Thirteen Wonders (ShíSānYāo) : Chapter 20 - Fortune Whiteboard
Chapter 20: Fortune Whiteboard
The incident of Zhou Yao and Chen Xuze being attacked gradually faded, the turmoil settled, and no one talked much about it anymore. However, whenever people saw Chen Xuze, a sense of regret inevitably arose.
While others were busy gossiping, Zhou Yao and Ying Nian noticed something was off—Zheng Yinyin hadn’t been doing well lately. Not only had she been interacting with them less and rarely reaching out, but they often saw her walking alone in the corners of the school, head down, looking gloomy and lost in thought, as if she had no soul.
During a break, Zhou Yao and Ying Nian found Zheng Yinyin in the third-floor restroom. She was applying lipstick in front of the mirror. When she saw the two of them appear, she froze slightly.
“Yaoyao, Ying Nian…”
“What are you doing here?” Ying Nian asked curiously.
“Nothing, my lips are a bit dry, so I’m just touching up my lipst—”
Before she could finish saying ‘stick,’ Zhou Yao suddenly reached out and wiped hard at the corner of her lips. Zheng Yinyin winced in pain and instinctively shuddered, letting out a sharp ‘hiss’ as she shrank back.
Zhou Yao’s thumb was in clear view of all three of them, and for once, her tone sounded slightly cold. “Dry lips, so you're applying lipstick?”
The lipstick she wiped away revealed a faint bluish mark at the corner of Zheng Yinyin’s lips, with a cracked wound on the inner edge.
Ying Nian’s eyes widened. “Who hit you? Who did this?! Damn, someone actually dared to touch my people? Do they have a death wish?” She grabbed Zheng Yinyin, ready to drag her away. “Come on, tell me who that blind fool is, I’ll make sure they eat dirt!”
Zheng Yinyin gently pried her hand away and shook her head. “It’s nothing, I just accidentally hurt myself.”
Zhou Yao and Ying Nian exchanged a glance—Zheng Yinyin was clearly avoiding the topic. Before they could say anything else, she had already lowered her head and quickly walked out.
……
From the corner of the teaching building, standing at the bend, they could see the pavilion below. That particular table was often used as a dining spot; students who brought their own lunches would sometimes gather there to eat together.
Zhou Yao and Ying Nian watched without looking away. In the pavilion, Zheng Yinyin sat on the left, while to her right was a tall, clean-looking boy with soft, neatly trimmed hair that had a slight golden sheen under the sunlight.
The boy was clearly the leader of the group—everyone was talking and laughing with him. He seemed to take special care of Zheng Yinyin, picking out three or four side dishes from his lunchbox and placing them in hers. His gestures were intimate, and he occasionally leaned in close to her neck to speak.
Zheng Yinyin liked him. Though her movements carried a hint of shyness and an inexplicable hesitation, she seemed to bask in his presence, as if soaking in the warmth of the sun.
“Look over there,” Ying Nian folded her arms and tilted her chin toward a girl in the group. Zhou Yao glanced over, and after just two seconds, she caught a subtle but unmistakable shift in the girl’s expression.
A faint stiffness and a barely perceptible trace of displeasure—hidden behind a smile, making it seem like it didn’t exist.
Zheng Yinyin seemed afraid of her. She never once looked in that girl’s direction.
As Zhou Yao and Ying Nian were still processing this, they suddenly saw the boy who had been serving Zheng Yinyin food casually take a piece of vegetable from the other girl’s bowl. Her smile immediately became more radiant as she laughed and teased him, pretending to reach for his lunchbox with her chopsticks as well.
The situation was already clear.
Zhou Yao suddenly said, “Niannian, I only care about this because Zheng Yinyin is my friend. But dragging you into this… would it be too much trouble for you?”
“You actually think I’m not kind at all?!” Ying Nian instantly went into dramatic mode, covering half her face and fake-crying, “I don’t want to live anymore! My dear Yaoyao actually thinks of me this way—do you really see me as such a cold, heartless, indifferent person?”
With a sudden movement, she turned and clung to the railing as if she was about to jump.
Zhou Yao, both amused and exasperated, quickly pulled her back. Once she was steady, she said, “I was just worried you’d find this troublesome.”
“It’s no trouble at all.” Ying Nian smirked mischievously. “You don’t know, do you? My favorite thing to do is—beat! Up! Jerks!”
……
The day after Zhou Yao and Ying Nian confronted Zheng Yinyin in the restroom, they, along with Chen Xuze and Jiang Jiashu, headed to the kendo club’s practice room after class.
“Got everything figured out?”
“Crystal clear. That girl is the current captain of the kendo club, her name is Lin Youyun.”
Zhou Yao didn’t know this, but those who had directly advanced to No. 7 High School did. Back in middle school, the school produced various ‘clubs’ based on the island school system, an. After years, they had become the school’s defining features—supposedly to promote students’ physical and mental development.
As they approached the kendo club’s window, they saw Lin Youyun calling out Zheng Yinyin by name. “Zheng Yinyin! You, step up! You got everything wrong yesterday, do it again today!”
No one around said anything. Zheng Yinyin timidly shuffled forward in small steps, which only earned her more scolding.
“Didn’t eat or what? No strength at all!”
Lin Youyun glared at her, handing her a wooden sword. The two of them took their stances, facing each other.
At the command, Zheng Yinyin barely moved, while Lin Youyun’s strikes landed on her with sharp, loud smacks—some even directly hitting her bare hands.
Zhou Yao’s expression darkened, and Ying Nian’s face turned grim as well. “What kind of kendo is this? This is just beating someone up!”
Inside, Zheng Yinyin made no attempt to fight back. Or perhaps she was simply too afraid of Lin Youyun. She remained completely passive, enduring the blows without moving. In the end, she collapsed onto the ground, panting. Lin Youyun planted her wooden sword on the floor and scanned the others. “See that? That’s what happens to weaklings!”
Ying Nian couldn’t hold back any longer. She grabbed her ponytail with both hands, yanking it tight in frustration, then turned to Zhou Yao. “I’m going in! If I look too cool in there, don’t fall for me, alright?”
Zhou Yao, for once, played along. “If you’re too cool… I just might.”
Although it was an untimely moment, Senior Ying Nian grinned even more happily.
Behind them, Chen Xuze discreetly tugged on Jiang Jiashu’s sleeve and asked in a low voice, “When is the SF team’s next match?”
“Ah?”
“One or two years from now, whatever. I’ll pay for Ying Nian to go watch.”
Jiang Jiashu: “…”
As Ying Nian walked in with her backpack, Lin Youyun turned her head upon hearing footsteps and frowned. “Who are you? We’re practicing in the kendo club. Please leave.”
“Ying Nian.” Without any extra words, she directly stated her name.
These two words carried weight at No. 7 High School. Even if they didn’t recognize her face, they had definitely heard of her.
Sure enough, upon hearing the name, Lin Youyun’s expression stiffened slightly, and her previously rude attitude became more restrained.
“What can I do for you?”
Ying Nian didn’t explain her reason for coming. She simply glanced around the room and remarked, “So this is what the kendo club looks like now?” Her gaze finally landed on Lin Youyun. “Following this trend of imitating Japanese clubs, you all should be calling me ‘senpai’ based on seniority.”
She was a senior in high school and had been the kendo club’s captain before she left. She was indeed their senior. Lin Youyun’s face darkened. “You’ve already graduated from the club.”
Ying Nian let out a mocking laugh. “So I can’t visit after graduation?”
With that, she unzipped her backpack, pulled out a medal, and dropped it onto the table with a loud thud. Then another. And another.
Three golden championship medals—symbols of the highest level of kendo for middle and high school students nationwide.
In addition, she took out a red certificate: “No. 7 High School Kendo Club Permanent Honorary Certificate.”
“When I was competing, you all were probably still in middle school. Or elementary school.”
“These three medals earned me this certificate. Do you understand what that means? The principal said it himself when presenting the award—no matter when, as long as I, Ying Nian, step into this kendo club classroom, I am your senior! If there were walls here, my picture should already be hanging on them, watching you all. Even you, the so-called current captain, should be bowing to me according to the Japanese customs you love so much!”
Ying Nian pointed directly at Lin Youyun. “If you don’t have the qualifications or the strength, don’t waste my time with nonsense!”
The entire room fell into a stunned silence. No one dared to speak. Even breathing seemed hushed.
Lin Youyun’s face shifted between several colors—arrogance at first, but now paling rapidly. So this was the legendary Ying Nian, the name that was known throughout No. 7 High School.
After a long moment, Lin Youyun’s voice weakened significantly. “S-Senior Ying Nian… what brings you here today?”
Ying Nian didn’t mention Zheng Yinyin. She simply said, “To spar. I heard there are some impressive newcomers in the club, so I want to test them.”
Then she pointed straight at Lin Youyun. “You. Step out and fight me.”
Lin Youyun was stunned, her face stiff.
Ying Nian hated hesitation. “Don’t waste my time. My time is precious. Move it!”
Since she had been called out, Lin Youyun had no choice but to accept the challenge.
Among the members, some who were close to Lin Youyun whispered, “Sh-She might not necessarily lose, right? She quit in her second year of high school and hasn’t practiced for a year. The captain might not lose.”
A few others nodded, as if comforting themselves.
But imagination is always beautiful, while reality is cruel. Lin Youyun ended up just like Zheng Yinyin earlier—beaten helplessly, scrambling for footing. Yet every move Ying Nian made was by the book. This was what kendo truly was.
Lin Youyun became nothing more than a target for Ying Nian to score points off of. There was no need for a referee; in the end, she tripped over herself and fell to the ground. Looking up at Ying Nian, who towered over her, she could see only contempt in those downward-looking eyes.
“I didn’t land a single hit outside the proper zones. Yet you can’t even stand straight, and you still have the nerve to teach others? Is this the current standard of the kendo club? Where’s your dignity?”
Lin Youyun’s face alternated between green and white, then flushed a deep red. She had lost all her authority today.
She took a deep breath and finally couldn’t hold back her frustration anymore. She shot up and demanded, “What did I ever do to offend you? Why are you here? We have no grievances, so why are you humiliating me like this?!”
Ying Nian tilted her head slightly and pointed at Zheng Yinyin, who was still curled up in pain in the corner. Her answer was straightforward: “She’s a senior. Let her quit the club.”
No. 7 High School had a rule that seniors had to leave clubs to focus on college entrance exams. But Zheng Yinyin was clearly an exception.
Lin Youyun’s eyes flickered. “She’s an excellent member. I can’t—”
“Excellent? You mean the kind that gets beaten black and blue by you?” Ying Nian’s retort left no room for argument.
Lin Youyun tried to use the teacher as an excuse. “A withdrawal requires the supervising teacher’s signature. Teacher Zhou is always busy, and this—”
“Which Teacher Zhou? Give me the name. I’ll go find her.” Ying Nian exuded dominance, standing alone yet intimidating an entire room. Feeling tired, she casually tossed her practice sword to a club member, jumped onto the table, and swung her legs idly, looking every bit like a delinquent straight out of a Japanese drama.
“You see, I just so happen to be an outstanding student representative. The principal likes to chat with me now and then. If you tell me which teacher is too ‘busy’ to sign a simple withdrawal form for a senior, I’ll personally go pay them a visit. Let’s see if they’re actually too busy to see me.”
At this point, Lin Youyun had no more excuses.
Ying Nian was well prepared—she took out a withdrawal form and slammed it onto the table. Her voice was commanding: “Sign it. Now. I’ll take care of the rest.”
Lin Youyun stepped forward but suddenly hesitated. She looked up sharply. “You haven’t even asked Zheng Yinyin what she wants!”
Across the room, under everyone’s gaze, Zheng Yinyin slowly got up, still trembling in pain.
Ying Nian wasn’t entirely sure what was on Zheng Yinyin’s mind. For the sake of a boy, she had stayed in a place where she was relentlessly tormented by a love rival—what choice would she make in the end? No one could say.
But some things still had to be said.
Ying Nian looked straight at her and said, “Zheng Yinyin, listen carefully. I’m only coming here today, just this once. You know who’s standing outside the window—see for yourself. If it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t even bother with this. You have only this one chance, so think carefully. The decision is yours. If you want to stay here, then just pretend I was never here today, and pretend that everything Zhou Yao did never happened.”
Time seemed to freeze.
Zheng Yinyin clutched her injuries and looked at Ying Nian, who stood tall and firm. She was fearless, able to face everything Yinyin had always been afraid of. Meanwhile, she herself had walked into this place because of just one sentence from someone, and had stayed for three whole years.
After a long while, tears suddenly welled up in Zheng Yinyin’s eyes and streamed down her face, as if she had suddenly come to a realization.
She said:
“I want to leave the club.”
……
That night, Zhou Yao and Zheng Yinyin stayed over at Ying Nian’s house. The three girls wrapped themselves in blankets, chatting in the cozy, heated room, eating fruit and talking about everything. The atmosphere couldn’t have been better.
Only when the topic turned to the boy who had made Zheng Yinyin act foolish for three years did they fail to hold back from cursing him a little.
“What exactly do you like about him? He doesn’t even look that great,” Ying Nian said in disgust.
“He…” Zheng Yinyin lowered her lashes. “I don’t even know. The first time I met him, he was sitting across from me. He had very fair skin, and his smile was really nice. I accidentally knocked over the cup next to me, and he immediately crouched down to clean it up, saying, ‘It’s okay, it’s okay,’ while reminding me, ‘Be careful not to cut your hand.’”
“At that moment, when he looked up and spoke to me with that smile, all of a sudden, I just felt like… this person was really different.”
People who weren’t in love would never understand that feeling. Ying Nian shook her head. “But he wasn’t just nice to you. Look at him—he treats all girls the same way. Didn’t that make you feel bad?”
Of course, it did. He was so gentle with her, so much so that sometimes it made her feel like she was special. But in reality, he treated Lin Youyun, and even more people, the exact same way.
“He once said that Lin Youyun’s kendo club was short on members. Just because of that one sentence, I joined the club. I never expected…”
“Ugh, you’re such an idiot,” Ying Nian sighed in sympathy.
“And—” Zheng Yinyin’s voice suddenly choked up. She lowered her head, and a teardrop fell from her eyes. “I thought that when he kissed me, it was because he liked me. But… but… he kissed Lin Youyun the same way, with the exact same expression…”
Ying Nian and Zhou Yao were both shocked. Ying Nian immediately blurted, “You didn’t… you didn’t actually—”
Zheng Yinyin shook her head. “No, nothing happened between us.”
“Oh, thank god,” Ying Nian patted her chest in relief.
“He said I was different. That the guilt he felt when rejecting me, the pain in his heart, was unique. I believed that. But thinking about it now, all of it meant nothing, didn’t it? Otherwise, why is it that every time I had a conflict with Lin Youyun—even after we reached senior year, when she started using training as an excuse to beat me up—he always just played the peacemaker and never actually did anything about it?”
In the first two semesters, Lin Youyun hadn’t done anything to Zheng Yinyin. But as time passed, maybe from holding back too long, or maybe because the intimacy between Zheng Yinyin and that boy had grown, she had finally lost control and begun finding excuses to bully her.
As she talked about these things, Zheng Yinyin’s eyes turned red, and she quietly shed tears, not even making a sound.
Ying Nian couldn’t help but feel bad for her. “You idiot! Of course, scumbags always make everyone think they’re special. That’s how they trick people! But don’t worry, you’re still young. You’ll definitely meet someone way better in the future—ten thousand times better than him!”
“…Really?”
Zheng Yinyin smiled weakly.
Suddenly, Zhou Yao pulled out a tissue and wiped her tears away. “Do you remember in middle school, when I had an old leg injury? No one knew, and walking was really painful. That day, I was walking up the stairs super slowly. No one noticed, except you. You stopped, looked at me, and reached out your hand, asking, ‘Are you hurt? Do you want me to help you?’”
Zheng Yinyin froze. It had been so long ago that she barely remembered. “I did?”
“Of course you did.” Zhou Yao wiped away her tears. “Don’t just think about how good other people are. Sometimes, you should also remember that you’re actually a really great person too, right?”
That one sentence made Zheng Yinyin’s tears fall even harder.
Zhou Yao wiped them all away and softly said, “Silly girl, in life, you’ll meet a lot of trash. Some of them, you’ll mistake for treasures and hold onto tightly. But if you don’t learn to throw the trash away in time, then when life finally wants to give you something truly valuable, what will you have left to catch it with?”
Those warm eyes, so gentle and kind—Zheng Yinyin stared into Zhou Yao’s brown irises for a long moment, then suddenly, she threw herself into her arms and cried even harder.
The two of them hugged tightly. Ying Nian sniffled and said, “Wow, this is so touching…” Then she suddenly shouted, “I don’t care—I want in too!” and immediately pounced over, turning their hug into a group embrace.
The room was filled with the scent of early winter.
……
Chen Xuze and Jiang Jiashu had been playing basketball near Ying Nian’s house. Before heading back, as usual, they called Zhou Yao out to meet them. Jiang Jiashu was very considerate and left them alone to talk.
Seeing the lip gloss on Zhou Yao’s lips, Chen Xuze frowned. “What’s that?”
“Oh, this?” Zhou Yao pointed at her lips and smiled. “It’s Ying Nian’s. She opened a new lipstick, and we were just playing around with it. I was the first one to try it!”
Chen Xuze stared at her lips for two seconds. “You got some on the edge.”
“Did I?”
He didn’t say anything. He just reached out and wiped her lip corner with his fingertip.
They chatted a little more before Zhou Yao said goodbye and jogged back to Ying Nian’s house.
Chen Xuze, however, didn’t move. He stood there for a long, long time without budging. Lowering his gaze, he stared at his fingertip, still stained with a trace of lip gloss. Slowly, he lifted his hand to his lips, stuck out his tongue, and lightly licked that lingering sweetness.
The surroundings were quiet for a long time.
Chen Xuze turned to leave—only to suddenly realize that, not far ahead, Jiang Jiashu was standing there, clutching his basketball, staring at him in absolute horror.
“I… I didn’t see anything…”
“I was just passing by…”
“I was just—”
His entire expression screamed three words: survival instincts.
……
Before getting on the bus, the two of them stopped by a convenience store to buy some water.
Chen Xuze rarely initiated conversation. “Didn’t you just ask me why I like Zhou Yao?”
“Huh? Oh, right!” Jiang Jiashu wouldn't miss out on a juicy piece of gossip. His interest was immediately piqued. “Why?”
“Because—”
A sudden roar of traffic drowned out his voice as a line of cars sped past.
Jiang Jiashu was dumbfounded. He jumped up in frustration. “Wait, wait, wait! I didn’t hear that! Say it again!”
Chen Xuze glanced at him but couldn’t be bothered to repeat himself. He simply walked into the convenience store.
Jiang Jiashu trailed behind him, his persistent questioning clinging to him like an annoying tail—no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake it off.
Youth was in its prime, and under the crisp night sky, warm white mist slowly rose into the air.
——
Zhou Yao—why did he like her?
Chen Xuze couldn’t quite put it into words.
But later, he slowly began to understand. She was different.
She was like a flower reaching for the sun, growing from the darkest, dampest mud yet still breaking through the soil, striving fearlessly toward the warmth and light.
She never harbored malice. Her heart was soft and gentle.
Even when covered in wounds, she still held onto boundless love, embracing this not-so-lovely world with all her strength.
Whether Zhou Yao wanted to create or destroy, whether she was bright or shadowed, as long as she wished, Chen Xuze was willing to walk beside her.
Her hugs smelled like oranges.
Her smile curved like a crescent moon.
Her tears could seep through and soften the hardest soil in his heart.
Zhou Yao loved the world.
And Chen Xuze loved her.
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