Give Me Heartthrobs 29

Chapter 29: Like

When Wen Yu said “You don’t have to worry about me,” it sounded more like she was sulking. Ye Qizhen guessed it was because she had been too busy chatting with Tang Tang and the others tonight and had neglected her a bit.

Although the faint smile on Wen Yu’s face made her emotions hard to read, Ye Qizhen could vaguely sense that when Wen Yu was unhappy, she would become sullen and say things she didn’t mean. Just like that time last year, clearly angry but insisting with a smile that she didn’t care.

The elevator continued downward. A few more people got on at the second floor, pushing Ye Qizhen tightly into the corner against Wen Yu. The crowded space gave a legitimate reason for their eye contact.

Looking at Wen Yu, Ye Qizhen’s heart was full of thoughts on how to make her happier. When she spoke, she couldn’t hide the concern in her heart. “You drank so much tonight.”

Wen Yu lowered her gaze, landing on Ye Qizhen’s cheeks. Her mind was still on the sentence “Won’t ignore you.” But hearing Ye Qizhen say this now, she thought again: Ye Qizhen is just warm-hearted. If it were anyone else who drank, she would stay to accompany them too.

Finally reaching the first floor, the crowd filed out of the elevator. Ye Qizhen and Wen Yu, stuck in the corner, were the last to leave. The first floor was also a food court, featuring snacks. As soon as they stepped off the elevator, the aroma of food hit their noses.

“Do you want to eat a bit more?” Ye Qizhen walked quickly to stand face-to-face with Wen Yu, asking with a smile, “Want some pan-fried buns?”

Wen Yu shook her head.

Ye Qizhen asked again, “What about egg waffles?”

Wen Yu: “I’m not hungry, you want to eat?”

“Mn.” Ye Qizhen found that she ate more when she was with Wen Yu. She thought that if she ate with Wen Yu, Wen Yu might eat a little more too.

So Wen Yu accompanied Ye Qizhen to buy egg waffles. The freshly baked egg waffles were fragrant and tempting. Ye Qizhen ordered two, one original and one red bean flavor, and also ordered a cup of milk tea.

“I’m not eating,” Wen Yu reminded Ye Qizhen. She really had no appetite right now.

“I want to try both flavors,” Ye Qizhen said.

After waiting for about five minutes, the egg waffles and milk tea were ready. Holding the two flavors of egg waffles, Ye Qizhen asked Wen Yu, “Which one do you want?”

Wen Yu looked helpless.

“You eat the red bean one.” Ye Qizhen took the initiative to stuff the sweeter one into Wen Yu’s hand, inserted the straw, and handed the hot milk tea to Wen Yu as well. “Your stomach isn’t good. If you don’t eat at night, be careful of stomach pain again.”

Just mentioning the stomach pain once during the Spring Festival, and Ye Qizhen took it to heart. Wen Yu watched Ye Qizhen silently. Smiling so sweetly and so good at coaxing people, no wonder she was popular.

“Eat while it’s hot, taste it quickly, how is it?” Ye Qizhen’s eyes were filled with anticipation.

Wen Yu really couldn’t resist Ye Qizhen coaxing her. Under Ye Qizhen’s urging, she took a bite. She didn’t really like sweets. “A bit too sweet.”

Seeing Wen Yu wasn’t used to the sweetness, Ye Qizhen offered the one in her hand. “Let’s swap, you eat the original flavor.”

“I bit it.”

“It doesn’t matter.” As she spoke, Ye Qizhen had already swapped with Wen Yu and proved she didn’t mind by taking a bite directly where Wen Yu had bitten.

Seeing Ye Qizhen eat from the spot she had bitten, Wen Yu couldn’t help wondering: Does she do this with every friend? She couldn’t help but care about this question.

Ye Qizhen wasn’t as calm as she appeared on the surface, especially when her lips touched the place Wen Yu had eaten from.

Hooked by Ye Qizhen’s eating manner, Wen Yu continued eating. The original flavor was much less sweet, just right for her. There were many small shops on the first floor, and the two could stroll while eating.

“You drank so much tonight, aren’t you uncomfortable?” As someone who collapsed after one glass, Ye Qizhen was shocked seeing Wen Yu drink so much tonight.

“I’m fine.” Just a few glasses. Wen Yu felt she probably inherited Wen Qiuxian’s genes in this regard. Wen Qiuxian was very good at drinking and could drink men under the table.

“Really fine?”

Wen Yu nodded in confirmation.

It was still early, so Ye Qizhen suggested, “Shall we go watch a movie?”

Wen Yu gave an “Mn” in agreement. Whatever they did didn’t matter; what she cared about was that it was just the two of them. Am I being too possessive of Ye Qizhen?

The cinema was on the sixth floor, which meant taking the elevator up again. Fortunately, they had plenty of time, so the hassle was nothing.

Not many movies were released recently. The most anticipated one was a post-apocalyptic dinosaur blockbuster, said to have great special effects. The next showing was in just a few minutes.

Ye Qizhen hurriedly picked up the tickets and turned to see Wen Yu had bought a bucket of popcorn. Wen Yu really understood her.

Checking tickets right on time, the staff member extended a hand. “Hall 8, walk straight to the end.”

Walking into the screening hall, the lights were already off, pitch black. Ye Qizhen worried Wen Yu might be unsteady after drinking, so as soon as they entered, she immediately held Wen Yu’s hand to feel secure.

Wen Yu indeed couldn’t see well in extremely dim light and felt particularly insecure. Being led forward carefully by Ye Qizhen now, the uneasiness vanished. She quietly tightened her grip on Ye Qizhen’s palm. Perhaps it was an insignificant action, but she had never relied on someone so peacefully like this.

After walking up a few steps, Ye Qizhen looked back at Wen Yu and said, “Be careful.”

Commercials were playing on the big screen. Wen Yu didn’t hear clearly what Ye Qizhen said, only vaguely seeing Ye Qizhen’s hazy smiling face when she turned back. Palm warm, she was led step by step through the darkness, where even heartbeats seemed amplified.

It was Wednesday, so there weren’t many people. Ye Qizhen held Wen Yu’s hand until they sat down before letting go.

Wen Yu stole a glance at Ye Qizhen, her palm feeling empty.

Less than ten minutes into the movie, the first climax arrived. Given the overly realistic special effects, the immersion was strong. Ye Qizhen was the type who was scared but loved to watch. She was startled several times and gasped softly, but because a few girls nearby were louder, she wasn’t exposed in front of Wen Yu.

The scariest shots often came when least expected. One second showing the tranquility of a mountain stream, the next cutting directly to a dinosaur’s bloody maw opening wide, accompanied by a terrifying roar, as if about to rush out of the screen.

Ye Qizhen was almost scared into cardiac arrest and shuddered, shaking out several pieces of popcorn. Out of instinct, she pressed closer to Wen Yu immediately.

Seeing this, Wen Yu stopped watching the movie and just watched Ye Qizhen laugh, her shoulders trembling. Ye Qizhen discovered the secret to making Wen Yu happy was embarrassing herself.

Wen Yu was still laughing. Some people are cute when stubborn, and even cuter when cowardly. She picked up a piece of popcorn and fed it into Ye Qizhen’s mouth to calm her down.

Feeling the sweet fragrance on her lips, only then did Ye Qizhen react. She opened her lips, and while eating the popcorn, her lips gently sucked Wen Yu’s fingertip. At this moment, she became distracted. Suddenly remembering the scene of Wen Yu touching her lips that night, she felt embarrassed to say it, but she actually felt that Wen Yu’s gaze and action when touching her lips had an indescribable eroticism.

The movie’s pace was fast. Ye Qizhen zoned out for less than two minutes and couldn’t quite understand the plot anymore. In the end, she finished the two hours in confusion.

After the movie, their stomachs were still quite full, so they walked back to school. Booking a restaurant near the school was for convenient travel, after all, it wasn’t the weekend.

Exiting the mall, walking straight through a long greenway, then crossing a road, they reached the East Gate of the school. Walking fast took over ten minutes; walking slow took less than half an hour.

Inside the East Gate was the school’s artificial lake, surrounded by willow trees. In March, spring was in the air, branches drooping and swaying. Sitting in the small pavilion by the lake, resting and watching the scenery, enjoying a slow-paced comfort.

“Student Wen,” Ye Qizhen lifted the gift bag in her hand, “What did you give me?”

“See for yourself,” Wen Yu said.

“Then I’ll open it?” Ye Qizhen had been curious all night.

“Mn.”

Ye Qizhen carefully opened the package. It was actually a Polaroid camera! Is Wen Yu a roundworm in my stomach? She had always wanted one. There was also a card inside. After opening and reading it, she smiled even happier.

The card read:

Student Ye, Happy Birthday.

There was a chibi cartoon character in the corner, obviously drawn by Wen Yu based on her appearance.

Ye Qizhen turned to look at Wen Yu. Before Wen Yu could ask, she couldn’t wait to say, “Love it, thank you.”

Seeing Ye Qizhen’s eyes curve in a smile, Wen Yu smiled too.

“So you’re this cute on the inside?” Ye Qizhen tilted her head, pointing at the chibi character on the card to tease Wen Yu.

Wen Yu gave Ye Qizhen a slightly aloof expression. Ye Qizhen bit her lip and laughed; just loves to act cool.

“Are you uncomfortable from drinking?” Ye Qizhen felt Wen Yu’s condition wasn’t great today.

She felt it a bit right after drinking, but it had been so long. However, Wen Yu told a small lie at this moment: “It’s okay.”

“It’s okay” meant a little uncomfortable. Ye Qizhen got nervous. “But you said you were fine before. Is it bad?”

“A little bit.” Wen Yu stared at Ye Qizhen, addicted to lying. Perhaps the goal was clear: she wanted Ye Qizhen to accompany her and coax her.

The temperature wasn’t low tonight, but it was windy. Ye Qizhen worried Wen Yu would feel worse in the wind. “Then shall we go back now?”

“Are you in a hurry to go back?” Wen Yu changed the subject and asked Ye Qizhen instead, smiling lazily and adding, “Want to go back early to chat with that guy?”

Processing this sentence, Ye Qizhen half-understood. “What…”

The wind blew her long hair. Wen Yu tucked it back calmly and asked Ye Qizhen directly, “Did you take a fancy to the boy Tang Tang introduced to you?”

From the previous sentence, Ye Qizhen guessed what Wen Yu wanted to express. Based on observation, although Wen Yu’s tone was indifferent, she seemed to care about this matter; otherwise, she wouldn’t have brought it up deliberately.

So why did she care? Was she afraid that if she dated, she wouldn’t have time to accompany her? After all, she didn’t have many friends.

Although the conjecture that Wen Yu might be interested in her had popped up in Ye Qizhen’s mind several times, she never thought deeply in this direction, stopping such thoughts in time every time, thinking it was too ridiculous.

“Don’t listen to Tang Tang’s nonsense,” Ye Qizhen said.

“I saw you staring at his photo for so long, thought you liked him,” Wen Yu said with a smile.

No wonder she overthought. Ye Qizhen felt Wen Yu’s words had hidden meanings no matter what, easy to misunderstand. She smiled randomly. “No way.”

Occasionally, two or three people passed by, or stopped to look at the scenery and take photos, then left quickly.

When no one was around, Wen Yu asked Ye Qizhen softly, “Why do you want to date so much?” She remembered every word Tang Tang said about Ye Qizhen tonight.

Ye Qizhen pinched the space between her brows. Discussing this topic was quite embarrassing because dating meant having someone to share happiness with, someone to accompany her when sad, and someone to listen to her act coquettishly… This was her truest thought, but she was thin-skinned and secretly passionate; saying it out loud felt cheesy. She looked at Wen Yu, lost in thought.

Seeing Ye Qizhen’s distracted expression and not knowing what she was thinking, Wen Yu lowered her voice and asked Ye Qizhen with a smile, “Thinking about impure things?”

“I didn’t…” Ye Qizhen’s face flushed red defenselessly, clearly revealing her guilt.

For some reason, the words “impure things” sounded even more impure coming from Wen Yu’s mouth. And what made her guilty was that she had just zoned out thinking: Apart from not kissing, she and Wen Yu seemed almost like they were dating.

“You’re blushing.” Wen Yu had sharp eyes.

Ye Qizhen wanted to speak but stopped, finally choosing to ignore her.

Wen Yu smiled, then turned to look at the willow branches swaying gently in the night not far away. After a moment of silence, she spoke, “Wronged you today. To accompany me, you didn’t go play with the others. Am I a buzzkill? Very boring, right?”

When saying these things, her tone was self-mocking.

Ye Qizhen understood Wen Yu’s sensitivity. Wen Yu wasn’t as indifferent and tough as she appeared; on the contrary, she had a warm and fragile side inside.

“Not wronged.” Ye Qizhen said seriously, also meant as comfort and encouragement. “You are very good, not boring at all. I like being with you, not lying to you.”

Wen Yu looked at Ye Qizhen in silence. Then, using the dizziness from drinking as a cover, she slowly leaned over, resting her chin on Ye Qizhen’s shoulder, her eyes staring tightly at Ye Qizhen’s face without looking away.

Logically speaking, it had been so long since drinking, she should be sober, right? But she looked uncomfortable. Regardless, Ye Qizhen smiled and let Wen Yu lean on her, feeling an inexplicable satisfaction—Wen Yu was lukewarm to everyone else, but enthusiastic towards her.

“Still uncomfortable?” Ye Qizhen asked.

“Mn.” Wen Yu acted more and more realistically, not realizing she had talent in this area before.

Ye Qizhen rarely saw Wen Yu like this and couldn’t get enough of it, joking: “Act coquettishly again.”

Wen Yu looked up and hummed lightly: “Like hearing me act coquettishly?”

The flirtatious tone, mixed with warm breath brushing against her cheek seemingly intentionally or unintentionally, made Ye Qizhen stiffen. She tried her best to restrain her wildly flying thoughts… just thinking that tonight, nestling against each other by the lake with Wen Yu was exceptionally warm, adding another beautiful and special memory.

Seeing Ye Qizhen didn’t answer immediately, Wen Yu linked arms with her, leaning her whole body on Ye Qizhen. Her eyes held expectation as she pressed hoarsely: “Like it or not?”

Getting serious.

She just wanted to hear an admission.

Smelling the fresh and pleasant fragrance on Wen Yu, and with her gaze fixed on Wen Yu’s face, Ye Qizhen couldn’t say a word of denial. After a moment, she said somewhat involuntarily, “Like.”

Wen Yu smiled with satisfaction, then rested her head comfortably on Ye Qizhen’s shoulder again, closing her eyes but her mood not calm. Indeed, people push their luck. Ye Qizhen was good enough to her, but she wanted Ye Qizhen to be good only to her…