Green Tea Top Student Falls in Love with Me - Chapter 35

Late at night, thunder rumbled outside and a sudden downpour began. The trees creaked under the force of the gale, and rain lashed against the glass with a piercing sound. The once calm wind now let out a wailing cry, as if voicing some deep-seated resentment.

Wen Youren suddenly jolted awake from her dream. She stared intently at the dark ceiling, her heart pounding with trepidation in the pitch-black room. The curtains had not been drawn before bed, and the chaotic branches outside swayed frantically like iron chains coming to claim a life.

Her palms began to sweat and veins stood out on her forehead. Her internal organs felt twisted and her breathing became labored. Drenched in sweat, her limbs grew weak. Wen Youren reached out, fumbling around in an attempt to turn on the light, but her body had already given out. Even crawling was an impossible task.

“No, no!” she shrieked, her voice breaking. The surroundings remained silent, save for the sound of the wind and rain. Wen Youren tried to inch forward, just a bit further, thinking that if she could reach the switch, there would be light and the darkness would vanish.

But she failed. The blanket slid off the bed with her body, hitting the floor with a muffled thud. The once dry floor now seemed flooded by the rain, turning into a vast ocean. With bloodshot eyes, Wen Youren felt as if she were drowning. Rainwater filled her mouth and nose. She gasped, but instead of life-saving oxygen, she inhaled endless water. Using her last bit of strength, she tried to grab the blanket, reaching for it like a life raft, but fate was unkind. Just as she caught it, the raft drifted away. She gave up, letting her face sink into the water as the oxygen slowly ran out.

The agony of suffocation was unbearable, yet she lacked the will to sit up. Gradually, she stopped struggling. Due to the lack of oxygen, she began to claw at her arms, leaving deep gouges from her fingernails. The torn flesh looked horrific, as if it had been scalded by hot oil.

“You should not be alive. You were sent by God to punish me. You should not be alive, just go die.” A familiar, terrifying voice suddenly rang in Wen Youren’s ears. In the next second, an invisible hand gripped her throat and dragged her up. The water vanished, and she was shoved into a corner of the room.

This corner faced a mirror. Her face was flushed deep red, and she was soaked in sweat and tears. The floor was smooth again; when she touched it, there was no trace of water. The grip on her throat did not loosen, and the pain of suffocation this time was even worse than before. She tried desperately to push the hand away, but she could not feel anything there to push.

“Let, let go of me,” Wen Youren managed to choke out, but the pressure on her neck grew heavier and tighter.

“Go die. Go join that father of yours in death,” the voice commanded as the grip tightened again.

“How do you deserve to live? I gave you your life. If I want you dead, you die. If I want you to live, you will wag your tail like a dog and beg me for a scrap of food.”

“You are disgusting. You like women, hahahaha. You are so disgusting. In life, the world loathes you; in death, you will be a footstool for ghosts.”

“Die quickly. Death is God’s gift to you. Living only brings pain. How can a person who killed her own father have the face to remain in this world? Hahahahaha! Go die and enjoy heaven’s mercy!”

The voice grew more piercing, and Wen Youren slowly closed her eyes. Her breathing grew faint as images flooded her mind: her cries at birth, her joys as a toddler, her childhood sorrows, and the insults hurled behind her back during puberty. Finally, one last image appeared: her father’s bloated body soaked in water, and the weeds tangled around his neck.

“Ah!” Wen Youren screamed, her eyes snapping open. The hand on her throat was gone. The weightlessness of the water and the agony of suffocation had vanished.

Shi Wangui immediately turned on the light and rubbed her eyes. “What happened?”

It was the middle of the night. Wen Youren’s scream had jolted Shi Wangui awake, though for a moment she thought it was morning.

Wen Youren looked at her familiar surroundings, but the intense feeling of suffocation suddenly rushed back. Terrified, she gripped her own neck, trying to take control of her life and death so that Wen Yiyue could not have it.

“What are you doing?” Shi Wangui saw Wen Youren clutching her own throat, her face turning purple. She hurried to stop her.

At that moment, thunder rolled outside again. Wen Youren desperately covered her ears. Her eyes were squeezed shut and her body shook with heavy gasps. She stopped covering her ears and grabbed her neck again, her nails slicing the delicate skin and leaving crescent marks. In some spots, thin lines of blood appeared.

Shi Wangui grabbed Wen Youren’s hands and shook her. “What are you doing? Wake up!”

“Kill me, kill me!”

“Please, kill me!”

“Please!”

“Please.”

“I do not deserve to live.”

Wen Youren covered her ears, speaking incoherently. She stared around the room. Even these familiar walls felt like a prison cell that was slowly shrinking, closing in until there was only enough space for one person, and then continuing to squeeze.

Seeing Wen Youren in such a frenzy, perhaps triggered by the thunder or the overwhelming weight of the year’s events, Shi Wangui hugged her tightly. “No, no. You deserve to live more than anyone.”

The heaving of the girl in her arms slowed, and though the sobbing continued, she was clearly calmer than before.

“I do not deserve to be loved. My birth was a mistake,” Wen Youren sobbed, her hands still clamped over her ears.

Shi Wangui mimicked the way her mother used to comfort her, gently patting Wen Youren’s back. “That is not true. We all like you very much. If you had not been born, how would we have met you?”

“It was me, it was me.”

“I killed my father.”

“It was me!”

Wen Youren let out a raw scream. So many years had passed, yet she still could not move on. If she had gone home earlier that day, her father would not have died. It was all her fault. Wen Yiyue was right; she did not deserve to live. Her birth was a mistake.

Caught up in the emotion, Shi Wangui also began to cry. Her tears traced down her cheeks and fell onto Wen Youren’s eyes.

At that touch, Wen Youren’s violent agitation began to subside.

Sensing the change, Shi Wangui loosened her embrace. She looked down for a moment and wiped the tears from the corners of the other girl’s eyes.

“It is okay now, it is okay,” Shi Wangui offered her clumsy comfort. “Nothing is wrong. We are all here. We have to see Teacher Wang tomorrow.”

Wen Youren’s tears fell again. She asked, “Will you leave me?”

“I will not. Believe me.”

Wen Youren clearly did not trust words alone. She sat up straight, grabbed Shi Wangui by the neck, and kissed her.

The kiss was fierce. She moved with a desperate intensity, her tears mixing in and adding a hint of salt. Yet, the kiss was also full of deep emotion. Life moves forward; it can bring success or failure, pain or joy.

After a while, Wen Youren slowly pulled away.

Shi Wangui was clearly dazed by what had just happened. She numbly touched her lips and murmured, “You just…”

“I love you,” Wen Youren said, her fingers still tracing Shi Wangui’s neck where she had left marks. “If you find it disgusting, then leave me.”

“Why would I find it disgusting?” Once she snapped out of it, Shi Wangui embraced Wen Youren. “I do not hate you.”

Wen Youren’s heart finally settled, and her panic faded. “I love you.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Can we stay together forever?”

“Yes.”

Shi Wangui felt Wen Youren’s drenched back and said with concern, “Your clothes are soaked. Let’s go take a bath, okay?”

Wen Youren nodded. “Okay.”

In the bathroom, the steam from the hot water instantly clouded their vision. The mirror, which usually reflected clearly, was now obscured. The only sounds were the soft flow of water and their gentle breathing.

Using the mist as a cover, Shi Wangui ran her hand over Wen Youren’s back. It was not smooth like most people’s. Her back was covered in raised scars. Looking closely, the color had faded to a fleshy tone, suggesting they were not recent wounds. Shi Wangui had never looked closely at Wen Youren’s body before. She knew there were many scars on her arms, but she had not expected such endless sorrow hidden beneath her clothes.

She touched them gently, tracing her hand over her entire body. She asked softly, “Did you do all of this to yourself?”

There were too many wounds: on her back, her legs, her waist. If she were to go to a hospital for an examination or to a police station to report it, any officer would be shaken by the sight.

Wen Youren buried her head against Shi Wangui’s neck. The bathtub was large enough for two slender girls not to feel crowded, which made it easier for them to lean into each other. “No. Some of it was Wen Yiyue.”

“Is that why you smoke, because of her too?” Shi Wangui asked.

Wen Youren thought for a moment. “Yes. She forced me to smoke. Gradually, I found myself doing it in secret on my own.”

Shi Wangui felt a pang of sharp pain in her heart. Their tragedy was like the green grass of spring, the sun of summer, the fallen leaves of autumn, and the snow of winter. To an ordinary person, it looked so normal, but for the preceding season, it was a painful disappearance.

“Let’s go to Xinjiang in the future. I heard it is beautiful there,” Shi Wangui said.

Wen Youren gave a soft hum. “Okay.”

“Let me wash you.” Shi Wangui took a towel and gently wiped every inch of Wen Youren’s skin. As she did, she used her pinky to graze the surface, feeling the warmth of her body.

A moment later, Wen Youren took the towel. “Let me wash you too.”

Unlike Wen Youren, Shi Wangui’s skin was smooth. A touch would slide right off. Gradually, Wen Youren stopped her movements. She felt ugly: her face, her skin, and her mind.

Shi Wangui noticed the change. She grabbed Wen Youren’s hand and placed it over her own heart. She said, “Do not be afraid in the future. Just turn around and I will be by your side. Always.”

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