Volume 1: Extraordinary Beauty Chapter 5: Friends

  Late autumn evening, a slanting sun is wonderful! The air is filled with refreshing coolness, bringing peace to the soul. A library of books.

  Two students walked side by side on a country road, facing the sunset, their elongated silhouettes adding warmth to the quiet path.

  The two were Wu Xin and Hu Bin, who were on their way to Han Ya Village together.

  Hu Bin suddenly revealed a sinister smile and said: "Wu Xin, I've recently discovered some new changes! You'd better confess honestly, what have you done? Otherwise, I'll tell your mom everything!"

  "What's with what? I don't understand at all! Don't talk nonsense!"

  "What's with the act of not knowing anything? Haven't you noticed that Fang Xiaoxin, who sits behind you, has been paying extra attention to you lately? Did you flirt with her or something? And 'Ice Beauty' from first grade to third grade always sat alone at a single desk, so how come she's willing to sit with you this time? Both of them keep glancing at you intentionally or unintentionally, what's going on with you, kid?"

  Wu Xin smiled wryly and said: "I don't even know myself, is this considered good luck?"

  "Of course, I have great confidence in you! Even the 'Ice Beauty' has a different look at you, affirming your strength! I believe that as long as someone uses sweet words to infatuate her, the 'Ice Beauty' will surely be dizzy and accidentally agree to marry. In the future, she'll become flirtatious and who knows, maybe even turn into a loose woman!"

  Wu Xin smiled faintly and said: "What you just said doesn't matter to me, but if it reaches her ears, it might be a big deal!"

  "Oh!" Hu Bin slapped his hand and exclaimed, "How could I have forgotten this? If some comrades' lifestyle is like that, seeing a beautiful face and forgetting old friends, having an affair without anyone knowing, if they say this to their partner... I'm afraid... I'm afraid..."

  Hu Bin hadn't finished speaking when Wu Xin followed with a sigh, "It's settled! I'm afraid the ending is one of three possibilities. First, the romantic chapter. The 'Ice Beauty' was initially furious, but then felt some emotions and thought to herself, 'The one who understands me is Hu Bin!' She then fell in love with this annoying guy. The two were about to get together under the flowers and moonlight, like dry firewood and raging flames, ready to cook chicken and make a meal of it, but just as they were about to do so, a heavy rain came pouring down, extinguishing the fire and killing the chicken. They couldn't even cook it, and the two went hungry for a day, catching avian flu and ***, and were sent to the hospital for isolation treatment, forever separated like heaven and earth. Second, the strange chapter. The 'Ice Beauty' was furious and used her 'Extinction of Yang' technique, ready to destroy Hu Bin's entire body of work. But just as she made her move, a powerful force suddenly came rushing towards her, and when she looked up, it was the 'Extinction of Yin' technique! The 'Ice Beauty' thought to herself, 'Heaven won't save me!' She didn't change her move, but instead used all her strength... while Hu Bin hadn't expected his opponent to withstand his full force attack. As a result, both were severely injured, their entire bodies crippled, truly worse than death! Third, the realistic chapter. The 'Ice Beauty' was initially furious. The next day, she took out a chicken-killing knife and gently picked up Hu Bin. Where could he escape? He had no choice but to let her slaughter him, as they say, 'I'm the fish, she's the butcher.' Before long, Hu Bin was cut into 365 pieces. Preliminary statistics are as follows: head - 7 pieces, neck - 3 pieces, shoulder blades - 2 pieces, hands - 75 pieces each...

  At first, the two of them were still pretending to be serious, but as they talked, they couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  Hu Bin laughed so hard he couldn't catch his breath: "Don't be disgusting, you still have 365 yuan, and you're acting all high and mighty!"

  "Who told you to be so disgusting? And 'slut'! Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

  "Hu Bin smiled and said, 'Seriously, the two of them are really beautiful, this is what everyone thinks. Many people think about the two of them until they're crazy, don't you have any feelings at all?'"

  Wu Xin said calmly: "We're still so young now, do you think we can have true feelings? I think it's better to focus on improving ourselves!"

  "But, although I say that, seeing many boys and girls dating and whatnot, my heart really isn't feeling right, it's quite enviable. Are we a bit outdated?"

  "No way! Believe me, being impulsive and reckless will only bring you regret. Being down-to-earth is the only way to have no regrets in the future!" Wu Xin looked at Hu Bin for a long time, then said: "Hu Bin, from childhood to adulthood, you're my only friend. Tell me, why are others unwilling to be friends with me, but you are?"

  Hu Bin smiled and said, "That's because others don't understand you, they think you're a bit old-fashioned and arrogant, self-righteous, and even look down on others! But I know clearly that you're not like that!"

  "So what do you think I am like as a person?"

  "Do you want me to tell the truth?" Hu Bin looked at Wu Xin seriously.

  "Hmm! I want to hear you tell the truth, I don't know what kind of concept I am in your eyes."

  "If I'm being honest with you, everything about you is great, except... except that we're not quite close enough as friends! Lately, there have been a series of strange occurrences, and you've never once given me a straight answer!" Hu Bin said quietly.

  Wu Xin looked at him in surprise: "Why? Then how could you be willing to be friends with me?"

  "I believe my eyes, and I'm not a fool. I can see that you're intentionally hiding your true abilities. Maybe you have some extraordinary skills, but you don't want others to know. Not even me, you won't reveal anything. This makes me very disappointed, feeling like you're not being a good friend at all. Later, after thinking it over repeatedly, I feel that you're not this kind of person by nature, so there must be some hidden reason why you're acting this way. So, I shouldn't force you either." Hu Bin looked calmly at Wu Xin.

  Wu Xin sighed and did not confirm or deny: "I just don't want you to get into any trouble, you have to understand me..."

  "But you can't be too conservative either, nowadays society is about showcasing all your talents instead of hiding them. Also, making a few good friends isn't bad either, our class has some really good ones!" Hu Bin said with a smile.

  "Hmm, you're right, but I have my difficulties. You must keep a secret for me! If the time is really ripe, I'll tell you everything!"

  "You can rest assured, I've actually been keeping secrets for you all along! When have you ever seen me introduce friends to you? I know you're not at ease. But I have a feeling, a special kind of feeling!"

  "How does it feel?"

  "We were born to be friends!"

  "Yes, we are friends! By the way, do others really think I'm old-fashioned, arrogant and self-righteous? Why don't I feel that way about myself?"

  "Haha, gotcha! Others just think you're weird, that's all! I think a smart woman would notice you and be deeply captivated by your quirky talent, and even fall in love with you..."

  "Alright! Youngster, let's fight!" Wu Xin "flew into a rage", raised his fist and struck.

  Two people laughed all the way back home.

  The joyful voices under the sunset are especially precious!