Hopeless Romance (GL) - Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Considering that tomorrow’s spring outing included a segment for making dinner, the four girls—none of whom had any cooking experience—unanimously decided to buy pre-cooked food and cold dishes. They planned to send Jiang Xinwan and Wang Zhu as their social representatives to “scrounge” something delicious from other groups later. While the two representatives led the way, piling items into the shopping cart, Ye Du followed behind marking things off the shopping list, with Chen Pupu acting as the middleman for information.

“Ye Du, are there any snacks you particularly want? Otherwise, we’re just going to end up buying whatever we like,” Chen Pupu asked suddenly. Ye Du couldn’t answer for a moment. She didn’t usually eat snacks and didn’t really know what was available or what tasted good. Ye Sangshu never bought them for her, and she never asked; over time, not eating snacks had become a habit. This realization forced Chen Pupu to accept the fact that Ye Du was taller than her despite such a “nutritionally lacking” lifestyle, whereas she and Jiang Xinwan were two of a kind—completely unable to give up delicious treats.

“Just pick two things for me,” Ye Du replied. Since she hadn’t tried them anyway, she treated it as a chance to taste something new. Before she could even finish her sentence, Chen Pupu reached out and picked several snacks, as if she had known all along that Ye Du would answer that way.

“Alright, the food is divided up. Everyone must remember to bring their share tomorrow, or we’ll all starve,” Jiang Xinwan said, taking on the heavy responsibility of guarding the snacks—though Chen Pupu worried those treats might just become Jiang Xinwan’s midnight snack tonight.

“Even if you forget, can’t you and Wang Zhu just go scrounge from other groups? Ye Du and I are relying entirely on you two.”

“Student Pupu, if you forget the roast duck tomorrow, I’m not sharing my snacks with you.” For safety’s sake, Jiang Xinwan was now considering whether she should just take charge of the roast duck as well.

“I have Ye Du, I’m not afraid,” Chen Pupu said, confident that Ye Du wouldn’t let her go hungry.

“The two of you are forming a clique within the team—that’s a no-no! Pupu, did you secretly buy exercise books for Ye Du without telling us?” Jiang Xinwan felt that currently, the only things that could win Ye Du over were exercise books or second-year mock exams.

“What exercise books? I want some too!” Wang Zhu, having just returned from buying water, never missed an opportunity for “diligent study and daily progress.”

“Sure, I’ll bring some for you tomorrow.” Ye Du took out a piece of notebook-sized paper, but instead of giving it to Wang Zhu, she handed it to Chen Pupu. “I wrote down the things that would be best to bring to make things more convenient.”

Chen Pupu took a quick glance—it listed umbrellas, cameras, chargers, and other items. Before Jiang Xinwan could snatch it away, Chen Pupu folded it and shoved it into her pants pocket. Seeing Chen Pupu’s expression, Jiang Xinwan felt it conveyed a message: Chen Pupu was admitting to buying rare, high-quality exercise books for Ye Du behind their backs.

“Alright, alright, everyone head home to their mothers. Don’t be late tomorrow!” Having failed to intercept the note, Jiang Xinwan decided she would go home and write her own list.

…

Getting off the bus the next day, Jiang Xinwan began to regret yesterday’s enthusiasm. Her idea of a spring outing involved a fleet of buses dropping everyone off at a scenic spot where they could roam freely, take photos, and look at the view, while she could sit on the ground and feast to her heart’s content. When Zhang Jianwei announced they had to hike another 5 kilometers to reach the base, Jiang Xinwan wished she could eat every snack in her bag right then and there.

“Wang Zhu, is there any room left in your bag?” Under the scorching sun and the weight of her pack, Jiang Xinwan was exhausted after only a short walk.

“My bag is full of drinks; it’s not any lighter than yours,” Wang Zhu said, sensing her friend’s intent and decisively snuffing out that “evil little flame.”

“Do you know who I want to be most in my next life?” This question left Wang Zhu baffled. They hadn’t even been walking for half an hour; surely Jiang Xinwan hadn’t reached such extreme thoughts yet? She instinctively asked: “Who?”

“Jiang Zhouchi.” Wang Zhu looked where Jiang Xinwan was pointing. Not far away, Jiang Zhouchi was walking comfortably, cooling herself with a small handheld fan. She looked exactly like someone on a leisurely spring outing, while the boy next to her was carrying two backpacks, one in front and one in back.

“You can be her in this life, too. I’ll call Qin Zibei over right now,” Wang Zhu teased, making as if to shout. Jiang Xinwan immediately regained her vigor, using all her strength to refuse Wang Zhu’s “kindness,” while stealing a glance at Qin Zibei, terrified he might have heard the joke.

Walking behind them, Chen Pupu found the scene quite a pity—she had been ready to join Wang Zhu in “helping out.” This sparked a sudden curiosity in her. “Um, Ye Du, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” Ye Du felt a sense of academic pride at Chen Pupu’s proactive spirit of inquiry.

“Um… do you have someone you like?” Honestly, Chen Pupu had wanted to ask this for a long time. Had it not been for their current closeness and the perfect atmosphere, she wouldn’t have dared; she always felt that asking a top student such a question was like leading them astray.

“Huh?” Ye Du was caught completely off guard—more so than when she was called on by a teacher in class without knowing the answer.

Chen Pupu scratched her head sheepishly, stole a guilty look at Ye Du, and gave a perfectly timed smile. “I’m just gossiping.” Her mother, Qin Wei, always said “one does not slap a smiling face,” so she hoped the smile would keep Ye Du from getting angry.

“I… I don’t really know what it means to ‘like’ someone.” Ye Du paused, then asked, “Is it like how you feel about Student Liu?”

Chen Pupu hadn’t expected the topic to turn back to her so quickly and became even more embarrassed. “I guess so… but actually, I’m not sure if I ‘like’ him either. I just feel happy when I’m with him, the same kind of happiness I feel when I’m with you guys at school.”

“In that case, I like you, I like Jiang Xinwan, and I like Wang Zhu,” Ye Du replied, applying the principle of equivalent substitution.

“Well, definitely! To be friends, there must be things you like about each other. But that’s different from the ‘liking’ I mean—I mean, have you ever liked a boy?” Hearing Ye Du’s answer made Chen Pupu incredibly happy; there was nothing better than knowing the friend you like likes being your friend, too.

“Then no.” Since childhood, Ye Du had lacked male figures in her life, so she didn’t really know how to interact with the opposite sex. She only remembered the “defensiveness” Ye Sangshu repeatedly hammered into her. To Ye Du, that was a troublesome thing—you had to observe, distinguish, and then respond. She simply blocked it all out; she was good at exercising self-restraint anyway. Besides, whether it was kindness or malice, if nothing began, nothing would follow.

“Okay. But if you ever do have someone you like, you have to tell me first!” Sharing secrets was the best way to prove a friendship.

“Okay.” Though she agreed easily, it was another promise Ye Du would eventually break.

…

They reached the base at 4:00 PM. It was located on a mountain in the outskirts of Yunchuan, and the latter half of the journey consisted of winding mountain roads. The scenery was lovely—it was mid-spring, with wildflowers everywhere and lush green trees. The temperature dropped as the altitude rose, making everyone feel refreshed. The base instructors required groups of seven with a mix of boys and girls. Ye Du invited Liu Zhou, but while they were worrying about which other boys to ask, Jiang Zhouchi proactively approached them to join their group. This solved the problem of the remaining boy, and they even had options to choose from.

Jiang Xinwan and Wang Zhu organized everyone to lay out their food and drinks. Besides their roast duck, roast rabbit, and cold vegetables, the boy who came with Jiang Zhouchi had prepared fried chicken, eight-treasure porridge, and Zhou Hei Ya (spicy duck). The variety was so abundant that Liu Zhou showing up empty-handed didn’t seem out of place at all. Thanks to their foresight, this group became the very first to eat, and the plan to scrounge from others was abandoned as the cooking progress of other groups was highly inconsistent.

As Chen Pupu was preparing to help clean up, Jiang Zhouchi called her aside, saying a friend wanted to meet her. Chen Pupu found this quite novel but didn’t feel any rejection. Since learning Jiang Zhouchi’s secret through Jiang Xinwan, she had developed a vague fondness for her. Plus, she loved making friends, so she agreed.

“Hi, I’m Yu Xiao, from the class next door.” The girl Jiang Zhouchi was helping was slender with delicate features and chestnut-colored short hair that made her look exceptionally fresh.

“Hi, I’m Chen Pupu.” Seeing Yu Xiao, Chen Pupu’s first thought was: Why is she like Ye Du—so much taller than me?

“These are some candies I bought yesterday; they’re really good. Here.” Chen Pupu hadn’t expected a gift for a first meeting and wasn’t sure if she should take it.

“Oh, but I didn’t bring a gift for you.”

“It’s fine, there will be plenty of chances later,” Yu Xiao said, pressing the candy into Chen Pupu’s hand.

“Okay, thank you! I’ll bring something delicious for you next time.” Chen Pupu felt that regardless of the size, receiving a gift was always a happy thing.

“I have to go back to my class’s spot, but can I come find you to hang out in a bit?” Yu Xiao glanced back at her own group members, glad none of them had followed her to tease her.

“Sure! I’ll introduce you to my best friends then.”