Give Me Heartthrobs 26

Chapter 26: Comfort

Ye Qizhen was very idle today, so idle that she wandered around the streets and alleys of Beilin alone with her camera, taking pictures of lanterns in the hutongs, children playing and laughing, and the heavy snow amidst the hustle and bustle of life.

She was supposed to go to her grandparents’ house today, but she found an excuse to get out of it. She didn’t want to go; she’d rather be alone than go there.

After shooting for a long time, she got bored. Ye Qizhen put down her camera and watched people coming and going. In the lively atmosphere of the Spring Festival, walking alone on the street inevitably seemed lonely—and actually felt a bit lonely too.

The snow was getting heavier. Once it snowed in Beilin, it became more than just a little bit beautiful.

Ye Qizhen stood at a street corner and took a picture of the distant street scene with her phone. Embellished with snowflakes, everything before her eyes was endowed with a unique winter romance.

After taking the photo, Ye Qizhen’s first reaction was to send it to Wen Yu. It was the second day of the Lunar New Year; Wen Yu should be visiting relatives, right? She hadn’t dared to ask Wen Yu out these past few days for fear that she was busy.

Just as she opened WeChat, before she could select the picture to send, Ye Qizhen happened to see a message from Wen Yu first.

w: What are you doing?

Is this telepathy? Ye Qizhen stared at these four words on the phone screen and grinned. She had seen a saying online that when someone sends “What are you doing,” it’s equivalent to “I miss you.” Thinking about it carefully, it could indeed be interpreted that way.

Ye Qizhen took the opportunity to send the photo she just took to Wen Yu, appearing extremely fast.

y: Wandering on the street alone.

y: Today’s snow is so beautiful.

She admitted she was being a bit manipulative. Clearly, saying she was wandering on the street would have been enough, but she deliberately added “alone.”

Seeing Ye Qizhen reply instantly, Wen Yu suddenly smiled, recognizing that Ye Qizhen had photographed the old street in front of No. 1 High School.

y: What are you doing?

Ye Qizhen quickly threw the same question back to Wen Yu.

Wen Yu turned her hand to take a picture of the easel, sent it to Ye Qizhen, and replied: Painting alone.

Seeing Wen Yu also emphasizing “alone,” Ye Qizhen immediately understood. It was cold outside, and typing froze her fingers, so she pressed the voice message button directly: “Are you not visiting relatives today?”

Wen Yu listened with the phone to her ear, then also pressed the voice message button. Not beating around the bush, she asked Ye Qizhen directly: “Do you want to come over?”

Fearing Ye Qizhen might have concerns, she added: “I live alone.”

Spending the Spring Festival alone too? Ye Qizhen was stunned. She had heard some things about Wen Yu’s situation; it seemed she was from a single-parent family and lived with her mother.

The address Wen Yu gave was easy to find, right near the school. Ye Qizhen walked there in just over ten minutes.

Went up to the second floor.

She sent a WeChat message to Wen Yu saying “I’m here” before knocking lightly on the door.

When Wen Yu opened the door, she saw Ye Qizhen wrapped up like a clumsy zongzi (sticky rice dumpling), wearing a thick down jacket, hat, and scarf, revealing only her nose and eyes. Her nose was red from the cold.

Ye Qizhen was exceptionally afraid of the cold; she wouldn’t dare go out without being fully armed like this.

“What are you laughing at? It’s freezing outside.” Ye Qizhen’s mouth was hidden under the scarf, her voice muffled, but one could still tell she was smiling as she spoke because her exposed eyes were curved.

“Hurry up and come in.” Wen Yu pulled Ye Qizhen into the house and closed the door.

The heating in the house was sufficient. Ye Qizhen took off her hat, untied her scarf, and clumsily took off her down jacket. She glanced around the small, old apartment and asked, “You always live alone?”

“My home turned into a mahjong parlor. I couldn’t stand it, so I moved out,” Wen Yu explained. “I’ve always lived in this apartment; I lived here during high school too.”

“You didn’t live on campus in high school?” Ye Qizhen remembered the rumors about Wen Yu and muttered, “No wonder…”

“No wonder what?” Wen Yu pressed.

“Nothing.” Ye Qizhen quickly ended the topic.

Wen Yu knew what the unfinished sentence was. She was quite open-minded about it and smiled nonchalantly at Ye Qizhen. “They said I spent nights out with men?”

Ye Qizhen was silent; that was indeed what she had heard back then.

“It’s okay, I don’t care. Those words can’t hurt me.” Wen Yu comforted Ye Qizhen instead.

She doesn’t care about anything—doesn’t care about the bits and pieces of life, doesn’t even care if she’s happy or not. This was what Ye Qizhen intuitively felt after interacting with Wen Yu. She wanted to tell Wen Yu that some things should be cared about.

“What’s wrong?” Wen Yu asked, seeing Ye Qizhen suddenly fall silent.

Ye Qizhen smiled and shook her head. She just felt particularly sorry for Wen Yu and hoped Wen Yu could be happier.

In the afternoon, the two didn’t go anywhere, just nestling warmly in the study to draw. Wen Yu taught Ye Qizhen some simple sketching, starting from how to hold the pencil. It was Ye Qizhen who had said on a whim that she wanted to learn.

A small room of a dozen square meters—cold for one person, warm for two.

“Like this?”

Seeing this, Wen Yu pinched Ye Qizhen’s fingers to correct her bit by bit. “Like this.”

“Ye Qizhen.”

“Mn?”

Wen Yu whispered, “You seem a bit clumsy.”

Still so blunt. Ye Qizhen looked at Wen Yu with resentful eyes. After laughing, Wen Yu switched to teaching gently and patiently, demonstrating slowly for Ye Qizhen, occasionally holding her hand lightly to teach her hand-in-hand.

Although Ye Qizhen had zero talent in painting, it didn’t stop her from enjoying learning with Wen Yu. She had learned a little in art class before, and with Wen Yu guiding her by the side, it wasn’t long before she could draw a decent-looking cube.

Like a child, Ye Qizhen turned to ask Wen Yu for praise. “Am I awesome?”

Wen Yu also turned her head at this moment.

They were sitting shoulder to shoulder, so turning their heads at the same time brought them very close instantly.

Wen Yu gazed into Ye Qizhen’s eyes. “Awesome.”

Ye Qizhen turned her head back in inexplicable fluster, shifting her attention to the drawing paper, wanting to continue drawing.

“You’re not visiting relatives today?” Wen Yu asked curiously. It was normal for her not to visit relatives, but Ye Qizhen was also alone.

“Supposed to go to my grandparents’ today, but I didn’t go.” Ye Qizhen practiced drawing lines on the paper. She wasn’t good at straight lines; her hand shook, drawing messily, and her mind wasn’t calm enough. After drawing another set, she simply put down the charcoal pencil and chatted idly with Wen Yu. “They don’t like me very much.”

“There are people who don’t like you?” Wen Yu was surprised; she always thought someone like Ye Qizhen would be loved by everyone.

“Do you think so highly of me?” Ye Qizhen smiled bitterly. “I don’t think I told you I have an older sister. My sister is amazing, gets first place in everything.”

“Actually, my parents conceiving me was an accident. They didn’t want a second child, but my grandparents hoped my mom would give birth, saying a fortune teller said it would be a boy. Turns out I was a girl, so the old folks looked down on me. When my parents had me, it was when the family was most financially strapped. When they argued back then, they would say they shouldn’t have given birth to me.” Ye Qizhen gripped the pen in her hand, pursed her lips, and said slowly, “I was unwelcome from birth…”

So she realized from a young age that she had to be more sensible than other children; otherwise, she would be disliked even more. She always showed a positive and optimistic side to others, afraid of giving negative emotions, afraid of being disliked—probably a lingering effect from childhood.

After speaking, Ye Qizhen lowered her eyes and didn’t look at Wen Yu. She was afraid she was going to cry—or rather, her eyes were already wet. She regretted talking about this with Wen Yu, crying in front of someone again during the New Year.

Wen Yu was quiet, leaning over to wipe Ye Qizhen’s tears. Sure enough, wet.

“Do you really not find me annoying? Crying over nothing.” Ye Qizhen asked Wen Yu with a smile, tears spilling from her eyes as she smiled.

Wen Yu leaned close, looking at Ye Qizhen, still silent. Instead, she reached out and patted her head, comforting her silently.

“What are you doing?” Ye Qizhen felt Wen Yu’s action was like comforting a puppy or kitten.

“Smoothing your fur, be happy,” Wen Yu said, her palm gently stroking the other’s hair.

Ye Qizhen burst out laughing. Hearing Wen Yu petting her head and telling her to be happy, she also touched Wen Yu’s hair, gentle and serious. They really looked like two injured puppies licking each other’s wounds. But who compares themselves to a dog? Ye Qizhen giggled foolishly again.

“So silly,” Ye Qizhen laughed.

Wen Yu laughed too, agreeing, but being warmed was also true.

Better change the topic. Glancing at a bag of toast by the desk with a few slices eaten, Ye Qizhen couldn’t help asking Wen Yu, “Did you just eat dry bread today?”

“Mn, didn’t know what to eat, just ate whatever.” Wen Yu glanced at her phone; time seemed to pass exceptionally fast when they were together. She looked at Ye Qizhen and added, “Also have a bit of a stomachache.”

“You have the nerve to say that? Is a stomachache something to be proud of?” Ye Qizhen was destined not to be fierce, especially towards Wen Yu. Her tone shifted into a soft mutter: “Living alone and not taking good care of yourself.”

Wen Yu didn’t speak, just stared at Ye Qizhen helplessly.

“Does it still hurt now?” Ye Qizhen’s heart softened under her gaze, unable to stop caring.

Asked by Ye Qizhen, Wen Yu clutched her stomach dramatically, frowned, and said, “Better now.”

“Are you sure?” Ye Qizhen expressed doubt at Wen Yu’s state. Thinking that Wen Yu lived alone, it would be troublesome if she felt unwell at night. “Are you okay alone here…”

Wen Yu opened with: “Are you staying to keep me company?”

Ye Qizhen originally wanted to tell Wen Yu to go home, but hearing Wen Yu say this, she swallowed her words back.

She looked at Wen Yu for a moment, a bit suspicious if Wen Yu was faking it. She was fine drawing in the afternoon, but suddenly hurt when she said it hurt. But hearing Wen Yu actively say this, after a slight hesitation… “…Okay.”

Agreed. Wen Yu snickered inwardly but kept a straight face. “You don’t have to force yourself, I’m fine alone.”

“I’m not forcing myself,” Ye Qizhen answered quickly. She also harbored her own little selfish thought: she didn’t really want to go home. Just now, she had been keeping an eye on the time, wondering how an afternoon passed so quickly.

Remembering Wen Yu saying that day she wouldn’t do things she didn’t like, Ye Qizhen also vowed to Wen Yu right now: “I… just like taking care of you, is that okay?”

Wen Yu had said it freely that time.

Coming from her, it had an indescribable awkwardness.

Wen Yu laughed outright this time, seizing the opportunity to ask, “Then, you’re not going back tonight?”

“Mn, I’ll just tell my family.” Ye Qizhen held back her smile slightly, not showing her happiness too obviously.