Desperate Pretense At Being Poor

Chapter 89 – Fu Mingheng vs Jiang Qingxu (1)

There was a bustling crowd.

Inside the school hall, it was jam-packed with students in their white school uniforms.  They were gathered in small groups of threes and fives to chat while waiting in boredom for the opening ceremony of the new school term to start.

“Have you heard the news?  The student representative who is going to give a speech on the stage this time is Senior Fu Mingheng.”

“I heard from others and it seems he is recommended for admission to Tong University by the school.  He is truly awesome!”

“That’s right.  People like him with such excellent grades and with this kind of family background make others truly envious.”

Fu Mingheng?

To Jiang Qingxu who had just entered high school as a freshman, it was an unfamiliar name.

Perhaps it was because the words ‘recommended for admission’ was too glaring, she could not help but curiously look up from the side of the stage to try and figure out the person who could match this description.

But after looking for a while, she suddenly felt a little foolish.

She doesn’t even know what that person looks like, so how can she find him?

She let out a laugh and was about to turn her head away when she suddenly caught sight of a figure from the corner of her eyes.

The boy was leaning lazily against the stage at the side with folded arms and his head was tilted as he looked at the staff who were busy setting up the stage.

Occasionally, some people would stop to greet him and the boy would raise his eyes, purse his lips, and politely show an appropriate smile in return.  However, the smile was so slight that it did not seem to reach his eyes at all.

A very outstanding temperament.

Angular jaw, dark and deep pupils under the narrow and long eyes, fine and clean short black hair, and a high nose bridge.

It was everything teenage girls dream about.

Although Jiang Qingxu had never met Fu Mingheng, there was a vague feeling in her heart.

That must be him.

Sure enough, when the host read out the name ‘Fu Mingheng’, the boy started to move.

He walked onto the stage, raised his hands to adjust his collar slightly, and the light relaxed smile on his face just now was no longer visible as he stood on the stage.

The next second, the corners of his lips curved.

A smile like a spring breeze and a gentle voice.

A complete difference from the indolent boy just now.

Jiang Qingxu looked up at him.

And just for a second, their eyes met.

For some reason, she subconsciously dodged and moved away with her heart beating like a deer jumping frantically.

A long time later, she inhaled deeply and then raised her eyes to look at Fu Mingheng again.

He had already looked away a long time ago.

Exactly as she expected.

Jiang Qingxu knew.

That she yearns for Fu Mingheng.

And yearns to be like him.

But she also understood very clearly that in the campus atmosphere that was full of youthful vitality……..yearning is the most indispensable thing.

Just like when Fu Mingheng stood on the stage and looked down…….many girls harbored the same feelings as herself.

However, Fu Mingheng never set his eyes on anyone.

Youthful yearnings were never guaranteed to be rewarded.

Jiang Qingxu understood this.

***☆☆☆***

Jiang Qingxu is considered a good student.

In Tong High School, one can choose to either stay in the campus dormitory or commute daily to school as a day student.  Since Jiang Qingxu’s home is located quite far away so she chose to live in the dormitory.

After school, most of the time she would stay in the library and would only return to the dormitory when it was near closing time.

Her first conversation with Fu Mingheng happened on a Friday night.

At that time, she was looking for books in the library.  She swept a gaze across a large row of books and finally, settled on the top shelf of the bookcase.

She stood on tiptoes, reached her hands upwards, and jumped a few times but she could not even touch the edge of the book.

Just at this moment, a soft ‘tsk’ sounded behind her.

Before she could turn her head, the next second, she was shrouded in a black shadow.

Following that, a low voice sounded.  “Is this the one?”

A while later, she responded with a nod.  “Um, yes.”

The boy took down the book, glanced at the cover, and then laughed softly.

“A Hundred Years Of Loneliness?  This kind of book drains energy.”

Jiang Qingxu turned around and looked up.  When she saw the boy’s face, she was stunned.

Fu Mingheng……..

His current appearance seemed to be different from what she remembered when he gave a speech on stage the last time.

His hair was a little messy and one of the buttons on his collar was undone.  The coat of his school uniform was casually draped over his body and it gave him a look that was a little condescending and a little ruffian-like.

“Is there something on my face?”  Fu Mingheng touched the tip of his nose and asked lazily.

“No.”  Jiang Qingxu came back to her senses and touched her cheek which was feeling slightly hot.

“I was just looking casually.  Sometime back when I was listening to a song, I saw a sentence that I quite like, and after checking it out, I found it came from here.”

“It’s Raining In Macondo?”  Fu Mingheng said without any hesitation and his tone carried a smile.  “Is that the sentence?”

“How do you know?”  Jiang Qingxu was stunned.

“All little girls like it.”

Fu Mingheng shrugged his shoulders, handed the book to her, and raised his chin.

“Go and read it.”

Jiang Qingxu took the book, looked at Fu Mingheng who was about to leave, and gritting her teeth, she shouted.

“Thanks, Senior!”

He paused then turned his head around and rubbed his hair as he said casually.

“You don’t have to thank me, just keep your voice down………”

After speaking, he used his thumb to point at the seat beside him.

“I was asleep just now and you woke me up.”

Very straightforward.

Jiang Qingxu immediately understood it was due to her excessive movements just now when she was trying to retrieve the book, so she bowed down and apologized.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Fu Mingheng leaned against the table and yawned.

“If you don’t feel at ease then please wake me up in half an hour.  It’s not good to set an alarm in the library.”

She was stunned for a moment and then nodded.

“Okay.”

An hour after school.

It was the best time to watch the sunset.

The library’s huge floor-to-ceiling windows were letting the scorching sunlight stream in without any reservation.  The library which always looked cold seemed to be warmed by the sunlight.

Jiang Qingxu could not calm down to concentrate on the book.

She could not help but prop up her chin to secretly steal glances at Fu Mingheng who was sleeping on the opposite side.

Under the warm light, the edges and corners that were as sharp as knives seemed to have softened.

And at this moment, Fu Mingheng frowned as if he sensed something and opened his eyes.

Their eyes met.

Jiang Qingxu hurriedly shifted her eyes away and then heard a mocking voice with a smiling and lazy tone.

“Junior Sister, why are you looking at me again?”

Initially, she thought that Fu Mingheng was an unapproachable senior who made others long for him.

But after the incident in the library, the two people who initially had no contact whatsoever, suddenly interacted.

Ever since then, whenever Jiang Qingxu comes to the library, she would deliberately go to the place where she met Fu Mingheng.

And most of the time, Fu Mingheng would be there.

Although he was a day student, it seemed he did not like to go home immediately after school.  He would usually take a nap in the library and leave when it was almost dark.

However, Jiang Qingxu never asked for the reason.

It was because the relationship between them merely stopped at the point where one person helped to wake the other person and they were only slightly more familiar than total strangers.

And Fu Mingheng never asked for Jiang Qingxu’s name.

But to her, it was enough.

Secret loves are often like this……..a burst of enthusiasm and then eventually fizzle out.

But at least when she is close to the one she loves, her heart is full of joy.

One day, Jiang Qingxu went to the place in the library as usual.

But Fu Mingheng did not come.

Actually, it was quite normal because it seemed he did not come every day.

So Jiang Qingxu took out her workbook and was prepared to return to the dormitory after completing the math homework.

After the school was divided into classes for the second time, she was placed in the main class* and the level of difficulty in her studies rose abruptly to the next level.

(Main Class – In Chinese, this is called Zhong Dian Ban or Key Class, a unique class where all the smart and elite students are gathered to allow the high-performing students to have access to better educational resources.)

Actually, mathematics was a difficult subject for Jiang Qingxu.

Therefore, homework on this subject was quite strenuous for her.

Just at this moment, suddenly an arm appeared in front of her from behind.  The index finger with distinctive joints tapped on the example diagram on the homework question and then the fingertip drew a line downwards.

“Try with the auxiliary line placed here.”

The familiar voice and the faint scent of mint on the school uniform made Jiang Qingxu’s pupils shrink instantly.

She only reacted a moment later and then added an auxiliary line as pointed out by Fu Mingheng.

Jiang Qingxu is actually quite intelligent.  She was able to catch the hint as soon as it was pointed out and after looking at the auxiliary line, she suddenly understood.

Fu Mingheng smiled and straightened up.

“You’re quite smart.”

Being praised by the person she likes gave her an indescribable feeling.

She would subconsciously repeat the compliment countless times in her heart and every time she thinks about it, it gives her endless happiness.

Fu Mingheng yawned and walked to his usual seat to sit down.

“I have to trouble you to wake me up later.”

“Okay.”

Most of the time after experiencing so much happiness and ambiguity, many young people would continue forward and would be reluctant to look back.

And then they would become greedier and greedier.

Sometimes Jiang Qingxu, who harbors feelings for him, would feel that she had become someone special to him and perhaps there would even be a slight possibility for her to stand by his side.

After countless tosses and turns, the end was near.

Fu Mingheng was about to graduate.

Around April, Jiang Qingxu finally gathered the courage to seek out Fu Mingheng in the library………to confess to him.

On that day it rained.

When Jiang Qingxu, who was holding an umbrella, passed by the school building, she caught sight of a familiar figure with a glance.

It was Fu Mingheng.

Holding an umbrella, he was standing at the entrance of the school building without moving as if he was waiting for someone.

She thought about it over and over again and was making up her mind whether she should go over to greet him.

If the atmosphere is right, perhaps she can……..confess?

However, just as she stepped forward, she heard a crisp female voice……..

“I’m here!”

A girl with a high ponytail came out of the school building and walked under Fu Mingheng’s umbrella with her face raised.

“Let’s go!”

Jiang Qingxu stood still and watched as the two people walked away side by side.

Fu Mingheng who was holding the umbrella subconsciously tilted it towards the girl.

One was tall and steady……..and the other was small and vivacious.

A perfect match.

Jiang Qingxu felt a little sad.  She turned around and touched her face.

No tears.

But she felt the need to express the upset feeling inside her as waves and waves of suffocation surged in her chest.

It was the natural demise of a secret love.

Any tiny spark would have started a one-sided love like a prairie fire.

And in the end, she realized that she had never been special to Fu Mingheng.

And he did not even know her name.

Jiang Qingxu felt there were still good points about her.

Ability to let go with light-heartedness……a quick break…… and giving up readily.

She gave up on Fu Mingheng.

And she never returned to that place in the library again.

Sometimes she would think about it……..

Will Fu Mingheng also wonder why the little girl who often sits in that place never appeared again?