Give Me Heartthrobs 20p1

Chapter 20: Attachment p1

In an instant, Wen Yu really wanted to hug the person in front of her, especially seeing that bright, warm, and sweet smile on Ye Qizhen’s face.

Should I say it so bluntly? Ye Qizhen stared at Wen Yu, stunned for a moment, not knowing how to reply. She awkwardly took two steps forward, finally stopping in front of Wen Yu.

The two faced each other, almost touching. Wen Yu’s gaze rested on Ye Qizhen’s brows and eyes, saying nothing.

After a moment, seeing Wen Yu still hadn’t made a move, Ye Qizhen mumbled, “…Didn’t you want to hug me?”

It would have been better if she hadn’t spoken.

Once she opened her mouth, it seemed even more awkward.

Facing Ye Qizhen, who had actively “delivered” herself, Wen Yu lowered her head and started laughing. The more she looked, the more she wanted to laugh. Can she be any cuter?

Is she joking? Ye Qizhen frowned, embarrassed. Just as she wanted to retreat but hadn’t had time to yet, she was gently pulled in. She fell silent as another person’s body temperature and scent bumped into her embrace.

Since she delivered herself, Wen Yu couldn’t hold back anymore. She closed her eyes and rested her chin on Ye Qizhen’s shoulder, not thinking about anything messy, just holding the person in her arms like this, feeling what it was like to be understood and warmed.

If only I could have met Ye Qizhen earlier.

I would definitely be much happier.

Ye Qizhen was good at comforting people, but she had never comforted anyone in this way. After being held tightly by Wen Yu, she somewhat clumsily raised her arms, circled Wen Yu’s waist, and hugged her gently.

Needless to say for Wen Yu, she had never hugged anyone like this. This feeling was strange yet clinging. Sensing Ye Qizhen hugging her back, she pushed her luck a little. Just as she imagined, hugging Ye Qizhen felt especially comfortable, as heartwarming as her smile.

Hugging Wen Yu’s waist, Ye Qizhen discovered that a hug might be the best way to soothe someone. Nothing needed to be said, yet everything was understood. She also harbored a little selfish motive: while Wen Yu was hugging her, she secretly rubbed against Wen Yu’s hair, smelling the fragrance on her.

Under the warm dusk, the shadows of the two people blended together, slanted and long. Not far away, vehicles whizzed by continuously, but the two were quiet as if in another world.

A very brief hug—at least Ye Qizhen felt it was a bit short. Wen Yu hugging her like this, and the scent on Wen Yu, she liked it all.

After separating, the two looked at each other for a good while without saying anything, simply smiling, looking quite silly. Ye Qizhen continued to watch the sunset absent-mindedly; the hug just now might have left a deeper impression than the dusk.

Quietly, neon lights began to flicker. The light and shadow at the transition between day and night gave this riverside city a unique charm.

Feeling the river breeze, Wen Yu suddenly said to Ye Qizhen, “If there were more happy things in childhood, would growing up be a little happier?”

Ye Qizhen turned her head, not reacting immediately.

“Weren’t you surprised why I joined the club?”

“Mn.” Thinking of what Wen Yu just said, Ye Qizhen nodded in agreement. At the same time, she felt that Wen Yu always seemed to be hiding a lot on her mind.

On the way back, Ye Qizhen mentioned running together to Wen Yu again. Wen Yu was quite surprised; she thought Ye Qizhen had lost interest in running after nearly collapsing after two laps that day. Ye Qizhen said if she worked hard, maybe she could run the 1600 meters too. After all, Wen Yu had let her see her potential that day.

After this day, the contact between the two unknowingly increased.

Apart from going to charity tutoring on weekends, Ye Qizhen usually attended classes step by step, and then there was the daily work of the campus TV station.

The Journalism Department was divided into four small classes, and usually, two small classes attended lectures together. The Introduction to Journalism teacher was a middle-aged uncle with a good temper. Everything was fine, except his accent during lectures was too heavy, like chanting, making it easy to get sleepy after listening for a long time. It just so happened that the courses were scheduled in the afternoon.

Five minutes until class ended. Theory classes were dull, and quite a few people couldn’t sit still anymore.

Ye Qizhen was very serious when listening to lectures, for every subject. Perhaps it was a habit she developed since childhood; she was particularly serious about academic performance. When she was very young, her parents would tell her: People only remember the first place, no one remembers the second.

So as a child, she firmly believed that as long as she worked hard, she could get first place. If she didn’t get first place, it was because she didn’t work hard enough. But after growing up, she accepted a cruel reality: not everyone who works hard can get first place.

After a while, there were chattering discussions in the classroom. Quite a few boys were craning their necks to look out the window.

“Yo, can’t sit still with just three minutes left?” At this time, even the good-tempered Introduction teacher began to complain. He stared at the boys in the back row and asked, “What’s so good to look at outside?”

Ye Qizhen was sitting by the window. After copying her notes, she heard the complaints from the podium but didn’t pay attention until she heard a light tapping sound on the glass beside her ear. Only then did she turn her head. After seeing clearly who was outside the window, she smiled helplessly at the person, finally knowing what the boys in the class were commotions about.

Wen Yu was bending slightly at this moment, separated by a layer of transparent glass, looking at her and smiling.

She didn’t even know when Wen Yu had arrived.

Wen Yu had been standing in the corridor for a while, watching Ye Qizhen copy three lines of notes from the side. It was just that Ye Qizhen was too focused and didn’t notice her at all.

With less than two minutes until class ended, Ye Qizhen admitted she was slightly distracted, glancing out the window casually from time to time. Sometimes she saw Wen Yu looking down at her phone, sometimes she saw Wen Yu looking at her too. Probably because the outdoor temperature was high, she saw Wen Yu’s jacket draped over her forearm, wearing only a thin sweater. It was somewhat form-fitting, showing off her figure quite well. Coupled with Wen Yu’s face that was born to flirt, let alone boys, even girls would look a few more times.

The bell rang, and people in the classroom swarmed out. Ye Qizhen walked in the middle. After greeting her roommates, she walked leisurely to Wen Yu.

Wen Yu leaned close to Ye Qizhen, staring at her intently. “Hungry, take me to eat.”

“Let’s go.” Ye Qizhen couldn’t resist Wen Yu speaking softly.

From running together to eating together, it started with a joke from Ye Qizhen. Remembering that Wen Yu didn’t eat properly, she told Wen Yu: You take me running, I’ll accompany you to eat.

Ye Qizhen felt it was quite wondrous. Although she had paid a lot of attention to Wen Yu before, she never thought she and Wen Yu could be like this now. If Tang Tang saw this, her jaw would probably drop.

In mid-November, after a few rains, the temperature dropped precipitously.

Ye Qizhen easily caught a cold or fever whenever the seasons changed or the temperature dropped, always suffering a bit.

Saturday night, Ye Qizhen was listless. She drank cold granules in the afternoon, but was still dizzy at night. She poured herself another cup of hot water and buried her head in writing on paper, the sound scratching. It happened to be the time with the most midterm assignments, and she still had tasks for several courses unfinished.

Ye Qizhen managed to write half a page of homework. Her brain felt like porridge; it was really a bit unbearable. She touched her phone, knowing she was being spineless and wanted to tell Wen Yu again. When she felt aggrieved and uncomfortable, she wanted to find Wen Yu. In the end, she was too embarrassed, so she only sent Wen Yu a WeChat message: Temperature dropped, remember to wear more when going out.

Not long after, Wen Yu replied with an “Mn.”

Ye Qizhen was sickly and replied with a cute sticker. Although Wen Yu felt quite cold to others, even replying to WeChat like this, she knew Wen Yu wasn’t cold at all. She had hugged her that day.

If she had received Ye Qizhen’s WeChat earlier, Wen Yu would definitely have remembered to wear more clothes, and wouldn’t have frozen as soon as she went out.

“Wen Yu, you’re wearing so little today? The temperature dropped in Nancheng, you have to pay attention to keep warm.” Zhao Lin walked out of the kitchen carrying a plate of green vegetables and placed it on the table. “I didn’t know what you like to eat, so I just stir-fried a few dishes casually.”

Wen Yu looked at the four dishes and one soup on the dining table. This isn’t considered sumptuous? Wen Yu smiled and said, “Teacher, no need to make so much, it’s just the two of us.”

“It’s rare for you to come once, wash your hands and eat.”

Zhao Lin was forty-five years old this year, with a young mindset and well-maintained appearance, looking like she was in her thirties. She was single, lived alone, and had no children. She usually took great care of her students, treating them like her own children.

Wen Yu had been learning painting in Zhao Lin’s studio since elementary school. It was a coincidence that she embarked on this path. Her mother spent all day in the mahjong parlor and had no time to take care of her, so she spent some money to send her to the art studio next to the mahjong parlor to save trouble. Later, to take care of her family, Zhao Lin returned to her hometown Nancheng from Beilin. Last year, Wen Yu happened to come to Nancheng for intensive training, and Zhao Lin took care of her a lot.

For so many years, Wen Yu had kept in touch with Zhao Lin. It was no exaggeration to say that Zhao Lin cared about her more than her own mother and gave her a lot of guidance.

“Went to college and became beautiful again.” Zhao Lin sighed. She watched Wen Yu grow up. In the blink of an eye, the little one from back then had grown into such a graceful young woman. She knew about Wen Yu’s family situation. With a mother like that, the child suffered. She felt very sorry for this girl and cared extra. “Does the food suit your taste?”

“Suits my taste, thank you, Teacher.” Wen Yu said, eating another mouthful of rice.

“Your appetite is better than before. Previously, you were full after a few bites.” Zhao Lin was a little surprised. Seeing which dish Wen Yu ate more of, she turned the dish in front of her. “You need to eat more, look how thin you are. But you seem better than when I saw you last year; you were skin and bones then.”

Seeing the ribs, Wen Yu immediately thought of how Ye Qizhen looked when eating ribs. She smiled and said to Zhao Lin, “Probably because I often eat with someone with a good appetite, so my appetite got better along with it.”

Thinking about it, it was true.

Every time she was with Ye Qizhen, she could eat much more.

“Made a friend?” This was the first time Zhao Lin heard Wen Yu talk about these things. She knew Wen Yu’s temperament. To put it nicely, she had personality; to put it badly, she was withdrawn, always alone, with few friends around her, like locking herself in a box and unwilling to let people get close. This state was actually very worrying.

“Mn,” Wen Yu responded.

“Tell Teacher, what kind of person?” Zhao Lin chatted while eating.

“A very warm and interesting person,” Wen Yu pondered and said, “Being with her is very comfortable.”

Zhao Lin snickered, sensing something was up. The expression when speaking was different. She had never seen this girl so happy mentioning someone. She thought Wen Yu was embarrassed to say it was a partner, so she teased, “Just started college and someone is already chasing you? Are you together? Teacher understands, your age is the age for dating, enjoy it well.”

Wen Yu was silent, then explained, “Teacher, you misunderstood, it’s a girl.”

“It’s a girl? Seeing you smile like that, I thought you met a boy who made your heart flutter.” Zhao Lin smoothed it over with a sentence.

Listening to Zhao Lin’s words, Wen Yu suddenly thought of something.

“If you have a good appetite, eat more.” Zhao Lin said enthusiastically, “Your school isn’t far from here. Come play here often in the future. Teacher will make delicious food for you. Bring that girl along.”

Zhao Lin’s cooking skills were superb, at the level of opening a private restaurant. Wen Yu thought of how much Ye Qizhen loved to eat; she would definitely like it. She didn’t stand on ceremony with Zhao Lin. “Then I’ll bring her along next time, you will definitely like her.”

Zhao Lin especially liked sunny girls who loved to smile.

Ye Qizhen fit the bill perfectly.

After finishing dinner at eight o’clock, Wen Yu chatted with Zhao Lin for a while about professional and life matters. She stayed a bit late and left after nine o’clock. Zhao Lin offered to drive her back to school, but she insisted not to. There was a bus stop downstairs in the community, and it was only a few stops to the West Gate of the school, which was quite convenient.

Before long, Wen Yu arrived at the stop. As soon as she got off the bus, the cold wind and the aroma of food hit her together. There were still many people at the West Gate at this hour.

The West Gate was the liveliest part of Z University. At night, many late-night snack stalls set up: egg-filled pancakes, grilled cold noodles, fried skewers, Oden…

Today the weather turned cool, and the Oden business was the best. There were many people queuing in front of the stall; it seemed the taste should be good.

Wen Yu never cared about these things before. After knowing Ye Qizhen, she slowly began to care about some things, such as whether food tasted good or not.

Seeing delicious food, she inevitably thought of Ye Qizhen again. She remembered Ye Qizhen mentioned that the Oden at the West Gate was delicious.

At this time, Ye Qizhen stayed in the dorm, still dizzy and uncomfortable, wilted, not wanting to eat anything.