"What’s the Classical Studies Club all about?"
Banai curiously asked, and faced with her question, Chitanda Ailu thought for a mont and tilted her head slightly.
"The Classical Studies Club, also known as the Classical Literature Departnt, mainly focuses on... reading... right?"
"Right?"
Duanmu Huai looked at her with confusion, how could soone not know what their own club does?
"I’m very sorry."
Chitanda Ailu stuck her tongue out sheepishly.
"Because when I ca here, there was no one else in the Classical Studies Club but , so I don’t really know what we should be doing here..."
"........."
This thing still exists until now, huh?
"Wait, so we can do anything we want here, right?"
Upon hearing this, Banai’s eyes lit up, and startled by her aura, Chitanda Ailu raised her hand in surprise.
"Ah, well, not really, since it’s a literature club, we should probably be doing literature club activities..."
"So we can read books here, drink tea, and have snacks?"
For Banai, the latter two are probably the main attractions here.
"Ah, yes, that’s correct..."
"Then I’m joining!"
Banai excitedly turned around to look at Duanmu Huai.
"Duanmu, you should join too, then we’ll have our activity base, where we can enjoy tea and als in private without interruptions! No more forced viewing of those damn love displays! Even if there’s annoying stuff calling for , I can refuse saying ’Sorry, I have club activities!’ It’s just perfect!"
"Ah, oh... that sounds good..."
Duanmu Huai didn’t oppose; after all, they couldn’t gather at the escape stairs behind the building every day. Plus, Banai’s reasoning was indeed good; having a place to comfortably relax seed quite fitting.
"And the na, Classical Literature Departnt, doesn’t it sound elegant? Later, when soone asks what club I’m in, I just say Classical Literature Departnt..."
As she spoke, Banai flicked her hair.
"Then I’ll have the vibe of a literary girl, right?"
"But the mont you speak, you’ll be exposed; what if soone asks you about classical literature?"
"That’s simple."
Banai giggled.
"Beef and vegetables are the indispensable spiritual walls, I’ll just say that."
"Who said that?"
"Dazai Osamu!"
"Did he really say that?"
"If I say he did, then he did."
"Oh, understood..."
So, like Lu Xun, huh.
Actually, Duanmu Huai had no reason to criticize Banai; he also disliked morizing classical texts, no matter the language. But Duanmu Huai did play roles like the Ghost Princess of the Warring States, so reciting a few classical lines wasn’t a problem.
Besides, Banai wasn’t wrong; a club without seniors ans no strict rules, everyone could do whatever they wanted, even if they pretend to have light music club activities while drinking tea. There’s no downside in joining...
Thus, Duanmu Huai wrote his na on the mbership form handed to him.
For Duanmu Huai, this was just a minor event, but little did he know, the news spread faster than he expected.
The next day at school, Duanmu Huai received a ssage from Ruby.
[Sis, what were you doing over at the regular course area yesterday?]
[You found out too?]
[Everyone’s talking about it; you were walking with a regular course girl, wasn’t that right?]
[Oh, I was joining a club]
[What! Sis is actually joining a club? You never joined one in middle school!]
Ruby’s surprise was evident from the three exclamation marks in her ssage.
[Just had nothing else to do, so you all chat about this?]
[Well, Sis is quite famous at Yang Gao, and going to the regular course area without ntioning knowing anyone from there before, it’s surprising.]
[I t soone just by chance a couple of days ago.]
[That’s good, seeing Sis always alone worried your little sister; now I can be at ease.]
[Even without friends, I won’t die.]
[That’s what people without friends say.]
Duanmu Huai bantered a bit with Ruby and decisively turned off his phone, but it wasn’t long before soone else ca to ask.
"What did you go to the regular course for?"
"Why are you pestering too?"
Just by the hat on the person’s head, Duanmu Huai knew who it was.
"Isn’t it fine? Everyone’s talking, saying you walked with so regular course girl."
Arima Kana widened her eyes, staring at Duanmu Huai.
"Who’s that girl? What year and class is she in? Where did you et?"
"Are you interrogating ?"
Facing Arima Kana’s step-by-step questioning, Duanmu Huai rolled his eyes.
"We t by chance outside school, and she took to see a club because I wanted to join."
"Huh? Joining club activities? Xiao Ai?"
Arima Kana looked at him as if asking, "Are you kidding ?"
"How do you have the ti?"
"Why wouldn’t I have ti? I only shoot one film a year, okay."
"Well, that makes sense..."
"By the way, filming this year is at Hakone, during sumr break, a great ti to escape the heat."
"Ah———drives crazy!"
Upon hearing Duanmu Huai’s answer, Arima Kana was so upset she nearly jumped.
"Darn it, soday I’ll show off in front of you too!"
"Then I’ll be watching closely."
Watching Arima Kana angrily storm off, Duanmu Huai chuckled and waved her goodbye. Fortunately, Arima Kana was too mad to ask what club he joined... or maybe it didn’t matter, because unlike Duanmu Huai, Arima Kana had no ti for club activities.
However, one can imagine that things must be more troubleso at Banai’s side.
Things are relatively good at Duanmu Huai’s side; nobody dares to co up and talk to him, but Banai certainly doesn’t have such luck.
As it turns out, Duanmu Huai was right.
"I’m exhausted to death..."
When Duanmu Huai entered the Classical Studies Club at noon, he saw Banai sprawled over the table, looking like her soul was about to fly to the Western Paradise.
"Since the morning, people have been asking how I got to know you, what we’ve done together... It feels like an interrogation in Hell."
"People at my side were asking similar questions. By the way, how did you respond?"
"I told them what we agreed on, that we t by chance outside of school, and then you wanted to join the club, so I was responsible for introducing the way."
Speaking of which, Banai seed to rember sothing and silently took out a box from her pocket.
"Oh right, here’s today’s bento."
"What’s wrong? You don’t seem very happy?"
Seeing Banai clutching the bento box with a bitter expression, Duanmu Huai curiously asked.
"...When I prepared two bento boxes, my mom said ’Sakura will definitely be happy’... hahaha..."
Banai gave a dry laugh, void of any emotion, her expression resembling soone who is hanging themselves.
"You could just tell your mom that the guy is already dating another woman."
Duanmu Huai thought if Banai just said a word, the problem would be resolved. But perhaps childhood family ties bring so burdens too.
"Sigh..."
Banai sighed softly, then looked at Duanmu Huai with wide eyes.
"How much does this count as?"
Oh, by the way, she was using the bento to repay a debt.
Duanmu Huai reached out, quietly took the bento box from across, and opened it.
Bento.
In Japanese animations and comics, this seems to be a word full of warmth, but in fact, before Duanmu Huai traveled, he enjoyed bento as a child.
The so-called bento is actually just putting food into a lunch box.
Well, to say again, the so-called bento is actually just putting food into a lunch box.
Duanmu Huai rembers when he was a child, his school was relatively far from ho, especially in winter, everyone would bring a lunch box filled with leftover dishes and rice from last night, then take it to class and place it on the radiator or stove. When school was out at noon, they’d open the lunch box for lunch.
Yes, that’s exactly what it is.
Sa thing, why does it sound fancier when called bento rather than lunch box?
Such a mystery...
By the way, Japanese schools still have bentos, simply because there aren’t good restaurants nearby.
If there were takeaways available, no one would want to eat leftovers, right?
Of course, if a pretty girl makes it, that’s another story.
Rice, fried chicken pieces, olet, octopus sausage... the dishes are rather varied, but the portion is just average.
Well, Japanese girls generally have small appetites... no, this one in front doesn’t count.
"350 yuan, I think."
"Hmm, not bad. By the way, could you tell the evaluation standard?"
"Based on my experiences with boxed als on filming sets."
"So you eat on set when filming?"
"Of course, having als on set is a common affair when filming a movie."
But actors like Duanmu Huai have their own dedicated makeup cars and aren’t like extras crouching at the street corner.
The two chatted casually back and forth and then finished their lunch. To be honest, the cold food was quite ordinary, and Duanmu Huai began considering whether to put a microwave in the club room.
Banai tidied up the bento box, walked to the window, and gazed blankly at the athletic team practicing on the field without saying a word.
Duanmu Huai walked to Banai’s side, only to see her eyes unknowingly filled with tears.
"What’s wrong?"
"It turns out, I’ve really been dumped..."
"...?"
"I knew I was dumped, but maybe my body couldn’t accept it. Just now, I suddenly felt that this wasn’t a dream; it’s all real, I’ve truly been dumped."
Banai raised her hand and stretched lazily.
"Getting dumped doesn’t change anything; everything around just keeps moving forward, and I can only follow along."
"That’s how life is."
Duanmu Huai shrugged.
"Just like on a battlefield, no matter how seriously wounded you are, no matter how many comrades fall beside you, you have to keep moving forward under the hail of bullets until the battle is over."
"That’s sothing I don’t quite understand."
Banai chuckled, turning to look at Duanmu Huai.
"If Duanmu were dumped once, maybe you’d understand that feeling."
"I don’t want to be dumped, but who can predict matters of the heart?"
Duanmu Huai also stretched lazily, not denying that he understood Banai’s feelings. Just like Ann and Greiya, Mary has been by his side for a long ti, and Duanmu Huai thought they would always be together. But that’s not the case; not to ntion Ann and Greiya, he and Mary are just friends, and he hasn’t confessed to Mary. What if Mary falls in love with another man in the future?
Speaking of which, in this world, although there hasn’t been any combat, Duanmu Huai had a good reflection on emotional matters.
Indeed, so things need to be clarified. Like Banai in front of him is a counterexample.
But...
"Banai."
"Hmm?"
"Do you know what love is?"
"Honestly, I’m not very sure either. All I know is that I like Sakura and want to be with him. But whether this is love, I’m not sure."
Banai stared at the square.
"I used to think I would always be with him because look, everyone in the class thought we were dating. And I have so confidence in myself, so I never thought I’d be where I am today..."
"Well, if Sakura hadn’t made the decision back then, and if Huailian hadn’t gone to England, would you have confessed to him?"
"..."
This ti, facing Duanmu Huai’s question, Banai remained silent for a long ti.
"I don’t know either."
In the end, she only left this sentence.
User Comments
0 comments from readers