Chapter 55: These words don’t sound like having no opinion at all. Part 3

Fang Nianchen couldn’t quite explain it—maybe it was vanity? In any case, she wanted to appear reliable, amplifying her few strengths.

Fang Nianchen spread her hands. “Where’d you get bitten?”

Yu Wan reached out first. “My arm.”

Fang Nianchen’s warm hand grasped her wrist while her other hand applied the anti-itch cream. “Don’t scratch. This medicine has a bit of a stinging sensation; it’ll form a film over the bite soon, and the itch will go away quickly.”

Yu Wan’s eyes were full of amusement. “Okay.”

“Anywhere else?”

Yu Wan said nothing at first, gathered the hair scattered over her shoulder to reveal her fair neck. “On my neck. I can’t see it, but it itches a lot.”

The neck…

Fang Nianchen’s expression shifted slightly, but she stayed composed. “Point to it.”

“Right here.” Yu Wan touched the left side of her throat.

Fang Nianchen applied cream to her hand, leaned in, and carefully dabbed it on the spot she indicated. Her movements were gentle and cautious, as if even applying anti-itch cream might hurt her.

As she focused on the task, Yu Wan’s voice floated down hazily. “Luo Xi just came by to drop off some snacks.”

“I saw her at the door.”

“She also asked me to add her on WeChat.” Yu Wan deliberately said only half, feeling the hand lightly touching her neck pause noticeably before continuing, “She said she likes girls too.”

“We’re at most acquaintances.” Fang Nianchen hurried to defend herself. “She doesn’t even know I’m…”

“I wasn’t talking about you.” Hooking her so easily made her seem even more adorably foolish. Yu Wan curved her lips. “She was asking me if I was interested.”

Fang Nianchen abruptly pulled her hand back, grabbed a tissue to wipe it, and looked down. “Oh…”

“My legs too, got bitten.” Yu Wan extended her leg, rolling up her pant leg. “Back of my calf.”

Fang Nianchen was still thinking about Luo Xi. She’d never realized there were so many lesbians around her.

Could it really be like attracts like?

Snapping back, Yu Wan’s leg was already stretched out, its superior lines with even muscles—but she only dared to appreciate, so this time she just dabbed cream on the spot she pointed to.

“So… did you two add each other?” She couldn’t help asking, but her voice sounded glum.

“I think we should set a rule.” Yu Wan knew she cared now. “I won’t lie to you, and you have to tell me the truth too.”

Fang Nianchen mumbled, “I haven’t lied to you either…”

“Not about before—about the future. No lying to me ever.” Yu Wan got serious. “If you don’t agree, I won’t say.”

Yu Wan suddenly latching onto this gave Fang Nianchen a headache, but right now, lying or not wasn’t the priority.

If Luo Xi got close to Yu Wan bypassing her, she’d definitely go knock on Luo Xi’s door in the middle of the night and make her delete the friend add. For some reason, she felt she could actually do something like that.

She was even more jealous now than in university.

So Fang Nianchen steeled herself, going all-in. “I agree. Tell me.”

Only then did Yu Wan smile contentedly. “I didn’t add her. I don’t like her. She’s unilaterally interested in me. No matter how nicely she puts it, she’ll end up harassing me subconsciously. Better for us to just vanish from each other’s lives—it’s good for both.”

“She’s got pretty good emotional resilience then.” Fang Nianchen thought of how happily Luo Xi had left, probably thinking her confession succeeded.

“Whether she’s good or not has nothing to do with me anymore. I don’t know her, so I don’t care.” Yu Wan explained, “I only care about people I care about.”

Like how she cared most about Fang Nianchen, so she’d cast aside her dislike of insects to go to the butterfly exhibit with her.

Just because she thought Fang Nianchen bringing it up proactively meant she liked it.

“In other words, only someone I care about can make me like them.”

President Yu is so heartless…

Fang Nianchen pursed her lips, wanting to shout it out.

Finally understanding why Qiao Yan and the others were so afraid of Yu Wan.

The secret weighing on her heart hadn’t lasted three minutes before spilling out, but the discussion about the afternoon butterfly exhibit still lingered in her mind, refusing to fade.

Before bed, she slipped under the covers first and pulled out her e-reader.

The Italian she was usually good at now looked like weird symbols, unreadable like fat caterpillars.

All her thoughts were in chaos from the afternoon conversation, unable to sort out a clue, not knowing what kind of response she wanted.

To say forgiveness—Yu Wan had never blamed her.

It was just her inferiority complex being stirred up, battered by storms into hypersensitivity. The thought of being disliked filled her with panic.

So she turned her head to look at Yu Wan.

President Yu wore low-prescription glasses, her gaze fixed motionlessly on the computer screen, always solemn when handling work.

President Yu is so heartless.

She thought it a second time.

She rolled over and continued reading, but this time switched to Chinese. Her native language always relaxed her brain.

“Will there be spiders here?” Yu Wan suddenly asked her.

“Probably not.” Fang Nianchen knew there were, but the chances were low, so she didn’t want to scare someone already afraid of bugs.

Otherwise, no sleep tonight.

“I saw a really big one.”

“Where?” Fang Nianchen instantly lost interest in her book, scrambling up and staring at the ceiling.

“Just now, it crawled behind the door.” Yu Wan pointed, then shrank back, wrapping herself tightly in the blanket, looking very scared.

Fang Nianchen jumped out of bed, grabbed a tissue casually, and went over.

The corner behind the door was clean and tidy, even the baseboard spotless.

“There’s nothing. Maybe you saw wrong?”

“Impossible.” Yu Wan was very firm. “A very big one, black, with eight legs.”

“The black ones shouldn’t bite, no poison.”

Yu Wan clearly didn’t believe her. She looked at her. “If a spider crawls onto the bed in the middle of the night, I’ll definitely be scared to death.”

“Then…” Fang Nianchen suddenly didn’t know what to do. Calling the organizers to request a room change wasn’t realistic. “How about you sleep, and I’ll keep watch for you.”

“No, you have work tomorrow.” Yu Wan shook her head, rejecting her suggestion.

The two fell silent, both troubled as they stared at the ceiling.

“Do you mind squeezing in with me?” Yu Wan suddenly spoke up. “I might not be so scared then.”

Sharing a bed again.

But they’d already slept together twice, so it didn’t seem like a big deal.

Fang Nianchen’s head reacted faster than her brain. She nodded first, which counted as agreement.

Only afterward did she think of a fatal problem—the bed here wasn’t like the one at home. It was a bit cramped for two people.

Yu Wan scooted inward, making space for her. She also took off her glasses and placed them on the bedside table, stacking them on top of the laptop. She looked like she was planning to sleep.

It was indeed getting late. Fang Nianchen didn’t want to dawdle any longer. Before sleepiness hit, she braced herself and squeezed onto the bed.

With the lights off, the room plunged into darkness.

Knowing there was a spider in the room really made it hard to sleep soundly. Fang Nianchen only hoped she could really provide some comfort.

The bed was small, so the two had to press very close together to fit.

Fang Nianchen slept on the outer side, blocking bugs for Yu Wan—after all, she wasn’t afraid of those.

Worried about crowding Yu Wan, she leaned against the edge of the bed, occupying only a very narrow strip. One roll and she’d fall off.

Yu Wan had a rough estimate of the bed’s size. Seeing the sizable gap between them, she asked, “Aren’t you afraid of falling off?”

“It’s fine.”

There was a rustle of fabric as Yu Wan shifted. “Move inward a bit.”

“There’s still plenty of space on my side…” This time, Fang Nianchen couldn’t keep up the tough talk for long.

Yu Wan’s hand wrapped around her waist, pulling her into her embrace. The distance between them was even closer than that night at Fang Nianchen’s home.

Fang Nianchen’s breath hitched, followed by the deafening thud of her heartbeat.

The bell tolled across the empty wilderness, sending out wave after wave of sound. The echoes were even more menacing, toppling mountains, stirring up waves, and churning the sea.

It pounded “thump thump” against her chest cavity—she even felt it was a bit noisy herself.

Fang Nianchen felt like she’d been numbed with anesthetic; she couldn’t move a muscle. She desperately controlled her breathing. In the darkness, her eyes didn’t focus, and she had no idea where to look.

Yu Wan leaned in closer and said softly, “I don’t hate the butterfly exhibit. On the contrary, I kind of like it.”

All was quiet around them, her voice soft as a whisper in the ear.

“Mm…” Fang Nianchen’s throat felt stuffed with cotton, her voice coming out muffled and hoarse.

Senior had said that only something you care about can truly be called a like.

“Do you know why?”

Yu Wan’s fragrance overwhelmed her, making Fang Nianchen’s head spin. “I don’t know.”

“Really don’t know?”

Yu Wan’s voice was like a slender thread, wrapping around her heart, pulling tight and squeezing until it ached. It became scarred, yet healed quickly—the tingling itch of recovery made her unable to stop.

Fang Nianchen swallowed hard with difficulty. The sound of her throat bobbing was amplified several times over.

“Fang Nianchen.” Yu Wan called her name softly. The hand on her waist tightened. “You just promised me you’d tell the truth.”

Her hand lifted, brushing aside the hair by her ear, and pinched her earlobe. “Not going to be good so soon? Hm?”

A gentle smile was on her face, soft and shattering in the night, bubbling up finely like honey, sticky and sweet.

Fang Nianchen felt like her insides were about to burst from holding back. The temperature under the covers rose rapidly, and her reason was fleeing her brain faster than water evaporating.

“I know…” Finally, she gave up resisting.

“Mm.” Yu Wan hummed lightly from her nose.

“What you care about is…” Fang Nianchen tried to repeat her words, but her mind was blank. Expressions about Yu Wan that didn’t belong to her couldn’t come out smoothly.

So she racked her brains, fishing for words that were truly hers.

“I…” She’d never imagined confessing would be so hard to say aloud. It stuck in her throat like a lump—if she forced it down, it would tear her apart.

Taking a deep breath: “I know… because I care about you too. I like you too.”

Like was endless.

Five years of liking weighed on her chest, making it hard to breathe.

Fang Nianchen’s breathing was unsteady. “Senior, I like you.”