NABC Chapter 13 In that one moment, he was somewhat like me, and I was somewhat like him.
Chapter 13 In that one moment, he was somewhat like me, and I was somewhat like him.
"Hey kid, have you thought about how you're going to confess your feelings?"
"certainly!"
Lu Mingfei muttered to himself, "Flowers, music, and a loud confession—the three magic weapons of the Nuonuo version."
"Nono is that girl who's like a little witch. You can see my memories, right? I don't need to explain, do I?"
"Yes, continue," Beria said.
"Look, the flowers are fine. I went to the river this afternoon and picked a lot of dandelions. I tied them up and put them in a paper bag. I gave up on the roses at the last minute because Chen Wenwen likes dandelions. They're more stylish than roses."
"The music is all set up. I took a pack of real Zhonghua cigarettes from my uncle's drawer, went downstairs to the tobacco shop and exchanged them for two packs of fake ones. Then I put one pack of fake cigarettes back and gave the other pack of fake cigarettes to the projectionist."
"That's how they make money! The projectionist promised to show a cut scene before the movie starts—the one where Eve breaks the sound barrier with Wal-1-E, with incredibly moving music!"
Lu Mingfei exclaimed excitedly, "You know what? It's incredibly touching!"
"I've already thought of my lines!"
Lu Mingfei cleared his throat and said seriously:
"It's been three years. It seems like we, the members of the literary society, will soon be going our separate ways. Perhaps we'll rarely get together again. In the future, every spring, summer, autumn, and winter, when the flowers bloom and wither, when the snow falls and melts, it won't be us all together anymore. It's a little sad to think about... As a member of the literary society's board of directors, I'm very happy to stand here and give this final speech. Originally, this speech was meant for all the members, but I only want to say it to one person..."
"Then at this point, the most impatient 'little fairy' might jump out and shout, 'Lu Mingfei, what are you babbling about?' If she asks that, I'll say in the fiercest tone, 'Shut up! I'm not talking to you! I'm just telling Chen Wenwen! I've liked her for three years! Don't let it be three years, three years, and another three years! I don't want to be a good person forever!'"
As Lu Mingfei spoke, shaking his head, he certainly didn't seem like a pathetic kid at that moment; he looked more like a powerful and influential king.
In his consciousness space, Belial crossed his arms and remained noncommittal.
"Okay, go on stage."
Beria's voice lowered slightly; he was remembering something.
In some ways, Lu Mingfei just now resembled him for a fleeting moment...
Or rather, at some point in the past, he became somewhat like Lu Mingfei.
"hey-hey!"
Lu Mingfei smiled, unaware of the change in Belial's tone.
He followed the crowd into the screening room, and Su Xiaose's voice pierced his ears like needles, "Hahahaha! Look, a monkey wearing a suit..."
Each member of the literary society took their place, and the dozens of members who were drinking cola and eating popcorn burst into laughter, while Lu Mingfei's face turned as red as an eggplant.
"What are you laughing at? There's even a little pig wearing a suit!" someone said.
The two fattest brothers from the literary society, Li Sheng and Xu Yanyan, walked in, both dressed in black suits. The two brothers were equally round and chubby, and standing there they looked like two basketballs side by side.
"Are you two also giving speeches?"
Lu Mingfei looked at the two brothers curiously. The clothes were given to him by Zhao Menghua, and the three of them were now dressed exactly the same.
"We're not giving any speeches, we're just there to add to the show," Xu Yanyan said. "We're just extras, after all. If we get paid, why not do it?"
Lu Mingfei looked blankly at Chen Wenwen, who nodded slightly to him with bright, clear eyes.
"You'll stand in that spot to give your speech in a bit," Zhao Menghua said, pointing to a photocopy placed in front of the screen. "Just stand there, don't block the screen. We'll be showing photos of the literary society on the big screen in a little while."
"Show photos of the Literature Club?" Lu Mingfei hadn't expected this. What about the movie clip he had prepared?
The reliable figure of the projectionist seemed to appear before him. When he handed over the pack of cigarettes, the projectionist snapped his fingers with a domineering look, tilted his head back at a 45-degree angle, and gave a firm thumbs up. "The screening room is this place! Don't worry! No problem! We'll cut you in no time."
Thinking of that scene, Lu Mingfei still decided to trust the uncle.
The lights dimmed, leaving only the white photocopy on the stage clearly visible.
Alright, that's his stage now. This is his one-time battle. If he can win over this girl, he'll have happiness for the rest of his life!
Everything was ready: dandelions, Wall-E, and a confession. He was dressed in a suit and tie, full of vigor and confidence!
Lu Mingfei strode onto the stage, stood on the photocopy in front of the screen, took a deep breath, and prepared to shout to the world, "Chen Wenwen, I like you!"
Nuonuo said she would bet everything on a man, and Lu Mingfei felt he was prepared to do so.
Moreover, he now has a powerful Ultraman attached to him, making him like a superhero who can save the world but still hides among the people.
Superheroes succeed at everything they do, don't they?
The bright light suddenly blinded him; the projector had been turned on.
The audience booed, and Lu Mingfei raised his arm to cover his face, immediately sensing something was wrong.
He hadn't even said anything yet, how did we move on to the next scene?
Did the projectionist get the time wrong?
As Lu Mingfei's eyes adjusted to the bright light, he suddenly saw Xu Yanyan and Xu Miaomiao standing on his left like two bowling pins.
"What are you doing up here?" Lu Mingfei asked Xu Yanyan in a low voice.
"Extra." Xu Yanyan put on an innocent expression.
Lu Mingfei turned his head and looked around, and suddenly noticed a huge English letter "L" on his left, which was not moving.
The projector was projecting characters onto the screen.
The audience continued to boo, and Lu Mingfei couldn't hold back any longer, so he ran to a spot a few meters away from the screen to watch.
A single line of text: "Chen Wenwen, Lve, Yu!"
He didn't understand the two strange words, but he sensed that something was wrong.
"Stand back! Stand back!" Xu Yanyan whispered to him, "It won't be a sentence without you, not even one letter."
"letter?"
Lu Mingfei looked at the words again, and at the same time, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhao Menghua, who was holding a large bunch of deep red roses and jumping onto the stage surrounded by several of his good brothers.
This time, Lu Mingfei understood.
The body cooled down inch by inch from the fingertips, down to the heart, down to the depths of the skull, down to the joints that were still aching from running too much to pick dandelions.
Xu Yanyan and Xu Miaomiao are two "o"s, and he is the lowercase "i". Together they make up the perfect phrase: "Chen Wenwen, I love you".
Still the most flamboyant lowercase...
Even with Lu Mingfei's limited intelligence, he couldn't come up with such a romantic idea, but there are people who are smarter than Lu Mingfei and speak better English.
He had an English tutor at home since he was a child, so the fancy lowercase "i" was just a piece of cake for him.
"Sigh... I failed again. Nothing has changed."
Belial's voice echoed in Lu Mingfei's mind, but Lu Mingfei did not respond at the moment.
Lu Mingfei looked at Chen Wenwen.
Chen Wenwen was looking at Zhao Menghua, her eyes seemingly brimming with the dew of a summer evening, ready to spill over...
She was so melancholy and silent when she sat by the river with Lu Mingfei, but now she was different; Lu Mingfei could see the happiness in her eyes.
Lu Mingfei felt as if he had turned to stone and was about to crumble into pieces.
He suddenly thought of the bunch of dandelions in his bag. Had they all fallen apart and left only bare stems after running all the way here?
"Go back! Go back! We can't make a sentence without you!" someone shouted from the audience.
Lu Mingfei slowly walked back to the screen, stood on the photocopy, lowered his head and didn't look at anyone, so the lowercase "i" looked particularly dejected.
At that moment, he resigned himself to his fate.
However, some people think differently!
"Kid, I was once just like you, giving up because of a little setback, a little failure and a little disappointment."
"But you know what? The difference is that I still retain a touch of arrogance! Although I failed before, looking back now I admit it was indeed my own fault."
"But this time—"
Within the consciousness space, Lu Mingfei was suddenly pulled in and saw Belial's figure.
Belial suddenly turned around and reached out his hand to him; at that moment, light shone forth!
"This time, I don't want you to lose!"