Hannah was leaning in front of Jania's desk, supporting her head with one hand, meditating gracefully. She gently fiddled with Jania's "Garbage Recycling Calendar" with the tip of her pen, as if she was considering the most important daily issue for local residents - what type of garbage should be thrown away tomorrow - but when she stood up from the table, her eyes Shining with a shrewd and cunning look.
"Jania," she said conclusively, "I think you're right."
Sitting on the bed looking up to the ceiling, Jania shivered. Her consciousness returned from Molière's significant contribution to classical drama to the eyes of her best friend.
"What?" she said blankly, with the thirteen-page speech outline still flying in her head, and Hannah and Allet's dedication to perfect scores could be seen between the lines. She doesn't care about her grades, but she can't let her friends' efforts go to waste because of her.
Hannah didn't give her time to react, but continued talking to herself: "Of course, I'm not 100% sure. People may forget some things when they are not paying attention, and he may forget something in his heart. I thought about it but didn’t say it out loud. This became a matter of etiquette. But he didn’t react at all at the time. I think he really didn’t know..."
"Hannah!" Zhannia called her out of surprise, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Oh..." Hannah blinked, showing a narrow and brisk smile, "I mean, the problem of the baobab tree."
"What happened to the baobab tree?"
"I asked your brother if he had ever seen baobabs in the rainforest," Hannah mused, fingering the blond hair on her cheeks. "But, Jania, you should also know that baobabs don't grow in the rainforest." Those in hot and humid areas like tropical rainforests should be on grasslands or drier jungles..."
Jania suddenly perked up. She had completely understood Hannah's train of thought. This is indeed an unexpected perspective! She immediately put down the speech outline in her hand: "What did he say? He followed your words and said there are baobab trees in the tropical rain forest?"
Hannah shook her head with great regret: "He didn't say that. All his answers were ambiguous and he refused to give me a concrete word. But I think if a person hears something that obviously goes against his common sense, he will He will react more or less. Maybe he won't really refute, but there will always be something in his eyes. I think your brother really has no idea about the baobab tree, Jania, he doesn't care about the monkeys at all. The growing area of baobab trees. Of course, this does not 100% prove that he has not entered the tropical rain forest, but as far as my experience is concerned, if he has no secrets, he does not need to speak so carefully. So I think, Jania , your point is right, your brother lied about this matter."
She suddenly giggled, with a bit of pride in her tone: "To be honest, Jania, I think your brother is a little afraid of me. If he had a choice, he would definitely not say a word to me."
Jania let out a tired sigh and lay down on the bed with her hands spread out. "I'm sure he's lying," she said listlessly, staring at the ceiling. "I'm one hundred percent right."
"But what does it matter?" Hannah asked. "Even if your brother lied about his whereabouts, it's not a big deal. As long as he doesn't commit crimes-but he is rich to begin with. Isn't it? I think he is not the kind of person who commits crimes in pursuit of excitement. Then he can conceal his whereabouts, and that is his personal freedom. You know, everyone in this world will lie, so that society can Keep running.”
She paused, thinking about what she said, and then added to herself: "In fact, I find that the most popular people are often proficient in lying, and even if people know this, it doesn't affect them. They continue to be popular.”
Jania glanced at her weakly, thinking that the person in front of her was the popular sweetheart lady in the school. She groaned and buried her face in the pillow.
"I hate society," she said numbly.
"Don't be like that, Jania," Hannah asked with the utmost innocence, "don't you love me? Aren't we meant for each other?"
"Go talk to that idiot Leman." Zhannia replied gloomily, "I won't accept this trick."
Hannah laughed happily. But her always cheerful expression dropped when she noticed that Jania was still slumped on the bed. She lowered her brows, brushed away the broken hair on her cheeks, and said in a more serious tone: "You have to tell me why you care so much about this matter, Jania. I always think that boys lack the talent of self-insight. They will do All kinds of ridiculous things happen, but I can't figure out the reasons. For example, Laiman's head turns very slowly. Although sometimes it makes him look cute, I also admit that he is not smart. But no matter what , Zhannia, your brother is an adult, he has long been responsible for his own life - and, I want to say, he is also much more cunning than Laiman. "
"Yes." Jania said dullly.
"What on earth worries you so much?" Hannah asked persistently. She sat on the edge of the bed and gently covered Jania's arm with her palm: "You have been very anxious recently, Jania. But if you don't say it, I won't be able to help."
Jania finally looked away from the ceiling. She stared morosely at the detective board on the wall, trying to figure out why she was so depressed at the moment. She felt urgent pressure, but at the same time so powerless, like trudging through a deeper and deeper swamp to escape a crocodile chasing behind her.
"I can't explain it, Hannah." She said solemnly, "There is something... strange, and I don't know if I should tell you. I intuitively feel that this is not a good thing for you. And, even if I tell you everything, Telling what I saw would only make us both confused."
Hannah blinked rapidly again. Her voice was so low that she almost couldn't reach Zhannia's ears: "If you really think your brother has done something dangerous, we can check his luggage. You know, my uncle often puts his luggage randomly. Sleeping pill bottle…”
"No," Jania said immediately, "that's not the case. The problem is not with him... I feel like there's something dangerous going on, Hannah, there's an atmosphere around us. But it's not my brother who brings it, I guess it's about him, but it's not about him."
"Oh," Hannah answered naturally, "Is that the boy who came this evening?"
Jania looked at her in surprise. Hannah nodded and said in her usual pleasant and calm tone: "Of course, I don't know what's wrong with that boy, but I know you very well, Jania. When he first showed up this evening, I just had to look at you. , I know you don’t like this. No, it’s definitely not the first time you’ve met. But if you had gone to your brother’s place, I should have known. So, I think he has been to our place before. But that’s How about it? I can't guess what happens next. He may be a dangerous person, although in my opinion, he is a quite mediocre person. Have you ever dated him? "
Her question made Jania choke and cough. Hannah patted her back calmly. "It seems not," she said almost with disappointment, "I thought there would be some similar developments here."
"Hannah," Jania held her hand, "you have always been a genius, but you have to control your overactive imagination."
"Yes, yes," Hannah continued with her chin in her hands, "I do think about things very quickly. Sometimes when my eyes see a picture, a dozen different thoughts will pop up in my head. From a practical point of view, of course they are in order. People cannot process so much information at the same time because our brain structure does not allow this. But to me, they do seem to be presented at the same time, which allows I work on other problems while doing my homework, or do a few maths while taking care of my sister. That's not bad, but Jania, they do bother me sometimes because my attention is so easily distracted... …I don’t even remember what that boy looked like because I was too busy trying to figure out what he was looking at. You must have noticed, too, that he would look into empty spaces for no reason. It was very interesting. At the time, I thought maybe he had Eye problems, such as rainbow vision or floaters. But maybe he is just nervous and he is careful about something..."
"I know you are like this." Zhannia patted her face skillfully, waking her up from the boundless world of imagination, "but I don't know what made you think like that just now."
"I'm really not good at finding the right one among many ideas. After all, everything seems to make sense." Hannah sighed melancholy, "This is your specialty, Jania, you can handle it like a hound." Stick to the right target."
"And I wouldn't like a boy as silent as Laiman."
Hearing this, Hannah opened her emerald eyes and giggled again.
"Jesus, Jania," she said softly, "you're really not good at dealing with introverts. No, not really. I think you're not good at paying attention to people who are really honest and settled."
Jania nodded heavily. She really couldn't argue with that.
"As far as I'm concerned," Hannah continued, "our new guy is nothing like Laman. Laman is just clumsy and shy, Jania. He really can't do two things at once, and He is always slow to talk to others, but if you let him sit down and do things that interest him, he can actually do a good job. You have seen him imitate for the Easter celebration Sonnets? I don’t think you ever noticed Leman, Jania, because he was a man who lacked sophistication, or, in other words, was a boring good man.”
"You make it sound like I only care about evil people," Jania protested weakly.
"But you are indeed like this." Hannah said matter-of-factly. She stood up from the bed, walked back to the table, and looked out the window to the front yard.
"I've always thought evil was funny." She twirled her blond hair absentmindedly, "That's what ghost stories do. Good people are like a glass of eggnog and a couch next to the fire, they make you feel comfortable and safe. But evildoers, Jania, being close to evildoers makes you sharper and sharper. It's more like a combat sport, or...a kind of hunting. Yes, I guess hunting is the best word for it. That's what you are. There’s an ace hound, Jania.”
"And you sound really evil right now, Hannah."
"I think I'm a bit of a succubus," Hannah admitted. "Leman also says I'm a bit of a succubus. Sometimes I do think that, within reason, taste is more attractive than morality. I've always liked it. That kind of role, you know, those strategists who stand next to the evil throne and are responsible for advising the devil. What a good profession that is. You don't have to bear any actual asset losses, but you can still implement your great plans on the sheep. On the head."
“In the real world,” Jania interjected, “we call these people politicians and senior executives.”
"I guess politics is also a way out." Hannah said thoughtfully, "But we are not talking about career plans now. Speaking of your brother's friends, I don't think he and Laiman are the same person. Yes, they are somewhat Similarity on the surface: elegant appearance, simple clothes, not talkative, always the most forgettable one at the party. But these are superficial things. You can't rely on these to understand what a person is like. Laiman's silence is because he is a shy person. As long as he falls into the crowd, he will have countless thoughts, fearing to offend others. He believes in the saying "other people are hell", Zhannia, who is afraid of others It will hurt him, and he is also afraid that his ignorance will hurt others, because he has lived behind those beautiful rose-colored stone walls since he was born, and the people he knows are just descriptions in books."
Jania stared at Hannah as she paced back and forth at the end of the bed, swallowing her opinions about Ermiah Lyman out of friendly consideration.
"But your brother's friend," Hannah thought again and said unconvincingly, "he is not as afraid of crowds as Laiman. Although he seems slow when facing your mother, it is not fear. What I felt in his demeanor was not fear, but concern. He was standing here, but he seemed not to be here... Yes, I think his silence was a sign of lack of fear."
"Do you still want to praise him for his bravery?"
"How can this be the same thing, Jania? The kind of courage we usually call, undoubtedly can only appear in people who know how to fear. It is like birth and death, courage is with It arises in the process of fear struggle. If you really don’t feel fear at all, then you will not be a brave person... I think that will make you a stupid person, or a dangerous person. .”
Hannah's eyes wandered again, and Jania knew that the thoughts in her head must be racing on countless forked roads at high speed.
"Evil..." Hannah said thoughtfully, "The lack of awe is very close to evil itself. If a person is not afraid of anything and can never be eaten by a beast, then he may also be a beast."
"That's overly dramatic, Hannah."
"Oh, but it's true, isn't it?" Hannah said lightly, "People who are not afraid of jail time and moral standards will commit crimes easily, as long as they think they are smart enough. And they probably really are. Be smart, otherwise you won't be able to integrate into a civilized society that ostensibly promotes order. You know, it's not that easy to show enough respect for people whose social status is higher than yours when you have no respect at all."
Yu Xiaorong opened his mouth and stared at her.
"Oh my god," Hannah winked at her knowingly, "I'm not like that, Jania. You know, I treat you completely sincerely, caring and respecting you! You have been So mysterious and sharp, running rampant everywhere, full of action..."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Jania said dubiously.
"But you said that your brother's friends bring a dangerous atmosphere." Hannah continued as if she didn't hear. "I always believe that you can smell the right path, so of course, we should assume that he is a danger." Character - Although I have absolutely no idea what's dangerous about him, I don't think he's the kind of person who would be afraid of others bringing him harm. He's a medical student, right? So do you think he's hurt others? Maybe he He once administered chronic poison to a patient, or relied on his knowledge of human body structure to stab someone in the back..."
"That's not what I'm worried about," Jania argued weakly.
"But he looks like a character suitable for a vendetta story." Hannah counted them out with her fingers. "An orphan with a hatred of killing his relatives, a heartbroken boy whose lover was snatched away, or a boy who was killed by the most desperate person." A victim betrayed by a good friend..."
"I believe we're getting off track, Hannah."
"Falling in love with the same woman as a friend?" Hannah speculated.
"His best friend, if not his only friend, was my brother," Jania pointed out with the aplomb of a seasoned hound.
"Oh, so, does your brother know him well? Perhaps he harbors some secret malice toward your brother? Jealousy, say?"
"No," Jania hesitated for a few seconds, then repeated in a clearer and stronger voice, "I don't think so."
Hannah sighed again, deep disappointment in her voice.
"How I wish he had other good friends who had the opportunity to betray him or be betrayed by him." She said with regret, "It would be great if I could guess right once. And I also like to see such friends turn against each other." What a dramatic story that would be! Anyway, do you want to find out something from him? I think I can go and talk to him for you, because, you know, most people are so defensive about me. All low.”
Jania slowly and solemnly retracted herself into the bed, like a diver slowly sinking into the deep sea. She already wanted to hide away from this too noisy and lively world, but when Hannah repeated the question with great expectation, she still had to bite the bullet and agreed. This was the only thing that was certain, she thought to herself, that you could indeed be someone's best friend and yet have no idea what was going on in her or his head.
