WRR – Chapter 13

All morning, Xu Shi felt like she was forcing herself to work. She didn’t know why the person in charge had moved her away from Yu Lingshan, nor did she know if it was Yu Lingshan’s decision or an order from above. She didn’t know who to ask, and she didn’t dare to.

Meanwhile, Heard still hadn’t replied to her messages.

Xu Shi felt like it was a terribly unlucky day. If Heard had been free, she would have definitely asked for another fortune-telling session.

Everyone had a lunch break, and the award ceremony for the event was scheduled for three in the afternoon.

After finishing her meal, Xiao Yu came looking for her, slinging her bag over her shoulder excitedly. “Are you free now? Yu Lingshan probably isn’t resting yet. Hurry and take me there. I’ll just snap a couple of pictures and leave, I won’t bother her for long.”

Xu Shi forced a laugh. “I’m not assigned to her anymore.”

Xiao Yu didn’t understand. “What do you mean?”

Xu Shi explained briefly. After she finished, Xiao Yu asked, “Did you do something to upset her?”

Xu Shi’s first instinct was to say, I didn’t, but then she remembered blacking out from drinking the night before and swallowed the words.

“I don’t know.”

“Tsk,” Xiao Yu said. “I told you she was eccentric. You probably did something she didn’t like without even realizing it.”

A sense of panic gripped Xu Shi’s heart. “Really?”

Xiao Yu said, “So I could talk to her today, I spent yesterday specifically looking up information on her, including what people in the industry think of her.”

“What do they say?” Xu Shi asked.

Xiao Yu thought for a moment. “Some say she’s arrogant, some say she’s difficult to get along with and hard to talk to, and others say they don’t even dare to speak to her. It’s not like they’re terrible reviews, but her work receives unanimous praise. Oh, oh, oh,” Xiao Yu suddenly patted Xu Shi’s shoulder twice and whispered, “She might be gay.”

“What does ‘gay’ mean?”

Xiao Yu lowered her voice even more, glancing around to see if anyone was listening. “It means she likes women.”

Xu Shi was astonished. “Huh?” She found a more precise term. “A lesbian?”

Xiao Yu nodded. “Yeah, that’s right.”

“How do you know all this?”

“Well, it’s not confirmed. I watched an old interview of hers yesterday, and she said it herself,” Xiao Yu smiled. “Uh, well, she didn’t say it outright, but it was sort of, kind of, implied, you know?”

“I don’t know.”

“I’ll send you the video later, you can see for yourself,” Xiao Yu said, then suddenly grew distressed. “Now that you’re not assigned to her, where am I supposed to find her? I swore to my friends yesterday that I’d definitely get a photo with her.”

Xu Shi couldn’t bring herself to give Yu Lingshan’s room number to Xiao Yu, and Xiao Yu didn’t press her. Murmuring, “I’ll go ask someone else,” she disappeared.

After Xiao Yu left, Xu Shi agonized for a long time before finally walking to the elevator and pressing the button for the 28th floor.

Unlike the bustling lobby, the world fell silent the moment the elevator doors closed.

Xu Shi was alone inside. She looked up at the numbers, feeling her heart beat faster with each floor the elevator climbed. When it dinged upon reaching the 28th floor, her nerve cells jolted awake, and her mind went blank.

Her heart pounded so heavily it felt like it was trying to escape her chest. Her hands grew weak in concert, and her breathing became erratic.

Only after arriving did Xu Shi begin to question herself. What are you doing up here? Why are you looking for her? What do you want to ask? Don’t you know how nervous you are? Go back.

But the reality was that she kept walking forward, her steps slow as she moved down the empty hallway.

No matter how slowly she walked, she would eventually reach her destination.

Xu Shi looked up at the number 2815 on the door in front of her and swallowed hard.

Then, she did nothing. She just stared at the pattern on the door.

She wasn’t ready for any of this.

Not ready after one minute, not ready after two, and still not ready after five.

She even thought, Maybe Yu Lingshan isn’t back yet. Maybe I should just forget it. Let’s go, Xu Shi. What are you even doing?

What broke the stalemate was a video Xiao Yu sent her.

Xu Shi tapped on it, and the host’s voice, extremely loud, burst from her phone.

She quickly hit pause, dug her headphones out of her bag, and plugged them in. Feeling a bit weary, she simply sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall opposite room 2815.

The video’s title was 【Design Circle’s Visual Ceiling, Yu Lingshan and Her Girl / Yu Lingshan / Pseudo / Coming Out / Yuri】.

The video was three minutes long. Before watching, Xu Shi first searched for the series of unfamiliar terms in the title. Once she had a general idea of what they meant, she returned to the video and pressed play.

It was clearly an edited clip; when it started, the two were obviously already some way into their conversation.

The host asked, “I heard that Teacher Yu went through a very difficult period.”

Yu Lingshan nodded. “Yes, for a while.”

At that moment, a few bullet comments appeared on the screen. “So even beauties get depressed.” “Teacher Yu went through a period of poor mental health, she was a bit depressed.”

The host continued, “How did you get through it?”

“I met a girl,” Yu Lingshan said.

The host’s interest was piqued. “Oh?”

Yu Lingshan rested her hand on the arm of her chair, her voice soft and unhurried as she began her story. “I met her during that very lost period of my life.”

After saying this, Yu Lingshan smiled.

It was a very different kind of smile. It seemed directed at the host, but also at her own memories.

Instantly, the screen filled with more comments.

“Ahhh, her smile is so beautiful!” “Sister, your smile is killing me.” “I’m so ready for you, Teacher Yu!” “I could die for that smile.” “Give a girl a chance!”…

Yu Lingshan continued, “At the time, I had submitted a design to a competition. I don’t know how that girl found out about it, but she wrote me a review several hundred words long, saying she liked my work. Then she got all her friends and family to vote for me.” Yu Lingshan paused, then added, “I won first place.”

The host was surprised. “Oh? What kind of competition was it?”

Yu Lingshan shook her head. “A very small, district-level competition. Almost everyone else participating was a first-year university student.” She added, “But because of that competition, I was noticed by Elder He, and that’s how I’ve gotten to where I am today.”

“Ah,” the host’s tone softened. “Did you contact her afterward?”

“No, but I know her Weibo,” Yu Lingshan suddenly raised a hand, placing her index finger to her lips in a shushing gesture. “I stalked her online.”

The corners of her eyes crinkled. “She’s very sunny. She’d post all sorts of fun things on Weibo—a wildflower blooming on the roadside, the moon rising, ants crawling. She’d document it all.” Yu Lingshan let out a small laugh. “She’s really cute, very healing. During that time, she made me happy every single day.”

Yu Lingshan’s every word softened the atmosphere. Even the host across from her was smiling as she listened to the story.

The host chuckled. “Teacher Yu becomes so much more talkative when she mentions that girl. You’re practically gushing.”

Yu Lingshan tilted her head. “Am I?” She added, “I suppose I am.”

“What happened later?” the host asked.

Yu Lingshan shook her head. “Later, she stopped updating her Weibo. She hasn’t updated it since.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“Have you ever tried to contact her?”

“By the time I wanted to, I couldn’t get in touch with her anymore.”

“Ah,” the host said. “What a shame.”

The host added, “You seem to like her a lot.”

Yu Lingshan leaned against the table beside her and let out a soft sigh, as if filled with a world of helplessness. “I do.”

Suddenly, the screen was flooded with comments again.

“Ahhhhhh, sister, that person is me! Look at me, sister!” “Get lost, person in front, that’s me!” “Sister, I’m available, I’m your girl!” “Sob sob sob, sister, you like her so much.” “I’m jealous, I’m so jealous.”…

The video ended there. Xu Shi glanced at the title again, confused. She didn’t understand how Yu Lingshan expressing her fondness for a girl was considered “coming out.”

And now she understood what Yu Lingshan had meant yesterday when she said, “I’m straight.”

Xu Shi replied to Xiao Yu: She’s not gay

Just as she sent the message, a sound came from the door in front of her.

Xu Shi lifted her head just as the door opened from the inside.

She froze, staring at Yu Lingshan standing in the doorway. Her heart, which had just calmed down, instantly started acting up again.

“Uh…”

Xu Shi had no idea how to explain why she was sitting on the floor across from Yu Lingshan’s room.

“What are you doing?” Yu Lingshan looked utterly perplexed.

“I…”

Yu Lingshan’s entire demeanor was haughty. “Here to see me?”

Xu Shi looked up at her. “Uh, yes.”

A faint smile seemed to touch Yu Lingshan’s lips, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. “Spit it out. I don’t have much time.”

Xu Shi scrambled to her feet. She stood up too quickly, and her vision went black for a second. Her legs were completely numb, but she ignored it, forcing herself to stand properly in front of Yu Lingshan.

Then, with the air of someone confessing a mistake, she asked, “Did I do something wrong yesterday?”

Yu Lingshan scoffed.

Xu Shi licked her lips, extremely nervous.

“Are you a dog or a cat?” Yu Lingshan asked.

“Huh?”

“You bit me.”