“How do you know that? I bet he already got a girlfriend.”
“That’s impossible.” Tang Yuanyuan firmly shook her head.
At this juncture, Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan walked up to Tang Yuanyuan and one of them grabbed her by her arm.
“How can you be sure? Did he tell you that himself? Oftentimes, you can’t believe what men say, even if they say it to your face.”
“She’s right. We speak from experience.”
Tang Yuanyuan pouted. “Whatever. I can only tell you that I’m sure about it. Besides, Yishu is not the kind of man you guys just described. I believe in him.”
After that, Tang Yuanyuan headed straight to the bathroom and closed the door, shutting out their voices.
Then, she stood in front of the mirror and looked at herself for a while before poking her cheek. Why? I’m such a softie. He’s been neglecting me for so long, but look at me—I’ve already forgiven him just because of the words that he said to me tonight.
And those words are still in my head.
It isn’t that he’s not willing, but he was afraid that he would scare me off. At the time when Yuchi Yishu said those words, Tang Yuanyuan was genuinely moved.
When she was on her way back to her dormitory, she was fighting the urge to run back to him.
Come on. I need to stop thinking about this.
Then, Tang Yuanyuan rubbed her head, trying to put those complicated thoughts behind so that she could go to bed as soon as she was done washing up.
The next day, Tang Yuanyuan again ran into Zong Yongran outside the school entrance. Due to the incident last night, Tang Yuanyuan felt embarrassed to see him. So, she decided to turn around and leave.
“Yuanyuan.”
Zong Yongran called her, so there was no reason for her to walk away. Then, she turned around.
“Y-Yongran.”
“Are you trying to run away from me? Since when am I so scary?”
Zong Yongran walked up to her and helplessly looked at her.
“My apologies, Yongran, I was just—”
“That’s fine. You don’t have to explain to me.” She was glad that she did not have to explain to him. “About the guy from last night—do you like him?”
Right away, Tang Yuanyuan blushed and subconsciously wanted to defend herself.
“You don’t have to deny it right away. Anyway, I could tell.” Zong Yongran smiled gently. “You two seemed intimate.”
Tang Yuanyuan did not respond.
“If you like him, don’t ever let him go. Don’t worry about me. We are still friends.”
“Sure.” Tang Yuanyuan nodded.
“And don’t be a stranger. Please come and find me if you have any problems.”
Tang Yuanyuan let out a sigh of relief after he left. Fortunately, just as she thought he would say things that would pressure her, he unexpectedly said no such thing.
The things that Yuchi Yishu said to Tang Yuanyuan yesterday distracted and frustrated her so much that she could not even focus in class today. Finally, school was over. Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan dragged her to go shopping with them.
When the three walked out of the entrance, they ran into Yuchi Yishu. He stood out in the crowd and was really easy to spot.
Since Tang Yuanyuan was feeling conflicted, she was not looking ahead when she was walking. She only came to her senses when the other two stopped in their tracks.
“What’s going on? Aren’t we supposed to go shopping?”
Looking perplexed, Yuan Yuehan and Zhang Xiaolu quickly looked at Tang Yuanyuan. “He’s waiting for you already. I don’t think you’re going shopping with us.”
He?
Tang Yuanyuan looked over toward where the two were looking and saw a tall figure.
Yuchi Yishu?
Why is he here again?
“It seems like we’re having a change of plans. You should go.”
Then, Yuan Yuehan pushed Tang Yuanyuan, who was then pulled back by Zhang Xiaolu. “Hold on. Yuanyuan, I wish you all the best. Since you told us that Yishu didn’t have a girlfriend, it seems that you aren’t through with him. So, be bold and capture his heart.”
Capture his heart?
Tang Yuanyuan blinked.
“You should go. If he really ends up being your boyfriend, you’ll have no regrets in life.”
Tang Yuanyuan stood there dumbfounded while Yuchi Yishu was waving at her.
Then, Zhang Xiaolu and Yuan Yuehan left together. Feeling helpless, Tang Yuanyuan had to move forward toward Yuchi Yishu. She stopped right in front of him, pursed her lips, and asked, “Didn’t you say you would wait until I have an answer?”
“You’re right.” Yuchi Yishu nodded. Seeing that she was hesitating to say something, he followed up, “What’s wrong?”
“S-Since you said you would wait until I have an answer, what are you doing here today?”
Is he here today for an answer? Tang Yuanyuan was still feeling conflicted. Even though she knew what her choice would be, she did not feel like telling him now as she did not want him to have it too easy.
Yuchi Yishu took a step forward and covered her with his scent.
“So what? What does that have to do with me being here today?”
Startled, Tang Yuanyuan took a step back and almost fell. Fortunately, Yuchi Yishu caught her just in time.
“Why can’t you stand properly? Didn’t you sleep well last night?”
Tang Yuanyuan clenched her teeth. “Are you talking about yourself? I had a good sleep.”
Yuchi Yishu’s gaze fell on her eye bags and chuckled. “Fine then. I was the one who didn’t have a good sleep. So, dinner tonight?”
“Who are you talking to?” Tang Yuanyuan mumbled.
“If not with me, were you planning on eating with the guy from last night?”
“I wasn’t!”
“Then come with me.”
As he finished, he immediately grabbed her hand and started walking, leaving her with no choice but to follow suit. His steps were big; Tang Yuanyuan had to almost jog to be able to follow him.
After a while, Yuchi Yishu suddenly slowed down. Tang Yuanyuan quickly took a deep breath.
For the next couple of days, Yuchi Yishu would show up at the school entrance on time to bring Tang Yuanyuan to dinner, though, there was never a time where he would pressure her for an answer.
He did the same thing every day while looking calm and relaxed. It seemed like Tang Yuanyuan was the only anxious person.
There were a couple of occasions when Tang Yuanyuan reckoned that he was going to bring it up, but he would end up not saying anything when he sent her back to school. That gave Tang Yuanyuan a lot of stress.
After she noticed that he was not going to say anything, she turned around and left.
A week had passed.
“It’s been so long. Don’t you have an answer?”
Yuchi Yishu blurted out the important question on their first meet-up that day.
Tang Yuanyuan pursed her lips. “Aren’t we supposed to grab dinner? Let’s eat first.”
Having dinner together had gradually become a habit, and Tang Yuanyuan felt that she was already being obvious in her attitude toward his invitation. If she had no intention of being with him, she would not agree to meet him every day.
It was unlike Zong Yongran, whom she was afraid to run into and eat together with—that was an unpleasant feeling.
After a few steps, Yuchi Yishu grabbed Tang Yuanyuan’s hand.
“Let’s talk about it first before we grab dinner.”
