Chapter 5, Scram
Ye Zi suddenly stood up, causing the wooden stool to skid back with a creak.
Nie Haixia looked up, surprised. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to the restroom.”
Ye Zi took his phone and headed for the bathroom without even looking back. Fear, worry, and confusion were pacing inside of his mind before it finally formed into a raging flame of anger. Hare was his nightmare and he did not want to see him. He did not want to see him at all!
After swiping his finger over the screen a few times, he clicked send.
In an effort to keep himself calm, Ye Zi buried his face in cold water at the sink.
The water was especially cold during the months of December, and it caused his entire body to shudder when the water hit his face. A cold stream of water slid down from his forehead, and even his tense nerves were frozen up by the cold. Ye Zi shut his eyes and turned off the faucet, but he suddenly felt a set of warm fingers atop the back of his hand. Slowly, slowly twisting, until the sound of running water could no longer be heard.
Ye Zi straightened up abruptly and opened his eyes. Drops of water slid down his black hair, dripping from the tips of his lashes.
Inside the mirror, he saw that man standing behind him. The man that made his body tremble—He was about half a foot taller than Ye Zi, and that smile was still present on his face like before, observing Ye Zi’s expression that was covered in shock through the mirror. He could not figure out what he was thinking at all.
Ye Zi quickly came back to his senses and grunted, “What are you doing?”
The boy tore off a piece of tissue and wiped his wet hand, pleased. “I was just helping you turn off the faucet.”
“I’m asking you what you’re doing here. What are your intentions?”
“Sis Qin brought me here. I’m not trying to do anything. That’s right, I haven’t spoken to you yet.” He lowered his beautifully-shaped eyes and smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Senior Ye Zi.”
“Stop being so disgusting, Hare.”
“Hah. You recognized me?” Hare had a very pure smile on his face. “You have a very pretty girlfriend.”
“Cut the shit.”
Hare suddenly lowered his voice and leaned down, speaking by Ye Zi’s ear. “But…you look even better.”
Ye Zi felt completely humiliated. He caught Hare by the collar and pulled him out of the bathroom. Then, dragging him to the dim and quiet corridor, he pressed him against the wall and said to him in a tone that was almost fierce. “Don’t you try to fuck with me. Don’t forget, I’ve been alive for at least four years more than you have. A brat like you should be at home studying or sleeping. What do you know? Also, should I remind you again what you promised me in the past? You’re not allowed to harass me in my daily life. What happened in the past is in the past and I don’t want to see you anymore, nor do I want to have anything to do with you. Capiche?”
Hare did not try to struggle and merely continued to stare at him quietly.
The color of his irises was really light and the contrast of it caused his pupils to look even darker in comparison. As his pupils gradually enlarged, his eyes gave off a sense of sensuality, and deceit. Just like a cat’s eye flickering in the dark. Just looking at it was enough to put goosebumps on one’s skin.
Almost subconsciously, Ye Zi blurted out, “Who said you could see me?”
The teen lowered his eyes, causing his long eyelashes to flutter down, casting two fuzzy shadows upon his cheek.
As the lights in the corridor were voice-activated, they soon turned off by themselves.
Then, total darkness.
Just as Ye Zi was getting impatient, Hare finally spoke. “It’s not over yet.”
“What do you mean??”
“Once the switch to kill is turned on, you can never stop it.”
“You…”
Before Ye Zi could even finish speaking, his hands suddenly weakened. Then, he felt a strange heat on his face and ears, as well as a strange smell that made him feel irritated.
Hare’s clear voice flooded his hears, word after word. “I’ve been watching you this whole time, Ye Zi. Always, always. I can’t stop anymore. I can’t. Just wait…you’ll definitely need me again. Definitely.”
—With a clap, the lights lit up again.
Ye Zi was startled. If it weren’t for Hare’s heat that still remained by his ear, then he would’ve wondered if that was all just an illusion.
Nie Haixia was standing not far away and she asked, a little worried. “Hubby, what are you standing by yourself over there for?”
Ye Zi looked around him and felt his chest grow cold.
That guy is not there anymore.
After returning to the dining table, Ye Zi saw that Hare was still, eating comfortably. He never looked at him again that night. The girls were all sticking to his side, and just looking at it was enough to make a person feel uncomfortable.
Ye Zi brought his girlfriend back to school, but whether they were standing outside a hotel, sitting in a taxi together, or walking under the shade of the trees, he still felt really uncomfortable all over his body. It felt like someone was there, staring at him behind his back. Always, always.
What does he mean he’s been looking at him the whole time? That’s impossible, right?
That guy was just a high school student while he was in his junior year in college. There were practically no intersections between their lives so who did he think he was trying to scare?!
But on the next day, he saw Hare again.
It was evening then, and Hare was standing right by the flower bed at the campus entrance. Water continued to surge out from the small fountain, turning his figure into a blur behind the mist.
Sensing gossip, Jiang Wen slapped Ye Zi’s shoulder and said, “Oh? Look at how attentive that kid is. He must be here for Xiao Qin!”
“…”
“Tsk tsk. Look, those girls waiting for the bus are all looking at him. He really does attract them, huh?”
“None of our business. Let’s go.”
“Hey, don’t be so cold.” Then, Jiang Wen waved towards Hare. “Jason, did you come to see Xiao Qin?”
“Yeah.” Hare smiled. “Are you two going for dinner?”
“We’re just grabbing a bite at the food street. Oh, my phone’s ringing.”
Jiang Wen answered the phone and quickly ran off with a frown on his face. Most likely something had cropped up at the club that he needed to deal with.
Crossing the street, Ye Zi headed for the food street, but his face was not very pleasant. “Who asked you to follow me? Scram.”
But as if Hare was completely lacking in shame, he said to him in a nice voice, “I’m not following him. I’m just going to the food street as well, senior.”
“Who’s your senior? Also, weren’t you here for Xiao Qin? Go have your date, stop pestering me like some kind of ghost.”
“I’m not dating her.”
Ye Zi was surprised. Then, he frowned. “That’s got nothing to do with me.”
“I only went to the dinner yesterday because I knew you were there.”
“…” Ye Zi ignored him and focused on buying his own stuff. He had already gotten used to it and knew what his girlfriend liked like the back of his hand.
The food street was very crowded during dinner hours.
There was a blur of smells in the crowd and a lot of noise, but Hare still continued to follow Ye Zi, a true challenge to his patience.
While waiting for his grill order, he heard someone say behind his back, “I want to be closer to you.”
What a weirdo!
They only had that exchange once, was there any need to be any closer?
Does this guy lack common sense? Does he not know how dangerous it is if they get close to each other?
I just want to stay the hell away from you!
Ye Zi really wanted to sock him in the face, but he couldn’t draw anyone’s attention so he just continued to ignore him.
While walking towards the footbridge with his bags of food in hand, he heard his voice again. “I want to pursue you.”
When he heard that, Ye Zi couldn’t stand it anymore.
How can this guy have such thick skin? Does he enjoy humiliating people so much?
He turned around and poured his mung bean porridge over him. The hot liquid slid down from Hare’s white sweater in a messy display as voices of shock could be heard from the crowd around them.
“Don’t talk to me again, you lunatic!”
After he was done yelling at him, Ye Zi walked off without turning back again.
Even if he knew that his girlfriend would throw a tantrum with him because of the missing mung bean porridge, he’ll just accept it. He had to admit though, just thinking of how that guy looked under that footbridge, clothes stained with mung bean porridge in the middle of a crowd, made him very pleased.
Yeah, get out of here and stop trying to disturb my life, you lunatic!
Golden Pavilion 