“Photos of the literature club?” Lu Mingfei hadn’t expected that. What about the film clip he had prepared?
The reliable figure of the projectionist seemed to appear before him. When he had handed over the cigarette pack, the projectionist snapped his fingers with a commanding gaze and raised his head at a 45-degree angle, giving a thumbs-up. “This screening room is what it is! Don’t worry! There’s no way it won’t get through.” Lu Mingfei decided to trust the uncle.
The lights dimmed, leaving only the white photocopied paper in front of the stage distinctly clear. Well, that was his stage. In this life-or-death battle, he would win over this girl, securing his happiness for the rest of his life! With everything prepared—dandelions, Wall-E, and his confession speech—he was now in his suit, filled with confidence.
Lu Mingfei leaped onto the stage, standing on the photocopied paper in front of the screen. He took a deep breath, ready to shout to the world, “Chen Wenwen, I like you!”
Nono said he should bet everything a man had, and Lu Mingfei felt he had that determination.
A bright light suddenly blinded his eyes as the projector turned on. The entire audience let out a “shh,” and Lu Mingfei raised his arm to shield his face, thinking, “Damn it!”
He hadn’t even spoken yet; how did they move on to the next segment? Had the projectionist made a mistake with the timing? As Lu Mingfei’s eyes adjusted to the bright light, he suddenly saw Xu Yanyan and Xu Miaomiao standing on his left, resembling two bowling pins.
“What are you doing up here?” Lu Mingfei whispered to Xu Yanyan.
“Just extras,” Xu Yanyan replied, looking innocent.
Lu Mingfei turned to look around and suddenly noticed a huge English letter “L” to his left, unmoving. The projector was projecting characters onto the screen.
The audience was still hissing, and Lu Mingfei couldn’t help but run a few meters closer to the screen to see better.
A line read, “Chen Wenwen, Lve, Yu!”
He didn’t understand those strange words, but he sensed something was off.
“Get back! Get back!” Xu Yanyan shouted softly, “You’re missing a letter; it won’t make sense without you.”
“Letter?” Lu Mingfei looked again at the line, and from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Zhao Menghua, who jumped onto the stage surrounded by a bunch of his friends, holding a large bouquet of deep red roses.
This time, Lu Mingfei understood. His body felt icy from his fingertips to his heart, all the way to the deep bones of his skull and to the joints that were still sore from running around picking dandelions. Xu Yanyan and Xu Miaomiao were the two “o’s,” and he was the lowercase “i,” which together formed the perfect message: “Chen Wenwen, I Love You.”
Still the most flamboyant lowercase. With Lu Mingfei’s limited creativity, he could never have thought of such a romantic approach, but someone else’s mind was sharper than his; they had an English tutor at home since they were little. Wasn’t the flamboyant lowercase “i” just a piece of cake for them?
Lu Mingfei looked at Chen Wenwen; she was looking at Zhao Menghua, her eyes seemingly filled with the dew of a summer evening, ready to overflow. When she sat beside Lu Mingfei by the river, she was so melancholic and silent, but now it was different. Lu Mingfei could see the joy in her eyes. He felt himself becoming petrified, ready to shatter into pieces. He suddenly thought of the bundle of dandelions in his bag, wondering if it had fallen apart to nothing but bare stems.
“Go back! Go back! It won’t make sense without you!” someone shouted from the audience.
Lu Mingfei slowly walked back to stand in front of the screen, standing on the photocopied paper, lowering his head to avoid looking at anyone, so that the lowercase “i” appeared especially wilted.
“Today should have been our literature club gathering, but I’m just seizing this opportunity,” Zhao Menghua said loudly. “We’re about to part ways, and I don’t want to regret it. I want to tell Chen Wenwen… it’s already on the screen… I have to take a gamble! Otherwise, if we part ways in the future, never to see each other again, and I’ve liked someone for three years without anyone knowing, wouldn’t that be a waste?”
“Good! Well done, Boss!” Xu Yanyan and Xu Miaomiao clapped, and Zhao Menghua’s friends joined in the applause.
“Lead actress! Come up! Lead actress! Come up!” Zhao Menghua was clearly well-prepared, and the audience cheered.
A spotlight shone on Chen Wenwen, who stood up, her clothes as white as if they were transparent, resembling an angel. She hesitated, her face reddening as if it could produce ketchup, while Zhao Menghua’s friends surrounded her, asking in the typical tone of a supporting character in a youth film, “Will you agree? Hurry up and say yes! Zhao Menghua is a great guy!”
Lu Mingfei watched Chen Wenwen, observing her lips. He couldn’t hear any other sounds; at this moment, everything felt eerily silent to him, and only one voice could break that silence.
Chen Wenwen.
“I also like… you,” she said softly, looking at Zhao Menghua.
The silence shattered like thunder splitting the sky, and raindrops began to fall.
In the noise, there was a cry of “Wow!” Lu Mingfei looked up to see “Little angel” covering her face and running out. He and “Little angel” had been rivals for three years, and at that moment, he suddenly felt a strange connection. He almost wanted to chase after her to comfort Su Xiaotang, but he was that immovable lowercase “i.”
Everyone rushed up to surround Chen Wenwen and Zhao Menghua, like wedding guests. Lu Mingfei thought everyone must know, but he and Su Xiaotang were the only ones kept in the dark. Perhaps everyone had long noticed that he liked Chen Wenwen, but no one told him.
“Hey, how silly,” Lu Mingfei said to himself, feeling the bitterness rising in his nostrils.
The music blared, and on the screen, Eve and Wall-E broke through the sound barrier, soaring across the sky. It was the story of a little girl using all her abilities to save loser she loved, culminating in a moment where they snuggled together to the music of an old love song. It was truly touching and perfectly suited to the current scene, with Zhao Menghua draping his arm over Chen Wenwen’s shoulder while she leaned her head against him.
The projectionist walked in through the side door, a fake Zhonghua cigarette Lu Mingfei had given him dangling from his mouth. With a commanding gaze, he snapped his fingers, tilting his head back at a 45-degree angle, giving Lu Mingfei a thumbs-up, as if to say, “Brother, I’ve got this!”