Chapter Three: The Incident of the Mysterious Letter

In truth, when Lele said she wanted to help me that day, I didn't take it seriously at all; I simply treated it as a joke and quickly forgot about it. Yet before long, a vague sense of unease began to creep over me, for Lele seemed, whether intentionally or not, to have attached herself to me.

At first, it was just that Lele would find excuses after school each day to make me accompany her home. But later, even when class ended and she needed to go to the restroom, she wouldn't forget to drag me along, only to leave me standing alone outside the door of the girls' bathroom, foolishly "serving punishment."

As a result, except for class time, my opportunities to spend time with Chuchu grew increasingly scarce. But faced with the requests of a beautiful girl, I had no power to resist whatsoever. Although I felt a little reluctant in my heart, there was nothing I could do. Over time, rumors about Lele and me began to circulate, and Haozi teased me about my "best friend" relationship with Lele, though Lele herself seemed unconcerned.

Half a month drifted by in a haze, and soon Friday arrived again. The first period in the afternoon was English. When class ended, I stretched languidly, sat up, and gazed lazily at the world before me, still somewhat blurred.

"Chuchu, your letter," the class monitor walked into the classroom and casually tossed a thin envelope onto Chuchu's desk.

"Someone wrote me a letter?" Chuchu tore open the envelope in disbelief.

Curious, I leaned over, yawning as I joked, "Chuchu, another love letter..."

But before Chuchu had read more than a few words, she suddenly lashed out, giving me a kick. "Li Xiaobei!"

"Ouch!" Just returned from my sleepy haze, I was caught off guard by her kick, instantly jolted awake. "What are you doing!" I asked, bewildered, hurriedly bending to rub the instep of my foot, which now ached fiercely.

Chuchu, breathless with anger, pushed the letter toward me, fixing me with a peculiar look but saying nothing. Suspicious, I lowered my gaze:

"Chuchu:

Greetings! Do you still remember me? Perhaps you've already forgotten. How have you been lately?

...

By the way, I heard you're together with your deskmate—is that true? Any boy who catches your eye must be extraordinary! Make sure to cherish him. Oh, and when will I get to drink your wedding wine?

..."

Reading this, cold sweat broke out all over me. I stole a glance at Chuchu, cursing inwardly at whoever had messed things up so thoroughly. Not many knew I liked Chuchu; my first thought was Haozi, but judging by the handwriting, which was neat and delicate, it seemed familiar yet not at all like Haozi's scrawled tadpole script.

Could it be her?

A figure gradually took shape in my mind.

"Piggy Bei, let me help you!" Lele's voice from outside the school gate that day echoed in my ears.

"That's it! It's Lele!" I turned to look toward Lele's seat, only to see her staring absent-mindedly at the ceiling. Suddenly noticing my gaze, her face flushed red, and she hurriedly stood, quickly leaving the classroom.

"Li Xiaobei, stop looking around. Please answer the question seriously. What is the meaning of this letter?" Chuchu forcefully turned my head back to face her. "Look me in the eyes, and tell me!" Chuchu stared at me intently, making my skin crawl.

"Chuchu, I... I really don't know," I replied, innocent.

"Then write a few words for me. Hmm... just write 'How have you been lately,'" Chuchu insisted, flipping the letter to the back.

Was this really necessary? Helpless, I picked up the pen and began to write, inwardly blaming Lele: "Damn Lele, you've really messed things up for me this time!"

Once I finished writing those eight characters, Chuchu snatched the paper, comparing it back and forth, over and over, before finally breathing a sigh of relief. "See? I knew you wouldn't dare like me."

"I... I..." For a moment, I didn't know what to say. Silently, I whispered to myself, "Chuchu, but I really do like you..."

"Xiaobei, Lele's looking for you," a classmate in the row ahead suddenly turned and pointed toward the classroom door.

"Oh." I answered, wiped the cold sweat from my brow, and got up to leave the classroom. The air in the corridor felt especially crisp, and I couldn't help but take a deep breath, my spirits instantly lifted.

"Xiaobei." Lele stood beside me, uneasy, like a child who’d done something wrong. "Xiaobei, was I meddling too much? I just... I just wanted to help you." As she spoke, tears began to shimmer in her eyes.

"Lele, don't be like this. I... I know you were trying to help me... I'm fine, really. Lele, if you keep this up, I... I can't take it," I scratched my head, gesturing toward the tears about to fall from her eyes.

Seeing I wasn't blaming her, Lele finally wiped away her tears, relieved, and laughed, "Alright, Piggy Bei, I'll listen to you."

When I returned to the classroom, Chuchu was still sulking, muttering softly to herself.

"Hey," I patted Chuchu's shoulder kindly. "What's up, Chuchu?"

But Chuchu raised her head and snapped at me, "Don't bother me! I'm annoyed!" She buried herself on the desk, angrily doodling on the tablecloth with her pen.

"Stupid Chuchu, so fierce!" I had already kicked her back and forth in my mind hundreds of times. Bored, I pulled out my history textbook and began to flip through it aimlessly.

Finally, the school day ended. I packed up my things, ready to head home, when I heard someone call from behind, "Xiaobei, want to watch the game?"

"The game?" I was puzzled.

Xiaoyi swung over with his backpack, slinging his arm around my shoulder and grinning, "Pighead, today's the finals of our high school basketball league! Class 2–3 versus Class 3–1—a clash of titans, not to be missed!"

Xiaoyi was the captain of our class basketball team: 184 centimeters tall, a small forward, his handsome face having charmed countless innocent girls.

"Class 2–3?" The name sounded familiar. I asked uncertainly, "Isn't that the team we faced in the first round?"

Xiaoyi nodded. "Yeah, that's them."

For a moment, both of us were lost in deep memories...

It had been a game best left unremembered. When the final score settled at 78:23, Xiaoyi, dejected, limped off the court on his sprained right ankle. He pushed aside his girlfriend, who had come forward with water, then covered his head tightly with his jersey, and walked straight into the school building without looking back. Watching his figure fade in the distance, I lay flat beneath the basketball hoop, gulping air toward the gray sky, as if the atmosphere itself froze at the moment the score was set.

In the classroom, everyone formed a circle. "That wasn't our true strength, it wasn't!" Xiaoyi, clearly having just cried, still loudly encouraged us, "Next year, next year we'll make a comeback!" He clenched his fist, determination written across his face.

But next year, with the division between humanities and sciences, would these brothers still be together? I gazed silently at Xiaoyi's handsome face.