How I Accidentally Bent My Best Friend - Chapter 22

The class committee elections arrived quickly. After the seniors briefly introduced all the positions, they opened the floor for everyone to give their speeches freely.

Chen Yushu took out her speech draft, which was almost crumpled into a ball, and silently rehearsed it.

One after another, people went up to the podium. At that moment, Jiang Yuran nudged her elbow, signaling her to look at the stage.

“Good evening, everyone. My name is Ye Chiwan, and I’m running for the position of class life committee member.” As she spoke, Ye Chiwan licked her lips and flashed a goofy smile.

Jiang Yuran immediately covered her mouth, stifling a burst of laughter, and whispered in her ear, “See that? That’s what you call ‘tsundere’, saying one thing but meaning another.”

As soon as Ye Chiwan finished speaking, Jiang Yuran shouted “Well done!” and led the applause. Then she turned to Chen Yushu and said, “Go on, you’ll be fine. I believe in you.”

Chen Yushu lifted her head and suddenly felt someone’s gaze on her. The next second, her eyes met with the senior from last night.

He smiled at her and gave an encouraging nod.

Chen Yushu awkwardly tugged at the corner of her mouth and quickly averted her gaze. As soon as the person on the podium stepped down, she immediately stood up and went to the front.

Compared to others, her speech wasn’t particularly passionate, but it was clear, logical, and highly persuasive.

Once she sat back down, Chen Yushu felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders, leaving her completely at ease.

Now it was Jiang Yuran’s turn to be nervous. She clung to Chen Yushu’s arm, muttering under her breath.

Just as Chen Yushu was about to comfort her, she noticed a new message on her phone from Lu Wei.

【Shushu, I miss you so much.】

Jiang Yuran, who was pressed up against Chen Yushu, caught sight of the message unexpectedly and couldn’t help but gasp softly, her eyes unconsciously filling with curiosity.

Chen Yushu, as if trying to hide the evidence, flipped her phone over on the desk. “She just loves joking like that.”

“So, she’s straight, then,” Jiang Yuran raised an eyebrow and said.

Chen Yushu swallowed and let out a soft “Mm” from her throat.

Jiang Yuran immediately sighed, her gaze tinged with helplessness and pity, her face clearly spelling out two words doomed.

Perhaps drawn by some unique aura, Chen Yushu was certain that Jiang Yuran had sensed something from the very beginning, so she decided not to pretend anymore.

“I knew it. The first time I saw you two, something felt off. I thought you were.” Jiang Yuran rested her chin on her hand, looking puzzled and unwilling to let it go. “Shushu, are you sure she’s really straight?”

Chen Yushu nodded and couldn’t resist telling her about Wen Yan.

The more Jiang Yuran listened, the tighter her frown became. Tentatively, she asked, “Is it possible that Lu Wei just doesn’t like her? I swear on my over-a-decade-long gaydar my intuition tells me she’s different with you.”

“No, she just sees me as a friend. There’s nothing more to it,” Chen Yushu said calmly.

“What if she’s bi?” Jiang Yuran clung to a last shred of hope. “Maybe she just hasn’t, um, awakened to her gay potential yet.”

Chen Yushu shook her head, feeling somewhat dejected. “She’s made it clear she doesn’t like girls. Besides, she’s surrounded by queer people. If she were going to awaken, she would have by now.”

“I see,” Jiang Yuran fell silent, unable to help but share in her friend’s sadness.

Chen Yushu, on the other hand, let out a light laugh and comforted her, “It’s fine. I don’t have any other expectations now. Being friends is good enough.”

“If you really like it, why not try to go for it? What if.” Jiang Yuran spoke with some urgency, then suddenly paused. “Never mind, never mind. The risk is too high. Just pretend I was talking nonsense.”

Chen Yushu hummed in acknowledgment. It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought about taking things further, but with such minuscule odds, the slightest misstep could lead to complete ruin. She truly didn’t dare to gamble, she didn’t even have the courage to place a bet.

“Are there any other candidates for class committee? If not, we’ll proceed with the voting now.”

Hearing this, Chen Yushu quickly nudged Jiang Yuran. “Go on!”

“Oh, right, okay.”

As Jiang Yuran went up to the stage, Chen Yushu opened her phone and navigated back to Lu Wei’s message thread. The last message was from ten minutes ago, asking if she missed her.

Avoiding the question, she replied instead: 【What are you guys doing now?】

Lu Wei: 【Practicing calligraphy!】

【No idea which genius came up with this idea, ugh jpg.】

【And we’re not allowed to use our phones. So annoying!】

Chen Yushu wondered: 【Then how are you able to reply to messages?】

For the next five minutes, Lu Wei really didn’t reply. It was reasonable to guess her phone might have been confiscated.

Thinking this, Chen Yushu was about to put her phone away when, just then, another message from Lu Wei came through.

【Whoa! Almost got caught. Scared me to death. There was this old guy standing behind me, watching me the whole time.】

【Seriously, what’s his problem!】

Chen Yushu: 【Then focus on your calligraphy. Stop using your phone.】

Lu Wei: 【Wait, let me show you what I’ve accomplished all night.】

Chen Yushu: 【You mean your calligraphy?】

Lu Wei: 【Of course.】

Chen Yushu couldn’t help but frown in disdain immediately. As beautiful as Lu Wei’s paintings were, her handwriting was equally ugly so messy it could be described as scribbles.

Her most notorious achievement was back in sophomore year, when her monthly Chinese exam paper had to be graded by a whole office of Chinese teachers.

Before Chen Yushu could refuse, Lu Wei had already sent the picture. Suppressing a laugh, Chen Yushu opened it.

However, the next second, the smile on her lips froze instantly. A powerful impact struck her unexpectedly, piercing through her pupils straight to her heart.

On a sheet of rice paper, densely packed, were her name in both traditional and simplified characters, stroke by stroke, neatly and carefully written. Some strokes were blurred by ink, appearing overly thick, while others had run out of ink, showing through the paper. All the strokes pieced together conveyed a sense of clumsy sincerity.

Every single name was a different version of “Chen Yushu.”

Chen Yushu stared at her phone for a long time, until her eyes grew sore.

Lu Wei sent another message: “I miss you so much.”

Chen Yushu looked at the words on the screen, her fingertips hovering over the keyboard, unable to press down for a long time.

By the time Jiang Yuran came down from the stage, the speech process ended, and voting began, with votes being counted aloud.

Amid the noisy world, Chen Yushu’s consciousness remained in her own, swaying incessantly. Unable to resist, she took out her phone again and looked at the picture once more.

Suddenly, a notification popped up on her phone, alerting her that a blogger she followed had updated.

Lu Wei had a painting account, created back in middle school, originally just to document her artwork. Unexpectedly, her followers had gradually grown over time.

Later, it even caught the attention of a big name in the industry, which significantly boosted Lu Wei’s popularity, making her somewhat well-known in the circle. Nowadays, aside from updating her works, she occasionally takes on commercial projects.

Somehow, an inexplicable feeling drove Chen Yushu to click on it.

The first thing that caught her eye was an abstract painting. The entire canvas was filled with winding, twisting lines, appearing chaotic at first glance. Upon closer inspection, one could vaguely make out a face in the center of the canvas a girl’s face.

Chen Yushu’s breath hitched slightly, and she unconsciously moved the phone farther away.

It really was her.

Surprisingly, Chen Yushu didn’t feel too shocked by this. Yet, her mind uncontrollably began to speculate about Lu Wei’s intentions. Deep down, she knew it might not be what she hoped for, but her emotions still let expectations float to the surface, craving some hidden meaning.

“Stop overthinking it. It’s just a straight girl’s game.”

Suddenly, Jiang Yuran’s voice sounded beside her. Chen Yushu turned her head just in time to see the same photo displayed on Jiang Yuran’s phone.

Jiang Yuran explained, “Someone dug up Lu Wei on the school forum, so I casually followed her on Weibo.”

Chen Yushu nodded, putting her phone away, and asked, “What did you mean by that just now?”

“Ah,” Jiang Yuran shook her head, looking at her with the expression of someone who’s been through it all. “Let me put it this way: those behaviors that seem intimate or ambiguous to you, in a straight girl’s eyes”

Before she could finish, the class bell rang, and the voting results were announced. Considering the time, a senior quickly read out the list.

All three of their roommates were successfully elected.

Amid the noisy chatter, Jiang Yuran had to say, “I’ll tell you more when we get back tonight. Just remember, don’t ever believe her sweet talk!”

Chen Yushu nodded, looking both confused and eager to learn.

Jiang Yuran waved her hand. “Lu Wei seems to be waiting outside already. I’m heading out, bye.”

Chen Yushu replied, “Mm, bye.”

As she stepped out of the classroom, she indeed spotted Lu Wei standing by the back door. Uncontrollably, her thoughts drifted back to the calligraphy and the painting. Chen Yushu’s breath faltered for a moment before she steadied herself and walked over to call out to her.

“Lu Wei.”

Hearing her voice, Lu Wei immediately turned around. “You’re finally out.”

Chen Yushu’s eyes instantly fell on the stack of rice paper in Lu Wei’s hand. Pretending not to know, she asked, “What’s that in your hand?”

“My practice calligraphy,” Lu Wei unfolded it to show her. “I wanted to throw it away, but the teacher insisted we take it with us.”

Chen Yushu took it and flipped through the pages one by one. Suddenly, her hand stilled.

So, she hadn’t just written her name.

Staring at the sheet filled with a jumble of names, Chen Yushu fought hard to suppress the lump in her throat. Unconsciously, her grip tightened, wrinkling the rice paper, much like her constricting heart.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Wei leaned closer, puzzled by her prolonged silence. “Oh, this? I was just bored and scribbled randomly.”

Chen Yushu didn’t respond. Instead, she pulled out the sheet from the bottom, the one covered with her own name, and couldn’t help but place the two side by side.

“See? I wrote your name the most carefully,” Lu Wei said, unable to see her expression and assuming she was simply comparing the handwriting, a hint of pride in her voice.

Chen Yushu neatly stacked the rice paper and handed it back to Lu Wei. “It’s just average. No real difference.”

The distinction between her and Lu Wei’s other friends ended right there.

It might be a bit special, but it will never be as special as she wants it to be.