Give Me Heartthrobs 8

Chapter 8: Clarification

“You two aren’t even anywhere close to that stage yet.” Ye Qizhen stood by the window, stealing a glance at Wen Yu’s profile, and lowered her voice as she spoke into the phone.

“Isn’t that why I’m practicing how to be a boyfriend in advance? Besides, I’ve already added her on WeChat. She doesn’t give her WeChat ID to just anyone easily…” Tang Xiao laughed as he spoke. “The main thing is, don’t let anyone else hit on her.”

So that was his real motive. Ye Qizhen was even more speechless. “If she takes a fancy to someone else, what can I do?”

“Little Zhen-er, help me keep an eye on things. Please, I’ll treat you to dinner next time,” Tang Xiao pleaded.

“Fine, got it.” Ye Qizhen couldn’t stand Tang Xiao’s chatter.

When Ye Qizhen returned to the dining table, the dishes were already being served. She casually told everyone about Tang Xiao not coming. Everyone expressed regret; after all, Tang Xiao was the life of the party, worth ten people by himself.

There were several types of drinks on the table: milk, juice, and beer. Most of the people present had just started college, and apart from a few boys, not many touched the alcohol.

The glass in front of her was filled with a beverage that looked like peach soda. Ye Qizhen was thirsty, so she picked up the glass at her hand. Just then, a pleasant voice beside her ear reminded her, “That contains alcohol. Can you drink?”

Wen Yu didn’t think Ye Qizhen looked like someone who could hold her liquor.

Hearing this, Ye Qizhen immediately put down the glass in her hand and didn’t touch it again. On her eighteenth birthday, urged on by Tang Tang, she had tried drinking a cup of beer—just a disposable paper cup. After holding her breath and drinking it, her face turned bright red, and she slept until the next day. Tang Tang still mocked her about it every few days.

Seeing Ye Qizhen obediently put down the glass and admit defeat, Wen Yu smiled. Guessed right. She casually picked up a glass of milk in front of her and handed it to Ye Qizhen nonchalantly, without saying a word.

Ye Qizhen turned to look at Wen Yu.

Wen Yu returned the words Ye Qizhen had said during military training verbatim: “Don’t worry, I didn’t poison it.”

Ye Qizhen’s funny bone was tickled. “Thank you.”

The reason she had said that to Wen Yu that day was because she thought Wen Yu was guarding against her as a love rival and refused to accept her kindness.

“Give yours to me,” Wen Yu added.

“You can drink?” Ye Qizhen asked her.

“I can drink a little.” As Wen Yu spoke, she leaned slightly toward Ye Qizhen and reached out to take the glass of peach wine.

There was always a faint, fresh fragrance on Wen Yu. Ye Qizhen smelled it again when Wen Yu leaned close. This scent made her not mind the intimate distance between them. When she looked at Wen Yu’s face again, Wen Yu tilted her head slightly and drank a third of the peach wine. Wen Yu’s temperament and aura made her feel that Wen Yu didn’t need anyone to take special care of her.

“Let’s introduce ourselves first. Name, major, hobbies, just say whatever.” A talkative person stood up to liven up the atmosphere.

Everyone agreed. So starting from the proposer, they went counterclockwise. Ye Qizhen was second to last, and Wen Yu happened to be last. Judging from everyone’s reaction, it seemed they were all looking forward to Wen Yu’s introduction.

“Wen Yu, Fine Arts Department.” Wen Yu stood up, composed and concise.

Ye Qizhen wasn’t surprised. Mn, cool girl.

“Won’t Student Wen say a bit more?” someone protested.

Wen Yu added a sentence: “I don’t really have any hobbies.”

Rather than having no hobbies, it seemed more like she didn’t want to tell others about herself. Ye Qizhen drank her milk, thinking so.

“Then is Student Wen single?” A girl suddenly popped the question, very enthusiastically gossiping on behalf of the boy next to her.

“Single,” Wen Yu answered with a faint smile.

With Wen Yu’s answer, the atmosphere at the dining table automatically heated up a degree. The dozen or so people ate and chatted happily.

After Wen Yu sat down, she drank another glass of wine.

Ye Qizhen watched secretly. That’s three glasses already. For some reason, she felt Wen Yu looked like she was hiding a lot on her mind and wasn’t happy at all, although it wasn’t appropriate to presumptuously guess other people’s thoughts like this.

Although Wen Yu lowered her head, her attention was on Ye Qizhen beside her. How long is she going to stare at me? After a good while, she suddenly turned her head, stared at Ye Qizhen, and asked, “Why are you staring at me?”

“I…” Ye Qizhen hadn’t even realized this issue. Perhaps because it was too sudden, she actually felt her face heat up.

Ye Qizhen had fair skin, so even a slight flush was obvious. Coupled with the warm lighting in the private room, Wen Yu looked at Ye Qizhen’s cheeks and couldn’t help asking, “Did you steal some wine?”

“No.” Ye Qizhen denied it. Finally changing the subject, she remembered Wen Yu kindly walking her back to the dorm last time. It should be right for her to show some concern today, right? After hesitating, Ye Qizhen asked, “Do you want to drink a little less?”

After a two-second pause, Ye Qizhen heard Wen Yu lazily hum an “Mn.” She always spoke with a touch of indifferent nonchalance. Also, she noticed that Wen Yu hadn’t eaten much tonight, but she didn’t say anything more. After all, they weren’t really close, just no longer “love rivals.”

By the time the dinner ended, it was completely dark.

There were many of them, just enough to fill a table, so someone suggested playing Werewolf.

Wen Yu had no interest in playing group games. She saw that Ye Qizhen seemed to like them. She didn’t plan to participate, so she excused herself to go to the restroom, intending to go downstairs for some fresh air.

Ye Qizhen felt that Wen Yu’s condition wasn’t quite right. Did she drink too much? After all, she had promised Tang Xiao. After thinking it over, she also excused herself to use the restroom and got up to leave.

The restaurant wasn’t big; it was divided into two floors, with the main dining hall on the first floor and private rooms on the second. Ye Qizhen looked around the second floor and found no restroom. The waiter said the restroom was on the first floor. She went downstairs again but still didn’t see Wen Yu. Did she go outside?

In the distance, neon lights flashed. Wen Yu leaned quietly against the riverside railing, gazing out in boredom. When the wind blew, she rubbed her arms. In early October, Nancheng had seen several rainstorms, and the nights were already somewhat chilly, especially standing by the river with the night breeze blowing.

“Wen Yu?”

Wen Yu turned her head. The one calling her name was a tall boy—barely an acquaintance.

“It really is you. I called you downstairs earlier, but you probably didn’t hear. I thought I mistook someone else for you.”

Wen Yu remained silent, clearly not wanting to engage with the person in front of her.

“Old classmate, you can’t have forgotten me, right? I chased you for so long back then.” Guan Ming licked his lips and smiled helplessly, smelling of alcohol. “I heard you got into Z University. A famous school, congratulations.”

Wen Yu remained silent. She didn’t remember many boys, but she remembered Guan Ming—and certainly not because Guan Ming looked somewhat human, being the so-called “School Hunk” of No. 1 High School.

Guan Ming just stood beside her, with no intention of leaving.

Wen Yu ignored him.

After standing for a while, a gust of wind blew past.

“Eating here with friends? Me too. The temperature dropped today; aren’t you cold wearing so little?” Guan Ming started chatting again, his gaze sweeping over her long legs. These legs are absolutely killer. “How about we find a place, and I’ll buy you a drink?”

“Not interested,” Wen Yu finally spoke.

“Before, it was because of the college entrance exam, so it was fine that you rejected me. Now that you’ve gotten into Z University, there’s no need to distance yourself from me like this, right?” Guan Ming was quite confident and felt he had the capital to be confident. He never lacked girls liking him. He figured Wen Yu was a bit arrogant, but spending some effort wasn’t a problem. He had regretted losing contact with Wen Yu, so encountering this opportunity today, he definitely wouldn’t give up easily. He smiled at Wen Yu, “Let’s go, my treat.”

“Is there something wrong with your ears or your brain? I said I’m not interested in you.” Wen Yu said it with a smile, but every word carried thorns.

“Wen Yu, do you have a misunderstanding about me?”

Wen Yu didn’t want to say another word and turned to leave.

Guan Ming immediately grabbed Wen Yu’s hand, pulling her back. “Don’t listen to that nonsense at school. I chased you because I genuinely liked you; otherwise, could I have chased you for so long? I’ve only ever had feelings for you. I never had any thoughts about other girls.”

Wen Yu sneered coldly. She was very clear-headed about what kind of person the guy in front of her was. Looking at her wrist being grabbed, she ordered, “Let go.”

Ye Qizhen had been standing nearby for a while. Seeing Guan Ming starting to get physical with Wen Yu, she was ready to go up.

“Is it because of Ye Qizhen?” Guan Ming was still gripping Wen Yu’s wrist, his voice loud. “I really have no interest in Ye Qizhen. It was all a misunderstanding. I just asked her a few questions back then, and she thought I liked her, telling everyone she was my girlfriend. Her being a slut has nothing to do with me? Since we bumped into each other today, I must explain it clearly to you. I, Guan Ming, am really not that kind of fickle…”

“Are you sick in the head?! Who likes you?!” Ye Qizhen had already rushed up. She had never spoken so loudly before; it was like a roar, causing her face to flush red, her heart pounding with anger.

Seeing Ye Qizhen, Guan Ming paused, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him. What kind of hex is on today? How did everyone end up here together?

After cursing him out, Ye Qizhen turned and walked away.

Wen Yu glared at Guan Ming and yanked her wrist back with force.

“Wen Yu…” Guan Ming followed, still trying to pull her.

Wen Yu stopped, turned around, and giving Guan Ming almost no time to react, raised her hand and slapped him heavily on the left cheek. Afterward, she only said one word to him: “Scum.”

Guan Ming clutched his face, watching Wen Yu follow in Ye Qizhen’s direction. He lowered his head and cursed.

Ye Qizhen walked forward blindly, truly infuriated. Since childhood, when had she ever been scolded like that? She felt incredibly aggrieved. But she tried hard to hold back her tears; it wasn’t worth crying over that kind of person.

“Ye Qizhen.” Wen Yu quickly caught up.

Ye Qizhen took a deep breath and adjusted her emotions before daring to turn back and look directly into Wen Yu’s eyes. Thinking optimistically, creating this scene tonight at least cleared up the misunderstanding between her and Wen Yu. It was a bit of a gain.

“You go upstairs and play games with them.” Ye Qizhen tried her best to speak to Wen Yu in a relaxed, nonchalant tone.

Wen Yu stared into Ye Qizhen’s eyes and could see the tears swirling in them.

Ye Qizhen gritted her teeth secretly, remaining impassive. She couldn’t cry in front of others; being seen by Wen Yu last time was just an accident. That kind of accident couldn’t happen a second time.

The river breeze blew both of their hair, making it slightly messy.

“Do you want me to keep you company?” Wen Yu asked in a low voice.

“You go up. I’m fine, I want to feel the breeze.” Ye Qizhen smiled faintly, continuing to endure. At this moment, she really wanted to tell Wen Yu: Stop looking at me like that, I’m about to lose it.

Is a man like that worth you being so sad? Wen Yu ultimately didn’t ask Ye Qizhen this. She could also tell that Ye Qizhen didn’t want to cry in front of others and was just putting on a brave front.

“Mn,” Wen Yu could only agree.

Ye Qizhen found a step alone and sat down. Soon, her defenses crumbled. She buried her head, sobbing with grievance, crying while despising herself for shedding tears over the words of such scum. Back then, it was Guan Ming who pestered her and flirted, and now he turned around and called her a slut. What kind of nonsense was this…

Thinking back to just now, she regretted not cursing him a few more times and slapping him again.

Miscalculation.

After all, no experience.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, and the wetter her eyes became.

Wen Yu didn’t leave. Instead, she stood under a streetlamp not far away, watching. She saw Ye Qizhen curled into a ball, shoulders trembling. She didn’t need to think to know she was secretly crying. Sure enough, no one is 100% happy; they just hide their sadness.

It was a holiday, so there were quite a few tourists by the river.

Ye Qizhen was still sobbing intermittently. several times she wanted to stop crying, but her tears were shallow. Before long, a chubby man in a black T-shirt walked over and asked her what happened, saying she could talk to him.

Regardless of whether the other party had good intentions or not, whenever a stranger struck up a conversation, especially a male, Ye Qizhen would immediately become vigilant. Her imagination would even run wild, with all sorts of social news headlines popping up. She didn’t want to talk to strangers.

The other party didn’t seem to plan on leaving immediately and asked, “Did you get dumped?”

Ye Qizhen thought she should just go back. Just as she planned to get up—

“I’m her friend,” Wen Yu said from the steps, addressing the chubby man.

Only then did the chubby man stop trying to chat her up and leave.

She didn’t leave? Hearing Wen Yu’s voice, Ye Qizhen’s habit of saving face flared up again. She didn’t dare look at Wen Yu with her red, swollen eyes, but out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Wen Yu sitting down beside her. There was still a person’s distance between them, not considered intimate.

Wen Yu had never been comforted by anyone, nor had she comforted anyone else, so she didn’t really know what to do in this situation. She didn’t look at Ye Qizhen, simply gazing at the shimmering river surface. “You cry. I won’t look at you, and I won’t tell anyone.”