Chapter 38: Holding Hands
I missed you.
Wen Yu stared at the sent message and rubbed her forehead. She never thought there would come a day when she would send such words to someone.
A bit melodramatic.
But since she sent it, she sent it.
Seeing the message, Ye Qizhen didn’t reply immediately, not knowing what to say back. It wasn’t until the car passed another intersection that she replied on WeChat.
After replying, Ye Qizhen put down her phone.
A few seconds later, she couldn’t help unlocking the screen and scrolling through the chat history, her gaze fixed on the sentence “I missed you.”
Again and again, all the way there.
Wen Yu nestled listlessly on the sofa, checking her phone from time to time, until she received the message and sticker Ye Qizhen sent her, finally relaxing into a smile.
y: Are you home now?
y: I’m coming over.
…
More than half an hour later, Ye Qizhen got off the bus at the entrance of No. 1 High School, forgetting to even take her scarf, and rushed straight to the old neighborhood. Regardless of what Wen Yu thought of her, seeing Wen Yu send “I missed you,” she wanted to appear by Wen Yu’s side immediately. With Wen Yu’s personality, she wouldn’t easily send such words; she was worried.
There was a knock on the door, and Wen Yu went to open it.
Ye Qizhen stood at the door, her cheeks frozen stiff. Her first glance noticed Wen Yu’s lips were somewhat dry and pale, and her complexion wasn’t good. It was cold outside. Wen Yu whispered “Come in quickly” and pulled Ye Qizhen into the house.
The room was full of warmth.
They stared at each other stiffly for a moment.
Wen Yu spoke first: “Busy these past few days?”
“Mn, gatherings and visiting relatives.” Hearing Wen Yu’s heavy nasal voice, Ye Qizhen asked worriedly, “Are you feeling unwell? Caught a cold?”
Wen Yu couldn’t hide the fatigue in her voice: “A little cough.”
Sure enough, she’s unwell and needs company. Ye Qizhen felt Wen Yu wouldn’t send her that message for no reason. She opened her palm and touched Wen Yu’s forehead, asking again, “Did you take medicine? Want to see a doctor?”
“Took cold medicine.”
“Did you take your temperature?” Ye Qizhen wasn’t sure.
“No.”
“Measure it. Do you have a thermometer?”
“No need, no fever,” Wen Yu shook her head lightly.
Despite Wen Yu saying this, Ye Qizhen was still uneasy. She asked Wen Yu to wait for her, then hurried downstairs and trotted to a nearby pharmacy. After this back-and-forth tossing, when she returned, she was carrying a white plastic bag with the pharmacy logo, panting, cheeks flushed red by the wind, snowflakes still clinging to her hair.
If she wanted to avoid me, it wouldn’t be this reaction, right? Saying she missed her, she immediately came over, taking care of her thoughtfully. Does she not resist my ambiguity, or does she simply treat me as an ordinary friend, so she doesn’t take it to heart?
Wen Yu didn’t know if Ye Qizhen belonged to the former or the latter, but regardless, it was good as long as Ye Qizhen didn’t avoid her.
She was quite free and easy, but this set of tricks just didn’t work on Ye Qizhen.
“Bought a thermometer, measure your temperature first…” Ye Qizhen said as she entered.
Wen Yu wasn’t in a hurry to take her temperature. Instead, she stood in the entryway and first helped Ye Qizhen brush the snowflakes off her hair.
Ye Qizhen stood still, obediently.
Unknowingly, caring for each other like this had become a tacit behavior between them, so tacit that no extra words were needed. Ye Qizhen liked Wen Yu treating her like this too much. She took the opportunity to steal glances at Wen Yu’s face. After kissing that day, having slightly intimate contact again filled her mind with thoughts of crossing the line.
In this moment, Ye Qizhen had already unwrapped the thermometer and stuffed it to Wen Yu. Under Ye Qizhen’s urging, Wen Yu sat on the sofa and took her temperature.
Besides the thermometer, Ye Qizhen also bought cough syrup. She heard Wen Yu’s cough was a bit severe, her voice hoarse.
Wen Yu frowned just smelling the cough syrup. She remembered Zhao Lin making her drink it before; back then, she took a small sip and refused to drink anymore no matter what, preferring to cough.
“Come, drink this.”
Looking at the dark, viscous liquid, Wen Yu bargained with Ye Qizhen: “Can I not drink it?”
Ye Qizhen didn’t yield: “Have to drink.”
Eyes confronting each other; in this situation, someone always had to compromise.
The one who compromised in the end was Wen Yu. She silently took the cough syrup from Ye Qizhen’s hand, held her breath, and drank it in one go. A sticky, cloying taste of Chinese medicine filled her mouth, indescribably uncomfortable.
Ye Qizhen watched from the side and laughed, deliberately asking, “Is it tasty?”
Wen Yu’s brow was still furrowed.
Ye Qizhen continued to laugh, saying unkindly, “I find you so well-behaved when you’re sick.”
Well-behaved? Wen Yu couldn’t respond to that.
Seeing Wen Yu finished the syrup, Ye Qizhen timely handed over a cup of hot water. “Careful, it’s hot.”
Wen Yu drank a small sip of hot water. She looked at Ye Qizhen, paused for a good while, and didn’t speak.
Ye Qizhen hesitated. “Why are you looking at me?”
“Don’t be too good to me,” Wen Yu’s eyes were gloomy, her tone flat. “I’m afraid I won’t be used to it later.”
Due to illness, her mood was lower than usual.
Wen Yu didn’t speak too clearly, but Ye Qizhen understood, and Wen Yu saying this was particularly heartbreaking. Wen Yu seemed cold and unfeeling, but actually had no sense of security. She had experienced and endured a lot alone; deep down, there was a place more sensitive and fragile than others, just hidden deeply.
“Won’t happen.” Ye Qizhen looked seriously into Wen Yu’s eyes.
“Can you stay with me forever?” Wen Yu picked up her words.
“Why not?” Ye Qizhen blurted out. After a pause, she added, “We can stay in the same city after graduation, take care of each other, work hard together.”
She was confused about some things, but about wanting to stay by Wen Yu’s side, she wasn’t confused at all.
Take care of each other, work hard together in the future. Wen Yu was moved, at least knowing she had a special place in Ye Qizhen’s heart. She felt she had lived in a quagmire since childhood. Meeting Ye Qizhen was like finally having someone willing to pull her hard, taking her to see the sunshine outside.
Possessiveness would expand. If she was more proactive, would Ye Qizhen belong to her forever? Thinking this, when Wen Yu stared at Ye Qizhen, she no longer restrained the liking in her eyes at all. She changed her mind; even if there was only a slight possibility, she wanted to hope.
The two sat side by side on the sofa, hands propped on the sofa, pinky fingers quietly touching. Atmosphere was a very mysterious existence. Meeting Wen Yu’s gaze, Ye Qizhen smiled brightly. Even if the ambiguity at this moment was her one-sided illusion, she lingered in it.
For a moment, both were laughing, laughing somewhat inexplicably.
Wen Yu scraped her finger back and forth on the old sofa. She looked at Ye Qizhen and smiled for a while. After a long time, her voice was raspy when she spoke, “Ye Qizhen, you’re a bit silly.”
Ye Qizhen turned her head. “Only you say I’m silly.”
Wen Yu didn’t speak. Isn’t she just silly? Dull as a log.
This year’s winter vacation was shorter than last year’s, but many restless things happened, making it seem long. Returning to school after the Lantern Festival, the new semester began.
Ye Qizhen felt her relationship with Wen Yu became “unclear” starting from this semester too.
She and Wen Yu were still like before, waiting for each other after class, eating, shopping, or soaking in the library together. But something called ambiguity grew crazily between them.
It was the season of flying willow catkins. The white magnolias outside the library were in full bloom, hanging all over the branches. Before the end of the term, there weren’t usually many people in the library.
The fourth floor was the Arts and Fine Arts reading room, including photography. Ye Qizhen was interested in photography, and with a News Photography course this semester, she often followed Wen Yu to wander around the fourth floor of the library.
Her gaze followed the numbers scanning rows of old books. Through the gap in the bookshelf, Ye Qizhen inadvertently caught a glimpse of a familiar beautiful face. Her gaze paused involuntarily. Wen Yu looked up and happened to see her too, smiling at her.
Ye Qizhen almost lost her grip on the book in her hand. Then, she saw Wen Yu walk to the side, only vaguely seeing her profile. Wen Yu’s hair was very long now, almost reaching her waist, full of goddess vibes. Coupled with her outstanding figure and temperament, it was hard not to attract surrounding gazes.
Standing on this side of the bookshelf, Ye Qizhen looked in Wen Yu’s direction from time to time. She had never had feelings for anyone before; in this situation, she had absolutely no idea what to do. Let alone for a girl.
Ye Qizhen looked up again; Wen Yu’s figure was gone.
“Ready?” A soft whisper beside her ear broke her train of thought. Ye Qizhen turned around; Wen Yu had already walked to her side, holding two books in her hand, both about art history.
“Ready.”
“Let’s go,” Wen Yu said.
“Mn,” Ye Qizhen responded softly.
Returning to the dorm from the library required passing through the lakeside path with the best scenery on campus. This area was also where couples on campus frequented the most, suitable for sightseeing and checking in.
Ye Qizhen and Wen Yu walked side by side. Because they were too close, the backs of their hands occasionally brushed against each other lightly. When the back of her hand brushed against Wen Yu’s for the third time, Ye Qizhen remembered the trick Tang Tang gave her: You can test back.
Walking a few more steps, she quietly wanted to hold Wen Yu’s hand, but just as her fingers touched, she shrank back.
Clearly held hands before.
Don’t know what I’m scared of.
Ye Qizhen looked ahead. Under the warm sun, a couple was strolling hand in hand, chatting and laughing. Are there exceptionally many couples in spring? Walking all this way, she had seen several pairs.
Wen Yu tilted her head and glimpsed Ye Qizhen seeming to look at that couple. “Envying them?”
Ye Qizhen’s first reaction was to be stubborn: “No way.”
Wen Yu thought for a moment and asked Ye Qizhen, “Want to try what dating feels like?”
Ye Qizhen was stunned, not understanding Wen Yu’s meaning. “…How to try this?”
Wen Yu turned to look at Ye Qizhen, didn’t speak, but carefully held Ye Qizhen’s hand. They had held hands many times, but this time was a bit different. After holding it, she tested bit by bit, quietly squeezing her fingers into the gaps between Ye Qizhen’s fingers.
Two slender, fair hands interlaced fingers tightly together.
Being held by Wen Yu like this, Ye Qizhen’s heartbeat accelerated suddenly. When Wen Yu held her, she didn’t dodge; instead, she curled her fingers and held back. She couldn’t resist Wen Yu’s teasing, especially such an ambiguous action.
Seeing she didn’t dodge, Wen Yu’s smile unfurled. Just like that, she led Ye Qizhen forward. Walking and strolling, the lakeside path was only a few dozen meters long, but like the couples beside them, they walked hand in hand quietly for a long time.
Reaching the end of the path, Wen Yu finally asked Ye Qizhen, “How about it, does this feel like dating?”
“Wen Yu…”
“Mn?”
Ye Qizhen couldn’t hold back anymore, wanting to ask Wen Yu: Can I like you?
