Yu Yixian’s breathing hitched. She turned her head and met Ling Yun’s pitch-black eyes. For a split second, she felt as if she were sinking into the bottom of the sea; everything around them vanished, leaving only Ling Yun in her sight.
“Y-you’re awake!” Yu Yixian snapped back to reality, her eyes darting around in embarrassment.
Help! What am I supposed to do when I get caught playing with my secret crush’s hand while she’s asleep?
Wait, no—what did the senior just say?
Under Ling Yun’s smiling gaze, Yu Yixian gradually recalled the sentence she had just heard—
“I like it like this.”
Hmm?
Yu Yixian moved her fingers and felt a strong sensation of restraint. She looked down, finally taking in the situation.
Their hands were intertwined, and both of them were wide awake.
So, what exactly did the senior mean by that sentence? Was it what she thought it was?
The answer was clearly right at her doorstep, yet for the first time, Yu Yixian didn’t dare to push the door open. She was afraid she was overthinking it; she was afraid of misinterpreting the meaning.
If—and she meant if—she really had misunderstood, a rejection would be a minor issue, but what if the senior started to dislike her because of it?
She couldn’t, and wouldn’t, gamble on that!
Yu Yixian lowered her head, forcing herself to ignore the overly gentle gaze in Ling Yun’s eyes. Her tone was slightly flustered, “Senior, it’s so late. We, we should head back!”
As she spoke, she tried to get up, and their hands accidentally pulled apart.
Ling Yun was stunned, bewildered as to why things hadn’t headed in the direction she had anticipated. A sense of powerlessness, the feeling of being unable to grasp Yu Yixian, made Ling Yun’s mood turn instantly gloomy.
Was everything she showed before about liking me just a lie to deceive me?
Why would she lie?
Why would she reject me?
No, it doesn’t matter. Whether it’s true or false, no matter what means I have to use, my little fish can only be mine.
Ling Yun’s black, bottomless eyes grew more intense, filled with an impenetrable melancholy. Her dangling hand gripped tightly, her fingernails digging deep into her palm, using the pain to awaken the last shred of her reason.
No, that’s not right. Yu Yixian wouldn’t lie to me. She isn’t the type of person to play with others’ feelings.
Having regained her composure, Ling Yun fell into deep thought, and when Yu Yixian looked over, she instinctively donned her usual expression—the mask of the gentle senior.
Yu Yixian had been too focused on her own panic to notice that Ling Yun was still sitting there, a trace of confusion in her eyes as if she couldn’t understand something.
I really am too foolish. Regardless of what the senior meant by her words just now, I shouldn’t have been so unstable! Yu Yixian fiercely cursed her own rashness.
“Senior…” Yu Yixian tried to find an excuse to explain her sudden movement. “Uh, do you know if there’s a public restroom around here? My stomach suddenly hurts a bit.”
Ling Yun nodded, “I know. I’ll take you.”
Using the restroom as an excuse, they finally managed to smooth over the awkward atmosphere. Yu Yixian followed behind Ling Yun, her heart full of annoyance.
Self-reflect. I must properly self-reflect when I get back.
Upon reaching the public restroom, Yu Yixian rubbed her nose and walked inside under Ling Yun’s watchful gaze. Ling Yun stood outside, waiting quietly. Not long after, Yu Yixian ran out in a fluster.
“Senior, Senior! Did you bring a sanitary pad?” Yu Yixian went black in the eyes when she saw the spot of red. No wonder her emotions had been unstable lately; she had been so busy with classes and exams for the past two days that she had completely forgotten about her period. Counting the days, it was indeed time.
But the problem was, she hadn’t brought one!
Ling Yun hadn’t brought one either. She patted Yu Yixian’s head, her voice steady and calm, “Wait for me for five minutes.” She remembered a small convenience store in the park not far away.
Within a few minutes, Ling Yun ran back with a pack of sanitary pads. Seeing her flushed cheeks, Yu Yixian felt a wave of heartache and immediately pulled out a tissue to wipe Ling Yun’s sweat.
“Sorry to trouble you, Senior. Please, take a break.” Yu Yixian touched Ling Yun’s face with concern.
“I’m fine. You go change first. The store here didn’t have your usual brand, so make do with this for now.” Ling Yun handed the pads to Yu Yixian.
Yu Yixian was too preoccupied with wiping the sweat from Ling Yun to notice what she had said. She took the pads and hurried off to change.
After this chaotic episode, the atmosphere between the two returned to how it was initially, perhaps even slightly more intimate than before.
Yu Yixian held Ling Yun’s hand, and after dinner, the two walked side-by-side on campus. Since both were well-known figures, the “one plus one is greater than two” effect was quite obvious. Soon, quite a few people were looking their way.
However, Yu Yixian was accustomed to the gaze of others and didn’t think much of it at the time, while Ling Yun wished everyone knew about her relationship with Yu Yixian, so she cared even less.
Ling Yun, however, was mindful that Yu Yixian was on her period and declined the suggestion to continue walking, seeing her safely to the front of the dormitory building.
Although Yu Yixian was somewhat reluctant to part, her waist and legs were aching, so she could only say goodbye with lingering feelings: “Bye-bye, Senior. Don’t forget our agreement.”
Ling Yun nodded. Watching Yu Yixian’s figure disappear entirely, the mask on her face finally cracked.
Ling Yun returned to the dormitory with a gloomy expression. Chu Qingyu was in the middle of a flirtatious video call with her new girlfriend. Seeing Ling Yun come back with a dark face, she was startled, thinking Ling Yun had quarreled with her “little beauty,” so she quickly hung up on her girlfriend and ran over to gossip.
“What’s wrong?” Chu Qingyu pulled over a chair, sat on it backward, and leaned over the backrest, her eyes full of curiosity.
Ling Yun remained silent. Originally, she didn’t want to talk about it, but she suddenly remembered that Chu Qingyu seemed to have had many girlfriends and might know why her little fish had rejected her today.
“Yixian rejected me today.” Ling Yun closed her eyes, trying hard not to recall the scene of her rejection earlier, her tone stiff.
“Ha? For real?” Chu Qingyu’s first reaction was disbelief. She hadn’t seen much of the “little beauty” lately, but she knew Ling Yun had been tutoring her and that they had a date today. Plus, the “little beauty” only had eyes for Ling Yun from the very beginning; how could she possibly reject Ling Yun?
“How should I put this… just briefly recount the scene for me. I’ll analyze it for you. How could… cough… how could Yu Yixian bear to reject you? Impossible, I don’t believe it.”
Ling Yun was silent. She didn’t want to believe it either, but… Ling Yun took a deep breath and simply described the scene and the conversation between the two at the time.
“…That’s it?” Chu Qingyu stared at Ling Yun, looking at her tightly sealed lips, still trying to pry out a few more details.
“That’s it,” Ling Yun shook her head.
“No,” Chu Qingyu didn’t know whether to laugh or be speechless. “You call that a confession?”
Ling Yun’s body stiffened, and she met Chu Qingyu’s gaze with a hint of confusion. “Was it not?”
Chu Qingyu hadn’t expected Ling Yun to truly be unaware of where the problem lay, and a trace of sympathy for the “little beauty” rose in her heart. However, there was also good news: she now knew for certain that Ling Yun also liked the “little beauty,” and now it was time for her, the love guru, to step in!
“Come here. I’ll tell you why Yu Yixian rejected you.”
Ling Yun immediately struck a pose of earnest listening.
Chu Qingyu was very satisfied and began: “First of all, in Yu Yixian’s eyes, you have never had a girlfriend before, right?”
Ling Yun nodded, “I truly haven’t.”
“I know, I know. Secondly, when Yu Yixian asked you before whether you liked boys or girls, what did you say?”
“I said I didn’t like either.” Ling Yun wore an expression of disdain. She only liked her little fish.
Chu Qingyu rolled her eyes. “Got it, got it. You only like Yu Yixian, right?”
Ling Yun nodded.
“Oh, don’t interrupt me!” Chu Qingyu only then realized her train of thought had been derailed by Ling Yun again and quickly pulled it back.
“It doesn’t matter what you think in your heart. At the very least, your answer couldn’t make Yu Yixian certain whether your kindness toward her was based on love or just a favorable impression.”
“Is there a difference?” Ling Yun asked humbly for advice.
“Of course there is! If it’s just based on having a favorable impression, then later on, it could easily turn into just friendship!”
Watching Ling Yun’s bewildered expression, Chu Qingyu sighed. “You have to know that the action of holding hands isn’t something only lovers can do; even intertwining fingers—these aren’t exclusive actions for couples.”
“As for your so-called confession, in Yu Yixian’s eyes, it was likely just an expression of your favorable impression of her. As for why she reacted so strongly, I guess she probably wanted to impulsively confess herself and was afraid of being rejected by you, which is why she reacted that way.”
Although Ling Yun remained silent, her expression gradually began to think earnestly.
“And, that’s not called a confession. A confession should at least be something like: ‘I like you, will you be my girlfriend?'” Looking at the disdainful expression Ling Yun was wearing, Chu Qingyu rolled her eyes again. “You should be thankful that without a strategist like me, you might not even be able to win Yu Yixian over in your next life.”
Ling Yun looked at Chu Qingyu with dissatisfaction.
“If you ask me, Yu Yixian likes you, and you like her. Find a time and confess directly.” Chu Qingyu yawned, having thought she would hear some big scandal.
Just this? It’s just two idiots falling in love.
On the other side.
Yu Yixian returned to the dormitory, and the others were not there.
After a simple wash, Yu Yixian climbed onto her bed. While applying a hot water bag to her stomach, she sent a message to Ling Yun.
[X: Did the senior get back to the dorm?]
[Ling Yun: Little cat fainted.JPG]
Yu Yixian was stunned. It was such a cute sticker, but why did the cat faint?
[Ling Yun: I’m here. Don’t be greedy for cold things lately; go back and use a hot water bag to soothe your stomach.]
Seeing Ling Yun’s caring words, Yu Yixian felt warm inside.
She took a photo of herself using the hot water bag and sent it over.
[X: Okay, Senior~]
The two chatted for a while longer, but then something came up on Ling Yun’s end. Yu Yixian put down her phone and yawned.
“…It tasted really good. I’ll take Yixian to try it next time. Eh? The door is open. Yixian, you’re back!” Wang Xiaoyue’s voice approached from a distance. She was just about to take out her key to open the door when she discovered it was already unlocked.
“Yeah. What did you guys eat? You smell so good,” Yu Yixian said, lying on the railing by her bed and twitching her nose.
“A new buffet barbecue restaurant opened at the back gate. The meat is very fresh and it’s not expensive. I’ll take you there next time,” Wang Xiaoyue said, throwing her keys onto the table. She turned her head and realized Yu Yixian wasn’t downstairs, only then realizing she had already climbed into bed.
“Going to bed so early today?”
“Yeah, my period is here, it’s more comfortable to lie down,” Yu Yixian answered lazily.
“Okay. Just let us know when the hot water bag gets cold, and we’ll change it for you,” Ye Qian said with a smile, while changing her clothes.
“I’m grateful,” Yu Yixian made a heart shape with her hands.
“I have some medicine here. If it hurts too much, just take a couple. This medicine is really effective,” Tang Jia said, digging through her small medical kit from her closet. She looked down, found a box of pills, and placed it on Yu Yixian’s desk.
“Woooo, it’s really great to have you guys, woooo-woooo-woooo.” Yu Yixian was deeply moved, wiping away tears that didn’t exist.
Wang Xiaoyue rolled her eyes in disgust as she passed by. “Don’t be disgusting.”
“Hahaha, hehe.”