Ever since that day, an unreadable atmosphere had grown between the two of them.
Shen Yu knew she treated Wen Xi specially, so specially that even she found it strange. She felt an inexplicable fondness for Wen Xi and wanted to be close to her for reasons she couldn’t quite name, acting on her impulses even before she could consider whether her gestures might be crossing a line.
In truth, the “chance encounters” that Wen Xi carefully orchestrated were, to some extent, the result of Shen Yu intentionally waiting for her.
There was a certain unspoken understanding between Wen Xi and Shen Yu.
One afternoon, Wen Xi was feeling a bit tired after her physical education class ended, so she went to rest alone in a pavilion. She felt a slow wave of coolness approaching, and the next second, a bottle of water lightly tapped against her cheek.
Startled, Wen Xi jerked her head around to look.
“Shen Yu,” Wen Xi said, sitting on the stone bench and looking up with a smile as she took the water. “Thank you. Why are you here? Aren’t you supposed to be in class right now?”
“I saw you from upstairs,” Shen Yu said, ruffling Wen Xi’s hair before sitting down beside her. “I didn’t skip class; I’m just heading to the restroom.”
As she spoke, Shen Yu revealed a touch of unrestrained playfulness rarely seen by others.
Most people assumed that a “chosen one” like Shen Yu, with her prestigious family background, excellent grades, and beautiful looks, would be dutiful and obedient. But Shen Yu wasn’t like that. There were many things she simply lacked interest in or was too lazy to do. She didn’t go out during breaks because she was too lazy to deal with forced socializing. After spending some time with her, her classmates had more or less learned her temperament; Shen Yu practically had the words “unapproachable” written across her face.
When she had glanced out the window earlier, she recognized Wen Xi. Seeing Wen Xi bent over and panting from exhaustion, the thought of going downstairs to find her immediately popped into her head.
Often, it isn’t that one doesn’t want to do something, but rather that one hasn’t yet encountered the reason to do it.
“You weren’t seen by anyone, right?” Wen Xi asked, looking left and right.
Shen Yu lowered her gaze. “…No.”
Wen Xi patted her chest. “That’s good, then. That’s good.”
Shen Yu’s fingers curled slightly. “Do you… not want others to know about our relationship?”
“Eh? No, no, I was just afraid that if people knew you skipped class, it would look bad for you,” Wen Xi said, waving her hands hurriedly. She paused, then added, “But it really is better if other people don’t know.”
Perhaps because Wen Xi felt guilty, her voice grew quieter as she finished.
Shen Yu had wanted to ask this for a long time. “Why? Do you feel that being close to me is a burden?”
Wen Xi pursed her lips. “It’s not that. Don’t think that way. It’s mainly because of you.”
Shen Yu frowned slightly. “Me?”
Wen Xi explained, “So many people want to be on good terms with you, and you ignore them all. But then you’re with… a regular person like me. They won’t be happy about it in their hearts.”
Hearing Wen Xi say this, Shen Yu closed her eyes for a moment. She understood this logic; naturally, she wasn’t afraid of those people being unhappy, but she realized that some might make things difficult for Wen Xi because of it.
Regarding matters involving Wen Xi, the usually calm Shen Yu tended to be impulsive. At this moment, Shen Yu had to admit she was truly afraid that Wen Xi might dislike her or find their friendship a burden.
“I’m sorry,” Shen Yu said softly. “I thought you didn’t want to be with me…”
“What are you saying?” Wen Xi smiled, her eyes shimmering. “Meeting you and being your friend makes me especially happy.”
And this way, every time the two of us meet, it’s just the two of us, Wen Xi thought silently.
It was almost time for class to end when Shen Yu had come downstairs, so they didn’t stay long before the bell rang.
Though Wen Xi was reluctant to leave, she waved her hand. “You should go back up first. I’m going to find my classmates.”
Shen Yu smiled faintly. “Okay. See you next time.”
Wen Xi waited until Shen Yu had walked far away before she left.
Her deskmate was standing not far away waiting for her. Wen Xi had mentioned earlier that she was going to rest there; since her athletic skills were mediocre and she didn’t participate in many sports, she rarely joined in with the others.
As she approached, she noticed her deskmate had a strange expression. She asked, “What’s wrong?”
The deskmate pointed in the direction Shen Yu had left. “Was that Shen Yu?”
Wen Xi’s heart skipped a beat. “No, how could it be Shen Yu? Her class doesn’t have P.E. right now. That student just looked a bit like her.”
The deskmate looked at her for a moment, then took Wen Xi’s arm and laughed. “I must have seen wrong then!”
Wen Xi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Later, as the relationship between Wen Xi and Shen Yu grew closer, Shen Yu would sometimes tell her driver not to pick her up and instead wait on the route they both took home.
Shen Yu was waiting there that day.
Since Wen Xi didn’t bring a phone to school, she never knew for sure if Shen Yu would be waiting for her unless Shen Yu had messaged her the night before. Because of this, she was always anxiously expectant for a glimpse of Shen Yu every day after school.
Wen Xi saw Shen Yu from a distance and ran over, patting Shen Yu on the shoulder. “Sorry to keep you waiting!”
“It’s fine. I’ve only been waiting for two minutes.”
As Shen Yu spoke, she took off her backpack and prepared to open it. “The lady at my house baked cookies this morning. They taste pretty good, so I wanted to bring some for you to try.”
Wen Xi said “Great” in a very good mood.
Shen Yu unzipped the bag and pulled out the cookie box, and along with it, a pink envelope fell out.
Shen Yu’s expression couldn’t help but turn a few degrees colder. Many people sent her love letters, but it was rare for someone to sneak one directly into her bag.
Looking at the cold-faced Shen Yu and the letter lying on the ground, Wen Xi hesitated. Suppressing a certain unpleasant feeling in her heart, she picked up the envelope.
The person who sent the letter had written their name directly on the cover. Wen Xi saw it and felt a surge of confusion, it looked like a girl’s name.
She handed the envelope over and whispered, “Shen Yu…”
Shen Yu handed her the cookie box, glanced at the name on the envelope, and took it. “I’m going to throw it away.”
“Ah,” Wen Xi swallowed hard. “Is that okay?”
Shen Yu gave a barely perceptible sigh. “What else should I do? I don’t like her.”
“Oh, okay.” Wen Xi took the cookie box and held it to her chest. She watched as Shen Yu took the letter and threw it mercilessly into the trash can.
For some reason, Wen Xi felt both a little happy and a little unhappy.
After returning home, she logged onto QQ and found a classmate who was on good terms with her and was particularly socially savvy. Wen Xi recalled the name of the person who sent the love letter and asked the classmate if they knew her.
The classmate replied quickly.
[Why are you asking about her?]
Wen Xi stared at the word “her” for a long while before typing a reply.
[I heard her name on the road and it sounded familiar, but I couldn’t remember who she was.]
[Oh, she’s in Shen Yu’s class. A very pretty girl.]
When Wen Xi saw the words “pretty girl,” her heart began to throb.
What… was the love letter sent by a girl?
Wen Xi spent several days lost in thought. When the weekend arrived, Shen Yu invited her out to hang out.
When Shen Yu went out with her, she was always very considerate of Wen Xi’s feelings and never went to high-end restaurants or coffee shops. Instead, she invited her to a milk tea shop.
Both of them had specialized classes in the afternoon, so they only had free time in the morning.
By the time Wen Xi arrived, Shen Yu had already ordered two cups of milk tea, and some snacks were laid out on the table. Within two minutes of Wen Xi sitting down, Shen Yu noticed something was wrong.
Shen Yu chuckled. “What is it? Are you tired of this flavor of milk tea, or are the snacks not to your taste?”
Wen Xi bit her straw and shook her head. “No, I like them both very much.”
Shen Yu looked at her with a worried expression. “Then why the long face?”
Wen Xi glanced at her cautiously, then quickly lowered her head and whispered, “The person who gave you the love letter last time was a girl…”
Shen Yu paused and smiled. “You found out?”
Wen Xi said vaguely, “I happened to hear her name.”
Shen Yu didn’t deny it. “It was a girl.”
“Are you… not surprised?”
“Surprised by what? It’s not the first time I’ve received one.”
Wen Xi’s eyes widened slightly. She glanced around and whispered, “Are there many? People like that, I mean, girls sending you love letters?”
“That curious?” Shen Yu looked at her with a smile. “Not many. They’re in the minority.”
“I see,” Wen Xi nodded, explaining herself. “It’s just my first time seeing something like that, so I was a bit shocked.”
“I know. It’s okay.”
Wen Xi hesitated for a long while before asking, “Were you in a bad mood that day because you received a love letter from a girl?”
Shen Yu hadn’t said much on the way back that day.
“No, why would you think that?” Shen Yu felt an urge to ruffle Wen Xi’s hair. “I was only in a bad mood because she stuffed the letter into my bag.”
Shen Yu was quite protective of her personal space and belongings. The fact that the letter appeared in her bag suggested the person might have opened and rummaged through it, which made Shen Yu feel uncomfortable.
Shen Yu added, “Girls liking girls is their freedom. I didn’t find it offensive.”
Wen Xi nodded somewhat blankly.
Shen Yu watched Wen Xi’s reaction and smiled. “It’s your first time knowing about it, so it must have given you a fright.”
Wen Xi patted her chest. “Yeah, yeah, it was a bit of a shock.”
Shen Yu said, “Well, now that you know, just keep it in your heart.”
They changed the subject midway and started talking about their winter break training camp. Wen Xi had thought Shen Yu would be at the camp too, but it turned out she was staying home for one-on-one tutoring.
“Oh well,” Wen Xi said, her head hanging low. “I thought we could spend the winter break together.”
Shen Yu comforted her. “It’s okay. We can be together next summer.”
They didn’t stay much longer. When it was time to part ways, Wen Xi stood beside Shen Yu. She looked at Shen Yu, who was a bit taller than her.
“You’ve received a lot of love letters.”
“Why are we talking about this again?” Shen Yu asked with a smile, her eyes carrying a hint of a different emotion.
“Then,” Wen Xi plucked up her courage to ask, “would you ever agree to date any of them?”
Shen Yu looked at her, startled.
Wen Xi felt as though that gaze had burned her, so she explained, “I heard people say… that after a friend starts dating, they neglect their other friends. I’m just afraid you would…”
“So that’s it,” Shen Yu sighed. “Miss Wen Xi: first, I don’t do puppy love; second, I don’t even know the people who give me letters, so why would I agree?”
Wen Xi frowned. “What if it was someone you were very, very close to who gave you a letter?”
Shen Yu looked at her helplessly and reached out to flick her forehead, mimicking Wen Xi’s words: “We’ve known each other for nearly half a year. In this school, besides you, who do you think I am ‘very, very close’ to?”
Wen Xi cried out “Ouch” and covered her forehead, her lips curling into a smile.
But deep down, she was thinking: What about outside of school? There might be more than just me.