How I Accidentally Bent My Best Friend - Chapter 17

Lu Wei was taken aback, blinking as if she had never considered the question before. She slightly parted her lips but remained silent for a long while.

An inexplicable tension lingered between them.

After what felt like an eternity, Lu Wei finally spoke, “Weren’t we talking about friends? Why bring this up all of a sudden?”

“Is it strange?” Chen Yushu didn’t know why she was so insistent, but she was determined to get an answer. “One day, either you or I will definitely fall in love. When that time comes ”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there,” Lu Wei lowered her gaze and pursed her lips. “For now, it’s just the two of us.”

Chen Yushu bit her lip. “But”

“Why are you so fixated on this?” Lu Wei frowned slightly and suddenly asked, “Wait, do you have something going on recently?”

Chen Yushu swallowed, watching her expression, and suddenly didn’t want to answer.

“Wait, is it true? No way, when? I’m with you every day, when would you even have the time?” Lu Wei’s frown deepened, her face full of disbelief as she pressed on, “Who is it? Don’t tell me you’re being fooled!”

Chen Yushu raised an eyebrow noncommittally, still saying nothing.

Lu Wei abruptly stood up and began pacing back and forth. “What could you possibly know about someone in just a few days? He’s definitely just after your looks. No way you have to let me meet him!”

Chen Yushu quietly observed her reaction but couldn’t quite decipher it. Finally, she said, “I never said there was anyone.”

“Then why didn’t you deny it?” Lu Wei pressed her lips together, secretly relieved. “Alright, don’t worry. If you ever do start dating someone, I promise I won’t get in your way. How’s that for being a good friend?”

Chen Yushu let out a quiet “Oh,” but a wave of crushing disappointment washed over her, as if she had been pushed off a cliff.

Why bother testing the waters? It only brought her unnecessary pain.

“I’m thirsty. Let’s go get some ice cream,” Lu Wei said, licking her lips and reaching out to pull her up.

Chen Yushu swatted her hand away and stood up on her own.

Lu Wei feigned a dramatic cry of pain before quickly catching up to her.

As they walked, a couple passed by them. Without thinking, Lu Wei mentally replaced the girl with Chen Yushu, then glanced at the guy and immediately wrinkled her nose in distaste.

How could Chen Yushu ever be suited for dating? Wasn’t it better for her to just mess around with Lu Wei instead?

With that thought, she rested her chin on Chen Yushu’s shoulder and stuck out her tongue playfully, like a little puppy.

“It’s so hot can’t you stay farther away from me?”

“Won’t you be this clingy with your future boyfriend?”

“None of your business.”

Lu Wei immediately let out a dissatisfied huff.

Having skipped morning drills, they didn’t have to fight the lunch crowd. By the time Chen Yushu returned to the dorm, it was still early, so she decided to call her mother.

The moment the call connected, her mother exclaimed in mock surprise, “Oh, you actually remembered to call me! I thought you’d be just like your sister, step out the door and forget there’s someone at home waiting.”

Chen Yushu sighed before she could even speak but still patiently explained, “We’ve been busy with military training lately, from morning till night. I really haven’t had the time.”

“Is that so? Well, military training is good. You kids need the discipline otherwise, you’d topple over at the slightest breeze.”

Chen Yushu set the phone on the desk, propped her chin on her hand, and listened. The rest of the conversation required little input from her.

“By the way, Mid-Autumn Festival is coming up. Does your school have a break?”

Chen Yushu: “They probably will.”

Mother Chen: “So, are you coming home?”

Chen Yushu thought for a moment. “Let me ask Lu Wei first.”

Chen’s mother immediately clicked her tongue in displeasure. “Why ask her about everything? Are you coming back to your own home or hers?”

Chen Yushu took a deep, resigned breath, unable to understand why her mother harbored such hostility toward Lu Wei. “If she’s going back, we might as well go together.”

“And if she isn’t? You listen to her for everything one day she could sell you off and you wouldn’t even know. If you hadn’t been fooling around with her all the time, your college entrance exams wouldn’t have”

“Mom,” Chen Yushu interrupted with a frown, her tone clearly displeased.

Chen’s mother huffed. “Fine, do whatever you want.”

The call ended on an unpleasant note. Chen Yushu turned off her phone and leaned back in her chair, frustration simmering.

Just then, military training ended, and Jiang Yuran sent her a message asking how she was feeling.

After last night, Chen Yushu felt an unspoken closeness between them. The bonds of female friendship could be strangely magical like that.

Her thoughts drifted to the first time she met Lu Wei.

In second grade, a beautiful woman moved into the apartment across the hall. She would often knock on their door, bringing small gifts, always followed by a scowling, aloof little girl.

Chen Yushu would peek out from behind the shoe cabinet, occasionally meeting the girl’s eyes. Little Lu Wei would deliberately pull faces to scare her, then gleefully watch her flinch and duck back.

Before leaving, the beautiful woman would always wave and invite her over to play, but Chen’s mother would invariably refuse with an excuse about “kids being too much trouble.”

Chen Yushu could only watch dejectedly as the door closed.

One day, when Chen’s mother wasn’t home, the door was knocked open again but this time, it wasn’t the beautiful woman. Instead, a little impish face greeted her.

It wasn’t scary at all in fact, it was kind of funny, but she loved seeing that smug little expression.

“Scaredy-cat, Wang Zhizhi told me to bring you over.”

“Wang Zhizhi?”

“Wang Zhizhi is my mom. Why are you so slow?” Seeing her hesitate, little Lu Wei impatiently grabbed her arm and dragged her across the hall by force.

Wang Zhizhi happened to witness the scene and immediately chided, “Weiwei, where are your manners?”

Even her scolding was gentle completely unlike Chen’s mother.

“Didn’t you tell me to go get her?” Lu Wei let go and plopped onto the sofa, puffing her cheeks in annoyance.

Wang Zhizhi sighed helplessly before crouching down in front of Chen Yushu with a smile. “If I remember right, your mom is working the night shift today. Why don’t you stay for dinner? Would that be okay?”

Faced with an unfamiliar environment and such a gentle woman, Chen Yushu felt awkward and uneasy.

“Why ask her? I already brought her here,” little Lu Wei said dismissively.

Wang Zhizhi rubbed her temples. “Weiwei, didn’t I teach you not to be so bossy? Otherwise, other kids won’t like you.”

Lu Wei jutted out her lip defiantly. “Who cares if they like me?”

With another sigh, Wang Zhizhi turned back to Chen Yushu. “Xiao Shu, Weiwei can be a bit temperamental, but she’s not a bad kid. If she bullies you, just hit her back.”

Chen Yushu nodded vaguely, unaware that the two of them would remain entangled for years to come.

“Oh, I bought Weiwei some clothes the other day, but a few don’t fit. Let’s see if you like them.” With that, Wang Zhizhi led her into the bedroom.

It was a child’s bedroom, entirely pink in color, but the walls were covered in chaotic scribbles, almost obscuring the original appearance. Crayon drawings and papers were scattered across the floor, with paint splattered everywhere.

“Lu Wei! You stole Mom’s paint again!”

After shouting this, Wang Zhizhi didn’t say anything more. She opened the wardrobe, took out a few pieces of clothing, and held them up against the girl’s body. Then she rolled up the girl’s sleeves and pant legs, carefully inspecting her before asking, “Are you hurt anywhere?”

The girl shook her head, puzzled. At the time, she didn’t understand why Wang Zhizhi acted this way. It wasn’t until later that she realized the truth.

When she was three years old, her father had left home and never returned. Since then, her mother’s mental state had deteriorated, whenever she lost control, she would lock herself in the bedroom, screaming, raging, and throwing things.

Perhaps these disturbances had led Wang Zhizhi to mistakenly believe she was being abused at home, which was why she often brought things over and made excuses to check the girl’s body.

Seeing no injuries, Wang Zhizhi sighed in relief and called Lu Wei over to play with her before heading to the kitchen.

As soon as the bedroom door closed, little Lu Wei glanced at her, then sat on the floor and began scribbling with crayons at the base of the wall, completely absorbed and eerily quiet.

The girl stood awkwardly for a moment before tiptoeing away, intending to leave.

The next second, a small leg stretched out, blocking the door. “Wang Zhizhi told me to play with you. If you leave, I’ll get scolded again.”

“You’re not playing with me either,” she couldn’t help muttering under her breath.

Little Lu Wei hesitated for a moment, then picked up a crayon from the floor and shoved it into her hand, scooting over slightly. “Here, you can draw with me.”

She looked at the crayon in her palm, noticing how precious it seemed to Lu Wei, and decided not to use it. Instead, she carefully placed it by her feet.

Just then, her gaze was drawn to an exercise book on the floor. Its cover was covered in colorful scribbles, and when she opened it, she found most of the pages blank.

The questions inside happened to be topics she had recently learned. She picked up a pencil and lightly wrote down the answers.

At some point, little Lu Wei had crawled over beside her, her round eyes wide with shock and a hint of admiration.

“Can you do the rest of these too?”

She nodded.

Lu Wei’s eyes instantly lit up. “Then can you do the rest for me?”

“No, that’s not right.” With that, she took an eraser and wiped away all the answers she had written, leaving the page clean again.

Lu Wei stared in disbelief, then quickly reached out to snatch the book back. Seeing the restored blank pages, she hugged it to her chest as if heartbroken and burst into loud sobs.

Startled, the girl froze for a moment before mimicking Wang Zhizhi’s tone. “Weiwei, don’t cry. Weiwei, don’t cry.”

Lu Wei covered her face with her hands, peeking through a gap between her fingers, and demanded fiercely, “Then promise me you’ll do my homework for me from now on.”

“But”

“Waaah! Chen Yushu is bullying me! Waaah!”

“Weiwei, don’t cry. How about I teach you how to do it from now on?”

“No!” Lu Wei abruptly stopped crying and glared fiercely. “I hate you!”

Those words left a deep mark on her young heart. Even after returning home and lying in bed, she kept wondering if she had been too harsh.

Yet, the very next day, Lu Wei transferred into her class.

After the homeroom teacher led her through self-introductions, she pointed to a seat for Lu Wei to take.

Little Lu Wei didn’t pay any attention and walked straight over to her side, tilting her chin up. “Get up, I want to sit with her.”

Her deskmate was a chubby little boy, something of a bully in the class. At these words, the little chubby boy abruptly stood up, his belly pressing against the desk, and retorted, “Why should I? This is my seat. The teacher told you to sit over there.”

“This seat doesn’t have your name on it. Why can’t I sit here?”

The teacher hurried over to mediate, but unfortunately, both kids were stubborn and neither would back down.

Finally, with no other choice, the teacher had to ask her, “Chen Yushu, who do you want to sit with?”

Hearing this, the chubby boy smugly puffed out his belly, his face full of provocation. Little Lu Wei wasn’t about to be outdone either and urged, “Chen Yushu, who are you choosing?”

Suddenly dragged into the middle of it, she had no choice but to look up, her eyes darting between the two of them.

Little Lu Wei reached out directly, grabbing her arm. “Chen Yushu, do you want to sit with me?”