AllUnbridled

Unbridled Chapter 1

It was a beautiful windy day with no clouds.

What great weather.

Lin Wuyu leaned against the railing on the rooftop and wrote in a small notebook with his head dipped.

He was surrounded by noisy people; there were many students and teachers standing by the staircase’s entrance on the rooftop, a camera was filming a girl who was shouting on the rooftop, and the space below the rooftop was surrounded by even more people, so tightly packed not even a drop of water could trickle through, and everyone was tilting their heads together.

This was probably one of the most popular events organized by the Student Union this year.

“The food in our cafeteria is so good! The food is definitely the best in the city!” The girls shouted.

There was a round of applause under the rooftop, and Lin Wuyu looked down and smiled.

“Do you still have to note this down?” The vice principal of the student council’s publicity department came over and froze when he saw him, and said “Didn’t the student council hire someone to record, so how why are you still …… then shouldn’t I note it down as well?”

“Hmm?” Lin Wuyu raised his eyes and looked at him, “Oh, you should note it down, after all, this is the first time our school has done this kind of activity, so it’s quite meaningful.”

The vice principal was new to his position and was very serious about his work, so after hearing him say this, he immediately nodded and took out the small notebook he carried with him.

After scrambling at the blank page for a moment, he moved closer to Lin Wuyu, and said “You’re…”

“Don’t look at mine,” Lin Wuyu took out his glasses from his jacket pocket and put them on, “It’s a more comprehensive record from multiple angles.”

“Right!” The vice minister suddenly understood, biting his lip as he lowered his head and began pressing his lips together.

Lin Wuyu lowered his head and continued to write in his notebook.

For dinner, I want to eat lo mein noodles with a bit more oil.

It’d be great if it was lard.

Lard-

He wasn’t done writing his multi-perspective analysis, but Lin Wuyu heard a girl’s voice coming from the front, “I still can’t…  nevermind, I’m suddenly a little scared, no, it’s more like I’ve suddenly frozen up from nerves, I don’t have enough bravery to go up and speak anymore.”

When he looked up, he saw the student council president Li Ying smiling as she patted a girl’s shoulder, “It’s okay if you’re too scared to go up, just let other students go on first, you take it easy.”

Shouting on the rooftop; this kind of thing, even though you also have to line up, this and the environment of lining up to buy a cup of milk tea are two completely separate things.

When buying milk tea, it’s best to cut to the front of the line, and even if the people behind don’t say a thing, they still want to curse whoever cut to the front of the line until they became a rotten egg, the kind with long green fuzz, but this occasion’s different; if someone cuts to the front, the people at the back may also breathe a sigh of relief.

But now, not only were there less people, they were also less fierce, and the students waiting to go up shout suddenly turned their heads, all stuck frozen staring at Li Ying.

The girl currently shouting on the rooftop for the cafeteria lady to please not shake the spoon was already shouting her closing statement, and she was almost finished shouting. This kind of heated atmosphere; if she was followed by awkward silence, it’d be too embarrassing.

“I’ll go.” Lin Wuyu closed his notebook, casually rolled it up, and inserted in his back pocket.

“Okay.” Li Ying nodded without thinking, and didn’t bother to ask what he was going to say; after all, he was the god of learning; letting him go up and shout a paragraph or two wouldn’t be that big of an issue.

It took about sixteen steps for Lin Wuyu to go from where he was standing to the railing of the rooftop where people were shouting, and he walked over there not quite knowing what he wanted to say.

What should he say?

When he reached the rooftop, he saw Xu Tianbo standing next to a tree looking upwards with his head tilted.

Lin Wuyu pushed up his glasses, propped his hand on the rooftop railing, and smiled down.

After a bunch of girls screamed, he opened his mouth, “Good afternoon everyone, I’m Lin Wuyu.”

For Lin Yuyu, within his scope of control, many times impulsiveness was a pleasant feeling, just like right now.

The camera beside him was quickly about to attack him, so he looked down and cleared his throat.

“Actually, I didn’t expect that one day I’d stand here and speak to so many people.”

The voices under the rooftop gradually weakened.

Even though it wasn’t the plan to stand here and speak; even though he wasn’t sure what he was going to say within the first second of standing here.

“These words have been bottled up in my heart for a long time, and I want to say them, not just for myself, but also for people like me.”

But once he opened his mouth, every word that comes out sounded like it was rehearsed hundreds of times.

“I have someone I like very much, he may or may not know, but it doesn’t matter,” he raised his head, his voice as clear and calm as before, “I won’t confess to you, but I will tell everyone that I like men.”

The surroundings went silent, the camera froze in his peripheral vision, and the cameraman stuck out half of his face from behind the camera.

  Lin Wuyu, on most matters, had 100% confidence; even buy-one-get-100%-free adding up to 200% confidence; but in this moment of silence, he was still a bit nervous.

He just lowered his head, and didn’t even dare to look at Xu Tianbo’s face below him.

Then a whistle sounded.

Lin Wuyu’s tense nerves snapped loose, and he let out an imperceptible soft exhale.

He said a sentence or two after, but he didn’t even bother remembering it, after all he could just remember it if the occasion needed it.

 He was willing to recall every frame, no matter how long it took.

As he left the rooftop railing he heard Li Ying’s lowered voice: “You didn’t even hesitate! You’re awesome.”

While he was going down the stairs from the rooftop, he ran into his teacher, Old Lin, who was almost forty this year and had the same surname, so Lin Wuyu had been calling him his older brother.

“Premeditated?” Old Lin stopped in front of him.

“No,” Lin Wuyu replied, “Do you really need to prepare just to go up and say a few words?”

“The key is the content.” Old Lin laughed.

“That’s not it either,” Lin Wuyu thought about it, “will it have any effect on you though?”

“What effect can it even have on me?” Old Lin said.

“Then that’s good,” Lin Wuyu whispered, “Can I leave early? I’m hungry.”

“Go, go, go.” Old Lin waved his hand at him.

Lin Wuyu ran down the stairs in a flash and went back to the dormitory first.

There were four people in the dormitory, and except for him who was able to go to the rooftop because he was in the student council, the other three were all lying on the desk, not even raising their heads when they heard someone come in.

“Is the event over?” Liu Ziyi asked as he raised his head.

“So soon?” Chen Mang was buried in his book, “I thought it lasted until school ended?”

“It’s not over,” Lin Wuyu took off his jacket and reached out to take off the glasses on Liu Ziyi’s face, “Has your prescription worsened again?”

“Yeah, you could tell?” Liu Ziyi rubbed his eyes, “Were you counting the circles?”

“What need would I have to count the circles?” Lin Wuyu picked up the glasses cloth that Liu Ziyi placed on the corner of the table that he used once every million years to wipe his glasses, “I just noticed that your eyes have gotten even smaller.”

“Shit.” Liu Ziyi sighed.

Everyone in the room started to snicker.

“Yu1, are you eating in the cafeteria tonight or are you going out to eat?” Chen Mang stretched his back and turned his head to look at him.

“Say what you want to eat.” Lin Wuyu handed the polished glasses to Liu Ziyi and watched his rather large eyes shrink in half with a swoosh.

“You see what you can do.” Chen Mang touched his stomach, “I can be satisfied eating hospital food.”

Lin Wuyu changed his jacket and was about to leave the dorm when Chen Mang chased after him, “Can you come back before evening study?”

“Me?” Lin Wuyu pointed at himself.

“…Pretend I didn’t ask,” Chen Mang gave him a hug, “You’re the kind of guy that doesn’t need to study late.”

Lin Wuyu closed the dormitory door and hadn’t even reached the stairway when his phone rang and a message came in.

He didn’t rush to look, even though he gets messages from morning to night, but from the sound just now, he can almost immediately guess who it will be.

His sixth sense keeps stealing the spotlight.

It’s been 15 minutes since he finished talking on the rooftop, and with his understanding of Xu Tianbo, from his reaction to his hesitation and then his determination to send a message, he figured it’d take the same amount of time.

In terms of his speed handling this kind of event, he can be considered a rather decisive person.

Lin Wuyu admitted that he wasn’t brave enough to look at his message right now.

He went to a small street food stand and bought a popsicle to chew on and shock himself a little.

There was no good lo mein around the school; the best lo mein was at home, made by his old man.

His home isn’t far from the school, to be exact, it’s very close; so close that his parents can know without guessing that he lives in the school just to get away from home.

But today, he was really missing the lo mein, and he, who never really went home until he needed to get his clothes, stood at the school gate for a few minutes, then turned around and walked towards the road home.

After a few steps, he took out his phone and tapped on WeChat.

Then he quickly tapped on the red “1” at the top.

-The god of learning is awesome! No matter if you like men or women, I am your best friend!

Lin Wuyu walked forward while looking at his phone without hesitation.

His finger hovered on the screen for a while, but ultimately he didn’t press down on it. Instead, he quickly turned off the screen and put his phone back in his pocket.

It was after entering the neighborhood, when he suddenly stopped.

Only then did he start to feel himself breathing a little uncomfortably.

In fact, he shouldn’t have been surprised. If Xutian Bo could guess who he was talking about, then this reply was inevitable.

When he received the message, he almost anticipated this kind of reply, which was gentle and decisive, without hurting anyone or leaving room for doubt.

But when he stood on the rooftop and opened his mouth, he deliberately didn’t think about the “if”.

Now this deliberate neglect made him realize that he had overestimated his own tolerance.

He felt a bit uncomfortable.

“Why’d you come home today?” The voice from behind interrupted Lin Wuyu’s preparation to further pity himself.

“I want to eat lo mein.” He turned his head and saw his mother behind him, carrying a pocketful of vegetables.

“Why do you look so pale?” As soon as his mother saw his face, she immediately took a step forward and stared at him, “Sick? Where are you not feeling well?”

“No,” Lin Wuyu said, “I probably slept too late yesterday.”

“Is there any discomfort? A headache? Tummy ache?” His mother continued to ask.

“No.” Lin Wuyu reached out, took the dish from her hand, and walked forward.

“That’s good,” His mother continued, “You don’t have to come home so far in advance if you want to eat lo mein, and you didn’t bring your revision materials, so you’re not going to read all night today, right?”

“Yeah.” Lin Wuyu answered.

“What’s that “yeah” sound so confident for?” His mother frowned, “Do you think that you are a god of learning when people praise you as a god of learning? If you are really a god of learning, how come you didn’t even dare to skip a grade since you were young? How do you dare not guarantee yourself a perfect score? How come you don’t dare to…”

“Mom,” Lin Wuyu turned his head, index finger up to his lips, and lowered his voice, “Shhh… listen.”

“Listen to what?” His mother asked.

“Listen to me.” Lin Wuyu said.

His mother didn’t react for a moment and looked at him.

“I won’t think I’m a genius just because people call me smart, but I won’t think I can’t do anything just because people call me dumb; I have a sense of judgement,”  Lin Wuyu said calmly, with a pace that was as leisurely as a walk compared to his mother’s machine gun-like speed. “And I want to remind you of one thing again: in addition to things I’m afraid to do, there are many things I don’t want to do in life.”

“You…” His mother returned to her senses, wrinkling her eyebrows.

“Hush,” Lin Wuyu raised his index finger again, “Listen.”

“Listen to what again!” His mother raised her voice angrily.

“If both of us don’t talk,” Lin Wuyu said, “the mood will be much better.”

When he entered, his dad was already in the kitchen making lo mein, and his mom, who had come home before him, was sitting on the sofa with her brows scrunched up.

“Don’t fight with your mom too much.” His father said.

“Mmm.” Lin Wuyu answered.

“You’re not a kid anymore, you’re going to university soon,” His father said, “learn to be understanding of your parents and empathize with them ……”

“Mmm.” Lin Wuyu answered again.

To their credit, his parents have achieved this. They are able to empathize and understand each other.

This is because they are a pair of parents who are equally struggling with conflicting emotions.

Lin Wuyu turned and walked towards his own room.

“Open the windows in your brother’s room, let some fresh air in.” His mother said.

“Okay.” Lin Wuyu’s footsteps hesitated for a moment, and he walked into the room next to his own.

He opened all the windows, then quickly left, returning to his own room and locking the door. He lay down on the bed.

Lo mein is harmful.

Greed is harmful.

If he doesn’t eat lo mein…what should he eat now?

————-

“Fried noodles with sauce?” Ding Ji’s grandma’s face suddenly appeared in front of him.

“Oh my ancestors!” Ding Ji was so scared that he kicked the table edge in front of him, shaking the phone standing on the table to the ground.

“What are you doing?” He patted his chest. “You scared your great-grandson, are you even worthy of the Ding family’s ancestors?”

“Is this all it takes to scare you? Are you worthy of the Ding family’s ancestors as my great-grandson?” Grandma asked. “What are you looking at? Horror movies?”

“When have I watched those?” Ding Ji sighed, bending down to pick up his phone. He didn’t have much courage as a child and the old lady always took the opportunity to scare him with her principle of using poison to attack poison. He felt like his courage would disappear in a few years.

He had watched this documentary for several days, with all sorts of major murder cases. The old documentaries of murder scenes were uncensored and suddenly there was a shocking scene. It was enough to feel like someone was tickling his back with their hair while he was watching it, not just at night but even at dusk.

After being scared by the old lady, he didn’t feel like watching anymore and threw his phone to the side. He stood up and stretched, saying “What was it we were talking about eating? Fried noodles with sauce?”

“If you want something else, Grandma will make it for you.” Grandma walked to the window and looked outside.

“I want dumplings.” Ding Ji said.

“Sure, then I’ll make some dumplings for you.” His grandma nodded, but still stood by the window without moving.

“What are you looking at?” Ding Ji asked, standing next to his grandmother and looking out.

“Someone from some family’s died,” His grandma said with a stony expression, counting on her fingers. “Is it…”

Ding Ji looked at the peaceful scene on the street below and didn’t hear any commotion. Just as he was about to ask how someone could have died, a few yellow paper bills2 drifted over from the road.

Blowing in the wind, they floated along the road and away.

“Holy shit man,” Ding Ji’s back tingled. He immediately turned away from the window and scratched his back. “Can you not do this?”

“Isn’t your grandma a god?” Grandma turned around and smiled at him.

“God, my ass,” Ding Ji put on his coat and said, “Nowadays, we value science. Why are you still playing around with all that superstitious stuff?”

“Don’t talk nonsense!” Grandma slapped his back. “It’s true!”

Ding Ji turned around and leaned in close to his grandmother’s face, speaking in a low, mysterious tone. “Grandma, tell me honestly, did paper bills fly past already just now?”

His grandma looked at him with a mysterious look and said after a while, “There were several.”

Ding Ji couldn’t stop laughing and put on his shoes to go out. “I’ll go out for a walk.”

“You want to eat dumplings but you won’t even help roll out the dough? Section it? Flatten it?” His grandma said all in a row.

“I don’t know how to make dough, and you won’t let me cut it with a knife.” Ding Ji said.

“You don’t mix the filling? Don’t boil the water?” Grandma said.

“Fried noodles with sauce,” said Ding Ji, holding the door frame, “I want to eat fried noodles with sauce now.”

“Stinky brat, you’re not good at anything. Your second aunt will be here soon, I’ll let her help me,” Grandma said as she counted on her fingers.

“My second aunt isn’t coming until tomorrow,” Ding Ji said.

“She’s coming today,” His grandma said as she raised her eyebrows. “She’ll be here soon.”

Ding Ji went downstairs and ran into Auntie Hu who was walking up the stairs. He greeted her, and asked “Auntie Hu, do you have a cold?”

“Ah, I caught a cold this morning from the wind,” Auntie Hu replied. After she finished walking down the stairs, she grabbed the railing out of surprise and asked, “How did you know?”

Ding Ji smiled and didn’t say anything.

“You’ve learned a lot from your grandmother…” Auntie Hu sighed and asked, “How did you know?”

Ding Ji sighed and thought that it was too easy to deceive people. He only heard Auntie Hu sneeze and sigh heavily with a serious nasal sound when he was talking to his grandmother at the door.

However, his grandmother is sometimes quite mysterious. When he walked out of the hallway, he met his second aunt.

“Second aunt, did you tell my grandmother that you were coming?” Ding Ji asked immediately.

“No, I just passed by to do some work today. I originally said I would come tomorrow,” His second aunt said, “But since I’m already here, I might as well come today.”

“Then how did she know you were coming?” Ding Ji asked.

“She just counted with her fingers,” His second aunt said, “You and your grandmother have learned the most in the family. Why are you asking me?”

Ding Ji smiled and lowered his head to start counting on his left finger.

“What did you calculate?” His second aunt smiled and asked as she walked up the stairs.

“I will have good luck with love within a week,” Ding Ji raised his eyebrows.

Translator's Notes

  1. T/N: This Yu means “fish” in Chinese since it’s pronounced the same
  2. T/N: Generally when someone dies in China, we burn yellow paper bills (joss paper) as a way to send them money into the afterlife (it’s fake money)