SH – Chapter 24

It was summer back then.

Amidst the noisy chirping of cicadas, the scorching sun baked the entirety of Bei City, and the film academy located in the north of the city was no exception.

Students who had just finished class hurried across campus under their sun umbrellas, peeking into the auditorium as they passed. “It’s the graduation ceremony today. A lot of the senior students have come back.”

At the film academy, second-year students could start taking on acting roles. Some outstanding students already had works to their name by graduation, some having become popular celebrities, and they had plenty of fans on campus.

Unfortunately, the school had strict rules. Apart from those performing and the student union members who were helping out, no one else was allowed into the graduation ceremony.

As a prospective member of the student union, Yun Chu was called in to help at the last minute.

The temperature was just too high. The air conditioning in the auditorium couldn’t keep up with the crowded and noisy environment. The cold air blew out forcefully but still couldn’t cool the place down. Yun Chu simply didn’t wear any makeup and weaved through the crowd with a bare face.

However, her true intentions lay elsewhere. While helping out, she pretended to casually look for Jian You.

Jian You had been following Zhang Chenyao around film sets since before the new year, moving between various production crews. She had only returned to school a few times during the new semester. If she hadn’t needed to come back for her graduation certificate today, she wouldn’t have returned.

All in all, it had been a month or two since they had last seen each other. Yun Chu missed her very much.

“Yun Chu!” Someone bumped into her. It was her roommate, Ding Xiao, the only person in the entire school who knew about her crush on Jian You. Ding Xiao lifted her chin. “Jian You is taking graduation photos.”

Yun Chu looked past her shoulder and out the window.

Jian You, wearing a black academic gown, sat next to the principal. The tassel of her cap hung down, occasionally brushing against her delicate, porcelain-like profile. Light filtered down through the dense leaves of the trees. Hearing the photographer call out, “One, two, three,” Jian You suddenly curved her eyes into a smile and, along with everyone else, called out, “Qiezi-”

The moment was captured.

After the photographer took a dozen or so shots in quick succession, it was time for free-form photos, leaving everyone to take pictures with their friends as keepsakes. Although Jian You wasn’t one to make friends, she was incredibly famous, and countless people came up to her for a photo. In a flash, she became a beautiful, popular photo spot on the plaza.

Yun Chu’s eyes turned red with envy as she clung to the window frame. “Ahhh, I want to take a photo with my senior too.”

Ding Xiao said, “They have a farewell dinner at a hotel tonight. Do you want to go crash it? You’ve had a crush on her for almost a year. If you don’t confess now, you’ll only be able to find her through private messages on Weibo in the future.”

Yun Chu rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.

Ding Xiao: “And with Senior Jian You’s personality, she’ll a hundred percent not read her private messages.”

Yun Chu deeply agreed.

Ding Xiao: “So are you going or not?”

Yun Chu mumbled, “We’ll see.”

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After the graduation ceremony, the graduating students still had many things to do. Those who had helped out received their credits and went back to their own business. As for Yun Chu, although she had said, “we’ll see,” the matter stuck in her heart like a thorn, making her absent-minded for the rest of the day.

Ding Xiao had a date that evening, which happened to be at the same hotel as the graduates’ farewell dinner. Before she left, she asked Yun Chu, “Do you want me to keep an eye out for you? At these kinds of farewell dinners where everyone is going their separate ways, a lot of people tend to let loose.”

“No need-” Yun Chu’s hand, which was scrolling through her phone, paused. “Senior Jian You isn’t that kind of person.”

Ding Xiao’s lips curled. “And you would know?”

Yun Chu threw a pillow at her. “Just go! Don’t be late for your date!”

The other two roommates in their dorm were members of a girl group and had already debuted before starting university. Their group was developing quite well, and apart from not being able to film dramas due to school, they didn’t lack for other opportunities. As a result, the two of them rarely returned to school and didn’t live in the dorm.

After Ding Xiao left, Yun Chu was the only one left in the room.

Actually, she hadn’t planned on confessing.

She liked Jian You, she really did, but liking someone didn’t necessarily mean getting close to them. She saw Jian You as a beautiful, distant dream, placed in the sky, hanging on the crescent moon. It was enough to just look up at her occasionally.

With that thought, Yun Chu went back to her book. But she couldn’t focus on a single word before she received a text message from Ding Xiao.

Ding Xiao: Yun Chu! It’s over, it’s over, it’s over!

Ding Xiao: Jian You is being forced to drink a lot!

Ding Xiao: Protecting your love starts with me! Get over here now and take advantage of the situation!

Yun Chu: .

Yun Chu: I’m not that despicable!

Ding Xiao: [Photo of Jian You staring blankly out a window]

Yun Chu: So pretty.

Ding Xiao: Other people think so too.

Yun Chu: …You just wait!

And just like that, in a rush of blood to the head, by the time Yun Chu came to her senses, she was already in the hall of the farewell dinner. Having made herself a familiar face while helping out with the student union, she had actually managed to get in. She pushed through the crowd, saying, “Excuse me, let me through, let me through!”

“Isn’t this the junior from the 2014 class, Yun Chu? How did you get into our 2011 class’s farewell dinner?” someone recognized her. “Come on, have a drink with your big sis!”

“Sis!” Yun Chu felt like she had found her savior. “Have you seen Jian You?”

“Jian You?”

It was clearly a name that everyone knew. Yun Chu didn’t need to explain any further before someone gestured with their chin in a certain direction. “Isn’t she over there, drinking?”

Yun Chu followed their line of sight.

A wind had picked up in the evening, and clouds were gathering. Thunder rumbled within the heavy, dark clouds, brewing an early summer storm.

Jian You was sitting by the window. The wind blew in, and a few strands of her pinned-up hair fell loose at her temples, swaying with the breeze. She was wearing a white, thin-strapped dress. Her frame was overly slender, making her beautiful collarbones stand out. She had on light makeup and no accessories, looking ethereally beautiful amidst the noisy, bustling banquet.

She didn’t refuse anyone who came to toast her. She would nod slightly, raise her small glass, and drink it all in one go.

“Our Director Jian is really popular,” someone remarked.

“It’s just because everyone knows she’s going to study abroad after graduation. They’re lining up to say goodbye to the goddess! Don’t say another word, I have to go have a drink with her too.”

“What about you, little Yun Chu? What are you looking for Jian You for?”

“I’m here to…” Yun Chu watched as Jian You clinked glasses with someone else and downed another drink. An idea struck her. “I’m also here to say goodbye to my goddess.”

With that, she grabbed a glass from nearby, poured some alcohol into it, and walked up to Jian You.

Jian You had indeed had quite a bit to drink. Her fair, delicate skin was tinged with a faint red. When she looked up at her, her gaze was alluring. Yun Chu’s heart was pounding. Just as she was mustering up the courage to speak, Jian You blinked and suddenly leaned over. “Gag!”

Yun Chu: “…?”

What does it mean when my crush wants to puke the moment she sees me!?

Jian You hadn’t eaten much, so she only dry-heaved a couple of times. She took a sip of water from a glass someone at the table handed her and waved a hand at Yun Chu. “Sorry.”

Yun Chu stepped forward to pat her on the back and asked, “Senior, should I help you outside for some fresh air?”

With unruly thoughts in her heart, even her words came out with a slight tremor, terrified of being found out. When she heard Jian You hum in agreement, she finally relaxed and quickly helped her up.

Her palm touched skin that had been cooled by the wind, and Yun Chu’s heart pounded like a drum.

The alcohol at the farewell dinner had a strong kick. It was fine while sitting, but after walking a few steps, she became too dizzy to find her bearings. Jian You, with a sliver of rationality remaining, took a room key card from her bag and pressed it into Yun Chu’s hand. “…Take me back to my room.”

Jian You was a good drunk. She remained quiet and maintained a semblance of sobriety. Even when she reached the bed, she could still lean steadily against the headboard, making Yun Chu wonder if she was really drunk at all.

Jian You stared into space for a while, then suddenly grabbed her hand, earnest and sincere. “Thank you, kind stranger.”

…She was really drunk.

Yun Chu sighed. What kind stranger? She was just a little creep lusting after Jian You’s beauty. If it weren’t for the strong shackles of law and morality, with the person she liked right in front of her like this, she wouldn’t be acting so virtuous.

Well, it’s not like she had to do anything to Jian You. A little kiss would be okay, right?

Yun Chu licked her lips and glanced at Jian You.

Jian You was spacing out.

She glanced again.

Still spacing out.

It was a now-or-never opportunity. Jian You was about to go study abroad, and who knew what year she would return. Her first kiss… her first kiss could very well be lost during some scene in a future role. It would be better to give it to Jian You first.

Yes! Yun Chu made up her mind and suddenly said, “Senior, look outside!”

Such a clumsy trick could only fool a drunk person. Jian You fell for it, instinctively looking outside.

Yun Chu quickly pecked her on the cheek.

So soft, like jelly.

Just as she was secretly pleased, she met Jian You’s scrutinizing gaze. Yun Chu took two steps back, her heart thumping. No way, no way, is she that sharp? She noticed?!

Jian You: “There’s nothing outside.”

So that’s what she was complaining about!

Yun Chu relaxed and summoned the best acting of her life. Her eyes blinked, full of sincerity. “There was something just now!”

Jian You stared at her for a while, then looked away. “Your acting is terrible.”

Yun Chu: “?”

How dare she question her professionally!?

Jian You added, “I remember you.”

Yun Chu: “!!”

Wasn’t she a kind stranger!

Jian You finally said, “Backstage at the graduation ceremony today, you were watching me the whole time.”

Yun Chu: “!!!”

She was stunned. “W-was it that obvious?”

No way!

Although she had been crushing on Jian You for almost a year and had repeatedly failed to get noticed, and had even used her status as a prospective student union member to sneak backstage at the graduation ceremony, she had been acting very proper the whole time!

Jian You hummed in affirmation.

Yun Chu: “…”

Alright, she admitted it. Her numerous stolen glances and her volunteering to take a drunk senior back to her hotel room were indeed a bit too obvious.

“Do you know how?” Jian You suddenly asked.

Only a wall lamp was on in the room. A hazy, dim light fell from above her, just enough to envelop her. Her pinned-up hair had come loose, hiding her stunningly beautiful face. Her lips, stained by alcohol, glistened. When she didn’t get a reply from Yun Chu, they moved slightly. “…Hm?”

Know… know what?

Jian You looked at her in silence.

Yun Chu’s heart was racing. Blood rushed up through her delicate veins, turning her red from her neck to the back of her ears, yet she didn’t look away from Jian You’s gaze. She bit her lip, hesitating. “S-senior?”

The moment the words left her mouth, her wrist was suddenly grabbed. Jian You was surprisingly strong. She pulled her off balance, causing her to fall to her knees on the carpet in front of the bed. Her forehead knocked against Jian You’s knee, and she let out a small hiss.

It hurt.

Yun Chu was dazed for a couple of seconds. Rubbing her forehead, she sat up, only to see that Jian You had kicked off her high heels and was staring down at her. “You brought me to a hotel room. Was it just to sleep?”

Yun Chu: “?”

How unjust! You got this room yourself!

She quickly waved her hands, trying to explain. “Senior! I really just wanted you to rest-”

“I’m not tired,” Jian You interrupted her.

“Then do you want to eat something…”

“Not hungry.”

“Then what… what do you want to do?”

Drunk people are so hard to deal with, Yun Chu thought. But when Jian You rejected her so seriously, her flushed face looked so soft and squishable and cute. She was so overwhelmed by the cuteness that she was kicking her feet in her mind.

“What are you thinking?” Jian You asked out of the blue.

Yun Chu blurted out, “Senior is so cute.”

Only after speaking did she realize her mistake and quickly shut her mouth. But then she heard Jian You laugh. “I don’t want to just sleep. So I’m asking, do you know how? If not, I can teach you.”

“…Teach what?”

Still confused, Jian You suddenly grabbed her wrist and pushed her onto the bed. The dry sheets smelled of sunshine and were cool from the air conditioning. Against her damp back, it made Yun Chu shiver involuntarily.

Jian You kissed her lips. Her long fingers moved down to pinch the back of her neck, forcing her to tilt her head back and kiss her.

Yun Chu was panting, with no strength to even push her away. Her defenses crumbled quickly, letting Jian You’s tongue explore and play freely inside. She trembled and flushed, tears welling up in her eyes from the overly fervent kiss, falling onto the cool, damp sheets.

The kisses traveled downwards.

Over hills and plains, suddenly the view widened, as if she had arrived in the vast universe. A sense of losing control washed over her. She felt light-headed, unable to feel her own body, yet her senses were unusually sharp.

She heard soft breathing, the gentle sound of flowing water, and the anxious thumping of her heart in her chest, vibrating against her eardrums. In her trembling, she bit the back of her hand. The corner of her lip, which Jian You had bitten, had a small cut that was bleeding, and the faint taste of iron spread in her mouth. She pleaded in a small voice, “Gentler…”

There was no gentleness.

One shouldn’t try to reason with a drunk person. The alcohol had burned away Jian You’s rationality and coldness. Yun Chu’s feelings were not important to her; she was enjoying the pleasure of conquest and domination.

Until Yun Chu started to cry.

Only then did she lift her head. Her thumb wiped across the crimson lips, and she curled them into a smile. “Have you learned?”

She pulled Yun Chu’s ankle.

She said, “Your turn.”

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