Chapter 23: Extra 2: Fu Xiangqing’s First Romance Was Utterly Passive Part 3

Once the three of them had finished eating, Xu Zhiyao headed off to settle the bill.

Lu Pannan summed up her impressions of the evening.

“She really does seem to like you—a lot. I’m truly happy for you. I thought it over afterward, and you’re right: life’s only a few decades long. While you’re young and still have the heart and energy to love someone purely, just go for it. My plan is to settle down in this city. If you ever find yourself alone someday, come find me. My door will always be open to you!”

Fu Xiangqing was deeply moved, but she was far too reserved to voice those corny words under the other woman’s earnest gaze.

Lu Pannan didn’t mind in the slightest. After sharing her thoughts, she asked casually, “By the way, have you treated her friends to a meal yet?”

The smile on Fu Xiangqing’s face faltered.

Spotting the shift in her expression, Lu Pannan opened her mouth to say more, but Xu Zhiyao returned from paying and cut them off.

With other plans ahead, Lu Pannan parted ways with them at the door.

Xu Zhiyao pulled up the map. The nearest cinema was just a few hundred meters away—a quick and easy walk.

“Sister, shall we catch a movie?”

Fu Xiangqing circled back to the interrupted topic. “A-Yao, I still haven’t treated your friends to dinner.”

Xu Zhiyao waved it off. “No big deal. I can cover them. Which one do you want to see, Sister? I’ll grab the tickets.”

Fu Xiangqing picked one of the hot releases without much thought. Xu Zhiyao bought the tickets in short order and finally picked up on her distraction.

“Sister, there’s something you want to ask me, right? Why hold back?”

Fu Xiangqing fell silent for a long moment before finally taking her first step into deeper trust.

“You don’t want me to meet them, do you?”

Xu Zhiyao let out a sigh. She could clearly see the flicker of insecurity in those eyes, and it tugged at her heart.

“Doesn’t Sister check Moments? I made it official there on Christmas.”

Fu Xiangqing flushed with shame at her own wild overthinking. The one who’d been doubted showed no anger. Instead of brushing it aside, she met her gaze steadily and spoke with utmost sincerity. “I like you even more than you realize, Sister. I know my actions so far fall short, but when it comes to ‘I like you,’ never doubt that, okay?”

“If you’re short on confidence, then starting now, let ‘I like you’ be all the confidence you need to do whatever you want, boldly and without restraint.”

The lingering doubt refused to fade entirely. With great reluctance, Xu Zhiyao explained why she didn’t want Fu Xiangqing treating those friends to dinner.

It had nothing to do with the expense—after all, Xu Zhiyao’s money was as good as hers.

No, it was something childish and petty: jealousy.

Fu Xiangqing found the excuse unconvincing. She had other friends too, and they’d all dined together with Xu Zhiyao. Why no jealousy then?

Xu Zhiyao dug in her heels and refused to dwell on it, leaving Fu Xiangqing with no choice but to drop the matter.

But Xu Zhiyao’s reluctance didn’t extend to her close sisters.

Fu Xiangqing’s last chat with Qu Leyin had been over Christmas, when she’d asked if the vice president knew Jiang Shiyan or where she lived.

Now, it was Qu Leyin reaching out first.

【President Qu: Does my Qingqing Baby have plans tomorrow night? If not, want to hit KTV and sing with me?】

Fu Xiangqing still felt a twinge of unease at the thought of KTV.

But she was even more curious about why the vice president had suddenly invited her out.

She was truly grateful to her. Back in the club, Qu Leyin had looked out for her a great deal, and even after they both left, they’d kept in touch sporadically.

Fu Xiangqing didn’t love KTV, but she held no grudge against Qu Leyin. So when she saw the invitation, she didn’t turn it down right away.

Before she could make up her mind, another message pinged in.

【President Qu: Forgot to mention—it’s not just the two of us. Xu Zhiyao invited us all. Has she mentioned it to you, Baby?】

Fu Xiangqing blinked in surprise. What a small world—the vice president knew Xu Zhiyao too.

On second thought, when she’d asked Qu Leyin back then, the vice president hadn’t admitted to knowing Jiang Shiyan but had promptly shared her dorm number.

In her rush to find Jiang Shiyan at the time, Fu Xiangqing hadn’t connected the dots. Now, looking back, it all clicked into place.

One puzzle solved, another sparked to life.

Just a couple days ago, she’d offered to treat Xu Zhiyao’s friends, only for her to refuse flat-out. Had she changed her mind already?

Qu Leyin seemed to anticipate her question, firing off a third message unprompted.

【President Qu: Qingqing Baby, hit me back when you see this. I need to book a room—weekends fill up fast, and we might miss out.】

Fu Xiangqing fired off a quick reply.

【Senior Qu, just saw it. If A-Yao’s cool with it, count me in. I’ll go with her. Thanks for handling the room.】

Qu Leyin received the answer she wanted and promptly sent over a string of cute emoji packs—kisses and hugs galore. After a few brief words of small talk, she said she had something to attend to and logged off, promising they’d catch up properly when they met.

Fu Xiangqing had also been planning to ask Xu Zhiyao why she’d suddenly changed her mind. But just as she tapped open their pinned chat window, a voice call came through from the other end.

Xu Zhiyao’s voice was laced with barely suppressed fury. “Sister, Qu Leyin says you want to go sing at the KTV? And that you two already set a time to meet there this Saturday?”

Fu Xiangqing sensed something was off, but she answered obediently all the same. “Your senior sister said you’d invited them and asked if I could tag along, so I said yes.”

Xu Zhiyao muttered a curse under her breath—so quiet it was almost inaudible—but Fu Xiangqing’s full attention was on her, and she clearly caught that single, exasperated “Fuck.”

Xu Zhiyao was livid, though she masked it well in front of Fu Xiangqing. “Does my sister want to go? If you do, then we’ll go.”

Fu Xiangqing finally stopped burying her own wishes. There was a hint of anticipation in her voice. “A-Yao, I want to meet your friends too.”

Hearing her finally voice her desires like this, Xu Zhiyao agreed without hesitation.

Once they’d hung up, she immediately dialed Jiang Shiyan.

The call had barely connected before the tirade began—a torrent of scolding for acting first and reporting later, for having impure motives, for playing both sides.

On the other end of the line, Jiang Shiyan was lounging in bed, flipping through a novel. She wasn’t fazed in the slightest. In high spirits, she gave her ear a casual dig, waiting until the storm had passed before drawling leisurely, “Then I’ll see you Saturday~ my dear little sister~”

With a sharp click, Xu Zhiyao—face dark as thunder—hung up.

The world really is small.

That was the quiet sigh Fu Xiangqing let out in her heart when she stepped into the room and saw the others already there.

She had met all of Xu Zhiyao’s friends before.

Qu Leyin was the vice president of the Anime Club who’d always looked out for her.

Jiang Shiyan was the senior she’d taken a liking to at first sight.

She had seen Lu Mianmian once before too, back when she’d shown up at the KTV with a crowd in tow, though the two of them had never actually spoken.

And the last one, the stunning senior named Chi Niao, was the stranger she’d brushed past that day at the Anime Club.

There was something magical about this gathering of half-familiar faces—people she’d crossed paths with to varying degrees. The moment Fu Xiangqing pushed open the door, any lingering shadows in her heart about scenes like this evaporated.

That night, everyone had a great time—everyone except Xu Zhiyao, whose sour expression never lifted from start to finish. That included Fu Xiangqing, who usually shrank from gatherings like this due to her social anxiety.

Before tonight, she’d always thought of herself as someone who didn’t fit in.

But this wonderful evening proved she could blend into a group just fine.

One car wasn’t enough to fit them all. Having gotten their fill of Xu Zhiyao’s impotent fury, the others cheerfully waved goodbye to Fu Xiangqing and piled into the vehicle, heading back to S University ahead of them.

Only once they were gone did Fu Xiangqing turn her attention to the person beside her.

“A-Yao, did you call a ride?”

Xu Zhiyao shot her a look, her face stretched long, her voice dripping with the sourest vinegar. “Sister’s so popular. You were chatting away so happily with those barely-acquaintance seniors—happily enough to completely forget about your girlfriend.”

That passive-aggressive edge crept back into her tone.

This time, Fu Xiangqing didn’t rush to soothe her. Instead, she patiently corrected her. “The senior sisters are all really nice to me and look out for me a lot, so we’re closer than just casual acquaintances.”

Xu Zhiyao’s composure cracked in an instant. Jealousy hijacked her brain, and her reason teetered on the brink of vanishing—

Then the girl who’d never taken the initiative before did so for the first time. She rose lightly onto her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to her lips.

Shyness bloomed across her reddening cheeks, seeping into her voice—soft, tender, and sweetly yielding.

“The senior sisters are great, but A-Yao… you’re the best.”

Just like that, the jealous, easily placated girl settled down.

Fu Ruyu hadn’t made it into S University, but his school wasn’t far away—just two subway stops.

Now that the one person who’d ever shown her true familial love was so close by, Fu Xiangqing’s heart finally found peace. She let go of her last lingering tie to that village.

She’d started saving money from her freshman year. It had taken years—even after graduation and a few more beyond that—but she’d finally scraped together enough to match the value of the house back home that her parents could’ve gotten in exchange for forcing her into marriage.

Once it was done, she wept bitterly.

Xu Zhiyao wrapped her in a gentle embrace, saying nothing, offering silent comfort.

A long while later, once Fu Xiangqing had calmed, she stayed nestled in those arms and rasped out Teacher Mei’s story in a voice thick with emotion.

It was Teacher Mei who had changed her.

It was Teacher Mei who made her realize that even a woman born from the mud could wash away the filth and embark on a brand-new, brilliant life.

Finally, Fu Xiangqing lifted her head.

Through tear-blurred eyes, the gaze she fixed on Xu Zhiyao was resolute and warm.

“A-Yao, I want to become like Teacher Mei, too.”

Xu Zhiyao understood her words. She said nothing, but instead leaned in with gentle indulgence to kiss her damp eyes.

—My love, go bravely chase your dreams. You know that no matter what you choose to do, I’ll always be right there with you.

One day after Fu Xiangqing became Teacher Fu,

she posted her very first Moments update.

The photo was a selfie of the two of them.

They sat on the Sea-Viewing Rocks, backs to the ocean, leaning toward the camera in a tender kiss.

Behind them stretched the endless deep blue sea.

Overhead gleamed a cloudless sunny sky.

The sunlight fell just right, catching on their intertwined fingers. The matching diamond rings on their ring fingers sparkled with dazzling beauty.

The caption was simple yet romantic.

【Perhaps this is where we’ll fall in love—with the Sea-Viewing Rocks overhead.】