NORTHHOWMUCHISYOURLOVE, Chapter 30 part 2
“Yeah, I was thinking the same.” Duennao agreed, “If Phii Joe and Phii Arthit were walking, I bet everyone would scream themselves hoarse for the medical faculty, and they’re already close to it.”
“And who’s the girl walking with Phii Fah? She has a beautiful smile.” Kyu asked, “Is she a star of the medical faculty?”
“Yep.” I nodded, “Her name is Phii Thanmild.”
“Why do you look so sour, North?” Duennao asked, after Phii Fah and Phii Hill had passed by. The screams had noticeably quieted down, turning into regular teasing and cheering.
“I don’t like it.” I said, letting out a small sigh.
“Is it because of Phii Thanmild?” Skater asked. I nodded in response, “Why?”
“She once came to pick on Ter, so I don’t really like her that much.” I started to explain, still feeling a bit annoyed when I recalled it. My friends listened with interest, “Phii Mild has a crush on Phii Hill, to the extent that she followed him here to study.”
“Wow, the power of love is strong.” Nao said, “So she went after Ter because of that? Seriously, picking on Ter, who’s so gentle and delicate.” “Exactly, that’s Ter for you.” Kyu said, “And how did she pick on him?”
“It wasn’t exactly picking on him. When I went to drop Ter off to see Phii Hill, it’s been a while.” I said, recalling the time. Back when I didn’t know Phii Joe yet, in the first semester, I would go with Ter as usual. We were waiting under the faculty building, and there was a group of girls already sitting there. They kept glancing our way. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but over time, their glances turned into sneers, and they started making snide remarks, “They were glaring hard and making jabs.”
“Jabs like what?”
“Something like, ‘You don’t seem to fit with Hill at all, Hill shouldn’t have chosen someone like you,’ stuff like that.” I recounted, starting to get frustrated remembering it.
“Such bitches.” Nao said, sounding annoyed, “And what did Ter do? Poor Ter.”
“Ter just stayed quiet. He’s not the type to retort anyway.”
“And you?” Nao asked.
“Oh, I got pretty heated.” I said. I was really angry at the time. They were looking at me, so I looked back, almost confrontationally, until they looked away. I was about to go ask, ‘What do you want with my friend?’ but Ter stopped me first, “It’s so annoying, damn it, just talking about it makes me mad. It’s like a drama, sometimes it’s just too much.”
“You’re really into it, North, getting all worked up telling the story.” Kyu teased, “Did you tell Phii Hill?”
“I did, and Phii Hill probably sorted it out. After that, she didn’t bother us much. Maybe she gave up.”
“And then she went for Phii Fah instead.”
“Huh?” I turned to look at Kyu, confused by what he said, “What do you mean?” “I don’t know, but I saw Phii Mild, whatever, looking happy walking with Phii Fah, looking at him often, smiling widely.”
“Yeah, whatever, just don’t mess with my friend.” I said, letting out a sigh, “If you mess with him again, I might end up scolding a girl this time. Now, just saying this gets me heated. What’s with her? Phii Hill doesn’t like her, so what if she’s pretty? Phii Hill chose Ter, so she should give up.”
“Damn.” Skater said, bursting into laughter, “You get invested so easily, you act like you’re Ter himself.”
“I get invested in other people’s affairs easily, but what I get invested in even more is money.” I said with a laugh, “But it’s true, my friend is way cuter.”
“Friends should support each other like this.” Nao said, chuckling as well, “My friend is the best. Who’s Thanmild or whatever? Ter is the most suitable for Phii Hill.”
“Exactly, it’s got to be like this, Nao.” I said, reaching out to high-five Nao, “What kind of name is Thanmild? Crazy, you can’t just mix ‘Than’ and ‘Mild’ like that.”
“Damn, bullying someone over their name.” Skater commented.
“The star of the medical faculty got bullied by me.” I said, unable to stop laughing at myself. I have this thing with names, ever since Daotok.
“But Phii Mild is really beautiful.” Kyu said.
“So what?” I said, putting some emotion into it.
“Yeah, so what?” Nao added.
“Calm down, guys, I was just saying she’s beautiful, no big deal.”
“I’m team Ter.” I said, raising an eyebrow at Kyu, then we continued chatting about the parade and other things. After the parade finished, there was the award ceremony for various sports. I saw Phii Arthit when he went up to receive his award, he didn’t look too thrilled about getting second place. Phii Arthit is really good at sports, but it’s a team game, so you have to accept it sometimes.
When it came to the show performances, they went on one after another. By the time it got to the middle faculties, it started to rain, but many faculties still insisted on continuing their shows.
“The medical faculty is the best.” Duennao remarked. After peeking over at the stand next to ours, I didn’t need to look to know it was awesome; the singing was loud and the cheerleaders were on point, “Phii Arthit is playing the drums.”
“Ha? Really?” I asked, surprised, and then leaned over to look.
He really was, Phii Arthit was drumming for the medical faculty. I just found out he plays the drums.
“That’s so cool, he can play drums too?” Skater said, “These medical guys are just good at everything, aren’t they? I’m serious, do they really pick each other for their talents?”
“Probably.” I said. I guessed they might be dating because they seemed to get along well, could communicate, and understood each other. It’s not about personality; people don’t have to have the same personality to be friends or partners.
When it was our faculty’s turn, the rain came down heavily. Even though there was a roof above, the rain still splashed in.
“Don’t sneeze on me, Nao.” I said.
“Why are you so hung up about this?”
“I’m still mad at you.” I turned to glare at him, “You made me catch a cold when I hadn’t been sick in a year.” I could hear the commotion from the neighboring stands because people were crowding to find shelter from the rain. Other faculties that had already finished their performances started to disperse. So once our faculty’s show was over, we could finally leave. Enduring the rain for nearly fifteen minutes, after the performance ended, the seniors asked us to return the cheering equipment.
“Don’t push, ouch, I’m about to fall flat.” Skater complained when people from below started to crowd up, “I’m going to fall off the stand!”
“It’s so humid.” I grumbled. The rain made everything sticky, and the crowd wasn’t helping.
“Nao.” I heard Tiger call out, as if he was pushing through the crowd to reach Nao, “Let’s go back, or you’ll catch a cold standing here.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Nao agreed before making his way through the crowd to Tiger. I saw Tiger covering Nao with his own jacket, “Aren’t you going to wear it?”
“I’m fine with being wet. You wear it.”
“OK, thanks, then I’ll go, guys.” Nao said goodbye, waving at us slightly. We waved back, watching Nao leave first. I then subtly made my way through the crowd to Tiger.
“Tiger.”
“What?”
“Are you guys back together?”
“Such a busybody.”
“Come on, but you called me that day.”
“It’s not ‘getting back together’ because we weren’t fighting. Like I would ever be mad at Nao.” Tiger said, then followed Nao. I stood there, stunned by his words for a moment. I didn’t know why, but that simple statement really touched me.
“Tiger is hot, isn’t he? He looks so sexy when he’s wet from the rain.” I heard the girls around here saying, “I like sporty guys.”
“But can I ship Tiger and Nao? He even took off his shirt for him. Will there be a guy who would do something like that for me in this lifetime? I’m jealous, I want Tiger.” “Yeah, I watch Duennao’s live streams just to see Tiger.”
“I donated to pay for Tiger, I want to be his husband.”
Donating to Nao because you paid for Tiger, seems like something went a bit wrong, doesn’t it, girls?
“I’m leaving.” I walked towards Skater and Kyu, said goodbye before squeezing down below, planning to run over to Phii Joe at the medical faculty stand, but when I got down there, I saw Phii Joe, quite wet from the rain, standing near the front of our side stand.
“Phii.” I called out and ran towards him.
“Got wet in the rain?”
“No, but Phii…” He looked wetter than someone who just got splashed by rain like me. Before I could say anything more, Phii Joe’s jacket was draped over me, “Are you leaving already?”
“No, let’s take shelter from the rain first. I heard the engineering faculty has no place to take shelter, right?”
“Ah, yes.” Phii Joe looked over at our faculty’s area, which was packed, let out a small sigh, then led me to the medical faculty’s shelter.
“So, there really is no shelter from the rain?” Phii Fah asked, handing us some towels.
“Yeah, it’s cramped and crowded.” Phii Joe said, sounding annoyed. I glanced at the medical faculty’s stand, which was barely touched by the rain, thanks to its wider roof and fewer people, “What about Hill?”
“Go find Ter, I heard the veterinary faculty also doesn’t have a shelter.”
“Hmm, are you cold?” Phii Joe turned to ask me.
“Not really.”
Phii Joe looked at me, slightly displeased, then reached over to zip up the jacket for me, “Why is this jacket so thin?” “Thin? But it didn’t look thin this morning.” I said, it’s a faculty jacket after all. It didn’t seem thin to me, but Phii Joe didn’t reply. Sitting here, it’s all medical students, huh. Judging by the staff shirts, they must all be Phii Joe’s friends.
“Did you hear someone bought you snacks at noon?” A flat voice from in front of me sent a shiver down my spine, for some reason.
“Yes.” I nodded. At noon, my seniors didn’t let me go anywhere, so Phii Joe bought food and snacks for me, and for my other friends too. When it was time to go up to the stand, someone left snacks for me, but I refused and returned them, “But I returned them to him.”
“Really?”
I’m definitely angry…
Phii Joe knows because James definitely told him. I think I saw James lingering around the stands at noon.
“Actually, I only ate the snacks you gave me.”
“…”
“Don’t be mad at me.” I started to plead, having a habit of pleading when scolded, just like when I’m with my mom, “Please?”
“…”
Are you really angry or just making me plead for fun?
“Can you hold out your hand?” I asked, thinking of something, then extended both my hands towards him. Phii Joe reached out both hands to me, “North, you have been reading palms.”
“Huh?”
“What’s your zodiac sign?”
“Probably Taurus.”
“With a palm line like this and born under Taurus, it’s said you’ll have a loyal lover.” “…”
“Really, a lover will love only you. They won’t even eat snacks from others.”
“Can you make up like this?” Phii Joe asked before letting out a small chuckle.
“There, I’ve successfully coaxed you.” I said, smiling broadly, laughing at myself for playing this game.
“And how can I stay angry after this?” Phii Joe said before reaching over to gently pinch my cheek.
“Don’t be angry, I am a good kid.”
“Really?”
“Yes, didn’t I ever tell you…”
“I myself only have only you too, Phii.”
I said, simultaneously taking both of Phii Joe’s hands and touching them to my cheeks, before giving a broad smile to the person in front of me.
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