Luo Xue herself didn’t have many expectations for a gift. After all, they had been together for a year, and the gifts she’d received could be counted on one hand.
It was just that Li Chengyu’s actions had ignited a tiny spark of hope in her. Luo Xue nodded and, thinking about what the gift could be, closed her eyes.
Cosmetics? Li Chengyu didn’t know any cosmetic brands. Still, even if it was something from a roadside stall, she would be happy.
Chocolate? It was possible. After all, all girls loved sweets.
Or maybe a teddy bear?
Luo Xue thought to herself, no matter what it was, she would accept it happily. At least Li Chengyu was finally showing a tiny bit of change. It let her see a glimmer of a future.
“Okay, open your eyes!” Li Chengyu announced. Luo Xue opened her eyes with a trace of anticipation. Li Chengyu placed his hand over his chest and grinned. “Ta-da! My gift to you is… my one true heart.”
The smile on Luo Xue’s face slowly froze into shock. Li Chengyu’s face was beaming. “I really like the gift Little Xue gave me. I give my true heart to you. A true heart is priceless; I imagine you’ll like it too.”
Luo Xue had never imagined her gift would be… a true heart!
Li Chengyu watched Luo Xue’s stunned expression, and his own face gradually darkened. “You’re not happy?”
“No, no, I’m just a little surprised.” Luo Xue had thought she would at least get a piece of chocolate. Li Chengyu dropped his smile. “Do you think my true heart is worthless?”
“It’s not that, it’s just… I was also looking forward to receiving a gift.” Luo Xue knew she had once again wounded Li Chengyu’s fragile ego. Powerless and pained, she tried to explain. “Just like how you were happy to receive a gift from me, right? I was just hoping you would put some thought into it.”
“In your heart, are those vulgar gifts better than my true heart?” Li Chengyu was furious. He felt insulted. “Luo Xue, what’s been with you lately? You never used to care about these things. You’ve become just like all those other girls—vulgar and materialistic.”
He felt he had reached his limit. His tone was full of betrayal. “I get it now. You’ve changed ever since you got close to Tang Qi this semester. Did Tang Qi say something? Can you stop hanging around with those shady people?”
“What’s wrong with Tang Qi? What gives you the right to talk about her like that?” Luo Xue didn’t understand why Tang Qi was being dragged into this.
“You say she’s working jobs. Who knows what unsavory work she does on the side? She’s just fooling an inexperienced girl like you. Little Xue, the person I first knew was innocent and cute. And now? Look at what you’ve become. You have to understand that I’m the only one who treats you well in this world. Everyone else is just using you.” Li Chengyu felt he was offering words of earnest wisdom.
“I won’t allow you to talk about Tang Qi like that. She’s a wonderful person. She treats me, she treats everyone, well. She isn’t using me.” Luo Xue was trembling with anger. She stood up furiously, her chair scraping against the floor in a jarring screech.
She looked at Li Chengyu, whose face now held only bitter spite. Summoning the last of her strength, she said, “She’s my most important friend. Say anything else about her and we’ll…”
“What are you going to do? Break up with me?” Li Chengyu sneered. He fundamentally didn’t believe Luo Xue would ever break up with him.
Without any hesitation, Luo Xue said, “Exactly. Break up.” She realized that saying those words wasn’t nearly as painful as she had imagined. Instead, she felt only relief.
“You’re breaking up with me over an outsider?” Li Chengyu’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. After a moment, it was as if a sudden realization dawned on him. “I get it. Isn’t this just because I didn’t give you a gift?”
As he spoke, he pulled one out from the pile of gifts others had given him on the table and tossed it to Luo Xue. His expression was one of condescending charity. “Here, take it.”
Luo Xue picked up the thing he’d thrown. A look of vindication had just begun to form on Li Chengyu’s face when he saw Luo Xue slam the gift onto the ground and stomp on it several times.
“Li Chengyu, let me tell you, I don’t need these gifts of yours at all. I wouldn’t even glance at something this cheap. Just like you.” Luo Xue never thought she would speak such harsh words herself. “You really are petty and small-minded.”
She didn’t want to argue about how much she had sacrificed for him, because Li Chengyu simply couldn’t see her devotion. She snatched back the suit she had bought. “Since you think true feelings are so valuable and priceless, then I’ll give you my true heart too. I’d rather give this suit to a dog than to you.”
“Don’t regret this!” Li Chengyu was stunned, his face dark as he ground his teeth, acting as if Luo Xue had committed some heinous crime.
“I regret ever meeting you.”
Carrying the suit, Luo Xue walked out the door. The sky had started to rain without her noticing. Yu City’s winter had definitively arrived. The damp climate now showed its power; though the temperature wasn’t low, it felt bone-chillingly cold.
But in this moment, Luo Xue felt nothing but relief.
She took a deep breath of the cold air. Her whole body felt light and at ease.
On the other side of things, since it was a holiday, the students were clamoring to go out. Tang Qi’s class ended unusually early. Back in the dormitory, she found everyone was out. The System huffed angrily. “Luoluo went on a date with that scumbag.”
Tang Qi acknowledged this mentally. “Those two will be in a relationship for seven years.”
“World lines aren’t unchangeable,” the System muttered.
Tang Qi gave a small, helpless laugh. “That requires immense willpower to alter. Under normal circumstances, world lines don’t easily change.” Thinking of Luo Xue suffering under Li Chengyu’s torment for several more years, the System wailed. “Please, let the world line change the male lead! What the hell is this? An emotional PUA! Host, can’t you just tear the male lead apart with your bare hands?”
But the System knew Tang Qi wouldn’t interfere with the world line’s progression.
As they were talking, Tang Qi noticed the greeting card and gift on the desk. The elegantly wrapped box was marked “For Tang Qi,” in Luo Xue’s handwriting.
Opening the packaging, she found a necklace inside. On a black leather cord hung a beautiful little gold ingot. The ingot was small, but it held a certain heft, and it didn’t look cheap. Inside was also a card with a single line written on it. “Wishing Tang Qi wealth and prosperity.”
“A gift from Luoluo. She’s such a good kid! Waaah… you didn’t even say anything about preparing a gift for Luoluo!” the System wailed.
Her phone rang. Ignoring the System’s lamentations, Tang Qi answered. Mai Lingling’s voice came through, pleading for help. “Dearest Qiqi, I’m trapped in the library. I beseech you for an umbrella to ferry me back to the dorms.”
It was only then that Tang Qi noticed the rain falling outside. “Wait for me at the main entrance.”
The library wasn’t far from the dormitory, just a few minutes away. Mai Lingling was stamping her feet from the cold. Seeing Tang Qi, she dove straight under the umbrella, linking her arm through Tang Qi’s. “My savior! Words cannot express my gratitude.”
The moment her arm was linked through hers, Tang Qi’s body stiffened, though she quickly relaxed. Mai Lingling kept on chattering. “Everyone else is out on dates. I’m the only one still struggling for the make-up exams. If you hadn’t come back, I would’ve had to run back in the rain.”
As she spoke, Mai Lingling looked up at Tang Qi under the umbrella. A white sweater under a khaki trench coat, holding the umbrella with one hand, her pretty eyes lowered slightly as she listened attentively to what Mai Lingling was saying.
“Ba-dump!” Mai Lingling heard her own heartbeat. She let out a dry cough, silently chanting “form is emptiness,” and immediately changed the subject, stammering a little. “Th-that, um, I remember Luoluo didn’t bring an umbrella either. Don’t you think we should go bring her one? Heh heh heh!”
“You go back to the dorm and take a hot shower. I’ll go,” Tang Qi replied. After seeing Mai Lingling back to the dorm, Tang Qi took out her phone and sent a message to Luo Xue. “Where are you? I’ll bring you an umbrella.”
The System popped up. “Host, host, you won’t believe it! Luoluo actually broke up with that scumbag! She’s sheltering from the rain outside the restaurant entrance. Hurry and go!”
Tang Qi was surprised. Break up? Her phone vibrated. It was a call from Luo Xue. Tang Qi hid her inner surprise. Luo Xue’s voice on the other end was light and cheerful. “Tang Qi, I haven’t eaten yet. Want to grab something together?”
“Sure.” It could be considered comforting a girl who just had a breakup, but Tang Qi was very surprised that Luo Xue wasn’t crying. She walked quickly. During their idle chat, she reached Luo Xue’s location. Tang Qi said, “Turn around.”
Luo Xue was watching the rain and instinctively turned. She saw Tang Qi approaching from afar. Slender fingers holding the umbrella, her delicate features set against the curtain of rain, she slowly smiled when she saw Luo Xue turn around.
Luo Xue looked at the rainwater soaking the bottoms of her trousers. Her mind suddenly flashed back to her first month with Li Chengyu. That day, there had been a torrential downpour.
She had been trapped in a classroom. When she called Li Chengyu, he sounded incredibly worried. “Little Xue, are you okay? Did you get soaked? Why didn’t you check the weather forecast? Are you cold? Make sure to drink some hot water to ward off the chill.” But he didn’t bring her an umbrella.
It was like when she was in elementary school. She could no longer remember which grade. The rain was pouring down. All the other children were picked up by their parents, but she could only sit silently under the eaves and wait. In the end, what she waited for was the rain to stop, and she walked home by herself!
The moment she stepped under this umbrella, that void from her early years was suddenly filled. Luo Xue suddenly couldn’t understand what she had been chasing after Li Chengyu for this whole year. She had wanted someone to love her, but she couldn’t lose herself in the process.
“Come on, let’s celebrate my return to singledom,” Luo Xue said with a smile.
Tang Qi looked at her relaxed expression. “You broke up?”
“Broke up!”
Tang Qi pondered. Had the world line veered off course? Or would they still get back together later? After all, Li Chengyu and Luo Xue were together for seven years before breaking up. And their one-year anniversary had just passed.
The System was completely unbothered, practically wanting to set off fireworks in celebration. “Wonderful, wonderful! Congratulations to Luoluo for shaking off that scummy bastard and heading toward a new life.”
Ignoring the System’s celebrations, Tang Qi looked at Luo Xue, who showed no signs of dejection. She wondered if she truly wasn’t sad, or if she was just putting on a brave face. After a moment of hesitation, she pulled a piece of candy from her pocket and placed it in Luo Xue’s hand.
“What’s this?”
“Candy. Eating something sweet can lift your mood a little,” Tang Qi said softly. In Luo Xue’s ears, her voice carried a coaxing tone. “Or is that not sweet enough? Should we go buy a cream cake?”
Luo Xue looked at the candy in her palm. She closed her hand around it, raised her face, and smiled at Tang Qi. “No, it’s sweet enough.”
