Chapter 232: Chapter 231 Uh, My Name is Untitled
Zhang Zhao took Xu Xu around two streets that day and found a budget hotel, where he got a double room.
Xu Xu lay on the bed staring blankly, while Zhang Zhao sat on the other bed, legs crossed, smoking a cigarette.
For a while, they remained silent.
After lying there for some time, Xu Xu turned and said, "Can I have one?"
Zhang Zhao glanced at him sideways and threw the pack of cigarettes and lighter over.
Xu Xu took one out himself, lit it with an awkward hand motion, put it in his mouth, and took a puff.
The choking smoke circled in his mouth for a while, and he coughed twice, expelling the smoke from his mouth.
Zhang Zhao sneered, "Can’t even smoke, are you even a man?"
Zhang Zhao took a drag with a casual grace, exhaling the smoke through his nose, and looked provocatively at Xu Xu.
Xu Xu glared at Zhang Zhao, his mood still unsettled, teetering on the edge of impulsive anger, he defiantly placed the cigarette back in his mouth, took another puff, and after choking, tried hard to exhale the smoke through his nose.
Perhaps due to the excessive mental exertion typical of a diligent student, Xu Xu’s reaction was quicker than most. The third time he inhaled and exhaled through his nose, both his expression and posture reflected a smooth proficiency.
It’s often said that learning to do bad things is easy; learning to do good is hard. The model student, Xu Xu, learned to smoke in just a few minutes.
After finishing a cigarette, Xu Xu felt dazed, not at all experiencing the refreshing sensation he had heard smoking could bring.
After collecting himself, he turned and asked Zhang Zhao, "Why did you bring me here?"
Zhang Zhao snuffed out his half-smoked cigarette and tossed it into the ashtray. "Maybe it’s like the fox mourning the rabbit’s death."
"What?" Xu Xu frowned, scrutinizing Zhang Zhao’s expression, finally noticing his disheveled and defeated look.
Zhang Zhao slid down to lie flat on the bed, turned to look at Xu Xu, and forced a smile, "I told Wang Jiayue about Meimei and her brother’s affair."
Xu Xu looked at Zhang Zhao in surprise, instantly realizing the entire situation, and was furious, gnashing his teeth.
Zhang Zhao had been sticking close to Zhao Meimei all along, every now and then flaunting an arrogant demeanor that thoroughly disgusted him.
Xu Xu always knew Zhang Zhao harbored animosity towards him, but he never imagined Zhang Zhao would go so far, being so mean-spirited.
The suppressed rage Xu Xu had been holding since the bubble tea shop was completely provoked by Zhang Zhao. He suddenly sat upright on the bed, face ashen, and demanded, "Why? Why did you do that?"
Zhang Zhao scoffed, "Because I can’t stand you."
Infuriated instantly, Xu Xu leaped toward Zhang Zhao without thinking, his fist ready. When Zhang Zhao tried to resist, Xu Xu’s hand swiftly slipped past his armpit and gripped Zhang Zhao’s throat.
Zhang Zhao retaliated by grabbing Xu Xu’s neck.
The two glared at each other, faces turning red from lack of oxygen, neither willing to let go first.
After a long stalemate, Zhang Zhao, with some effort, squeezed out, "The person I like isn’t Zhao Meimei."
Xu Xu’s oxygen-deprived brain gained some clarity from this statement, and he instinctively loosened his grip slightly.
Zhang Zhao followed suit and released his hold.
Xu Xu propped himself up on his arms, gasping deeply as he looked at Zhang Zhao lying beneath him, eyes red, and asked, "What did you say?"
Zhang Zhao spat dismissively, "Get off me, you damn idiot!"
Xu Xu paused, didn’t move, and repeated his question, "What did you just say?"
Zhang Zhao shoved him off, sat up on the bed with his legs hanging down, face buried in his hands, "I have someone I like, and it’s not Zhao Meimei. You know that, don’t pretend."
"Then, then why do you...?" Xu Xu wanted to ask, since you don’t like Meimei, why are you always competing with me? Are you sick?
The words were at the tip of his tongue when he suddenly remembered Zhang Zhao’s earlier statement about not liking him.
Zhang Zhao rubbed his face with his hand, "I just wanted to see how Zhao Meimei would treat you. I wanted to find out what kind of outcome awaits someone secretly loving like you."
As Zhang Zhao spoke, Xu Xu kept looking at him. Once he finished, Xu Xu looked down at his hands, then slowly turned his head, glaring fiercely at Zhang Zhao.
Zhang Zhao sensed something was wrong, but it was too late to dodge; Xu Xu leaped up from the bed and lunged viciously at him, fist clenched, hammering down hard, landing a solid punch on Zhang Zhao’s cheekbone with a thud.
Zhang Zhao’s vision blurred for several seconds before clearing, as he cursed, "Damn it! You dare hit me! Are you crazy?"
After cursing, Zhang Zhao attempted to kick Xu Xu off his back to get him off.
Xu Xu, face livid, pointed a trembling finger at Zhang Zhao, "What result do you want to see through me? You just want to know what kind of reaction you’ll get from having creepy thoughts about your sister! Mourning the rabbit’s death? I spit on that! Zhang Zhao, are you a pervert or something! You’re despicable, through and through, Zhang Zhao, why don’t you just die!"
Zhang Zhao’s half-raised knee, nearly making contact with Xu Xu’s back, froze in mid-air. Xu Xu’s words about his inappropriate thoughts concerning his sister echoed in his mind, burning a painful reminder somewhere in his body.
In a fit of rage, he shoved Xu Xu off him, jumping barefoot to the floor, "You’re talking nonsense! Don’t you dare mention her!"
Zhang Xin was a nightmare for Zhang Zhao. He only dared to secretly think about her in private, never daring to cross the line, fearing that one day it might break free and completely envelop him. He preferred being trapped, half-dead, caught within it.
Teenagers’ love is always fiery, crazy, irrational, yet as determined and relentless as a moth to a flame.
Had Zhang Zhao not been consumed by misguided notions, why would he have so meticulously pushed Xu Xu to confess to Zhao Meimei?
From the moment he first saw Xu Xu, it was as if he saw a reflection of himself, harboring the same humble adoration for someone, that kind of cowardly, sorrowful longing piercing his heart like an arrow.
During Xu Xu’s time of distress, he empathized deeply, sharing the same despair. The hopeless love threatened to crush and destroy him as well.
Xu Xu climbed up from the bed, relentlessly throwing punches at him. Zhang Zhao, still in a daze, took two direct hits, the pain acting as a salve, clearing his chaotic thoughts in an instant.
Zhang Zhao grabbed Xu Xu, pushing him back onto the bed, Xu Xu’s head hitting the wall with a loud thud.