a secret crush.”
As he said this, Wang Heng recalled his memories of high school. The most profound impression, of course, was of Han Yixuan. He remembered feigning calmness to steal glances at her countless times, only to meet her gaze. They would smile and look at each other for two seconds, nod, and then look away at almost the same time.
During breaks, before class, after school—he couldn’t count how many times such scenes had repeated. It was precisely because of this that Han Yixuan had confessed with such confidence.
The girl’s voice trembled. “Then why…”
“But the worst thing is meeting the right person at the wrong age,” Wang Heng said, pointing to the old residential building in front of them. “See that? The one on the fourth floor without security bars, that’s my home. We don’t need security bars; a thief wouldn’t find anything valuable anyway. My dad is just an ordinary office worker with an average salary, and he divorced my mom a long time ago. We bought this house a few years ago. It’s second-hand, not too expensive, but my dad’s salary has to support me and pay off the mortgage. It’s a struggle.”
Han Yixuan blinked, seeming to understand.
Wang Heng: “So you get it now, right? Whether I want to or not, I can’t be in a relationship. I don’t have the heart for it.”
***
Translator’s Notes
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Wang Mang (王莽): A controversial historical figure who usurped the throne of the Western Han Dynasty and established the short-lived Xin Dynasty.
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The Führer (希元首): This is a direct translation of the Chinese text, which uses “希元首” (Xī Yuánshǒu), a common way to refer to Adolf Hitler in Chinese contexts without using his full name. It literally means “Head of State Xi” (希 being the first character of Hitler’s name in Chinese, 希特勒).
