Thirteen Wonders (ShíSānYāo) : Chapter 12 - West Wind, North Wind
Chapter 12: West Wind, North Wind
Do you know Thirteen Wonders(Shisan Yao)?
It’s a unique way of winning in Mahjong.
The composition of this hand is slightly different from the usual. You need to hold one of each of the following tiles: One Wan, Nine Wan, One Tong, Nine Tong, One Tiao, Nine Tiao. Then, you also need one of each of the East, South, West, North, Red Dragon, Green Dragon, and White Dragon tiles.
With all these tiles in hand, you are merely one tile away from winning. To complete the hand, you need to draw just one more tile—any from East, South, West, North, Red Dragon, Green Dragon, or White Dragon.
In this special Thirteen Wonders hand, there are fourteen tiles in total, but only two of them will be completely identical.
Those two identical tiles will form the only pair in the hand.
There is one and only one pair.
——
Chen Xuze was working on problems in the empty classroom during lunch break. Zhou Yao and Ying Nian had gone to eat, bringing along Zheng Yingying, who normally wouldn’t have dared to hang out with the legendary ‘Ying Nian.’
It was a girls’ gathering, so the boys knew better than to intrude. After eating, his group of friends scattered early, saying they’d go to a milk tea shop to kill time.
Chen Xuze wasn’t interested. He turned back to the classroom alone. The other students hadn’t returned from lunch yet. Hands in his pockets, he walked unhurriedly to his seat, his gaze steady and uninterested in anything around him.
From behind, his slightly slouched shoulders made him look completely unmotivated—like the kind of student who would spend every class slumped over his desk, dozing off instead of paying attention.
Perhaps this was what they meant when they said, ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’ He looked like a delinquent, exuding an air of careless defiance. A little intimidating, maybe.
And yet, there were always people who couldn’t resist—moths drawn to the flame—thinking they could be the exception.
Liang Li walked in. Chen Xuze heard the footsteps. Unlike his familiar group of brothers, this was someone he knew well. After years of knowing each other, he could tell who it was just by the sound of their steps.
He couldn’t be bothered to look up. He wasn’t interested in other people’s business.
Until a shadow fell across his desk. Liang Li’s slender waist was wrapped in a school uniform that had been altered to fit her better, making her figure seem even more delicate.
“You didn’t go to the milk tea shop?”
Her voice was soft and sweet, yet clear. The smile she wore now was different from the one she had when they first met. She no longer looked fragile and innocent. Instead, there was a sharp glint in her eyes—one that only smart people would understand.
Chen Xuze leaned back slightly, spinning the pen between his fingers, tilting his gaze up at her.
But his words weren’t exactly polite. He was blunt and to the point. “What does that have to do with you?”
Liang Li wasn’t offended. She didn’t act pitiful either. Without the pretense, her smile actually seemed more genuine.
“Tsk.” She wrinkled her nose. “So mean. Other than Zhou Yao, do you ever talk nicely to anyone?”
The spinning pen in his fingers came to a halt. Chen Xuze’s expression remained lazy and indifferent. He didn’t see her as anything special. In fact, his next reply was even shorter than before—
“—None. Of. Your. Damn. Business.”
Liang Li’s smile faded slightly, but she didn’t drop the conversation. Instead, she continued, still looking directly at him. “You like Zhou Yao, don’t you?”
“Other than her, I think pretty much everyone can see it.”
She took a small step forward, the hem of her skirt swaying like the edge of a lotus leaf drifting in the wind. Or maybe it was just that Liang Li herself was different from others—there was something graceful even in the way she sat down.
She lowered herself into the seat in front of him, facing him directly, her eyes meeting his without hesitation.
“I can help you.”
“Don’t you want to know if Zhou Yao likes you back?”
“If she cared about you even a little, then she wouldn’t be indifferent to my presence.”
……
On Saturday afternoon, a group of friends gathered at Jiang Jiashu’s villa for a barbecue. Ying Nian, being his cousin, had been there countless times before. She lounged on the sofa like a boss, only bothering to skewer a few green peppers before dumping the rest of the ‘hard labor’ onto Jiang Jiashu.
Jiang Jiashu swore under his breath, cursing while his hands moved non-stop—like a mother hen fussing over everything.
But that was just their sibling dynamic—no one else had the right to interfere.
As Ying Nian lounged on the sofa, she suddenly noticed a blister forming on the bottom of her foot. She reached down to touch it and winced in pain, immediately complaining, “It must be from walking too much earlier. My delicate little feet! I got a blister! This is all your fault, Jiang Jiashu, you damn pervert!”
“How the hell is that my fault?!” Jiang Jiashu snapped, still skewering meat. Furious, he turned around. “Say that one more time, and I swear I’ll grill you instead!”
They bickered back and forth. Ying Nian tugged at his sleeve, Jiang Jiashu elbowed her away. They were one step away from an all-out brawl.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yao, more concerned about her friend’s injury, asked worriedly, “Niannian, does it hurt? Do you want some ointment?”
Ying Nian sniffled dramatically, immediately letting go of Jiang Jiashu and kicking him once for good measure. “Get lost, heartless bastard!” Then, she turned to Zhou Yao, her tone completely different as she whined, “It hurts so bad! You’re the only one who cares about me, Yaoyao!”
Jiang Jiashu rolled his eyes and said to Zhou Yao, “Upstairs, second room on the left. There’s a sewing kit in the drawer. Go grab a needle and pop her damn blister before she keeps whining all night.”
Zhou Yao immediately agreed, putting down what she was doing and heading upstairs.
She followed Jiang Jiashu’s directions, found the sewing kit in the drawer, and checked inside to make sure there were needles. Grabbing one, she held it between her fingers and hurried back down.
But as she turned a corner on the staircase—she unexpectedly ran into Liang Li.
“Ah.” Zhou Yao paused for a moment before greeting her.
“Hello!” Liang Li smiled brightly. “The restroom downstairs was occupied, so I had to come up to the second floor.”
Zhou Yao nodded, not particularly interested in her explanation.
Just as she was about to head down, Liang Li suddenly called out to her. “Oh, by the way, tonight, the guys are having a mixer—” She paused briefly. “I mean, they’ve arranged to meet up with the girls from our art class at the cake shop on Rixin Street. Did you know about it?”
Zhou Yao's expression remained neutral. “No.”
“The shop on Rixin Street is super popular. You even need to make a reservation just to get desserts! If they hadn’t planned this in advance, it would’ve been really hard to get a spot.” Liang Li spoke casually, the corners of her lips curving up. “Chen Xuze will be there tonight too. Do you want to come with me? I can introduce you to the girls in our class!”
Meeting Liang Li's gaze at that moment felt like an eternity—yet only a fleeting second had passed.
Zhou Yao didn’t hesitate. “No need. I’m not interested in crowded places.”
“Oh, really?” Liang Li seemed intrigued. “But the barbecue earlier had quite a lot of people, and you still came. I thought you were the type to prefer staying home alone.”
After a few exchanged words, they had already lingered on the stairs for too long. Zhou Yao said, “Sorry, I need to get a needle for Niannian—”
Before she could finish, Liang Li tugged at the oversized sleeves covering half her hands, swaying playfully as she hopped down the stairs.
“I'm heading down first, bye!”
She left even before Zhou Yao did.
Only Zhou Yao remained at the stairwell's corner, a spot hidden from the window's light, shrouded in shadows when the lamp wasn't on. From the first floor's perspective, this place was barely visible.
Zhou Yao stood still for a moment. Under the dim glow of the unlit vintage lamp, she lowered her gaze—and suddenly, a silent smile appeared on her lips.
The needle between her fingers gleamed coldly.
“I…”
She murmured to herself, voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
“I don't hate sharp things at all.”
Zhou Yao fixed her gaze on the needle's point. Without warning, she pricked her own fingertip. The sharp end pierced through her delicate skin, and a bead of blood surfaced. She pressed her thumb against her index finger, smearing the thin layer of crimson between them.
She rubbed her fingers together. The taste of blood was faint, and the pain barely left a mark in her mind.
Then she turned slightly toward the stairwell’s corner, her eyes curving into a crescent-moon smile.
“But—”
“Once something sharp pierces through, it really does become quite annoying.”
……
That evening, with no night classes, Zhou Yao returned home early. Her mother noticed she came back alone and asked curiously, “Where's Shisan? Didn't you two come home together today?”
Zhou Yao answered softly, “I don't know.”
She quickly walked into her room and closed the door.
Her mother frowned. “This personality of hers—I don't even know who she takes after!”
Zhou Yao sat quietly at her desk, reading. Before eight o’clock, someone suddenly called her from outside the window. She leaned over her desk and peered out. Under the thin veil of night, Chen Xuze stood in front of the building, gazing up at her, holding something in his hand.
Zhou Yao put on a jacket and went downstairs to meet him. They stood in a secluded corner where they were less likely to be seen by neighbors. The cold breeze stung a little, and Zhou Yao sniffed.
“Is the mixer over already?”
She asked casually, hands tucked into her pockets.
Chen Xuze glanced at her. “You knew?”
“Liang Li told me.”
He fell silent for a moment and didn’t continue the topic.
Zhou Yao seemed colder than usual. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back upstairs—I was in the middle of reading.”
Chen Xuze grabbed her wrist, stopping her. They stood face-to-face. “Are you mad?”
Zhou Yao shook her head. Now it was Chen Xuze’s turn to stay quiet. Suddenly, she smiled and asked, “Are you mad?”
His expression carried a hint of helplessness. From behind his back, he brought forward the hand that had been hidden. He held out what he had been carrying—a small box.
“This cake shop's strawberry cake is really good. It’s hard to get a number in line. Since they got a reservation today, I bought one before returning.”
No wonder the mixer had ended so early.
It started at 7:30, and he was already back before 8.
Zhou Yao took the cake. She shifted her weight slightly, then suddenly looked up and asked, “Do you like Liang Li?”
“No,” he answered without hesitation.
Then Chen Xuze asked, “Do you like Liang Li?”
Zhou Yao replied, “No.”
A brief silence followed. Then she smiled—a warm, radiant smile. Chen Xuze didn’t smile, but the warmth in her expression crashed into his eyes, seeping in bit by bit, spreading through every inch of his heart, until it filled the space completely.
“Stay and eat cake with me. I don’t want to go back inside,” Zhou Yao said, squatting against the wall. Without a word, Chen Xuze crouched beside her.
The cake was sweet, and the strawberries had a perfect balance of tartness and sugar. The flavor was enticing. Chen Xuze didn’t eat a single bite. Instead, he turned slightly and watched as Zhou Yao’s cheeks puffed with every bite she took. At that moment, his heart felt like it had transformed into a vast strawberry field.
The scent of strawberries filled the air, and for that fleeting moment, nothing else mattered.
Zhou Yao, eating her cake, suddenly reminisced. “Do you remember, a long time ago, there was this chubby kid in the alley who tried to steal my milk tea?”
“I remember.” Anything related to her—he had never forgotten.
“He's really bad, you know? I had barely taken a few sips, and he already wanted to snatch it from me.” Zhou Yao pouted as she spoke while eating. “Later, he threw a tantrum and rolled on the ground, and my parents even told me to give it to him. I was so mad.”
But in reality, Zhou Yao didn’t give in.
She was well-behaved and rarely went against her parents. But that one time, she refused to hand over the milk tea in her grasp. When the chubby boy lunged to grab it, she caught his arm and bit down hard.
Her sharp little teeth broke his skin. In the end, the whole thing escalated into a situation where the adults had to apologize to each other, and naturally, Zhou Yao got scolded when she got home.
Even now, Zhou Yao still thought about it sometimes.
Why should she have given it up?
She suddenly smiled, realizing that the cake was nearly gone and that she hadn't given Chen Xuze even a single bite. Without thinking much, she lifted a finger, tapped it against his forehead, and traced down the bridge of his straight, elegant nose until she stopped at the tip.
“No more cake. You can just smell it instead.”
She chuckled to herself. Chen Xuze didn’t resist and simply let her do as she pleased.
Zhou Yao’s finger lingered on the tip of his nose for a long time as she gazed into his eyes.
Those eyes were as deep as the night. Many people found them intimidating, but she thought they were breathtakingly beautiful.
Sharp teeth breaking through someone’s skin, the sickly taste of blood—it was just like the bitterness and hardships she had endured while growing up. Impossible to forget.
Her life had been difficult. She had struggled. She had fought, and she continued to fight.
In Zhou Yao’s wild imagination, she often felt that this world—sometimes like heaven, sometimes like hell—was actually as simple as a cup of drink.
Some people's cups were filled with sweetness. Some had a slight tang. And some, when shaken, released nothing but the thick scent of bitterness.
She had only ever had one sip in her eighteen years of life.
Chen Xuze was that sip.
The one and only sip of sweet milk tea that could soothe her entire existence.
——
Zhou Yao’s cake-scented fingertip tapped against Chen Xuze’s nose again and again.
She curled her lips into a soft smile.
She thought back to the time when that chubby boy had tried to snatch her drink. Back then, she had refused to give up even a little. The things she didn’t care about, didn’t want, or didn’t like—those, she could let her parents take and give away to others.
But the things that mattered to her.
The things she wanted. The things she liked.
The things she loved the most—
She wouldn’t give them to anyone.
Want to take it?
Then try and take it.
Come on, I dare you.
The author has something to say:
My big villain and my little psycho, my Shisan and my Yaoyao, I love them.
I bet that person didn’t expect to push Yaoyao into revealing the darkness inside her, huh? Absolutely 666.
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