When Shooting Stars Fall: Chapter 4
04 | Friction
But what I didn’t expect was that even before I had the chance to make a wish upon shooting stars, my heart had already started acting up.
The AC in the Academy’s infirmary works weakly, chilling the room without any concern for the patients. I discreetly crack open an eye to take a glance at Xavier’s face, and it’s only then do I feel like the AC shouldn’t be blamed.
It’s as though a single movement of an eyeball could break this tense silence.
I haven’t finished thinking about how to explain myself, so I flip my body over, my back facing him. I listen to the rattling of the medicine bottle in his hands, falling over, standing up right, and falling over again. The repeated rattling sounds makes a person somewhat anxious just by listening to it. Fortunately, he sets the bottle down with a clack after a while.
“If not for the fact that something went wrong during swordsmanship class today, how much longer were you intending to hide this?”
“Stop pretending you’re asleep, I know you’re awake.”
His tone is light, yet it doesn’t give me any chance to avoid him. I turn back around, deciding to face this storm head-on.
“How should I explain…”
I’ve actually thought about how to answer this question. I can tearfully recount my story since my birth, or I can also just suavely just drop a line like, “It’s just a rare birth defect, nothing we can do about it.” But no matter which way I envision it, the words simply turned into an incomprehensible mess of “um”s and “ah”s when they reached my lips.
After much effort, I finally finish my long-winded explanation, unsure if he even understood what I said. I sit up on the bed, feigning an obedient look as I wait for his response.
“What’s ?” He lifts his head after reading the label on the medicine bottle.
“It’s kind of a… terminal illness that makes my heart weaker and weaker?”
“Is there for it at all?”
“There is… But I think they have to find a special Protocore.”
“What Protocore is it?”
“Apparently there’s a Protocore in this world that can cure any illness…”
Xavier doesn’t respond, but I clearly see his eyebrows scrunching up a little, something flashing in his eyes.
“It’s just, Philos is so huge, how could something like that be found so quickly? Don’t worry, my condition is still controllable with the help of medicine for now… Besides, if a miracle really happens, I may be cured just like that.”
I speak in a light-hearted tone, hoping to ease tension in the atmosphere. Much to my surprise, Xavier turns around and shoots me a look, completely unappreciative. He remains silent for a long while, turning his head to gaze out the window at the sun setting in the west, then turns back to look at me.
“The meteor shower that you wanted to watch… Let’s go together.”
04 | Friction
But what I didn’t expect was that even before I had the chance to make a wish upon shooting stars, my heart had already started acting up.
The AC in the Academy’s infirmary works weakly, chilling the room without any concern for the patients. I discreetly crack open an eye to take a glance at Shen Xinghui's face, and it’s only then do I feel like the AC shouldn’t be blamed.
It’s as though a single movement of an eyeball could break this tense silence.
I haven’t finished thinking about how to explain myself, so I flip my body over, my back facing him. I listen to the rattling of the medicine bottle in his hands, falling over, standing up right, and falling over again. The repeated rattling sounds makes a person somewhat anxious just by listening to it. Fortunately, he sets the bottle down with a clack after a while.
“If not for the fact that something went wrong during swordsmanship class today, how much longer were you intending to hide this?”
“Stop pretending you’re asleep, I know you’re awake.”
His tone is light, yet it doesn’t give me any chance to avoid him. I turn back around, deciding to face this storm head-on.
“How should I explain…”
I’ve actually thought about how to answer this question. I can tearfully recount my story since my birth, or I can also just suavely just drop a line like, “It’s just a rare birth defect, nothing we can do about it.” But no matter which way I envision it, the words simply turned into an incomprehensible mess of “um”s and “ah”s when they reached my lips.
After much effort, I finally finish my long-winded explanation, unsure if he even understood what I said. I sit up on the bed, feigning an obedient look as I wait for his response.
“What’s ?” He lifts his head after reading the label on the medicine bottle.
“It’s kind of a… terminal illness that makes my heart weaker and weaker?”
“Is there for it at all?”
“There is… But I think they have to find a special Protocore.”
“What Protocore is it?”
“Apparently there’s a Protocore in this world that can cure any illness…”
Shen Xinghui doesn’t respond, but I clearly see his eyebrows scrunching up a little, something flashing in his eyes.
“It’s just, Philos is so huge, how could something like that be found so quickly? Don’t worry, my condition is still controllable with the help of medicine for now… Besides, if a miracle really happens, I may be cured just like that.”
I speak in a light-hearted tone, hoping to ease tension in the atmosphere. Much to my surprise, Shen Xinghui turns around and shoots me a look, completely unappreciative. He remains silent for a long while, turning his head to gaze out the window at the sun setting in the west, then turns back to look at me.
“The meteor shower that you wanted to watch… Let’s go together.”
04 | Friction
The Academy's AC works without any care for the patients, blasting cold air into the room. I crack open an eye to glance at Xavier. It's only then I realize the cold isn't coming from the AC.
A single movement from our eyes could break this silence.
I haven't thought of how to explain myself yet, so I turn my back to him. I listen to the rattle of the medicine bottle in his hands. It rattles and rattles and rattles and rattles. It's a little irritating, but soon enough, he puts it down with a clack.
"How long were you going to hide this from me if you didn't faint in class today?"
“...”
"Don't pretend to be asleep. I know you're awake."
His tone is soft, but it makes it all the more difficult to avoid him. I turn around, deciding to face this head-on.
"Where do I start..."
I thought about how to answer this question. I can tearfully recount the story of my birth, or I can say it's a rare birth defect and there's nothing we can do. I just never thought my words would turn into incomprehensible mush by the time they reached my mouth.
I stumble through my explanation, and I don't even know if he understood any of it. I sit up on the bed, pretending to be patient as I wait for him to say something.
"What's Protocore Syndrome?" He looks up at me after reading the label on the medicine bottle.
"It's probably... a terminal illness that makes my heart weaker and weaker?"
"Is there no cure?"
"There is... but we need a special Protocore."
"What kind?"
"They say there's a Protocore that can cure any illness..."
Xavier doesn't respond, but I can see his eyebrows scrunch up and his eyes dancing across the room.
"Philos is huge. It will take ages to find it. Don't worry, I'll be all right for now because of the medicine... Besides, maybe a miracle might happen, and I'll be cured."
I speak quickly, hoping to ease the tension. But when Xavier glances at me, he looks completely unfazed. Quietly, he turns to observe the sunset from the window. Then he looks back at me.
"Let's watch the meteor shower together."
04 | 摩擦
可我没有想到，还没等到我向着流星许愿，我的心脏就开始不安分了。
学院医疗室的冷气有气无力地工作着，凉飕飕的，一点都没有关怀病患的意思。我悄悄睁开一只眼睛，瞄了一眼沈星回的脸，又觉得不应该责怪冷气。
好像动一下眼珠都会打破这僵持的沉默。
还没想好该怎么解释，于是我翻了个身，背朝着他。听着药瓶在他手里被不停拨动着，倒下去、站起来又倒下去。噼里啪啦的声音让人听着有些焦躁，所幸没多久，他啪的一声把药瓶竖起来。
“如果不是今天在剑术课上出了状况，你准备再瞒多久？”
“……”
“不要装睡了，我知道你醒了。”
他语气淡淡的，却让我避无可避。我转过身来，决定直面这场风雨。
“怎么说呢——”
我其实想过该怎么回答这个问题，要么泪涕俱下地讲述自己从出生起的故事，要么潇洒地丢下一句“罕见的先天缺陷嘛，没办法的”。可不管哪一种设想，到了嘴边都先变成“嗯嗯啊啊”的不知所云。
好不容易啰里吧嗦解释完，也不知道他有没有听懂。我从床上坐起来，装作乖巧地等待着他的下文。
“芯源病是什么？”他看着药瓶上的说明，抬起头问我。
“大概是让心脏越来越衰弱的……绝症？”
“没有任何治愈的方法了吗？”
“有……但好像要找一种特殊的芯核。”
“什么芯核？”
“听说这个世界上有一颗芯核，什么都病都能治愈……”
沈星回没有回应我，但我清晰地看到他的眉毛皱了皱，眼里什么东西一闪。
“不过菲罗斯星那么大，一时半会儿怎么可能找得到呢。我的情况暂时还可以靠吃药控制的，别担心，而且万一真的有奇迹，说不定我就好了呢。”
我语气轻快，想要消解一下现在的氛围。没想到沈星回看了我一眼，完全不领情。他只是沉默了半晌，转头望向窗外西沉的落日，然后转过头注视着我。
“你想去看的流星，一起去吧。”
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