Give Me Heartthrobs 13

Chapter 13: Passion

Ye Qizhen was quite surprised that Wen Yu would tell her she was in a bad mood; she always thought Wen Yu wouldn’t reveal too much emotion to others. But one thing she could feel: when Wen Yu jokingly said they should be friends that day, it wasn’t a joke.

“Then…” Ye Qizhen finished the last bite of her ice cream, licked her lips, and looked not far away where Tang Xiao was fully focused on dribbling past someone. Seizing this opportunity, she glanced at Wen Yu and said, “Let’s slip away.”

After speaking, she quickly grabbed Wen Yu’s hand and pulled her running to the side, her movements rash and reckless.

Wen Yu didn’t quite react in time. “What’s wrong?”

“If we’re seen, we won’t be able to slip away,” Ye Qizhen said as she ran. Wen Yu didn’t know how annoying Tang Xiao’s mouth could be; when he started nagging, it was like chanting scriptures, giving people a headache.

Being pulled like this, hurriedly bypassing the bustling crowd, the wind and voices noisy in her ears, everything around her was so passionate. Wen Yu felt this kind of passion for the first time. Following Ye Qizhen’s steps, she looked down and saw Ye Qizhen holding her hand. Her palm was warm, especially with the sunlight falling on them at this moment.

After running for about ten seconds, Ye Qizhen looked around and slowed down, panting. When she noticed Wen Yu looking at their joined hands, she immediately released her grip.

Wen Yu saw her panting heavily. “Stamina this poor?”

Ye Qizhen was out of breath and shook her head. “Running is a no-go.”

Wen Yu smiled and added insult to injury: “Student Ye, girls have to run 1600 meters for the PE exam at our school.”

Ye Qizhen had heard about this. She would be dead tired after one lap; where would she find the life to run the remaining three? She looked up at Wen Yu, her brow furrowed. “I choose to give up.”

She thought to herself, Even without the long-distance running score, I can still pass, right? Anyway, her best PE grade had always been just passing.

Wen Yu asked casually at this moment, “Want to run with me?”

Ye Qizhen guessed Wen Yu had a habit of night running, but the thought of running made her frown even more obvious, her expression practically screaming: Spare me.

Seeing her so reluctant, Wen Yu just smiled and said no more.

Walking out of the court, gradually moving away from the noisy crowd. Walking side by side on the gingko avenue in early autumn, aimlessly, Ye Qizhen asked the person beside her, “What do you want to eat for lunch?”

Wen Yu was seven or eight centimeters taller than her. Every time she spoke, she had to lift her eyes.

“Anything is fine,” Wen Yu answered.

Ye Qizhen guessed it; Wen Yu had answered the same way the day before yesterday. “Have you tried the spicy hot pot at the food court?”

“Haven’t tried it.”

Ye Qizhen guessed that too. “Then let’s eat that?”

Wen Yu naturally had no objection. She just found Ye Qizhen quite amazing—how much delicious food was stored in her brain? Ask her what to eat, and she could name several different things anytime, anywhere.

It was eleven o’clock now. The food court was near the North Gate, and walking there would take over ten minutes, just in time for lunch. The on-campus food court was affectionately called the “Third Cafeteria” by Z University students. It was like a small mall; the prices were slightly higher, but the taste was much better than the First and Second Cafeterias.

Before the peak dining time, the spicy hot pot place that usually had a queue wasn’t busy today, and the food came out quickly.

Before long, Ye Qizhen received a WeChat message from Tang Xiao: Ye Qizhen, where did you take Wen Yu again!

Ye Qizhen had no choice but to reply to Tang Xiao: She said something came up suddenly.

[Xiao Xiao Sa Sa]: What is it? Nothing serious, right?

[y]: Don’t know, maybe she’s busy with something.

Ye Qizhen lied. Wen Yu obviously didn’t want to be disturbed by others, and she certainly couldn’t tell Tang Xiao about Wen Yu’s bad mood.

[Xiao Xiao Sa Sa]: Looks like I really need to go burn incense. Did she see my super handsome dunk?

Did he dunk?

Ye Qizhen had no impression. She suddenly felt a little sorry for Tang Xiao; she might have already dragged Wen Yu away by then. She typed on her keyboard: Probably saw it.

But seeing it or not probably made no difference. She saw that Wen Yu, like her, wasn’t interested in boys playing basketball at all, even more indifferent than herself.

After dealing with Tang Xiao, Ye Qizhen picked up a piece of beef and put a mouthful of rice into her mouth. She stole a glance at Wen Yu, wanted to say something but didn’t, eating silently.

“Not tasty?” Wen Yu saw Ye Qizhen wasn’t eating with as much relish as the previous two times.

“Tasty.” Ye Qizhen chewed the rice carefully. After hesitating again and again, she tried to take the initiative to ask Wen Yu, “Why are you in a bad mood? You can tell me.”

She’s actually thinking about that. Wen Yu paused. “In a bad mood” was just something she said off the cuff because she didn’t want to eat with too many people. If she really had to talk about her mood, it was like this every day; no day could be considered happy.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to say,” Ye Qizhen added immediately, afraid she was being presumptuous.

“Just a bit tired recently, no inspiration,” Wen Yu explained.

“Do you have time in the afternoon? Maybe rest first.” Ye Qizhen drank some beverage, then pondered and asked, “The weather is very good today, go for a walk?”

A faint smile appeared on the corner of Wen Yu’s mouth. “You’ll accompany me?”

“Mn.” Ye Qizhen nodded with a smile, agreeing very quickly. That was actually what she meant. When Wen Yu said she was in a bad mood at the court, she really wanted to do something for Wen Yu. After all, Wen Yu had accompanied her when she was lonely and uncomfortable before.

Is accompanying me that happy? Wen Yu kept looking at Ye Qizhen’s face, as if probing something. “Won’t it waste your time?”

Ye Qizhen was still smiling, dimples appearing on her face, very straightforward: “Won’t waste it.”

Wen Yu was sure Ye Qizhen spoke from the heart. She glanced at Ye Qizhen’s slender, fair hand and couldn’t help remembering when Ye Qizhen quietly held her hand at the court just now, fingers rubbing against hers. She spaced out slightly.

Ye Qizhen picked up her phone to check something. Before long, she offered Wen Yu a choice. “Want to go to the aquarium? It’s not far from the school, and I checked, no need to book tickets in advance.”

She originally planned to ask Wen Yu where she wanted to go, but thought asking this way would be faster.

Wen Yu came back to her senses. “Okay.”

***

Departed in the afternoon.

After all, it was Saturday, and there were quite a few people at the aquarium. Most were families, followed by couples in pairs.

When entering after ticket check, Ye Qizhen realized she and Wen Yu were practically surrounded by couples. Thinking about it, a place like this was indeed a dating holy land. Ye Qizhen watched and felt envious again.

Wen Yu looked around and asked Ye Qizhen curiously, “Why did you want to come to the aquarium?”

“Whenever I was tired before, I would want to wander around the aquarium. Maybe blue is relaxing?” Ye Qizhen said as she walked. She didn’t know if this method would work for Wen Yu, but since Wen Yu didn’t know where to go, she brought her here.

“Is that so?” Wen Yu looked at Ye Qizhen. “It’s my first time here.”

“Come on, I’ll show you around.”

Continuing along the tour route, there were six or seven themed pavilions, each with many visitors. Ye Qizhen deliberately pointed at a Flowerhorn fish and asked Wen Yu, “Wen Yu, look, isn’t this fish cute?”

Wen Yu burst out laughing, finding that big forehead ugly, but she answered Ye Qizhen, “Mn, cute just like you.”

Ye Qizhen raised her head. “Am I that ugly?”

Wen Yu laughed even harder. She realized she didn’t hate lively places with many people; she just hated being alone in a lively place.

After the Jellyfish Pavilion came the underwater tunnel, over a hundred meters long. Standing in the fully transparent tunnel, Ye Qizhen and Wen Yu slowed their pace in unison. Separated by the giant glass wall, the other side was a dreamy and romantic azure blue. Looking up, one could see various named and unnamed fish leisurely swaying their tails as they swam by.

Wen Yu began to agree with Ye Qizhen. The deep blue world, with its rippling water patterns, was soothing and relaxing.

Ye Qizhen looked up, mesmerized by the dazzling underwater world. No matter how many times she walked through an underwater tunnel, she was always awestruck and delighted.

Wen Yu turned her head and silently gazed at Ye Qizhen for a long while, from her eyes to the bridge of her nose to her lips, looking a few more times to memorize the profile of the other’s face. She couldn’t help thinking, Being with a girl like this would never be boring, right? Just watching her smile is comfortable enough.

Wen Yu couldn’t resist picking up her phone to secretly take a picture. Then, she suddenly called out, “Ye Qizhen.”

Ye Qizhen turned back immediately upon hearing it, a smile still lingering on her face.

Wen Yu captured the shot perfectly, freezing the moment Ye Qizhen turned her head. Under the eerie blue light and shadow of the seabed, she smiled like a flower at the camera, the atmosphere maxed out.

“Why did you take a picture of me?” Ye Qizhen wanted to look. Being snapped candidly made her a little embarrassed. “Is it ugly? Let me see.”

“I’ll show you when I get it.” Wen Yu used her height advantage to hold the phone up, deliberately teasing Ye Qizhen.

Ye Qizhen stood on tiptoe, reaching out to grab it, but Wen Yu also stood on tiptoe. She simply extended one hand to press down on Wen Yu’s shoulder and reached with the other, getting serious. “Give it to me.”

“No,” Wen Yu insisted.

“Wen Yu, you’re bullying me.” Ye Qizhen still had one hand on Wen Yu’s shoulder; how could she reach it? After all, there was an insurmountable height difference between them.

The corners of Wen Yu’s lips lifted, and she laughed out loud. Hearing Ye Qizhen say this made her want to bully her even more. The two started playing around in front of the school of fish like this—very childish, but they weren’t exactly at a very mature age anyway.

Body swaying, Ye Qizhen leaned toward Wen Yu. Wen Yu’s left hand subconsciously held Ye Qizhen’s waist to steady her. With this embrace, their chests pressed against each other instantly, becoming even more intimate, breaths about to melt together.

Ye Qizhen leaned lightly against Wen Yu’s body, her heartbeat suddenly speeding up. She felt they looked exactly like the couples around them, inexplicably ambiguous, especially since Wen Yu was also staring at her face right now.

…

Looks like I really want to be in a relationship too much.

Thinking so much just from being close to a girl.

Ye Qizhen wasn’t the only one with the illusion of ambiguity; Wen Yu felt the same. She thought perhaps the atmosphere of the couples around them was too good. Besides, she didn’t feel repulsed by Ye Qizhen clinging to her at all; she even liked it…

Saying nothing, both of them fell inexplicably silent.

Ye Qizhen steadied herself, regained her composure, and stopped letting her imagination run wild.

“Won’t bully you anymore.” Wen Yu smiled nonchalantly, took the initiative to show the phone to Ye Qizhen, and said, “I’ll send it to you later.”

“Mn,” Ye Qizhen responded. She looked at the photo; although taken with a phone, both the composition and angle were excellent. Noticing Wen Yu had laughed quite happily just now, she asked Wen Yu again, “Is your mood any better?”

“Yes.” Wen Yu smiled, answering Ye Qizhen truthfully. She didn’t understand it herself—why did her mood always improve so much when she was with Ye Qizhen?

***

In the evening, Ye Qizhen posted on Moments, specifically using the two photos Wen Yu took for her. She didn’t easily post photos of herself on Moments unless she really liked them.

Less than half a minute after posting.

Tang Tang left a comment: Is there a situation?!

Then, the phone screen popped up with a voice call invitation from Tang Tang immediately. Ye Qizhen glanced at the others in the dorm and walked to the balcony to answer.

“Ye Qizhen, you have a situation, don’t you?”

Ye Qizhen was confused, not understanding how a few photos could indicate a “situation.” She retorted to Tang Tang, “Which eye saw a situation?”

“If there’s no situation, who took the photos for you? Confess honestly, who were you playing with at the aquarium this afternoon?” Tang Tang knew something was wrong as soon as she saw the photos. They looked like “boyfriend perspective” no matter how she looked at them—candid shots, too. Plus, she heard from Tang Xiao that a boy was chasing Ye Qizhen recently.

“Just a friend, you’re imagining too much,” Ye Qizhen explained, but didn’t explain too clearly.

“The person taking the photos obviously likes you, okay? Are you too dense to realize someone likes you?” Tang Tang thought this possibility was very high.