masochistic tendencies

masochistic tendencies

Shen Muwei found it really strange. She got up in the morning to ask Song Yuanbai to go to the supermarket to buy things, but he made an excuse that he had something to do.

She then called Xiang Zhixing again, again using the excuse that she had something to do and couldn't come out.

She wondered to herself, "These two used to be able to meet up with each other easily, so why is it so hard to meet up with them now?"

With such beautiful weather, Shen Muwei wouldn't waste all her time on these two people, so she made plans to go out and have fun with her roommates.

During the National Day holiday, no one went home; everyone just stayed in their dorms. During holidays like this, major cities become tourist attractions, and it's basically packed with people everywhere. My two roommates have been in Huishi for three years now, so they're not in a hurry to go out and have fun.

The university town is lively, but it's much better than the city center. The three students in dormitory 604 booked a karaoke bar in the university town a day in advance to sing in the afternoon.

It was already six o'clock in the afternoon when we finished singing. We couldn't see the sky outside from inside the mall, but we knew it was getting late from the time on our phones.

In the afternoon, they drank beverages and ate snacks at the KTV. Since they weren't hungry and weren't in a hurry to eat, they strolled leisurely around the mall and eventually ended up in the secret room where Shen Muwei worked.

Shen Muwei took the flyer and looked at it carefully. She found that the boss was really lazy. The content of the flyer poster had not changed, only the title had been changed. It changed from "Grand Opening" to "Celebrating the Double Festival".

The shop was bustling with people, and it was a holiday, so it seemed the owner's business was doing quite well.

Shen Muwei had seen classmates posting about the escape room on their WeChat Moments and collecting likes several times, or she had heard classmates discussing this escape room off campus during public lectures.

Passing by, Shen Muwei felt a sense of wonder and couldn't help but peek inside to see what was going on. She wanted to greet the owner, but he was busy introducing the theme script to others and had no time for her.

Just as Shen Muwei was about to walk away, someone suddenly jumped out and called her; it was a lovely female voice.

Shifting her gaze, Shen Muwei quickly spotted the person who had arrived—it was Liang Jiayu, whom she had met more than half a month ago. Her military training was over, and her skin, unusually, hadn't been tanned; she still looked like a fair-skinned young girl.

"Senior! You're here to hang out too?"

Shen Muwei smiled and waved at her: "No, I was just passing by and took a look because it was so lively here. My friends and I just finished singing and are now looking for a place to eat."

She then asked, "You didn't get tanned! What brand of sunscreen do you use? Can you give me a link?"

Liang Jiayu immediately took out her phone from her bag excitedly: "Senior, I'll add you on WeChat and send it to you! This is really super useful, look at the back of my neck."

As she spoke, she turned around to show Shen Muwei the back of her neck, which was already red from the sun, with some peeling skin, and was a shade darker than the rest of her body.

"I just didn't pay attention to applying sunscreen, look how sunburned I got, that shows how amazing my sunscreen is."

"Quickly! Send it to me right now!"

With such a vivid example before her, Shen Muwei urged her to send the link immediately so she could place an order right away.

Liang Jiayu was sending WeChat messages when she suddenly asked, "Senior, have you seen what my brother looks like now?"

How is your brother?

Liang Jiayu seemed to think of something and found it funny, so she suppressed a laugh and said, "It seems my brother got beaten up. His face was really funny. When we were eating together yesterday, I was looking at his face and it was so hard to hold back my laughter."

My dear sister, she wasn't worried at all about her brother's injury; she was just too busy laughing.

No wonder I couldn't get anyone to come; this guy is really concerned about his image.

Shen Muwei still asked with concern, "I didn't know about this. Who hit him?"

"He said he fell by himself, but it doesn't look like it to me. It looks like he was beaten up. Please don't tell him that I told you, or he'll cause me trouble later."

"Don't worry, I won't tell." Shen Muwei patted her shoulder.

Liang Jiayu's classmates called her from inside, and it was their turn.

"I'll go in first, senior. We can contact each other on WeChat if anything comes up."

"Okay, go have fun."

After the conversation ended, Qian Eryun found a restaurant and checked the address; there was a branch on the food court floor of the shopping mall.

She looked at her phone and asked, "What's going on? Did Xiang Zhixing get beaten up?"

Shen Muwei shrugged: "I don't know, maybe I offended someone. Come on, let's go eat."

The group took the elevator upstairs and ate coconut chicken. After finishing their meal, they had nothing else to do and prepared to return to school early.

Halfway there, Shen Muwei suddenly remembered the incident with Liang Jiayu, so she stopped at a cold drink shop and bought an extra cup of fruit tea.

Zhao Ranzhu glanced at her and said, "You're acting a bit strange now. You've actually started spending money on men."

"Wow, a cup of fruit tea is considered spending money?" Shen Muwei retorted.

Zhao Ranzhu retorted, "Oh, of course! You weren't even this nice to him a while ago."

Qian Eryun chimed in, "That's right, that's right. You wouldn't have fallen for him, would you? After all, you chat every day and see each other all the time."

Shen Muwei feigned horror: "What are you talking about? Don't say that, it's scary. I just want to see how badly he's been beaten, I want to laugh at him. I need to buy something to trick him into coming down, otherwise what excuse can I use empty-handed?"

“There are many excuses for going empty-handed. Your explanation is very suspicious.”

Shen Muwei was speechless. She really didn't have any other purpose, nor was she concerned about him. She just found Liang Jiayu's words very interesting and wanted to see how funny they were. She also wanted to laugh.

She didn't know what to say for a while, and finally said in a resigned manner, "Okay, I understand that being misunderstood is my fate."

Qian Eryun and Zhao Ranzhu were amused by her, but the jokes stopped there.

The weather in Hui City hadn't completely cooled down yet; the daytime heat still lingered after nightfall, and a cool breeze made it a refreshing early autumn night.

At the fork in the road, she said goodbye to her two friends, and took a picture of herself carrying fruit tea on the way and sent it to Xiang Zhixing.

Movie: [I bought you fruit tea, come down and get it.]

Three minutes later, Xiang Zhixing replied: "I'm not in the dorm."

Shen Muwei was almost at his dormitory building by then, and she didn't know if he was really not in the dormitory or if he was too embarrassed to meet her.

Their steps immediately came to a halt.

Shen Muwei looked at his phone screen with some hesitation, then glanced at the distance of only ten meters from his dormitory, and suddenly felt that he seemed to have come uninvited.

After thinking about it for a moment, she decided to give up, but the water droplets on the outer wall of the cup formed several winding streams that stuck tightly to the packaging.

She unconsciously fiddled with the handle, then decided to go back.

She didn't even reach his dorm building before texting him: "I'll head back now."

xzx: [Why don't you leave the fruit tea with Auntie? I can get it when I come back.]

Having grasped the key information, Shen Muwei said: "Will you be back soon? If you're coming back soon, I can wait for you a little longer."

He immediately sent a message: [No, it'll be a while. He might not be back today. Maybe you should drink it yourself.]

At this moment, Shen Muwei looked up and saw Zhou Chengming walking towards her, but he clearly did not see Shen Muwei and was only focused on walking with his head down.

Shen Muwei immediately sent a voice message to Xiang Zhixing: "I can't drink anymore. I already had a drink tonight. I saw your roommate. I'll give this to him."

She had barely finished speaking and taken a few steps forward when her phone started buzzing in her hand.

Seeing that it was Xiang Zhixing calling, she stopped and answered, but then, fearing that Zhou Chengming would leave, she shouted, "Don't go!"

Zhou Chengming stopped abruptly upon hearing the sound, looked over blankly, and upon realizing it was Shen Muwei, his expression became complicated.

"What do you want to say?" she asked Xiang Zhixing when she saw Zhou Chengming stop.

The relationship between Xiang Zhixing and Zhou Chengming has been a bit strange these past few days. Zhou Chengming would occasionally tease him about how dating doesn't end well, but he only dared to say that much and didn't dare to say anything else.

Therefore, Xiang Zhixing was afraid that he was only afraid of himself, not Shen Muwei. It wouldn't be good if he said something nonsense in front of Shen Muwei later.

Shen Muwei: "What? Just say what you want to say, they're about to leave."

Xiang Zhixing: "I meant to say don't bother him, I'll be right back."

"Didn't you just say you weren't coming back to stay?"

"I... I think I'll come back."

"Okay, I'll wait for you. Hurry up."

After hanging up the phone, she gave Zhou Chengming an embarrassed smile and waved, "It's nothing, you can go now."

Zhou Chengming felt that she was acting strangely. He glanced at her sideways, rolled his eyes at a less clear angle, and then left. When he got to the dormitory building, he stood at the door and punched a set of punches towards the outside.

After finishing the set of punches, he felt a little relieved and exhaled several heavy breaths through his nostrils. He turned around and saw the dormitory aunt looking him up and down with strange eyes.

He smiled awkwardly, forgetting that there was a dormitory supervisor on the first floor.

He could only touch his neck and greet the auntie with a "Hi~"

The aunt still gave him the same look, and realizing he'd made a fool of himself, he quickly went back to his dorm.

If Shen Muwei hadn't met Liang Jiayu today and hadn't known he was injured, she would have believed his story. But after seeing Liang Jiayu, she probably knew that he was embarrassed to go downstairs and see people because he had been beaten.

She didn't expose him, nor did she wait for him downstairs in his dormitory, giving him ample time to react.

Ten minutes later, Xiang Zhixing appeared in front of her.

Shen Muwei nodded in approval in her heart. He acted quite realistically, and even ran until he was covered in sweat.

"You must be hot from running around, hurry up and have a drink..."

Shen Muwei finally understood why Liang Jiayu said he wanted to laugh. Who hit him and how did they manage to turn his left eye into a black panda eye?

She suppressed a laugh and handed him the fruit tea with her trembling right hand.

Xiang Zhixing lowered his head, trying to hide the bruise on his left cheek, but it was so big that he couldn't avoid it no matter what angle he tried.

He glanced at her helplessly and said, "If you want to laugh, just laugh. Why are you holding it in?"

Shen Muwei immediately started laughing wildly, squatting on the ground and almost unable to get up.

Seeing her laugh like that, he inexplicably chuckled a couple of times as well.

After she finished laughing, Shen Muwei stood up and wiped away her tears. She saw that he had already started drinking fruit tea and was looking at her calmly.

"If Liang Jiayu hadn't told me, I wouldn't have believed you'd really become like this. You're so funny!"

Fine, Liang Jiayu, you traitor! I specifically told you not to say it, but you insisted on saying it anyway.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"I fell," he said calmly.

Shen Muwei curled her lips, knowing full well but not saying anything, and nodded: "So you fell! Where did you fall? Tell me, so I can avoid this place."

Xiang Zhixing said coldly, "Don't worry, you don't need to avoid lightning. You fell on my bed, so you wouldn't..."

He stopped himself in time; what he said was a bit too strange.

But Shen Muwei hadn't expected this.

"Ah! The beds in your boys' dorm are the same as the ones in our girls' dorm, right? We also have that pole next to our beds. I guess I'll have to be more careful next time."

She certainly didn't really believe it was a problem with the pole, but she cooperated with him.

After finishing the joke, she curled her lips and leaned closer to look, then gently poked it with her index finger: "This looks really scary. You're so ruthless. I'm telling you, your bed is really ruthless to you."

Xiang Zhixing subconsciously shrank back a little, and Shen Muwei's fingers moved up a bit more.

She poked very lightly, but the area around the eyes was already bruised, and it was very noticeable no matter where she touched.

Her touch made my skin itch, which stimulated the nerves under my skin, causing a numb and painful sensation around my eyelids.

He suddenly felt that he might have masochistic tendencies. He actually wanted her to press down harder, to let him feel the numbing sensation that came from her being enveloped in pain.

He took a deep breath and didn't respond to what Chen Muwei had just said.

Shen Muwei withdrew her hand and asked, "What's wrong? Does it hurt?"

Of course it hurts, it would be strange if it didn't.

He swallowed twice and said, "No, it's getting late, you should go home early."

Shen Muwei then asked, "How's your other eye? Did the injury to this eye affect the other one?"

"The check-up has been done, and everything is fine now. Just take good care of yourself."

She seemed to suddenly sense the subtle change in the atmosphere, for no apparent reason. It was strange; she had never felt this way before.

Perhaps it really hurt Xiang Zhixing's eyes. Under the streetlight, his high brow bone made his brown pupils appear black, and his eyes stared straight at her, making her feel inexplicably uneasy.

"oh."

She looked away and surveyed her surroundings. It was a holiday, and the school was nearly deserted; they had been talking for so long, yet no one had passed by.

It might be because no one was passing by that it felt a bit strange.

Suddenly, the two of them fell silent, neither of them saying they wanted to leave. They just stood there, motionless.

Coming to her senses, Shen Muwei swung her arms back and forth to ease her unease.

"Then I'll head back now."

"Let me take you there." Xiang Zhixing took two steps forward.

Shen Muwei quickly stepped back.

"No, no, no need. You're injured, go back and rest early. It's very close from here, and the school is very safe."

She turned and left.

I took a shower after getting back to my dorm to calm myself down.

The day for the camping trip to the club was fast approaching, but for some reason, they couldn't get in touch with Song Yuanbai.

She went straight to Song Yuanbai's house.

Grandpa Song opened the door; he was about to go out for a walk.

Shen Muwei greeted Song Yuanbai politely and asked if he was home.

"I'm here. I don't know what happened or who did it to me, but my face is swollen."

Shen Mu was stunned. How could it be the same as Xiang Zhixing?

She knocked on his door, but Song Yuanbai not only refused to open it for her, but also told her to go back.

Why are they all so concerned about maintaining their image?

"What haven't I seen of you? I'm asking you, are you going camping or not? Didn't you say you'd already made arrangements with them?"

A muffled voice came from inside the room: "I have an allergic reaction on my face, so I can't eat beef or mutton, and we can't go camping either. How about we both just skip it?"

Neurological disorders.

Shen Muwei cursed under her breath.

"Why didn't you say so earlier? You made me waste this whole day." Although she didn't have anything special to do, it was still very annoying.

She went to find him but didn't even get to see him. She scolded Song Yuanbai before going home.

-

The weather is getting colder day by day.

Early November in Hui City was quite cool, with clear skies all day. But autumn had finally arrived, and frost would sometimes fall quietly at night. The morning air had a chilling smell that would make your nose sting.

Hui University also welcomed its autumn sports meet.

Shen Muwei signed up for badminton. She is a level-two badminton player, and she would definitely sign up at a time like this. Even if she didn't sign up, Mu Qing would force her to.

The competition venue is not on the track and field, but in the school's indoor gymnasium, next to the indoor basketball court.

Mu Qing is a university physical education teacher, so she will naturally be a referee at the sports meet. Shen Muwei doesn't want to run into her mother during the competition, as it would make her feel pressured.

The good news is that Mu Qing is a referee in the track and field group. The bad news is that the badminton referee is very close to her mother.

During the preliminary rounds, Xiang Zhixing made a special trip to watch her compete. She was wearing breathable sportswear, her hair had grown a bit long and hadn't had a chance to get a haircut yet, so it was tied up in a small half-bun at the back, and she was wearing a sports headband that was covered by her bangs.

The match hadn't officially started yet. She stood to the side talking to her roommate, casually swinging her racket with her right hand. Her expression was relaxed, like someone chatting. From the side, she really had the air of a sporty young woman.

Shen Muwei saw Xiang Zhixing as soon as he entered the door.

During this period, Shen Muwei was going to participate in a badminton competition, and Xiang Zhixing often served as her sparring partner.

Besides running with her every day to improve her physical fitness, I also often take time to play badminton with her.

The two could often be seen running around the campus.

The day before the match, Shen Muwei invited him to come and watch her match if he had time.

He didn't agree at first, only saying that it might depend on the situation, and he wasn't sure if he would be available.

Shen Muwei immediately frowned and exposed him: "Why are you pretending like this? You said you wouldn't come, but you definitely will."

Under the moonlight, she was so confident that Xiang Zhixing was surprised that she was now so clear about his various thoughts and ulterior motives.

He agreed, "Okay, I will definitely come."

She then smiled: "That's more like it."

As they parted ways to return to their dorms, Xiang Zhixing, who had been somewhat silent the whole way, suddenly said, "Shen Muwei, I've trained with you for so long. If we win, shouldn't I get some credit for it too?"

Shen Muwei thought this person was really petty, still talking about credit. Hadn't she done enough to help him get out of the shadow of the secret room? Even though she was the culprit in this matter, and even though he hadn't gotten over it yet.

She replied, "Yes, of course it counts as one portion."

As autumn arrived, the nighttime temperature did indeed drop a bit. Xiang Zhixing sniffed and asked, "Well, if you win, could you do me a favor?"

"What kind of help?"

Xiang Zhixing didn't speak. After hesitating for a moment, he finally said, "Let's not talk about it now. We'll talk about it after you win."

"Still keeping me in suspense?"

Shen Muwei looked at him with disdain.

He nodded: "Sell one first."

"What if I didn't win?"

"You think you can't win?" He wasn't good at badminton, but he was beaten to a pulp by Shen Muwei's smashes.

Shen Muwei is not an absolute person. In her world, one must leave room for maneuver in one's words to avoid embarrassment later, even though she is very confident that she will definitely be number one at this moment.

"At least third place."

Xiang Zhixing smiled, amused by her conservatism.

"Third place counts too," he said. "Winning an award is winning."

"OK, then I can grant your wish, but don't go too far, otherwise there will be no room for negotiation."

"Don't worry, it won't be any unreasonable conditions." He smiled.