After that, Ye Yuhuan sensed that Song Zhiqing seemed to be avoiding her. It wasn’t out of malice, just a simple desire not to see her.
She seemed angry; Ye Yuhuan caught her huffing softly several times.
And yet, she didn’t seem that angry. When buying milk tea for the Cosmic Beauty Garden, Song Zhiqing still made a point of picking out Ye Yuhuan’s favorite flavor.
In the past, Song Zhiqing had often been too shy to face Ye Yuhuan, but it usually only lasted a few hours. Now, however, Ye Yuhuan glanced at her watch—it had been nearly a full day since Song Zhiqing had spoken to her first.
To be honest, Ye Yuhuan was starting to panic a little.
No matter how smart she was, she could never have guessed that Song Zhiqing was angry at herself for being so spineless, and a little annoyed at Ye Yuhuan for being so calm, which only made her feel even more spineless.
It was break time between classes. Ye Yuhuan walked over to Song Zhiqing’s desk. The great Miss Song was as radiant as ever today, her hair in a French braid with a metallic blue butterfly clip at the end. As autumn deepened, the temperature fluctuated, and every few days there would be a colder one. Today was such a day, so Song Zhiqing wore a light gray trench coat over her school uniform. Her classmates said it was from the famous designer Silvia—the coat had been a hot item at this year’s Paris Fashion Week and was now selling for an exorbitant price in the country. For Miss Song, however, it was something she would only wear once.
Ye Yuhuan tapped on the desk to get Song Zhiqing’s attention, but Song Zhiqing acted as if she hadn’t heard, staring intently at a textbook she usually treated like poison.
Yes, this was it—this crudely feigned avoidance.
Making friends is so hard, Ye Yuhuan lamented silently.
“Are you angry?”
Song Zhiqing didn’t answer.
Ye Yuhuan thought for a moment. Song Zhiqing had started acting strange right after the photo incident yesterday. An idea struck her. She took out her phone, found the picture, and said to Song Zhiqing, “If this is about the photo, I can contact…”
…Shangguan Xianxian to delete it.
Before Ye Yuhuan could finish, Song Zhiqing fired off a rapid-fire response, “Who said it was because of the photo!”
“Besides, I’m not angry. Where did you get the idea that I’m angry?”
“Ye Yuhuan, don’t just make wild guesses!”
The barrage of words made Ye Yuhuan’s head buzz. She instinctively held out her phone, pleading for mercy.
When Song Zhiqing saw the image on Ye Yuhuan’s phone, she let out a cry and quickly covered it with her hand. “How do you have this picture!”
Ye Yuhuan watched as Song Zhiqing clutched her phone as if it were radioactive waste and couldn’t help but sigh. “I asked Shangguan Xianxian for it.”
Song Zhiqing shot her a glance. The hand covering the phone tingled uncontrollably, just as it had when she’d touched Ye Yuhuan’s face yesterday. Forcing herself to stay composed, she asked, “Why did you want it!”
“Because it’s a good picture?” Ye Yuhuan said honestly.
“…”
For some reason, Song Zhiqing felt like she was flirting with a blind person. But why was she flirting in the first place? She wasn’t entirely sure herself.
She just asked, “So, do you like this picture?”
Ye Yuhuan paused for a moment, then nodded.
Song Zhiqing’s hand didn’t move, but her expression visibly softened. Ye Yuhuan also breathed a sigh of relief, though she wasn’t sure why she was relieved.
“Ahem!” Song Zhiqing averted her gaze. “What were you about to say earlier?”
What she’d been about to say now seemed unnecessary. It appeared Song Zhiqing had only been upset because she’d misunderstood and thought Ye Yuhuan disliked the photo.
But, Ye Yuhuan wondered, had she ever shown that she disliked it?
Or was it that, in Song Zhiqing’s world, anything not explicitly liked was automatically categorized as disliked?
“Nothing,” Ye Yuhuan replied.
Song Zhiqing looked up at Ye Yuhuan, her almond-shaped eyes shimmering. “Tell me. I’m just curious.”
Ye Yuhuan had no choice but to indulge her. “I was just going to say that if you don’t like it, I can contact Shangguan Xianxian and have her delete it. It seems she only sent it to me, so deleting it would be simple.”
Song Zhiqing turned her head away with an indignant huff. Damn it. She had thought Ye Yuhuan would say something about how much she liked the picture. As expected, she shouldn’t have had such high hopes.
Ye Yuhuan was a total nun!
Feeling the matter was resolved, Ye Yuhuan picked up her phone and prepared to leave. But Song Zhiqing stopped her, her face inexplicably flushing red again. Her voice was as small as a newborn kitten’s. “That photo… send me a copy.”
Ah, Song Zhiqing is acting so strange.
This thought lingered until her lunch break, when she went to eat with Shen Wei. This was a byproduct of her “friendship plan.” Since Song Zhiqing still couldn’t stand the sight of Shen Wei—the urge to hit her hadn’t yet faded—she didn’t join them. But when they ran into each other at the cafeteria entrance, she still shot Shen Wei a vicious glare.
However, this gave Ye Yuhuan the perfect opportunity to ask her question.
In the end, Ye Yuhuan was only sixteen. Even if she was very mature for her age, there were some things she simply wouldn’t understand without having experienced them.
And Shen Wei had clearly experienced more. With ten extra years of life under her belt, she ought to have some insight.
Even if Shen Wei had few friends and a failed love life in her past life, Auntie Shen was still Auntie Shen.
After Ye Yuhuan described the situation, Shen Wei fell silent. They were eating on the third floor for privacy, so Shen Wei didn’t have to maintain her usual pretense. She asked bluntly, “Are we that close?”
Ye Yuhuan frowned in confusion and retorted, “What does being close have to do with it? I believe you can answer my question, and you have no reason to withhold the answer. That’s a sufficient premise for me to ask.”
Shen Wei took a deep breath. A moment ago, she’d thought Ye Yuhuan was about to tell her something serious, but it turned out to be this.
Shen Wei viciously speared a piece of sushi with her fork and said maliciously, “Maybe she likes you?”
Ye Yuhuan gave her a “you’ve got to be kidding me” look. “Anyone else might not know, but you do, don’t you? The person she likes is…”
Shen Wei quickly cut her off, not wanting to hear a single word about how much Song Zhiqing liked Shangguan Xianxian. “Alright, that’s enough. Let’s be serious.”
“We should have been from the start,” Ye Yuhuan said, dissatisfied. She hadn’t expected Auntie Shen to be so flippant.
“Could it be that she misunderstood and thinks you like her?” Shen Wei asked, recalling the incident in the nurse’s office.
Ye Yuhuan shook her head. “How is that possible? I’ve explained to her several times that I have no improper thoughts about her. She seemed to understand every time, and things haven’t been awkward between us since.”
Shen Wei fell silent again. After a long moment, she said, “Why did you have to specifically explain that you have no improper thoughts about her? Don’t you think the act of explaining that is strange in itself?”
Ye Yuhuan took a sip of soup and said matter-of-factly, “That’s because something happened that could have been easily misunderstood. If I hadn’t cleared it up, it would have been awkward for both of us.”
Shen Wei’s interest was piqued. What kind of incident would require such an explanation?
But when Shen Wei asked, Ye Yuhuan leaned back slightly and said coldly, “That’s my personal privacy. I don’t want to talk about it.”
She had completely forgotten how she herself had just been prying into someone else’s privacy.
Shen Wei was numb. Fine, she was just a tool for answering questions.
A faint trace of withering could be seen on Shen Wei’s classic “innocent flower” face, purely from her anger at Ye Yuhuan. To make matters worse, this person held leverage over her. Shen Wei cursed Ye Yuhuan wildly in her heart, but on the surface, she just threw up her hands. “Then I can’t think of anything.”
Seeing how shy Song Zhiqing had been back then, it was hard to think of any other explanation.
“Maybe she’s embarrassed because Xianxian took the picture,” Shen Wei suggested after a moment, thinking of another possibility.
Shen Wei felt that she had probably, most likely, gotten used to being tormented by Ye Yuhuan’s shamelessness, because she actually started to seriously help her find an answer.
But Ye Yuhuan questioned it. “That doesn’t explain why she suddenly started ignoring me.”
Shen Wei viciously speared another piece of sushi, swallowed it forcefully, and then said, “Is she blaming you for causing a misunderstanding with Xianxian?”
Given Song Zhiqing’s villainous nature, that was a possibility, right? But, as Shen Wei chewed fiercely on the tuna sushi in her mouth, she thought, what kind of mess is this? Why do I have to link the person I like with another woman!
Ye Yuhuan still didn’t accept it. “If that were the case, she wouldn’t have calmed down just because I said I liked the photo. Besides, Song Zhiqing isn’t the type to prioritize romance over friendship.”
But I am.
Shen Wei was numb again. She was starting to think that maybe she should put some effort into planning how to scientifically dispose of Ye Yuhuan.
She’s so annoying!
Tired of pondering the tangled thoughts of teenage girls, Shen Wei gave a cold, adult answer: “If it’s not this and it’s not that, then why are you insisting on connecting everything? Maybe something else happened to put her in a bad mood, and your actions today just happened to please her!”
“Her life doesn’t just revolve around you!”
Hearing this, Ye Yuhuan froze. Right. Why did I so naturally assume this was my fault?
Song Zhiqing’s life is far more complex and interesting than mine, and I am not a sufficiently complex answer.
I’m just a small part of her life. We’ve had similar issues before, even a more awkward indirect kiss, but that’s no reason for me to attribute all her emotional abnormalities in this area to myself. Besides, we always resolved things face-to-face before.
Ye Yuhuan smiled and looked at Shen Wei gratefully. “Thank you. I understand now.”
Shen Wei felt a little guilty and didn’t reply, focusing on her food. In the end, she felt her words might have been a bit too harsh.
Then, Ye Yuhuan glanced at the empty seat beside Shen Wei and changed the subject. “Where’s Shangguan Xianxian?”
Shen Wei took a gloomy sip of soup and said with a hint of sarcasm, “She went to pick out a dress for the recognition banquet.”
“Why her? Aren’t you the main character?”
Hearing this, the sarcasm on Shen Wei’s face deepened. “How would a country bumpkin like me who grew up in a small town know about these things? As for why she went, Guo Yu sent her. Said the older sister should dote on the younger sister. It’s always the same old drama. Doesn’t that woman, Guo Yu, ever get tired of it?”
Ye Yuhuan shook her head in disapproval, reminding her not to forget her failure in her past life. “Tiresome or not, you fell for it before, didn’t you? Honestly, turning the two of you against each other is always the most efficient method.”
Shen Wei’s expression darkened. Indeed, Guo Yu was not easy to deal with.
But what about this leisurely girl in front of her?
“I have my own ways of dealing with Guo Yu. But as for you, are you still not going to tell me what you want? Maybe I can grant it.”
Shen Wei thought, As long as I know what Ye Yuhuan wants, I won’t have to let her lead me by the nose.
The third-floor restaurant lived up to its reputation and price. This Japanese restaurant, in particular, was filled with authentic Japanese style. Opposite Shen Wei, Ye Yuhuan sat upright on a tatami mat, her back straight. In the wood-paneled private room, she exuded a grace reminiscent of ancient scholars. Ye Yuhuan picked up the teapot and slowly poured Shen Wei a cup of green tea, speaking softly, “Auntie Shen, right now, you’re the one asking for my help. Don’t try to test me.”
Shen Wei rested her chin on her left hand, a steel fork still in her right. She waggled the fork and pouted.
This was so boring.
But she couldn’t let this go.
Shen Wei called out, “Hey,” then said, “Do you want to go to the Shangguan residence and watch the show?”
Ye Yuhuan shook her head. “I’ve already seen it.”
A flash of annoyance appeared in Shen Wei’s eyes. Tsk, I really can’t get anything out of her.
“It’s always more interesting to see it live.”
“I have no interest in the internal struggles of your wealthy family.”
“Then why did you get involved in the first place?”
Ye Yuhuan straightened her clothes, preparing to head back to the dorm for her afternoon nap. As she did, she replied, “I have my reasons for getting involved.”
Shen Wei was silent for a moment. Just as Ye Yuhuan was about to leave the private room, she grabbed her sleeve. “Can you do me a favor?”
Ye Yuhuan showed a puzzled expression. In the early stages of the plot, Shen Wei should have been invincible. All of Guo Yu and Shangguan Chong’s schemes should have been easily thwarted by her. It was only in the later stages, after losing her precognitive ‘golden finger,’ that she encountered a few setbacks.
Shen Wei explained, “Although I have a general idea of what they’ll do, I can’t be sure if I know their entire plan, or if it’s just their plan A. I need you to help me keep an eye out. If they try to do anything to harm Xianxian, you have to protect her.”
“If you agree, I won’t interfere with Sheng Jing’s affairs anymore.”
Sheng Jing was the name of that new energy company.
Ye Yuhuan smiled and extended her right hand. “Happy to cooperate.”
As for telling Shen Wei that there was no plan B, she decided it was better to let the facts speak for themselves after the Shangguan family banquet.
Shen Wei smiled back. “Happy to cooperate.”
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