Chapter 24 Part 2

She had watched it with Yu Wan, but on a rather special day.

Some memories were like tiny grains of sand; others were treasured gems. But they all lingered equally in the world, enduring and ever-fresh.

It was like someone deliberately luring her to dig up a diamond buried in the sand—just a sparkle of light, and she was hooked, eager to unearth it.

Perhaps influenced by the hazy memory, Fang Nianchen switched to the webpage, searched for the nearest cinema, and found a showing in fifteen minutes. She bought the ticket without hesitation.

The runtime was an hour and a half; with travel and checking in, it fit perfectly. She didn’t plan to watch the whole thing, but it was a good way to pass time.

At the cinema, she picked up her ticket at the counter and noticed a viewing combo nearby—popcorn and cola, a classic pairing. But Fang Nianchen never ate that stuff during movies.

This time, though, she felt an inexplicable urge to buy it.

Indulgently, she got the medium combo.

The theater was still playing ads when she entered. Fang Nianchen tiptoed up the steps and found her seat.

It being a workday and not after hours, the audience was sparse. Her seat was in the last row, center. Looking down from high to low, she saw a few couples in front.

Lately, with fewer quality horror films, young couples had switched to comedies.

The relaxed vibe was nice, but thinking of getting emotional and tearing up during the later scenes, only to be seen by someone she liked—that would be mortifying.

Of course, maybe only she thought that way, being single at twenty-two and immune to the romance.

The ads cut off after a couple minutes, the dragon mark appeared, and with the familiar voiceover, Fang Nianchen’s gaze on the screen gradually grew distant.

Memories of five years ago sharpened once more.

This time, she didn’t resist, letting her thoughts sink in.

—

Valentine’s Day had nothing to do with three kinds of people: kids too young to know what liking someone meant; boring adults crushed by work with no time to celebrate.

And people like Fang Nianchen, wrapped in a pink, bubbly atmosphere, heart stirring but too cowardly to ask someone out, so pretending not to care.

Tao Zhixing had broken up two weeks before Valentine’s, scammed out of money by a scumbag. Her mentality held up fine, and she generously offered to keep Fang Nianchen company for the holiday.

Fang Nianchen said no on the phone several times—actually scared that in such an atmosphere, she’d feel even more pathetic and just wanted to hole up at home.

But Miss Tao didn’t get it. On Valentine’s Day morning, she dragged her suitcase straight to Jiangqing, moved by her own generosity.

“Hey~” Tao Zhixing, bundled in a down jacket, flopped bonelessly onto Fang Nianchen. “I came all this way for you, why the long face?”

Before Fang Nianchen could respond, her peripheral vision caught a couple picking up their friend—hugging and smooching.

Calling each other “baby” oh-so-sweetly.

She was doomed to be jealous that day.

Her face soured even more. She grabbed Tao Zhixing’s suitcase and walked off without looking back.

But deep down, being single was her own fault; she couldn’t blame others.

By the parking lot, the cold wind blew it out of her.

In the taxi, Fang Nianchen’s attitude softened. She asked proactively, “What do you want to eat? My treat.”

“Anything?” Tao Zhixing didn’t even pretend. “Then I won’t hold back, okay?”

“Mm, you pick.”

“That barbecue place on the street behind your school. I’ve seen tons of bloggers recommend it—let’s do that!”

Fang Nianchen happily agreed to the down-to-earth choice, thinking she’d pick something extravagant.

Qingyuan University was still on winter break, so shops around were open but quiet. A few local students trickled in, but compared to packed commercial areas, it was deserted.

Fang Nianchen had only heard of the place before, never been.

They arrived at mealtime, took a corner seat facing each other. One glance across made it feel weird.

To fit Valentine’s, the owner had put up pink ambient lights. Shining from above, even sitting across from a dog would feel ambiguous.

Fang Nianchen shifted slightly to sit diagonally opposite.

“No way…” Tao Zhixing caught the move, helpless as she tugged her lips. “It’s just Valentine’s—why are you having a PTSD reaction?”

She’d thought Fang Nianchen was off since they met that morning. Usually indifferent to everything, today she was seething with resentment and overthinking.

Tao Zhixing quickly cleared her name. “I don’t fall for my friends, okay? Sis here is straighter than this table leg!”

“Got it.” Fang Nianchen replied listlessly, burying her head in the menu.

She’d first heard of the place from Yu Wan—remembered Senior Yu loved the beef tongue here—so she checked it and ordered.

While waiting for food, Tao Zhixing couldn’t hold back her gossip. “What about that senior you like? Not asking her out for Valentine’s?”

Talk about opening the wrong pot.

Fang Nianchen was already down, and the question shot unwillingness straight to her head, leaving her utterly dejected. “Asking her out like this… wouldn’t it be too obvious?”

What kind of talk was that?

“Isn’t obvious good?” Tao Zhixing was anxious for her. “You’re not a spy—why hide it so hard? If you like her, she needs to know first!”

“But I don’t know if she likes me. If she doesn’t, and I say it, we can’t even be friends anymore.”

“No, no, no—what’s with this one-woman melodrama?” Tao Zhixing blew on the scalding hot water in her cup. “Hypotheticals are useless. You’re saying all the good and bad lines alone; your senior has zero say. Feelings are mutual—how do you know if she likes you without asking? Guessing?”

She took a sip of water, then started giving advice again: “Why don’t you just call her out today and confess directly? If it works, great; if not, at least you’ll be free sooner and stop living like a resentful wife every day.”

She had always believed in “going straight for it,” no need to waste time guessing back and forth.

In her view, Fang Nianchen was just asking for abuse—staring at her phone all day, replying ten sentences for every one she got, and still worrying if she was bothering the other person by messaging too much.

She would also occasionally get upset that she was always the one initiating chats with senior, finding topics, and secretly compete with senior, declaring, “If she doesn’t message me, I won’t message her,” only to break first in the end.

If she couldn’t let go, she’d just keep hanging on like this—it was painful to watch.

“No way, asking out of nowhere without any buildup is too sudden.” Fang Nianchen thought her ideas were all terrible.

She had a stubborn sense of ritual about confessions, always feeling that once mutual feelings were there, things would naturally fall into place.

Bluntly rushing up to say she liked her might just scare Senior Yu.

She couldn’t exactly count on Senior Yu happening to like girls, and happening to like her.

“Sudden my ass.” Tao Zhixing was so pissed she burst out laughing. “If you’ve got the guts, never say it at all. Wait ten or twenty years, then take it to the King of Hell and let him arrange a ghost wedding for you.”

Miss Tao didn’t hold back when tearing into someone, but luckily the boss came over just then with plates of meat, reminding her to watch her karma, so she stopped grilling Fang Nianchen.

Cold winds howled outside, while the aroma of barbecue filled the warm room. The heat from the grill made their faces flush red in no time.

But Fang Nianchen ate without tasting a thing.

Tao Zhixing wasn’t wrong—her words even echoed the countless wavering thoughts in Fang Nianchen’s heart.

What she really wanted was an answer: Did Yu Wan like her?

Once she knew, she’d settle down. So the best way was to just ask directly.

She’d never seen herself as a “devoted” person. On the contrary, she was fickle and lacking in empathy, often scolded by her family as a “cold-blooded animal.”

Even if Yu Wan didn’t like her, she believed she could get over it quickly.

But why… couldn’t she just let go and try…

Her phone buzzed on the table. Fang Nianchen glanced over, thinking it was some heartless group message with well-wishes.

After all, someone had wished her a happy Qingming Festival last year.

“Cough cough cough…” Fang Nianchen suddenly started coughing violently, head down as she fumbled for her water cup.

“What happened?” Tao Zhixing jumped up to pour her water and shoved the cup into her hand. “Drink some quick, smooth it down.”

Fang Nianchen took a few gulps, washing away the chili flakes stuck in her throat. Once she caught her breath, her eyes were still red with glistening tears.

No time to rest, she rasped, “Senior messaged me.”

Her chest ached with sharp stabs from choking, but her heart fluttered numb and tingly, like it was leaping out in joy.

Senior Yu 0720: [You free today?]

For a split second, Fang Nianchen wondered what year it was.

She checked the calendar—the big words “Valentine’s Day” stared back. Anyone would overthink it, especially when the message came from her crush.

She turned the phone to show Tao Zhixing, like she was showing off.

And under Tao Zhixing’s gaze, another message popped up.

Senior Yu 0720: [Wanna catch a movie?]

“Tsk tsk…” Tao Zhixing’s face darkened instantly. She clicked her tongue in disgust. “Put it away, you’re blinding my dog eyes!”

She unceremoniously swatted Fang Nianchen’s hand away, grumbling, “She’s being this obvious and you still think she doesn’t like you? What, cat litter for brains?”

Fang Nianchen mumbled, “Well… maybe she doesn’t care about Valentine’s Day? Maybe she doesn’t even know?”

In her memory, Yu Wan had never been overly sensitive to holidays. To her, they were just ordinary days, and she never joined in others’ festivities.

Even the recent New Year had been the same.

Send her “Happy New Year,” and she’d reply “Happy New Year.” with a period.

“With all these lovey-dovey couples outside and flowers sold on every street corner—even a mute could belt out a love song—you think your senior’s an idiot?” Tao Zhixing could never understand Fang Nianchen’s excessive caution.

At this point, was there any point in lying to herself?

“But the movie she picked is a comedy, look… who goes on a date to watch that…” When she said “date,” Fang Nianchen’s voice trailed off. She glanced up timidly at Tao Zhixing, not too confident in her own words.

The Spring Festival releases were half romance, half comedy. What if it was just the timing—she had nothing to do, happened to think of her, and invited her out for a movie?

After all, beyond her secret crush on Senior Yu, they were still friends.

If that was really the case, and she jumped to assuming Senior Yu liked her, she’d feel mortified.

“Heh…” Tao Zhixing sneered coldly, knowing exactly what that glance meant.

She figured senior liked the movie more than her. Ridiculous! Had her brain been kicked by a donkey!?

“Just say if you’re going or not.”

“I’m definitely going…” Fang Nianchen said without much confidence. “But… won’t it be weird?”

…

Tao Zhixing lost her appetite, set down her chopsticks, and sat up straight to face her. “On what basis?”

“What?”

“Your brain’s missing a screw but you still got into Qingyuan—on what basis!”

…

After dinner, they wandered the mall a bit.

As the appointed time neared, Tao Zhixing practically kicked Fang Nianchen onto the subway, sending her off to meet her elegant and poised senior.