Chapter Eight: Spring Dreams

I looked at Qiu Jieqin’s innocent expression and spoke slowly, word by word: “One day, I was reading inside a pile of cement pipes by the back gate of the school, and I accidentally overheard your conversation with Sun Li and the others about your bet. I heard you say with my own ears that you approached me only to prove your reputation as a ‘boy killer’ wasn’t undeserved, and that you actually didn’t care about me at all. I felt that you all went too far, that I suffered an unbearable humiliation, which is why I decided I would never speak to you again.”

Qiu Jieqin’s already pale face turned ashen, her clear eyes filled with remorse and despair. She stood frozen, as if under a spell, then tears began to spill from her eyes, large drops falling one after another.

I spoke gently, “Don’t cry. I don’t blame you anymore. It’s over. Let’s pretend nothing happened. We’ll just be good friends from now on, okay?”

The moment these words left my mouth, Qiu Jieqin suddenly burst into loud sobs, turned and threw herself onto the pillow, crying so terribly that the whole room seemed to shake.

Her sudden outburst left me helpless, unsure what to do. Suddenly, the door was kicked open with a bang—Sun Li rushed in first. She glanced at Qiu Jieqin who was sobbing on the bed, then grabbed me by the collar, shouting, “Tang Qian! Didn’t I warn you not to bully Qiu Jieqin? You’re asking for trouble, aren’t you?”

Qian Xiaolei followed close behind. She glared at me fiercely, then went to comfort Qiu Jieqin on the bed. I already held resentment and anger towards Sun Li, so seeing her act so unreasonably, I snapped back coldly, “Sun Li! Let go of me!”

“You—!” Sun Li, furious at my defiance, raised her hand to slap me. But from the bed, Qiu Jieqin suddenly cried out, “Don’t!” She leaped up to push Sun Li away, still crying and shouting, “Get out! All of you, get out! Haven’t you embarrassed me enough already?”

Sun Li and Qian Xiaolei were completely baffled by her reaction.

“Hey! You—”

“What are you doing? I’m trying to help you—”

But before they could finish, Qiu Jieqin pushed them out, slammed the door shut, and turned back to face me. Her eyes, full of sorrow, looked at me for a moment, then she suddenly burst into laughter.

Now it was my turn to be confused. This woman was truly incomprehensible! Ten seconds ago, she was sobbing her heart out; ten seconds later, she was laughing cheerfully. What kind of game was this?

“I actually suspected that you’d discovered the bet between Sun Li, Xiaolei, and me. But then I thought, impossible! Only the three of us knew about it—unless one of them betrayed me. But they’re my closest friends, there’s no reason for them to do that. So I always assumed you couldn’t possibly know. Who would have thought, no matter how much I calculated, fate would outwit me. I never expected you to be there that day and hear everything.”

Qiu Jieqin seemed relaxed now, entirely different from just moments before.

I wasn’t sure what she was trying to say, so I simply listened in silence.

She smiled again, “Sorry, we took it too far. Did it really hurt you?”

Seeing her suddenly put on another face, apologizing with such a careless, mocking attitude, without the least bit of sincerity, I felt once again deceived by them. Yet I couldn’t help but recall her trembling in the rain, waiting for me—was that, too, part of their game? If so, they were truly playing at a higher level. Such elaborate plans for someone like me—wasn’t that a bit of a waste?

I looked at Qiu Jieqin’s still damp hair and really didn’t want to believe that what happened in the rain was just another trick. My heart ached, and my fists clenched involuntarily.

“It seems I lost after all. I really can’t accept it! I, Qiu Jieqin, have never suffered such a defeat in front of any boy—Tang Qian, you’re the first man I couldn’t conquer. From tomorrow on, I won’t use the ‘boy killer’ nickname anymore.” She sighed, shrugged helplessly, as if the game had ended.

My head felt hot with anger, and I couldn’t help mocking her, “You still have to pay your bet—two designer outfits to your friends.”

She giggled for a while before saying, “Looks like you’re really angry! All right, I’ll formally apologize to you now. I was wrong, I shouldn’t have deceived you and played with your feelings. But you’ve already gotten your revenge—making me wait foolishly for eight hours, soaking wet in the rain, naively thinking you knew nothing and would be deeply moved by me. So, in the end, we’re even.”

Her grinning, playful demeanor was anything but “formal.” Instead, her shamelessness made me laugh in spite of my anger—so angry I laughed. “You nearly succeeded, you know. I was deeply moved by you; if you’d persisted a bit longer, kept up the act, maybe I’d have surrendered to you. Then you wouldn’t have to drop your nickname or lose the bet. So, even if we’re even, you’re still at a loss.”

A fleeting hint of regret passed across her face, but it was quickly drowned out by her smile. “Well, nothing can be done now. I was in the wrong from the start. Since you say we’re even and I’ve apologized, don’t hate me anymore. We’re still good friends, right? Isn’t that what you said?”

I sneered, “Hate you? Do you deserve it? You heard wrong—what I said was ‘good classmates,’ not ‘good friends.’ We’ve never been friends, have we?”

She put her hands behind her back, smiling even brighter, and nodded, “That’s true, you never treated me as a friend. I was being sentimental, haha!”

A nameless fire burned in my chest, making me feel suffocated. I only wanted to leave this place, to get away from this annoying person. I sized her up and said, “Now that the misunderstanding is cleared up and everything’s settled, you seem fine. Looks like I don’t need to stick around and be a nuisance. I’ll be going—I still have to review my lessons.”

Without another glance at Qiu Jieqin, I turned to open the door. In the living room, Sun Li and Qian Xiaolei stared at me in surprise as I headed to the bathroom, took off Sun Li’s father’s clothes, and put back on my own soaked ones.

As I walked out, I heard Sun Li and Qian Xiaolei shouting in the other room, “Jieqin, what’s wrong?”

But by then, I had lost all trust in the three of them. Every action, every word, I viewed with suspicion. I ignored their fuss, opened the door, and plunged into the pouring rain…

Many things happened afterwards, and I didn’t learn the whole truth until graduation day. But that’s another story.

Qiu Jieqin didn’t come to class the next day. I heard she developed a high fever—nearly forty degrees—and was hospitalized. I never went to see her.

Two weeks later, she returned, much thinner. We never spoke again.

As the college entrance exams drew near, everyone threw themselves into the exhausting grind of study, and I gradually forgot all about this episode…

…

Sitting on a stone bench in the park, lost in memory, I was startled by the phone ringing in my breast pocket. I took it out and answered, “Hello?”

“Brother! Why aren’t you home yet? Do you know what time it is? Did you get the tickets? My classmates are still waiting for me to reply.”

“I got them. I’ll be back soon.”

“Really? Great! How many did you get?”

“Five.”

“Hooray! Brother, you’re the best!”

I couldn’t help but smile. I hung up, took a few deep drags of my cigarette, then stubbed it out on the ground with my foot. Pulling up my coat collar, I started heading home.

When I got back, I knocked on my sister’s door. She opened it, and I handed her the five tickets. She was, naturally, thrilled. I also returned the money to her, explaining why the tickets were free. After she finished thanking me profusely, I went to my own room.

Lying in bed, I found myself unable to sleep. Images of the youthful Qiu Jieqin and the mature, alluring Qiu Jieqin kept replaying in my mind: her frail body shivering in the rain, her fiery, snow-white skin on the bed. All of it tormented my nerves, sending my thoughts spinning, keeping me awake.

I don’t know how much time passed before I drifted into a fitful sleep. In my dream, the young Qiu Jieqin laughed as she ran across the grass, waving at me, “Come catch me! Come catch me!” I laughed and chased after her slender figure, but she was always quick—dodging just out of reach, never letting me catch her. Unwilling to give up, I seized my chance as she dodged again and lunged, pinning her beneath me.

Suddenly, the dream shifted. Qiu Jieqin transformed into her mature, seductive self, lying naked beneath me on the bed. Her eyes were sultry, her body aflame with passion. She wrapped an arm around my neck, her red lips at my ear whispering, “Tang Qian, my love! Come, I’ll give you everything.” I was engulfed in the fire of desire, plunging into love with her…

Soon, a wave of intense pleasure swept over me, jolting me awake.

I sat up, instinctively reaching down—cold and wet. Damn, I’d ejaculated in my sleep. Helpless, I got up to shower and change. By the time I’d erased all traces, dawn was breaking outside the window.

I gave up on sleeping, lit a cigarette, and sat on the bed smoking. I didn’t know why that dream played out as it did, but it was so vivid, so real, it left me unsettled for a long time.

After the sun rose, I went out to buy breakfast. Just as I was about to unlock the door, my phone rang again. I shifted the food to my left hand, checked the caller—it was an unfamiliar number. I pressed answer and said, “Hello? Who is this?”

There was silence on the line. I thought the signal was bad, so I stepped outside and asked again, “Hello, who is this? Why aren’t you saying anything?”

Then, Qiu Jieqin’s voice finally came through the phone, “Tang Qian! Why?”