Chapter 20 Part 2

“…” Chi Nuan could no longer laugh.

…

The air conditioning hummed, and the ceiling fan spun lazily overhead.

In the first afternoon class, Chi Nuan propped her head up, staring at the blackboard. The history teacher wrote on it, filling it with a dense scrawl of clerical script. The more Chi Nuan looked, the sleepier she got—her eyelids heavy, about to close.

Gu Ningzi’s return had left Xu Dan and the others hyped all lunch in the dorm, preventing Chi Nuan from napping.

The energetic, wide-awake Xu Dan beamed. “I’ve got good news.”

Chi Nuan struggled to look at her.

Xu Dan gloated, “Chen Wan got messed up by Cai Miao so bad she hasn’t come to school for days.”

Chi Nuan: “…Ah?”

Xu Dan waggled her phone. “A freshman girl from my neighborhood is in Chen Wan’s class. She said Cai Miao’s been tormenting Chen Wan lately.”

Half her sleepiness vanished. Chi Nuan whispered, “Did she offend Cai Miao?”

Xu Dan scoffed. “With her temper, offending anyone wouldn’t be surprising—especially those Art Class Eldest Misses.”

It made sense.

Chi Nuan yawned and glanced at the pink letter paper Xu Dan was scribbling on, tucked in her history book. Curious, she asked, “What are you writing?”

The usually bold Xu Dan hesitated for two seconds before confessing, “A love letter.”

“…” Chi Nuan quickly glanced at the podium—the history teacher was still writing. She could not help repeating, “A love letter?”

Xu Dan covered her face. “To a junior! I met him at the library over the weekend with that neighborhood girl—she introduced us.”

Chi Nuan: “…”

Xu Dan: “I thought about it for days, and I still can’t forget him. That means I like him, right!”

After school, the whole dorm surrounded Xu Dan, demanding details.

“We met at the library. The girl said he’s a total academic star—top two in his year… Looks? Humbly, an 8 out of 10. But his voice—I’m a voice fanatic, you know… I asked him for help on a problem, and his patience—”

“You asked him for help?” Zhao Jingjing interrupted Xu Dan’s gushing admiration, stunned. “He’s only a freshman, right?”

Xu Dan puffed out her chest proudly. “That’s why he’s a genius! He self-studied all high school stuff already.”

Du Min: “So what? He’s still a freshman. Xu Dan, you’re a sophomore.”

Xu Dan got worked up. “Freshman how? He’s way taller than me!”

Du Min: “But you’re older!”

Xu Dan: “Sister-younger-brother romances are everywhere! So what if I’m older!?”

As they started arguing, Chi Nuan changed the subject. “You wrote the love letter—what next?”

Xu Dan: “Then he decides if we date— But it’s not done. The sentences feel off when I read them. Class monitor, your Chinese is great—can you edit it?”

Chi Nuan: “…”

Then Du Min dropped a profound line: “Xu Dan, the key isn’t how pretty the letter is—it’s whether he likes you.”

Xu Dan ignored her in a huff and huddled with Chi Nuan under the desk lamp to make the letter heartfelt and stirring.

Chi Nuan had no real ideas, so she smoothed out what Xu Dan had written, fixing errors. Xu Dan gazed at her gentle, focused profile and sighed, “Nuannuan, you’re so pretty—bet you’ve gotten tons of love letters.”

Chi Nuan: “…Not bad.”

Xu Dan snickered mischievously. “Not bad” from Chi Nuan meant she was being modest.

“Hey.” Xu Dan nudged Chi Nuan’s arm. “What kind of guys do you like?”

Her pen paused on the letter paper. Chi Nuan followed the thought, and Cao Pinhui’s sleazy face and rough actions flooded her mind. She quickly shifted gears.

Xu Dan: “Come on, tell me.”

Chi Nuan: “…I don’t know.”

Xu Dan: “Don’t know? No way… Everyone has an ideal type—tall or short, big eyes or small… Broad strokes…”

Chi Nuan dodged. “Really don’t know.”

Xu Dan’s eyes widened. “Don’t tell me you’ve grown up without ever liking anyone?”

Du Min could not stand it and jumped in. “What’s so shocking? Some people mature late—focused on studies, not everyone lives for love.”

Xu Dan retorted, “I don’t buy it. Even top students feel a spark for someone special. Not like they’re heartless.”

Du Min: “No, Xu Dan—why push our class monitor to like someone? If it hurts her grades, you taking responsibility?”

Xu Dan: “Which ear heard me say push her? I just asked! Can’t I ask?”

Zhao Jingjing, exasperated, slapped the bed frame. “What’s with you two tonight? Arguing over this?”

Du Min: “My fault?”

Xu Dan: “Not you, then me?”

Chi Nuan: “My fault, all mine. If I meet someone I like, I’ll tell you first, okay?”

Du Min and Xu Dan went quiet.

The phone screen lit up under the lamp. Chi Nuan picked it up—Gu Ningzi had sent a photo of a blank test paper.

Chi Nuan got up to her desk. The love letter was unfinished, but Xu Dan asked, “Where you going?”

Chi Nuan flipped through her worksheets nearby and replied, “Gu Ningzi doesn’t know how to do homework. I’m snapping answers for her.”

She photographed the answers and sent them, then typed: Ask again for ones you don’t get.

Xu Dan held back but blurted, “What kind do you think Gu Ningzi likes?”

Zhao Jingjing: “…”

Du Min rolled her eyes to the heavens.

Xu Dan defended herself. “She turned down Cao Pinhui—and yeah, he’s kinda scummy, but his conditions are decent. So Gu Ningzi’s standards must be sky-high—unimaginably high!”

Gu Ningzi’s deep, elongated eyes flashed in Chi Nuan’s mind, and something lightly scratched at her heart—itchy.

…

Before bed, Chi Nuan received a ten-second video from Gu Ningzi. In it, her porcelain-white fingers gently scratched Little Cat’s belly as she purred contentedly in sleep.

Chi Nuan watched it over and over, remembering she still did not know the cat’s name.

“Have you named it?” she asked Gu Ningzi.

Gu Ningzi: “Little Nuan.”

Chi Nuan buried her face in the blanket, peeking at the screen with just her eyes. “Why…”

Gu Ningzi rarely even said her name, so this sudden “Little Nuan” made Chi Nuan’s heart skip half a beat.

Gu Ningzi: “I said its name is ‘Little Nuan.'”

Chi Nuan: “…”

Chi Nuan: “???”

Gu Ningzi: “Kidding. No name yet.”

Chi Nuan: “…………”