章节十七

方茴是他们班第一个见到林嘉茉的人。

Fang Hui was the first in her class to meet Lin Jia Mo.

她们的初见是在早自习之后。方茴收了历史作业，第一本是陈寻的，她已经用漂亮的皱纹纸包了皮，本皮上是陈寻自己写的名字，而本皮下面盖住的内页，则是方茴写的名字。

Their first encounter was after the morning self-study session. Fang Hui had collected the history homework, and the first book was from Chen Xun, which she had wrapped in beautiful crepe paper. The cover featured Chen Xun's name written by him, while underneath, her own name was hidden.

她抱着一摞本走进高一年级办公室，屋里面一个眼生的女孩背对方茴站着，斜挎着银色的锐步包和侯老师说话，早晨的阳光打在她身上映出了淡淡的七彩芒。

She walked into the senior grade office with a stack of books. Inside, an unfamiliar girl had her back to Fang Hui, talking to Teacher Hou while slinging a silver Nike bag over her shoulder. The morning sunlight cast a faint multicolored glow on her.

侯佳喊她过来，说：“方茴，这是新转来的同学，林嘉茉。”

Teacher Hou called her over, saying, "Fang Hui, this is our new transfer student, Lin Jia Mo."

方茴礼貌的点了点头，班里前一阵就传说要转来一个同学，大家一直热闹的讨论是男生还是女生。

Fang Hui politely nodded. There had been rumors in class about a new student transferring in, and everyone was eagerly discussing whether it was a boy or a girl.

“方茴是班里的宣传委员。”侯佳介绍说。

"Fang Hui is our class's publicity committee member," Teacher Hou introduced.

林嘉茉笑着说了你好，方茴抬眼看她，意外的发现她样子很美。

Lin Jia Mo smiled and said hello. Fang Hui looked up at her and was surprised to find her very beautiful.

“方茴，你回班让陈寻去教务那边搬一套桌椅。第五组不是少一个人么？就放在那组后面，把第三桌腾出来，每个人往后错一个，一会我们就过去。”

"Fang Hui, please go back to class and ask Chen Xun to get a set of desks and chairs from the academic office. Isn’t the fifth group short one person? Just put it behind that group and move the third desk out, everyone can shift one seat back. We’ll go over in a bit."

“好。”

"Okay."

方茴应声走了出去，到门口转身的时候，林嘉茉又冲她甜甜的笑了笑。

Fang Hui replied and walked out. As she turned at the door, Lin Jia Mo gave her a sweet smile again.

在我眼里，20几岁的女生如果没有太大意外应该都是美的，俗话说没有丑女人只有懒女人。长得一般没事，会描眉画眼也叫美女；不会画没事，身材好也叫美女；身材不好没事，会捣斥自己懂得搭配也叫美女。

In my eyes, girls in their twenties, barring any surprises, ought to be beautiful. As the saying goes, there are no ugly women, only lazy ones. If someone looks average, it’s okay; with some eyebrow pencil and eye makeup, they can be called beautiful. If they can’t do makeup, they can still be considered beautiful if they have a good figure. Even if they don’t have a good figure, if they know how to dress themselves, they can still be labeled as beautiful.

但是十几岁那时候就不是这样了，管你S型身材还是梨型身材都裹在了肥大的校服里。所有人留的都是土了土气的发型，不能拉直也不可能挑染，化妆更不可能了。

However, things were different when you were in your teens. Whether you had an S-shaped figure or a pear shape, it was all wrapped in oversized school uniforms. Everyone had awkward hairstyles; there was no straightening or dyeing allowed, and makeup was out of the question.

护肤品用的都是郁美净孩儿面，抹完脸抹手，什么倩碧雅诗兰黛眼霜精华素，根本没人听说过。

The skincare product of choice was all about Yu Mei Jing children’s cream, slathered over both face and hands. No one had ever heard of anything like Clinique or Estee Lauder eye creams and serums.

所以，中学时代的漂亮女孩，那就是眉是眉，眼是眼的真漂亮。

So, beautiful girls in middle school meant having real beauty, where the eyebrows looked like eyebrows and the eyes looked like eyes.

方茴说，林嘉茉就属于这一类。

Fang Hui said Lin Jia Mo was one of those.

回到班里，陈寻正和赵烨一起拿着方茴的书，奋笔疾书的抄政治课后习题。

Upon returning to class, Fang Hui saw Chen Xun and Zhao Ye huddled over her books, speedily copying down the political homework.

方茴走过去，拍了拍他的肩膀说：“哎，侯老师让你去领套桌椅，一会那个转校生来。”

Fang Hui walked over, tapped his shoulder, and said, "Hey, Teacher Hou wants you to pick up a desk and chair set, the transfer student is coming soon."

“转校生！？”赵烨兴奋的说：“公的母的？”

"Transfer student?!" Zhao Ye exclaimed, "Is it a boy or a girl?"

方茴白了他一眼，说：“女生。”

Fang Hui shot him a glance and said, "Girl."

“哦也！乔燃中午请客啊！我赌赢了！”赵烨握拳说，“漂亮不。”

"Oh yeah! Qiao Ran is treating us at noon! I won the bet!" Zhao Ye declared with a fist pump. "Is she pretty?"

“嗯，挺漂亮的。”方茴说着，偷偷看了看陈寻。

"Yeah, pretty good-looking," Fang Hui said, stealing a covert glance at Chen Xun.

“走走走！甭写了！小崔今天不会点名让你回答问题的！上节课他不是就点你了么！一起搬桌子去！”

"Come on! Stop writing! Xiao Cui won't call on you to answer questions today! Didn't he just point to you in the last class? Let’s go move some desks!"

听说是美女，赵烨一下子来了精神。

Hearing about the beauty, Zhao Ye instantly perked up.

陈寻紧写了几笔，把书塞给方茴说：“抄不完了，还剩两片儿，帮我写了吧。”

Chen Xun quickly scribbled a few more lines, stuffed the book into Fang Hui's hands, and said, "I can’t finish it. I’ve got two more questions left; help me write them, okay?"

“啊？”

"Huh?"

“拜托了！拜托！”陈寻一边跑一边笑着冲她说。

"Please! Please!" Chen Xun said with a laugh while running away.

方茴拿着书愣愣的望他，陈寻这么急急忙忙的走让她心里微微有点不自在。

Fang Hui stood there holding the book, feeling a bit unsettled with how hurriedly he had left.

林嘉茉进到班里，让赵烨着实倒吸了口气。

When Lin Jia Mo entered the classroom, Zhao Ye literally gasped.

“咱们班终于有能拿得出手的了！明儿我就上队里显摆显摆去！”他看着林嘉茉的背影小声对陈寻说。

"Our class finally has someone presentable! I'm showing off in the brigade tomorrow!" He whispered to Chen Xun while watching Lin Jia Mo's back.

“一只羊，换三个斧头，这三个斧头……”政治崔老师在前面声音宏亮的讲着课，不停的向他们这边看。

"A sheep trades for three axes, and these three axes…" Teacher Cui's booming voice resounded as he continued teaching and kept glancing in their direction.

陈寻目视前方，假装记笔记说：“方茴说漂亮我都没当回事，她说谁都漂亮，没想到真还行！”

Chen Xun stared straight ahead, pretending to take notes, saying, "Fang Hui said she was pretty; I didn't take her seriously since she thinks everyone is beautiful. I didn't expect her to be this good-looking!"

“我看着一般吧，你们至于那么兴奋吗！”乔燃说。

"I think she's only average. Why are you guys so excited?" Qiao Ran chimed in.

“后面的同学别说话！”崔老师提醒他们，接着指向黑板说，“这三个斧头……”

"Students at the back, quiet!" Teacher Cui reminded them, then pointed to the blackboard and said, "These three axes…"

“乔燃就觉得方茴好看！”赵烨把书拿到腿上，低下头说。

Laughter erupted throughout the classroom.

“滚！”乔燃狠狠瞥了他一眼。

Since Lin Jia Mo hadn’t joined everyone for lunch this month, she had to sit aside waiting for the life committee member, Qiao Ran, to go find the teacher for mediation.

“方茴是挺好看的。”陈寻转着笔说。

Seizing the opportunity, Zhao Ye approached her, "You’re Lin Jia Mo, right? Which school did you come from?"

“比林嘉茉还是差点。”赵烨摇摇头说。

"Um, from W School," Lin Jia Mo replied kindly.

“不一样。”陈寻偷偷看了看前排的方茴。

"Oh, that’s pretty far from our school! Do you live over there?"

“唉唉唉！”崔老师拿起板擦拍了几下说，“后面那三个人，怎么回事啊！再说叫你们出去了啊！”

"No, my house is closer to our school."

三个人立马坐好，不再吭声。

"I mean, can you bring something fresh? Go, go, go! Get the food!" Chen Xun, smiling, walked over with his plate of food.

崔老师停了停说：“我们接着看啊，这三个板擦……”

"Just having a little chat with the new classmate!" Zhao Ye protested, unwilling to leave.

全班同学哄笑了起来。

"How about having a bite with us first? Take Qiao Ran's portion. Once he comes back, both of you will be stuck with cold food," Chen Xun suggested.

因为林嘉茉没和大家一起定这个月的饭，所以中午只能坐在一边等生活委员乔燃去找老师协调。

"Yeah, yeah! I can give you some!" Zhao Ye nodded eagerly.

赵烨不失时机的过去搭话：“你是叫林嘉茉吧？你原来哪个学校的？”

"Is that okay? What if you guys don’t have enough later?" Lin Jia Mo questioned.

“嗯，W中的。”林嘉茉和气的说。

"No problem! Fang Hui will eat with us too; she eats little and always has leftovers! You two can share as well! I'll help you move a table!"

“哦，离咱们学校挺远的啊！你们家住那边么？”

While saying this, Zhao Ye got up to move a table.

“不是，我家离咱们学校近。”

By the time Fang Hui finished washing her hands and returned, the three of them were already seated. Lin Jia Mo was between Chen Xun and Zhao Ye, setting up the food.

“我说你丫来点新鲜的行不行啊！去去去！拿饭去！”陈寻拿了菜走过来笑着说。

"Come on! Let’s eat together today!" Zhao Ye called out to her.

“和新同学小聊一下嘛！”赵烨不甘心的站了起来。

Fang Hui quietly walked over and sat across from Chen Xun where she usually sat next to him, but today that spot was taken by Lin Jia Mo.

“要不先和我们一块吃点吧！吃乔燃那份。等他回来，估计你们俩都得吃凉的了。”陈寻说。

"We’re short one meal," Fang Hui said.

“对对对！我给你拨点也行！”赵烨忙点头说。

"Qiao Ran went to ask the teacher for it; I asked Lin Jia Mo to eat his portion first," Chen Xun said while handing her a pair of chopsticks.

“行吗？别一会你们不够了。”林嘉茉说。

"Just stick to mine," Fang Hui said, gently pushing her meal away. "What if he doesn’t get it back?"

“没问题！方茴也和我们一起吃，她吃的少，每天都剩！你和她合着吃也行！我给你搬桌子去啊！”

"Then what will you do!" Chen Xun pushed it back toward her. "Eat yours; otherwise, I’ll ask Qiao Ran to buy hamburgers."

赵烨说着就起身去搬桌子了。

"No need." With determination, Fang Hui handed her meal to Lin Jia Mo, saying, "It's fine; just eat mine. I’m not hungry."

等方茴洗完手回来，他们三个人已经都坐好了，林嘉茉在陈寻和赵烨中间，正在摆饭。

The atmosphere turned inexplicably awkward. Lin Jia Mo looked at them and said, "How about this: I’ll eat with Fang Hui. Is that okay? You don’t mind me, right?"

“快来！今天咱们一起吃！”赵烨招呼她说。

Fang Hui quickly shook her head, saying, "Not at all!"

方茴默默的走过去坐在了陈寻对面，她平时一直挨着他，但今天那地儿被林嘉茉占了。

"That’s good!" Lin Jia Mo smiled as she opened her lunch box.

“少一盒饭啊。”方茴说。

Before long, Qiao Ran returned with the food. Zhao Ye was in high spirits, while Fang Hui hadn’t said another word.

“乔燃找老师要去了，我让林嘉茉先吃他这份。”陈寻递给她一双筷子说。

That evening, Fang Hui received a call from Chen Xun. They exchanged completed math and physics assignments but soon fell silent.

“还是吃我这个吧。”方茴把自己的饭推出去，淡淡的说，“万一没要回来呢。”

Not hearing any response from his end, Fang Hui finally spoke up, "I’m hanging up then."

“那你怎么办啊！”陈寻又推给了她说，“吃你的吧，不行我让乔燃去买汉堡。”

"Don’t you have anything you want to say to me?" Chen Xun asked.

“不用。”方茴执拗的把饭递给林嘉茉说，“没事，你就吃我的吧，我不饿。”

"What is there to say?"

气氛莫名其妙的有些尴尬，林嘉茉看了看他们说：“这样吧，我和方茴吃一个，行么？你不嫌我吧？”

"Fang Hui…" Chen Xun hesitated, "You haven’t… ever said you liked me."

方茴忙摇摇头说：“不嫌！”

"Oh."

“那就好！”林嘉茉笑着打开了餐盒。

"What does 'oh' mean!" Chen Xun said, a little anxious. After lunch, Fang Hui had been ignoring him.

没一会儿，乔燃就领回了饭，赵烨兴致很高，而方茴却再没说一句话。

Upon reflection, it had always been him who initiated conversations, and he had never received a call from Fang Hui first.

晚上回家，方茴接到了陈寻的电话，两人对完数学和物理作业，都沉默了下来。

But this afternoon, she had quite insistently defended Qiao Ran’s lunch, which left him feeling uneasy.

听那边没有动静，方茴说：“那我就挂了。”

"Chen Xun," Fang Hui's voice was small and trembled slightly, "If you think I’m not good enough or if you don't like me anymore, just tell me directly, it’s okay."

“没什么想跟我说的了？”陈寻说。

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about!" Chen Xun exclaimed in surprise. "Who said I don’t like you anymore!"

“说什么啊？”

"I'm not that great of a girl either…"

“方茴……”陈寻顿了顿，“你还没……没说过你喜欢我呢。”

"Stop!" Chen Xun interrupted her, "I get it now, you’re upset because I invited Lin Jia Mo to eat with us, right?"

“哦。”

"No…"

“哦是什么啊！”陈寻有点着急，今天中午以后方茴就一直没理他。

"Haha, yes it is! Don’t deny it! Are you jealous?" Chen Xun suddenly perked up. He always felt that Fang Hui's attitude was ambiguous and didn’t reflect that she cared as much as he did.

仔细想起来，两个人之间永远都是他先说话，甚至他都没接过方茴主动打来的电话。

Thus, the thought that Fang Hui was jealous brought him immense joy.

而中午的时候，她却那么较劲的帮乔燃护食，这让他心里很不舒服。

"I’m not!" Fang Hui quickly denied.

“陈寻，”方茴的声音很小，微微有些颤抖，“你要是觉得我不好了，或者不喜欢我了，直接跟我说，没关系的。”

In truth, she was slightly heartbroken, not because of anything Chen Xun did, but because Lin Jia Mo was just too perfect, while she lacked any confidence in matters of the heart.

“啊？你胡说什么呢！”陈寻惊讶地说，“谁说我不喜欢你了！”

Hence, these subtle feelings of sorrow knotted up in her heart.

“我也不是特别好的女孩……”

"Do you know why I asked her to eat with us?" Chen Xun lowered his voice, "It’s because I want her to keep you company. During PE, you always sit alone, and I can't be calling out names every class, playing with girls!"

“停！”陈寻打断她说，“我知道了，你是因为中午我叫林嘉茉一块吃饭生气了，对不对？”

"And..." Chen Xun emphasized, "I don’t not like you, and you’re not allowed to not like me!"

“不是……”

“哈哈，就是！别不承认！你是不是吃醋了？”陈寻突然高兴起来，他总觉得方茴态度模糊，并不如自己那么在乎。

因此，方茴为他吃醋让他格外欢喜。

“没有！”方茴忙否认说。

其实她的确是有点心酸的，倒不是陈寻做了怎么样的事，只是林嘉茉过于美好，而她对情感这种东西，又实在没有什么自信。

于是，这些细微的忧愁便在她心里打成了结。

“知道我为什么叫她一起吃饭么？”陈寻放低声音说，“那是因为我想她平时能陪陪你，上体育你总是一个人呆着，我也不能每节课都和女生玩叫号啊！”

“还有……”陈寻加重了语调，“我没有不喜欢你，你也不许不喜欢我！”