Chapter 55: Confession

Song Wenwei hastily finished dinner and cleaned up the kitchen. She slumped onto the sofa, the soft sensation enveloping her body.

She picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. She kept pausing and skipping through the channels but couldn’t find anything she wanted to watch, so she eventually turned it off.

Damn it. As soon as she had a moment of idle time, she thought of Lu Nan again.

Earlier, as the two of them walked through the alley, she had asked Lu Nan, “How did you know?”

Lu Nan had replied, “You had ‘uneasy’ written all over your face. I was wondering what exactly you were afraid of—your expression was so strange. I was worried you might be in danger, so I followed you.”

Song Wenwei clutched her head and pushed the memory aside. Lu Nan was too good to her; she could even notice and remember the look on Song Wenwei’s face from outside the car window. Someone so good left Song Wenwei at a loss for how to respond.

It was like the frog in warm water—basking in her gentle pool until the temperature rose suddenly and scalded her.

She thought she absolutely couldn’t let this slide unchecked. She needed to find a way to ask Lu Nan if she liked girls. What if she was homophobic?

She was going crazy.

She had no dating experience either. How was she supposed to ask? Song Wenwei sat on the sofa, racking her brains with no solution in sight.

She picked up her phone, thinking that Tang Jiu seemed knowledgeable about this sort of thing. Rumor had it that Tang Jiu had dated someone abroad, though she didn’t know if they’d broken up.

[Mosquito: Did you break up?]

Tang Jiu was bored out of her mind, sitting in the living room amid a barrage of chatter from her relatives that had her ears ringing. She picked up her phone and nearly blacked out at the message.

[Greedy for a Cup of Wine: Are you polite? I ask you, are you polite? (fake smile)]

[Mosquito: Sorry.]

[Greedy for a Cup of Wine: Spit it out already.]

[Mosquito: I want to ask you for advice on how to pursue someone—the romantic kind of pursuing, not chasing them while running.]

She worried Tang Jiu might be too dense and suggest something ridiculous like sprinting after her on foot, so she made it extra clear.

Tang Jiu’s gossip antennas shot up instantly. Oh ho ho, first one, now another—everyone had someone they liked. Just an hour before Song Wenwei’s message, Lu Nan had asked her something similar. Who knew No. 1 Middle School’s F3 synchronized their love lives like this.

[Greedy for a Cup of Wine: Pester relentlessly.]

[Mosquito: ?]

Tang Jiu exited the chat and switched to another one. Almost simultaneously, a message popped up from the other side.

[Lu Nan: Should I ask her out?]

[You know, I’ve never really dealt with emotions growing up…]

Her message hung there unfinished, but Tang Jiu knew exactly what she was getting at.

[Greedy for a Cup of Wine: Don’t pull that green tea act on me. Fine, I’ll give you advice, okay?!]

[Lu Nan: Okay.]

Tang Jiu was momentarily speechless. She played the emotional card and pulled the pity ploy when she needed help, but otherwise responded with a cold single word.

Fine, very fine indeed.

She would never feel sorry for this icy, repressed tease of a Lu Nan again!

Meanwhile, Lu Nan stared at the new message on her phone, only half understanding.

So, first get familiar, build good feelings, conquer the heart… then confess and smoothly enter the halls of marriage.

Got it. She and Song Wenwei were already plenty familiar. Oh oh oh, next step: invite her out…

Lu Nan nodded solemnly. She got it!

—

Tang Jiu left Lu Nan’s chat window, and another message popped up. Luckily, she was an old hand at relationships; this was as simple as drinking water.

[Mosquito: Help me analyze what she means. If she’s asking me out, does that mean she likes me too?]

[Attached image: (The other person says: Want to go to the amusement park together tomorrow?)]

Tang Jiu glanced at it and understood immediately: [What do you mean, what do you mean? She’s actively inviting you out—there’s definitely something there! Go! Say yes! You only get chances when you’re out together.]

Ding dong.

A reply notification chimed on Lu Nan’s phone—[Mosquito: Okay.]

Woo-hoo!

Ever since returning from Flower Town, Lu Nan had figured it out. That Lin Xiaoxiao had given Song Wenwei something out of nowhere—there had to be more to it. Maybe she was a rival.

She’d realized a truth: if you didn’t pursue, someone else would swoop in.

Just thinking about someone else taking Song Wenwei home last night, caring for and protecting her, made fire rise in Lu Nan’s eyes. She was burning with jealousy.

And that guy at the school gate who’d rushed to carry her luggage was a prime example.

If she dragged her feet any longer, Song Wenwei would be all lovey-dovey with someone else, leaving Lu Nan crying alone in a corner.

No!

People were greedy like that. At first, she feared ruining their friendship; now, she feared being stuck as just friends. Once an opportunity in love slipped away, it was gone. Lu Nan didn’t want her first crush to fizzle out pointlessly.

She glanced at her phone: [Greedy for a Cup of Wine: After you set the date, do some heart-pounding stuff—like the haunted house at the amusement park. Ever heard of the suspension bridge effect…?]

Lu Nan read the message, but her mind raced: That would take too long. The holiday only had a few days left; dragging it out meant Song Wenwei would head back to school soon.

No, no, she had to hurry.

She’d ask her out, confess too—otherwise, someone else might beat her to it. Of course, Lu Nan knew she couldn’t rush and scare her off. They were right; people got greedier and greedier.

Lu Nan had just found a fortune teller app. Normally, she wouldn’t believe in that stuff—people should trust science.

The next second: [Lu Nan: Master, what should I do?]

[Master: Confess right now, immediately! Trust me.]

Huh?

Lu Nan froze in place, clutching her phone. This person was clearly a scammer.

[Master: Right now! Hear me? If it doesn’t work, I’ll eat shit standing on my head.]

[Are you serious?]

Lu Nan stood on the balcony. The night was dim, distant neon lights twinkling like a river of brilliance, dazzling to behold.

Down below, a couple embraced in a kiss. She watched, entranced, her thoughts drifting to another scene.

From afar came the soft, husky strains of a Cantonese song on the radio—”Love… how could there be… any deviation…”

In the hazy moonlight, she couldn’t make out the words clearly until a chilly wind brushed her face, snapping her back to reality.

—

Song Wenwei was still seeking advice from Tang Jiu—sweet nothings, seductive glances, all sorts of tips. She typed with flushed cheeks.

Lu Nan’s chat had gone quiet, but a new message shattered the silence in the living room.

Song Wenwei stared at the notification, doubting her eyes. She blinked several times before tapping it open.

The profile with the white avatar, saved as “One-Armed Hero,” had replied: [I like you.]

Song Wenwei’s heart skipped a beat, her chest pounding wildly as if it might burst out. She couldn’t control the fluttering inside.

Lu Nan… said she likes me… likes me.

Real or fake?

Song Wenwei tamped down her excitement. Lu Nan’s words were too sudden, completely out of the blue. She suspected it might be a joke—maybe a dare from a game. She sent a probing message.

[Mosquito: Did you lose a dare?]

As if waiting by the phone, the reply came almost instantly, to keep her from overthinking.

[One-Armed Hero: No.]

Not… so it was real.

Two more messages popped up right away.

[One-Armed Hero: Not the friend kind of like, don’t misunderstand. I wasn’t playing truth or dare. I really like you—the kind where I want to date you.]

[If this offends you, I’m sorry.]

[I really don’t want to just be friends anymore. I’m tormented every moment. I like you, Song Wenwei.]

[Song Wenwei, I want to be your lover.]