"I like her."

Wu Jie muttered.

"I know."

I also answered bluntly.

"That's right."

Wu Jie also said directly.

Then Wu Jie began to tell me the reason why he liked Tang Ling.

The first time Wu Jie saw Tang Ling was in the examination room of Xiaoshengchu.

Our school is a very good junior and senior high school, and the entrance exam is very difficult. At that time, Wu Jie seemed to have a high fever on the day of the exam because of the flu. Wu Jie stiffened up and finally took the exam. But he was confused, unsteady on his feet, and wanted to throw up. During the exam, he tried to persevere, but during the break between the two exams, he couldn't hold back anymore and rushed to the bathroom to vomit.

When Wu Jie returned to the examination room, he was already at his limit, and he fell to the ground as soon as his legs went limp. At that time, it was Tang Ling who came.

"Are you okay?"

Wu Jie said that when she was accosted, she was an angel in his opinion.

"Go to the infirmary, I'll go with you."

Tang Ling said softly. Wu Jie replied to her:

"No, I want to take the test anyway."

"That'...... Come on. We will pass the exam together, and then we will definitely meet again at the opening ceremony. ”

She didn't say "yes", she didn't say "it's good to see you again", but she said "absolutely". Wu Jie was probably moved by her powerful words. Then Wu Jie was motivated by her words and worked hard for the exam.

At that time, Wu Jie seemed to think like this: he also wanted to be like her, to be a person who helped others when they were in difficulty.

At the opening ceremony of junior high school, Wu Jie saw Tang Ling. But she's in another class. There was little chance of contact between the two of them. After that, Wu Jie kept paying attention to Tang Ling.

He finally mustered up the courage to talk to Tang Ling, but Tang Ling had already suspended school by then. He heard that she was taking a leave of absence from school because she was not in good health, for unknown reasons. On her last day at school, she was reading Shen Cong's "A Ray of Light" in the library alone. She was too focused on the world in the book to notice Wu Jie's gaze. Wu Jie looked at her from afar. That was the last time he saw her.

After that, Wu Jie had been looking forward to the day when Tang Ling would return to school, but she never came back.

At the first class meeting of the first year of high school, when everyone discussed who would go to Tang Ling's ward, he felt that this was an opportunity. However, he felt that his relationship with women was a bit chaotic at that time, and it was difficult to meet her, so he let me go.

He wanted me to set the stage for him to meet her one day.

Wu Jie spoke his mind.

Shen Cong's tomb is in a very remote place. This may also reflect his character, like the protagonist of the work, who does not like to come into contact with people and is difficult to approach.

"I'm so tired......"

Beads of sweat oozed from Wu Jie's forehead. I was a little worried about him, but I couldn't say anything like "go back." We continued in silence.

Finally, we finally arrived at Shen Cong's tomb.

"How so...... This is it, right? What a lonely tomb. ”

Wu Jie muttered. The tomb may be lonely, but as Wu Jie said, this tomb is too lonely. This is different from a normal cemetery, so there are no other people's graves here. Shen Cong's small tomb stood alone, and the tombstone was badly weathered, crawling with mold and moss. It didn't seem like anyone had come to sweep his grave. It's hard to imagine that the tomb belonged to a novelist who was still somewhat famous. It is said that when Shen Cong died, he was alone.

What is special is that his name is not written on the tombstone, either as a pen name or as his real name. There is only one word engraved on it.

Not.

That was Shen Cong's epitaph. Of course, I looked it up online in advance and knew about it. There is no doubt that this tomb is Shen Cong's, but when I saw such a scene with my own eyes, I still felt that this tomb was too strange.

"None. What a strange tomb. ”

Wu Jie expressed his views bluntly. This strange tomb is said to have originated from Shen Cong's own last words. It was written on the Internet that someone asked him about the meaning of "nothing" before his death, and he only replied: "This is my outlook on life." ”

Indeed, when man dies, he returns to nothingness, neither to heaven nor anywhere. Nothing is left.

Maybe that's the truth.

I took out my phone and took a few photos to take back to Tang Ling.

We went back the way we came, down the mountain.

“…… I want to confess to Tang Ling. ”

On the tram on the way back, Wu Jie said seriously.

I also like Tang Ling, and then confessed. But she turned me down.

I can't say this kind of thing to Wu Jie.

Instead, I suggested to Wu Jie, "Let's go see Tang Ling together next time." ”

When she went to Tang Ling's hospital room a few days later, she was tinkering with the knitting she had made from the previous days.

"Today I brought a guest."

Listening to my words, Tang Ling stopped weaving her hand and showed a surprised expression.

"Who is it?"

Wu Jie entered the ward behind me. I could tell he was nervous.

"Do you remember me?"

"Hmm...... Ah, remember to remember! I met you during the exam, right? ”

Tang Ling said in surprise.

"I'm glad you remember me. My name is Wu Jie. ”

"Well, hello, Wu Jie."

Then Wu Jie turned to me and said to me with some embarrassment:

"Xiaotian, that, can you let the two of us stay alone for a while?"

"Ah...... I know. ”

I honestly left Tang Ling's single room, sat on a chair in the hallway, and looked at the ceiling idly. It's still daytime, and nurses are hurrying back and forth in the corridors of the hospital.

I think Wu Jie is confessing to Tang Ling.

I'm certainly not qualified to stop him from doing so.

Even so, I felt a little uncomfortable in my heart.

What is it? Eat one's heart out? I couldn't help but smile bitterly, I still had this ugly feeling hidden in my heart.

Then I thought about the meaning of Tang Ling's "I'm sorry". I've been rejected by her. Even if I was rejected, I still liked Tang Ling. I really can't help it.

I looked at my watch, and the time had only passed five minutes.

The waiting time flies by so slowly. The flow of time is not static, the same five minutes can feel long at times, short at other times. For me, the time spent with Tang Ling passed quickly. Precious time will pass quickly, and indifferent time will pass slowly. Why not the other way around? I thought.

I closed my eyes and looked up. I don't know why my heart is beating so fast. I guess I'm nervous.

The door to the ward was rudely opened. I turned around and saw Wu Jie.

"I said, Wu Jie, you-"

What happened to you? But I shouldn't talk to him in this situation.

Wu Jie looked at me in silence with an almost pale face. His face was expressionless. Seeing him like this, I thought of one word - at a loss. Wu Jie is unusual, just like a different person. I never seemed to have seen him look so weak.

“……”

After a long time, he did not speak.

I was at a loss, I just looked back at Wu Jie.

"I'm really unwilling."

Wu Jie finally squeezed out a sentence. His voice was pale and weak, but his words were a reflection of his true feelings......

With that, he left the room along the hallway.

I was hesitant.

I also wondered if I should chase him, but in the end I decided to leave him alone.

Then I went into Tang Ling's hospital room.

She bowed her head tangledly, sighed, and said nothing.

"It's been hot lately."

I picked up a topic casually and approached Tang Ling.

"Wu Jie said he likes me."

Tang Ling said stunned.

"Yes."

I replied. As she said to me at the beginning, she only said "I'm sorry" to Wu Jie.

"How did you answer?"

"I'm sorry."

Sure enough, I thought to myself. Tang Ling continued:

"I said, I have someone I like."

Then Tang Ling looked at me embarrassedly.

"Yes, yes. That's right. ”

I was taken aback. No, I'm pretty devastated. The first time I heard that she had someone she liked.

Who exactly?

When was that?

I panicked.

However, I failed to ask.

"You see, I went to sweep Shen Cong's grave two days ago."

I changed the subject and brought up the photos I took a few days ago to show Tang Ling.

"Eh—it really says 'nothing.'"

Tang Ling returned to her usual appearance. She looked at my phone with interest.

"I've carved 'nothing' on my tombstone too."

"I think the others are better."

"For example?"

"Neurotic, or something?"

"It's terrible."

Tang Ling said and laughed. I was also amused by her.

"What's next?"

"What do you want to say?"

"That, what I want to do."

"Hmm...... I want to smoke. You smoke at this time, right? ”

When is that happening? I thought about it and was taken aback:

"No, no, no. Tang Ling, you are a patient, you must not smoke......"

"So, it's not like I'm going to suck it. It's you who wants to smoke. Forgot the old rules? ”

Then Tang Ling laughed slyly.

I've been very busy lately.

I'm going to practice drama for the school anniversary. On Wednesdays, at school or occasionally in the park, everyone gets together and practices this and that. The work of the maid café was also completely stopped. The fact that the heroine is played by a boy is already funny enough, so why do you have to practice so seriously - I didn't think about this kind of thing, but I took part in the practice seriously. These are all to tell Tang Ling everything on stage.

On that day, due to some circumstances, the classroom could not be used, so everyone practiced in a nearby park. It's September, but the sun is scorching and the weather is still very hot. In the park, I thought about sparing me and kept acting.

At that time, we practiced the last act that became a household name. Romeo and Juliet love each other, but they are unable to unite due to a feud between their families. Juliet wanted to be forcibly married to someone else, but she didn't want to marry her, so she drank the fake death pill and fell asleep, looking like she was dead, wanting everyone around her to think she was dead and the wedding was canceled. Then she plans to escape with Romeo. However, this was not properly communicated to Romeo, who thought Juliet was really dead, so he committed suicide. Juliet later woke up and was so desperate to find Romeo dead, so she committed suicide herself. The end of the play. Ah, what a sad miss.

"Ah, Juliet, why are you dead?"

Wu Jie, who played Romeo, said listlessly. This kind of line is indeed difficult to read with emotion.

After going to see Tang Ling, Wu Jie and I were a little embarrassed, and neither of us spoke to each other.

"Juliet, I'm going to die to follow you."

Then he drank the poison. Romeo died first.

"Romeo! Ah, how could you die! ”

Then Juliet, as I played, stabbed the dagger at herself. Both died. What a sad ending. That's how it should be.

"The emotions are not sincere enough."

The girl of the repertory troupe who is acting director said with a calm face. I thought it would be bad if this kind of thing was sincere, and I shouted, "Please rest!" ”

"Thirty minutes off—"

The atmosphere eased. Today's rehearsal is a total of nine people with six leading actors, including me, and three students in charge of acting instruction. The rest of the students are now busy preparing for exams or playing.

Anyway, most people are definitely blowing air conditioners.