Xu You raised her eyebrows in slight surprise. Clicking into the forum post, she found quite a few people offering advice to the original poster.
If a girl dislikes you, she’ll keep her distance! Why don’t you try getting closer to her and see how she reacts?
If a girl doesn’t like you, she’ll act very independent around you. Why don’t you try helping her with some small, manageable favors to test if she’ll reject you?
I’m an expert at this! Tell her about something sad or distressing that happened to you. If she doesn’t care and just gives you a perfunctory response, then she dislikes you!
One minute ago, the original poster had replied.
Waaaaah, thank you everyone! I’ll go try it out right now.
Xu You stared at those final three letters, for a long time, completely unaware of the smile curling in her own eyes.
Song Zhi had run all over the hospital, asking several people which shop had the best porridge. Then, she dashed off to buy it and rushed back to the ward, tightly clutching the takeout container.
Before entering, she even used the glass door as a mirror, carefully adjusting her hair and paying utmost attention to her appearance.
“I’m back!”
Opening the door, she set the porridge on the table and paused to recall the advice from the forum post.
If a girl doesn’t like you, she’ll act very independent around you. Why don’t you try helping her with some small, manageable favors to test if she’ll reject you?
She picked the porridge up from the table again, set up the automated overbed table over Xu You’s bed, and stammered, “Do… do you need me to feed you?”
In her mind, patients who had just woken up usually had no strength and needed someone to hold and feed them their meals.
Xu You looked at her quietly for two seconds. Finally, a soft smile appeared on her face. “Then I’ll have to trouble you. My hands really are a bit lacking in strength.”
Oh my god!!! She didn’t reject me!!!
Song Zhi was howling wildly in her head.
On the outside, however, she remained as steady as an old dog, with only the faint flush of pink on the tips of her ears betraying her.
When it came to the actual feeding, Song Zhi was practically on the verge of a mental breakdown.
Xu You kept her eyes fixed on her the entire time, making Song Zhi incredibly nervous. Her eyes darted around, not knowing where to look, and she absolutely did not dare to make direct eye contact with Xu You.
She could only see how Xu You’s originally bloodless lips had turned rosy from the warm porridge… looking highly kissable… Ahhhh, no! Stop looking!!
By the time she finished feeding her the bowl of porridge, Song Zhi felt as if a whole century had passed.
Looking at her with deep concern, Xu You asked, “Is it too hot in here? I see your forehead is covered in sweat.”
“Ah? No, no! I just sweat pretty easily.”
Song Zhi was panicking. Although she liked Xu You immensely and desperately wanted to get close and cuddly with her, she had no idea whether Xu You was repelled by homosexuality. Would she find it disgusting and grow to hate her if she found out about her feelings?
She really, really wanted to ask Xu You. What do you think about homosexuality?
But she didn’t dare. Then, a stroke of inspiration hit her as she recalled another line from the forum post: “Tell her about something sad or distressing that happened to you. If she doesn’t care and just gives you a perfunctory response, then she dislikes you!”
“Xu You… let me tell you something, I feel so sad.” She slumped onto the bed, her expression listless, looking thoroughly pitiful.
Xu You didn’t know what kind of trick she was playing this time, but she cooperatively asked, “What’s wrong? Can you tell me about it?”
“I have a very, very good friend. She recently discovered that she likes a girl, but that girl absolutely hates homosexuality, so they broke off their friendship. My friend is now drowning her sorrows in alcohol night after night. Just watching her makes me feel so sad.”
As she spoke, she stealthily peeked to check Xu You’s reaction.
Xu You listened quietly, yet she didn’t give the answer Song Zhi was hoping for, like, ‘I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being gay, love is what matters most, gender is irrelevant.’
Instead, she simply said, “It’s best to let them solve their own relationship issues. You don’t need to be sad over it.”
Song Zhi grew a little anxious and couldn’t hold back the thoughts in her heart. “But I don’t think gender should be a stumbling block to love.” The moment the words left her mouth, she realized she was being incredibly bold. Was my tone a bit too harsh just now? Ahhh, Song Zhi, where did you get the audacity to say something like that!
To her surprise, after pondering for a moment, Xu You actually nodded in agreement. “Indeed.”
“I’m not very good with words. What I meant just now was actually…” She paused. Song Zhi’s ears instantly perked up.
In the next second, Song Zhi felt as if she were about to be cooked alive.
Because she saw Xu You looking at her, speaking with absolute sincerity, “I just don’t want you to be sad.”
Song Zhi felt an immense bitterness in her heart. Xu You clearly had no idea how much wild imagination a sentence like that could trigger.
A straight girl’s casual flirting is truly the most fatal.
Knock, knock.
Following the sound of a knock on the door, the door handle was turned open.
It was Fu Nian.
There were faint dark circles under his eyes. When he saw how close Song Zhi and Xu You were sitting, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.
He looked at Song Zhi, his frown so deep it could have crushed a fly, and said in a highly defensive tone, “Why are you here?”
In her mind, Song Zhi was already launching into a string of curses. Who the hell are you to order me around? but on the outside, she suddenly adopted an incredibly aggrieved expression. Twining both her arms around Xu You’s arm, she said, “Sister, look at him. How can he be like this? He speaks so fiercely.”
Xu You tilted her head to look at her. Song Zhi wore a pitiful, accusatory expression, as if pleading: You have to stand up for me!
The corner of Xu You’s lips twitched upward slightly. Then, with a blank expression, she turned to Fu Nian and said, “Get out. You’re scaring her.”
Fu Nian instantly turned red with anger.
He simply couldn’t comprehend why Xu You would protect Song Zhi to this extent. How could Xu You forgive someone who had harmed her multiple times, while his own years of showing goodwill to her had yielded absolutely no results?
His tone turned ice-cold. “On what grounds? Xu You, aren’t you afraid that treating me this way will make me withdraw our family’s cooperation? And then…” He smiled meaningfully, as if he held Xu You’s fatal weakness in his hands. “…and stop the production of the medicine developed specifically for you?”
Xu You’s expression remained entirely unfazed. “Yours isn’t the only company that can make it.”
“But it’s only effective when you take my family’s medicine, isn’t it?”
Fu Nian chuckled softly. “Moreover, don’t forget, I can completely monopolize it, leaving you with no choice but to beg me in the future just to stay alive.”
He asked, “Are you looking forward to it?”
A flash of malicious pleasure gleamed in Fu Nian’s eyes. What he wanted was for Xu You to abandon all her pride and submissively let him keep her by his side.
Hearing what he said, an expression of utter disbelief filled Song Zhi’s eyes.
“Sister…”
Xu You gently patted her hand, signaling her to ease her mind.
Without even raising her eyelids, she said, “Get out.”
This was the second time Xu You had kicked him out, and Fu Nian felt it was a massive blow to his dignity.
He glared fiercely at Song Zhi with eyes full of rage and sneered, “Is this what your ‘women’s friendship’ looks like? A while ago she was racking her brains trying to kill you, and now you’re close enough to walk arm in arm?”
Song Zhi knit her brows. “No, are you out of your mind?”
Fu Nian could hardly believe his ears. This foolish woman, who used to constantly trail behind him and love resorting to cheap, underhanded tricks just to catch his attention, was actually calling him crazy??
He nodded. “Fine. You two are something else.”
With that, he left with a sullen, darkened face.
Song Zhi was filled with worry. “What he said…”
“He’s just bluffing. It’s a minor illness, nothing serious,” Xu You told her. “I’m feeling a bit tired now and want to rest.”
Seeing that her complexion was indeed very pale, Song Zhi nodded. “Okay, then you should rest well. I’ll head out first.”
Xu You looked at her and nodded. “Alright.”