BACKFLIP 2

  

Chapter 2

Translator: Abo Dammen

12.

Jiang Ling was one of the few people Xu Zhou could recognize by face. As for why, well, Xu Zhou wasn’t entirely sure. He’d pondered it seriously before arriving at the conclusion: Because Jiang Ling is just too damn good-looking. Good-looking in a way that was heart-stopping, breathtaking, sleep-depriving, and utterly peerless. 

Sharp features, cool-toned fair skin, broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and piercing eyes. Standing in a crowd, he was like a burst of color in a black-and-white mime show, a 3D model in a 2D animation, a 4K HD image in a sea of pixelated blobs. So much so that he bypassed Xu Zhou’s face-blindness entirely, shamelessly occupying the spotlight in his vision permanently.

And, Xu Zhou realized, it wasn’t just his line of sight that Jiang Ling had taken over.

13.

Xu Zhou first noticed Jiang Ling around this same time last year in early September, the heat unbearable, and the school insisting on hosting a sports festival. Thanks to his frail, wind-could-blow-him-over physique and his near-invisible presence, Xu Zhou successfully dodged being drafted for any events.

But before he could celebrate, the school announced: No leaving campus during the festival. No skipping without a valid excuse. Even if you’re not competing, you must stay in the stands like a glorified benchwarmer.

Most of his classmates crowded under the small shade tents, keeping their distance from Xu Zhou. Even when they glanced his way, their expressions screamed "Please don’t come near me." Xu Zhou hesitated for a long time, wondering whether he should go over anyway. But the moment he met those looks, he immediately deflated like a punctured balloon and decided to just find a random spot instead.

Even though he’d long since learned not to care about how people looked at him, it still got to him sometimes. In the end, he sat at a middling distance from his class without a shade, under a midday sun pushing 30 something degrees, nearly mummifying him.

14.

The sunlight glared. To Xu Zhou’s slightly nearsighted eyes, the athletes on the field were just blurry dots. He’d eaten too much at lunch, leaving him drowsy and carb-comatose. Then, in a blink, the light dimmed, as if clouds had swallowed the sun. Xu Zhou looked up, confused, to find a guy in a blue jersey standing in front of him. Sweat-damp bangs clung to his forehead, his normally cool complexion flushed from exertion. His breathing was still uneven, but his gaze was steady.

In that half-second of eye contact, Xu Zhou noted: Dark pupils, icy demeanor, faintly aloof—but wait, are those dimples? Even with his hardcore face blindness, he could tell this guy was ridiculously handsome.

But… why was he standing here?

As much as Xu Zhou appreciated a beautiful face, his social anxiety quickly kicked his admiration to the curb. He looked away in a panic, twitchy all over like ants were crawling under his skin. The looming threat of needing to interact with another human loomed over him like a dean’s flashlight catching rule-breakers. After what felt like an eternity but was really just a few seconds, the guy spoke. 

"Hi, can I sit next to you?"

15.

Xu Zhou’s first thought: His voice is so nice.

Second thought: Wait what? Sit with me? He wants to sit with me? Why? Doesn’t he know everyone avoids me? And there’s no sunshade over here either, isn’t he worried about getting roasted? Is he like, some campus fairy spreading love and goodwill? Or did he lose a round of truth or dare and this is his punishment?

A tsunami of questions flooded his brain, enough to fill the entire field. But to an outside observer, he just paused awkwardly before nodding stiffly and muttering, "...Yeah."

16.

After finishing two events, Jiang Ling was hot and tired, but thanks to the release of adrenaline and dopamine, he felt more alert than usual. His classmates under the shade tents waved him over, but he only nodded in acknowledgment. No way was he squeezing into that sweaty, sticky crowd.

So after scanning the stands, he zeroed in on the empty spot beside this quiet guy.

A breeze blew through, and the stifling, sticky air finally started to move.

Jiang Ling glanced at the guy beside him and, out of politeness, asked, “Do you want some water?” On his way over, many people offered him water, but he’d mostly declined, only accepting two bottles from the logistics team. His eyes fell on the pale face of the guy beside him, flushed from the heat, and his slightly dry lips. Without much hesitation, he handed over a bottle. "Here."

The boy looked at him, looked away, looked back, looked away again, then finally took it with a quiet "Thanks."

Jiang Ling: "..."

He touched his face. Do I have something on it? Why won’t this guy look at me? Did I bother him by sitting here?

17.

As Xu Zhou held the cold bottle in his hand, his heart was pounding uncontrollably. He wasn’t sure if it was from the carb coma or from heatstroke, but the dizziness seemed to be getting worse.

So handsome.

He stole a glance.

So handsome.

He stole another glance.

The condensation dripped onto his palm, cooling his skin, but his chest still burned like sunlight. The little bit of disappointment he had felt from being excluded by his classmates strangely disappeared, as if his damp clothes had been dried under the sun, becoming warm and dry. Xu Zhou’s ability to communicate with others was basically nonexistent, and he had never unlocked the skill for initiating conversations. Now, all he could do was lower his head and stare at their shadows on the ground, repeatedly praising the handsome guy next to him for being beautiful inside and out.

The shadow on the ground shifted. The guy leaned a little closer.

18.

The sports events on the field were somewhere in the middle, and the cheers grew louder with each passing moment. Amid the deafening roar of the crowd, Jiang Ling slightly leaned forward and looked down at Xu Zhou with a polite tone, asking, “Did I disturb you?”

His deep, pleasant voice rang in Xu Zhou’s ears, causing his eyelashes to flutter, his pupils to dilate, as if Medusa herself had fixed her gaze upon him. He froze in place, feeling the blood rush to his earlobes. Xu Zhou couldn't even remember the last time someone was this close to him. It felt as though there were tiny people running frantically in his mind, banging on a control panel glowing red, shouting, OVERHEATING! SYSTEM FAILURE!!! SYSTEM FAILURE!!!

He forced himself to calm down and managed to push out a slightly off-pitch “no” from his throat.

After speaking, Xu Zhou sighed in relief, thinking the conversation was over.

He quietly lifted his eyes.

The strands of hair on Jiang Ling’s forehead were lifted by the breeze, still giving off that aloof, high-and-mighty aura. But the corners of his lips had subtly curved up, and the dimple on his cheek faintly appeared.

“That’s good.”

19.

Long after the festival, after the leaves browned and the snow buried them, that afternoon’s Jiang Ling lingered in Xu Zhou’s dreams, always carrying the faint dry scent of sunlight.

Sometimes, he wondered if it had even happened. But real or not, Jiang Ling had cemented himself as the focal point of Xu Zhou’s world. To Xu Zhou, spotting Jiang Ling was like finding the only unique flower in a field of identical ones.

20.

It wasn’t just his eyes that followed Jiang Ling. Something else, something nameless, pulled at him too. He started noticing Jiang Ling everywhere.

He learned that Jiang Ling was the super genius who transferred last semester and immediately claimed the top spot in the grade’s rankings, the school’s face on the confession wall, and the unofficial campus heartthrob. He was the kind of person who couldn’t possibly be overlooked in a crowd, the kind of person who seemed to always stand under the spotlight no matter where he went.

Compared to someone like him, Xu Zhou couldn’t help but feel that the corners of the crowds he usually stayed in were a little darker.

21.

Do humans have phototaxis too?

Xu Zhou wasn’t an anthropologist, but he’d spent a lot of time thinking about it and was pretty sure that they did. Not just phototaxis, but reckless phototaxis, like moths kamikaze-ing into streetlights. For example, him. He couldn’t help but follow Jiang Ling around. When Jiang Ling went up to the third floor of the cafeteria, Xu Zhou would quietly change his lunch plans to follow him.

Jiang Ling took the subway after school? Xu Zhou boarded the same train, sitting at the opposite end of the car.

...

Somehow, following Jiang Ling had become part of his daily routine. No talking? Fine. No walking side by side? Fine. This distance was enough. Just seeing his back was enough.

This is how us socially anxious folks roll, Xu Zhou mused cheerfully.

22.

Like right now. The moment Jiang Ling stepped out of the cafeteria, Xu Zhou followed.

23.

The midday sun bleached the world white, the shrubs exhaling green, earthy scents. Shadows pooled at their feet like obedient little dogs.

Xu Zhou expertly kept his distance from Jiang Ling, always staying about five steps behind. When Jiang Ling walked, he walked. When Jiang Ling stopped, he stopped. Whenever Jiang Ling turned around, Xu Zhou would immediately crouch down and pretend to be looking at an ant.

What flawless acting!

What keen observation skills!

What unshakable composure!

As he watched Jiang Ling walk ahead, unaware of him, Xu Zhou almost wanted to award himself a banner for his excellent "pretend to be going the same way" skill.

But just as he was considering what to write on the banner, Jiang Ling suddenly stopped.

24.

Huh? Why’d he stop?

Xu Zhou, puzzled, glanced over and saw Jiang Ling walk up to a vending machine, insert a coin, and grab a drink.

Oh, the heat must be getting to him. He’s buying a drink.

Xu Zhou mentally congratulated himself for his sharp detective skills, crouching down to "tie his shoelaces" while waiting for Jiang Ling to finish. As he looked up, though, he realized Jiang Ling had somehow appeared right in front of him, his dark eyes faintly amused.

25.

A can of peach-flavored iced soda was gently placed on the ground in front of Xu Zhou.It was only then that Xu Zhou realized Jiang Ling had bought two drinks, one of which was already opened, and the other had been given to him. Droplets slid down the can, vanishing into the concrete. The sun was too bright so Xu Zhou couldn’t make out Jiang Ling’s expression, but he only heard his voice, "The dorm’s up ahead."

Jiang Ling had applied for the dorm, and he usually took a nap at school in the afternoons. But Xu Zhou had never stayed at the school dorms, and that building clearly didn’t have a room for him.

Xu Zhou’s heart skipped a beat, and he stiffened, thinking, This is bad. Does Jiang Ling realize I’ve been following him on purpose?

But Jiang Ling didn’t say anything further. Instead, he spoke in his usual indifferent tone, "Have the drink then go rest."