How I Accidentally Bent My Best Friend - Chapter 10

After filling her stomach and returning to the dorm, Chen Yushu was both sleepy and exhausted, yawning incessantly. The moment her bottom touched the chair, she didn’t want to get up again.

But the sticky sweat clinging to her body was too uncomfortable to ignore. Reluctantly, she mustered her energy and went to take a shower.

After dragging her feet for a while, by the time she lay down in bed, it was already past eleven, yet her drowsiness had faded significantly.

“Ladies, I’m turning off the lights.”

As soon as Ye Chiwan’s voice fell, the dorm was plunged into darkness, with only the faint glow from their phones breaking the silence.

Suddenly, Jiang Yuran asked in a hushed voice, “Is everyone still awake?”

“What’s up?” Ye Chiwan sat up and glanced around. “Yeah, we’re all awake.”

“Okay, okay.” Hearing this, Jiang Yuran raised her voice slightly and called out, “Shushu, you and Lu Wei are on the confession wall!”

Chen Yushu: “What?”

“Don’t tell me you haven’t added it yet?” Though she asked, Jiang Yuran wasn’t surprised. She immediately forwarded the post and the QR code to Chen Yushu. “Go take a look. Seriously, beauty really shines through even this pixelated mess can’t hide it.”

Ye Chiwan: “Let me see too.”

Jiang Yuran: “I’ll send it to the group chat. Go check it out.”

Ye Chiwan burst into laughter. “Hahaha, this is the first time I’ve seen someone fishing for two people at once. This guy’s got some nerve.”

Chen Yushu also opened the post and was instantly drawn to the photo. Under the phoenix tree, two figures walked side by side, their blurred profiles barely visible.

“Hey, by the way, Shushu, do you have a boyfriend?” Jiang Yuran suddenly asked.

Chen Yushu answered truthfully, “Not yet.”

“Do you have a type you like?”

Chen Yushu looked at the person in the photo and hummed in agreement. “Just someone good-looking, lively, and a bit clingy.” After saying this, her face warmed, and she pursed her lips, slightly embarrassed.

“Oh.” Jiang Yuran fell silent for a few seconds before asking, “What about Lu Wei?”

At this, Chen Yushu’s heart inexplicably skipped a beat, her voice wavering slightly. “N-no, not her either.”

“Oh.”

Chen Yushu swallowed hard. Whether it was her own guilt or not, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off.

“Me, me, me! I don’t have one either!” Ye Chiwan quickly raised her hand, breaking the slightly awkward atmosphere. “Ugh, I really want to date someone. If I don’t seize the opportunity in freshman year, it’ll be harder later. So, if anyone knows any quality guys, remember to hook your girl up!”

“Quality guys?” Jiang Yuran sucked in a breath, her tone tinged with hesitation.

Ye Chiwan, oblivious, thought Jiang Yuran would help her and turned to Xia Ke curiously. “Hey, Xia Ke, do you have a boyfriend?”

Xia Ke answered honestly, “Not yet.”

“Hahaha, great! Seeing all of us single and united as one, as the dorm leader, I’m truly moved!”

“Who’s single like you?” Jiang Yuran retorted playfully. “These days, who doesn’t have someone?”

“What?!” Ye Chiwan sat bolt upright in bed. “you, I’m reporting you for dating too young!”

“Do you still want to find someone or not?”

That one sentence instantly shut Ye Chiwan up, and she immediately switched to sweet-talking, calling Jiang Yuran “sis” with such sycophancy it was nauseating.

The topic soon ended, and the dorm returned to silence.

Chen Yushu kept refreshing her phone, her mind uncontrollably wandering, what would Lu Wei’s reaction be if she saw this post?

Entering university, romance suddenly seemed to become both permissible and inevitable.

If she rejected Wen Yan today, what about tomorrow? Or the day after?

Chen Yushu closed her eyes in frustration, a wave of helplessness washing over her. Yet, all the turbulent emotions had to be concealed beneath a calm exterior.

The music in her earphones still played, unusually clear in the silent night, as if flowing right past her heart.

“Our undefined relationship is so close, yet not love.”

“With countless intersections, it’s a shame to let go.”

“Why does familiarity become distance instead?”

Military training continued as the main rhythm of their lives at this stage. The daily exhaustion left Chen Yushu with no energy to dwell on anything else.

Yet, there were always moments when Lu Wei’s murmurs by her ear tugged at her heart, making it rise and fall unpredictably.

Since Wen Yan’s failed confession, she had become the secondary melody in their lives.

At first, Chen Yushu was relieved. But gradually, as she watched Lu Wei grow colder and more resistant toward Wen Yan, that small sense of relief faded entirely.

All of this constantly reminded her, See? This is what happens when you confess.

The fire in her heart dimmed little by little. Yet, the path ahead grew clearer an endless one, but always safe.

“Ugh! Why is she still so persistent? Save me, Shushu, what should I do?” Lu Wei propped herself on the dining table, clutching her head in agony.

After hearing daily updates about Wen Yan’s advances, Chen Yushu had grown somewhat numb. She replied flatly, “That’s your own problem.”

“I’m suffering every single day, how can you be so indifferent?”

Chen Yushu glanced at her. “Want me to tie her up so she can’t message you or send you milk tea?”

“Chen Yushu, you ” Lu Wei sighed, resting her chin on her hand. “How am I supposed to prove I’m really not into women?”

Chen Yushu focused on her meal, doing her best to ignore the implications in Lu Wei’s words.

“Hey, I’ve got it!” Lu Wei’s eyes lit up as she grabbed Chen Yushu’s hand excitedly. “What if I get a boyfriend? Then ”

At those words, Chen Yushu, who had just lifted a bowl of soup to her lips, froze. Her entire body stiffened as if struck by something. She looked up sharply, staring straight at Lu Wei, unmoving for a long moment.

Lu Wei pressed eagerly, “Well?”

The heat from the bowl seared her fingers. Chen Yushu hissed in pain, snapping back to reality as she quickly set it down.

Lu Wei’s attention immediately shifted to her hand. She grabbed it, inspecting it before pulling Chen Yushu up and leading her to the sink. “Why aren’t you saying anything? Did you zone out?”

Chen Yushu’s mind was still in a haze, her body moving mechanically as Lu Wei guided her.

The cool water running over her fingers eased the burning sensation. Chen Yushu stared at the hand holding hers, a sour ache rising in her nose. She bit her lip hard, tilting her head up slightly as she exhaled softly.

“Better?” Lu Wei asked.

Chen Yushu hummed in response, pulling her hand back. “Let’s go back,” she said slowly.

“What’s going on with you?” Lu Wei walked beside her, frowning. “You’ve been so listless these past few days. Are you sick?”

Chen Yushu pressed her lips together, unwilling to speak, and shook her head.

Lu Wei studied her in confusion, reaching out to feel her forehead, but Chen Yushu dodged the touch.

“It’s nothing, just a bit tired. Don’t tug at me.”

“Alright, alright.”

Sitting back at the dining table, Chen Yushu had lost her appetite. The food tasted like sawdust, and after a few bites, she set down her chopsticks.

“What did you think about what I just”

“Let’s talk about it later. I want to sleep.”

Noticing her exhaustion, Lu Wei closed her mouth and didn’t press further.

By the time they returned to the dorm, everyone was preparing for their midday nap. Chen Yushu climbed into bed, and the moment she lay down, it felt as if all the strength had been drained from her body. Even moving a finger seemed difficult.

She had been unbearably drowsy on the way back, but now that she was in bed, sleep wouldn’t come. Chen Yushu stared at the ceiling, her head throbbing and swollen, as though stuffed to the point of bursting.

Maybe this was for the best. Since there was no future anyway, a quick cut was better than prolonged suffering.

Yet the thought brought no comfort. Her breathing grew labored, and with great effort, she turned onto her side, curling inward.

The air conditioning hummed, but her entire body burned. Sweat dampened her back, sticking her clothes to her skin, uncomfortable beyond words.

“Chen Yushu, wake up, it’s time to go.”

“Shushu? She’s burning up! What do we do?”

“Damn! She’s so hot! I’ll go ask the advisor for leave. You two take her to the campus clinic first.”

“Got it.”

In her daze, Chen Yushu heard familiar voices, but her head ached too fiercely, her body too weak. She wanted to speak but couldn’t muster the strength. Moments later, she slipped into unconsciousness.

When she woke again, her throat was parched and hoarse, thirst clawing at her.

Struggling to open her eyes, the glaring white light above made her reflexively shut them. After a moment, she saw the IV drip and Lu Wei sitting on another bed, her back turned.

The small window in the room was half-open, the fading sunlight spilling in, casting a gentle golden glow over Lu Wei’s silhouette, making every strand of her hair shimmer.

Chen Yushu slowed her breathing, watching quietly for a long time.

This was the person she loved.

The hopeless love she had hidden beneath the guise of a great friendship.