Hopeless Romance (GL) - Chapter 43

Chapter 43

The so-called “camping” was essentially just finding a hilltop far from the city to linger on. The trip was Tong Yuyao’s idea; his older brother usually loved dragging friends out to play, but for some reason, he couldn’t get a full group together this National Day holiday. In the past, they thought Yuyao was too young and it wasn’t safe, so they never brought him along. Now that they needed to make up the numbers, they figured it was better to keep it in the family.

Yuyao had originally only intended to invite Chen Pupu, but Pupu brought Cui Tong, and Cui Tong felt it would be unfair not to bring Cao Yijing—though, when the time came, Cao Yijing declined. He honestly couldn’t understand why anyone would leave a perfectly good bed at home to drive so far just to sleep in a tent. He figured if one really wanted to sleep in a tent, the neighborhood green belt could probably provide a similar vibe. Then there was Lin Meixin, who overheard the three of them talking about it on the way home from school and insisted on coming. Suddenly, the situation had spiraled beyond Yuyao’s original plan.

While Yuyao’s intentions were clear to everyone—his two previous confessions to Pupu had both failed—he wasn’t discouraged. His brother always said that when chasing a girl, you had to be thick-skinned.

…

“This is my brother, Tong Ye, and these two are his university classmates,” Yuyao said, not knowing the classmates’ names and gesturing for Tong Ye to take over.

“Hey kids! This is my best bud—you can just call him ‘Grandpa Zhang.’ And this is my girlfriend, Sun Chenyun—just call her ‘Sister,'” Tong Ye announced. It was unclear how he was calculating these seniority titles, but “Grandpa Zhang” didn’t seem to mind. He just turned and flashed a smile before returning to meticulously inventorying the gear in the trunk; he looked like the reliable type.

“I’m mainly in charge of medicine for these two days. These two brothers will handle the driving and the tents. Just remember to follow our lead and don’t wander off,” Sun Chenyun said. She looked capable and efficient, though her voice was gentle.

After the high schoolers introduced themselves, they split into two cars. To avoid Tong Ye bringing up embarrassing childhood stories, Yuyao took the lead by pulling the unfamiliar Lin Meixin into his brother’s car. After all, losing face in front of Lin Meixin was better than losing face in front of Chen Pupu.

When Sun Chenyun sat in Grandpa Zhang’s car instead, Pupu thought she and Tong Ye might have had a fight. Weren’t couples supposed to be inseparable? But she felt awkward asking and couldn’t gossip with Cui Tong in such a small space. Fortunately, Grandpa Zhang and Sun Chenyun were very talkative. Grandpa Zhang lived up to his nickname with a uniquely “old man” sense of humor. Since they were only juniors in college and not far removed from high school, the four of them got along quite well.

…

By the time they reached the destination, it was already afternoon. Pupu had slept almost the entire way. She didn’t have Cui Tong’s endless energy for chatting. Pupu could tell from the satisfied look on Cui Tong’s face that she had likely squeezed about 80% to 100% of the love story between Tong Ye and Sun Chenyun out of them.

“You look like a wolf that’s finally full,” Pupu remarked, seeing the sparkle in Cui Tong’s eyes.

“Chenyun and Yuyao’s brother are so romantic. It makes me really want to fall in love,” Cui Tong sighed. So, that sparkle was a longing for romance. Pupu glanced at Lin Meixin, who had just stepped out of the other car, and physically turned Cui Tong’s body toward him. “Look, your target has arrived. I guarantee you’ll succeed.”

“Him? Forget it. He doesn’t have those thoughts,” Cui Tong replied. Pupu didn’t understand how someone as sensitive to gossip as Cui Tong could believe Lin Meixin just wanted to be friends.

“But even I can see he likes you,” Pupu insisted.

“But he won’t say it!” Cui Tong was frustrated. She and Lin Meixin had known each other for nearly half a year. For all that time, he had been as consistent as a clock, walking her home every day. But that was it—walking and talking. Any hints she dropped were neutralized by his “superior” reasoning skills. Cui Tong was starting to believe that “pure friendship” between boys and girls actually existed, which was likely the origin of her prejudice against science-track boys.

“Should I go remind him?” Pupu asked, purely for the sake of causing trouble.

“No. If he doesn’t say it, it means he doesn’t like me enough. I don’t want that kind of affection. A woman must never beg for feelings from a man,” Cui Tong said, pausing before adding, “That’s what it says in my books.” Pupu wondered what kind of books she was reading—they sounded like the type teachers would confiscate.

…

“Come on, which tent do you want to stay in?” Tong Ye and Grandpa Zhang had worked fast; while the girls were talking, they had already pitched four tents.

For safety and preference, Pupu and Cui Tong were assigned the second tent. To their left was Grandpa Zhang; to their right were Yuyao and Lin Meixin; and at the far end were Tong Ye and Sun Chenyun. By the time they finished moving their gear and setting up mattresses and food, it was nearly dinner time. The high altitude meant the temperature dropped quickly, even though the sun hadn’t set yet. Before eating, Pupu borrowed Sun Chenyun’s phone to let Qin Wei know she had arrived safely. It had taken a lot of convincing to get her mother to agree to the trip, on the condition she call immediately.

“Do you want to call your mom?” Pupu asked Cui Tong after hanging up.

“My mom is abroad. I’d feel bad using someone else’s international minutes,” Cui Tong replied. Pupu realized she had never actually met Cui Tong’s mother; it was always her father who attended parent-teacher meetings.

When they walked back, the barbecue was already going. They used smokeless charcoal, and various ingredients were neatly laid out on the table. Most of the supplies had been prepared by Tong Ye’s group. Although the high schoolers had chipped in money, they felt a bit guilty just showing up, so everyone—except Yuyao—pitched in eagerly. Pupu helped unwrap ingredients, Cui Tong carried the cooked food, and Lin Meixin even joined in as a chef, looking quite professional. Watching Yuyao sit on the side drinking a Coke, Tong Ye wondered if it was too late to trade his brother for any of the other three, who all seemed more sensible and reliable.

…

The warmth of the charcoal fire made everyone cozy as evening approached. When they finally sat down to eat, an orange-red sunset hung before them, and the distant, wide river seemed to hold another world in its reflection.

“God, eating barbecue with the sunset… it’s too beautiful,” Cui Tong said. The warm light made everything taste better.

“That’s the charm of nature,” Sun Chenyun said. She and Tong Ye had met through hiking. “In the city, there are too many people; you rarely get a chance to really look at the sun.”

“I’m so happy. It would have been such a shame if I hadn’t come,” Pupu said. The moment reminded her of a phrase: Beautiful as it is, it is not yet perfect. She wasn’t sure where that sense of “imperfection” came from, though it felt as if it were already rooted in her heart. She chose not to lift the veil and look at it.

“I think it’s great too, but I’m starving. Can we eat?” Lin Meixin blurted out. He had been tempted by the smell the whole time and couldn’t voice poetic thoughts like Cui Tong. His bluntness broke the romantic atmosphere, making everyone laugh.

Later, Lin Meixin decided that barbecue was an inefficient way to eat. He and Tong Ye had spent an hour cooking, and the group finished it in less than thirty minutes. Still hungry, he went to find chips and a burger.

“You’re eating again?” Cui Tong asked, walking over after clearing some trash.

“I’m probably still growing,” Lin Meixin said, swallowing a huge bite. He pulled a small box from behind him. “Here, take this, in case you get hungry tonight.” Cui Tong looked at the burger, thought about what Pupu had said earlier, and took it without a word.

…

Inside the tent, Cui Tong found Pupu getting ready for bed. “Why so early? It’s the holidays! Get up!” she said, shaking Pupu.

“I’m not sleeping, just resting my eyes,” Pupu said. She smelled food. “You don’t even like burgers. Why did you pick that?”

“Just in case I’m hungry later,” Cui Tong said absently. “Actually… Lin Meixin gave it to me. He said he was worried I’d be hungry. Why does he care so much?”

“He likes you,” Pupu summarized. “He cares for you in different ways, keeps you in his thoughts, and shows up in front of you constantly.”

“But Ye Du is like that with you too,” Cui Tong countered.

“That’s different. Ye Du and I are both girls, so we’re obviously just friends. Don’t say stuff like that,” Pupu said, her voice rising as if she were trying to convince herself.

Cui Tong lay back on the air mattress. “That’s a prejudice. Why can’t girls fall in love? It might not be common, but nobody said you can’t.”

A gentle wind blew outside. After a long silence, Pupu spoke. “Actually, I did date a girl. It was my first love, in junior high. But it didn’t last long. We deleted each other’s numbers and haven’t met since graduation.”

Cui Tong was stunned, her mouth still covered in a bit of salad dressing. Based on her own creative thinking, she always thought Ye Du would be the one more likely to be “in the circle,” not Pupu. “If you don’t mind dating girls, why do you react so strongly when I mention Ye Du?”

“Because it’s not like that,” Pupu explained. “If Ye Du knew we were talking like this, she might get angry. Our relationship can be explained by love, but it can also be explained by friendship. I’m afraid of misunderstanding it myself, and I’m afraid of losing her as a friend.”

“Before today, I was mostly joking about you and Ye Du,” Cui Tong said quietly. “But now… it feels so real. You even invited her to this trip, didn’t you?”

Pupu realized she couldn’t hide anything from Cui Tong. “Don’t look at me like that,” Cui Tong laughed. “When Yuyao suggested this, the first person I thought of was Lin Meixin, too.”

“I and Ye Du…” Pupu started to explain again, but seeing Cui Tong’s smile, she gave up.

…

In the other tent, Yuyao and Lin Meixin were too tired to look at stars. They were annoyed that the tents were pitched just far enough away that they couldn’t overhear the girls’ secrets.

“You’re on the basketball team, right?” Yuyao asked, trying to start a conversation.

“Yeah. And you’re on the swim team,” Lin Meixin replied, fighting sleep.

“Are you close with Chen Pupu?” Yuyao asked. He was desperate enough to ask someone from another class for intel. Lin Meixin wondered why everyone asked him about girls—did he look like a “girls’ best friend”? He just wanted to bridge the gap with Cui Tong. “Not really. We only see each other after school.”

“Has she ever said what kind of guys she likes?”

Lin Meixin tried to remember but could only think of things Cui Tong said about Ye Du. “She likes people with good grades, I guess. And people who know how to take care of others.”

Yuyao sighed. He couldn’t do much about the grades, but he could try the caretaking part. “Do you think I’m good at taking care of people?”

Lin Meixin thought of himself cooking all night while Yuyao sat there. “How much barbecue did you eat tonight?”

Before Yuyao could ask anything else, Lin Meixin was fast asleep. Yuyao was left alone to wonder if he should confess to Pupu a third time.

…

The trip back was the same. There wasn’t much to “do” in the mountains other than enjoy the quiet. The world was moving so fast; theoretically, humans should have everything, but the richer the world became, the emptier individuals felt. Pupu and Cui Tong took many photos, planning to develop them later.

When they got back, Pupu called Ye Du, but there was no answer. There were no messages on QQ either. Little did she know, Ye Du was buried in math competition prep. Her mother, Ye Sangshu, had moved with lightning speed, hiring specialized tutors for the holiday.

When they finally met a week after the holiday, Ye Du looked exhausted. “I’m preparing for the math competition. I’ve been so busy… it’ll be hard to find time to walk home together for a while.”

“So… we can’t walk home?” Pupu’s frustration vanished the moment she saw the dark circles under Ye Du’s eyes.

“I’ll try my best. It’ll be better after the competition,” Ye Du said guiltily.

Pupu calculated that the competition was months away. “It’s okay. Cui Tong and the others will be with me. You just take care of yourself. Eat well, sleep when you can, and do your best. You’re the smartest!”

“I was in tutoring every day during National Day, so I couldn’t tell you,” Ye Du said, thinking of the missed call. She didn’t want Pupu to be unhappy.

“It’s fine,” Pupu said, feeling a bit shy. “Here—this is a photo I took. It’s my favorite. For you.”

Ye Du took the photo—a small rectangle of blue sky, fluffy clouds, and autumn leaves. “Thanks. Now it’s like I went there too.”

“No worries,” Pupu smiled, mimicking Ye Du’s usual tone. “We have plenty of time ahead of us.”