Give Me Heartthrobs 25

Chapter 25: Missing Her

Most people weren’t in great shape after the run, and the teacher had already said they could dismiss directly after finishing.

It took Ye Qizhen a good while to remember to check her result. She scanned the record sheet and quickly found her name.

“Did you pass?” Wen Yu asked from behind.

Ye Qizhen looked at Wen Yu and didn’t answer.

Seeing this, Wen Yu said, “I’ll accompany you for the make-up exam next time.”

“Eight minutes fifty-three seconds!” Only then did Ye Qizhen grin and tell Wen Yu, practically jumping for joy. Indeed, potential is limitless; she couldn’t believe she ran four laps in less than nine minutes. Although she didn’t get full marks, she was already very satisfied with this result.

Wen Yu smiled helplessly. She was almost fooled by Ye Qizhen; with that expression just now, she thought she had failed.

“Cough…” After speaking, Ye Qizhen lowered her head and coughed fiercely. While running, wind had gotten into her throat, and coupled with running too fast, her stomach felt a cramping pain.

Wen Yu stepped forward, patted Ye Qizhen’s back, unscrewed the mineral water bottle cap, and handed it to her.

Ye Qizhen drank another mouthful of water before her breathing smoothed out. She straightened up, while Wen Yu was still patting her back to help her breathe. After a thought, she called, “Wen Yu.”

Suddenly hearing her name, Wen Yu looked quietly at Ye Qizhen.

“Do you find me annoying?” Ye Qizhen asked cautiously. She had been thinking about this question while running just now. Wen Yu had a cool personality, yet she clung to Wen Yu so much. She didn’t know what was wrong with herself; she wasn’t like this with others usually.

After asking, Ye Qizhen felt she had asked a nonsense question.

If she asked like this, no one would answer “yes,” right?

Before Wen Yu could answer, she saw Ye Qizhen smiling apologetically and saying, “I’m always troubling you.”

“I won’t do things I don’t like,” Wen Yu replied, her tone free and calm. She admitted it was the first time she cared about someone so much, but she did it willingly. She just liked being with Ye Qizhen. Finding someone who could understand her made her want to hold on tight.

Won’t do things I don’t like. Ye Qizhen carefully digested the meaning of Wen Yu’s words. She didn’t say anything, just smiled a bit foolishly at Wen Yu, with satisfaction and pride. Thinking that Wen Yu was too good to her, she decided she must be doubly good to Wen Yu.

Wen Yu sensed Ye Qizhen’s thoughts and asked knowingly, “What are you laughing at?”

Ye Qizhen tilted her head slightly towards Wen Yu. “Happy.”

Wen Yu muttered, “Ran silly and still happy.”

Ye Qizhen thought about Wen Yu’s sentence again. Regardless, still happy.

After December, Ye Qizhen was busy as a spinning top. Z University held a Welcome Party every year, considered a large-scale event, and naturally, the campus TV station couldn’t stay idle.

After the Welcome Party business was done, it was the end-of-term exam month. Top students were everywhere at Z University, and by the end of the term, the surrounding study atmosphere was no worse than in high school.

The library became a popular spot for everyone to check in. Firstly, the environment was suitable for reviewing, and secondly, one could enjoy free heating. It was said that reserving seats in the library every day was a bloody battle, with people lining up outside the library as early as six o’clock.

As a professional late sleeper, Ye Qizhen relied entirely on Wen Yu to secure a spot in the library during exam week. Wen Yu always arrived at the library earlier than her. Even if it was just ten minutes, that was the difference between having a seat and not.

The reading room on the fourth floor was their most frequent study spot. Ye Qizhen and Wen Yu were both focused people; even sitting together didn’t affect their review efficiency at all. Wen Yu also loved spending time in the library, which Ye Qizhen discovered not long ago.

In late January, it snowed rarely in Nancheng.

Z University’s winter vacation started on January 23rd. Ye Qizhen’s last exam was on January 22nd; after the exam, she would be liberated to go home. The heating in the classroom was sufficient and warm. Walking out of the classroom after handing in the paper, the damp and cold winter wind blew, chilling to the bone.

“You handed in your paper early?” Ye Qizhen bumped into Wen Yu in the corridor. She took her exam in Building 2, and Wen Yu in Building 3 opposite. The teaching buildings were connected by corridors, making it convenient to come over.

“Mn, quite simple,” Wen Yu said.

“Student Wen, won’t you be a bit more humble?” Ye Qizhen joked.

Wen Yu either didn’t speak or spoke straight; she didn’t like beating around the bush, nor was she the type to cry difficulty after leaving the exam room only to get a high score later. The reason others thought she was arrogant was also because of this.

Walking outdoors, it started snowing again. Unknowingly, the ground was covered with a thin layer of white.

“This snow is really stingy,” Ye Qizhen complained to Wen Yu. They both grew up in Beilin, where it was already snowing heavily and wrapped in silver.

Wen Yu opened the umbrella. “Let’s go.”

The two squeezed under one umbrella and walked towards the dormitory building.

What fell in Nancheng were ice pellets, making a rustling sound on the umbrella, which Ye Qizhen inexplicably found pleasant. She discovered Wen Yu was also quite “clingy” to her. Wen Yu handed in her paper early and could have gone back to the dorm first, but insisted on waiting for her.

“One semester passed really fast.” Ye Qizhen opened her palm to catch the small ice pellets falling from the sky.

“Mn,” Wen Yu responded.

Ye Qizhen looked at Wen Yu, feeling that the biggest gain this semester was meeting Wen Yu.

Today was the last exam for most students, so basically everyone was beaming with joy. Ye Qizhen looked at the calm expression on Wen Yu’s face. Sometimes she felt Wen Yu was so calm that she was out of place with her surroundings. “Aren’t you excited about the holiday?”

“I prefer attending classes,” Wen Yu blurted out.

“Are you kidding me?” Ye Qizhen opened her eyes wide, looking at Wen Yu incredulously, shocked by this answer.

Wen Yu smiled casually. She really thought so; compared to going home for the holiday, she would rather stay at school for classes.

Back in Beilin, the snow was heavier than Wen Yu imagined. After leaving school, she seemed to become numb again.

Dragging a large suitcase, she stood at the lacquered red door. Before opening it, she heard noisy chatting from inside. Upon opening the door, the air was filled with the smell of smoke. Several people were gathered around a mahjong table, playing mahjong noisily. Laughter and filthy cursing were incessant.

“Yo, our little beauty is back,” a middle-aged man in his forties squinted and sized up Wen Yu.

Wen Yu was so numb she didn’t even give a second glance.

“What’s your mouth for? Mute? Don’t know how to say hello?” Wen Qiuxian held a cigarette in her hand, took a puff, blew out clouds of smoke, and shouted loudly at Wen Yu.

Used to it, Wen Yu acted as if she hadn’t heard, dragging her suitcase towards the bedroom, then slamming the door with all her might. With a bang, the people in the living room were startled.

Wen Qiuxian flicked the ash, slammed a two-dot tile on the table, and kept cursing, “Showing attitude as soon as she comes back, don’t know who she’s showing it to. Eight lifetimes of bad luck to raise such a rotten goods.”

“Don’t say that. Your Wen Yu is so beautiful and well-educated, plenty of rich bosses will want to marry her in the future.”

“A woman can’t always think about relying on men. Men are the most unreliable.” Wen Qiuxian’s tone was contemptuous. After taking the last puff, she threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray, the filter stained with heavy lipstick marks.

A man on the side grinned and said, “Sister Wen, don’t overturn a boatload of people with one pole. There are still good men.”

“Tch.” Wen Qiuxian sneered and rolled her eyes at that person. Looking like a decent human on the surface but whoring and gambling in private without missing a beat—she had seen plenty of men like that.

Wen Qiuxian was forty, usually with big wavy hair and red lips, exquisite makeup every day. Unless they were acquaintances, no one would believe she had an eighteen-year-old daughter.

Wen Qiuxian came from a bad background and had little education. Scared of hard times, her biggest wish at eighteen was to marry a rich man. Relying on her beautiful face, she later found several rich men, but also realized a reality: rich men wouldn’t marry someone like her; they just wanted to play.

Later, she looked past it. Not wanting a title; if others wanted her beauty, she wanted their money—each taking what they needed. She changed many men. Although she didn’t marry any, she still got several properties and some savings. At least now she didn’t worry about food and drink.

Having lost a lot of money today, Wen Qiuxian had no interest in continuing. Using her daughter’s return as an excuse, she dismissed the mahjong group. After people left, she walked towards Wen Yu’s bedroom. Turning the handle and finding it locked, she banged on the door panel fiercely. “Why lock the door?”

Wen Yu was organizing her room. Unable to stand the noise of Wen Qiuxian banging on the door, she came to open it, staring wordlessly at the heavily made-up woman in front of her.

Wen Qiuxian had very standard features; Wen Yu’s brows and eyes resembled hers. When young, a pile of people chased her, but she looked down on the poor ones, and the rich ones looked down on her.

“How long is the holiday?” Wen Qiuxian leaned against the door frame.

“One month,” Wen Yu replied coldly.

“Find a man at school?” Wen Qiuxian scanned Wen Yu and asked explicitly. Truly, a girl changes eighteen times as she grows; take your eyes off for a moment, and she blooms overnight.

“You think I’m you?” Wen Yu felt disgusted hearing Wen Qiuxian talk about these things. She even agreed with the words others used to scold Wen Qiuxian: Slut, shameless mistress, would die without a man.

“How are you talking to your mother?” Wen Qiuxian had a fiery temper. “Aren’t I worried you’ll be cheated? Don’t get coaxed away by a man with just a few sentences, understand?”

Eighteen, the age most easily fooled by sweet words.

Wen Yu didn’t want to say another word and continued to tidy up the room.

“You know shit about tidying.” Wen Qiuxian cursed behind her back, turned around, and made a phone call to call a cleaner to come and clean together.

Wen Qiuxian knew Wen Yu hated her so much because of that incident in high school. Before, their mother-daughter relationship wasn’t this stiff; at least they could speak a few sentences normally.

Lighting another cigarette, Wen Qiuxian sat on the sofa watching TV while smoking, not talking to Wen Yu anymore. Her own mother being a mistress to a classmate’s father—that is shameful enough…

The annoying sound of mahjong continued until the Spring Festival. Early in the morning, Wen Yu really couldn’t stand it anymore. Without throwing a tantrum at Wen Qiuxian, she asked coldly, “Did you rent out the apartment next to the school?”

“How can I rent it out with the house full of your stuff?” Wen Qiuxian said impatiently.

Wen Yu: “I’ll go live there.”

Wen Qiuxian: “Suit yourself.”

…

That apartment was right next to No. 1 High School. Wen Yu didn’t live on campus during high school and had always lived here. It was a small two-bedroom apartment, over sixty square meters.

Wen Yu pushed the door open. The house hadn’t been lived in for more than half a year and was covered with a thin layer of dust. This was an old neighborhood, and the house was slightly dilapidated, but it was better than listening to the mahjong concerto every day.

The apartment had two bedrooms; the secondary bedroom was converted into a study specifically for painting. Wen Yu glanced around; the things inside were all still there. She originally thought Wen Qiuxian would throw away all her stuff and then rent it out. After all, it was close to the school, and many parents accompanied their children to study. The house was easy to rent, and the rent was considerable.

After simply cleaning the house, Wen Yu lay on the windowsill looking down. Today was the second day of the Lunar New Year. The street was full of New Year flavor, and everyone was beaming, exchanging New Year blessings. She picked up her phone to check the time; it was almost twelve o’clock. Bored, she opened WeChat and saw what Ye Qizhen sent her at midnight yesterday:

y: Happy New Year, Wen Yuyu.

w: Happy New Year.

After returning to Beilin, she met up with Ye Qizhen twice, but approaching the Spring Festival, their contact decreased. She thought Ye Qizhen must be very busy these days. Ye Qizhen was different from her; life had many happy things, and being busy meant she might not necessarily remember her.

The room was cold and silent, and snow drifted silently outside the window. Wen Yu lay on the table, her cheek against the tabletop. Bored, she browsed through her phone album. It was fine not looking, but once she looked, she realized almost everything was about Ye Qizhen.

Wen Yu looked at them one by one carefully, her mind filled with only one person. Want school to start soon, want to see her…

Five minutes later, Wen Yu couldn’t help but send a WeChat message to Ye Qizhen, sending a question that had been brewing for a long time but looked boring: What are you doing?