Scene 4: The Bronze City (1)

“Hello panda!” Said Nuo Nuo seriously.

With two big black eyes, Lu Mingfei rushed into the library on the second floor of the classroom. What came into his eyes was two long legs in jeans, dangling around the table, and a pair of familiar purple and gold Mary Jane shoes. Nuo Nuo sat on the table, pointing at his nose.

Lu Mingfei did not expect Nuo Nuo will take the initiative to talk to people, he was overexcited, “Sorry, yesterday I blew up your boyfriend somehow.”

Someone in the classroom hissed immediately, and Lu Mingfei just mentioned what he just said was really bad.

“Why did you blow up him and say sorry to me?” Nuo Nuo shrugged. “Go to your seat. It’s going to start. The invigilator was Professor Manstein of the disciplinary committee, I’ll take the papers.”

Professor Manstein flashed out from the side, glanced coldly at Lu Mingfei and moved his sight to the watch, “All of you are here. Now I’ll tell you the examination rules!”

“Cheating is forbidden, violators will be disqualified! Don’t try to peek at others’ papers, the camera covers the whole classroom, there is no dead corner! Don’t try to carry electronic communication devices, radio waves are also monitored in the classroom! I know you’re all geniuses, but I can tell you that people who are even more talented than you have taken tests in this classroom, and every cheating method you can think of now has been tried…” Professor Manstein’s cadence was commanding.

Everyone has a name card in front of the seat, Lu Mingfei’s name card is “Ricardo. M. Lu”.

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment and realized that this was his official English name. He looked up and saw Nuo Nuo staring out the window with her arms around the chest. Lu Mingfei thinks those cards were set by Nuo Nuo, she is the first person to call him “Ricardo” in the world, she made it casually. This is a very capricious girl, she called him Ricardo, she’ll keep calling him like that.

He also looked sideways out of the window and suddenly realized that it was a fine day. The rising sun rose above the clouds and spread itself flat against them, casting shadows on the walnut desks and tinting the room with a light blush.

His heart was stirred slightly, maybe the good weather dispelled his bad mood, maybe it’s the first time he had his formal English name.

“Then…… Ricardo.” He said to himself.

It was his first official day at Cassel, and it looked like a good sign. He bared his teeth as he suddenly felt that he could still figure it out.

Remembering how little he knew of the new students, he craned his neck to look around. The students come from all over the world, with different skin tones, different faces and the uniform of Cassel College. There were a few beautiful girls and they looked good.

“My name is Kieran, President of the Freshman Fraternity. Nice to meet you, Lu Mingfei. Our ‘S’, can you sign for me?” The boy at his right side turned to shake his hand. He looks like an Indian with a handsome face, dark curly hair and black and white eyes, like a Bollywood movie star.

“Me?” It’s the first time he was asked for the first time personal signature, Lu Mingfei cannot help but feel some proud and shy, “My handwriting sucks.”

Kieran handed a pen and a notebook to Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei can’t resist it and left his own ghost-like handwriting on it.

“I would like to invite you to join the freshman fraternity and… “

“Well, gentlemen, this is no time for social. If you don’t pass the 3E exam, you won’t need to develop a network at this school.” Professor Manstein interrupted. “Before you start, please turn off your cell phone and put it on the corner of the table with your student id.”

All kinds of shutdown noise throughout the classroom, only Lu Mingfei had nothing to do. In his eighteen years of life, he only briefly had an N96. He looked at other people’s mobile phones, feeling ashamed and thinking that if he could pass the exam, he should draw some money from his scholarship to buy a mobile phone for himself. Then he saw a nearly transparent hand stretched out in front of him, pushing an expensive Vertu phone to the table.

For the first time, Lu Mingfei saw this handmade top mobile phone, which worth at least tens of thousands of RMB. He wanted to see a few more eyes, but his sight was dragged by the owner of the phone.

It was a small girl sitting in a corner back to him, her skin was white and cold. After taking off her school uniform, she wore a low-necked white T-shirt, and her blond hair, which was so pale that it was almost pure white, was braided and tied up in a bun on the top of her head, revealing the long neck. She looks like an ice sculpture.

Lu Mingfei’s heart jumped and having the feeling that he had seen this girl somewhere. But he knew he could never know a girl like this. He had seen only a handful of blondes before he entered Cassel.

The black curtain walls were silently moved from the mezzanine of the carved wooden windows, and all the windows were closed. The room lights were lit, Nuo Nuo walked down the space handing out A4 test papers and a sharpened pencil to each freshman.

The examination paper was blank.

There were gasps. The blank paper surprised everyone and someone raised his hand.

“No doubt, there was nothing wrong with the paper. I’ll be outside the classroom if you have any questions. Discussions are not forbidden, as long as you do not copy others’ answers.” Professor Manstein said. “Good luck.”

Professor Manstein and Nuo Nuo left the classroom. As the door closed, the students looked left and right, whispering, like ants on a hot pan. They can’t copy other people’s answers. They don’t even have questions. Where does the answer come from?

At this point, the system started playing a rock song, Michael Jackson’s Beat it.

The students looked at each other, and they were all silly.

There was only one exception, Lu Mingfei. He had known what happened.

“They’ll cover up the dragon language with strong music. You have to concentrate and listen carefully to one of the sub-melodies in the bass area, which is the dragon mantra. Others will have the resonance of the ‘spiritual vision’ effect, there will be abnormal performance. Do not panic, it’s ok if there’s no resonate or no vision. After listening, draw my answers.” Fingel’s words have now comes true.

Lu Mingfei quietly rolled up his sleeve with a row of eight small painting drawing by the ballpoint pen. These were the answers to eight questions, and the abstract pictures were so difficult to remember that he had to make small strips. The original solution to the high-tech invigilators worked best: he could fake a scratch, cover his arms with his body to hide from the cameras, and destroy evidence quickly by spitting into the palm of his hand. Lu Mingfei learned this trick from Su Xiaoqiang. She copied the paper on her thigh, and then went to the exam in a short skirt. The teacher knew where the evidence is, but he didn’t dare to expose it.

He straightened up his quivering ears, and sure enough, he heard under Michael Jackson’s high, bright voice, someone was singing something in a low voice. Like a curse, like a chant.

“Speaking Spirit – Prophet.” Hearing halfway, he understood and began to draw on white paper immediately.

“Truly a unique ‘S’ in the freshman class, your composure proves your ability once again.” Kieran said beside him, “I don’t have a clue. Maybe I won’t be able to pass the 3E. In that case, I have something to ask you.”

“No, no, I’m just drawing ducks.” Lu Mingfei tried to hide, the answer to the first question is really like countless small ducks together.

“I want you to lead the Freshman Fraternity.” Kieran ignored his ducks.

“What?” Lu Mingfei didn’t think it had anything to do with him.

“The Lionheart and the Students’ Union are pulling people from the freshman class, but we freshmen shouldn’t be separated. I always believe that we will bring a new feeling to this campus, but we lack a leader like Caesar or Chu Zihang, my ability is insufficient, but you can!” Kieran said.

“Don’t suddenly put out this facial expression ok? You make me feel that you are the dying Mufasa and I’m Rafiki, but I am just a passer-by!” Lu Mingfei waved, is there any relationship between him and the “new feeling”?

Kieran was silent for a moment. His pupils showed disappointment. Tears welled up in his eyes and flowed down silently.

Lu Mingfei was scared, “Dude… Don’t cry, we can discuss it later… Although I also know Simba cried so animals helped him, but you can’t just cry… I want to tell you that Rafiki lives next door to me and I’m only a mortal…”

“So… That’s it.” Kieran still shed tears, revealing a faint smile.

“You finally understand, that’s good.” Said Lu Mingfei.

Kieran wiped away his tears, his clear eyes show heavy, piercing sorrow. No longer talk with Lu Mingfei, he bent his head and sketched on white paper. His pen was rustling, the contorted lines grew like a fast-growing forest. As he sobbed in a low voice, the pencil kept running, people who did not know him might think he was writing a suicide note.

“He didn’t realize it, he just… had the Spiritual Vision!” Lu Mingfei suddenly understood and looked around.

The students are no longer whispering to each other, the atmosphere in the classroom become weird. Some sit as if their whole family had died; some people are shuffling in the corridor with empty eyes as if walking dead; a girl jumped onto the platform, drawing and writing on the whiteboard, but she didn’t realize that she had run out of ink; another charming girl shouted hallelujah, her face was filled with joy. It was obvious that she had practiced and danced beautifully, but it was spooky that she was not dancing alone as if a non-existed man was holding her hand and dancing with her, and she threw her cutest laugh to that air.

The students danced with each other but didn’t interrupt each other, which made Lu Mingfei sweating.

The world is becoming mad, but not with him.

The only exception was the girl sculpted in ice. In the dance of demons, only she’s quiet. She sat as straight as bamboo, as normal as Lu Mingfei.

Strangely normal.

“According to the time, the resonance has emerged?” Yasushi Tomiyama grabbed the medical kit in his chest with serious written over his face, “I’m ready. If the shock is too severe, I can go in at any time.”

“They should hold up. The quality of the students selected this year looks good,” Professor Manstein said. “Oh, Nuo Nuo, I remember you were very calm when you had your 3E exam. It seems that Spiritual Vision is nothing new to you.

“Because my first vision occurred when I was very young, I got used to it when I took the 3E exam.” Nuo Nuo said.

“When was the first scene?”

“My mother was lying in bed when a shadow came and took her soul away. She was dead.” Nuo Nuo said.

“Oh? It’s rare to see a vision that has such a strong sense of reality. What most people see is just a mess of lines and some indescribable faces.” Professor Manstein was curious.

“Truer than you think, not only did I see someone take my mother’s soul… And saw the man’s face.” Nuo Nuo whispered, leaning against the wall and looking sideways down the aisle.

“Concentrate, concentrate! Victory is at hand!” Lu Mingfei has finished seven questions.

As it turned out, Fingel is such a good profiteer that Cassel College really rearranged the exam questions from eight years ago.

Lu Mingfei has no idea how many questions did Kieran got, but he smiled tearfully and was very sad all the time. He talked about his painful family background to Lu Mingfei, about the fact that he was born in a slum in Queensland when his father was an alcoholic Indian doctor, and often beat and cursed him and his mother. Speaking of his poor grandmother in the back of the house to plant the pomegranate tree, and she died before the pomegranate tree grew ripe.

Lu Mingfei was annoyed by him, but the fraternity president had so many sincere feelings, let him not dare to interrupt.

When he finished the eighth question, he mumbled to Kieran and peeped at the girl. He was a little skeptical that there would be a second normal person in the room beside him, and that there would be a second “pseudo dragon” in the room?

A person sat on the desk behind the girl, looking at Lu Mingfei. That’s a cute boy, dangling a pair of legs, wearing white small shoes, a small black suit, a white silk scarf with a pair of light gold pupils.

Why is he here? Lu Mingfei surprised, the ghost-like boy appeared again, how did he enter the examination room? Or was he actually hidden among the students?

The boy waved slowly to Lu Mingfei, with a faint, angelic smile. The afternoon sun shone behind him, and his long shadow fell on Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei felt that he had no way to refuse to choose, he pushed himself away from the desk and went to the boy step by step, finally holding the boy’s hand. The boy jumped down from the desk, walking gently, leading the way to the window, like a man and a woman in a court dance. Lu Mingfei felt that he was taking the women’s step, and the boy dominated the rhythm between them.

The boy landed lightly on the windowsill and sat with his legs dangling outside. Lu Mingfei sat down beside him doubtfully. He looked at the boy carefully by the light of the setting sun. Lu Mingfei had never seen any big boy like him. He’s so beautiful, round face, with a kind of boyish between boys and girls. Every move of him is gentle, elegant as if he had never stepped on the dust. He leans on the window frame that filled green cane to overlook, and his golden pupils were coloured to pale-red, not as cold and severe as Chu Zihang’s golden pupils.

The silence is unbearable to break, Cassel under the setting sun of looks like a painting.

“Hey, my name is Lu Mingfei.” Lu Mingfei thought about it and decided to say hello.

“My name is Lu Mingze.” The boy looked far away and said softly.

Lu MingFei thought he was joking, he knew Lu Mingze, that’s his cousin living with him in a room and entering the same high school. Had a lovely childhood, but now both his height and weight are 160 and having a face of acne at puberty. He cannot find a girlfriend in school, so he wrote a lot of desperate sad sentences to attract girls on the Internet. This boy looks not like Lu Mingze at all, not even one similarity.

“Sunset? Are you online?” The boy turned to look at Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei was so surprised that he almost jumped. “Sunset ” is his name in QQ, he used this ID to flirt with Lu Mingze. Every time Lu Mingze sees he’s online he will say this sentence: “Sunset? Are you online?”

A simple greeting, every time Lu Mingze typed this on the screen will let Lu Mingfei feel a very urgent expectation. The boy said the same word, but gave Lu Mingfei a completely different feeling, as if he knew you will come, there, at that moment.

“Who the hell are you?” Lu Mingfei’s voice was a little trembled.

“It doesn’t matter. This is your Spiritual Vision. Everyone’s scene is different, but we all see the things we care about the most in our hearts. You see me in your Spiritual Vision, which means I’m the one you care about the most,” said the boy, who gave his name as Lu Mingze. “it’s a great honour.”

“Don’t be funny, aren’t all the things in the Spiritual Vision… Messy lines? Look at you… Not even your hairs are messy!”

“This time you called me, ask yourself if you want to know why do you see me. Others are very sad, you are not sad?” Lu Mingze turned his head and glanced at the sad or happy people in the classroom. They sat on the windowsill like audiences in a surrealist stage play.

“I have no feeling if the true ‘Spiritual Vision’ will cause sadness, why I’m not sad when I see you?” Said Lu Mingfei.

“They were really sad because they saw the deepest part of themselves. What was the deepest part of you?” Lu Mingze stretched out a finger and poked Lu Mingfei’s chest.

“Deeper than heart… That goes to the stomach.” Lu Mingfei couldn’t help saying stupid things.

“Humans are stupid things, and so are you. The only difference between you and them is that you are trying to make yourself stupid deliberately.” Lu Mingze said lightly, “You are not sad, because I am sad for you. Cruel, isn’t it?”

He said that at Lu Mingfei, smiling brightly in the sunshine.

“We… Is it an emotional discussion of love between two men? I’m sad for you… Your line is very romantic, don’t you think?” Lu Mingfei felt goosebumps all over his body.

Lu Mingze paid no attention to him. He was watching the sunset in a daze silently, in the last light, two lines of tears across the boy’s cheek.

Lu Mingfei felt his heart was suddenly pinched by a hand. For a moment he could feel the great sadness of the boy, like a gush of cold water that was about to cover him. Not romance, not presence, the boy’s grief was strong, fierce and overbearing.

“I hate it when you sit next to me now.” Lu Mingze said, suddenly raised his legs to kick Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei lost his balance and fell off the windowsill. He found himself not sitting on the second-floor window of the library, but on the roof of an obelisk. Under is not the grassy grounds of Cassel College, but jagged stones that can kill him. He tried to grab at something with both hands, but he couldn’t. All he could touch was air.

Above him, Lu Mingze stood silently on top of the obelisk, which pointed to heaven like a spear. Behind him was a huge sunset. He’s waving goodbye to him with no expressionless on his beautiful face.

A moment seems to have lightning through Lu Mingfei’s brain, a screen flashed ferociously… On a cold, rainy night, on a stone flower bed, raindrops fell from the leaves overhead. He and the boy, or his brother, Lu Mingze, sat in the dark, hugging each other.

“My God! I wouldn’t like a man… “