Give Me Heartthrobs 42

Chapter 42: Breaking Through

Although Wen Yu didn’t seem like someone who would post that kind of thread, who could say for sure?

Qi Yun had always thought Wen Yu was the “scummy, promiscuous, cheap” person outsiders described. But in fact, she felt Wen Yu was quite devoted, as could be seen from her behavior towards Ye Qizhen. If Wen Yu really posted it, she would want to print the thread out as a keepsake.

Wen Yu wasn’t like Qi Yun, who liked excitement and hung out on various social networking platforms, getting wind of gossip and rumors immediately. The last time she clicked on the school forum was back in freshman year to save that photo of her and Ye Qizhen.

“You really didn’t post it?” Qi Yun looked at the description in the post; it really bore some resemblance to Wen Yu’s situation. But thinking about it, asking was futile. Even if Wen Yu posted it, she definitely wouldn’t admit it. After all, there were so many cheesy and melodramatic words written in it; admitting it would completely ruin her persona.

Wen Yu’s reaction was faint, showing no interest at all.

Seeing the conversation difficult to continue, Qi Yun shut up and quieted down. She leisurely gazed at Wen Yu’s profile a few more times—nose bridge, lips, jawline… thinking this face was truly amazing. Associating it with Wen Yu’s attitude towards Ye Qizhen, she actually felt a bit envious. Dating someone like Wen Yu must be thrilling, right?

Wen Yu gave a cold impression, but not a dull, boring coldness. She seemed to carry a naturally seductive temperament. It was fine when such a person wasn’t proactive, but once she became proactive and passionate, just thinking about it was deadly.

Before long, Wen Yu received a WeChat message from Ye Qizhen asking if she wanted to have lunch together.

In another classroom, Ye Qizhen stared thoughtfully at the “Mn” Wen Yu replied. Flashing through her mind was the scene of Wen Yu hurriedly explaining to her yesterday, and Wen Yu’s sentence “You really are a bit silly”…

Both Ye Qizhen and Wen Yu only had three major classes this morning, ending at eleven o’clock. As usual, the two met downstairs at the teaching building and walked side by side to the cafeteria.

The warm sun was high in the sky, and cicadas could be faintly heard. As the temperature rose, the scent of midsummer grew stronger.

This must be the third summer since we met, Ye Qizhen thought to herself. She often recalled asking Wen Yu which season she liked, and Wen Yu said summer because she met her. She took it as a joke back then, but after so long, she took it to heart.

“Are you going to the dinner on Friday night?” Ye Qizhen asked Wen Yu as they walked. After the art exhibition event ended, the senior sister organized a time for everyone to gather and celebrate.

“What about you?” Wen Yu asked Ye Qizhen first.

“Going,” Ye Qizhen said.

“Mn,” Wen Yu responded.

In the brief dialogue, Ye Qizhen understood Wen Yu meant she would go if Ye Qizhen went. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to describe their relationship as inseparable.

There were many willow trees in the school, all along the lake. Although it was almost June, on a windy sunny day like today, floating willow catkins could still be seen flying in the air.

Ye Qizhen blinked uncomfortably. Not sure if willow catkins got into her eyes, they felt dry and itchy for a moment. When she subconsciously wanted to reach out and rub them, Wen Yu grabbed her hand in time.

“Let me see.” Wen Yu stopped, turned sideways, and while cupping Ye Qizhen’s cheek with one hand, leaned in close herself, staring carefully into Ye Qizhen’s eyes to check.

This distance and touch successfully diverted Ye Qizhen’s attention. She used to think Wen Yu didn’t care about anything, but she overlooked one point: Wen Yu clearly cared about her in every way. When someone who cares about nothing cares about something, it is extremely obvious.

“It’s fine,” Ye Qizhen’s voice was tiny.

Wen Yu noticed Ye Qizhen had faint dark circles under her eyes. “Didn’t sleep well last night?”

“A little,” Ye Qizhen admitted.

“In a bad mood yesterday?” When Wen Yu asked this, she was subconsciously expecting a certain answer.

Ye Qizhen gazed at the face in front of her up close, silent, which was equivalent to tacitly agreeing with Wen Yu. She was in a bad mood; just hearing ambiguous words between Wen Yu and others made her feel terrible. She was afraid Wen Yu liked someone else.

After yesterday’s events, meeting again today, the atmosphere had subtle changes. When two people harbored feelings for each other, no matter how hard they tried to hide it, they couldn’t be flawless. For example, when looking at each other, their eyes would reveal something. The liking was there; it would always be different.

“Wen Yu…” Ye Qizhen blurted out, words hovering on her lips.

Wen Yu looked at Ye Qizhen intently, waiting for her to speak.

But Ye Qizhen fell silent.

Wen Yu saw through Ye Qizhen’s hesitation and continued to wait for her. “Have something to tell me?”

“…Let’s go.” Ye Qizhen finally popped out two irrelevant words. Just in that moment, she actually really wanted to say “I like you.” This sentence was stifled in her heart uncomfortably, but she hesitated and didn’t say it. Saying “I like you” to the person you like turned out to require so much courage.

A trace of gloom flashed imperceptibly in Wen Yu’s eyes. She also said nothing, following Ye Qizhen’s steps forward. Ye Qizhen’s hesitation made her hesitate too.

Nancheng was sunny for another two days, then the sky turned gloomy.

Wen Yu had no class on Thursday afternoon. She stayed in the rented apartment preparing to paint something, but couldn’t find a clue until dark.

Wen Yu sat leaning against the bay window. Perhaps because her sleep quality had been too poor these past two days, she dozed off shortly after squinting her eyes and unexpectedly had a quite sweet dream.

In the dream, Ye Qizhen nestled with her on the bay window, watching the rain with her. Neither spoke, just holding hands and leaning together, looking at each other and smiling from time to time.

When Wen Yu opened her eyes, she was alone, and there was no rain outside the window. In this gloomy and oppressive weather, a rainstorm would be more satisfying. She bent her knees, wrapped her arms around them, curling into a ball. She told Ye Qizhen she was used to loneliness, but she didn’t tell Ye Qizhen she hated loneliness just as much, especially after knowing Ye Qizhen.

Wrapped in an extremely bored and low mood, if not for boredom, Wen Yu wouldn’t have remembered the post Qi Yun mentioned while scrolling through her phone and clicked into the forum driven by some strange impulse.

On the homepage, she saw the post Qi Yun mentioned at a glance. The title was too eye-catching to miss:

Gender female, fell in love with a girl.

Wen Yu clicked in. When she saw the first paragraph, a certain nerve was sensitively pricked, and the further down she read, the more this sensitivity was magnified.

— I was in the same high school as her, occasionally met but never spoke. She is excellent, the kind of beautiful and talented girl. Actually, I was attracted to her in high school. Later meeting again in university, we actually became familiar. I never thought I could be friends with her; she was the one who proposed it that day…

— Our personalities are not alike at all, but we surprisingly chat well. Every time I’m with her, I’m so happy. She treats me too well; no matter what happens, she will be by my side immediately, comforting and encouraging me.

— Sometimes I suspect she likes girls. She always flirts with me, hugs me, says she misses me, holds my hand, kisses my cheek, but she also seems to be just joking.

Wen Yu focused and continued scrolling down.

— She was wronged today, but I cried because I felt bad. She comforted me instead. She is really good; I want the whole world to know she is good.

— She hugged me again. She smells so good; I can never hug her enough.

— She said I’m sweet.

…

— Whenever we meet, I can’t help staring at her. She looks especially beautiful when she smiles, especially, especially beautiful. Love watching her smile.

…

— She explained to me that there was nothing between her and that boy, and called me silly. She seemed worried I would misunderstand, or am I overthinking again?

Reading this, Wen Yu could no longer calm down. Although this was an anonymous post and didn’t reveal any specific information between the lines, every sentence recorded inside gave her a sense of déjà vu, as if she had experienced it together.

Mood complicated, Wen Yu anonymously wrote a reply: yqz, is that you?

Scrolling up the post, Wen Yu read it repeatedly, feeling completely different each time. Finally, her gaze lingered on a paragraph for a long time: I only cry in front of her, always treating her as the friend who understands me best. I don’t know when my heart started fluttering. Now recalling every single thing about her, I feel my heart fluttering so much.

After reading it carefully again, Wen Yu stared at the phone screen in a daze for a while. Her heart was in turmoil. Ye Qizhen, can you be any more secretly passionate?

…

Ye Qizhen had two interview and writing classes in the evening. When she received Wen Yu’s call, it was just after the first class ended. In this era of highly developed communication, a phone call usually meant something urgent. Seeing the caller ID was Wen Yu, she answered even faster. “Wen Yu.”

Wen Yu stood on the pebble path outside the teaching building. After hearing Ye Qizhen’s voice, she said, “I want to see you now.”

Ye Qizhen didn’t understand why, but hearing Wen Yu say this suddenly, she couldn’t help worrying, thinking Wen Yu was wronged again, so she hurried out of the classroom. seeing Wen Yu downstairs, she trotted over and asked nervously, “What’s wrong?”

Looking at Ye Qizhen right now, Wen Yu felt she didn’t want to endure for another minute. She didn’t beat around the bush: “Did you post that thread on the forum?”