Give Me Heartthrobs 6

Chapter 6: Shower

Qi Yun had realized she liked girls back in junior high, and that she would only ever like girls in this lifetime. Based on her experience, the way straight girls looked at other girls was different from how lesbians did.

For a fleeting moment.

She had the illusion that Wen Yu was just like her.

After asking the question, Qi Yun quietly watched Wen Yu, hoping to catch some tell-tale signs on her face.

Wen Yu’s emotions barely rippled. She first threw Qi Yun a beautiful yet indifferent smile, then retorted, “What do you think?”

It was as if the answer to this question was obvious and didn’t need a superfluous explanation.

Qi Yun also felt her imagination had run wild. In her impression, Wen Yu had only ever been rumored to have ambiguous relationships with boys. Having been classmates for so long, she had never heard Wen Yu talk about her love life; it had always been a mystery. If a woman’s heart was a needle in the ocean, then Wen Yu’s heart was a needle in the Mariana Trench.

Wen Yu put down her chopsticks. She had a small appetite; after just a few bites of noodles, she lost interest. This was also why she was so thin. She had little interest in food. Sometimes, when she spent all day in the studio, she would just eat energy bars to stave off hunger, merely maintaining basic needs.

“By the way, Ye Qizhen is actually quite good-looking. She’s strangely cute when she smiles.” Qi Yun seamlessly switched topics; her mouth just couldn’t stay idle.

At the mention of Ye Qizhen, Wen Yu paused. She lowered her head to take a sip of water and asked nonchalantly, “Want to chase her?”

“You’re overthinking it—” Qi Yun sighed, dragging out the sound. Thinking about it brought tears to her eyes. “How would I dare date anyone now?”

Having experienced a failed relationship, Qi Yun was very rational now. Back then, she liked a girl and naively thought they would be together forever. In the end, the girl turned around, found a boyfriend, cheated on her, and even sanctimoniously claimed she wanted to be a normal person from then on.

On the surface, Qi Yun looked like a lively chatterbox, but back then, she had almost slit her wrists over the breakup. Fortunately, Wen Yu discovered her in time, and later even introduced Qi Yun to a psychologist for counseling. That was how she and Qi Yun became familiar with each other. Qi Yun was also the only person she could be considered close to.

“Next time you date, keep your eyes open.” Wen Yu saw through her but didn’t expose her. Qi Yun acted like she didn’t care, but deep down, she still longed for someone to understand and accompany her. She understood that feeling.

Although Qi Yun liked girls and really admired Wen Yu’s looks, she never had any improper thoughts about Wen Yu. First, Wen Yu was most likely straight; second, she somewhat understood Wen Yu. A person who cared about nothing, whose heart was like a block of ice, wouldn’t give much sincerity in a relationship either.

She remembered Wen Yu saying once: As long as you don’t care, you won’t get hurt.

There was logic in those words.

But she always felt that Wen Yu was a bit too cold-blooded.

“What are you spacing out for? Let’s go if you’re done eating.” The chatterbox suddenly went quiet, and Wen Yu actually felt a bit unaccustomed to it.

“I was thinking, if you met someone who truly made your heart race, what would it be like?” Qi Yun leaned back in her chair, lazily sizing up Wen Yu. She was genuinely curious about this. She inexplicably wanted to see Wen Yu, who disdained everything, being completely captivated by someone.

Heart race? Wen Yu smiled lightly. Not a few people pursued her, but she never knew what a racing heart was.

**

By the end of September, only the tail end of summer remained in Nancheng. After enduring half a month of scorching sun, military training finally ended.

Ye Qizhen quickly adapted to collective university life. Everything was orderly and calm… except for another “battle” between her and Wen Yu on the school forum.

It started with a post on the forum. The post released Z University’s latest campus promotional video, and both she and Wen Yu happened to show their faces in it. From the footage, it was filmed during military training. Ye Qizhen had a shot at 2:08, and Wen Yu was at 3:20. Someone had even specifically screenshotted their close-ups.

“Ye-Ye, you’re really famous now! So many people are asking which department you’re in. I predict you’ll be the first in our dorm to stop being single!” Luo Bei, who was always on the front lines of gossip, was munching on chips and scrolling through the forum with relish.

The forum hadn’t been this lively in eight hundred years.

—— The young lady at 3:20 is too beautiful.

—— I like 2:08! So sweet!

—— Want to know which major 3:20 is in?

—— Seems to be from the Fine Arts College.

—— Which department is 2:08 from?

—— The girl at 2:08 is from our Journalism Department.

…

Originally, the discussion was quite normal, but then an insider popped up and replied: They were love rivals in high school, always at odds with each other [Laugh Cry]

—— Same school here, I heard about that too [Laugh Cry]

…

Love rivals again. Ye Qizhen wondered how deep her fate with Wen Yu ran, that even in university, she couldn’t escape this bond. Ye Qizhen still remembered when she accidentally spilled lemonade on Wen Yu at the playground, and the next day, gossip spread through the school saying they almost fought on the playground.

Just then, someone else replied to the thread:

—— I feel like their relationship is pretty good.

—— [Photo]

—— I’m shipping it.

As soon as the photo was thrown out, the style of the replies changed drastically.

—— What’s happening? I’m shipping it too.

—— Beauties sticking together is the eternal god (YYDS).

—— This picture is absolutely amazing.

—— Stop being love rivals, please just be together.

…

Ye Qizhen clicked on the picture. She didn’t know who had secretly taken it, but in the photo, she and Wen Yu were hugging each other.

Seeing the uniform comments below about how well they matched, Ye Qizhen was dumbfounded. She hadn’t expected things to take this turn at all. looking at the photo again… her face was pressed against Wen Yu’s, looking at each other, their eyes simply “full of affection.”

It was indeed a bit… suggestive.

In another dorm, Qi Yun was laughing her head off. She gloated to Wen Yu, “Look at what I sent you. You and your love rival are famous again.”

Hearing this, Wen Yu casually clicked the link Qi Yun sent. Her fingers slid quickly across the phone screen, but when she scrolled to the photo with Ye Qizhen, she stopped and stared at it for a good while.

She wanted to laugh.

A second or two later.

Driven by some strange impulse…

Image saved.

“Looking at it this way, you two are quite a match.” Qi Yun leaned over and said to Wen Yu with a serious face, “You could consider it.”

“Boring.” Wen Yu dropped two words and went to take a shower.

**

During the National Day holiday, only Ye Qizhen remained in the dorm. Thinking that going home would also mean being alone, she figured she might as well stay at school and familiarize herself with the environment. Tang Tang went out to play with her boyfriend during the holiday. She had asked Ye Qizhen if she wanted to come along, but Ye Qizhen naturally refused; she didn’t want to be a walking third wheel.

She walked out of the reading room on the fourth floor of the library.

Ye Qizhen walked to the corridor and leaned against the railing for some fresh air. Reading for too long made her eyes tired. She liked spending time in the library; she wouldn’t feel bored even if she stayed all day. Of course, it would be even better if someone accompanied her.

Staring blankly outside alone, she always envied Tang Tang at times like this. Having a partner with similar interests was indeed something to show off.

In a short while, gloomy dark clouds rolled across the sky, brewing a heavy rainstorm. Wasn’t it supposed to be cloudy today? Ye Qizhen took out her phone and checked the weather. The forecast had actually updated in real-time to rain.

She cursed silently in her heart.

What a crappy forecast.

She checked the time. It was 4:30. The library closed at 5:00 during the holidays, so it was about time to go back. Ye Qizhen didn’t have an umbrella, so she returned to the reading room to pack her bag and hurriedly prepared to leave.

When she reached the first floor, Ye Qizhen heard the sound of rain, not too loud but not too quiet. By the time she reached the door, the rain was pouring down, smashing onto the ground like beads from a broken string, blooming into a pile of jumping rain flowers as if showing off its power.

Ye Qizhen looked at the sky and cursed silently again. What crappy luck.

Just wait. It probably won’t rain for long.

People around her who had umbrellas were also waiting; the rain was simply too heavy.

After waiting for over ten minutes like this—which felt as long as a century—Ye Qizhen looked left and right. The rain was still falling, showing no sign of stopping. Those with umbrellas lost their patience and walked out into the rain one after another, holding their umbrellas.

Ye Qizhen had no umbrella and couldn’t move a step. Although the rain had lessened a bit, running back to the dorm like this would definitely turn her into a drowned rat. She looked back at the library. She heard that one could borrow umbrellas with a campus card inside, but since it was a holiday, there probably weren’t any staff members around.

The rain seemed to have lessened a bit more. Ye Qizhen knew Tang Xiao hadn’t gone home either and thought about calling him, but then felt it would be too much trouble for him. At worst, she would just get rained on for a few minutes and take a shower back at the dorm.

Thinking this, Ye Qizhen decided to just do it. She walked out quickly, but as soon as the rain hit her, she realized it was much heavier than she imagined. She really was going to become a drowned rat.

“Ye Qizhen.”

Someone ran up from behind. Hearing her name called, Ye Qizhen turned around, but her wrist was already caught, and a black umbrella blocked the wind and rain for her.

“You planned to just get soaked on the way back?” Wen Yu looked at the small clumps of bangs on Ye Qizhen’s forehead and wanted to laugh again. She moved the umbrella closer to Ye Qizhen. “Let’s go, I’ll walk you.”

Amidst the sound of wind and rain, Wen Yu’s voice seemed muffled, but Ye Qizhen heard it clearly. Her eyes were blurred by the rain, looking at Wen Yu through a watery mist. Only then did she thoroughly realize that Wen Yu’s smiles toward her had never held any malice.

“Let’s go.” Seeing the person in front of her looking pathetic and aggrieved, Wen Yu’s voice unconsciously softened.

Walking shoulder to shoulder like this for a distance, Ye Qizhen turned to look at Wen Yu. “…Thank you.”

Wen Yu also turned her head, looking down at her. “Saying thank you only now? Are your reactions this slow?”

Caught off guard, Ye Qizhen smiled until her eyes curved into crescents.

Wen Yu smiled along with her. Every time she saw Ye Qizhen smile like this, her mood would improve. Thinking back to high school, she often holed up in the studio to paint during the break after dinner. She could frequently see a girl by the flowerbed outside the window reciting books, smiling very sweetly. It was none other than Ye Qizhen.

The rain wasn’t particularly heavy, but the wind was strong, blowing the rain onto their bodies. The two of them squeezed under one umbrella, walking toward the dormitory building.

Ye Qizhen felt embarrassed to have Wen Yu walk her too far. After walking for only a short while, she said to Wen Yu, “Just here is fine, it’s not far now.”

Wen Yu was concise: “It’s fine, I’m going the same way.”

Ye Qizhen suddenly felt a warmth in her heart. Only then did she realize Wen Yu had quietly tilted the umbrella toward her, so much so that Wen Yu’s left sleeve was soaked. She pressed closer to Wen Yu, then grabbed the umbrella handle.

“What’s wrong?” Wen Yu asked.

“You’re all wet. Move over a bit.” Ye Qizhen grabbed the umbrella handle and moved it toward Wen Yu’s side.